Overview
Starlight uses the Parallax System that balances dynamic skills with intriguing narrative.
When a task needs to be resolved, usually it’s in the form of a check or challenge.
Table of Contents
Checks
Checks can be made for a variety of reasons and are a test of the entity’s general ability in a task.
When given a check, roll a d100 and roll under the associated Attribute.
For example, if a check is needed to climb a wall, you would roll a d100 and roll under the Freelancer’s Strength Attribute.
Modifiers
Modifiers fall into two general categories: personal and external.
Personal modifiers will modify the Attribute during the check. These modifiers come from the Freelancer’s species, features, equipment, and skills.
Increasing the Attribute for the check increases the odds of the check being successful.
For example, if a check is need to climb a wall, the Strength Attribute gains a modifier adding the Freelancer’s climb skill, bonuses for using climbing gear, and any features that makes it easier for you to grip the wall.
All in all, this increases the threshold for success on the check.
External modifiers will modify the roll itself. These modifiers come from the environment, circumstance, and other factors that the Freelancer is generally not in control of.
Increasing the die roll during a check decreases the odds of the check being successful.
For example, if a check is needed to climb a wall, the roll itself gains a modifier adding the slickness of the surface, the low visibility of the weather, and even the stress of having biting insects harass you.
All in all, this decreases the threshold for success on the check.
Critical Hit and Fumble
Critical hits are counted to modify other effects such as damage. For every 5 points the total roll is lower than the Attribute, a critical hit is scored. For every 5 points over the Attribute, a critical fumble is scored.
A natural, unmodified 1, on the die is an overwhelming hit, while a natural 100 on the die is a devastating fumble. Some effects can trigger if either of these are rolled.
Modifiers to Critical
Some effects, commonly attacks, will modify a check’s critical value. This is seen as a positive or negative number, changing the threshold to count critical.
For example, if an effect increases the critical hit range -1, it means the threshold to count critical hits is every 4 instead of five. The reverse is also true with a +1 increasing the threshold to count to 6.
This also applied to critical fumbles.
Challenges
A challenge is a check for all intents and purposes.
A challenger and a defender will both make a check against the appropriate Attribute and then will compare to each other. Whoever rolls lowest wins the challenge, assuming they succeeded in the initial check. If there is a tie, then whomever had the highest personal modifier to the check wins.
For example, if a Freelancer is attempting to sneak by an entity. The Freelancer must roll under their Agility + stealth skill and the entity must roll under their Awareness + perception or investigation skill. If both pass, they comapir their rolls and if the Freelancer rolled under the enity, the Freelancer sneaked by. If only the Freelancer failed, they were unable to sneak, if only the entity failed, they didn’t notice anything, if both fail, then it’s a tie and whoever has the highest Attribute with bonuses wins the challenge.
Passive Challenges
Sometimes an entity makes a challenge against a target that is unaware of the challenge. The challenger makes the check as normal, but now must be under the base Attribute of the defender as though that was their roll.
For example, the same Freelancer is sneaking by an entity that doesn’t know to be on the look out for them. The Freelancer rolls under their Agility + stealth skill and that same roll must be under the entity’s Awareness.
Teamwork
Two or more entities can aid each other in a check within reason. Doing so is a base-action for the assisting entities. This allows the skill bonus of the helpers to be added to the attribute of whoever is performing the check.
Combat as well as Fortitude checks are exempt from this unless another effect states otherwise or the Gamemaster deems it appropriate.
Favorable or Unfavorable Conditions
If a check is favorable, the roll is re-rolled and the higher result is taken. If the check is unfavorable, the roll is re-rolled and the lower result is taken.
Exertion Pool
Most entities gain a pool of extra d10. When an entity exerts themselves, they expend dice from this pool and add it to the appropriate attribute for the check or other effect as noted.
They must decide if they want to expend this dice before rolling the check.
Expenditure
Any action that is taken that expends an exertion dice as part of the action, like to roll a check or challenge, even if that die is not rolled for the effect, the die is rolled for recovery.
Devastating Fumble: You expend an exertion die if a devastating fumble is rolled, even if exertion die wasn’t being used at the time.
Recovery
The dice in this pool recovers in one of three ways. You cannot recover more exertion die than your max.
Natural 10: If a die rolls a natural 10 while exerting, an exertion die is recovered.
Full Rest: All exertion dice are recovered during a full rest.
Quick Rest: You regain one exertion die.
Overwhelming Hit: If an overwhelming critical is rolled, an exertion die is recovered even if die wasn’t being used at the time.
ATTRIBUTES
Attributes are determined by the power level of the gameand can be increased with features or by the Freelancer’s species and is the Freelancer’s innate ability when doing related tasks.
Physical Attributes
Physical Attributes represent the physical body of the entity itself.
Strength: The measurement of how strong the entity is.
Agility: The measurement of how well the entity can control themselves.
Fortitude: The measurement of how tough the entity physically is.
Strength (ST)
Strength, or ST, is the entity’s physical power. This is a measure of how strong they are and how well they can utilize that strength.
Strength Checks
A Strength check is needed whenever physical exertion is needed for a task such as climbing, swimming, or jumping. Checks can also apply to sustained acts of strength such as lifting or holding heavy objects, or for explosive strength such as breaking down a door or breaking chains.
Grappling
When grappling a target, the entities enter into a grapple contest. The attacker rolls a Strength challenge and the defender may roll a competing Strength or Agility check to counter the grapple and grapple the attacker instead.
Shoving
As a base-action the entity can perform a Strength challenge against another target within reach. The defender can contest the check with either a Strength check to resist the shove or an Agility check to evade the shove.
A shoved entity is either knocked prone in that space or is forced back 1.5 meters.
Lift and Carry Capacity
Strength determines how much weight the entity can move.
Carry: An entity can carry their Strength Attribute times a multiplier according to their size in kilograms comfortably without needing to make any checks. After twice this weight, you are encumbered (see page 237).
Push, Drag, or Lift: You can push drag or lift twice your carry. If you are pushing or dragging an object in excess of your carry weight, you reduce your speed by 1.5m.
Agility (AG)
Agility, or AG, is the entity’s physical control. This is how well they can utilize their body and maintain control of it.
Agility checks
An Agility check would be needed when physical dexterity would be required for a task such as tumbling or maintaining balance. Checks can also be used for actions that require high dexterity such as picking locks or picking pockets. Checks are also used
Defense
You add your Agility Attribute to your defense.
Stealth
Stealth checks are used when an entity needs to move quietly or to hide. This is usually a challenge against an appropriate awareness skill.
Fortitude (FT)
Fortitude, or FT, is the entity’s overall health and vitality.
Fortitude checks
Fortitude checks are made when a task requires focused endurance or will be affected by the entity’s overall physical fitness such as to resist poisoning and disease. Checks can also be made to resist physical injury or to endure prolonged activity such as long distance running or holding an entity’s breath.
Hit Die
An entity’s hit die based on their species; however, they gain an additional hit die for every ten points in Fortitude.
Mental Attributes
Mental Attributes represent the entity’s mind.
Knowledge: The measurement of how well the entity can retain and apply information.
Cleverness: The measurement of how well the entity can make connections on the fly.
Awareness: The measurement of how well the entity notices details about their environment.
Knowledge (KN)
Knowledge, or KN, is the entity’s ability to retain and accurately access knowledge.
Knowledge checks
Knowledge checks are used in times where logic and reasoning is needed, as well as memory.
Knowledge skills give details on a topic depending on the degree of success of the check itself. The greater success, the more information they have.
Cleverness (CL)
Cleverness, or CL, is the entity’s ability to interpret and apply information they have and adapt to changing conditions.
Cleverness checks
Cleverness checks are needed when a entity needs to quickly apply their knowledge or understand something that may be outside their initial understanding. Checks include performing medical or first-aid, survival needs such as finding food, water or shelter. Checks can also be used for computer usage, mechanical repair or creation.
Awareness (AW)
Awareness, or AW, is the entity’s understanding of the world around and their ability to gain information and understanding.
Awareness checks
Awareness checks are needed when the entity needs to comprehend something from their environment, such as if someone is lying or if a rock is supposed to be there or not.
Will Attributes
Will Attributes represent aspects of an entity that are difficult to define.
Intuition: The measurement of how accurate the entity is when understanding other entities.
Sanity: The measurement of how well the entity can maintain their mind during stressful situations.
Ego: The measurement of how well the entity can impose their will upon the environment around them.
Intuition (IN)
Intuition, or IN, is the entity’s gut feeling about a situation or even other people around them.
Intuition checks
Intuition checks are needed when attempting to feel out a problem or to determine if something just doesn’t seem right. Checks can be made to notice if something is not what it’s supposed to be, or to understand what another entity is feeling.
Sanity (SN)
Sanity, or SN, is the overall durability of the entity’s mind.
Sanity checks
Sanity checks are made when a entity is presented with extreme psychological strain such as being afraid or encountering a powerful ontometric effect.
Concentration
Some abilities and effects require the entity to focus on it to maintain it. Normally, concentration on an effect is easy to maintain as long as the entity isn’t being distracted.
Depending on the severity of the distraction, such as being attacked or taking damage, they must succeed a composure check to maintain the effect.
Ego (EG)
Ego, or EG, is the entity’s force of personality and their ability to influence others around them.
Ego checks
Ego checks are normally challenges between two or more entities when one of them attempts to force or otherwise coerce others to act. Checks can also be made when attempting to deceive or otherwise lie to another entity.
This check would be against the affected entity’s Sanity or Ego.
Ontometric Abilities
Many ontometric abilities uses an entity’s force of personality to power their effects.
Size
Entities take up different amounts of space on the battlefield.
The space an entity takes up is the space it physically can control; not necessarily the space it physically occupies; however, they do gain a modifier to the number of die they roll for defense. Their defense cannot go below 1.
Range Envelope
Weapons, sensors, and communications and most everything else use the same range system of close, medium, long, far, and extreme. In general, this is the same number of hexes regardless of the scale between Freelancer, vehicle and spacecraft scales.
Wideband Communication
Wideband communication uses the normal range scale, however, the nominal range allows for the creation of network-links while the maximum range allows general high fidelity communication.
Narrowband Communication
Faster than light communication and sensing does not happen in real-space. When in real-space, if at the range of one-half light second has a sensor lag of one second. Below is a table of range in light seconds and the number of rounds it will take for a sensor system to detect objects.
This lag also determines any passive information that sensors gain from the universe around it at the maximum range of detection and how old the information is.
Counters and Tokens
Counters are non-tangible markers that are used by specific effects. When an entity or object gains a counter, during upkeep, they remove one of each counter type unless the effect that created the counter says otherwise
Counter versus Token
Some effects will generate a token. Tokens are markers used to hold a space on the battlefield that may not have a miniature and are temporary enough to not need something more substantial.
The source of the token will explain the function of the token.
Stacking
Counters of the same type stack and add together even if they are from different sources, but the target is affected by specific sources as long as they contributed at least one counter.
Damage
If it is a damaging counter, they take the higher damage; for example, if a target gains three burn counters from two sources. If one source deals 1d6 damage [fire] when the counter is removed, but another deals 1d8 fire, the target takes only 1d8.
Conditions and Flags
Conditions and flags are markers or tags that an entity can acquire that affect how they function in a given situation.
Condition
Conditions are acquired and have direct effect on how the entity or object functions.
Blinded/Deafened
A blinded or deafened entity cannot see and automatically fails any check that requires vision.
A blinded entity has unfavorable conditions for combat skills and defense.
Disrupted
Only non-living technological objects or entities can be disrupted by gaining disruption counters.
If the target gains a number of disruption counters equal to or greater than its disrupt value, it becomes disrupted.
During upkeep, a disruption counter is removed.
While disrupted; any active or special abilities no longer function but the item is otherwise undamaged.
Dominated
A dominated entity cannot take actions unless directed by the source of the domination.
If commanded to commit an action that is against their nature or will cause harm to themselves, they may make a Sanity challenge against the source (it is usually against the source’s Ego), if successful, they will not commit the action and the action that is required is used as though they did.
A dominated entity cannot be commanded to directly harm themselves.
Encumbered
If an entity is carrying at least twice their carry weight, they are encumbered.
While encumbered, the entity cannot take a run action and defense is unfavorable.
For every carry weight over their maximum carry weight, their speed is reduced by 3 meters.
Enthralled
An enthralled entity cannot take any hostile or damaging actions against whatever enthralled them.
It is unfavorable for the enthralled entity making checks to resist interactions with whatever enthralled them.
Frightened
The entity cannot willingly move closer to the source of their fear.
It is unfavorable for the entity making combat skill checks against the source of their fear.
Grappled
The entity is restrained.
The condition ends if the grappler is incapacitated.
The condition ends if the entity is no longer within reach of the grappler.
If they are heavy equipment, he Mass and modifier of both becomes the total Mass.
Incapacitated
The entity can't take physical actions or make physical checks.
The entity doesn’t grant any bonuses.
The entity has a static defense according to their size.
Invisible
An invisible entity is impossible to see through normal means. Other entities treat an invisible target as though they were blinded.
Irradiated
One of the effects that make radiation dangerous is that it can spread.
An entity that has a rad counter is irradiated.
If the irradiated entity is exposed in the same or similar manner as the original contamination, whatever became exposed to them must succeed a Fortitude check with the same check as the original source. If they fail, they gain half the source’s radiation counters.
Paralyzed
The entity is incapacitated but is aware of their surroundings while not able to interact.
The entity remains paralyzed until the source of the effect ends.
Prone
The entity’s only movement option is to crawl, moving at half speed, unless it stands up and thereby ends the condition using 1.5 meters of movement.
It is unfavorable for the entity’s combat skills.
It is favorable for the entity’s defense if the attack’s origin is beyond 3 meters.
Restrained
The entity’s speed becomes 0.
It is unfavorable for the entity’s combat skills.
The entity does not gain any bonuses from their Agility based skills.
Stunned
While the entity has a stun counter, they are stunned.
While stunned, the entity cannot move or take actions without expending the appropriate exertion die.
Stun counters are removed at the beginning of the entity’s turn and then they end their turn taking no actions.
Suffocation
Entities can hold their breath their hit die + 5 rounds. After this duration the entity gains the suffocation condition
During upkeep, they gain a suffocation counter.
If the entity gains a number of suffocation counters equal to their Fortitude Attribute, they fall unconscious. The next round they drop to 0 and are dying.
They cannot be stabilized or heal until they are no longer suffocating.
Once they are able to breath, they are no longer suffocating and will remove half their suffocation counters rounded up during upkeep.
Suspended
The entity ceases aging.
The entity is incapacitated and unconscious.
The entity has resistance to all damage.
Any toxin or disease afflicting the entity is suspended and will resume when this condition ends, however, the entity cannot gain new toxins or diseases.
Unconscious
The entity is incapacitated, can't move or speak, and is unaware of its surroundings.
The entity drops whatever its holding and becomes prone.
Flag
Flags are markers that acquired through the entity or objects current state for other effects to note.
Compromised
When a non-living entity or object gains enough structural damage counters to equal its integrity, it is disabled and rendered inert.
Damaged
An entity becomes damaged when they gain a structural damage counter. They lose the status when they no longer have structural damage.
Exhausted
An entity is exhausted when they no longer have any available exertion die. This flag is removed as soon as they regain at least one exertion die.
Insanity
Constant psychological pressure from forces outside both your control and understanding can start to fracture and eventually break your mind.
Gaining: Encountering most outsiders or other extremely unsettling effects can cause the gain of a number of insanity counters. Every time you gain a stage, you gain the corresponding effect for as long as you maintain the stage. You can only gain insanity counters while conscious and aware of the event itself.
Recovery: After no longer being exposed to the maddening effect, every full rest, you lose half your insanity counters, rounded up.
Marked
A marked entity’s location is always known to the entity that marked it.
Invisibility or similar effects do not work against the entity that marked it.
Wounded
An entity becomes wounded when they gain a wound. They lose the status when they no longer have a wound.
Insanity
Most of the time, a mission or campaign will not drive a Freelancer to insanity, however, it’s not a guaranteed thing. Something emotionally or psychologically devastating may destroy your sanity, exploiting already present small cracks as it does.
Going Insane
Outside of specific abilities, there are no common events that can cause insanity in an entity; however, a composure checks will be needed for the entity to maintain their sanity.
Being Insane
Insanity comes in several varieties but in general they have little effect on gameplay outside of modifying entity reactions.
Suppressing Insanity
Unless stated otherwise, during upkeep the entity can roll a composure check. If they fail, they are affected by insanity, otherwise, they can act like normal.
Insane
When an entity becomes insane, their minds become so shattered that they are either completely catatonic or they may have coped by completely giving themselves to the thing that caused the insanity. In any case, once they become insane, short of some greater effect, they can no longer function as a Freelancer.
Curing Insanity
An ontometric effect can suppress the effects of insanity, but most of the time, medication and time is all anyone can do to remove the effects.