battlelords of the 23rd century

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B Y

L A W R E N C E R . S I M S

R O L E P L AY I N G I n A D a n g e r o u s F u t u r e

s s d c . c o m

ISBN 978-0-9679400-0-7 • SSDC101E


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Corwin dropped the 10 carat diamond back into the tray of the safety deposit box and

slowly raised his hands.“Higher,” the voice demanded from

somewhere behind him. “And don’t try any-thing funny. I would hate to overreact andpump your behind full of plasma.”

“I would hate that too. I have a nicebehind and it needs loving, not holes,” theOrion replied, stalling for time.

“That you do. Now turn around slowly.Not too fast. Like I said, I don’t want to kill

you unless I absolutely have to. Plus, it wouldmake a mess in my vault and I really don’t

want to clean up right now.”Corwin turned deliberately, making no

threatening gestures. Presently, he faced hisassailant, who held an all too big Bull Masterstatic pistol in both hands. The gun was aimedto fire just below the belt line.

“You wouldn’t want me to shoot them off either, would you?”

“No. Please don’t. I have enjoyed them fortoo long.”

“Didn’t expect me to look like this, did you, Orion?” she toyed with him.

“No. Can’t say I did,” he murmured.

The bank guard in the doorway to the vault was stunning. A black, leather miniskirt and fishnet stockings ran down her terrificlegs into equally black, spiked heels. The topbutton of her blouse was unfastened, hintingat the full pleasures hidden beneath. Her hair

was jet black, spilling down over suppleshoulders. She had crystal blue, almondshaped eyes that twinkled with sensuality anddanger. Corwin knew he had never seen a creature more beautiful!

“Caught you red-handed, stealing jewelsfrom my bank. I could get away with killing

you,” she said with a crooked smile. Shemoved forward, the gun still pointed in the

wrong spot. “I could just say that you tried toescape and I was forced to shoot off your . . .

Wouldn’t that be something. Famous Orionthief, shot and killed by bank president whiletrying to escape.”

“Its got a certain ring to it.” Corwin shot a quick glance at his own weapon, an RKM-5000 laser carbine. It leaned against the walljust out of reach.

“Thinking about it, huh? Go for it. We’llsee who ends up on top.” That evil smile

made Corwin shiver.“I’m good. But I’m not that good.”“I bet you are. But silly, I wasn’t talking

about your gun. I was talking about going forme.” The goddess slinked forward, droppingher weapon to the ground, and stepping intoCorwin’s waiting arms. “I surrender. I am

your prisoner,” she whispered, nibbling onhis ear.

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“Wake up Orion before I carve out yourheart!”

Corwin jerked upright, reflexively goingfor his weapon. He half swung the laser in thedirection of the threat when he realized that he had been fast asleep. The Phentari now standing over him knocked the gun out of the

way with two tentacles and eyed him with mal-ice.

“The Swordsaint has returned. Seems heand the Ram have found an entrance into theRebel base.” The squid hissed menacingly.“And by the way, if you ever point a gun at me

again, I’ll chew the meat off your bones while you watch!”“Sorry,” Corwin replied sleepily, wiping

the grit from his eyes. Slowly, he got to hisfeet, gathering up his boots as he went.Groggily, he looked around. The silhouette of trees outlined the clearing, and piles of equip-ment lay stacked by the large boulders on thefar side of the camp. However, none of theparty’s armor was visible, except his own. Thecampfire had died down to dull red embersand the night air chilled him. The squidmoved away from Corwin toward the woods.

Switching on its camouflage unit, the creaturedisappeared, blending into the night.

Corwin wrapped himself deeper into theblanket and moved closer to the fire. Damn, it

was cold! What a terrible way to be awakenedfrom the best dream he had had in months.Figures, it would happen just as things wereabout to get good. He yawned and stretched.

A short time later the Phentari appearedout of nowhere, near the boulders, bent over,picked up his rucksack, and pulled out a cou-

ple of BRIs. He affixed them to his web gear“Where are the others?” Corwin asked.

“The Ram and Eridani are waiting for uabout 2 clicks up the road, near that stonbridge we passed last night. Seems thentrance to the compound is only guarded ba couple of human sandwiches.”

The Phentari paused to put on his webelt, then continued. “The Mutzachan is beinpathetic again. Ran off to drain his blood. Tomany parasites building up inside him. Hsaid he’d be finished in about five minutes oso. The “morsel” is relaying our current postion back to Mother. Hurry up and gdressed, Orion. We move out in f ive minutesHe blended into the night.

“Yes sir, major general, colonel sirCorwin replied dryly. He stretched one latime, and walked over to his own geaPlopping down in the grass, he began to puon his armor.

The way the Phentari referred to Humanmade him laugh out loud. The squid callethem sandwiches because from his perspetive, Humans were nothing more than walking, talking, bacon double-cheeseburgequivalents. Phentari were bounty hunte

squids and to them, Human flesh was a trudelicacy.“Corwin. I do not feel well. How is m

complexion?” A shrill voice spoke frobehind him.

The Orion swiveled on his butt, pulling othe lower half of his Streetwise battle armo

which looked exactly like ordinary pants. diminutive alien with a huge head waverebefore him, arms folded inside a blue cape tfend off the chill. The Mutzachan’s face waashen and his spindly body shook visibly.

“Dude. You look like jask.”

“I feel that way as well. I waited too lonto drain my blood,” the energy controlleexplained. “The ritual leaves me light-headeIt also causes my neural synapses to registepain.”

“You all right? Are your powers going tbe affected?” Corwin worried.

“Could be. Can’t focus on the equationrequired to generate the matrix. You see, aan energy controller, it is necessary for me tconcentrate and formulate the specific math

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ematical equations in my mind, in order forthe energy to be released properly. If I don’t see things just right, I may calculate therelease sequence wrong, and the channeledenergies could refocus in wholly unexpectedand unpleasant ways. It takes precise . . .”

“All right! All right! All right! I get the pic-

ture. Stop whining, Bluerazor. We got to get moving. Pharrinsarrious says that Taskor-idanhas found the entrance to the base and we’regoing in!”

“Give me a minute. I’m gonna sit down a bit.”

“You’ve got until I’m done here.”Corwin finished putting on his armor and

then moved to put out the fire. He camou-flaged the party’s extra equipment withbranches and leaves. Years of working in thefield had taught him to be careful. Never takechances. Many of his friends had, and most of

his friends were dead now. Finally, the Orionspy redressed the clearing, straightened thetrampled grass, and removed the group’sfootprints as best he could. When he was fin-ished, Corwin and the still whining Mutzachanset off to meet the others. The party had neverbeen there at all.

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The six Space Systems Development Corporation mercenaries stood quietly in a circle, a short distance from the link-up

point. In the distance, a stone bridge spanneda stream. The moons reflected off the waterand the sight and sound calmed Corwin’s fraz-zled nerves.

“Everyone packing at least two BRIs?”Taskor-idan, the team leader, asked.

“Yes, yep, sure,” a quiet chorus.“Good. We will try to avoid a fight, but if

we run into something, it might get bloody.”“Since when have Eridani tried to avoid

getting into fights? Swordsaints aren’t knownfor their tact.”

“Orion. All inferior life-forms must bedisposed of. This represents the natural orderof things. It is evolution of the fittest. WeEridani are warriors. Thus, if someone seeksconfrontation with me, he has proven himself inferior and therefore must be terminated

with honor on the spot!”“Wonderful logic. You’re all a bunch of

axe murderers hiding behind some ridiculoushonor code. You’re full of it, if you ask me.

We Orions are simple. Why fight when you

can make love. Yet, here I am, a city guy, stuck out in the middle of the boonies, following a sword happy, elitist, psycho, warrior nut caseon a major ego trip! I have to live with a Phentari who thinks people are bon-bons,and a Ram Python who derives pleasure fromtearing bodies into little pieces. Oooh! Aaah! I

feel real safe knowing that we’re going to try to avoid getting into a fight!”“Uugh not kill everything. Uugh like Cudda

lizards. Uugh like flowers. Uugh like . . .”“Yeah. Yeah, we know. We know what

Uugh likes. You mean no one any harm.”Corwin said sarcastically. The Ram straight-ened. “Ah, didn’t mean anything personal bigguy,”

“Enough!” the Swordsaint ordered. “Let’sget moving. We’ll follow the river downstream

about one click, then move inland to the tar-get.”

As they walked in the darkness, Corwinreflected on his past as an operative for SSDC.This was his sixth and final year. He hadalmost survived out his contract. Many of hisfriends had not. He had been withPharrinsarrious and Bluerazor from thebeginning. They had picked up their leader,Taskor-idan, after the debacle on Inderest 4.That was over 3 years ago. The Ram Pythonjoined the team when the old Ram, Big Fist,died. Corwin chuckled inwardly. AnotherOrion had gotten Big Fist drunk while onleave and convinced him that a frosting-cov-ered super-plas grenade was really a big pieceof cherry candy. He told the Ram to pull out the stem and eat the fruit. There hadn’t beenenough of old Big Fist left to scrape into a

garbage bag!The Human. Well, the Human was a new-

bee and that was enough. He didn’t stand a chance. He was a corpse looking for a placeto happen. Corwin didn’t know the guy’sname. Didn’t care to. He wasn’t gonna makeit anyway. They all worked for SSDC, the com-

pany with the highest merc attrition rate of any mega-corporation in the 20 galaxies. But at least SSDC ran things correctly. There was-n’t too much of that para-military, snap toattention, polish your boots nonsense. Most teams were just groups of individuals withtotally different backgrounds, trying not to killeach other while carrying out dangerousassignments for the company. With mixedemotions, the mercs called SSDC “Mother.”Mother offered people from the streets thechance to become something, to be morethan fat, alcoholic, armchair quarterbacks

whose lives suck so bad that they commit sui-cide in their early forties. Mother was harsh,though. Working for a mega-corporationoffered the chance to be shot and die in themud on some planet that no one has everheard of, let alone cares about. The thought made Corwin laugh out loud.

“Quiet Rogue.”“Whatever.”The party let the Eridani play commander

because it made him feel important. They really thought he was a pompous idiot.Corwin almost laughed out loud again.

This mission was not what Corwin hadexpected. Operatives who reached the final

year of their terms were granted the right toaccept or back out of certain missions. Thisone had seemed easy enough: break into a Rebel base and steal a vial of some green seedstuff from a lab. Even better, those operatives

who signed up for the mission got 2 weekspaid leave at the hedonistic pleasure palace at Brenkode. So Corwin had signed up on his

way home from the bar. Bad choice! Sincethen he had learned that the enemy was prob-ably better armed than he was, that they’d findthe vial on some jerk water planet, twenty par-secs from nowhere, and that getting to thebase required a two week hike through junglethat would kill a mountain goat. Corwin wasan urban spy. What the hell good was he out here in the woods?

“We’re here.” The Eridani’s signal wokeCorwin from his daydream. “Everyone switchto night vision.”

The group moved to obey, flipping selec-

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tor switches on their multi-optics visors.“You see the two sentries, just to the left of

the big rock outcropping?” Taskor-idan point-ed out. “The rock outcropping itself is theaccess point. We have seen others passthrough it. They touch a hidden panel some-

where on the rock facing and the side of the

mountain opens up. Here’s the plan. The Ramand I will get close quietly. When we areready, the Phentari will give the order. He andthe Orion will each take out one sentry withtheir lasers. No noise. Mouth shots.Mutzachan, you ready a fireblast in case any-thing goes wrong. The guards are wearing

AKMB armor so there shouldn’t be any prob-lem. If there is, the Ram and I will solve it.

After the guards have been neutralized, theMutzachan and Orion will advance. The rest of us will cover you. Corwin, you must find thesecret access point. The Mutzachan will use

his bypass matrix to defeat the door’s security in case there’s a problem. Corwin, use what-ever it is that you use, but get that door open!”

“If lock picks don’t work, I have enough Jellnite to blow up half the mountain. Don’t worry, Taskor-idan, I’ll make sure that we get inside.”

“Good. Newbee, stay out of the way anddon’t screw things up! Once we’re inside, wemove to the elevator and take it to the sub-basement where the lab is. Everyone remem-ber the layout of the base? Good. Let’s moveout.”

“You know, I am more than capable of handling myself,” the new recruit respondeddefensively. “How am I supposed to learn any-thing if no one ever gives me any responsibil-ity?”

“You are supposed to stay alive. That is your responsibility. I calculate that the chanceof a new Human recruit lasting more thanthree missions is 27.567-to-one against yourfavor. There is some deviation due to duty sta-tion, assignments, I.Q. rating, physicalprowess, and other circumstantial modifiers,but that’s about it!” The Mutzachan explained,more than happy to make some trivial calcu-lation about the man’s chances of survival.

“I hope you die,” the Phentari sneered,leaning forward until his face was but a few centimeters from the recruit’s. His tonguelicked out from behind his atmosphericprocessor and the squid’s mandibles clickedtogether hungrily. “It would give me pleasureto gut you like a pig and stuff your carcass

with tender treats so that I could cook you for

dinner. Please screw up. I want you to screw up!”

“I’m not scared of you squid!” the Humanretorted , backing away. “I’m not afraid.”

“You really should be. Your chance of matching my prowess is significantly less than

your chance to survive the mission, although

the two might be distinctly related.”“I said, let’s move out, people!” TheSwordsaint ordered.

Corwin watched through the night visiondisplay of his helmet as his teammatesadvanced on the unsuspecting sentries.

Within minutes, the Ram Python had moved within meters of the two guards who stoodfacing each other, smoking and chatting. Bothhad removed their helmets to talk and neithernoticed that a three meter long lizard, dis-guised as a bush, had moved within arms’length of their position. Nor had they noticed

that a Swordsaint had circled around andclimbed up onto the rocks directly above,ready to pounce on them at the slightest signof trouble.

Corwin readied his laser carbine as thetwo advanced, bracing it against a tree. Hescoped in on the left guard, focusing the zoomtargeting eye on the man’s mouth. On thePhentari’s signal, he squeezed the trigger. Hit!The man died in a heap on the ground. Theother fell just as quickly.

The moonlight played off the boulders,providing just enough light for him to go to

work. The Orion moved swiftly toward thecliff face. Using his advanced knowledge of traps and concealment, Corwin soon locatedthe false panel which concealed a coded key-pad. The spy cut back the plastic covering,removed the access plate, and located thecorrect wiring. Next, he whipped out hishandy body computer, re-configured theaccess code, and voila, they were in!

“Nice going Rogue.”“Don’t mention it!”The door opened onto a corridor which

extended some 20 meters forward and endedin a t-intersection. Glow lights illuminated thearea.

“It’s showtime people! Pharrinsarrious, I want you in the east corridor with yourmotion tracker. Uugh, Newbee, andBluerazor, go with him and slaughter anythingthat comes your way. Set up a killing zone at the fourth junction. Nothing gets through.Corwin, you’re with me. Let’s move people!”

Corwin wasted no time finding the eleva-

tor. Turn right, pass two intersections, antake the next left. He stopped at the corneand used his laser to knock out the surveilance camera. He pushed the button for thelevator and waited. It slowly descended frofour floors above.

“Wonder if anyone knows we’re he

yet?” he half-asked the Eridani.“If they don’t, it’s only a matter of time.”“Come on elevator. Come to me bab

Damn! It stopped. Someone is getting on. Othe floor right above us.”

“It will be their last ride.” The Swordsainreplied icily, moving off to the right side of thelevator, blade ready. Corwin raised the RKMto his shoulder. A moment later, the dooopened on two rebel soldiers. The blade severed one man’s head. Corwin pumped a single laser shot into the other’s forehead. Thbodies crumpled to the floor. No noise.

“Funny how some people lose their headover their jobs!” Corwin laughed, jumpininto the elevator and pushing the down buton.

“Your attempt at humor is feeble, Orion A tremendous explosion rocked the elev

tor as it descended, staggering both of themThe lights dimmed for a moment.

“What the hell was that?” Corwiexclaimed.

“The others just rang the doorbell to lour hosts know that we are here! The time fobattle has arrived.”

The sound of gunfire erupted somewheron the floor above them. Corwin could makout the distinctive sound of a pulse cannofiring on automatic. The battle sounded faand furious.

“One less newbee,” camPharrinsarrious’s raspy voice over the headset. “Reflex missile. Never knew what hit himPieces of sandwich meat everywhere.” Paus“We’ve got visitors. Stand by for an update!”

“Uugh kill now!” The Ram spoke in child-like voice and Corwin imagined ththree meter tall lizard charging into comb

with that heinous smile plastered all over hface. “Ultimate battle!” the lizard bellowed.

“On your left. Two of ‘em. Grenade!” Another explosion ripped the floor abov

them as they left the elevator and Taskor-idastopped in his tracks.

“Wait here till I call. I’m going forward tcheck out the situation.”

“Fine Taskor-idan! No problem. I have ninterest in dying. Go ahead, be a hero!”


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The Swordsaint’s eyes blazed with intensi-ty but he said nothing. He moved cat-like tothe next intersection, where he hesitated,checking around the corner for the enemy.Finally, he waved the Orion forward. More fir-ing above. Corwin turned and backed towardTaskor-idan, covering their rear. It took a

minute to cross the distance. When he finally reached the hallway, the Swordsaint was nolonger there, but Corwin could plainly hearthe scuffle of hand to hand combat no morethan a couple feet away. A trickle of bloodflowed past the spot where he half-crouched,half-squatted behind the corner of the wall.The adrenaline was pumping now and hismouth suddenly felt parched and dry. What

was going on! What was happening to Taskor-idan? He licked his lips apprehensively andhesitated some more. He had never been thehero type. He didn’t need any theme music.

That’s why he was still alive. But theSwordsaint was obviously in over his arrogant head! Finally, Corwin took a deep breath,flipped the selector switch on his laser toautomatic, said a quick prayer to the money god, then charged around the corner intocombat.

Error! Instead of engaging the enemy andsaving the Swordsaint, Corwin stumbled overthe Eridani’s rear leg, dropped his weaponand sprawled himself out on the floor. Hecrawled around on all fours like a real heroand eventually recovered his weapon. He

looked up and winced. A Human male was impaled on the end of

Taskor-idan’s two-handed sword. One handfeebly clutched at the blade sticking out of hischest while the other hand struggled to reachhis holstered gun. A gurgling noise emanatedfrom the mortally wounded man’s mouth.Blood flowed freely down over his chin, drip-ping in a large pool on the floor. The man’seyes bulged as he writhed in agony on the endof the blade. He looked pleadingly into thecold, grey eyes of his Eridani assailant for a sign of remorse or explanation. The man triedto speak, but managed only a cough. Hegagged, then spit a mouth full of blood ontothe Swordsaint. The Eridani did not flinch. Hemerely regarded his victim with a steely detachment, as if measuring the effect of the

wound. One last gurgle and the body went limp, folding forward to lean against Taskor-idan’s shoulder. The Eridani offered a brief,twisted smile of triumph. Then, in a singlefluid motion, he lifted his right leg and kicked

the Human from the end of his blade whilepivoting on the heel of his left foot. With a reverse stroke of his two-handed sword, theBuddon sword master chopped off the man’shead. The skull made a sick crunching noiseas it struck the floor at Corwin’s feet.

“Hey, Taskor-idan. Don’t you ever feel any

remorse when you chop the head off someguy whose only crime was that he was breath-ing when he happened to run into you,” theOrion asked half-seriously.

“No I do not . . . Nor do I appreciate peo-ple who insist on talking to me when I havealready killed them. It is a sign of great weak-ness.” The Swordsaint replied in icy tones,turned on his heel, and advanced up the cor-ridor.

“Remind me never to piss you off.”“You have so been reminded.” The

Swordsaint moved off.

“Yeah, I bet . . .”Footsteps approached from the rear.

Corwin whirled around, ready to blow apart whatever was coming. Fortunately, when hiscross-hairs centered on the target, he realizedthat he was again pointing his weapon at thePhentari.

Quickly lowering the rifle, “What the hellhappened up there Pharrinsarrious? What’sgoing on?”

The squid approached with the energy controller in train. Chunks of metal had beentorn from the Mutzachan’s armor, and his left

arm plate was missing altogether.The matrix controller responded, scared

badly. “Ran into some friends, some heavily equipped friends. They must have picked usup when we killed their watchdogs. That’s allI can figure. We dropped the ceiling in onthem which should keep them busy forawhile. The total mass of the fall . . .”

“I see the sword-puke has been busy again, preparing my meals for me. I appreci-ate his thoughtfulness.” The Phentari dippedtwo tentacles into the fresh blood surround-ing the corpse and relished the taste. “Not bad. Not bad at all!”

“You aren’t going to eat the Human now,are you?” Corwin choked. “I’m really not intothe cannibalism stuff. Don’t do this to me! ForGilmock’s sake, there is a battle going onhere. Uugh! Where did Uugh get to?”

“Rogue, I will answer one question at a time,” The Phentari hissed derisively, pausingto show the Orion that he could not possibly be bullied into answering out of his own time.

Finally, he spoke, slow and deliberate.“The Ram ran off a few minutes ago, right

after we blew the ceiling. He had that stupidgrin on his face. Said he was going off to eat a LAW rocket and kill a couple of sentries onthe east side of the compound! I don’t know.Didn’t make any sense to me, but he’s the best

diversion we could possibly ask for. Allowedus to retreat. I wasn’t about to argue with him.He had that look in his eyes.”

Bluerazor nodded in confirmation. “I saw him get hit as we were pulling out. A missileripped off his helmet along with half his face.The stupid Ram was laughing all the way. He

was suicidal, totally mad!”“To answer your first question, my

friend,” the Phentari continued, “I would not be so rude as to snack on an arm or two in

your presence. I shall wait till I have someprivacy before I feast on the soul of my next

sandwich!”The energy controller began to babble.

“Do not worry, dear Corwin. You know Therick’s Equation On Universal Balance the-orizes that nothing has been lost here. At theexact instant, at the very moment that theHuman died, another one of its kind was borninto the universal realization. It occurred at the moment when the other’s vision of theuniverse was lost. See, universal balanceequates to the locus of probability that . . .”

“One more word,” the Phentari cut in,“and you will be the next one to wind up a

corpse, Melonhead.” Pharrinsarrious kickedthe dead body to dramatize his point.

Overreacting as usual, Corwin thought. Heregarded the Phentari, who still glared men-acingly at the Mutzachan. The being stoodalmost 2.5 meters tall, and wore battle armorthat was completely unscratched by the recent combat, a testimony to the cunning of therace. Four sinuous tentacles snaked outwardfrom the shoulders of the squid. Two of thetentacles held Savage-B laser pistols, weavinga slow hypnotic dance in the air. The othertwo tentacle arms cradled a Fundamentalist laser shotgun. Sixty-seven kill marks had beenpainted in purple on the breastplate of thePhentari’s armor. A gold crescent mooncrowned nine of the marks, each representingan Eridani kill. The eyes were cold, black, andmalevolent. Corwin shuddered, even thoughhe and the squid were close friends.

The squid continued, “Orion, are yougoing to be able to bypass the security and get the stuff? We don’t have much time!”


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“No sweat. Piece of Dujack. Just waitingfor our hero to return. He’s checking out thehallway to the front. All of this for some frig-gin’ plant seeds that the higher-ups want touse to create some new biochemical

weapon!”“Yeah right. I hope the Eridani gets him-

self killed.” Pharrinsarrious replied, “And by the way, each Rebel here has enough firepow-er to vaporize each and every one of us! That’s

why we had to cave the roof in. We were out-gunned bad.”

“I have calculated our chances for suc-cess at three-hundred ninety to one in favor of the enemy. The margin of error is . . .”

“Mutzachan, I’m not going to tell youagain. Shut up before I ventilate that big headof yours!” Pharrinsarrious swung all threelasers to face the energy controller.

The once meek Bluerazor now responded

angrily. “I suggest quite frankly that you re-think the situation, Pharrinsarrious. I am get-ting tired of your insults. You know as well asI do that even though I am sick, I am morethan your equal. My powers could easily defeat you.”

Something came over Corwin’s headset.“Taskor-idan, is that you?” Corwin asked.No response.“Let’s move forward and find out what’s

happening.” The squid set off. “The swordmaggot is obviously unable to handle the situ-ation without my superior skills.”

The three of them advanced up the corri-dor to the next intersection, the Mutzachanguarding their backs. Another body, this timea female lab technician.

“We must be getting close. The Eridanikeeps leaving donuts behind as markers. I’llbe back for this one. Looks tasty.”

Where the Eridani had gone to was any-one’s guess. However, each time they thought they were lost, they came across anotherfresh, dismembered corpse. Slowly, the group

worked deeper into the Rebel complex. A fullfive minutes had elapsed since they had last seen the Swordsaint. The rebels would bereturning their wake-up call anytime now andCorwin was beginning to have doubts about their chances of survival. He glanced back.

The Mutzachan said nothing. He just guarded their rear, grim and determined.

The mercenaries continued to movetoward the laboratories. Down another set of stairs. Right turn. Left at the power genera-tors. Suddenly, directly to their front, about 10

meters up the hall, the Eridani stood, poisedto attack something that Corwin could not see. The Swordsaint glanced over his shoul-der back at them.

“The enemy is before us. I charge to greet their challenge!”

“What?” is all Corwin had time to say

before an explosion rocked the corridor. Theimpact staggered the Swordsaint. A secondsuper-plasma grenade landed at the Eridani’sfeet and Corwin saw him ripped in half by a second blast. Instinctively, the Orion flattenedhimself against the wall, just as an Omega pulse tore the Phentari’s head from its shoul-ders. The squid fell in a crumpled mass of steel and tentacle.

Suddenly, five soldiers in heavy assault armor appeared out of nowhere! Corwin fired

wildly at them as they closed on his position. Another blast ripped out a chunk of the walljust below his knees.

“It looks like it’s all over, Bluerazor!” Helaughed dryly, unloading on full auto with his

weapon. “Looks like we’re gonna meet thegreat scotch maker!”

“Not just yet. I have been preparing some-thing special for the occasion.”

Green light spewed forth from the energy controller’s body, filling up the corridor,blocking the enemy advance. Sparkling ener-gy formed a shimmering but solid barrier infront of them. Shots struck the wall but simply exploded in sparks without penetrating.

“That should hold them for a micro ortwo, but it won’t last long. And I think you’reright. There is the distinct probability that we

will be reduced to our component atoms!”

Bluerazor turned to flee but stopped dead ihis tracks. His eyes bulged with fear.

Corwin cringed, looking slowly over hshoulder.

“Holy Jask!” A massive creature stood behind him

blocking their retreat. The monster was so b

that it blocked out the light. The beast bleprofusely from the midsection where part ohis armor’s chest plate had embedded itself ihis rib cage. One eye was missing and flesdangled from the bloody socket. Uugh thRam Python had found them and now stood ithe corridor cradling a Devastator Omegcannon in the three remaining fingers of hright hand.

“Big guy, are you all right?” Corwin askemore than a little concerned.

The Ram responded with a gruntinnoise.

“Me happy. Got big gun. Already smasfive people. Me like smashing. Me very verhappy. Corwin are you happy?” the Rasmiled his gory grin.

“Yeah, now that you’re here.” the Orioreplied, sliding behind the Ram to use him aa shield.

The barrier began to buckle under thconstant barrage of heavy weapons. The nois

was deafening. Corwin held his ground and sdid the enemy. Taking on a suicidal RamPython armed with a Devastator Omega cannon wasn’t considered bright, no matter wh

you were.“Me like shiny lights. Pretty lights. Good

Good. Good.” the Ram laughed.“Uugh, what would you postulate as th

solution to this problem?” queried Bluerazo“I have no definitive answer.”

The energy barrier failed under the nexhit and Uugh glanced down at the Orion.

“Simple. If it moves, kill it. If it doesnmove, pick it up and kill it!”


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HE TIME OF RECKONING IS 2279

The exploration and development of the known universe is goinon at a fantastic rate. The Galactic Alliance has prophesied complete control of the local group of galaxies by the turn of the milennium. Huge, powerful mega-corporations run it all fro

behind the scenes. The Twelve Races of the Alliance work as caretakers, shaping and expanding the horizon of knowledge, extending to touch the farthereaches of space. Frontier Colonies populate neighboring galaxie

Andromeda, Fornax, Spirax (M33), and the Magellanic Clouds. Outposts dM32 and the cluster galaxy of Talcos in Ursa Major, some 200,000,000 ligh

years from the Core Worlds. The continuing battle rages on to drive out th Arachnid presence. Strange reports of ghost ship sightings, robot warriors, anevidence of ancient human cultures all filter their way across the vast, empstretches of nothingness to the hearts of the bold, strong, and curious. There a demand for warriors, for men and women with the mettle and vision to protect the lives of the innocent. The call for assistance can be heard across thgalaxies, as colony worlds struggle to survive in a morass of conflict, uncertainty, and danger. The word goes out from the isolated reaches of ThThendrax Empire in Spirax to the urban centers of the Industrial Provinces othe Fornax galaxy. “Come. Bring your weapons. Bring your courage. Bring youhonor!”

And so the mega-corporations have hired on a few good men to get the jodone. They are referred to as Battlelords. Some are veterans of war; others arnot. But they all have one thing in common. Each believes that he can make difference. They come from everywhere: from the vast savannahs of Cashoulito the infernal volcanic regions of Trishmag, from the methane hell of Eridin

to the great Seas of Pythos. They are energy controllers, bounty hunterSwordsaints and changelings, aliens from different worlds with different agendas, thrown together in a morass of danger to carve out a common destiny.

From behind the scenes, Mega-corporations wield more power and influence than the central government, which acts more as a figurehead than a leading body. Loyalty is not to the Alliance as much as it is to the company. Loyalto the company never upstages loyalty to the team. The mercenary team emboies everything that is valued in society: esprit de corps, honor, and valor. Aleast, that’s what the papers say. In reality, it is nothing more than a bunch oindividuals, usually allied by common needs than by common goals. The mercenary’s job is a simple one: do anything and everything to stay alive. And whein doubt, lock-n-load. Balance is the key to everything, and a well trained mercenary unit can take on just about anything. The company gets all the press. Th

merc picks up his paycheck. And nothing is usually said about methods antactics, as long as the job is done on time!

The Battlelords UniverseBattlelords of the 23rd Century is a universe of make-believe, a place of mytery and danger. The game was designed for 2-8 players and, unlike othegames, has no definitive end. Players assume the part of mercenaries workintogether to accomplish a common goal. The mission parameters are set by thcompany and vary from heavy combat, often encountered by exploratioteams, to urban espionage. This game is different from most typical games i

1B ATTLELORDS OF THE T WENTY -THIRD CENTURY

INTRODUCTION

C H A P T E R 2

Introduction 2

IN THIS CHAPTER…

What Does Roleplaying Mean?

Corporate Merc

Things to Know

Downtown, New Taos City, Kermadec.Over 40,000,000 inhabitants, mostlyOrion Rogues, call Kermadec home. It’scarefree attitude and free-spendinginhabitants cover up a vast underworldof pirate and Rebel operations.


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in order to establish trust for one another. Individuals are not allowedto kill each other and must somehow determine a leader who best suitsthe group’s disposition while still offering the best chance of complet-ing the mission. Second, by acting alone, the best qualities of the unit

will surface, or the group will be destroyed. Finally, major league play-ers must have the mega-corporation’s complete trust. Major leagueteams are often sent on missions for extended periods of time, usually

exceeding a year in the field. During this time, the unit often cannot make contact with the company. Many units keep their own petty cashfunds during these missions. Thus, it is in the best interest of the par-ent company to make sure that their freelance mercenary ends up capa-ble and trustworthy, or dead! Given below are the major league parent companies and their minor league teams. All listed information is inaddition to mega-corporation signing contracts.

Telydyne Syndicates: Contrax Mercenary Company. Recruited unitsare allowed limited free-lancing opportunities. Strict punishment codes. Salary advances available up to 1/2 year.

Space Systems Development Corporation: Xplore Inc. Minor

league teams are encouraged to free-lance. Xplore Incorporated car-ries out some of the most dangerous combat assignments and has a 66% attrition rate.

Eridi-Corp: No minor league teams.

Balshrom Science Corporation: The Rod and Gun Club. Free-lanc-ing is offered on a unit-by-unit basis only after mercenary teams haveproven themselves during the first year of service.

AMC: Interstellar Combat Directory is considered to be the most effi-ciently run of all subsidiary companies. The pay is lousy though (-10%of starting salaries).

The Chatilian Interest Firm: Illusionary Inc. Free-lancing is encour-aged heavily at Illusionary Inc., which believes that an intelligent mindshould be unleashed so that it may prosper.

Bio-Cyberdyne: Cybernetic Assistance Firm. Free-lancing is encour-aged. However, borgs have a tracer implanted into their skulls for thefirst two years of service so that their activities can be monitored at alltimes.

Orionus Konglomerates: The Traders Guild. Minor league teams who prove themselves are often offered leasing terms on spacecraft.This occurs only after 2 years of restricted service.

Erectus: No minor league teams.

Cyber Research Institute: The Fornax Collective. Operatives are only hired if they are to act alone or in three man teams on espionage andsurveillance missions. All other recruits work for the parent corpora-tion.

F.U.R.I.E.S.F.U.R.I.E.S. are non-combat troops used by the company to achievends other than violence and mayhem. The acronym stands for ForcUrban, Reconnaissance, Intelligence, Espionage, Soldier. The status oF.U.R.I.E.S. may change from Lancer and back at any time. Often, Freelance units are given special assignments as F.U.R.I.E.S. These units arheld in much higher regard than Free-lancers, and are exclusively com

posed of troops who have proven that they can complete missions whiincurring minimal casualties. Like Free-lancers, F.U.R.I.E.S. do not folow a rank structure. They are, however, expected to perform with miitary bearing and discipline. Generally, these units are posted to populated urban centers where missions must be carried out with a higdegree of discretion and professionalism. Missions include rescureconnaissance, intelligence gathering, assassination, kidnapping, etc

The police are constantly on the alert for armed combat teams, anF.U.R.I.E.S. teams are versed in avoiding direct conflicts. F.U.R.I.E.Searn fifty percent more than their Free-lance counterparts. The extrpay is an urban combat dispensation out of which units are expected tpurchase the extra materials necessary to complete missions. The parent company will, on occasion, offer to loan a F.U.R.I.E.S. unit equip

ment to complete its mission. This is rare because these units are ofteforced to leave equipment behind while operating in the field. Urbacombat teams readily have access to cosmetic alteration such as plastsurgery, DNA masking, skin grafting, etc. Most units are offered speciaespionage training.

The GruntGrunts are paramilitary soldiers who function as front line combaunits. These mercenaries follow a strict military regimen, much likthat of Alliance forces. Grunts are revered by the public, who see themas Alliance soldiers in charge of maintaining the peace. Combat missions follow the exact same parameters as with government troop

Mercenary combat units battle hostile forces, guard ammo dumpcarry out search and destroy missions, peace missions, and a myriad other tasks. Grunts always wear their uniforms when on duty and arsometimes allowed to carry heavy weapons when operating in publiareas.

Grunts never work for the subsidiary, and all grunts must carryspecial combat permit which carries certain dispensations for collateal damage to the public. Mega-corporations maintain the best legal stato protect their grunts, and the company must gain permission from thcentral government to carry out combat activities on a mission per mision basis. All team members operating in the field are reported to thgovernment’s central roster before the commencement of hostilitieUnits draw weapons and are deployed to the field where they carry ou

assignments.The parent company acts quite differently toward Grunts as com

pared to Free-lancers or even F.U.R.I.E.S. Most companies are reluctato loan out equipment to mercenary units because of the careless atttudes often displayed by these groups. The company cannot afford tlose expensive equipment that is often worth much more than the ind

vidual soldier. The weapon is dependable. Mercenaries often are noBecause of this, most Freelance and F.U.R.I.E.S units must pay for theiown equipment. Grunts, however, seldom pay for anything, except fothose things which we cannot discuss in this book! The company loan


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them equipment to facilitate carrying out each mission. Troops areexpected to only ask for what they need and are expected to return allunused munitions.

Cream Puff BoysMega-corps require a variety of staff to oversee their business opera-tions. These people are called Cream Puff Boys. Cream Puffs earn more

money than their combat counterparts and are subject to a much lesslethal life-style. About the only thing dangerous about being a CreamPuff Boy is getting slapped for staring at the secretary’s legs, or havinga heart attack after climbing a couple of flights of stairs because the ele-

vator broke. However, many Cream Puff Boys are former F.U.R.I.E.S.and Grunts who have paid their dues to the company and were offeredsecure, cozy jobs in the “rear.” Cream Puffs have excellent benefits,generally get paid handsome amounts of money, take long, paid vaca-tions, and work from nine to five. Many still hire out their own services

when off work to add to the weekly paycheck.There exist temporary Cream Puff Boys called Buttercups. A

Buttercup is a F.U.R.I.E.S., Free-lancer, or Grunt who has been severely wounded (-5 body points or below) in action and requires time to con-

valesce. During his recovery, he is posted to office duty. Many warriorsuse this time to embellish their heroics, telling long, drawn out storiesof how they landed in the hospital in the first place. Next, they brownnose hard for a safe position with the well-to-do. Why? Simple. Many

wannabe tough guys have lost a little nerve after seeing their buddies get whacked one after another.

SuitsSuits are businessmen and women who were originally hired out by thecorporation to push paper and oversee company affairs. Suits havenever seen combat duty. They are ordinary people who attended collegelong enough to get a masters degree (a prerequisite for entering into

the management field), then were hired by the corporation. Suits get paid top dollar, more than mercenaries, and this fact has caused muchstrife between the two classes. Many suits think that mercenaries arenothing more than commodities, to be bought and traded. Some don’t even attempt to hide their contempt for the “lesser masses,” profferingthat each person has been posted to his natural position in life.Mercenaries, almost to the individual, consider Suits to be soft, lazy, twofaced, useless paper-chasers who make their living as vultures, feedingoff the dead corpses of fallen warriors! The Suit smiles to your face,then makes sure you get sent on a mission where no one is expected tosurvive.

Note: Many a manager has gone home, used the head, and beenblown to little pieces when the toilet flushed. It keeps the balance. Suits

with axes to grind don’t send mercenary units out to get killed, andmercs don’t slip while walking with a laser carbine and shoot some suit in the face!

The interaction between upper level management and workers is a subject of much contention, and there are few apparent solutions to theproblem. Office areas are always tense when units return from missionsto fill out operations reports. Often mercs are required to fill out deathcertificates for lost comrades, then hand them to a half-amused, pot bellied idiot sitting behind a mahogany desk. Many mercenaries believethat full auto is excellent for office renovations, but admit that it is bad

for sales! Space Systems Development Corporation is known for havingthe greatest rift between management and lower echelon workers.Mercs claim that it is the incompetence of the Suits that has lead to thecompany having the highest attrition rate of all the major corporations.Reports cite failure to obtain correct pre-mission intelligence on targetsas a reason for high attrition rates. Several senior managers have beenindicted for falsifying weapons testing data in order to shave production

costs. Four men known as the Spirax Quartet currently stand accusedof embezzling millions of credits from pension funds. Nine former SSDCmercenaries are on death row at New Leavenworth for murdering com-pany officials. Warrants are outstanding on sixteen others.

Telydyne Syndicates has dealt with the matter of management alien-ation by requiring that all managers, except for those with the most crit-ical job skills, go on active duty once a year for a period of no less thantwo weeks. Furthermore, many of Telydyne’s top officials are formerfront line troops who have been in the Jask before! An open door poli-cy allows for individuals to bring problems to the immediate attentionof the combat operations director for that subsector.

The Chatilian Interest Firm steadfastly holds to the belief that individuals are posted to their natural positions. Mercs work out of fear, for

all of the upper level managers are powerful matrix controllers. Aspiring managers can advance by proving themselves resourceful andshrewd, as well as intelligent. Persons seeking advancement must alsogain powers as an empath.

All Asteroid Mining Consortium officers are former mercenaries.This is company policy. No one can become an upper level manager

without having spent at least 2 years on active duty in the mercenary corps. Lesser white collar positions do not require that one have servedin the field, but most sector directors demand that all employees be at least trained in weapons and go through a two week annual trainingexercise. Furthermore, all aspiring managers must go back to collegeand obtain a masters degree in their chosen field before hanging theircoat on the chair behind the desk. Consequently, there is little strife

among AMC staff and its workers.Eridi-Corp maintains an interesting policy about upper level man-

agers. First, all persons seeking to become managers must sign on to work for the company for life. Those who fail to pass the general com-petency test required to become a manager are enlisted into the mer-cenary ranks until they die. All managers must be Buddons, who arerotated between combat duty and desk jobs every three months toensure mental sharpness. Again, those personnel who are absolutely crucial to their professions are exempt from combat duty. Any Eridi-Corp manger who is passed up for promotion more than twice must killhimself for dishonoring the company. He has proven that he is inferiorand incapable of leading his subordinates. He has also embarrassed thecompany which made the mistake of hiring him in the first place.

Around the OfficeThere is a certain mystique that continually swirls around the walls of a mega-corporation, something that compels the average citizen to stopand stare, marveling at the secrets that must be kept inside. They dreamof agents in black who go off on dangerous missions from which few return. Mega-corporations are powerful businesses, set up to generatea tremendous amount of revenue. Overall, they maintain impeccablebusiness practices and flourish.

Corporate buildings are some of the most beautiful structures imag-


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inable, huge edifices that sprawl across acres of land. Most are locatedin and around major metropolitan areas. They tower above even thelargest buildings and can be seen from kilometers around. Sightseersmarvel at these awesome icons of society, whose workers protect thefreedom of those who live around them. Each corporation maintains itsown symbol of perfection. A bald eagle flies atop all Telydyne Syndicatebuildings. The Space Systems Development Corporation is symbolized

by a cross. A longsword graces the top of Eridi-Corp buildings, its tippointed toward the stars and toward Eridine itself. A glowing Omega symbol stands atop all Balshrom Science Corporation sites.

Corporate sites are laid out with one thing and one thing only inmind; security. It is virtually impossible to break into a mega-corpora-tion’s place of business. The upper floors crawl with uniformed guards,posted at almost every turn. I-bots walk the secure area, disguised asemployees. Every type of overt and covert security system has beenemployed in corridors: cameras, motion sensors, DNA sensors, EMPpulsars, and stun nullifiers which prevent matrix generation. Theabove-ground portion of the building is dedicated to running the daily affairs of the business: making money, picking up and selling new con-tracts, accounting, maintenance, etc. Rumor control is therefore inac-

curate when it claims that mud covered, blood smeared mercenary teams regularly stroll through corporate lobby areas with heavy

weapons, while businessmen pay them little heed. In reality, mercenar-ies pass through security screens in a heavily guarded section of theground floor. These check points utilize state of the art detectiondevices to catch objects being smuggled into the perimeter. The groupthen boards elevators which suck them down into the bowels and safe-ty of the earth.

Once they step out of the elevator, some 2km below the surfacthey are searched again, this time with mental and emotional discrimnators which evaluate one’s mental status and surface thoughts. Thethen pass through a set of redundant security measures, exactly likthose on the surface above, and finally down an access tunnel into whais generally referred to as the “brain,” or central command post.

Each company’s brain is laid out differently, but all maintain bas

cally the same functions integral to carrying out secretive affairs such aresearch and development, intelligence gathering, and military operations.

Battle Rooms: Most sector headquarters have three to four battrooms where military personnel oversee combat operations. Trackinof enemy movements, communications, command and control, anlogistical analysis are carried out in the battle rooms.

Armory: Only guards and select personnel are allowed to car weapons within the command post. Thus, the armory is split up inthree distinct sections. Each maintains its own weapons and equipmenstorage, separate from the others. Merc units draw weapons from the

own armory, as do combat units from theirs, and staff from theirs.

Motor Pool: Upgrades and maintenance of company vehicles takeplace in one of several areas. The motor pool is separated into fougeneral sections, called bays, which include civilian, military grounatmospheric, and deep space. Each bay maintains its own tech suppto assist in the upkeep of vehicles.


THE CORPORATE MERC

• Mega-corp headquarters are studies in luxury and opulence. No expense is spared in providing the highest tech accessibility and comforts for their leaders.


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Crew Quarters: Facilities are maintained to support all military andparamilitary units beneath ground for extended periods of time, pro-

viding mess halls, gyms, holo-rooms, virtual reality game centers, plea-sure services, and sleeping quarters.

Operations: Directors, generals, and other top officials work here torun the clandestine operations. This section is generally very large and

contains numerous office areas. People working here exhibit a profes-sional, no games mindset. Guards shoot to kill.

Communications Core: Long range communications equipment is set up in this section of the command post. Intelligence personnel andoperatives transmit, receive, and analyze communications trafficthroughout the subsector from the communications core.

Interrogation: Special labs for interrogation are usually located adja-cent to the medical facilities. Workers here exhibit a morose, dark sense of humor, making sick jokes about their methods and victims.

Launch Port: Virtually all corporations maintain an underground

launch facility which contains diplomatic, combat, and personal space-craft. These can all be launched at a moment’s notice. The launch port is usually reached through a heavily defended access tunnel in thedeepest bowels of the command post. In a crisis, vital personnel canreach the launch port via launch tubes which are strategically situatedthroughout the complex. Launch tubes deliver a person into a pre-pro-grammed vehicle, based on DNA and retinal scans which are requiredto activate the unit.

Bunker: Usually adjacent to the launch port and accessed through thesecurity tunnel. All businesses run under the constant threat of a hos-tile attack and personnel come here in case of such an event. Most bunkers can withstand several direct hits on the installation from either

nuclear weapons, energy, chemical, or biological attacks without beingcompromised.

The Public ReactionIt is an “either/or” proposition. Either you are a bigger than life super-hero who can do no wrong, or you are villainous scum that has crawledout of the sewers and should be cleansed from the universe with thesame zeal that most of us would kill flies! Whatever the case, merce-naries get more press than the President. Much depends on the com-pany you work for. If you are employed by Telydyne, most people willgenerally give you the benefit of the doubt. Few question your actionsbecause the company that employs you is on the up and up! You are

considered above reproach. Moms say, “Why can’t you marry a niceboy, you know, like that one from Telydyne Syndicates who walked youhome from the store last week?”

On the other hand, you could be a Space Systems Development Corporation lackey, a dirtball loser who would kill off his own grandma just for beer money. You could give your life to save someone else’s andit would be dismissed. You were trying to kill the person in the first place. It is all a matter of perception, for that is what quantifies reality.

Some things about being a company mercenary are great, no mat-ter what. Every once in a while, you’ll be granted some special dispen-sation which allows you to carry heavy weapons in public. You stroll

into the late night grocery store to grab a couple of Yum Yum snacksand a carton of milk. Old ladies faint. Young kids run up and desper-ately beg for your autograph. Store clerks frantically call the police. Thepolice scramble to the scene. And you… well, you just stand there allcool and smug, trying to decide whether or not to waste the guy in aisleseven with your Omega cannon!

THINGS TO KNOWDice and the SystemBattlelords of the 23rd Century uses percentile dice as its main focus tocarry out combat, skill checks, etc. Different dice are used to determinedamage. Dice are referred to by the number of faces each has. A d4, forexample, is a 4-sided die. A d20 is a die with 20 sides. Occasionally, you

will be asked to roll a d2 or something completely strange like that. Weall know that there are no two sided dice. Well, don’t freak out. It’s easy.Roll a d6. 1-3 equals a 1, while 4-6 equals a result of 2. Rolling a d3

would hold to the same rationale. A 1-2 would equal a 1, 3-4 a 2, and5 or 6 would equal a 3.

On other occasions, you might have a weapon where the damage

yield is something way strange like 2-7 points of damage! The questionthat comes to mind is, “What the hell do I roll? What kind of dice do Iuse?” Simple. In the case of 2-7 points of damage, roll a d6 and add 1to the result. 3-9 points is another weird damage result. Roll 2d4 andadd 1 to get the results.

ModifiersModifiers are changes to the base chance to accomplish something,based on the surrounding circumstances. The Battle Master is in chargeof the game. He will assign penalties and bonus modifiers to your char-acter’s chance to do something, based on the situation at hand.

Vital Statistics ChecksThere are eight vital statistics in Battlelords of the 23rd Century. Each isimportant and relates to a specific aspect of a character. The statisticsare Strength, Manual Dexterity, I.Q., Agility, Constitution, Aggression,Intuition, and Charisma.

The Battle Master will sometimes ask you to make a statistic check at a penalty. Simply subtract the penalty number from the appropriatestatistic. The resulting number or lower must be rolled in order to besuccessful.

Secondary Statistics ChecksThere are 4 secondary statistics: Terrestrial Knowledge, Military

Leadership, Persuasion, and Bargaining. Again, from time to time theBattle Master will ask you to make a secondary statistic check at a penalty. This is handled in the same way as for a primary statistic: sub-tract the penalty from the appropriate statistic to determine the chanceto succeed.

Non-Combat Skill ChecksNormally, you will be asked to make a skill check when attempting toperform a task. There are two skill types, combat and non-combat. Thebase chance to successfully make a non-combat skill check is 50%,


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plus 10% per level of skill. The Battle Master will assign a penalty mod-ifier to the base chance of success, depending on how difficult the task is. This penalty is expressed as a level number; this number times ten isthe penalty to your chance to succeed. (For example, a Level 5 check

would result in a -50% penalty to your skill check.)

Combat Skill Checks

Weapon skill checks are rolled when attacking. The base chance to hit is determined by weapon type. Then add 04% to the chance to hit perlevel of skill. The result is the unadjusted chance to hit with the weapon.The Battle Master will assign modifiers based on cover, terrain, lighting,etc.

Armor Armor has three important aspects: armor integrity, absorption, andthreshold. Armor integrity defines how well the armor is holding togeth-er. When an attack hits, it rips away a certain amount of metal. Armorintegrity represents exactly how much metal there is to the armor. When

you run out of armor integrity in a certain area, you have no armor left

there at all (that means no protection!).Threshold represents how tough the armor is to penetrate. Thethreshold is how much damage must be done by standard attack formsin order to penetrate the armor. If the attack doesn’t penetrate, thenthere is no damage do the armor or wearer—the attack “bounces.”

Absorption is the armor’s ability to soak up damage; basically, thearmor’s body points. Whenever the armor’s threshold is penetrated, theattack passes on to the absorption polymers, which reduce damage ona point for point basis. When you run out of absorption, the next attack that penetrates the armor hits you. It is quite possible to run out of absorption and still have plenty of threshold and armor integrity—

you’re basically wearing a shell with no cushioning.

Survival Matrix Rolls (SMR)The Survival Matrix Roll (SMR) is the base chance for your body to sur-

vive non-standard attacks forms such as nerve agents, radiation, sonicattacks, and so on. The Battle Master may assign a penalty to your basechance of success. If so, subtract the penalty from your SMR to deter-mine the number you must roll. Rolling this number or less indicatesminimal or no effects on the character.

Important Terms Adjusted Light Year: The distance travelled by light in one standard

year (see below). Equal to 11.34 trillion kilometers. Arachnids: The alien race of spider-like creatures presently at war

with the Galactic Alliance.Battle Master: The overseer of the game. The Battle Master sets up

and adjudicates situations that occur during the play of the game.Campaign: This word is used to describe a series of ongoing adven-

tures.Galactic Alliance: The body governing the “secured” quadrants of the

universe. It is primarily run by Gen-Humans.Galactic Corporations: Huge, powerful companies that run the

government from behind the scenes.Generation: The process of harnessing and releasing psycho-kinetic

energy.

Heavy Points (HP): 1 Heavy point equals 100 normal damage pointKinetic Based Attacks: Those attacks which utilize objects whic

impact with other objects to cause damage.Matrix: The specific formula/process used to channel psycho-kinet

energy from its potential to active state.Matrix Controllers (MC): Those individuals who possess the abili

to harness and transmit psycho-kinetic energy.

Parsec: 2.72 adjusted light years.PC: Player CharacterPercentile Dice: Take two ten sided dice. State which is the tens dic

and which is the ones. The tens are called “high.” The ones arcalled low. The high die is read first. When both dice are 0 the resuis 100.

• Example: Red is called high and green is called low. A red six and a greethree are rolled. The result is a 63.

Roleplaying: Creating a fictitious character and playing him during thcourse of a campaign.

Scenario: This is the specific adventure that the players are involved iat any given moment. Normally, the Battle Master has set up a plothat is to be followed. This is called the scenario.

Standard Day: A 30 hour period of time.Standard Week: 7 standard days.Standard Month: 5 standard weeks.Standard Year: 350 standard days, or ten standard months.Survival Matrix Roll (SMR): The Survival Matrix represents th

chance an individual has to resist the effects of a non-standarattack form. The SMR is made in the event of such an occurrence

Vital Statistics: Numbers that denote the physical and mental proweof an individual. 50 is considered average.


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ll you need to play Battlelords of the 23rd Century is scrap papera character sheet, some dice, and a lot of imagination. My job wa

to prepare all the necessary material so that you can do this easily. In the back of the book is a sample character sheet. To creatan abundance of character sheets, simply go to a copy center anrun off some extras. The scrap paper is for listing possible vit

statistics, but that will be covered later. You also need to buy some dice. I cantell you exactly where to go, because I don’t have the foggiest idea where yolive! A safe bet is to go to your local “gaming” shop. Now if you live in EaGuatemala and the closest place is the local cattle feed store, then I have nidea what to tell you. You need these dice: 1 four sided, 1 six, 1 eight, 2 ten, twelve, and 1 twenty.

ROLEPLAYING SOMETHING BESIDES ELVESThe challenge of Battlelords of the 23rd Century is playing alien races whosmindsets are completely different from elves and dwarves. It was the interaction of these races in a hostile environment that playtesters found to be the moenjoyable. In short, the company has hired a bunch of individuals who fundamentally don’t get along with each other to perform difficult and dangeroumissions. Killing one another is out of the question because that is destroyincompany property, which carries the Death Penalty.

On the following pages you’ll find complete and detailed descriptions of thtwelve player character races in Battlelords preceded by a timeline to show yothe depth of their history. Included are the general mindsets of the variouraces and their general disposition toward life and others around them. Theare given as a guideline for roleplaying and are not meant to be absolutes. Fo

added variety the “Everybody is a Little Bit Freaky” sections describe some the stranger idiosyncrasies exhibited by the various character races. Things thseem normal to you may very well be considered odd by me. That’s cuz yooften act a little bit freaky!

The races depicted represent stereotypes and are not meant to be aencompassing. The “Variations on a Theme” sections are variations of thaforementioned and may be substituted for the base race types during initicharacter generation.


C H A P T E R 3

IN THIS CHAPTER…

Galactic Timeline

Chatilian

Cizerack

Eridani

Gan-Human

Human

Mazian

Mutzachan

Orion Rogue

Phentari

Python Lizard

Ram Python

Zen Rigeln

GETTING STARTED

Player Races & Getting Started 3

Topare-idan, ruler of the 138th Houseof Eridine, bestows the FrontierAccommodation Medal on the survivingteam members of Draco’s Dragoons. TheDragoons had successfully ferreted outand eliminated an Arachnid listening poston Ophea.


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Mutzachans abstain from intervention due to internalproblems.

1914 A.D. Earth’s first global war begins. It lasts for 4 years.1930 A.D. Eridani enslave a race of blue humanoids called

Zendareans.1939 A.D. The second world war begins on the planet Earth and

55 million people are slain. It ends with the dropping of

the first atomic bomb on the unwary cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

1941 A.D. The Pythons are forced to capitulate and the War Against the Lizards ends.

1969 A.D. Men land on Earth’s moon.1970 A.D. The Mutzachan exploration freighter Uranium Sun suf-

fers engine damage and is rescued by a strange being who suddenly materializes on the ship’s bridge andfixes the problem with the sweep of a hand. He callshimself a Dane and then disappears.

1971 A.D. Pythons rise up against the Cizerack and the occupationends.

2011 A.D. Limited nuclear war destroys 1/3 of Earth’s population.2026 A.D. Earth deploys the first multistage space platform from

which future deep space missions will be launched.2034 A.D. Humans establish a permanent colony on Mars.2049 A.D. Dr. Rosenthal develops Flex Steel.2051 A.D. The Mutzachans openly contact Earth and friendly rela-

tions begin.2075 A.D. The Gen Wars begin between the Humans and Genetic

Humans. The war lasts 7 years. In the end, the GeneticsLaws are passed and peace is established on Earth andits colonies.

2078 A.D. Phentari discover and enslave a race of humanoidscalled Kizanti in the Fornax Galaxy.

2086 A.D. With the aid of the Mutzachans, Humans and Gen-Humans build the first stargate. Earth builds a vast space fleet and its people sweep outward to conquer theuniverse.

2091 A.D. Earthlings discover the Zen Rigeln in the 29 Orionis starsystem.

2095 A.D. Trade is established with the Xarians from theMagellanic Clouds. They were later determined to holdstrong ties to the Arachnids.

2108 A.D. The First Arachnid Invasion begins.2109 A.D. The First Council is convened on the planet Earth. All

the known races attend. A plan is worked out to stop the Arachnid invasion. The humans send out a fleet to

ambush the Arachnids. The plan is successful. The inva-sion is stopped with the loss of 13 warships, includingthe Earthling battle cruisers Valiant and Windsor , theheavy cruiser Choi Ling , the escort cruiser Providence,and destroyer Brazil . The Galactic Alliance is formed,under the established control of the Gen-Humans.

2145 A.D. Phentari patrol cruiser sights an unidentifiable alien vessel. Hailing frequencies are broadcasted. The shipsimply vanishes.

2187 A.D. The First Rebel uprising is crushed by the Alliance.

2193 A.D. Galactic Storm Troopers destroy the Rebel base onKitchara of the Gamma Liporis star system.

2216 A.D. AMC discovers the largest vein of Ti-Tritium in thegalaxies on the planet Nwaga of the Smaller MagellanicClouds.

2224 A.D. An exploration fleet sent to explore the Carina Galaxy disappears without a trace.

2228 A.D. Eridi-Corp officials are brought up on charges of mur-dering some 5000 Phentari vacationers who landed onan Eridani planet. They are acquitted for lack of con-clusive proof.

2230 A.D. Humans discover the Sheustrons in the Fornax Galaxy.2248 A.D. The massive push to settle the Andromeda Galaxy

begins.2252 A.D. Balshrom Science Corporation becomes the number

one arms producer in the known universe.2253 A.D. Second Arachnid Invasion begins.2255 A.D. The Second Rebel uprising begins.2256 A.D. The Second Rebel uprising is put down at the Battle of

Terasleague.2257 A.D. The Second Arachnid Invasion ends as the Arachnids

cease attacking despite holding a massive advantageover Alliance forces.

2258 A.D. A Dane materializes at the Council of Timar and speaksominously of portending dangers. He claims that the

Alliance shall be destroyed and then vanishes.2259 A.D. The Alliance forces do battle with an alien race called

Krakeds in the Andromeda Galaxy. After fierce fighting,a truce is signed.

2265 A.D. SSDC builds Stargate Horizon in the Ursa Major supercluster, some 200,000,000 light years from the Core

Worlds.

2267 A.D. Professor Uncle Ernie Freiberg escapes from jail andreleases the Blood Warlock which kills 2.5 million peo-ple. He then starts the Anarchist Rebellion Movement (ARM), designed to annihilate the Alliance by produc-ing and dispersing dangerous life forms throughout thegalaxies.

2268 A.D. A Dane appears on the Floor of the Council of Timar forthe second time. He claims, “Atlantis understood thethreat and took measures to safeguard its own survival.Have you taken measures to ensure your own? Do not hastily assume your enemies.”

2272 A.D. The battlecruiser New Washington and her contingent of warships ambush and destroy an Arachnid

Mothership. Jaquassarious Phentari destroys the planet Sharron and becomes the number one wanted criminalin the galaxies.

2273 A.D. Arachnids obliterate the planets Salvador and ZwimMon Damnax of the Andromeda galaxy. Reports claimthat a third invasion may possibly be under way. The 7thfleet, lead by the carrier Enterprise is dispatched to thearea.

2275 A.D. The exploration ship Perestroika disappears in theCrab Nebula.


GALACTIC TIMETABL


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the empath is impotent, so most empaths carry a backup crystal, just incase they should lose the first one. An empath has the innate ability toread the minds of any unprotected sentient being within 2m of his per-son. He must focus his attention on one person at a time.

It is difficult for Chatilians to generate while wearing helmets; thecost to generate is doubled. Helmets must be custom designed to fit an

Asparagus' oblong head. Consequently, Chatilians pay 25% above the

stated retail cost for any helmet.

GovernmentChatil is presently ruled by the aging King Atish Catam. The monarch’spower and authority is balanced by the People’s Parliament. Any law passed by the king must receive a 2/3 vote of support from the parlia-ment, which is set up so that the representatives of each state hold votesin direct proportion to the amount of residents there. The Chatilian gov-ernment will support the Alliance as long as its sovereignty is preserved.The Chatilian populace view outsiders with a mix of condescension andenvy.

CultureThe culture is one of openness. This isn’t because most empaths want it that way, but because those who possess “The Power” (the Empaths,around 20% of the population) have the ability to actively read others’minds. Privacy is at a premium; most empaths want it, but can’t seemto find it anywhere. The constant psychic-babble is intolerable to those

who can’t shut the noise out. Chatilians often hang out in closets and if you have lost your Chatilian, then I suggest that you go look for himthere.

Take note that the Chatilian masses do not possess the ability to gen-erate, and view “The Power” as something corrupt and decadent. They can only use their telepathic powers to communicate. Empaths, on theother hand, see the masses as inferior, and attempt to subjugate them

to their naturally superior intellect. Consequently, the king (whosehereditary line possesses “The Power”) must continuously seek to avert a civil war among his own people.

Physiological MakeupThese herbivores are inherently weak and their digestive system is suchthat they can survive by eating only plants, roots, and other strangegoodies. Chatilians live to be 300 years old.

WeaknessTough as the empaths are mentally, they can be hypnotized rather easi-ly and suffer a -35 to mental SMRs vs. hypnosis. The most notable

means of hypnotizing a Chatilian is by playing the Souc Harp. Thismelodic instrument is somewhat similar to the ancient Earth equivalent.

QuirksChatilians love to just hang out and think. There is nothing better thana little introspection. Empaths have an unquenchable thirst for knowl-edge and they love libraries, finding them the most relaxing of all placesto visit. Humans go to the movies on Sunday, while Chatilians take thekids to the library.

Empaths make a strange, high-pitched whining sound when they

are agitated. The galactic masses call this the Chatilian War Cry andalthough they are normally difficult to arouse, an angered empath canbe quite frightening. They secrete a yellow, viscous liquid that flowsfrom the slits in their mouth while their huge eyes appear to bulge fromthe sockets. By the way, the Chatilian starts drooling right about the timehe begins generating, and you begin dying.

Empaths whine more by nine o’clock than most people do all day!

HistoryLord Makov Chatil, the first Chatilian Empath, developed psycho-kineticpower around the year 12180 B.C. Awed and yet humbled, he took to thestreets to teach the people. The knowledge of “The Power” spread andthose who possessed this latent ability were called Illuminaries. They

were the focus of both adulation and resentment within the Chatilian cul-ture. Schools were set up to teach those blessed with the gift.

Upon Makov Chatil’s death in 12097 B.C., Cashan of Lamir took thethrone. He outlawed psychic power, denouncing it as the DemonThought, and began the systematic extermination of the empaths. TheIlluminaries fled for their lives, seeking refuge in the twistedlabyrinthine passages of the Caves of Darkness. For decades they hud-

dled in the desolation and many starved to death. Yet resolute was theirdetermination to teach the young.

In 8911 B.C., after 3,100 years in darkness, the Illuminaries struck back, leading an attack on the Normals at the Palace of Patru. So beganthe Chatilian Civil War. Finally, 57 years later and at the cost of some2,000,000 lives, the Illuminaries won the decisive Battle of theMorkudom.

Over the years, the wisdom Lord Makov Chatil brought to theChatilian people has been lost, suppressed by the inherent distrust of empaths toward each other. Moreover, the Chatilian society views itself as superior to the rest of its galactic counterparts. Empaths are greatly feared by the galactic masses who find them repulsive to look at and not

very trustworthy (most individuals don’t appreciate having their mindread). In 2111, the Galactic Alliance passed into law the Brain Trust

Acts which contained the provision that all Chatilian empaths must dis-play their power crystal at all times. Failure to do so can result inimprisonment.

Favorite ItemThe Chatilian’s favorite item is a Brain Scratcher. Why would anyoneleave home without it?

DressThe Empaths love the color green and wear it constantly. Chatilians likehats as well and there are hundreds of different types of head attireavailable.

HangoutsChatilians are not very social and generally prefer to be by themselves.Normally one can find them in isolated places where few travel.However, if in their company long enough, most adventurers find that empaths continuously whine about the state of affairs and never shut up!

Every 5 years, all Chatilian empaths make a pilgrimage to the Cavesof Darkness where they pay their respects at the Shrine of theIlluminaries.




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I am a female and that is in itself a gift, for I am clearly aware of the inadequacies of males. I can’t help but make sure that they know I know this. I am compassionate and understanding, as all females should be. I am a feline and it is wonderful to be alive. I believe in combat as a last resort to settling things, but if it is necessary, then I ammore than willing to fight. However, I would much rather reason with someone first than strike out at him. However,if he makes the first move, then the second and final one shall be mine.

Cities and other congested areas disturb me, and I am most at home in the comfort of rolling plains and hills. I am acreature of nature and I always take notice of the littlethings life offers, like sunsets, the smell of blooming Ashalniin the spring, and the gentle rustle of the wind through my fur.

I am precociously neat and immaculately clean, taking great pride in my appearance, for I am after all a female. Alady must make sure to clean herself after every meal, and this takes time. When the others complain that we should press on toward our objective, I simply refuse. I am a lady, and a lady acts in her own time.

But it is a male’s world, and females have to prove themselves in it. I have to earn the respect for others of our kind,even if they themselves are not Cizerack. This is why I am awarrior. For there is no denying equality in a combat zone.

General KnowledgeLithe, strong, and fast are the three words that best describe this racof felines. The Cizerack are a race of large, blue/black cat-like creatures, indigenous to the planet Cashoulis of the 61-Verginis star systemLike all cats, the Cizerack are extremely fast and nimble, able to achievspeeds of 80kph for short periods of time. They begin the game wit

2nd level proficiency in Acrobatics, and can leap vertically up to 3m anhorizontally up to 5m. Evolution has brought on the ability to walerect, as well as on all fours. When standing erect, the Cizerack ialways size class 7 and her agility score is reduced by 60 points. Thfelines are considered size class 7 when purchasing armor.

Most Cizerack resemble giant hyenas, although there are speciesimilar to panthers and lions. They possess steel gray eyes from whiccomes the statement, “Beware the eyes of the Cat.” Cizerack havincredible hearing and vision. The felines are also formidable

weaponless combat, gaining three attacks per round: claw, claw, bitOne complete open hand attack from this race can kill a typical huma


CIZERACK

( s i z - e r - a k )

Cizerack

VITAL STATISTICS

+15 Strength -15 Manual Dexterity

-05 I.Q. +35 Agility

+12 Constitution +20 Aggression

+00 Intuition +05 Charisma

SECONDARY STATISTICS

+05 Terrestrial Knowledge +10 Military Leadership

+00 Persuaion +00 Bargaining

GENERAL INFORMATION

Body Points: 7 + d10 Movement: 20/13/104

Height: 48 + d6 Weight: 250 + (2d8 x 10)

Attacks: 2 claws + bite Dam/Attack: 1-2/1-2/1-3 all real

Vision Modifier: +60 Hearing Modifier: +150

Smell Modifier: +50 Starting Money: 4d6 x 300

Home Planet: Cashoulis, 61 Virginus System

SPECIAL ABILITIES

2 Levels Acrobatics 4 Levels Stealth

Leap Night Vision

Exceptional Hearing and Sight

LIABILITIES

Enraged by the sight of red blood

Sensitive to sonic attacks

-60 Agility when standing on hind legs

SURVIVAL MATRIX ROLLS

Chemical: 25 Radiation: 20

Biological: 25 Mental: 28

Poison: 25 Sonic: 07

Electricity: 26 Fire: 30

Acid: 20 Cold: 48

PRIMARY OCCUPATION

Scout

PROFICIENCY POINTS: 50

VITAL STATISTICS MINIMUM/MAXIMUM

Strength: 51/130 I.Q.: 01/120

Agility: 55/150 Constitution: 31/140

CIZERACK STATISTICS


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with ease.They are a match for any other race, possessing excellent balance,

incredible speed, and superior agility. Felines can take a lot of damagebefore being dispatched to the heavens. Cizerack, however, do have low manual dexterity scores which generally prohibits them from learningcertain occupational skills that require deftness of hand. They possessprehensile paws, with extendible/retractable fingers, without which the

cats would never have been able to develop such a sophisticated, tech-nologically advanced society.

GovernmentThe Cizerack government is clan-like. The matriarchy is set up so that the oldest females rule the society. The cats are strongly territorial, eachclan controlling a section of land, headed by the Ratum Ala (den moth-er). The Cizerack society functions, but is plagued by continual fightingover territorial sovereignty. The most powerful clan is the Fenib Maturt.There exist some 200,000 Fenib panthers.

Culture

Cizerack culture stresses discipline and knowledge. The young femalesare sent to school where they are taught Damack Hatib (the Code of Living). This code stresses individualism, freedom, and the work ethic.“Any good feline is a working feline.” Female cats are taught the valueof their own self and that of the clan.

Note! A powerful dichotomy exists between the sexes of this race. While the females are revered, the male Cizerack are kept as ignorant slaves, existing to perpetuate the race and perform menial labor.Because of this nearly all Cizerack player characters will be female.

Physiological Makeup A Cizerack cat is prolific, reproducing every year or so, and when a Cizerack goes into heat, she becomes irrational and violent. She needs

to be fulfilled, whatever the cost, and there have been documentedcases where a cat has became so “heated” that she actually took a non-Cizerack to serve her. Her biological cycle is such that she usually knows when her time is approaching and journeys home to take hermate. After she gives birth, the Cizerack often kills the male.

Cizerack have special vision. Their eyes filter out and enhanceambient light sources so that the cat can see equally well at night as dur-ing the day. Evolution has also brought about another strange occur-rence. Their eyes contain a small biological organism that reacts withits environment to produce faint glowing light. Thus, the cat’s eyes actu-ally glow in the dark. Scientists reflect that this is due to the fact that theplanet Cashoulis has an inordinately long winter where darkness pre-

vails for up to seven months at a t ime. Life Expectancy: 65 years.

WeaknessCizerack’s ears are well documented for their sonic sensitivity. Kroshthe Python, a genius scientist (if you can believe that) invented a pow-erful tuning fork. The tuning fork resonates at such a high frequency that only the cat can hear it. The Cizerack must make a Sonic SMR at +20 or be stunned and unable to act for 3-12 seconds. The tuning fork has a range of 50m and costs 2,000cr.

QuirksThe cats are carnivores and prefer a diet of meat, as opposed to veg-etables or synthetics. The sight of red blood has a powerful effect onthem: the cats become enraged. There is a 05% base chance that theCizerack will attack a bleeding person outright. So if you are a

battlelords of the 23rd century

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