RPG Rulebook

This article is written from an out of character (OOC) perspective, given its nature as a meta article. Part of how events take place in Monopole Moment is through a customized role-playing game (RPG), relying on a random number generator using a hundred point scale. This reflects the reality that LEGO^® products were designed to be built and played with. To that end, this page serves as the comprehensive set of rules for the RPG mechanics of this web site.

 

Core Mechanics and Rules

Every playable character (PC) and non-playable character (NPC) has a series of stats, which determine the rate at which various actions performed by them are successful or not. These stats use a hundred point scale (d100), such that if the stat's value is greater than or equal to the roll's value, the action is successful. For example, a medic is trying to use a medkit to heal a wounded comrade, which calls for the Medical stat. Let's say the stat has a value of 84, and 63 is rolled. Since 84 ≥ 63, the action is successful and the wounded person is assisted. These stats have unique values for each PC, while each class of NPCs have a shared set of values for each of their stats.

General Stats

These are the six generalized stats for any action performed outside of specific combat actions (in which case invokes the Combat Stats for the character). Each of the general stats have associated pieces of equipment that enable special actions (e.g., the Medical stat governs the use of three-use med-kits, which are necessary for healing the Wounded in the field). While equipment is not required to make use of a stat in general, equipment is required for those special equipment-related actions. An equipment kit's uses are consumed even if the appropriate Stat Check to use the kit fails.

Charisma

Charisma includes both social intelligence, persuasive abilities, leadership qualities (which can be important for combat situations: not enough charisma from the CO can cause a unit to fall apart). This stat is problem solving through social skills.

This stat's special equipment is a three-use identity-kit: an electronic device giving the user high-authority credentials in the form of a pass-card. The type of credential forged can vary greatly, from a fake driver's license, to a press pass, to a fraudulent credit card. All three uses do not need to be the same forged identity.

Physicist

The ability to use scientific equipment, do mathematical calculations, make logical inferences, and operate exotic physics equipment: monopolium technologies.

This stat's special equipment is a three-use fusion-kit: a nuclear "battery" capable of recharging shields, ammunition for plasma and particle weapons, robots, and even small vehicles and doors. A fusion-kit is the only special equipment immune to an EMP attack (whether by grenade or a plasma weapon).

Engineering

The ability to maintain and repair mechanical and electronic devices. This stat is problem solving through technology.

This stat's special equipment is a three-use repair-kit: used to fully restore a robot or an inventory item, except med-kits and fusion-kits.

Medical

The ability to diagnose and administer medical aid effectively. Also excellent at biology and genetics.

This stat's special equipment is a three-use med-kit: used to restore a Wounded character back to full health but with Fatigue. A med-kit is useless for robots (they need a repair-kit instead).

Recon

The ability to evade combat and remain undetected when performing various tasks. This stat concerns how well one can avoid problems altogether.

This stat's special equipment is a three-use multitool: used to pick locks, disable surveillance devices, and hack various machines.

Endurance

The ability to weather hardship, both physical and mental. This stat also covers the continued functionality (and not the repair) of the various inventory items a character has. Failed Endurance Checks runs the risk of the character losing health points and becoming Wounded, or worse. Same for inventory items becoming damaged, and needing a repair-kit to become functional again.

This stat's special equipment is a single-use bypass-kit: should the user lose all of their health points and fail the Resilience Check, they have an additional chance to be Incapacitated instead of Dead, through an Endurance Check.

Combat Stats

These six stats are invoked for any combat situation. Most are offensive stats, dictating how accurate or effectively one wields a specific weapon class. For example, the Particle Weapon stat covers both laser and particle-beam weapon accuracy. Each weapon has its own offensive damage stat, which is employed when a successful hit occurs, to determine how much of the target's defensive points are depleted. If a successful hit has a value less than or equal to 10% of the character's stat for that weapon type, a "critical hit" that bypasses all shields and armor occurs.

Plasma Weapons

Plasma weapons use superheated ionized gas as a projectile, culminating in extensive thermal, explosive, and EMP damage to targets. Plasma weapons are quite loud, have immense recoil, and easily overheat due to the extreme temperatures involved with plasma projectiles. To bypass the overheating problem, plasma weapons are all semi-automatic.

These weapons can be disabled by an EMP attack.

Particle Weapons

Particle weapons use radiation (photons, electrons, or atomic nuclei) as a way to apply thermal energy directly to a target. Particle weapons are relatively silent (especially laser weapons), but are prone to overheating due to inefficiencies in the operating mechanisms. Unlike plasma and ballistic weapons, particle weapons have virtually no recoil, making them easier weapons to use by civilians.

These weapons can be disabled by an EMP attack.

Ballistic Weapons

Weapons that either use solid kinetic projectiles (i.e., bullets), projectile fragments (i.e., buckshot), or explosive rounds to neutralize a target. While ballistic weapons have immense recoil, they are extremely energy efficient, ejecting spent casings for heat disposal. Ballistic weapons are effective as fully automatic weapons. Silenced ballistic weapons suffer reduced damage done to targets.

Only ballistic weapons and grenades are immune to EMP attacks, whether from EMP grenades or plasma weapons.

Sniper

Sniper weapons belong to one of the above classes of weapons (plasma, particle, or ballistic), but are highly specialized for taking out targets at a great distance away. Sniper training is itself specialized, given the role of stealth, timing, and pinpoint accuracy.

Grenades

Hand-held explosives, which come in a variety of classes: EMP, thermal, flashbang, white phosphorus, and fragmentation grenades included. While very powerful, they are easier to evade than the other weapons mentioned above. Also, carrying a large quantity is cumbersome.

Only ballistic weapons and grenades are immune to EMP attacks, whether from EMP grenades or plasma weapons.

Resilience

This stat alone determines whether or not one survives having their health points drop to zero (and be incapacitated) or dies. A critical success (a success with a roll with only 10% of one's Resilience stat) allows the character to perform one final action before being incapacitated. This is also the only stat that is not affected by one's health status.

Defensive Points

An individual's defenses come in three layers: plasma shields, solid armor, and health. Unlike General and Combat stats, these are points pools of varying quantities depending on the strength of the character and their equipment. Some weapons must get through the outermost layer before affecting a deeper layer. Others may interact differently. Both plasma shields and solid armor are defensive equipment a character must adorn themselves with, for them to be effective.

Plasma Shields

Originally invented to protect spacecraft from micrometeorites and particle radiation, personal plasma shields protect characters from both the EMP and thermal effects of plasma weapons and the explosive effects of grenades. Plasma shields can be regenerated with a fusion-kit.

Plasma weapons interact in a simple manner with shields: the damage rating of a successful shot depletes the shield's points pool to a degree equal to the weapon's damage rating. Plasma weapons cannot do any other damage to a shielded target.

Particle weapons are at a severe disadvantage with shields: if a particle weapon's damage rating is less than the points in a target's shields, the weapon does no damage, including no effect on the shields except that they glow momentarily. Should the damage rating be higher than the shield rating, the shields remain unaffected but the surplus points impose damage on armor or health (see armor below for particle-armor interactions).

Ballistic weapons have their damage points split 50/50 to shields and health, for unarmored targets. For armored targets, 50% still goes into shields, but only 10% goes into armor with each successful hit, leaving the target's health unaffected (and the other 40% of the damage points wasted, since bullets lose their penetrative power by passing through shields).

Solid Armor

Dating back to Ancient Earth, solid armor are either sheets of metal or pads of various Kevlar like material that protects a character from weapons fire of any type. Damaged armor has to be replaced to restore one's armor points.

Both plasma and particle weapons affect armor in the same way: each successful hit depletes the armor's points pool to a degree equal to the weapon's damage rating. No other damage from plasma and particle weapons can be applied to armored targets except plasma weapons now do EMP damage with every shot.

Ballistic weapons have their damage points split 50/50 to armor and health, for armored targets.

Health

Every character has health points, organic and robotic. These points dictates one's health status (see below) and how much injury or damage one can receive before becoming incapacitated.

All weapons affect a character's health pool in the same way. So as an example, a Space Police Beta Pistol (a particle weapon) has a damage rating of 10. If successfully fired at an unarmored and unshielded target (or during a critical hit) the target's health drops by 10 points.

It's important to note that the EMP effect of plasma weapons are quite potent. For an unshielded target (or during a critical hit) nearly all of one's electronic inventory items (e.g., laser pistols, med-kits) are rendered inert. Only fusion-kits are immune to EMP effects and can recharge a repair kit so that the scrambled equipment can be repaired (or recharged by the fusion-kit).

Health Status

The condition expressing the quality of a character's health uses a five step system, from most healthy to dead. The most dynamic of these is being Wounded, which imposes a temporary reduction in all stats, depending on how low one's health points are relative to full health. The only stat immune from the (negative) effects of one's health status is the combat stat, Resilience, to avoid complicated cascading stat reductions.

Ready

Paragon of good health, where not only are the character's health points full, but they have unaltered stats, being well rested.

Fatigued

While health points are still full, this character got insufficient rest from the previous excursion, thus with a 10% universal stat reduction (except for Resilience), until the character gets sufficient rest. This is also the status one has after the application of a med-kit.

Wounded

Wounded is when a character's health pool is less than its maximum capacity (i.e., not full but still non-zero). This can only arise from either non-combat injuries (e.g., radiation) or combat injuries. As stated above, the universal stat reduction is equivalent to the ratio of current health points to full health points (except for Resilience, which remains unchanged). Healing either takes place with a med-kit or proper rest and/or hospitalization.

Incapacitated

Should a character's health points drop to zero, a Resilience Check is done to determine if they continue to live or die. Passing the Resilience Check means the character cannot perform any actions requiring a d100 roll (or if they passed the Check as a critical success, they may perform one more action), but if brought to safety (e.g., a hospital) they will continue to live and recover. A med-kit cannot help anyone with zero health points.

While the distinction between being incapacitated verses being dead is essential for PCs, it is a meaningless distinction for NPCs, since they are out of play for the remainder of the excursion and vanish upon the excursion's conclusion.

Dead

Should a character's health points drop to zero, a Resilience Check is done to determine if they continue to live or die. Failing the Resilience Check means the character dies.

 

Other Mechanics and Rules

Inventory Management

Each character has six inventory slots, where one is occupied only by armor and another only by shields. Each of the remaining four slots can hold a primary weapon, a pistol, three grenades, or a special piece of equipment (e.g., a med-kit). A character can at most carry only one primary weapon and/or two pistols.