KLOANE WAR KNIGHTS - C.2 P.1

CHAPTER 2: EQUIPMENT

As stated in Chapter 1, the KWN setting uses an abstract system for the purchase of goods, rather than track the actual accumulation and expenditure of credits. Characters begin the game with the equipment noted in the previous chapter; when a PC wishes to acquire another piece of equipment, they must make a credit check: roll 2D6 and modify the result by the character’s PRE adjustment.

RESULT	AVAILABLE CREDIT
2 to 5	Cannot afford item
6 to 8	Cheap (A) items only
9 to 11	Moderately priced (B) items
12 to 13	Fairly expensive (C) items
14 to 15	Very costly (D) items
16 to 17	Exorbitant and excessive (E) items
18+	Ridiculously expensive (F) items

High-Born characters add their bonus to credit checks as described in the previous chapter.

The equipment listed below converts the credit cost of the X-Plorers rulebook into the credit check codes (A-F) listed above. The code associated with an item is not simply an issue of price; it also accounts for availability and possibly legality and can be adjusted by the Referee depending on the circumstances. For example: on a planet with strict laws prohibiting personal ownership of weapons, all such items might be shifted one or two codes more expensive. On a desert planet, a waterworld kit might be shifted to a D class, while on a watery planet it may be only a B or even A (cheap) code!

No character can purchase more than one item of C code or greater per game session, and Referees may even want to limit lesser purchases by reducing the character’s buying power (usually a cumulative penalty of -2 to the credit check with each successive purchase). PCs who have come into a great deal of money through a reward or lucrative mission might be given a one-time bonus to their credit check of from +1 to +4 but only if the purchase is attempted in the game session (otherwise, PCs are assumed to have spent the bulk of the reward money between sessions).

It should be understood that a failed credit check doesn’t necessarily mean a character is broke, but that funds are unavailable (earmarked for other expenses), or that the seller backs out of the deal for some reason (the item is promised to another or broken or otherwise unusable), or perhaps that the character has the wrong currency for a transaction in this particular locale.

Why doesn’t my character ever get rich? As in real life, not all people are created equally when it comes to gaining and maintaining wealth. The character’s PRE adjustment (if any) accounts for a character’s ability to haggle and negotiate, as well as her willpower when it comes to saving and not wasting her money on frivolities. Characters with a low PRE score are more likely to blow through their resources, while characters of high PRE can get by on moderate means until their character really needs to buy something…in addition to having better contacts for procuring “deals” on high-priced and hard-to-get items.

In the end, KWN is not a game about banking credits. If the system doesn’t suit your purpose, you can continue to use the original rule system (High-Born character’s should receive a 15% discount to costs for every +1 bonus to credit checks they would receive to account for their wealth).

ADVENTURE GEAR

Survival Pack (A), Mechanics Kit (B), Medical Kit (B), Scientific Kit (B), Base Camp Kit (C), Sensor/Survey Kit (C), Waterworld Kit (C), Environmental Suit (B)…space travel is fairly ubiquitous in the KWN setting and E-suits priced accordingly.

DEFENSES

Mesh Suit (A), Reflec Armor (B), Combat Armor (C). NOTE: There are no personal “force screens” in the KWN setting.

VEHICLES

Ground Car (B), Skimmer Car (C), Ground Cycle (B), Skimmer Cycle (C), Explorer (D), Air-Car Skimmer (D). NOTE: As stated earlier, costs should be adjusted relative to their availability on a particular planet. Prices can be adjusted downwards to represent a vehicle of poor or used quality, though subject to breakdown if pushed being casual performance. Likewise, in some locales vehicle “rental” may be available for lesser costs (price would be per session in this case). While the codes listed may appear cheaper than those costs in the original rules, keep in mind that “large ticket items” are usually purchased with a gradual payment plan rather than the entire purchase being made out-of-pocket at the point of sale; in this case, the credit code can be viewed as meeting the initial “down payment.”

ROBOTS (“BORGS”)

Standard AI Robot (C), Good AI Robot (D), Advanced AI Robot (E), New Program (C), Upgrade (C). NOTE: The information under VEHICLES also applies; costs are considered for a sophisticated planet where robots are fairly common. Purchasing robots without the standard, factory-installed programs should be good for a downgrade in cost, as is purchasing robots in used or poor condition. Likewise, “high end” robots already outfitted with upgrades or additional programming may warrant an uptick in cost (though the PCs won’t need to install the modifications themselves).

In the KWN setting, robots are usually referred to as mechanicals or cybernetic organisms…“cyborgs” or just “borgs” for short. Relationship to and tolerance of borgs varies from planet to planet and from culture to culture. It is considered the height of bad taste (or a deliberate insult) to refer to an organic sentient as a cyborg or borg, even one with substantial cybernetic reconstruction (see Chapter 3).

In KWN, most borgs encountered share the First Directive discussed in X-Plorers; however, the Directive applies to ALL sentient beings (including Kloanes!), not just humans.

[to be continued]

[Kloane War Knights is copyright 2013 by Jonathan Becker and Running Beagle Games. The X-Plorers rpg is copyright 2009, Dave Bezio & Grey Area Games. The X-Plorers trademark is used under the X-Plorers Trademark License]