Siege

SIEGE engine published as boxed set, StarSIEGE: Event Horizon (originally used in Castle & Crusades)

  • Lots of rule options if you want to add or subtract levels of complexity or abstraction.
  • Toolkit that allows you to do any genre of sci-fi (hard sci-fi to space opera) with any style of play (gritty to cinematic).

Character Creation

Attributes, Species, Skill Bundles & Specialties, etc. Unlike C&C, there are no classes; this is a skill-based system. You can essentially go from concept to character without being tied down by a class

Task Resolution

1D20 + Attribute & Speciality versus 12 if within skill bundle, versus 18 otherwise. Difficulty modifiers adjust this from easy to impossible (-6, 0 +2, +6, +12, +18). Abilities can be added together as well, but only if they modify the Speciality being used and are of the appropriate Class. Abilities are such things as cybernetic arms, knives and brawl skills.

The roll stays the same for interaction, skill use, combat, psionics, and everything else.

  • Nova Points: gives PCs an extra edge in a critical situation, letting them survive an otherwise deadly experience, etc.

Combat Resolution

Combat works much the same way as it does in C&C, which is itself derived from d20.

There are a few differences, notably damage tracks (with the addition of a Stress damage track for mental damage), and armor as damage reduction. The inclusion of these damage tracks, along with Nova points, makes combat a little more exciting than in C&C.

Combat is meant to be quick and lethal, but if you want your PCs to be able to take more damage, SS offers a simple option that doesn’t unbalance the game. Combat between other entities—vehicles, starships, even planets, is just as easy as a simple gunfight.

Universe Building

There are several decisions to be made regarding campaign options—Cyber Score, PSI Score, Taint Score, and Tech Score. Each of these scores has two dimensions—for example, Cyber Score Base refers to the availability of Cybernetics in the campaign, while the PC’s Cyber Score refers to his individual level of tolerance of cybernetics.

  • The scores for the universe are set by the SE (GM) AND the players, so they get some input to make sure that the SE (GM) creates a universe they actually want to play in.
  • Simple system for creating Trappings, guns, armor, starships, psionic powers, equipment, disease, aliens, planets, etc. all follows the same build rules.

Social Interaction

<brief description, but only if different or more detailed than the general task resoltuion. It may also go together with combat resolution if the same mechanics are used.>

  • <list of the most important or innovative features>

Character Development

<brief description of experience point system>

  • <list of the most important or innovative features>

Metaphysics

System for magic, psionics, superpowers, etc.

Publishing Company

Troll Lord Games Official Site
Troll Lord Wikipedia Entry

Games

  • <list of settings or roleplaying games that use the rules>

Designers

  • Josh Chewning

Links

System Analysis

<brief analysis>

Strengths

  • <list of things that work really well, things it achieves as advertised and other strengths of the system>

Weaknesses

  • <list of things that makes it hard to use, ill suited for its advertised purpose or other flaws>

Notes

Sold as a box set.

This was just thrown together based on a review (Review: http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/13/13973.phtml), so needs to be done properly.

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