Unisystem Details
This part of the site contains a few tweaks and notes for using Eden
Studios unisystem rules are presented in their 'Buffy
the Vampire Slayer RPG'. The Doctor and Captain Jack need a couple
of new qualities, and I needed to add a couple of notes for some of their
advanced equipment. In general, the scientific skills of the Doctor and
the technology of the TARDIS fit very nicely into the category of Superscience
as explained 'The Magic Box'.
For this adventure I decided to make magic a lot simpler as I didn't
know if my players would be familiar with the Buffy magic system. So I
told them to tell me what they wanted to do and I'd give them a power
level for them to roll against. For more experienced groups you should
use the magic rules as they stand in the books.
New Qualities
Commanding Aspect – 2pt Quality
You have an aura of authority around you. This might come from
the power you hold as a master of time, or you are just plain bossy. When
you issue orders, people tend to obey them and so must make a willpower
roll to ignore you. This ability only works on people who aren’t
too sure of you, so ordering the police to let you out of a cell just
won’t work.
Conceptual Time Sense – 2pt Quality
You understand the concept of time, in a way beyond clocks and most peoples’
understanding. This quality allows you the capacity to think of time as
a further dimension and understand how to move through it. Think of it
as highly advanced chaos theory using concepts mankind has yet to even
discover. This quality is essential for piloting a time craft as only
someone who academically understands the nature of time can plot temporal
co-ordinates. This quality is an essential prerequisite for the skills
Temporal Science and Time Pilot, and grants a level of 1 in each for free.
Impact Mechanic – 3pt Quality
You have an innate understanding for machines and how they work, or maybe
you are just lucky. Any time you fail a Mr Fix-it roll for a machine you
can hit, kick or drop it and immediately make the roll again. If you succeed
the second time, the machine springs to life as if you had fixed it. If
the machine breaks down again, you can repair it with another fit of violence
(and a Mr Fix-it roll) requiring no tools and little time, as long as
no one else has fiddled with it in the meantime.
Temporal Awareness – 1pt Quality
You are aware of the flow of time to a very accurate degree. You always
know what time it is, or how long you have been doing something to the
second. As such you are also aware of fluctuations in time itself. If
time is speeding up, slowing down or being manipulated nearby you can
feel it.
Useful Pockets – 5pt Quality
In your travels you have collected all manner of odd and interesting things.
You may produce any small mundane time from your pockets at any time.
These things can range from jelly sweets, pieces of string and Yo-yos
to small tools and useful parts. The items must be both small and light,
and the director has the right to veto anything he doesn’t think
you could have. This ability can still work after you have been searched,
as eventually most guards get tired of finding so much rubbish on you
they aren’t very thorough!
New Skills
OK, not really new skills. There are a few abilities that Captain Jack
and the Doctor can make use of that a standard 21st centaury human can't.
So here is a note of certain skills they can use under the wider descriptions
for the standard unisystem skills.
Temporal Science (Under Science)
Time is not just a straight line. A student of temporal science learns
how time works as a dimension of space, understanding alternative realities,
time loops and many other factors and dangers of time travel.
Time Pilot (Under Driving)
You need not know how to build a road to drive a car, and so it is the
same with time travel. Operating a time craft can be a delicate operation,
and not every academic is very good at it. Like any vehicle, a skilled
operator can manoeuvre around hazards and ensure a safe journey. However,
skill with temporal science may be required to plot the appropriate co-ordinates
for such a craft.
Equipment
Sonic Blaster
Jack’s sonic weapon is quite a powerful and adaptable device. It
does 40 points of damage, cutting through most forms of impact armour.
Energy defences work against it as normal though. The blaster disintegrates
it’s target, and so it can be used to disintegrate most forms of
matter, in extremely regular and controlled shapes. This means it can
not only make perfectly square holes, it can seal them up just as easily.
Jack's blaster may run out of charge if he uses it too much. The TARDIS
can recharge it, but that takes a very long time (the Doctor prefers bananas).
Sonic Screwdriver
While not as powerful as Jack’s sonic blaster, the Doctor’s
sonic screwdriver is a little more adaptable. It can also manipulate matter,
but on a far smaller scale. With a small adjustment it can perform basic
scans, and can even be used to put up shelving. It takes a bit of jiggery
pokery to adjust it from one setting to another, which costs an action.
It can easily manipulate Spike's chip from close range. Turning it off
or activating it if so desired. However, the Doctor's player should be
reminded that the Time Lords fought a war with the great vampires, and
they didn't part on the best of terms.
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