Safety Tools & Content Warnings

Lines And Veils

“Lines and Veils” is a safety tool that you can use with your table. A Line is anything that
definitively will not come up in the game. A Veil is something that can be referred or alluded to,
but not focused on. A Veil around “spiders” means you may see webs but never a spider. A Line
around spiders means There Are. No. Spiders. Not a reference, not an allusion, nothing.

Here is a list of content that might come up in your game, as well as several blank spaces
where you can write your own. Draw a line through anything you want to mark as a Line;
use a highlighter on anything you want to mark as a Veil.

You can print out multiple copies of this page and distribute them to your players, or just use one
group sheet, depending on how comfortable the players are announcing each other’s lines and
veils to each other. If you’re playing online, a digital version of this page is linked below.

For any veils, it’s important to discuss how veiled the topic needs to be for the group to feel
comfortable addressing it. If you cannot come to an agreement, it’s best to graduate it to a Line
and leave it out.

If too much of the content becomes a Line or a Veil, have a discussion with the group about if
this is really the best game for everyone to play together.

Content You Might Encounter In This Game:

• Addiction • Human Trafficking
• Alcohol • Kidnapping/Child Endangerment
• Derealization/Altered states • Medical settings
• Domestic violence • Murder
• Drug use • Police Interaction/Police Brutality
• Food • Seduction
• Gambling • Sex Work
• Graphic bodily injury (wounds) • Smoking
• Gun Violence • Suicide
• Hostage Situations • Terrorism
• ________________ • ________________
• ________________ • ________________
• ________________ • ________________
• ________________ • ________________

The X-Card
Sometimes a member of the table didn’t anticipate a line or veil that they suddenly have, or are
uncomfortable for any other reason. When this happens, they can use The X-Card. Draw an X on
an index card and when someone feels uncomfortable, they can tap or hold up the X-Card. If you
are playing online or short on physical resources, you can also establish a safe word or just say
“Time out.”
http://tidalwavegames.com/safetytools
SCIFI SPACE BOUNTY HUNTER JAZZ FUSION ROLEPLAYING GAME

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Character Creation……………………………………………2
Character Sheet………………………………………………8
Spaceships…………………………………………………10
Gear…………………………………………………………14
Breaks………………………………………………………16
Setting………………………………………………………18
Running The Game…………………………………………22
Bounties……………………………………………………28
Bandleader Cheat Sheet……………………………………32
TIDAL WAVE GAMES
is
Onslaught Six - Writing, game and world design, layout
Jensen Toperzer - Editing
Maid of Tin - World design, writing
Jaki King - Cover art, interior art
Tyler Hogerty - Interior art
Mitch Speck - Interior Art
Additional Credits
ThatEronGuy - Logos & Section Header Graphic Design
Sarah Clark - Sensitivity Reader
With Inspiration & Special Thanks From
Apocalypse World · Cowboy Bebop · D&D Fifth Edition · Ghostbusters by West End Games
Mothership · Pulp Fiction · Savage Worlds · Toonami · Kickstarter and all 193 backers
Detailed Art Credits:
Jaki King: Front Cover, Page 4, 5, 10
Tyler Hogerty: Page 2-3, 6, 11, 12, 20-21 (top),
22 (middle), 23 (top), 24, 25 (top right), 26 (top)
Mitch Speck: Page 7, 15, 18, 20-21 (middle, bottom), 22 (top, bottom),
23 (bottom), 25 (middle), 26 (bottom), Back Cover
tidalwavegames.com Table of Contents… | 1
THE PILOT EPISODE... TRAITS...
For this game, character creation is part of Outlaws in CUSC have 4 Traits: Muscles,
the game itself. The players should meet and Moves, Brains, and Cool. Each is associated
make characters together as a group. This with a particular maneuver or action, called a
game requires no separate “Session 0.” That Break (as in “musical break,” “break for it,”
being said, expectations of table culture and or “solo break.”) Whenever you do something
rules should still be discussed early on, either with a risk of failure, you’ll perform a Break.
before or after character creation. There is a table of 24 Breaks on pages 16-17,
During character creation, the players and and on the character sheet.
Bandleader will create a group of Outlaws and Fill out the Traits on your character sheet.
establish their own backstory and world lore, You can choose a d6, d8, d10, or d12, and
maybe detailing the exact year or date the each one can be used only once. If you’re
game takes place in, elements of the star using a physical sheet, write down the die
system they are in, etc. Basically, you are that you’re using in each Trait box, and then
creating a shared backstory that would be put that die on top of your physical sheet in
established in this show’s “pilot episode,” the corresponding space.
where the characters have already met each
other and performed at least one job together. TALENTS...
This way, when play begins, you can launch Next fill out your Talents. A Talent is a
right into the beginning of episode 2 or 3. specialty or circumstance in which your
Outlaw is really good at doing something
specific related to one of their Traits. When
NAME... you perform a Break where your Talent can
Players: Start with your Outlaw’s Name. Most apply, you get to roll an extra 1d4. You get one
Outlaws in the universe use some kind of Talent per Trait. Examples of Talents can be
pseudonym or fake name, in part to help found on the following page.
conceal their identity from other bounty
hunters, criminals, people they don’t like,
stalkers, corporations, or even the police or
government. It can be as badass or funny as
you want, as long as your group agrees.
Outlaws can be of any gender or sexuality
that they wish. Think about your Outlaw’s
place in society and how this might reflect on
their gender and sexuality, and their
pronouns and chosen name.
In addition, reflect on how their life up to
this point has changed them and how this
affects their character. There’s a bunch of
fields in the character sheet that can help you
flesh out your character idea!
Having trouble coming up with a name?
There is a great d100 table of names in the
back of this book on page 30!

2 | Character Creation…
TALENT EXAMPLES... General vs. Specific
Muscles Talents: Talents can be as broad or specific as you
want--for example, you could write for
Break Stuff Get These Hands
Muscles “Kicking down a door,” and if you
Eat Food Lift Stuff
find yourself in a situation where you would
Elbow Grease Olympic Swimming
kick down a door, you can roll the Talent Dice
Kick Open A Door Pro Wrestling
(a d4) along with your Trait Dice. However, if
Kicking Yeet
you instead chose “Kicking” for your talent,
Moves Talents: now you can kick down a door, you can kick a
Attracting Attention Olympic Running dog, and you can kick someone’s ass. Are
Break Dancing Picking Pockets broad Talents strictly better than specific
Do A Barrel Roll Smell Stuff ones? Maybe, but they certainly don’t say as
Escape Artist Swing Dancing much about your Outlaw.
Gymnastics Training Urban Parkour More importantly, not all Traits are created
Brains Talents: equal. It behooves a player to put a more
Computer Technology Ocular Pat Down generalised Talent on a Trait that they have a
Deduction Parapsychology smaller die in and a more specific and
Interstellar Technology Professional Journalism interesting Talent on a Trait with a larger die.
Maths SecuritySystemKnowledge If you have d12 Muscles, you are already good
Observant Space History at kicking everything, so your Talent could be
Cool Talents: the more specific “Kicking down a door.”
Borrow Stuff Master Of Disguise Encourage each other to make Talents that
Bribery Not Attracting Attention are unique and cool, and that can inspire
Fast Talkin' Plays Drums weird or badass situations. As players fill out
Get Lucky Poker Face their Talents, they should announce to the
I Know A Guy Sex Appeal group what ideas they’ve come up with.

Character Creation… | 3
 JUICE...
Juice is a unique mechanic. Outlaws start
with no Juice. Whenever they fail a Break roll,
they gain Juice (unless they used Juice on the
Break). An Outlaw can have a maximum of
one Juice at any time, and you lose your Juice
at the end of the session.
After failing a Break roll (never before), the
player can use Juice to roll all the dice used
for the Break again and add that result to
the original roll. However, now partial
successes become failures, and you don’t
BREAKS... gain any Juice for failing.
When you perform a Break, you roll the Trait
dice associated with that Break. Depending Juice Math!
on what you chose, this will be a d6, d8, d10 If a player’s failure is too low to succeed even
or d12. If you have a relevant Talent, add 1d4. after rolling again, inform them so that they
Then, consult the Breaks table (see page 16). don’t waste their Juice! This is very important
on Breaks involving a player’s d6 and d8
• If the result is a 4 or below, you fail and
Traits.
maybe something bad happens. You also
gain Juice. HELPING...
• If the result is a 5 to 9, you partially Outlaws can Help each other perform Breaks.
succeed—maybe you tried to break down Both players will roll all their dice as if
a door, but attracted unwanted attention performing the Breaks separately, and add
in the process. Maybe you tried to disarm the results together. However, they must
a foe, but he countered and now both your get a 10 or above or the Break will be a
weapons are on the ground. Maybe you failure—there is no partial success. The
maneuver your Starfighter poorly and hit consequences also apply to both Outlaws.
an asteroid. You can Help even after applying Juice.
• If the result is a 10 or above, you
To Help another player, you must have a
succeed with flying colours.
strong narrative reason that it makes sense
• If the unmodified dice roll is the
that you could help. Many Breaks are solo
maximum possible (a 6 on a d6, an 8 on a
activities by default, so encourage the players
d8, etc.) you gain Juice, even if the result
to be creative.
is only a partial success.
The final result can also be modified with
certain gear or situations which might give a
+1, +2, or even a +3 to your Break rolls. In
addition, some equipment or situations might
give you advantage or disadvantage. In
these cases, roll the Trait die twice and take
the highest roll (advantage) or lowest roll
(disadvantage). You can only roll a Talent
die once; advantage and disadvantage do
not apply.
4 | Character Creation…
BONDS... PORTRAIT...
Bonds are created during the pilot episode. Draw your Outlaw’s Portrait. This is not
Each Outlaw player gets to say the characters optional! If you don’t like how you drew it, you
next to them know each other. This can can have someone else draw a better one later.
inform their character’s backstories, history, But, during character creation, you must draw
your Outlaw. Even if it’s just a stick figure!
personalities, etc.
If you’re playing online, you can use Paint to
If you’re playing in person, go around the draw your Outlaw instead, or an online
table counter-clockwise (start with the player character avatar creator like PicCrew. Put it in
to the right of the Bandleader). If you’re the chat for everyone to see!
playing online, go in the order of the
participants in the chat, starting with the $$...
player at the top of the list. $$ is money. The group collectively decides
For example, Laura is playing an Outlaw what money is called in their own universe. It
named Happy Jack. To her right is Bryan, can be a real world currency, like dollars or
playing an Outlaw called Machete The Knife. yen, or it can be a made up currency, either
Laura says, “Happy Jack saved Machete The from existing fiction you all like (such as Gil
Knife from the Space Mafia.” Bryan thinks or Zenny) or a made up word the group thinks
this is cool; now it is true! Both Laura and is fun to say. Have fun with it! Your money can
also use a different symbol, but this document
Bryan write this information in the Bonds
will be using $$ throughout.
section of their character sheet.
To Bryan’s right is Austin, playing an Outlaw
named The Tin Man. Bryan says, “Machete
The Knife used to date the Tin Man’s
girlfriend.” Austin doesn’t mind if their two
characters have a conflict, but they think it
would be better if it weren’t centered around a
love interest. They talk about it and decide
that instead, the Tin Man owes Machete The
Knife a lot of money. Both players think this is
cool, and write it down in the Bonds section of
their character sheet.
Character Creation… | 5
DEBTS & REGRETS… d10 Debt Regret
Normal people don’t hunt other people to
make a living. Somewhere along the way, you You have no memories
either screwed up or got screwed over, putting 1 Medical debt
from before 5 years ago.
your life on a different trajectory. Now you
have to deal with the consequences. Thus, Cryogenic freeze; you Former member of the
you must have one Debt that you must 2 owe for the time you Church of the Process;
clear or one Regret that you must resolve. were frozen. you did awful things.
Once an Outlaw has cleared a Debt, their
Talent die permanently becomes a d6 3 Zodiac Syndicate debt Former terrorist extremist
instead of a d4. Resolving a Regret allows
Family member or loved
you to choose a Break and make it your 4 Space Mafia debt
one disappeared or died
Specialty; once per Session you may choose
to automatically succeed that Break
Convicted of major Killed an innocent
before you roll. 5 theft; owe for the person thinking
An outlaw who has cleared their Debt or stolen goods they were a target
resolved their Regret now has to choose a new
one; it must be the opposite of the one you Relative’s medical Wrongful conviction
6 bills and escape
last had. If you clear a Debt, you now have a
Regret you must resolve, and vice versa.
If an Outlaw both has cleared a Debt and Former partner was
resolved a Regret, then their slate is clean. 7 Gambling Debts killed because of you;
they left behind family
They can then either choose to retire, or
continue to play having now selected an The Emotional
active Goal. A goal needs to be something 8 Corporate debt Wasteland. Are you even
they can fulfill and will be their final character really alive?
arc before retirement (or death!) Former government
Work with the Bandleader to determine 9 Bank/Credit Debt
official or cop
what your Debt or Regret means for your
Owe a comrade Death bed promise from
character’s future. Need ideas for a Debt or 10
money a comrade
Regret? Use this handy table!
6 | Character Creation…
WOUNDS... ADDICTION...
Sometimes Outlaws get Wounded. This can Decide during character creation if your
happen all sorts of ways. They can get shot in Outlaw smokes. Smoking a cigarette will give
a gunfight, punched really hard, fall out of a you a +1 bonus to any Breaks involving Cool.
window onto the street, crash a Starfighter, You need to be carrying smokes in order to
have a bomb blow up in their face, etc. smoke (you can’t run out of smokes as long as
There are two types of Wounds: wounds you have smokes). If they smoke, they are
and double wounds. A double wound is Addicted. They must have a smoke every 1d6
worth 2 wounds. If an Outlaw reaches 4 hours (roll when it comes up). If they don’t,
wounds, they are in critical condition; if they they start to go through withdrawal and gain
receive a 5th wound they are unconscious. disadvantage on Breaks involving Muscles
Outlaws don’t really die in CUSC; they merely and Brains.
fall unconscious and need to recover for a while. If an Outlaw wants to try to kick smoking,
If a player’s Outlaw receives a wound, the they must go 2d10+1d4 days without
player is allowed to come up with what that smoking, and will suffer Exhaustion every day
wound is depending on the situation: a after the first day.
gunshot to the arm, chest, leg, etc.; minor
burns from an explosion; cuts, bruises, or Other Addictions
broken bones from a guy hitting them with a Smoking is thematic to the vibe we’re going
knife or lead pipe; so forth and so on. This for, but maybe that isn’t your jam. Feel free to
allows all sorts of narrative cinematic fight reflavour smokes to a different vice of your
scenes and action sequences. choice, but clear it with your table to avoid any
Outlaws can heal wounds on other Outlaws uncomfortable misunderstandings. This even
by performing a Patch Someone Up Break. goes for smoking itself!
They cannot patch themselves up. They can
also use Patch Someone Up (at disadvantage) EXHAUSTION...
to revive an Unconscious Outlaw. Outlaws Exhaustion can occur in a variety of ways.
who have been brought back up from an When an Outlaw suffers Exhaustion, every
Unconscious state suffer Exhaustion. Trait becomes equivalent to a d6 for up to 1d6
Wounds require 1 day to heal naturally. days. Hospitalisation also reduces the time to
Outlaws can heal “off screen” between heal Exhaustion.
sessions if we assume the appropriate
number of days has passed. As long as Optional Rule: Wound Spiral
Outlaws don't suffer Exhaustion or have a
permanent wound (like from a failed Patch Outlaws with 2 or more wounds suffer
disadvantage to Breaks involving Muscles and
Someone Up Break) they will start the next
Moves; Outlaws with 3 or more suffer
session fully healed. Hospitalisation will also
disadvantage to Breaks involving Brains and
reduce the number of days by half, but is
characters with 4 suffer disadvantage to
extremely costly--up to 2d10 x 100 $$ per day.
breaks involving Cool.

Character Creation… | 7
NAME…
MUSCLES MOVES BRAINS COOL

Break Stuff Ambush Someone Booksmarts Blend In

Disarm Someone Blow Stuff Up Fix Stuff Gather Intel
Get in a Fistfight Disarm Someone Gather Intel Get in a Firefight
Dodge, Dip, Duck, Keep Cool
Handle a Big Weapon
Dive & Dodge
Hack The Planet Under Pressure
Knock Someone Out Get in a Firefight Operate Machinery Manipulate Someone

Lift Heavy Stuff Get in a Fistfight Patch Someone Up Read a Situation

Restrain Someone Knock Someone Out Program a Starship Streetsmarts

Scale a Wall Scale a Wall Read a Situation

TALENTS

BONDS DEBT or REGRET

GEAR
 PORTRAIT PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

WOUNDS

ADDICTED $$ EXHAUSTED JUICE

FAVOURITE FOOD THEME SONG

BACKSTORY

LOCKER

SEE YOU, SPACE COWBOY…

10 | Spaceships…
SPACESHIPS... Size Fuel Tank Method of Acquisition
In CUSC, “spaceship” is a generic term for
Mini d6 Outright ownership
any craft designed or capable of flight outside
the atmosphere. The group is encouraged not Stole the ship from
Maxi d8
to use it as a specific term, i.e. “I fly my someone else
spaceship,” but instead, “That guy has some Making payments to a
sort of spaceship.” Jumbo d12
corporation
Spaceships are broadly broken up into two
different categories: Starships and
Starfighters. A Starship is a huge, hulking THE FIRST ONE’S FREE...
mass—think the Bebop or the Nostromo. During the pilot episode, ask the players to
Meanwhile, a Starfighter is what the name their Starship and come up with the
characters of the world would call a “personal backstory for how they came into possession
ship,” and is more akin to the Swordfish II or of it. Depending on what size class you have,
an X-Wing. Starfighters might also just be that will determine how they own the starship.
called Fighters. If this is a one shot adventure or the start of a
Generally a Starfighter is only big enough to brand new campaign, assume the Starship
carry 1 or 2 people, while a Starship can house and party has enough resources to cover their
as many as 5 or 6 people comfortably taxes, fuel and food for the journey. This is in
(depending on how expensive and nice it is). the interest of speeding up the game and
A Starship is not really piloted, it is getting right to the action. You can introduce
programmed. Someone who wants to make a the travel costs the next time they want to
Starship travel must program the destination jump to a new planet.
coordinates and then sit back and enjoy the
travel time, similar to the Enterprise.
The group of players are generally assumed
STARFIGHTERS...
to own and live on a Starship, but the details Everybody loves a good dogfight. Each player
of how it came into their possession are up to will have their own Starfighter. Let them go
the group and the Bandleader (depending on nuts with this!
the exact scenario either group wishes to In the future, a supplement based around
engage with). Do they own the Starship Starfighters and dogfighting will be released;
outright? Is it owned by a bank, corporation or look for it soon. Until then, try asking the
government agency? If so, do they rent it, or players for Moves breaks to control their
make payments on it? Maybe the Starship is Starfighter or a Brains roll to use their auto
stolen from someone else, and they eventually targeting systems. Track their damage as you
show up to steal it back! would track an Outlaw’s Wounds.
Each Outlaw is also assumed to own their
own personal Starfighter that they can take
individually. Perhaps the party wants to be
low-key and leave their Starship in orbit and
take the fighters down individually, or perhaps
they need to engage in a high speed dogfight
in space.
There are 3 Size Classes of Starship: Mini,
Maxi and Jumbo. Each size class determines
their maximum fuel tank size.
Spaceships… | 11
TRAVEL BETWEEN PLANETS…
Sometimes the players will take a bounty that
will lead them to another planet. In the
context of the game, "planet" is any body of
mass that is inhabited by people, regardless of
size or origins—there are several moons that
the players can travel to, and these are just
considered "planets." DETERMINING TRAVEL TIME…
Travel between planets is done through a Traveling between planets will require
faster-than-light travel system called the someone on the starship to make a Program A
Tunnel Network. These are man-made Starship Break to chart the proper course
wormholes that work like most hyperspace through the Tunnel Network. The starship
travel in fiction: the players must enter a works on autopilot and does not require
Tunnel placed near the planet they are manual flight after a course has been set.
leaving, which will then lead them to the Depending on the result of the Break, you
greater Tunnel Network—think of it like a may find yourself off-course and using extra
connected path of highways. While inside the fuel, and may even find yourself stranded on
Tunnel Network, ships cannot interact with the wrong planet, forcing the players to take
anything on the outside of the Tunnel and bounties they otherwise would not.
vice versa. Have the players roll 2d6 days per planet
While traveling, the players will also incur they are traveling past. This roll will then be
several costs: Taxes, Fuel and Food (see next page). modified by the result of the Program a
Starship Break:
• 10+: Arrive 1 Brains roll days sooner
• 5-9: Travel where you want to go
• 1-4: Off course: Add 1 Brains roll days to travel
After programming the starship, the
players will have several days to kill. Feel free
to have them roleplay out what their Outlaws
do in their free time. This is also a good time
to try and repair broken gear or spaceships, or
heal up if the players have taken a lot of
wounds in their last adventure.
Once the players arrive at the desired
planet, the starship will automatically exit the
tunnel and leave them in orbit around the
planet, allowing for manual landing. The
players can then choose to land at an airport
(which will incur taxes as they have to legally
declare themselves and any contraband) or
land elsewhere on the planet, where they will
avoid taxes but will have to manually land
(which can be difficult and require one or
several rolls) and potentially be far away from
civilization, making chasing after a bounty
target more difficult.
12 | Spaceships…
TAXES… FOOD…
Upon arrival the players will need to pay their Starship travel takes several days, and the
taxes for using the Tunnel Network and Outlaws need to eat. After determining their
landing on the planet through the airport. The location (but before rolling to see how
taxes will be equivalent to $$100 per person, successful they are!) have the Outlaws buy
per planet traveled from your original location food for the journey. Food costs 1d10 $$ per
to your destination. For example, traveling day they expect to travel. Failure to eat will
from Mercury to Earth will incur $$300 per result in the Outlaw becoming Hungry; a Hungry
person in taxes. Passing through either the Outlaw suffers no mechanical disadvantages or
Asteroid Belt or Space Junkyard will incur penalties, but they are obligated to complain
another 1d6x10 $$ per person. about how they haven't eaten at every available
opportunity. However, this can be mitigated as
FUEL… long as you are Smoking.
Each class of Starship has a Fuel Tank with a
certain maximum units of fuel—a Mini has 6, STARSHIP COMBAT…
a Maxi has 8, and a Jumbo has 12. Each planet It is unlikely that a starship would be
traveled will use 1 unit of fuel, as well as a attacked, but in such a case starships are
unit of fuel each for passing through the usually unarmed—it's expected that the
Asteroid Belt or Space Junkyard. Fuel costs players would get in their individual
are extremely volatile; fuel can be purchased starfighters to defend the ship and fight off
at any airport at a cost of 1d8x10 $$ per unit. the bad guys. Starships are hardy and difficult
If this is the first time the players are to damage or destroy with conventional
calculating fuel costs, roll the dice associated starfighter weaponry—typically the only thing
with the class of Starship's max tank (a d6, d8 that can make a dent in them is military
or d12) to determine how much fuel the technology, which is illegal for consumer use.
Starship begins with.
If the Outlaws run out of fuel while in the
Tunnel Network, the starship will GETTING LOST…
automatically "get off at the nearest exit." When the ship’s programmer fails a Program
They will need to purchase more fuel to get a Starship break, they’ll be pushed off course.
what they are going. If the Outlaws don't have Add 1d10 days to travel time as they try to
enough money, they'll need to consult the list adjust. This is going to affect their fuel and
of local bounties and get some dough! food reserves, but won’t impact their taxes.

02 05 08 09 10
V M C I
T A O P S
E A H L L
U P
N R E L T A
U S I
S O C
S 03 06 A T E 12
01 E C S O U
M A 04
L E T J 11 R
R R E U S -
E U
A A
R T N
A E R 07
G N T N
C H S O A K U U
I Y R S
U N
JUPITER N
THE SUN R D Y
M
A
Y E R
B D D
E E
L
T

Spaceships… | 13
 Name Description Bonus Cost
Cigarettes; hazardous to your health but you +1 to all Cool Breaks; staves off
Smokes $$1
look badass Hunger
Improvised
Beer bottle, chair leg, lead pipe, etc +1 to Get in a Fistfight Free!
Weapon
Basic Melee
Knives, billy club, baseball bat, brass knuckles, etc +2 to Get in a Fistfight $$50
Weapon
Skilled Melee Katana, mace, broadsword, nunchucks, whip,
+3 to Get in a Fistfight $$150
Weapon etc
+1 to Hack the Planet or Gather
Hacking Tool Handheld hacking device $$100
Intel (Brains only)
+2 to Hack the Planet, Program a
Computer Laptop personal computer Starship, Gather Intel (Brains only) or $$300
Booksmarts
+1 to Get in a Firefight. Dual
Handgun Pistol, revolver, Magnum, etc $$50
wielding gives advantage on Cool.
Machine Gun Uzi, assault rifle, etc +2 to Get in a Firefight $$200
Big Weapon Chaingun, chainsaw, flamethrower, etc +1 to Handle a Big Weapon. Uses 2 slots. $$500
Restraints Handcuffs, rope, zip tie cuffs, etc +2 to Restrain Someone $$25
+2 to Gather Intel (Brains only), Read a
Information Big goggles that look stupid; Night vision,
Situation (Brains Only), Booksmarts. $$150
Apparatus HUD display, camera, infrared, etc
-1 to Cool, disadvantage on Blend In
Climbing Gear Grappling hook, grappling gun, rope, etc +2 to Scale a Wall. Uses 2 slots. $$50
Reasonable tools with a variety of uses. Wrench,
Toolbox +2 to Fix Stuff $$25
screwdriver, drill, torch, flashlight, lockpick etc
Allows you to survive in space but looks stupid.
Space Suit -1 to Cool. Uses 2 slots. $$100
Has magnetic boots. Doubles as underwater gear
-2 to Cool but staves off effects of
Winter Gear Unstylish winter coat $$200
extreme cold
Bulletproof Double wounds become regular
Kevlar vest $$100
Vest wounds.
Bombs Frag grenade, C4, plastic explosive, landmine, etc +2 to Blow Stuff Up $$100
First Aid Kit Gauze, bandages, antiseptic, etc +1 to Patch Someone Up $$50
Carry around 2 extra things in the
Trenchcoat Cool trenchcoat. You pick the colour! $$125
same slot as the trenchcoat.
Carry around 4 extra things in the 2
Duffle Bag Big ass duffle bag $$150
slots as the duffle bag. Uses 2 slots.
Knockout Gas Chloroform, gas grenade, etc +1 to Knock Someone Out $$50
Can be applied to any handgun or machine +2 to Blend In and Ambush
Silencer $$100
gun to shoot quietly Someone while shooting
Make yourself invisible, or look like someone +3 to Blend In and
Digital Cloak $$300
else, but fails easily. Ambush Someone
Holographic Project a live image of yourself or an object +3 to Ambush Someone and
$$300
Projector out from the projector. Manipulate Someone
14 | Gear…
Every good Outlaw needs lots of cool Gear. AMMO & QUANTITIES...
Gear can provide you with all sorts of benefits
If you’re carrying a gun, you have enough
and occasionally, drawbacks. See the Gear
ammunition to fire it for the entire session.
table for more. By default, an Outlaw can carry
You don’t need to purchase additional ammo
4 things on their person. Some items are
between sessions and you don’t need to worry
particularly big and take up 2 slots. Some
about how your character is carrying that
items like a trenchcoat or duffle bag allow you
ammo. This also applies to any Gear that the
to carry more items. Outlaws begin the
players might have multiples of, like Bombs or
game with $$250 to spend at their will.
Knockout Gas. Don’t worry about making the
Remember: Equipment lists are world
players buy more or run out; let them decide.
building. Think about what these items say
about your game, and the world it takes place in.
Optional Rule: Reloading
Sometimes it can be dramatically interesting
BUYING & SELLING GEAR... to reload a weapon in combat. If your group
You can purchase any of the available gear thinks this is cool, consider using this
anywhere in a city surrounding an airport. optional rule.
Certain planets or cities might have a price Whenever an Outlaw uses the same gun
modifier but otherwise, use the prices listed. more than once during a session, the
You don’t need to bog down the game with Bandleader can have one other player at the
roleplaying out buying gear, or having the table roll the same dice whenever they make a
players haggle for discounts. Just refer them Break roll involving that gun. If their result is
to the gear list and have them subtract the higher than the Outlaw’s Break roll, the gun
amount from their $$. runs out of ammo, and needs to be reloaded.
Should a player want to sell any of their
gear, they can sell it at the same location for BROKEN GEAR…
exactly ½ value, non-negotiable. Certain circumstances can cause Gear to
Encourage players to shop in-between break. If this happens, you can try to fix it with
game sessions. Trust them to do this honestly. a Fix Stuff Break. On a success, the gear is fixed
There’s no need to take up valuable game and you can continue to use it. On a partial
time with “shopping episodes.” success you can jerry-rig the Gear to work for
one single use; after that, the Gear will become
unusable. If you fail, the gear will be unusable
until you can repair it between sessions.

LOCKER…
Any gear that you purchase goes directly into
your Locker, which is assumed to be on your
Starship. Use this to keep track of your
possessions long term. The Gear section on
the character sheet should be used for what
you’re currently carrying. A Locker has no
limit to the amount it can store.

Gear… | 15
Ambush Someone Blend In Blow Stuff Up
Surprise someone with your Look inconspicuous in a crowd Use a Bomb to blow up an
physical presence or other public location object or throw it at a person
• 10+: Get the drop on them; • 10+: Nobody notices you • 10+: Target goes boom
advantage on next Break • 5-9: Only the target • 5-9: You miss the target
• 5-9: They notice you and notices you and take a wound
attack back; disadvantage • 1-4: All possible hostiles • 1-4: You and all allies
on next Break notice you nearby take a wound
• 1-4: They attack back; you
take a wound

Dodge, Dip, Duck,

Dive & Dodge Fix Stuff Gather Intel
If you can dodge a wrench, Try to repair broken gear or Observe a target or speak to the
you can dodge anything... object and get it working again locals and gather information
• 10+: Avoid the danger • 10+: Repair the damage; • 10+: Findaccurateinformation
• 5-9: You hesitate, stumble, gear is now usable • 5-9: Information may be
flinch, etc. Take a wound • 5-9: Gear is usable for one incomplete or compromised
• 1-4: You completely time only, then it breaks • 1-4: This guy doesn't know
freeze; take a double • 1-5: Gear is broken anything; hey why are you
wound even asking??

Handle A Big Keep Cool Knock Someone

Weapon Under Pressure Out
Steady yourself and use a Keep your wits about you in a Try to make someone pass out
huge, heavy weapon dangerous or tense situation or beat them unconscious
• 10+: Kill someone or • 10+: You know exactly • 10+: Successfully knock
destroy something how to act ‘em out
• 5-9: You miss the target, • 5-9: You feel nervous, • 5-9: They notice you and
causing collateral damage tense, etc. and they can tell attack back; you must react
• 1-4: You miss and the • 1-4: You panic! • 1-4: They attack back; you
weapon backfires, causing take a wound
a wound
Patch Someone Up Program a Starship Read A Situation
Make a field dressing or Get where you want to go in a Sense how dangerous, tense, or
otherwise heal wounds huge starship otherwise difficult a situation is
• 10+: Heal 2 wounds • 10+: Early arrival: Arrive 1 • 10+: Objectively
• 5-9: Heal 1 wound Brains roll days sooner understand the situation
• 1-4: 1 wound is • 5-9: Travelwhereyouwanttogo • 5-9: It could be one of
permanent until you can • 1-4: Off course: Add 1 Brains several things...
get to a hospital roll days to travel • 1-4: You can rely only on
your gut instinct

16 | Breaks…
 Booksmarts Break Stuff Disarm Someone
Recall info about science, Destroy something with the Try to get their weapon or gear
math, history, etc. might of your physical body out of their hands
• 10+: Know who, what, • 10+: Successfully broken • 10+: Disarm them
where, when or why • 5-9: Cause collateral damage, • 5-9: Both you and the
• 5-9: You know where to attract attention, etc. enemy are disarmed
find the answer • 1-4: You cannot break it • 1-4: You lose your weapon
• 1-4: You got nothin'

Get in a Firefight Get in a Fistfight Hack The Planet

Get into a gunfight situation. Get into a melee combat Break into a computer system
Targets can be non-lethally situation. Targets can be and gather intel, get file records,
disabled with gunfire. lethally disabled with weapons. see security footage, etc.
• 10+: Shoot someone, killing • 10+: Punch or kick someone • 10+: "This is a Unix
or injuring them (your choice) • 5-9: Hurt each other; system; I know this!"
• 5-9: You shoot each other; you take a wound • 5-9: Your information may
injure them but take a wound • 1-4: You miss and get hurt be incomplete or
• 1-4: You miss, and are in the process; take a compromised
shot in the process; take a double wound • 1-4: Your gear breaks!
double wound

Lift Heavy Stuff Manipulate Someone Operate Machinery

Perform a feat of strength to You charm, persuade, convince, Operate a piece of heavy
lift and/or throw something bribe or otherwise manipulate machinery like forklift, tank,
extremely heavy or unwieldy someone into doing something mining equipment, etc.
• 10+: Lift it above your head • 10+: They trust you • 10+: Correctly operate the
• 5-9: Lift the object but only completely machinery
for a moment; it may be • 5-9: They will require • 5-9: Operate it but you
dangerous assurances may cause collateral
• 1-4: Cannot lift this object • 1-4: You cannot damage or break it
manipulate them • 1-4: You don't know how
to use this thing
Restrain Someone Scale a Wall Streetsmarts
Hold someone in place; handcuff Try to get over a wall, fire escape, Recall information about local
them, tie rope around them, etc. or other high object area, gangs, people, etc.
• 10+: Fully restrain them • 10+: Get over the wall • 10+: Know who, what,
• 5-9: You are wrestling them; • 5-9: Get over the wall but where, when or why
make another attempt. attract unwanted attention • 5-9: You know where to
• 1-4: They escape your grasp • 1-4: You fall and take a find the answer
wound • 1-4: You got nothin'

Breaks… | 17
WORLDBUILDING... • Police are understaffed and underfunded,
• Every player character, unless otherwise and crime is rampant, necessitating the
stated, is a 7/10 or above in terms of deputization of civilians to bring in criminals.
physical attractiveness • Internet is limited to computers and
• FTL travel is only possible through the spaceships only, and is enforced by law to
Tunnel Network around every planet include only text and still images.
• The game takes place in the mid-23rd • AI is extremely limited. Any androids,
century; the exact year is up to you replicants or other robots have extremely
• There are 12 planets in the solar system limited emotional intelligence; they are
where the game takes place. almost exclusively used for off-world
• Consumer technology has stalled out dangerous missions where no human
since the mid-1990s; CRTs, blocky cell would ever willingly go. There are maybe
phones that have limited smartphone a dozen androids within the solar system.
usage, bulky laptop computers, etc. • There are no ray guys, space lasers,
• The immediate area of a planet surrounding lightsabers, etc. Gun technology mostly
any spaceship dock (called an “airport”) resembles that of the modern world.
is a huge city that stretches for miles; the • There are no alien species. If the players
rest of the planet is barely habitable, and were to ever meet an alien it would
there is artificially altered gravity, weather probably be like meeting a God. Perhaps
& atmosphere. Some cities are in domes. there is limited alien wildlife, such as
• Sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia weird birds, space coyotes, or even space
and other forms of discrimination have whales that swim through time, but even
been eradicated from culture these are rare.
• There are no teleporters, transporters, etc. • Ownership or trade in cryptocurrency means
You can’t “beam down” to a planet. you are worth more dead than alive.

18 | Setting…
01. MERCURY… 05. MARS…
Size 9525 mi Size:
Size13,263 mi 13,263 mi
Day Cycle 58 days Day
DayCycle:
Cycle25 hours
25 hours
Population 32,100,000 Population:
Population86,200,000
86,200,000
Extremely hot and humid. Terraformed into The most popular destination in the Inner
rural areas and farmland; production is not Planets. Almost completely terraformed, Mars
going very well. Bounties rarely travel here. appears to be a paradise, with vast
Any equipment or fuel purchased here has a technological advancements and beautiful red
10% increase due to the difficulty in transport landscapes. It has several cities peppered
to the remote planet. throughout it and many people can find
affordable housing and sustainable jobs. As a
02. VENUS… result crime tends to be at an all-time low,
Size 23,628 mi with most bounties from Mars either being
Day Cycle 243 days syndicate-related activity or people escaping
Population 75,900,000 other planets and hiding out on Mars.
Crime is primarily controlled by the Space
Mafia. The atmosphere on Venus is mostly 06. CERES…
helium; it is perfectly breathable but causes Size:
Size1859 mi 1859 mi
humans to have high pitched voices. You can Day
DayCycle:
Cycle9 hours9 hours
take a pill that will lower your vocal chords Population:
Population55,700,000
55,700,000
but it wears off every 1d10 hours. The tiny Ceres (about the size of modern day
Europe) is almost completely covered in
03. EARTH… cityscapes. The skyscrapers stretch so high
Size:
Size 24,901 mi24,901 mi that even when the short 9 hour daylight
Day
DayCycle:
Cycle24 hours
24 hours occurs, it is difficult to see. It is perpetually lit
Population:
Population17,300,000
17,300,000 up by neon lights; the 9 hour day cycle means
Riddled with geographical changes and that this truly is the "planet that never
meteor storms. Large swaths of the planet sleeps." Crime is rampant in some districts
were bombed out with nuclear radiation in and there are plenty of small time bounties to
the mid-21st century, leaving parts of it nab; the police are relatively ineffectual on
uninhabitable; these areas are just now this planet, leading to all sorts of activity for
beginning to be livable. Colonization was for players to get wrapped up in. Ceres is a great
the wealthy elite, leaving the poor and place to start a new campaign
minority classes to the ruined Earth.
04. LUNA… THE ASTEROID BELT…
Size:
Size 6786 mi 6786 mi Thousands of asteroids separate Ceres and
Day
DayCycle:
Cycle29 days
29 days the Jupiter Group, orbiting the sun. The
Population: 280,000 asteroid belt is primarily a place for space
Population 280,000 vagrants and those who have lost their way.
The Earth's moon. Un-terraformed and Fuel is not readily available here; the players
uninhabitable without a spacesuit, except for may need to trade, barter or steal some if they
the area directly around the airport which find themselves stranded without enough fuel
consists of a theme park and tourist to leave.
attraction. It is not very well kept up, with
abandoned rides, crumpled attractions, etc.

Setting… | 19
JUPITER… 08. CALLISTO…
Jupiter is uninhabitable. The massive gravity, Size:
Size9410 mi 9410 mi
noxious gases, wholly unpredictable climate Day
DayCycle:
Cycle17 days
17 days
and wild weather make it unsuitable for current Population:
Population2,400,000
2,400,000
terraforming technology. Any attempts to enter Mostly composed of salt mines and blue collar
the atmosphere in a simple Starship will end workers. There is supposedly evidence of alien
in certain death. Several of its moons were artifacts buried in the mines, but no one is
ruined or outright destroyed in the Titan War. talking. Very Eastern European and Russian
Avoid at all costs. architecture and feel.

07. GANYMEDE… 09. IO…

Size:
Size 10,273 mi10,273 mi Size 7111 mi
Day Cycle: 7 days Day Cycle: 40 hours
Day Cycle 7 days Day Cycle 40 hours
Population: 5,200,000
Population 5,200,000 Population 7,200,000
The most beautiful of Jupiter's moons. Extreme volcanic activity. The cities are
Extremely susceptible to terraforming, most enclosed with extremely thick metal domes
of the planet is full of lush greens and open with no windows to protect them from the
skies. An ideal vacation planet. constant rain of lava.

20 | Setting…
10. PLUTO… 11. SATURN…
Size:
Size 4494 mi 4494 mi Size:
Size525 million mimillion
525 (rings mi
only)
(rings only)
Day
DayCycle:
Cycle85 hours (3.5 (3.5
85 hours days)days) Day Cycle: 10 hours
Day Cycle 10 hours
Population: 1,800,000
Population 1,800,000 Population:
Population330,000,000
330,000,000
Primarily made of ice, Pluto is very cold even Saturn’s surface is uninhabitable, but the
on the best days, requiring winter gear even rings were able to be terraformed after a large
indoors. It moved orbit after the destruction of metallic structure was constructed around
Neptune and now orbits Jupiter as a moon. them. As a result the planet is always visible
anywhere around the surface. Only some
areas of the ring are inhabitable or usable,
such as the area in the immediate vicinity of
the airport and city.
SPACE JUNKYARD… 12. UR-ANUS…
Perfect for salvage and trash! The Space Size:
Size99,786 mi 99,786 mi
Junkyard is the height of the black market Day
DayCycle:
Cycle17 hours
17 hours
and is a great place to stop off to find illicit Population:
goods. Given the complete lack of police Population223,000,000
223,000,000
presence, no bounties are ever assigned here; Yes. It's pronounced like that. Primarily
it's a place where bounties go to die, as any utilized for military construction, it's
that escape to the Space Junkyard quickly go population is mostly personnel for army, navy
cold. Anyone you meet in the Space Junkyard and aerospace. Bounties are rare for civilians
could end up having an old bounty on their to find as many soldiers moonlight as
head, but you'd need to take them in first... Outlaws.

Setting… | 21
PROCEDURE OF PLAY...
If you’re new to running the game, start here!
Begin the game by running the Pilot
Episode (page 2), if this is a one-shot or the
start of a new season. Take note of everyone’s
Talents, Debts, & Regrets. If a player is having GET EQUIPPED...
problems choosing a Debt or Regret, tell them Now the players equip themselves. An Outlaw
that they don’t have to come up with it in this starts with $$250 and can spend it on
game session—they can fill it out later. whatever Gear they want. Narratively they can
Next, generate some bounties. You can use have already purchased this Gear, or they can
the tables in the back of the book to come up do it once they arrive at the Airport.
with some. You can have the players roll to
determine these, roll them yourself if you like,
or choose something that you think is fun.
You can generate one bounty or a few and let
the players choose one, but this can take up
more time, so decide wisely. (You can also do
this before the game if you are so inclined.)
During the generation process you’ll
determine what planet the bounty was last
seen on. If this is the first time running the
game, don’t complicate this—make the
planet the bounty last seen on the same INVESTIGATION...
planet the bounty is on now. You can decide to After this, the players will have to figure out
start the Outlaws on this planet or start them where the bounty was last seen. They can
on a different one—I roll to see what planet perform Breaks like Gather Intel, Hack The
they start at, so they have to use the Tunnel Planet, or others if they have justification.
Network (page 12) to get to their destination, You can improvise locations and NPCs or you
but forego any costs this would take and can use content you prepared, but the design
assume the players can cover it (see “The First of the game encourages improvising these
One’s Free…” under Spaceships; page 10). locations. Ask them where they might go to
start observing, asking questions, or looking
Additional Bounties for records of their presence. Use this to
If you own the setting and bounty module establish where the bounty was last seen by
CERES: THE PLANET THAT NEVER SLEEPS or someone or where their hideout is. As a
other modules for CUSC, you can use those bounties general rule, you can refer to a location the
instead.Theycanevenpickthemrightoutofthebook! bounty will be as their hideout, even if it isn’t
You can also generate new bounties at: literally so.
http://tidalwavegames.com/bountygenerator It doesn’t help to waste the valuable table
time of the group with narrative failures that
aren’t interesting. If anyone points out the
narrative contrivance of finding the info on
the first try, you can say that this is actually
the third or fourth place they’ve tried.
22 | Running The Game…
TRAVEL... Let the players make up their own plan for
taking out the target and then let them try to
When the players find the bounty’s hideout,
execute it. When they inevitably fail or have
they’ll want to go there. Traveling on foot to a
partial success, start adding complications or
place is usually trivial. Depending on how
problems that they have to overcome—injure
much time you have left, you can complicate
the Outlaws, have the target throw out bombs
the way they need to get there—perhaps they
or trigger traps. Whatever works.
need to take a Ryde or use public transport.
Remember that the Threat Level of a given
Feel free to oppress them with the time and
Bounty determines how many successes are
money consuming threats of Bureaucracy as
required to subdue or kill them! (See page 28).
much as you think they can handle...and then
a little more. LET’S GO DOWNTOWN...
You could also have the bounty in a remote Once the target is captured or dead, the
location outside of a city, and make them take players can turn them in at a Bounty Station
their individual Starfighters out, but it’s not for the reward. These are small booths with a
recommended for one-shots unless the whole single worker, attached to an enclosed holding
group wants to engage in dogfighting. area. The worker will pay the Outlaws either
in cash or to their bank account (player
OKAY, 3, 2, 1, LET’S JAM... preference) and then press a button opening
Once the Outlaws get to the hideout of the up an airlock holding area, where the players
bounty, they need to capture the bounty. can place the target. The police periodically
Remind the players that bounties are typically arrive to empty the holding area.
worth about a third of their price dead
(although you can change this if you prefer a
really lethal game). Perhaps the bounty has
some thugs who can complicate things, that’s
up to you.
Running The Game… | 23
MAKING ROLLS...
The Bandleader never rolls in this game,
unless it is on some kind of random generation
table in their notes. Even in these cases, it
can be more fun to ask a player to roll instead.
Players like rolling dice. If you want to roll a
lot of dice, be a player.
The list of Breaks is not all-encompassing
and versatile; as a result there may not be a
codified Break for everything the players want STANCES...
to do. Thankfully, you can rely on your Traits “Stances” are a roleplaying game philosophy
and Talents to determine a roll for the tool that describes the way different players
situation. Do not force yourself to come up interact with the game. Traditionally there are
with ad-hoc Breaks for every situation, only four stances: Pawn, Author, Actor, and Director.
situations that are risky or provide a A Pawn stance player is what we might
narratively interesting failure. If there is no traditionally see in an RPG—they want to do
chance to fail or no chance to succeed, don’t the most mechanically optimal or beneficial
roll—just say they do it or don’t do it. The dice thing with no justification. An Author stance
exist to resolve ambiguity. player will do the same, but will have a
narrative or in-character justification for
doing so. An Actor stance player will act in a
way that their character would, regardless of
RUNNING COMBAT... what information the player has or what
would be most interesting narratively. Finally,
If a fight breaks out, players are allowed to go
a Director stance player will create elements
in any order. There is no “combat initiative”
of the world or narrative around them.
or checks based on a speed related Trait to see
who goes first. This game encourages Commonly in RPGs, the players only
cinematic, narrative based combat, so you approach Director stance when prompted by
won’t find those kinds of things in it. the GM. Typically we see the power given to
the players to describe how they might kill an
Bad guys never roll against the players;
enemy, or we can have them describe their
they either simply act and the players must
hometown or close family. Most players are
react, or they act in response to an Outlaw’s
familiar and comfortable with this kind of usage.
actions, be they successful, partially successful,
or failure. In this game, the system is light enough and
there is enough improv involved in play that
Sessions: the players can be given a much larger share
In this document there are occasional of Director stance. If the players want to go to
references to sessions. It’s assumed that a a bar to find some information, ask them what
single meeting of your group, usually called a the bar is called. If you need a description for
“session,” will compromise an entire an NPC, ask them what the NPC looks like. If
adventure. If you have to interrupt the game the player is attacked, ask them how they are
for any reason and come back to it later, attacked. You are still the GM; you have the
assume that this still counts towards the ability to tweak, build upon or reject any of
same “session” for any game mechanics that these ideas, so give the players a degree of
reference it. control and ask them to create more of the story.

24 | Running The Game…

NO OBJECTIVE WORLD...
The idea that the world the players are
inhabiting is objective is a myth.
NPCs are born when they are introduced,
and they die when they move off screen. They
are a means for the story to move forward and
to convey information.
Before the players open the door, there is
nothing there. It does not matter if you
decided what was behind the door the
moment the players opened it, 10 minutes ago
when you described the door, 5 minutes
before you started the game, last week when
you were prepping, or 6 months ago when
someone else wrote the adventure. To the
players, it is all the same, so feel free to revise
and change things they haven’t seen yet. Cut
content for time. Add new enemies they didn’t SPOTLIGHT EPISODES...
know about. Go nuts! In any ensemble TV show, there are episodes
that focus on one character in particular,
advancing their backstory, character arc, or
other things. Sometimes this character is
front and center during the cold open,
telegraphing to the audience: This is an
episode about Geordie. Even though this is a
Geordie Episode, Worf will still get to punch
RECURRING VILLAINS... someone. Picard will still get to give orders.
Doctor Crusher will patch someone up.
Sometimes you want to have a recurring
Wesley will still be annoying. But Geordie is
villain, a bad guy who keeps showing up to mess
the most important character this week.
with the players. Usually this should be
connected to someone’s debt, regret or backstory. This can be a useful tool for creating arcs
and resolving regrets in your game. Tell the
The best way to do this is to have them be
players outright: This week, it’s a Machete
the head of an organization, like the Church
Episode. Maybe next week we will focus on
of the Process, Space Mafia, etc. You can
Thatch or Clyde, and this week you will still
also come up with your own organizations
get to do your regular cool stuff, but it’s
and factions—it’s your game! Making them
Machete’s character focus this week.
the head of a faction will give them
This informs the other players of your
henchmen, who you can place minor bounties
intentions and can allow them to lean back
on, allowing the villain to get away to fight
and give the player extra room to stretch their
another day, while the players can still turn in
legs. For this to work, they have to trust that
some of the “small fries” for pocket change.
they will also eventually get their own focus
This way the players don’t feel like they
episodes, so make good on that. Don’t leave
wasted the entire session using up gear and
them hanging, or the group dynamic can
resources. They still got something out of it!
break down!

Running The Game… | 25

DRAW ON THEIR INTERESTS...
When a player chooses something for their
Talent or comes up with a Debt or Regret, they
are making a contract with you, the GM. They
are telling you, implicitly and explicitly, “This
is something I would like to see happen in the
game.”
Of course, it’s impossible to incorporate
every talent, debt, regret, backstory tick, and HOT START...
other character note into every single It’s okay to mess with the order of things! If
session. When the players tell you what their you’ve played a lot of sessions where the
talents, debts and regrets are, pick a few that players are debating which bounty to pick or
inspire you and go from there as you play the spending a lot of time on prep, or you find that
session. Create scenarios where they can use you’re going to be short on time this week, or
their talents. A player who chooses because you want to set up a more interesting
“Gambling” as a Cool talent could be rewarded method of bounty discovery through clues
by having to play poker with a target, or an obtained at another bounty scene, you can
NPC who has information. Go from there. use a Hot Start.
Over a longer game, you want to try and Start the players off already at the hideout
incorporate as many talents, debts and of a bounty. Roll up a bounty or create one
regrets into your game as possible. If you yourself, and make them intentionally
don’t, eventually you are failing to live up to uninteresting or generic. This way the players
your end of the contract, and the player has can immediately understand that this is a
wasted their choice. That feels bad! perfunctory combat setup—we have already
If a player has gone a few sessions without chosen this job, performed all the necessary
using a specific talent, talk to them about it. intel, etc. and are now at the final showdown.
See if they want to change talents out, or if You can even put them right in the middle of
you can find other ways to incorporate that a gunfight, having them roll to escape gunfire
talent. If you haven’t yet addressed their debt or explosives. This is a perfectly valid method
or regret, try to do so in the next session. of starting a session, so mix it up every once
in a while!
It helps that this will be a precursor to a
different situation. For example, you can have
the players discover that these seemingly
normal thugs work for an organization
associated with a player’s backstory or regret.
They could find a strange artifact or
technology and then have the bad guys come
after them to retrieve it. Or you could have
them find illegal contraband like drugs or
military weapons, and now they have to
offload it discreetly. This can be the setup to
other sorts of conflict, but at the end of the
day it’s important for them to nail somebody
and get some money out of it!

26 | Running The Game…

USEFUL TABLES… d12 Ways to Start a Session
Running the game can be hard work and (That Aren’t Picking A Bounty Off The Board)

requires a lot of improvisation. Here’s a great Eco-terrorists invade the building the
list of tables that you can use to shake things 01
party is in
up and add flavour to your game!
02 An assassin tries to kill one of the Outlaws
3d6 Distinct Characteristics An Outlaw is approached by someone
03 Carries a katana; doesn’t know how to use it 03 claiming to be a lost family member,
04 Distinctive dragon tattoo requiring escort
05 Short & sensitive about it An Outlaw was pickpocketed between
04
sessions
06 Hair down to their waist
A famous celebrity approaches an
07 Quotes religious doctrine 05
Outlaw incognito with a problem
08 Cybernetic arm or leg
The Zodiac Syndicate wants to hire the
09 Always wears sunglasses, even indoors 06
party to take out one of their own
10 Mountain man beard Wounded or dying individual wanders
07
11 Bald into the bar/restaurant the party is in
12 Wears a bright red hat 08 Outlaw’s spaceship was stolen
13 Looks like one of the Outlaws Party gets a mysterious message from
09
14 Forehead tattoo a hacker
15 Eye patch The Space Mafia wants to hire the party
10
16 Hockey mask to take out a member of a rival family
17 Severe allergies; hayfever Party receives a distress signal in
11
18 T-shirt of a band you hate otherwise empty space
12 Follow the white rabbit.
d12 Bounty Complications
01 Bounty has a secret partner
d12 Rooms That Always Work
02 Bounty is already dead
01 Bathroom
03 Another bounty hunter is on the trail 02 Cleaning closet
04 Bounty has a decoy 03 Supply room
05 Bounty has a sympathetic backstory 04 Conference room
06 Bounty is actually someone famous 05 Kitchen
07 Bounty is related to an Outlaw’s past 06 Employee break room
08 Bounty is “the one that got away” 07 Lobby
09 Bounty rigged the building to explode 08 Records room
10 Bounty takes a hostage 09 Server farm
11 OutlawsmistakesomeoneelsefortheBounty 10 Fire escape
12 Bounty willingly surrenders in exchange 11 Loading bay
for information 12 Executive suite

Running The Game… | 27

CREATING A BOUNTY… CHARGES & WANTED FOR…
When you present the players with a new For Charges, you can roll on the d12 Charges
bounty, the following information is what’s table on page 30, or make up your own. These
expected: should be generic, textbook style criminal
charges. More specific data should be put
• Name under Wanted For. As an example: Murat
• Mugshot and/or Physical Description Gunnhildur is Charged with Theft II and
• Price Property Crimes II, and Wanted For Attempted
• Threat Level (1-6) Theft of Arcade Equipment.
• Charges
• Last seen location (or planet) LAST KNOWN LOCATION…
• Known Associates
If the Bounty is on the same planet as the
• Wanted For
Outlaws, you can list a location that they were
last seen, where they might be able to obtain
PRICE… more information. If the Bounty is on another
How much is too much? Remember, the Planet, you can just list the Planet and go from
players getting money is essential to their there–once they arrive at the new Planet, they
continued survival and growth, as they need can start their search there.
money to pay off Debts, travel to other planets,
buy or fix equipment, and so on.
KNOWN ASSOCIATES…
Also remember that the individual price of This is a great place to list NPCs who may
any Bounty will need to be split between the know where the Bounty can be found, or allies
players, so take this into account when they might have who will be willing to turn
pricing a Bounty to make it easily divisible by over information. It could also be a place
the number of players. (Or don’t make it easily where you could list known enemies that the
divisible, if you want to annoy the players.) Outlaws can team up with against the Bounty.
Here’s a quick way to determine a bounty’s
price: Take their Threat Level and add their
maximum level of crime (I, II, III). Roll this
many d6s and add that number up. Then, add OPTIONAL RULE: Goons
a 0 for every crime they have. Adjust
Goons, mooks, cannon fodder, flunkies, toadies,
according to taste and group size.
whatever you call ‘em, everybody loves ‘em. If
THREAT LEVEL… your Bounty has any backup, you have two
ways of dealing with it mechanically.
A Bounty’s Threat Level determines how
You can treat each individual Goon like
many successful Break rolls are required to
their own individual Bounty; it’s recommended
subdue or kill the target. This doesn’t apply to
not to make them more than a Threat Level 1
henchmen or mooks, merely named bounties
to avoid Outlaws having to make too many
that the players have taken. Two partial
successes to overcome them.
successes will count as one success. Threat
You can also treat each individual Goon as
level goes from 1 to 6, with 6 being the most
if they are part of the successes needed to
dangerous. A Threat Level 6 Bounty likely has
take down a higher Threat Level Bounty. For
a huge organization of bad guys built around
example, a Threat Level 6 Bounty with 3
them. Optionally, you can use the Goons rule
Goons would require only 3 successes against
(see next column).
the Bounty themselves.
28 | Bounties…
 THREAT LEVEL:

NAME:
CHARGES:

LAST SEEN
LOCATION:
KNOWN
$$
ASSOCIATES:

WANTED
FOR:

Download a form fillable PDF of this card at http://tidalwavegames.com/bountygenerator

d6 Demeanour d10 Specialized gear

1 All business; no bullshit 01 Jetpack; reliable but easily damaged
2 Extreme aggression; easily provoked 02 Ancient weaponry
3 Boring; plain
03 Combat specialized vehicle
4 Cheerful; saccharine
04 Power armour and energy shields
5 Melancholic; fatalistic
05 Combat drugs
6 Showy; narcissistic
06 High tech tracking and scanning devices
07 Cloaking device
d8 Modus Operandi
1 Explosives & heavy weapons 08 Bio-engineered combat/tracking pet
2 Long range weapons; sniping 09 Easily concealed nanotech weapons
3 Automated drones 10 Multiple cybernetic implants
4 Stealth and melee weapons
5 Hired goons d10 Appearance
6 Heavy armour and close range weapons 01 Nondescript; blends in easily
7 Starfighter pilot
02 Military surplus tryhard
8 Multiple weapons & gear
03 Elegant and elaborate fashionista
04 Worn and used practical equipment
d d
Bounty Hideouts Bounty Hideouts 05 Retropunk fashion
8 8
1 AbandonedWarehouse 1 Abandoned Factory 06 One colour all over, lots of fabric and plastic
2 Sewer 2 Subway Revealing clothes; covered in tattoos and
3 Casino 3 Arcade 07
cosmetic implants
4 Botanical Garden 4 Greenhouse
08 Robes and masks, cult like in nature
5 Strip Club 5 Bar
6 VR Cafe 6 Internet Cafe 09 Stylish; suit & tie, dark and sleek
7 Gas station 7 Convenience Store Brand new everything, most of it never used
10
8 Movie Theater 8 Music Club before

Bounties… | 29
 Charges
d12 Level Description
Level I Public Indecency Drunkass misbehaviour
1
Crime Disturbing The Peace Sober crimes, noise problems, disapproved speech
Theft I Petty cash; purse snatching
2 Theft Theft II Armed robbery, stolen car, larger goods theft, breaking & entering
Theft III Industrial level theft of goods, stealing a starship of any size
Explicitly aimed at political crimes and protesters; for more generalized destruction see Property Crimes.
Riot I Threw a grenade at a building
3 Riot Riot II Encouraged and incited others to throw grenades at a building with you

Riot III Led an attack on a government building, official structure, or corporate property
Stealing industrial secrets from your workstation, low level industrial
Sabotage I espionage of all kinds
4 Sabotage Sabotage II Hacking into a corporate Gibson with intent to plant malware
Actively holding servers/equipment/information digitally hostage for ransom,
Sabotage III hacking a spaceship or passenger starship liner.
Overlaps with Theft and Riot, but also an independent and higher level of crime; targets have violently
attempted to or succeeded in damaging state or government property, interfered with law enforcement,
5 Terrorism blown up critical architecture, disrupted airports, etc. This effectively counts as a Level II or III depending
on severity of crime. Includes such potential crimes as driving cars into people, forcing a spaceship full of
passengers to crash into another, disrupting life-maintenance systems on asteroids, etc.
Murder crimes all assume premeditation and willful intent - you meant to do this, and were not moved by
emotion or disturbed state of mind due to drugs, disease, etc. People with Bounties on their heads do not
count towards murder.
6 Murder Murder I Killed someone
Murder II Killed more than one person
Murder III Wiped out a lot of people
A step down from the Murder hierarchy; this covers crimes committed in the heat of the moment, such as a
Crime of
7 person killing an abusive spouse, etc. Nonlethal and lethal both encompassed - intent at the moment
Passion matters a lot.
Wanted Alive. A person containing industrial secrets or considered valuable for some particular reason.
Perhaps they are the relative of someone important who has been kidnapped, or they are a key scientist to
a company’s major upcoming development projects, or they are a witness to another person’s crime and need
Person of to be found and brought back in for ‘protection’. This can also indicate political motives on the part of the
8
Interest entity that offers the Bounty. Unlike some of the other Bounties on this list, this is a non-criminal listing,
and simply indicates that the person must be found as soon as possible, and returned alive and intact.
Anyone with this Bounty is not to be considered a criminal under law without additional criminal charges
attached. This can be used to justify escort missions, too.
High state crimes, too terrible to be made public info. The Planetary System itself hates this person and wants them
dead. Their very existence is a security risk and massive, immediate threat to all life and all worlds that they may
State be found on. This is a ranking ripe for abuse by politicians with grudges, as the reason for the Bounty is locked up
9 behind government-level firewalling and known only to the bureaucrats that issue this most dire of Bounty levels.
Offender
This is the level you give to your mega villains - and/or innocent people that know something terrible that could rock
the foundations of society if they are not found and protected from those trying to hurt them.

Trafficking I Smuggling or trading stolen goods, weapons, intellectual property, or people

10 Trafficking Moving a large mass of people more than 20 at a time against their will or
Trafficking II without authorization. Also covers the movement of stolen goods in large
quantities, such as weapons smuggling.
Using the identity, physical or digital, of another person for some illicit benefit.
Identity Identity Fraud I Basic identity theft.
11
Fraud Identity Fraud II
Impersonation of someone recognized or known to the public - trying to
convince people you’re the real President, for example.
Property Crimes I Target kicked in a public kiosk, etc.
Property Property Crimes II Target smashed a bunch of windows, etc.
12
Crimes Attempted arson, grand arson, willful destruction of large amounts of public or
Property Crimes III private property

30 | Bounties…
d d
1 Middle Name or 1 Middle Name or
First Name Last Name First Name Last Name
0 Pseudonym 0 Pseudonym
0 0
00 Amaranth M “Jazz” 50 Cain Colclough “Sparkchaser”
01 B. Kindl Garcia 51 Spencer Beem “Das Phantom”
02 Buph Gusto “The Architect” 52 Rami Alexander “The Auth0r”
03 Julius Terpischore Chaney 53 Muriel Rodriguez Wolfear
04 Charlie Proetzender Chuckstorm 54 Xavier Delgado “The Thin Man”
05 Cige Washington “The Smol Unit” 55 Yerash Castle “Pops”
06 Conductor Kurt “The Hound” 56 Akello Ts’ao Sato
07 Dead-Eye Dancer “El Mazinger” 57 Anika Lightstar Gerald
08 Emily Marienthal “King of the Skateparks” 58 Bael Zharkin Harris
09 Robert Matthewman Frying Tiger 59 Becca Green “Lefty”
10 Luke Castagnoli Jester’s Bauble 60 Bruno Durivage ビル
11 Jezebel Black aka “girl++” 61 Buph Gusto “TheNon-FlyingDutchman”
12 Kit Collins ‘The Six Shooter Witch’ 62 Kevin Rammus Chaotic
13 Joshua Valenzuela “Super Mario” 63 Armik Pickler Ronny
14 Jamie Panchorero Myrhat 64 Colt Farris “The Octopus”
15 Noah Abeyta “The Owl Without A Vowel” 65 CM Lowery “The Mailman”
16 Olivia Montoya “Kangaroo Kid” 66 Dean Crowley Dealmaker
17 Sean Veira A. 67 Elian Levinson Crumbling Keep
18 Lucidious Phage The Azure Butcher 68 Dee Mysterio “The Prophet”
19 Thom Denick “Smorpheus” 69 Emilio Redjack “Spuds”
20 Alex Keswick “Four-Thirty” 70 Gato McIntyre “Prince Bashful”
21 Toddrick Jacobs Jeffly 71 Gordon Copeland Endosine
22 Wade Sullivan G. 72 Jeff MacLeod “F.Z”
23 Jesse Standring Withrin 73 Gobi Bailey Seth
24 Doohan Kobayashi “Blind Zen Archer” 74 Jaxon Goode Aloysius
25 Ben Blackwell Biomed 75 Joyce Davis “Buddha”
26 Brett Slocum Elroy 76 Ken McLennan “Stormin’ Norman”
27 Chris Sasuisag “Pepsiman” 77 Mads Madigan El Scorpion
28 Daniel Dunbar Bobby 78 Maria Valentyne Ricochet
29 Delton Hulbert The Tipsy Tech Artist 79 Nek Namirrem “The Normal One”
30 Earl Memphis Patrick 80 Oriol Colomer “Kowals”
31 Gottfried Leibniz Wilhelm 81 Cedric Hakonsen Puckett
32 Hipólito Santiago “Polo” 82 Braun Atreides “Skeleton Sam”
33 Jack Benson “Benny” 83 Bernie Galloway Sporadic the Silent
34 Jacob Hobbie “Mr. Xbox” 84 Ter Wallace Nate
35 Jim O’Brien “The Nomad” 85 Will Comerford Marcus
36 Joe Kiewra Erik 86 Alistair Kennedy “Master of the House”
37 Jonathan Goldsmith Nokmim 87 Steven Barrett Gran
38 Kacy Raider “The Little Assassin” 88 Thurbur Mingus “Ghostmaker”
39 Ken McLennan Agboola 89 Augustine Navarro Izlear
40 Lyall Krosse “The Black Spider” 90 Gareth Tyrell Skeletor
41 Malith Brooksfield Dean 91 Theron Brokenshield Farmer John
42 Matt Wideboy “The Viking” 92 Paul Piatek “Captain Cool”
43 Mortimer Grey “Charon” 93 Holden Dingus “Spacebear”
44 Ms. Ria Cayde Elektra 94 Jay C “Rockman”
45 Myra Henderson “LeJean” 95 Gabriel Robitaille “Groovy Gabe”
46 Scottie Hankinson Panamajackal 96 Zero Point “Dragon”
47 Rachel Mulford “The Welsh Wizard” 97 Doc Hudson Martin
48 Richmond Pitts “Black Mamba” 98 Baldygun Wallsneaky “Final 1 Final”
49 Scott Chisholm Herman 99 Bork Laser “Suplex City”
Bounties…| 31
 Break Stuff · Disarm Someone · Get in a Fistfight · Handle a Big Weapon
MUSCLES Knock Someone Out · Lift Heavy Stuff · Restrain Someone · Scale a Wall
Ambush Someone · Blow Stuff Up · Disarm Someone · Dodge, Dip, Duck, Dive & Dodge
MOVES Get in a Firefight · Get in a Fistfight · Knock Someone Out · Scale a Wall
Booksmarts · Fix Stuff · Gather Intel · Hack The Planet
BRAINS Operate Machinery · Patch Someone Up · Program a Starship · Read a Situation
Blend In · Gather Intel · Get in a Firefight · Keep Cool Under Pressure
COOL Manipulate Someone · Read a Situation · Streetsmarts

OUTLAW NAME:

OUTLAW NAME:

OUTLAW NAME:

OUTLAW NAME:

NPC NAMES

NOTES

Bandleader Cheat Sheet

BOUNTY NAME:

DEMEANOUR:

MODUSOPERANDI:

SPECIAL GEAR:

APPEARANCE:

CHARACTERISTICS:

LAST SEEN:

PRICE:

CRIMES:

COMPLICATION:

THREAT LEVEL
SUCCESSES:
BREAKS… JUICE…
• If the result is a 4 or below, you fail • Outlaws start with no Juice
and maybe something bad happens. • Whenever an Outlaw fails a Break
You also gain Juice. roll, they gain Juice (unless they
• If the result is a 5 to 9, you partially used Juice on the Break).
succeed—maybe you tried to break • An Outlaw can have a maximum of
down a door, but attracted unwanted one Juice at any time, and you lose
attention in the process. Maybe you your Juice at the end of the session.
tried to disarm a foe, but he countered • After failing a Break roll (never
and now both your weapons are on before), the player can use Juice to
the ground. Maybe you maneuver roll all the dice used for the Break
your Starfighter poorly and hit an again and add that result to the
asteroid. original roll.
• If the result is a 10 or above, you • However, now partial successes
succeed with flying colours. become failures, and you don’t gain
• If the unmodified dice roll is the any Juice for failing.
maximum possible (a 6 on a d6, an 8
on a d8, etc.) you gain Juice, even if
the result is only a partial success.
Bandleader Cheat Sheet
SEE YOU, SPACE COWBOY… (abbreviated CUSC) is a tabletop roleplaying
game for 3+ players set in outer space where the players create characters
called Outlaws: bounty hunters who fly across the galaxy in search of their next
payday. You create situations where they land in hot water, manipulate people,
and start gunfights, all while dealing with their debt and trauma. Drawing from
anime like Cowboy Bebop, Trigun and Outlaw Star, SEE YOU, SPACE
COWBOY… is a unique system inspired by PbtA, Savage Worlds and West End
Games' Ghostbusters & Star Wars. All you need to run the game is THIS BOOK!

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