|
|
| Weapons | Armor | Goods & Services |
| Tetsukami Technology |
|
Okay. First let me begin, by saying that this list is by no means comprehensive. It is very general for now, but will hopefully be growing as we devote more time to it and receive more ideas from you folks at home. (Send something in and we'll credit you fully if we use it.) First of all, we need to address a few topics... A NOTE ABOUT MONEY Koku are still the monetary system in Rokugan 2000. However, after the disastrous effects the Shadow War had upon rice production, Emperor Yoritomo II declared that the Rokugani economic system would no longer be based on rice. Now, the Koku is based on the amount of money needed for an average person to survive for one year, and the worth of said average person's labor. Unfortunately, this well intentioned gambit caused inflation to skyrocket. Now the koku no longer symbolizes much of anything, besides a rather tiny unit of cash. One would have to eat like a bird to survive for a year on a koku these days. To make up for things, the Diamond Empire has begun producing a new unit of coinage called the hyakurai ("hundred thunderclaps") which is roughly equal to 100 koku. The universal abbreviation for the Hyakurai is Hk. To find out more about your character's starting income, click here. OUTFITS I know it's annoying to say something like this, but use common sense here. Your character is a samurai, and is expected to carry a katana as a symbol of his station if for no other reason. If your outfit suggests you have a katana or wakizashi, you have one. Other items of equipment may be replaced with modern equivalents. A bow is replaced with a gun. 20 arrows is replaced with two clips of ten bullets each. Armor is assumed to be modern body armor, for true samurai armor is very rare and will not protect against guns and other modern weaponry. Example: The Hida Bushi School |
|
|
Old Outfit Katana Wakizashi Bow 20 arrows Heavy Armor Helm Travelling Pack Kimono 2 Weapons |
New Outfit Katana Wakizashi Pistol 2 Clips (10 bullets each) Heavy Body Armor Helmet Utility Belt Jumpsuit 2 Weapons (I pick a tetsubo and a rifle) |
|
|
NEW WEAPONS AND ARMOR First of all, I don't want to turn this into a treatise on modern weapons and armor. Rokugan is not part of our world, it is not Japan. There is no Smith and Wesson, there is no Magnum, though there are equivalents. With that in mind, here are some statistics for some very generic guns (more interesting guns will be coming along later, especially after they show up in the story!) Guns, like bows, do not use the wielder's strength to inflict damage (unless you're pistol whipping him!) An Average Quality gun has a strength of 2. GUNS! Pistol - 2k2. Range -150 feet. Ammunition- clip of 10 bullets. Cost - 90 Hk Rifle - 3k2 Range - 1500 feet (without scopes and suchlike) Ammunition - clip of 10 bullets. Cost - 180 Hk Shotgun - 3k3 and ignores armor. Range - 100 feet. Ammunition - single feed or 5 round tube. 120 Hk Sawed off Shotgun - 5k3 in a 30 degree spray. Range - 25 feet or less. Ammunition - single feed or 5 round tube. 120 Hk plus 12 Hk for the saw. Automatic rifle - 4k2. May fire entire clip and hit one additional target per raise (makes one attack roll for all targets). Range - 500 ft. Ammunition - 30 bullet clip, fires 1d10 bullets per shot (yes, re-roll tens) or 120 round extended clip. 600 Hk More later, we promise. ARMOR! Still pretty simple, pretty basic, like the original game. There's light(+5TN) and heavy(+10TN). Of course, modern armor is pretty sleek and light compared to ancient Rokugani armor. Light armor is light enough to be worn under a coat (Kitsuki Hatsu wears it) although Heavy Armor is not (see Yasu's picture for a glimpse of some heavy armor). Heavy armor is highly customizable, and all suits will include at least a built in radio and a few built in holsters for weapons. A new addition is Ultra-Light armor. This gives a +2 TN and is concealable under normal clothing. Shugenja, spies, assassins, and important political figures often wear this kind of armor. Ultra Light Armor costs 1800 Hk. Light Armor costs 1200 Hk and Heavy Armor can cost upwards to 6000 Hk.
Living in the Diamond Empire
The following is a general guideline for how much of your character's income goes toward maintaining his current standard of living. If you want to make things easy, just assume that your character spends 50% of his income on his housing, food, car, toys, etc., and has the personal possessions and luxuries that you would expect for someone in his profession.
For those who like to make things complicated (and you know who you are) here's a few guidelines. First, when translating a real world cost into hyakurai, one hundred American dollars is about 60 Hk. It is, however, somewhere to start.
That being said, here are some prices on the cost of living. Note that these are, again, guidelines. Rokugan's economy can still be quite unpredictable, and costs can fluctuate wildly. In Otosan Uchi or any other large city, these costs can be double or more the listed price. Services
Cup of Coffee - 48 k Equipment
Home Computer - 3000 Hk+
Ancient Weapons
Dai-Kyu - 1200 Hk (there are no modern style Dai-Kyu)
Vehicles
Used Car, Lemon, Dangerous (Hiruma Kappa, Senpet Surefire) - 150 Hk
Housing
Eta Shack - 12,000 Hk
Note that all Housing Costs are roughly five times as expensive in the city of Otosan Uchi, and about half normal cost in Ryoko Owari, with the exception of Large Homes and Luxury Suites, which are ten times as expensive.
Utilities (for the truly anal retentive book-keepers...)
Cheap (one light bulb, no heating) - 60 Hk/mo.
I draw the line at giving prices for insurance and stock market speculation.
So, an average plumber living in a nice apartment in Otosan Uchi with average utilities spends about 2400 on utilities and 4,320 on housing a year. This leaves him about 14880 Hk to eat and to otherwise spend as he sees fit. This will give your characters (especially samurai) plenty of money. This is on purpose, as games about characters struggling to make ends meet and scraping up cash for a loaf of bread don't mesh well with samurai drama. If you want the characters to be poor, then adjust the prices of living as you see fit. Again, I don't want to turn this into a treatise on modern weaponry. These explosives are very generalized. To have skill with using them, one must pick up the Demolitions skill (see new skills). One attack roll is rolled against all targets in the area of effect to determine if they are damaged. Yes, this means some people will not get hit. Ask the Crab wearing 200 pounds of armor, who did so for just such an occasion, whether he thinks this is fair. The explosives don't depend upon any particular skill of the participant to do damage, so they do not add strength or anything else. All explosives also list a TN. All targets in the area of affect may roll their Agility+Defense against this number to take half damage from the explosion by jumping clear. The person using the explosive may increase this TN by five for each two raises he makes with his Demolition skill. Optional: If a character using an explosive rolls three or more natural ones when attacking, he may be caught in his own explosion. Each of these natural ones may be cancelled by a natural ten. Also, keep in mind that explosive for the most part are INCREDIBLY illegal for even most samurai to be carrying around. Crabs and Lions (the military) are the general exception to this rule. Dynamite - sticks of explosive trinitrotolulene, detonated by a blasting cap. 2k2 damage, +1k1 per each stick, in a 10 foot radius, plus 5 feet per stick. Effective Throwing Range - about 60 feet (awkward, not meant to be thrown, you are ALWAYS considered to be unskilled when throwing this. It's not meant for it). TN=10 + 2 per stick. Cost - 400 koku (100 if made yourself using the Chemistry Skill)Grenade - simple thrown hand grenade. 4k2 damage in 20 foot radius. Effective Throwing Range -150 feet. TN=20 Cost - about 800 Hk each. Tear Gas - simple cannister of blinding, noxious gas. Does no damage, but sprays blinding fumes in a 20 foot radius, giving all characters without proper protection a -3 on all skill rolls. In addition, every round the targets must make a stamina roll vs TN=30 or fall to the ground hacking and wheezing (the same penalties as Down, may do nothing but try to resist again each round, or slowly crawl away). The fumes last about 2k2 rounds, markedly less (1k1) in windy environments and much more (up to 5k5 rounds) in contained areas with no ventilation. TN=Innapplicable, as it does no damage. See rules for resisting the affects. Effective Throwing Range - 150 feet. Cost = 400 Hk, 200 Hk if made with the Chemistry skill. Smoke Grenades - simple can of smoke producing chemicals. Does no damage, but obscures vision. Effective radius of 20 feet, in which all skill rolls depending upon sight are rolled with a -3 penalty. The smoke lasts about 2k2 rounds, markedly less (1k1) in windy environments, and up to 5k5 in contained areas with no ventilation. Cost= 50 Hk, or 30 Hk if made using the Chemistry skill. Bakemono Juice - simple glass bottles full of fuel, with a lit rag for a wick. Light and throw. 3k1 fire damage in a 10 foot area, plus 1k1 in same area for 3 rounds, PLUS the added possiblity of combustibles catching ablaze. Will do 5k5 damage to a character if dropped directly onto them (difficult to do, +5 to TN to hit), plus 2k2 to that character for 3 rounds, and the possibiltity of catching their clothing on fire. (Ouch!) Effective Throwing Range - 30 feet. Cost = 1 Hk each, but dangerous to carry. Napalm - chemicals designed to stick to a surface, burn on contact with air, and just keep burning, encased in a grenade. 5k2 damage in a 10 foot area for 2k2 rounds, plus the possibility of lighting combustibles. Will do 7k7 damage to a character directly hit with it (very difficult to do +10 to TN to hit), plus 3k3 for 1k1 rounds. They WILL be horribly burned, and only COMPLETELY submerging oneself in water for 3 rounds or more will put it out. Throwing Range - 150 feet. TN=25 (must use normal TN to be hit first if thrown directly at a person. No chance to dodge out of the flame. Note that napalm is very expensive, in many cases considered dishonorable, and is EXTREMELY dangerous to just carry around. ANY exposure to air will cause it to ignite and explode. It is VERY VERY VERY illegal, and difficult to obtain even for the military. Cost = 2000 Hk per grenade. Chemistry skill does not reduce this cost, but may allow the character to make a little before the authorities begin to catch on (even some of the components of true napalm are illegal.) Plastique - pliable, sculptable explosives that cannot be detonated without an electrical charge (blast cap, included in cost of explosive, but removable to prevent accidents.) Does 3k3 damage per ounce, plus 1k1 per additional ounce, to a very compact area (about 5 foot radius). Designed for destroying obstructions and safecracking, not anit-personnel. Must be set with a timer, or detonated by remote (Demolition Skill gives character knowledge of how to do this). Cost = 1000 Hk per ounce, or 800 Hk per ounce if the character makes it himself with the Chemistry Skill. Tetsukami Technology During the Shadow Wars, the Dragon Clan began experimenting heavily with the combination of magic and technology. The Isawa Shugenja school followed their lead, and soon became the pioneers in the field now known as "Tetsukami Technology." In this process, a minor elemental spirit is temporarily encouraged to inhabit an item, enhancing it's capabilities. The following are a few of the more common Tetsukami items... Oni Stomper Rifle fires beams of intense jade light, similar in many respects to lasers. The beam does no damage to normal opponents, but creatures with the Shadowlands Taint take 6k4 damage. Can fire four blasts per hour, then requires one hour of recharging in direct sunlight. Cost: 7000 Hk Spirit Modem a small device that plugs easily into most computers. Allows the user to communicate directly with any dominant spirits in the immediate area, including kami, ancestors, and gaki. (Similar function to the commune spell.) The spirit is not required in any way to answer, and may be hostile, so these devices are used carefully, if at all. Cost: 3000 Hk. Mini-gyro a simple 30 lb. harness that folds out into a small personal helicopter. The device carries up to 200 lbs, flies at altitudes up to 600 feet, and moves at about 15 miles per hour. The mini-gyros are very trendy currently, but are never used by the police or military. The kami that drive them tend to be stubborn, mischevious, and unpredictable, requiring constant maintenance. Cost: 3000 Hk. Shosuro Goggles thick, heavy lensed gogles that allow the user to see through the enhanced senses of the kami. These goggles can detect heat sources, electricity sources, and can make out shapes even in total darkness (making them superior to their mundane counterparts). The presence of a powerful source of magic, such as an ancestral sword or a powerful oni, tends to frighten the goggle spirits and cause the goggles to malfuncion. Cost: 7000 Hk. Otaku Naginata the weapon of choice of the Diamond Empire's Battle Maidens. These weapons can contract from their normal length to a mere two feet, and have a built in weapon system equal in power to the rifle above. These functions are both merely mechanical. The kami inhabiting the naginata is a guardian spirit, attuned to the weapon's true owner. If anyone else attempts to use the naginata, it will not function, and will in fact fold up into a useless two-foot long stick. Cost: Free to Battle Maidens. Never given to anyone else. Dragon Sphere (pair) allows the wielder of one to communicate verbally with the wielder of the other, no matter the distance. Both parties must be holding their stone and will the connection simultaneously, or the crystals do not function. Cost: 3000 Hk, very rare. |
|
| Back to RPG Menu | Back to Rokugan 2000 Menu | Back to Main Menu |