KRIK OR TREAT
Star Frontiers Alternity Solo Game
By Daron Patton
(aprivateer@netscape.net)

Hello All,

Below is the STAR FRONTIERS ALTERNITY SOLO GAME I've been talking about.

I have blatantly plagiarized Stephen Kenson's solo Alternity adventure The Voice from Dragon 265 (Nov 99) in order to demonstrate how Alternity and Star Frontiers can mesh together using the mechanics of one and the setting and characters of the other.

Special thanks to all the list members for their various contributions. From converting a Yazirian to Alternity stats to krik hide holsters, it wouldn't have been possible without you guys and gals.

I've played this thing a half dozen times or so without running into any cul-de-sacs. Still, just like my old BASIC programs, I may have missed something that stops the action cold. Your patience is much appreciated. Happy hunting!

Regards,

Dan

Fighting the Bots

Combat and Damage

Secondary Damage: For every 2 points of mortal damage Gath causes, he also inflicts 1 point of wound damage and 1 point of stun damage. For every 2 points of wound damage, he also causes 1 point of stun damage. Results of Damage: For each point of damage inflicted, mark off one point of durability from a character (stun, wound, or mortal, depending on the type of damage). If all of a character's mortal points are marked off, the character dies.

Recovery: Stun damage is temporary and any stun damage a character has disappears at the end of a scene. In this solo adventure, each numbered section is considered a scene. Wound damage remains until healed by rest and medical attention. Mortal damage requires the use of Medical Science -surgery and medical attention to recover. Armor: Characters wearing armor have to roll after a successful attack has been made on them to see how effective their armor has been at protecting them. For example, Gath's albedosuit offers d4-2 points of protection against energy (EN) weapons like blasters and laser pistols. Any result of 0 or less means no protection. Positive results are subtracted from the amount of damage inflicted.

Gathrek Attacks: Gath's Modern Ranged Weapon-pistol score is 12. To reflect the close range combat (and relative ease of aim) that will take place in this adventure, every time you roll a d20 for an attack, roll a d4 and subtract that number from the larger die's roll.

On Gath's hero sheet, notice that the damage his blaster does is divided into three categories, representing the effects of an Ordinary, Good, and Amazing attack. If you roll higher than the attack score (12), the attack misses.

Roll an attack. If successful, roll damage against the 'bot. Thus, if Gath rolls a Good attack, roll d4+2 to determine the damage the guardbot takes. All 'bots in this adventure have 8 stuns, 8 wounds, and 4 mortals. This is the amount of damage a 'bot can take before deactivating or being destroyed.

Use these boxes over and over for any guard bots Gath encounters.

Stun: __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
Wound: __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
Mortal: __ __ __ __

Bot Attacks:

If the bot is still active, he can make an attack against Gath. The bot has a skill score of 11 and rolls a d20 and "d0" because of Gath's resistance modifier for DEX. If any bot hits Gath, the Yazirian's armor offers some protection (See Armor above). The bots are armed with lasers that do damage identical to Gath's blaster. Bots are not considered to have armor in this adventure.

Character Sheet

Name: Gathrek
Race: Yazirian Gender: Male
Profession: Free Agent
Career: PanGal Operative

Ability Score Untrained Resistance Modifier
Strength 9 4 0
Dexterity 11 9 +1 step
Constitution 9 4 0
Intelligence 12 6 +1 step
Will 10 4 +1 step
Personality 9 5 0

Actions per Round: 2

Action Check Score
Marginal: 14+ Ordinary: 13 Good: 6 Amazing: 3

Durability
Stun _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wound _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Mortal _ _ _ _ _

Skills Rank Score (Ord/Good/Amazing)

STR________________________________________________________
Unarmed Attack 9/4/2

DEX________________________________________________________
Modern Ranged Weapons 11/5/2
Pistol 1 12/6/3
Stealth 11/5/2
Shadow 1 12/6/3

CON________________________________________________________
Stamina 9/4/2

INT________________________________________________________
Knowledge 12/6/3
Computer Operation 1 13/6/3
Deduce 1 13/6/3
Law 12/6/3
Law Enforcement 1 13/6/3

WIL________________________________________________________
Awareness 10/5/2
Intuition 1 11/5/2
Investigate 11/5/2
Search 1 11/5/2

PER________________________________________________________
Interaction 9/4/2

Weapon Dmg Type
Laser Pistol d4+1w/d4+2w/d4m Energy (EN)
Armor Dmg Negation
Albedosuit (civilian) d6-3 (low impact(LI)), d6-2 (high impact(HI)), d4-2 (energy (EN))
Equipment: chronocom, mini-toolkit, flashlight, ID card
Racial Ability: Gliding, Night Vision, Battle Rage* (see adventure for more details)

Krik or Treat
A Star Frontiers/Alternity Solo Adventure

What do you need to play? A pencil, Gathrek's character sheet, D&D dice (d20, d12, d8, etc.) and the Fighting the Bots SideBar.

Game Mechanics: Alternity rules use d20 as a "control die". Depending on conditions modifying an action (a character taking cover behind a pile of sandbags for instance) other dice may be rolled in addition to the control and added (penalty) or subtracted (bonus) from the result.

When rolling dice, roll a number equal to or less than a target score to succeed at an action. Target scores include ability scores, skill scores and action check scores. The lower the roll, the better the success your hero has.

Scores are divided into three categories by slashes for the three possible successful results: Ordinary/Good/Amazing. Any roll higher than an Ordinary success is considered failure or, in the case of Action Checks, a Marginal success.

Example: Gathrek has an action check score of 13. Rolling a 14 or higher is a Marginal. From 7 to 13 is Ordinary. From 4 to 6 is Good with 3 and below constituting Amazing success.

Another Fine Mess

"This is your last chance, Gathrek. Don't screw it up!" Your boss' words echo through your mind as you find yourself in the Space Club on Clarion Station.

Following your instructions, two days ago you hopped a freighter (liners are too obvious for PGC grunts) to the White Light System where you were supposed to get further instructions. As per PGC operating instructions, your informant is late so you decide to order an ale and wonder if this will be the end of your employment with PanGal.

The bar is pretty much empty except for you, a 'bot bartender and a Dralasite who has apparently been toasting the fact that its Monday. The portly blob waddles toward you, a bar napkin in its pod and you just know this is going to suck. You bare your teeth as id plops ids greasy hulk of a bottom into the booth across from you, bellowing a loud greeting in PanGal.

"Ya gotta credit or two you can spare me, Buddy?" Alcohol and cheap perfume waft your way, nearly choking you with the stench. In no mood to move or to argue, you fish inside one of your pockets and pull out a two-credit chit. Placing the marker on the tabletop you flick it across the smooth plastic surface. "Get lost," you growl.

"Oh, thank you, Sir," id moans. "You don't know how long it's been since somebody was this nice to me." Pulling a pen from a pouch on ids ponderous side, the Dral starts scribbling on the napkin. Id stands up and slides the napkin toward you.

"That's my IOU, Buddy. Don't you worry about me paying you back, 'cause Paadz is an honest plasm, if ever there was one. Ain't that right Bartender?" The 'bot makes no reply as it continues to shine the counter.

Relieved at the sight of the inebriated Dral ambling back toward the bar (and away from you) you notice that the writing on the napkin is incredibly legible for a drunk's scrawl. Downing the last of your ale, you slide your leather spacer's jacket on and head for the lift.

An attractive female Yazirian wearing the inverted golden chevrons of a Royal Marine sergeant nods greeting to you as you exit the bar. The two Vrusk privates in tow behind her tip you off to the fact that she's on duty: shore patrol. She flashes you a 'maybe later' grin as you climb inside an empty elevator.

"PanGal cloak and dagger crap," you mutter under your breath in frustration as the doors close. Time to go to work. Using an authorization code from the napkin, you punch in the level for an "off-limits" cargo storage area. Sneaking a peak at the energy gauge on your blaster, you confirm that it's fully charged. Good. You might just need it.

Stepping out of the lift on the cargo level, you notice that the lighting here seems to be out of operation. Flipping your polarized goggles to clear, you survey your surroundings using your superior Yazirian night vision.

There on the nestled in a corner of the deck and barely visible even to your keen night sight is a button. The Dral's napkin notes told you that this device, which looks like a regular suit closure, will jam com signals within a 20 meter radius. That could come in handy in preventing guards from calling for backup.

You pocket the device and take note that the access hatch to the space you're supposed to check out is clear across the storage bay. Doubtless, there will be some sort of security down here so you'd better be on your toes.

Make a Skill Check: To approach the access hatch, make a Stealth skill check. It is dark and Gathrek is in dark clothing. We'll roll a d20 and subtract d4 from the roll to account for these bonuses. Compare your adjusted roll to Gath's Stealth skill (11). If you succeed, go to 1, otherwise go to 2.

1. You quietly make your way across the bay to the access hatch. So far so good. The access hatch has a keypad lock that you'll have to get through before you can get inside. Why didn't the Dral give you a combination to this, too?! Oh well, time to earn those credits.

Make a Complex Skill Check: Gathrek will use his Knowledge-computer operations skill to access this keypad lock. Roll against his skill score of 13 using a d20. Since this is a complex skill check, Gath must make multiple success rolls in order to defeat the lock. Each dice roll simulates one minute of work on the lock.

Gath has to have 4 successes (before rolling 2 failures) to break in here. Ordinary results count as 1 success; Good equals 2 successes and Amazing results count as three successes. If Gath rolls 2 failure results before making the 4 successes, go to 8. If he succeeds in gaining access, go to 12.

2. As you sneak silently around the boxes and crates that line this space, you suddenly spot a security 'bot armed with a laser pistol. The 'bot notices you at the same time and starts raising its built-in blaster as it orders you to halt.

PanGal takes a dim view of employees who get caught in illegal activities (even when that's what they pay you for). The Royal Marines likewise don't appreciate unauthorized tours of controlled space station areas. You're gonna have to go for it!

Make an Action Check: Action rounds are broken into 4 phases. Each is about 3 seconds long, enough time for a character to do a single action. The phases are Amazing, Good, Ordinary and Marginal just like other skill and action checks. Characters can act in as many phases as they have actions per round, depending on the result of their action checks.

Gath has two actions per round and an action check score of 13. Rolling a 13 or higher means that Gath can only act once, in the Marginal phase of that round. If you achieve Ordinary or better success, Gath can act in two phases, starting with the phase that matches the degree of success (e.g. Amazing success on your action check means that you could have Gath act in the Amazing phase and one other phase of your choice).

The 'bot acts in the Ordinary phase of each round and can only perform one action per round. Use a d20 to make Gath's action check.

• If you get a Good or better result, go to 3.
• If you get an Ordinary success, go to 4.
• If you achieve Marginal success, go to 5.

3. You manage to the get the drop on the 'bot! You whip out your blaster and take aim. Gath can fire twice before the 'bot pulls its head out of its metal butt.

Make a skill check: Gath acts fast, before the 'bot can react. Read the Sidebar: Gath Attacks! If the 'bot survives the first two attacks, then see the 'Bot Attacks Sidebar and continue with the following rounds until the 'bot is defeated (go to 6) or Gath is taken out (go to 7).

4. You and the 'bot level weapons simultaneously. You suddenly wish you'd gone into botany instead of economic espionage. Hopefully, Clarion Station uses droids from Oni-Senada, half-rate equipment suppliers to the stars.

Make a Skill Check: Gath acts in the same phase as the 'bot, the Ordinary phase. See Gath Attacks and the "Bot Attacks Sidebars, then apply damage simultaneously. Continue until either the 'bot is defeated (go to 6) or Gath goes down (go to 7).

5. The 'bot catches you with your blaster on safe. As you thumb the weapon to fire, the 'bot has already entered its three hundredth check of its firing solution. This could be very bad.

Make a Skill Check: The 'bot acts before Gath in the Ordinary phase. If Gath survives, he acts in the following Marginal phase of the round. Since Gath only gets to act in the last phase (Marginal) of the round, he gets only one action this time, rather than his normal two.

First see the "Bot Attacks Sidebar and make the necessary rolls there. Next, see Gath Attacks Sidebar to resolve his actions. Continue with the following rounds until either the 'bot is defeated (go to 6) or Gath goes down (go to 7).

6. Your blaster bolt hits the 'bot dead center of the processor panel. A wash of blue sparks plays across the droid's metal skin as it crashes to the deck with a thud. Holstering your laser, you head for the access hatch.

• Go to 1

7. A verdant lance of laser light strikes your chest and you stumble to your knees. Your blaster falls to the floor with a clatter and you hear the whir of the security 'bot's servomech legs as it clomps toward you.

The pumping of your heart and the ubiquitous background thrum of the space station's many systems reverberate through your being.

Through pain-dimmed eyes, you see the WarTech trademark blazoned on the droid's chest. At least it was a quality tin can that took you down. Chuckling, you cough as warm liquid gurgles in your throat. Darkness and silence envelope you as the pain slowly subsides. The End

8. No standardization anywhere! Damn if only the Frontier could get on one sheet of music for any kind of equipment. This particular keypad seems to be a human designed device, in itself a pain in the butt. At least Vrusk and Dral designed locks respond to your touch.

You hold your breath as you twist together the pair of wires you believe will override the system. A flashing red light rewards your efforts and you turn to see a security 'bot rushing at you.

Make an Action Check: The 'bot acts in the Ordinary phase and has one action per round. Roll a d20 for Gath's action check.

• If you achieve Good or better, go to 9.
• If you achieve Ordinary success, go to 10, otherwise go to 11.

Make a Skill Check: See "Fighting the 'Bots" sidebar to resolve combat. Gath acts twice before the 'bot. The 'bot acts only once, in the Ordinary phase, assuming he is still intact. Continue combat until the 'bot is fried (got to 12) or Gath is defeated (go to 7).

10. Both you and the 'bot level weapons simultaneously. A Volturnian stand-off!

Make a Skill Check: See "Fighting the 'Bots" sidebar to resolve combat. Both Gath and the 'bot act in the Ordinary phase. Then, Gath gets another action in the remaining Marginal phase of the round (if he's still around, that is). Continue combat until the 'bot bites it (go to 12) or Gath buys the farm (go to 7).

11. You pull your blaster in time to see the brilliant green flare of laser fire from the 'bot's weapon.

Make a Skill Check: See "Fighting the 'Bots" sidebar to resolve combat. The 'bot acts first in the Ordinary phase, then Gath goes in the Marginal phase. Gath only gets one of his two usual actions this round due to his Marginal action check success. Continue combat until the guard is defeated (go to 12) or Gath takes a dirt nap (go to 7).

12. You figure out how to override the complock on the access hatch and the iris-like door slides open with a quiet hiss. You cautiously step through and the hatch closes behind you with a sibilating swish of air.

Lighting here is better, good enough for a human to see so you darken your shades a bit. As in the other chamber, crates and other containers line the deckplates, creating paths through the large compartment.

You watch as a security bot plods away from you, its footsteps echoing in the silence of the bay. Apparently, the droid didn't hear your entrance. Not that that bothers you in the least. Might as well get the jump on him.

Pulling your blaster, you dash up the passage the 'bot is patrolling.

Make a Surprise Check: When it's possible for one side to get the drop on the other, a surprise check is often needed. Make an Awareness-intuition check for the 'bot. Its target score is 8.

• If the 'bot fails the check, go to 13; otherwise, go to 14.

If an opponent fails a surprise check, a special surprise phase is added to the beginning of a combat round. The party making the surprise attack/action gets to take one action in this phase, then the normal round begins. See "Fighting the 'Bots" Sidebar, then go to 14.

14. Make an Action Check: The 'bot acts in the Ordinary phase and has only one action. Make Gath's action check using a d20.

• If you achieve Good or better, go to 15.
• If you achieve Ordinary success, go to 16; otherwise, go to 17.

15. The 'bot is in some sort of processing loop. Better make the best of it! You blast away twice before his harddrives stop whirring.

Make a Skill Check: See "Fighting the 'Bots" sidebar to resolve combat. Gath acts in the Amazing and Good or Good and Ordinary Phases while the 'bot can only return fire in the Ordinary phase (assuming it's still in one piece). Continue combat until the 'bot goes down (go to 18) or Gath buys the farm (go to 7).

16. The 'bot fires as you do.

Make a Skill Check: See "Fighting the 'Bots" sidebar to resolve combat. Both Gath and the 'bot act in the Ordinary phase. Then, Gath gets another action in the remaining Marginal phase of the round (if he's still around, that is). Continue combat until the 'bot gets a laser lobotomy (go to 18) or Gath topples (go to 7).

17. The 'bot has some kind of wicked co-processor onboard. Probably knew you were there all along, but just wanted to draw you into range. You brace yourself for the worst.

Make a Skill Check: See "Fighting the 'Bots" sidebar to resolve combat. The 'bot acts in the Ordinary phase. Then, Gath gets to act in the remaining Marginal phase of the round (if he's still around, that is). Continue combat until the 'bot goes bye-bye (go to 18) or Gath gets a burial in space (go to 7).

18. The 'bot smashes to the deck in a pile of sparking wires and fused metal. This seems to be the area that the Dral indicated on the napkin, but you don't see anything unusual here. Being the sophisticated free agent that you are, you realize that clues aren't always as plain as the muzzle on your face.

Make a Complex Skill Check: Gathrek will use his Investigate-search skill to check the area. He is very familiar with space stations and the note mentions something about Streel being involved in whatever is going on. We'll say that those factors give him a -d4 bonus to succeed.

Roll against his skill score of 11 using a d20. Roll d4 and subtract that from the skill check to reflect the factors working in Gath's favor. Since this is a complex skill check, Gath must make multiple success rolls in order to find clues. Each dice roll simulates two minutes of search time. Remember to subtract d4 from each of those rolls to account for favorable conditions.

Gath has to have 5 successes (before rolling 3 failures) to find anything of value to his investigation. Ordinary results count as 1 success; Good equals 2 successes and Amazing results count as 3 successes. If Gath rolls 3 failure results before making the 4 successes, go to 19. If he succeeds in his search, go to 20.

19. Nearly half an hour of fruitless searching has you stumped. You've looked at the downed 'bot. Nothing. You've looked through crate after crate. Still nothing. You even accessed a computer terminal filled with shipping files.

Nothing seems to indicate Streel ever even comes through Clarion, much less that they're up to something. Checking your chrono, you realize that you've overstayed your welcome and decide it's time to get out of here.

Climbing aboard the elevator, you head back to the Entertainment level. As you saunter out of the lift, the message center looms off to the left. You decide it's probably not worth reporting back to PanGal. On the bright side, maybe that cute sergeant is off duty. The End

20. Jackpot! Years of looking at stuff you weren't supposed to be looking at have finally paid off. Checking a row of three, double- stacked crates in the far corner of the bay turned up an interesting discrepancy.

Marked 'auto-docs', these crates actually contain krik tusks. Tusks from kriks poached on a hunting trip, headed "Priority Shipment" to the private residence of Streel's senior vice president in charge of operations. Even StarLaw will want a piece of this guy when the bill gets settled.

Now, all you have to do is tip off the Royal Marines (after letting PanGal know, of course) and you're home free. Of course, there's a little bit of walking through the Valley of the Shadow to be done before you get back to the Entertainment level. And to make matters worse, your blaster is drained.

Make a Skill Check: To sneak back to the lift undetected, make a Stealth skill check. This time we'll roll only a d20 (ignoring Gath's bonuses due to the better lighting here) . Compare your adjusted roll to Gath's Stealth skill (11). If you succeed, go to 25, otherwise go to 21.

21. Another freakin' robot and this one's right on top of you! Fortunately, he's experiencing some sort of difficulty. Due to the 'bot's temporary technical flaw, you've got automatic surprise.

You'll have to use Gath's Unarmed attack skill (9) to work this out. Besides, you might just go into Battle Rage as ticked as you are right now! Using his fists, feet and any other parts of his body, Gath inflicts the following damage when he connects: d4s/d4+1s/d4+2s.

Yazirian Battle Rage is determined by rolling an appropriate Melee Weapon or Unarmed Attack skill at the onset of melee fighting; if the result is Amazing, the Yazirian receives -3 bonus to all melee and unarmed attacks for the remainder of that Combat Scene. Battle Rage check is made only once (at the onset) per Combat scene.

Go ahead a roll for Battle Rage as a separate check now as described above. If Gathrek enters Battle Rage, remember to apply the -3 bonus to all melee and unarmed attacks he makes for this Combat scene. Otherwise, continue combat as normal.

Gath has surprise so he gets two attacks this round. Go ahead and resolve his two unarmed attacks on the 'bot. If these attacks put the 'bot out of commission go to 25, otherwise go ahead and make the Action Check for the next round.

Make an Action Check: The 'bot acts in the Ordinary phase and has only one action. Make Gath's action check using a d20.

• If you achieve Good or better, go to 22.
• If you achieve Ordinary success, go to 23, else go to 24.

22. Gath screams and leaps, launching two preemptive attacks on the droid.

Make a Skill Check: See "Fighting the 'Bots" sidebar to resolve combat. Gath gets two actions before the 'bot can even unfreeze from its loop. If the 'bot is still functional after these attacks, it will continue to act only once in the Ordinary phase. Continue combat until the 'bot gets taken out (go to 25) or Gath topples (go to 7).

23. Slam-alama-ding-dong! You and the droid duke it out.

Make a Skill Check: See "Fighting the 'Bots" sidebar to resolve combat. Gath and the 'bot act simultaneously in the Ordinary round and if Gath survives he can act again in the Marginal segment. If the 'bot is still functional after these attacks, it will continue to act only once in the Ordinary phase. Continue combat until the 'bot gets taken out (go to 25) or Gath topples (go to 7).

24. The 'bot is out of the processing quirk that held its attention and has managed to get the drop on you this time. You brace yourself for the worst.

Make a Skill Check: See "Fighting the 'Bots" sidebar to resolve combat. The 'bot gets to go first in the Ordinary phase and Gath (assuming he survives this attack) will get to go in the Marginal phase. Continue combat until the 'bot gets taken out (go to 25) or Gath topples (go to 7).

25. You make it to the lift and hurriedly punch in the access code. The car arrives and you waste no time in making your way back to the Entertainment Level.

Later in the bar, the sergeant smiles as you pass on what you have learned (of course, you called PanGal first and transmitted your report). She promises to meet you later for drinks after she and her squad pay a little call on Streel's HQ here on the station. Not bad for a day's work!