!

INTRODUCTION................................................4+
PART+ONE:+BECOMING+A+GAMEMASTER.............................6+
GETTING+STARTED.............................................7+
GENRE....................................................7+
SETTING..................................................8+
PLOT.....................................................8+
DURING+PLAY.............................................10+
PLAYING+ROLES...........................................12+
USING+EVERYVERSE+RPG....................................13+
IS+THAT+ALL+THERE+IS?+..................................14+
PART+TWO:+CHARACTER+GENERATION.............................15+
STANDARD+DISTRIBUTION......................................16+
STANDARD+GENERATION........................................16+
THE+DETAILS................................................19+
ATTRIBUTES..............................................19+
APPEARANCE+CHARACTERISTICS..............................20+
PROFESSIONS.............................................21+
SKILLS..................................................24+
LANGUAGES...............................................25+
SKILL+LISTS.............................................25+
EQUALIZERS.................................................30+
ATTRIBUTES..............................................30+
EXTRA+ATTRIBUTES........................................30+
APTITUDES+AND+BLOCKS....................................30+
SKILLS+AND+UNSKILLS.....................................30+
ABILITIES+AND+CHALLENGES................................31+
ENHANCEMENTS+AND+LIMITATIONS...............................33+
ENHANCEMENTS............................................33+
LIMITATIONS.............................................33+
SIDE+EFFECTS............................................33+
ECCENTRICITIES.............................................33+
CIRCUMSTANCES..............................................33+
FORTUNATE+CIRCUMSTANCES.................................33+
UNFORTUNATE+CIRCUMSTANCES...............................33+
STUFF......................................................34+
MONEY...................................................34+
GOODS...................................................34+
SPECIAL.................................................34+
NONHHUMAN+CHARACTERS.......................................35+
+ +
 EQUIPMENT..................................................35+
A+WORD+ABOUT+PRICES.....................................35+
A+WORD+ABOUT+TECH+LEVELS................................36+
TECH+LEVELS.............................................36+
PART+THREE:+RULES+OF+PLAY..................................37+
WORLD+CREATION.............................................38+
ANIMALS....................................................38+
MOVEMENT...................................................39+
ATTEMPTS...................................................39+
RELEVANT+SCORES.........................................39+
TYPES+OF+ATTEMPTS.......................................42+
SPECIAL+OUTCOMES........................................42+
PLAYER+OPTIONS..........................................43+
COMMENTS................................................43+
REACTION+AND+INTERACTION...................................44+
LANGUAGE+AND+COMPREHENSION.................................44+
COMBAT+AND+DAMAGE..........................................44+
COMBAT..................................................44+
DAMAGE..................................................46+
HIT+LOCATION...............................................47+
HEALING....................................................47+
DAMAGE+TO+OBJECTS..........................................48+
NONCOMBAT+DAMAGE...........................................48+
INJURIES................................................48+
POISON..................................................48+
ILLNESS.................................................49+
FATIGUE.................................................49+
INSANITY................................................50+
THERAPY.................................................50+
MEDICATION..............................................50+
ADRENALIN...............................................52+
REST+AND+RELAXATION........................................52+
PERIPHERAL+ISSUES..........................................53+
THE+ROOT+OF+ALL+EVIL....................................53+
THE+PASSAGE+OF+TIME.....................................53+
NPC+GROUP+MEMBERS..........................................54+
CHARACTER+IMPROVEMENT......................................54+
WEALTH,+FAME,+POWER.....................................54+
SKILL+TRAINING..........................................54+
+ +
APPENDICES.................................................56+
APPENDIX+A:+GLOSSARY+OF+TERMS..............................57+
APPENDIX+B:+ALTERNATIVE+GENERATION+METHODS.................58+
QUICK+GENERATION+(QG)...................................58+
REVERSE+GENERATION+(RG).................................58+
FIXEDHPOINT+GENERATION..................................59+
ASHYOUHGO+GENERATION....................................59+
APPENDIX+C:+SYSTEM+CONVERSION..............................60+
STANDARD+DISTRIBUTION...................................60+
ATTRIBUTES..............................................60+
EQUALIZERS..............................................60+
PROFESSIONS.............................................61+
SKILLS..................................................61+
APPENDIX+D:+EQUIPMENT+LISTS................................62+
LOWHTECH+EQUIPMENT.........................................62+
CONTEMPORARY+EQUIPMENT.....................................63+
HIGHHTECH+EQUIPMENT........................................64+
CHARACTER+and+WORLD+SHEETS.................................66+
EVERYVERSE+Character+Sheet.................................67+
EVERYVERSE+Planetary+Attributes............................68+
TABLES.....................................................69+
Table+1:+Standard+Distribution+(SD)........................70+
Table+2:+Exponential+Distribution+(ED).....................71+
Table+3:+Average+Height+and+Weight.........................72+
Table+4:+R+&+R+Costs+As+A+Function+of+Apparent+Social+Class.73+
Table+5:+Terms+of+Service..................................74+
Table+6:+Weapons+Classes...................................75+
Table+7:+Defense+Classes...................................76+
Table+8:+Hit+Location......................................77+
Table+9:+Explosives........................................78+
Table+10:+Damage+to+Objects................................79+
+

! !
 draw my blaster."

Based on his more complete knowledge, not

only of the situation, but of the "laws of nature",
the GM will determine the immediate outcome
of each of the PC's actions. It is incumbent upon
him to be scrupulously fair in these decisions.
Roleplaying gaming has as many descriptions as Engaging in overly-adversarial or overly-
it has players. To some, it is interactive fiction. cooperative GMing will drive the players away.
To others, it is a shared daydream. For still However, if the GM is a beginner, he must be
others, it is a chance to play "pretend", like a given time to learn this difficult skill. Patient
child, but with the brains of an adult. players will speed his advancement
significantly.
Most importantly, it is an escape; a chance to
cleanse the mind in the stream of another reality;
Roleplaying games (RPGs) are not "won" and
to forget the cares of the daily grind; to realize
"lost" in the traditional sense. Instead, PCs strive
facets of yourself that may never find expression
to achieve their goals while avoiding setbacks.
in real life. Its structure is simple. One
In the beginning, they may not yet have formed
participant is the Gamemaster (GM). He is the
any goals, or indeed be able to recognize some
moderator and final arbiter of the game. He
setbacks.
creates a fantasy universe (one manageable
piece at a time), and adjudicates the outcomes of
At first, it's enough to stay alive, in a universe
events, usually with the assistance of a set of
that doesn't seem to want you that way. As time
rules. Everyone else is a Player. Each player
goes by, the sequence of events begins to show a
controls the actions of one or more Player
pattern, as both GM and players evolve a
Characters (PCs). These are people who live in
grander perspective.
the imaginary universe, much like characters in
a novel. A PC is born by creating a set of The struggle for survival becomes a struggle for
defining attributes. Some are numbers, like a dearly-held principle, or against a long-time
Strength; and some are descriptions, like Hair enemy. The players have goals that reach
Color. beyond the next moment, occasioned by the
developing master plan of the GM, which he
Before play, the GM works to build a setting. It
will try to convince them he had all along.
may be a city, an area of wilderness, a world, or
just a single building - sufficient detail is much To assist them in their increasing challenges, the
more an issue than size. To go with the setting, PCs have personal advancement. Not only do
he visualizes a scenario, which is similar to the the players gain the knowledge that the PCs earn
plot of a short story, but much more nebulous at such great cost, but the PCs themselves can
and open to change. improve with time. Lifting weights improves
Strength, practice improves skills, study gains
When play begins, the GM describes the setting
new ones. Who knows? Paranormal talents, like
to the players. The GM also plays the parts of
magic and psionics, might become available.
any non-player characters (NPCs) the PCs meet.
They will then ask questions, to fill out their Where does it all end? Only when you want it to.
knowledge in areas which are important to their A player may tire of a certain character, and
characters. wish for a new challenge. The GM may reach
the end of his inventiveness, and no longer be
Armed with this information, the players will
able to fashion exciting adventures for the
announce the actions of their characters.
powerful PCs. Everyone may be itching to try a
Depending on the situation, an action may range
new game they just saw.
from "I'll take a passenger liner to Vega," to, "I'll
The book is closed on the present campaign, and
a new chapter begins...
 These settings are within our own historical era,
! from the Old West to Post-Holocaust. They
enjoy the advantage of unlimited source
material, drawn from the real world. In this
category, we find most of the games that feature
a particular type of action, such as Detective,
Spy, Horror, and Superhero.
The first decision a GM makes is the category
into which his setting will fall:

It is possible for roleplaying to become a little

too serious. Novelty games remind us that we
Historical: A setting which adheres to known
are playing, and it is supposed to be fun. They
information describing a historical period. May
usually accomplish this by being so outrageous
be Stone Age, Ice Age, medieval, oriental,
or even downright silly that it is impossible to
Amerindian, etc.
take them seriously.
Fantasy: General term for any setting
dominated by myth. Most feature monsters,
magic, treasure, active deities, steel–thewed
warriors, and the neverending struggle between
good and evil.

Linked: Some companies have produced lines

of games that share a common foundation of
rules. This allows you to switch genres almost at
will, but only among the published titles.

Generic: A game which lets you play any single

Science Fantasy: The name given to settings
genre, different genres in sequence or even at the
that are really only Fantasy, with magic replaced
same time. The rules are generalized to cover
by technology. Logic isn't a requirement, so
any situation but are also few in number to stay
ships with off-center thrust not only work, they
out of the way of the roleplaying process, which
are standard.
should be as spontaneous as possible.
Often, such games are supplemented by
Science Fiction: Consists of settings that make
sourcebooks, which detail particular settings. A
an attempt to comply with logical cause-and-
generic game shines brightest, however, when
effect. It respects the science we know, and
the GM builds his own settings, exactly the way
endeavors to extrapolate reasonably. Since it is
he wants them. This is not to say that help isn't
only a game, many GMs find this burden of
allowed. Some of the best settings are adapted
veracity too much to bear.
from favorite novels, movies, etc.
 away from their families. Every day, they pair
up and go out in solar-powered buggies, which
can attain high speeds on the deceptively flat
terrain. They hunt several species of native life
To the novice, this may be the most daunting and send the skins to the city, where they are
aspect of GMing. “What? Create a universe? processed into an incredibly tough leather. The
Me?” Well, fortunately, it isn't as tough as it product sells well, especially in The Seventy
sounds. Let's run through one together. We'll Stars, and most everyone earns a modest, but
throw out ideas quickly, then move on. we can steady living. Concerns about the buying up of
always edit later, if need be. Once the choice of independent stations by merchant combines are
genre is made (in this example, science fiction), overshadowed by increasing evidence of another
begin with a few general parameters, like this: expansionist phase in The Federation. There you
go. Just a few minutes of brainstorming, and we
1. Life is ubiquitous. have the skeleton of what looks to be a
promising setting.
2. True intelligence is rare.

Now, we can get progressively more specific,

with just a brief swipe at each scale. We'll start
our characters in a small confederation called
MDG (Mutual Defense Group). Nearby, we
have a slightly larger, monolithic empire called
the Malian Federation, a loose trade association A plot is a story that the PCs will play out.
called The Seventy Stars, and a sparsely Unlike settings, they are easier to create from the
populated frontier region that is not unified, bottom up:
aligned, or even named. The MDG contains
(let's say) 57 solar systems. We'll detail only one
of those now, because that's all we'll need for the
first adventure. How do we know that? We'll
make sure of it later, when we write the
adventure. Using the World Generation rules,
we choose five stats to define our worlds:
An encounter is a single scene in the story. The
Gravity, Air, Water, Resources, and Native Life.
name comes from meeting an NPC or a monster
Rolling these for this world (let's name it
but has been expended to cover any short
Range), we get 112, 104, 87, 95, 121. This
experience.
means good gravity, marginal air, little or no
water, fair resources, and non-sentient native The first encounter for our players will be with
life. some small-time bad guys. Going about their
normal business one day, the PCs see something
Next, we need a town in which to start the
out of place. An antenna is sticking up from
adventure. On a world like this, there are
behind a rocky outcropping. The antenna
probably only two kinds of towns- the
belongs to a small starship, which in turn
population center next to the starport, and
belongs to a group of poachers.
outlying stations where the resource collectors
are based. Let's take one of the latter, name it If the PCs come roaring around the rock in their
Lonesome Hill, and give it a rotating population buggy, the poacher on duty in the ship will get
of 50. The capital city is Oasis, population off a good shot at them with the laser turret:
50,000, but we won't need it for a while.
Lonesome Hill is aptly named. The station sits Attempt to hit buggy with laser turret:
atop the only sizable hill on a vast arid plain. Space/gunnery, success of 10 or more
The inhabitants spend one month at a time here, damages the buggy too much to return to
base, critical success stops buggy dead. still claim salvage rights and make it stick. Once
this decision is made, a few encounters with
(This is how the success of character actions bureaucrats and so forth should keep the PCs
is determined. For explanation, see from getting too smug.
ATTEMPTS.)

If the PCs go back to base and report the

anomaly, it will be taken care of, and they will
get a reward of 10,000 credits. Reporting it on
As you have probably guessed by now, an
the radio gives the baddies time to get away, but
adventure consists of several related scenarios. If
the prints of the landing legs prove they weren't
the players are successful, they should feel like
crazy. Hopefully, the they will have the sense to
they have really accomplished something. Now
get out of their conveyance and sneak up on
proud owners of a tiny, very old starship, our
foot. In case they ask, each PC has a magnetic
heroes have the opportunity they have always
rifle, which fires steel bullets at 300 mps.
secretly wished for- to get into space. They
could hire some crew and take this one, or sell it
Climbing the rock allows them to look down
and fly commercial for awhile.
into the bridge of the tiny ship, where they can
see the man on duty. Tire tracks in the dust show
Succeeding scenarios will take the PCs into the
that some kind of wheeled vehicle rolled out of
world of spacefaring adventurers. Even under
the side of the ship, and away into the wasteland.
normal circumstances, such people are required
As things stand, about all the PCs can do is
to think on their feet to stay afloat, but the PCs
shoot through the glass and take out the man on
have the added disadvantage of the poachers'
duty. This would let them radio for help, but will
ship. They will have to contend with the former
pose problems if they want to take out the bad
owners' friends, business associates and
guys themselves.
enemies. Apart from staying alive, they may
well be at a loss as to what to do. It is entirely
possible that they will turn to something like
smuggling.

It looks like a good scale for the first adventure

A scenario consists of several encounters, and is the PCs' introduction to the wide universe.
may be considered a mini-adventure. As a rule When they've overcome the initial problems and
of thumb, a scenario is about enough for an gotten used to the life, it will be time to give
evening's play. The situation into which we have them a real challenge.
placed our players will test their mettle as
adventurers. If they scamper back to base for
help, they are probably better suited to the rat
race. An adventurer looks for excuses to do the
unusual, and to wring advantage from a
situation.

Our first scenario begins with the above

encounter, and continues through the PCs'
attempts to do whatever they are going to do
about the poachers and their ship. If they play
their cards right, waiting until the poachers
return, they should be able to take the ship more
or less intact. No charges will be pressed if the
poachers are killed. They won't be able to fly it,
not knowing the computer codes, but they can
Let's all say it in unison- a campaign consists of
several adventures.

The best way to look at a campaign is as the

entire adventuring career of a group of PCs. Every turn begins with the GM's description of
Although individual characters and even players the situation faced by the players. It is important
come and go, when everyone at once starts over to keep in mind that you are the players' only
with new characters, it's a new campaign. In window on the universe. Everything they know
case you're interested, the term 'campaign' came comes through you, so you have to put yourself
from the military miniatures games from which in their place. Standing in the players' shoes,
RPG emerged. look around and describe what you see, hear,
smell, feel, etc.
Though you may plan encounters, scenarios, and
even adventures in advance, it is highly unlikely Obviously, you could go on like this forever,
that the campaign will be preplanned at all. describing every square inch of a location. Try
Usually, the theme underlying a campaign arises to concentrate upon those features that would
from the attitude and style of the group. Old attract the attention of the players if they were
favorites are the struggle of good versus evil, the actually present.
pursuit of wealth, the attainment of
enlightenment, and a multitude of other quests. For instance, you don't need to describe the
In our example, we'll say that the players really controls of a device unless a PC is examining it
enjoyed bringing the poachers to justice in the closely or trying to operate it. By the same
first scenario, and decide to do it for a living. token, it is equally important for the players to
After examining their options, they become remember that the GM is not a mind reader. Nor
bounty hunters. It's a tough life, but a rewarding is he going to give away certain details for free.
one, as they are doing something for society, The ONLY obligation of the GM is to tell the
rather than just themselves. In the beginning, players the salient features of what they are
they are hair-triggered gunslingers, but as age looking at. If they want to know an obscure fact,
begins to reduce their attributes, they learn to they must ask, and he is well within his rights to
substitute brainpower for bravado. At the end, require them to perform an action to earn it.
each character will either retire and settle down, For example, a group of PCs are in a room in a
or go out in a blaze of glory, or maybe drafty old castle. In the description, a curio
something that will take you totally by surprise. cabinet full of carven figurines is mentioned. If a
Whatever happens, the end of a campaign is a player had examined them, the GM would have
bittersweet occasion, saying goodbye to beloved told him that the figurines all had tiny gemstone
personas through which we have experienced so eyes of various colors. Later on, the group finds
much, and looking forward to a new campaign, an inscription in the dungeon that mentions a
and as-yet undreamed of adventures. man of stone with ruby eyes. One of the players
asks, "Did one of those figurines have ruby
eyes?" The GM answers, "You're not sure. It's a
distinct possibility." The player yelps, "Why
didn't you TELL us one had ruby eyes?!" The
answer - "I didn't have to. You didn't
investigate.”!!
!
(snip…)(
 You'll need a writing instrument, four ten-sided
Note: The chart is based on the normal (Gauss, dice, or a dice rolling app, a character sheet,
Bell) curve, which is used by psychologists to scratch paper, and a helpful GM for character
plot IQ. The decimal numbers stand for fractions generation. Note that the GM knows the
of the population. One hundred (100) is the requirements of the campaign, and may thus
average score and the standard deviation is 10. It alter or ignore the rules where necessary to
accurately reflects the spread of capability maintain consistency.
amongst a random population. People with high
scores are quite rare, as shown in the “high” In cooperation with the GM, choose name, sex,
end.” To use it, roll four 10-sided dice in a species, and home of the character. Record these
predetermined order (result is a 4-digit decimal). on the character sheet.
Consult the standard distribution (SD) table (see
Table 1) to find the score (from 60-139) that Example: Throughout character generation,
corresponds to this 4-digit number (round we’ll use a character named Bob, a male
down). The table is open-ended, so if you roll all human from a tropical world named Palm.
0s or all 9s, you may roll an additional digit to
get a number below 60 or above 139. The GM will tell you how to determine a score
for Quality or one of the other columns of
attributes. Follow those instructions and record
the result in the margin or on scratch paper.

Example: GM wants all PCs to have a Quality

of 120.

In cooperation with the GM, choose a profession

(see PROFESSIONS). New professions may be
created as needed, subject to GM's discretion.
Each profession includes suggested Skills and
Stuff, and the GM will tell you if you must
adhere to these. Record the profession after
"PROFESSION:"
EVERYVERSE RPG provides five different Example: Our player wants his character to be
methods of character generation. After you’ve a fighter, but not in the governmental armed
read PART TWO, see APPENDIX B: services, so he chooses Military/private-
ALTERNATIVE GENERATION security/instructor.
METHODS.
Decide how many 4-year terms your character
wishes to pursue the profession. This
corresponds to the character’s original intention.
Things might turn out differently. Give the
desired number of terms and a newly rolled SD
score to the GM, who will tell you how long the
character actually served.
Example: Questioning the GM reveals that AGE 30
there are no objections to the career, but it will Age Pool 1
take 3 terms of service, and some restrictions
may be imposed later. Thus, our hero Choose scores for each remaining pair of
triumphantly enters his new career. attributes, remembering that they must average
to their common ancestor (i.e. Physical and
Bob needs 3 terms to achieve the desired Motion must average to Body).
professional title. The player rolls a 92, and
consults the chart, which shows 2 terms Example: Quality is 115. Player wants to put
actually served. Bob's career ended a term emphasis on the Body, so he puts that at 120
sooner than he expected, and before he got his and Mind at 110. The player wants Bob to be a
"instructor" certification. moderately strong, but lightning-fast fighter, so
he places 115 in Physical, 125 in Motion.
A character may have serial careers. Choose Figuring that if Bob is strong enough, he won't
another profession, another desired number of need as much endurance, the player shifts 5
terms, and repeat the procedure. If entering the points, making Strength 120 and Endurance
same profession, there may be a qualifying roll. 110.

Example: Bob wants to try for a second career He doesn't want to diminish either
(in the same profession). The GM informs the Coordination or Speed, so he does not shift any
player he will have to roll at or below 106. The Motion points: Coordination 125, Speed 125.
player rolls 103, so Bob qualifies. The player
chooses 1 term of service and rolls 100. The The player thinks Influence will be more
GM informs the player that Bob finally has his important than Intelligence. He doesn’t care as
third term and his "instructor" specification. much about these numbers, so he just puts 112
in Influence, Charisma, and Sanity, and 108 in
Normally aging begins at 18. Advancing age Intelligence, Holistic, and Analytic.
means increasing skills and decreasing Quality.
After "Terms:" record the total number of terms, The GM will provide a mass for your character
followed by terms x 12 and "points." Record age based on Strength. Record it after "Mass:" or on
after "Age:". scratch paper if you want to modify it later.

Subtract 18 from your character's age and put The GM will provide a height guideline based
half that amount after Age Pool:" Roll an SD on mass. You may alter this at will, keeping in
score. If the roll is lower than Quality-Age Pool, mind that the combination of mass and height
the character has escaped aging for now. If will determine your character's frame. Record
higher, the character has aged. Roll again and height after "Height:".
subtract that percentage of Age Pool (round up)
from Quality. Record the Quality score after Roll 6 SD scores and record them on scratch
"QUality:". paper. The GM will tell you how to turn these
into the appearance attributes "Skin," "Hair,"
Example: Since his career lasted for 12 years, and "Eyes."
the player puts 6 points in Bob's Age Pool. He
then rolls against Quality - Pool (120 - 6 = Example: Bob’s Strength is 118, so his mass is
114), and gets 116. Aging has occurred, so he 78kg or 172#. Player rolls 95 and 108, so Bob
rolls d%, and gets 80. He subtracts 5 (6 x 80% has Pink/Brown, or tan skin. He then rolls 92
rounded up) from Quality and from the Pool and 104, so Bob has Blonde/Brown, or ash
itself. From a beginning Quality of 120, Bob blonde Hair. Finally, he rolls 97 and 102. 102
ends up with 115. is the higher color, so Bob has green eyes.
The number you recorded with "points" is that points per point of effect. Advantageous
of your available points. Choose a number of equalizers have positive values, disadvantageous
points to use in buying skills. Divide this by 3 to ones have negative values. Before play begins, a
find the approximate number of lines your character's equalizers must add up to zero.
character may have in its skill list. The skill list
looks a little like an outline, where each Example: The player could spend 6 points to
indentation represents a more specialized add 3 points to each of Bob's combat skills, but
subskill. Potential for specialization is open- figures Bob will find himself in desperate
ended. situations fighting with unfamiliar weapons, so
he takes Combat Aptitude +3 (+6 points),
Choose skills (see SKILLS). The GM will help which will add 3 points no matter what weapon
you with subskills where necessary. Record each is being used.
skill or subskill on a separate line, followed by
the skill level. The skill level is the value of the Prone to violence -3 (-3 points) means Bob
attribute on which the skill is based, plus the loves violence for its own sake, and must
number of points you are spending (at least 1). subtract 3 from Willpower when attempting to
You must spend 3 points on each line except the defeat the temptation to use violence.
final one in a chain.
After consulting with the GM, the player buys
Example: Bob comes from a world (New Resistance to heat +3 (+3 points), due to Bob's
Earth) with its own dialect, which he learned tropical homeworld. His points total is +6, so
from birth. To qualify for interstellar service, he takes Beauty -6 (-6 points).
he had to learn the common tongue of the On his character sheet, the player writes:
region (Stellar), and because he talks shop with Equalizers: Beauty -6, Combat aptitude +3 (+6
other fighters, he has also gained some points), Prone to violence -3, Resistance to heat
proficiency in military parlance. +3.
In his career, Bob picked up laser and karate
skill, as well as first aid and stealthy movement. Stuff consists of money, goods, and special
circumstances. Stuff may be purchased with
SKILLS: points. The GM will tell you whether you must
New Earth 111 adhere to the stuff for profession.
Stellar 111
Military Parlance 111 Each stuff choice is worth one point (except
Combat 123 where noted), and may be chosen as many times
Nonrecoil 128 as you have points to spend. You'll find a list of
Laser 131 stuff at the end of the EQUALIZERS section.
Unarmed 123
Karate 126 Example: The GM tells the player he may
Medical 111 choose one item in addition to the official
Emergency 114 Military Stuff- F1, Pension, Memento,
Underworld 128 Equipment, Weapon, Ship, and Prosthetic. The
Stealth 131 player decides to take S3, and each official item
once except equipment, which will cost +7
Choose equalizers to represent finishing touches points (Prosthetic is -1). He'll balance it with
for your character. Ask the GM whether any Stubbornness -7.
equalizers are required or forbidden. Equalizers
have point values and modify attributes just as F1 gives Bob $100. His pension gives him $300
skills do. per month, as soon as play begins. His
memento is worth ED 115 = $31.62. The player
The GM can tell you which attribute will be chooses a tattoo of a dragon on the back of
modified by a given equalizer and the cost in Bob's right hand. Bob's weapon of choice was
the laser pistol, specifically the multibarrel Flashlight 50 0.25
pistol. Such a weapon costs $5,000, so he gets a Notebook & pen 5 0.2
used one and a 5 MJ Powercell. Bob's chance Wristwatch 50 0.1
at a ship is SD 90. The player rolls 107, so Bob Duffelbag 25 1
misses out. Bob's chance for a prosthetic part Totals: 890 15.9
is 105. The player rolls 99, so Bob has one. The
GM rolls left upper arm on the hit location That's it! Let the adventure begin!
chart, so everything from Bob's left shoulder
down is artificial. Remember that prosthetic
parts operate at the same strength and speed as
the parts they replace. The player rolls on the
ED table and gets SD 91 = ED .1258. S3 is ED
x $10,000, so Bob gets $1,258. Lastly, the stuff The GM generally supplies species and home,
is recorded: based on setting considerations. The PC
normally chooses sex and name.
Stuff: $1358, tattoo, multibarrel laser pistol, 5
MJ Powercell, prosthetic left arm.

"Stuff" equalizers may have resulted in spending

money for your character. You may save this for
future use or spend some of it before play
begins. Buy items from the appropriate list in There are four columns of attributes, each
this book or one supplied by the GM. No list is covering the same ground, but becoming
exhaustive, so ask the GM if an item is available progressively more specific. They have 1, 2, 4,
before assuming it isn't. and 8 entries, respectively. The definition of
each succeeding column derives from a split of
Example: The campaign is taking place in the the previous one.
third Era, so the GM informs the player that he
may choose items of tech level 3 or below. Bob If the GM does not assign a Quality score, the
started with $1,000, then saved $300 during his player may choose which column of attributes to
career, for a total of $1,300. His gun came with roll for. The player rolls the dice, arranges them
a Powercell, but he wants another one. He gets for the highest score, and records it on scratch
a 50 MJ cell to carry on his belt. It comes with paper. Once the appropriate number of scores
a cable to attach to the pistol. Sufficiently have been rolled, they are assigned to attributes
armed, he completes his retirement shopping in the chosen column. Scores in higher-
spree. Bob spent $890, so he still has $468. His numbered columns will be determined by
stuff masses 15.9 kilos, and weighs 34.98 trading off between pairs (i.e. if you roll 120 for
pounds on a one-gravity world. Quality, you can put Body at 130, and Mind at
110). Scores in lower-numbered columns will be
Equipment: Cost: Mass: determined by averaging pairs (i.e. if you roll
Laser pistol --- 1 100 for Strength and 120 for Endurance,
5 MJ Powercell --- 1 Physical is automatically 110).
50 MJ Powercell 50 2
Boots 75 2
Casual clothes (3) 150 2 (snip…)(
Dress clothes 200 2
Grooming kit 50 1
Book (reader) 100 0.5
Booksofts (5) 25 0.05
Respirator 100 0.2
Sunglasses 10 0.1
 Example:
This is the fifth column of attributes for Bob’s
homeworld, New Earth:
Temperature 105
Seasons 99
Different campaigns have different requirements Gravity 84
for world definition. With this in mind, Seismic 104
EVERYVERSE RPG has a flexible way to Pressure 84
define worlds, which works in the same way as Composition 100
character attributes. The only difference is in the Coverage 86
names of the attributes. Composition 82
Bulk 78
Remember this is a subjective system. Low Compact 86
numbers are undesirable, high numbers are Plant 83
desirable. Thus, if the atmospheric pressure Animal 77
attribute for a world is low, it does not Sentience 95
necessarily mean that the actual air pressure is Attitude 93
low. It could be too low or too high. Population 116
A handy rule of thumb to use in such situations Legal 110
is as follows: If the score is even, the measured
quantity is higher than optimum, if it is odd, the There are two ways to interpret the numbers,
measured quantity is lower than optimum. Also, quick and dirty, or accurate. Using the quick and
each point of difference between the score and dirty method, numbers fall into broad categories:
140 equates to a percentage point or a point on
the ED scale. 60-69 Extremely low, not Earthlike
70-79 Very low, marginally Earthlike
80-89 Low, tolerably Earthlike
90-99 A little low, quite Earthlike
100-109 A little high, quite Earthlike
110-119 High, tolerably Earthlike
120-129 Very high, marginally Earthlike
130-139 Extremely high, not Earthlike

Using the second method, formulae provide

accurate figures. Each setting has different
formulae, to represent the different range of
worlds.

Example: Population is found on the ED scale,

times ten million. 116 = ED 39.81, so New
Earth's population is 39.81 x 10,000,000 =
398.1 million.

Animals are defined by the same attribute

cascade as people, albeit by sometimes wildly
divergent scores. Typically, an animal will have automobiles and come up with miles per hour x
a high Body score. 1.6 = kilometers per hour.

After the attributes are determined, the GM Remember, if you can get away with it, use
assigns equalizers and skills. Most equalizers common-sense movement and avoid numbers.
will be for such things as heightened senses and Roleplaying is not about bookkeeping (which is
behavioral proclivities. one good reason to use the metric system).

Skills pertain to activities at which the creature

has an enhanced ability, such as flight, fighting
with claws, tracking, etc. Once these are in
place, animals can be administered via attempts,
just like NPCs. In many cases, damage taken by The attempt is a generalized rule that covers
an animal will incapacitate it much too quickly. most anything a character may try to do, whose
There are two techniques for solving this outcome is in doubt. It is defined by a
problem. In the first, an animal's scores are description any or all of the following: Relevant
allowed to drop to 0 before it is incapacitated. In scores, modifiers, types, time, special outcomes,
the second, all damage is applied to the animal's and player options.
highest score.

Most games have rigorous rules governing the

movement of everything from people to
vehicles. The vast majority of the time, they are The first part of the description details the
unnecessary. In fact, paying too much attention problem facing the character. The second states
to any rule slows down the action, and detracts the faculty he will bring to bear, known hereafter
from the fun. as the score. An SD roll must be less than or
equal to the score to result in success.
EVERYVERSE RPG is designed to prevent
this, by having very few rules. Most often, Example:
common sense will give you the answers. If it Attempt to turn off self destruct: CD.
becomes absolutely necessary to know
movement rates, for example if you are staging In this example, we have a destruct system that
combat on a map, then everyone walks 1 meter is near enough to detonation that an average
per second. person has only a 50% chance of hitting the
"cancel" switch in time. "SD" means that the
A world-class sprinter with a Coordination score player will roll against Speed.
of 150 has a maximum speed of 10 meters per
second. For each point below 150, subtract .1 If he rolls at or below SD, the attempt was
m/s. A person may run at top speed for a number successful, and the system was turned off. If the
of seconds equal to his Endurance/10. roll is greater than SD, the attempt is a failure.
For slower speeds and other situations, use In some cases, more than one attribute may be
common sense, or if you are a masochist, see helpful in an attempt..
FATIGUE. To simulate encumbrance, subtract 1
from Coordination for each ST/100 kilograms (snip…)(
carried. This will also affect fatigue. For animals
and vehicles, use your experience with
 Now we're getting somewhere. Every game has
attributes, even if they do go by different names.
The advantage of EVERYVERSE RPG'S
One of EVERYVERSE RPG'S strongest points attribute cascade and consistent SD scores is that
is its compatibility with other games. Its simple you're sure to find something to correspond to
mechanics allow features from one game to be whatever another game might have.
translated into another with a minimum of work.
An example of this was given earlier, in the case AD&D: EVERYVERSE RPG:
of the Dimbulbs. To get you started, we'll Strength Strength
discuss character generation conversions. Where Dexterity Motion
applicable, we'll take the AD&D fighter, since Intelligence Intelligence
that is probably the character that the greatest Wisdom Sanity
number of us are familiar with, and convert it to Constitution Endurance
EVERYVERSE RPG. Charisma Charisma

Equalizers can be difficult to assess if the cost

does not directly correspond to a quantifiable
Because you can tell at a glance what each SD effect in play. If you know how to assess the
score stands for, it is easy to translate between it effects of a game's equalizers, you know how to
and other distributions, as soon as you know translate them between it and EVERYVERSE
what they stand for. RPG. Often, one will find equalizers that are
only implied. A certain type of character might
2d6 SD: 3d6: SD: have a special ability or handicap, which is
0 60 0 60 automatically applied to that type of character,
1 70 1 65 and no other. Once you have these teased out,
2 80 2 70 you're all set.
3 83 3 75
4 88 4 77 Example: Stronghold after 45 combats +20
5 92 5 80 points (sooner than M-U), Magical block -20
6 96 6 85 points (incl. inability to use most items).
7 100 7 89
8 105 8 92
9 108 9 95
10 112 10 98
11 117 11 102
12 120 12 106
13 130 13 109
14 140 14 112
15 150 15 116
16 120
17 124
18 130
19 140
20 150
The most serious problem here is dealing with
games that have classes instead of professions.
Even so, all you have to do is set up a profession
description with skills and stuff. A character
class generally has a fixed skill progression,
with each of several skills gaining a point when
a certain threshold of experience is reached. The
only way to effectively equate experience points
with terms served is if you know how many
points an average character of a given class
earns in a year.

•Fighter
Skills: Combat, Hardiness.
Stuff: 5d4 x 10 gp.

RPGs can be classified into two basic types-

those that use fixed skill packages, and those
that leave it up to the player. No matter how it
may look, all RPGs do use skills. This outlook
allows you to take skills from other games and
perform alterations until they make sense in
EVERYVERSE RPG.

Hardiness- QU: A special skill that subtracts

one-tenth of the skill level from the damage of
a successful attack on the character.

For skill progression, each combat counts as one

hour of practice for both Combat and Hardiness.

(snip…)