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Stay Frosty

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Jones Smith (Order #15956351)

Stay Frosty
Words and “Art” by
Casey Garske

Edited by Matthew Nelson

Thanks to my gaming crew who helped playtest:


Matt Nelson, Keith Hoovestol, Mike McCarthy,
Andy Garske, Jim LaManna, and Barry Lovseth.
Thanks to my players at Con of the North 2017.
And thanks to enthusiastic plussers of my posts
on G+, especially Stephen Holowczyk.

Copyright © 2017 Casey Garske

Jones Smith (Order #15956351)


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Jones Smith (Order #15956351)


GAME OVER, MAN
The bugs are through the perimeter, the gates of
hell have opened, the mothership is landing, and
the Captain's brain got sucked out...there's
only one thing you can do, Marine...Stay Frosty.

LISTEN UP
You know how to play this game. You've played a
hundred like it before. I'm not explaining what
a d8 or a Hit Point is. 1d20 equal to or above a
PC's Attribute score is a success. If you have
advantage, roll twice and take better result. If
you have disadvantage, roll twice and take the
worse result. Disadvantage and advantage on the
same roll cancel each other out.

A Close Encounter

Jones Smith (Order #15956351)


ABSOLUTE BADASSES
Roll 3d6 four times in order for Attributes:
Brains, Brawn, Dexterity, Willpower
Lower is better. Re-roll one of your choice, but
keep the new roll.
Now put a “+” sign after the scores so they read
like “Brains 13+.” Because a roll of 13 or
higher is a success, get it? When the GM says,
“What's your Brains?” you say, “13 plus,” etc.
Choose an MOS (required Attribute score or lower in parentheses)
Armor: advantage to operate or repair an armored
vehicle; issued a light tank or APC and a
toolkit.
Cyber (Brains 11): advantage to hack comput-
ers/electronics; issued a wrist-comp.
Engineer (Brains 11): advantage on damage rolls
for explosives; issued a satchel charge and a
toolkit.
Infantry: re-roll 1's on damage rolls for per-
sonal weapons; issued (roll 1d6) 1-2 grenades, 3
SAW, 4 sniper rifle, 5 LAW, 6 flamer.
Intelligence (Brains 10): advantage when gath-
ering information, advantage on Initiative rolls
for planned attacks; issued a wrist-comp.
Medical (Brains 9): advantage on healing rolls;
issued a medpack.
Psi Ops (Will 8): can use Psi-powers; not issued
a helmet. Automatically a lieutenant, but not in
chain of command. Start with three powers.
Spec. Ops (all Attributes 10): advantage on a
damage roll once per fight, ignore one Tension
Explodes result per day; issued (roll 1d6) 1-2
SAW, 3-4 grenades, 5 LAW, 6 sniper rifle. Issued
a badass beret, not a helmet.
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Jones Smith (Order #15956351)


Rank (1d6)
1-3 Private: +1 HP per level, issued combat
knife.
4-5 Sergeant: advantage on Battles of Will,
issued swagger stick.
6 Lieutenant: give advantage to a Private or
Sergeant once per encounter, issued auto pistol.
Hit Points
Roll 1d6+4. Sorry, no max HP 1st level.
Standard Equipment (unless noted elsewhere)
Back-and-Breast armor, helmet, infantry rifle, 1
Ammo Die per weapon, and 1 ration unless other-
wise noted. Roll twice on Misc. Equipment table.
Armor
Back-and-Breast armor: 1 point
Helmet: 1 point
Weapon Type Damage Range Ammo Die Special
Auto Pistol 1d10 Short d8 agile
Combat Knife 1d8 HtH - -
Fist 1d4 HtH - stun
blast,
Flamer 2d6 Close d6
terror
Grenade 3d6 Close d4 AP1, blast
Infantry Rifle 2d6 Medium d8 -
LAW 5d6 Long single use AP4, HW
AP5,
Satchel Charge† 5d6 - single use
blast, HW
SAW* 2d8 Medium d8 suppress
Shotgun 3d6 Medium d8 spread
Sniper Rifle* 2d10 Long d8 AP2, large
Swagger Stick 1d8 HtH - stun
*If issued one of these weapons, it replaces the infantry rifle
†Has a timer that can be set to explode in up to 10 rounds.
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Jones Smith (Order #15956351)


Range
Hand-to-Hand → Close → Short → Medium → Long → Extreme
Weapons can fire out to their listed Range
without penalty. They can fire one Range beyond
that listed with disadvantage. Firearms used at
Hand-to-Hand Range also have disadvantage.
Ammo Die
After a fight, roll the Ammo Die of any weapon
used. If the result is a 1 or 2, reduce the Ammo
Die by one die type (so a d8 becomes a d6, etc.)
When the Ammo Die is a d4 and a 1 or 2 is
rolled, that unit of ammunition is expended.
Special
Agile: can be used in Hand-to-Hand combat
without disadvantage.
AP#: Armor Piercing. Negates the listed # of
Armor Points from the target.
Blast: if used against a human sized target, on
a successful attack, this weapon also hits 1d3
others Close to the target.
HW: Heavy Weapon. Able to damage vehicles and
other heavily armored targets. Can only be fired
once per round.
Large: disadvantage at Close range.
Spread: 3d6 damage at Close range, 2d6 at Short,
and 1d6 at Medium. Cannot shoot farther.
Stun: may choose to attack with disadvantage, if
successful, target loses its next turn.
Suppress: instead of attacking, force the target
and other Close opponents make Morale rolls or
spend their next turn seeking cover. Any target
rolling a 1 or 2 is hit and takes damage. After
combat, roll the Ammo Die with disadvantage.
Terror: a target hit by this weapon makes an
immediate Morale roll.
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Jones Smith (Order #15956351)


Misc. Equipment Table
1d20 Item Supply Die
1-3 Ammo as weapon
4 Combat Drugs d6
5 Grenade Launcher -
6-8 Medpack d8
9-10 Motion Tracker -
11-13 Rations d6
14 Satchel Charge single use
15 Scope -
16 Shotgun as weapon
17 Targeting Reticule -
18-19 Toolkit d8
20 Wrist-comp -
Ammo: an extra unit of ammo for one weapon.
Combat Drugs: advantage to Attack rolls.
Temporary duration. Afterward, disadvantage on
all rolls until after 8 hrs rest.
Grenade Launcher: extends range of grenades to
Long. Comes with d4 Ammo Die of grenades.
Medpack: heals 1d10 HP or 1 Attribute point per
use. Roll the Supply Die after every use.
Motion Tracker: advantage on Surprise rolls.
Rations: Reduces Tension by 2. (see pg. 21)
Satchel Charge: see weapons list.
Scope: increases range of a rifle 1 increment.
Shotgun: see weapons list.
Targeting Reticule: +1 to all ranged attacks.
Toolkit: includes a wide variety of tools
including a welding torch that does 1d8 damage.
Wrist-comp: capable of hacking, accessing infor-
mation, and many other uses.

Jones Smith (Order #15956351)


Supply Die
After an item of equipment has been used, roll
the Supply Die. If the result is a 1 or 2,
reduce the Supply Die by one die type (so a d8
becomes a d6, etc.) When the Supply Die is a d4
and a 1 or 2 is rolled, that item is expended.

THE THINGS THEY CARRIED


A PC can carry items equal to 21 minus their
Brawn. Carrying more means disadvantage on Brawn
and Dexterity Attribute rolls. So if Pvt. Ortiz
has a Brawn of 9+, she can carry 12 items
comfortably. That includes armor, helmet, ammo,
weapons, everything.

VEHICLES
Type HP Armor Speed Weapons Special
HMG or
APC 40 4 Average HA, Pass8
Flamer
Jeep 20 3 Fast HMG ATV, Pass3
L.Cannon
Light Tank 50 6 Average HA
& HMG
H.Cannon Anti-P,
Heavy Tank 75 10 Slow
& HMG ATV, HA
Special
Anti-P: Anti-Personnel. Any human-sized opponent
coming within Close range takes 2d10 damage.
Supply Die d6, roll after every use.
ATV: All-Terrain Vehicle. Speed is not slowed by
broken or difficult terrain.
HA: Heavy Armor. Only damaged by Heavy Weapons.
Pass#: can carry passengers equal to listed #.
Fuel
Vehicles have a Fuel Die of d8. A result of “5”
on the Danger Die (see pg. 20) triggers a roll.
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Jones Smith (Order #15956351)


Speed
In a chase, the faster vehicle has advantage on
rolls to escape or give chase. Difficult terrain
lowers Speed by one category. Humans on foot are
Slow with disadvantage.
Repairing Vehicles
After a vehicle has been damaged, a successful
Brains skill roll (toolkit required or roll with
disadvantage) will repair 1d10 Hit Points. If
the vehicle is damaged again while still in the
field, it cannot be repaired beyond the total it
had after its last repair. Complete repair has
to happen in a garage with full access to
replacement parts and tools. Under those
circumstances a vehicle can be repaired 1d10 Hit
Points per day.
Vehicle Weapons
Type Damage Range Ammo Die Special
Flamer 2d8 Close d10 blast, terror
HMG 3d6 Long d12 AP2, suppress
Light Cannon 4d6 Long d12 AP4, blast, HW
Heavy Cannon 6d6 Long d12 AP6, blast, HW

Six-wheeled APC
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COMBAT & CLUSTER-FUCKS
Initiative
Roll Dexterity. PC's who succeed go before their
opponents, all who fail go after. After everyone
has acted, roll Initiative & a new round starts.
PC's Turn
A PC may move someplace Close and take one of
the actions below, or forgo an action and move
somewhere a Short distance away.
• Attack: declare a target and roll Dexterity
for a ranged attack, or Brawn for a hand-
to-hand attack. If successful, roll damage.
• Battle of Wills: declare a target and roll
Willpower. If successful, the target has
disadvantage on their next Attack.
• Focus: roll Brains. If successful, gain
advantage on your next Attack.
• Psi-Power: use a Psi-Power (see pg. 14).
• Skill Roll: use a skill that can be
completed in a few seconds (see pg. 12).
• Use Equipment: use a piece of equipment.
GM's Turn
Hostiles' Attacks: declare a PC to target and
roll 1d20. Rolling under the PC's Dexterity is a
success for a ranged attack, or Brawn for a
hand-to-hand attack. Roll damage if successful.
Powerful Opponents (bolded because it's fucking important!)
The PC's and hostiles subtract 1 from their
attack rolls for every Hit Dice the hostile has
over the PC’s level. Remember low is better for
a hostile. For vehicle combat, use the PC's
level or the vehicle's Hit Dice, whichever is
greater, to determine Powerful Opponents.
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Jones Smith (Order #15956351)


Critical Hits & Misses
On a roll of a “20” or “1,” roll on the
appropriate FUBAR table (pg. 24).
Modifiers to Combat
Target Has... Attacker Has...
Light Cover Disadvantage on damage rolls
Heavy Cover Disadvantage on attack rolls
These effects are cumulative. The GM will rule
on any other situations that grant advantage or
disadvantage.
Armor
Subtract a PC or NPC's Armor from damage done to
them by a successful attack. If the result is 0
or less, no damage is taken.
Damage & Death
When a PC is reduced to 0 Hit Points any “extra”
damage is added to a random Attribute.
1d6 Attribute A PC with 0 Hit Points is out
1 Brains for the duration of the fight
even if they are healed during
2-3 Brawn the combat.
4-5 Dexterity If any Attribute reaches 21, the
6 Willpower PC dies.
Healing & Rest
PC's heal all of their Hit Points after eight
hours of rest. Each damaged Attribute heals 1
point per day of rest. Also, after eight hours
rest, Tension (see pg. 21) resets to zero.

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Skill Rolls & Saves
There are two kinds of rolls to make outside of
combat, although both can be made in combat as
well.
Skill Rolls
Skill Rolls are active. The PC's choose to make
them. The GM declares which Attribute to roll
and if it is difficult (disadvantage) or easy
(advantage). A GM might rule that proper tools
are needed for a particular action. If the PC
doesn't have the tool, they roll with
disadvantage. Most Skill Rolls will take at
least a turn, but some may only take a round.
When a player rolls a “1” when using a skill,
roll on the SNAFU table (pg. 25).
Saves
Saves are rolls to avoid harm or a negative
outcome. The PC's do not choose to make them.
The GM declares which Attribute to roll and if
it is difficult (disadvantage) or easy
(advantage). Success means the harm is
avoided. Failure means they suffer the harm or
negative outcome.
Examples of Saves
• Detecting an ambush: Brains
• Resisting being pushed off a cliff: Brawn
• Dodging an alien's acid spray: Dexterity
• Overcoming mind control: Willpower

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Jones Smith (Order #15956351)


“I don't like this mist. Stay frosty, boys.”

Leveling Up
When a mission has been completed, the squad
levels up.
• Roll 1d10 and add it to the PC's Hit Point
total.
• Roll 1d20 for each Attribute. If the result
is less than the score, subtract one from
that Attribute. Privates can roll twice and
take the better result for either Brawn or
Dexterity. Sergeants can roll twice for
Brawn or Willpower. Officers can roll twice
for Brains or Dexterity. Psi Ops roll twice
for Willpower only.
• At levels 3 and 5 you gain an additional
action per round that can be used for an
attack, battle of wills, or focus.
• Psi Ops learn a new Psi-Power at levels 3
and 5.

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Jones Smith (Order #15956351)


PSI-POWERS
If you think you're psychic...maybe you are.
Using Psi-Powers
To use a Power, make a Willpower roll. Some
powers have the option to take a penalty on the
roll to empower the effect. If the roll
succeeds, the effect happens. If it fails, that
power cannot be used until the PC has had eight
hours of rest.
Brain Bleed
If a PC psychic fails a roll, but really wants
the Power to work, they can take damage equal to
the amount by which the roll failed and have the
Power succeed. The psychic clutches their head
and bleeds from their eyes and nose.

A marine opens her third eye and uses mind stab

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Psi-Power Descriptions

Cloud Mind Dominate Mind Healing


Range: Short Range: Close Range: Touch
Duration: Encounter Duration: Temporary Duration: Instant
The target has dis- Take control of a Heal 1d10+level HP.
advantage to attack or living creature's mind. Psychics cannot heal
detect the psychic. It obeys all commands. themselves.

Empower -2: all Opp- -1 to roll for every


onents in Short range Hit Dice of the crea-
have disadvantage. ture.

Interface Mind Stab Pyrokinesis


Range: Close Range: Short Range: Medium
Duration: Temporary Duration: Instant Duration: Instant
Take control of a An intelligent, living A ball of flame shoots
machine. It obeys com- target the psychic can from the psychic's
mands as best it can. see takes 2d8 mental hands or eyes doing 3d8
damage. Armor has no damage with terror.
Civilian Hardware: -0 effect.
Military Hardware: -2 Empower -2: add blast.
Weapon: -2 Empower -2: 3d8 damage. Empower -2: add heavy
Vehicle: -2 weapon.
Military Vehicle: -4

Remote Viewing Telekinesis Telepathy


Range: varies Range: Short Range: Long
Duration: 1 minute Duration: Instant Duration: Temporary
See a location known to Move an object (up to Communicate mentally
you (personally, on a 50kg) a Short distance. with an intelligent,
map, behind a wall) but Thrown objects do 1d10 living target even if
not within your line of per 50kg. you do not share a
sight. language.
Empower: -1 for every
-1 to roll for every extra 25kg. Empower -4: read the
range category beyond target's thoughts.
Close.

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Jones Smith (Order #15956351)


Other crap every game has
Jesus Christ, I guess we have to spell every-
thing out. We'll see how long I can stand this.
Falls
A minor fall doesn't do damage but the PC must
make a Dexterity save or fall prone.
A fall far enough to worry about does 1d10
damage per character level.
If a PC falls farther they're dead.
Hunger
Going a day without rations forces the PC to
make a Brawn save. Failure means they take 1d4
damage to an Attribute. PC's can't heal until
they eat and drink normally for a day.
Drowning
Good Lord, just have them roll a save or some-
thing. Rulings not rules!
That's it. I can't do this anymore...

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Marines in Hell

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STAY FROSTY
Rank:
Name:
MOS: Level:
ATTRIBUTES
Brains Brawn Dexterity Willpower

Hit
ARMOR Tension/ MOS & Rank Abilities
Points Frostiness
__1 Warm
__2 Cool
__3 Chill
__4 Frosty
__5 Frozen
__6 Ice-Cold

Weapon Damage Range Ammo Special

EQUIPMENT (carry 21-Brawn, more is disadvantage)

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STAY FROSTY
Rank: Private
Name: Ortiz
MOS: Infantry Level: 1
ATTRIBUTES
Brains Brawn Dexterity Willpower

13+ 9+ 6+ 14+
Hit
ARMOR Tension/ MOS & Rank Abilities
Points Frostiness
__1 Warm Infantry: Re-roll 1's on damage dice
__2 Cool

6 2
__3 Chill for personal weapons.
__4 Frosty Private: +1 HP per level.
__5 Frozen
__6 Ice-Cold

Weapon Damage Range Ammo Special


Infantry Rifle 2d6 Medium d8 -
Grenades 3d6 Short d4 AP 1, blast
Combat Knife 1d8 HtH - -

EQUIPMENT (carry 21-Brawn, more is disadvantage)


Helmet Back & Infantry Rifle Ammo Combat Toolkit
Breast Rifle d8 Knife d8
Armor
Grenades Grenades Rations
d4 d4 d6

X X X X X X 19

Jones Smith (Order #15956351)


Stay Frosty Missions
These rules lend themselves best to location-
based missions. The squad arrives at a new
planet with several locations to explore and
NPC's to interact with.
Missions should require travel between different
locations, exploration of those locations,
combat with hostiles, dealing with NPC's, and
problem solving. You can use the generators on
the following pages to help create scenarios.
Point-Crawling
A particularly useful type of location-based
adventure is known as a point-crawl. The basic
form of a point-crawl is similar to a flowchart.
Each node is a location, with the lines between
nodes being possible paths. See the appendix for
point-crawling resources.
The Danger Die
Stay Frosty missions require a mechanism to
ratchet tension and increase risk. The Danger
Die provides that. Roll the Danger Die when the
PC's move between point-crawl nodes, enter
certain areas, or rest in a dangerous place.
1d6 Danger Die Result
1 Encounter – Tension increases by 1
2 Encounter (in dangerous areas) or
Clue/Sign/Environment (other areas)
3 Clue/Sign/Environment
4 Stress – Tension increases by 1
5 Consumables Depleted/Effects End
6 Tension Explodes!
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Danger Die Results
Encounter: Each mission, or even each location,
should have a list of possible encounters with
hostiles or NPC's. Tension also increases by 1.
Clue/Sign/Environmental Encounter: Each location
should have list of sights, sounds, clues, or
challenges. These entries can be used for any-
thing that doesn't result in combat.
Stress: Tension increases by 1.
Consumables Depleted/Effects End: Any consumable
in use must roll its Supply Die, such as a
vehicle's Fuel Die. Any temporary effect, such
as some Psi-Powers or combat drugs, ends.
Tension Explodes!: Built-up tension and stress
is released in a burst of emotion. PC's must
make a Willpower save or take Tension x level in
damage (armor not applicable). If this damage
reduces a PC to 0 HP or lower, the excess is not
applied to an Attribute. Instead the PC gains
back ½ their HP and rolls on the Going Apeshit
table (pg. 26). In any case, Tension drops to 0.
TENSION
Some amount of Tension is necessary to maintain
Frostiness. The more Tension there is, the
Frostier a PC becomes. Benefits are cumulative.
Tension Frostiness Benefit
1 Warm none
2 Cool +1 to Damage rolls
3 Chill Advantage on Saves
4 Frosty Advantage on Initiative
5 Frozen Ranged attacks gain agile
6 Ice-Cold Gain extra action per round

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Random Mission Generator
Roll all the dice

1d6 Mission Type 1d12 NPC's


1 Eliminate 1 Artificial Person
2 Investigate 2 Blue Collar
3 Rescue 3 Corporate Asshole
4 Retrieve 4 Criminal
5 Sabotage 5 Kid
6 Secure 6 Local Military
1d8 Planet/Environment 7 Politician
1 Earth-like 8 Rebel
2 Cold: cold gear takes 9 Scientist
inventory slot 10 Traitor
3 Hot: extra water takes 11 Roll 1d10 twice
an inventory slot 12 Roll 1d10 three times
4 High Grav: ½ inventory 1d20 1d4 Complications
5 Low grav: 1½ inventory 1 Ambush
6 Low atmosphere: Brawn 2 Artifact
save after 1 hour 3 Bomb
exposed. Disadvantage 4 Budget
on Attribute rolls if 5 Covert
failed. 6 Drugs
7 Inhospitable: deadly 7 Experiments
weather/terrain 8 Incomplete orders
8 Spaceship/station 9 Infection
1d10 Antagonists 10 Invasion
1 Aliens 11 Mind Control
2 Bugs 12 Missing NPC-roll another
3 Colonists 13 Misunderstood
4 Cultists 14 Mutiny
5 Demons 15 Quarantine
6 Just tentacles everywhere 16 Religion
7 Mutants 17 Rules of Engagement
8 Robots 18 Stranded
9 Troopers 19 Time Limit
10 Zombies 20 War

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More Random Generators
Roll some more dice

1d4 Settlement Type 1d12 Super Gross


1 Colonists (corporate) 1 Shits itself
2 Corporate 2 Pukes worms
3 Military (corporate) 3 Sprays blood
4 Scientific (corporate) 4 Groin mouth
1d6 Building Type 5 Wears skin of others
1 Habitation 6 Too many joints
2 Industrial 7 Eyes too far apart
3 Laboratory 8 Moist
4 Medical 9 Skin sloughing off
5 Military 10 Crusty
6 Offices 11 Oozes slippery mucus
1d8 How Did It Get In? 12 Baby sounds
1 Crawls in ear 2d20 Names First | Last
2 Up the nose 1 Dewitt | Galven
3 Through the eye 2 Tao | Lee-Du
4 Up the anus 3 Arkek | Stova
5 Injected into blood 4 Tsaka | Mosi
6 Base of the skull 5 Merrill | Foxwell
7 Groin, 'nuff said 6 Abdul | Rosek
8 Down the throat 7 Jamal | Hammacher
1d10 Intelligent Aliens 8 Damien | Wyse
1 Amoeboids 9 Stanton | Bentzen
2 Avians 10 Benedict | Koerner
3 Cat People 11 Cayla | Castiglione
4 Cephalopods 12 Katerine | Wyke
5 Clone Hive Mind 13 Charlena | Rhyne
6 Freaky Psychic Grays 14 Amira | Gammon
7 Honorable Warriors 15 Nizu | Kiyoka
8 Insectoids 16 Bryanna | Forgrave
9 Reptoids 17 Liao | Lu-Wei
10 Sexy Rainbow People 18 Elizabet | Engstrom
19 Heidy | Sarraf
20 Lina | Ginova

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FUBAR TABLES
When a PC rolls a “20” or a “1” on a ranged or
hand-to-hand attack roll, they roll on the
appropriate table to see how FUBAR the hostile
or they are.
1d6 Fuck Yes, Natural 20
1 Get hyped. Next attack has advantage.
2 You want some? Make another attack.
Show me your WARFACE. Hostile must make
3
morale roll.
4 Found a weak spot. Damage x2.
Right in the melon. Hostile is stunned
5
for 1 round.
6 The quarterback is toast. Hostile Dead.

1d6 Oh Fuck, Natural 1


Ranged: Roll Ammo Die with disadvantage
immediately.
1
Hand-to-hand: Dexterity save or weapon
breaks.
2 Tension increases by one. (attacker only)
3 Off-balance: disadvantage on next attack.
Weapon jammed or stuck, use an attack
4 action to clear the jam or free it. If a
ranged weapon, roll the Ammo Die as well.
Tripped. Move action to get up. Hostiles
5 gain advantage on hand-to-hand attacks
against the PC until then.
6 Tension Explodes! (attacker only)

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SNAFU TABLE
When a PC rolls a “1” on a Skill Roll, they must
roll on this table.
1d6 Shit. Fuck. Shit.
Taking too long. GM rolls the Danger Die
1
immediately.
Roll the Supply Die for the item in use
if it has one. If using equipment without
a Supply Die, make a Brains save or it
2
breaks. If you're not using a piece of
equipment, I guess you're pretty lucky
aren't you?
Tension increases by one. (rolling PC
3
only)
4 Tension Explodes! (rolling PC only)
Got the shakes. Try again with
5
disadvantage.
6 Almost got it. Try again with advantage.

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Going Apeshit TABLE
If a PC's Hit Points are reduced to 0 by damage
from Tension they must roll on this table.
1d6 Effect
Overkill: For the remainder of this
combat (or the next if rolled out of
1
combat), Damage rolls have advantage, but
roll the Ammo Die every round.
Fight: +1 to attack rolls until you rest
2
for eight hours.
Flight: You flee on your next turn. Make
3 a Willpower save at the end of each round
or keep running.
Big Mouth: Until the end of the mission,
every time you gain a point of Tension
4 make a Willpower save. If you fail you
say something stupid and Tension
Explodes.
Twitchy: For the rest of this mission,
5 you have disadvantage on any stealth
Skill Rolls, but cannot be surprised.
Last Stand: This is it. You throw away
your guns and armor, and face your
6
enemies as a warrior, with only a hand-
to-hand weapon or your bare hands.

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Hostiles
Stat blocks are presented in this format:
Name: Hit Dice, Armor, Attack/Damage, Morale
Special abilities
Hit Dice: roll this many d10s for Hit Points or
multiply by 5.5 for an average example of the
hostile, or by 7 or more if you're an asshole.
Armor: works just like Armor for PC's. Subtract
this number from damage taken by the hostile.
Attack/Damage: type of attack/dice of damage.
Morale: when half the hostiles of this type in
an encounter have been killed, roll 1d20. If the
result is greater than the hostile's Morale
score, the remainder attempt to retreat.
Special Abilities: anything else the hostile can
do beyond regular boring old attacks. Any save a
special ability causes is subject to the
Powerful Opponents rule.
Known Hostiles
Amoeboid: 2HD, A0, Dissolving Enzymes/1d8, M15
Mitosis: if reduced to 0HP, an amoeboid splits
into 2 individuals with ½ the HD of the
original.
Always growing: Amoeboids of 4, 6, 8, & 10 Hit
Dice exist. They do 1d8 damage per 2HD.
Bugs: See next page.
Cephalopod: 5HD, A1, Tentacle x4/1d8, M12
Grab & Beak: if a target is hit by 2 tentacles
attacks it is pulled into the beak for 2d6 DM.
They must make a Brawn roll to break free.
Float: cephalopods float through unknown means.
Psychic: knows 1d2+1 Psi-Powers. Willpower 6+.

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Bugs
“I admire their purity. Their purity and wicked
sick claws. Both are admirable.” - Dr. Holowczyk
Insectiform life flourishes throughout the
galaxy much the same way humanoid body-plans do,
but on an exponentially larger scale. When a bug
species leaves its planet of origin, the result
is often catastrophic to any environment it
encounters. They are uniformly without con-
science and do not consider the consequences of
their actions outside preservation of their
species.
Swarm: 1-3HD, A0, Stings & bites/1d4, M18
Swarm: take ½ damage from weapons without blast.
At hand-to-hand range, does damage automatically
every round, bypassing any armor.
Wonderful Defense Mechanisms: roll once.
Infection Form: 1HD, A1, Infect/1d3, M20
Infect: on a successful attack, the victim must
make a Brawn save or be infected with bug-spore.
The GM has to decide what form that takes.
Wonderful Defense Mechanisms: roll once.
Warrior: 3-6HD, A1-2, Jaws & claws/1d10, M20
Wicked Sick Attacks: roll once.
Wonderful Defense Mechanisms: roll twice.
Queen: 10HD, A3, Jaws & claws/2d8, M15
Wicked Sick Attacks: roll once.
Wonderful Defense Mechanisms: roll twice.
Brute: 15HD, A3, Stomp/2d12 or Spray/5d6, M15
Huge: Exoskeleton is Heavy Armor, attacks are
Heavy Weapons, crawls at Slow speed.
Spray: a caustic liquid, Short range, blast.
Wonderful Defense Mechanisms: roll once.
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Infection Forms
Wicked Sick Wonderful Defense
1d6 1d6
Attacks Mechanisms
All teeth and claws: Wings: Flies at Fast
1 1
makes 3 attacks. speed.
Spews acid or fire: Thick exoskeleton:
2 range Short, 2d8 DM.
2
+2 Armor.
Web: short range, Caustic blood, anyone
blast, PC's hit must in HtH with the bug
3 make a Brawn roll with 3 when it takes damage
disadvantage to break must make a Dexterity
free. save or take 1d8 DM.
Stealthy: PC's must
Psychic shield: PC's
make a Brains save or
cannot attack the bug
4 until they make a
4 be surprised and unable
to act in the first
Willpower save.
round of combat.
All around badass: 2 Under the damn ground:
5 attacks, increase 5 Burrows through ground
damage by 1 die type. or walls.
Full of babies: 2d6
Fucking scary: Tension
infection forms burst
Explosion when
from the corpse when
6 encountered. Roll 6
it's killed. Roll again
again, ignoring this
for swarms or infection
result.
forms.

29

Jones Smith (Order #15956351)


Demon: 10HD, A3, Flame Sword x2/3d6 or Fire
Blast x2/3d6 (Medium, blast), M17
Demonic Mien: seeing a demon triggers a Tension
Explosion.
Flight: flies at Fast speed.
Humanoids: 1-5HD, A0-2, by weapon, M variable
Humanoids are generally similarly shaped, bi-
pedal, with two arms, and a head with sensory
and feeding organs. But they vary greatly in
size, abilities, and technology. Some possible
special abilities follow.
Amphibious: breathes normally underwater.
Fast: runs at Average speed.
Flight: flies at Fast speed.
Psychic: knows 1d2+1 Psi-Powers. Willpower 6+ or
lower.
Roar: Close range, Willpower save or dis-
advantage on next attack.
Stealthy: PC's must make a Brains save or be
surprised and unable to act in the first round
of combat.
Hunter: 6HD, A2, Spear x2/2d6 or Plasma-
blaster/2d10 (long, AP1), M20
Cloaking Field: the Hunter is undetectable when
still, and PC's must make a hard Brains save or
be surprised and unable to act in the first
round of combat. Attacks against the Hunter have
disadvantage until ½ its HP are gone, at which
time the cloaking field shuts down.
Monofilament Net: ranged attack, if the attack
hits, the target is stuck in the net. They can
make a Brawn roll on their turn to escape, but
doing so causes 1d10 damage whether they succeed
or not.

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Jones Smith (Order #15956351)


Robotic Assassin: 8HD, A3(HA), Fist/1d12 or
Plasma Rifle/2d8 (Long, AP1), M20
Living Tissue Over a Metal Endoskeleton: The
robot is covered in living tissue that make it
indistinguishable from a normal human until it
loses ½ its HP, at which time its true nature
becomes obvious.
Zombie: 1HD, A2, Bite/1d6, M20
Grab: Hand-to-Hand attack, if successful the
zombie automatically bites for 1d6 DM. The
target can make a Brawn check on their turn to
escape (Horde and the Powerful Opponents rule
apply to this roll.)
Horde: Zombies attack as a group, combining
their Hit Dice for their attacks. If four
zombies are attacking a PC, they all attack (but
do not defend) as if they had 4HD.

Hand-to-hand with a Warrior Bug


is a bad idea

31

Jones Smith (Order #15956351)


Appendix: Influences
Games
The Black Hack: Stay Frosty began as hack of the
Black Hack but I ended up rewriting the whole
thing. The concepts are mostly the same. It's a
great base for whatever kind of game you want to
design.
http://www.rpgnow.com/product/178359/The-Black-Hack

Perdition: The Tension/Frostiness mechanic is a


variant of Stress from Perdition, an amazing OSR
game where devils invaded the material plane and
won.
http://www.rpgnow.com/product/188535/Perdition

The Hill Cantons: Chris Kutalik writes about


point-crawls and uses them in his adventures.
Here's a good place to start:
http://hillcantons.blogspot.com/2012/01/crawling-without-hexes-
pointcrawl.html

Movies
These should be pretty obvious.
Aliens: RIP Bill Paxton. Without him would
Aliens have been as popular as it was? I don't
think so.
Starship Troopers: An under-appreciated classic.
Predator: If no one says, “If it bleeds, we can
kill it,” while playing this game, I've failed.
Terminator: The 2029 timeline would make a great
game.
Video Games
Doom: The first shooter I was good at.
Halo: The last shooter I was good at.

32

Jones Smith (Order #15956351)


Jones Smith (Order #15956351)

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