PD/FSA Standard Rules

These are rules that will (probably) not change in games that run in the PD/FSA universe. As such, they are put here so you only have to read them once. Addenda/changes to these rules will be published separately. New changes appear in yellow.

Date Changed	Section Changed
Wed Jan 12 13:54:50 EST 2005	Cloaking, neutron detonator changes.
Sun Oct 31 10:52:57 EST 2004	Forcefields are shot-permeable.
Mon Oct 11 10:11:24 EDT 2004	Initial draft.

Safety

No charging: don't run closer than double-ZOC to an enemy. Running is OK. Charging is not. Can you walk up to ZOC of an enemy? Yes. So it's OK to run up to double-ZOC of an enemy and then walk/dodge in closer up to ZOC.

Halts should only be called for emergencies. No ammo halts.

Game Locations

"Can we fire across the open space from 36-mez to 36-basement?" No.

Elevators

Stairs

The expansive rule is: You may not shoot in, into, or out of stairwells or elevators. You may not talk about anything game-relevant in stairwells or elevators. For purposes of talking or shooting, you are in the stairwell or elevator if any part of you is inside. For purposes of being shot, you are outside the stairwell or elevator if any part of you is outside.

Headbands

Blue headbands means FSA powerarmor or uniform.

Green headbands means cadet powerarmor, for both PD and FSA. (Mnemonic: "Green as a cadet.")

Purple headbands are obviously alien. We're not talking cyborgs; we're talking creatures with tentacles, claws, eyestalks, etc. If they're not shooting at you, they may be friendly. If they're shooting at you, assume they're hostile.

Random human beings will have yellow headbands.

GMs/observers will have white headbands.

Stealthed units may have odd colored headbands. Currently, PD stealthed units may wear metallic silver headbands and FSA stealthed units may wear black silk headbands with flowers. The stealthed unit can still elect not to wear a headband; this requires them, however, to keep their hands over their head, which gets tedious.

Bad-ass stuff will additionally have black headbands. If you see someone wearing a bunch of purple and black headbands, it's a seriously bad-ass looking alien. No one will be wearing just a black headband, because it's just too damn hard to see.

You may also see color-and-black headbands tied around arms. Whatever they are, they are worse than just someone with a color-and-black headband.

Examples: heavy powerarmor has a color-and-black headband. Assault powerarmor additionally has the color-and-black armbands as well.

Stealth

People who look suspiciously like Guild players who aren't wearing headbands or are wearing Stealth headbands, look like they know what they're doing, and have their hands above their heads are Not Here. IG, you do get a funny feeling when this happens, though, but you cannot localize it other than "being in this room".

If you cheese this by always looking right at the stealthed person, the GMs will hose hose hose you.

For both cloaking and de-cloaking:

• Irreversible: once you start cloaking, you must finish the count.
• You must be standing still, feet together, arms crossed over your chest (as best you can manage with your loadout).
• Audibly count upwards in a normal speaking tone.
• You are vulnerable to fire.

Stealthed units may not talk to anyone. Stealthed units can play charades with other stealthed units.

Dropship Controls

Doors, Bulkheads, Airlocks, Forcefields

Doors that close in hallways may be just doors or may be bulkheads. If the former, they'll be unmarked: go through them freely. If they're bulkheads, then they will be clearly marked on both sides. Follow the directions on the sign.

Airlocks and forcefields may be signs on doors or marked by duct tape on the ground. Airlocks will have controls on either side. Forcefields may or may not.

All bulkheads, airlocks, forcefields, etc, will say on the sign whether they can be destroyed or compromised (and if so, by what: gunfire, heavy gunfire, neutron detonators, cryptosmashers, decking, etc). If you see colored tape on the floor but no sign, then you can safely assume that airlock or forcefield has been destroyed.

Forcefields stop people and items from crossing, but do not stop shots. This is new: forcefields are shot-permeable.

Vacuum

Neutron Detonators

Neutron detonators used to knock down a forcefield produce a Lased Neutron Wavefront. Upon cracking the lightstick within ZOC of a forcefield, a GM will call out "DETONATOR!" and start counting silently to 10. Upon reaching 10, the GM will call out "DETONATION!", and anyone in line-of-sight of the GM will be dead. This includes cloaked characters. Moral: don't be stuck in a long hallway when this happens. Lased Neutron Wavefronts only occur when a detonator is ignited next to a forcefield. If you just crack a neutron detonator in a hallway, you'll get a pretty green glow and that's about it.

Neutron detonators are the preferred method of getting through pesky obstacles like forcefields, airlocks, etc. Note that they tend not to work on bulkhead doors (bulkheads are specifically designed to last against neutron detonators).

Neutron detonators have two components: a Housing and a Fuse. The lightstick is the Fuse. Crack it, shake it a 2 or 3 times, insert it into the Housing, and run like hell. You have about 10 seconds after cracking the lightstick before things go poorly.

Neutron fuses and detonators are not grenades. An activated detonator cannot be moved. THIS IS A KLUDGE. We have added Housings into game so that the lightsticks won't roll away from the target. In order to destroy a target (like blowing through an airlock, forcefield, etc), the Housing must be within ZOC of the target.

A neutron fuse, by itself, won't do anything to you, unless you're trying to do something cheesy in front of a GM and they catch you.

Neutron detonators have fail-safes in them such that if the powerarmor they're being carried is destroyed, then the detonator is rendered unusable. THIS IS A KLUDGE. It means you probably can't loot bodies for neutron detonators, so don't be surprised if that happens.

Guns

Ammo halts do not exist.

Different guns have different effects; see the technical readout for details. Note that for the Academy, we use a vastly simplified setup: see the Academy Rules Addendum instead.

Unless you know otherwise, guns are not transferable.

Damage Types

Macrodamage does 6 points of normal damage. However, if you're reduced to 0 by macrodamage and you don't have a macroarmor suit you are Dead. (If you are in macroarmor, then you only take a point of macroarmor damage.) Heavy suits in prime condition can take a point of macrodamage and keep going.

Generally speaking, forcefields, airlocks, bulkheads, etc, will be impervious to damage and mega-damage. Shots can cross forcefields, but not bulkheads (the physical door will stop the shot).

Powerarmor

Powerarmor is represented by a card which will have pertinent information on the card about the powerarmor. If you take your powerarmor off and it has armor damage, mark this on the card for the next guy. (Otherwise, track the damage in your head.)

Armor is either macroarmor or normal armor. If it doesn't say, it's normal armor.

Armor Repair

Armor repair only works on normal armor; there is no known armor repair for macro armor.

Stims

Some powerarmor has an internal stim built-in. You can use this stim while unconscious at any point before you actually die. After you have actually died, you may not use the stim to rez yourself, so there is a time limit. Using the stim restores you to Conscious with your maximum HP.

Some powerarmor has a bay for stims to be actively used by the pilot. These stims can be used on others. Stim will be represented by sticky dots of some color. Stick the dot on the other guy you are trying to stim and say "Stim, get up!" or some other three-syllable or longer incant. If the target is Unconscious, they are restored to Conscious with their maximum HP.

Hit Points, Health States, Dying, and Death

• Conscious: When a character has greater than 0 HP, they are conscious. They can move about freely and fire weapons.
• Unconscious: When a character has 0 HP, they are unconscious. Unconscious people will bleed out and become Dead in 5 minutes unless they receive a stim charge or are placed in a medical bay.
• Dying: An unconscious person can choose to wake up before their 5 minutes is over and become Dying. Dying people cannot be repaired by a stim; they must be placed within a medical bay within 5 minutes or they will become Dead. Any additional damage to a Dying person will make them Dead. Dying people can talk freely and may fire guns; they must walk heel-toe if they choose to move and they cannot move and fire.
• Dead: If you are dead, you are out of the game. Please find a GM or go to the control room. Take off your headband, put your hands over your head, avoid combat, do not get in the way.

  Example: You get into a firefight. You have 4 points of armor and 2 HP. Carl puts 20 discs into you. You are now Unconscious; the Timer starts. There is only one Timer.

  Sub-example #1: 2 minutes into the Timer, Chad puts another 20 discs into you. You are still Unconscious. A minute later, someone Stims you: you are now at 0 armor and 2 HP.

  Sub-example #2: 2 minutes into the Timer, you say to yourself, "well, I doubt my teammates are gonna live long to get me outta here", so you switch to Dying. You have 3 minutes to walk heel-toe to a medical bay. You will probably be out-of-game for the rest of the game, but will (probably) survive post-game. On your way out, you bump into your teammates and decide to die stylishly. Not that you can really dodge, since you can't move and fire at the same time. But you can stand there dramatically, gun held forth, and say "Drop. Your. Sword." Unfortunately, munch is not impressed and puts 20 discs into you. You are now Dead.

  Sub-example #3: You went down 20 feet from a medical bay. You wait 4.5 minutes for a teammate to show up. No one does. You get up, and in your remaining 30 seconds, stumble into a medical bay. Congrats. Follow the directions on the sign.

  When you are at 0, you are bleeding out. The only thing that will save you is definitive medical care, which you already know you cannot get in the field, or self-stabilizing armor, which you probably aren't wearing, or a stim charge.

  After five (5) minutes, you bleed to death. Count silently to yourself. No one can tell how much time you have left, so don't tell them. Then, and only then, take off your headband and take the shortest path to the control room.

  Medical bays come in different sizes and capabilities. They all have directions on them in large, friendly letters. Read them.