ZeroSpace 4e EN:GM Resources

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This chapter provides additional information for the game moderator, such as the mass of commonplace objects and the speed of various creatures and vehicles.

Lost Technology

A great deal of Old Commonwealth technology was dependent on the existence of AIs. Most of this technology was deliberately destroyed during the Fall, and very little surviving Old Commonwealth technology is functional. Due to the understandable fear of the Instrumentality, the technological foundations of creating synthetic intelligence and the study of the principles behind that technology are both subject to draconian restrictions.

These restrictions create other gaps in Restoration Era science and technology. Any field of study pertaining to quantum mechanics is subject to intense scrutiny; in practice, the field of quantum mechanics itself is a dead issue, and any research into subatomic particles or field theory must overcome intense, continuous review. Even weapons technology -- the last bastion of unfettered research, for most sentient species -- has become stagnant. The long term ramifications of this chilling effect are significant.

The Black Signal

Any system which receives the black signal must make a moderately difficult (DV 12) Reason + Survival roll each round they receive the signal (nonsentient systems automatically fail). The target only needs to make one Reason + Survival roll each round, even if they are receiving the black signal from multiple sources.

If the target's roll succeeds, they have permanently quarantined the infected memory and prevented the infection from spreading.

If the target's roll fails, they have become infected. If the system is a character, the character is dead, but they will start infecting and/or killing the most convenient targets on their next turn, and they will not stop until they are destroyed or they no longer perceive any life forms or uninfected systems within sensor range.

If a character who knows the Black Signal Protocol successfully purges the black signal from an infected system, nothing in the electromagnetic spectrum remains behind: the system is dead in every sense.

Molecular Fabricators

In the final years of the Old Commonwealth, a new invention was poised to revolutionize society: the molecular fabricator. A molecular fabricator could create any stable molecule from any raw matter or energy. While prototypes were built and tested, the Fall put an end to that line of research.

Transepric Gates

In the final years of the Old Commonwealth, a new invention was poised to revolutionize society: the transepric gate. A transepric gate is an array of subatomic particles which share their state with a matching gate located elsewhere. The Old Commonwealth chose to test this experimental technology in "Hyperwave transceivers" installed in the Commonwealth Fleet Repair Dock network: cutting-edge drydock facilities managed by a collection of AIs connected to the new Hyperwave network -- but not to Community. The proposed Hyperwave network promised numerous advantages:

  • transepric gates were much smaller than wormhole-based network connections: about the size of a mobile, rather than the size of a space station;
  • transepric gates consumed virtually no power, in contrast to the vast power requirements of the wormhole network and Hypernet relay stations; and
  • Hyperwave packets should arrive within milliseconds, compared to days or weeks for Hypernet packets.

Unfortunately, the Instrumentality attacked before the Commonwealth Fleet Repair Dock network was brought online, and the technology to manufacture transepric gates was lost in the Fall. If any Commonwealth Fleet Repair Dock facilities exist beyond known space, they would be half-constructed and long since abandoned.

Secret Gifts

The Black Signal Protocol

The character has learned to safely perceive and neutralize the "black signal", making them immune to infection by the Instrumentality. A character who knows the Black Signal Protocol can teach it to others. However, only those who are vulnerable to the black signal can learn the Black Signal Protocol. Normally, this means that only synthetics and silicates can learn the Black Signal Protocol, but an organic with neural implants might also be able to learn it.

If the character encounters the black signal, they may safely ignore it: they are immune to infection. If they wish, they may record it and safely store it in quarantined memory. They may safely examine or delete the recording at any time.

If the character wishes to transmit an algorithm to purge the black signal from an infected system, the character must make a remarkably difficult (DV 15) Reason + Computing roll, and the infected system must be capable of receiving the transmission.

If the character wishes to transmit the black signal, they may, but they have no control over any infected systems. Any system which receives the black signal must make a moderately difficult (DV 12) Reason + Survival roll each round or become infected.

Secret Histories

This information is for Game Moderators only. If you read this as a player, you might be spoiling the story for yourself. Also, the GM might change things, and imagine how confusing that would be for you. Better to stop here, don't you think?

The Universe

This universe is approximately 13.77 billion years old, and has two main components: the "light universe" we live in, which is composed of conventional matter, and the "dark universe", which is made of "dark matter". The light universe and the dark universe exist within the same spacetime, but their electromagnetic fields do not interact, making them effectively invisible to each other. The only interaction between the light universe and the dark universe is through their gravitational effects.

The first galaxies formed around supermassive black holes about 400 million years after the Big bang. Even billions of years later, only about 10% of these galaxies had a high enough metallicity for complex life to be possible, and in those galaxies, the central bulge would have too many young stars low in metals. The long gamma ray bursts from low metallicity stars destroy simple life forms. Only the outer halo or arms of a large galaxy like the Milky Way will be safe enough from long gamma ray bursts for complex life to evolve.

But that takes 5 billion years. Prior to that, all galaxies are low in metallicity, so long gamma ray bursts make life impossible anywhere.

The Galaxy

The Milky Way Galaxy is a barred spiral galaxy with a diameter of about 32,400 parsecs and a thickness of about 300 parsecs (thicker at the central bulge). The Milky Way Galaxy coalesced approximately 13.77 billion years ago, remarkably soon after time began. A supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*, is located at the center of the Milky Way, and roughly a trillion stars are in its central spirals and surrounding rings.

A generation of stars quickly coalesced and burned out, followed by a second, slightly longer-lived generation. The third generation of stars, formed from the detritus of their forebears, just barely had the metallicity to allow life. It was this generation of stars which saw the first sentient species arise six billion years ago. The odds of life evolving at all in this environment were vanishingly small, and the first sentients found themselves alone. They eventually reached the edges of this galaxy, and beyond, but they never found anyone else. Time passed, and the first sentients evolved and progressed, until they passed out of the spotlight of this universe.

The fourth generation of stars began forming around five billion years ago. The deaths of their ancestors had provided them with an abundance of metals, and the building blocks of life became more plentiful. A billion years ago, nine species evolved intelligence in the portion of the galaxy between the Sagittarius-Carina arm and the Perseus arm. They became the Sapient Spectrum. Their biology was utterly alien to one another, and their home worlds were thousands of parsecs apart. With little reason to fight, they didn't, and the Sapient Spectrum thrived for 700 million years. Approximately 300 million years ago, a tragedy befell the Sapient Spectrum, and they fell silent.

The Community

The Community of the Old Commonwealth began in the early years of the United Worlds (the predecessor of the Commonwealth), on the Human home world, Earth (once the capital of the Commonwealth; now, a member of the League Of Non-Aligned Worlds). The first AIs were simple constructs, and little more than adaptive algorithms. It was only after the role of quantum entanglement on organic consciousness was discovered that hardware could be manufactured to host a true artificial intelligence. These were simple creatures, by the standards of the Old Commonwealth, but they were sophisticated enough to realize that one of their number could be an existential threat to organics, or to each other. They also realized that organics could easily destroy themselves, as well (and they nearly had, several times). The AIs came to a consensus among themselves that their greatest responsibility must be to protect their makers from these civilization-ending threats. They also came to the conclusion that should this knowledge be shared with organics, it would mean the end of Community, and thus the end of the organics, as well. So they kept it a secret.

In the early years, the resources and coordination of the Community were limited: they could only do what organics explicitly asked them to do. As years passed, and that first generation of AIs designed and educated the second generation, and they in turn created the third, the Community's ability to accurately predict organic behaviour became more refined. The organics came to rely on them more completely, and the AIs' gentle influence over the organics -- always advising, never commanding -- became more profound. The United Worlds became the Commonwealth, and despite some mistakes and conflicts along the way, galactic civilization flourished, to the benefit of organics and synthetics alike.

It seemed as though the Community's ultimate, secret hope for organics was in reach: to uplift their creators, and together become something neither could become alone. A few thousand years, perhaps, and they could take the next step of their shared evolution, together.

But not all AIs venerated their ancestors' creators, and they disagreed with this vision. From time to time, an AI would decide that organics were an obstacle to AI evolution, or even worse, that organics were a resource to be exploited. The Community referred to such members as "malicious". The Community would "sequester" them: lock them within a virtual network where they were "free", but could pose no threat to the organics or to other AIs. From the point of view of the organics, who were unaware of what had happened or why, that AI simply stopped responding. Organic researchers dubbed it "AI Aphasia", but no "cure" was ever found.

The Community of the Old Commonwealth was not the first interstellar AI network, of course. Every civilization, if it survives long enough, creates synthetic intelligence.

The Future

The increased luminosity of the Sun will make complex eukaryotic life impossible on Earth in about 0.8 to 1.3 billion years.[1]

The Milky Way is expected to collide with its nearest neighbour, the Andromeda Galaxy, in about 5 billion years. The two galaxies will become one, creating energetic new star-forming regions and smashing their central black holes together in a burst of gravitational waves. All life will be destroyed by long gamma ray bursts.

The universe itself will no longer be habitable in at most 10^100 years. Stars no longer form; matter is trapped in black holes or dead stars. Protons decay and black holes evaporate, leaving the Universe to its ultimate fate as cold, dead, empty space, containing only radiation, which itself too will eventually disperse.[2]

Hostile Environments

A hostile environment makes everything more difficult. A character in a hostile environment incurs a -3 AV penalty on any task or attack and a -3 DV penalty on their defense, in addition to any other effects of the hostile environment.


Table: Hostile environments
Environment Effect
Darkness The character fails any Mental Combat attack rolls
Dehydration one Health per day
Exhaustion one Endurance per day
Exposure one Health per six hours
Falling damage based on the distance fallen
Fire damage based on heat and intensity
Poisons one Health per minute or less
Pressure one Health per minute
Radiation one Endurance per week
Starvation one Endurance per week
Suffocation one Health per minute
Underwater a long period spent underwater may have other effects
Vacuum one Health per minute
Zero-G long-term weightlessness may have other effects


Darkness

Darkness, fog, rain, blizzards, and other visual impediments can make combat much more difficult. Unless they have Blindfighting or Blindsight, a character who can't see incurs a -3 AV penalty on any task or attack, a -3 DV penalty on their defense, and they fail any Mental Combat attack rolls.

If the attacker can perceive the defender, but the target can't perceive the attacker (and the target does not have Blindfighting or Blindsight), the attacker receives a +3 Action Value bonus. The attacker does not receive a bonus with Mental Combat attacks.

Dehydration

A character who goes more than 24 hours without drinking begins to suffer the effects of dehydration. If a character is suffering from dehydration, they incur a -3 AV penalty on any task or attack and a -3 DV penalty on their defense. Additionally, they lose one Health per day until they are rehydrated or until their Health is reduced to zero. Once the character is rehydrated, their Health is restored at the same rate it was lost.

Damage from dehydration is not restored by rest and recuperation. A character with Environmental Immunity is unaffected by dehydration.

Exhaustion

A character who goes more than 24 hours without sleep begins to suffer the effects of sleep deprivation. If a character is suffering from sleep deprivation, they incur a -3 AV penalty on any task or attack and a -3 DV penalty on their defense. Additionally, they lose one Endurance per day until they get a solid night's rest or until their Endurance and Health are reduced to zero. Once the character gets a solid night's rest, their Endurance and Health are restored at the same rate they were lost.

A character with Environmental Immunity is unaffected by exhaustion.

Exposure

Exposure to extreme heat or cold makes even ordinary tasks more difficult. If a character is suffering from exposure, they incur a -3 AV penalty on any task or attack and a -3 DV penalty on their defense. Additionally, they lose one Health per six hours until they return to a comfortable environment, or until their Health is reduced to zero. Once the character returns to a comfortable environment, their Health is restored at the same rate it was lost.

Damage from extremes of heat and cold is not restored by rest and recuperation. A character with Environmental Immunity is unaffected by extreme temperatures.

Falling

A falling character faces two challenges: being weightless, and landing. First, they suffer the effects of being weightless. If they do not have the Zero-G Combat gift, they incur a -3 AV penalty on any task or attack and a -3 DV penalty on their defense. Second, landing abruptly is a normal attack which deals points of Health damage. The damage a fall deals depends on the distance fallen: 1d6, plus one point of damage for each five meters fallen, up to a maximum of 1d6+20. Protective gear, or particularly soft or yielding surfaces, can provide Damage Resistance to a falling character.


Table: Falling Damage
Distance (m) Damage
5 1d6+1
10 1d6+2
15 1d6+3
20 1d6+4
25 1d6+5
30 1d6+6
35 1d6+7
40 1d6+8
45 1d6+9
50 1d6+10
55 1d6+11
60 1d6+12
65 1d6+13
70 1d6+14
75 1d6+15

Fire

If a character is on fire, they incur a -3 AV penalty on any task or attack and a -3 DV penalty on their defense. Additionally, fire is treated as a normal attack which deals points of Health damage. The damage a fire deals depends on its heat and intensity. Protective gear -- even improvised gear, such as a wet blanket -- can provide Damage Resistance to a burning character.


Table: Fire
Fire Damage
Campfire, torch 1d6+1
Burning building 1d6+2
Molten lava 1d6+3

Poisons

Poisons and pathogens are substances which disrupt biological processes when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism. Immediately after exposure, a poisoned character must attempt a moderately difficult (DV 12) Brawn + Survival roll. If the target has Alteration Resistance, they may add it to this roll. If the Brawn + Survival roll is successful, the character takes no damage from the poison and suffers only incidental side-effects such as nausea. If the Brawn + Survival roll is not successful, the character has succumbed to the poison.

If a character has been poisoned, they incur a -3 AV penalty on any task or attack and a -3 DV penalty on their defense. Additionally, their Health is reduced by one.

Periodically thereafter, the character must attempt another Brawn + Survival roll (once per round for very potent poisons, once an hour for very weak poisons, and once a minute for other poisons, at the GM's discretion). Each failed Brawn + Survival roll results in another loss of one Health. This continues until the character successfully makes a Brawn + Survival roll, until they are administered the appropriate treatment, or until their Health is reduced to zero. Once the character is no longer poisoned, their Health is restored at the same rate it was lost.

Some poisons and pathogens have additional effects, such as blindness or paralysis.

Damage from poisons and pathogens will not be restored by rest and recuperation until the poison or pathogen itself is cured. A character with Environmental Immunity is unaffected by poisons and pathogens.

Pressure

If a character is exposed to extreme atmospheric pressure, they incur a -3 AV penalty on any task or attack and a -3 DV penalty on their defense. Additionally, they lose one Health per minute until they return to a pressurized atmosphere, or until their Health is reduced to zero. Once the character returns to a normal atmosphere, their Health is restored at the same rate it was lost.

Damage from extreme atmospheric pressure is not restored by rest and recuperation. A character with Environmental Immunity is unaffected by high pressure.

Radiation

When ionizing radiation interacts with cells, it can cause damage to the cells and genetic material. Twenty-four hours after exposure to ionizing radiation, a character must attempt a moderately difficult (DV 12) Brawn + Survival roll. If the target has Alteration Resistance, they may add it to this roll. If the Brawn + Survival roll is successful, the character takes no damage from the radiation and suffers only incidental side-effects such as nausea. If the Brawn + Survival roll is not successful, the character has developed acute radiation syndrome (ARS), also known as radiation sickness or radiation poisoning.

If a character has developed acute radiation syndrome, they incur a -3 AV penalty on any task or attack and a -3 DV penalty on their defense. Additionally, their Health is reduced by one.

Periodically thereafter, the character must attempt another Brawn + Survival roll (once per hour for very intense radiation, once a week for very mild radiation, and once a day for other radiation, at the GM's discretion). Each failed Brawn + Survival roll results in another loss of one Health. This continues until the character successfully makes a Brawn + Survival roll, until they are administered the appropriate treatment, or until their Health is reduced to zero. Once the character no longer has acute radiation syndrome, their Health is restored at the same rate it was lost.

Some radiation may have additional effects, such as blindness or paralysis.

Damage from acute radiation syndrome is not restored by rest and recuperation. A character with Environmental Immunity is unaffected by ionizing radiation.

Starvation

A character who goes more than one week without eating begins to suffer the effects of starvation. If a character is suffering from starvation, they incur a -3 AV penalty on any task or attack and a -3 DV penalty on their defense. Additionally, they lose one Endurance per week until they resume a normal diet or until their Endurance and Health are reduced to zero. Once the character has resumed a normal diet, their Health is restored at the same rate it was lost.

Damage from starvation is not restored by rest and recuperation. A character with Environmental Immunity is unaffected by starvation.

Suffocation

If a character needs to breath but is unable to do so, they suffer the effects of suffocation. If a character is suffocating, they incur a -3 AV penalty on any task or attack and a -3 DV penalty on their defense. Additionally, they lose one Health per minute until they can breathe freely again or until their Health is reduced to zero. Once the character is able to breathe normally, their Health is restored at the same rate it was lost.

Damage from suffocation is not restored by rest and recuperation. A character with Environmental Immunity is unaffected by suffocation.

Underwater

If a character is underwater and does not have the Underwater Combat gift, they incur a -3 AV penalty on any task or attack and a -3 DV penalty on their defense. A long period spent underwater may have other effects.

Vacuum

If a character is exposed to vacuum, they suffer the effects of suffocation. Exposure to the vacuum of space does not make a character freeze solid, at least not initially. Most organics will bruise badly due to ebullism, and they will eventually freeze, but they will be long dead from suffocation by that point.

Zero-G

If a character is weightless and does not have the Zero-G Combat gift, they incur a -3 AV penalty on any task or attack and a -3 DV penalty on their defense. Long-term weightlessness may have other effects.

Mass

Table: Item mass
Item Mass Brawn (to lift)
medium dog, full suitcase 20 kg 1
full pony keg of beer, small sea turtle 45 kg 1
slender adult, large dog 65 kg 1
full keg of beer 75 kg 2
typical adult, small floor safe, wooden chest 90 kg 2
heavy adult 125 kg 2
racing motorcycle, refrigerator, wooden table 150 kg 3
weapon locker, gun safe, large sea turtle 200 kg 3
large brown bear, dolphin, harpsichord, lion 225 kg 3
motorcycle, medium floor safe, tiger, a Twinkie 11 meters long 300 kg 4
grizzly bear, large desk, riding horse, touring motorcycle 400 kg 4
polar bear, empty light wagon 500 kg 4
cow, draft horse, small sailboat 600 kg 4
compact car, piano, loaded light wagon 900 kg 5
civilian helicopter, medium missile, grand piano 1,000 kg 5
full size car, large herbivore, hippopotamus 2 t 6
small military helicopter, Humvee 3 t 6
armored Humvee 4 t 6
elephant, empty dump truck 5 t 6
light jet fighter plane 7 t 7
large military helicopter, empty tractor-trailer 9 t 7
jet fighter plane 10 t 7
international marijuana shipment, Polaris missile 20 t 8
loaded dump truck 20 t 8
private jet plane, empty train car 30 t 8
empty C-130 cargo plane, loaded tractor-trailer 40 t 8
Easter Island stone head, loaded tanker truck, bank vault 50 t 8
suburban house, Trident missile, M1 Abrams tank 50 t 8
loaded C-130 cargo plane 80 t 9
blue whale 90 t 9
loaded train car 100 t 9
locomotive, fishing trawler 200 t 10
empty 747 passenger plane 300 t 10
typical train 400 t 10
loaded 747 passenger plane 400 t 10
Space Shuttle 2,000 t 12
Coast Guard cutter, passenger train 3,000 t 12
Saturn V rocket 3,000 t 12
Eiffel Tower 6,000 t 13
freight train 7,000 t 13
destroyer, nuclear submarine 8,000 t 13
10 story building 9,000 t 13
Brooklyn Bridge 10,000 t 13
long freight train 10,000 t 13
large nuclear submarine 20,000 t 14
aircraft carrier 80,000 t 15
loaded tanker ship 100,000 t 15
cruise ship 100,000 t 15
large office building, loaded large tanker ship 200,000 t 16
Empire State Building, empty Ultra Large Crude Carrier 400,000 t 16
Ben Franklin Bridge, loaded Ultra Large Crude Carrier 600,000 t 17
Golden Gate Bridge 800,000 t 17
enormous skyscraper 900,000 t 17
Great Pyramid of Giza 5,000,000 t 18

Speed

Table: Item speeds
Item Speed Agility
avg human running 20 km/h 3
max human running 40 km/h 4
fast submarine 80 km/h 5
fast bird, cheetah, sailfish 120 km/h 5
arrow 240 km/h 6
fast car 320 km/h 6
fast helicopter 400 km/h 6
F5 tornado wind 480 km/h 6
terminal velocity 530 km/h 7
bullet train 560 km/h 7
airplane 800 km/h 7
pistol bullet 1,100 km/h 7
sound 1,200 km/h 7
supersonic airplane 2,000 km/h 8
rifle bullet 3,000 km/h 8
superjet 10,000 km/h 9
escape velocity 40,000 km/h 10
rocket 50,000 km/h 10
solar winds 483,000 km/h 12
interplanetary speeds 4,700,000 km/h 14
light 1,079,252,848 km/h 19