Combat in Enforcers

Art by Christine Mansfield

In Enforcers, combat transpires in a series of fifteen second rounds.  A round consists of 75 'counts' lasting one-fifth of a second each.  A 'Combat Initiative Chart' (shown below) is used to record the characters' initiative scores in a given round.  Note that the footer gives “permission to photocopy or cut out only this chart from the book.”  No such permission is granted regarding the blank character sheets printed on the inner front and back covers.

Interestingly, according to Lawrence Schick's Heroic Worlds, 21st Century Games sold a “Delux Initiative Set” for Enforcers (“Plasticized initiative chart, reusable, and three-hole punched for insertion in a binder” – also included a grease pencil); this product is not listed on RPGGeek.com.  Anyway...

A character’s initiative is calculated by rolling 1d10 and adding this number to the character’s ADX score.  If the character has the super power Heightened Reflexes [sic], this needs to be added as well.

Once a character’s initiative is determined, the number equal to the character’s initiative should be located and marked on the Initiative Chart with the character’s initials.

There is no power with the name Heightened Reflexes; presumably, the author meant Super Reflexes (each level of which adds 10 to initiative).

When combat begins, the GM will start in row 1, column 1 of the Initiative Chart and begin counting columns to the right.  When the end of one row is reached, the GM will start counting in row 2, column 1 and continue to the right…

Characters receive offensive actions in the column where their initiative score is plotted, in the row where their initiative score is plotted, and in all rows higher.  For example, a character with an initiative score of 35 receives an offensive action in column 11 of rows 1, 2, and 3.

This process is reminiscent of the combat system in Villains & Vigilantes (although V&V does not employ a chart):  turns last fifteen seconds, initiative is determined by adding 1d10 to Agility, and a character is entitled to an action for every fifteen 'phases' of his or her initiative.

Let’s see how Enforcers initiative plays out.  We have two characters:  Sloth-Man (with an ADX of 4) and Captain Hotfoot (with an ADX of 30 and three levels of Super Reflexes).  The result of the initiative roll for both characters is 5.  For this round of combat, Sloth-Man has an initiative score of 9; the score for Captain Hotfoot is 65.  Captain Hotfoot has five offensive actions this round but Sloth-Man has only one.

Combat begins.  We start at row 1, column 1 and begin counting to the right:  15 ...14 ...13 ...12 ...11 ...10 ...9 – Sloth-Man may now commit an offensive action 0.8 seconds before Captain Hotfoot is permitted to do the same this round.  [Insert sad trombone]

Well, the authors stated that Enforcers is “the easiest, fastest, most flexible super-power role-playing game.”  They made no claim regarding logic or common sense.

The amount of damage that a character inflicts in hand-to-hand combat is based on carrying capacity.  “Table 5 presents the meleé damage table,” we read, “look up your character's carrying capacity and this will give you the character's meleé DAM#.”  This seems reasonable.  Given below is the “formula [the authors] used to calculate the values on the meleé damage table.”

CC DAM#X = (DAM#X × 100) + (CC DAM#X – 1) + (DAM#X³ × LOG{DAM#X} × 0.7)

Apparently, the authors put a great deal of thought into this ...or did they?  Here is the first portion of Table 5:

Carrying capacity (in pounds) is determined thus:  (STR/10)³ x W* x 25.  A person weighing 180 lbs. and possessing a Strength of 11 (i.e., average) has a carrying capacity of 133 lbs.  According to the table, that means the person would have a DAM# of 2.

In Enforcers, there is no table describing meleé weapons.  Instead, “Striking weapons do damage based on their weight.”  Specifically, we are told, “Find the object's weight on [Table 5], and the DAM# given is amount of damage done by the object.”  A crow bar weighs about five pounds, so the DAM# would be 1.  This means a normal, unarmed person inflicts twice the amount of damage that a person wielding a crow bar would inflict.  [Insert sad trombone]  At least, “Objects with sharp edges used as slashing weapons will do triple this amount.”

A critical hit results when an attack roll is equal to or less than 10% of the attack's adjusted basic chance to hit (ABCTH).  Should the ABCTH exceed one hundred, “the maximum legal percentage” is ten percent.  To determine hit location, we are advised to “please roll 2d6 and consult the proper column in Table 11.”

Um, what column would that be?  When Table 11 is reprinted in the back of the book, we see that – from left to right – the columns are:  front, back, side, and below.  Each critical hit has a severity from one to six; determined by rolling 1d6.  This suggests six levels of severity; however, such is not the case.  There are actually three levels of severity, each having a separate table:  light (severity 1 - 3), medium (severity 4 - 5), and extreme (severity 6).  For the neck location, the effect of light severity is 2 × normal damage and “target loses next action.”  The effect of medium severity is 4 × normal damage and “15% paralyzed otherwise lose next action.”  Finally, the effect of extreme severity is 6 × normal damage, “20% dead, 50% paralyzed, [otherwise] target is stunned for rest of round.”

For an attack, rolling in excess of the 'fumble factor' means the character has fumbled.  Fumble factor equals 89 + (ABCTH/10), but a “roll of 00 is always a fumble regardless of the character's fumble factor.”  There are three fumble tables, each requiring a roll of 1d10:  Hand-To-Hand, Ranged Attack, and Missile Weapon.  A roll of '2' on the hand-to-hand table means, “Strained arm, –40% to hit for rest of round.”  A roll of '1' on the ranged attack table indicates, “Distracted, save vs. Intelligence on d% or lose next offensive action.”  A roll of '3' on the missile weapon table indicates, “Missile arc to [sic] high ...Hits ceiling for normal damage and may hit a random target on the ground.”

The easiest, fastest, most flexible super-power role-playing game

Well, that's what it says on the back cover of the Enforcers rulebook.  Perhaps the authors genuinely believed this.  If so, I hope they have since recovered from their substance abuse.  It's one thing to say your game is easy, fast, and flexible, but to employ superlatives sets expectations rather high.

Without a doubt, the authors were well versed in superhero role-playing games popular at the time.  They liked some aspects of those games and incorporated them into Enforcers.  Some aspects they didn't like and they attempted to design Enforcers in avoidance of these aspects (not necessarily successfully).  The rulebook has no Introduction, but an equivalent section called “Concepts Behind Enforcers” provides insight as to what the authors thought was wrong with these games.

We designed Enforcers with the intent of avoiding the pitfalls most of the super hero systems that have gone before us suffer from.  The following is a short list of some of these.

1. Randomly generated, underpowered player characters that never get any better.
2. Complicated character creation schemes that are time-consuming and require a Ph.D. in math to understand.
3. Ability scores represented by words like Fantastic, Amazing, Incredible, Humongous (or is it Hughmongoose?)
4. Systems that force you to run someone else's creation.
5. Combat that moves too slowly and is too complex.

Admittedly, each individual “pitfall” was applicable to one or more systems, but no contemporaneous superhero games (let alone “most”) were afflicted with all of these flaws.  While “Concepts Behind Enforcers” indicates justifiable criticisms of other games, the back cover lists the selling points of Enforcers.

• Creation point character generation in minutes.
• Fast and easy combat system.
• A complete magic system.
• Create your own super-powers.
• All alignments of characters allowed.
• LOTUS® compatible spread sheet program for online character sheets
• Step-by-step procedures provided for new players.

Listing a “spread sheet program” as a selling point does little to assure a potential buyer that the system is easy.  Given the publication date of 1987, a “program” consisted of printed code that a user was expected to enter manually.  Four pages are devoted to this code which, I expect, very few Enforcers players opted to employ.  In his Heroic Worlds, Lawrence Schick indicates that an “Enforcers Spread Sheet Disk” was offered as a related product.  In the entry for Enforcers, Schick states, “Complexity alert:  calculator required, as math formulas figure prominently in the rules.”  No other superhero game has such a warning.  The game itself recommends use of a calculator:

While all of the calculations involved in this system are simple, there are quite a few of them involved with initial character setup.  You can use this system without a calculator, but it will slow down the action quite a bit if you do.

In addition, character creation requires use of what are admittedly “mystic and arcane formulas.”  All this would seem to put the lie to the notion of Enforcers being the “easiest” system.  Why would the authors put forth such a preposterous claim?  I can only speculate.

Below is the stat block from the Enforcers character sheet.

To be fair, Enforcers offers charts for some of the calculations.

The basic statistics for Enforcers characters are Weight, Strength, Constitution, Agility / Dexterity, Intelligence, Comeliness, and Media Rating.  All are determined randomly, although the score for Weight can be determined “through an agreement between the player and the GM...”  Nonetheless, we are informed, “the GM should go to great lengths to avoid the ‘overweight superhero syndrome.’ ”  (In Enforcers, Weight is used in determining Hit Points and affects the calculation of other statistics, much like in Villains and Vigilantes.)

Other than random determination of basic statistics, Enforcers characters are generated by allocating creation points.  The rules inform us, “Fifteen creation points is a good amount to use if you want a low-powered campaign that grows slowly; twenty-five creation points will result in a more moderate rate of growth; and 35 CPs will result in a high-powered campaign that grows quickly right from the start.”  However, the first published module, The Knights of Beverly Hills, is intended for characters having forty creation points.

Creation points may be used to purchase powers and increase basic statistics (other than Weight and Media Rating).  Superhero role-playing games typically offer a selection of generic powers which can be modified by various enhancements and limitations.  In games like Champions and Superworld, these modifiers are presented as fractions by which the purchase cost of a power is multiplied.  Enforcers eschews this mechanic; each power has a set cost.  If a character's power is less effective than how it is described in the rulebook, the character receives points in the form of a weakness; if it is more effective, there is an additional cost “set by the GM...”  With one noteworthy exception, variations in cost are represented in whole numbers.  Only in this respect is Enforcers character generation 'easier' than that of other Superhero role-playing games; a distinction which is hardly worthwhile given the flaws evident in the game.

Let's take Sound Projection, “a standard offensive power” with a cost of six creation points.  As a “a standard offensive power,” the player chooses (1) his or her accuracy with the power and (2) the amount of damage it inflicts.  Accuracy is measured as BCTH (Base Chance To Hit) and damage is measured as DAM#.  As can be seen on Table 1, a BCTH anywhere from 26 – 75% does not modify the cost.  According to the rules, “At the time a power is initially purchased, the BCTH is fixed permanently and can never be altered unless the power is completely retaken a second time.”  You want to improve your ability through training, practice, and experience?  That's not going to happen in the Enforcers universe!  For standard offensive powers, “A character can have a DAM# of up to 10 with no additional cost...”  Each additional DAM# 10 (or fraction thereof) costs an extra creation point.  (For comparison, a Colt .45 has a DAM# 6.)  So, Sound Projection with BCTH 95% and DAM# 20 would cost 7.5 creation points.  What are you going to do with one-half of a creation point?  I don't know, maybe buy another standard offensive power?  Although  it's impossible to improve BCTH for an existing power, you can increase DAM# by 3 for every extra creation point spent.  Getting a BCTH of 120% for a mere point might seem like a sweet deal; however, a greater BCTH imposes a higher energy cost.  That's right, the better a character's aim, the more fatiguing it is to use the power.  The 'energy cost per use' formula is:

Energy Cost / Use = (DAM# × 3 × BCTH) / 1000

So, each use of our hypothetical Sound Projection power would have an energy cost of six (i.e., 5.7 rounded up).

What about claims of “Creation point character creation in minutes” and “Step-by-step procedures provided for new players”?  Well, it's all relative.  The age of the universe can be measured in minutes.  Any “Step-by-step procedures” doubtless make perfect sense to the author but may not easily be  comprehensible to anyone else.  Preparatory to creating a character, Enforcers encourages players to consider various “points” like personality, objectives, and motivation.  This is commendable. The rules then go on to explain creation points and basic statistics.  So far, so good.  The next section is “Optional Statistics, Superpowers, and their Effects.”  This is where the problems begin.  Actually, the section describes the basic mechanics of Enforcers combat; there's nothing wrong with this, but the section title is misleading.  There are no optional statistics presented and the information about superpowers is entirely peripheral.  The next two sections are “Super Power Descriptions” and “Weakness Descriptions.”  Only then are we treated to “Calculated Statistics and their Effects,” a section which explains Hit Points, Energy Points, and other concepts which ought to have been addressed much earlier.  Also, Enforcers commits the unforgivable sin of not providing a sample character.  Enforcers 'borrowed' several concepts from Villains and Vigilantes.  One concept it did not copy was the inclusion of sample characters in its advertisements.  That was clever marketing; you didn't even have to purchase Villains and Vigilantes in order to see a sample character.

There's one other thing I would like to mention before concluding this post.  The first page of text in Enforcers – even before the Table of Contents – has the title “Missed-Information.”  In other books, this would be “Errata” and and it would appear at the end because it's unfortunate.  About this page the author tells us:

We are using this opportunity to correct some mistakes that occurred when the book was originally printed.  As it was not feasible to correct all of the errors in the text, some of these corrections are given below.

Not feasible?  As indicated in the last post, nearly twenty pages had to be removed from this edition.  They could remove those pages, but it was “not feasible” to implement some corrections.  Even worse, three out of four corrections indicate the wrong page with which they should be associated.  “Dr. Jay Christensen” is listed as the book's editor; one wonders in which field of study this person earned his or her doctorate.

Adventures in the 4th Dimension

Art by Jim Holloway

TRAVEL to any place, any time, in this universe and beyond!

FIGHT in the midst of any battle, and change the outcome yourself!

SEE the greatest people in history. . . Caesar, Cleopatra, Leonardo — whomever you desire to meet!

JOIN THE RANKS OF THE TIME CORPS,

AND YOU CAN BE THE MASTER OF TIME!

So reads some of the copy on the bottom of the TIMEMASTER Role Playing Game boxed set.  Other copy includes a listing of contents:  “64-page TIMEMASTER™ Travelers’ Manual, 32-page Guide to the Continuum, 16-page exciting adventure, 140 colorful counters printed on both sides, 3 durable ten-sided dice, and 1 large, full-color map.”

Looking at the components in reverse order, the map is 20.5" × 27" and displays one-inch hexes.  One side is colored and the hexes are numbered.  This side is rather versatile; the scale is variable as are the features.  There are three keys that can be used:  an elevation key where the different colors indicate various elevations, a terrain key where colors indicate terrain features, and a second terrain key where the same colors indicate a different set of terrain features.  The other side is black and white and represents a location from the introductory adventure.  On this side, each hex represents five feet.

The dice are indeed durable and come in a patriotic assortment of red, white, and blue.

The counter sheet contains sixteen 'colorful' counters.  These are shown below.  The remaining 124 counters are colorful only in the sense that blue is a color.  The reverse side is printed in black and white.

With regard to the adventure, “exciting” is open to interpretation.  While the booklet is sixteen pages, four of them are devoted to describing the eight pre-generated characters.  Also, the last page is meant to be cut apart to represent trenches on the color map.  (The adventure, “Red Ace High,” takes place during World War I.)

Among other topics, the Guide to the Continuum devotes 3 – 4 pages to each of six settings:

• Athens:  5th Century B.C.
• Rome:  61 B.C. – 37 A.D.
• Angevin England:  1154 – 1216
• Tudor England:  1509 – 1603
• Napoleonic France:  1804 – 1815
• France, 1940 – 1944

The Travelers’ Manual contains ten chapters:

• The Game (4 pages)
• Welcome to the Corps (4 pages)
• Characters (7 pages)
• Basic Action (14 pages)
• Heavy Weapons (6 pages)
• Battles (4 pages)
• Skills (10 pages)
• Paranormal Talents (4 pages)
• Tools of the Trade (2 pages)
• The People You Meet (4 pages)

Pacesetter was established by TSR veterans in January 1984.  By the end of that year, Pacesetter had published Chill, Star Ace, and Timemaster ; three role-playing games that share a common system.  While the 'Original Design Concept' is credited to Gali Sanchez and Garry Spiegle, the 'Design' of Timemaster is attributed to Mark Acres; 'Additional Design and Development' is ascribed to Andria Hayday and Carl Smith.  In Space Gamer #75 (July/August 1985), Smith discussed some of the design philosophy behind Pacesetter's role-playing games:

     Our games are aimed at a wide audience.  Many roleplaying games either consciously or unconsciously parallel the demographics of D&D.  In addition to expanding our demographics, we wanted to include greater use of investigation and interaction in roleplaying, positive ethnic role models, and emphasize plot-oriented adventures.  We chose game themes which were fun and which filled market positions that were largely empty or at worst, inadequately filled.
     Pacesetter games emphasize using wits and not just brawn.  In fact, player characters who act rashly without thinking often run afoul of the law.  Too many games ignore skills and devices which prove useful in a gamer's hands such as impersonation, modelling, acting, and forgery.  Often games dwell on skills which are strictly male and combat-oriented.

Although aiming “at a wide audience” and having a professed desire to provide “positive ethnic role models,” all of the settings described in the Guide to the Continuum are nonetheless European.

Smith continued:

     Some Pacesetter systems appear too clean to the casual observer.  A game should have simple and elegant mechanics.  After all, more complex is not necessarily better.  Some gamers equate massive charts and tables with a detailed game system.  We achieve detail through multiple use of some charts and tables.  It is more difficult to design an economical game system which allows the referee to handle many situations with one set of mechanics than it is to design a score of different tables which handle as many different actions.  Games with too many tables often reflect that the designer did not work on the problem long enough to boil it down.

The fundamental mechanic for the Pacesetter system is a check.  “Checks are percent rolls that determine how an action turns out,” according to Chapter One of the Travelers’ Manual, “when the outcome is in doubt.”  A general check offers a binary outcome, either success or failure.  If the result of the roll is equal to or less than an established score, the character succeeds.  A specific check offers a range of success outcomes.  If the result of the roll is equal to or less than a target value, the amount of the difference is referenced on the Action Table is consulted.  There are five possible grades of success for combat checks and four possible levels with regard to skill or ability checks.  These 'grades' or 'levels' are identified by letter codes as shown below.

With regard to Timemaster, Smith stated:

     Timemaster is a different kind of roleplaying game appealing to the gamer who likes more reality with his particular fantasy.  In general, the player who enjoys historical fiction or wargames also enjoys Timemaster.  It is a game of historical as well as speculative fiction aimed at a different segment of the science-fiction audience than Star Ace...
     In addition to the investigative parts of a Timemaster adventure, many scenarios include a mass combat where a player character can affect the outcome of a battle.  To facilitate mass battles, Timemaster counters [that do not represent individual characters] have movement and identification factors printed on them...

Each of the settings included in the Guide to the Continuum has a 'military summary' of mass combat rules.

Timemaster is currently a property of Goblinoid Games.  Hardcopy rules are available as a print-on-demand product and most of the original assortment of Timemaster publications are available in digital format.

More Mental Powers in Star Frontiers

Art by Steve Ditko

In a comment for last week's post, Down Under reader Konsumterra referenced the Star Frontiers psionics rules as presented in Arēs magazine.  This week we discuss said rules.  Arēs Special Edition 2 was published in Spring 1984, more than a year before the release of Zebulon's Guide to Frontier Space.  By this time, Arēs was published by TSR but had not yet been reduced to a mere section of Dragon.

The two-and-one-half page article, “Frontiers of the Mind,” was written by Jon Mattson, an occasional contributor to Dragon magazine.  Mattson introduces a new ability score:

When characters are generated, each player must roll for an additional ability score, Psionic Ability (PSI), using the same die-rolling procedure as used for any other score.  There are no racial modifiers for this roll, although Human characters can add their 5-point bonus to this score, and it is not “paired” with any other ability.  In every other respect, PSI is treated as a normal attribute.

There is a Psionic Primary Skill Area with each psionic ability represented as a separate skill.  A character can have a maximum number of psionic skills “equal to his PSI score divided by 15 (rounding fractions to the nearest whole number).”  Characters can have expertise (i.e., above Level 4) in a maximum number of psionic skills “equal to their PSI score divided by 25 (dropping fractions).”  In terms of cost, psionic skills are more expensive than Biosocial skills.

As the table suggests,“the experience point cost is doubled for psionic skills when the Psionic PSA is not taken.”  Mattson states, “a character who has not chosen the Psionic PSA cannot learn any of the psionic skills unless his PSI score is 60 or higher.”  However, in the following paragraph he claims, “Characters who do not choose the Psionic PSA may not use any psionic abilities.”

Using a psionic ability requires the character to expend Psionic Energy Points (PEPs).  The number of PEPs a character has “is equal to the average of his PSI and (unwounded) STA scores.”  Recovery occurs “at a rate of 3 per hour of rest, or 1 per hour of activity.”  Successful use of psionic abilities requires concentration.  “Any violent shock,” we read, “has a chance of disrupting a psionic's concentration and ending a talent's use prematurely.”  The psionic can attempt to maintain concentration with a LOG ability check.

Like normal skills, psionic skills have a percentile success chance enhanced by the character's skill level.  Failure means “the character will only lose half as many PEPs as would have been expended had the ability been successfully used (round fractions up).”  Seven psionic skills are presented.

• Clairvoyance:  The character can view “a person, place, or object” at a number of meters equal to ten multiplied by skill level.  At level four, the character can also hear the target.
• Energy Manipulation:  “This ability allows the character to channel energy harmlessly away from his body.”  In game terms, this means a reduction in damage caused by “beam weapons” and “kinetic energy.”
• Mind Contact:  The highest level of this skill represents telepathy.  Level three allows the character to create a psionic shield.  The first level of this ability merely “allows the psionic to Sense the presence of any life forms.”
• Illusion Creation:  The character can cause a being to perceive an illusion with “visual, auditory, tactile, and olfactory components.”
• Mind Control:  The “victim” can avoid the effects of control with an ability check based on “the average of his LOG and PER scores, with a penalty equal to twice the level of use of this talent.”
• Telekinesis:  “This is the ability to move objects merely by thinking about it.”  The description references a table that is supposed to indicate modifiers based on mass; however, the actual table lists intervals of time.  The 'mass' table actually appears in the Teleportation description.
• Teleportation:  The character can “instantly transport himself...to any spot of his choice within his line of sight.”  Contrary to the notion of “line of sight,” there are modifiers for teleporting to locations the character cannot see.

“The referee may of course create new psionic powers,” we are told, “but should in all cases use discretion when doing so.”  Also, “Having too many characters with psionic characters can throw a campaign out of balance completely.”

Mattson states:

The referee should determine how psionic skills are acquired by a character.  It may be necessary for someone to seek out a psionic mentor...or a psionic organization that will train him properly.  Either way, an interesting series of adventures could be set up in which adventuring groups hunt for such sources of information.

Does Mattson mean that beginning characters cannot possess psionic skills?  Perhaps he is referring to skills acquired after character generation (and/or improving beginning skills).

Mental Powers in Star Frontiers

Art by Virgil Finlay

A seven-page section of Zebulon's Guide to Frontier Space is devoted to “the concept of mental powers, often referred to in other role-playing games as psionics.”  The Introduction to this section emphasizes the optional nature of these rules.  We are told that the referee need not “include these options in his game, and if he does omit them, it will not unbalance the rest of the system.”  This leads one to wonder if including the rules will unbalance the rest of the system.  In fact, three paragraphs later, we are warned that incorporating the rules “will...require more care in balancing the campaign.”  There is an option of limiting mental powers – the Guide refers to them as 'disciplines' – to non-player characters; either “to an NPC race or character type.”  Also, “In a future volume of Zebulon's Guide to Frontier Space, some creatures may even have the option to use a mental discipline for communications or attack.”  As indicated in the previous post, the publishing of further volumes was a forlorn hope.

There are two types of characters who can use disciplines:  Mentalists (characters belonging to the Mentalist profession as opposed to the other professions) and enlightened (characters belonging to one of the usual professions).

During character generation, a Mentalist's Logic ability score can be increased to “between 75 and 90” by decreasing other scores on a one-to-one basis.  First, Strength and/or Stamina can be reduced.  Once both of these abilities are decreased to a value of thirty, “then the points can be taken from any other ability.”  A beginning Mentalist receives three disciplines/levels plus an additional discipline/level for every five points of Logic over seventy.  So, a Mentalist with a Logic score of 84 has five disciplines/levels to allocate.  This could be five disciplines at one level each, five levels in one discipline, three levels in one discipline and two levels in another, or any other combination.  Just like skills, disciplines have levels and Mentalists can purchase new disciplines (or increase the level of an existing discipline) by spending experience points in accordance with the Skill Cost Table.  The referee determines how discipline improvements manifest; either training and/or practice is necessary (like skills) or the discipline/level “comes naturally” to the Mentalist.

Beginning characters have twenty experience points to buy skills.  Presumably, this also applies to Mentalists and, also presumably, they can use those experience points to acquire or improve both skills and disciplines.  Like other professions, Mentalists have a list of skills; however, the list for Mentalists is rather modest.  Also, while other professions can purchase skills outside their list at a non-professional skill cost (which is twice the normal cost), Mentalists can only acquire skills from their list and they must pay at the non-professional cost.  Characters must pay ten points to join a profession, whereupon they receive an automatic skill that allows them to improve appropriate attributes.  Apparently, Mentalists don't pay ten points and there is no equivalent automatic skill.  Although we are admonished that “disciplines should never be confused with skills,” the title of the section is “Mentalists: The Optional Skills and Profession.”  We are told, “A Mentalist has profession discipline costs and non profession discipline costs.”  This is confusing in that there are no non-profession disciplines for Mentalists.

A beginning, non-Mentalist character with a Logic score of 80 or greater can be enlightened.  Such a character has one discipline/level for every five points of Logic in excess of 75.  During play, should an enlightened character's Logic be improved to a new five-point 'mark', he or she obtains a new discipline/level; no training is required.  A discipline/level is retained if the character's Logic score is somehow reduced below the amount required to attain that discipline/level.  Enlightened characters may not use experience points for disciplines.

There are forty-one disciplines, twenty of which are asterisked.  Enlightened characters can only have asterisked disciplines and Mentalists can acquire/improve them at half cost.  An example of an asterisked discipline is Confusion, which can only be used (successfully) twice per day.  If the Confusion roll is successful, it affects one target.  One might think that a target's Intuition/Logic would increase or decrease the chance of success, but one would be wrong.  The actual effect is determined by rolling 1d10 and consulting the Confusion Table:

Another asterisked discipline is Density, through which the character can increase or decrease his or her “body density.”  Additional asterisked disciplines include Trance I and Trance II.  Trance I allows a character to lower his or her metabolism while Trance II permits an increase of metabolism.  Why have one discipline that both lowers and increases density, but then have different disciplines for raising and lowering metabolism?

There are three flavors of telepathy:  Aliens, Animals, and Characters.  The Animal and Character versions are asterisked, the Alien discipline is not.  The description for the Character discipline states, “This discipline allows a character to enter another intelligent being's mind only for the purpose of conversation.”  The Alien discipline states, “This discipline allows a character to enter an intelligent alien's mind only for the purpose of conversation.”  The distinction between intelligent being and intelligent alien is not readily apparent.  The description for Character discipline concludes, “This discipline only allows for telepathic contact with intelligent player or nonplayer characters (including cyborgs),” while the Alien discipline concludes:

If the alien is extremely evil, or has a mind that could be incomprehensible to the character attempting to reach it, the referee might decide that a logic check is in order before any communication is attempted. If the user fails the check, he may be disoriented, stunned, at the alien's mercy, or even mortally wounded, depending on the alien and the referee's discretion.

Among the other disciplines are various psionic staples:  Telekinesis, Teleportation, Clairvoyance, Pyrokinesis, etc.  However, there is no discipline relating to precognition.  There is a Timeread discipline that permits a character to look back in time in a given location and an Analysis II discipline that “allows a character to read psychic impressions left on an object by the last person who used it.”

Given that mental powers are optional for Star Frontiers, there is little effort made to integrate them into the setting.  There are no items of equipment that interact with disciplines.  We learn that the Mentalist profession “is not so much a religion as it is a dedication to a way of doing things” and “Mentalists almost always wear some type of distinctive uniform (usually light blue) or medallion to signify their profession.”  Yet the only described organization regarding Mentalists is Star Law Psi-Corp, “a branch of Star Law specifically created for Mentalists.”

Zebulon's Guide to Frontier Space

Art by Ed Emshwiller

TSR offered three 'accessory' products for Star Frontiers.  The first such product was a book of official character record sheets; the second was a referee's screen.  Lastly, we have the subject of this post, Zebulon's Guide to Frontier Space (hereinafter Zebulon).  The conceit of Zebulon is that it is...

...an encyclopedia compiled by the University of Zebulon documenting all the known flora, fauna, cultures, devices, and history of the Frontier in one place. The handy Ceretronix Pocket 1200 version quickly became a necessary piece of equipment in every pioneer's and spacer's kit.

Zebulon, of course, is one of the star systems in the Frontier (and doubtless named after Dave “Zeb” Cook).  Specifically, the Zebulon system contains Volturnus.  The university is based on Anker, another planet in the system.  According to the Zebulon timeline, Professor Alorne Zebulon discovered the Zebulon system 61 years prior to the establishment of the United Planetary Federation (and 66 years prior to the creation of Star Law).  Four years after discovering the Zebulon system, the professor established the University of Zebulon.  However, Crash on Volturnus states that, “The Zebulon star system was first investigated... by an unmanned exploration probe” and this “probe indicated that Volturnus was the only inhabitable planet in the Zebulon system.”  Also, Crash on Volturnus takes place within a year of the first manned expedition of that system – an expedition that did not include Professor Zebulon.  There is no attempt to reconcile these conflicting facts.  It's almost as if the Star Frontiers creative team did not anticipate that – 30-40 years in the future – people with nothing better to do would use a global communications system to nitpick the continuity of the game's milieu.

Despite the claim above, Zebulon documents neither flora nor fauna.  Zebulon has “Volume 1” as its subtitle, suggesting further volumes.  Perhaps flora and fauna would have been covered in one of these anticipated volumes.  However, published in 1985, Zebulon was one of TSR's last Star Frontiers products.  More than a mere accessory, Zebulon was hailed as a “major new rules expansion!” in the coming attractions of Dragon #102.  In effect, Zebulon was a new edition of the Star Frontiers rules.  Unfortunately, it was also Star Frontiers' swan song.

Zebulon offers a universal resolution system based on a table with nineteen columns.  Generally, each column represents a skill level; however, there are columns for both positive and negative extremes (above +10 and below -5 respectively).  There is also a “/0” column to the right of the “0” column. 

In the original rules, skills have a maximum of six levels.  With the Zebulon rules, the maximum level is eight.  Percentile dice are still rolled, but instead of percentile modifiers, there are “column shifts” on the table.  Each column represents a modifier difference of 10.  “For example, a + 20 bonus in the Alpha Dawn rules now becomes a + 2 column shift.”  Use of the table allows for degrees of success, each degree conforms to one of four colors.  In order of decreasing result, the colors are:  cobalt, blue, green, and yellow.

In terms of combat, damage is determined by the color result of a successful attack.  A cobalt success inflicts maximum damage.  Other possibilities include blue (¾ damage), green (½ damage), and yellow (¼ damage).  A character without training in a given weapon can attempt to use the weapon on the “0” column; positive modifiers cannot improve a roll to the right of the “/0” column.

The original rules offered a selection of thirteen skills (with associated subskills) among three Primary Skill Areas.  Zebulon treats each subskill as a distinct skill and adds many new skills so that over 120 skills are now available for characters.  In terms of character creation, a beginning character has twenty experience points “gleaned from years of study, practicing, apprenticeship, or whatever.”  These points are used to join a profession and acquire skills.

Professions are a new concept in Zebulon.  We learn that, “A character must belong to one of these professions and may not leave it at a later date.”  Each profession has a list of skills associated with it.  Entering a profession costs ten experience points and a character “must spend his remaining experience points on any of his profession's skills.”  Rather than having twenty experience points and necessarily spending ten of those to enter a profession, why not have characters join a profession at no cost and give them ten experience points to spend on profession skills? 

The main professions are:  Enforcer, Techex (“Technical Expert”), Scispec (“Science Specialist”), and Explorer.  A Mentalist profession is discussed separately in Zebulon.  The Spacer profession is “for campaigns using the Knight Hawks game rules.”  There is no other mention of the Spacer profession.  The spaceship skills are not defined in the Zebulon skill section and there is no discussion of how to conform the spaceship skills to the Zebulon paradigm.

Each profession has an automatic skill:  Enforcer - Endurance, Techex - Agility, Scipec - Intelligence, and Explorer - Charisma.  Each of these automatic 'skills' gives seven points to be allocated between a given ability pair:  Endurance (Strength/Stamina), Agility (Dexterity/Reaction Speed), Intelligence (Intuition/Logic), and Charisma (Personality/Leadership).

The cost of learning and improving skills is indicated on the Zebulon Skill Cost Table.  There is a column for skills within one's profession and a column for skills outside one's profession.  The first level of a profession skill costs one point, the second level costs an additional two points.  Each level after the second costs an additional two points.  Thereby, the eighth level of a professional skill has a cost of fourteen points.  The cost for non-professional skills is double that of professional skills.  Some skills do not have levels beyond the first; success is automatic if these skills are purchased.  Examples include 'Climbing' and 'Chef'.

Some skills appear on more than one profession list.  For instance, 'Body Speak' is both an Enforcer skill and an Explorer skill.  (Body Speak “allows a character to use exaggerated body movement as a form of communication with others possessing this skill.”)  Some skills aren't on any profession list, meaning that anyone who wants to learn or improve such a skill must use the non-profession cost progression.  Examples include 'Disguise' and 'Bluff'.  Some skills require continuous training; they must be re-purchased at first level every six months or the benefit they provide is lost.  Examples include 'Pumping Federanium' and 'Running'.  ('Pumping Federanium' allows a character to “carry [up] to one and one-half times his Strength score” in kilograms.  This is due to the character working out with federanium, “the densest element known.”  However, the drawback is that the character's physique is so developed he “may have trouble fitting into suits and equipment normally disguised [sic] for his race.”)

The Warriors of White Light (spoilers)

Art by Jim Holloway

Included in the Knight Hawks boxed set is a 16-page module “designed to introduce players and referees to the spaceship rules in STAR FRONTIERS™ Knight Hawks game, and to show referees how the Knight Hawks rules can be combined with the original STAR FRONTIERS rules.”  Five scenarios are detailed.  According to to Beta Subsection 7, they “are designed to support rather than create, a campaign.”  Regardless, the module establishes the foundation of the campaign.  We are told, “the referee is encouraged to devise other encounters of his own to use between adventures.”

Player characters are supposed to be recruits in the Clarion Royal Marines.  Clarion – called Gollywog in Star Frontiers Expanded Rules – is in the eponymous White Light system.  Since the star's color is red-orange, the name 'White light' is hardly intuitive.  'Royal' implies royalty and – appropriately – Clarion is described as a “capitalist monarchy.”  The reigning king is Leotus XIX and we learn, “The Leotus line has held the throne for nearly 400 years.”  This suggests that the age of space exploration is at least four hundred years old.  (Humans are not native to the planet as we are told, “No native animal life has been discovered on Clarion.”)  Not everyone is happy with the monarchy; the Liberation Party holds twenty to thirty seats (out of one hundred) of Clarion's parliament.

Alpha Subsection 2 informs us that participating player characters “should already have a 1st level spaceship skill.”  Nine pre-generated characters are provided if “the players do not wish to roll up their own characters.”  Given that spaceship skills difficult to obtain and are not possessed by starting characters, the suggestion that players can roll up appropriate characters is somewhat disingenuous.  Unlike other Star Frontiers products, the White Light pre-generated characters are not supplied with names.  This is an interesting choice given that the module has a plethora of named non-player characters.  Your humble host's favorite is “Bluto Goorhud (Yazirian Male).”

In the 'campaign', the player characters are based on Clarion Station and assigned to the Osprey, one of three assault scouts in the Royal Marine fleet.  During the course of conversations with the other marines, the player characters are supposed to learn “a boarding party from the Assault Ship Osprey was ambushed by the crew of the freighter they were searching for contraband.”  This is the reason there were vacancies in the Royal Marines for the player characters to fill.  About the spaceport we learn:

A starship arrives at Clarion Station about once every 100 to 200 minutes.  Shuttles leave for the planet even more frequently.  This heavy traffic brings thousands of characters of all four races through the station, so huge crowds can be seen mingling about on the business deck at all hours.  The referee can stretch his imagination describing hundreds of beings going about their business with frantic haste.

Among the various recreational businesses on the station, there is the 'Dance and Dice'.  This establishment “is a favorite hangout for spacers of all types.”  Rules for dancing are not provided, but if player characters are inclined to gamble, the following table is presented.

However:

There are rumors that the dice at the 'Dance and Dice' are not always honest.  The referee should feel free to alter any result he does not like.  Of course, the club keeps a number of 'Goons' on hand to reason with players who do not understand or appreciate such tactics.

Player characters function as a boarding party, checking ships for contraband.  The penalty for importing addictive drugs is “10 to 20 years in prison.”  For importing heavy weapons, the punishment is “Death by vacuum.”  Also listed among contraband is “Raw Uranjum,” which I presume is a typo for uranium, one of Clarion's natural resources.  Gamma Subsection 2 relates, “The characters should be allowed to search several ships that are carrying legal cargo before encountering the smugglers.”  The 'smugglers' are the focus of the first scenario; they are transporting “a variety of weapons...[which] are hidden inside robot bodies in the cargo hold.”  The weapons are intended for “Liberation Party rebels,” illustrating the extent of opposition to Clarion's aristocratic rulers.

In the second scenario, player characters board a freighter controlled by a cybot – “a cybernetic (partially organic) robot.”  Ideally, the characters should “subdue the 'cybot' and his robot minions while causing as little damage as possible.”  This scenario offers a bonanza of experience points.  In addition to the standard one to three point award, characters receive “3 bonus points for each robot that was deactivated without being destroyed.”  Also, they gain “10 points if the cybot was stopped by damage to its organic parts rather than to the robot body.”  This is in spite of the admonition in the Star Frontiers Expanded Rules, “The referee should never award more than 10 points for one adventure.”

In the next scenario, the Osprey attempts to save a freighter from the depredations of a pirate corvette.  Maybe the player characters are successful in this regard or maybe they're not.  Regardless, the pirates escape.  Eventually, “a wildcat miner operating in the asteroid belt” will inform the Royal Marines of the location of the pirate base.  As a result, the Marines mobilize against the pirate base and a battle in the (two-dimensional) asteroid belt ensues.

In the fourth scenario, the non-player character lieutenant in command of the Osprey is revealed to be a Sathar agent (which is another offence punishable by “Death by vacuum”).  The player characters are at a disadvantage as the lieutenant brings the Osprey alongside what turns out to be a Sathar freighter.  Should a player character look out a porthole, he or she can tell that the freighter is a “sinister object” if an Intuition check is successful.

By the time player characters participate in the fifth scenario, they “should be able to earn 15 or 20 experience points.”  This is because that scenario “is designed for characters with at least 2nd level spaceship skills.”  There is an assumption that player characters will spend their experience points on improving spaceship skills as opposed to improving other skills, acquiring new skills, or raising ability scores.  Incidentally, the final scenario is a battle against Sathar destroyers.

A Space Odyssey (spoilers)

It's 1984.  You know what would be great?  Connecting Star Frontiers to a popular science fiction franchise.  This would bring attention to the game and drive its future success.  Let's see...FASA has the rights to Star Trek and The Last Starfighter.  The third film in the Star Wars trilogy was released in '83, so public interest will probably wane...  Perhaps it would be best to get in on the ground floor of an upcoming film and ride its coat tails.  How about Dune ?  It's set to be a merchandising bonanza.  Also, Herbert's series is specifically listed as suggested reading on the inside back cover of the Star Frontiers rules.  But wait... MGM is releasing a sequel to 2001.  Never mind that it's not really space opera.  Never mind that many of the game's target demographic had yet to be born when the original film was released.  Kubrick's cinematic masterpiece is timeless; surely it can be easily adapted into an engaging role playing experience.

Such may as well have been the thought processes of one or more persons at TSR.  Regardless, we have been gifted with 2001 A Space Odyssey – “A Special Star Frontiers® Adventure Module.”  The task of writing this special module fell to Frank Mentzer.

The module is presented in four chapters, roughly analogous to the segments of the film:  Dawn of Man, Lunar Excursion, Jupiter Mission, and Through the Star Gate.  The Introduction provides an overview of the module's narrative:

At critical points in Mankind's history, an alien device, a monolith, appears and provides a key to the future.  Through this adventure, the player characters are present each time a monolith appears.  In each case, whether or not Mankind successfully enters the future offered by the monolith depends on how the player characters react and how much they learn about themselves and their universe.

Obviously, the standard game setting is not used.  “If you put this adventure in your STAR FRONTIERS® game, place it back in time before humans contact the other races.”  However, the adventure can be modified for the other intelligent races of Star Frontiers.

For example, in a dralasite version of chapter one, the monolith might teach cooperation to primitive, independent dralasites.  In a Yazirian version, the monolith might instigate the custom of life-enemies.

We are informed, “This special STAR FRONTIERS® module requires both ALPHA DAWN and KNIGHT HAWKS box sets.”  In reality, the Knight Hawks set is only needed for the Piloting skill and to provide an assortment of counters.  “All spaceflight in this adventure takes place in chapters 2 – 4,” the Introduction states, “Those chapters explain when and how to handle the necessary spaceflight.”

North is to the right

In chapter one, player characters control man-apes in the African wilderness of four million years ago.  Each has the same ability scores.  Events occur in three phases:  Survival (2 game days), Changes (2 game days), and Conquest (3 – 5 game days).  During the Survival phase, the man-apes cope with carnivores and an enemy tribe while trying to obtain sufficient food and water for survival.  A day without water reduces Stamina by 1d10; a day without food reduces Stamina by 1d5.  In the Changes phase, the monolith appears.  On the second day, “each PC man-ape visiting the monolith gains one skill” determined on the Skill Chart (at left).  Man-apes can learn skills from one another.  Player characters achieve the goal of the Conquest phase “when (1) they have slain a carnivore, and (2) the enemy tribe has surrendered.”

Chapter two takes place in 1994 and we learn, “The mega-corporations (which will eventually evolve into Pan Galactic, of the normal STAR FRONTIERS® game setting) dominate the quality of life.”  Players create original characters that reside “on Station One, the largest of three orbital cities floating above the Earth.”  Unlike the usual character generation procedure, a player may allocate a total of twelve Skill Levels among up to five skills (“with a maximum of 5 in any one Skill”).  The Computer and Technician skills are required and “at least 2 of [the skills] must be from the character's PSA.”  Each player then distributes forty additional points among the character's abilities.  “Finally, each player should secretly choose a nationality:  American, Russian, Chinese, or Other.”  Players are informed, “there has been a standing reward of 1,000 CR for anyone able to produce an item created by an extra-terrestrial life form.”

The player characters are recruited by American authorities to locate a presumed extraterrestrial artifact on the moon.  There are nineteen magnetic anomalies on the Lunar map, one of which is randomly determined to be caused by the artifact.  (Although the module refers to squares on the Lunar map, the map itself displays hexes.)  Time is of the essence since the Chinese will arrive in sixty hours to perform their own explorations.  One player character is secretly approached by a Russian agent and another by a Chinese agent.  Respectively, the agents offer 50 credits “to openly claim [the anomaly] in the name of his country, instead of the U.S.A.”  Whether or not the characters accept this generous offer, several NPCs will be working for the Russians or Chinese.  Player characters – either individually or in teams – explore the various anomalies using provided equipment.  “After the large anomaly is pinpointed, all characters involved in the search are detained,” we learn, “The characters never learn the reason for the secrecy...”  Outside the presence of the player characters, “a group of experts and technicians excavate around [the monolith].”  Then the monolith “emits a series of five electronic shrieks.”  One wonders what the players could learn about themselves and their universe via this chapter.

The third chapter takes place on board the USS Discovery and each player controls one of the crew members from the film (Dave Bowman and Frank Poole).  If there are more than two players, one or more of the hibernating astronauts should be used (Kaminski, Hunter and Whitehead – I don't know where Whitehead came from, in the film it was Kimball).  Any additional characters should not be created randomly; we are instructed, “Design the characters to be useful.”

Two new skills are described:  Astronomy (“a new STAR FRONTIERS® technological skill”) and System Navigation (“a new spaceship skill for use with this module only”).  According to Knight Hawks, the Piloting skill can only be acquired by characters with six levels of Technician and two levels of Computer.  Yet this requirement is overlooked in 2001, William Hunter has Piloting 1 but only Technician 3.

As in the film, the HAL 9000 computer works to eliminate the crew and we are advised, “Play HAL very cleverly.”  The module supplies examples of what HAL can do against the characters.  Before HAL attacks, player characters can use a Psycho-Pathology subskill to have HAL “remain calm for another 1 – 6 hours.”  Ultimately, the player characters will have to disconnect HAL.  Afterwards, player characters will need to handle the shipboard tasks manually.  To this end, ship operations and equipment repair are described in thrilling detail.  There are five paragraphs explaining how doors work.  Eventually, the characters watch a briefing tape relating that a monolith was found in the crater Tycho (or “Substitute the name of the crater in which the monolith was found in your game”) thirteen months previously (even though chapter two took place in 1994 and the Discovery was launched on May 14, 2002).  At the conclusion of chapter three, the player characters encounter a giant monolith.  They have the choice of investigating the monolith (and proceeding to chapter four) or staying with the ship (and ending the adventure).

Most of the fourth chapter consists of the referee reading about a page of boxed text.  One of the passages is:

You are above a world of incredible size – much larger than Earth.  But there must be no atmosphere; all the surface details are clear, to the remote and flat horizon.  The surface is marked in huge patterns, probably miles across, of squares, triangles, polygons...and in them, here and there, gaping black shafts, much like the chasm from which you just emerged.
The sky is disturbing.  There are no stars, nor even the blackness of space, but only a milky whiteness.  But no; there are tiny black dots, here and there, scattered across the sky.  They seem oddly familiar – and then you realize that it looks like a photographic negative of the Milky Way.

Eventually, the characters arrive “in a place nearly identical to a hotel suite in the United States of America.”  The referee is instructed to provide “map E, the Hotel Suite Layout, to the players.”  Sadly, no such map is included with the module.  “The entire hotel suite is a creation of the mind of an alien being, created to reassure, but not deceive, the characters.”  Upon falling asleep, each character has a dream wherein he encounters “an alien being – a flickering flame of light, about 7 feet tall.”  Via an undescribed means of communication, the alien presents a range of five options:

1. The character may return to the Dawn of Man, and help to teach the man-apes the basics of survival.
2. The character may return to Earth's Moon, in the year 2015, to be rescued.
3. The character may immediately return to the Discovery, to await rescue, but with no memory of the passage of the Star Gate.
4. The character may become a higher form of life, an energy being, with no use or concern for material form.
5. The character may go to an alien planet where another race faces a critical juncture, much live the Dawn of Man the crossroads of knowledge or extinction and help that race along the path to survival.

The module ends with another section of boxed text, the last line of which is:

And now it comes, and it is time to go; to take the final step on this greatest of all journeys; onward, to complete your Space Odyssey.

If you choose to lose your memory, can it really be a journey?

Gambling in James Bond 007

Bond (Barry Nelson, left) faces off against Le Chiffre (Peter Lorre, right)

in the first filmed depiction of James Bond

Casinos play an important part in the Bond mythos.  It is often the place where characters first encounter Major Villains and test their mettle, where contacts are made, or where they go to relax and have a good time.

Chapter 7 of the James Bond 007 role-playing game is devoted to “Gambling and Casino Life.”  On page 37, the Gambling skill is described as follows:  “These tasks allow characters to play casino games, but without the players actually needing cards, roulette wheels, and the other paraphernalia of casinos.”  Specifically, casino games are resolved using die rolls – usually, Gambling skill rolls.  The Gambling skill is based on the Perception characteristic; therefore, a character without any skill levels in gambling will use his (or her) Perception for the Primary Chance of a gambling task, but with a -3 Ease Factor modifier.

James Bond 007 does not provide the rules of the actual games, even though “the GM is expected to have a good working knowledge of the actual game in addition to the rules of the role playing version.”

Card games are presented as contests between two characters (or among multiple characters).  The rules recommend the die rolls be refereed by someone whose character is not taking part in the gambling event.  If player characters are gambling against player characters, the GM can be the referee.  In the more frequent circumstance of player characters gambling against non-player characters, the GM must control any non-player character, of course; the task of referee is left to a player without a gambling character.  The point is that – if at all possible – participants make their die rolls in secret from one another.  This means that “the betting is done without foreknowledge of the other players' hands.”

A die roll (i.e., Gambling skill at an Ease Factor of 5) is made for each character participating in a given card game.  This result of this roll represents the hand dealt to the character.  In terms of RPG mechanics, the roll is either a failure or has a Quality Rating of one through four; 'one' being the best possible result.  Even if the roll failed, “The player then has the option to roll a second time (simulating the draw, an extra card, and so on), which may or may not improve the hand.”  (The second roll is also made at an Ease Factor of 5.)  With two rolls, the appropriate table must be consulted, “cross-referencing the new dice result with the first to obtain the final Quality Rating.”

Here is the table for poker:

So, if the Quality Rating of the first result is 4 and the Quality Rating of the second result is 2, the final hand has a Quality Rating of 3.  The character with the best Quality Rating wins.  The rules state that “for a Quality Rating of 4, the hand would have been a pair, two pair, or three of a kind; for a Quality Rating of 3, either a straight or a flush; for a Quality Rating of 2, either a full house or four of a kind; for a Quality Rating of 1, a straight flush; and for a Quality Rating of 1+, a royal flush.”

In the event of a tie, the character with the higher Gambling Skill Level wins.  If tied characters have the same Gambling Skill Level, the character with the higher Fame Point total wins.   If the tie still remains unresolved, “the character with the higher Perception” prevails.  The more 'famous' you are, the more likely ties will resolve in your favor.

Of course, Bond's game is baccarat, specifically chemin de fer.  Here is the chemin de fer table:

A Quality Rating of 1 for the first roll indicates “a natural 8 or 9” with no need for a second roll.  It's impossible to improve a first result Quality Rating of 2, so there's no point in trying.  An ultimate Quality Rating of 2 means “a value of 7 or a three-card 8 or 9.”  A Quality Rating of 3 means “a value of 4, 5, or 6.” Quality Rating 4, “a value of 1, 2, or 3” and Failure, “a value of 0.”

Player Characters are allowed to spend Hero Points to improve Quality Ratings.  Chapter 7 does not disclose how a player should inform the referee that he (or she) is using Hero Points without alerting the players of other gamblers.  Perhaps the player can position an unused die to display the number of Hero Points (if any).

“A Player Character may never cheat,” the rules explain, “unless he has detected another NPC cheating.”  If a character suspects that an NPC is cheating, a Perception roll is made for the suspecting character at an Ease Factor derived from the cheater's Gambling Skill Level.  (For example, a Skill Level of 1 means an Ease Factor of 5 while a Skill Level of 10 imposes an Ease Factor of 2.)  Of course, this assumes there is cheating; if there is no cheating, the result of the Perception roll is irrelevant.  If there is cheating – and the player character detects it – the observing character “may confront [the cheater] with it or cheat back.”  In terms of game mechanics, how is cheating accomplished?  The player (or the GM) simply lies about the Quality Rating of his (or her) rolls.  This is why an indifferent referee is necessary.

In addition to card games, Chapter 7 discusses roulette even though “Roulette is a game that does not often appear in Bond's world; he distains (sic) it because of the lack of skill involved.”  Here is the table for roulette:

Each player chooses one of the listed bets for the spin.  There is a Winning Chance listed with each bet; each character's Skill Level is added to the Winning Chance for his bet, and the GM rolls a D100.  If the result is less than or equal to a character's Winning Chance, the character wins and is paid off at the listed odds.  The odds listed...are for tables with a single-zero (0).  For tables with a double-zero (00), decrease the Winning Chance by one.

Combat in James Bond 007

Art by James Talbot

Combat in the James Bond 007 role-playing game transpires in a series of rounds each consisting of a Declaration part and an Action part.  During the Declaration part, players declare what their characters will do in the Action part.  The Gamesmaster, of course, announces what non-player characters will do.  Declarations occur in order of ascending Speed ratings of the participating characters.  Characters with greater Speed are at an advantage since they can react to the Declarations of lower Speed characters.  Speed is based on the characteristics of Dexterity and Perception; it ranges from zero (the lowest) to three (the highest).  The rules state that “ties are resolved by rolling a D6 until the tie is broken (lowest roll wins).”  Once established, “the order of Declaration...is retained throughout the entire battle.”

During the Action part of a round, activity is resolved in order of descending Speed rating (i.e., “in reverse order of the Declaration”).  An Action Round lasts “approximately 3 to 5 seconds” of game time.  Once an action is declared, the character must attempt that action at the appropriate time unless intervening circumstances prevent the action from occurring.  The only way a declared action can be modified is when a character attempts to fire a weapon at a player character who has not yet fired his or her weapon during the round.  In such an instance, the player character “may be able to 'draw' to see who gets to shoot first.”  In a “draw,” each character involved has his or her Speed added to the result of 1D6 (with a possible modifier as a result of the weapon used); the character with the higher result shoots first.

During a round, a character can attempt a number of attacks equal to his or her Speed rating.  Characters with a Speed of zero can attempt an attack every other round.  When using a firearm, a character may be limited to the weapon's 'shots per round' attribute.  For example, James Bond has a Speed of 3; however, a Walther PPK is listed as having 2 shots per round.  So, Bond could only fire twice with this weapon.

The Fire Combat skill is used for “any weapon which looses a projectile at the target.”  The Hand-to-Hand Combat skill is used for “fists, swords, knives, or any weapon that is not a projectile weapon.”  Attempts to hit a target using either skill are made at an Ease Factor of 5.  Examples of modifications for Fire Combat include the Performance Rating of the weapon, range to the target, and the amount of cover the target may have.  For Hand-to- Hand Combat, the target's Speed rating acts as a negative Ease Factor modifier.  A kick has a -1 Ease Factor Modifier, but increases Damage Class by 1.  A “Specific Blow” may be attempted at a -2 Ease Modifier.  Different types of Specific Blows include:  disarm, trip, rise (“Your character uses this option to get back on his feet if he has been tripped”), restrain, release (“Your character uses this option to break a Restrain”), and knockout.  'Knockout' requires an additional -2 Ease Modifier and, if the attack is successful, the target can only remain conscious by succeeding with a Willpower roll at an Ease Factor equal to twice the attack's Quality Rating. 

Damage is rated in terms of Damage Class which ranges from 'A' to 'L'.  Depending on Strength, characters can have a Hand-to-Hand Damage Class of up to 'C'.  A knife increases H-t-H DC by 1 while a sword increases H-t-H DC by 2.  A heavy Spear gun has a Damage Class of 'G' and a Beretta has a Damage Class of 'E'.

Damage Class is indexed against the Quality Rating of a successful attack to determine which of six Wound Levels applies to the target.

ST = Stun.  The target must succeed with an Ease Factor 8 roll or be unable to perform any actions for 1D6 rounds.  The roll is Willpower for Fire Combat; Strength for Hand-to-Hand Combat.
LW = Light Wound.  The target cannot perform any activity until he or she succeeds with an Ease Factor 7 Willpower roll.  Until the wound is healed the character suffers a -1 Ease Factor on every task.
MW = Medium Wound.  As a Light Wound except the Willpower roll is at Ease Factor 5 and there is a -2 Ease Factor on every task until healed.
HW = Heavy Wound.  As a Light or Medium Wound except the Willpower roll is at Ease Factor 3 and there is a -3 Ease Factor on every task until healed.
IN = Incapacitated.  The target falls unconscious for 1D6 hours and thereafter suffers a Heavy Wound.
KL = Killed.  The target “is removed from play.”

Player Characters can reduce the result of an NPC's combat roll Quality Rating (not inflicted Wound Level) by one for every Hero Point spent.  Presumably this applies only when the spending player character is the target, but this is not expressly stated in the rules.

Characters with a Strength of at least 14 can attempt to “Shake Off” Hand-to-Hand damage not caused by “a stabbing point or a cutting edge.”  With a successful Ease Factor 5 Strength roll, the wound result is lowered by two levels.

“When a character who is already wounded receives another wound, his Wound Level is increased” according to the Wound Accumulation Chart.  Wounds are healed at a rate of one Wound Level per week.  Hospitalization allows a character to heal up to two Wound Levels at a rate of one Wound Level per three days.  A successful First Aid roll in the field can reduce a character's Wound Level by one.  Such an attempt “may be made only once for any wounded character.”

Characters who receive a Medium (or more severe) Wound “from Fire Combat or from a knife or sword in Hand-to-Hand Combat...may receive a permanent, recognizable scar.”  The location of such a scar may be determined by using the Scar Location Chart, shown below.  Each distinctive, visible scar adds twenty points to the character's total Fame Points.  The more Fame Points a character has, the more recognizable he or she becomes.  For secret agents, this is not a boon.