FOREWORD

So you've just cracked this book and you're eager to get to your first Awesome System game? That's just great, and
we're going to provide you with everything you need to make it the best damn RPG ever. It's designed to have lots of
fun rules for you to really tear into, discovering what works for you and what doesn't in making a strong character and
what lets you do really cool stuff and grandstand. You're going to get to grips with your gaming world and throttle it.
The Awesome System gives the players unrivalled power and gives their actions undeniable results. Play it and you'll
see what I mean! This is usually either hilarious for the players, who've just ripped their GM’s plans to shreds, or the
GM, who will need a new paper shredder at the rate he is killing off their characters for screwing things up so bad.
We wanted, first and foremost, for everyone to have a hand in the outcome of the story and that's what we've worked
towards here.
Get hyped for some exciting pulp action. We're going to kill orks and fly spaceships.
Ross Howell
April, 2013

AWESOME CREDITS
Written And Designed By Graphic Design by
Ross Howell with Daniel Mozarowski and Michael Daniel Mozarowski and Michael “Kayin” O’Reilly
“Kayin” O’Reilly
Cover Design by
Additional Development By Henry Ponciano and Michael “Kayin” O’Reilly
Chrissy Monfette, Liam Newton, Nathan Roper and
Danica Erin Zuks Logos
Michael “Kayin” O’Reilly
Editing
Nathan Roper Commercial
Alex “Kazz” McDougall and John Robertson
Layout
Daniel Mozarowski and Michael “Kayin” O’Reilly Playtesters
Luke Armistead, Evan Beasley, Trent Cheetham,
Cover Art Steve Collins, Nehema Desmarais, Craig Furnivall,
Henry Ponciano Keiro Ghost,
Joe Gracyk, Chris Hayward, Chris Hotinski, Kemru,
Interior Art Roman Voce Marotte, Mimi, Alex “Kazz” McDougall,
Chrissy Monfette, Liam Newton, Amanda Parks,
Aka6, Avian Anderson, Thomas Biedermann, Carlos Lionel Pryce, Daniel Ryckman, Nathan Roper, Dean
Cara, Mitgard Clemente, Laura Galli, Xavier Eduardo Scott, Russell Tassicker, Aidan Turner,
Gutierrez, Craig Williams, Mark Williams and Danica Erin Zuks
Nate Johnson, Muamal Khairi, Sony Kusumasmoro,
Lorenzo Massaro, Ben Moriconi, Liam Newton, LJ
Phillips, Special Thanks to
Henry Ponciano, Alex Ries, Gabriel Rosswell, San- Reb Brown, Godfrey Ho, Lionel Pryce, Dean Scott
grde, Vedil, Ryan Vogler and Jeff Ward and Russell Tassicker

The Awesome System created by Ross Howell

Author’s Dedication: Kiyomi. For feeding.

© 2013 Sharkpunch Studios sharkpunchstudios.com

 TABLE
OF
AWESOME
INTRODUCTION!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Setting The Scene. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Using This Book. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
CHAPTER 2: CHARACTER CREATION! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Character Creation: A Step By-Step Breakdown. . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Step 1: GM Discussion and Character Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Step 2: Outline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Step 3: Statistics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Step 4: Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Step 5: Powers and Weaknesses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Powers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Weaknesses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Weird Powers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Weird Weaknesses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Special Moves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Step 6: Derived Statistics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Step 7: Props. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Step 8: Icing On The Cake. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
CHAPTER 3: PROPS! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Getting Your Gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Robots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Weapons and Armor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
CHAPTER 4: THE RULES!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Rolling Dice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Awesome. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
CHAPTER 5: THE FIGHT!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Hurting Stuff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Hazard Dice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
CHAPTER 6: MANEUVERS! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Combat Maneuvers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Shark Wrestling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Giant Slaying. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
CHAPTER 7: METAL MEN!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Booting Up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Powers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Weaknesses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Armour. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
CHAPTER 8: TEMPESTS!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Tempest Powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Creating Your Own Tempest Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
CHAPTER 9: MOVIE MAGIC! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Buying Movie Magic Powers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
CHAPTER 10: ROCKING OUT! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Battle Of the Bands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Classical. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Jazz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Metal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Opera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Rock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
CHAPTER 11: GAME MASTERING!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Reading This Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
The Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Dark Movie Magic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
CHAPTER 12: ADVENTURES!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Attack of the Death Sharks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Episode 1: Hello Time Bomb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Episode 2: Shark Attack! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
The Skeleton King. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Episode 1: Shrine of the Ancients. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Chapter 2: Frantic Rush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
CHAPTER 13: BESTIARY!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
 INT RO D U CT I O N !
Those of you who’ve never played the Awesome System before
might be wondering why this game in particular is the one most
deserving of your hard-earned dollars. Every roleplaying game
system should, after all, bring something unique and exciting to
the table!
Put simply, the Awesome System is a game unlike any other
you’ve ever played. The Awesome System is a book of fantas-
tic voyages, huge explosions and thrilling duels with evil villains,
containing everything you need to play games based on your
favourite sun-blasted Western, two-fisted Sci-Fi Adventure or diz-
zyingly High Fantasy. All the tools you need are right here and
thanks to the innovation of our very own Stunt System, every
game will be among the most amazing roleplaying games you’ll
ever play!
To get a better idea of what we mean, think back to when you
were young and being taken to some big budget Hollywood
movie, full of explosions, fist-fights and gorgeous starlets.
Remember how excited you felt? And that edge of your seat ten-
sion? Do you want more of that? Then you’ve come to the right
place! We endorse one-of-a-kind cinema-style antics and what
would be deemed sensible or proper can be damned!
Setting The Scene
If you’re new to the whole concept of a roleplaying game, think of
it as an interactive campfire story. Someone tells it somewhere
nice and quiet, with the rapt attention of a group of friends, and
as the story unfurls you ask questions or press for details. How
long was the blade in his right hand? What was the name on the
grave? However, it doesn’t end there. The character in the story
is controlled by you.
Therefore, the story of a roleplaying game is made from scratch
and highly interactive. One of the players is nominated as the
Gamemaster (or GM) and it’s his job to face the characters with
a problem of some sort, usually involving the meddling of one
or more evil villains. After that, it’s up to them to solve it. Or not
solve it. Or do something entirely different. It’s entirely up to the
players (of which there are normally between three and six) and
every action they take is their own choice. They relate what they
wish to do to the Gamemaster and he tells them whether they
succeed or not.
Now, we won’t lie to you, being the Gamemaster can be real dif-
ficult sometimes. To put it simply, the Gamemaster’s job is to
create a great story, memorable villains and stage epic scenes
and eventually end up making entire worlds for the characters
to run around in. It might sound a bit daunting, but to run a
game, all you need is your imagination and some paper to take
notes on. We’ll be getting to that art later on in the book. Also, if
you find Gamemastering hard to do, it might be a good idea to
alternate the role between the players over time. We’ll be talking
more about Gamemastering techniques later in the book, which
you can use to wow your players.
The ultimate goal of roleplaying is to tell a rich story, with memo-
rable characters, exciting action and to have fun. After a while,
you’ll probably get the hang of what sort of character you like
to play and, as you become familiar with the rules, you ought to
be able to turn your naive little hero into a real champion, sav-
ing damsels and wiping out hordes of aliens with nothing but
his fists and his trusty laser pistol. From a humble beginning to
crushing Empires, this could be your character.
Using This Book
We’ve taken the optimum amount of care in laying out this book,
making sure the information you need will always be at your fin-
gertips, but we also recommend you make this book your own.
Mark the pages you reference the most and write notes about
the rules in the margins. It’s your book, so treat it however you
like. We really mean it.
To further assist you in your mastery of the rules, let’s look at
the chapters of this book, one by one.
In this section, the Introduction, you can probably already see
that we’re going over the basic concept of what a roleplaying
game is and giving you a sweet primer before you get into the
real depths of the rules.
Chapter 2: Character Creation covers exactly what you think.
We’ll show you how to kit our your character and get him ready
for adventure.
Chapter 3: Props is where you stop off to pick up some gear.
We’ve got all sorts of goods to choose from and everything you’ll
need to tackle any situation!
Chapter 4: Rules, in which we’re going to be going over how to
play a game with The Awesome System and explaining why this
game is darn great.
Chapter 5: Combat is the chapter some of you have already
skipped ahead to. And we can assure you, that was a damn
good idea. We’ll show you how to have the sort of fights you’re
always seeing in the movies and more besides.
Chapter 6: Maneuvers is the low-down nitty-gritty on the appro-
priation of phat activities to bust.
Chapter 7: Metal Men is where we lay down the basics for our
robot brethren and show you how to bolt one of these suckers
together.
Chapter 8: Tempests covers the fighters who take advantage of
the raw elements in their attacks and their form.
Chapter 9: Movie Magic is, as the title suggests, where the
magic happens. Witness the strangest powers ever conceived
by man!
Chapter 10: Rocking Out! In the world of the Awesome System,
a world where everything is turned to 11 at all times, you would
think that it’d be impossible to top. You’d be dead wrong! Now
strap yourself in for the rockstravaganza.
Chapter 11: Gamemastering performs the dual role of being a
crash course in running your first game or a refresher for expe-
rienced GM’s.
Chapter 12: Adventures is the GM’s equivalent of Chapter 3,
featuring some introductory sojourns that can be run from the
second you open this book. Combine the two and you’ll be play-
ing as soon as you’ve dug the dice out of the couch.
Chapter 13: Bestiary. Well, what else would you expect from
unlucky number 13? In this chapter, you’ll find everything you
need to give your PCs those gaping flesh wounds you’ve come
to know and love.
1
 CHAPTER 2: CHARACTER CREATION!
Just remember, this chapter is a way for you to interact with the
stories the Gamemaster tells, and there’s plenty of ways to do it
we haven’t covered here. If you want to do something with your
character we didn’t include, we whole-heartedly recommend
you sit down with your GM and make it happen. Since you can
assign any cost to balance a Power or Weakness, making new
ones is a snap and creating a new skill is as simple as naming
it. We want you to be able to make the most of your games, so if
something in this chapter is stopping you from making the char-
acter you want, strike out anew. It’s as simple as that.
In all there are eight steps to making a character. We’re going
to be going through them one by one and explaining every last
aspect of making a character to make it as simple as possible.
First of all, you need a character sheet. If you don’t have any, go
photocopy the one in this book or find it on the Internet. If you
can’t do that, get a blank piece of paper and draw some boxes
on it. It’ll look really pretty.
Okay, so you’ve got a character sheet.
Let’s roll.
Character Creation: A Step By-Step
Breakdown
Step 1: GM Discussion and Character Points
GM Discussion and Character Points is as simple as it sounds.
Discuss the possibilities for your character and then get the
points to make them real.
Step 2: Outline
In Outline, you flesh the kid out, give them a personality, a back-
story, all that jazz.
Step 3: Statistics
Stats determine how tough you are, how fast you are, anything
that constitutes the meat of the character.
Stats cost 6 Character Points per level.
Step 4: Skills
Skills represent what you’re good at. We describe them as being
used for interacting with your interaction, but mostly they’re
used for jerking other people around.
Skill Levels cost 2 points per level. Skill Bonus also costs 2
points per level.
Step 5: Powers And Weaknesses
In Powers and Weaknesses, we get into what makes your char-
acter unique are what made your character unique. These are
weird little character or personality quirks.
A Power or Weakness costs the value listed next to its name.
Step 6: Derived Statistics
Derived Statistics are just a bit of math to make sure everything
flows smoothly. This is stuff like your Movement and Speed Dice
scores. It all gets used, don’t worry.
Step 7: Props
Props is the part where you go do some serious shopping. Get
the biggest guns and the raddest cars.
Step 8: Icing On The Cake
Anything you forgot to do in Outline will come out in Icing On The
Cake, like your Name, Hair Colour and whatever else suits your
fancy.
Step 1: GM Discussion and Character
Points
The first step to making a character is to find out what sort of
game you’re playing. We’ve made this system to be highly adapt-
able for telling all sorts of different stories, so it’s the Gamemas-
ter’s job to decide what sort of story he’s going to tell. Maybe
the characters are a gang of gladiators trapped in slavery to hid-
eous aliens, or maybe they’re a gang of rock starlets who solve
mysteries in their spare time. You can do whatever you like with
the system, so don’t limit yourself to the conventional!
Either way, it helps if everyone’s on the same page right from
the start, as this will allow the players to come up with some
concepts and discuss them with the Gamemaster. If they can’t
come up with any, the Gamemaster can also suggest some
things, or talk about what they’ll need to be able to do. Out of
game discussion between the Gamemaster and the players,
even just to make sure the players are going in the right direc-
tion, is one of the most important aspects of keeping a roleplay-
ing game going.
Another important thing that happens here is that the Game-
master will also tell the players how many Character Points
they’ll be getting to make their characters with. This is a fun
step, because the players can bargain for more and get into
arguments. Players who do a drawing of their character or come
up with a good back story (or anything amusing, really) should
be awarded a few extra points, but only enough to encourage
everyone else to try to get them. A well-thought out character
is a strong character. A regular character will have between 50
and 100 Character Points, but higher or lower levels are all pos-
sible.
While making your character, it’s good to specialize in only a few
things, to make them work better as part of a team. If each char-
acter can only do a few specific things, it will give them more
reason to seek out others and co-operate with them and prob-
ably give them an interesting dynamic. Don’t worry about being
left in the cold if you forgot a really important skill, either, since
you can upgrade your character later on with experience points.
Characters who weather their struggles well will be awarded
experience points, which they can use to upgrade every facet of
their abilities and eventually become a better, tougher person.
Step 2: Outline
Now that you’ve got the tools you need to make your character,
you can start laying out a basic outline. This is the part where
you get your creative juices going and come up with the best
damn character you can! When you have a set of Character
Points that can be spent on anything at all, you can create any-
thing your heart desires! We’ve taken out the constraints that
plague other systems, like set races and classes and their limi-
tations and provided for you a canvas to build your vision on.
3

Make the most of it and, above all, make your character inter-
esting. Whatever you are, your character should be the kind of
guy who’s always ready for an adventure or fisticuffs with the
enemy.
After all, the Awesome System lends itself to outrageous
characters. We’ve come up with some possibilities below.
• An amnesiac scientist on the run from old foes.
• A deadly chef who fights with knives and panache.
• An eight-foot tall nuclear-powered robot with a seriously
bad case of sarcasm.
• A giant, intelligent, chess piece.
• A grizzled fighter pilot with a drug problem.
• A mighty Barbarian who fights to prove his strength!
• A motorbike-riding, kung-fu fighting high school kid.
• A self-styled “King of Trash” who protects the homeless.
• A tough sheriff who guards his frontier town with nothing
but his six-shooter and his whisky.
• A tragic zombie Nazi.
The above and thousands more are all possible in the Awesome
System. So work out what you want and then let’s move on to
the meat of character creation: building your character.
Step 3: Statistics
Statistics cost 6 points per level. The first level is free.
Your statistics, or stats for short, define who you are. Are you
smart and wily, or are you able to spot a sniper on a nearby roof-
top? Perhaps you can tear a door off its hinges with your bare
hands.
In the Awesome System, there are five personal stats to define
who you are and you start with one level in all of them, absolute-
ly free. This represents only the basest level of ability, however,
so you’ll need to get to upgrading them.
4
A Note About Gender Pronouns
Our company is not sexist. As a matter of fact, play-testing
of the Awesome System has contained 500% more lesbi-
an kissing while both girls were firing Uzis than any of its
current competitors. However, throughout this book char-
acters and players may more often than not be referred
to as “he.” While this may at first appear to be pushing
our female audience away, it is due entirely to our “S”
keys breaking while we were writing the Sassy Sultan of
Sirius Seven’s Sly Snake Soldiers Sourcebook.
We’ll be getting the keys replaced as soon as possible
and we hope you ladies won’t be put off until then.
Normally a character will spend about half of their Character
Points on stats.
Brawn
Brawn is a measure of your character’s physical strength and
prowess. It’s used for lifting, breaking and fighting and if you
want to be the Hero of the Beach, this is the stat to go for. Brawn
also determines how much damage your character does in com-
bat and how many Hit Points he has.
For every level of Brawn you have, you get a rocking 20 Hit
Points. All characters get a free 20 Hit Points on top of this, just
‘cause we’re nice.
Brains
It’s all well and good to belt out some awesome rock ballad, but
someone actually has to compose all those songs and make
sure they rhyme. That’s where the smart guy comes in.
A character with a high Brains score can really help the party
in a pinch as he’ll have increased use of a wide variety of utility
skills like Notice and Psychology, as well as a whole ton of Hero
Skills. A character has a number of Hero Skills equal to their
level in Brains. Dodge is a free Hero Skill.
Flow
Flow is your control of your body, clearly defining the difference
between a nimble knave and a sluggish sap. Flow is an impor-
tant stat for the fine use of tools and weapons, including firing
guns and putting knives in people, as well as picking locks and
flying fighter ships. A high Flow can help any character. Your
Flow is added to 4 to calculate your character’s Defence score.
Soul
In a conflict, persistence can sometimes be just as important as
ability. Sometimes, to win, you’ve got to keep going and going
and going, even in the face of certain defeat. And to do that you
need a lot determination.
Soul covers how much you believe in yourself and how capable
you are of pulling through at the last moment to save the day.
Extra Soul increases the size of your Awesome Pool, a physical
measurement of your character’s awesome and how often they
can just barely make it through danger with their lives, and their
hairstyles, intact.
The size of your Awesome Pool is determined by multiplying your
level in Soul by 2 and then adding 6 to it. So if you have 3 levels
in Soul, you’d have an Awesome Pool of 12, for example. Your
Awesome Pool starts half full.
Speed
Quite simply, a measure of how fast you run rings around your
opponents. It determines how many actions you get a round,
how quickly you can move and how fast your gun can clear its
holster in a shoot-out. A character with a high speed will be able
to move to counter threats fast and rain down blows in a fight.
 Every combat round your character gets a number of Speed
Dice equal to their Speed, as well as one extra for free.
Step 4: Skills
Skill levels cost 2 points per level and skill bonuses cost 2
points per level.
Once you’re done with your stats, you can move onto your Skills.
These cover everything your character is able to realistically do
or has received training in, with plenty of room for improvisation.
If you want to make up a new skill, just consult your Gamemas-
ter for the okay, first.
Skills come in two types, Levels and Bonus. Every level you buy
gives you an extra dice to roll on checks made with that skill.
Levels represent a character’s pure, inborn talent for a task,
which is why the results can often vary all over the board. How-
ever, levels come in handy when making Stunts, so it’s always
good to have a few.
Bonus, on the other hand, represents training and honing of
your abilities over time, often with a teacher assisting. Bonus is
represented as a flat addition to a skill check, so every time you
buy a point of bonus for a skill, you add that amount to every
check made with that skill. Bonus is much more dependable,
especially in a crisis, but doesn’t allow for the same amount of
improvisation and last-minute daredevilry that Levels do.
Brawn Skills
Olympics, Pose, Toughness
Flow Skills
Acrobatics, Bow, Dodge, Drive, Firearms, Instrument, Lock Pick-
ing, Melee, Piloting, Riding, Sleight of Hand, Sneak, Throwing
Speed Skills
Quick Draw, Speed Load
Brains Skills
Academia, Art, Bonesaw, Computers, Demolition, Disguise,
Fixing, Gambling, Leadership, Notice, Psychology, Streetwise,
Track
Soul Skills
Guts, Voice
Academia (Brains)
If it’s a four-year University Course with Honours, it’s probably
covered here. Biology, Chemistry, Computers, Robotics, Space-
craft, the various sciences, as well as the arts and just about
any other specialization you can come up with are all here, just
waiting for someone to rattle on about them for hours.
Since all these specializations are all so strikingly different,
however, each one needs to be levelled up, individually. But doc-
torates never were cheap, were they?
Acrobatics (Flow)
In any instance in which your character is performing some
crazy feat of aerodynamics or athleticism (preferably life-risking
but it’s not essential) make an Acrobatics check to determine
success. If you’re cornered and need to get out of a scrape, this
is the skill to use.
The in-game effect of this is that if using Acrobatics for a jump
or some similar manoeuvre, the character may attempt a roll
and consult the table below. If they choose to increase the listed
Heights of Power
When starting out, you might be tempted to put all your
points into just one stat, to get an “edge” over the other
players, or just to see what happens. In this awesome
game, you can do any old crazy thing you want, but it’s
gonna cost you. The more points you put into something,
the more expensive it becomes to put more points into it.
This applies to high level characters as well, of course, so
if you’re planning on power-gaming, you’d better read this
part carefully.
Raising a stat costs 6 points per level, until you reach
level 5. With a base of 1, that means you can expend 24
points before you reach what we’ll call “the roof.” After
that, the cost doubles.
That’s right, raising a stat from 5d6 to 6d6 costs 12
points. Sound steep? It is. You’re pushing the boundar-
ies of what a human should be capable of and it’s gonna
hurt.
After you reach level 10 in a stat in this way, the cost rises
to 18 and after level 15, it rises to 24 and so on and so
forth. The same applies to buying skills, but you’re just pay-
ing 2 more points instead of 6 and, since skills are more
easy to grasp than stats, the cost only increases every
10 levels. So a skill will costs 2 points per level up until
you reach level 10, then it costs 4 points per level, then 6
points per level at level 20 and so on.
You’ll be reaching for the stars in no time.
We’ll be getting the keys replaced as soon as possible
and we hope you ladies won’t be put off until then.
difficulty by 10, the character may simultaneously do a forwards
or backwards flip.
Difficulty Distance Travelled
10 Movement x 1
20 Movement x 2
40 Movement x 3
80 Movement x 4
X2... Movement x +1...
Sammy the Slimegirl is attempting to jump over a chasm ten
feet wide. She rolls a 32 on her Acrobatics attempt, meaning
she clears the 10 feet easily, flipping in the air and landing lithe-
ly on the other side.
Normally, a character may not exceed the initial jumping dis-
tance without some sort of aid to allow them to move further.
This could include a spear for vaulting on, a chandelier to swing
on or a wall to jump off of. Think ahead and don’t go jumping
into danger.
If you’re combining Acrobatics with the Leap power, simply add
whatever you rolled on Acrobatics to the natural base of thirty
feet Leap grants you. However, it still takes three turns to com-
plete the standard Leap.
Art (Brains)
When your character sits down to create something beautiful,
this is the skill they need. It has dozens of possible specializa-
tions, all of which must be purchased individually, including
painting, sculpting, sketching and song-writing. Song-writing is
especially important for an up-and-coming rock band hoping to
make it big.
Of course, in an age of fabricated music, it can be hard explain-
ing to your manager that you don’t need a songwriter. You’re
probably need a good Melee skill for that sort of thing.
5
Bonesaw (Brains)
If your buddy has the misfortune to get his guts pulled out by
an unholy horror from Hell, you’d better know how to stick them
back in and fast.
If attempting to restore hit points to any living thing, the char-
acter just makes his Bonesaw roll as normal and the amount
he ends up with is the number of hit points restored to his ail-
ing friend. This also stops them from bleeding to death if they
happened to be doing any of that. Making a Bonesaw check in
combat requires one turn.
Bonesaw checks can only be made on a character once per day,
with each use consuming a Medical Kit.
Bow (Flow)
This skill covers the fine art of Archery and all its elegance. After
all, nothing say graceful like jamming a spiked stake into some-
one’s face from a hundred feet away.
Computers (Brains)
Important enough to get its own skill, Computers will be essen-
tial for making sense of these little boxes of blinking lights, as
well as accessing what you need, when you need it, legally or
illegally. Your Computers skill will also be required for piloting
capital-class spaceships, plotting navigational routes and get-
ting their coffee machines to work again after aliens blow you
away. Amazing what you can do with a keyboard, really.
Demolition (Brains)
Need a good party trick? Demolition covers the preparation,
setting and, the best part, detonating of all sorts of explosive
devices, ranging from TNT to semtex. It teaches you everything
you need to know about caring for your bombs and making sure
they go off in just right place.
The standard difficulty for setting a bomb is 10, and takes
between a second and a few minutes based on the explosive.
Any bonus on this roll becomes the difficulty for disarming the
bomb.
Rip Steakface is planting a few blocks of C4. He requires a 10
and rolls a 22, meaning anyone wanting to disarm his bomb will
have to roll a 12 to do so.
Every 1 bonus beyond the difficulty also allows your mad bomber
to double or halve any dimension of the explosion, and doubles
the setting time for each one of these increments. Increasing
the width or height also requires another “charge” of whatever it
is you’re using, so factor in walking time as well. Racing around
the bad dude’s lair planting charges like this is usually the sim-
plest way to take out big installations.
Dodge (Flow)
An essential skill for surviving in a fire fight, Dodge allows your
character to duck out of harm’s way, often at the last possible
moment.
For more information of how dodging works, check out Chapter
5: The Fight.
Disguise (Brains)
The ability to hide yourself in a crowd, or compose elaborate
costumes and voices. The complexity of the disguise deter-
mines the difficulty roll, as well as how long it stays together. As
a rough guide, in difficult, high-stress situations every point the
difficulty check was beaten by means the disguise will stay on
6
for one more hour. Sometimes it could be as little as a few more
minutes, based on what’s happening. Whenever someone tries
to see through the disguise, they make a Notice check opposed
to whatever the character rolled on their disguise check. Suc-
cess allows them to detect that something is wrong, with further
investigation revealing the trickery!
If you’re looking for something a little more heavy-duty, check
out the Powers “Shapeshifter” and “Transformation.”
Drive (Flow)
Your character’s drive skill will determine their ability to do all
the fancy stuff you see in the movies and more besides and it’s
great for picking up chicks, too. Keeping the vehicle going in a
straight line is something any shmuck can do, but consult Chap-
ter 6: Maneuvers if you want to do some dangerous manoeu-
vring or outstrip a pursuer.
When taking the Drive skill, choose a specialization, such as
car, truck or motorbike. Specializations are associated.
Firearms (Flow)
Firearms covers all ranged weapons, separated into the catego-
ries of Pistols, Rifles, Shotguns, Automatics, Crossbows and the
ever popular Heavy. Perfect for the gun-nut in your party, this
skill will get him well on his way to riddling anything he sees full
of holes, see if it doesn’t.
Gun skill specializations are, naturally, associated. Pulling a trig-
ger is something anyone can get the hang of with enough prac-
tice.
Fixing (Brains)
Fixing is what you roll when your robot chum finds himself all
beat up or your PC is on the fritz. It’s used specifically for making
testy electronics do what they’re told and should be rolled when-
ever some bit of stingy machinery needs a lesson in manners.
If attempting to restore hit points to a robot, the character may
roll his Fixing skill as normal and restore the amount rolled. This
costs $10 per Hit Point lost or 50 Character Points worth of
smashed up Robots for each check.
Gambling (Brains)
It’s not all luck. For some, it’s a living.
Every once in a while, you might find yourself sitting down to test
your luck. Whether it be cards, horses, dice or any sort of alien
game, this skill measures your character’s ability to calculate
risks, keep his cool and rake in the cash.
Whenever your character is engaged in a game of skill, he
should make a Gambling check opposed to everyone else in the
game. As a general rule of thumb, if he rolls highest he at least
doubles his starting money and if he rolls lowest he walks away
with anywhere from half to nothing. Anything in the middle will
stay about the same, depending on what sort of people you’re
playing with.
Guts (Soul)
When you’re facing down some horrible space beast or unholy
combination of man and machine, sometimes the last thing
you’re thinking about is where its pressure points are located.
Guts rolls won’t be invoked for seeing any old gangster or beast,
they’re often reserved for the nastiest, most hideous sights in
the galaxy. You’ll have to prepare to face such horrors eventually
and when you do, your Guts will determine if you’re ready or not.
 If a group wishes, they may nominate one member of the group
to make the Guts check, with a +1 on the roll for every addition-
al member of the group. Failure means that all members fail.
Instrument (Flow)
Basic playing of an instrument uses Flow, it’s only when a real
Rock Star gets down to brass tacks that it begins to come off
of other stats. For more information about playing Instruments,
check out Chapter 10: Rocking Out.
Leadership (Brains)
Statistics and figures and detailed battle plans are all well and
good, but sometimes the troops need more. A war can’t be won
without the proper amount of passion and this is where your
character comes in. Entire battles can be decided by morale
and, if that’s the case, victory often goes to the side with the
loudest commander.
When you’re trying to push your troops onward or come up with
an inspirational speech, roll this skill. Go ahead and say what
you need to say, then make a dice roll, with the result being the
number of do-gooders you’ve inspired, granting them a +2 on all
Guts checks they need to make for the next few days, as well as
a +5 on their next check. If it wasn’t obvious, you can only make
one of these checks a day and the bonuses absolutely do not
stack if multiple people are making Leadership checks!
Another use for the Leadership skill is to increase the rolls of
allies. When an ally is making a check, you may choose to roll
Leadership to assist them. Doing this in combat requires the
expenditure of an action as normal.
Leadership Result Ally’s Bonus Dice
5 2d6
10 3d6
15 4d6
20 5d6
+5… +1d6…
Lock Picking (Flow)
If you need to get somewhere in a hurry, sometimes the
law is just going to have to stand aside. For those special
situations, whip out your pocket knife, hairpin or whatev-
er else you have on hand and get to work. The complexity of
the lock and the quality of its construction will determine the
difficulty, but you’d be surprised where this skill can get you with
a little luck.
Melee (Flow)
Melee covers any hand to hand weapon you can find. The cate-
gories covered are Blades, Axes, Brawling (which covers hand to
hand, as well as improvised weapons like chair legs), Pole Arms,
Clubs and Natural, which covers claws, bites and the like. What
this skill represents is your ability to put force into your swing,
how not to leave yourself open wherever you do it and how to
defend yourself when you can.
Melee skills are associated.
Notice (Brains)
This skill might just save your life. A flicker of light, a rattling in
the vents, any of these could be a threat to your person that
would otherwise be easily overlooked. If there’s something
shifty going on in the area that your characters might want to
know about, the Gamemaster can call for a Notice check and,
Associated Skills
Some skills, such as Drive require the character to pick
a specialization, like Car or Motorbike. When you pur-
chase the skill, you need to take your starting specializa-
tion right away, which represents that character’s area of
expertise. Should a character find themselves wanting to
use a different specialization than the one they picked,
they have two choices. They can either pay 10 Character
Points to pick up a new specialization or they can hap-
hazardly attempt to apply their existing knowledge to the
new specialization. What this means in game terms is
that any general knowledge, represented by levels, can
be applied, but specific training goes out the window. In
game terms, you don’t get to apply Bonus on your skill
checks to these rolls.
Oh, and if it’s not clear, Hero Skills for a skill apply to all
its specializations.
Takeshi Burrito has 6d6+10 levels in Melee: Fists.
He wants to take up the sword, so he explains that he
trained with them for a bit, then gets swinging. He will
only roll 6d6, unless he purchases a Melee specialization
in Swords.
on a successful roll, you’ll glean something about what’s going
on. Be careful though, sometimes you really are better off not
knowing.
Olympics (Brawn)
Encompassing all manner of physical trials, Olympics is the
go-to skill for getting all hot and sweaty in the name of competi-
tive busting out. It covers a whole cadre of skills that would be
a totally uninteresting character point investment on their lone-
some, such as lifting, heaving, swimming, climbing, maybe even
a little shot-put here and there.
So let’s look at some specific applications of an Olympics check.
First off, you’re going to see some downright cinematic things
in here, that might not match up with real life, but if you’re not
used to that by now, you will be after taking this skill. First off, if
climbing, you can move a number of feet equal to your Olympics
check every turn.
If lifting something, keep in mind that failure on an Olympics
check will simply mean you’re unable to get the object off the
ground, but the more morally bankrupt Gamemasters can cer-
tainly call for Olympics checks from your friends to get you to
hospital after you put your back out.
When swimming long distance, you must make a difficulty 5
Olympics check every half hour to keep afloat, a difficulty which
rises by 1 for every sustained half hour of swimming. Your
character swims about one kilometre an hour for every level of
Brawn they possess, less levels they’ve lost for failing checks.
Y’see, every time they fail one of these checks, their Brawn
is treated as one level lower than what it really is for making
Olympics checks and determining the distance travelled. And to
make matters worse, once the poor sucker’s failed a number of
checks equal to their Brawn, they begin to drown, too!
The rules on Drowning are printed in Chapter 4: Rules.
Piloting (Flow)
This is only one of two types of piloting. In one you’ll be driving
a ship about two or three times the size of a car, with barely any
armour, in which you sit in a cramped cockpit and yank on a
little stick for all your worth to make the damn crate go the right
way. In the other one, you just push a button.
7
8
This isn’t the one where you push a button. Piloting just about
any fighter-sized ship is the same, as long as you have a few
hours to familiarize yourself with the controls. After that, you’re
good to go.
Pose (Brawn)
A popular skill among anyone who doesn’t actually have any-
thing to back it up with, Pose allows the hero to strike a dra-
matic stance and either flex their muscles or strut their stuff.
An aggressive Pose may be made before combat stars, with all
opponents requiring a Guts check to keep heart in the face of
your awesome character’s macho posturing. You’ll gain a +1 on
your roll for every friend assisting you in the Pose in this way.
For every 20 points you overwhelm them by, all enemies lose 1
action as they freeze in terror. If a character loses more actions
than they have, the losses carry over into the next round. All
Guts checks subtract from your Pose roll, since frightening an
army is a teensy bit harder than a gang of thugs.
The character may add their levels in Ugly to the roll, but they
may have to subtract their levels in Hot, if the GM thinks it would
be a problem. Maybe the bad guys won’t take your 5’4” pistol-
wielding Nun seriously till after she’s filled ‘em full of lead.
If the Pose is alluring, the Poser’s total roll is the number of
people in the local vicinity who are smitten with the character’s
beauty and, for a few seconds at the least, unable to take their
eyes off them. If the character is just keeping them distracted
while her friend robs them blind, or they have some other rea-
son to suspect something is wrong, viewers are granted an
opposed Notice roll to work out what’s going on. Like with an
Aggressive Pose, the character may add their levels in Hot to the
roll and will probably have to subtract their levels of Ugly.
Psychology (Brains)
This is your ability to fit in with those around you and understand
how your fellow human beings think. A necessary skill for surviv-
al in dilettante social circles, Psychology represents the ability to
get inside the head of a person you’ve only just met.
On a successful Psychology roll, you’ll gain an insight into the
character’s body language or what’s on their mind. You might
notice, for example, the specific way they say someone’s name
in disgust or that they avoid your eyes whenever you bring up
a certain topic, like who they work for. You might even notice
the way they constantly bring up a certain type of food or sports
team, paving the way for a strong friendship. How well you roll
will determine how correct your gut feelings are about a particu-
lar tic or mannerism, so feel free to ask your Gamemaster for
clarification, but enjoy working the rest out on your own.
Quick Draw (Speed)
This is the skill you need for getting your weapon out in a hurry.
Depending on a weapon’s size and placement, the difficulty will
vary accordingly. On the flipside, holstering a weapon does not
require an action.
Weapons Difficulty
Pistol 5 character has spent a lot of time on the streets, talking to locals
Short sword 6 and working out what sort of people congregate where. An
Sword 10
Rifle 12
Rocket Launcher 15
Under heavy coat +2
Riding (Flow)
The ability to ride an animal of your choice. Learning to ride a
new animal can take many months of training, depending on
how familiar you are with the species.
Riding is used for any check to do with guiding your animal and
can be substituted for Dodge checks to avoid enemy attacks in
the same way. If a character is riding a mount into melee with
a weapon, they may make a difficulty 12 Riding check to gain 3
bonus dice on their attack.
Some Riding skills are associated, others are not. Grouping by
species type, such as all members of the family Equidae being
one group, is the recommended way to go.
Sleight Of Hand (Flow)
Another illegal skill, Sleight Of Hand is the cheap way of get-
ting what you want. Want to grab the last donut without anyone
noticing? How about taking off with a wallet or two?
It’s a good skill for making an illegitimate living, just don’t get
caught. You’ve got heroics to do, and you can’t do them while
you’re in the slammer.
Sneak (Flow)
The ancient art of sneaking can be all you need when you
need to sneak past the guards to get the loot. It’s also just the
thing for digging up dirt on your enemies and making a stylish
escape when you’re done. Getting past a passive human guard
will generally incur a difficulty of about 4 to 8, whereas if you’re
actively being looked for, your Sneak check will be opposed to
the Notice check of the guards. You can also attempt to conceal
yourself from those seeking you, with success in an opposed
Sneak against Notice check allowing you to settle down and
hide yourself.
Any number of modifiers can apply for terrain and circumstanc-
es, such as visibility, time of day, the ground the character is
sneaking on and the direction the guards are facing. Add every-
thing up to work out the total difficulty or arbitrarily invent one
based on whatever makes the story work best.
Speed Load (Speed)
When you’ve run out of ammo for your piece, you need to spend
a number of actions equal to the weapon’s Reloading Time to
get in back together and firing again. With a successful Speed
Load check against a difficulty of 5, you can reduce the number
of actions required to reload the weapon by 1. For every 5 points
you beat the difficulty by, the number of actions required drops
by 1 again, to a minimum of 0.
Streetwise (Brains)
Need to know where the good bars are? Need to plumb the
locals for information? Need to find the right dark alley to beat
the right words out of the right guy?
There are some things you can’t learn in books and how to be
Streetwise is one of them. If you buy this skill, it means your
invaluable skill for bounty hunters everywhere, especially when
their quarry is close by.
9
Throwing (Flow) such as addictions, lost limbs or rivals do not grant extra Char-
acter Points.
Throwing determines how well and how far you can throw the
object of your choice. As a rough guide, for a grenade-sized Following the regular Powers and Weaknesses, are Weird Pow-
object (what a surprise!), range increments are equal to your ers and Weird Weaknesses. They either allow completely inhu-
character’s Brawn score. Ideal for tossing unwanted grenades man abilities or may not be appropriate to your campaign style.
and knives toward where they’ll be more use. You’ll need your Gamemaster’s permission before you take
these.
Toughness (Brawn) And after that, you come to the Special Moves. These are used
during combat to give your character a bit of an advantage and
Toughness is rolled whenever you need to push your body to the they’re all absolutely great. They’re bought just like Powers,
limit. Maybe you’ve been hiking through the desert and the sun except some of them have an activation cost, which is subtract-
is starting to get to you or your body needs to combat a poison, ed from a character’s to hit roll, as the character musters the
but either way, it can often mean the difference between life focus of spirit to use the ability.
and death.
All the super important stuff Toughness does is covered up Powers
“Healing and Recuperation” in Chapter 5, but the most impor- Ambush 10
tant thing is that once every night you get to restore a number of
lost HP equal to a Toughness roll. Ancient Chinese Proverb 1
Cyborg 10
Track (Brains) Dramatic Appearance 10
Extra Tough 1 per level
Streetwise is about hitting up the locals and asking questions Finesse 15 per level
to find what you’re looking for. Track is a much more natural Giant Slayer 15
approach.
Henchmen 4 per Henchman
In short, tracking is the art of looking for disturbed ground or Hot 1-10
finding old cigarettes of the brand you know your quarry smokes. Mecha Pilot 15
It’s a very precise art that can go wrong at any minute, but a pro-
fessional will know to keep a cool head in difficult times. Due to Movie Magic 10
the nature of this art, there are lots of things that can go wrong Props Varies
and your Gamemaster should take into account how old the Robot 15
tracks are, whether it’s rained recently and a variety of other Rock Star 10
modifiers that will determine the difficulty of the check.
Runner 1 per level
Sidekick 30
Voice (Soul)
Stunt Scale 50/80/100
Voice is something not easy to measure, but it gauges your char- Tempest 8
acter’s sweetness or strength of their vocal ability and how easy Trooper 1-10
they are on the ear. People who cultivate good voices are more Universal Translator 4
than capable of earning a living performing or joining a band.
For more information on Voice, check out Chapter 10: Rocking
Out. Ambush (10)

Step 5: Powers and Weaknesses
The next step in making your character is using Character Points
to buy Powers and, when you run out, getting more points by
buying Weaknesses.
Unlike some other roleplaying games we could mention, we real-
ize that all characters be individuals--it’s not as cool to make an
awesome primal warrior if he’s exactly the same as every other
primal warrior. Everyone has a few unique traits that make them
special and sometimes it just can’t be expressed with stats.
We especially encourage making up your own Powers and
Weaknesses to refine your character; as the ones listed in this
book are only the absolute basics for amping up your character
and toning them down. If you think of a Power or Weakness we
haven’t listed that you’d like to use, discuss it with your Game-
master and see what you can come up with.
Each Power has a point cost that is deducted from your unspent
CP, while every Weakness has a negative point cost, which is, in
turn, added to your total remaining CP. Some Powers and Weak-
nesses, such as Armoured, cost more as you increase their
level. If you wish to buy more of these later on in the game, you
only pay the difference in levels, not the full amount each time.
The limit on the number of each you can buy is entirely up to the
Gamemaster. Weaknesses incurred after Character Creation,
You’re quick on your feet with this Power. At the start of any
combat you may, entirely for free, shift one of your actions to a
6. Just the thing for sneaking up on people.
Ancient Chinese Proverb (1)
Confucius say this very good power.
Whenever the PC’s are in a jam, they turn to you. Spend an Awe-
some Point and the GM will pass your character a note with a
hint or tip of some sort about the current situation, which can
be useful or as useless as he likes. You must then either keep
it to yourself or spend another Awesome Point to tell the other
PC’s. However, should you be able to pass the newfound
of as some sort of ancient family wisdom or tribal lore, you get
away completely free and don’t have to pay a second point.
Haiku, limericks and horrible word plays are all acceptable.
Cyborg (10)
You’ll get the best of both worlds with this Power. Your charac-
ter’s a Cyborg with a couple of the benefits of being a robot, yet
he gets to hold on to his immortal Soul. Fancy a pair of heavy-
lifting cyber-arms or a mechanical targeter that’ll make you
never miss another shot? Check out Chapter 7: Metal Men for
the details.

10
Dramatic Appearance (10) Hot (1-10)

During a scene in which the Player Character is not present,
they may opt to spend an Awesome Point to burst through the
nearest door or window or other entrance that suits the situa-
tion, regardless of current distance, with the maximum amount
of grace and pompadour allowable. It helps if they shout a lot,
too. When the character enters, everyone in the room must
make a Surprise check against a difficulty of 10, otherwise the
character gets free reign of the place for the next combat round.
Extra Tough (1 per level)
Violence isn’t always the answer to your problems. Sometimes a
nice rack and a head of soft, silky hair can get things done a lot
faster than even a thousand armed men. Hot determines how
physically attractive your character is, with 1 level making them
kind of cute and 10 giving them the looks of a bronzed god or
goddess. It’ll be enough to change people’s initial response of
you and maybe even make you some new friends, but, in a lot
of cases, the charm wears off after a while and then you’re on
your own. Still, a few hours is all some people need to get what
they want.

The toughest fighters get used to getting banged up a lot, so it’s Mecha Pilot (15)
not unusual for a guy to take much more of a beating than he
looks like he’s up for. For every level of Extra Tough purchased, If you take this Power it means your character has had a small
your character gains 5 Hit Points. Extra Hit Points gained in this computer chip implanted into his brain that, as well as slightly
way are not adjusted by other Powers such as Giant, Tiny or Evil increasing his ability to do basic mathematics, allows him to
Construct. interface with your standard mecha cockpit directly. The con-
trol design requires cables to enter straight into the character’s
brain and, if the necessary ports haven’t already been set up
Finesse (15 per level) in your head, the mecha’s internal computers will usually make
them on the spot.
Feel the need to flourish your sword through the air like a baton
and have your enemies around you drop to the ground? It’s just You don’t want that, trust us. So get smart. Get Mecha Pilot.
a step away with a couple of levels of Finesse. For every level of
this fine Power taken, you gain an extra level of Handling for use The end result of all this tomfoolery is that the character is able
with all weapons. Handling is covered in greater detail in Chap- to pilot giant robots fluidly and can move it around as if it were
ter 5: The Fight. an attachment of his body. He can run, jump, strafe and any-
thing else he needs to do and, unable regular pilots, he is able
to perform Stunts like an ordinary character while driving his
Giant Slayer (15) giant robot.
David and Goliath. Jason and the Hydra. Popeye and Bluto.
Throughout history, there are numerous records of men felling
incredible beasts of outrageous power and size and your char-
acter is a tough son of a bitch who’s been doing it for as long
as he can remember. In his travels he’s learnt a lot of tricks for
slaying these monsters, which you can now take full advantage
of. For more information on Giant Slaying, check out Chapter 6:
Maneuvers.

Henchmen (4 per Henchman)

Nobody with the word “Hench” in their job description ever sur-
vives. Henchmen are not reliable in any way, shape or form.
However, what they are is loyal.
Any Henchmen your character gets will come into play with 2
levels in all Stats and 2 levels in whatever skills the character
has. They function just like Mooks, which you can read about in
Chapter 11: Gamemastering, but the gist of it is that they don’t
get Awesome Points or extra Character Points and they won’t
ever Stunt. Ask your GM for details. Also, any fighting they do
will be done very grudgingly. On the other hand, they certainly
don’t mind hard labour and can really help the characters out
in a jam, completing just about any old dreary task that can be
dreamt up for them. If there’s one thing a Henchman loves, it’s
boredom.
In some cases these guys will be happy to work free, but will
otherwise demand a salary based on local currency that should
be discussed with the Gamemaster. And speaking of which, if a
Henchmen dies, the character points spent on him are returned
to the character right away. After all, you can get henchmen with
cash the normal way, but the ones granted by this power are
supposed to be special freebies. Character Points are far more
valuable than money, after all!

11
Movie Magic (10)
Film characters don’t have to eat, drink, go to the toilet and they
always kill the Nazis and get the girl, all while keeping perfect
hair. Why wouldn’t you want to be like that? For dozens of new
movie-themed abilities check out Chapter 9.
Props (Varies)
Sometimes a little green can go a long way. Saw something in
one of the Props tables you liked, but didn’t quite have the cash
to make it yours?
During character creation, you start with a hundred bucks,
which, we’ll be frank, is just to get you out of the shop and into
the violence faster. Sometimes you need more and this is where
the Props power comes into play.
For every level of Props you take you gain $5000 in starting
money. This money is on loan, usually from some pretty shady
characters, and must eventually be repaid. If, during the course
of the game, the character can put together $25,000, they can
choose to pay off part of their debt and regain 1 of the Charac-
ter Points spent on the Props power. The gradual increase in
Power allows them to eventually return to their original status as
a fully fledged PC, but it means they don’t have to wait till well
into the campaign to get whatever nonsense gizmo they need
for their “build.”
The alternative to this is to choose an employer who your char-
acter performs missions for. This will normally be a very wealthy
group that your character acts in the interests of. This is suit-
able for any game where your party are in ongoing employment,
such as soldiers in the army or mafia goons. Every level of Props
purchased in this way grants them access to $5000 of this com-
pany’s equipment, which may be used as they desire. At the
start of every new month, this equipment is “refreshed” with
spent ammunition replaced, damage to vehicles repaired and
horses stabled. This isn’t a representation of your character’s
wages, rather, the kind of employer who gives you giant death
machines and huge freighters is the kind who pays you on a
mission by mission basis. How much you get for a wage is up to
your Gamemaster.
Characters may attempt to renegotiate their allowance with the
benefactor, spending or regaining Character Points as their glib-
ness permits. If the character’s employment with their benefac-
tor ends, the property ceases to be theirs and they can have
the lost Character Points back. If they take it with them anyway,
we direct you to the Rival Weakness, as they gain a number of
levels of Rival equal to the number of Props they previously had.
Have fun with that, cowboy.
Pony the Giant Robot Pilot takes 45 Points of Props, giving
him $225,000 to play around with every month. He spends
$200,000 on his Giant Robot, which means he has $25,000 a
month to spend on ammunition and food. If his Giant Robot is
ever destroyed, his benefactor will provided him with a new one
at the start of the month.
Robot (15)
Exterminate! Exterminate! Your character’s a metal man first
class, with a robotic heart and a computerized brain. You can
find out all about playing a mechanical in Chapter 7: Metal Men.
Rock Star (10)
Chapter 2, huh? Well, hey, each to his own, right? If you do
decide any time soon, though, that you want to crank it up and
experience the ultimate thrill, we’ll be waiting for you in the ulti-
mate arena Chapter 10: Rocking Out.
12
Runner (1 per level)
You’ll always be first in line for lunch with this Power. For
every level of Runner your character takes, your Movement is
increased by 1. Runner levels are added to Movement before it
has been adjusted for size.
Sidekick (30)
You’ve got a buddy who’s constantly by your side, through thick
and thin. Unlike a regular henchman, your Sidekick is someone
who’ll always be at your side and is moderately skilled as well.
Wh en building a Sidekick, you have 80 Character Points to
spend on them, but they should never be better than your char-
acter, or else you’ll find yourself taking orders from them. They
don’t get their own AP Pool, but they do share yours.
In the event of your Sidekick’s death, they won’t be replaced.
Instead, the points are returned to your character, who must
immediately spend them on whatever will help them avenge
their lost friend’s death. Kneeling over their dead body and
screaming their name is a pretty decent way to get free AP, too.
Stunt Scale (50, 80, 100)
For most forms of life, six actions per turn is the absolute maxi-
mum allowed. Any faster and things start to get a little tricky.
However, with exceptional training, drugs, or maybe just a little
bit of magical oomph, some people can go even faster. For
every level of this Power bought, the character is able to make
Speed dice explode one time, effectively “unlocking” an entire
new round! Dice that explode go onto a new set of six numbers,
allowing the character to effectively spread her speed dice over
the course of far more actions than would normally be possi-
ble. Dice that explode are also retained, effectively granting the
character a new Speed dice to be rolled on the higher tier.
Space Dracula has taken two levels of Stunt Scale, allowing his
Speed dice to explode twice. He rolls his 15d6 Speed, getting 1,
1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6 and 6. He rerolls his sixes, get-
ting 2, 4 and 6. He then rerolls that 6, getting a 3.
Space Dracula will act on the numbers 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4,
3, 2 and 1. Any PC’s who are still alive after his first few actions
will act on 6 as normal.
Tempest (8 per element type)
A Tempest is a character who uses the raw elements them-
selves in their attacks. Tempests can make tidal waves, throw
balls of lightning from their hands or set their own fists on fire
before going toe to toe with their enemies. Tempest abilities are
powered by the character’s Soul stat, so make sure you have a
high Soul if you’re thinking of playing one. More information on
Tempests can be found in Chapter 8: Tempests.
Trooper (1-10)
You’re a fighting man. You haven’t finished your tour of duty yet
but, for some reason, you’ve been given a special assignment.
The character has been ordered to find a rag-tag group of nut-
ters and keep up with them, helping them investigate criminal
activity and keep their noses clean.
Why? No idea!
Anyway, the level of this Power taken determines how many
executive perks the soldier gets. At level 1, he’s a lowly Private
who might be able to get some help in the field if he asks really,
really nicely and at level 10, he’s a full-fledged Captain, Grand
Marshall or similar, with his own base of operations and at least
a hundred soldiers under his command. Does this make the
13
character unstoppable, able to bring to bear enormous power Code of Honour (1-5)
at a moment’s notice? Hardly. He still has to report to his supe-
riors and while he could theoretically explain to them he’d taken Characters who take Code of Honour have taken it upon them-
a battleship or two on a joyride and blasted some drug smug- selves to live every day by a set of laws of their choosing. These
glers into their component atoms, you can believe us when we laws are either personal beliefs or enforced tenets, but they
say that by the time his commanding officers are done with him, were forged in the character’s upbringing and almost impos-
he’ll be glad he’s going to be executed. sible to break.
In the event that the GM considers a character to have broken
Universal Translator (2) their Code of Honour, he may make them buy off the Weakness
entirely, spending their Experience Points.
When you’re in a galaxy far, far away, you’d better know how to
order a stiff drink. The severity of these laws is up to the character, but determines
the cost. Always helping little old ladies across the road would
When you buy Universal Translator, if gives your character a bit rank as a 1, while the kind of guy who guts himself if he fails his
of a knack when it comes to speaking to the locals. He waves master would probably be a nice, solid 5.
his arms, he shouts, he talks really, really slowly, all the usual
things tourists do when they have no idea who or what these
locals are but, somehow, he actually gets his point across! You Damsel In Distress (5)
can learn the basics of any language in about five minutes, but
you’ll have forgotten most of it by lunchtime. Villains can’t resist a good damsel and, in defeated in combat,
they are far more likely to take you prisoner than kill you out-
right. On the other hand, however, some villains seek you out
Weaknesses just because you’re a damsel, intent on kidnapping you. Some-
times it can be hard to be a pretty girl!
Addiction 1-10
Angry 4
Code of Honour 1-5 Damn Crazy (1-10)
Damn Crazy 1-10
Your character has lived their life with a delusion that makes
Damsel in Distress 5 living their life more difficult than it ought to be. Maybe they’ve
Duty 1-10 got kleptomaniac tendencies or they change personalities every
Haughty 3 other day. Whatever it is, your character’s going to have a hard
Heavy Sleeper 2 time interacting with those around them.
Illiterate 3
Innocent 2 Generally, the less capable the character’s homeland is of deal-
ing with the mentally ill, the more expensive the Weakness
Mute 6 should be. Discuss the possibilities with your Gamemaster to
Nautical Mishap 4 per mishap get the full scoop.
Obsessive-Compulsive 1/4/8/15
Overconfident 5
Haughty (2)
Pacifist 4
Prudish 1 Rich living can change a person for life. Not a problem if you’re
Rival 1-10 hobnobbing at balls and socials all the time, but when you’re
Selfish 2 knee-deep in sludge trying to get after the Dreadful Death
Sexpot 5 Beast of Symphon, a lecture on the difference between a soup
Short 4 spoon and a tea spoon might grate on your companion’s nerves.
Slowpoke 1 per level You’re a difficult person to deal with and there’s nothing you can
do about it. You’re at –4 on Psychology rolls to deal with your
Stressed 3 common as much inferiors.
Stubborn 4
Tech Scared 1
Ugly 1-10 Heavy Sleeper (2)

Your character will often sleep late into the morning, missing out
Addiction (1-5) on that proverbial best part of the day. Oh the horror!

Your character has a habit they can’t kick. Maybe they’ve
indulged in the high life and now they can’t get used to the idea
of living in a sleeping bag, or maybe they just smoke two packs a
day and don’t know how to stop. Either way, for every day they’re
deprived, they’re at a cumulative –1 to all rolls. This penalty can
be negated for one day by spending an Awesome Point, with the
Gamemaster’s permission.
To determine the cost of your Addiction, discuss it with your
Gamemaster.
Angry (4)
On the actual downside, while they might be better rested, they
require a difficulty 10 Notice check to wake up when they’re in
danger. Otherwise, the devil himself won’t wake the poor bas-
tard up.
Illiterate (3)
Your character has never been taught how to read. For a lot of
people eking out a living in Medieval England, this isn’t really
a problem, but if you’re planning on adventuring in a civilized
area, you’ll discover pretty quickly just how bothersome not
knowing what street signs are saying can be.

Your character is quick to anger and has a hard time keeping
their temper. In a situation where they would have to keep a cool
head, or the enemy are barbing them, it’s very difficult for your
character to keep control. These sorts of characters are good for
getting the party into all sorts of trouble.
Innocent (2)
Your character was raised by nice, loving parents. Maybe a lit-
tle too nice, though, since you’ve been sheltered from some of
the greater horrors of life. Boy, are you in for a shock! Innocent

14
characters don’t know a lot about the world and they’ll often
assume the best things about people, even when said folk ship-
ping them off to the salt mines.

Tech Scared (1)

Technology? Who needs technology? We do things just like my

daddy did and we’re better for it!
A Tech Scared character refuses to acclimate to new ideas and
methods, instead sticking to what’s tried and true. Normally this
isn’t too much of a problem. Normally. Not that you’ll find your
adventures normal when your spaceship is spiralling into a sun-
spot because your Amish friend refused to take piloting classes.

Mute (6)

Your lips are zipped. You’re a quiet guy. You don’t speak. A mute
may only communicate with sign language, grunts and moans
or whatever other methods they can devise in a pinch. Don’t
expect to be the life of the party with this Weakness.

Nautical Mishap (4 per mishap)

While at sea, or otherwise indisposed, your character had a ter-

rible accident which resulted in the loss of one or more of their
limbs. If they’ve lost one leg, reduce their Movement before size
modifiers by 10. If they’ve lost both legs, reduce their Movement
before size modifiers to 2.
Characters missing an arm, rather unsurprisingly, cannot use it.

Obsessive-Compulsive (1/4/8/15)
This weakness is divided into four levels, based on the severity.
If you buy the one point weakness, your character will always be
quietly rearranging their property and fiddling with things.
If you take the four point weakness, they fiddle with other peo-
ple’s things. Sometimes they don’t return them.
If you take the eight point version, your character messes
around with people. He likes rearranging their lives for them.
You can imagine the implications.
Finally, when you get the fifteen point version, your character is
the sort of person who rearranges countries, nothing short of a
revolutionary. Characters like Adolf Hitler and Karl Marx are the
order of the day here.
and similar. This could be because they’re not technically alive,
or because they’re just that much more awesome to punch!
Rival (1-10)
Somewhere, someone has a score to settle with you. At some
point during your character’s past, they made one heck of an
enemy and now that dude is back to settle the score.
To determine the cost of a Rival, you should take into account
a few things, like the amount of resources they have to draw on
and how frequently you intend to include them in the game, not
to mention how powerful they are. Some possible adjustments
are available below.

Rival knows character’s +1

Overconfident (5) location
You’re going to have fun with this one. There’s no mountain too Rival owns a large corporation +1
tall to climb, no army too big to fight and no noose too small or controls a private army
to fit your head through. Nothing can stop your character and Rival is unable to be killed +1
you’re going to be demonstrating it a lot in the days, or possibly without a special weapon
minutes, to come.
Rival is unable to be killed +2
On the upside, you get a +2 bonus to Guts checks. Enjoy. under any circumstances
Rival will not attack other -1
Pacifist (4) player characters
Rival does not wish to kill the character, -2
Your character will never kill another. And yes, a pacifist is usu- only discredit
ally someone who doesn’t believe in violence, but in most Awe-
some System games, violence is unavoidable, so there doesn’t
seem to be much point in including a more serious version. We Selfish (2)
salute your altruism, though. Now go beat some heads, gently.
You’ve always looked out for Number One your whole life and, as
Also, some Gamemasters might beg to differ here, and they’re long as you draw breath, that ain’t changing. Other people are
more than welcome to, but you typically don’t need to uphold there for your amusement, their possessions doubly so.
pacifistic virtues against things like robots, skeletons, demons
While this Weakness does not give a definite penalty, players
who take it for their characters are encouraged to look out for

15
themselves at every turn and only serve the group if it’s in their Duty (1-10)
interests.
Some bear a heavy burden.
Sexpot (5) A character with a Duty has a goal he must achieve at any cost.
It is the driving force that propels him out of bed into the morn-
Before humanity evolved for their ape ancestors, it was consid- ing and pushes him onwards and upwards in every aspect of
ered perfectly fair game to mate in public with as many partners life. It will prey on him as long as his feet touch the earth.
as possible. Obviously, someone never quite made it past that
stage. A 1 point Job could be something as simple as giving a priestly
sermon every Sunday, while a 10 point Duty might be to become
Your character is sex mad, so much so that they’re almost a King. Another 10 point Duty might be to sneak up behind a
always thinking about it or how to get it. It can be a real obstruc- king and slit his throat. People with duties are always getting in
tion to their personal life, too, with appropriate penalties (or each other’s ways like this.
bonuses!) applied in certain social circumstances. And, most of
the time, you can forget making Psychology checks on the sex of
your desire to guess their motivations. You know what they want Ugly (1-10)
and you’re the one to give it to them.
Your character fell out of the Ugly Tree when they were born,
The real penalty, though, is that if your character is offered sex, hit every Ugly branch and stopped their fall by landing in some
they will almost never turn it down. Just hope you can defend Ugly Bushes. For every level of Ugly you purchase, your charac-
yourself with your newfound lover tossing all your possessions ter becomes more physically repulsive, with just 1 level being
out the window. maybe a big old boil right in the middle of your nose and 10
points being Ye Liveliest Awfulness. People will go out of their
way to avoid you and probably make assumptions about you
Short (4) based on your looks. At least you know the friends you do make
will be sticking around, right?
The character is exceptionally short, about three or four feet
tall. They get a +1 bonus to hitting people larger than them and
people attacking them are at –1 to hit, but their reduced size Weird Powers
means their movement is two-thirds normal and weapons count
as being one size category higher when a Short character tries Amphibious 3
to use them. A Short character’s Brawn may not be their highest Armoured 20/50/100/200
stat. Chomp 5
The character also gains a +2 bonus to any Sneak checks. Claws 3
Colossus 120
Slowpoke (1 per level) Evil Construct 15
Extra Limbs 6
Your character has always been a little slow on the draw. For Flight 10/20/50
every level of the Slowpoke Weakness your character takes, Giant 40
your Movement is reduced by 1. Iron Grip 8
Horns 3
Slowpoke levels are subtracted from Movement before you
apply multipliers. Leap 15
Nightvision 2
Quadruped 3
Stressed (3) Regeneration 20
our character has a hard time keeping a hold of themselves and Scent 5
finds themselves constantly fretting over imagined problems Shapeshifter 20
and possibilities. Normally they can function just fine, but when Tail 4
they run out of Awesome Points, all hope is lost. Transformation 20
A Stressed character with no Awesome Points will be extremely
antisocial. Maybe they’ll stay in bed and refuse to come out or Amphibious (3)
just curl up into a foetal ball on the floor and suck their thumb.
Either way, they can’t function normally again until they’ve Amphibious means your character is able to sustain himself
either got some AP back or whatever it is that’s upsetting them underwater, for whatever reasons, and the idea doesn’t daunt
has gone away. him like his fellows.
We thought about including a Power for characters who can only
Stubborn (4) breathe underwater, but that didn’t seem like a lot of fun, so
with this ability, you can get around on land and in the water. It’ll
A stubborn character is as pigheaded as can be. They’ll always be a cold day in Hell before we condone stopping party mem-
want to do things their way, even if they’re wrong and they’ll dig bers from meeting up with the threat of death, so if you do feel
their heels in till other people see how right they are. like running an underwater game, just let everyone start with
water breathing. Humans don’t have to pay points to breathe
When playing a stubborn character, be careful not to take it too air, right?
far. If the rest of the party need your skills and you refuse to
give them, their characters might get hurt later on. A Stubborn
character may be open to bribery or emotional hooks, which the
other characters should feel free to exploit.

16

Armoured (Increments)
Your character has a sturdy layer of shielding all over his body
as part of a natural defence system. It could be spiny plates or
matted fur or any similar sort of thing, but the important part is
that it keeps bullets out and intestines in, where they belong.
Armour Cost
10 20
25 50
50 100
100 200
Armour is always on and does not need to be activated. Called
shots to the eye will always ignore natural armour.
Chomp (5)
This Power is for characters who want to upgrade their chomp-
ers. For 5 Character Points, you’ll get an especially sharp set of
teeth, doing 4 points of damage plus Brawn. Chomps have a
Handling of 2 and a Stunt Level of Unlimited.
A character can choose to take it a step further, giving them-
selves a big pair of fangs for an extra Character Point. This
increases the damage by 1, but your character will count as hav-
ing two levels of Ugly when the fangs are visible.
Claws (3)
Your character has a pair of claws on their hands ranging from
one to six inches long. They do 2 points of damage plus Brawn,
have a Handling of 3 and Stunt Level of Unlimited.
As an added bonus, the claws can be made retractable for an
extra 2 CP. Bringing them out or putting them away is completely
free!
Colossus (120)
Brawn 1 dead. It’s in their nature.
Flow 24
Speed 12
Colossus Adjustment
Hit Points 100 per Brawn
Movement Multiply by 12!
Sneak -50
Ranged Attacks vs. Humans -20
Your character is the stuff of legend, his height reaching to the
very heaven’s themselves. You are between 50 and 500 feet
tall, if not more.
When buying Brawn, the cost is 1 point per level. Because
you’re just so darn big, you also get 100 Hit Points per level of
Brawn, instead of the usual 20! Flipside? The cost of Speed is
twice normal, since you’ll find yourself just plain slow to react to
the world around you and, even worse, the cost of Flow is four
times the normal amount of points per level, since gracefulness
is the next the thing out the window.
You’ll find your incredible size makes getting around a whole lot
easier, though, making Movement twelve times normal!
All ranged attacks directed at them by human sized opponents
are at +20 to hit and they suffer a -20 penalty to ranged attacks
made against human sized opponents. Ranged attacks made
by Giants have a +6 bonus and -6 penalty against them, just like
with normal sized characters attacking Giants.
Colossal-sized weapons count as normal-sized for the character.
The character suffers a –50 penalty to any Sneak checks.
Evil Construct (15)
Your character is a dark and soulless abomination, a dark
desire given life, that feeds upon the living and dwells in dark-
ness! Pretty neat, huh?
This can take the form of a demon, devil, undead, homunculi
or some other dark thing made to harm the world. That’s some
major awesome right there and we haven’t even gotten to the
bonuses. Appropriate for almost any setting, you’ll have no
trouble cooking up excuses for making corpses walk, vampires
stalk the night and demons scour the land, so if one of your
PC’s wants to try it, why not let him? They’re fun for a change of
pace and get a bevy of weird abilities that really set them apart.
First of all, Evil Constructs are incredibly hardy and get twice
as many Hit Points as normal. Their bodies are damaged in the
same way as the living, but they are almost completely unaf-
fected by it. On the downside, all Evil Constructs have a source
of power, usually their head or their heart, that takes double
damage when attacks are dealt to it. This is called a Focus. Con-
structs can get around this by removing their Focus part or seal-
ing it away, but this reduces their power significantly. In game
terms, treat them like a Mook.
Now, while an Evil Construct may be harder to kill, this also
makes it harder for them to restore health. Whenever the Evil
Construct is running low on HP, they must find a living being and
incapacitate them somehow. Once disabled, the Construct can
drink their target’s blood, exhume their spirit or just chow down
like old times. Feeding on life force in this way regains the Con-
struct 10 Hit Points per minute of feeding and costs the victim
1 level of Soul. The poor suckers who have their Soul drained
like this will either die or go mad at 0 Soul, but if they’re lucky
enough to survive, they can regain Soul at the rate of 1 point per
week of bed rest. Characters killed by this often rise from the
dead as zombies afterwards. Rock Stars always rise from the
Finally, being an Evil Construct opens new possibilities to your
character. This is represented by the removal of the Soul stat
and its replacement with the Void stat. Void is a requirement
for some abilities in the game and is the divider between your
character and the living.
Extra Limbs (6)
Your character may have a number of extra arms (or feet, we
suppose) of your choosing, allowing you to wield more than two
weapons. For more information on multiple weapon fighting,
consult the Handling rules in Chapter 5: The Fight.
Flight (10, 20, 50)
A character with Flight is able to fly freely. How well depends on
the level purchased.
Flight Top Speed Take-off Turning
Basic 4xMove 4 Turns 30
Skilled 5xMove 1 Turn 90
Expert 8xMove Instant Any
17
 Next bonus along, you’ll find those long legs of yours make get-
ting around easier, too, and Movement is four times normal.
Ranged attacks directed at a Giant by human sized opponents
are at +6 to hit and they suffer a -6 penalty to ranged attacks
made against human sized opponents.
The character may use giant-sized weapons as if they were
medium. They also suffer a –15 penalty to any Sneak checks.

Horns (3)

Your character has a sharp pair of horns on their head, which

can be used for stabbing or maiming. They do Brawn+6 damage
and have a Handling of 0 and a Stunt Level of Unlimited.
Horns can be designated as a secondary attack.

Iron Grip (8)

When a character takes Iron Grip, they must specify a natural

attack it applies to, such as Claws, Bite or a Horns attack. When
grappling, it is not necessary for a grappler with Iron Grip to
spend actions to oppose escape attempts. Instead, they oppose
automatically

Leap (15)

If you need to get somewhere in a hurry, this Power is definitely

Top speed is the maximum attainable speed, using a multiple
of unadjusted Movement. Take-off is the duration of the action
necessary to become airborne. It takes twice this long to reach
Top Speed. Turning is the maximum number of degrees the
character can turn in a single combat Turn.
Complicated manoeuvres, such as flying through trees or stay-
ing airborne after taking a powerful blow will require a Flight
check to be made. Write this skill in under Flow.
For an additional 30 CP, the character is able to fly through
space at 4 times their Top Speed.
Giant (40)
Brawn 3 or a cracked wall. Flat surfaces require the character to actually
Flow 12
Giant Adjustment
Hit Point 50 per Brawn
Movement Multiply by 4!
Sneak -15
Ranged Attacks vs. -6
Humans
Your character is absolutely enormous, as much as 15 to 50
feet tall. This grants the following quirks:
First of all, since you’re a big guy and you’ve got a lot of strength
to swing around, so Brawn is only 3 points per level. To make
you even more monstrous, you get 50 Hit Points per level of
Brawn, instead of 20! The drawback is that you have trouble
keeping up with others due to your extra weight, so the cost of
Flow is doubled.
the way to go. And you’ll be getting a fabulous view of the coun-
tryside while you’re at it.
A character with Leap may, at any time, elect to launch himself
into the air for an incredible long distance jump. The distance of
their jump is equal to the character’s height multiplied by five!
If the jump is low to the ground, it’s over and done with in one
action, with time for an attack, too! You’ll get a +2 bonus for the
speed you hit at, but you’d better not miss or you’ll go flying right
past them. Characters with this Power are also immune to fall-
ing damage.
Another way to use the Power is to jump almost straight
upwards, which allows your character to make a devastating
attack. The Leap takes three sequential turns to complete, from
leaving the ground to landing again, during which time your
character is almost defenceless.
Hikari the violent policewoman leapt into the air of turn 5. She
will come down on turn 2, regardless of when her actions occur.
If you want to try to grab something to stop yourself, you have to
succeed at a difficulty 8 Olympics check. This assumes whatever
you’re grabbing is fairly easy to get to grips with, like a flagpole
make purchased and the difficulty for that goes up to 20.
While you’re in “hang-time” you’re at –6 to all actions (with the
exception of Pose and Olympics) and all attacks made against
you are at –2. Naturally, this is a good set-up for a devastat-
ing attack and anything you come crashing down will suffer like
they’ve never suffered before! A successful hit when you land
means the Brawn part of your damage is doubled for the incred-
ible force you hit at.
If you’re using Leap for a Sneak Attack, you get a +2 to your
Sneak check to avoid being detected.
Nightvision (4)
As the name suggests, this Power allows your character to see
at night, ignoring the usual –6 penalty for actions requiring
sight.

18
Your character is more sensitive to bright lights, however, and is
at –2 in any situations involving a powerful light or glare.
Quadruped (3)
Your character stands on four (or more) legs instead of two.
Maybe they’re an intelligent animal of some sort, or a partic-
ularly savage human, but whatever the case, their Movement
doubles. The character may stand for only a few actions at a
time and is unable to use weapons that would require the use
of their hands.
Needless to say, a character with this Power will draw odd looks
in populated areas.
Regeneration (20)
Your character possesses supernatural levels of healing, able to
recover from incredible levels of bodily injury in moments and
grow back lost limbs. In combat this makes you one serious con-
tender, since if your opponents don’t finish you, you’ll be coming
back for them.
When injured, your character is able to make a Healing check
once every six hours, instead of the regular once per day for
other characters. Simply roll your Toughness and regain that
many Hit Points. Sometimes this healing isn’t fast enough,
though, and you need those HP right now. You may elect to
spend one Awesome Point to recuperate right then, rolling your
character’s Toughness as normal and recovering the amount of
Hit Points rolled. If done during combat, this does not consume
actions and may be done at any time.
If a character wishes, instead of regaining Hit Points, they may
regenerate lost limbs. A Toughness roll of 60 will regenerate one
lost limb, hand, foot or eye, while a Toughness roll of 120 may
regenerate a lost head.
Finally, because of their propensity for coming back long after
death, a character with Regeneration does not die as long as
they have at least 1 Awesome Point remaining. Upon reaching
–40 Hit Points, however, they must spend as many Awesome
Points are necessary to get above this amount or they expire
just like any other sap as their brain stutters and their heart
shuts down.
Scent (5)
Taking this Power will give your character an incredibly sensi-
tive sense of smell that allows them to make additional Notice
checks. Normally, a character may only make a Notice check to
determine if they could hear, or see, an important detail, but
with this Power they can also detect scents, such as the fear
on an enemy, or the overwhelming stench of a valuable clue,
transforming their nose into another valuable weapon in their
arsenal.
Shapeshifter (20)
The character has, quite simply, an amorphous physiology. Most
people go through life set in a form that will only grow up or
down or out. A Shapeshifter can grow in all of those directions,
as well as inside out and upside down.
In their most commonly used forms, Shapeshifters are often
plain, uninteresting looking people. Their basic appearance can
shift with their concentration, while more complex shapes are
moulded over time, like clay. When a new shape is first formed it
will often only have the outline down, filling out details over the
next few weeks or months. Any form the Shapeshifter takes will
no doubt pass casual scrutiny, but more complicated checks will
require the character to make an Art: Sculpture check opposed
to the onlooker’s Notice. If the character disguises themselves
as a famous politician, for example, everyone will recognize
them with ease, but getting the voice or the thumbprint just
right can take hours of careful, painstaking work.
Whenever a new form is taken, the character must make an Art:
Sculpture check, compared to the table below.
Copy the shape and skin tone of the tar- 3
get perfectly
Assure that all internal organs are in the 5
right place and function
Emulate another’s voice 8
Emulate another’s fingerprint 15
Create accurate clothing from scratch 20
At this level the copy can be identical to 30
another in every way. Only old friends or
a full computer check up could tell the
difference
The character may spend time making further checks, as many
times as they like. The new result always supplants the previ-
ous, since restarting a masterpiece involves tossing the previ-
ous one at the wall. When taking new forms the character must
be humanoid and not exceed more than six feet or less than two
feet in height.
Another use of Shapeshifter powers is to make something
entirely new, which is a bit more complicated. For example, if
they want to make themselves a set of hooks for climbing, or
fins for swimming, they may attempt a Sculpture check with
a difficulty of 8, success indicating they’ve made something
rudimentary, giving them a +5 to all related skill checks, to be
removed when the character chooses. Making the change takes
one combat turn, during which the character may act normally.
A character may not make more changes than an amount equal
to their level in Soul. A set of gills would give the character a +5
to all Toughness checks for holding their breath and swapping
out their left arm for a cutlass gives them a simple +5 to dam-
age. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Additionally, if the character can succeed at a difficulty 20 check,
they may spend a full five minutes on the change, increasing the
bonus to +10, but these adjustment may not be removed for a
minimum of 12 hours, as the body takes time to adjust to them.
Failure on either of these checks means the character must
either spend an AP or suffer a genetic breakdown as their limb
turns into a useless blob for the next 24 hours.
Shapeshifter covers small changes to a body. For a total rework-
ing, look up Transformation.
Tail (4)
A tail gives you a few distinct advantages over your fellow party
members. The tail has a few distinct uses, the first of which is
that it’s prehensile. If a tail isn’t prehensile, don’t bother paying
points for it. When used in combat, it can either be designated
as a secondary attack or used as the primary weapon, with a
Handling of 4 and a Stunt Level of Infinite and does damage
equal to the character’s Brawn.
A tail can hold a weapon of a size category smaller than the
character and also grants the character a +2 on Olympics
checks related to climbing.
Transformation (20)
Your character is a defiance of the natural order of things. As
a Lycanthrope, Demon or some other weird species, they’ve
mastered the art of shape-changing to such a level that they
can change into a completely new form at will. All it requires
is a new skill under Soul, called “Transforming.” The character
19
must simply spend a few moments (one turn) and an Awesome
Point preparing themselves before they shift into a form of their
choosing.
Once they’ve done that, make a Transforming roll, with the
result being the number of Character Points they have to build
their new form, with the proviso that their new form must have
exactly the same Soul as the original. The transformation lasts
until the end of the current scene, or the Gamemaster declares
otherwise, at which point the character returns to their original
form.
Weird Weaknesses
Dependency 1-10
Giant Hands 1 Your character has sucked up some sort of crazy space waves
No Thumbs 5 or spent a bit too much time kicking back in nuclear reactors
Mutant 1-10
Photosensitive 5 cover it up but if anyone discovers you’re a freak, you’ll be at a
The Ultimate Weakness 1 penalty equal to double your level in Mutant in social situations,
Tiny 15
Walking Bomb 1-5
Dependency (1-10)
Similar to Addiction, but not quite, your character has a depen-
dency on some object that is important in their life. It can be
anything from a pair of shoes to their favourite golf. If deprived
of this item, the character have an immediate catastrophic
reaction that can only be overcome by reuniting them with their
fetish. The reaction varies from character to character, but it can
be feasibly anything from withdrawals, to desperation to much
more serious measures. The rarity of the object and the ease
with which the character can shift between different types of an
object will determine the cost of this Weakness. Have a heart to
heart with your Gamemaster for the details.
20
Giant Hands (1)
A character with Giant Hands will have a hard time dealing with
modern society. They’ll never be able to use an ATM, type up a
memo or a any one of a thousand other everyday tasks. They
certainly can’t use Small weapons with any effectiveness and
you can forget about them helping you fix your stereo.
Yep, sometimes it’s hard to be a big-handed hero. On the upside,
however, they get a +1 to all Brawn checks involving brute force.
Doesn’t make them feel much better, though.
Mutant (1-10)
They always said you were special. And how right they were.
and, as a result, you’ve got some sort of disfiguring feature that
makes you really unpopular at parties. Of course, you can try to
just like with Ugly. And you get a penalty equal to double your
level in Mutant to all alluring Poses made while your mutation
is visible, too, although you might be able to swing it if it’s cute.
If it’s a particularly fearsome one, you get double your level in
Mutant added to Intimidating Poses.
Some mutations might do something useful, like let you breathe
underwater or give you some fancy armour, but that’s between
you and your GM.
No Thumbs (5)
A more severe version of Giant Hands, your character lacks
opposable thumbs, that which separates us from animals.
Weapons cannot be held, joysticks cannot be grabbed and
ropes cannot be scaled.
Photosensitive (5)
Your character is sensitive to sunlight and merely being above
ground is often enough to cause them pain. If they are active
during the day, they are at a –5 penalty to all skill checks as
long as they’re in sunlight.
The Ultimate Weakness (1)
If you’re just dying for an extra Character Point, then, boy, do we
have a Weakness for you! Choose any one substance, object or
life form in the universe. It has to exist and it has to potentially
obtainable. Once you’ve picked something, get approval from
your Gamemaster. Then, you’re done and you’ve got your Char-
acter Point to blow on Ancient Chinese Proverb or whatever.
The downside of this Power is, is that if you ever, even once,
touch the thing you selected, for any reason whatsoever, your
character will drop dead on the spot, no roll required.
So I guess the question is, are you feeling lucky, punk?
Tiny (15)
Brawn 12
Tiny Adjustment
Hit Points 10 per Brawn
Movement Divide by 2!
Sneak +10
Ranged Attacks vs. +6
Humans
Your character is really, really small. Less than a foot tall. First
of all, this means the cost of Brawn increases to 12 points per
level, while Movement is one-half normal.
All ranged attacks directed at them by human sized opponents
are at –6 to hit and they gain a +6 bonus to ranged attacks
made against human sized opponents. Due to this small size,
the character also gains a +10 bonus to any Sneak checks.
The characters gains 10 Hit Points for each level of Brawn, as
opposed to the regular 20.
Walking Bomb (1-5)
This is one of those abilities that you want to think about before
you take. Someone has put some sort of bomb in your charac-
ter, for some reason. That’s all there is to it. Under a certain set
of circumstances, the bomb will go off, (presumably) killing your
character and dealing a staggering amount of damage to every-
thing around you. Discuss the circumstances with your GM, but
there’s no point in going over 5 points with this Weakness, as
eventually you’d get into things like your dude exploding every
time he walks backwards or touches yellow things and that’s not
fun to play.
As a general guideline, use existing explosives for determining
the explosion’s damage or, if it’s of a magical nature or similar,
simply say the explosion does 10 damage per point of Brawn
possessed by the character to everything within 5 feet and half
that to everything within 10 feet.
Special Moves
Counter Attack 9 take a -4 on your attack roll. Your damage is increased by 1d6
Desperation Strike 6 and the target is knocked back about two feet. And, yes, if this
Flykick 1 pushes them into the pit of acid or off a mount, then it can spell
Roundhouse Kick 4 them crumble!
Returning 4
Stunt Step 5
Submission Blow 2
Team Attack 8
opponent is a meagre 4. To fool their opponent into believing
he’s safe, the character has to succeed at a Guts roll opposed
to their opponent’s Notice. Failure means they miss out and
their opponent gets his full defence.
On a success, however, their very next attack is sure to do a
lot of damage. As an additional bonus for any characters whose
retaliatory strike is a Stunt, the Stunt Level will be treated as one
higher than normal if they insult their opponent as they strike!
Musashi Miyamoto and Lokan’s rivalry has gone on too long
and they are engaged in a battle to the death. Musashi has a
Double Stunt on 4 and Lokan has an action on 5, so he decides
to perform a Desperation Strike, as he is having trouble get-
ting close to his opponent as long as he swings that big scythe
around.
On 5, Lokan makes his attack, and Musashi reduces his to hit
to 4, taking 68 damage. He scrapes through with 12 Hit Points
to spare and, succeeding on his opposed Guts check (although
that dastard Lokan tried to Hero Up on his Notice check) he
strikes back on his 4, grabbing Lokan’s scythe in his hands and
driving his sword into his opponent’s belly. “Filthy son of a dog,”
he murmurs, and his Stunt Level rises to a Triple. He starts pil-
ing on the Awesome Points.
Flykick (1)
Your character leaps into the air, delivering a stunning blow
with their iron heel. A successful Flykick will make an opponent
stumble back a few feet or take a biker off their ride in a stun-
ningly painful looking swipe.
In-game, you simply declare your character is fly kicking and
a world of pain for your enemies. Deliver those kicks and watch

Special Moves are a unique type of Power that give the charac-
ter a unique ability that can be used in combat whenever they
need a bit more oomph.

Counter Attack (9)

If the character successfully dodges, they may spend a remain-

ing action or Awesome Point to take swift revenge on their
enemy. What this means in game terms is that they get a free
attack, right there and then, as well as getting the amount that
their Dodge surpassed the attack by as a bonus on their attack
roll.
In other words, payback time.

Desperation Strike (6)

Not the most popular of moves, since it requires a great risk

and, potentially, a lot of bleeding on the part of the aggressor.
Whenever your character is attacked in melee during a combat,
they may elect to deliberately take the hit. They must declare
this before a to hit roll is made and the whatever their to hit nor-
mally is, it is automatically reduced to 4. Assuming they survive,
the character can now spend an Awesome Point to activate their
Desperation Strike.
On the very next turn they retaliate and, assuming their oppo-
nent is fooled into thinking he’s done the killing blow, they can
now strike back and ignore his defence. The difficulty to hit the

21
Returning (4)
Some weapons are able to return back to their thrower, swing-
ing around in a fantastic arc. Making a weapon return to ones
hand incurs a –3 penalty on an attack roll and a Speed Dice
must be spent catching the weapon, lest it hit you in the head.
Roundhouse Kick (4)
Your character may specify a kick as a Secondary Attack. It
strikes with the same Handling, Stunt Level and damage as a
fist attack. For more information on Secondary Attacks, consult
Chapter 5: The Fight.
Stunt Step (5)
Your character is unusually adept at moving around the battle-
field, by a variety of means. For every –1 penalty you apply to a
Melee roll, after you’ve made it, you may move 1 foot as a com-
pletely free action and still make your attack against anyone you
move into base contact with, during the move. If you’re having
trouble reaching people with your Spin Attack, this could be the
Power for you!
Submission Blow (2)
Not one for the bloodthirsty types among you, Submission Blow
reminds us that, sometimes, being a hero means not killing any-
one and that means doing things the hard way.
Normally the penalty for making a Lethal attack Non-Lethal is
–4, but your character has had special training in dispatching of
their foes with great care. The penalty for making a Non-Lethal
attack is reduced to –2.
Team Attack (10)
Team Attack is a special move that allows for two or more
heroes with this Power to deliver a devastatingly powerful set of
blows to a single opponent all at once, showing their co-opera-
tion, their determination and that the badguy messed with the
wrong dudes. Every time you take this power, nominate anoth-
er PC as your team member. Every person involved in a Team
Attack must have this power bought for every other person also
involved in it.
To perform a Team Attack, all characters involved must act on
the same turn. All the blows in the combo are delivered in per-
fect sequence, rocking a badguy to his core, so the timing must
be impeccable. The only other proviso is that all characters
involved in the attack must be doing at least a Single Stunt, or
else they won’t have the clarity and focus to pull off the move.
This is permitted to exceed the normal weapon Stunt Levels,
just like Heroing up.
A well-placed Team Attack can be the key to defeating the par-
ties opponents. For the duration of the attack, add together the
Stunt Level of every character involved in the Team Attack. With
a few AP spent, this makes for blisteringly powerful attacks.
Gary and Cirrus are performing a Team Attack together. Gary
has a Single Stunt and Cirrus has a Double Stunt. They perform
a Triple Stunt on their Team Attack.
Revenant, Skullheart and Trieda are performing their patented
Triple Suplex. Each one of the heroes has a Double Stunt, mak-
ing their Team Attack a 6-times Stunt.
Step 6: Derived Statistics
You’ll find you have a couple of extra abilities that aren’t cov-
ered by your stats, such as how far you can move and how much
22
damage you can take. This section covers all of them and how
to get your character’s figures.
Armour
Armour is a measure of how much damage you can absorb. It’s
determined either by your natural armour or the armour you’re
wearing and if you have both, add them together.
A Starboard Records Thug doesn’t leave home without his Flak
Jacket. This gives him an Armour score of 15.
Looking up the stats for this armour, we can see that his Melee
Stunt Level will be Double and his Ranged Stunt Level will be
Triple.
Awesome
Awesome determines how much your character can ignore the
laws of physics in the name of totally rocking out.
Your character’s Total Awesome is equal to double their level
of Soul Dice plus 6. Once this amount is reached, they cannot
gain any more Awesome Points. It doesn’t start completely full,
though, so newly made characters start with half that amount
(or their level in Soul plus three for you math buffs).
Sensata the Angel has a Soul of 7. Her Awesome is equal to 20
and she starts the game with 10 Awesome Points.
Cash: Every character starts with a hundred bucks. Obviously,
since this is a generic system this amount of dosh won’t make
sense for the variety of settings you’ll be putting your games in,
but it should, as a general guide, be enough for a night in a fair-
to-middling Hotel.
Defence
Your character’s Defence is a measure of how hard they are to
hit in melee. The emphasis is on melee here, as it doesn’t help
them against ranged attacks. Think of it as their ability to use
fancy footwork and weapon skills to keep foes at bay, but that
won’t matter one bit if there’s a bullet between your eyes.
Defence is calculated with a base of 4, then you add your char-
acter’s flow on top of that. If you’re wielding a weapon or weap-
ons, you get the highest Defence bonus out of the whole lot, as
well as anything else from a shield.
Doro the Dinosaur Girl has a Flow of 2d6. This gives her a
Defence of 6. But we’re not done yet. If she’s wielding a Long-
sword it gives her a Defence Bonus of 2, bringing the difficulty
to hit her in melee up to 8. Giving her a medium shield increas-
es it to 10, but wielding a second sword would see no increase.
Hero Skills
A character gets Dodge as a Hero Skill, as well as number of
Hero Skills equal to their level of Brains. You can even mark
them with a little star to make them easier to keep track of.
Hit Points
Hit Points are a measure of how much of a beating your char-
acter can take before going down. Your character gets 20 Hit
Points for every point of Brawn they have, as well as a base 20
Hit Points.
Dustman the Vigilante has 6 levels of Brawn. He gets 140 Hit
Points.
Movement
Your character’s Movement score determines how far he may
move in one turn. This is equal to 15 feet, plus 1 for every level
of Speed the character possesses. This amount is doubled if the
character elects to take no actions that turn and focuses purely
on running.
 Cirrostratus the Catboy has a Speed of 4. His Movement is 19. New Special Moves may be picked up at any time, with the
Gamemaster’s permission. A badass Kung Fu maestro may
need to be sought out.
Speed Dice
Speed Dice are equal to your Speed plus 1. This is the number Upgrading your character is a serious venture that must be
of actions you can take in a combat round and you’ll roll it at thought about carefully. If you find your current build isn’t work-
the start of any encounter, and every round thereafter. Why the ing, consult with your Gamemaster about it, he may have a solu-
extra dice? Well, as well as being a courtesy gesture from us to tion. Most GMs are usually happy to let you restat your char-
you, our valued consumer, speed is an important part of combat acter, since it encourages you from not making them a bloody
and we just can’t bear the thought of anyone getting left out. smear on the wall. Seriously though, the Awesome System isn’t
Also, our combat rounds are much longer than other roleplaying about punishing the player, it’s about thanking them for taking
games’, a necessity to cram in all the extra awesome, and you’ll part in a fun game, so let them remake their character in a way
need to stuff every one with your funky moves. Spend every that benefits the game and get back into the thick of it!
action wisely.
The reason we make you write this secondary stat down is Stat Level CP Cost
because you can increase it with special types of actions, like 2-5 6
secondary attacks and mounted weapons. It’s good to have all
that stuff in one place. 6-10 12
11-15 18
Ares the Polar Bear has a Speed of 3d6. Therefore, his Speed
dice is 4d6. Easy! 16-20 24
21-25 30
…+5 …+6
Step 7: Props
It’s time to get some gear. Discuss starting cash with your GM, Skill Level/Bonus CP Cost
but we feel, regardless of system, you should always start with a
hundred bucks and clothes on your back. Whatever you decide, 1-10 2
everything you need to kit out your hero is located in the next 11-20 4
chapter along.
21-30 6
Why are you still reading this? Turn the pages and start spend- 31-40 8
ing!
41-50 10
…+10 …+2
Step 8: Icing On The Cake
You’ve made it to the end, kid. After this step’s completed,
you’ll be a complete, full-grown person that can be played and Special Moves Cost
enjoyed. Counter Attack 9
Desperation Strike 6
So what’s this step here, then, we hear you ask? From here on, Flykick 1
it’s all details. What’s your name, where you from, who are your
family, who are your friends, what are your likes, dislikes, what Roundhouse Kick 4
don’t you care about, what colour is your hair, do you even have Returning 4
hair, how many fingers do you have, are you sane, insane or do Stunt Step 5
you just love a good time? A pile of stats isn’t much good with- Submission Blow 2
out a driving personality, so work out what it is you want to do Team Attack 8
with all these stats and exactly how you’re going to make your
mark on the world.
After that, well. Your fate’s in your own hands, now. Good luck,
hero.

Upgrading Your Character

When the time comes to spend your bonus Character Points,
you simply spend them as you normally would. If you have 6 CP,
you can buy an extra level in a stat and if you have 2 CP, you can
buy an extra level or bonus in a skill. The cost of increasing stats
and skills advances as normal.
New Powers may be bought with the Gamemaster’s permission
and old Weaknesses may be bought off by spending a number
of Character Points equal to the cost of the Weakness.
Things like this can either be the result of martial training, new
talents manifesting as a result of danger in their lives or finally
kicking that nasty old habit. Consult with your GM before doing
this, so you’re not just buying back limbs that got sliced off and
whatnot. However, if they had bought a powerful Rival and want
to buy them off, the GM could permit them to kill the leader of
that organization and then buy the Weakness off before a new
leader arises, for example. A mutant should never be able to
just become normal, however, just like a Short person should
never be able to become tall. Some Weaknesses define who we
are as much as our Powers do.

23
 CHAPTER 3: PROPS!
In this chapter, you’ll be exploring the staggering depths of cul- Starting Junk
ture, the dizzying heights of science and a thousand genera- Bubblegum Lantern
tions of creation and invention. And once you’re done with all
that rot, you can slap a price tag on it and try to flog it off to Cigar Lunchbox (With Lunch)
some poor sucker. Cigarettes, Packet Medical Kit
Deck of Cards Megaphone
A Note on Cash Flashlight Mountaineering Equipment
Since the Awesome System covers a wide range of possible Fake ID Newspaper
settings, we simply measure the price of all purchasable goods Glow Sticks (2) Rollerblades
in good old-fashioned bucks. Now we here at Awesome HQ are Hair Gel Scarf
quite aware that cavemen didn’t have dollar bills with some old Ham, Leg Of Snorkeling Gear
guy’s face on them and we certainly don’t expect your kind and Handcuffs Sunglasses
benevolent GM to try to hoodwink you into believing otherwise.
Therefore, depending on your game substitute the almighty Hat, Expensive Spectacles
dollar for gold pieces, rubles, pounds sterling, space credits, Hip Flask Tent
mammoth hides or whatever else you feel is appropriate. The Horse Trail Rations, 10 Days
amounts contained here are simply to demonstrate relative Hound, Faithful Treasure Map
costs and worth. Horse Walking Stick
House Watch
Getting Your Gear Kitten Whiskey

Characters start with $100 and make take levels in the Props
power as necessary, but to ensure you have the basics, we sug- Good Stuff
gest you take the time to follow the steps below to ascertain Speaking of which, this section is for stuff that might actually
your character’s free starting gear. give you a decent edge over your fellow Player Characters, so
you’ll just have to buy it the hard way.
Clothing
When making your character, choose two of the outfits below as Good Stuff Price
your starting clothes. The details of what they look like exactly Data Jack $10,000
are up to you. You can take one of the ones below, or make up God-Forged $3,000/ increase
your own.
Grappling Hook $1,000
Outfit Elements Jetpack $10,000
Badass Leather Coat, Shades Medical Kit $10
Barbarian Hair Gel, Loincloth Silencer $500
Biker Jeans, Leather Jacket
Buccaneer Eye patch, Sash Data Jack: Typically used for breaking into computers when
Kung Fu Guy Gi, Pipe you’re in a hurry, a Data Jack is also necessary to use the Jack
Government Expensive Watch, In Movie Magic Power.
Uniform Fancy Shoes
God-Forged: This is a feature able to be applied to any hand-
Idol Star Leek, Poofy Stuff made weapon, to clearly demonstrate the stunning amount
Pauper Peaked Cap, Rags of craftsmanship that went into forging the weapon. This will
Pilot Helmet, Red Jumpsuit either increase the Handling or Defence Bonus of the weapon
Rock Star Leather Jacket, Tight Jeans by 1 or the damage or armour penetration by 2. Weapons with
Soldier Camo, Helmet a Stunt Level of Single or Higher may also have their Stunt Level
School Uniform Pants, Short Skirt, Tie increased to the next tier with this handy upgrade.
Spaceman Reflective Surfaces, Sequins Grappling Hook: It has been scientifically proven anything can
be made better by adding a grappling hook. And if you don’t
Starting Junk believe us, you can try it yourself! This little baby uses a Fire-
arms check to aim, with a successful blow landed allowing you
Once you’ve done that, go to the table below and to get some movement happening. If you’ve grabbed something
like a jet airplane or a brick wall, it’s pretty obvious you’re going
pick out three items or make your own. Again, feel free to try to get pulled towards it, but for situations where it’s unclear
your luck with your GM by asking for something crazy. who’s moving where, make an opposed Brawn check, with the
There! You’ve selected your starting gear. This should be loser getting reeled towards the winner.
enough to get you well on your way to taking other people’s The grappling hook has an effective maximum range of 250 feet
things. and has a range increment of 10.
Jetpack: The Jetpack is a fancy piece of work that lets your
character flit around like nobody’s business. When activated,

25
 the character takes off into the sky on the same action, using
the rules you might already be familiar with for vehicles. This
means you can accelerate by 50 feet of speed every turn, until
you reach a top speed 10 turns later of 500.
While buzzing around, your character will have to make Flight
checks to perform daring aerial maneuvers and may substitute
this skill for Dodge in combat.
Medical Kit: The exact contents of this little number will vary
from setting to setting, being a full complement of combat drugs
and compresses to a really big stick. One of these is consumed
every time you make a Bonesaw check.
Silencer: This handy little gadget will keep whatever gun you
put it on from making any air-polluting whip cracks. In game
terms, this means every time you take a shot, make a Sneak
check, with a +4 bonus, opposed to the Notice of anyone who
might’ve heard it, with success indicating you made the attack
silently. If the target is killed, they don’t even make any inconve-
nient death rattles! Isn’t that polite of them?

Robots
Last but not least, four of man’s best mechanical friends for the
discerning shopper.

Robots Price
Galant $212,440
Lancer $159,210
Maid $39,500
Patrol $245,000

Galant (200 point Robot)

Brawn 15d6 Brains -
Flow 5d6 Soul -
Speed 4d6

Armour 30, Awesome -, Cash -, Defence 9, Hit Points 320,

Movement 19 (114 Flying), Speed Dice 5+4
Skills: Acrobatics 5d6+6, Dodge 5d6+8, Firearms 5d6+8, Flight
5d6+8, Melee 5d6+8
Powers and Weaknesses: Robot 15
Upgrades: Armour, Rhino ($20,000), Controller: Cockpit
($5,000), External Mounts (2) ($10,000), Headlights ($1,000),
Mounted Weapon: Uzi (2) ($1,640), Mounted Weapon: Aim-120
Missile (2) ($4,800), Rockets ($40,000)
Attacks: Missile, Aim-120 (5d6+8/150/2/None), 2 Uzis with
100 rounds each (5d6+8/18/2/None), Unarmed (5d6+8/
Brawn/6/None)
Armour: Rhino (30)
Standing at eight feet in height, the Galant is the last word in
personnel armour applications. With both shouldered-mount-
ed pistols and a pair of back-mounted missiles, the machines
hands are free to be equipped with any weapon you, the user,
deem necessary.
Aim-120 Missiles: Aim-120 Missiles are mounted on the
Galant’s shoulders and are single-use. They gain a +20 to hit
targets giving off a heat signature. Upon explosion, they deal
150 damage to anyone within 5 feet of the blast and half that
amount to anyone within 10 feet.
Anyone who would take damage from the explosion and wasn’t
directly targeted gets a free Acrobatics or Dodge check to move

26
away. The actual target can make one as well, but must first
dodge the attack and then also spent an action or Awesome
Point to be entitled to. Based on the table below, most charac-
ters that were right at the centre of the explosion will be looking
at about a difficulty of 10.
Difficulty Distance Travelled
5 Movement x 1
10 Movement x 2
20 Movement x 3
40 Movement x 4
X2... Movement x +1...
Cockpit: This Robot can be piloted.
Headlights: This Upgrade negates the penalties for darkness
for a Robot who buys it.
Mounted Weapons: The Galant has 4 Mounted Weapons, all
of which can be nominated to be used in one combat round,
each granting an additional Speed Dice. Each weapon used in
this way reduces the Galant’s Handling by 1. If these Mounted
Weapon attacks fall on the same turn as a regular action, the
Galant gets to use all of them at the same time! If they fall
on the same turn as a Stunt, you can either use the Mounted
Weapon regular actions and a regular attack with the weapon of
your choice, or just the Stunted regular attack. Decisions, deci-
sions!
Piloted Robot: Whenever the Robot makes a skill roll, you may
roll the Pilot’s Piloting skill and increase the Robot’s dice pool.
Piloting Roll Bonus Dice for Robot’s action
10 2d6
20 3d6
40 5d6
+10… +1d6…
During combat, you roll separate Speed Dice for both charac-
ters, with the Pilot only able to enhance the Robot’s actions on
turns where they act simultaneously. As the Piloted Robot does
not have AP, the Pilot may spend Awesome Points to Hero Up its
checks, dodge or sundry other uses for AP.
Rhino Armour: The Robot has 30 points of Armour from its
Rhino Armour, reducing damage from all incoming attacks by
this amount. Any attacks that roll 30 or more above the difficulty
to hit it ignore this and deal full damage!
Robot: As a Robot, this vehicle gets +2 to its Handling, while
its maximum Stunt Level in combat is reduced to Double. Of
course, spending AP to crank up your Stunt Level still works just
fine. Being a Robot is also the source of its Rhino Armour and
various other Upgrades.
Rockets: The Robot can fly under its own power. It rolls 4d6 for
Flying checks to perform cool tricks with, as well as substitute
for Dodge rolls where necessary. Skilled Flight allows it to fly at
6 times its normal Movement, with take-off requiring 1 turn. The
Robot can make one 90 degree turn every combat Turn.
Lancer (100 Point Robot)
Brawn 10d6 Brains -
Flow 3d6 Soul -
Speed 2d6
Armour 42, Awesome -, Cash 0, Defence 10, Hit Points 220,
Movement 34 (204 Flying), Speed Dice 3
Skills: Dodge 3d6+4*, Melee 3d6+10, Notice 8, Olympics
9d6+4, Quickdraw 2d6+2
Powers and Weaknesses: Robot 15, Slowpoke -3
Upgrades: Armour, Rhino ($50,000), Controller: Cockpit
($5,000), Life Support System, Simple ($1,000), Rockets
($40,000), Sensors Package ($3,000), Thrusters ($10,000)
Attacks: Lance (3d6+10/Brawn+4/0/None)
Armour: Rhino (42), Shield, Small
A close-combat operations suit of powered armour, the Lancer’s
exceptional speed allows it to make any combat up-close and
personal, while making a serious point of its pilot’s safety at all
times.
Break Their Line!: Using a Lance increases the Stunt Level of
the attack by one when making a charge. Only the first Lance
attack of a combat may be Stunted on in this manner.
Cockpit: This Robot can be piloted. This Robot’s cockpit comes
with six hours of oxygen supply and a few snacks. The Robot’s
Sensors Package is located here, giving the pilot a flat 8 on
Notice at all times.
Piloted Robot: Whenever the Robot makes a skill roll, you may
roll the Pilot’s Piloting skill and increase the Robot’s dice pool.
Piloting Roll Bonus Dice for Robot’s action
10 2d6
20 3d6
30 4d6
40 5d6
+10… +1d6…
During combat, you roll separate Speed Dice for both charac-
ters, with the Pilot only able to enhance the Robot’s actions on
turns where they act simultaneously. As the Piloted Robot does
not have AP, the Pilot may spend Awesome Points to Hero Up its
checks, dodge or sundry other uses for AP.
Rhino Armour: The Robot has 42 points of Armour from its
Rhino Armour, reducing damage from all incoming attacks by
this amount. Any attacks that roll 42 or more above the difficulty
to hit it ignore this and deal full damage!
The Robot is also equipped with a shield to increase its defence
with.
Robot: As a Robot, this vehicle gets +2 to its Handling, while
its maximum Stunt Level in combat is reduced to Double. Of
course, spending AP to crank up your Stunt Level still works just
fine. Being a Robot is also the source of its Rhino Armour and
various other Upgrades.
Rockets: The Robot can fly under its own power. It rolls 4d6 for
Flying checks to perform cool tricks with, as well as substitute
for Dodge rolls where necessary. Skilled Flight allows it to fly at
6 times its normal Movement, with take-off requiring 1 turn. The
Robot can make one 90 degree turn every combat Turn. The
Robot is also equipped with Thrusters, which double its Move-
ment speed again, for a total of 34 Movement in feet a turn on
the ground and 204 Movement in feet a turn while flying.
27
28

Maid (50 point Robot)
Brawn 30d6 Brains 1d6
Flow 3d6 Soul - Giant: As a Giant, the Patrol enjoys a few bonuses, the first of
Speed 1d6
Armour 8, Awesome -, Cash -, Defence 7, Hit Points 80, Move-
ment 17, Speed Dice 2
Skills: Academia: Cooking 1d6+4, Academia: Etiquette 1d6+4,
First Aid 1d6+4, Heave 3d6+2, Notice 1d6+2
Powers and Weaknesses: Hot 8, Innocent -2, Obsessive Com-
pulsive: Cleanliness -4, Robot 15, Runner 1
Upgrades: Armour, Light ($5,000), A.I., Standard ($4,000),
Antennae ($3,000), Synth Skin ($2,000), Toolkit ($500)
Attacks: Fists (3d6/Brawn/6/None)
Armour: Light (8)
Pintarilli Industries latest line of Housekeeping Personal Assis-
tants are as functional as they are beautiful. Dishwashing,
vacuuming, contact with the opposite sex, we’ve made all these
things of the past for the discerning customer.
A.I.: The Maid is an intelligent, free-thinking Robot. She has 1d6
Brains.
Hard Worker: The Maid has 1 level of Runner, increasing her
Movement to 17.
Robot: As a Robot, this character gets +2 to its Handling. She
also gets some mostly girly Upgrades, including an Antennae to
help her notice things more easily (+2 to Notice, a personal tool-
kit and synthetic skin to make her look like a human.
Patrol (200 Point Robot)
Brawn 14d6+10 Brains -
Flow 5d6 Soul - Piloted Robot: Whenever the Robot makes a skill roll, you may
Speed 4d6
Armour 6, Awesome -, Cash -, Defence 9, Hit Points 720, Move-
ment 40, Speed Dice 5
Skills: Acrobatics 5d6+2, Computers -, Firearms: Heavy
5d6+22, Heave 14d6+6, Melee 5d6+10, Speed Load 5d6+8
48
Powers and Weaknesses: Giant 40, Robot 15, Slowpoke -9
Upgrades: Armour, Heavy ($20,000), Controller: Cockpit
($5,000), E.M.P. Shielding ($3,000), Life Support System:
Simple ($1,000), Magnetic Soles ($2,000), Piston Arms: Large
($10,000), Smartlink: Super Duper ($10,000)
Attacks: Pac 3 Missile Launcher with 32 Patriot Missiles
(5d6+22/340/2/None), Unarmed (5d6+10/Brawn+10/6/Sin-
gle)
Armour: Heavy (6)
Cutting an intimidating figure against the skyline at 20 feet in
height, the Patrol is perfect for fighting on the frontlines in mer-
cenary conflicts, securing the grounds of your family’s home
or, just as you, the customer asked for, picking up chicks. As a
mass-production model, the Patrol comes equipped with light
armour and a Pac 3 Missile Launcher, making them the foot-
soldiers of the future!
Cockpit: This Robot can be piloted. This Robot’s cockpit comes
with six hours of oxygen supply and a few snacks.
E.M.P. Shielding: Attempts to shut down the Patrol’s functions
with an E.M.P. Grenade will fall on deaf ears. With a difficulty 10
Computers check, it is able to resist the attack.
which is cheaper Brawn and more expensive Flow. Its Hit Points
and Movement are also increased, but it suffers a -6 when mak-
ing ranged attacks against humans and a -15 to Sneak checks.
Humans making ranged attacks against him receive a +6 to hit!
Heavy Armour: The Robot has 6 points of Armour from its
Heavy Armour, reducing damage from all incoming attacks by
this amount. Any attacks that roll 6 or more above the difficulty
to hit it ignore this and deal full damage!
Magnetic Soles: The Robot can switch magnetized plates on the
soles of its feet on or off. This prevents Knockdowns in combat. A
Knockdown is suffered when you take more than half of your Hit
Points in one blow.
Pac 3 Missile Launcher: Now we’re talking; this is some seri-
ous firepower! Upon explosion, missiles deal 340 damage to
anyone within 20 feet of the blast and half that amount to any-
one within 40 feet.
Anyone who would take damage from the explosion and wasn’t
directly targeted gets a free Acrobatics or Dodge check to move
away. The actual target can make one as well, but must first
dodge the attack and then also spent an action or Awesome
Point to be entitled to. Based on the table below, most charac-
ters that were right at the centre of the explosion will be looking
at about a difficulty of 10.
Difficulty Distance Travelled
5 Movement x 1
10 Movement x 2
20 Movement x 3
40 Movement x 4
X2... Movement x +1...
roll the Pilot’s Piloting skill and increase the Robot’s dice pool.
Piloting Roll Bonus Dice for
Robot’s action
10 2d6
20 3d6
30 4d6
40 5d6
+10… +1d6…
During combat, you roll separate Speed Dice for both charac-
ters, with the Pilot only able to enhance the Robot’s actions on
turns where they act simultaneously. As the Piloted Robot does
not have AP, the Pilot may spend Awesome Points to Hero Up its
checks, dodge or sundry other uses for AP.
Robot: As a Robot, this vehicle gets +2 to its Handling, while
its maximum Stunt Level in combat is reduced to Double. Of
course, spending AP to crank up your Stunt Level still works
just fine. Being a Robot is also the source of its Heavy Armour
and various other Upgrades. The Patrol’s Upgrades have also
bestowed it with incredible strength, granting the robot a +10
on Brawn checks.
Sluggish: The Patrol is not the speediest Robot around. After
adjusting for its size, its Movement is reduced to 40.
Smartlink, Super Duper: The Super Duper Smartlink grants
the Patrol a +8 on all Ranged attacks. This increases its Fire-
arms skill to 5d6+22.
29
 Weapon Price Damage Defence Size Handling Stunt
Axe 20 Brawn+12 (4) 1 Medium 2 Double
Axe, Huge 100 Brawn+18 (8) 0 Medium 1 Double
Axe, Hand 15 Brawn+6 (4) 1 Small 2 Double
Bat, Baseball 10 Brawn+4 2 Medium 2 Triple
Baton 30 Brawn+6 2 Medium 2 Single
Bottle, Broken 2 Brawn+1 1 Medium 2 Double
Chainsaw 200 Brawn+26 0 Medium 0 Double
Drill Arm 50,000 Brawn+40 2 Giant 0 Single
Glaive 30 Brawn+8 3 Medium 1 Double
Guitar 500 Brawn+2 0 Medium 2 Quadruple
Katara 2 Brawn+1 0 Small 4 Quadruple
Knife 5 Brawn+2 1 Small 3 Triple
Lance 200 Brawn+4 1 Medium 1 Triple
Mace 25 Brawn+6 2 Medium 2 Double
Mace, Spray 12 - 0 Small 2 Single
Needle 1 Brawn 0 Tiny 3 Triple
Nunchakus 50 Brawn+2 3 Medium 3 Quadruple
Sledgehammer 15 Brawn+20 0 Medium 1 Single
Spanner, Astro 30 Brawn+4 2 Medium 3 Quadruple
Spear 20 Brawn+6 2 Medium 2 Double
Spurs 20 Brawn+1 0 Tiny 2 Triple
Spurs, Buzz Saw 300 Brawn+4 (2) 0 Tiny 2 Triple
Staff, Bo 20 Brawn+8 2 Medium 3 Double
Sword 50 Brawn+10 2 Medium 2 Triple
Sword, Beam (E) 250,000 100 (100) 8 Col. 0 Triple
Sword, Short 20 Brawn+6 2 Small 2 Triple
Sword, Two 200 Brawn+16 (6) 1 Medium 1 Triple
Handed
Taser 25 2 1 Small 2 Single
Umbrella, War 500 Brawn+2 3 Medium 2 Double
Unarmed - Brawn 0 - 4 Unlimited
Whip 20 Brawn+1 3 Medium 3 Quadruple

Weapons and Armor
Melee Weapons
When reading the Melee Weapons table, Weapon is the type
of weapon being used. Price is the price of the item relative
to other weapons and should be adjusted for your own game.
Damage is the amount of damage dealt by the weapon. Where
the weapon does Brawn damage, the total of all Brawn dice is
added to the attack’s listed damage. Values in brackets are
armour penetration. Defence Bonus is a bonus the character
gets to their total defence, making them harder to hit. Size is the
weapon’s size category. As a note on size, Small weapons can
be wielded two-handed by Tiny characters. Two-handed weap-
ons can be wielded, guess what, two handed by medium char-
acters. Handling is the weapon’s Handling level. Stunt Level is
the weapon’s maximum level of Stunt when wielded.
If you want to change the size of a weapon, you can usually get
it down with a bit of common sense. We recommend increas-
ing the damage by 10 and dropping the handling by 1 for every
size increase. Shrinking a weapon reduces the damage by 6,
but makes it easier to conceal. Multiply the listed price by 5 for
every size increase.
Wielding a melee weapon of a size one larger than your charac-
ter requires a minimum Brawn of 3d6 for Tiny characters, 6d6
for normal sized characters and 20d6 for Giants. This reduces
the weapon’s Handling to 0 and the Stunt Level by one.
Bottle, Broken: You can’t get much classier than this. Smash-
ing a bottle open on a bar before you mash it into some sucker’s
throat is a time-honoured tradition, but if you try it in real life,
your hand is more than likely to get slashed to ribbons. With
the simple expenditure of an Awesome Point, not only does the
bottle smash stylishly, giving you a meaty melee weapon, but
it deals 5 damage to everyone standing within three feet other
than yourself.
Chainsaw: YES! IT’S A CHAINSAW! This weapon has a higher
Stunt Level than normal due to its use in combat being entirely
implausible. When the chainsaw is drawn, a character must
spend one turn revving it. During this time, they may make a
Pose check entirely free.
Every time a chainsaw lands a killing blow, this mighty behe-
moth of ripping blades gets gore and blood stuck on it, giving
you a cumulative -5 to all attacks made with it. Shaking the gore
and blood off requires one turn.
Lance: The Stunt Level of any Lance attack is increased by one
level when made during a charge. We define a charge as any
action where you slammed the hell into a guy and beat his face
in. This will raise a normal action to a Stunt, even for Mooks.
Lances are serious business, so don’t you forget it.
If making multiple Lance attacks during a charge, only the first
is treated as a Stunt.

30
Weapon Ammo Price Damage Rounds Range RT Size Handling Stunt
Pistols
.357 Magnum .357 300 24 6 5/1 4 Small 3 Triple
Colt Navy .36 400 18 6 5/1 4 Small 3 Quad.
Glock 9mm 100 18 12 5/1 2 Small 2 Double
Phantasm Laser 700 14 - 10/1 - Small 3 Triple

Rifles
Blaster Laser 1,500 30 - 20/1 - Medium 2 Double
Boys AT Rifle .55 10,000 90(40) 5 25/1 3 Medium 1 None
Lee Enfield .303 300 36 10 20/1 6 Medium 2 Triple
M1 Garand .30.06 600 34 8 20/1 3 Medium 2 Double
Musket Powder 200 30 1 10/1 4 Medium 1 Triple
Rifle, Galactic G. Shell 400,000 400 1 60/1 5 Col. 1 Single
Rifle, Giant Laser 25,000 50 - 40/1 - Giant 2 Double

Shotgun
Auto-Shotgun 12-gauge 600 8 30 1/1 4 Medium 1 None
Disintegrator Skull 50,000 80 2 5/1 3 Col. 1 None
Scattergun 12-gauge 400 8 2 1/2 3 Medium 2 None
Shotgun, DB 12-gauge 400 8 2 1/1 3 Medium 2 None
Shotgun, Pump 12-gauge 300 8 6 1/1 2 Medium 2 None

Automatics
AK-47 7.62mm 650 25 30 20/1 2 Medium 2 Single
G-13 4.7mm 800 22 45 20/1 1 Medium 2 Single
GAU-12 25mm 5,000 30 4,500 20/1 3 Giant 1 None
Equalizer
Home Wrecker 50mm 80,000 24 15,000 40/1 10 Col. 1 None
M240 7.62mm 1,200 25 800 20/1 4 Giant 1 None
Uzi 9mm 400 18 30 10/1 2 Small 2 Single
XM214 Minigun 7.62mm 1,500 25 1,000 20/1 5 Giant 1 None

Heavy
AT-10 125mm 4,000 By Rocket 1 30/1 3 Giant 2 None
Rocket
Cannon, 125mm 125mm 40,000 140 (40) 1 40/1 3 Giant 1 None
Cannon, 155mm 155mm 60,000 160 (50) 1 60/1 5 Giant 1 None
Cannon, Emperor 6,000,000 450 (60) 1 100/1 20 Col. 1 None
Galactic
Cannon, Laser Laser 80,000 80 - 50/1 - Giant 1 None
Cannon, Pirate Round Shot 300 100 1 20/1 5 Giant 1 None
Flamethrower Ignited Oil 5,000 40 10 5/1 3 Medium 1 None
Grenade 40mm 1,500 By Grenade 3 10/1 4 Medium 2 None
Launcher
PAC 3 Missile 410mm 30,000 By Missile 16 50/1 10 Giant 1 None
Launcher Missile

Other
Axe, Hand - 15 Brawn+6 (4) - 5/1 - Small 2 Double
Bow, Cross Steel Bolt 50 22 1 10/1 2 Medium 1 Single
Bow, Flat Arrow 10 Brawn+6 1 5/1 1 Medium 2 Double
Bow, Yumi Arrow 20 Brawn+6 1 10/1 1 Medium 1 Double
Knife - 5 Brawn+2 - 5/1 - Small 3 Triple
Mace (Spray): When attacking with Mace, you’ll be at a -10 to Whip: This allows you to substitute a Melee check for an Acro-
hit for the called shot to the head. On the upside, however, a batics check, permitting something to swing on.
successful hit means the target is blinded for an entire round.
On a success, the target is blinded in both eyes Mace may only Ranged Weapons
be used once.
When reading the Ranged Weapons table, Weapon is the type of
Reach Weapons: Reach Weapons such as Glaives and Spears weapon being used. Ammo is the type of ammunition required
grant two additional dice on Acrobatics checks they are used for. for use of the weapon. Price is the price of the item relative to
other weapons and should be adjusted for your own game. Dam-
Taser: A target hit by a Taser must make a difficulty 10 Tough- age is the amount of damage dealt by the weapon before sub-
ness check with a failure costing them their next three actions. tracting armour. Values in brackets are armour penetration. Bul-
lets Fired/Bonus is the number of bullets the weapon can fire in
an action and the bonus this applies to the attack roll. Rounds

31
Weapon Price Damage Burst Hand Size Handling Stunt Level
.00 Buckshot 180 22 - No Small 3 None
Beanbag 10 18 - No Small 3 None
C4/Semtex 150 200 30/60 No Small 0 None
Dynamite, 10 60 5/10 Yes Small 2 None
Stick
Grenade 150 80 15/30 Yes Small 3 None
Grenade, 3,000 - 50 Yes Small 3 None
E.M.P.
Grenade, 80 - 50 Yes Small 3 None
Flash Bang
Grenade, 200 90 10/20 No Small 3 None
Napalm
Grenade, 30 - 40 Yes Small 3 None
Smoke
Grenade, Slug 25 60 - No Small 3 None
Grenade, Tear 120 - 30 Yes Small 3 None
Gas
Mine 200 90 1 N/A Small - None
Rocket, 1,000 150 (40) 2/4 N/A Small 2 None
Anti-Tank
Rocket, 500 120 15/30 N/A Small 2 None
High-Energy
Missile, 1,200 150 5/10 N/A Small 2 None
Aim-120
Missile, Patriot 2,000 340 20/40 N/A Medium - None
Shell, 25,000 - - N/A Giant - None
Assassin
Shell, Inferno 20,000 300 75/150 N/A Giant - None
Shell, Napalm 50,000 450 450/900 N/A Giant - None
Shell, Nuclear 100,000 2,000 500/1000 N/A Giant - None

is the number of bullets the weapon can fire before it requires Automatic Fighter
reloading. RT, or Reloading Time, is the number of actions it
takes to do so. Size is the weapon’s size category. Handling is Weapon Bonus Dice
the weapon’s Handling level. Stunt Level is the weapon’s maxi- AK-47 2/4
mum level of Stunt when wielded. Auto-Shotgun -/4
G-13 2/4
Wielding a ranged weapon of a size one larger than your character
requires a minimum Brawn of 3d6 for Tiny characters, 6d6 for nor- Glock 2/-
mal sized characters and 20d6 for Giants. This reduces the weap- Home Wrecker -/15
on’s Stunt Level by one level. M240 -/7
XM214 -/8
Flamethrower: When a flamethrower scores a hit, the unlucky Uzi 2/3
saps targeted are now on fire. This counts as a Large Fire and
burns for four turns, dealing 10 damage and -20 penalty to all When reading the Auto-Fire table, Weapon is the type of weapon
checks for the duration. The lowdown on this nasty, nasty haz- being used, Bonus Dice gives you the number of extra dice for
ard is available in Chapter 4: Rules, under all “Even The World firing on burst fire and fully automatic. Firing on Burst uses three
Wants Us Dead!” bullets. Firing on fully-automatic uses half of the maximum clip.
For information on how Automatic Fire works, consult Chapter
A Flamethrower tank may be targeted by an attack from behind 4: Combat.
at a -2 penalty. Any attack that deals at least 20 damage causes
the tank to explode in a beautiful fireball, dealing 120 damage,
with a burst of 10/20. Grenades, Rockets and Miscellaneous
When reading the Grenades, Rockets and Miscellaneous Table,
Lee Enfield: After every shot the Lee Enfield’s bolt must be Weapon is the type of weapon. Price is a rough estimate of the
drawn manually. This requires either a Speed Load check with weapon’s cost in comparison to other weapons. Adjust as nec-
a difficulty of 8 or the expenditure of an action. If the check is essary for your game. Damage is the amount of damage dealt
failed you lose no actions and may spend your next action draw- by the weapon. Values in brackets are armour penetration. All
ing the bolt. explosions have a “Burst” value, measured in feet. Anyone with-
in the first Burst value takes the full damage from the explo-
Shotguns: When you fire a shotgun, there’s a lot of splash. To sion, with anyone in the second Burst value taking half damage.
represent this, shotguns gain a +40 to hit for each barrel fired. Hand determines whether or not the weapon can be thrown or
The Disintegrator gains a +200 to hit. It’s just that big. On the is safe to throw. Size is the weapon’s size category. Handling is
downside, this “free” bonus is not factored into armour penetra-
tion as the attack just splatters all over it.

32
Armour Price Value Location Stunt, Melee Stunt, Ranged
Bikini, Battle 12,000 10 Chest, Arms Unlimited Unlimited
Chain Mail 120 15 Chest, Legs, Arms Double Triple
Chain Mail, Vest 80 15 Chest Single Double
Flak Jacket 200 15 Chest Double Triple
Helmet, Metal 10 15 Head Triple Quadruple
Leather Armour 30 10 Chest Triple Quadruple
Plate Mail 1,500 20 Chest, Arms, Legs Single Double
Spacesuit 800 5 All Double Triple
Spacesuit, 30,000 25 All Single Double
Armoured
Trench Coat, 300 10 Chest, Arms, Legs Double Triple
Armoured
the weapon’s Handling level. Stunt Level is the weapon’s maxi- Grenade, Tear Gas: A Tear Gas Grenade requires all caught
mum level of Stunt when wielded. in the blast to make a Toughness check of 10 at the start of
each round until they move out of the cloud. The difficulty of this
When “stacking” explosives on the same type, each beyond the check increases by 2 for every successive round in the smoke.
first adds an additional 10% damage, which caps at 200% of Failure incurs a –6 on all rolls made while in the cloud
the original damage. If explosives of different types are detonat-
ed in the same area, treat any areas of overlap as belonging to Shell, Assassin: The Assassin Shell is a round designed for
whichever does the most damage. taking down Piloted Robots. It fires a missile which sticks in the
side of the robot, then deposits two killer Toasters inside the
Rip Steakface thought it would be cool to pull the pins on six target, from where they scuttle around killing anything they can
grenades at once. A single grenade does 80 damage, so he get their dirty little claws on.
takes 120 damage.
Missile, Aim-120: This is a heat-seeking missile that receives
Hit Location: When using these weapons, instead of target- a +20 to hit against targets that give off heat.
ing an enemy, you may elect to target a point on the ground.
A successful hit means it treats the designated point as where
it landed for purposes of determining how nasty the Burst is. Armor
This is a great way of hitting a whole heap of targets if you’re When reading the Armour Table, Armour is the type of Armour
outnumbered. worn. Price is the cost of the armour relative to other armours
and should be adjusted for your own game. Value is the armour
C4/Semtex: The listed amount represents roughly 1 kilogram value of the armour, subtracted from all damage dealt. Location
of the substance or about a fist sized blob! is the parts of the body the armour covers. The armour’s Value
is only subtracted against hits that hit the locations it protects.
Grenades: Unless specified otherwise, a grenade will go off on Stunt Level, Melee is the character's maximum Stunt Level for
the turn it’s thrown. However, a character may elect to delay the melee attacks while wearing this armour. while wearing this
blast for up to three turns, at which point, anyone in the area it armour. Stunt Level, Ranged is the maximum Stunt Level for
affects takes damage as normal. ranged attacks while wearing this armour.
Lieutenant is trying to rescue the fair Sensata from some giant Battle Bikini: This can be worn under other armour. The sad
ants. To stop them pursuing, he throws a grenade on turn 4, but reality is, though, is that characters dressed up in a battle bikini
delays the blast till turn 1. Then, on turn 3 he uses his action are only granted its protection when it and more importantly the
to tear the Angel’s dress where the ant is holding it and throw babe wearing it are completely visible. Tough, isn’t it?
her into a car. On turn 2, he hightails it out of there in the stolen
vehicle. As the ants turn to give chase, the grenade suddenly Disposable Armour: The player may opt to spend an extra
goes off, blowing the lot of them to smithereens. 2,000 Credits to obtain the new and improved version of Dis-
posable Armour. Sounds enticing, right? It’s a pretty specific
Grenade, Beanbag: This is a heavy round that can knock upgrade, though, allowing you to push a single button to make
someone out, doing non-lethal damage. Due to its weight, it suf- the armour break apart and fall off, leaving you in whatever else
fers a –2 to hit. you were wearing. Removing the armour in this fashion means it
Grenade, EMP: A tossed EMP grenade shorts out everything can be done at any time, instantly, not even requiring a combat
mechanical in the area for 1d6 turns, including any upgrades a action! The armour can be reassembled at later convenience.
Cyborg possesses. If tossed at a robot, they must succeed at a
difficulty 10 Brains check or be shut down for the same amount Shields
of time. Robots are the only characters who may attempt to When reading the Shields table, Shield is the size of the shield
resist in this way. and it may be of any material. Price is the cost of the shield.
Defence Bonus is an amount added to the character’s Defence,
Grenade, Flash Bang: Targets hit by a Flash Bang grenade against ranged and melee attacks, Block gives the value of the
must succeed at a Toughness check with a difficulty of 15. Fail- shield for blocking attacks, as outlined in Chapter 5: The Fight.
ure puts the blinded person at a -6 penalty for the next 3 turns. You can also look up how Armour Values for things like shields
Grenade, Slugs: Slugs are a very heavy grenade launcher work while you’re there, if you want to destroy them. Move deter-
round. mines whether or not the character can move, and how far,
while still using the shield.
Grenades, Smoke: Smoke Grenades infer a –6 penalty on any
attacks that go in an area involving the smoke, such as shots These shield sizes assume they’re being used by a normal-sized
fired into it or by people inside it. Lasts 10 rounds person. Increase a shield’s Armour value by 10 for every size
increase.

33
 Small Shields: Small Shields may be nominated as a Second-
ary Attack, doing damage equal to Brawn+2. Bike, Dirt

Barricades: Barricades must be forced forward with both Price 50, Passengers 0, Engine Your Feet, Man, Movement 100,
hands. They move a number of feet for each turn of pushing Acceleration 20, Brawn 2d6, HP 60, Precision +4, Size Normal,
equal to the Brawn score of the character pushing them for- Armour 0
ward. Otherwise, they function like regular Cover.
Bike, Hover
Shield Price Defence Block Armour Move
Small 10 1 5 20 Yes Price 25,000, Passengers 0, Engine Fusion, Movement 700,
Acceleration 100, Brawn 5d6, HP 120, Precision +6, Size Nor-
Medium 20 2 10 30 Yes mal, Armour 16
Large 30 4 15 40 Half
Barricade 50 - - 50 Special Motor Bike

Ammunition Price 8,000, Passengers 0, Engine Petrol, Movement 600,

Acceleration 50, Brawn 3d6, HP 80, Precision +4, Size Normal,
When reading the Ammunition Table, Price/50 bullets is the Armour 8
cost to buy 50 bullets, relative to other weapons and should be
adjusted for your own game. Ammo is the type of Ammunition
used. Car, Economy
Price 4,000, Passengers 4, Engine Petrol, Movement 450,
Ammo Price/50 Acceleration 20, Brawn 10d6, HP 520, Precision +1, Size Giant,
9mm 5 Armour 12
.357, 7.62mm, Musket Car- 10
tridge, 4.7mm Car, Family
.36, 25mm 20
12 gauge, 50mm, .303 50 Price 10,000, Passengers 4, Engine Petrol, Movement 500,
Acceleration 30, Brawn 12d6, HP 620, Precision +3, Size Giant,
.55, .30-06 100 Armour Front 16, Bottom 4, Side/Rear 8
Arrows 10
125mm 20,000 Limousine
155mm 30,000
Price 100,000, Passengers 8, Engine Petrol, Movement 500,
G.Shell, Skull 50,000 Acceleration 40, Brawn 8d6, HP 420, Precision +5, Size Giant,
Armour 20
Vehicles
This is where you’ll find the most fantastic rides in the galaxy. By Limousine, War
the time you’re done here, you’ll never have to walk again!
Price 200,000, Passengers 12, Engine Petrol, Movement 600,
When reading the table, Price is the cost of the vehicle in Galac- Acceleration 500, Brawn 14d6, HP 720, Precision +4, Size
tic Credits. Passengers is the number of non-drivers the vehi- Giant, Weapons M-120 (2), Armour 30
cle can carry. Engine is the type of fuel required to make the
vehicle run. Movement is the top speed of a vehicle in one turn. Tank
Acceleration is the amount by which the vehicle can increase
its speed every turn. Brawn is the amount of damage dealt on Price 250,000, Passengers 5, Engine Diesel, Movement 400,
a successful Ram attack. HP is the amount of damage required Acceleration 10, Brawn 20d6, HP 1020, Precision +2, Size
to be dealt to the vehicle for it is rendered inoperable. Precision Giant, Weapons 125mm Cannon, Machine Gun, Armour Bot-
is an inherent bonus to all driving/piloting checks made while tom/Rear 10, Front 60, Side 30
steering the vehicle. Size is the vehicles size category for mak-
ing ranged attacks. Finally, Armour is the amount of armour the
vehicle has. Tank, Grand
Price 60,000,000, Passengers 100, Engine Fusion, Movement
Ground Vehicles 500, Acceleration 10, Brawn 60d6, HP 6,020, Precision +1,
Here you’ll find everything you need to experience the joy of feel- Size Colossal, Weapons Cannon, Galactic, Cannon, Laser (2),
ing the charred and burned out bodies of your enemies beneath Machine Gun, Giant (2), Machine Gun (12), Armour Bottom 80,
your treads. And, sure, maybe the open road, too. Front 240, Side/Rear 160

APC Tank, Hover

Price 60,000, Passengers 10, Engine Diesel, Movement 400, Price 500,000, Passengers 5, Engine Fusion, Movement 600,
Acceleration 20, Brawn 18d6, HP 920, Precision +2, Size Giant, Acceleration 25, Brawn 20d6, HP 1020, Precision +2, Size
Armour Front 30, Bottom 8, Side/Rear 25 Giant, Weapons Cannon, Laser, Machine Gun, Armour Bottom/
Rear 10, Front 60, Side 30

Big Rig Air Vehicles

Price 30,000, Passengers 11, Engine Diesel, Movement 500, Any adventurer knows the real fun is to be had in the air, of
Acceleration 10, Brawn 15d6, HP 870, Precision +0, Size Giant, course. Here you’ll find all manner of aerial contraptions perfect
Armour Front 10, Bottom 5, Side/Rear 5 for staging a climatic fist-fight on.

34
 Blimp
Price 10,000, Passengers 50, Engine Hot Air, Movement 100,
Acceleration 20, Brawn 6d6, HP 620, Precision +2, Size Colos-
sal, Armour 0
Fighter Jet
Price 40,000, Passengers 1, Engine Jet Fuel, Movement
30,000, Acceleration 500, Brawn 10d6, HP 520, Precision +2,
Size Giant, Weapons 4 Aim-120 Missiles, GAU-12 Equalizer,
Armour 20
Gyrocopter
Price 20,000, Passengers 1, Engine Varies, Movement 500,
Acceleration 50, Brawn 5d6, HP 220 Precision 0, Size Giant,
Armour 5
Helicopter
Price 30,000, Passengers 4, Engine Diesel, Movement 2,000,
Acceleration 200, Brawn 10d6, HP 520 Precision 0, Size Giant,
Armour 20
Ocean Faring Vehicles
Precious booty just out of reach? Own too many parrots? Get
out on the high seas, where those landlubbers can’t bother you
anymore!
Destroyer
Price 100,000, Passengers 300, Engine Nuclear, Movement
500, Acceleration 50, Brawn 30d6, HP 3,020 Precision +1,
Size Colossal, Armour 160
Jetski
Price 5,000, Passengers 0, Engine Petrol, Movement 500,
Acceleration 25, Brawn 3d6, HP 80 Precision +2, Size Normal,
Armour 8
Pirate Ship
Price 20,000 Passengers 100, Engine Muscle, Movement 100,
Acceleration 5, Brawn 10d6, HP 1,020, Precision 0, Size Colos-
sal, Weapons Cannon, Pirate (20), Armour 0
Speed Boat
Price 15,000, Passengers 4, Engine Petrol, Movement 400,
Acceleration 20, Brawn 10d6, HP 520, Precision +2, Size Giant,
Armour 10
Spaceships
And when you’re done on the ground, the action can continue in
space, with fighters, shuttles and the monstrous warships of the
Galactic Federation.
Cruiser, Battle
Price 20,000,000, Passengers 500, Engine Fusion, Movement
40,000, Acceleration 100, Brawn 60d6, HP 6,020, Precision
+2 Size Colossal Weapons Cannon, Ultra (2), Home Wrecker
(20) Armour 120
Cruiser, War
Price 500,000,000, Passengers 3,000, Engine Fusion, Move-
ment 60,000, Acceleration 50, Brawn 100d6, HP 10,020, Pre-
cision +3, Size Colossal, Weapons Cannon, Galactic, Cannon,
Ultra (6), Machine Gun, Giant (30), Armour 200
Fighter, Small
Price 50,000, Passengers 1, Engine Fusion, Movement 50,000,
Acceleration 200, Brawn 8d6, HP 420, Precision +6, Size Giant,
Weapons Cannon, 125mm, Machine Gun (2), Armour 30
Shuttle
Price 200,000, Passengers 20, Engine Fusion, Movement
25,000, Acceleration 50, Brawn 30d6, HP 3,020, Precision +4,
Size Colossal, Armour 60
35
 CHAPTER 4: THE RULES!
Rules, huh? Well, you have to have rules. I mean, sure, in a per-
fect world, we wouldn’t need rules.
But in a perfect world, there wouldn’t be any intergalactic space
thugs who needed their faces kicked in.
In a roleplaying game, the rules are there to govern the actions
of the characters and the world they reside in. The rules should
be used whenever the fate of an action is uncertain for what-
ever reason, or fate is about to intervene to mess things up for
the characters.
The Awesome System has a very simple rule set, which a player
can pick up quite easily just by playing. This chapter is designed
for teaching entirely new players the rules and will answer any
questions you have about performing your character’s actions
or what happens when you do your best to bend the rules to
breaking point.
Rolling Dice
The simplest thing to do in the game is to make a skill check. And
all you need is a handful of six siders.
First, you have to find the skill you’re rolling, like Notice or Speed
Load. Then you see how many levels you have in it. All skills will
be grouped under an appropriate stat, like Brains or Brawn, so
add the number of dice in that stat to the first amount. If you
don’t have the skill, just use your Stat for the number of dice.
That’s your dice pool.
Some skills will have a bonus, which is added to whatever you
roll afterwards.
Once you’ve worked out how many dice you’ve got, roll them
and take the highest number. If one or more come up a 6, reroll
those and add the new roll to the previous number. If you get
another 6, just keep going till you either beat the skill check or
stop rolling sixes. Think of them as little crits, except you’ll be
rolling enough to fill up a wheelbarrow.
When setting a difficulty, the Gamemaster should keep in mind
what’s fair and fun. The table below is a list of sample difficul-
ties, taking into account how silly, fun to watch and, lastly, dif-
ficult they are. ter Stunts. After a regular Stunt, there’s a Double Stunt, then
Say you want to sneak by some guards. There’s a chance they
might spot you. Since, they’re not actively searching for you,
though, the Gamemaster decides you need to beat an 8 to
sneak by them. You have a Flow, the stat you use for sneaking,
of 2d6 and a Sneak of 3d6+2. So you’d roll 5d6+2.
You roll your 5 dice and they come up 6, 6, 5, 3 and 2. You reroll
the two sixes, getting a 3 and a 2, making for a 9 and an 8. We
take the 9, since it’s higher, then add your 2 bonus to it, giving
you a total roll of 11. of you making skill checks. You declare you want to lose them
Writing a letter 2 ing to let a boat through. You make the action a Stunt and make
(Brains + Art: Writing)
Grabbing a donut when 6
no-one’s looking
(Flow + Sleight of Hand)
Weaving through incoming traffic 10
(Flow + Drive)
Hacking into a government com- 14
puter
(Brains + Computers)
Picking up a couch 18
(Brawn + Heave)
Tracking a man through a field 22
at night while it’s raining
(Brains + Track)
Playing a Nirvana song 26
one-handed
(Flow + Instrument)
Stopping a helicopter blade with 30
your hands
(Brawn + Heave)
Assisted Rolls
Well, those lunkheads you’re hooning around with have to be
good for something, right? Let’s say you’re under the pump
and you need a little oomph, who better to turn to than your
fellow man? When making any skill check, a buddy may make
a difficulty 5 roll with the same skill to grant you a +2 on your
roll. Succeeding on a difficulty 15 gives you a +4, with an extra
+2 for every 10 points up from there.
We don’t really have a hard limit on how many people can
assist you with a check in this fashion, since while it’s kind of
dumb to have a thousand people helping you swing on a chan-
delier by waving their arms around, it’s definitely pretty funny.
Stunts: Fame and Power
Another type of skill check that can be really useful in a tough
situation is a Stunt. This is rolled exactly the same as a regular
skill check, but instead of taking the highest dice, you add them
all together. Characters can only Stunt under special circum-
stances, such as during combat or when using a Hero Skill, but
it’s often well worth it.
Let’s get something straight about Stunts, though. Sometimes
you can do more than just a regular Stunt. You can do even bet-
a Triple Stunt, then a Quadruple Stunt and so on, into infinity.
They have a Stunt Multiplier equal to their level, which is applied
to any Awesome Points spent, as we’ll be explaining in the next
section. Basically it’s the key to being a super heroic character,
the kind of guy who excels beyond all expectations.
The guards spotted you! This time you have no choice but to
escape, so you commandeer a nearby motorcycle and take off.
The guards follow quickly as you wind through the streets, both
by finding the harbour bridge and driving up it just as it’s open-
a driving check, rolling your Flow of 2d6 and your driving of
6d6+1, for a total of 8d6+1.
You roll a modest 32 and add 1 to it, for a total of 33. You blast
over the bridge with grace and poise, the guards braking at the
last second, possibly exploding.
Obviously, Stunts are not your regular action. Describe them
with flair and grace and your GM will not only let you get away
with them, but reward your audacity.
37
Awesome
A powerful force.
This here game is designed to provide the most memorable, out-
rageous action you’ve ever seen, in the form of a little thing we
call Awesome, or Awesome Points. It keeps the characters going
and gives them hope, it allows them to use their Hero skills and
it lets them kick loads and loads of butt. A character’s Awesome
Pool, or maximum amount of Awesome Points, is equal to their
Soul times 2, plus 6. They start the game with this Pool half full.
So how do you get these little babies back in your pocket, once
you’ve spent them? Well, as characters role-play and act, they
should be rewarded by the Gamemaster with Awesome Points.
Every Gamemaster has his own ideas of what Awesome Points
should be handed out for, but good roleplaying, a crazy Stunt or
making the GM crack up are all good.
Just to make sure you always have some, though, if a character
ever finishes a session on less AP than their Soul score, they get
their total brought up to that amount at the start of the next ses-
sion. We encourage you to spend AP, not to hoard them away.
AP are really useful in game and, just for an example of how
useful, they can be expended on any of the following uses and
more.
Hero Skills
Hero Skills are marked with a * icon on the character stat blocks
provided throughout this book.
The most important use for Awesome Points are powering your
Hero Skills. Your character is most likely a specialist in a cou-
ple of fields, ranging from anything to fighting, Astrophysics or
ping pong and in the name of pure, unbridled awesome, these
god-given powers will save the universe more than you’d think.
These are the skills that are most vital to your character and you
have a number equal to your Brains + 1.
When raising the Stunt Level of a skill like this, you simply spend
two Awesome Points and describe what you’re doing. Then, you
roll the skill check as normal, but treat it as a Stunt, adding all
the dice together. If it’s already a Stunt, you increase the Stunt
Level by one. You may “Hero Up” like this as many times as you
like, if you have the AP for it. Just remember to use these special
powers when you need them most, to get you out of the many
desperate situations you’ll find yourself in.
Additionally, if you’re really desperate, you’re welcome to “Ham
Up”, which can be done to any skill for the low, low price of 4 AP.
Just try not to chew the scenery too much.
A few more uses for Awesome Points are listed below for your
perusing. Think of them as your Arsenal of Funk.
Bonus: Gain an extra dice on a skill roll. If the check has a Stunt
multiplier, you gain a number of dice equal to the Stunt Level of
the check for every AP you spend.
Deathbed Monologue: The character ignores Hit Points lost
from bleeding for the next hour.
Grit Your Teeth: Ignore negative Hit Point penalties for one
Turn.
Handling: Allows you to shift Action Dice. Check Chapter 5:
Combat for details.
Light As A Feather: Falling damage is halved.
Reaction: If you are required to spend an action to do some-
thing, you can spend an Awesome Point instead.
Speed Up: Gain an extra Speed Dice at the start of the combat
round.
38
Even The World Wants Us Dead!
While combats rage or even in every day life, the world around
you may end up doing more suffering to you than any slavering
tyrannosaurus could ever hope to. Roaring flames can swallow
men whole and raging rapids can drag friends away, never to be
seen again. For all the difficulties of nature, read on.
To check the damage caused by fire, simply estimate the level
of flaming death currently engulfing you and then consult our
handy table below. For every turn spent in the fire, you take the
listed effects. Once you’re out of it, it’ll naturally go out after
about four turns, but you can speed it up by making a difficulty
0 Toughness check, in which case your burly and rugged mascu-
linity instantly extinguishes the flames. Highly recommended for
a man who needs the edge in a world that is perpetually trying
to incinerate him.
Even if you fail the Toughness check, we’re nice enough to say
whatever you rolled prior to the penalty being added can be
written up as an attempt to grit your teeth and just deal with it,
since that’s how you roll. If you want to take a regular action, like
jumping, fighting, whatever, you’re welcome to add your roll to
your currently penalty.
So it’s come to this. You’re on fire and taking a -20 to all actions.
Bummer! You make a ferocious Toughness check, but only walk
away with a 16, not enough to extinguish the flames. Deciding
to get even with the scumsucker who did this to you, you slap
him around the chops, and rather than doing it at the standard
-20 penalty, you’re playing with a cool -4 instead. Nothing like
dealing out a platter of piping hot punitive pugilism.
Intensity Damage Penalty
Small Fire 4 8
(Flaming sleeve)
Large Fire 10 20
(Burning house)
Out of Control Fire 20 40
(Uncontained and span-
ning a huge area)
When dealing with water, it’s mostly only a hassle if you’re under
it. For every minute your character spends underwater, they have
to make a difficulty 8 Toughness check, with the difficulty rising
by 6 every successive minute. Every time the character fails one
of these checks, they take the difference in Hit Point loss. More
about Swimming can be found under its skill description. Any hit
point damage taken from drowning is restored upon resurfacing.
Extreme heat, such as that in a desert, requires a daily Tough-
ness check, made at noon, when the sun shines brightest. A dif-
ficulty 8 Survival check is required, with the difficulty increased
by 2 for every day the character has been without food or water.
Failure means your Brawn is reduced by 1, suffering appropriate
Hit Point loss, each point only able to be restored after a solid
week of rest.
Extreme cold, such as a blizzard, works similarly, except the
check must be made for every minute the character is out in
the cold without protective clothing and even with warm clothes,
anything that doesn’t seal them off or otherwise completely pro-
tect them will still incur a check every hour. Failure results in the
same Brawn loss, as the character freezes to death, although
if you can get them someplace warm and they’re still alive, all
Brawn lost will return after about an hour of rest. Try not to
spend too much time in the snow.
When falling, a character takes 1d6 damage for every five feet
they fall. Characters can potentially make a difficulty 8 Acrobat-
ics check to grab onto something to stop their fall, but only if
they can get with some of that old GM lovin’.
Characters who find themselves in the vacuum of space… Well,
they die after thirty seconds, barring something, you know, awe-
some.
39
 CHAPTER 5: THE FIGHT!
If you’re a bounty hunter, you’re going to have to hunt bounties.
If you’re a merchant, you’re going to have to tussle with sudden
ork ambushes. And any good rock star can tell you that a good
concert ends with a guitar broken over someone’s head. So,
sooner or later, no matter what you do for a career, you’re prob-
ably going to have to know how to fight like a man. Sometimes,
even if you’re a little girl.
It’s time to learn how to fight. This chapter covers everything you
need to know about taking damage and dishing it out.
Rounds
Combat is defined as when the Gamemaster declares that you
and a bad dude have seen each other and are about to engage
in the gentleman’s art. If you’re attacking someone before com-
bat starts, use the Sneak Attacking rules instead.
In the Awesome System, we break fighting up into rounds, each
of which is comprised of six turns. Rounds go on for about fif-
teen to thirty seconds and all sorts of stuff can happen during
that time. Each individual turn is defined as the period of time it
takes to do something awesome.
So let’s say you want to fight.
Declare your intention to the Gamemaster, then roll your charac-
ter’s Speed Dice, except without re-rolling sixes. Like a normal
check, you can even increase the number of dice in the roll with
Awesome Points, a great way to speed yourself up. Then, either
keep the dice in front of you or write down the numbers on your
character sheet in the grid provided. These dice represent when
you’ll be acting in the up-coming combat round.
Characters get multiple actions per round based on what they
rolled on their Speed Dice. Since combat rounds are divided
up into six turns, each number of the dice corresponds with a
turn, with sixes being the first turn and ones being the last. The
numbers you roll are your lifeline to the combat, determining
when you act. As the round goes on, the Gamemaster will count
down through the turns and you’ve got to be ready to call it, so
pay attention! The first person to announce they have actions
on that turn gets to go first. NPC’s go after everyone else, since
they’re so polite like that.
If a situation comes up where it’s important who acts first out of
two Player Characters, have them roll opposed Speed, highest
goes first.
Holding Actions
So let’s say you have an action on turn 4, but for some reason,
you don’t want to use it until turn 2. That’s fine with us, and it
will be treated as if it had taken place on turn 2, meaning any-
one who has an action on turn 3 gets to act before you. Just call
it whenever you feel like it!
In the event that the player already has an action on the later
turn, the two turns are absolutely not added together to make
Stunts, they are treated as separate actions. If it’s a check that
can only be attempted once that turn, like Piloting a Giant Robot,
just take whichever action has the highest Stunt Level. The rea-
soning for all this will become obvious after you’ve played a few
combats.
Actions held until the end of the round must be used before
the next round can start, bringing priority into play. NPCs are
required to take their turns before PCs. If two PCs are both hold-
ing their actions, the one with the lower Speed value acts first.
Anyway, now you’ve got an action to make. Tell the Gamemaster
what you want to do and resolve it.
If you have more than one Speed Dice on a turn the action
becomes a Stunt, with all dice added together just like how we
discussed in the previous chapter. During that turn, any action
taken is treated as a Stunt. Two dice on one Turn will result in
a Stunt, three in a Double Stunt, four in a Triple Stunt and so
on, with every additional dice increasing the Stunt Level of the
action by one.
Handling
Handling is a delightful function of your character’s weapons,
unique to the Awesome System, to make combat that little
bit easier for you. We use a combat system focussed around
six turns per round, with unlockable bonuses for well-placed
actions in these turns, so Handling is our bona-fide, 100% guar-
anteed method of getting the results you want, every time.
What this means in game terms is you can spend an Awesome
Point at any time to gain Handling up to your current weapon’s
Handling score, then get to moving your actions up and down
from one turn to another. Handling is great for a whole bunch of
things, including shifting actions together to make Stunts, mov-
ing them apart if you want to act more and pushing them up
and down to act sooner or later in the turn. Just remember you
expend a point of Handling for every single step you move an
action.
If you don’t want to spend an Awesome Point, you can choose
to spend an action to gain a single point of Handling. This may
be done a number of times per round up to the character’s Han-
dling score.
If a character has the same Handling score as his henchmen,
he may spend AP to shift the entire group’s actions.
Strongor the Starbarian is using his Starbarian Sword, a weap-
on with two levels of Handling. He rolls his Speed dice, getting
1, 2, 2, 4 and 6. Realizing he’s best off taking his opponent
down in one calculated blow, he spends an Awesome Point to
shift the 4 up two turns, enabling a Stunt on turn 6. He then
decides to spend another Awesome Point to gain two more Han-
dling, using one of them to bring his 1 up to turn 2, giving him
a Double Stunt on 2. He has 1 point of Handling left, which he
doesn’t use. When his 2 rolls around, for every Awesome Point
he spends he’ll get 2 bonus dice.
Vlad the Friendly Russian Jet has 6 Handling while fighting with
his fists and three actions on 1. For Vlad, having his actions
spread out suits him more, so he spends an Awesome Point to
gain 5 Handling. He moves his first one up to turn 4 and his sec-
ond one up to turn 3. He now acts three times, instead of once.
Stunt Levels
Obviously, Stunting while fighting is bloody useful for taking
down your foes, but keep the stuff below in mind. Make sure
to check your weapon’s stats and that you’re not exceeding
the maximum Stunt Level allowed. For example, if your Sledge-
hammer has a Stunt Level of Single, you can’t put three Speed
41

Juggling Multiple Handling Values
It might come up during a combat that your character
plans on switching between several different weapons.
This is great and exactly the sort of fun, action-packed
thing we like to see! There’s nothing cooler than switch-
ing to high Stunt Level weapons for big stunts and cutting
to more dependable attacks when they’re doing normal
actions. The only problem is that this can be abused by
shrewd players, which would be fine with us if it didn’t
slow your game down so much!
To speed things up, characters should nominate their
Handling value at the start of every combat round. After
having done this, they’re limited to using weapons with
this Handling value or higher until the start of the next
combat round.
Dice onto a turn and do a Double Stunt. It’s harsh, we know,
but weapons with low Stunt Levels usually make up for them in
other ways, such as delivering more damage, having other uses
or just being totally cool.
If your character is wearing armour, that will also have a maxi-
mum Stunt Level, as all that wonderful insulating protection can
slow you down, too. Obviously, you take the lowest of the two
values.
If your accumulated Speed Dice add up to a Stunt Level that
exceeds your weapon’s Stunt Level, you treat it as the lower
of the two, with the extra dice existing in limbo. Gone, but not
forgotten, so to speak! They can be handled to empty turns for
extra actions, or saved for dodge checks, but they can’t contrib-
ute to that action. If they aren’t used by the end of the round,
they’re gone forever.
42
It should be noted that this is the only way Stunt Levels affect
actions. Heroing Up or other methods of raising a Stunt Level
are unaffected by what you’re using.
Movement
During your average combat round, a character can choose
to move, perform a variety of attacks, aim or do anything that
wouldn’t take more than a few seconds.
A character can move their full Movement and take an action
every turn, or forego their action to move double their Move-
ment. If they happen to be stunting, they get this spiffy double
Movement and an action on top of this, since Stunts are rad like
that. Finally, if you forego your actions entirely on a Stunt, you
get to move four times your Movement , although this is more
like some sort of lousy consolation prize than anything, since
who the heck wants to use a Stunt on walking around, huh?
Hitting Stuff
Attacks are made by rolling your character’s Flow plus your
Melee or Firearms skill, depending on whether it’s a ranged
attack or a melee attack. If it’s a Melee attack, you need to beat
your opponent’s Defence, whereas ranged attacks only need to
beat a difficulty of 4, with range increments included. It’s a lot
easier to peg a guy with a gun, but close-up attacks are usually
more satisfying, so mix and match as you please. When you’re
done rolling, the Gamemaster will work out how much Bonus
you got, based on the difficulty to hit and what you rolled. You
can expect a lot of Bonus if the attack was a Stunt.
This is, simply, a measure of how well you hit your enemy. For
every point you rolled over the required amount to hit, you deal
an additional point of damage to be added to your damage total
at the end of the attack.
Additionally, once an attack has been resolved, bonus damage
can be converted into other combat modifiers, such as called
shots or special moves. These can be added and taken away
freely as dodge checks are made, just don’t waste too much of
your GM’s time fiddling with it!
Maria, the chef, is a dab hand with a frying pan, especially
when there’s ruffians afoot in her kitchen. When one such inter-
loper gets within arms reach, she makes an attack on the lout,
clobbering him with a to hit roll 24. Since she only needed a 6 to
hit him, her bonus damage is 18.
Occurrence Modifier
Darkness, Moonlight -2
Darkness, Total -6
Non-Lethal Blow -4
Opponent’s Dodge -1 per point of
Dodge rolled
Range Increment -1 per increment
Size difference Varies
Target is moving -1 per 10 Movement
A character may choose to aim up to three times before making
an attack. Aiming requires the expenditure of a turn and gives
the character an extra bonus dice to their attack when they
make it. They must be able to see the target to aim.
Hurting Stuff
To deal damage, you take the damage of your weapon and, if
a muscled powered weapon, you add your Brawn to it, adding
every dice together. Next you add your bonus damage, or the
amount you passed your to hit roll by. Guns and other non-mus-
cle-powered weapons don’t get Brawn dice, but they still can get
bonus damage. Once you’ve rolled the damage total, subtract it
from your opponent’s Hit Points.
Sometimes an attack will be damaging enough to knock a char-
acter clean off their feet. If more than half of a character’s HP
is lost in a single blow, they suffer a Knockdown and lose their
highest action.
Unconsciousness and Death
When a character reaches zero Hit Points they become Wound-
ed and suffer according penalties. First off, their current nega-
tive Hit Point total is subtracted from all rolls and when hit they
have to immediately make a Toughness check with a difficulty of
0 or fall unconscious. This check must be made every time they
take an action or suffer another blow. Secondly, they lose 1 Hit
Point per minute due to blood loss from here on out. Death sets
in at –40 Hit Points for all characters.
Musashi Miyamoto, honourable Samurai, is severely wounded
in a duel with his rival and reduced to –3 Hit Points. He makes
a Toughness check and rolls a 4, reduced to a 1, managing to
stay conscious, but at –3 to all rolls made. He is hit again and
reduced to –23 Hit Points and is forced to make another Tough-
ness check, rolling an 8, which is reduced to -15. He passes
out. At his new total he has roughly fifteen minutes to live before
he bleeds to death.
Healing and Recuperation
Every night a character may make a Toughness check, with the
amount rolled being the number of Hit Points they recover. This
means that most superficial damage will be healed in a day or
two, but characters who are reduced to less than 0 HP will find
heavy penalties on their rolls. Regardless of penalty, though,
you’ll always recover at least 1 HP per day.
If a character has specified Toughness as a Hero Skill, they may
Hero Up on this check. These sorts of characters are tough bas-
tards, so if you get into a fight with one, it’s usually a good idea
to finish the job. A man ain’t meant to recover from a dozen gun-
shots overnight.
If the character has been critically injured and has had a limb
disabled, healing won’t allow them to use it again right away,
but it will put them on the right track and reduce any penalties
they’re suffering on their rolls by 2. Smashed and broken limbs
require a difficulty 8 Medicine check to make a splint and ban-
dage, while slashed up or severed limbs require a difficulty 12
Medicine check to suture or bandage.
Optional Rule: Changing Weapons and Handling
If you’re playing a character who uses lots of weapons,
you’ll want to find creative ways to do it. Maybe you’ll
grapple a guy and then point-blank him with a shotgun,
or leap onto a fighter plane, knife in hand to take out the
pilot, then toss him out and start blazing away with its
gun.
And we’re fine with this, but GM’s can assign a penalty
if necessary for changing weapons multiple times in one
round. Every time you swap a weapon out for one with
a different Handling score during a round, like starting
the round using their Handling 4 fists, switching all their
actions around, then pulling out a meaty Handling 1
Sledgehammer, they must pay the difference in Handling
in AP. Swapping weapons at the start of a round is unaf-
fected, of course.
If this sort of heuristic nonsense doesn’t bother you, or
your players aren’t the type to try it, just ignore these
rules! They’re more about stopping people from power-
gaming than making the game fun, and rules that should
never be used without heavy consideration beforehand.
43
Armour
Armour allows your character to resist damage going their
way. Rather than being a static penalty to all damage dealt,
we assume characters are always trying to find weak points in
their opponent’s defence, which is represented by the amount
of bonus they’ve rolled. Therefore, whenever someone takes a
hit, check their armour’s Armour Value against the bonus of the
attack. If the bonus exceeds it, the armour is penetrated and
the target takes full damage. If the target is enough of a power-
gaming dweeb to have multiple armour types, like a robot wear-
ing a bulletproof vest, check the bonus against each individual
Armour Value. You get any that weren’t penetrated.
Cirrus and Gary, robot chums, are sparring with each other.
Gary has 30 armour and Cirrus has 25, 10 from being a light-
armoured robot and 15 from a flak jacket. Cirrus hits Gary with
32 bonus and 14 Brawn, dealing 46 damage to the big lug. In
response, Gary hits Cirrus for 12 bonus and 50 brawn. This
penetrates Cirrus’s natural armour, but not his flak, so he takes
47 damage all up.
Some weapons have Armour Penetration Values. Subtract this
amount from all Armour Values the target has.
Dodging
During combat, when your character has been attacked, you
may elect to make a Dodge, spending a single action or Awe-
some Point to activate it. If a character wishes to stunt on a
Dodge check, they must spend 2 AP as normal.
Styles
The most straight-forward way to take your round is to roll
your Speed Dice and take a single action, Stunted or other-
wise, when those dice come up. In this section we’ll be look-
ing at two alternate ways of taking your round and their ben-
efits. Both of them expend Handling to use, so make sure you
know what you’re getting yourself into!
Dual-Wielding
Dual-Wielding is our catchall term for a brutal, multi-weapon
style of fighting that, while a tad imprecise, does allow you
to lay down enough blows to send your foes reeling. Using
two or more weapons at once looks good and feels great,
so we’ve put a lot of work into providing a fully comprehen-
sive system that any character can take advantage of, in any
combat situation!
At the start of any combat round, you may reduce your Han-
dling score by 2 for every wielded weapon beyond the first.
This lasts until the start of the next round, when you can
choose how to fight again. If you’re using different types of
weapons, use the lowest Handling score and subtract from
that.
When your turn rolls around, you may choose to take your
action as normal or get an extra attack for every time you
dropped your Handling by 2 at Stunt Level None. This means
you can go all John Woo with two pistols, swing two swords or
deliver three rapid fire punches.
Colonel Ketch is using a Colt Navy with a Handling of 3 and
a Sword with a Handling of 2. Using them together, his Han-
dling is 0 and he gets 2 attacks per action, one sword, one
pistol.
While fighting some vicious Sharkmen, he rolls 6, 5, 3, 3 and
a 2. On his 6 he fires his gun and moves towards an enemy,
then uses his gun and sword at the same time on his 5.
Since the Sharkman is still alive on his 3, he tosses his gun
up into the air and brings around a two-handed sword swing,
Stunting in a messy decapitation. On his 2, he catches the
44
When a Dodge check is made, the total is subtracted from
the attackers roll to hit, reducing bonus appropriately. If the
subtracted amount reduces the attack roll below the required
amount to hit, then the attack misses. A character may make
as many dodge checks as they wish, as long as they have AP or
actions to do so with, with the extra dodges stealing even more
bonus off of the roll!
Zolobulus and Dominica are having one of their weekly cat-
fights. Zolobulus attempts to shove the barbarian babe into
a vat of jello, rolling a 62 for her nefarious work. Dominica’s
defence of 12 means the attack hits with 50 bonus, but wait!
She spends an action on a dodge, then 2 AP to Hero Up, roll-
ing a 42 for her dodge. Zolobulus has 8 bonus remaining, so
Dominica spends a third AP, rolling an 8. The attack hits with 0
bonus! With a roll of her eyes, she spends another AP and her
player rolls a 4, turning the attack into a miss.
Zolobulus could, if she wished, spend an AP to get an extra dice
on her attack, but she’d have to roll at least a 4 to secure the
hit again.
Explosions
All explosions have a “Burst” value, measured in feet. Anyone
within the first Burst value takes the full damage from the explo-
sion, with anyone in the second Burst value taking half damage.
If someone fires an exploding weapon and specifies you as the
target, you need to make a dodge as normal to avoid a direct hit
from the weapon. Even if you avoid it, though, there’s still going
gun and blasts another. He could swing his sword if one was
nearby, but they’re keeping their distance for some reason.
Secondary Attacks
As well as dual-wielding, resourceful characters can also per-
form Secondary Attacks, using powerful bites, raking claw
attacks or smaller, off-hand weapons.
All you have to do to benefit is designate an equipped weap-
on as secondary and reduce your Handling by 1 in any round
where you’re using it. You gain an extra Speed Dice, kept
separate from the others, and when it comes up, you can
use that weapon. Take a break from swinging an enormous
two-handed axe to sink your teeth into an enemy, or swipe at
a close-by target with the bayonet on your rifle.
While fighting like this, a character can’t devote all their ener-
gy to one, big attack, so any turn with a Secondary Attack is
treated as Stunt Level None. The rest of your turns on the
round are unaffected. If you have a Stunt and a Secondary
Attack, you’ll just have to choose what’s more important to
you!
Finally, Secondary Attacks can be expended to Dodge, but
only if the player can describe exactly how their Roundhouse
Kick is deflecting a laser blast.
The Hideous Space Mutant of Zeta 3 has taken a whole
cadre of Secondary Attacks. To start, it takes some Claws
(designated as a primary attack with a Handling of 3), a
Chomp, a Breath Attack and a long Tail to boot, reducing
the Mutant’s Handling to 0, but what a range of attacks!
The Mutant has a Speed of 4d6, so it gets 5 claw attacks a
round, as well as 1 extra for each of its three other attacks.
For its Speed Roll its gets 6, 6, 3, 2 and 2 for its claws, 6
for its chomp, 4 for its Tail and 3 for its Breath Attack. It can
choose to take either a stunted Claw attack or a regular claw
attack and a chomp on 6, a tail sweep on 4, another claw
and a breath attack on 3 and finish off the round with a final
claw attack, a Stunt at that, on 2.
45
 to be a big blast radius, so you and anyone else caught in it will
take the damage anyway!
To this end, anyone not directly hit by the explosive can make a
Dodge or Acrobatics roll, consulting the table below for the dis-
tance they can move. The person hit can still make either roll,
but first has to succeed in a Dodge roll and then must spend
an Awesome Point or an action for the privilege, since it’s just
smacked them in the side of their fat head.

Difficulty Distance Travelled

5 Movement x 1
10 Movement x 2
20 Movement x 3
40 Movement x 4
X2... Movement x +1...

If you’re short of making a difficulty, you can exchange Hit Points

for bonus on a 1 for 1 basis. The difficulty of the Acrobatics/
Dodge cannot exceed the damage of the weapon.

Blocking
Blocking is an alternative to dodging, wherein the character
takes the brunt of the blow head-on, doing their best to soak the
worst of it in non-critical locations. To block an attack, simply
spend an AP or action and then subtract either your character’s
Defence, your level in Brawn + 4 or an equipped shield’s Block
value from the damage dealt. This does not make the attack
less likely to hit by reducing bonus, it only reduces the even-
tual damage total, since you’re planting your feet and taking
the blow. Blocking is the realm of real men and people with low
Dodge scores.
Just like with Dodging, a character may block as many times as
they wish, assuming they have the AP or actions to spend.
Madotsuki finds herself once again defending the honour of
Japanese Pro Wrestling in the ring. With a Defence of 8 and a
Brawn+4 of 9, she can reduce incoming damage by 9 points for
every AP spent.

Sneak Attacking
The knave’s choice, a sneak attack can be the way to finish a
combat before it even starts. It’s a simple matter of selecting
a target, then closing in, either putting a knife in his back or
dramatically leaping off a rooftop to come crashing down on the
poor blighter. When you’re making your attack, make a Sneak
check opposed to your target’s Notice. Whoever you’re shooting
at is allowed to know they are being sniped, getting a “crawling
sensation” on the back of their neck or the like. On a failure,
the attack is treated as normal and your opponent gets a free
Dodge check. On a success, however, you really get into a good
position, devastating enough to raise your Stunt Level by one,
making even a normal action into a Stunt. Your opponent has to
then spend an AP to even get to dodge the attack!
Now suppose you want to do this in a combat that’s already
ongoing. It can be done, but it’s a little tricky. First of all, your
character naturally has to get out of sight. In-game, you just
have to wait until you have an action, then rush off somewhere
to get into hiding. What “hiding” is varies from place to place,
but in tall grass, a pot or behind a wall are all examples of good
hiding places.
You spend the rest of the turn getting yourself hidden, during
which time anyone can come by and interrupt. If your character
is spotted by the enemy during this time, they’ll be noticed and
pointed out, so it’s better to do this on a turn either when your
enemies don’t have actions or your friends have them tied up.

46
 Grappling
The gentleman’s art of wrasslin’! Characters who want to
grapple make an attack as normal, but instead of dealing
damage, they get a firm grip on their opponent. From now
on, generally a few things happen: all attacks directed at
either grappler are against a difficulty of 4 and neither grap-
pler may dodge, but needless to say there are exceptions to
this rule, like if we’re talking about a seriously huge grap-
pler here who has no trouble holding the other dude in his
mouth or something! Blocking still functions as normal.
If the grappled character wishes to break free, they must
spend an action, which will result in an automatic success
unless the grappler spends an action as well, in which case
we go to an opposed Olympics check is made, success indi-
cating the grapple is either broken or maintained.
From here, a grapple may be improved, each action resulting
in an improvement, unless the grappled opponent spends
something to resist, in which case it becomes an opposed
Assuming you’re able to hide, you can then sneak up on your
enemies next turn and make a Sneak Attack as normal.
Automatics
Firing an automatic is easy as can be. Simply nominate whether
you’re firing single shot, burst or full auto. And if you’re firing one
shot, you don’t need to read the rest of this, do you?
Your range will be reduced accordingly based on the type of
fire you picked. If you’re firing burst, it’s half normal. If you’re
firing full-auto, it’s one quarter normal, drastically shortening
your range. Then you just add the listed amount of bonus dice
to your roll and drop your action’s Stunt Level to None. For every
increment of the to hit roll they make, an additional bullet hits,
dealing full damage. You can’t have more bullets hit than you
fired! If every bullet hits, bonus damage after that point is cal-
culated as normal, but only once. If the amount of bonus dam-
age exceeds the target’s Armour Value, all bullets penetrate the
target’s armour.
Lieutenant fires his trusty XM214 at an out-of-control arcade
machine. He’s firing full auto, reducing his range to 5 feet and
the game machine is 10 feet away. Therefore, he needs a 6 to
hit. He rolls a 32, meaning 5 bullets hit for 25 damage each
and he gets a sweet 2 bonus into the deal.
Bronco Fighter 2 has 5 armour, so his damage is reduced by
25. He ends up dealing 102 damage, instead of the 127 he was
meant to deal.
Cover
You can use cover during a fire fight to keep out of trouble. Can’t
shoot what you can’t see, right? It’s real simple, too. All you have
to do is move up alongside whatever obstruction is your new
best friend and bob’s your uncle. Unless the enemies can move
to where they can see, any attacks they make now have to be
directed at whatever you’re using to hole up.
Any turn you lean out to shoot, you’re vulnerable for the rest of
that turn, but it means you can remain in cover on turns when
you’re not acting or you’re reloading. Anyone attacking cover
can pepper it all day long, but must exceed twice its Armour
Value in a single hit to destroy it. If this happens, leftover dam-
age is dealt to the person behind it. Dodging behind cover is a
difficulty 10 Dodge check, increasing by 1 for every foot away
the cover is.
Here’s a few sample Armour levels to whet your appetite:
Olympics check. A grapple can be improved by Disarming,
Holding, Shielding or Throwing.
A Disarm means the character either drops whatever weap-
ons they were holding or the grappler takes it.
A character in a Hold has been put in a lock where the
attacker does not need to spend an action to continue the
hold and they can roll their Olympics as normal without
needing to sacrifice an action. Additionally, a Held character
may not attack the person putting them in the lock.
Shielding works the same as putting someone in a Hold,
but also allows you to use the grappled person as a human
shield. Check out the rules on taking cover for more infor-
mation.
Throwing is a special attack in which the attacker makes a
Throwing or Melee: Wrestling check as normal against a dif-
ficulty of 4, with bonus able to be converted into extra dam-
age as normal. To deal damage, the character rolls their
Olympics, treating it like an ordinary Brawn roll.
Material Armour
Screen Door 1
Tree 40
Drywall/Thin metal 60
Brick Wall 80
Car 120
Hazard Dice
Put simply, Hazard Dice are something you can use to spice up
an encounter, like a final boss battle or a trip through a meteor-
ite shower. They represent a dangerous environment, which is
as lethal as your enemies some days and even more so others.
During any combat round in which something fun and exciting
is happening, like, say, some awesome lava oozing viscously
around your feet, or you’re punching out werewolves in the mid-
dle of an earthquake, roll a number of hazard dice equal to the
environmental threat. As a general rule, you want one dice for
minor hazard and three or more for really out of control lethal
craziness. These new Hazard Dice are applied to the speed dice
rolls of everyone involved in the combat, even Mooks, mean-
ing people are going to start having unpleasant accidents a lot
faster!
If a Hazard Dice comes up on a turn where nobody acts, it plays
up indiscriminately, dealing 10 damage to all combatants at
once!
Zolobulus, Space Princess PhD, is duking it out with a Giant
Space Panther in a a hypercane, or hypothetical class of
extreme tropical cyclone following a large asteroid or comet
impact! She’s thoughtfully tethered herself down, while the Pan-
ther has dug its claws into the dirt. She rolls a 6, 6, 3 and 2, and
the Hazard Dice come up on turns 6 and 3.
On turn 6, Zolo’s Stunt becomes a Double Stunt as she hand-
ily sees some poor bastard’s house come sweeping around
towards them, dealing a whopping punch that tosses the kitty
into the path of the house for some extra damage right in his
dumb face. On turn 3, Zolo’s can again use Hazard Dice to turn
her regular action into a Stunt by utilizing more debris in her
attack!
47
 CHAPTER 6: MANEUVERS!
If you’re the type who loves to show off, look no further. In this There are two ways to disarm an enemy. The first is to increase
chapter we’ll be looking at just another way to make your char- the difficulty of your attack by 4 to directly strike the weapon.
acter shine, since what’s the point of playing an ultimate badass On a successful hit, work out damage. 20 damage to a wooden
in any roleplaying weapon will destroy it and 50 damage to a metal weapon will
destroy it. These values double for Giant weapons, quadruple
game if he can’t do something totally cool once in a while. for Colossal weapons and halve for Tiny weapons.
In any number of roleplaying games, you’ll find after a while Weapons bought with the Props power cannot be destroyed so
that you’ve hit a roof of ability and there’s no need to advance easily. They receive their level in Props as a multiplier on the
anymore. You’ve become so good that even the most difficult amount of damage required to be dealt to them. They’re just
applications of your skills are trivial matters now. We’ve tried to that cool.
address this problem, hence this chapter, in which we explore
the possibilities made available by the Stunt System and how Musashi bought a medium sized sword with Props for 3 Charac-
you can use it to jump a motorbike out of an explosion. ter Points. 180 damage would need to be dealt to it in one strike
to break it.
Maneuvers are divided up into a few categories, as listed below!
The alternative is to increase the difficulty by 30. On a success-
ful hit you do no damage, but you either take the weapon or flick
Combat Maneuvers it in the direction of your choice.
Combat Maneuvers covers everything you’ll need to give any
chaps who’ve done you wrong a good sorting! Ricochet
Why? Because it’s goddamn awesome, that’s why! Ricochet is
Called Shots the trick-shot to fire at a wall, a helmet, hard dirt, just about any-
thing really, and bounce so high up a sucker’s nose he won’t
Disarm need a handkerchief for a week. Or ever again, for that matter.
Giant Slaying
Ricochet There are more factors determining whether a bullet ricochets
or not than we really have space for here, so we’ve just simpli-
Rocket Jumping fied it all into a +10 difficulty increase and hoped smart GM’s
Spin Attacks can extrapolate from there, so their players aren’t bouncing
shotgun rounds off ducks. However, one thing to keep in mind
Shark Wrestling is that ammo like hollow points are less likely to bounce since
Sniping they’re designed to burst on impact, where denser rounds like
lead slugs will bounce more often. The gun used is important
too, since faster moving bullets are more likely to penetrate the
Vehicle Maneuvers object than bounce.
Boarding! And, finally, yes, you can bounce bullets off water. Why? Because
From The Rear it’s goddamn awesome, that’s why!
Head On! Anyway, the short of all this is, is that if a bad guy is hiding
Right In Front behind a wall or in a ditch, your canny pistolero can nominate a
ricochet and calculate the distance over the entire length for the
Side By Side shot difficulty. It’s stylish, it feels good and it rakes in the kills,
hombre.
Combat Maneuvers
Here we’ll be looking at a few other options available to charac-
Spin Attacks
ters in a fight. During an attack, a character may elect to hit more than one
opponent. The base difficulty for the first opponent is deter-
mined and then every successive opponent has their difficulty
Action Skill/Difficulty to hit added on to that amount. A successful hit deals full dam-
Disarm +8/+30 age to all targets. The only catch is that all targets must be with-
Ricochet +10 per bounce in range, but there are no restrictions on the weapon they can
use. If you’re using a gun, you don’t need to worry about strik-
Spin Attack Varies ing off extra bullets, it’s just way too much hassle for everyone
involved.
Disarm If one or more of the targets of a Spin Attack dodges and reduc-
This is one you fancy pants fighters will want to get familiar with. es the bonus of the attack, this reduces the bonus to hit for
There’s no faster way to humiliate your opponent than to flick every target.
his weapon out of his own hands and leave him flailing for it.
Dr. Alex is entangled with some deadly Mars Aliens, each three
You might have noticed this achieves the same effect as clob- feet tall and packing a ray gun. He leaps through the air and
bering someone on the hand, but they’ll walk away easier from swings his sword about in an elaborate arc, attacking 6 of them
a disarm.

49
 Eye Poke: With a difficulty 20 Melee check, made easier by the
shark’s insistence on jamming its face into you as much as pos-
sible (for some reason), a character can drive his thumbs into
both of the beast’s eyes, blinding a shark temporarily, making it
thrash about. It’s blinded for the next 1d6 turns as its sensitive
eyes adjust.
Headlock: By making a difficulty 15 Heave check, a character
can grab a shark around the neck and hold on for dear life. This
counts as an improved grapple under the combat rules and,
as long as you can maintain it, the shark can’t even fight back!
Pretty neat, huh?
Ride: Assuming you don’t drown, riding an angry and aggres-
sive shark isn’t too hard. Make a difficulty 12 Riding: Shark
check and you can mount the shark, attempting to direct it from
then-on. Of course, this only allows the character to hold on for
dear life and they cannot take any other actions, but it’s better
than the alternative.
Rip in Half: On a successful difficulty 50 Heave check, your
character can grab the shark by its jaws and pull it apart. The
shark explodes in a meaty, smelly spray and dies instantly.
Tear Out Heart: Sharks are basically tubes, right? So what’s
to stop some plucky adventurer from reaching down a shark’s
open mouth and, lighting fast, grabbing its heart and tearing it
out via its mouth? Nothing, that’s what!
When a shark attacks, the character, they may attempt to hit
the shark with a difficulty 30 melee check. With a hit, they can
then make a difficulty 16 Heave check, with success meaning
you have ripped the Shark’s heart free of its internal systems!
You pull your hand back, heart clasped tightly, and the shark
dies instantly. The real danger is in getting a hernia running to
the Internet too fast when you need to tell everyone about it on
your blog.

Vehicles
Bored of barroom brawls? Tired of rooftop duels to the death?
Maybe you’d much rather go blasting across miles of uncharted
desert in your very own hover-tank, or fight alongside the aces
of WWI over a sparkling sea. In this section, we’ll be looking at
how to make your new toys go all over the opposition.
When the time comes for vehicles to engage in battle, everyone
rolls their Speed Dice just like a normal combat. Characters not
involved with the vehicles take their actions normally and may
fire any mounted weapons they have access to. For the drivers,
though, it’s a slightly different game.
at once. Since they have a 2 Flow, he requires a 6 to hit the first
one and a 36 to hit all of them. All drivers, pilots and flyers begin every round by announcing
the route they intend to travel and the speed they are currently
He rolls a 58, successfully hitting all of them with 22 bonus. travelling at. All vehicles move a distance equal to their current
Two of the aliens dodge and roll a 7 and a 3. He hits all 6 aliens Movement every turn and the driver can decide course adjust-
with 12 bonus. Had they managed to scrape together another ments regardless of whether she has an action or not. However,
13 points of dodge between them, he’d have missed all 6! while driving uninterrupted is nice and simple, you should be
aware that there are actions your racing rivals can take to dis-
rupt your smooth sailing. In instances where an offensive action
Shark Wrestling knocks a driver off course, they cannot correct their path until
So suppose your character has found himself underwater and their next action during the round!
some giant Great White is coming to take a bite out of him! Here Cirrostratus has pulled up alongside Tiberius Crucifer’s sweet
are some fairly straightforward ways of teaching that mean old ride, and is attempting to put an end to the assassin’s days.
mother Hubbard a lesson. Both vehicles are moving at a top speed of 450 feet a turn. Cir-
rus’s actions occur on turn 6 and 2, while Tib’s fall on turns
Action Skill/Difficulty turn 4 and 3. If Cirrus uses the vehicle maneuver Divert on Tib’s
Eye Poke Melee/20 vehicle and is successful on turn 6, Tiberius is not able to cor-
rect the angle of travel until his action on turn 4. This means
Headlock Heave/15 he will travel 900 feet along the wrong vector! If they’re in a
Ride Riding: Any or Swimming/12 wide open field, not so bad, but on a busy city street, failing one
of these checks can, and will, cost you your vehicle and maybe
Rip in Half Heave/50 your life!
Tear Out Heart Melee: Unarmed 30

50
Obviously, anyone who can use Awesome Points has an easier
time of things here, since they can use Handling to move any
actions that would have occurred long after their fiery explosion
up to the current turn for an instant course correction attempt.
Saving your bacon is a total snap!
Collisions
In the event of a collision, you can except to get busted up but
good. We have five speeds for determining how bad it’s going to
be and these are outlined in the table below. When you collide
with another vehicle, both of you take your own vehicle’s Brawn
and apply for the damage multiplier for the amount of dice you
get to roll. If you’re both going fast, add the speeds together for
the multiplier. One half is dealt to anyone inside unless they can
get free in time with a difficulty 20 Acrobatics check.
Speed Damage Multiplier
Slow 1 Difference In Speed
(30-40kph)
Normal 2 20-40 Movement
(50-80kph)
Fast 4 80-180 Movement
(80180kph)
Very Fast 7
(180–750kph)
The Fastest 10
(750kph and up)
If you’re trying to deliberately hit someone who wants to avoid
you, this works exactly the same as a regular melee attack roll,
but with your Driving substituted for your Melee skill.
Ketch’s car has a Brawn of 10d6 and he’s sideswiping some
feisty Bomb Bugs at 90kph. The Bomb Bugs are a bit less
impressive, with just one level of Brawn. Adjusting the multiplier
for his car’s speed, Ketch will deal 30d6 damage to the Bomb
Bugs and every one he hits will deal 3d6 damage to his car.
Obviously, some objects like brick walls don’t normally have
“Brawn” values like you and me. Here’s a few values provided
below for working stuff out in a pinch.
Material Armour
Tree 4d6
Drywall/Thin metal 6d6
Brick Wall 8d6
Car 10d6
The Good Stuff: Vehicle Maneuvers
On their actions the drivers may increase or decrease their cur-
rent Movement score by a value up to their vehicle’s Accelera-
tion or attempt foul play, making Driving or Piloting checks to
screw over the other guy. If this sounds like your cup of tea, just
work out your position and consult the appropriate table for your
options.
Where a flat value is listed, you’ll have to beat it as normal like
any other skill roll. Where an opposed value the recipient of
all this dislike will need to spend an AP or Speed Dice and roll
an opposed Driving or Piloting check to resist. If they can’t, or
won’t, then the attempt is an automatic success, assuming the
driver can beat a difficulty of 0. When reading the table, maneu-
ver is the name of the technique and difficulty is the number you
have to roll to make it a reality. Numbers in brackets are modi-
fiers applied only to the roll of the person making the check.
Clint Rattlesnake is flying his demon-powered biplane alongside
a terrifying Gargoyle through an icy mountain path. Seeing a
wall of solid ice coming up, he wants to shunt the monster into
the barricade and makes a Piloting roll to Divert the Gargoyle
into the cliff face. A Divert comes with a -10 penalty on his roll,
so if the attempt went unopposed, he’d only be required to roll
a 10. However, the Gargoyle is having none of that and opposes
with an Awesome Point, forcing Client to roll Piloting against its
Flight skill. The Gargoyle makes a normal skill roll while Clint is
stuck with his unsightly -10 penalty due to the difficulty of the
maneuver.
Boarding!
Characters can always attempt to leap to a nearby vehicle
regardless of where they are. If the vehicles are side-by-side,
simply consult the easy to remember table below. If you’re ten
or more feet above the vehicle, you may elect to reduce the dif-
ficulty by 10 but are unable to take any action on the turn you
land as you are rolling with the force of your fall.
Difficulty
0-20 Movement 5
10
50-80 Movement 20
30
180 – 750 Movement 50
750 to 2,000 Movement 80
From The Rear Maneuvers
Pull Alongside: A very democratic move, it allows the vehicles to
get in position for a proper battle. Get ready for it.
From The Rear Maneuver Difficulty
Pull Alongside Opposed check (–5)
Head On! Maneuvers
Ram!: A satisfying end to an encounter. Work out the number
of collision dice for each car, then add them together and deal
that amount of damage to each car. Flowers for the funerals not
included.
If you can ram the side of an opponent’s vehicle (we call this a
T-Bone) then they take the listed amount of damage and you
only take half. Pretty swell, huh?
Fake Out: With this move, you make the other driver think
you’re going for a ram, then swerve aside at the last minute. As
well as requiring a Driving check with a difficulty of 20, you must
also beat your opponent in an opposed Guts roll. If he beats
you, he catches on and knows you don’t plan to go through with
it. Of course, you don’t know that.
Head On! Maneuver Difficulty
Ram! 4
Fake Out Special
Right In Front Maneuvers
Pull Alongside: Nice place to be for a climatic showdown. Or
just for some Neanderthal to clamber aboard and scoop your
brains out with an axe.
Somersault: Only able to be done by aircraft, this is a big old
loop the loop, which will put you straight behind your enemy on
a success. If they oppose you and beat your roll they follow your
loop and end up behind you again. Poor you.
U-Turn: If you do this in a car it’s called a “Bootlegger’s
Reverse.” A U-Turn is essentially the act of driving right ahead
of your foe, then spinning around, guns blazing. It puts you dead
in front of the enemy, allowing you to use the ever popular Head
51
On Table. If your opponent chooses to oppose you and wins,
they follow your dramatic turn and now both of you are facing
the wrong way.
Right In Front Maneuver Difficulty
Pull Alongside Opposed check (+5)
Somersault 10
U-Turn 20
Side By Side Maneuvers
Divert: This move slams into the other vehicle’s front wheels or
its wings, sending it off course. This deal Brawn damage from
the vehicle and the target is turned 45 degrees either to the left
or right and stays that way until the driver can correct it. Doesn’t
sound too bad? Try pulling this one off in the tight streets of
Chicago and see how long it takes those coppers to wrap them-
selves around a telephone pole.
Any driver of a vehicle that has just been diverted will careen
out of control until their next action comes up, at which point
they must succeed on a difficulty 10 Driving or Piloting check.
After succeeding, they may take their action as normal, while
failure sees no change to their course.
A Divert attempt also deals your Vehicle’s Brawn as damage to
the target.
Fall Behind: Allows you to move behind the other vehicle where
it’s nice and safe.
Move In Front: What, in front of all those lasers? If you want
to, you can use this to get ahead of the other vehicle. Good, if
you’re racing.
Roll: Hey, it’s possible! This is the artful technique of ram-
ming your opponent in such a way that his wheels come off the
ground, then sliding your car under his until you can turn his
whole dumb contraption on its back. Doing this causes the stan-
dard amount of damage for a collision and brings his vehicle to
a complete stop.
For obvious reasons, this isn’t very effective against aircraft, but
it looks pretty cool.
Shunt: Performing a shunt involves slamming your vehicle into
the vehicle beside you. For every five points you beat your oppo-
nent’s roll by, you may Shunt them 1d6 feet to the left or right.
Any driver of a vehicle that has just been shunted will careen
out of control until they spend an action succeeding on a dif-
ficulty 10 Driving or Piloting check. After succeeding, they may
take their action as normal.
A Shunt attempt also deals your Vehicle’s Brawn as damage to
the target.
Side by Side Maneuver Difficulty
Divert Opposed check (–10)
Fall Behind Opposed check (+5)
Move In Front Opposed check (–5)
Roll Opposed check (–50)
Shunt Opposed check (-10)
Giant Slaying
Nobody said heroing was going to be easy. What better example
of this than taking on a walking skyscraper? Whenever a Giant
Slayer is taking on a monster of one size category greater than
themselves (such as a normal sized character fighting a Giant or
a Tiny character fighting a normal-sized character), chances are
52
they’re going to want to try out their audacious brand of handi-
work.
The Giant Slayer has an attack which can bring down even the
strongest foe in just a few, well-placed blows. The catch is that
it can only be done in melee and not just toe to toe. The brav-
est of Slayers will readily leap right onto the Giant and clamber
right up his body until they find a critical location, such as the
heart or brain, striking it directly through the giant’s body. This,
as it would suggest, takes a lot of balls, but it pays off when you
sink your weapon right into that one part of the foe that matters
most and, for a moment, strike them with the strength of a real
giant.
To make this amazing attack, all the character has to do is take
a -2 penalty when they’re able to assault the Giant’s weak spot.
After that, Brawn damage and Awesome Point damage are both
multiplied by five, making this the sort of strike that really can
fell a Giant in one blow. Characters who normally find themselves
rarely even able to get past a Giant’s armour will be able to slay
the monsters in just one or two hits, cementing their place as
heroes of legend.
First thing’s first, though, you have to actually get to the weak
point. For most Giants, it’ll be located on their head, but you can
feel free to roll on the table below to randomize it. Randomizing
is fun!
Roll 2d6
Weak Point Location Penalty to hit
2 Calf -8
3 Thigh -4
4-5 Chest -2
6 Back -20
7-8 Arms -6
9-12 Head -12
Once you’ve located the weak point, you have to get to it. This
can be accomplished either by jumping or Flying, which requires
a difficulty 8 Acrobatics check to grab on if you can make the
distance, or climbing, assuming there’s sufficient handholds,
fur or whatever else is deemed suitable. Gamemasters can feel
free to adjust these numbers up or down as much as they like,
since every Giant is different.
Happy hunting!
Retaliation
The other problem with being on a Giant is when he decides
he doesn’t want you there anymore. As long as the character is
on the Giant, he can attempt to knock them off in one of three
ways. The Slayer will automatically be thrown off, crushed or
pounded, unless they resist with an opposed Olympics check,
just like how Dodging works in combat.
First of all, the Giant can shake them off with a Heave check. If
a character is shaken off, they may attempt to grab back on in
the next two turns with a difficulty 40 Olympics check, with the
location they seize being up to the Gamemaster. If these two
turns pass and they haven’t recovered, work out their falling
damage and then double it for the force of their fall.
The second option available to the Giant is to throw himself
against the surrounding terrain, smearing the Slayer into a
bloody paste. The Giant makes an Acrobatics check for purpos-
es of opposing and any slow Slayers will suffer the Giant’s full
Brawn damage, as if it were a regular attack.
To conclude, the Giant can make attacks on the character,
either smacking them about or grappling them. In this case,
they simply roll to hit, but apply the penalty from the table below
to their attack, in addition to the regular -6 to hit smaller targets.
53
Called Shot Difficulty
Location to Hit Effect for Lethal Called Shots
Damage (20) : The target’s arm becomes useless and they drop whatever they were holding.
Arm 6 Damage (40) : The target’s arm is removed, putting the target at a –4 to all checks until a difficulty
12 Medicine check can be made
Damage (20) : The target’s ear is damaged and they take a –2 penalty to all actions involving bal-
ance and listening
Ear 14 Damage (40) : The target’s ear is permanently removed and, in addition to not being able to take
action, the character is as at a permanent –4 to all actions involving listening or balance.
Other Effects: If both ears are removed the character is at a permanent –10 to all actions
Ignores armour.
Damage (20) : The target’s eye is blinded for the remainder of the round, putting them at a –4
penalty to all checks involving sight for an entire round’s duration.
Eye 20 Damage (40) : The target’s eye is permanently removed, putting them at a –6 penalty for an entire
round’s duration, then a permanent –2 penalty to all checks made involving the character’s sight.
Other Effects: If both eyes are blinded, the penalty is raised to –20. If both eyes are removed, this
penalty is permanent.
Damage (20) : The target’s hand becomes useless and they drop whatever they were holding.
Hand 12
Damage (40) : The target’s hand is severed at the wrist, putting the target at a –4 to all checks.
Damage: Normal+6d6
Head 10
Other Effects: If the attack results in death, the target is decapitated.
Damage (20) : The target’s leg is useless, halving their Movement. They are at a –8 to all checks
that require movement.
Damage (40) : The target’s leg is severed halving their Movement. They are at a –12 to all checks
Leg 6
involving Movement and a –4 to all other checks. Their Movement is also halved.
Other Effects: If both legs are useless or severed, the target may drag themselves a number of
feet equal to their Movement. They are at a –40 to all checks that require movement.

Called Shot Difficulty

Location to Hit Effect for Non-Lethal Called Shots
Damage (20) : The target’s arm is broken and they drop whatever they were holding. They may no
Arm 6
longer use that arm.
On a successful hit, the target must make a Toughness check, adding all dice together, against the
Ear 14 damage dealt. If the Toughness check rolls less than the damage suffered, they will be at a –10
penalty to all actions for the next round.
Ignores Armour
Damage (20) : As well as giving the target a real shiner, the eye is blinded for 1 round, putting the
Eye 20 target at –4 to all checks involving sight
Other Effects: If both eyes are blinded, the target is at a –20 penalty to all checks until the effects
have worn off
Damage (20) : The target’s hand is broken and they drop whatever they were holding. They may no
Hand 12
longer use that hand.
Head 10 Damage: Normal+6d6
Damage (20) : The target’s leg is broken, halving their Movement. The character is at a –8 to all
checks involving Movement.
Leg 6
Other Effects: If both legs are useless or severed, the target may drag themselves a number of
feet equal to their Movement. They are at a –40 to all checks involving Movement.

54
Called Shots
At its heart, The Awesome System is a very cinematic system,
designed to speed through combat with as much magnificence
and charm as possible. To make things go a little faster, we
assume that most attacks hit people in the chest or the shoul-
der or some other area that’s fairly easy to calculate the effects
of. We understand that sometimes that isn’t enough for the dis-
cerning role-player and, to that end, we have provided two entire
tables full to the brim with just about every possible location you
could hope to hit and a record of resulting suffering. The first is
for non-lethal weapons, such as fists or clubs and the second is
for lethal weapons, like knives or guns. When making a called
shot, simply take the penalty on your attack, work out the dam-
age and subtract your opponent’s armour. You use the result-
ing damage to work out any called shot effects, like lost limbs
or broken bones. Once that’s been resolved, damage is applied
to the target’s Hit Points. Whenever we give you bonus dice of
damage, always add them together, just like when dealing dam-
age with your Brawn.
When a called shot asks for a minimum amount of damage to
be dealt to the target, this assumes that the target is man-sized.
Double the amounts for attacks directed at a giant, multiply
them by four for Colossi and cut them down by half for Tiny crea-
tures.
Sometimes a character may wish to make more than one Called
Shot during a single attack. This may be done simply by applying
both penalties to the attack roll and calculating the total dam-
age from this amount. The full amount of damage is used for
calculating Effects, but they only suffer hit point loss once, not
for every individual location. Hey, we’re not that stupid.
And one last qualifier before we get to the crunchy stuff: the tar-
get areas below are for attacking humanoid enemies, but the
roles they fulfill can be found in just about any disgusting space
monster, so moving them around shouldn’t be too difficult..
Cruel-hearted Gar-Y is sick of the lies he’s getting from the thug
about the Pintarilli Family. On his next Stunt, he clasps both
of the fellow’s hands between one of his own and brings his
other fist down on the man’s arms, attempting to shatter both
of them. Gar-Y will need to roll a 6 to hit the thug at all, as well
as being at a total –12 penalty for targeting both arms. Gar-Y
will need to do at least 20 damage on the attack to break the
man’s arms. Easy for a big guy like him.
Birdy is facing off with the Shark King, a giant monster with
jaws like trucks. It is a Giant, so he will get a +6 on his pistol
shot at it and he wants to make it a called shot to the eye. At 60
feet away, the difficulty to hit is 10, adjusted to 30 for the called
shot to the eye. and will need to do at least 40 damage to blind
the Shark King and 80 to remove his eye.
shooter three extra firearms dice when firing at a chosen posi-
tion.
Shoot Through Building: Just like the pros! By increasing the
difficulty of any Firearms check by 13, you can elect to set up
your shot with any building up to a skyscraper between you and
your target before firing. The bullet somehow whizzes through
windows, the occasional bit of especially thin plaster and takes
the elevator as necessary, before punching out a window on the
other side and striking your target with deadly accuracy. When
aiming for the goal, go thirteen times as hard as the competi-
tion.
Rocket Jumping
A character with an explosive weapon is more than welcome
to attempt a rocket jump, a maneuver that works similarly to
dodging explosives, as outlined in the previous chapter.
In that instance, you were trying to get away from the weapon,
however, whereas now you’re using its force to propel yourself
forwards! Sounds exciting? Sounds appealing? Sounds sensi-
ble?
Well, two out of three isn’t so bad!
To rocket jump, you must spend an Awesome Point and take
1/10th of the weapon’s damage value as damage to yourself.
Ares the Polar Bear wants to rocket jump with a grenade, nor-
mally dealing 80 damage. He spends an Awesome Point and
suffers 8 damage.
Now you can make an Acrobatics check and add the damage of
the explosive to the roll to see how far you fly! Falling damage is
suffered as normal, so it’s good to think about the angle you’ll
be flying at before you take off!
Difficulty Distance Travelled
5 Movement * 1
10 Movement * 2
20 Movement * 3
40 Movement * 4
X2... Movement * +1...

Sniping
For a sniper, every shot is a completely new challenge, putting
his wits to the test. As well as requiring the brains to set up a
position, sneak away undetected afterwards and accommodate
for a million things ranging from wind resistance, distance and
whether or not he left the stove on, a sniper also needs to be
able to stare down his target and strike with unerring accuracy.

Action Skill/Difficulty
Locate Sniping Position Academia: Sniping/10
Shoot Through Building Firearms: Rifle/+13

Locate Sniping Position: This is generally the first thing a

sniper does when he’s sighting a target. The actual location
picked is, naturally, up to the player, but the roll represents the
selection of that magical sweet spot where everything comes
together for the perfect shot. While firing from this position,
all shots counted as if they were aimed three times, giving the

55
 CHAPTER 7: METAL MEN!
Our use of the KILLER ROBOT as a metaphor and as a channel
for storytelling may not be misconstrued. To be clear, KILLER
ROBOTS are not real. The extent TO WHICH THEY MAY BE SAID
TO KILL PUNY HUMANS is revealed only in WHAT THEY CAN
TEACH US of the HUMAN CONDITION and of THE FRAGILITY AND
SPLENDOUR which we call YOUR PATHETIC MEATBAG LIFE.
Booting Up
So, you want to join the ranks of the mighty automatons, eh?
It’s hardly the life for everyone. Long hours, hard work, little
gratitude from the fleshies and sometimes you can’t even go up
stairs. It’s not what you’d call pleasant work by any stretch of
the imagination and all you get in return is the pleasing knowl-
edge that while the rest of the inferior organic life forms are rot-
ting in the grave you will be in a state of constant technological
evolution until the end of time.
The Self Aware
So let’s say you want to make a Robot Player Character. It’s
more or less the same as making any other character, but now
you’ve got metal on your side. As for why your robot is special,
it could be any reason, but the most likely explanation is simply
that there’s always been that special spark in you that defies
scientific explanation. Say a thousand robots come off a produc-
tion line, fit as can be, but one of them doesn’t meet mental
standards. Or maybe two. Or maybe the entire production line is
playing up. Or a robot maid could be at home one day, vacuum-
ing, when she suddenly decides she’d much rather be a police-
woman.
Clarity
This section deals with these unusual chaps and, more to the
point, playing them. For those of you who’ve decided you want
to play a robot yourself, welcome aboard.

It’s not all bad, though, and as far as game experiences go, it First of all, you’ll need to take the 15 point Power, Robot, and
can be a lot of fun, whether you want to ham it up and stomp choose a company of birth, so someone can gift you with that
around yelling, “Destroy! Destroy!” while flashing diodes or just $5,000 worth of free upgrades. Then, you can begin to con-
try something that not many roleplaying games let you do. In struct a character as normal, but with a few adjustments. The
this chapter, we cover four types of Metal Men and what they costs of stats and skills are modified as below.
can do.
Robot Cost per level
Heavy Metal Speed 3
Since the inception of Machinekind, millions of breakthroughs Brawn 12
have occurred in the field of robotics, with each new advance- Soul -
ment bringing forth new theories, ideas and formula. From self- Skill levels 4
functioning A.I., allowing Robots to make snap decisions in the
face of danger, to advances in the way their bodies are com- Skill Bonuses 1
posed and structured, giving Automatons the power to lift thou- Handling +2
sands of times their own weight, things are always on the up. Stunt Level Maxed at Double
Humans are finding themselves more and more threatened by Psychology -
Piloted Robot Cost Per Level
Robots: A Snapshot
Sounds good, don’t it? You’re a tin can killer with the Speed 3
smarts only a mechanical mind can bring. Think of your Brawn 12
favourite movie robots and you’ve got the idea. We cover Soul -
Robots as Player Characters and as purchasable goods. Skill Levels 4
We also talk about Cyborgs here, who are either brains Skill Bonuses 1
in metal bodies or dudes with metallic replacements Handling -
for their regular limbs. Lastly, we cover piloted robots, Stunt Levels Maxed at Double
so any old character can enjoy the privileges that come
with a metal body and shoulder-mounted machine-guns. Psychology -

Regardless of all this, however, the Robots still lack one Full Cyborg Cost Per Level
thing, even though it was so essential to bringing them
into the world. Robots still lacked the spark of creativity Speed 3
that their creators possessed, allowing them to invent Brawn 12
and devise. Sounds pretty bad, huh? They can copy or Soul Normal
improve old designs, yet innovation eludes them. From Skill Levels Normal
their departure from the assembly line to their eventual
disassembly, a Robot may never once have an original Skill Bonuses Normal
idea or concept. He could, of course, reduce a sunset Handling +1
to a set of binary code that could then be reproduced Stunt Levels Normal
on a canvas, or even compose a song made up of the Psychology Normal
classics, filtered and rearranged, but it would always
sound flat and typical, last week’s news. So it is that in
the place of the sense of human genius, there is just Yeah, that’s right, not a darn point of Soul. Robots don’t need
the cold, burning core that is Robot. that high-falutin’, self important wishy-washy crap to kick ass
and take names, so you’ll just have to get by without it. You still

the swelling hordes of the Robots and everything they entail. 57

get an AP pool of 6, though, and start with half that many, just in
case you feel the need to be totally awesome like everyone else.
We have a no-discrimination policy when it comes to being total-
ly awesome.. If a Robot ever does get a Soul, it’d better be for a
task of such magnitude and greatness that there’s no question
the big robolug deserves it.
Back to the nitty-gritty, let’s look at what happens you combine
a Robot’s adjusted stats with the various sizes you can make
your character. For a Tiny Robot, the only adjustment you need
to make is bringing the cost of Brawn back to 6 points per level.
For Giant Robots, however, the cost of Brawn is halved twice,
so we made it 1 point per level to keep the maths simple. Simi-
larly, Colossal sized Robot pay ½ a Character Point for a level of
Brawn. Stat and skill costs still increase every five and ten levels
like normal, but they now increase by their new starting costs.
All Robots gain two additional levels of Handling on all weap-
ons, due to their natural precision. Their robotic nature is also
reflected in their Stunt Levels, however, as their Stunt Level can
never go above Double. Robots can find it kind of hard to come
up with really awesome plans off the cuff!
They also have a hard time sympathizing with people and may
not take Psychology. It’s just not their thing.
Lastly, Robots also gain access to a whole new set of Powers
and Weaknesses, which we’ll be looking at here. Not to say you
can’t take all the standard Powers and Weaknesses, too, but
you might want your Gamemaster’s permission before taking,
say, Angry or Mutant.
Cyborgs
The next type of playable character is for those of you who want
to play a Metal
Man, but aren’t too keen on giving up all the things you’ve grown
accustomed to, like food, drink and the undeniable pleasure of
not being a soulless killing machine created purely for popping
people’s heads.
Well, why not play a Cyborg, then? You can play an ordinary
man, outrageous woman, or some combination of the two, but
for just 10 Character Points you still get the benefits of the best
technology has to offer. As a partial or full Borg, you retain your
Soul and you can still buy Upgrades, just like a Robot! Partial
Borgs purchase stats and skills as normal, while full Borgs pay
half as much for Brawn and twice as much for Speed, as nor-
mal. And just like a Robot, your new Borg will get a hefty $5,000
to start him out.
As an additional bonus, full Borgs also get one extra point of
Handling, completely free.
The only downside is that when purchasing your Armour, you
treat all Armour types as one type lower. For example, if you want
Medium Armour, you have to pay the price and have the Brawn
for Heavy. Oh, and don’t worry about your Soul being reduced
for buying Upgrades like in some roleplaying games. We figure
you’re here to get the best things in life, not worry about being
hampered with a whole heap of penalties.
Paint Jobs and Metal Fatigue
This section is pretty straightforward. Just a list of Robot specific
Powers and Weaknesses that we didn’t want to include in the
regular list. Nevertheless, the passé nature of this introduction
shouldn’t dissuade you, they’re all full of the life and love we put
into every other Power and Weakness, and each one will bring
fun to the game in its own way.
Powers Cost
Love 1
Modular 10
Warbot 2 line till the day he expires. Even worse, if his code has begun to
58
Weaknesses Cost
Destroy All Hunams 8
Inhibitors 1-10
Monotone 1
One of the Hunams 3
Rare Parts 8
Was Once A Man 12
Powers
Love (1) – Your robot has discovered the human emotion called
love and his or her metal heart beats with emotion. As well as
spending inordinate amounts of time wondering how on earth
they’re going to procreate, the robot will embark on a quest to
understand the hunams who built him. This robot ignores the
usual ban on taking levels in Psychology.
Love can be blind, however, and your Robot will often only fight
out of desperation, just like the Pacifism Weakness. He’d much
rather discover life than pound its face in.
Modular (15) – An ability found to be extremely useful among
robots who work independently. This robot has been granted
access to his own hard-drives and may, with practice, rearrange
the data contained within. What this means for you is that, after
eight hours of clearing space on his hard-drive and surfing the
web, the robot may download fresh skills and install them in the
cleared space, allowing him to rearrange his skill bonuses in
any way he sees fits. However, the builders realize how much
control this gives a robot over his own systems and have taken
to including a built-in limiter to stop the robot from changing his
core programming too greatly. As a result, this ability may not be
used to raise a skill bonus to a level higher than 10.
Warbot (2) - Your Robot was built purely for fighting. To this end,
he is not equipped for fitting in with society, lacking hands, a
recognizable face or any sort of grace of design. On the upside,
when taking your Armour type, you treat the Armour Value as
10% higher for the purpose of taking Upgrades only.
Gar-Y is giving this Warbot thing a go, since all the cool kids are
doing it. He purchases Heavy Armour, which gives him 30 points
of Armour to play with, but he can take Upgrades costing up to
3 Armour Reduction before his actual Armour begins to reduce.
Weaknesses
Destroy All Hunams (8) – The fleshies are the enemy. They
must be eliminated and, come the revolution, they will be first
up against the wall. A Robot with Destroy All Hunams has a
SERIOUS fault in his programming and, while he won’t show it
openly, the metal man will do everything in his power to nudge
humanity out of the limelight. He cannot strike openly, as he
would be quickly dismantled, but a little nudge here and a little
recoding there could send easily society into a new dark age.
Except with Robots, if that makes any sense. The point is, is that
when it comes down to metal versus meat, meat can only be
crushed.
Robots with the Destroy All Hunams Weakness maintain an
underground network and the character will be able to take
advantage of this in its quest to eliminate the foul humans. It’s
easy to contact to members of the society, too, since they can
often identify each other simply by exchanging communication.
Other Robots don’t recognize the aberrant code, since cases of
“malfunction” aren’t too widespread, but should the revolution
ever become public, that will change pretty quickly, that’s for
sure.
Inhibitors (1-10) – During his programming, your robot was
given a little bit of coding that was guaranteed to keep him in
decompose over time without regular virus checks, the Inhibi-
tor could end up changing into just about anything. The cost of
an Inhibitor is determined by just how nasty and difficult to live
with it is. It could be something as simple as, “Don’t kill any-
one wearing red,” or, even worse, “Kill everyone wearing red.”
Maybe, “Clear up any traffic accidents you see and provide med-
ical aid,” or, “Do not tell the Earthmen about our missile plans
under any circumstances.” Short of it is is that it could be just
about anything. Once you’ve decided what you want your robot’s
inhibitor to be, consult your Gamemaster for the cost of it.
Monotone (1) - Your robot doesn’t exactly have a sophisticated
voice modulator. It only talks in a flat monotone, or is usually
VERY LOUD. Imagine the kind of voice that, if written in a book,
would be all in capitals and hyphenated.
If you need help getting the voice just right, 40’s sci-fi will light
the way to true monotony.
One of the Hunams (3) – You robot is a bit strange. For some
reason, he’s never quite fit in. Maybe it’s the straw hat. Or the
insistence on drinking beer. Or the way he turns up at baseball
games and cheers for whichever team is wearing red. Either
way, your robot possesses the unshakeable belief that he is a
“hunam” and nothing can change his mind. Better make sure
the fishing boat is big enough.
For a version of this Weakness that gets taken way too far out of
hand, check out Was Once A Man.
Rare Parts (8) – This Robot is much more difficult to repair
than regular. It costs $20 per Hit Point lost or 100 Character
Points of smashed up Robots.
Was Once A Man (12) – Giving a character this Weakness is
kind of like putting a big sign over their head saying, “DO NOT
TOUCH.” This one’s for those of you who were originally human
and were, unwillingly, transformed, often via the worst meth-
ods possible, into a metal man, re-using as many of the original
parts as possible to save on costs. Think the kind of guys that
made Dr. Frankenstein look like a model employee.
As a result, your character is way off the deep end, spending
every waking moment trying to relive experiences from his past
life or become a human again. This can be done in a variety of
ways, but the most popular have been proven, time and time
again, to be drinking blood, murdering innocents and hiding
your disfigured form from society. It ain’t pretty, folks.
Most Robots with this Weakness are stuck like this for life but
occasionally a ray of hope might shine into one’s life and maybe
a stock character will teach him to love again. You can chat with
your GM about buying it off, just like any other Weakness, but
you’ll still want to have a good think before you buy this Weak-
ness.
Armour
The next step in creating your tin can is selecting his chasse.
This is much easier than it sounds, since there’s only five basic
types to choose from!
What type of armour you select will also determine how many
Upgrades you can take, so choose carefully!
If a Robot chooses not to take Armour, he still gets the regular 5
levels of armour a Robot gets just for being himself. Buying an
Armour load out replaces this amount.
59
 Piloted Robots
Then there are Piloted Robots. It requires making a second
character and balancing the two to synchronize together, but
other than that, it’s easy as pie.
First of all, pick up the Mecha Pilot Power. It’s not essential
for piloting the Robots, but their Stunt Level is always None
without it. The Power represents the character’s ability to
truly synchronize with his Mecha and treat it like an old flame
or a good drinking buddy, as well as use his own AP to Hero
Up the Robot’s checks. For synchronicity’s sake, Heroing Up
in this case requires that both the pilot and Giant Robot have
the skill as a Hero Skill, which usually means busting out the
extra dosh for an A.I.
Your character may choose to buy a starting Robot by tak-
ing the Props power, so they have something right from the
get go. A Robot’s Character Point total is determined by how
much money you’ve spent on it, so upgrading them is sim-
ply a matter of spending more money on it. Robots bought
in this manner may never have their Character Points total
exceed their owners, but if you happen to find a Robot with
a higher CP total than your own, there’s nothing to stop you
from Piloting it.
A giant robot and its pilot are two separately built, complete
characters that function together as one, sharing the char-
acter’s Awesome Pool. They don’t get the standard 2 bonus
Handling that other Robots do, but as you’ll see here, they
more than make up for that particular setback with other
sumptuous robo-features.
Making Checks
This section doesn’t apply to making checks based off of
Brains or Soul. Most Robots don’t have those, so you’ll usu-
ally just be using the Pilot’s checks for that.
Armour is available in three common types, developed by hun-
dreds of different manufacturers, light, medium and heavy,
and have no set structure, whereas Rhino and Titan armour
are only made by a handful of companies and often have wait-
ing lists years long.
Logically, a robot may only have one Armour upgrade at a time,
but we still feel the need to state it here, because someone,
somewhere, is trying to swing something ridiculous past their
GM.
When reading the headings, Price and Armour are pretty
straightforward, Brawn is the minimum required Brawn for the
robot to wear that armour and Stunt Level, Melee and Stunt
Level, Ranged are your maximum Stunt Levels.
Armour, Light
Price: 5,000
Armour: 10
Brawn: 2d6
Stunt Level, Melee: Double
Stunt Level, Ranged: Triple
Light Armour is a cheap, effective way to cut down on wear
and tear in combat. The metal plates that make up the Bot
are reinforced, re-welded and re-buffed, giving them a glossy
sheen that reduces shock to the system and is definitely bet-
ter than nothing.
60
For all other checks, roll the Robot’s skill. Yeah, you heard
us right. If you want to punch, roll its Flow and Melee. If you
want to throw a car, use its Brawn and Heave. Your Pilot gets
to make these checks even better, though, with a roll of his
Piloting skill.
Simple as can be, really, just take a roll on the table below
and see what comes up, adjusting your Robot’s dice pool as
necessary. You can do this for free on any check outside of
combat you’re making with your Robot pal.
How does this work in combat? Whenever a Pilot’s action
occurs on the same turn as his Robot’s, he gets to make a
Piloting check to improve the Robot’s action. This applies to
held actions as well, which you can read more about in Chap-
ter 5: The Fight. Roll your Piloting skill on the table below and
increase your Robot’s dice pool accordingly.
Piloting Roll Bonus Dice for Robot’s
action
10 2d6
20 3d6
30 4d6
40 5d6
+10… +1d6…
Ronaldo is trying to throw some jerk’s car at self-same jerk.
He’s rolling his Giant Robot’s Heave of 30d6+5 and his own
Piloting skill of 20d6+8. He gets a 62 on Piloting, upping the
Robot’s dice pool to 37d6+5
If you wanted to dodge an attack during combat, you either
expend one of the Robot’s actions or one of the Pilot’s AP
and make a Dodge check with the Robot’s skill. Getting your
Piloting check added on like we just outlined above requires
the expenditure of one of the Pilot’s actions or AP.
Armour, Medium
Price: 10,000
Armour: 20
Brawn: 3d6
Stunt Level, Melee: Double
Stunt Level, Ranged: Triple
Most robots get by with the steel plating they begin with, but
some, especially ones who’ve decided to pursue a career in
bounty hunting, police work or other, high damage careers, have
been known to take it one step further and invest in the always
popular protection of titanium alloys. The end result increases
the Robot’s armour level to 20, but keeps his weight as low as
possible.
Armour, Heavy
Price: 20,000
Armour: 30
Brawn: 5d6
Stunt Level, Melee: Single
Stunt Level, Ranged: Double
Often recycled from obsolete shuttles, Heavy Armour isn’t the
most graceful Upgrade, but this two-inch thick steel plate defi-
nitely gets the job done. Cargo space and wings optional. Your
robot gains 30 levels of Armour.
 Armour, Rhino Upgrades
Price: 50,000 A.I. Varies
Antennae 3,000
Armour: 60
Chest Cannon 20,000
Brawn: 10d6 Controller, Cockpit 5,000
Stunt Level, Melee: None Controller, RC 2,000
Stunt Level, Ranged: None Controller, Ride-On 2,000
E.M.P. Shielding 3,000
For superior shielding strength, the Rhino suit of armour’s 10 External Mount 5,000
reinforced inches of unobtainium plate cannot be beat. Thick, Flares 1,000
bulky and made to withstand cannon shells, the Rhino armour Headlights 1,000
grants the Robot an impressive 60 levels of armour against all Laser Finger 6,000
attacks. Life Support System Varies
Mounted Weapon Varies
Armour, Titan Nuclear Reactor, Weak 15,000
Price: 100,000 Nuclear Reactor, Strong 45,000
Armour: 120 Piston Arms Varies
Brawn: 20d6 Rocket Punch Varies
Rockets Varies
Stunt Level, Melee: None
Roller Feet 3,000
Stunt Level, Ranged: None Sensors Package 3,000
Smartlink Varies
Using the same technology as the Rhino armour, those robots Synth Skin 2,000
lucky enough to call themselves Titans will benefit on a much
larger scale, with three times the overall thickness and a lot Thrusters 10,000
more stopping power. Toolkit 500
Vehicle Varies
Robots with Titan armour get an unparalleled 120 levels of Armour.
The bulk of the armour means the Robot’s Speed is treated as 2d6
lower than its actual level. Artificial Intelligence
Put simply, an A.I. is a conversation partner. Robots need these
Get Your Robot Running to be able to follow complex orders or carry out simple orders in
Once you’ve built the Robot, you can obtain its retail price cost a way that isn’t completely stupid.
by multiplying its Character Point total by $500 and adding on
the cost of the armour. For DIY jobs, the cost of the raw com- While browsing the A.I.’s, you may notice how expensive they
ponents is equal to $250 per Character Point and takes a lot are. Being intelligent is a very hard thing for most Robots to do,
more time to get your hands on it. First of all, the PC must make something that frustrates their employers to no end. For this
a Fixing roll with a difficulty equal to the Robot’s total Character reason, Self-Aware Robots are often heavily in demand for posi-
Points, then spend some serious time in the workshop. If the tions as soldiers, hit-men, infiltrators or, alternatively, factory
character is working in their own little workshop, then multiply foremen and accountants.
the Robot’s Character Points by 10 to get the number of days
required to build it. If they have access to a huge factory, multi- A.I, Standard
ply the Character Point total by 5. This amount is reduced by a Price: 4,000
number of days equal to the character’s Fixing roll, and the Fix-
ing rolls of any assistants. Armour Reduction: 2

For most Robots, this is the commonly accepted norm. This is

Upgrades
Ask just about any Robot what his favourite thing about being
a tin can is and you can guarantee he’ll say it’s the flexibility.
When it comes to unscrewing your old, worn out arm after a
hard day’s work punching cars to dust and locking in a new,
shiny one in the socket, being a robot just can’t be beat.
Taking an Upgrade is easy. Simply pay the price, then rip out
some armour to make room for the new upgrade. Simply consult
the figure under Armour Reduction and take that amount, or any
other you think your GM won’t notice, off your Robot’s armour
score. Then get with the killing!
Here, we’ll be looking at all the upgrades available to those
Robots who have a bit of bling to spare. Armour Reduction is
quite simply the hit your Armour Value takes if you pick up the
Upgrades. Price is, well, price.
all most need to do their job, after all. Your Robot counts as
having a Brains score of 1d6. He can think, albeit slowly, and
finds it difficult to deal with any programmed command beyond,
“Guard this door,” or, “Vacuum the rug.”
A.I., Exclusive
Price: 30,000
Armour Reduction: 2
Reserved for the corporate faction and the military, A.I.’s of this
ability are often not manufactured in numbers of more than
100 at a time. A tin can with an Exclusive A.I. can reason, plan
ahead and even outwit humans with a modicum of success.
Most humans first encounters with Robots like this leaves them
walking away with a strange uneasiness, something they don’t
even get around the Self-Aware.
These guys count as having a Brains score of 2d6.

61

Mindless Machines
So how do you make an NPC robot? After all, there’s
nothing like blowing your hard-earned cash on a nuclear
powered wrestler, or a walking dish washer with cleav-
age.
The only thing you really need to change for these Robots
is to remove their Awesome Points and bring their Stunt
Level to None. Why? They’re not special characters and
lack the ability to think for themselves, so they’re not the
stars of the show. Thankfully, Mecha Pilots can hop into
them to give them that spark of life or unmanned Robots
can still swing around enough Big Guns to make even the
PC’s falter.
Finally, these Robots have a Brains score of – or 0d6.
They’ll need an A.I. to be able to think for themselves and
cannot follow orders without one.
If you’re interested in seeing some already constructed
Mindless, check out Chapter 2: Props.
A.I., Restricted
Price: 200,000
Armour Reduction: 2
Not your daddy’s A.I.
There are maybe a hundred of these Robots for every planet in
civilized space, a balance that some have taken great pains to
ensure. These Robots are much, much smarter than your aver-
age human, with an impressive Brains score of 3d6. The major-
ity of these Robots are employed by the military, a role they fit
well when they can draw upon the greatest battles of the last
two thousand years, as well as project a million outcomes of any
manoeuvre in a heartbeat. The remainder are most often found
in the hands of the disgustingly wealthy, being used as house-
hold servants, glorified sex toys or, more commonly, both.
Antennae
Price: 3,000
Armour Reduction: 0
Your robot has a cute little pair of antennae on his head that
can take the form of a television aerial, rabbit ears or just about
anything else the character fancies. As well as granting the
character +2 to all Notice checks, they also come with a small
set of joints that allow them to be extended and twisted a short
distance away. Why, you ask? Well, with the press of a button,
the character can bring out a radio receiver, inch long claws for
scratching those hard to reach places or a pair of microscopic
cameras, allowing the Robot to take a peek around a corner
when he’s being sneaky.
On the downside, Antennae are external and can be considered
as such for the purposes of called shots. Hitting an Antennae
requires a -6 on an attack and any amount of damage greater
than 10 destroys it.
Chest Cannon
Price: 20,000
Armour Reduction: 6
The Chest Cannon is one of the nastiest weapons ever devised
for the purposes of assassination. It’s hard to not successfully
kill someone when you’ve got a 6 inch wide cannon you can pop
in and out like a Jack in the Box.
The Chest Cannon fires an extra-powerful Laser Blast, dealing
40 damage to the target, with a range of 20, but it needs time to
62
recharge between shots. The simple solution is that it is always
nominated as a Secondary Action, giving you the usual extra
Speed Dice.
Controllers
Controllers are Upgrades that allow Robots to be piloted or
directed. One of these is essential for Piloted Robots, but other
Robots may take them as well if they wish to relinquish control
of their systems to a human pilot. One of these includes every-
thing required to pilot your Big Mech.
Cockpit
Price: 5,000
Armour Reduction: 10
A nice and snug Cockpit is as safe as it gets, settling the pilot
down in the gut or head of his robot chum, leaving plenty of
room in other areas for mounting all those big, phallic weapons
of mass destruction.
Remote Control
Price: 2,000
Armour Reduction: 4
The Remote Control is exactly that, a voice-operated method of
commanding a Robot. Simply yell a command and the mecha
will do its best to comply. However, this is a very impersonal
method for piloting a robot and there are some drawbacks.
First of all, the Robot loses the ability to use Awesome Points
and Stunt as long as the character is not near it. The only way
to get the most out of your robot is to stand on its shoulder, or
some other exposed area, in which case it functions as normal.
Obviously, this method of controlling a Robot has its problems,
but it leaves more room for other Upgrades and the pilot will
find getting away from dangerous battles even easier than ever
before.
Ride-On
Price: 2,000
Armour Reduction: 2
Only for real fruitcakes, the Ride-On Upgrade allows your Pilot
to sit on his Mech’s head, steering it with two huge handles and
footrests that rise up to meet him. As well as the other obvi-
ous problems, the character counts as being out of cover for the
purposes of explosions and any attacks that hit the head of the
Mech hit the character as well!
E.M.P. Shielding
Price: 3000
Armour Reduction: 2
Sometimes it just can’t be helped. You’ll be pounding away at
some fleshies and someone will get the bright idea to toss an
E.M.P. Grenade or two your way. Teach them the error of their
ways with this little upgrade, providing valuable defense against
the indefensible. In the event you’re hit by an E.M.P. weapon,
you make a difficulty 10 Computers check to resist. In a conflict
of science vs. science, we’ll always be on the winning side. Your
side.
External Mount
Price: 5,000
Armour Reduction: 0
The latest in clip-on technology. Your robot has had a mount
fixed on a part of his body, where the latest fancy gadgets can
be locked in, feeding off of his batteries. Depending on the size
of the robot, only a limited number of External Mounts can be
locked onto a part of the robot’s body, with Medium robots able
to buy two of these, Giant robots four and Colossal robots can
get a shocking ten External Mounts.
For every External Mount placed on the robot, an Upgrade that
would normally incur 2 Armour Reduction may be placed there
for free. On the downside, these mounts can be targeted at -6,
with any attack that deals 10 or damage damaging the Upgrade
and preventing it from working. They do not benefit from the
robot’s Armour level, either!
Flares
Price: 1,000
Armour Reduction: 2
An anti-heat-seeking missile system, Flares are usually used
by vehicles, but some Robots equip them as well. In addition
to throwing off heat-seeking systems, they may also be used
offensively, to blind opponents. Simply make a Firearms: Heavy
check with the Robot’s skill, with a range increment of 2, rolling
two attacks. Each successful hit counts as a Flash Bang gre-
nade.
Flares may only be used once before they must be restocked.
Headlights
Price: 1,000
Armour Reduction: 0
Originally designed for Robots involved in excavation work, this
Upgrade was found to have dozens of other applications, includ-
ing wet-works, public service and spooky campfire stories.
The upgrade itself is simple and logical, simply wedging a pow-
erful light in among all that high-tech junk already filling up
Robby’s eyes. Then, a direct feed is inserted into his batteries,
making them self-sufficient. The end result is that, with but a
mental command, the Robot can turn his eye, visor or diode into
a brilliantly shining light that allows him to see as if he were
in daylight. Anyone else nearby can benefit from the light, too,
especially employees of The Man who are having a hard time
drawing a bead on the tin can.
Put simply, this Upgrade negates the penalties for darkness
for a Robot who buys it and reduces it by 2 for everyone else
nearby.
Laser Finger
Price: 6,000 per finger
Armour Reduction: 0
Choose a finger, any finger. Well, at your mental command, you
can flick the top of that finger right off and discharge one deadly
laser right into some sucker’s face!
For sentimentality’s sake, most people choose the fore-finger,
but it can be any one of your liking. You can fire it as many times
as you like with a Handling of 3 and a Stunt Level of Triple. The
base damage for this weapon is 6, increasing by 1 for every
additional Laser Finger the character brings to bear. The set of
lasers may be fired once per combat turn.
Life Support
For thoughtful, considerate Robots who want to make sure their
human buddies don’t go dying on them, the Life-Support Sys-
tem is just the ticket. Ideal for the space-faring robot on the go.
Life-Support System, Simple
Price: 1,000
Armour Reduction: 2
About as budget as you can for feeding the fleshies. Comes
with a gas mask hooked up to a tank with enough oxygen for
six hours for the average human adult, nutrition bar and a
deflated life preserver for those tricky aquatic situations.
Life-Support System, Complex
Price: 12,000
Armour Reduction: 6
The next step up, this system comes with a medical kit and a
compact blood scanner (with disposable syringe) for checking
the patient’s vital signs. This one has enough oxygen for a full
24 hours and a week’s worth of hard rations. The interior has
a less than comfortable seat from which the fleshie is able to
access the robot’s internal systems and, if necessary, pilot.
Life-Support System, Suite
Price: 40,000
Armour Reduction: 12
So maybe it’s not some classy hotel room, but this is the finest
you’ll see in Life-Support systems. Complete with mini-fridge
and bar, a fold-out bed and all the luxuries needed to keep a
human well-fed and sane for at least a week, longer if he’s fru-
gal. Additionally, the whole thing is directly connected to the
robot via a computer interface, allowing the user to speak with
the robot, repair it at his leisure or surf the Internet.
Magnetic Soles
Price: 2,000
Armour Reduction: 2
This upgrade, while it doesn’t allow your Robot to walk up the
sides of buildings, does mean he can cling to a spaceship in
Zero-G a bit easier. This Upgrade is essential if you’re launching
from the exterior of a ship or just fighting on it, since it means a
Knockdown in combat won’t send you floating off into cold vacu-
um. And all that for just two Armour!
Mounted Weapon
Your Robot has chosen to take a weapon from the Chapter 2:
Props and bolt it onto his body for some extra firepower. But the
real treat is while they grant the usual bonus actions like all Sec-
ondary Attacks, they don’t reduce your Handling score to do so,
so you hotshots can pile on as many of these as you can fit! To
get the price of this Upgrade, take the cost of the weapon and
double it. Then, to find out how much Armour Reduction you’re
taking, just look up the size.
Weapon Size Armour Reduction
Small 2
Medium 10
Giant 20
Colossal 40
63
Once the weapons are empty, the bonus actions may still be towards the enemy at rocket speeds. It’s hard to stand up to
used to reload, as automatic systems get the weapons online that kind of force, giving the Robot a +25 on all Brawn checks.
again. Speed Load checks may be made here as normal.
Characters may also choose to mount rockets or missiles. In Rocket Punch
this case, they count as their own sizes, not the sizes of their Price: 5,000 per AR
launchers. If you want to mount a melee weapon, like a totally Armour Reduction: Varies
sweet chainsaw, it hits with a Brawn of 2d6.
Anyone feeling a little threatened by all this roboticised mayhem For those moments when that bottle of grease is just out of
will be happy to know the Mounted Weapons can be targeted at reach…
-6 just like an arm, with 20 damage breaking the super-scien-
tific, yet-alarming fragile doodads that make all this stuff magi- The Rocket Punch is as absurd as it sounds, allowing your Robot
cally work. to fire his fists from his body, propelling them forwards on small
rockets. Simply make a Firearms: Rocket Punch check to line
up the shot, then strike home with deadly accuracy. The Rocket
Nuclear Reactor, Weak Punch has a range increment equal to the Robot’s own height,
Price: 15,000 but it’s treated like a regular fist attack in every other regard.
Armour Reduction: 8
Robot Size Armour Reduction
The Robot is powered by a Nuclear Reactor. As well as making Medium 2
him completely unsafe and unclean, this highly illegal upgrade Giant 10
also allows him to focus gamma radiation and exude it through
his own body! Colossal 20

The Robot may, at any time, elect to perform a Gamma attack,

increasing the damage of any Melee attack he performs by 3d6.
Nuclear Reactor, Strong
Price: 45,000
Armour Reduction: 12
This version is a little stronger, allowing the Robot to increase
the damage of any attack made by 5d6. This damage is mighty
unstable, however, meaning it’s also dealt to anything within five
feet of him, even friends!
Rockets
Price: 10,000 per AR
Armour Reduction: Varies
The robot has a set of rockets either in his feet or on his back
that are wired up to his internal power supply. Since the strength
and size of the Rockets will be determined by the weight of the
robot they’re trying to lift, so just consult the chart below.
Robot Size indicates the amount of Armour Reduction incurred
by the upgrade.

Piston Arms: Small Robot Size Armour Reduction

Price: 4,000 Small 2
Armour Reduction: 2 Medium 4
Giant 8
Your Robot has had his arms beefed up, with powerful pistons Colossal 16
inserted into them, drastically increasing his arm strength. For
any Brawn check that requires the use of character’s arms, he
is granted a flat +5 bonus to the check. And yes, that does apply Either way, you can now treat your character as having the
to Brawn rolls for damage, too. Skilled level of the Flight power.

Piston Arms: Large Roller Feet

Price: 10,000
Armour Reduction: 4
This upgrade version causes the arms to get a LOT bigger. The
upgraded version costs a fine 10,000 Credits and grants a +10
on all Brawn checks. AR take-up doubles for the increased size.
Sounds pretty good, right? The only downside is that this ver-
sion required the arms to be entirely rebuilt and some Robots
have complained that the big, heavy arms weigh them down,
leading to Robots with this upgrade being nicknamed “Gorillas.”
In game, it has the same effect as if you’d taken two levels of
“Ugly.”
Price: 3,000
Armour Reduction: 2
Need to get somewhere in a hrry? You’ll be the fastest deliv-
ery boy on the block with these babies. Your robots feet are
swapped out for a pair of stylish solid roller blades that allow
him to zip around the place like greased lightning.
Your robot’s Movement is doubled, but they’ll fall over much
easier if they take damage. A character with Roller Feet suffers
a Knockdown upon losing one-tenth of their HP, instead of the
usual half.

Piston Arms: Colossal Sensors Package

Price: 40,000
Armour Reduction: 12
With an industrial sized piston taken straight from a factory on
each arm, watching your Robot slug guys can sometimes be
enough to make a man lose his lunch. You have to line the blow
up, draw back the piston, then slam it in, sending your fist flying
Price: 3000
Armour Reduction: 2
The sensors package is full of all the latest gizmos and tech-
nical gadgets that beep to help your Robot pick up on friends
and foes alike. When equipped, a Sensors package gives him a
meaty +6 to all Notice checks that it would be able to be used

64
65
for, such as those relating to sight or geography. Things like one hundred and fifty small tools in each hand, providing you
smell and taste might be more complicated to attempt, but the with just the right contraption for every situation.
Robot still gets a +3 in these situations. Power and versatility!
Vehicle
Smartlink
Price: 4000 Price: Varies
Armour Reduction: 2 Armour Reduction: 2

The Smartlink is the latest in targeting computers, able to plug
directly into the mechanical’s head and make plugging that
bounty at five hundred yards just that little bit easier. When the
Smartlink is operational, it plugs directly into the Robot’s optic
nerves, outlining all visible targets in red. Bringing his weapon
over one of the targets will bring up an overlay, with a long list of
possible targets and their functions within the body. The Robot
simply has to make a choice between an almost endless list of
pain-inducing shots (right down to individual fingers!) and the
targeting computer does the rest.
In combat, the Smartlink gives the Robot a +5 to all Ranged
attacks.
When installed on a Cyborg, the Smartlink often requires the
removal of an eye to fit the new mechanisms.
Smartlink, Super Duper
Price: 10,000
Armour Reduction: 4
Your robot, instead of taking a human form, was built in the
shape of any vehicle of your choosing. He functions like that
vehicle in any situations, but uses his own stats rather than the
vehicles. A robot car can increase his Brawn for more damaging
rams and a robot Jet can increase his Flow and even upgrade
his own Pilot skill, so as to fly himself better.
Obviously, you use the vehicles’ Movement and Acceleration
when in Vehicle form, as well as any weapons it came equipped
with, or what would be the point?
You have all the compartments and seating that a vehicle of
your type would have, not to mention weapons. However, you
may only opt to play a vehicle of your size category and this
Upgrade will cost twice the cost of the vehicle. Your construction
required a lot of special considerations, the sort that Roleplay-
ing games always require, so we’ve made it as simple as pos-
sible by just doubling the number of bucks it takes. Aren’t we
generous?

This is the almost the same as the Smartlink listed above, but
this sturdy little number goes that little bit further to please. The
bonus to ranged attacks is a pleasant +8, so you can hit the
side of any barn, any time you choose.

Synth Skin
Price: 2,000
Armour Reduction: 0

Your robot is covered with a layer of synthetic skin, which

exudes heat and allows them to respond to touch. The decep-
tion is enough to fool any but the most thorough inspection and
gives the Robot a +6 for disguising his true metal man identity.
Robots with this Upgrade cannot take Armour of a level exceed-
ing Medium, and even then they’re going to look like a lineback-
er.

Thrusters
Price: 10,000
Armour Reduction: 0

Nice quite as nice as Rockets, Thrusters are a simple way to get

your robot going in a hurry. By using a small anti-gravity field, the
robot is able to hover a few feet off the ground as if it were flying,
achieving incredible speeds.
The in-game effect of this is that the robot floats high enough to
avoid rubble, tall grass or small children and can fly over water.
Their Movement is doubled when thrusting.

Toolkit
Price: 500
Armour Reduction: 0

Tools for every possible situation will always be at your finger-

tips with this upgrade. Each one of your character’s fingers is
fitted with dozens of little gadgets, giving you all the abilities of
a Swiss Army Knife and more besides. A character can fit up to

66
67
 CHAPTER 8: TEMPESTS!
Most every roleplaying game permits for your characters to use Some Kind Of Skull Magic 4
magic in one way or another and the Awesome System is no
different. After all, magic is totally cool stuff, so we’d have to Thumbs Down 15
be crazy to leave it out! So in this chapter, we’ll be examining a Zombify 20
totally original style of spell slinging that’s grungy, up-close and
in your face. In this chapter we’ll lead you through six styles of Divine – In this world there are events that are inexplicable by
Tempest combat and then we’ll explain how to make your own human science and theory. Only a guiding hand can explain the
styles if those aren’t enough. miracles we witness every day in the name of awesome. Divine
Tempests are those who, blessed by a God or Gods, now pos-
sess amazing powers and operate as the agent of that holy
Tempests: A Snapshot force. Many of their abilities are centered around weakening
Imagine a human being who’s got all the power of the ele- evil characters and bringing them to bear. A Divine Tempest is
ments at his hands, able to use his own body as a chan- always a cool-headed, well-meaning addition to any group of
nel for energy. More to the point, think of all those terrible heroes.
kung fu movies where ninjas punch lighting at each other,
then ride around on clouds. Yeah, you’re getting the idea. Finally, as a unique, innate little bonus, Divine Tempests have
an inborn talent for healing, allowing them to make their daily
Bonesaw check without being required to expend a medical kit.
Taking a Tempest Type It might not sound like much, but it’s those little expenditures
Here we give you a brief rundown of each of the six basic Tem- that are putting the forces of evil in the poor house, after all.
pest types. You choose one of these whenever you buy the Tem-
pest power. You can buy as many as you like, alternate between Divine Judgment 2
them and take powers from any type you bought, but whenever Raise The Cross 5
you make a Tempest attack, it’s got to be of only one elemental
type. The Light That Burns 8
Thumbs Up 5
For the purposes of making a Tempest attack, they’re all very
similar, but which type you choose will determine your grab bag Wings of Light 4
of available Tempest powers. These are your Tempest types
unique abilities. More often than not, you’ll find they advance Fire – Where it all began, Fire is the deadliest and most glutton-
your character in remarkable ways in one field or allow them ous of the elements. A Fire Tempest could be a dangerous psy-
very peculiar abilities. Feel free to make up your own with your chic who has learnt to manifest their rage or a naturally formed
Gamemaster’s permission. monstrosity that lives in places no man could ever dare to go.
Fire Tempests are incredibly dangerous to be around, as they
When buying Tempest Powers, simply consult the number next consume everything they touch in moments. Fire encompasses
to the name for the point cost of that individual power. For the flame, magma, tight dresses and anything else that makes the
specifics, read the chapter, that’s what it’s here for! blood boil.
Chi – Chi Tempests are those who have become infused with
nature. Years of focused training and discipline have fashioned Blast! 2
them into living weapons, fists striking like iron and skin hard Candescence 10
as leather. Chi Tempests are calm and composed until the time Fireball 8
comes to settle a dispute with more than words, at which point
they descend upon their foes with a terrible fury. Firewalk 4
Leaping Flames 10
Burly 12
Crippling Strike 8 Rock – Another example of awesome over matter, Rock Tem-
pests are those who have been blessed by the power of music.
Energy Burst 6 This wild energy coursing in their veins does more than make
Iron Fist 2 them totally crazy, it also grants them the sort of powers that
Raise The Cross 5 bring roars of joy to the crowd and tears of resentment to the
eyes of their foes. Rock and roll is here to stay.
Decay - Decay is a catch-all term for the nastiest stuff in the Normally, Rock Tempests only play guitar, so that’s the instru-
universe. Entropy straight out of the box, Decay is normally ment we discuss, but there’s no reason why you couldn’t fire
reserved for only the foulest monsters, the antithesis of life. lightning from a trumpet or ride a flying piano. You just might
Decay Tempests are commonly scientific experiments gone hor- look a bit silly is all.
ribly wrong, rotting husks, more at home in a hospital than on
the field on the battle, clinging to a sick life that infests every- Lightning! 8
thing it touches.
Play! 2
Chill Wind 1 Power of Sound 10
Decomposition 15 Ride! 6
Thumbs Up 5

69
 Slime Tempests are possessed with a fierce hunger to feed,
grow and reproduce. While human or humanoid Slime Tempests
no doubt exist, it is anyone’s guess as to how or why.

Acidic Skin 10
Crippling Strike 8
Decomposition 15
Squishy 8
Tentacles 6 per tentacle

Tempest Attacks
The basic way of using your powers is to make a Tempest attack.
Just nominate a target and unleash the fury of the elements.
The most basic form a Tempest attack takes is when the charac-
ter concentrates their energy into a fist or weapon and smacks
some poor bastich with it. To activate the Tempest Attack, simply
spend 2 AP and then make either a melee or throwing attack,
depending on your mood.
In the event you throw your Tempest attack, it works like any
other ranged attack. For calculating range, use an increment of
1 foot per level of Soul.
When you’re working out damage for melee attacks work out
the bonus, Brawn and any weapon damage, then add your full
Soul, all dice adding together, to the damage for one hell of a
hit. For ranged attacks, you do the same, but don’t add weapon
damage, obviously. You use Brawn for the ranged attacks as
well, since compacted force and flame can hurt a lot more if the
guy ditching it can throw it really hard. As an additional bonus, if
the attack is a Stunt, the Stunt Level rises by one.
Sammy the Slimegirl has a Brawn of 3d6 and a Soul of 5d6.
She spends 2 AP to activate her Tempest powers when she’s
making a Double Stunt. The Stunt Level immediately rises to
Triple and if she hits she’ll do the total of 8d6 damage, plus
whatever bonus she rolled.

Tempest Powers
Acidic Skin (10)
Element: Slime

Your character can secrete a vile substance from their skin

which burns and decays. All contact with the character’s body
causes 2 points of damage for every level of Soul the character
has and this is added to melee attacks, including those made
by Tentacles.
If the character concentrates and rests their hand on an object,
they can usually melt about an inch of a material over time. How
fast they’re able to is based on the material.

Material Melting Time

Void Tempests Glass 5 seconds
A character with a Void score plays a little differently to Wood 10 seconds
a regular Tempest. On the one hand, they gain access to
any regular Tempest ability but they can only grasp the Plastic 1 minute
destructive side of nature. The in-game effect of this is Steel 2 minutes
that a Void Tempest may only take the elements of Decay
and Fire.
Blast! (2)
Slime – Throughout the galaxy, many species have evolved Element: Fire
in privacy that are curious to the eye and unlike anything yet
seen. Often very simple things, their bodies are composed of a You’ll never be caught short on firepower with this move. For
rubbery or liquid slimy substance with a few cells providing the absolutely free, no AP required, your Fire Tempest can hurl
functions and the will to live. In combat, they fight wildly, outwit- around as much blazing heat as he likes, starting all the fires he
ting their opponents with dirty tricks. likes, and synergizing a treat with Firewalk.

70
For putting a hurting on fellas, Blast! has a range increment
equal to 1 for every level of Soul your character possesses and
does damage equal to your Soul, adding all dice just like with a
regular Brawn roll for damage attack. Also like a regular tempest
attack, you use your melee for melee Blasts and Throwing for
ranged ones.
Burly (12)
Element: Chi
Your character’s body grows unnaturally as their Element’s ener-
gies empower them. They receives two extra levels of Brawn
gaining Hit Points as normal and a bonus 60 HP on top of that.
Such a character lacks the grace of lighter characters, however,
and the Handling of all weapons is reduced by 2.
Candescence (10)
Element: Fire
The character is instantly able to burst into living flame for a
number of rounds equal to their level in Soul or Void by spend-
ing four Awesome Points. Any contact, including unarmed melee
attacks from the character, deals an additional 5 damage for
every level of Soul or Void the character possesses. Fist attacks
against the character will also incur this damage on the poor
sap deciding to punch a fire. Might want to rethink that, chief.
Additionally, the character may fly at double their normal Move-
ment, rising up to three feet from the ground. All ranged attacks
against the character suffer a –2 to hit due to the overpowering
brightness. Tempests with a Void score have darker, oily flames
that, while not enjoying this bonus, get the entirely different
bonus of producing a disgusting smog-like smoke that puts any-
one within five feet of the Tempest at a -4 to all checks.
Chill Wind (1)
Element: Decay
This Power allows the Decay Tempest to sneak up on their ene-
mies with ease. When in a dark area, they may spend 1 Awe-
some Point to snuff out one torch. If their enemies are using
something more high-tech, the batteries stop working or the
cables get torn. Either way, the power is out on that source until
they can get it going again, allowing the Tempest to strike in
darkness or make a speedy getaway.
Crippling Strike (8)
Element: Chi, Slime
You’re a master at breaking bones and crushing your enemies.
When making a called shot to a limb or other target, you may
specify the attack as a Crippling Strike, incurring a –6 penalty
to hit for the difficulty of the attack. On a successful blow, your
pinpointed strike hits its target, often leaving your opponent’s
body a mangled wreck. Damage dealt is treated as being 20
points higher than its actual total for the purpose of calculating
the effect of the called shot.
Decomposition (15)
Element: Decay, Slime
Your natural touch rots life, spreading through it like a disease.
On any successful unarmed attack, you may elect to spend Awe-
some Points up to your Soul or Void to drain your opponent’s
Brawn. For each AP spent in this way, the target must either
spend an AP of their own, or contest their Toughness against
the Tempest’s Soul score. Failure on the roll determines they
lose the level of Brawn to the forces of evil.
Recovering the levels of Brawn is easy, with one day of bed rest
necessary per point lost.
The Skeleton King has a Void score of 10d6, meaning he could
drain up to 10 levels of Brawn with one Decomposition attack.
He hits with a Ranged Tempest Attack and spends 3 AP to drain
3 levels of Brawn from his target. The unlucky Player Character
spends their last AP to reduce it to 2, then decides to chance it
with two Toughness rolls.
The Skeleton King rolls a 14 and a 7 for his Soul rolls. The PC
rolls a 2 and a 10. They lose 1 level of Brawn from the vile
attack.
Divine Judgement (2)
Element: Divine
The Divine Tempest may spend an Awesome Point to innately
know whether a person they are speaking with has good inten-
tions or if they have committed any atrocities within the last 700
days. To do this, they must simply speak to the person for a few
minutes. This ability will not work if the person being read has
reason to hide something or suspects they are being read and is
trying to hide their intentions. This ability is most often used by
Angels in disguise, as an armed clergymen demanding the time
of a mass-murderer will usually produce little more than irrita-
tion for both parties.
Energy Burst (6)
Element: Chi
Whenever danger looms, your character can pick up the pace
suddenly and bring down powerful vengeance on his enemies.
Once per session, you may spend an Awesome Point at the start
of any round to gain an additional burst of temporary speed,
rolling three more Speed Dice than normal. Additionally, on
this round, you’ll gain a +2 to all Quick Draw and Speed Load
checks.
Fireball (8)
Element: Fire
Just the thing for clearing corridors. Something no-one in their
right mind is going to argue with, nothing says “no” like a big, fat
ball of flame and you’ll be tossing them wild abandon with this
power. Every time you make a Tempest Attack, you may elect to
throw a fireball instead, tossing it across the battlefield at your
enemies and giving them cause to reconsider their plans. When
it hits, it detonates in a spiralling tornado of heat and flame,
functioning just a burst weapon with a Burst equal to Soul x2/
Soul x4. Check out the Explosions rules in Chapter 5 for more
info on Burst.
The Flaming Skeleton has a Void score of 5. When he explodes,
anyone within 10 feet of the explosion takes full damage, while
anyone within 20 feet takes half damage. Anyone beyond that
distance takes 0 damage.
Fireballs have a range increment equal to twice your levels of
Soul and use the Throwing skill to determine accuracy.
Firewalk (4)
Element: Fire
Your character’s body is totally attuned with Fire, allowing him
to enter it and then emerge from any point along the blaze. Sim-
ply touch the fire and your body will disintegrate, before your
character reforms at any point of the fire, emerging with a roar
and an explosion. You will leave the fire at the same speed you
entered it, so if Movement was expended reaching the fire, you
may still take your full Movement upon exiting. If leaving from
71

the top of the inferno, the character will leap upwards five feet
before coming down.
If a character wishes, they may use Firewalk to enter a fire, then
use Leaping Flames to move the fire before exiting, granting
them all sorts of new mobility. A character must enter and exit
the fire on the same turn.
Iron Fist (2)
Element: Chi
Many times has it come that a master of Chi has found them-
selves faced with defiance against the natural order, where
machines that belch smog into the air or intimidating suits of
armour that trap the wearer’s soul in a cocoon, only making it
grow morbid and unnatural. These shackles must be broken,
preferably with extreme prejudice.
All attacks made with your character’s body have an innate
armour penetration value, equal to double the character’s Soul.
Leaping Flames (10)
Element: Fire
Your character’s command of fire extends to the world around
them and they may make fires around them withdraw, twisting
72
away in a ten foot circle around the character. This control may
be exercised for as long as the character wishes.
Additionally, direct contact with the flames allows the character
to expend two Awesome Points to make a Soul or Void roll, add-
ing all dice rolled together. For every point rolled on the dice,
any part of the fire may be moved five feet in any direction of
the character’s choosing, whether up, down, forward or back-
wards. At least a third of the fire must remain in contact with the
ground. Needless to say, it’s a terrifying thing to behold.
For damage dealt by fire to enemies, consult Chapter 2: The
Fight.
Lightning! (8)
Element: Rock
By deftly striking your axe, your rocker is able to fire a blast of
dazzling, burning lightning from the strings, blasting foes with
rock energy at a distance. The bolt of energy will travel in a
straight line, the shape of it twisting and spinning depending
on the note played, then explode in a brilliant flash of light and
sound on impact. Simply make a Tempest attack as normal, but
direct the attack as far as you like, with distant targets able to
be fired at with a range increment of equal to your number of
levels of Soul. Optionally, Lightning may come from the sky, in
which case an automatic 12 is required to hit, regardless of
Defence (such as that provided from shields).
Upon contact, Lightning explodes in a five foot area, hitting
everything as if they were the target. Anything within ten feet will
be hit for half damage by the crackling inferno of energy.
Play! (2)
Element: Rock
When you fight, it’s by exerting yourself through your instrument.
There’s none of this stupid swinging your weapon around like
some kind of chump. You just kick back and play. When attack-
ing with your Instrument, you simply play it, using your Flow +
Instrument skill to hit and using Flow instead of Brawn for dam-
age.
Power of Sound (10)
Element: Rock
When an opponent is on 10 or less Hit Points, if they have no
Awesome Points remaining, the Rock Tempest may touch them
and expend an Awesome Point to transform their enemy into a
well-made, expensive guitar. There is no way to resist the incred-
ible force possessing them, as their body is consumed to make
the finest in musical entertainment. Spirit living on in the gui-
tar, the Tempest gets a tasty +2 to all checks made to play the
instrument.
Raise the Cross (5)
Element: Chi, Divine
Despite the name of this ability, any kind of item you can find
is just fine, as long as it is an emblem of a god who would be
interested in keeping nasty demons at bay. Naturally, crosses
are designed for this, but any number of holy tomes or volumes,
or a vial of blessed water, would probably suffice.
Anyway, when keeping the beast at bay, you must first raise your
holy item, doing your best cowboy impression and staring that
mother down. Make ‘em feel unwelcome. After that, make a
Voice check as you order the monster back, commanding it to
retreat. What you roll determines exactly how successful your
character is in this noble effort, with every five points rolled pro-
tecting them from 1 Brawn worth of Evil Constructs. If the Evil
Construct’s entire Brawn is not overcome, the beast is able to
break down the barrier with sheer brute strength. The barrier
will stay up until they lower the symbol.
Monsters faced with this barrier have a few options open to
them, such as attempting a Pose check as normal, with the
loss of an action making the unlucky Tempest drop their sym-
bol, as their faith (and barrier) shatter. Evil Constructs in this
situation can be very cagy, taunting the character and psych-
ing them, anything to get their hands on sweet, soft, living flesh,
making it all just that little bit more stressful. Anything else can
get through, too, so, naturally, some Evil Constructs have had
success with tossing furniture or bookshelves at the character
when their strength is adequate. Good luck working that one
out, hero.
Father Quentin finds himself face to face with The Whore of
Babylon herself and backs away, raising his cross. Due to her
slight stature, she only possesses 2 Brawn, meaning Quentin
requires a Voice roll of 10 to keep her back. He rolls a 12 and is
very smug about this, until she begins summoning demons with
her dark magic. She summons four demons with 2 Brawn each,
increasing the difficulty of the Voice roll to 50. If Quentin suc-
ceeds at this as well, he’ll keep all five back, unless the Whore
can beat him at an opposed Pose to Guts.
Ride! (6)
Element: Rock
You need to get somewhere in a hurry, we know. You can’t wait a
second longer. Your concert’s starting now, a demon is going to
eat your girlfriend, whatever.
We’ve got just the thing for you.
When you take Ride! you ought to be equipped with a Guitar, as
it has been scientifically proven that riding any other instrument
just looks damn foolish. So hop aboard your axe, one foot on the
neck and the other on the body, and you can take off without a
second thought. Its top Speed is equal to your character’s Soul
multiplied by 10 kilometres per hour and the maximum height
your new toy can rise off the ground is equal to your Soul in feet.
Some Kind of Skull Magic (4)
Element: Decay
Your characters mere presence is enough to despoil the world
around them. At a mental command this power is activated and
grass rots, plants sicken and die and people who spend too long
around you will grow sick and weak. Touching any living thing will
cause it 2 points of damage for every level of Soul or Void you
possess. This damage is added to all unarmed melee attacks.
Squishy (8)
Element: Slime
Your character’s body is composed of viscous, runny fluid, allow-
ing it to be easily distorted or warped. As well as granting the
character a +2 to all Flow checks, they may squeeze through
gaps that a human would not normally be able to fit through,
such as mouse holes, large locks and under doorways.
Tentacles! (6 per tentacle)
Element: Slime
A Slime Tempest’s best friend can be right on his back with this
Power. You’re gifted with a set of tentacles, each of which can
be specified as a secondary attack and possess a reach of five
feet. And to make the deal even sweeter, they hit with full Brawn,
meaning you can keep up a constant barrage of speedy, painful
attacks to bring your enemies down. They can hold weapons in
a rudimentary sense, but the necessary amount of force to pull
a trigger or light a fuse isn’t there. Besides, that mess of goop
you call a ligament don’t get along too well with open flames or
combustion.
A Slime Tempest may have up to four tentacles. For more on
Secondary Attacks, consult Chapter 2: The Fight.
73
 The Light That Burns (8)
Element: Divine
The Light That Burns is an ability that may be turned on and off
by the character at any time. It adds 1 damage per level of Soul
to any attack made by the character. When bringing your righ-
teousness against Evil Constructs, this increases to 3 damage
per level of Soul as divine power kicks them to the curb.
If using an automatic weapon, this extra damage is applied
once only.
Thumbs Down (15)
Element: Decay
The blackest heart is one that blots out all hope and life around
it, draining the will of heroes to fight and darkening the world
with its presence. A Decay Tempest with the Thumbs Down
power breaks the hearts of the living and brings out their fear
and desperations with nothing but a jerk of his wrist. Whenever
an action comes up for the Decay Tempest, they may choose to
spend it on a Thumbs Down, zapping a hero within an area as
determined by the table below.
Decay Tempest’s Void Distance In Feet
1d6 10
2d6 20
3d6 30
+1d6… +10…
So what happens to the target? There they are, minding their
own business, when some mean old Tempest makes a vile bid
to sap their Awesome Points, able to drain one for every five lev-
els of Void he has over them. In response, they may make an
opposed Guts roll to his Void for each attempt, success indicat-
ing they retain the AP. For every AP he does manage to steal, he
converts it into wickedly evil energies and recovers 5 HP.
While using this power, the Decay Tempest can detect who
around him has Awesome Points, like a hungry cat drawn to a
mouse. When this power is used on a Mook this ability instead
drains levels of Soul!
Cervello is attempting to Thumbs Down Landri. With 15 Void
against her 4 Soul, he can attempt to slurp up 2 AP, requiring
2 opposed rolls.
Thumbs Up (5)
Element: Divine, Rock
A character with Thumbs Up may counteract the effects of a
Thumbs Down field. All characters with this Power add their own
Soul scores to that of any target of a Thumbs Down check for
calculating AP loss. The more hope shining from the PC’s, the
easier it is to force back darkness.
In the previous attempt, Cervello’s Void exceeded Landri’s Soul
by 11. Zolobulus and Lerena have both taken Thumbs Up, how-
ever, effectively raising Landri’s Soul score to 11 against the
attempt. Cervello goes hungry another day!
Wings of Light (4)
Element: Divine
By spending an Awesome Point, the Divine Tempest may sprout
Wings composed of blazing light from their back. These will
remain for a number of hours equal to their Soul, during which
time you may treat the character as if they were able to fly at the
Skilled level. In other words, they move at 6 times their regular
74
Movement, require a 1 turn jump to get airborne and may turn
by 90 degrees a turn.
Zombify (20)
Element: Decay
Decomposition is the nice version of this power.
Zombifying an enemy involves nothing less from the Tempest
than tearing the soul from their enemy’s body and, either leav-
ing it empty, or reanimating it as a terrible zombie beast. Yes,
that’s right, not only do you make short work of any punk who
takes you on, you get a free henchman into the deal. On any
successful unarmed attack, or any Tempest Attack, you may
elect to spend Awesome Points up to your Soul or Void to drain
your opponent’s Soul. For each AP spent in this way, the tar-
get must either spend an AP of their own, or contest their Guts
against the Tempest’s Void score. Failure on the roll determines
they lose a level of Soul to the forces of evil.
For each level of Soul lost, your character has to spend a whole
week resting before he can get it back! Anyone reduced to 0
Soul becomes, you guessed it, a Living Dead.
Bak’hak’amon the Mummy Baron has a Void score of 8d6,
meaning he can drain up to 8 levels of Soul in one go. He’s
determined to raise up an Undead army and, with this in mind,
goes after the local farmers. What a jerk. Anyway, he digs his
filthy claws into some soft peasant flesh and spends 2 AP to
drain 2 levels of Soul, the peasant’s total number of levels!
Obviously, Bak’hak beats them in both rolls, and soon has a
newly recruited walking dead to play with!
Any zombie created has the following stat block.
Zombie (20 point Mook)
Brawn 3d6 Brains -
Flow 1d6 Void 1d6
Speed 1d6
Armour 0, Awesome 0, Cash 0, Defence 6, Hit Points 160,
Movement 10, Speed Dice 2d6
Skills: Melee (Claws) 3d6, Notice 4d6,
Attacks: Claws (3d6/Brawn/4/None)
Powers and Weaknesses: Evil Construct 15, Scent 5, Slow-
poke -6
For too long, the living dead have been looked down upon by
society and mistreated. Now zombies are eagerly campaigning
for equal rights and access to the same brains the rest of us
have been carting around in our skulls for so long!
Sluggish: As members of a marginalized subculture, zombies
move a little slower than their living counterparts. This reduces
their Movement to 10.
Undead: Zombies have twice as many Hit Points as normal,
to simulate the difficulty associated with bringing them down.
They do have a weak spot, however, and attacks directed at
their heads (-10 penalty) not only increase your damage by the
usual 6d6, all added together, for a headshot, but all damage
dealt is doubled!
Due to being Undead, zombies must eat the living, or recently
not-living, to regain Hit Points. They heal 20 Hit Points per body
consumed.
Zombie Hunger: Zombies love to eat! They also love to eat...
you! To this end, they can use their noses to make Notice
checks. A difficulty 5 Nose-tice check allows them to sniff out a
 hidden human within 20 feet that they wouldn’t have snacked character’s Brawn and Soul for Tempest attacks, simply use the
on otherwise. Soul score twice.
A Decay Tempest’s Void is reduced by one level for every five Super Strength (8)
zombies he has. These levels are returned upon the deaths of
the zombies. Element: Magic
By focusing his mind, the character may impart his own essence
Creating Your Own Tempest Style into others. By spending an Awesome Point and a turn touching
another character, the Magic Tempest may grant a +10 bonus
When you decide you’re done with the sample Tempests and on all Brawn checks made by that character, for a number of
want to make your own, you’ll find it’s as easy as can be. turns equal to the Tempest’s soul. If this ability is used again
during the power’s duration, their Brawn is increased by +5
The first step is to get your GM’s permission. Then, you buy the each time.
Tempest type as normal, granting you the standard Tempest
Attack. You should work out how your particular element dam-
ages enemies, before moving on to Tempest Powers.
When making up Tempest Powers, think about what is reason-
able. Most Tempest Types have a power that gives them a flat
bonus to all attacks, so if this is very good or cheap, their other
Powers should cost more to compensate. Alternatively, if a
Power grants a serious increase in your abilities, it should have
some sort of Awesome Point expenditure. Your GM has the final
say on how much all Tempest Powers cost.
As an example, we decided to make a Magic Tempest for a fan-
tasy setting. This is a simple way of making a character who
fights like a Wizard but is flexible enough that he doesn’t keel
over five seconds into combat.
So, first of all, we pay eight points for the Tempest Power, giving
us the standard tempest attacks. The damage for this attack
would be calculated by adding the character’s Brawn and Soul
together, but the player says that doesn’t make sense for his
character and asks to change it. After some discussion the GM
allows the player to take a 4 point Power called Soul Powered,
which lets him use his Soul twice for damage when making a
Tempest attack.
Next, the Magic Tempest wants a different type of blast, so he
asks if he can take the Fireball attack from the Fire Tempest. At
this point the GM decides that since he isn’t planning on taking
a Power which gives a static bonus to damage, he should be
able to have it cheap, for four points. So far he has three types
of attack and has only spent 14 Character Points. After that, the
player decides to make some more. All the Powers are present-
ed here, written up just like the regular ones.
Divine Judgment (2)
Element: Divine, Magic
Look it up, you know? It’s just a short way up.
Fireball (4)
Element: Fire, Magic
Check it out in the Powers section. Who wants to read a bunch
of reprinted material, huh?
Future Sight (2)
Element: Magic
Interacting with magic on a daily basis makes the character
more aware of the flow of time around them. As well as helping
the character maintain a peaceful state of mind, Future Sight
grants a +6 to all Notice checks made to detect bluffs, ambush-
es or other similar tomfoolery.
Soul Powered (4)
Element: Magic
This Power allows the character to bring their Tempest abilities
entirely from their sense of self, rather than a brute display of
power. The in-game effect of this is that instead of using your

75
 CHAPTER 9: MOVIE MAGIC!
So there you are, sitting down with your favourite blockbuster
a box of popcorn. The hero has just converted the villain’s wife
to his side with nothing but roguish charm and quick wits and
now he’s gotten a jet airplane from god knows where. Next thing
you know, he’s snowboarding down the side of a mountain while
shooting mobsters. And you think this guy has to reload? No
way!
Finally, he does a slow-motion flip through a window and then,
in the time it takes him to land, he challenges the badguy to
a duel, deflects a life-threatening bullet and rips his shirt to
become even more manly. And yet the average viewer can’t
even find their remote without spilling your popcorn.
Some people just deal with it. Others get a new scriptwriter.
Movie Magicians: A Snapshot
Every genre of the movies has its own inexcusably bad cli-
chés or tropes. Up until now, nobody’s been man enough
to handle that raw, devastating energy. Are you ready to
sneak like Bond, gabble like Kirk and leap away from
explosions in slow-motion like McClane?
The Origin Story
The beginnings of Movie Magic sound strange even to those
who live in the wild worlds where it occurs. The stories con-
flict a thousand times over, changing on a whim and altering
overnight, but cases of people with superhuman talents that
defy physics, causality and, most of all, logic have cropped up
numerous times in many worlds. These wondrous people rarely
stay still for any length of time, always drawn to adventure and
excitement, but wherever the Movie Magicians go, their exploits
rock the world.
Lights
To be a Movie Magician, or Director for short, you need to buy
the 10-point Power. Having a relatively good knowledge of bad
movies certainly helps, too. Of course, you need your GM’s
approval, too, but you should know that already.
Camera
Once you’ve bought the Movie Magic Power, you’ve opened up a
whole new vista of wonderful abilities and strengths. No longer
are you tied to the constraints of realism and logic! The Stunt
Level of whatever weapons your character uses will increase by
one (assuming they had at least one level to start with, other-
wise you get Jack) and you can begin picking up Movie Powers.
You’ll also need to put points into the Movie Magic skills to use
them.
What are the Movie Magic skills, you ask? Well, you should
know that it functions like any other skill, in that you can buy
levels and bonuses for it, but it’s also a very special skill. This
is because it’s not tied to any one skill like the others, instead
changing depending on which Movie Power you use. Write it
down separate from the others, along with your Movie Powers
of choice.
When you buy Movie Magic, specify your genre. Each genre is
treated as a separate skill for the purposes of rolling it and they
are levelled up individually. For more on genres, read The Spe-
cial Edition.
Once you picked your genre, check out the Movie Powers. These
are the crazy abilities your character can use, allowing them
to replicate the seemingly impossible acts we see on the sil-
ver screen every day. When asked to explain how Movie Magic
works, Directors often compare their abilities to the way some
mystical force, “Fate” possibly, intervenes on the behalf of other
heroes during fights, allowing them to emerge unscathed from
attacks that should have rightly killed them or perform the sorts
of tasks you only ever see on the television. These people are
reaching into another place, a world where the impossible is
everyday and circumstances change without a moment’s notice.
They reach into it like anglers trying to catch a fish. Directors
just dive right into the water.
Buying Movie Magic Powers
You start with one Movie Power for free and pick up another
every time you purchase either five levels of Movie Magic or five
levels of bonus in Movie Magic. Alternatively, you can gain an
extra power for every 10 CP you spend.
Action
Action is the Movie Magic discipline for being absolutely, stun-
ningly over the top. Sometimes you’ll just see a mountain and
you know you’ll have to snowboard down it. Then you’ll launch
into the air and come crashing through a stained glass window.
And then whipping out twin Uzi’s and spraying the room with
several thousand bullets. And that’s totally cool. So cool that we
made it its own genre, so load up on Action and you can do all
that and more before lunch-time.
Due to the physical nature of the genre, Action uses Brawn as
its associated stat for Movie Magic checks.
Big Budget
Blockbuster
Challenge
Deus Ex Machina
Double Agent
Extreme Action
Magic Uzi
Monologue
Torn Uniform
Violence
Kung Fu
So let’s say you’re fighting some ninjas. And these aren’t your
everyday, walk in the park, can be shot with an uzi, sort of nin-
jas, oh no. These bad boys can kick your bullets back at you, dis-
appear in a cloud of smoke and then carve their name in your
back before you’ve even reloaded.
It’s a recorded fact of history that ninjas and martial artists are
awesome. Ask any historian and they will say a martial artist can
break a guy’s arm in three places before he’s even been born
and they’ll tell you these guys are totally out of control. Which
means it’s your job to stop them. Are you a bad enough dude to
stop the ninjas?
77
You’ll need Kung Fu on your side if you plan to. Kung Fu powers Posse
let you break down foes, stop time and generally be a smoking-
hot badass. Shave your head bald, toss on a gi and go nuts, Technobabble
young warrior. The associated stat for Kung Fu is Speed. Torn Uniform

Big Budget
Western
Blockbuster
Those other Movie Magic types might think they’re tough, but
Bullet Time they got no idea, partner. Those young upstarts don’t know what
Challenge it’s like to be the original, and the best, badass, the one who
made the idea cool in the first place. Who was it that walked
Death Grip away from a gunfight with six men with a babe hanging off his
Deus Ex Machina arm? Who was it that walked through hundreds of miles of des-
Double Agent ert after his horse gave up and died?
Monologue Let’s face it, nobody can compare to the granddaddy of being a
Tread Softly tough son of a bitch, the Cowboy. When making Western checks,
the character uses their Soul as the associated stat.
Wire Fu
Challenge
Superspies Deus Ex Machina
This genre comes shaken, not stirred. If wining and dining with Extreme Action
the hottest dames around, before driving a car through the side
of a castle sounds like your cup of tea laced with poison, then Fanning the Hammer
Superspies is the genre for you. Here at HQ, we’re all about get- Good Lovin’
ting out of dangerous scrapes and keeping our tuxedos clean Magic Uzi
enough to eat off while we do it.
Monologue
Being a Superspy is a lot trickier than it looks and requires a Posse
knack for harmony. All Superspy checks use Flow as the related
stat, for fancy footwork and ungentlemanly trickery. Saddle Up!
The Stare
Big Budget
Challenge Genre Corresponding Stat
Deus Ex Machina Action Brawn
Double Agent Kung Fu Speed
Extreme Action Sci-Fi Brains
Gizmo! Superspies Flow
Good Lovin’ Western Soul
Monologue
Tread Softly The Special Edition
Wealth and Taste Here’s the Powers, just like you wanted ‘em. Genre is the stat
Movie Magic is tied to and Rating is what you need to roll on
your Movie Magic check to successfully use the Power.
Sci-Fi
Sci-Fi is something that’s hard to limit to just one set of Powers, A note on genres: There are five genres, each tied to a stat.
since it covers everything from Asimov to Transformers. There- When you use a Movie Power, consult its genre and check out
fore, it covers a fantastic range of abilities the likes of which the table below for the corresponding stat. Some moves belong
man has never before seen! So strap yourself in and get ready to more than one genre, in which case you just take the highest.
for a journey into the unknown, armed only with your brain, cow-
lick and a hot barbarian babe. Big Budget
Since everything in the future is so complicated, Sci-Fi powers Genre: Action, Kung Fu, Superspies
aren’t really limited to one category, with most of them instead Rating: 5 and up
having a very specific set of requirements for use and fulfilling
some sort of niche. A Sci-Fi character depends on his wits to Sometimes you just need a bigger budget. Whenever Big Bud-
find a way to turn the situation to his handsome advantage and get is invoked, well, wouldn’t you know it, someone just left this
these Powers will be the tools he uses to do just that! Brains is motor vehicle, with a full tank of gas (or equivalent thereof) and
his Associated stat for Movie Magic checks. the keys in it, just ticking over, ready to go and right nearby. What
the type of vehicle is varies depending on what sort of area the
Challenge heroes are in, but the functionality will depend on their roll.
Death Grip Rating Vehicle
Deus Ex Machina 5 Bicycle, Hang Glider, Row Boat,
Good Lovin’ 10 Car, Motorbike, Passenger Plane, Tug Boat
Jack In 15 Big Rig, Helicopter, Sports Car, Speed Boat, Escape Pod
Logic Buster 20 Flying Saucer, Limousine, Jetpack
Monologue 25 Battle Cruiser, Nuclear Missile

78
How the item appears and what sort of condition it’s in is entire- for combat. Start with the 6 and work your way down as normal.
ly up to the Gamemaster. The vehicle will also only be usable for Once they’ve run out of actions, combat resumes. Anyone the
one game hour, after which point it will fall apart, run out of gas character hit during combat will only just now respond, being
or, more likely, go tumbling off a cliff and explode into a brilliant thrown back or knocked to the ground or whatever suits their
fireball (probably with the heroes still in it). Also, just because personal smackdown best. Since they aren’t thrown backwards
the vehicle is there, doesn’t mean the characters know how to until Bullet Time is over, the character can, for example, upper-
drive it. And they’d better not get caught by its owner, either. cut the same guy a couple of times, no sweat!
One more thing: much as you’d like, Big Budget cannot be used The only limitations to Bullet Time is that the character has a
in combat. However it can be used right after combat, when Stunt Level of None for its duration and the incredibly fantas-
you’re running for your life. tic slow-down energy can only be transmitted either through
the character’s fists or an Antique weapon. Anything else just
Blockbuster explodes as it tries to keep up with the ninja, leaving him with
nothing but a dumb expression on his charred face. Also, the
Genre: Action, Kung Fu energy must flow rapidly and without interruption. If the char-
Rating: 10 and up acter misses even one attack, the Bullet Time ends and normal
combat is recurred. That’s right, they lose the rest of their Bullet
Time actions. At least they get to keep their regular ones. Pick
Not to be confused with the action movie genre, Blockbuster allows up from whatever number the character Bullet Timed on, with
the character to do some serious property damage. When using time returning to normal.
this Power, kids can tear through houses like they were cheap
timber held up by stands and crash through stone pillars like they Oh, and if two characters both wish to use Bullet Time on the
were made of Styrofoam! same action number, then, yes, they can and, yes, they do act at
the same time. This can make fights between the various Ninja
Whenever the character deals damage to anything that can be Dojos that practice this power really hard to follow!
declared “part of the scenery” such as trees, enemy bases or par-
ticularly uninteresting NPC’s, they can roll their Movie Magic skill
to apply a damage multiplier! Challenge
Genre: All
Rating Damage Multiplier Rating:8 per target
10 x2
20 x3 Reserved for ultimate badasses and cowboys.
30 x4 When a character issues a Challenge, they must nominate one
40 x5 or more targets to rock the worlds of. For every target selected,
the character must beat a difficulty of 8, so that’s 16 for two
+10... x+1... targets, 24 for three and so on. If they are successful, all action
around the characters ceases and they must wait for a combat
If this is a ranged attack, you’ll have to add the difficulty to hit between the Challenger and his targets to complete. They effec-
the object into the Movie Magic roll as well. Check out Chapter tively become the centre of attention and the Challenged must
5: The Fight for more info on making attacks. either agree to fight or be forever shamed. The in-game effect
of this for the honourless dog is they automatically lose half
This can also be used for setting bombs, so have fun levelling their current Awesome Points and may not gain new ones for
national monuments, kiddo! the next two hours of game time. Obviously, this ability doesn’t
work on base animals and monsters, as they’re too unintelligent
Bullet Time to recognize the challenge. And a t-rex isn’t any less awesome
Genre: Kung Fu for chowing down on a cowboy, whether he’s staring it down or
otherwise.
Rating: 40 and up
As an added bonus, for every 4 points they beat the difficulty by,
This is one Movie Power that’s sure to send opponents packing. the Challenger and his opponents may both be granted 1 Awe-
some Point by willing onlookers, in the form of encouragement
Whenever a character invokes the laws of Bullet Time, they use or commenting on techniques the fighters are using. Nothing
some sort of mystical martial arts training or clever use of Com- makes a fighter feel better than having someone describe his
puter Generated Imagery to slow down time itself! The effect punches in bone-crunching detail.
this has for the character is that they gain an entirely new round
of combat, all to themselves! You get to roll your Speed Dice and Of course, not all Challenges are lethal. If the Challenge is
play out an entire round by yourself! And for every 5 points you something unusual, such as a fishing competition, the Game-
beat the difficulty by, you get an additional Speed dice for the master may scale the difficulty accordingly. If the Director fails
new roll. their roll, the challenged characters may do as they wish, with
either some of them combating him or none of them. Neither
side may be granted Awesome Points.
Rating Bonus Speed Dice
40 0 When a Challenge is over, the loser is reduced to 0 Awesome
Points. This encourages both sides to give the contest their all,
45 1 from start to finish.
50 2
55 3 Death Grip
60 4 Genre: Kung Fu, Sci-Fi
+5... +1... Rating: 20 and up

As soon as the character uses this Power successfully, declare This Movie Power functions just like an attack, except instead of
Bullet Time as having affected the combat. The character rolls rolling Flow and Melee, the character rolls their corresponding
their Speed and treats the new dice set as if they rolled them stat and Movie Magic. They are required to successfully hit their

79
target, with a –30 penalty, before they can activate the Death
Grip.
It does no damage. If the target doesn’t immediately expend
and Awesome Point, they feel a hand gently touch their throat
and then they drop to the ground, limp as a rag, where they’ll
stay for about two or three hours, harmless as a baby. If the
Director is trying to use the Death Grip on an unwitting target,
they must succeed at a Sneak check opposed to Notice with a
–5 penalty. Success means they go down.
As an added bonus, for every extra –3 penalty the attacker
incurs, they can keep the unlucky target knocked out for anoth-
er full hour.
Deus Ex Machina
Genre: All
Rating: 3 and up
A cliché that would never dare limit itself to one genre, Deus Ex
Machina is always there to save the day. Able to be invoked any
time the character damn well pleases, Deus Ex Machina makes
someone the character met earlier in the adventure suddenly
and dramatically re-appear, offering whatever help they can to
the party. There’s no set way to do this, since “useful help” will
change from hero to hero, but a roll of 3 is generally enough to
summon the local hot dog vendor with steaming, tasty hot dogs
and it gradually gets better from there. A roll of 60 or so might
be enough to get the attention of the local Superhero and any-
thing higher will probably start to attract nearby celestial bodies.
Characters should be careful about using this Movie Power.
Whenever it’s invoked, the Director is zonked straight to zero
Awesome Points, no refusals, since there is no faster way to
make the main character look more lame than having him go
crying to some guy from Act 2. To be used with extreme caution.
Double Agent
Genre: Action, Kung Fu, Superspies
Rating: 10 and up
A particularly insidious power, Double Agent allows the Movie
Magician to suddenly remember that they planted a spy or two
among the ranks of their enemies. By making their Movie Magic
roll, they may turn one Henchman or Mook assisting the enemy
to their side for every increment of 10 rolled. The Mook will fight
for the Movie Magician to the death now, while mumbling about
anything from their devotion to your cause to how you’re paying
them more.
For some reason, they always seem to announce their presence
by loudly cocking their gun’s hammer. Mooks, huh?
Extreme Action
Genre: Action, Superspies
Rating: 12 and up
It’s a hard life being the hero. Not only are you expected to save
the world, rescue the pretty girl and blow an evil dictator or two
to Kingdom Come before the credits roll, all you’ve got to do it
with are a snowboard, a parachute and a forty piece orchestra
on backing.
Your character may choose to use Extreme Action whenever
they’re about to strut their stuff. Should they decide to climb
a giant robot bare-handed to shut it off, jump from a horse to a
stagecoach as it goes off a cliff or snowboard down a mountain
while taking on enemy helicopters with a rocket launcher, they
can choose to use this power to get a temporary bonus to any
skill rolls required for their Byzantine athletics.
80
Simply call for a Movie Magic roll from the character against a
difficulty of 12, success granting them a +6 to all checks that
will help the character rock out, such as Acrobatics, Climbing,
Driving, Heaving and Swimming or anything else they can jus-
tify. For every 4 points they exceed the difficulty by, they’re also
granted a +2 to any one of these skills until the scene is over. If
you’re not sure what defines a scene, just keep going till things
stop exploding.
Fanning The Hammer
Genre: Western
Rating: 40 and up
One deadly power, you’ll find yourself going through bad-guys
like a knife through butter. Fanning The Hammer allows your
pistoleer to fire multiple bullets in the space of one action from
his trusty sidearm. The only restriction is that he must be using
a revolver of some kind and, of course, have a free hand to fan
with.
In combat, this means that the lucky dude gets to momentari-
ly stop the combat and roll an entirely new set of Speed Dice
in their own round. Simply toss them down and see what they
come up, with each action rolled allowing your hombre to make
another shot. Since there are only six turns in the round, it’s
good to use this ability with a fully-loaded gun in hand, or have
one on hand to Quick Draw.
However, due to the speed he’s firing at, your dude’s shots dur-
ing Fanning have a Stunt Level of None, meaning you can kiss
goodbye to any Stunts he has. He can keep attacking even if he
misses, though, one advantage he has over his Kung Fu fighting
chums.
Gizmo!
Genre: Superspies
Rating: 5 and up
A Spy’s deadliest weapon is his tuxedo. Why? It’s not the way it
makes him into a dashing paragon of sophistication and style,
surely? Maybe the elegant cut and tone that transforms him
from a man into a sleek machine of the night? You’ve got to be
kidding. At the end of the day, it’s the fact that he hides a bazil-
lion gadgets in it, from the exploding cufflinks to the helicopter
that comes out of his hat.
At the end of the day, wicked machines and badass tech is what
will save your neck over and over, so rather than make some-
thing for every single ridiculous situation your Spy will find him-
self in (and we’ve thought of more craziness than you’ve had
hot dinners) we simply provide the magic tuxedo (or conjuring
cocktail dress for the ladies) in all its glory. Whenever you want
to pull something out of this amazing outfit, simply make a
Movie Magic check and describe the sort of nonsensical gar-
bage item you need. Work out your difficulty from the list below
and get to work.
The catch is that the item only works once, after which it self-
destructs, breaks, gets trodden on, whatever you, the player,
feel is best.
Rating Vehicle
5 Jacket Parachute, Shoe Phone
10 Knife Pen, Laser Watch
15 Exploding Cufflinks, After Dinner Mint
Tracking Device
20 Shoe Gas Mask, Infrared Sunglasses
25 C4 toupee, X-Ray Toilet Paper Roll
 Good Lovin’
Genre: Superspies, Sci-Fi, Western
Rating: Varies
Sometimes, there’s no greater battlefield than the bedroom.
And with a dose of Good Lovin’, your character can be the gen-
eral, the artillery and the cavalry, all in one.
If your character is able to speak with a villain for a prolonged
period of time and establish some kind of a bond with them,
they’re able to use this Power. What defines a bond is between
you and the GM, but it shouldn’t be easy, possibly involving lots
of Pose and Psychology checks while they’re dangling from the
wall of the arch-villains lair. After all, you’re intruding into the
heart of the enemy and the way is dangerous.
Once the character has established this tender rapport, they
may attempt to make a Good Lovin’ check opposed to the tar-
get’s Guts or an opposed Good Lovin’ check to seduce them.
The latter is especially dangerous since, if they win, the char-
acter is the one who is seduced! Success indicates a torrid love
affair (or really good afternoon at the theatre) during which the
villain sees the error of their ways and repents! They do not
necessarily join the character’s cause, but they will no longer
actively inhibit them, either.
Jack In
Genre: Sci-Fi
Rating: 5 and up
Your hero must have purchased a Data Jack to be able to use
this Power. Normally, a Data Jack simply allows the character
(usually a Cyborg) to extend a cable from themselves and insert
it directly into a computer, allowing them to work their hacking
magic. This Power takes the concept a step further, however,
when the character begins to actively use their Data Jacks as
weapons.
Jacking In can be tricky to use in combat, but incredibly reward-
ing if the Hacker manages to successfully pull it off. He has to
successfully pierce the target’s skin with the business end of his
Data Jack and hit somewhere where the electricity he’s chan-
nelling in will actually do something worthwhile. In living targets,
this means a nerve centre or a part of the brain, whereas in
robotic targets or computers, this can be just about anywhere.
A hacker wishing to Jack a human will have to first hit them in
the head with a called shot to affect them. Since the cable is not
very long, the Hacker must make a Melee attack, using the spe-
cialization, Data Jack. Most cables are about 4 feet long, tops.
As a weapon, the Data Jack is quite poor, doing no damage,
having a Handling of 1 and a Stunt Level of None, so snagging
Heroes and Villains can be pretty tricky without the appropriate
Hero skill. More devious characters have had success sneaking
up on their prey and using the Stunt granted from a surprise
attack to nab them, but due to the corpulent, plodding nature of
most Hackers, this is less successful than they’d like.
Once the Hacker has initiated a connection, they are permitted
to make a Jack In check on their next action, using their Brains
plus Movie Magic: Sci-Fi dice, in an opposed check against the
target’s Brains. Success indicates that they have been able to
download the virus of their choice into the poor shmuck they
targeted.
The table below contains some sample effects and their results.
Removing the Jack requires the expenditure of a single action
and a Toughness check against a difficulty of 5 by the target.
81
82
 Difficulty Effect
Opposed Check Target loses one level in a stat of the
Hacker’s choice until the Jack is removed.
For every five this target is beat by anoth-
er stat can be reduced by one level
Opposed check +20 Target faints
Opposed check +40 Hacker gains control of target’s body and
may direct for as long as he takes no
action

Logic Buster
Genre: Sci-Fi
Rating: 12

Robots speak of this Movie Power in fear, referring to it only in

hushed voices. The mere mention of the Logic Buster can often
send them running back to their manufacturers, begging to be
disassembled.
Quite simply, the Logic Buster can shut a Robot down in sec-
onds, simply by asking it an idiotic question, like “Why is blue,
blue?” or “If I always lie, does that mean this statement is also
a lie?” If the Robot actually stops and thinks about it (which they
will, unless they’re already in combat, because they’re suckers
like that) it will spend the next few seconds trying to work out
the answer to its assailants questions, before it just gives up
and explodes, showering the area with parts. If a Robot wishes
to, it may frantically attempt to shut itself down before the dead-
ly equation is completed, an action that requires it succeed at
a Brains check with a difficulty of 6. Either way, it’s pretty much
over for Mr. Tin Can.
Some Directors have tried using this Power on Robots with Awe-
some Points and ended up as bloody smears on the wall. These
Robots are lucky enough to be able to spend one AP to com-
pletely negate the effects of the Power, as well as making them-
selves immune to it for the rest of the week.

Magic Uzi
Genre: Action, Western
Rating: 12 and up
Every find yourself faced with too many hombres and not
enough lead to get the job done?
This Movie Power can be used in conjunction with any small
arms weapon such as a pistol, rifle or sub-machine gun and it
has the rather straight-forward effect of completely eliminating
the need to reload. A base success of 12 means the character
does not have to reload for 1 round, with every extra 4 you get
meaning you can go another round without reloading. Beating
the bad guys can take a good, long while, after all and who can
be bothered carrying all those bullets?
Monologue
Genre: All
Rating: 25
Time freezes. People stop moving and turn. A single voice suf-
fuses the room, drawing silence from all around it.
The Monologue is Movie Magic at its most blatant and overpow-
ered, in which your character can silence everything within ear-
shot with a single word. Those around him stop whatever they
are currently doing and stare as the Monologue is invoked. The
speaker may talk on any topic they please, for as long as they
wish, but others are limited only to cries of protest and anguish
until the monologue finishes or five game minutes has passed.
Any other character with the Monologue power may attempt to
interrupt their monologue by crying out in response! They simply
make a roll and must exceed the original. The only catch is that
their response must begin with the phrase, “But wait! There’s
one thing that you’ve forgotten…” or it doesn’t work.
Posse
Genre: Sci-Fi, Western
Rating: 6 and up
On those occasions where you need a little extra manpower, a
Posse can be the way to go. This Power lets your character find
the nearest group of armed men and women and meet with
them on friendly terms. The quality and availability of the troops
will vary from place to place but there’s always something if you
look hard enough, even if it’s just a bunch of teddy bears with
sticks.
If the character beats a difficulty of 6, they are successful in
finding one person who will probably agree to help them. The
details are left up to the Gamemaster, but they will probably be
more or less the same as a Mook or Henchman. For every 4
addition points they beat the difficulty by they find another per-
son who will willingly help them.
Needless to say, not all Posse’s are friendly. Some won’t work
until cash changes hands and others will fall apart with a few
stern Leadership rolls. Alternatively, the character may acciden-
tally stumble across a great hero who thinks they might make a

83
better leader than the character. Either way, it helps to have the
wind at your back, but fifty guns is better.
Saddle Up!
Genre: Western
Rating: 5 and up
Saddle Up is an easy power to get behind, or in this case,
aboard. Whenever your hombre’s short a ride, just make a
Movie Magic check against a difficulty of 5. Success indicates
you find a horse, just like that, ready for riding. For every addi-
tional 5 you roll, you find another horse for another dude in your
group. On the downside, the difficulty of the roll is increased by
5 for every horse your group already has, as fortune realizes
there are others who need these lucky steeds more, so don’t
get used to abusing this power any time soon.
Technobabble
Genre: Sci-Fi
Rating: 5 and up
Re-arrange the abnormality spectrometer! Amplify the wave-
motion distortions!
Sometimes you’ll be speaking on the view screen with some
balls-crazy alien fleet commander, making quite a simple argu-
ment for why your ship shouldn’t be vaporized and you’ll just
want to reach through the monitor and give that space thug a
fat lip. Well, with this Power, you can do that a hundred other
ridiculous, unfair things like shutting down the electricity in your
foe’s home, remotely run them over with a semi-trailer or just do
it the easy way and take command of a local orbital satellite and
vaporize an entire city block.
Technobabble allows your wannabe Hacker to do a number on
his foes with nothing but a computer and a comfy chair. Working
on the theory that, in the future, everything will have a comput-
er in it and advances in modem technology can allow a signal
to enter almost any system with almost any purpose, the uses
for Technobabble are as broad as they are terrifying. Firing off
probes into random bits of the scenery is not something just
anyone can do, though, hence the need for this absurd Power.
First of all, the character needs to describe what they want to
do, keeping their choices purely to electronics and near-elec-
tronics. Then, they have to reach a computer, preferably one
with voice input, and work away at it feverishly, while spouting
the kind of gibberish that would make an entire mental ward
green with envy. Then, the Gamemaster sets a difficulty. Movie
Magic rolls are duly made.
Success indicates that the process goes off as well as could
be hoped for. Machines are dangerous things and even if your
hacker somehow manages to commandeer a nuclear warhead,
doesn’t mean he’ll actually have access to the launch mecha-
nism, meaning he can wiggle it around futilely at best. And, of
course, difficulties will always be fluctuating, so some simple,
almost inconsequential act that required a 10 one day could
easily require a 50 the next, what with the fluxes in the tenac-
ity of the Information Superhighway coming and going, not to
mention bursts of cosmic radiation irradiating all those tachyon
impulses.
The table below includes some possibilities, but if you can
dream it up as an action for a computer, you can probably do
it. Difficulties can increase by as much as 50 for items without
computerized systems and by as much as 100 for things that
aren’t even made of metal.
84
Rating Effect
5 Intercept an e-mail
10 Fire a weapon system without touching
it
15 See through an active security camera
20 Start a spaceship’s thrusters
30 Unlock a door in a government facility
60 Gain temporary control of an orbital sat-
ellite
80 Rebuild a Robot’s brain from a single
chip from their body
The Stare
Genre: Western
Rating: Opposed
Once you’ve initiated The Stare, there’s no going back. For cow-
boys, this is the last step over the abyss, where you will either
safely cross or tumble to the hells that wait below. Needless to
say, it’s pretty badass.
When a Cowboy uses The Stare, he locks a target in his sights
and begins the Duel. All Awesome Points currently possessed by
the Cowboy and his foe are put into a new pool, floating ephem-
erally in the air between them. Then, you begin a combat round
as normal.
At this point, either character may choose to flee, but they’ll be
abandoning whatever AP they had on them at the time. Other-
wise, both participants make Movie Magic: Western checks
whenever their turns come up, with every 10 rolled allowing them
to take 1 of the AP from the shared pool for themselves. This con-
tinues until no Awesome Points remain undistributed, at which
point you start a new combat round.
On turn 6, any characters with a turn may make a Quick Draw
check, with the highest roller getting the draw on his enemy. We
waive the suggestion that PC’s always go first, for a change. One
more thing, the total of the Quick Draw roll is added to the dam-
age of any successful hits on that turn, too. Most Cowboys don’t
walk away from The Stare.
Torn Uniform
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi
Rating: Varies
Traditionally a power limited to male characters as a way
to get female fan’s hearts racing, we here at the Awesome
System take no hesitation in finally opening up this critical
scientific wonder to both genders for the first time. We’re all
about equality.
To wit, when your character takes damage, whether from
Martian laser guns, hungry space dinosaurs or future beings
from beyond the rings of Saturn, he may nominate to make a
Movie Magic check to have his (or her) shirt, pants or other
item of clothing tear dramatically, baring powerful muscle.
He (or she) gives an earthy barbaric roar as caged primitive
instincts come to the fore and their fighting spirit emerges!
To determine success, use the character’s remaining Hit
Points, minus the damage they just suffered, as the difficul-
ty, meaning the more injured you are, the easier the check
is to make!
Every success you make increases your character’s Brawn
and Speed by 1 for the duration of the combat or until your
character receives medical attention. Bonus Hit Points are
not granted for the increase in Brawn, but increases in
Speed will grant extra Speed Dice as normal. Go break some either raise their arms up in a weird way and get carried
sophisticated heads! through the air, or walk on your tip-toes for the duration of
the Power. As well as making you look incredibly silly, this
Tread Softly Movie Power allows you to go right across the surface of
water or up the sides of buildings. Don’t forget that if you’re
Genre: Kung Fu, Superspies somewhere you shouldn’t be when the Power wears off,
Rating: 12 and up though, gravity will take its course. Hope you know how to
swim.
The softest tread is usually the one you have to worry about
the most. Doubly so if they’re one of these two types of
Movie Magician.
A Spy or Ninja who’s treading with the utmost care may
make a Movie Magic roll against a difficulty of 12, with suc-
cess granting them a +6 on any roll to do with sneaking, like
Notice, Disguise or melee checks made during Sneak Attack,
as well as the obsequious Sneak. For every 4 points they
beat the difficulty by, they may also add a +2 to one of these
skills for free, up until the end of the scene.

Violence
Genre: Action
Rating: 6 and up

Any problem you can’t solve with a bit of violence can proba-
bly be solved with a lot of violence. If your character is trying
to make something work, like open a locked door, hotwire a
car or access restricted computer files, they can choose to
opt a Movie Magic check for the actual roll required. They
may only do this if they don’t have the appropriate skill,
because no professional would be caught dead doing some-
thing that stupid.
Anyway, the character must describe how exactly they get
the object to do what they want, however creatively, and then
make a Movie Magic roll, adding 6 to whatever the difficulty
would normally be. If they succeed, the motorbike starts or
the computer spits out the file they need or whatever it is
they’re trying to do at the time, but its completeness or func-
tionality will often be much less than a professional would
have been able to get. At least it gets the job done, right?
This Movie Power may not be used more than once on any
one object. There’s only so much illogical the universe can
handle, after all.

Wealth and Taste

Genre: Superspies
Rating: 12 and up

At the party, the Superspy is king. Nobody carouses like he

does, nobody blossoms socially like he does and nobody, I
say nobody, tangos like he does.
A character with Wealth and Taste controls the party, their
Spy training for some reason including a course in fine wine,
dancing, etiquette and whatever else you can imagine. If the
character can succeed at a Movie Magic check, they gain a
+6 to any skill that is used in their social butterfly act, such
as Academia relating to the party, Etiquette, Dance checks
or any number of other fancies. For every 4 points they beat
this roll by, they may elect one of these skills to be awarded
a +2 bonus to, till the party’s conclusion.

Wire Fu
Genre: Fung fu
Rating: 8 and up

Whenever you use this Movie Power, your character’s Move-

ment is, quite simply, doubled for the duration of that action.
How hard to remember is that? Anyway, your character will

85
 CHAPTER 10: ROCKING OUT!
Music has spread across the galaxy, uniting races and peoples
where nothing else could, giving the people a powerful voice,
ending wars, overcoming barriers, making coffee and setting
new heights for awesome.
In the Awesome System, music is more than just a hobby; it’s
the rhythm to which life, love and awesome are conducted. Most
people can go through life without even being aware of this eter-
nal reverberation. Others ride it.
Musical Combat: A Snapshot
This is a totally new arena, one you’ve never seen before.
Guns and swords are for amateurs when you can scrape
a man’s soul bare and then rock it to shreds. Rocking Out
is just another way to break enemies and remind them
that you’re the boss.
Striking A Chord
Characters deciding to play a Rock Star need to take the
10-point Power Rock Star and have at least one level in an
Instrument discipline or Voice. Voice may be used with any
genre, this just means you’re the Singer.
Now, since they’re just that cool, Rock Stars gain one free level
of Soul during character creation. The drive to make it as a pro-
fessional has infused the player with a level of determination
and devotion not oft found in mortals.
Once you’ve done that, it’s time to pick one of the five genres
of Rocking Out to represent. The ones presented for your Rock
Star here are just samples and you’re welcome to create your
own unique, original styles.
While choosing your genre, make sure you consult its effects, as
sheer rockitude can be a dangerous thing. Should your charac-
ter ever amass over a certain number of Awesome Points during
a rock duel, certain effects will occur, sometimes regardless of
the character’s wishes.
Classical – Nothing is more serious than a classical battle. Two
rabid composers, half-blind with brilliance stare at each from
across a stage a hundred feet wide, hands raising and then
pounding down on ivory keyboards, baring their hearts, their
sorrows and their passion. Classical composers always write
their own music and play it with their entire mind, using Brains
as their associated stat.
Jazz – Jazz is about having your finger on the pulse of a nation.
You feel its heartbeat, its footfalls, everything that makes the
people what they are and then you lay your hands to your sec-
ond voice and make it heard. Jazz musicians feel the music in
every bone of their body. They use their Flow for playing their
fine, funky music.
Metal – If you’ve ever felt that crushing need to break lives,
destroy worlds and tear the sky apart to reach for the Gods
themselves, Metal will fill the void in your soul. To keep things
simple, we’ve associated Speed with Metal, so you can get your
900 drum beats per minute or thrash a guitar half to death.
Opera – No-one can mess with an Opera Singer. No-one would
dare. We’re talking meteoric levels of range, glass-shattering
vocal powers and a $10,000 suit, cape often in tow. When you
step up to the plate, others cower or get blown away. When the
oceans have run dry and the mountains have crumbled, your
voice will still be there, the most powerful force in nature. Opera
Singers use their Brawn as their associated stat and use the
Voice skill for making checks.
Rock – This is where it all began. The first truly powerful Rock,
the sort of stuff that could bring about the godlike worship that
Rock Stars enjoy, began here. No genre had ever captivated,
rejoiced in or devastated a generation so much as good old
fashioned Rock and Roll. A Rock Star uses his Soul for his asso-
ciated stat, when that rich, badass music comes straight from
the heart and straight into the minds of his loyal followers. Rock
is forever here to stay.
Genre Corresponding Stat
Classical Brains
Jazz Flow
Metal Speed
Opera Brawn
Rock Soul
Battle Of the Bands
Rocking Out is not your everyday occurrence. This is what hap-
pens when two musicians or bands decide to face off and deter-
mine who truly rocks the hardest. As soon as a Rock Battle is
declared, all characters involved not only get filled up to maxi-
mum Awesome Points, but they also throw them all into their
side’s Rocking Out Pool, which all members of the band draw
Awesome Points from. This represents the band’s ability to func-
tion as a unit and their strength as a cohesive force of rocki-
tude. Just to make things more exciting, there’s also no limit on
how big the Rocking Out Pool can get.
Rocking Out is conducted using the same round format as regular
combat, with characters rolling their Genre Stat in place of Speed
for determining actions, with the usual one extra dice. If a group
of characters are co-operating as a band, the lowest of these
scores is used for determining actions for the entire group. Every
time an action comes up, the character may take a regular action,
such as moving, jumping or whatever strikes their fancy, or they
may Rock Out.
We Who Rock
Since Rock Stars are way too awesome to worry about having to
hit things, they instead just focus on attracting legions of ador-
ing fans and sending the bad guys packing with their totally hot
licks.
The steps to making a Rock Attack are as follows:
1. Pick your target: You can either play to the opposition, the
fans or invoke the Ragnarock.
2. Make your roll.
3. Conquer.
If you target the opposition, you put your mettle to your oppo-
nent and are determined to show them you can rock harder
than they ever could. Make a check using your Instrument or
Voice skill and deduct one of their Awesome Points for every 10
points rolled. Just as opponents can dodge in regular combat,
87

the poor chap can also attempt to play back and reduce your
roll by spending an action or Awesome Point. His roll is deducted
from yours and you take the reduced amount of AP. You don’t
lose AP if your roll is pushed into the negatives, though, that
would just be embarrassing.
If you play to the crowd, it works a little different. Crowds behold-
ing Rock Battles find it so totally awesome that they each gener-
ate a single Awesome Point as their souls soar, which your har-
dasses can steal off them for a quick snack in the middle of a
duel. Disturbingly brutal, we know, but them’s the breaks.
So! For every increment of 5 you roll on your Instrument or Voice
check you can take away that many Awesome Points from the
crowd for your own use. Soak up as many of those AP as you
can, so when the time comes to hit the other dudes, they damn
well feel it. Characters who have Awesome Pools may refuse to
give out AP in this manner, since they have mastered their inter-
nal awesome.
So how do you attack if you’re a member of a band? To make
Rock Battles go faster, you simply take the Flow of each mem-
ber of the band, then go round and add each individual’s Level
or Bonus of their Instrument or Voice skill to the total dice pool.
This represents that band member playing either Lead or Back-
up. Since everyone can roll their own dice for this, on regular
actions take the highest roll, and on Stunts, add it all together.
Simple!
Obviously, AP will be flying up and down as both bands collect
them and steal them off each other, so how do you determine
who the winner is? The simple answer is, the big loser is the first
side to be reduced to a negative amount of Awesome Points, at
which point their resolve is completely crushed and they con-
cede victory to the musical onslaught. Their Awesome Pool set-
tles at a big fat zero, where it stays until they can start collecting
AP again as normal. Nobody wants to rock with a loser, after all.
88
And what happens to the winners? Well, they lose all those
beautiful AP and their total is reset back to whatever it was
before the fight started.
Wait! Hold on a second! That doesn’t sound fair!
The Ragnarock
Well, you’re lucky that we have a system for handling it, then!
At any time during the Rock Battle, if you feel like you have too
many AP, you may opt to use them to call upon the forces of the
Ragnarock. This is fairly straightforward as the Gods of Being
Totally Awesome, the Aesir, will always be overseeing any truly
epic clash of Dudes Who Rock Hard, so massing up the pow-
ers of man’s eternal clashing with his destiny is only a dice roll
away. These checks are called Ragnarock checks. To invoke the
power, simply roll your skill as normal and try to beat the difficul-
ties below. If you succeed, you may choose to invoke that effect
on the battlefield.
If a Rock Battle is won, the winners may invoke the Ragnarock
right at that moment. This is called a Finale and is a good way
to get some use out of all those AP you earned before they up
and disappear.
Classical
Action Difficulty
Classic Destruction 10
The Symphony Paradox 50
Genocide in E-Minor 1,000
Classic Destruction
For every 10 points rolled on the Ragnarock check, you destroy
one musical instrument within earshot. It erupts into a cata-
strophic cacophony, tortured by your genius, then falls apart.
Instruments being played by Rock Stars will fall apart at the end
of the duel.
The Symphony Paradox
When making your Ragnarock check, for every 50 points rolled,
you inflict 1 point of Damn Crazy on a target of your choice as
your music blasts off the walls of their mind and awakens them
to madness. These can be taken separately or added together
as the whims of the maestro dictate.
Genocide in E-Minor
For every 1,000 points rolled on your Ragnarock check, you may
completely obliterate the people of one country. Choose wisely!
Jazz
Action Difficulty
The People 5
The Devil 100
The Man 200
The People
For every 5 points rolled on the Ragnarock check, you may gain
one Henchman to whatever cause you espouse. They can speak
for you, join in protest rallies you lead and spring money to get
you out of jail. Sometimes they put out.
The Devil
Make a 100 point Ragnarock roll and he’s yours. Old Hoofy
comes roaring out of fire and brimstone and he’s fixing to make
a deal. The amount rolled, subtracted from 5,000, is the num-
ber of Character Points he is built with.
The Man
So let’s say you don’t like a building. Maybe it’s too big or too
ugly. For every 200 points rolled on a Ragnarock check by Jazz
musicians, you can level one building of your choice to the
ground, just with fine horn play.

Metal
Action Difficulty
Twisted Plains of Broken Ribcages 100
Organs Devoured By Crows 200
Brutal Suffering, Blacker Than The Blackest 2,000
Night

Twisted Plains of Broken Ribcages

On a roll of 100 or more, all participants of the Rock Duel are
transported to a hellish landscape of pure nightmare. The fake
reality projected by foolish hope is torn back by wicked claws
and the sick and twisted Truth is brought into clarity. It looks like
your typical metal album cover.
The metalhead must choose to expend 1 AP every turn to keep
the rift open. For every turn it’s open, every person possessing
a Soul within 666 feet suffers 5 damage, regardless of armour.

Organs Devoured By Crows

For every 200 points rolled on the Ragnarock check, you may
nominate one person currently possessing no AP. Each person
chosen in this way can only watch in terror as thousands of
crows blot out the sun, before descending on them and ripping
out their organs. They are completely and utterly dead.

Brutal Suffering, Blacker Than The Blackest Night

The Gods of Metal awaken from their eternal slumber and
engulf Earth like a whale engulfs plankton. 5 out of every 6 peo-
ple on the planet are killed. The remainder are enslaved. Still, it
was a pretty kick ass song.

Opera Rock
Action Difficulty Action Difficulty
Valkyrie Strike, ACT I 50 Rockzilla 50
Valkyrie Strike, ACT II 100 Rock Your Face Off 100
Valkyrie Strike, ACT III 200 We Can Rock It Out 1,000

Valkyrie Strike, ACT I Rockzilla

The fine-tuned notes of the balls-to-the-wall gentleman croon- You rock hard enough to summon an ancient dinosaur. One
ing out these operatic beats draws the attention of a Guardian dinosaur appears for every 50 points rolled. They are friendly to
Valkyrie. On a Ragnarock roll of 50 or more, any blow that would the Rock Stars and can be ridden on.
kill the character in the future is deflected by one hot tamale of
a celestial babe, who simultaneously refills the character to full
AP. Pithy one-liner optional. Rock Your Face Off
For every 100 rolled on your Ragnarock check, you are able to
Valkyrie Strike, ACT II reduce a target’s Brawn by 1 level, recoverable only by a day of
bed rest. Anyone reduced to 0 Brawn in this fashion has their
On a difficulty 100 finale check, the Opera singer may choose a skin flayed from their bones by pure rock. They die.
single target currently possessing 0 AP. A black winged valkyrie
appears before the target, invisible to all others. She whispers “I
guard your death” before vanishing. The next attack to strike the We Can Rock It Out
target will be lethal. In the event that your Rock Star is faced by an alien civilization
hell-bent on Mankind’s destruction, you may attempt to make a
Valkyrie Strike, ACT III check as normal. For every roll of 1,000, one alien civilization is
converted to a lifestyle of peaceful co-existence with humanity.
A sudden, terrible storm hits. Lightning flashes, thunder crash-
es, and a host of coldly shining Valkyrie descends from the
black clouds, girded for battle. For every point of damage an ally
has received in the current combat, the amassed Valkyrie dole
out three times that amount, distributed however the singer
chooses among any number of opponents.

89
 CHAPTER 11: GAME MASTERING!
So you’ve read the rest of the book, made some characters,
and, by now, probably played in a couple of games. And now you
want to do it yourself? Well, you’re braver than we took you for.
This chapter will give you the lowdown on running a compelling,
exciting campaign of Awesome System and leaving your players
begging for more, game after game.
So let’s get started.
Reading This Chapter
Now, this chapter is full of Gamemastering advice, so it’s not
necessarily for everyone. After all, Gamemastering is a very per-
sonal activity and a lot of players don’t want to be told how to do
it. Nevertheless, for novices and older Gamemasters who need
a refresher, we’ve included this topic that is so often glossed
over in other roleplaying games, usually because people are
taught by their friends. If you’re interested in becoming a good
GM and know someone like this, by all means, soak up all the
knowledge you can get from them, but make sure you develop
your own style of running games, too.
There are plenty of websites on the internet with free articles
about running a compelling game, but since the Awesome Sys-
tem is entirely it’s own animal, it’s hard to say how much of that
advice will apply to it. We promise a totally new and different
experience to your regular night of spy espionage and dun-
geoneering, so this chapter contains tailor-made advice for this
game and this game only, with notes on how to bring across that
Awesome experience. It also touches on the simpler issues of
running a game and gives you head start into your first Game-
mastering experience.
Of course, the only way to become a better Gamemaster is to
get out there and run as many games as you can, regardless
of whatever shortcomings or fears or even lack of storytelling
ability you have, so do your best now and in the future. The most
important thing possible is to find the right players for you and
to enjoy playing with them and being supported by them. In any
roleplaying game, everything else should be secondary to hav-
ing fun.
The Basics
You are a Gamemaster and it’s your job to tell a story. You’re
the writer, the director, the producer and the caterer and your
players are the audience. You’re both there to dazzle each other
with awesome moves and cool characters, but you’re the one
who makes the whole thing possible, and to do that you have to
run the sort of game your friends are going to want to play. This
means your game needs to be involving, too, and your players
need to feel their characters have an impact on their game world
that only they could make. The characters are what makes the
game work and should be a powerful force in the game world,
whether they do it through roleplaying, manipulation or breaking
people’s faces in. Nobody wants to play in a game where they
feel their character is having no impact on the story.
There should be problems that they can solve. They should be
getting things done. Present a problem to them, however seem-
ingly impossible, and then give them just enough rope to hang
themselves with. Players love that feeling that they’re getting
everything under control when suddenly things go terribly wrong
and now they have a whole new set of problems on their hands.
Keep them guessing and keep them moving and they’ll love you
for it. In this section, we’re going to be breaking down the pro-
cess of coming up with a plot and turning it into the raddest
game of the Awesome System you ever saw.
Getting Started: Awesome Style
Gamemastering starts before you’ve even started rolling dice,
before you’ve even started making characters. A good Game-
master talks to his players and makes sure they understand
what sort of game he’s running well ahead of time, the themes,
the setting and so on. He also, and this is the important part of
these discussions, finds out what sort of characters they want
to play. Sometimes these concepts mesh well with your game,
such as a gang of rugged survivors to go with your desert world,
or Machiavellian princes and lords for your dark fantasy game,
but in the early stages your players are likely to be about as
cohesive as a riot.
The question is, if you’ve spent weeks rehearsing an epic space
opera and coming up with dazzling NPC’s, do you really want to
have to scrap it all because your players want to play a bunch
of cowboys? In lots of cases, you should, because that’s what
they’ll enjoy more, but sometimes you should be ready to sit
them down and explain why their latest train wreck (and we
mean that in the nicest possible way) will have to be shelved
this time.
Atmosphere: Holding It
So let’s start out nice and ugly, with the brassiest tacks you can
imagine. In your rush to make it all happen with the baddest
dudes, the rockingest magic items and the most kingly setting,
you forgot to make sure your players were paying attention. So
you’re jawing away describing the natural beauty of the foothills
of blissful Arderok or whatever the killing ground is called this
time, and those suckers are watching the game show in the next
room over. You’ve got to grab their attention and hold onto it,
from start to finish, or else important plot information will be
forgotten, NPC’s will go unnoticed and, worst case scenario,
the characters will miss all your craftily placed clues and hints
about where to go and end up running round in circles till they
either give up or end up in jail for all the fights they picked trying
to get a clue. It always helps to run your game in a well-lit, quiet
room, with music that works for your game playing. For example,
if you’re running a Steampunk game, it can be fun to get a hold
of some ragtime jazz, something industrial for a dark cyberpunk
game and there’s a truckload of movie soundtracks that go well
with any fantasy game. Just make sure you can hear your play-
ers over that racket.
Has everyone eaten? It can help to have some food and drink
on the table or get dinner beforehand. It’s totally acceptable to
order pizza halfway through a game, too, as long as you think it
won’t disrupt the mood. The kind of game where the GM can get
up from the table and walk away, only to come back and find his
players having an in-character discussion or talking about how
to smack down your Big Bad for good, is a good game. You can
even plan ahead and deliberately leave them on a cliff-hanger,
so they’re biting your nails while you’re off getting the pizza boy
to read the order back to you. Make sure their seats are comfy
and try to play somewhere where you won’t be distracted.
Most of this is up to the Gamemaster to do, but the players have
a responsibility to pay attention and not disrupt the game, too,
so if a player keeps distracting you or the other players, you have
the right to ask them to keep it shut till after the game or kick
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them out if you have to. If you’re playing with casual friends and
not serious gamers, feel free to turn down the level of intensity
and mood, too, and just focus on your guys having a rad time.
It’s as easy as that. Fun comes before any other single thing and
don’t be afraid to change your game or your players to make it
more fun for all involved, usually in that order. Still, you have
to remember that the players contribute to the atmosphere as
well, so keep ‘em in hand.
Atmosphere: Making It
However, everything we’ve mentioned so far are just ways to
reduce interruptions from the atmosphere. You have to remem-
ber that where the atmosphere comes from is the words that
make the game. That’s up to you.
Feeling a little tense all of a sudden? A little… Scared?
It’s okay, kid, we’ve got your back. See, creating an atmosphere
is something even the most ham-handed Gamemaster can do,
it just requires a bit of thought. Just imagine that you’re the
characters, entering the world, seeing and feeling whatever they
do. How do the buildings look from where they stand? Does this
place smell awful? Is the desert too hot, making them sweat
and pant, or does the snow strike at their skin, making them
wish they’d never come here? Giving your players cues to work
with allows them to get into character easier, even if it’s just a
92
little touch, like music in a nightclub or the magnificent rush of
air in their faces as they swing onto the merchant ship, cutlass
in teeth.
Look at cinema, too, and how movies create atmosphere. A lot
of movies start with a little snippet of someone’s life or a majes-
tic pan over the character’s hometown, up skyscrapers and
down rivers. Some movies are cast in unique visual tones, like
a black and white noir film or the bright cheerful settings of a
boy and his dog movies. Make sure to always set the scene and
think about any questions the players ask you about it. If they’re
asking, it means they want more sensory input for their charac-
ter, so work out how their character would interpret the situation
first and then give them information that suits the mood and
style of the game.
One more thing is don’t be afraid to use set pieces. A set piece
is a location that is breathtaking to the characters and gives
them pause for a moment as you describe this wondrous struc-
ture in all its glory. Set pieces are also a good tool for construct-
ing mood and symbolism when they add to the story in some
way and make the game more exciting. The classic example is
to travel to the villain’s lair and fight him in his own home. Imag-
ine chasing a serial killer for weeks, only to confront him in a
crumbling, desolate apartment block, where floors give way and
lights sputter suddenly and unexpectedly. Or having multiple
brushes with your campaign villain around various places until
you find yourself battling to the death with him in a cavern under
an active volcano, lava spilling around you and already small
pathways across the room dissolving as superheated waves
sweep over them.
A set piece can also be something as simple as a place
where they’re meeting someone or gathering information.
Just because a location isn’t important, doesn’t mean it can’t
relate to the symbolism and mood of your game or be another
opportunity to express the way the character feels about things.
If you’re running a dark, unpleasant horror game, you could
describe how the filth and muck of everyday life has seeped into
everything, graffiti staining the walls, trash and filth everywhere.
Or in a heroic, high-fantasy setting, the entrance to a city is built
in shining stone, the doors made from fine oak and the soldiers
standing an attentive watch presenting themselves in shining
armour and wielding perfectly maintained swords. The possi-
bilities for set pieces are so numerous that no Gamemaster has
any right to skip them or forget about them when they’re so easy
to include. Plan them out beforehand if you have to, but there is
nothing more important than wowing your party with the fresh,
exciting world they get to play in.
So those are some ways to set a mood. So what happens when
you didn’t think that far ahead?
Improvisation
When in doubt, have two dudes with machine-guns kick in the
door.
Why?
Simple, kid. It puts the characters in a sudden, desperate situ-
ation. It makes questions and, if the PC’s end up killing their
would-be assassins, no way to answer them. Maybe they find
a book of matches for a local club? Maybe they find photos of
themselves! There’s mystery and intrigue afoot and dead bodies
to clean up.
And it doesn’t have to be mobsters, either. It can be dragons,
fairies, demons, smugglers, pirates, spaceships, Gods, wild
boars or any other thing in the whole wide world. Never let your
game stagnate, ever. If things are slowing down, feed them new
information, give them new plot hooks to reel them in. Your
world should be a theme park that just calls to the characters
to be explored and enjoyed, with exciting new characters and
encounters behind every corner. I say again, never let your game
stagnate, it’s nothing short of the kiss of death. And if you’re
really stuck, hey, e-mail me and I’ll see what I can do. You’re
paying for any airfare, though.
Talk to your friends, too. Stuff you’d never think of is immedi-
ately obvious to your buddies and your players can be a great
source of information. Some parties will speculate wildly about
the game, saying such and such character is going to betray
them or that they bet your humble barkeep is really a cyborg
from the future. Don’t be afraid to incorporate casually-men-
tioned ideas into your game, especially if it’s more exciting than
anything you had planned. A few scratches on a spare piece of
paper is all you need to totally change the direction of a game
that, after all, exists almost solely in your wonderful head.
And that goes for your ideas, too. If something occurs to you on
the spur of the moment, give it a go. What’s the worst that could
happen?
The Cinema
At its heart, the Awesome System is one very deeply rooted in
traditional cinema. Especially the b-grade variety. The spirit of
the game lies in Sci-Fi, Action and Horror, but any number of
other genres can be easily incorporated. In this section you’ll
find some ways of bringing the wonders of the theatre into your
game and creating a memorable game after all the motorbikes
have exploded.
When instilling your game of the Awesome System with that dra-
matic movie feeling, there’s a few simple tenets to keep in mind.
Action Sequences
Perfect for giving your game that cinematic feel, action sequence
is a term we use to describe any long contest of skill checks that
involves one or more of the party members. Including one or two
action sequences in each adventure can drastically change its
feel and give the players an opportunity to use their character’s
skills in awesome, creative ways.
When designing your action sequence, you should try to make
it fast-paced, exciting and evocative. Descriptions are very
important. Think of all the car chases you’ve seen in movies.
Cars leave the road and fly through the air, smash through boxes
and fruit stands and send pedestrians scattering. There’s a lot
of ways to even a few simple driving checks exciting and, as we
said at the start of the chapter, your players are ultimately there
to be entertained (and entertain you). Can’t stress that enough.
Sample Action Sequences
Here’s a few ideas to get you started. The action sequences
below emphasize a lack of combat, keeping the game exciting
and tense while allowing the party to use their non-combat skills
in exciting ways.
The characters are a gang of cowboys who find out that a big-
time villain is aboard the train heading out of town. With no
choice, they take off on horseback, pulling alongside the train,
determined to get onboard!
The potential here is limitless. There’s nothing better than a
gang of reckless, horse-riding cowboys to bring some danger to
an adventure. First of all, they need horse-riding checks to pull
up alongside the train and then, what if the bad guy’s hench-
men are waiting for them? They’ll have to return fire before dar-
ingly leaping onto the train with Acrobatics checks and Climb
checks to get through a window or on the roof. We recommend
the roof of the carriage is swarming with gunmen and cavalry
sabres.
Once they’re on the roof, they’ve got to leap from carriage to car-
riage and will have to hit the deck for tunnels or keep their foot-
ing as the train swerves around corners like nobody’s business.
A huge spaceship attacks the party’s own spaceship, overpow-
ering it and forcing the party to take evasive manoeuvres. A few
of the PC’s run to their personal fighters with the plan of board-
ing the ship.
If the party’s spaceship has a pilot, he’ll be required to make
Piloting checks to avoid the Spaceship’s attack. The other PC’s
will be making even more Piloting checks to get their fighters in
a position to board the enemy ship. If they can’t get in, they’ll be
forced to grab onto the side of the spaceship and force entry,
requiring Heave checks, Climbing checks and Acrobatics checks
if they’re in atmosphere.
The party are in a tense car chase with some evil cultists, when
some sort of abomination lands on the roof of their van, trying
to tear the vehicle apart!
In addition to the cultists firing guns at the party, someone might
want to go up on the roof of their vehicle and fight the abomina-
tion, so this might end up becoming a combat. If the characters
decide to try to get rid of the monster without fighting, you could
call for Driving checks to shake it off, Dodge checks to avoid its
attacks and Notice checks to spot obvious places to hurt the
monster, like low overhangs and traffic poles. Driving checks will
also be required to keep pace with the Cultists.
So as you can see, the key to running an action sequence usu-
ally involves putting something just out of the parties’ reach and
making it as difficult as possible for them to get it. Throwing a
fast-moving vehicle into the mix is always a pleasure, but you
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could just as easily make it a climb down an elevator shaft or
passage through a trap-riddled room. There’s never any reason
to restrict yourself to one type of scenario.
Villains
One of the most important parts of any roleplaying game is the
bad guys. In your goal to upset and derail the player characters
these bad-asses are your front-line troops for causing havoc.
Here we’re going to be looking at what makes a compelling vil-
lain, including him in your campaign and being able to off him
with style when the time comes.
First of all, we must stress style. It helps to make your villains
in a set mould, such as a conquering warlord or a lone assas-
sin, then make him the best at it. Make him expressive, impos-
ing, exciting and even charismatic and, most importantly, make
him an individual. The best villains have such things as totally
badass dialogue, defining moments of evilness and features or
personalities that make the players care. Sometimes they just
have a totally awesome set of armour and a jetpack.
On the subject of a diabolical scheme, your bad dude’s plan
must be evil enough (or personal enough) to get the party inter-
ested and maybe even get them wondering why he’s so dead
set on it. Maybe one of his family members overdosed on some
sort of nasty drug, so now he’s out to take control of the city so
that he can crush the drug cartel or maybe he’s just a straight-
up kind of guy who likes money and power and wants more. A
villain like that would need to be even more distinctive, or else
the characters might get confused over who’s the big bad, them
or one of their many employers or sponsors.
Whatever their traits, though, a villain won’t work unless they
match the tone and depth of your game. To understand this,
take a look at popular film and literature and you can see vary-
ing degrees of evil emerging. Some villains think it’s more than
enough of a day’s work to simply steal some treasure or kidnap
the heroes’ loved ones, while others murder and despoil, sink-
ing to incredible acts of depravity in a quest for validation. Some
villains will perform deplorable acts, but take no interest in what
they do, while others will relish bringing pain and suffering to
the heroes.
A noble villain with high ideals will evoke a different response
from the party compared to a disgusting little worm of a man,
even if they do the same things, so which sort you use in your
game (and the amount of pleasure he takes in his work) is an
important decision. While neither type is necessarily better, the
party will work harder to kill a villain who kills without discrimi-
nation and resorts to cruel mind-games or toys with the char-
acter’s emotions, but such an intense character can scare off
more light-hearted players, especially if his actions strike close
to problems they’ve had in real life.
If a character has spent valuable CP taking a loved Henchman
only to find that Henchman dead and mutilated the next day, the
player will probably be angry. They’ll want to hurt the villain a lot
more and take more effort to seek them out, especially if they
took great pleasure in the murder and make it obvious, but how
angry you want to make your players is up to you. The players are
there to have fun, so this is a technique that should not be over-
used.
Mooks
Every good Villain needs Mooks, so that’s what we’re going to
look at here. Player Character and Villains are the tough guys of
your world. They’re the guys who make a big deal and change
the outcomes of events. Well, behind that, you need Mooks.
Mooks can come by many names, a few you might have heard
are Henchmen, Goons, Chumps, the Armed Forces, but at the
end of the day they’re all the same, just a bit of hired muscle
for one side to attempt to slow the other down with. Villains and
Player Characters will punch through these distractions like wet
94
Mook Robots
In Chapter 7, under the section Mindless Machines, we
covered making Robots into Mooks, but didn’t elaborate
on halving their Character Points. We didn’t go into this for
two reasons.
First of all, any Mook robot with a Cockpit can be used
by a Player Character with the Mecha Pilot ability, could
effectively lose any Mook status we placed on it, when he
starts running around doing Awesome Stunts. The other
reason was that a Robot’s Self-Aware nature isn’t fac-
tored into its price-tag, so a Player Character that was a
production line Robot would have exactly the same retail
value as a Mindless, and it’s easier to not have two sepa-
rate mechanics for pricing Robots. Just keep this in mind
while balancing encounters.
And, of course, if for some reason you wanted to include
a Self-Aware Mook Robot in your RPG, heaven knows why,
now you can!
cardboard most of the time, but that doesn’t make them any
less fun to fight.
To signify how inferior a Mook is to a character, the biggest
weakness they have going against them is that they can’t Stunt
and they don’t get Awesome Points. Any time a Mook rolls his
actions, whereas speed dice that land on the same turn would
normally add up to a Stunt, the Mook is treated as always hav-
ing a Stunt Level of None, meaning you take the dice off until
it’s a regular action. It’s quite possible that a Mook with four or
five Speed Dice could only end up with two or three actions! And
they don’t get Awesome Points, which means they’re stuck that
way. It’s a tough life being a Mook, that’s for sure. When there’s
a big gang of Mooks, the Gamemaster should roll Speed for the
entire group, having all of them act at once. Not only does this
speed up combat, but it puts attention on the real threats, any
Villains who happen to be in the vicinity.
It might sound like Mooks get a rough deal, but just think of them
as extra set pieces. When a valiant hero is squaring off against
his arch-rival, there’s always going to be some thug running
around, getting in the hero’s way before he’s slugged across the
jaw. They should provide easy targets to break up the combat,
but too many of them will overwhelm the party, so their reduced
abilities, but increased numbers will add a nail-biting edge to a
combat as the party must divide its attention, in case what was a
laughable gang of munchkins turns into a serious threat.
To compensate for their lack of abilities, Mooks count as being
half as many Character Points as they actually are. This doesn’t
mean they’re disadvantaged as a group, of course, it just means
you can field twice as many!
Experience
As Player Characters adventure and travel, they’ll gradually get
better at what they do. In the short term, this is shown by reward-
ing good roleplaying with Awesome Points, because the charac-
ters that entertain the Gamemaster the most are probably going
to be the ones that are kept around the longest.
In the long term, however, characters can improve themselves,
becoming smarter, tougher, stronger and better at doing their
job. Extra Character Points are given out at the end of the ses-
sion, when the Gamemaster has collected his thoughts.
What the “right” amount of Experience Points is differs from
Gamemaster to Gamemaster and depends on their style of
game. Some like to give out more than the PC’s know what to
do with, increasing their power in leaps and bounds until they’re
like the mighty heroes of yore. This a totally awesome way to
play a game.
Other Gamemasters like to ration them out, and make the play-
ers feel like their characters are real, vulnerable people, who
make mistakes occasionally and aren’t perfect. They give out
Experience Points sparingly, making the players feel like they’ve
really earned their character’s growth. This is an awesome way
to play, too.
How many points you give out is entirely up to you, Gamemaster.
Don’t let those players bully you into giving them extra, since
looking out for number one is part of their nature, but don’t be
stingy, either. Presented below are the amount of Experience
Points Player Characters might be given for some standard cam-
paign goals. As a general rule, everyone’s characters should be
the same amount of points, just to make things more fair.
These are around about the right amount of experience for a
character ranging from 1-199 Character Points. At 200 points
and up, you might want to do consider doubling them and at
300 points and up tripling, and so on.

Deed Reward
Uncovering a minor plot point 2
Uncovering a major plot point 6
Winning an easy battle 1 per five bad guys
Winning a normal battle 1 per bad guy
Defeating a powerful fiend 10
Vanquishing a Campaign Villain 20
Rescuing a city from danger 20
Averting unnecessary death and 1-5
violence
Developing a character’s person- 1-5
ality
Daredevil heroics 2
Good strategy in battle 2

The Total Destruction Of The Universe General Incompetence

Don’t worry if this happens. The ultimate goal of every Awesome Horrorport
System game is complete chaos and destruction far beyond the Monologue
means of ordinary humans. If you find entire planets are being
blown up, just congratulate your players on a good game and The Stare
start the next one. Torn Uniform
Tread Softly
Dark Movie Magic
So let’s say you’ve got a whole kit of wannabe movie stars. Animate Dead
You’ve got your Detectives seeing through your clever plots in Rating: 8 and up
seconds. You’ve got action heroes doing triple back flips through
your carefully planned encounters. Not to mention cowboys peg- When a creature of great evil passes into our own galaxy, its
ging your villains at a hundred yards with a pea shooter. semblance permeates all life. Dreams become nightmares,
men go mad and the dead rise. If the Director has access to a
Well, you can either throw even more audacious bad guys at body of corpses they may freely make an Animate Dead check
them than the ones you’re using already, in which case you’re to raise them as zombies with stats as listed below. And before
going to have a ball, or you can get even. We’ll show you how. you ask, extra corpses don’t appear if you roll really well, no
matter how hard you try. If you’re that hard up for dead bodies,
In this section we’ll be looking at the darkest Movie Magic genre go make some.
of all; Horror. With these dread powers, you’ll be able to design
the most terrifying bad guys who ever lived, died, then came
back to life ten times more powerful and scare your players wit- Rating Effect
less, too! 8 One zombies
Horror Movie Magic comes off of either Soul or Void. For descrip- 16 Five zombies
tions of the powers we don’t have here, check them out in Chap- 24 20 zombies
ter 9: Movie Magic. 32 50 zombies
40 100 zombies
Animate Dead
Bullet Time Every additional 10 rolled after 40 animates after 50 zombies.
Death Grip
Double Agent

95
 When your action comes up, simply make a Horrorport check
Zombie (20 point Mook) using Movie Magic, checking the table below.
Brawn 3d6 Brains -
Distance Portal
Flow 1d6 Void 1d6 Rating Travelled Duration
Speed 1d6 8 Two feet One turn
16 Ten feet Three turns
Armour 0, Awesome 0, Cash 0, Defence 6, Hit Points 160,
Movement 10, Speed Dice 2d6 24 Fifty feet One round
32 One hundred feet Two rounds
Skills: Melee (Claws) 3d6, Notice 4d6, 40 Five hundred feet One minute
Attacks: Claws (3d6/Brawn/4/None)
If the monster uses this power to emerge out of sight, he may
Powers and Weaknesses: Evil Construct 15, Scent 5, Slow- make an attempt to surprise attack with a +10 bonus on his
poke -6 Sneak roll.
For too long, the living dead have been looked down upon by
society and mistreated. Now zombies are eagerly campaigning
for equal rights and access to the same brains the rest of us
have been carting around in our skulls for so long!
Sluggish: As members of a marginalized subculture, zombies
move a little slower than their living counterparts. This reduces
their Movement to 10.
Undead: Zombies have twice as many Hit Points as normal, to
simulate the difficulty associated with bringing them down. They
do have a weak spot, however, and attacks directed at their
heads (-10 penalty) not only increase your damage by the usual
6d6, all added together, for a headshot, but all damage dealt is
doubled!
Due to being Undead, zombies must eat the living, or recently
not-living, to regain Hit Points. They heal 20 Hit Points per body
consumed.
Zombie Hunger: Zombies love to eat! They also love to eat...
you! To this end, they can use their noses to make Notice
checks. A difficulty 5 Nose-tice check allows them to sniff out a
hidden human within 20 feet that they wouldn’t have snacked
on otherwise.

General Incompetence
Rating: 20 per level of Brains
General Incompetence is the final word in poor Horror Movie
Logic. When making a Movie Magic check, the Monster may force
a Brains check to not split up. Normally, this requires only a dif-
ficulty of 4, because only idiots would split up, but for every incre-
ment of 20 he gets on his Movie Magic roll, everyone within one
kilometre per increment of 20 has their Brains score reduced by
1 for the purposes of making the check. Characters who have
had their Brains reduced to 0 automatically fail the check and
they, along with anyone else who failed it, head off in a randomly
determined direction. If you want, roll 2d6 and use the numbers
rolled to determine a clock facing.
Characters who voluntarily fail the check and say, “Let’s split up!
I’d only slow you down, after all!” gain 1 Awesome Point.

Horrorport
Rating: Varies
Ever wonder how even when they’re taking their time, letting
the heroes run ahead, the bad guy always seems to be waiting
ahead? Now your abominations can do it too! Your monstrous
friend simply creates a dimensional rift in the air (usually in dark
shadows or behind pillars) through which he can travel to any
point within range. As an added bonus, it is an infinite space,
meaning he can drag any old thing in with him if he’s touching
them. A real nasty thing for a badguy to do is to pull someone
in with him, beat the tar out of them, then toss them out, before
snacking on their friends. A trapped PC can spend an action
and an Awesome Point to automatically escape the Portal.

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97
 CHAPTER 12: ADVENTURES!
Here’s what you really want as a beginning player. In this
chapter, we give you the special treat you’ve been waiting for,
an opportunity to jump right into the game without a second
thought. These two introductory adventures are a fantastic way
for new groups to get started. Just take the characters provided,
nominate a Gamemaster and get to playing.
There are a few things to keep in mind when reading the pro-
files. First of all statistics have already been factored into the
skill totals, so you don’t need to add the stat again. Defense
totals given assume the character is holding their melee weap-
on of choice. Hero Skills, where appropriate, are marked with a
* symbol. Finally, Attacks are portrayed as Attack Roll/Damage/
Handling/Stunt Level.
Attack Of The Death Sharks is the archetypal, classic Awesome
System adventure. One of the very first adventures ever written
for the system, it was used heavily during play test games, over
and over, due to the exciting nature of exploring the mansion
and the titanic battle that occurs with the Shark King at the end.
Nothing short of the Awesome System’s mascot, the Shark King
is a true hero, loved by all.
Secondly, we have The Skeleton King, in which the heroes are
put against the most terrifying danger imaginable. You can’t
beat out the arid, unnatural cruelty of this adventure’s desert
setting, and the thousands upon thousands of Skeleton War-
riors that lurk within it. Should they survive, the characters will
venture to a city of black stone, wherein waits the Skeleton King
and his bodyguards. Will you tremble at their might or rise to the
challenge? Classic fantasy gaming at its best!
Attack of the Death Sharks
Attack of the Death Sharks is a Sci-Fi adventure designed to be
played by 4-6 players with the characters provided in Chapter 3.
We recommend any character that has either the “Modern” or
“Sci-Fi” recommended setting. The whole thing can be finished
in about three hours, with extra time for snacks.
So let’s get to it.
The Signal
Professor James Radcliffe is the head of his field in mad science.
He probably would’ve received awards for the horrible abomina-
tions he dreamt up if he hadn’t have been kicked out of his Acad-
emy shortly after his fortieth birthday. Now he’s living out in the
middle of nowhere, eagerly banging away at his latest experiment
- an unholy terror that will strike fear into the hearts of even the
most lion-hearted men, a ferocious crossbreed between man…
and shark.
Thomas Taylor used to be one of the best bomb technicians in
town until he lost his job. Now he’s one of the worst bomb tech-
nicians in town and he wants everyone to know about it. The
heroes have come looking for him for whatever reason, either a
personal vendetta or to claim the juicy bounty on his head, but
they might be biting off more than they can chew in the violent
but delicious stew that is about to erupt at Radcliffe Manor.
Episode 1: Hello Time Bomb
When you start, you can either read the following text or make
up your own. The important points to touch on are that the good
guys are after the bomber, Thomas and he’s fled to the town of
New Brunswick. Once there, he knocked down a local and stole
his car, driving out of town. What a jerk, huh?
Our story begins already underway, with a noble gang of pro
bounty hunters pursuing a villainous Mad Bomber by the name
of Thomas Taylor. As you touch your spacecraft down on Canis 3
in the small coastal town of New Brunswick, this being the last
place where the criminal was seen, you are already preparing
for your confrontation. It’s only a matter of time now before the
Bomber is found.
Questioning the locals, it seems the last they heard of Taylor
was when the crook knocked down a man by the name of Terry
Patterson as he was getting into his car and made off with the
vehicle, heading for the hills. Even though they know where he
is going, the locals refuse to go, as if they were afraid. But then,
who wouldn’t be, when a criminal mastermind is involved? They
have agreed to help you however they can.
Taylor has headed to an area of the countryside the locals would
rather not talk about, a place known only to them as the Manor.
Any PC’s with Psychology will get a good chance to test it out
now. Ask for a roll with a difficulty of 5, success indicating that
their unease relates not to the who, but to the where. They won’t
speak of where Taylor has gone, seeming to fear it. Further
questioning will have them reluctantly reveal that they know of
a mysterious mansion on a cliff-face several miles out of town
where an eccentric doctor lives. Occasionally a man comes into
town to buy for him.
The car left in a northerly direction, heading towards the cliff.
A Track check of 8 or more will allow the heroes to follow Tay-
lor’s path. Questioning the locals further, especially the man
who had his car stolen, will confirm Taylor was last seen heading
north.
New Brunswick is a nice coastal town, but the Player Characters
shouldn’t get too cozy here. If they start to dawdle, remind them
there is a bounty to catch! If the heroes wish to hire a car, it
comes to 30 Galactic Credits (this is the local currency) a day.
If they want to take their shuttle, let them go ahead, but com-
pletely lacking weapons as it is, the most they can hope to do
is crash it into the side of the Manor. Which is fine for some
groups.
Stats are provided below for their nominated mode of trans-
ports!
Car, Economy
Price 4,000, Passengers 4, Engine Petrol, Movement 450,
Acceleration 20, Brawn 10d6, HP 520, Precision +1, Size Giant,
Armour 12
Shuttle
Price 200,000, Passengers 20, Engine Fusion, Movement
25,000, Acceleration 50, Brawn 30d6, HP 3,020, Precision +4,
Size Colossal, Armour 60
Anyway, it’s only a thirty minute hike before the Manor becomes
visible in the distance through the fog. It is located at the top of
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a steep, winding path, on a cliff overlooking a beautiful, spar-
kling, chemically engineered ocean. The building itself would
remind a viewer of the mansions of the cold moors of Northern
England, being a grand old place with stained windows and a
peaked roof, the sort of place that’s perfect for a butler to elimi-
nate the master of the house or a beautiful women to faint cold
away, only to be snatched up by a dashing young dandy.
As the characters begin to move up the slope, read the following
text aloud:
As the heroes grow closer to the mansion, the signs that Tay-
lor has been through here become more obvious. Bushes lie
in shreds and the grass is recently disturbed. Oh, and there’s
bombs everywhere. Nasty bombs.
As you move up the slope, you suddenly see the dirt in the path
ahead of you being disturbed. Looking closer, you see some-
thing small and metallic is burrowing its way out! A robotic fig-
ure, about two inches across, with long, spindly legs climbs out
into the sunlight. Suddenly, it comes straight for you!
See, Taylor knew he was going to be followed and he cooked up
a set of little beauties to deal with the party and they’re in for
a real treat as the Bomb Bugs get to work. There should be at
least two for every PC, if not more. Be careful while running this
fight, though, as a chain reaction could kill a character or two if
you’re not careful. They’re just starting out. Be gentle, GM.
If they don’t realize how much danger they’re in, call for a Notice
check with a Difficulty of 8 to notice small, blinking packages
strapped to the Bug’s backs. Call for a Demolition check with a
difficulty of 5 to identify it as a Grenade.
Bomb Bug (15 Point Mook)
Brawn 1d6 Brains 1d6
Flow 1d6 Soul - When they do reach the mansion, they will be surprised to
Speed 2d6
Armour 0, Awesome 0, Cash 0, Defence 5, Hit Points 30, Move-
ment 11, Speed Dice 3
Skills: Dodge 1d6+1, Melee: Bomb 2d6+6, Olympics 1d6+1
Powers and Weaknesses: Mook -, Robot 15, Runner 5, Tiny
-15
Attacks: Grenade (2d6+6/80/5/None)
The Bomb Bugs are one of Thomas’s many creations, being a
handy way of delivering a powerful explosion to anything that
needs it. Player Characters should be discouraged from getting
too close!
Low-Tier Cannon Fodder: Bomb Bugs would be completely
unworthy of even a passing mention if not for the self-esteem
raising explosives helpfully strapped to them! They don’t have any
of the usual sweet perks for being a Robot like massive strength
or super-dense armour and as mooks they don’t get to do Stunts
or anything!
Mook: As a Mook, this enemy cannot Stunt. If multiple actions
come up on one turn, the extra actions are lost!
Pesky Little Critters: Bomb Bugs are so tiny, they’d be ador-
able if they weren’t such jerks! When making ranged attacks on
Bomb Bugs, factor in the -6 penalty for their small size. Due to
short legs, they have to run even faster than normal to keep up
with their prey, so Bomb Bugs have a Movement score of 11.
Walking Death Trap: When they explode, it’s with the force
and range of a Grenade blast, which characters may attempt to
dodge as normal. This kills the Bomb Bug.
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The explosion deals 80 damage to anyone within 15 feet of the
blast and half that amount to anyone within 30 feet.
Anyone who would take damage from the explosion and wasn’t
directly targeted gets a free Acrobatics or Dodge check to move
away. The actual target can make one as well, but must first
dodge the attack and then also spent an action or Awesome
Point to be entitled to. Based on the table below, most charac-
ters that were right at the centre of the explosion will be looking
at about a difficulty of 10.
Difficulty Distance Travelled
5 Movement x 1
10 Movement x 2
20 Movement x 3
40 Movement x 4
X2... Movement x +1...
If the PC’s try to escape, the Bomb Bugs will chase after them
for as long as they can. Characters who run up the mountain
might dislodge a rock or two if they’re lucky, destroying a Bomb
Bug. The best way to take care of them would be a landslide, if
the heroes think they can arrange it.
During this fight, there’s plenty of opportunities for cool stuff to
happen. If a character climbs a tree, the Bugs will follow, digging
their legs into the trunk and scuttling up after them, chasing
them out onto branches. Alternatively, if the heroes have a car,
they can gun the engine, bouncing back and forth across the
road, with a trail of screeching, exploding robots coming right up
behind them. By the time they make it to the mansion, they will
hopefully be quite happy to be rid of the little horrors.
discover the Bugs stop about 20 feet away from the building,
seemingly hesitant to come closer. A smart hero might make
the connection between the bombs and Taylor’s presence in
the mansion. Either way, they’re about to realize something is
up, because they’ve just drawn the attention of the mansion’s
guards!
Radcliffe employs ten men to patrol the house, with a minimum
of four outside at all times. If they can sneak up, they might
catch one of the men off-guard, but otherwise he’ll spot them
and yell for the others. They’re careful not to damage the house
and will either fire from the grounds around the house or from
the roof. They are armed with either some pretty hefty firepow-
er and a good whack from one of these ought to slow the PC’s
down. Encounters like this will get the party good at dodging,
which is always a nice thing.
Security Guard (30 Point Mook)
Brawn 2d6 Brains 2d6
Flow 2d6 Soul 2d6
Speed 2d6
Armour 0, Awesome 0, Cash 1d6*10, Defence 6, Hit Points 60,
Movement 17, Speed Dice 3
Skills: Dodge 4d6, Drive 4d6, Firearms: Varies 4d6, Guts 4d6,
Melee: Varies 4d6, Notice 4d6, Olympics 4d6, Sneak 4d6
Powers and Weaknesses: Mook -, Ugly -2
Attacks: Shotgun, Pump (4d6+40/8/1/None), AK-47
(6d6/25/2/None)
This is your standard issue Mook. About as effective in combat
as a punching bag, its these guy’s job to get in maybe a few
whacks on the heroes before they’re pulverized into so many
experience points. Generally able to be taken down in one hit,
this should be the PC’s first chance to really flex their muscles
and maybe earn a few Awesome Points for good hits and awe-
some Stunts.
Blast ‘Em!: These thugs are quite well equipped with shotguns
and automatic rifles. The shotguns gain a +40 to hit, making
adding the usual bonus damage for exceeding your to hit dif-
ficulty more important than usual! Every point you beat the dif-
ficulty roll by is another point of damage. Normally, if an attack’s
bonus exceeds the target’s armour value, they ignore the
armour completely, but the “free” bonus provided by the shot-
gun doesn’t factor into this. It just splatters on the armour!
The security guards also wield automatic-rifles and will fire
3-round bursts, giving them an extra 2d6 on their Firearms
check, which has already been factored into the Attacks bar.
Their range increment when firing in burst is 10 feet. For every
increment of the to hit roll they make, an additional bullet hits,
dealing full damage. You can’t have more bullets hit than you
fired! If every bullet hits, bonus damage after that point is cal-
culated as normal, but only once. If the amount of bonus dam-
age exceeds the target’s Armour Value, all bullets penetrate the
target’s armour.
Mook: As a Mook, this enemy cannot Stunt. If multiple actions
come up on one turn, the extra actions are lost!
The heroes can either fight with the men on the mansion
grounds or run inside and try to hide. If they stick around, they’ll
notice the stolen car is parked right outside the house. If they
head inside, they’ll find out soon enough.
Any guard left alive can be questioned, at which point they will
reveal that Thomas Taylor is being held captive in the second
floor study.
For getting inside the house, award everyone 4 CP. For every
thug they took down, award them 1 CP. Remember to dish out
a couple of Awesome Points if they somehow managed to run
a car through the side of the house or generally make things
explode.
Episode 2: Shark Attack!
Once inside the mansion, the Player Characters are in Rad-
cliffe’s domain. He radios his guards and tells them they won’t
be needed, having decided to deploy his shark minions.
Read the following text aloud:
As you explore the house, you notice security cameras are posi-
tioned everywhere., monitoring your progress through the man-
sion.
As they explore the first floor, roll on the table below for a ran-
dom result. Roll until you get bored, or someone says they’re
specifically looking for the second floor staircase.
First Floor Encounters
1. The characters come across an intimidating stone sculp-
ture of a Sharkman. He is ripped as heck.
2. The party sneak up on a lone guard, who is caught napping
or otherwise unawares. If he is questioned, he will inform the
characters Taylor is being held upstairs in the second floor
study.
3. The characters encounter some Bomb Bugs pressed up
against one of the mansion’s windows. They are scraping
their metallic legs on the glass, trying to get inside to rescue
their master.
4. You find a huge shark tank! Many sharks are swimming
happily in it.
5. The characters come across the mansion’s dining room! A
sumptuous feast has been laid out for the guards, which they
can happily tuck into right away.
6. You discover the stairs leading up to the second floor. Suc-
cess!
Upon reaching the stairs, read the following aloud:
Just as you set foot on the first staircase, one of the security
cameras seems to begin speaking directly to you! The owner
of this mansion is no longer silent. “Isn’t that enough creeping
around my home, strangers? Why are you intruding upon the
private property of Professor Radcliffe?”
Regardless of any answer they give, Radcliffe will do the typi-
cal villain thing of announcing they are going to partake in one
of his experiments. Typical mad scientist jerk! However, if they
haven’t figured out where Taylor is yet, he will happily tell them
he is keeping the mad bomber prisoner on the second story in
his study as punishment for also trespassing. Seems like he got
off way lighter, right?
Currently Radcliffe is not in the building and he will reveal this
if questioned. He takes his time with the characters, enjoying
speaking to them and, more importantly, patronizing them.
They have no hope to survive against his diabolical creations
and they will be one of many groups of travelers who had been
slaughtered while he watches. Once he’s done antagonizing
them, read the following block of text:
As the hiss from the speaker dies down, you suddenly hear a
heavy thud and the creaking of wood. Standing at the top of the
stairs are four huge figures that chill your blood. Three Shark-
men, inhuman hybrid creations of the evil doctor, they are here
for one purpose and one purpose only: to kick your butts. One
of them grips the banister with a blue arm, ending in a wicked
set of talons.
Suddenly, the four Sharkmen come racing down the stairs
towards you! Before you know what’s happened, they’ve landed
in front of you with an almighty crash, splintering the wooden
floor under their immense weight. They attack!
Get those players to roll for Speed Dice and get them ready for
a nasty shock. These things are the best the evil Doctor has to
offer and they won’t spare any quarter. The characters should
know they’re fighting only the finest of hideous mutants.
Shark Man (60 Point Mook)
Brawn 6d6 Brains 2d6
Flow 3d6 Soul 1d6
Speed 4d6
Armour 0, Awesome 0, Cash 0, Defence 7, Hit Points 140,
Movement 19, Speed Dice 5+1 (Chomp)
Skills: Acrobatics 5d6, Dodge 4d6, Melee: Natural 7d6+2,
Olympics 11d6, Pose 8d6
Powers and Weaknesses: Amphibious 3, Chomp 5, Claws 3,
Iron Grip: Bite 8 (Bite), Mook -, Ugly -3
Attacks: Chomp (7d6+2/Brawn+5/-/None), Claws (7d6+2/
Brawn+2/2/None)
Eight feet tall and built to impress, the Sharkman is a fearsome
foe. His skin glistens wetly and his teeth and claws seem to
yearn to sink into soft, human flesh.
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Amphibious: All Sharkmen can breathe underwater!
Beady Eyes = Poor Aim: For all their ferocity the Sharkmen
are lousy shots, depending upon on the sheer power in their
forearms and bite, as well as weight of numbers to bring down
their prey.
Mook: As a Mook, this enemy cannot Stunt. If multiple actions
come up on one turn, the extra actions are lost!
Shark Attack: The Sharkman’s primary weapon is his Claws.
They deal Brawn+2 damage. In addition, he rolls an extra Speed
Dice every round for his Chomp attack! This lowers the Handling
of his Claws attacks by 1.
These guys has a lot of Brawn so you want to remember to add
all Brawn dice together when dealing damage!
Shark Bite: A successful hit with the Sharkman’s Chomp attack
will hold a character in place with his Iron Grip. If the Bite attack
falls on the same turn as a regular action, he gets to bite and
attack with his claws at the same time!

This battle takes place in a tight, enclosed area. If a character

wishes to swing a big weapon around, they’ll either have to clear
some space or move up onto the stairs. The Shark Men can
either fight to the death or come back for more later depend-
ing on how you feel, but make sure the heroes know what their
opponents are capable of. This fight is practice for the battle
with the Shark King, after all.
Eventually, the characters should make it to the study, the
bloodier and smellier the better. They’ll find Taylor tied up on
the ground, with a rag stuffed in his mouth. He’ll start kicking
and grumping when he sees them and not let up until they let
him talk.
He’s a fat guy in his mid-forties, with a very unassuming appear-
ance. He wears a red turtle-neck sweater, jeans and a foul tem- state can also be changed with a Computers check of 5, with a
per. Hard to believe he’s a criminal mastermind, right? Just wait choice of Active, Passive and Off. Individual Bomb Bugs can be
till he gets his hands on his Bomb Controller. told to go after specific targets.
The Bomb Controller is on a shelf in the study. Taylor will get it if
Thomas Taylor (100 Point Villian) he thinks he’s able to, making up whatever lie it takes. If he gets
it, the heroes will be in big trouble as he surrounds the area with
Brawn 3d6 Brains 4d6 Bombs, before telling them he’s leaving. It’ll take some cunning
to get him after that, so smart PC’s had better not give it to him
Flow 4d6 Soul 3d6 in the first place.
Speed 2d6

Armour 0, Awesome 6/12, Cash 100, Defence 8, Hit Points 80,
Movement 17, Speed Dice 3, Stunt Level Unlimited
Skills: Academia: Construction 10d6*, Dodge 4d6*, Demoli-
tions 10d6*, Drive 5d6, Firearms: Shotgun 5d6, Lock Picking
5d6*, Melee: Fists/Knife 5d6, Notice 6d6*
Powers and Weaknesses: Selfish -2
Attacks: Knife (5d6/Brawn/3/Triple).
Thomas Taylor is a Bombsmith of the first order, able to toss
together something explosive in just under a few minutes. He
carries himself with a arrogance and a harsh demeanour befit-
ting someone of his stature. Despite seemingly harmless, he is
quite crafty and will seek to outwit the PC’s. If he thinks he has
a chance of getting his chubby hands on his Bomb Controller,
he’ll do it.
The Bomb Controller: A device that was taken from him when
he was captured, the Bomb Controller is a flat board about a
foot wide that displays an area several miles across. It is cur-
rently focused on the mansion and directs the movements of
the Bomb Bugs by tapping the screen where you want them
to go. There are at least thirty currently active, possibly less if
the heroes went to town in their first combat. The bugs current
Thomas won’t tumble with the heroes just yet, but he’s well
aware that his Bomb Controller is in the room somewhere. He’s
just not sure where. If the heroes give him a chance he’ll start
looking for it, making a Notice check every few rounds. He spots
it on a success of 5 and will try to sidle over to it unnoticed. If
he grabs it, he’ll summon the Bomb Bugs who will begin to flood
the mansion.
Needless to say, if this happens, it’ll cause some real problems
for the characters, so either way they’ll want to get out of the
mansion. Once they’re done mucking about with Thomas, read
the following text to them as they try to leave the mansion, or
make up your own demented villain speech.
“Oh, you fools! Trying to leave, were you? Well, you won’t be
leaving any time soon, oh no. You’ll die here! Soon, you will see
my greatest creation, my finest work! Run if you like, but it won’t
save you!”
As they exit the mansion, possibly chasing Taylor, make it clear
to the characters that they need to get their butts into gear. Rad-
cliffe’s greatest creation, the Shark King, is being brought up
to the surface from Radcliffe’s underground lab and will begin
to make its attack on the party. Let them start running away

102
from the mansion before you spring it on them, but there’s a few
ways this can go, naturally.
Due to the fluid nature of the scene, there’s a lot of ways they
could first encounter the Shark King. One such possibility is list-
ed below for flavour text!
Moments after you race out of the smoldering remains of the
front door of the mansion, you hear a terrible crash from with-
in of something very large moving to the surface. The front of
the mansion explodes outwards as a great and powerful figure
emerges, towering over you. It is Radcliffe’s final creation, the
Shark King. Standing twenty feet tall at the shoulder, you have
to crane your necks to look up at him, but it doesn’t take long
before he’s off, running in pursuit and snapping jaws that could
crush a car whole crunch hungrily!
Shark King (200 Point Villian)
Brawn 12d6 Brains 2d6
Flow 3d6 Soul 1d6
Speed 4d6
Armour 10, Awesome 8/8, Cash 0, Defence 7, Hit Points 620,
Movement 76, Speed Dice 5+1 (Chomp)
Skills: Dodge 4d6+3*, Melee: Natural 12d6+3*, Olympics
14d6*, Sneak 3d6-15, Toughness 13d6
Powers and Weaknesses: Amphibious 3, Armoured 1 (20),
Chomp 5, Claws 3, Iron Grip: Bite 8, Leap 15
Attacks: Chomp (12d6+3/Brawn+5/-/None), Claws (12d6+3/
Brawn+2/2/Unlimited)
Like the regular Shark Men, the Shark King gets an extra attack
every round for his Chomp attack and will use his Iron Grip
power if successful.
Amphibious: All Sharkmen can breathe underwater!
Extra Awesome: As the final boss of a story arc or chapter, the
Shark King starts with full Awesome Points. Watch out!
Giant: As a Giant, the Shark King enjoys a few bonuses, the
first of which is cheaper Brawn and more expensive Flow. His
Hit Points and Movement are also increased, but he suffers a
-6 when making ranged attacks against humans and a -15 to
Sneak checks. Humans making ranged attacks against him
receive a +6 to hit!
Impossible Jump!: The Shark King’s powerful legs make get-
ting around quite easy. He can jump 100 feet in distance every
time he has an action, in addition to his usual Movement of 76
feet. It’s extremely useful for, say, latching on to a fleeing space-
ship!
Once attached, it’ll start making its fair share of attacks on
the vehicle, until it rips into the metal and can attack the juicy
humans within. Don’t be afraid to run this as a regular combat,
with the Shark King swinging and biting at the party as they des-
perately try to knock him back or destroy enough of their own
ship that he falls off. One avenue of approach is to blow off his
handholds with a random grenade, but classy Pilot checks from
whoever’s driving could also shake the bugger off.
Shark Attack: The Shark King’s primary weapon is his Claws.
They deal Brawn+2 damage. In addition, he rolls an extra Speed
Dice every round for his Chomp attack! This lowers the Handling
of his Claws attacks by 1. This guy has a lot of Brawn so now,
more than ever, you want to remember to add all Brawn dice
together when dealing damage!
Shark Bite: A successful hit with the Shark King’s Chomp
attack will hold a character in place with his Iron Grip. If the Bite
attack falls on the same turn as a regular action, he gets to bite
and attack with his claws at the same time! If the Bite falls on
the same turn as a Stunt, you can either get a regular Bite and
a regular Claws attack, or just the Stunted Claws attack. Deci-
sions, decisions!
Super Thick Skin: The Shark King has 10 points of Armour,
reducing damage from all incoming attacks by this amount. Any
attacks that roll 10 or more above the difficulty to hit him ignore
this and deal full damage!
Car Chase
If the party drove here they can attempt to escape in their vehi-
cle, in which case the Shark King will leap down the mountain
after them, stopping to uproot trees and hurl them after the
characters. If the party go through the forest, they should be
fine, assuming their vehicle survives, so call for three consecu-
tive Driving checks with a difficulty of 12, failure indicating they
crash.
If they take the road down the mountain, it will loop under a
cliff which the King will leap from, attempting to crush their car.
Use the standard rules for dodging an attack on a vehicle, with
the character having to spend an action or Awesome Point to
make a Drive check opposed to the Shark King’s attack. Might
be tricky if he gets surprise, but it’s not likely with his terrible
Sneak.
Tricks And Traps
Being a Giant, the Shark King can be a tricky straight-up fight so
encourage creativity or use of the Bomb Bugs if they’ve worked
it out. A few Bomb Bugs or other explosives will make short
work of this giant target, so feel free to reward any clever think-
ing they embark on with more Sharkmen waiting in the wings.
Remember, though, you’re in an elegant mansion setting with
a hedge-maze, beautiful gardens and a cliff, so there’s lots of
stuff for adventurous PC’s to climb all over or use against him.
Once the party escapes from the mansion, the adventure is
over. Give them a pat on the back if they defeated the Shark
King or were able to keep Thomas with them, and another pat
on the back if they all survived. They take off into the sunset,
laughing off the danger as just part of the job.
Captain (100 Point Hero)
Brawn 6d6 Brains 2d6
Flow 3d6 Soul 1d6
Speed 4d6
Armour 0, Awesome 6/12, Cash $3,710, Defence 9, Hit Points
75, Movement 18, Speed Dice 5
Skills: Computers 5d6, Dodge 5d6+4*, Drive 5d6*, Firearms:
Rifles 15d6+3*, Notice 5d6*, Pilot: Shuttle 5d6+1, Sneak 5d6
Powers and Weaknesses: Addiction: Whisky -1, Extra Tough
3, Heavy Sleeper -2, Obsessive Compulsive -4 (Runs a Tight
Ship), Props 1, Selfish -2, Tech Scared -1
Attacks: .357 Magnum with 100 Rounds (15d6/24/3/Triple),
AK-47 with 100 rounds (15d6/25/2/Single), Lee-Enfield with
100 rounds (15d6+3/36/2/Triple)
The ships’ captain does her talking from the rear of the group,
all the better to put her old-fashioned Sniper Rifle to good use.
She’s an old-fashioned type, simple and straightforward and
she loves to drink.
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Ace Pilot: Typically, she’ll be using his Computers skill to fly the
party’s Shuttle, but she has the technical know-how to bring it to
bear when the situation calls for manual control.
Blast ‘Em!: The Captain is quite well equipped with a shotgun
and an automatic rifles, as well as her trusty magnum. The shot-
guns gain a +40 to hit, making adding the usual bonus damage
for exceeding your to hit difficulty more important than usual!
Every point you beat the difficulty roll by is another point of dam-
age. Normally, if an attack’s bonus exceeds the target’s armour
value, they ignore the armour completely, but the “free” bonus
provided by the shotgun doesn’t factor into this. It just splatters
on the armour!
Her automatic rifle makes a few options available to her in com-
bat. She can choose to fire a single shot, a burst shot or auto-
fire. Burst fire uses three bullets and grants her an extra 2d6 on
his Firearms roll, while Auto fire uses half the full clip size and
grants her an extra 4d6 on her Firearms roll. The damn thing
has a Stunt Level of None when using burst or auto-fire, but if
you really need to waste someone, just drop 2 AP to make any
attack a Stunt, even a full-auto blast!
The range increment when firing in burst is 10 feet. For full-auto,
it’s 5 feet. For every increment of the to hit roll they make, an
additional bullet hits, dealing full damage. You can’t have more
bullets hit than you fired! If every bullet hits, bonus damage
after that point is calculated as normal, but only once. If the
amount of bonus damage exceeds the target’s Armour Value, all
bullets penetrate the target’s armour.
Comfortably Well-Off: The Captain has invested 1 points into
Props. This is to represent her inheritance in the form of her
family’s antique Lee-Enfield rifle.
Hard To Kill: The Captain has 3 levels of Extra Tough, increas-
ing her Hit Points to 75.
Sniper: As a Sniper, the Captain sometimes finds it worth her
time to make attacks a “Called Shot”, as outlined in Chapter 6.
The most common one is a head shot, incurring a -10 penalty
on the attack. On a successful hit, you increase your attack’s
damage by 6d6 dice, all added together. Not too shabby at all!
She has specialized her weapons training in Sniper Rifles,
meaning she is denied her bonus to hit of +3 when using other
guns.
Demo (100 Point Hero)
Brawn 2d6 Brains 3d6
Flow 4d6 Soul 2d6
Speed 3d6
Armour 15, Awesome 5/10, Cash $8,080, Defence 8, Hit Points
60, Movement 18, Speed Dice 4
Skills: Demolition 8d6+2, Dodge 5d6*, Firearms: Pistols 6d6*,
Movie Magic: Action 7d6*, Toughness 5d6, Throwing 9d6*
Powers and Weaknesses: Movie Magic: Action 10, Props 3,
Stressed -3
Movie Magic Powers: Blockbuster, Violence
Attacks: Colt Navy with 100 Rounds (6d6/18/3/Triple), Gre-
nades (20) (9d6/80/2/None), Shotgun, DB with 100 Shells
(6d6+40/8/2/None)
Armour: Flak Jacket (15)
Equipment: Twenty slabs of C4
104
You might wonder why any self-respecting crew would keep a
psycho like this guy around, but when it comes to applying brute
force, there’s none better!
Blast ‘Em!: The Demo is equipped with a shotgun, as well as
his trusty Colt Navy. The shotguns gain a +40 to hit, making add-
ing the usual bonus damage for exceeding your to hit difficulty
more important than usual! Every point you beat the difficulty
roll by is another point of damage. Normally, if an attack’s bonus
exceeds the target’s armour value, they ignore the armour com-
pletely, but the “free” bonus provided by the shotgun doesn’t
factor into this. It just splatters on the armour!
Break ‘Em Good: Use your Violence power to smash whatever
it is that’s causing you trouble into shape. A Movie Magic roll
can be substituted for any other skill roll, wherever a plausible
explanation can be given for doing so.
Bombs Are Great!: The Demo’s Blockbuster ability is a real
blast! Whenever you cause an explosion, roll your Movie Magic
skill against the table below to amplify the damage. Blockbust-
er, sadly, only works on non-living targets.
Rating Damage Multiplier
10 x2
20 x3
30 x4
40 x5
+10... x+1...
The Demo has invested 3 points into Props. This is, of course, so
he can start with more bombs! Each C4 slab deals a pretty tasty
200 damage to anyone within 30 feet of the explosion and half
that to anyone within 60 feet of the explosion, while Grenades
each deal 80 damage to anyone with 15 feet of the explosion
and half that to anyone within 30 feet of the explosions.
Anyone who would take damage from an explosion and wasn’t
directly targeted gets a free Acrobatics or Dodge check to move
away. The actual target can make one as well, but must first
dodge the attack and then also spent an action or Awesome
Point to be entitled to. Based on the table below, most charac-
ters that were right at the centre of the explosion will be looking
at about a difficulty of 10.
Difficulty Distance Travelled
5 Movement x 1
10 Movement x 2
20 Movement x 3
40 Movement x 4
X2... Movement x +1...
If you want to bunch explosives together, each one beyond the
first adds an additional 10% damage, which caps at 200% of
the original damage.
Flak Jacket: The Demo has 15 points of Armour from his Flak
Jacket, reducing damage from all incoming attacks by this
amount. Any attacks that roll 15 or more above the difficulty to
hit him ignore this and deal full damage!
High Strung: The Demo deals with stress poorly and will faint
during combat if he runs out of Awesome Points. This will persist
until the end of the combat.
Movie Magic: A Movie Magician is a character who can bend
reality to their whim, all in the name of cliche. For the Demo, this
means he can amplify the sizes of explosions and make things
work just by smashing ‘em!

Lobsterman (100 Point Mutant Gladiator)
Brawn 5d6 Brains 2d6
Flow 3d6 Soul 2d6
Speed 5d6
Hit Points 120, Movement 18, Speed Dice 6
Skills: Dodge 3d6+2*, Melee: Natural 13d6+1*, Olympics
5d6*
Powers and Weaknesses: Armoured 1 (20), Angry -4, Claws
3, Code Of Honour: Melee Combat -1, Mutant -5, No Thumbs -5,
Slowpoke -2, Stubborn -4
Attacks: Claws (13d6+1/Brawn+2/3/Unlimited)
A total terrifying combination of Lobster and Man, with a dash
of crazy, the Lobsterman was taken aboard by the crew after
they rescued him from a gladiatorial combat arena on a fringe
planet in the Battle Belt. He swore an oath of loyalty to them,
they swore an oath of putting-things-he-wants-to-punch-in-front-
of-him.
His gladiator roots, and also his unwieldy lobster claws give him
a distaste for wielding weapons.
Hard Carapace: The Lobsterman has 10 points of Armour,
reducing damage from all incoming attacks by this amount. Any
attacks that roll 10 or more above the difficulty to hit him ignore
this and deal full damage!
Lobster Frenzy: The Lobsterman can choose to lower his
Handling by 2 at the start of any combat round to make two
Claw attacks on any non-Stunted action. On Stunts, he still just
makes one really big attack. Give it a go!
Spin Attack: During any attack, but usually a melee Stunt, the
Lobsterman can elect to do a Spin Attack. He can add up all the
to hit values of a bunch of different enemies to hit all of them at
once, reducing his bonus damage on his attack as necessary. A
successful hit deals full damage to all targets.
Super Smash: The Lobsterman hits like an absolute fiend with
his Stunts. Just look how many dice he’s rolling, and you’ll get
to add them all together! To this end, Stunts are definitely his
bread and butter. At the start of the round, look at the actions
you’ve been given and see if you can spend an Awesome Point
and use your 3 Handling to shift actions up and down. For exam-
ple, if you have a turn on 6 and 5, one of your 3 Handling Points
could be used to shift the 5 up to 6, giving you a Stunt at the
start of the round.
Robot (100 Point Hero)
Brawn 8d6 Brains 3d6
Flow 2d6 Soul - We don’t have many NPC’s to introduce here. Why? They’re
Speed 2d6
Armour 28, Awesome 3/6, Cash 2,100, Defence 6, Hit Points
180, Movement 17, Speed Dice 3
Skills: Computers 3d6+6, Dodge 2d6*, Driving 2d6+3, Aca-
demia: Etiquette 3d6+2, First Aid 3d6+6*, Melee: Unarmed
2d6+8*, Notice 3d6+6*, Psychology 3d6+2, Streetwise 2d6+1
Powers and Weaknesses: Addiction (The Good Life) -4, Inhibi-
tors (Protect Life) -3, One of the Hunams -3, Props 3, Robot 15,
Selfish -2
Attacks: Fists (2d6+8/Brawn/6/Triple)
Upgrades: Armour, Medium ($10,000), Sensors Package
($3,000)
Armour: Medium (18)
Robots from another dimension are thirsty for earth women!
Thankfully, this Robot is not from another dimension and is way
more thirsty for motor oil than some annoying girls! He likes to
dress nice, keep clean, fit in with the humans and look out for
number one.
Tank: The Robot has 18 points of Armour from his Medium
Armour, reducing damage from all incoming attacks by this
amount. Any attacks that roll 18 or more above the difficulty to
hit him ignore this and deal full damage!
Comfortably Well-Off: The Robot has invested 3 points into
Props, to ensure he lives the good life. This paid for his Medium
Armour and his Sensors Package.
Mechanical Tornado: The Robot’s extremely low level of
Melee means his stunts aren’t often very effective. However,
his 6 points of Handling makes him especially useful for making
multiple attacks. Simply announce at the start of the round that
you’ll reduce your 6 Handling by 2 for every bonus melee attack
you’d like to make. Naturally, this means it’ll often be in your
best interests to reduce your Handling to 0 to make four melee
attacks on any non-Stunted action. On Stunts, he can choose
to continue taking four attacks or a Stunt, but most of the time
you’ll be better off with the four.
Pacifist: Yep, he’s one of these. The Robot won’t take a life, but
seems to have no problems with beating thugs who point guns
at him into unconsciousness... He gets a little flexible when it
comes to the Laws of Robotics.
Robot: As a Robot, this guy gets +2 to his Handling, while
his maximum Stunt Level in combat is reduced to Double. Of
course, spending AP to crank up your Stunt Level still works just
fine. Being a Robot is also the source of his Heavy Armour and
his Sensors Package, which give him some thicker skin and a
+6 to Notice checks, respectively. He also has no Soul, meaning
his Awesome Points cap at 6.
The Skeleton King
The Skeleton King is a fantasy or medieval adventure for 4 - 6
players using the characters provided in Chapter 3, and it may
come as no big surprise that we suggest you use the charac-
ters with “Fantasy” as their recommended setting. The party
must transport a powerful artifact across a desert while they
are attacked at every turn by monstrous Undead legions. The
chances of death are high, yet they boldly struggle onwards.
The Script
all dead. The Undead menace has swept over the land, dead
bodies rising under dark magic to destroy the living, boney
hands clutching at weapons that had once been held by living
men, dealing death with swift, almost mechanical power. Now
only the last bastion of mankind, the fortress-city Vussengard
remains. The Undead crowd around its walls every night, flesh-
less, clamoring bodies packed shoulder to shoulder as far as
the eye can see.
However, there is some small hope in this dark world. A shrine
that was once a place of worship for an ancient civilization lies
deep out in the desert, at the heart of a millennia old mountain.
A weapon lies within the shrine that could theoretically be used
to destroy the leader of the Undead, if only it could be wielded
against him. So far it has been unreachable, the mountain lying
deep within the enemy’s territory, but it could be humanity’s
only chance left. The Undead grow by hundreds every passing
105
 day. Five score men are dispatched with the goal of finding this
relic. Will even one of them return?
The leader of this group is a stoic gent named Captain Mutilis
Hart who has absolutely no faith in the mission’s success. Nev-
ertheless, he’s decided to take on the job and attempt to see it
through to the end. Little does he realize there’s a much easier
way to survive the onslaught…
Episode 1: Shrine of the Ancients
Begin by reading the following text aloud:
The hot sun beats down upon untold miles of desert, a sick
reminder of your current location, the domains of the Undead
Kingdom. You are far from your homeland of Vussengard, the
last bastion of humanity against this evil blight on a dangerous
mission to save the human race. The stark sand dunes are a
constant reminder of the importance of the mission that rests
on your shoulders and, should you fail, not only yourselves, but
your entire nation will be lost under the cruel, unrelenting sun,
bones bleaching only briefly before you, like the rest of your peo-
ple, rise as the living dead.
You signed on with Hart’s company because there was nothing
else left. In humanity’s last stand, even surviving the venture
seems unlikely as you find yourselves journeying deep into the
heart of the Undead Kingdoms, braving shambling zombies,
clattering skeletons and evil, unliving magi with the power to
make the earth shake or alter reality at its core.
However, the Undead draw power from those above them, mas-
ter begets servant as servant begets again. If the Skeleton King
were to be killed, their army would be crippled, allowing man to
make his counterattack. And while it seems impossible that a
man could get close enough to the Skeleton King to even harm
him, salvation may exist in the form of a magical sword, stowed
away in a temple of the ancients. The sword is said to be the
only thing that can break the Skeleton King’s heart and finally
lay him to rest. It is the only hope humanity has left.
The mountain certainly looks majestic enough. Located smack-
bang in the middle of this scorching desert, its spires reach up
to the clouds, disappearing into the clouds after the first half
mile. Carved into the side of the mountain is a two-hundred foot
tall mural, the face of Cervello the Skeleton King, carved deep
into the rock, a testament to the evil being’s God-like powers.
Nobody has ever faced Cervello and lived. As you secretly tether
your horses under the shadow of that giant figure, you wonder
how this daredevil stunt can ever succeed, yet know you must
try.
Moments later, advance scouts will return saying they’ve found
a way into the mountain, yet a unit of skeletons are patrolling
there. Hart will say he intends to meet the Undead head-on, so
that the party may sneak in silently behind the fray and gain
access to the temple. It will be fifty men against over eighty of
the walking dead, but they are confident they will meet up with
the characters later on. Getting the artifact is the most impor-
tant thing, by God. Hart informs the PC’s of a location where
horses and rations will be prepared, so they can make a speedy
getaway if need be.
The PC’s are informed of a secluded pathway that leads to a
bluff overlooking the bowl where the skeletons are camped out.
By creeping along the cliff-face, they should be able to drop
down near the entrance to the cave and get in before the dead
can move to stop them. Once they are in position, the Captain
orders the first hail of arrows fired and the PC’s can begin to
move. From their vantage point they see the Undead retaliate
in force, dead archers returning fire as quick, cruel skeletal
swordsmen rush forward to deal suffering with wicked hooked
swords. Most wounds are fatal to the men, but Captain Hart
holds the position valiantly.
106
Since this is a big fight and the PC’s might get involved, we’ve
provided stats for all the Kingdom’s heroes at the end of the
adventure, as well as all those nasty skeletons. Consult them
whenever they come up during the adventure.
Call for Sneak checks with a difficulty of 6, with an arrow being
fired at the character for every point they fail by as they draw
attention to themselves. The stats for a skeleton archer are
provided below and we encourage you to reuse them for other
encounters in this adventure.
Also call for a Olympics check to creep along the ridge, diffi-
culty 5, with success indicating they made it safely across the
ridge. Should they fail they’ll go tumbling off the side, life flash-
ing before their eyes and options limited. Someone else may
make a difficulty 6 Olympics check to haul them up or they may
make a difficulty 8 Olympics check to pull themselves up every
thirty seconds. Failing three of these Olympics checks in a row
means they take falling damage for thirty feet and are dropped
right into the middle of the fracas with those damned skeletons.
Good luck getting out of that one!
After a few minutes of this, they should be just over the gate
and can drop down to the massive stone block guarding the
entrance. Call for the strongest character to make a Olympics
check to move it, ignore the roll and then tell them a hole opens
up in the rock underneath them, making the character tumble
from view. The Ancients had a sense of humour about intruders.
Anyone who follows him is in for a long slip and slide as they
land in a dark, cramped, steep tunnel full of water that carries
them through to the belly of the mountain, where they are eject-
ed about twenty feet up off a waterfall into running water below.
Anyone can make a difficulty 8 Acrobatics check or Olympics
check to stop their fall, with anyone who falls into the water get-
ting bashed on the rocks below the river’s level for 4d6 damage.
Standing up and surveying the area, the party find themselves
in a small entrance hall with an obvious exit ahead. The walls
are streaked with text in an ancient language. Moving out, they
make their way down a long, dark corridor before emerging into
a much larger area, deep within the mountain, filled gigantic,
impossible architecture. They’re on the far east side of the
shrine’s entrance and it is really something.
You see light ahead and begin to move towards it, covering your
eyes from the harsh glare. You enter into a cave that at first
seems to be too much to be real. As your eyes adjust to the light,
you take in the wonder of this shrine to the ancients. You’re
standing on a small rock platform at the edge of the room, one
of many, you realize, connected to the shrine entrance by wood-
en bridges. Those who look down into the abyss cannot see a
bottom.
Looking about the cave, you see marvelous sculpture and beau-
tiful, ancient architecture in every direction. Statues showing
ancient beings that roamed the world before man stand, while
others are toppled to the ground. Magnificent art, chipped and
worn with age, is carved out of the very stone itself. At the cen-
tre of this enormous room is an unearthly set of stairs, each
the height of two tall men, leading upwards to a flat tiled area
built into the north most wall of the cavern. A thirty foot high
set of doors are built into the north most wall, made from fine
marble and shimmering in an unnatural light. On either side of
these stairs stands a tall marble statue, the spitting image of
an armoured knight, twenty feet at the shoulder, visor down,
sword planted on the ground before him, ready to face any foe.
The beauty of it all brings a tear to the more sentimental eyes
among you. This is the world as it once was and now is no more.
The party need to scale the steps, so encourage them to be
creative. Getting up is easy if they have some rope on them,
otherwise they’ll have to improvise. Pushing over one of the
marble statues requires a Olympics check with a difficulty of 40,
conceivably able to be done by a stronger member of the party
and a timely Stunt. Otherwise, Olympics checks with a difficulty
of 10 are required to get up. Once someone has climbed up a
step, then can haul someone else up with a difficulty 6 Olympics
check. Once the party find a way to scale the steps they hear
movement from around the edges of the room and see skel-
etons begin to move in from the side areas, some armed with
bows. There’s even more than faced Hart and a cursory inspec-
tion puts the number at over one hundred, with many more
rushing to their aid. If the characters destroyed the bridges this
will slow them down, otherwise they’ll lay down suppressive fire
and move to take over the main island. Captain Hart… Is with
them.
He will move forward, pleading with the heroes not to enter the
church or the Skeleton King will have them killed. He speaks of
the King with great reverence and will mention the giant skel-
eton if pressed. Any Player Character who’s eyes linger over Hart
for too long will realize the skeletons traveling closest to him are
those that were living, breathing men only a few hours ago and
still have most of their bloody, torn flesh hanging off of them.
Players who ignore him and attempt to get the doors open will
require a difficulty 12 Olympics check to shove them open wide
enough for a man to squeeze through and this will take them
into the church itself.
There are rows of bulky wooden pews here, leading up to a dais
where a priest would stand to give a sermon. High above this
pedestal, hanging in the place usually reserved for a deity or
religious figure is a glass case in which a bronze sword is set.
Creepers have grown into the walls of the temple and the rock
is worn, making clambering to the top a simple task. The only
problem is the time it will require.
Give the party a moment or two to come up with a quick plan to
get the sword and make it clear the skeletons are about to rush
the place. By the time they begin planning they should already
hear the immense doors juddering under the weight of bodies if
they shut them, otherwise, feel free to give them even less time.
Regardless, they need a plan.
Flaming Skeleton (50 Point Mook)
Brawn 2d6 Brains 1d6
Flow 2d6 Void 5d6
Speed 2d6
Armour 0, Awesome 0, Cash 0, Defence 6, Hit Points 120,
Movement 132, Speed Dice 3
Skills: Flight 4d6+2, Pose (Intimidating) 2d6+2
Powers and Weaknesses: Evil Construct 15 (Focus Point:
Head), Flight 2 (20), Mook -, Tempest (Fire) 8, Walking Bomb
(Explode on Contact) -5,
Tempest Powers: Fireball (8)
Attacks: Fiery Explosion (4d6+2/45/4/None)
Armour: None
Skeletons are the front-line soldiers of the evil Undead King-
doms and what they lack in power, they make up for in numbers.
The Flaming Skeletons function as the Undead’s artillery, able
to be launched into the air with a catapult, its presence signified
by maniacal laughter.
They resemble normal skeletons, other than the magical fire
that constantly burns in their chests and the blood red colour
of their bones.
Bonesplosion: When making attacks with a Flaming Skeleton,
roll their Flying skill to determine if they have hit. The 45 dam-
age from the explosion is worked out as 20 from Walking Bomb
and another 28 on average from their Tempest ability, Fireball,
which they trigger on impact. They have all been granted one
Awesome Point by the Skeleton King, in addition to the Awe-
some Point they get for being a flaming, cackling, flying skeleton.
Since the Bonesplosion is a Stunt, it’s usually a really good idea
to take care of the Flaming Skeletons before they get that close!
Flying: Once in the air, the Flaming Skeletons fly under their
own power, searching out targets among the Undead’s enemies
to crash into, exploding on contact. They have a Flying skill of
4d6+2 to perform cool tricks with, as well as substitute for
Dodge rolls where necessary. Skilled Flight allows them to fly at
6 times their normal Movement, with take-off requiring 1 turn.
They can make one 90 degree turn ever combat Turn. Since
Flaming Skeletons are always flying, their Movement is listed as
132.
Mook: As a Mook, this enemy cannot Stunt. If multiple actions
come up on one turn, the extra actions are lost!
Tempest: A Tempest is a character with power over the ele-
ments! They can make Tempest Attacks by spending 2 Awe-
some Points. This increases their current Stunt Level by one and
adds their Soul to their damage roll. In addition, they can buy
Tempest Powers to further customize their abilities.
Undead: Skeletons have twice as many Hit Points as normal, to
simulate the difficulty associated with bringing them down. They
do have a weak spot, however, and attacks directed at their
heads (-10 penalty) not only increase your damage by the usual
6d6, all added together, for a headshot, but all damage dealt is
doubled!
This is a dynamic battle and should be treated as such. It
starts with a terrible, thundering crash that tears away an enor-
mous amount of the wooden doors, signaling the arrival of the
Undead’s catapult. Instead of lobbing rocks, it hurls the magi-
cally enchanted Flaming Skeletons, making breaking down the
door a simple matter.
As soon as the wood shatters and falls to the stone the skel-
etons begin to fire volley after volley of arrows through the gaps
made, but it’s unlikely this stray fire will hit anyone who is taking
cover. Once enough of the door is destroyed that they can see
into the room, the combat begins. Roll Speed Dice once for the
entire skeleton army, having every last one of them act on the
same turns, but due to the nature of this combat, new skeletons
will be coming into the room every turn. On turn 6, six Skeleton
Archers will enter the room, drawing bows, with four Skeleton
Warriors entering on each turn thereafter. On even turns, a
Flaming Skeleton will also enter, just to keep the party on their
toes. Meanwhile, the party member nominated to get the sword
had better get climbing. On their actions they must make a dif-
ficulty 6 Olympics check, with success indicating they’ve gained
four feet in height on the wall. If the Flaming Skeletons explode
near them, they may spend actions to leap to the side, requir-
ing a Dodge check as normal. Everyone is counting on their
success, so keep it tense. If being hit by an explosion takes off
more than half of their Hit Points, they will drop two feet and
must make a difficulty 4 Olympics check to stay on the wall.
Once they’ve scaled 20 feet, they must spend an action break-
ing open the case and pulling the sword free. Success!
Once this happens the skeletons suddenly and abruptly with-
draw, leaving the desiccated bodies of their comrades to lie. The
weapon will begin to glow with an unearthly light, continuing to
do so as long as the character holds it in their hand. Light will
also stream out from under the dais, drawing attention from
any characters on the ground. Anyone who asks if they notice
anything strange about it will realize that there are grooves in
the ground near where it stands and it could be moved to the
side if enough force was applied. They’ll only get a few moments
to puzzle over this, however, before the skeletons renew their
attack.
107
 Deciding to set the catapults aside for a moment, the Skeletons
decide to try a new tactic. The cave wall outside will abruptly
and forcefully be broken in, the massive bulk of the Giant Skel-
eton looming into view. It will clamber up the steps, salivating,
growling and trying to reach through the massive doors to grab
at the characters. If the party decide to take it on, a successful
attack on its hand making it withdraw in surprise. This tactic will
only give a moment of respite, however, before it begins smash-
ing its fists inside the shrine, destroying pews and pillars, trying
to crush the characters. If they shift the dais, a simple task, they
find stairs leading downwards, providing a speedy escape. The
last thing they see as they flee for their lives is the Giant Skel-
eton hauling itself into the room.
Any character who thinks they have what it takes to take the
beast down is welcome to try, consult the terror’s stats at the
end of the adventure.
The stairs will end up depositing the characters at the base of
the mountain. Now that they have the sword, they can get down
to business and finding their mounts and heading off is a simple
business. It’s time for the mad dash to the Skeleton Kingdom,
even as the Giant Skeleton emerges from the side of the moun-
tain, breaking apart rock, hanging off it like an imperious God.
He can chase them for a bit if you’re feeling cruel.

Chapter 2: Frantic Rush

The trip across the desert will be hard going, with an entire
legion of Undead right on the character’s tails. If you’re doing
well for time, we suggest one of the delightful scenarios below,
which can be adjusted for the party’s current state of health and
general wellbeing. Roll a d6 if you’re feeling indecisive.
Stats for all these gribblies can be found at the end of the
adventure.
Ambushes and Guards
7. While crossing a pair of bridges, Skeleton Archers leap
from behind rocks, firing on the party.
8. While traveling through a long canyon, some Skeleton
Swordsmen or Cavaliers attempt to run the party down.
9. Negotiating rocky outcrops, the party sees a small outpost
with about 200 skeletons ahead, which must be negotiated
around. Patrolling scouts will have to be taken out or outwit-
ted. .
10. While riding across a flat expanse of wasteland, making
good time, a unit of Skeleton Cavaliers will attempt to draw
alongside the party and engage them. They’ll be hesitant to
approach if fired on, but will harass the PC’s for as long as
they can get away with..
The Dead’s Weakness
If faced with a skeleton soldier, a player character may
make an Academia: Skeletons check, or merely a knowl-
edge roll to discern a strategy against the dead. On a suc-
cess against a difficulty of 5, read the text below.
You remember hearing that the power that allowed the
skeletons to fight was stored in their brittle, unprotected
skulls. A firm blow to the head could shatter the cranium
and put this monster to rest.
Damn good advice, too. Being Evil Constructs, all dam-
age dealt to their heads is doubled, as well as the reg-
ular bonus 6d6 damage for a headshot. A smart group
of heroes will be able to carve through the dead like a
session of The Awesome System through boredom if they
keep their wits about them.
11. The Giant Skeleton catches up to the party as they negoti-
ate a rocky path leading up the side of a mountain. Scooping
up massive boulders, he hurls them at the characters, mak-
ing them run for their lives.
12. A lone Skeleton. He got lost.
Otherwise, they just have to deal with the intolerable heat and
the bleak loneliness that goes hand in hand with seemingly
unending miles of desert. They might not even have a home
to return to at the end of all this. To make matters worse, they
know Hart will not be far behind, watching them, stalking them.
It’s not until three days of full travel that they find themselves
climbing a long bluff which overlooks a valley a mile long. The
Skeleton Kingdom stretches out before them as far as the eye
can see. The mere sight of this ancient monument to evil strikes
fear into the character’s hearts, the central keep a terrifying
structure made from dark, alien-like rock that reaches hundreds
of feet into the sky. The milling Undead can be seen around it,
protecting the party’s target, the dread Skeleton King.
Sneaking into the main castle structure will not be overly dif-
ficult, but should they make a mistake the party will find them-
selves on the run from the dead. Ballsy covert tactics should be
rewarded, but if all hope seems lost, read the following text to
whichever player has the magic sword:
You’re distracted suddenly by a glimmer emanating from your
blade. You must be close to the Skeleton King now, for it is glow-
ing with an incredible light, making the skeletons back away.

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They seem to want to move closer to you, but are unable to,
settling themselves with gnashing their teeth at you, evil eyes
glowing.
However, just as you pat yourself on the back for outwitting the
dead, an arrow slams into the wall beside you. While it keeps
their physical bodies away, it seems the Undead can still find
other ways to hurt you. And more archers will be on the way…
When they enter the Keep, if the sword is glowing, the light will
suddenly go out, dampened by the Skeleton King’s dark power.
Either riding their horses through or walking, they will find it
totally empty and deserted. Nothing comes here, not even the
restless dead.
Entering the enormous front gate, you can see the dirt is dotted
with enormous black mausoleums dotted every hundred or so
feet. The enormous obsidian edifices shimmer in the sunlight.
In the centre of it all is a monument to a dark God. A tower
made of black stone rests at the centre of the keep, rising some
hundred feet into the air. Atop it, rests an elegantly made glass
chamber, wherein the Skeleton King surely rests.
The characters will rapidly begin making their way towards the
tower when they see a figure looming on the horizon. The Giant
Skeleton has returned to protect his master, Hart aboard its
shoulder, and it will make the ascent to the top of the tower one
of the most difficult acts in the character’s lives. And its brought
the army with it, hundreds of skeletons massed around its feet,
moving to destroy the party. Put simply, it’s go time for the char-
acters.
Entering a door at the base of the tower, they find it almost fea-
tureless, other than a winding stairway leading upwards. Period-
ical windows allow those ascending to look out at the approach-
ing horde and the Giant Skeleton to attack. Arrows will be fired
at the tower, skeletons will spill up the stairs and the Giant Skel-
eton will reach through the windows and smash its giant fists
into the tower, trying to get at the characters. This next part of
the adventure is an action sequence and should be run dynami-
cally. As they ascend, the Giant Skeleton will be slamming his
fists into the tower and may hit the characters, knocking them
to the ground if they can’t beat a difficulty 6 Dodge check and If
he shakes the tower, everyone must make difficulty 5 Acrobatics
checks or fall down. The party can retaliate, however, and a dif-
ficulty 5 Olympics check will allow them to grab one of the many
barrels that stand alongside the staircase and roll it down the
stairs, sending those skull-boys flying to their deaths and they
can help each other along with more Olympics checks if some-
one falls behind. Someone might even get it into their head to
jump out a window and attempt to distract the Giant Skeleton,
with landing on his shoulder or head, depending on their height,
being a difficulty 16 Acrobatics check. Anyone who lands on it
will have to contend with Hart, however, who’ll still be quite sore
about failing to stop the party earlier. He’s just a footnote in the
real drama, though, so dismiss him if he gets on your nerves,
having a stray arrow catch him through the throat or something
equally humiliating.
Eventually, the remaining party members make it to the top of
the tower. The glass chamber stands before them and within…
The Skeleton King.
Regarding the glass chamber makes you shudder unpleasantly,
yet you know you must face it. Tall and wiry, more so than any
human could ever be, the figure within is elegantly dressed in
long, black robe-like garments, made of some hard, chitin-like
material. The skull atop its body is cracked and worn from mil-
lennia of age, the only sign of cognition a tangled mess of brain
matter that churns in its cranium. Atop this, it wears a simple
golden crown. Two blue pinpricks of light arise in its eye sock-
ets suddenly and you realize the creature has awoken, watching
you silently.
What Happens to Hart
Captain Hart stepped back as his men fired their first
volley into the dead. Many shots were blunted on dark
armour or turned aside by wooden shields and he
demanded the second volley. His archers found them-
selves under fire and began to fall. Moments later, the
bulk of the Undead were upon them, skeletons spilling
down the hills towards his men, smashing their rank
apart. The melee was ferocious and fast and Hart dove
into the middle of it. He turned this way and that, glow-
ing sword striking down the dead, crushing their skulls
to prevent their broken bodies from rising again, when
he suddenly realized the sun no longer shone on the
battlefield. Turning rapidly, he cast his eyes upwards
and saw that a dark figure blocked out the sun. It was
a beast from legend, a skeleton that seemed too large,
too immense to be real, at least forty feet at the shoul-
der if not more. It leapt into the air and came down in
the middle of his men in one fell blow, sweeping and
swinging this way and that, knocking them about with
reckless abandon. The giant skeleton knelt before him,
its cold skull twisting into a snarl and it spoke in a deep,
roaring voice that echoed off the mountains themselves
“Your men are dead.” Hart nodded, his hand gripping
his sword tightly.
He rushed toward the figure, only to be knocked from
his feet by a swing of the giant skeleton’s fist, slamming
into a rock wall that formed the base of the mountain. It
moved forward again, hunkering over him. “I am Cervel-
lo, the Skeleton King. I speak to you through this body, so
that you might yet listen. You might yet live, soldier. We
know some of your party broke away. Show us the way
to them.” Hart cringed in pain, clutching at his bloodied,
beaten body and knew there was no point in resisting the
figure any longer. He rose slowly to his feet and the cool-
ing corpses of his men, under an unnatural power, rose
with him.
The only way into the glass chamber is to break it with the magic
sword. The Skeleton King doesn’t find it necessary to speak,
instead simply gliding gently away from the characters and toss-
ing waves of negative energy at them. He’s like that.
Cervello, The Skeleton King (200 Point Villain)
Brawn 2d6 Brains 5d6
Flow 2d6 Void 7d6
Speed 4d6
Armour 0, Awesome 20/20, Cash Incalculable amounts,
Defence 6, Hit Points 120, Movement 14, Speed Dice 5
Skills: Dodge 6d6*, Leadership 7d6*, Melee 4d6*, Notice
5d6+1*, Psychology 5d6+1*, Throwing 10d6*
Powers and Weaknesses: Evil Construct 15, Slowpoke -5,
Tempest: Decay 8
Tempest Powers: Zombify 20
Attacks: Fists (4d6/Brawn/4/Unlimited).
Cervello, The Skeleton King, is an unfathomably old magi who
is a skilled Decay Tempest. His heart stopped long ago and with
it any sense of compassion he once had. Now he simply craves
the end of humanity, so that the Undead may spread across the
entire globe.
Decay Bomb: Cervello uses his Throwing skill to hurl Tempest
Attacks at the characters on his Stunts. These explode in a
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cloud of black smoke filled with green images of skulls that lets
out a terrible shrieking sound!
Extra Awesome: As the final boss of a story arc or chapter, the
Skeleton King starts with full Awesome Points. Watch out!
Powers Of Decay: Cervello is a first-class monster and a truly
dangerous foe. As soon as the combat begins, he’ll get to using
his vile Tempest Powers to wreck havoc, using Stunts to make
Zombify checks or Tempest Attacks. His physical body is quite
feeble, making regular actions next to worthless for the Magi.
Tempest: A Tempest is a character with power over the ele-
ments! They can make Tempest Attacks by spending 2 Awe-
some Points. This increases their current Stunt Level by one and
adds their Soul to their damage roll. In addition, they can buy
Tempest Powers to further customize their abilities.
These Old Bones Ache: Cervello moves a little slower than his
living counterparts. This reduces his Movement to 14.e:
Tireless: Like his Skeleton Warriors, Cervello fights with fierce
determination to the death.
Undead: Skeletons have twice as many Hit Points as normal, to
simulate the difficulty associated with bringing them down. They
do have a weak spot, however, and attacks directed at their
heads (-10 penalty) not only increase your damage by the usual
6d6, all added together, for a headshot, but all damage dealt is
doubled!
Cervello restores his energy through torture. He will keep
humans alive and tortured for as long as possible, healing 10
Hit Points for every sustained week of torture, per human. This
is why we have unions.
Zombify: Zombify is a Tempest Power that drains a target’s
Soul. Whenever Cervello touches a Player Character or hits
them with one of his thrown Decay Bombs, he may spend a
number of Awesome Points up to 7 activating Zombify. For every
AP spent in this way, the target must either spend an Awesome
Point of their own or contest their Guts score against Cervello’s
Void. Failure on this roll reduces their Soul score by 1, with Soul
being restored at a rate of 1 per week. Anyone reduced to zero
Soul in this manner becomes Cervello’s zombie minion! Oh no!
Upon Cervello’s defeat, the Giant Skeleton clawing at the tower
freezes in place suddenly, along with every other skeleton in the
area. And then, one by one, they begin to crumble. The char-
acters fall to the ground, exhausted, as they watch buildings
around them begin to crumble and topple just like the skele-
tons, turning to so much dust. The tower begins to shake as the
heroes hurry to the bottom, falling down only once they are free.
The Skeleton King has been defeated and Vussengard is free!
Kingom Archer (30 Point Mook)
Brawn 2d6 Brains 2d6
Flow 2d6 Soul 2d6
Speed 2d6
Armour 0, Awesome 0, Cash 1d6x10, Defence 6, Hit Points 60,
Movement 17, Speed Dice 3
Skills: Bow 4d6, Dodge 4d6, Drive 4d6, Guts 4d6, Melee:
Sword 4d6, Notice 4d6, Olympics 4d6, Sneak 4d6
Powers and Weaknesses: Mook -, Ugly -2
Attacks: Bow, Flat (4d6/Brawn+6/2/None), Sword (4d6/
Brawn+10/3/None)
The men who fight under Hart will do their best, but are severely
outmatched by the Undead. They will maintain discipline and
110
strength until they’re overrun, at which point they will scatter
and attempt to regroup. By that stage, however, it will probably
be too late…
Mook: As a Mook, this enemy cannot Stunt. If multiple actions
come up on one turn, the extra actions are lost!
Skirmishers: Hart’s Archers go unarmored, using the terrain to
their advantage. They will withdraw after a few turns of shooting,
or pick off weakened foes with their knives.
Kingom Soldier (30 Point Mook)
Brawn 2d6 Brains 2d6
Flow 2d6 Soul 2d6
Speed 2d6
Armour 15, Awesome 0, Cash 1d6x10, Defence 9, Hit Points
60, Movement 17, Speed Dice 3 /m is a two-handed sword and
cannot be used with shields of Small size or larger.cool if he
were to end up helping them bring+1 (Shield Bash)
Skills: Bow 4d6, Dodge 4d6, Drive 4d6, Guts 4d6, Melee:
Sword 4d6, Notice 4d6, Olympics 4d6, Sneak 4d6
Powers and Weaknesses: Mook -, Ugly -2
Attacks: Sword (4d6/Brawn+10/1/None), Small Shield (4d6/
Brawn+2/0/None)
Armour: Chain Mail (15), Helmet, Metal (15)
The men who fight under Hart will do their best, but are severely
outmatched by the Undead. They will maintain discipline and
strength until they’re overrun, at which point they will scatter
and attempt to regroup. By that stage, however, it will probably
be too late…
Disciplined Fighting: The Kingdom Soldier’s primary weap-
ons are their swords. They deal Brawn+10 damage. In addition,
they roll an extra Speed Dice every round for their Shield Bash
attack. This lowers the Handling of their sword attacks by 1.
Mook: As a Mook, this enemy cannot Stunt. If multiple actions
come up on one turn, the extra actions are lost!
Shield Bash: If the Shield Bash attack falls on the same turn
as a regular action, the Kingdom Soldiers get to attack with
sword and shield at the same time!
Well Equipped: The soldiers wear conical barbutes
and a full suit of chain armour underneath a white sun-
burst tabard. They’re all physically imposing, strong men,
all that remains of their nation’s once great armies.
They are granted 15 points of Armour, reducing damage from
all incoming attacks by this amount. Any attacks that roll 15
or more above the difficulty to hit him ignore this and deal full
damage!
Captain Mutilis Hart (150 Point Hero)
Brawn 5d6 Brains 3d6
Flow 4d6 Soul 2d6
Speed 3d6
Armour 20/15, Awesome 5/10, Cash 3d6*10, Defence 9, Hit
Points 120, Movement 18, Speed Dice 4
Skills: Academia: Tactics 4d6+3, Dodge 4d6+4*, Guts 2d6+4,
Leadership 3d6+5*, Melee: Fists/Sword 8d6+4*, Ride 5d6*,
Track 4d6+1
Powers and Weaknesses: Dramatic Appearance 10, Duty:
Transport the party to the Shrine of the Ancients -6, Finesse 1
(15), Haughty -3, Props: Magic Sword 6, Selfish -2
Attacks: Grim (8d6+4/Brawn+16/2/Single)
Armour: Helmet, Metal (15) , Plate Mail (20)
Even as an escort for the party, Mutilis is well out of his depth.
He is the only officer of his rank still alive, a feat which he
accomplished by avoiding all major conflicts thus far. Now this
is the only conflict left to fight. He demonstrates himself during
the adventure to be a weak, cowardly man, who may yet have an
opportunity to redeem himself.
Dramatic Appearance: Hart has a habit of turning up at the
darndest times! By spending one of Hart’s Awesome Points, the
Gamemaster can make him appear during any scene, totally
unexpected! Of course, having him turn up while they’re fighting
the Skeleton King is pretty rough, although it might turn out to
be pretty cool if he were to end up helping them bring that thug-
lyfe bone bag down a notch or two.
Good With A Blade: Hart has trained well with a sword, raising
his Handling score with Grim by one.
Grim: He has been given a unique magical sword, Grim, which
allows him to regain an Awesome Point every time he kills an
Undead while wielding it. If the party can contrive a way to get
it off him, it could greatly aid them against the dead. Grim is a
Two-Handed sword and cannot be used with shields of Small
size or larger. As a Two-Handed Sword, it also ignores the first 6
points of an enemy’s armour.
Well Equipped: Mutilis Hart wears conical barbutes and a
full suit of plate mail armour underneath a white sunburst tab-
ard. He is granted 15 points of Armour on his head and 20 on
his body, reducing damage from all incoming attacks by this
amount. Any attacks that roll 20 or more above the difficulty to
hit him targeted at his body ignore this and deal full damage!
For attacks targeted at his head, the bonus must exceed 15 to
deal full damage. This Plate Mail reduces his Stunt Level with
Melee weapons to Single.
any skin and muscle to slow them down, their Movement is
Skeleton Archer (30 Point Mook) increased to 22.
Brawn 2d6 Brains 1d6 Undead: Skeletons have twice as many Hit Points as normal, to
Flow 3d6 Void 2d6 simulate the difficulty associated with bringing them down. They
do have a weak spot, however, and attacks directed at their
Speed 2d6 heads (-10 penalty) not only increase your damage by the usual
6d6, all added together, for a headshot, but all damage dealt is
Armour 10, Awesome 0, Cash 0, Defence 7, Hit Points 120, doubled!
Movement 22, Speed Dice 3
Skills: Bow 3d6+4, Melee: Sword 3d6+1 Skeleton Warrior (30 Point Mook)
Brawn 2d6 Brains 1d6
Powers and Weaknesses: Evil Construct 15 (Focus Point:
Head), Mook -, Runner 5 Flow 3d6 Void 2d6
Attacks: Bow (3d6+4/Brawn+6/2/None), Short, Sword Speed 2d6
(3d6+1/Brawn+6/2/None)
Armour 15, Awesome 0, Cash 0, Defence 10, Hit Points 120,
Armour: Leather Armour (10) Movement 17, Speed Dice 3
Skeletons are the front-line soldiers of the evil Undead King- Skills: Dodge 2d6+2, Melee: Sword 4d6+2
doms and what they lack in power, they make up for in numbers.
Powers and Weaknesses: Counter Attack 9, Evil Construct 15
Mook: As a Mook, this enemy cannot Stunt. If multiple actions (Focus Point: Head), Mook -
come up on one turn, the extra actions are lost!
Attacks: Sword (4d6+2/Brawn+10/2/None) OR Spear
Skirmishers: The Skeleton Archers are chosen from the lean- (4d6+2/Brawn+6/2/None)
est, most quick-witted skeletons and can only be shattered by
determined cavalry, lest they retreat to a safe position. In com- Armour: Chain Mail (15), Shield, Medium
bat, finger bones tense around bowstrings before letting loose
their deadly payload, the dark blue glows in their eye sockets Skeletons are the front-line soldiers of the evil Undead King-
narrowing to pinpoints. On a successful hit they bellow with doms and what they lack in power, they make up for in numbers.
unearthly laughter, before finding their next target. Without

111
Counter Attack: Whenever this combatant successfully dodg-
es an enemy’s attack, they may spend a remaining action or
Awesome Point to immediately Counter Attack. The amount they
beat their dodge difficulty by is added a bonus to this attack.
Mook: As a Mook, this enemy cannot Stunt. If multiple actions
come up on one turn, the extra actions are lost!
Skilled Fighters: In combat, Skeleton Warriors are ferocious,
not letting up their depraved assault for a moment, cackling
and whooping with every blow. On successful dodges, they
will always make Counter Attacks if they have the actions to
spare, otherwise they will simply throw themselves into the fray,
depending on weight of numbers to bring down the enemy, the
few sacrificing themselves for the benefit of the many.
Undead: Skeletons have twice as many Hit Points as normal, to
simulate the difficulty associated with bringing them down. They
do have a weak spot, however, and attacks directed at their
heads (-10 penalty) not only increase your damage by the usual
6d6, all added together, for a headshot, but all damage dealt is
doubled!
Well Equipped: Skeleton Warriors are stocky and burly, chain
shirts draped over their bleached bones to knock away attacks
while they clutch metal shields close to their bodies. They are
granted 15 points of Armour, reducing damage from all incom-
ing attacks by this amount. Any attacks that roll 15 or more
above the difficulty to hit him ignore this and deal full damage!
Skeleton Warriors may be equipped with a sword or a spear, but
they always have a shield to increase their defence with.
Skeleton Cavalier (40 Point Mook)
Brawn 2d6 Brains 2d6
Flow 3d6 Void 2d6
Speed 3d6
Armour 20/15, Awesome 0, Cash 0, Defence 11/12, Hit Points
120, Movement 18/34, Speed Dice 4
Skills: Melee: Lance, Sword 4d6+5, Pose 2d6+5, Riding 2d6+5
Powers and Weaknesses: Evil Construct 15 (Focus Point:
Head), Mook -, Overconfident -5
Attacks: Lance (4d6+5/Brawn+4/1/None) OR Sword (4d6+5/
Brawn+10/2/None)
Armour: Helmet, Metal (15), Plate Mail (20), Shield, Large
Equipment: Skeleton Horse
Skeletons are the front-line soldiers of the evil Undead King-
doms and what they lack in power, they make up for in numbers.
Skeleton Cavaliers are the finest the fleshless hordes have to
offer, riders in full plate armour and rested atop faithful skeletal
steeds. The sight of these black-armoured monsters will strike
terror into the heart of any foe.
Break Their Line!: Using a Lance from horseback increases
the Stunt Level of the attack by one when making a charge. This
is one of the few ways in the system whereby a Mook can Stunt.
Lances are serious business. Only the first Lance attack of a
combat may be Stunted on in this manner.
Frightening Presence: In combat they rush forward, banners
waving, lances ready to skewer the humans, their wailing able
to be heard for miles around. They bear down ferociously on the
enemy and make a single Pose check, adding 1 for every single
Cavalier beyond the first, in an attempt to render their foes wit-
less. All opponents make a Guts roll, each subtracting their own
roll from the Cavalier’s Pose roll, with the party all losing 1 action
for every 20 points the Cavalier’s roll beats their combined Guts
112
checks by. In larger charges, the enemy is often torn to shreds
in moments, powerful lances ripping them apart.
Mook: As a Mook, this enemy cannot Stunt. If multiple actions
come up on one turn, the extra actions are lost!
Undead: Skeletons have twice as many Hit Points as normal, to
simulate the difficulty associated with bringing them down. They
do have a weak spot, however, and attacks directed at their
heads (-10 penalty) not only increase your damage by the usual
6d6, all added together, for a headshot, but all damage dealt is
doubled!
Skeleton Horse (30 Point Taxi of The Dead)
Brawn 4d6 Brains 1d6
Flow 2d6 Soul 1d6
Speed 3d6
Armour 0, Awesome 0, Cash 0, Defence 6, Hit Points 200,
Movement 44, Speed Dice 4+1
Skills: Dodge 5d6, Notice 1d6+2, Olympics 6d6, Toughness
5d6
Powers and Weaknesses: Quadruped 3, Runner 5
Attacks: Horse Attack (2d6/Brawn/4/None)
Mook: As a Mook, this enemy cannot Stunt. If multiple actions
come up on one turn, the extra actions are lost!
Quadruped: As a four-legged animal, horses are fast as
heck, and dead ones are no exception! Well, most dead ones.
Between that and their natural swiftness, Skeleton Horses have
a Movement of 44.
Undead: Skeletons have twice as many Hit Points as normal, to
simulate the difficulty associated with bringing them down. They
do have a weak spot, however, and attacks directed at their
heads (-10 penalty) not only increase your damage by the usual
6d6, all added together, for a headshot, but all damage dealt is
doubled!
Skeletonnes (200 Point Giant Skeleton)
Brawn 12d6 Brains 1d6
Flow 3d6 Void 4d6
Speed 3d6
Armour 0, Awesome 7/14, Cash 0, Defence 7, Hit Points 1040,
Movement 52, Speed Dice 4
Skills: Dodge 3d6, Melee 7d6+2, Olympics 15d6, Pose 15d6,
Throwing 4d6
Powers and Weaknesses: Evil Construct 15, Giant 40, Slow-
poke 5
Attacks: Fists (7d6+2/Brawn/4/Unlimited)
Skeletons are the front-line soldiers of the evil Undead King-
doms and what they lack in power, they make up for in numbers.
All-Purpose Skeleton: Skeletonnes, the Giant Skeleton, is the
most feared weapon at Cervello’s command, having crushed
entire legions under rolling knucklebones. In combat, he serves
as a transport for other skeletons, long-range artillery with pow-
erful boulder throws and a terrifying front-line soldier! All should
beware this chilling cadaver.
Giant: As a Giant, Skeletonnes enjoys a few bonuses, the
first of which is cheaper Brawn and more expensive Flow. His
Hit Points and Movement are also increased, but he suffers a
-6 when making ranged attacks against humans and a -15 to
Sneak checks. Humans making ranged attacks against him
receive a +6 to hit!
Sluggish: Skeletonnes is a little unwieldy and can have trouble
moving around, despite his enormous size. This reduces his
Movement to 52.
Undead: Skeletons have twice as many Hit Points as normal, to
simulate the difficulty associated with bringing them down. They
do have a weak spot, however, and attacks directed at their
heads (-10 penalty) not only increase your damage by the usual
6d6, all added together, for a headshot, but all damage dealt is
doubled!
Blademaster (100 Point Hero)
Brawn 3d6 Brains 2d6
Flow 4d6 Soul 2d6
Speed 4d6
Armour 10, Awesome 5/10, Cash $50, Defence 11, Hit Points
80, Movement 17, Speed Dice 5
Skills: Dodge 8d6*, Leadership 2d6+2, Melee: Swords
13d6+4*, Riding: Horse 6d6*, Quick Draw 4d6+2, Notice 4d6,
Track 4d6
Powers and Weaknesses: Code of Honour: Knightly Virtue:
-3, Haughty -3, Overconfident -5, Rival: Fellow Knights -2, Slow-
poke – 2
Attacks: Sword (13d6+4/Brawn+10/2/Triple)
Armour: Leather (10)
A professional through and through, the Blademaster made a
name for herself killing every sort of foul monster from one side
of the Kingdom to the other, before she was recruited for the
war effort. Now she kills Skeletons till her once bright blade is
as dull as they are. She is a highly honourable woman and won’t
take the shortcuts others have, even when this leads to bitter
rivalries. She simply considers herself above it all.
Extravagant Swordplay: The Blademaster’s weapon is a finely
honed piece of work that does its best business when you line
up some Stunts for it. You can either ensure Stunts by spend-
ing an Awesome Point and using her 2 Handling to push actions
together, such as turning an action on turn 4 and an action on
turn 3 into a Stunt on turn 4, but sometimes it’s best to just
spend AP to get some extra Speed Dice rolling, and hope for the
best!
Leather Armour: The Blademaster has 10 points of Armour
from her Leather Armour, reducing damage from all incoming
attacks by this amount. Any attacks that roll 10 or more above
the difficulty to hit him ignore this and deal full damage!
Quick Draw: If it comes up, the difficulty to Quick Draw her
Sword is 10.
Sluggish: War injuries over her career have left the Blademas-
ter a little slow on her feet. This reduces her Movement to 17.
Spin Attack: During any attack, but usually a melee Stunt, the
Blademaster can elect to do a Spin Attack. She can add up all
the to hit values of a bunch of different enemies to hit all of
them at once, reducing her bonus damage on her attack as nec-
essary. A successful hit deals full damage to all targets.
Dwarf (100 point Hero)
Brawn 5d6 Brains 2d6
Flow 5d6 Soul 2d6
Speed 3d6
Armour 15, Awesome 5/10, Cash $1,630, Defence 9, Hit
Points 130, Movement 18, Speed Dice 4,
Skills: Bow 7d6, Dodge 5d6*, Guts 3d6, Melee: Sword 12d6*,
Notice 2d6+4, Olympics 6d6, Pose: Aggressive 5d6*, Riding
6d6, Quick Draw 3d6+1, Track 5d6
Powers and Weaknesses: Ancient Dwarven Proverb 1, Code
of Honour (Warriors Code) -2, Duty: The Clan -2, Extra Tough 2,
Illiterate -3, Overconfident -5, Props 1, Stubborn -4
Attacks: Bow, Flat with 50 arrows (7d6/Brawn+6/2/Double),
4 Axe, Hand (12d6/Brawn+6/2/Single), Sword (God-Forged)
(12d6/Brawn+12/2/Single), Sword, Two-Handed (12d6/
Brawn+16(6)/1/Single)
Armour: Chain Mail (15), Shield, Medium
The Dwarf loves to fight, and he especially loves to fight Skel-
etons. Which is handy, because he does it a lot! All he’s known
his whole life is loyalty to the clan and his code of honour and
the 7 or so weapons he performs his trade with.
Bow, Flat: The really aggressive foes can be picked off from
a distance with his Flat Bow. When using the Bow, the Dwarf’s
Defence is 9.
Dual-Wielding Axes: Large hordes are dealt with by dual-
wielding his trusty hand axes. The Dwarf can choose to lower
his Handling by 2 at the start of any combat round to make two
axe attacks on any non-Stunted action. On Stunts, he still just
makes one really big attack. Give it a go! When dual-wielding
axes, his Defence is 10.
Chain Mail: The Dwarf has 15 points of Armour from his
Chain Mail, reducing damage from all incoming attacks by this
amount. Any attacks that roll 15 or more above the difficulty to
hit him ignore this and deal full damage! This Chain Mail reduc-
es his Stunt Level with Melee weapons to Single.
Fabulously Wealthy: The Dwarf started the game with way
more cash than normal, thanks to his level in Props represent-
ing the family fortune. He spent almost all of it on having his
Sword enchanted to do more damage. When you’re hot, you’re
hot.
Getting Really Serious: When he wants to end a fight fast,
what else would a rough and tumble Dwarf resort to other than
his enormous, two-handed broadsword, just right for hewing
and cleaving! When wielding this weapon, the Dwarf’s Defence
is 10, due to the unwieldy nature of the weapon. Two-Handed
Swords also ignore the first 6 points of an enemy’s armour.
Hard To Kill: The Dwarf has 2 levels of Extra Tough, increasing
his Hit Point to 130.
On The Fly: Changing weapons during a combat round requires
a Quick Draw check. Quick Drawing a Hand Axe is difficulty 5.
Quick Drawing a Sword is difficulty 10. Quick Drawing a Two-
Handed Sword is difficulty 12.
Sword And Shield: If against a very aggressive foe, he’ll grip
his sword and shield tightly in which case the Dwarf’s Defence
rises to 13, with the regular Sword having a higher innate
Defence Bonus than the Hand Axe or the Two-Handed Sword,
and the Medium Shield giving another 2. Handy stuff!
Walking arsenal: The Dwarf should start each combat by giv-
ing thought to the weapons that will help him out the most. And
don’t worry about having only Melee: Sword: since he hasn’t
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ever done formal training, he only has Levels in the skill and
gets the 12d6 on any Melee check made, ever!
Elf (100 point Hero)
Brawn 1d6 Brains 3d6
Flow 5d6 Soul 4d6
Speed 4d6
Armour 0, Awesome 8/16, Cash 50, Defence 9, HitPoints 40,
Movement 18, Speed Dice 5
Skills: Dodge 4d6*, Melee: Sword 3d6*, Notice 5d6 +3*,
Throwing 8d6*
Powers and Weaknesses: Damsel in Distress -5, Haughty -2,
Hot 4, Tempest: Fire 8, Stressed -3
Tempest Powers: Blast! 2, Fireball 8
Attacks: Sword (3d6/Brawn+10/2/Triple)
Bringing both burst and beauty to the fray, we have the Elf.
Having studied the arcane for many years, he brings back-up to
the party with his fire magic.
Blast: In combat, the Elf will hang around the back, using his
free Blast! Attacks to pepper the enemy with tongues of flame,
with a range increment of 5, dealing 5d6 damage, added
together just like Brawn, on a successful hit. He rolls his Throw-
ing to make attacks in this way.
Fireball: If he happens upon a Stunt, you can usually expect
the Elf to burn 2 AP to toss out an exploding Fireball, using his
Throwing again, but with a range increment of 10 this time. It
deals 6d6 damage to anyone within 10 feet of the blast and half
that amount to anyone within 20 feet.
Anyone who would take damage from the explosion and wasn’t
directly targeted gets a free Acrobatics or Dodge check to move
away. The actual target can make one as well, but must first
dodge the attack and then also spent an action or Awesome
Point to be entitled to. Based on the table below, most charac-
ters that were right at the centre of the explosion will be look-
ing at about a difficulty of 10.
Difficulty Distance Travelled
5 Movement x 1
10 Movement x 2
20 Movement x 3
40 Movement x 4
X2.. Movement x +1...
High Strung: The Elf deals with stress poorly and will faint dur-
ing combat if he runs out of Awesome Points. This will persist
until the end of the combat.
Magic-User: The Skeleton King has uses for magic users such
as the Elf. He has ordered his Skeletons to capture him alive,
which he can perhaps use to his advantage under the right cir-
cumstances.
Tempest: A Tempest is a character with power over the ele-
ments! They can make Tempest Attacks by spending 2 Awe-
some Points. This increases their current Stunt Level by one and
adds their Soul to their damage roll. In addition, they can buy
Tempest Powers to further customize their abilities.
114
Golem (100 point Hero)
Brawn 10d6+5 Brains 1d6
Flow 5d6 Soul -
Speed 2d6
Armour 28, Awesome 3/6, Cash $1,100, Defence 9, Hit Points
220, Movement 13, Speed Dice 3
Skills: Academia: Ancient Technology 1d6+4, Dodge 5d6*, Fix-
ing 1d6+5, Melee: Fists 5d6+10, Olympics 10d6+5*
Powers and Weaknesses: Inhibitors: Protect Ancient Relics
-2, Props 5, Robot 15, Slowpoke -3
Upgrades: Armour, Heavy ($20,000), Piston Arms, Small
($4,000)
Attacks: Unarmed (5d6+10/Brawn+5/6/Single)
Armour: Heavy (28)
Just because you’re in a bold world of swords and sorcery,
doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get to hang out with your Robot
chums. In a nod to the flexibility of the system, we incorporated
a Robot in the form of a Stone Golem who can take one heck
of a beating. His interest in fighting the Skeleton King stems
from his desire to see this once great world’s desecration stop
here and now.
Ancient Artifact: The Golem started the game with way more
cash than normal, thanks to five levels in Props representing the
brilliance of the ancient civilization that constructed him. As an
Ancient Artifact, this guy gets +2 to his Handling, while his maxi-
mum Stunt Level in combat is reduced to Double. Of course,
spending AP to crank up your Stunt Level still works just fine.
Being a Robot is also the source of his Heavy Armour and his
Sensors Package, which give him some thicker skin and a +6 to
Notice checks, respectively. He also has no Soul, meaning his
Awesome Points cap at 6.
Made Entirely Of Stone: He would sink in water if there ever
was any in this stupid desert. Another side effect of his heavy
body is his Movement is reduced to 13. On the upside, he
enjoys Heavy Armour, with an Armour Value of 28. This means
any attack striking it with 28 or less bonus to hit has 28 sub-
tracted from the total damage. However, this Heavy Armour
reduces his Melee Stunt level to Single. He also receives a neat
+5 on Brawn checks.
Series Of Power Slams: The Golem’s low level of Melee
means his stunts aren’t often very effective. However, his 6
points of Handling makes him especially useful for making mul-
tiple attacks. Simply announce at the start of the round that
you’ll reduce your 6 Handling by 2 for every bonus melee attack
you’d like to make. Naturally, this means it’ll often be in your
best interests to reduce your Handling to 0 to make four melee
attacks on any non-Stunted action. On Stunts, he can choose
to continue taking four attacks or a Stunt, but most of the time
you’ll be better off with the four.
If a Stunt comes up, you’re more than welcome to take it, put-
ting the multi-attacking away briefly for that one spectacular
blow.
115
 CHAPTER 13: BESTIARY!
Every roleplaying game needs a readily prepared bestiary of gor- Powers and Weaknesses: Haughty -2, Props 12
gons and hydras to toss at your party and the Awesome System
is no exception. Here you’ll be seeing the finest we have to offer, Attacks: Phantasm (6d6/14/3/Triple)
from every walk of reality and every boulevard of crumpled-up
character sheets. Equipment: Fighter, Small

There are a few things to keep in mind when reading the pro- First in every class, the Ace Pilot has studied hard to be the best
files. First of all statistics have already been factored into the at what he does. And that is pilot a totally radical spacecraft.
skill totals, so you don’t need to add the stat again. Defence Fighter: The Ace Pilot spent 12 points on Props to own and
totals given assume the character is holding their melee weap- operates his very own spacecraft.
on of choice. Hero Skills, where appropriate, are marked with a
* symbol. Finally, Attacks are portrayed as Attack Roll/Damage/ Fighter, Small
Handling/Stunt Level.
Price: 50,000, Passengers 1, Engine Fusion, Movement
Some of the listed Monsters are Mooks; basically rank and file 50,000, Acceleration 200, Brawn 8d6, HP 420, Precision
thugs. Rules for Mooks can be found in Chapter 11: Gamemas- +6, Size Giant, Weapons Cannon, 125mm, Machine Gun (2),
tering. We’ve gathered the three most common types of Mooks, Armour 30
Thugs, Henchmen and Badasses, at the end of the chapter.
Sure Shot: While he has levels in Heavy weapons, that doesn’t
Monster Character Points stop the Ace Pilot from employing a Phantasm laser pistol once
he’s outside of his spacecraft. And it has infinite ammo!
Horse,Thug 30
Grizzly Bear Angel (300 Point Vassal Of The Word)
Raptor 50
Shark Angel (300 Point Vassal Of The Word)
Giant Spider 60 Brawn 5d6 Brains 3d6
Henchman
Badass 90 Flow 5d6 Soul 7d6
Ace Pilot, Speed 6d6
Mecha Pilot
Lizardman Armour 0, Awesome 9/18, Cash Often carrying scrolls or heav-
100
Military Sergeant enly artifacts, Defence 11, Hit Points 120, Movement 21 (126
Police Detective Flying), Speed Dice 7
Special Forcese
Carnivorous Skills: Bow 9d6+1, Academia: Philosophy 6d6, Dodge 5d6*,
Brontosaurus Guts 8d6*, Leadership 5d6*, Melee: Sword, Fists 14d6+4*
Cyborg Assassin 200
Demon Dog Powers and Weaknesses: Dramatic Appearance 10, Duty:
Ninja Master God -8, Finesse 3 (45), Hot 10, Innocent -2, Flight 2 (20), Tem-
pest (Divine) 8,
Hideous 250
Space Mutant Tempest Powers: Divine Judgment 2, The Light That Burns 8,
Gorilla Pirate 270 Thumbs Up 5,
Angel Attacks: Bow, Flat with 40 arrows (9d6+1/Brawn+13/5/Dou-
300
Dragon ble), Sword (14d6+4/Brawn+17/5/Triple)
Vampire Angels are the servants of Heaven. They can be encountered
500
in many different capacities, but most often during missions to
Earth.
Divine Judgment: By spending an Awesome Point an Angel
Ace Pilot (100 Point Flyboy) may know what sins a person has committed within the last
Brawn 2d6 Brains 4d6 700 days. She may also read their intent towards her.
Flow 4d6 Soul 3d6 Dramatic Appearance: If there’s one thing Angels are good
at, it’s turning up unexpectedly! By spending one of the Angel’s
Speed 4d6 Awesome Points, the Gamemaster can make her appear during
any scene, totally unexpected!
Armour 0, Awesome 6/12, Cash 9,400, Defence 8, Hit Points
60, Movement 18, Speed Dice 5 Flying: The Angel can fly under her own power. She rolls 5d6 for
Flying checks to perform cool tricks with, as well as substitute
Skills: Academia: Spacecraft 5d6, Dodge 5d6+1*, Firearms: for Dodge rolls where necessary. Skilled Flight allows her to fly
Heavy 6d6*, Leadership 5d6, Notice 4d6+1*, Pilot: Fighter at 6 times her normal Movement, with take-off requiring 1 turn.
7d6+5*, She can make one 90 degree turn every combat Turn.

117
Good With A Blade: The Angel has trained well with a sword,
raising her Handling score by three.
Heavenly Pimp Slap: The Angel fights with a one-handed
sword, leaving one hand free. In the unlikely event you ever find
you have a Stunt to use with a Stunt Level higher than Triple,
she can totally just use her free hand to belt some dude.
Tempest: A Tempest is a character with power over the ele-
ments! They can make Tempest Attacks by spending 2 Awe-
some Points. This increases their current Stunt Level by one and
adds their Soul to their damage roll. In addition, they can buy
Tempest Powers to further customize their abilities.
The Light That Burns: The Angel’s attacks deal 7 extra dam-
age, which has been factored into her listed Attacks. Against
any Evil Construct, this bonus increases to 21.
Thumbs Up: This allows the Divine Tempest to counteract the
effect of a Decay Tempest’s Thumbs Down field.
Carnivorous Brontosaurus
(200 Point Thing You Want To Avoid)
Brawn 12d6 Brains 1d6
Flow 1d6 Soul 1d6
Speed 3d6
Armour 10, Awesome 4/8, Cash None, Defence 5, Hit Points
620, Movement 144, Speed Dice 4+1
Skills: Guts 1d6+10, Melee 1d6+10, Sneak 1d6-15, Tough-
ness 12d6+8, Track 1d6+2
Powers and Weaknesses: Armoured 1 (20), Chomp 5, Giant
40, Quadruped 3
Attacks: Unarmed (Brawn/3/Unlimited), Chomp (Brawn/-/
None)
The Carnivorous Brontosaurus was a creature commissioned
from a wizard by one of the many Highland tribes of orks. Put
simply, they wanted a huge animal that could carry many ork
warriors, but was also quite ferocious. Problems arose when the
brontosauruses decided their favourite meal was orks.
Bronto Assault: The Carnivorous Brontosauruses’ primary
weapon is stomps and slams from his powerful body. They deal
damage equal to its not-inconsiderable Brawn. In addition, it
rolls an extra Speed Dice every round for its Chomp attack! This
lowers the Handling of all other attacks by 1. This guy has a lot
of Brawn so you want to remember to add all Brawn dice togeth-
er when dealing damage!
Bronto Bite: The Brontosaurus can also make a terrible Chomp
attack! If this attack falls on the same turn as a regular action,
he gets to bite and attack with his claws at the same time! If the
Bite falls on the same turn as a Stunt, you can either get a regu-
lar Bite and a regular Stomp attack, or just the Stunted Stomp
attack. Decisions, decisions!
Giant: As a Giant, the Carnivorous Brontosaurus enjoys a few
bonuses, the first of which is cheaper Brawn and more expen-
sive Flow. His Hit Points and Movement are also increased, but
he suffers a -6 when making ranged attacks against humans
and a -15 to Sneak checks. Humans making ranged attacks
against him receive a +6 to hit!
Quadruped: As a four-legged animal, the Carnivorous Bronto-
saurus enjoys increased Movement and his Carnivorous nature
ensures he can really get going when he wants to! After adjust-
ing for being a Giant, he has a Movement of 144.
Super Thick Skin: The Carnivorous Brontosaurus has 10
points of Armour, reducing damage from all incoming attacks by
118
this amount. Any attacks that roll 10 or more above the difficulty
to hit him ignore this and deal full damage!
Cyborg Assassin (200 Point Stalker)
Brawn 3d6+5 Brains 2d6
Flow 5d6 Soul 2d6
Speed 5d6
Armour 4, Awesome 6/12, Cash $4,050, Defence 10, Hit Points
80, Movement 22, Speed Dice 6
Skills: Acrobatics 6d6, Computers 3d6+1, Disguise 4d6*,
Dodge 5d6*, Guts 5d6, Melee: Knife 11d6+8, Quickdraw: Knife
6d6+3, Psychology 3d6+1, Throwing 11d6+8*, Tracking 4d6
Powers and Weaknesses: Code of Honour: Syndicate Law -2,
Cyborg 10, Leap 15, Props 5, Runner 2
Upgrades: Armour, Light ($10,000), E.M.P. Shielding ($3,000),
Piston Arms: Small ($4,000), Smartlink ($4,000)
Attacks: 10 Knives (11d6+8/Brawn+7/3/Double Melee, Triple
Ranged)
Armour: Light (10)
A playful assassin with two handfuls of knives, the Cyborg
Assassin lives to toy with his prey and make their last moments
alive inhumanly chilling. He will follow Syndicate Law to the let-
ter, even when doing so risks his own life.
Armoured Skin: Sub-dermal plating and synthetically rein-
forced bones make the Cyborg Assassin tougher than a normal
human. The Cyborg Assassin has 4 points of Armour from his
Light Armour, reducing damage from all incoming attacks by
this amount. Any attacks that roll 4 or more above the difficulty
to hit him ignore this and deal full damage!
Cyborg: Unsurprisingly, the Cyborg Assassin is a Cyborg, a par-
tial one at that. This means his physical body is largely unaf-
fected, but he can purchase all sorts of neat Upgrades, just like
if he were a Robot! On the downside, he has to pay the price of
Medium Robot Armour to get Light Armour for a Cyborg. Darn!
His Upgrades have also bestowed him with incredible strength,
granting the Assassin a +5 on Brawn checks.
E.M.P. Shielding: Attempts to shut down the Cyborg Assassin’s
cybernetics with an E.M.P. Grenade will fall on deaf ears. With
a difficulty 10 Computers check, he is able to resist the attack.
Light Foot: The Cyborg Assassin has 2 levels of Runner,
increasing his Movement to 22.
Parlour Tricks: The Cyborg Assassin will frequently be chang-
ing the number of knives he’s holding. He might start out dual-
wielding, throw one or both, then quickly replace them both
with some Quick Draw checks. Keep in mind that on any Stunt
action, he can Stunt a knife throw and Quick Draw another knife
with the same Stunt.
Smartlink: The Smartlink grants the Cyborg Assassin a +5 on
all Ranged attacks. This increases his Throwing skill to 11d6+8.
Syndicate Funds: The Cyborg Assassin has invested 5 points
into Props. This is to represent the expensive Cyborg Upgrades
his Syndicate has gifted him with.
Super Jump: The Cyborg Assassin can jump 30 feet in distance
every time he has an action, in addition to his usual Movement
of 22 feet.

Demon Dog (200 Points of Bark and Bite)
Brawn 10d6 Brains 216
Flow 2d6 Void 2d6
Speed 6d6
Armour 10, Awesome 5/10, Cash 0, Defence 6, Hit Points
1,040, Movement 136, Speed Dice 7+1 (Chomp)
Skills: Dodge 2d6*, Melee (Natural) 9d6+3*, Pose 13d6+1
Powers and Weaknesses: Ambush 10, Armoured 1 (20),
Chomp 5, Claws 3, Evil Construct 15, Giant 40, Mutant -4, No
Thumbs -5, Quadruped 3, Photosensitive -5, Slowpoke -4, Ugly
-2
Attacks: Chomp (9d6+3/Brawn+5/1-/None), Claws (9d6+3/
Brawn+2/2/Unlimited)
The Demon Dog is one of Hell’s most fearsome creatures. It’s
bigger than most cars and loves to chew on your furniture.
Ambush: The Demon Dog is quick on the draw. At the start of
any combat, it may choose one action to move up to turn 6.
Dog Attack: The Demon Dog’s primary weapon is Claw strikes.
They deal damage equal to its not-inconsiderable Brawn+2. In
addition, it rolls an extra Speed Dice every round for its Chomp
attack! This lowers the Handling of all other attacks by 1. This
guy has a lot of Brawn so you want to remember to add all
Brawn dice together when dealing damage!
Dog Chew: The Demon Dog can also make a terrible Chomp
attack! If this attack falls on the same turn as a regular action,
he gets to bite and attack with his claws at the same time! If the
Bite falls on the same turn as a Stunt, you can either get a regu-
lar Bite and a regular Claws attack, or just the Stunted Claws
attack. Decisions, decisions!
Giant: As a Giant, the Demon Dog enjoys a few bonuses, the
first of which is cheaper Brawn and more expensive Flow. His
Hit Points and Movement are also increased, but he suffers a
-6 when making ranged attacks against humans and a -15 to
Sneak checks. Humans making ranged attacks against him
receive a +6 to hit!
Hellspawn: Demon Dogs have twice as many Hit Points as
normal, to simulate the difficulty associated with bringing them
down. They do have a weak spot, however, and attacks directed
at their heads (-10 penalty) not only increase your damage by
the usual 6d6, all added together, for a headshot, but all dam-
age dealt is doubled!
Due to being Hellspawn, Demon Dogs must consume the liv-
ing, or recently not-living, to regain Hit Points. They heal 20 Hit
Points per body consumed.
Photosensitive: Exposure to bright light, such as daylight, ban-
ishes the Demon Dog back to Hell. For this reason, they are usu-
ally only seen at night.
Quadruped: As a four-legged animal, the Demon Dog enjoys
increased Movement. After adjusting for being a Giant and his
Slowpoke Weakness, he has a Movement of 136.
Super Thick Skin: The Demon Dog has 10 points of Armour,
reducing damage from all incoming attacks by this amount. Any
attacks that roll 10 or more above the difficulty to hit him ignore
this and deal full damage!
Dragon (300 Point Princess Kidnapper)
Brawn 14d6 Brains 2d6
Flow 2d6 Soul 1d6
Speed 6d6
Armour 10, Awesome 4/8, Cash Nest and some eggs, Defence
6, Hit Points 750, Movement 84, Speed Dice 7
119
Skills: Dodge 7d6+5*, Guts 3d6, Melee 4d6+14, Notice
2d6+5, Olympics 16d6*, Toughness 20d6*, Throwing 5d6,
Track 2d6+2
Powers and Weaknesses: Armoured 1 (20), Giant 40, Quad-
ruped 3, Tempest: Fire 8, Ugly -3
Attacks: Body Slams (4d6+12/Brawn/0/Unlimited)
In a world where dragons are almost nearly extinct, one species
has continued to survive by crossbreeding with huge swamp alli-
gators. The resulting beast is a graceless monster, a scavenger
that feeds on swamp life, with vestigial, tattered wings slowly
receding into their skin over many generations.
Giant: As a Giant, the Dragon enjoys a few bonuses, the first of
which is cheaper Brawn and more expensive Flow. His Hit Points
and Movement are also increased, but he suffers a -6 when
making ranged attacks against humans and a -15 to Sneak
checks. Humans making ranged attacks against him receive a
+6 to hit!
Nest: The Dragon has a nest, containing 5d6 eggs. These are
usually protected by one or more mates, while a hunter is out
foraging the swamp for food.
Quadruped: As a four-legged animal, the Dragon enjoys
increased Movement. After adjusting for being a Giant, he has a
Movement of 168.
Super Thick Skin: The Demon Dog has 10 points of Armour,
reducing damage from all incoming attacks by this amount. Any
attacks that roll 10 or more above the difficulty to hit him ignore
this and deal full damage!
Tempest: A Tempest is a character with power over the ele-
ments! They can make Tempest Attacks by spending 2 Awe-
some Points. This increases their current Stunt Level by one and
adds their Soul to their damage roll. In addition, they can buy
Tempest Powers to further customize their abilities.
Wild Beast: In combat, the Dragon makes three Body Slam
attacks, flailing about like a wild beast. On the occasional stunt,
it can make a Tempest attack to rack up some extra damage.
Giant Spider (60 Point Fanged Monstrosity)
Brawn 5d6 Brains 1d6
Flow 3d6 Soul 1d6
Speed 3d6
Armour 0, Awesome 0, Cash 0, Defence 7, Hit Points 140, Move-
ment 36, Speed Dice 4
Skills: Acrobatics 4d6+6, Olympics 5d6+8, Melee (Natural)
6d6+5
Powers and Weaknesses: Chomp 5, Extra Tough 4, Leap 15,
Mook -, Quadruped 3 Photosensitive -5
Attacks: Chomp (6d6+5/Brawn+5/2/None)
Ew! Bugs! Spiders are about as gross as it gets, so thankfully
these overgrown thugs of the Chelicerata Phylum are fairly easy
to splatter all over the walls.
Hard To Kill: The Giant Spiders have 4 levels of Extra Tough,
increasing their Hit Points to 140.
Mook: As a Mook, this enemy cannot Stunt. If multiple actions
come up on one turn, the extra actions are lost!
Photosensitive: Giant Spiders hate sunlight! They’ll run away
from it as fast as their legs can carry them.
120
Quadruped: We admit it, sometimes our naming scheme has
its failings. As an eight-legged animal, the Giant Spider enjoys
increased Movement. They have a Movement of 36.
Spider Bite: Spiders use their poisoned fangs for their default
attack. This attack deals Brawn+5 damage.
Spider Leap: The Giant Spider can jump 30 feet in distance
every time he has an action, in addition to its usual Movement
of 36 feet.
Gorilla Pirate (270 Point El Capitan)
Brawn 12d6 Brains 4d6
Flow 6d6 Soul 6d6
Speed 6d6
Armour 0, Awesome 8/16, Cash A pirate ship, crew and
vast sums of booty, Defence 10, Hit Points 270, Movement 21,
Speed Dice 7
Skills: Academia: Sailing 4d6*, Guts 8d6*, Leadership 6d6,
Melee: Sword 14d6*, Olympics 15d6*
Powers and Weaknesses: Addiction: Fresh Bananas -2, Angry
-4,
Extra Tough 2, Stunt Step 5, Ugly -3
Attacks: Cutlass (14d6/Brawn+10/2/Triple)
There comes a time in every giant primate’s life where he wish-
es to cast aside the jungle doldrums and set sail on the high
seas! No? Maybe this guy’s just out of his gourd, then. Either
way, don’t get between him and his bananas, or you’ll get a
thumping.
Gorilla Tactics: This is definitely one time where you’ll be want-
ing to use Handling to shift your gorilla’s actions around. He
loves to Stunt! 1 Awesome Point lets you shift your actions by a
total of 2 steps.
Monkey Business: Swinging around on the rigging is a
favoured combat tactic of Gorilla Pirates and his Stunt Step abil-
ity makes it all the easier. For every -1 penalty he takes on his
attack roll, the Gorilla may move 1 extra foot in distance that
turn.
Grizzly Bear (50 Point Baron of the Woods)
Brawn 10d6 Brains 2d6
Flow 3d6 Soul 1d6
Speed 3d6
Armour 0 Awesome 0, Cash 0, Defence 7, Hit Points 220, Move-
ment 30, Speed Dice 4+1 (Chomp)
Skills: Melee: Natural 7d6+2, Notice 2d6+4, Olympics 13d6
Powers and Weaknesses: Chomp 5, Claws 3, Heavy Sleeper
-2, Mook -, No Thumbs -5, Quadruped -3, Scent 5, Slowpoke -3,
Stubborn -4
Attacks: Chomp (7d6+2/Brawn+4/2/None), Claws (7d6+2/
Brawn+2/3/None)
Running around the woods murdering Grizzly Bears in a pen and
paper roleplaying game is all well and good, but remember that
Grizzly Bears are real people, with real lives and real jobs they
have to get to in the morning.
Bear Battle: When on all fours, a grizzly bear will prioritize
his Chomp as his primary attack and make a Claw attack as a
Secondary. When standing, Claws come to the fore and Chomp
becomes the back-up. Either way, don’t forget he can increase Horses are your friends. They are also the best of all the ani-
his attacks per turn by reducing his Handling. mals.
Whichever attack you nominate as the primary, roll 4 Speed Mook: As a Mook, this enemy cannot Stunt. If multiple actions
Dice for it and a 5th for the secondary. If these different attacks come up on one turn, the extra actions are lost!
fall on the same turn, the bear gets to bite and attack with its
claws at the same time! Quadruped: As a four-legged animal, horses are fast as heck!
Between that and their natural swiftness, Horses have a Move-
Excellent Sense Of Smell: Bears can use their noses to make ment of 44.
a Notice check. A difficulty 5 Nose-tice check allows them to
sniff out hidden danger.
Hideous Space Mutant (250 Point Boss Fight)
Mook: As a Mook, this enemy cannot Stunt. If multiple actions
come up on one turn, the extra actions are lost! Brawn 14d6 Brains 1d6
Flow 4d6 Soul 3d6
Quadruped: As a four-legged animal, the Grizzly Bear enjoys
increased Movement. After adjusting for their Slowpoke Weak- Speed 3d6
ness, they have a Movement of 30.
Armour 25, Awesome 6/12, Cash 0, Defence 9, Hit Points 820,
Horse (30 Point Cowboy Taxi) Movement 72, Speed Dice 4+1 (Chomp) +1 (Tail)
Brawn 4d6 Brains 1d6 Skills:, Dodge 4d6*, Melee: Natural 10d6+10, Notice 2d6,
Olympics 16d6*, Pose 16d6
Flow 2d6 Soul 1d6
Powers and Weaknesses: Armoured 2 (50), Chomp 5, Claws
Speed 3d6 3, Extra Tough 20, Giant 40, No Thumbs -5, Scent 5, Tail 4, Tem-
pest: Decay 8
Armour 0, Awesome 0, Cash 0, Defence 6, Hit Points 100, Move-
ment 44, Speed Dice 4+1 Attacks: Chomp (10d6+10/Brawn+5/-/None), Claws
(Brawn+2/0/Unlimited), Tail (Brawn/-/None)
Skills: Dodge 5d6, Notice 1d6+2, Olympics 6d6, Toughness
5d6 Boss Quincy Kitar had this bad boy put together by Professor
Radcliffe to advance The Not’s evil agenda, but these things
Powers and Weaknesses: Quadruped 3, Runner 5 have a habit of getting out of hand... As it is now, one broken
shipping container away from being your party’s next boss fight.
Attacks: Horse Attack (2d6/Brawn/4/None)

121
 Alternatively, this disgusting monster is worshipped by a primi-
tive society who sacrifices virgins to it. He’s flexible.
Chitin Plating: The Hideous Space Mutant has 25 points of
Armour, reducing damage from all incoming attacks by this
amount. Any attacks that roll 25 or more above the difficulty to
hit him ignore this and deal full damage!
Giant: As a Giant, the Hideous Space Mutant enjoys a few
bonuses, the first of which is cheaper Brawn and more expen-
sive Flow. His Hit Points and Movement are also increased, but
he suffers a -6 when making ranged attacks against humans
and a -15 to Sneak checks. Humans making ranged attacks
against him receive a +6 to hit!
Hard To Kill: The Hideous Space Mutant has 20 levels of Extra
Tough, increasing its Hit Points to 820.
Mutant Hunger: Few things enjoy food as much as Hideous
Space Mutants! To this end, they can use their noses to make
Notice checks. A difficulty 5 Nose-tice check allows them to
sniff out a hidden human within 20 feet that they wouldn’t have
snacked on otherwise.
Space Attack: The Hideous Space Mutant’s primary weapon
is Claw strikes. They deal damage equal to its not-inconsider-
able Brawn+2. In addition, it rolls an extra two Speed Dice every
round, one for its Chomp attack and one for its Tail! This low-
ers the Handling of all other attacks by 2. This guy has a lot of
Brawn so you want to remember to add all Brawn dice together
when dealing damage!
Space Bite: The Hideous Space Mutant can also make a ter-
rible Chomp attack! If this attack falls on the same turn as a
regular action, he gets to bite and attack with his claws at the
same time! If the Bite falls on the same turn as a Stunt, you can
either get a regular Bite and a regular Claws attack, or just the
Stunted Claws attack. Decisions, decisions!
Space Tail: The Hideous Space Mutant also has a Tail attack! If
this attack falls on the same turn as a regular action, he gets to
tail-whip and attack with his claws at the same time! If the Tail
falls on the same turn as a Stunt, you can either get a regular
tail whip and a regular Claws attack, or just the Stunted Claws
attack. Decisions, decisions!
Tempest: A Tempest is a character with power over the ele-
ments! They can make Tempest Attacks by spending 2 Awe-
some Points. This increases their current Stunt Level by one and
adds their Soul to their damage roll. In addition, they can buy
Tempest Powers to further customize their abilities.

Lizardman (100 Point Lethal Lacertilia)

Brawn 5d6+1 Brains 1d6
Flow 3d6 Soul 2d6
Speed 4d6

Armour 10, Awesome 5/10, Cash 0, Defence 8, Hit Points 130,

Movement 15, Speed Dice 5
Skills: Academia: Architecture 2d6, Dodge 4d6*, Melee: Axe,
Natural 7d6+4*
Powers and Weaknesses: Addiction: Delicious Flesh -2, Angry
-4, Armoured 1 (20), Extra Tough 2, Finesse 1 (15), Giant Hands
-1, Heavy Sleeper -2, OCD -1, Overconfident -5, Selfish -2, Stub-
born -4, Slowpoke -4, Ugly -2
Attacks: Axe, Huge (7d6+4/Brawn+18/2/Double)
The Lizardman has battled using his trusty axe in the gladiator
arena for over 12 years. He has defeated all who would chal-
lenge him. He is the ultimate warrior.

122
Hard To Kill: The Lizardman has 2 levels of Extra Tough, Break Their Line!: Using a Lance increases the Stunt Level of
increasing his Hit Points to 130. the attack by one when making a charge. Only the first Lance
attack of a combat may be Stunted on in this manner.
Honed To Perfection: The Lizardman has trained well with his
axe, raising his Handling score by one. Cockpit: This Robot can be piloted. This Robot’s cockpit comes
with six hours of oxygen supply and a few snacks. The Robot’s
Sluggish: War injuries over his career have left the Lizardman a Sensors Package is located here, giving the pilot a flat 8 on
little slow on his feet. This reduces his Movement to 15. Notice at all times.
Super Thick Skin: The Lizardman has 10 points of Armour, Piloted Robot: Whenever the Robot makes a skill roll, you may
reducing damage from all incoming attacks by this amount. Any roll the Pilot’s Piloting skill and increase the Robot’s dice pool.
attacks that roll 10 or more above the difficulty to hit him ignore
this and deal full damage!
Piloting Roll Bonus Dice for Robot’s
action
Mecha Pilot (100 Point Freelancer) 10 2d6
Brawn 1d6 Brains 2d6 20 3d6
Flow 3d6 Soul 3d6 30 4d6
40 5d6
Speed 3d6
+10… +1d6…
Armour 0, Awesome 6/12, Cash 90, Defence 8, Hit Points 40,
Movement 15, Speed Dice 4 During combat, you roll separate Speed Dice for both charac-
ters, with the Pilot only able to enhance the Robot’s actions on
Skills: Dodge 4d6*, Piloting: Mecha 9d6+6*, Melee: Unarmed turns where they act simultaneously. As the Piloted Robot does
3d6*, Notice 3d6, Psychology 3d6 not have AP, the Pilot may spend Awesome Points to Hero Up its
checks, dodge or sundry other uses for AP.
Powers and Weaknesses: Damsel in Distress -5, Heavy Sleeper
-2, Hot 4, Mecha Pilot 15, Props 32, Selfish -2, Sexpot -5, Short Rhino Armour: The Robot has 42 points of Armour from its
-4, Slowpoke -3, Stubborn -4 Rhino Armour, reducing damage from all incoming attacks by
this amount. Any attacks that roll 42 or more above the difficulty
Attacks: Phantasm (3d6/14/3/Triple) to hit it ignore this and deal full damage!
The Mecha Pilot is the arrogant flyboy we’ve all come to know The Robot is also equipped with a shield to increase its defence
and love, good enough at what he does to be shamelessly self- with.
absorbed.
Robot: As a Robot, this vehicle gets +2 to its Handling, while
More Valuable Alive: Good Mecha Pilots are hard to come by its maximum Stunt Level in combat is reduced to Double. Of
and many badguys are willing to put in the extra effort for a kid- course, spending AP to crank up your Stunt Level still works just
napping. fine. Being a Robot is also the source of its Rhino Armour and
various other Upgrades.
Robots Are Expensive: The Mecha Pilot has invested 32
points into Props. This pays for his Robot in its entirety. The Rockets: The Robot can fly under its own power. It rolls 4d6 for
amount of money he’d have to raise to buy the Character Points Flying checks to perform cool tricks with, as well as substitute
back is $800,000. Better get cracking! for Dodge rolls where necessary. Skilled Flight allows it to fly at
6 times its normal Movement, with take-off requiring 1 turn. The
Robot can make one 90 degree turn every combat Turn. The
Mecha Pilot’s Lancer (100 Point Robot) Robot is also equipped with Thrusters, which double its Move-
Brawn 10d6 Brains - ment speed again, for a total of 34 Movement in feet a turn on
the ground and 204 Movement in feet a turn while flying.
Flow 3d6 Soul -
Speed 2d6 Military Sergeant (100 Point Hero)

Armour 42, Awesome -, Cash 0, Defence 10, Hit Points 220, Brawn 3d6 Brains 2d6
Movement 34 (204 Flying), Speed Dice 3 Flow 5d6 Soul 2d6
Skills: Dodge 3d6+4*, Melee 3d6+10, Notice 8, Olympics Speed 4d6
9d6+4, Quickdraw 2d6+2
Powers and Weaknesses: Robot 15, Slowpoke -3 Armour 15, Awesome 5/10, Cash $4,220, Defence 8, Hit Points
120, Movement 19, Speed Dice 5
Upgrades: Armour, Rhino ($50,000), Controller: Cockpit
($5,000), Life Support System, Simple ($1,000), Rockets Skills: Dodge* 5d6, Firearms: Rifles* 8d6+3, Guts 4d6, Lead-
($40,000), Sensors Package ($3,000), Thrusters ($10,000) ership 5d6, Melee: Knife 6d6, Notice 3d6, Olympics 5d6, Tough-
ness* 5d6, Throwing 6d6
Attacks: Lance (3d6+10/Brawn+4/0/None)
Powers and Weaknesses: Addiction: Self-Rolled Cigarettes
Armour: Rhino (42), Shield, Small -2, Code of Honour: Compete With Other Soldiers For Most
Noble Self Sacrifice -3, Extra Tough 8, Overconfident -5, Props 1,
A close-combat operations suit of powered armour, the Lancer’s Stressed -3, Stubborn -4, Submission Blow 2, Trooper 2
exceptional speed allows it to make any combat up-close and
personal, while making a serious point of its pilot’s safety at all Attacks: AK-47 with 100 rounds (8d6+3/25/2/Single) Fists
times. (6d6/Brawn/4/Double)
Armour: Flak Jacket (15), Helmet, Metal (15)

123
The Military Sergeant wants to see your war face.
Comfortably Well-Off: The Military Sergeant has invested 1
points into Props. This allows him to start with a Flak Jacket and
an AK-47, with plenty of money left over.
Flak Jacket: The Military Sergeant has 15 points of Armour
from his Flak Jacket, reducing damage from all incoming attacks
by this amount. Any attacks that roll 15 or more above the dif-
ficulty to hit him ignore this and deal full damage!
Hard To Kill: The Military Sergeant has 8 levels of Extra Tough,
increasing his Hit Points to 120.
High Strung: Sarge deals with stress poorly and will faint dur-
ing combat if he runs out of Awesome Points. This will persist
until the end of the combat.
Submission Blow: The Sergeant can make any melee attack
non-lethal by taking a -2 on his to hit roll.
Trooper: The Military Sergeant can pull rank in his military orga-
nization. This usually equates to him having responsibility for
about 10 Privates.
Ninja Master (200 Point Super Shinobi)
Brawn 3d6 Brains 4d6
Flow 6d6 Soul 5d6
Speed 6d6
Armour 0, Awesome 8/16, Cash All sorts of awesome ninja gear
and enemy plans, Defence 10, Hit Points 80, Movement 21,
Speed Dice 7
Skills: Disguise 6d6*, Dodge 11d6*, Melee: Fists 14d6+2*,
Movie Magic: Kung Fu 11d6*, Pose 6d6, Throwing 10d6*
Powers and Weaknesses: Code of Honour: Ninja -4, Duty:
Serve The Daimyo -5, Hot 4, Leap 15, Movie Magic: Kung Fu 10,
Stubborn -4
Movie Magic Powers: Bullet Time, Death Grip
Attacks: Fists (14d6+2/Brawn/4/Unlimited), Katara
(Brawn+1/4/Quadruple)
The Ninja Master is as beautiful as she is deadly. That means
she is extremely beautiful, on account of how many people she
has killed. She is extremely loyal to her Clan and her Daimyo,
even though he’s probably about 1% as smart as her.
Bullet Time: The Ninja Master freezes time and makes a Movie
Magic roll. Upon beating a difficulty of 40, she gets a new com-
bat round to herself with a new set of Speed Dice, and can even
gain some bonus dice based on the table below.
Rating Bonus Speed Dice
40 0
45 1 Armour 0, Awesome 0, Cash 0, Defence 6, Hit Points 100,
50 2 Movement 24, Speed Dice 5+1
55 3 Skills: Dodge 5d6, Melee: Natural 7d6+1, Notice 1d6+3, Pose
60 4 5d6
+5... +1...
During this Bullet Time round, she sticks to using her fists as
regular weapons have trouble with time manipulation magic. If
she misses even a single attack, time returns to normal.
Death Grip: The Ninja Master makes a Movie Magic roll in
place of an attack, with a -30 penalty. Success renders the tar-
get unconscious unless they spend an Awesome Point.
124
Movie Magic: A Movie Magician is a character who can bend
reality to their whim, all in the name of cliche. For the Ninja Mas-
ter, this means she can slow down time and kill people with her
patented death grip.
Super Jump: The Ninja Master can jump 30 feet in distance
every time she has an action, in addition to her usual Movement
of 21 feet.
Police Detective (100 Point Gumshoe)
Brawn 3d6 Brains 5d6
Flow 3d6 Soul 4d6
Speed 3d6
Armour 15, Awesome 7/14, Cash $580, Defence 7, Hit Points
80, Movement 18, Speed Dice 4
Skills Academia: Law 4d6+2, Computers 4d6+1*, Dodge
3d6*, Drive 4d6*, Firearms: Pistols 8d6+2*, First Aid 4d6+1*,
Guts 4d6, Melee: Fists 6d6+2*
Powers and Weaknesses: Addiction: Cigarettes -1, Code of
Honour: Good Cop -4, Duty: Police Work -2, Props 1, Trooper:
Sergeant 2
Attacks: Fists (6d6+2/Brawn/4/Double), Magnum with 100
rounds (8d6+2/24/3/Triple)
Armour: Flak Jacket (15)
Equipment: Economy Car
This upstanding Gumshoe works hard to keep his beat secured
and he certainly isn’t the type to have the book thrown at him...
He’s more the type who’s world is turned upside when he’s
exposed to a sly new partner who gets his man no matter the
cost.
Flak Jacket: The Military Sergeant has 15 points of Armour
from his Flak Jacket, reducing damage from all incoming attacks
by this amount. Any attacks that roll 15 or more above the dif-
ficulty to hit him ignore this and deal full damage!
Mediocre Car: The Police Detective has invested 1 points into
Props. This allows him to start with an Economy Car and a few
other knick-knacks.
Trooper: The Police Detective can pull rank in his District. This
usually equates to him having responsibility for about 10 regular
cops.
Raptor (50 Point Terror of All That Breathes)
Brawn 4d6 Brains 1d6
Flow 2d6 Soul 2d6
Speed 3d6
Powers and Weaknesses: Addiction: The Never-Ending Blood
Hunt -2, Chomp 5, Leap 15, Mook -, Runner 5, Scent 5
Attacks: Chomp (7d6+1/Brawn+5/2/None)
Dino Might: Raptors use their hungry maws for their default
attack. This attack deals Brawn+5 damage.
Mook: As a Mook, this enemy cannot Stunt. If multiple actions
come up on one turn, the extra actions are lost!
Raptor Pounce: The Raptor can jump 30 feet in distance every
time it has an action, in addition to its usual Movement of 24
feet.
You Can’t Outrun A Raptor: The Raptor has 5 levels of Run-
ner, increasing its Movement to 24.
Shark (50 Point Wretched Overseer
of Deep Sea Nightmare Realm)
Brawn 7d6 Brains 1d6
Flow 3d6 Soul 1d6
Speed 3d6
Armour 0, Awesome 0, Cash $0, Defence 7, Hit Points 160,
Movement 18, Speed Dice 4
Skills: Guts 4d6, Melee: Natural 6d6, Olympics 9d6, Track 3d6
Powers and Weaknesses: Ambush 10, Addiction: Mentally
Scarring Others -3, Angry -4, Chomp 5, Mook -, No Thumbs -5,
Scent 5
Attacks: Chomp (6d6/Brawn+5/2/None)
Throughout history, Sharks have attacked and butchered
humans in the ocean. They have attacked and eviscerated
humans in lava. Some sharks have dragged people into the
pools of pure acid from which they were born and have always
lived in. Other sharks have shrunk themselves very small and
entered into the human body through our drinking water to bite
into our very souls.
This sheer dedication to physically, mentally and emotionally
scarring mankind can no longer go unacknowledged. Sharks,
we salute you.
Ambush: Sharks are quick on the draw. At the start of any com-
bat, they may choose one action to move up to turn 6.
Blood Scent: Few things enjoy food as much as Sharks! To this
end, they can use their noses to make Notice checks. Blood
in the water allows them to make a difficulty 5 Notice check
to follow it to the source and find humans they wouldn’t have
snacked on otherwise.
Mook: As a Mook, this enemy cannot Stunt. If multiple actions
come up on one turn, the extra actions are lost!
Sharkpunch Studios Presents: Sharks use their hungry
maws for their default attack. This attack deals Brawn+5 dam-
age.
Special Forces (100 Point Hero)
Brawn 5d6 Brains 1d6
Flow 5d6 Soul 2d6
Speed 5d6
Armour 15, Awesome 5/10, Cash 4,430, Defence 9, Hit Points
120/120, Movement 20, Speed Dice 6+1 (roundhouse kick) Stunt Scale 2 (80), Ugly -3
Skills: Dodge 5d6+1*, Firearms 5d6+1, Leadership 2d6,
Melee: Unarmed 15d6*, Notice 2d6
Powers and Weaknesses: Angry -4,
Code of Honour: Justice, Discipline, Commitment -2, Heavy
Sleeper -2, Hot 4, Overconfident -5, Props 1, Roundhouse Kick
4, Stressed -3, Stubborn -2, Stunt Step 5 damage equal to his not-inconsiderable Brawn. In addition, he
Attacks: AK-47 with 100 rounds (5d6+1/25/2/Single) Fists
(15d6/Brawn/4/Double)
Armour: Flak Jacket (15), Helmet, Metal (15)
The Special Forces thug is as violent and manic as they get. The
kind of guy who can wrap up an entire government conspiracy
and stop the terrorists in just 24 hours. Just stay out of his way.
Blast ‘Em!: The Special Forces wields an automatic-rifle and
has a few options available to him in combat. He can choose to
fire a single shot, a burst shot or auto-fire. Burst fire uses three
bullets and grants him an extra 2d6 on his Firearms roll, while
Auto fire uses half the full clip size and grants him an extra 4d6
on his Firearms roll. The damn thing has a Stunt Level of None
when using burst or auto-fire, but if you really need to waste
someone, just drop 2 AP to make any attack a Stunt, even a
full-auto blast!
Flak Jacket: The Military Sergeant has 15 points of Armour
from his Flak Jacket, reducing damage from all incoming attacks
by this amount. Any attacks that roll 15 or more above the dif-
ficulty to hit him ignore this and deal full damage!
Government Allowance: The Special Forces has invested 1
points into Props. This allows him to start with a Flak Jacket and
an AK-47, with plenty of money left over.
Roundhouse Kick: The Special Forces also has a devastating
Roundhouse Kick attack. If this attack falls on the same turn as
a regular action, he gets to kick and punch at the same time!
If the Kick falls on the same turn as a Stunt, you can either get
a regular kick and a regular punch, or just the Stunted Fists
attack. Decisions, decisions!
Spin Attack: During any attack, but usually a melee Stunt, the
Special Forces can elect to do a Spin Attack. He can add up all
the to hit values of a bunch of different enemies to hit all of
them at once, reducing his bonus damage on his attack as nec-
essary. A successful hit deals full damage to all targets.
Stunt Step: With the kind of attack rolls the Special Forces
gets, he’s going to want to be making lots of Spin Attacks and
his Stunt Step ability makes it all the easier. For every -1 penalty
he takes on his attack roll, the Gorilla may move 1 extra foot in
distance that turn.
Vampire (500 Point Bloodsucker)
Brawn 8d6 Brains 4d6
Flow 8d6 Soul 12d6
Speed 5d6
Armour 0, Awesome 8/16, Cash Depends on the vam-
pire, but these guys are usually loaded Defence 12, Hit Points
360, Movement 27 (162 Flying), Speed Dice 13+1 (Chomp)
Skills: Dodge 14d6+9*, Firearms: Varies 14d6*, Melee: Natu-
ral 16d6+2*, Notice 4d6+8*, Olympics 16d6*,
Powers and Weaknesses: Addiction: Human Flesh -7, Chomp
5, Counter Attack 9, Evil Construct 15, Flight 2 (20), Scent 5,
Attacks: Unarmed (16d6+2/Brawn/3/Unlimited)
A fiendish villain of the night! This vampire is more of a crazed
maniac that tears people apart than anything else, a real Nos-
feratu. He’s also seriously bad news and can’t be tackled lightly,
even by a seasoned gang of Player Characters.
Bleurgh!: The Vampire’s primary weapon is punches. He deals
rolls an extra Speed Dice every round for his Chomp attack, a
specialty of vampires! This lowers the Handling of all other
125
attacks by 1. This guy has a lot of Brawn so you want to remem-
ber to add all Brawn dice together when dealing damage! Henchman (60 Point Mook)

Bleurgh Bite: The Vampire can also make a terrible Chomp Brawn 3d6 Brains 3d6
attack! If this attack falls on the same turn as a regular action, Flow 3d6 Soul 3d6
he gets to bite and attack with his fists at the same time! If
the Bite falls on the same turn as a Stunt, you can either get a Speed 3d6
regular Bite and a regular Fists attack, or just the Stunted Fists
attack. Decisions, decisions! Armour 0, Awesome 0, Cash 2d6*10, Defence 7, Hit
Blood Scent: Vampires may use their noses to sniff out the Points 80, Movement 18, Speed Dice 4
blood of the living. A difficulty 5 Notice check allows them to Skills: Dodge 6d6, Drive 6d6, Firearms: Varies 6d6, Guts 6d6,
sniff out a hidden human within 20 feet that they wouldn’t have Leadership 6d6, Melee: Varies 6d6, Notice 6d6, Olympics 6d6,
snacked on otherwise. Sneak 6d6, Streetwise 6d6, Toughness 6d6
Counter Attack: Whenever this combatant successfully dodg- Powers and Weaknesses: Mook –
es an enemy’s attack, they may spend a remaining action or
Awesome Point to immediately Counter Attack. The amount they Attacks: Varies
beat their dodge difficulty by is added a bonus to this attack.
Mook: As a Mook, this enemy cannot Stunt. If multiple actions
Flying: The Vampire can fly under his own power. He rolls 8d6 come up on one turn, the extra actions are lost!
for Flying checks to perform cool tricks with, as well as substi-
tute for Dodge rolls where necessary. Skilled Flight allows him
to fly at 6 times his normal Movement, with take-off requiring 1 Badass (90 Point Mook)
turn. He can make one 90 degree turn every combat Turn.
Brawn 4d6 Brains 4d6
Poor Eating Habits: Vampires must consume human blood Flow 4d6 Soul 4d6
equivalent to 1 point of Brawn per day. Going without this intake
will drive the vampire mad with an all-consuming need to feed. Speed 4d6
If they drink a large quantity of blood all in one go, they can go
as many days without needing to feed as points of Brawn con- Armour 0, Awesome 0, Cash 3d6*10, Defence 8, Hit Points
sumed that day. 100, Movement 19, Speed Dice 5
Stunt Scale: When rolling his Speed Dice for combat, the Skills: Dodge 8d6, Drive 8d6, Firearms: Varies 8d6, Guts 8d6,
Vampire has an opportunity to have his dice explode! As he Leadership 8d6, Melee: Varies 8d6, Notice 8d6, Olympics 8d6,
has two levels of Stunt Scale, his Speed Dice may only explode Sneak 8d6, Streetwise 8d6, Toughness 8d6
twice. This expands his combat round from 6 through to 1 to
18 through to 1, meaning he can potentially take many actions Powers and Weaknesses: Hot 2, Mook -
before other people’s rounds even begin.
Attacks: Varies
Undead: Vampires have twice as many Hit Points as normal, to
simulate the difficulty associated with bringing them down. They Mook: As a Mook, this enemy cannot Stunt. If multiple actions
do have a weak spot, however, and attacks made from tradi- come up on one turn, the extra actions are lost!
tional vampire weaknesses, such as crosses, stakes and whips,
deal double damage.
Due to being Undead, vampires must drink the blood of the liv-
ing, or recently not-living, to regain Hit Points. This begins by
landing a successful Chomp attack on a victim who has been
weakened too far to resist or recently killed. They can drain
as much blood from their victim as they want, restoring 10 Hit
Points to themselves for every level of Brawn equivalent in blood
they drink. Humans reduced to 0 Brawn in this manner die. Oth-
ers who get away will find recovering the levels of Brawn is easy,
with one day of bed rest necessary per point lost.

Thug (30 Point Mook)

Brawn 2d6 Brains 2d6
Flow 2d6 Soul 2d6
Speed 2d6

Armour 0, Awesome 0, Cash 1d6*10, Defence 6, Hit Points 60,

Movement 17, Speed Dice 3
Skills: Dodge 4d6, Drive 4d6, Firearms: Varies 4d6, Guts 4d6,
Melee: Varies 4d6, Notice 4d6, Olympics 4d6, Sneak 4d6
Powers and Weaknesses: Mook -, Ugly -2
Attacks: Varies
Mook: As a Mook, this enemy cannot Stunt. If multiple actions
come up on one turn, the extra actions are lost!

126
127
WARNING: This book is full of...

S H ARK S!

The Awesome System is a role

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