3:16 - Carnage Amongst the Stars (Game Mechanics/OOC)

[SporkMaster5000]

Rain Yupa

SporkMaster5000

so, is it just me or is this game supposed to reminiscent of/based on/a parody of WH40k?

I'm going to give a loose 'no' on that. It's like saying where any futuristic man vs alien setting is based on 40k. They're just part of the same genre, IMHO.

well the referring to the home planet as Terra and mention of a power claw along with the "kill all aliens" that made me wonder.  

[NayrVentess]

Wow this post exploded. Here be ma d10 roll for ya.  

[Rain Yupa]

I am just waiting on a d10 roll from this fellow:

buzzxf

Buzz, Nayr, if you tie, roll again until you don't tie.

I know have everyone's ability scores!

buzzxf - FA: 7 | NFA: 3
NayrVentess - FA: 7 | NFA: 3
SporkMaster5000 - FA: 6 | NFA: 4
Raganui Minamoto - FA: 6 | NFA: 4
Meditatus Sanctum Mien - FA: 6 | NFA: 4
Michael Bladebreaker - FA: 5 | NFA: 5
Arc Vembris - FA: 4 | NFA: 6
Mongooseh - FA: 3 | NFA: 7  

[Rain Yupa]

Now for the rest of character generation!

Pick a Name. Just one name will due. Already covered.

Reputation. Something short, sweet, and to the point. Already covered.

Roll a d10 for each rank of FA that you have. This determines your total kills to date.

You have 1 available Strength Flashback and Weakness Flashback. They remain available until you use them, then they are gone for good, permanently part of your character sheet, defining your background and personality. Do not write down anything down for either of them yet. They will be discovered in the heat of battle.

Determine who has the highest NFA. This would be Mongooseh. He is the squad's Sergeant.

Determine who has the highest FA. This is a type between Nayr and Buzz. Whomever rolls higher between the two of them will be the squad's Corporal.

Everyone else is a Trooper.

Now, for what each rank gets.

Trooper
Description: The lowest rank in 3:16 and they can use Force Weakness

Responsibility: Order 1 - Kill as many lifeforms as you can.

Quote: "I'm just a grunt, the guy at the bottom of the pile. Don't bother me none. Leave the worrying to the brass, down here I just get to kick back and blow bugs to s**t. Every day. War, it's fan-tastic."

Other Gear: MandelBrite Armor, Knife, Hydration tablets, TRM's (Trooper Ready Meals), medipack, backpack, combat drugs, flares, and an unread field manual.

Weapons: Either an Energy Rifle OR a Slug Rifle; Grenades; Hand-to-Hand.

Corporal

Description: A step up from Trooper and the Sergeant's right-hand man.

Responsibility: Order 2 - Maximize the kill ratio (bugs killed per Trooper).

Quote: "I'm second-in-command to the Sarge. I'm also the one with the really big gun. Sure, it ain't easy to carry around and it's only got limited range. But it's a carnage machine in the middle distance."

Other Gear: MandelBrite Armor, Knife, Hydration tablets, TRM's (Trooper Ready Meals), medipack, backpack, combat drugs, flares, mitt/ball, and a tatty field manual.

Weapons: Either an E-Cannon OR a Heavy MG; Grenades; Hand-to-Hand.

Sergeant

Description: A Non-Commissioned Officer in charge of a squad of Troopers.

Responsibilities: Order 3 - Follow directives issued by the Officers.
Order 4 - Protect your squad of Troopers (can use E-Vac)

Quote: "I've got to keep you f**kers safe. So, listen to me you quivering f**kheads. Dig that f**king trench now or you'll f**king regret it."

Other Gear: MandelBrite Armor, Knife, Hydration tablets, TRM's (Trooper Ready Meals), medipack, backpack, combat drugs, flares, radio, and a well-used field manual.

Weapons: Either a Slug Rifle OR a Heavy MG; Grenades; Hand-to-Hand.

Next up, various gear and equipment! (After a quick dinner)  

[Raganui Minamoto]

D10s for kills  

[Rain Yupa]

All weapons are measured in Kills, at varying distances. Close is toe-to-toe with bugs. Near is a short distance away. Far is as far as you can get without being out of the combat. Weapons can be improved to do more kills at a specific range. Weapons that have 0 kills at a range does no damage, but can be improved to do so. Weapons that cannot affect a certain range cannot be improved to do so.

Energy Rifle

"The Energy Rifle is the standard piece of kit for Troopers. With a virtually endless supply of shots this energy weapon allows killing over a range of distances. Great for carving down hordes of alien life forms given the opportunity."

Close: 1, Near: d10, Far: 1

Slug Rifle

"The 'Slugger' fires actual bullets and so has greater killing power at range than energy weapons do. However, it is slower to fire and has one hell of an amount of recoil. But for the Trooper who happily trades bruises for bugs in the dust, this is the weapon of choice. Fires with a satisfying crack."

Close: 1, Near: d6, Far: d6

E-Cannon

"This heavy duty death-dealer is the sort of weapon that bad, bad people dream about at night. Heavy to carry and hard to run with, but these souped-up versions of the Energy Rifle are the kings of carnage. Point at the enemy."

Close: 0, Near: 2d10, Far: 0

Heavy MG

"The Heavy Machine Gun unleashes torrents of bullets out of its muzzle when the trigger is depressed. Slow to load and known for its jumpy recoil this is often a vehicle-mounted weapon. Ineffective at long distances but kill-happy when at Near Range."

Close: 1, Near: 2d6, Far: 0

Hand-To-Hand
*You can automatically switch to this weapon without a roll.

"This covers attacks with fists, feet, knees, swords, axes, knives, broken bottles, tins of pre-processed food, garrottes, clubs, staves, empty or broken guns, wrenches and, of course, head-butts. You can always switch to Hand-To-Hand as a weapon even if you failed on your last turn. It's humanity's most basic weapon."

Close: 1, Close Combat Only.

Grenades
*You can automatically switch to this weapon without a roll.

"A Trooper's best friend when trying to clear caves and buildings. They cut down friend and foe alike, and officers take a dim view of being 'fragged'. You can always switch to grenades as a weapon."

*SPECIAL EFFECT: Grenades cause a kill to any PC at Close Range with the aliens who failed their die roll this Combat Round.

Close: d10, Near; 1

---------------

Everyday Trooper S**t

Cancer Sticks - "These slim white sticks come in packs of 20 and smoulder quietly to themselves while giving you cancer. Highly addictive, they have a pleasant habit-forming method of use: rip open the packet, strike along the box and place in the mouth. Inhale, Savor, Exhale, Repeat. They even come in Maple Syrup and Blueberry flavor."

Combat Drugs - "A cocktail of endorphins and mood-altering pills that turn normally docile Terrans into frothing kill-machines. They either grant great sexual potency or ruin your libido. Once a planet these let you reroll a d10 on an FA test. But, on a roll of 10, you take a kill yourself."

Entrenching Tools - "Easily assembled shovel for digging in all conditions and soils. Doubles as an effective and bloody hand-to-hand weapon."

Field Manual - "This is a Trooper's best guide to keeping himself alive and sane while blowing s**t up all across the Cosmos. Surprisingly useful.

Flares - "Simple to use flares that illuminate battlefields and can be used for sending distress signals to commanders in the field."

Holo-Show - "These little boxes are a Trooper's best friend when far from home. Press the friendly orange button on the Holo-Show's lid and you can flick through countless images and movies of your friends and family back home on Terra, all in life-like three-dimensions."

Hydration Tablets - "These helpful tabs give you clean water out of just about anything. Pop them straight into your mouth with some carbs to get a somewhat bland watery slush. Foul tasting but life-saving."

Mitt and Ball - "A leathery glove and a polymer ball can bring endless hours of fun and exercise for Troopers between encounters. Officers look upon such activities as team-building and useful. It certainly keeps a Trooper's mind off thinking about the bigger picture."

Personal Medipack - "The box of tricks you use to patch yourself up between fights."

Radium Gum - "A soft chewable gum that is habit forming and cancer-giving."

TRM [Trooper Ready Meals] - "Trooper Ready Meals are s**t. Not literally, no, but they taste dreadful. They do keep you powered up for killing and that's all the Sarge cares about. A popular target for Trooper scorn."

Between missions, you guys can requisition any of this stuff without a roll.

Armor - "Troopers wear 'MandelBrite Armor'. It is tough and dependable, and protects the wearer from harsh environments, MandelBrite will insulate against the ice-cold vacuum of space, and from the intense heat of a volcano. A Trooper learns to love his suit, and it will save his life many times over his career."

Once per planet, when you take a kill, you can check off your Armor box instead; your armor takes the blow instead of you. Upon leaving the planet, the armor will be repaired.

There is no definite list of what kind of systems, equipment, programs, or options that are available in MandelBrite Armor, so feel free to describe whatever you feel is necessary, appropriate, and/or cool!

E-Vac
*Highest Ranking PC Alive only; Ends Combat. Once per planet.

"This is where the Troopers are all evacuated from combat before it ends. Drop ships and pods swoop down to spirit the PCs away while mopping up any remaining alien resistance at the site. An extreme measure and only able to be called in by a PC who is of the highest rank in the group (NPCs do not count as part of the group). So this strictl;y means that the highest ranking (joint highest, even) PC is the only one able to call on this support item."

To succeed the PC must be successful on a roll of NFA as part of the combat sequence. Only one PC can call on it at a time.

If successful, the encounter ends, and all PCs take a kill (which armor can absorb, if available). Strengths and Weaknesses can also be used if desired. Should a PC fail on this roll, then the E-Vac is still available on future turns. Of course, that PC may die this turn and it will be up to a new Highest Rank Alive PC to call in the E-Vac next turn.

Force Weakness
*Lowest Ranking PC Alive only; Uses Weakness. Once per planet.

This is ear a player forces a PC other than their own to use a Weakness up, even if they do not want to do so. It can only be attempted once per planet, and the first eligible PC to declare its use has used the attempted "Forced Weakness" for this planet.

The PC using this effect rolls on their NFA. If they are successful then on their turn in the combat sequence the target PC must use a Weakness and fail. The Weakness chosen and its effects are entirely up to the target to decide.

If the target has no Weaknesses "Available" then they are immune to Forced Weakness, since they have none waiting to be exposed.

If the PC fails then the target is not compelled to show any weakness and is not forced to spend a precious Flashback.

This forcing of a Weakness can only be used by the lowest rank in the group. So this strictly means that the lowest ranking (joint lowest, even) PC is the only one able to call on this item.

While Troopers do speculate about their fellow grunts, typically it is the Officers that the Troopers think are weak and will get everyone in a mess. Lower ranking Officers often see weakness in their more senior colleagues too.  

[Meditatus Sanctum Mien]

Wowzers!! biggrin !!!

I'm pretty excited for this X3!!  

[Meditatus Sanctum Mien]

Rolling for kills biggrin  

[Mongooseh]

Kills inb4 all 10's  

[Rain Yupa]

The Basics of Combat

At the start of each encounter, every player (and the aliens) roll their NFA (or AA, a.k.a. Alien Ability, for the aliens) to try to find dominance. The amount of successes for each side determines how combat will start off, allowing for the possibility for ambushes to be set.

There are three ranges: Close, Near, and Far. You can only ever be at these three locations; if you ever move beyond Far for any reason, you are out of the encounter and cannot return.

"Close" includes close combat and hand-to-hand fighting.
"Near" includes a distance optimum for most kinds of ranged weapons.
"Far" includes a distance far away where weapons generally cause fewer kills.

Generally, you want to kill as many aliens as possible, because whoever scores the most kill in a single mission gains a level up. Pay attention to what ranges suit your weapons best!

The aliens will be represented by "Threat Tokens". To win an encounter, you must eliminate every Threat Token. As long as you score at least 1 kill, or score 100 in a single round; any success on a FA roll will remove one token.

Combat follows the following steps, after dominance is decided:

1.) Each player decides what their PC is trying to do. They will be using either FA or NFA. The GM decides for the aliens, and rolls AA. At this stage, everyone can change their intent based on what others are trying to do. That's fine. Once you've figured out who is where and what they're trying to do, we roll the dice.

2.) Everyone rolls a d10 each.

3.) Everyone compares their die roll with their ability (FA, NFA, or AA) and sees if they were successful or not.
A success is a number equal to or less than your ability. A fail is a number higher than your ability.

4.) Successes take turns from the highest to the lowest die roll. The GM asks for successes starting at 10, then 9, and so on.

On a success...
FA - Remove one Threat Token and cause "kills", roll for your wepaon at the set range and describe what happens.
NFA - Achieve the task attempted, which may include changing your range (charging or retreating), changing weapons from your default to any other (no need for Hand-To-Hand, Grenades, or a Power Claw), or any other action desired.
AA - The aliens cause a kill to each PC who either failed or rolled equal to or less than you, and the GM describes the ensuing carnage.
OR
You can cancel your own success. By deciding your roll is a failure, it causes everyone else who has yet to act, to also count as failure as well. Describe how this happens. (This is primarily useful to prevent the Aliens from wiping out one or more of your party).

Ties can't be canceled and are resolved simultaneously. If something would prevent this from occurring, or it otherwise matters with the order (such as who gets the last kill), roll a d10 and see who rolls the highest.

If you succeeded on FA/AA before your opponent then you can also change range by one step at the end of your turn.

5.) Failures now take turns from highest to lowest.

On a failure...
You get to "color narration" adding non-consequential detail or description to the scene, describing your failure.

6.) Encounters continue with further Combat Rounds from Step 1 again until...

• Everyone is dead, or
  
• A PC uses a Strength, or
  
• Eeryone alive is beyond Far Range, or
  
• No kills are caused for 3 Complete Rounds (a standoff), or
  
• An event ends the Combat Sequence, or
  
• The number of Threat Tokens is reduced to zero.

That's it! Any remaining Threat Tokens are recycled into the planet's Threat Level pool, so you gotta kill the aliens to wipe 'em out! There's no other way!

Wounds and Health

When you "take a kill" in 3:16, you aren't dead. Your MandelBrite Armor can take a blow once per planet, and you can take three blows yourself. There are no in-game penalties for being "A Mess" or "Crippled", but once you're dead, you're dead. Between encounters, you heal 1 wound automatically.

There are also "Emotional and Exhausting Wounds". Instead of marking your wound boxes with X's, put an "E". Intimidation, psionic attacks, or any other sort of emotional or mental attack will weaken your character. Though you aren't necessarily 'dead' when you take three of these wounds, your character is an emotional and mental wreck and is no longer playable. The nearest Trooper will put a bullet in your head to end the misery. Armor is ineffective against these kinds of attacks, and tests have found that Troopers attempting such attacks on aliens are always ineffective. However, between encounters, you recover all E wounds, rather than just 1.

Flashbacks

Flashbacks alter what is about to happen, using your character's background and history to empower them, for good or for ill. You can call Flashbacks AFTER seeing the results of dice rolled. They can be called at any time, in or out of combat, and are resolved in the order that they are called.

A Strength allows you to win a conflict on your terms. A Weakness allows you to lose a conflict on your terms.

A Strength is a very useful and potent resource. However, a Weakness can also be handy, allowing you to lose on your terms, especially when losing on your opponent's terms would mean death (taking a kill), or worse.

Strengths

Strengths change whatever is happening in the fiction. It doesn't matter what was about to happen in the story, that now changes. You quickly describe a flashback to an event in your character's past. A short, sharp description is all that's needed, not a monologue.

Put a short description of the Strength that your character is showing and write it next to the available Strength slot on your character sheet. Now put a cross through the box since that slot is now used up. And we cut back to the present again.

Describe how that Strength is relevant right here, right now, and what it has done to resolve the present conflict in your favor.

Using a Strength ends the encounter and removes all remaining Threat Tokens in the encounter. The PC using the Strength rolls for kills with their weapon at its best range as if they had a success.

A Strength cannot be used in response to a Weakness. So if someone decides to lose on their own terms then so be it.

A Strength cannot be used in response to a Strength. If a PC uses a Strength to win then they have won. They cannot be trumped by another PC using a Strength of their own to steal the win. These Flashbacks are potent story tools, not chips being bid at auction.

Using a Strength may make you eligible for a promotion between missions.

Weaknesses

Weaknesses, like Strengths, radically change the events in the fiction of the game. However, the effects are more personal to the PC exhibiting the Weakness and they are often used to lessen an outcome that will be deadly to the PC.

You declare a Weakness like you would a Strength. Again, you quickly provide a flashback to an event in your character's history. This brief snapshot should display some quality about your character that is a weakness. Put a cross through the box since the slot is now used up and we cut back to the present.

Tell us why that Weakness causes you to lose, and how it does so.

Using a Weakness removes 1 Threat Token and removes only that PC from the encounter. The encounter continues for everyone else as long as 1 Threat Token remains.

A Weakness CAN be used in response to a Strength. The Weakness lets the PC take the blow on their own terms.

A Weakness is a loss. The group should be wary of players trying to narrate a loss as some sort of victory. To be clear, the weakness has shown some character defect that has led to them being defeated. The defeat may be on their terms but it is still a loss. Not even a draw, a loss. The group as a whole has the final say on this.

Using a Weakness may make you eligible for a demotion between missions (unless you are already the lowest rank of Trooper).  

[Rain Yupa]

That's all the rules you need to know for now! I'll post a few more things in here as it comes up (such as what happens post-mission).

I will now go create a new thread. Roll for your kills and everything here. Character sheets will go in the new thread. I will post in here when I'm ready for you guys to post your own sheets.

When posting your character sheet, only post once! Game has NOT started yet!  

[Rain Yupa]

Okay, you 8 can post your character sheets. It should now fill the whole first page. DO NOT POST MORE THAN ONCE.  

[Rain Yupa]

... you guys can post the actual character sheet template. It doesn't have to be links. I'd prefer the sheets themselves sweatdrop You guys can decorate your individual posts however you want as well.  

[SporkMaster5000]

huntin' and killin'  

[Erisel]

First roll is against Nayr's. The seven after are kills. Let's rock.