MERS: Weaponry

Probably one of the easiest conversions so far for Mass Effect Rogue Space has been in the weapons department. In the Rogue Space rulebook there is a very large selection of weapons, both melee and ranged. I just took the ME equivalent, figured out which Rogue Space gun was the closest in scope, and mashed up the two with some minor tweaks as needed. If you haven't figured out by now, I take the laid back approach to conversion, not the "easy" route mind you, just not the "going to reinvent the wheel from scratch" route either.

Stat blocks for Rogue Space weapons are fairly straight forward as well. As for ammo, since everything in the ME universe seems to run off of thermal clips, we will just keep track of how many rounds a particular gun holds, then reload with these universal thermal clips.

M-3 Predator Pistol: DAM (L), Range (M), Ammo (12)

Manufactured by Elanus Risk Control, the Predator is valued as a powerful, deadly, and relatively inexpensive weapon. While it is not generally deployed in the military, due to commonality of kinetic barriers, it’s still very popular in the Terminus Systems where these defenses are less common.

M-5 Phalanx Heavy Pistol: DAM (M), Range (S), Ammo (15)

The M5 Phalanx is the product of the Alliance's Offensive Handgun Project that developed a close-in weapon to be used on armored or shielded targets with no loss of stopping power in comparison to the soldier's assault rifle. The Phalanx enjoys a ballistics advantage even over most "hand cannons" and features an integral laser sight which is highly visible even in bright lighting conditions.

M-23 Katana Shotgun: DAM (M), Range (M), Ammo (5)

Common military shotgun. Deadly at short range, but ineffective at long range. Very effective versus shields and biotic barriers, but weak versus armor. Manufactured by Ariake Technologies, the Katana is a common mercenary weapon.

M-92 Mantis Sniper Rifle: DAM (M), Range (L), Ammo (5)

Manufactured by Devlon Industries, the Mantis is primarily used by police and planetary militia groups. The prevalence of kinetic barriers has made this weapon less popular with the military, but it is used more frequently in the Terminus systems where these defenses are less common.

M-4 Shuriken Machine Pistol: DAM (L), Range (M), Ammo (24)

As kinetic barriers have grown in popularity, so has the popularity of submachine guns. Manufactured by the Elkoss Combine, the Shuriken machine pistol has a reputation for being deadly and easy to use, but is weak against armor.

Krogan Combat Axe: Damage (M), Range (Melee)

The Krogan combat axe is both a ceremonial symbol as well as a devastating hand-to-hand weapon. Made of modern synthetic polymers and carbides, it is able to penetrate the toughest of armored opponents, especially with the full strength of a Krogan behind it.

Combat Knife: DAM (L), Range (S)

The standard combat knife comes in many forms but the premise is universally the same; it slices, it dices. Often carried as part of the soldier's kit, the combat knife is useful as a tool, a hand-to-hand weapon, and more. In the right hands it can also be used as a thrown weapon, albeit with a severely limited range.

Across the Mass Effect franchise there are dozens of rifles, pistols, and more. On top of that you further modify your weapons with all manner of additional equipment like scopes, barrels, heat sinks, and more. Then there's a half dozen different ammo loads to boot. Needless to say, this only scratches the very tip of the iceberg when it comes to ME weapon conversions. It's enough to get the troopers, err, players started however, and once they start bagging some Geth they'll get upgrades I'm sure. Speaking of Geth, next time we will look at putting these bad guys on paper to duke it out with the NPCs.

MERS: Krogan, Quarian, and Batarians

Today we're going to look at playable alien options for Rogue Space in the Mass Effect universe. In addition to the above three alien races, the obvious fourth option is good ole human. Races in Mass Effect are broken down into two categories; those aligned with the Citadel Council, and those who are not (for a variety of reasons). Here's a great wiki link detailing them. If you're in with the council you're pretty much with the "in" crowd and enjoy the greatest freedoms and privileges across controlled space. If you're not a council race however you're going to find suspicion, profiling, and sometimes outright hostility levied your way.

For the type of campaign I am hoping to craft I opted to put the 'rogue' in Rogue Space. Much like the crew of the Serenity, I'm hoping my players will tend towards the fringe, making due with whatever odd jobs that come along regardless of what side legality those jobs fall on. Of course I couldn't help but stack the deck with Krogan (savages), Quarians (techno-thieves), and Batarians (terrorists). All unjust stereotypes, true, but perhaps there's a grain of truth to them? Alien races in Rogue Space just come with a few tweaks and starting perks, of course the big in-game difference is that you're playing an alien.

Krogan: Gain +2 HP and +1 Fight at character creation in addition to starting class attributes. Krogan have the Headbutt ability, allowing them to make one headbutt attack per encounter. A successful hit deals a massive 2d6 points of physical damage.










Quarian: Gain +1 Scientific at character creation in addition to starting class attributes. Quarians have the Bypass ability, giving them a +2 situational modifier when attempting to access, alter, or bypass electronic and computer devices. It should be noted that Quarians have to exist inside an environmental vacc-suit. To keep things simple in-game this will be a player constraint in terms of roleplaying instead of an actual (and potentially fatal) game mechanic.



Batarian: Gain +1 Acquiring at character creation in addition to starting class attributes. Batarians have the Far Shot ability, allowing them to gain +1 to hit when firing at Long range and +2 to hit at Far Range, offsetting ATK modifiers to a degree.

Given how many viable races are still out there, there's a lot more room to add these to the list. I personally would like to see Drell, Turian, and Volus thrown into the mix. Although they didn't make the cut as a starting PC race (all Council races were off-limits) there's no reason I won't be statting them up in the future. Next time around we're going to look at Rogue Space stats for Mass Effect weaponry. Until then, enjoy!

MERS: Classes, Biotics, and Engineering.

MERS = Mass Effect Rogue Space. Know it, love it.

Our second roleplaying session set in the Mass Effect universe and using the Rogue Space rules is scheduled for this evening. To that end it's high-time I started putting out the material I've cranked out to help facilitate the marriage of these great rules and fantastic setting. Before tackling races however we're going to look at the classes of Rogue Space and how we can mash those up with the classes of Mass Effect. For many of my MERS conversions I look to the multiplayer part of ME3 because it's boiled down and streamlined.

There are three classes in Rogue Space; warrior, rogue, and technician. Just to keep more in line with ME sounding terms I simply changed their names to soldier, scoundrel, and engineer. There is benefit to what class you play in the form of how many hit points you start with and a bonus skill point to one of their abilities. These three classes, other than a name change, remain mechanically the same.

Rogue Space also has optional rules for Psionics, however these aren't a Mass Effect staple. ME has something just as good however and can be implemented with little effort; biotics. The term biotics refers to the ability for some lifeforms to create mass effect fields using Element Zero nodules embedded in body tissues. These powers are accessed and augmented by using bio-amps. Biotic individuals can knock enemies over from a distance, lift them into the air, generate gravitational vortices to tear obstacles or enemies apart, or create protective barriers.

Biotic mechanics are simple and operate almost identical to Rogue Space's core psionic mechanics. I tried to give most of the players at least one biotic power too, since its so prevalent in the videogame. Below are the mechanics and the powers I've selected for use:

Using Biotics: Roll 2d6, plus Empathy score, vs. TN. May ‘push’ biotics by expending HP, whether or not it is successful. To retry a failed power in the same turn costs 1HP, or to boost an attempt spend 1HP per point added to the roll.

• Warp: You create a rapidly shifting mass effect field to hurl at the target, effectively tearing it apart. Range is M and damage depends on field intensity and TN: L (TN7), M (TN9), V (TN11), 2d6+2 (TN13) *basically it's a ranged attack
• Barrier: You surround yourself with a high-gravity mass effect field, strengthening your current shields or providing them for those without. Effect lasts until bonus shield strength is depleted. TN: L (TN7), M (TN9), V (TN11), 2d6+2 (TN13) *bonus shield strength is depleted once you have taken damage equal to the bonus shield points generated
  
• Pull: You use Pull to generate a mass-lowering field, moving your target around the battlefield. Your TN determines how far the target is moved: one space (TN7), two spaces (TN9), three spaces (TN11), four spaces (TN13) *spaces defined here are specific to your game whether it's on a grid map, represented in inches, in-game feet, or what have you

In the videogame there is little mechanical difference between hurling biotics at the enemy and using tech-based powers against the enemy. To that end Technician skills are handled almost exactly like Biotics. Losing hit points when "pushing" your powers here represents the extra strain and surge feedback when performing these maneuvers.

Using Engineering: Roll 2d6, plus Scientific score vs. TN. May ‘push’ Engineering by expending HP, whether or not it is successful. To retry a failed power in the same turn costs 1HP, or to boost an attempt spend 1HP per point added to the roll.

• Combat Drone: You spawn a tech drone that draws enemy fire and can electronically stun targets and/or damage their shields. Your TN determines how powerful the drone is: MV is equal to half that of the user (TN7), MV equal to user (TN9), MV equal to user plus two and can fire (L) damage at (S) range (TN11), as before but will short out target shields upon successful hit (TN13) *I patterned this power dort of after the 'summon animal' psionic power, but it obviously has more bite to it, obviously at low-powered levels it's just a recon drone but as your TN gets higher it begins to acquire offensive capabilities
• Incinerate: You fire a high-explosive plasma round from your Omni-tool at your target inflicting immediate and lingering damage. Range is L and ignores 50% or lower cover defense. Lingering damage and effectiveness depends on your TN. 2kL and d2 lingering damage for one round (TN7), 1d6 and d4 lingering damage for two rounds (TN9), 2dH and d4 lingering damage for three rounds (TN11), 2d6+2 and d6 lingering damage for three rounds (TN13) *Another ranged attack where you are the point of origin

So there you have the classes of MERS, and the powers associated with both Biotics and Engineering. There's a lot more powers to choose from that can be converted for future use. In the next installment we're going to look at what playable races there are to pick from and what special racial abilties they may bring with them to the table. Until then, enjoy!

Mass Effect Rogue Space...Stuff

Thankfully I've brought Rucht on board here at Mik's Minis because let's face it, my own content has been somewhat slim lately. I do have content in the works though, and it goes by the name of Mass Effect Rogue Space. Really I should put Rogue Space first, since that's the engine, but then I couldn't do the anagram MERS, which Rogue Space is known to do!

So, I've got conversion material already finished that I need to post here. It's done, and it's been used in one game already, the next game is due up this Saturday. Here's the material I've got to get out and into your hands:

• Playable Races (Krogan, Quarian, and Batarian)
• Weapons (Shuriken pistols, Mantis sniper rifles, and more)
• Enemies (Geth, Geth, more Geth, and a Husk or two)
• Adventure conversion from in-game storylines

So that's off the top of my head, there may be more. Also remember to check out the official Rogue Space site as well for the rules. The reason I went with Rogue Space is because it is elegantly quick and easy, and gets you into the game with little fuss making your own conversions a snap to implement. Rock on.

Rogue Space RPG Review

I picked up Rogue Space, an independent, sci-fi rpg, a couple of weeks back but wanted to hold off on a review until we actually got it out for a test drive. To quote its summary it "is an easy to learn and flexible Role Playing Game. It requires two six sided dice, two players, paper, pencil, and imagination. A flexible system allows you to create the game you want to play!"

Shortly after our decision to jump into the 'making our own RPG' ocean I began looking for other 'garage level' sci-fi RPGs out there. I didn't have to look far, Christopher Brandon has hit the nail on the head with this one. It's got an old-school RPG feel to it but handles overly complicated tasks such as starship combat with the same simple elegance as is found in the rest of the book.

For an amazingly low eight bucks you get a 64-page "workbook" sized game in black and white. The original artwork within, drawn by the author's wife and seen at the top of this post, is really cool and stylish, and interestingly enough a mix of public domain art within also adds to an overall pulpy sci-fi feel. Examples are given throughout, plenty of tables, GMing advice, sample setting, and more pack those 64 pages full of material.

Reading through character creation it became apparent to me that this is the kind of game that gets you stuck in your adventures right away with little time wasted on the minutia of the character itself. Throughout the book acronyms cleverly spell out sections of rules such as your character's attributes (FASER): fighting, acquiring, scientific, empathy, and repairing. The names pretty much describe what they do and that's the bulk of your character in a nutshell.

I wanted to actually play the game before posting my impressions, and the Minions and I did that very thing. Just as the author intended, the rules form an open sandbox to create your own worlds and adventures. My gameplan here was a simple one; put the game smack in the middle of the Mass Effect universe. With more hours than I care to admit invested in Mass Effect over the last three videogames it's something I can run easily without reinventing the wheel. And with the Rogue Space rules, I can facilitate it all into a seamless package.

I'll post more on converting Mass Effect staples into the Rogue Space system later, such as NPC and adversary stats, and I'll throw in a little on my overall conversion thoughts as well. As for the Rogue Space rules themselves, well you'd be hard pressed to find a better, open-ended sci-fi RPG under ten bucks. I can see this as a quick, low-prep pickup RPG for downtime and one-shots, or alternatively, it has the legs to run for campaign length adventures.

Our first Rogue Space foray can be found here, remember this is explicit material and not safe for work or children. The game itself can be bought here at Lulu, and the official site is here. For a little more thorough review, especially in the mechanics department, you might want to check out A Susurrus in Carcosa. This won't be the last you've heard of Rogue Space here. Until next time, enjoy!