Index to Optional Rules in Supplements

[enderandrew]

I suggest you take a list of every Star Wars D6 book. Then go down the list of each book, and check to see if it has any optional rules.

For those that have PDFs, they can simply search each PDF for the word "Optional". They you have a list of which books have optional rules. After that, you have to transcribe and compile them.

I have just about every PDF (I gave up my physical books years ago because I stopped running games) except my computer won't boot at the moment. (I'm using my work laptop at the moment) so I can't access them. Otherwise, I'd offer to search through the PDFs.
_________________
Nihilism makes me smile.

[ifurin]

another:

Optional Rule: Equipment Maintenance

Weapons and equipment are subject to a great deal of wear and tear in the field. The amount of wear depends on local conditions (temperature, humidity, radiation, ect.) but can usually be counteracted by appropriate maintenance. Failure to adequately maintain equipment can lead to catastrophic mishaps at the worst possible time. Blasters can vapor lock, slugthrowers can jam or misfire, electronic equipment can short circuit, medical supplies can degrade, and droids can cease functioning.

Blasters require attention and cleaning at least weekly, including prismatic crystal alignment, sturm dowel replacement, static energy de-ionization, and a thorough metal deoxydation. Blasters should be checked for structural breakdown monthly.

Slugthrowers must be striped down, cleaned, lubricated, and the sights realigned daily at least, usually twice a day if the weapon is fired.

Electronic devices must be de-ionized in the field at least weekly, or more often in high-radiation zones.

Use the following as guidelines for handling equipment maintenance during play (through gamemasters are encouraged to develop their own maintenance schedules to suit his or her campaign):

Conditions
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Suggested Maintenance Schedule
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Suggested Repair Difficulty

Desert
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Blasters should be cleaned once per day to prevent failure of the trigger mechanism.
*Slugthrowers should be oiled twice per day.
*Cooling units in medical kits and electronic equipment should be cleared of sand and grit.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Moderate

Swamp/Jungle
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Blasters should be cleaned once per day to prevent rust/corrosion.
*Electronic equipment should be waterproofed prior to mission deployment; waterproofing should be checked twice per day.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Moderate to Difficult

Arctic
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Blasters should be de-ionized twice per day to prevent static electric discharge.
*Electronic equipment should be adapted for cold-weather use prior to mission deployment; cold-weather modifications must be maintained twice per day.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Moderate to Difficult

High Radiation
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Blasters and all electronic equipment should be calibrated three times a day to assure that circuitry is not degrading.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Difficult

[ifurin]

Foot Travel

Many SpecForce units find themselves using the “Heel-Toe Express” during missions. Cross-country marches are generally wearing and slow. Trained and in-shape marchers can make as much as 30 to 40 kilometers per standard day, depending on terrain, local gravity and length of marching time.

In game terms, this figure assumes cautious speed (one-eighth basic Move) over relatively easy terrain. While it is possible to move faster, it is more dangerous and considerably more tiring. Riding and pack animals also travel at their cautious speed; simply divide their kilometers per hour movement rate by 8. (Kmh provided for creatures and droids in this chapter for your convenience.)

Long marches are tiring: marchers should make a Very Easy stamina check every three hours, increasing the difficulty by one level every roll. This is assuming they take short (5-15 minute) breaks in that period. If the marchers march continually, the checks are made every two hours. One hour’s sleep for every stamina check mad will restore the marcher’s vigor. Arduous terrain may modify the stamina difficulty at the discretion of the gamemaster.

Movement checks for terrain should also be preformed every three hours (or two, if on a forced march), to reflect the hazards of the rout. Terrain difficulties are on page 102-103 of The Star Wars Role Playing Game; 2nd Edition, Revised and expanded.

[ifurin]

Increasing Stormtrooper Effectiveness

Stormtroopers are the elite fighting forces of the Empire, but nearly any player character can blow them away in droves. In most cases this is perfectly fine, but there are times when a gamemaster wants stormtroopers to be a real threat, a challenge that makes the players pause.

There are several ways to go about this:
*Superior training: It is well established that there are more advanced stormtroopers than the standard variety found on most posts. (After all, Stormtroopers have enough of a reputation that Obi-Wan comments on it in Star Wars: A New Hope.) Assault stormtroopers are a little better than standard – there could easily be a superior fighting force serving a powerful Moff, and the Royal Guard is known to perform combat rotation to keep in fighting trim. Don’t be afraid to improve stormtroopers by a few dice to mach your player’s skills.
*Armor: Veteran stormtroopers are long since used to wearing their armor, and a gamemaster may rule that they don’t suffer the -1D Dexterity penalty that the standard stormtroopers endure. Player characters who put on stormtrooper armor still suffer the penalty, of course, and maybe a Perception penalty as well – “I can’t see a thing in this helmet.”
*MFTAS: Don’t forget to add the bonus dice against targets moving more than 10 meters per round – which is most moving characters in a flight, since very few people walk calmly through a firefight – and in low-light conditions. Stormtroopers are smart enough to use the MFTAS system to thei advantage. A few smoke grenades in a fight can tip the fight to the stormtroopers, since it has very little effect on them, but messes up their target’s shooting considerably.
*Combined fire: The original Star Wars Role Playing Game rules allowed stormtrooprs to combine fire as much as they wanted and in any numbers, for free. This is a trifle excessive, but a gamemaster may rule that a squad or fire team of stormtroopers can combine their fire against a target without making a command test. They are disciplined and coordinated troops with superior communication links, after all.

[ifurin]

Jury-Rigging
As described on page 29 of The Star Wars Rules Companion, a character may increase the performance ability of his equipment. He can make his blaster more powerful or make his airspeeder more maneuverable. Improving equipment through skill points reflects the fact that the character is investing himself into the equipment. It is a long-term and costly process. It is possible, however, to increase the performance of equipment without spending skill points and credits. Unfortunately, this short cut tends to make the improvement temporary, and dangerous when the equipment fails. The process is called jury-rigging. When a character jury-rigs a blaster power pack into a bomb or alters the design of an air speeder's mechanical air flaps, he is making the machine or item better - but by means that no honest engineer would ever use. Jury-rigging involves connecting wires that shouldn't be connected, taking out important safety features of a vehicle, or putting together two kinds of electronics that don't really belong together. Juryrigged equipment provides a short term benefit, but it is predisposed to breakdown. Jury-rigging something takes one hour, or the character can rush, jury-rigging the item in one minute, although the task becomes one difficulty harder. Very difficult tasks can be attempted in one minute. There is no way to spend more time on jury-rigging to make the task easier. If the roll to jury-rig something is failed, it can be tried again, but the second try always takes an hour (even if the initial attempt was only one minute).
The Role of Jury-Rigging
Jury-rigging equipment often requires strange bits of wire and odds and ends. The gamemaster must decide if the equipment to jury-rig something is on hand if the Rebels did not specify that they brought the equipment with them. The game master should keep in mind that it is in the spirit of the jury-rigging rules that the Rebels slap stuff together when they want to. This is why the break down rules exist: to balance out the bonus the players get. A lack of materials for juryrigging should be the exception, not the rule.

Jury-Rigging Difficulties
Improving Die Code.....Difficulty
1D.............................Moderate
2D.............................Difficult
3D.............................Very Difficult

Improving Existing Abilities
The most common way to jury-rig an item is to improve one of its existing die codes. For example, a blaster can be rigged for better damage or an airspeeder can be rigged for more speed. This kind of improvement only enhances a tool's die code (for example, a blaster can only improve the damage code this way, while a capital ship turbolaser could have fire control or damage increased). An item can be made better by 1D, 2D, or 3D. Thus, a sporting blaster's damage can be improved from 3D+1 to 4D+1, 5D+1, or 6D+1.
The maneuverability of an Aratech 74-Z Military Speeder Bike can be improved from 3D+2 to 4D+2, 5D+2, or 6D+2. Jury-rigging requires a successful technology roll. The difficulty is determined by the degree of improvement.
Adding New Abilities
Specialized devices can be made from spare parts or an existing item can be modified to have an ability it never had before (for example, juryrigging a blaster so that the user gets bonus dice to hit a target). Changes of this nature are described on a case-by-case basis in this book, with the difficulty listed in the description.
Equipment Failure
Jury-rigged equipment has a chance of failure. The more a piece of equipment is pushed past its original design specifications, the greater the chance of failure. When someone is using a juryrigged piece of equipment, he should roll the extra dice gained from the jury-rigging after the dice he would normally roll (alternately, use different colored dice for the normal roll and the jury-rigged dice). For example, a blaster with a base damage of 4D and a jury-rigged additional damage of 1D would roll the four dice and then the bonus one die separately. If any of the bonus dice come up as a one (1), the jury-rigged device has been pushed beyond its limitations and may break down. Roll on the Jury-Rig Breakdown Table. The bonus dice must always be rolled when the jury-rigged device is used. Therefore, there is always a risk of failure. Bonus dice are never lost as a result of multiple actions in the same round.

[ifurin]

Optional Rule: Encumbrance

Star Wars is not ordinarily concerned with the concept of encumbrance, but with SpecTroopers entering the field with as much firepower as they can possibly get away with, it’s good to have an idea of what a reasonable amount of equipment is. The following are methods that can be used to determine what a character can or can’t carry in the field.

Characters that attempt to carry too many items are subject to the fatigue rules (specifically, the effects of arduous terrain) on page 53.

The gamemaster has final discretion on what a character can reasonably be expected to carry.

Method 1: The characters can carry the items listed below with no penalty. They can also carry one additional item per die of Strength (excluding “pips”). For example, a character with a Strength of 3D+2 can carry three additional items.

Almost ant trooper can be reasonably expected to carry the following items:
1. Fatigues
2. Boots
3. Partial armor (blast vest or other such minor combat armor)
4. Helmet
5. Main weapon (probably a rifle)
6. Three grenades
7. Three days’ rations
8. Roughly a half-dozen other small objects (power tools, spare blaster power packs, a secondary weapon: pistol, knife, ect.)

Note: Troopers are also likely to carry a great deal more than this into the unit’s vehicle or on a pack animal. In addition, each trooper has a specific role within the squad: communications, heavy weapons, medic, and so on. Specialized items such as communications gear, an infantry support weapon, medical kits, and other such equipment should also be carried by the appropriate squad member with no penalty.

Method 2: A character can carry one medium-sized object for every “pip” of Strength that he or she possesses. Remember that 1D equals 3 “pips.” For example, a character with a Strength die code of 3D+2 can carry 11 medium-sized objects: 3 “pips” per die multiplied by 3 dice equals 9; the additional “+2” in die code brings the total to 11.

Medium-sized items include (in addition to the above list)*:
Backpack
Directional transponder/automap
Explosives
Portable computer
Comset
E-web power generator
E-web blaster
Scanner
Medical backpack

[ifurin]

Other Optional Martial Arts Rules
Should game masters feel that martial arts are a destabilizing element in a campaign, the following are options to lessen the effects of this skill system.
*Basic Moves: Gamemasters can limit characters to the following hand-to-hand techniques (which must be learned before any other techniques may be acquired): punch (inflicts Strength+1D damage); kick (inflicts Strength+2D damage); weapon block (allows the character to block melee attack, opposed martial arts verses melee combat roll)
*Character Points: Character Points can not be used during martial arts rolls ()though Force Points can.
*Martial Arts Styles: Using the above system it is unlikely that a character will ever possess all the hand-to-hand techniques. (On the average, an extremely advanced character will likely only possess 13-15 of the hand-to-hand techniques.) However, gamemasters can limit the number of techniques a character can possess by developing martial arts “style packages.” The gamemaster may decide that only six of the techniques are available to “K’tara martial arts,” and players must select from that list. Learning a technique from outside a style costs 10 Character Points and takes three weeks of training.
*Parrying: To speed the combat procedure (and to more accurately reflect the deadly nature of martial arts), trained combatants can us brawling: martial arts to both parry and attack.

[ifurin]

Random Mission Generator
Gamemasters can use the following method of mission generation as a quick method for developing SpecForce scenarios. Roll 2D ans tally the total. Then, consult the tables below, or create your own.

Mission Type
Roll......Mission Type
2.........Infiltrate Imperial garrison
3.........Eliminate enemy unit
4.........Capture enemy officer
5.........Recover stolen data
6.........Destroy enemy base
7.........Ambush enemy convoy
8.........Rescue friendly agent
9.........Eliminate enemy officer
10.......Sabotage enemy installation
11.......Board enemy vessel
12.......Protect a Rebel withdrawal/base/convoy

Mission Terrain
Roll.......Terrain
2-3........Urban
4-5........Radiation zone
6-7........Jungle/swamp/marsh
8-9.........Arctic
10-11.....Aquatic
12..........Desert

Mission Complications
Roll............Complications
2................Bad weather
3................Faulty intelligence data
4................Human error (a backup team is eliminated, a character makes noise during a stealth approach)
5................SpecForce team is detected by enemy
6................Local creatures are hostile
7................Contaminated water
8................Faulty, damaged or lost equipment
9................Difficult terrain
10..............Low visibility
11..............Poor cover
12..............Local inhabitants are hostile

Enemy Forces
Roll......Enemy Forces
2.........Imperial Army Troopers
3.........Imperial Special Missions Platoon
4.........Imperial Navy troopers
5.........CompForce Assault troopers
6.........Imperial Storm Commandos
7.........Scout troopers
8.........Stormtroopers (radzone troopers, snowtroopers, desert troopers or seatroopers, depending on terrain)
9.........Imperial Royal Guard
10.......Special Missions platoon with heavy vehicle support (AT-ST’s, AT-AT’s or other ground vehicle)
11.......Imperial Army platoon with heavy support (AT-ST’s, AT-AT’s, or other ground vehicles) and air support (TIE bombers, TIE fighters, assault shuttles, or other aircraft)
12.......Imperial Storm Commandos with Imperial Special missions platoon backup, heavy vehicle support (AT-ST’s, AT-AT’s or other ground vehicles) and air support (TIE bombers, TIE fighters, assault shuttles, or other aircraft)

[ifurin]

that's it for now. i'll continue typing up more as i have time.

[Rerun941]

[ifurin]

i didn't create the rules i just copied them from the spec force book.

[Rerun941]

[The Brain]

I like how your just as likely to blunder into Storm Commandoes or Imperial Guardsmen as plain 'ol army troopers.

[Rerun941]

[Delkarnu]

Yeah, but how often do special forces wind up with easy missions
_________________
This new hand, it's a fightin' hand!