Monster Media 1994 #2/Monster Media No. 2 (Monster Media)(1994).ISO/games/s_scream.zip/SCREAM.TXT

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                           The Screaming Silence

                        A Reflex System Role Play Game


When Sunlit morn bids welcome
To star threaded night,
And the marrow of Society
Cascades away in atoms of dust,
Then will the mute voices raise
To the tune of such sober immorality.
Then, in that night, will all our
Silence Scream.
                                 -Creed of the
                                  Screaming Silence

Index

I  Introduction and Character Creation

I.I Prelude
I.II Introduction
I.III The System
I.IV Character Creation
I.V Determining Attributes
I.VI Determining Skills
I.VI/2  Sub-Skills
I.VII Determining Exceptional and Detramental Abilites
I.VIII Determining Hero Points
I.IX Determining Morality etc
I.X Age
I.XI Determing Name, etc

II  Rules

II.I  The Rules of Play
II.II Extended and Opposed Actions
II.III  The Round
II.IV Experiance
II.V  Combat
II.VI Initiative
II.VII Range Combat
II.IX Cover and Body Armor
II.X  Hand to Hand Combat
II.XI  Melee Weapons
II.XII  Damage
II.XIII Medical Attention and Healing
II.XIV  Hero Points

III  The World of the Screaming Silence
III.I The History of the Screaming Silence
III.II  The Screaming Slience
III.III  The Technocracy
III.IV  The Malphoist Government
III.V  The Black Market

IV  The Game, and Examples of Play
IV.I  The Game


Appendix A.  Attributes
Appendix B.  Skills
Appendix C.  Weapons & Equipment
Appendix D.  Character Sheet


I.I  Prelude

       So Comrade, you want your piece of the Know.  You want to
scratch away the decades of ignorance and injured conformity that incases
us all.  Yeah, you want a chance to grab some Know that no one else
around you knows.  You want a bit of the tech, the stuff that the Corps
keep all to themselves.
       Yeah the Corps.  You say you don't know the Corps?  Well that's
pretty common around here, isn't it?  Don't worry, you'll find out sooner
or latter.  Everyone will.
       Yeah I'm with the Silence.  You say you wanta join?  No son, there
isn't any membership or dues; and we don't have any stinking news letter
either.  You want to join kid?  You really want to join?  Well its easy, all
you got to do is want it bad enough.  But let me tell ya, you got to want it
bad.  And I mean real bad.
       Want what, you say?
       Christ kid, there's only one thing in this world worth having.  And
if you don't know that, you don't Know at all.

I.II  Introduction

       Welcome to the Screaming Silence, the first in a series of new
RPG's to use the Reflex role play system.
       What is the Screaming Silence?  Well in a nut shell, it is a "what if"
world where the Communist came out best in the Cold War.  It is dark,
futuristic, anti-heroic setting where the players don't know who they can
trust, or even if they can trust anyone at all.  The players play operatives
(or sympathizers) of a international terrorist organization called the
Screaming Silence, who are attempting to pry the secrets of science and
technology from a society that has split in two:  Into the Knows, and the
Know nots.
       The Knows derive from the old capitalist corporations who, during
the revolution, retreated out of mainstream society and into almost complete
scientific research.  Their technological ability has advanced at an alarming
rate, thanks mainly to their single minded purpose and their results oriented
ethic.
       The Know nots are compiled of the mass of society, held under the
weight of a benign, if unproductive, global communist government.  Their
technology has never advanced beyond the level of the 1950's.  And as
result, neither has its society.  The communist's discouragement of
individual-ity and creative thought is only partly to blame though.
Mainstream society has been suffering since the revolution from the
abduction of all its most creative members by the old capitalist
corporations; better known as the Knows.
       So society has been split in two:  A stagnant mainstream, and a
highly evolved sect.  The Screaming Silence has risen out of Know nothings
of this Society, and are pledged to restore the equilibrium in anyway they
can.  What is equilibrium is no one is truly sure, but somehow it must be
restored.

I.III  The System

(The below discussion assumes that the reader has a basic understanding of
Role Play theory:  Players, Characters, GM, dice, etc.  If you have never
played a Role Play Game before see section   for a brief explanation of the
concept.)

       The Screaming Silence uses the Reflex Role Play System, a system
designed to be easily adapted to any type of game you wish to run.  The
rules here explain it in terms of The Screaming Silence setting.  To use it in
terms of another campaign setting may require a few modifications.
       In the games mechanics of the Reflex system every rule consists of
two parts:  Narrative and Action.  The two parts are by no means exclusive
of each other, there is not a time when one should be used over another.
They mearly differ in detail and easy of use.  The Narrative rules being less
detailed but quicker, and the Action rules being more detailed but slower.
When should one rule be used, and when should the other?  It is purely up
to the GM to make the decision.  How quick he wants his game to run, or
how detailed he wants the action to be.

I.IV  Character Creation

       Like all Role Play Games, all the players must have a Character.
Character creation in the Reflex system is very similar to that of many
other Role Play Games.
       Take a look at the Character sheet that comes with this game.  You
can see that it is divided into two main sections:  Attributes and Skills.
       Although the values in these two sections are determined in different
manners, they are record in very much the same fashion.  On both sides of
each skill and attribute there is a blank.  The blank of the left is for
recording the point value of that skill or attribute. (called from here on
pips) This is on a scale from 0 to 150, and relates the incremental value of
the skill or attribute.  This is the value that will be changed through the
gaining of experience and the advancement of the character.  This value is
hardly ever used in game play.
       The blank on the right is dice value of that skill or attribute, and
relates the number of dice that skill or attribute can donate to a dice pool if
it is used.  The dice value of a skill or attribute is determined from the pip
value of that skill or attribute according to the chart below.  The dice value
is only changed through the increase or decrease of pips, it can never be
changed on its own.

   Pips                   Dice

  0 to 9                      0d
 10 to 29                     1d
 30 to 59                     2d
 60 to 99                     3d
100 to 149                    4d
150 up                        5d


I.V  Determining Attributes

       There are nine attributes in the Reflex System (Well Being,
Strength, Agility, Perception, Endurance, Dexterity, Wits, Willpower, &
IQ.), divided into three sub-areas (Physical, Mental, & Averaged.)  Only in
two of these areas are pip values actually rolled (Physical & Mental), in the
third (Averaged) the value for an attribute is calculated as an average of
attributes in the other two areas. (Strength averaged with Willpower equals
Endurance, etc.)

       Physical                       Averaged                      Mental

       Well Being                     Perception                     Wits

       Strength                       Endurance                      Willpower

        Agility                       Dexterity                        IQ


       For all the attributes in the Physical and Mental groups roll 2d100
and divide it by two.  This is the pip value for that attribute.
       To determine the pip value for Perception average the pip values for
Well Being and Wits.  For Endurance average the values for Strength and
Willpower.  For Dexterity, Agility and IQ.

       (We'll follow the creation of the character of Baxter Blaine for an
example of the Character Creation system.  We must start with some
concept of the character we wish to create, I decide I wish to make Baxter
some kind of explosives expert working for the Screaming Silence.
       To start I roll up his attributes.  For Well Being I rolled 70 and 51
which averages (rounded down) to 60.  For Wits I rolled a 94 and a 82
which averages to 88.  With these two terms I determine his Perception to
be 74 (60+88/2=74).  I roll a 45 and a 21 for Strength, which gives me a
33.  I roll a 84 and a 42 for Willpower, which gives me 63.  That makes
Endurance 48 (33+63/2=48).  I get a 13 for his agility (ouch!), a 27 for
his IQ (dough!), which would make his dexterity 20.  It seem that Baxter
has some advantages and some disadvantages, lets see how they pan out.)

       Next we must determine the Dice value for each of the attributes
according to the chart above.

       (Baxter has 60 pips in Well Being which gives him 3 dice.  He has
33 pips in Strength which gives him 2 dice there.  His 13 in Agility gives
his only 1d there, but his 74 in Perception gives him 3d.  48 in Endurance
equals 2d, and 20 in Dexterity equals 1d.  88 in Wits gives 3d there, and
63 in Willpower gives 3d also.  Finally his 27 in IQ gives his 1d.
       To sum up, Baxter seems to a very healthy individual (Well Being
3d) probably and athlete.  He is alert and imaginative (Per and Wits 3d),
strong, fit, and steel willed (Str & End 2d, Willpower 3d).  On the down
side he is rather clumsy and awkward (Agil & Dex 1d), and not
particularity bookish (IQ 1d).  All in all a well balanced character.  He has
his strengths and his weaknesses.)

       This is the extent of determining your character's attributes.  For a
full description of each Attribute see Appendix A.

I.VI.1  Determining Skills

       As said before skills are recorded in exactly same manner as
attributes, all though they are determined very differently.  Where
Attributes are rolled, Skills are chosen through either one of two methods:
(For a full description of the skills see Appendix B)

Narrative Rule:  You have 400 pips to allocate through the skills list on the
character sheet.  No one skill can have more than 100 pips at creation
(though it may be raised through experience during the game.)  You then
determine the dice equivalent for each skill that you allocated pips in (using
the chart above.)  Role 2d10+18 for your age.
       This is quick and easy method to make an average skilled character.
Great if your just whipping up characters before a game.  However, if you
are making a character for a campaign game it would be best to use the
Action Rule alternative.  One, because it produces more rounded
characters; and two, because there is the opportunity to gain more skill
pips.

Action Rule:  You will progress your character through the Life Path
below.  The Life Path consists of 10 different career areas that the player
must pass through.  All character must start at the Basic Career area.
       At each career area of the path you will have a certain number of
skill pips to spend through the skill list for that particular area.  There is
a
certain number of years that you add to your characters age, and a list of
exits that the character might take.  Most exits will require a roll against a
attribute to allow the character to move on.  If that roll is failed the
character must once again go through that career area, although this time
they have only half as many skill pips to spend.  The exit roll difficulty is
one higher. (This does not apply to the basic education area, if they fail a
roll they must go to a different exit.)
       If a character only makes his exit roll by one success he must go
through the career area again just as above.  Although this time he does not
have to make an exit roll when he has finished, he automatically goes to his
career exit. (again, this does not count for basic career.)
       If a character fails or rolls one success on his exit rolls twice he
character is finished.  Tally up the age accumulated and determine the dice
value for his skills.  A player can stop creating his character at anytime he
wishes, if he believes he is getting to old.  (There are attribute penalties if
 a
character starts getting to old.  See Section    Aging.)
       In each career area the player may spend ten percent of his pips on
any skill that he wishes.
       Remember, when finished, to calculate dice equivalents for each
skill.

Life Path

Basic Education

Age: 18 (only taken once)
Pips: 200

Skills:   Swim, Running, Climb, Gymnastics, History, Street Fight,
Survival, Bureaucracy, Throw, Streetwise, Dive, Ride, Play Inst,
Languages, Rifle, Observation.

Exits:
       Blue Collar Worker - Auto
       Basic Military     - End (4)
       Higher Education   - IQ (5)

Blue Collar Worker

Age: +1d10 years
Pips: 150

Skills:   Mechanics, Swim, Running, Electronics, Climb, Street Fight,
Survival, Bureaucracy, Throw, Streetwise,  Dive, Hvy Mach., Ride, Play
Inst, Pistol, Rifle.

Exits:
       Middle Management  - Wits (5)
       Any Basic Ed. Exit - (+1)

Basic Military

Age: +1d8 years
Pips: 150

Skills:   Mechanics, Swim, Running, Electronics, Climb, Gymnastics,
Stealth, Survival, Photo, Marital Arts, Bureaucracy, Leadership, Throw,
Track, Dive, Hvy Mach., Ride, Pistol, Languages, Rifle, Medicine, Hvy
Weapons, Chemistry, Observation.

Exits:
       Command Military  - Dex (7)
       Any Basic Ed Exit - (+1)

Higher Education

Age: +1d6 years
Pips: 150

Skills:   Acting, Swim, Running, Electronics, Gymnastics,  History, Photo,
Bureaucracy, Leadership, Mathematics, Dive, Finance, Ride, Research,
Play Inst, Etiquette, Law, Languages, Chemistry, Fencing, Physics,
Observation, Biology, Social Sci.

Exits:
       Advanced Degree   - IQ (6)
       Middle Management  - IQ (4)
       Command Military  - Per (5)
       Any Basic Ed Exit - (+1)

Middle Management

Age: +1d10 years
Pips: 100
Skills:   Swim, Running, Climb, Photo, Bureaucracy,  Leadership, Throw,
Dive, Finance, Ride, Law, Rifle, Observation.

Exits:
       White Collar      - Wits (6)
       Any Basic Ed Exit - (+2)

Command Military

Age: +1d10 years
Pips: 100

Skills:   Stealth, History, Survival, Photo, Marital Arts, Bureaucracy, Pilot,
Leadership, Throw, Track, Dive, Ride,   Etiquette, Pistol, Languages,
Rifle, Medicine, Hvy Weapons, Chemistry, Observation.

Exits:
       High Command      - Dex (7)
       Middle Management - IQ (4)
       Any Basic Ed Exit - (+2)

Advanced Degree

Age: +1D6 years
Pips: 100

Skills:   Acting, Electronics,History, Photo, Bureaucracy, Leadership,
Mathematics, Dive, Finance, Ride, Research, Play Inst, Etiquette, Law,
Languages, Medicine, Chemistry, Fencing, Physics, Observation, Biology,
Social Sci.

Exits:
       White Collar       - IQ (6)
       Professorship      - IQ (7)
       Middle Management  - IQ (3)
       Any Higher Ed Exit - (+1)
       Any Basic Ed Exit  - (+2)


White Collar

Age: +1d20 years
Pips: 50

Skills:   Photo, Bureaucracy, Leadership, Dive, Finance, Ride, Research,
Etiquette, Law, Languages, Medicine,   Observation, Social Sci.

Exits:
       None


High Command

Age: +1d20 years
Pips: 50

Skills:   Swim, Running, Stealth, History, Photo, Marital Arts,
Bureaucracy, Pilot, Leadership, Throw, Drive, Finance,  Ride, Etiquette,
Law, Pistol, Languages, Medicine, Observation, Social Sci.

Exits:
       None

Professorship

Age: +1d20 years
Pips: 50

Skills:   Acting, Electronics, History, Photo, Bureaucracy,  Leadership,
Mathematics, Dive, Finance, Ride, Research, Play Inst, Etiquette, Law,
Languages, Medicine, Chemistry, Fencing, Physics, Observation, Biology,
Social Sci.

Exits:
       None


       (Back to our example Baxter Blaine.  When we last left him we had
determined his attributes.  With them completed we can go onto determine
his Life Path and his skills.  Starting at the Basic Education Career area, we
note that his beginning age is 18 years old and he has 200 pips to allocate
through out the Basic Ed skills.  Ten percent of those pips (in this case 20
pips) can be allocated to any of the skills on the character sheet, so we do
that first.  I plan to make Baxter a Explosives expert, and the skill
governing that is Chemistry.  So I allocate the 20 pips into Chemistry to
reflect this.
       The other 180 pips I spend on the skills in the Basic Ed skill list.  I
put 10 pips in Running, 30 pips in Street Fight, 30 pips in Streetwise, 10
pips in Swim, 30 pips in Drive, 30 pips in Rifle, 30 pips in Gymnastics,
10 pips Throw.  It seem that Baxter's upbringing was a tough one, the
streets being his home away from home.
       I decide that I want Baxter to brake out of the inner city rut and go
to collage which requires a IQ (5) roll.  Since Baxter has only one dice in
IQ this maybe a little tough.  I roll and get a 7, one success, enough to get
Baxter into Higher Education. (remember the rule of one success does not
count for Basic Ed.)
       I roll the +1d6 for age and get a 3, it seems that Baxter didn't
finish his degree.  Despite this I take the 150 pips and spend them through
the skill list.  I spend 40 pips in chemistry, 30 pips in physics, 10 pips in
Biology, 10 pips in History, 30 pips in Research, 30 pips in Observation.
       Looking at the exits for Higher Education I see that the pickings are
pretty slim for Baxter.  To go on to either Advanced Degree or Middle
Management would require at least going through the Higher Education
career one more time (He has only one dice to role in IQ).  He decides to
join up and go into the Command Military Career area.  I roll his 3 dice in
Perception against 5, I get a 3, a 4, and a 8.  Great, one success, I guess
Baxter is going back to collage after all.
       I roll +1d6 for age once again and get a 2.  It seems that Baxter
when back to get his degree and then some.  For this jaunt through school
Baxter has only 75 pips to spend.
I decide to spend my open 10% in Pistol, just to get it started. I put 40 pips
in chemistry (taking chemistry up to 100 pips), 10 pips in Bureaucracy, and
18 pips (the remainder) in Leadership.  Baxter is finally ready to join the
army.
       Lieutenant Blaine does his service.  I roll the +1d10 for his time in
the army and get a 1!  It seems that Baxter and the army didn't get along.
I take the 100 pips and distribute them.  30 pips go into Marital Arts, 30
into Pistol, 10 pips into Pilot, 10 pips in Hvy Weapons, 10 pips in
Leadership, and 10 in Medicine.
       Looking at the exits for the Command Military Career area and at
Baxter's age, I decide that Baxter has had enough of the Career Path.
These are all the skills that Baxter will start the game with.  All that is lef
t
are the final touches to the character.)

I.V.2  Sub-Skills

       You will see that there are 8 skills on the character sheet that are
stared.  These skills differ from the other skills in that they have sub-skills
within them.  Sub-skills are used when the main skill is to broad to allow
effective use of the skill in a specific area; but knowlage of the main skill i
n
a differant area can be used in the new area.
       For example:  Say a person who can speak French encounters a
Spanish speeker.  Although he won't be able to understand the Spanish
speaker, he will be able to pick up general grammar and meaning through
the knowlage of his French.
       A character divides the pips he has in the perticular skill into the
verious sub-skills.  i.e. a character with 2d in Linguistics can divide 30 pips
into verious languages.  For every 10 pips a character has in a specific sub-
skill one level of difficulty is removed from the roll he is trying to make.
       Back to the French speaker above.  Say he has 30 pips in his sub-
skill French.  In his conversation with the Spanish speaker the difficulty
would be at 9.  But if he was trying to converse with a another French
speaker the difficulty would be reduced to 6.

I.VII  Determining Exceptional & Detrimental Abilities.

       At the bottom of the character sheet you can see a section called
Exceptional & Detrimental Abilities.  To determine these there are no dice
to roll or charts to pick from.  This is the player's opportunity to round his
character off as he wishes.  The player determines what Exceptional and
Detrimental Abilities and the GM assigns a dice value to that choice.  This
is easy enough with things like Exception Sight, Hard of Hearing, Lightning
Reflexes; but it isn't so easy with things such as Luck, or Blindness.  If the
GM and the Player can't come to some conclusion, the GM's word is final.
       There are only three rules you must follow:  1) For every pip of
Exceptional Abilities you must take a pip of Detrimental Abilities.  2) You
can have no more than 60 pips of Exceptional Abilities.  3)  No Exceptional
Ability can be higher than 1d without the GM's permission.
       GM's Note:  I'm sure you can see that possibility for abuse here is
very high.  It is up to you to keep the players in line.  This should be fine
in your game but if players are bringing in characters from someone else's
game it may cause problems.  You are fully justified in allowing the
character in you game and disallowing just its Exceptional & Detrimental
Abilities.  Its your game after all.
       (Since I want Baxter to be an explosives expert I decide to give him
exceptional ability with explosives, but since I don't want him to be to
handicapped I just take it at 10 pips (one dice).  Since Baxter has a
Dexterity of 1d his ability with explosives probably backfires more than it
works so I give him scared left hand as his detrimental ability.  Since it
only has to be at 10 pips (to counter the Explosives of 10) he is not that
badly scared.  I could take more Exceptional & Detrimental Abilities for
Baxter, but I think he's in enough trouble as it is.)

I.VIII  Determining Hero Points.

       These points are used by a player's character to do exceptional
things.  They will be explained later in
Section II.XIV Hero Points.  For now all you need to know is all character
get 1d3 points.
       (For Baxter I roll 2 Hero Points.  Good there going to come in
handy.)

I.IX  Determining Morality, Method, & Drive.

       As you can see from the character sheet each of these three stats has
two options.  For Morality, either charitable or selfish; for Method, either
conformist or rebel; and for Drive, either pacifist or militant.  A player
must choose one option for each stat.
       An essay could be written one each one of these choices and its
relevance to a character, but for our part we only have to think of them as a
leaning.  Theses are not dogma that the character follows, only the way
they go about there business.
       There effect on the game is to determine when a character regains
Hero Points.
       (Baxter is fleshed out enough no that these choices are pretty easy.
For Morality Baxter is most defiantly Charitable.  He may be a terrorist,
but he has the world's best interests at heart.  For Method Baxter is a rebel.
Some how I think that is the reason why Baxter only served a year in the
army.  And for Drive Baxter is a militant.  With 5 dice in explosive what
else could he be.)

I.X.1  Age

       Age normally isn't an issue in character creation, with most
characters ranging from 18 to 39.  If, however, you character turns out to
be over 40- or if you to make a character younger than 18 -you will have to
refer to the chart bellow for modifcations to your attribute's pip scores.
       The column labeled Pips is used mainly when making characters
without the Life Path.  If you want a character aged 55, then you would get
550 pips to create him with.  Of course, if you want to make a character
under the age of 18 there is no Life Path to run him through.  In this
instanec you must use the pips specified in the chart.

Age            Pips           Well     Str   Agil    Wit    Will    IQ

  <- 10        50             -20      -15   +10     +10    -15     -20
10 - 12        100            -10      -10   +10     +10    -10     -15
13 - 15        150            -5       -5    +5      +5     -5      -10
16 - 18        200            0         0    0       0      0       -5
19 - 39        400            0         0    0       0      0       0
40 - 44        450            -5       -5    -5      0      0       0
45 - 49        500            -10      -10   -10     0      0       0
50 - 54        550            -15      -15   -15     0      0       0
55 - 59        600            -20      -20   -20     0      0       0
60 - 64        650            -25      -25   -25     -5     -5      -5
65 - 69        700            -30      -30   -30     -10    -10     -10
70 - 74        750            -35      -35   -35     -15    -15     -15


I.X.2  Determining Name, Height, Weight, Race, & Hit Chart.

       These are the final stats on the character sheet.
       Name is obviously the name of the character (not yours).  Names in
Screaming Silence are much the same as ours.
       Height and Weight are for you to choose.  You may want to take
into account your character's Well Being and Strength Scores, although
there are no hard and fast rules.  The world of the Screaming Silence still
uses feet and pounds, surprise, surprise.
       Race, unfortunately, is still a factor in the world of the Screaming
Silence.  This has no other effect on your character sheet, just in how other
characters will interact with you.  Just like real life.
       The hit chart, in the bottom right of the character sheet, will be fully
explained later in Section II.XII   Damage.  For now, all you have to do is
put the number of dice you have in Well Being in each of the hit boxes.

       (Baxter Blaine, terrorist at large, is almost complete.  His name we
already know; his height and weight I figure are average:  5'10", 180lbs.
For Race I make him white.
       Well, I think I have a pretty good idea of Baxter Blaine.  Maybe a
little history will round out the character.
       I think Baxter grow up in New York City, the Major city in the
eastern American province.   Educated in the state schools he grow up
detesting conformity.  Most of what he learned he learn on the street.
When adulthood eventually came Baxter decided to take a chance and make
good on his hobby of chemistry. He set off for collage at 18.  At the
collage he became involved with a underground organization that distributed
capitalist propaganda around campus.  Though this organization soon
collapsed he became more and more suspicious of what he had been told by
the party as a child.  After a lot of hard work and a few extra years Baxter
achieved his degree in industrial chemistry and was conscripted in to the
armed forces as a Lieutenant.  While on leave in Europe, he was contacted
by an operative of the Screaming Silence who was interested in his chemical
skills.  There offer was what Baxter had been waiting for all his life.  To
use his skills to discover the truth.  He was soon dishonorable discharged
from the army when was caught stealing chemicals form the armies
storerooms.  This incident only raised his statue in the Screaming Silence.
He became a full time operative for the Screaming Silence one week after
his 24 birthday.
       Here is Baxter's completed character:

Name:  Baxter Blaine                  Morality:  Charitable/Selfish
Height: 5' 10"        Weight: 180lbs  Method:    Conformist/Rebel
Age:    24                            Drive:     Pacifist/Militant
Hero Points: 2

Attributes

       Physical                               Mental

60_ Well Being 3d_  74_  Perception  3d_  88_   Wits    3d_
33_  Strength  2d_  48_  Endurance   2d_  63_ Willpower 3d_
13_  Agility   1d_  20_  Dexterity   1d_  27_    IQ     1d_

Skills                         Pips                  Dice

___ Acting       ___  ___ Mechanics          ___  10_ Swim      1d_
10_ Running      1d_  ___ Electronics        ___  ___ Climb     ___
30_ Gymnastics   2d_  ___ Stealth            ___  10_ History   1d_
30_ Street Fight 2d_  ___ Survival           ___  ___ Photo     ___
30_ Marital Arts 2d_  10_ Bureaucracy        1d_  10_ Pilot     1d_
28_ Leadership   1d_  ___ Mathematics        ___  10_ Throw     1d_
30_ Streetwise   2d_  ___ Social Sci.        ___  ___ Track     ___
30_ Drive        2d_  ___ Finance            ___  ___ Hvy Mach. ___
___ Ride         ___  30_ Research           2d_  ___ Play Inst ___
___ Etiquette    ___  ___ Law                ___  ___           ___
37_ Pistol       2d_  ___ Languages          ___  ___           ___
30_ Rifle        2d_  10_ Medicine           1d_  ___           ___
10_ Hvy Weapons  1d_  100 Chemistry          4d_  ___           ___
___ Fencing      ___  30_ Physics            2d_  ___           ___
30_ Observation  2d_  30_ Biology            2d_  ___           ___


Life Path: Basic Ed(18)/ Higher Ed(+5)/Command Mil(+1)


Exception & Detrimental Abilities

Explosives    1d_   Injured Hand  1d_
___________   ___   ____________  ___
___________   ___   ____________  ___



II.I The Rules of Play

       Well, since your probably thoroughly confused by the character
creation system I'll try an clarify matters by explaining the mechanics of the
Reflex system.
       In the Life Path section you were probably wondering how exactly a
IQ(6) roll is made.  It's quite simple.  Your IQ attribute has a certain dice
score, take this number of ten sided dice (called a dice pool) and roll them.
Each dice that rolls 6 or higher counts as a success. (i.e. You have 3d in IQ
you roll a 4, a 7, and a 9.  That's 2 successes altogether.)  The number of
successes you roll represents the measure to which you have succeeded.
One success equals marginal, Two successes equals average, Three
successes good, etc.
       This system makes up the basis for dice rolling in the entire Reflex
System, with a few important differences:
       For a game play roll, the dice points for an attribute, and the dice
points for a skill are added together to determine the number of dice rolled
(dice pool).  There are very few exceptions to this rule.
       One dice in every set rolled should be marked apart from the rest
(this is one of the total number of dice, not an extra).  This dice is the
Fortune Die, and should be treated just like the other dice for determining
successes.
       The difficulty level of the roll is always determined by the GM, a 6
being an average difficulty.

       (Okay, our buddy Baxter Blaine is back to demonstrate the dice
rolling system for you.  Lets say that Baxter is casually driving his old
Chevy through town when he realizes that the blue Plymouth behind him
has been following him for the last twelve blocks.  Baxter decides to take a
sudden left turn from the right turn lane to loose his pursuer.  The GM
decides that it will require a Driving-Dexterity role versus 6 to make the
turn (5 or 6 is a roll of average difficulty).  Baxter's Dexterity is at 1 dice
and his Driving skill is at 2 dice, that give Baxter a dice pool of 3 dice for
this action.  Baxter calls the first die the Fortune die, and rolls all three
dice.  He gets a 7, a 7, and a 4.  That's two successes.  Wonderful, Baxter
made his roll and screams between on coming traffic and into a side road.
The blue Plymouth slams on its brakes and does a U-turn as Baxter steps on
the gas.)

       Though the Fortune Die is treated just like any other die for the
purpose of success, it has a special use when it rolls a ten or a one.  A roll
of ten means that good luck has befallen your character.  A roll of one
means exactly the opposite.
       If a ten comes up on the Fortune Die, roll it again.  If a success is
rolled (does not have to be a ten), then add that succes to your total number
of successes, add one to the difficulty, and roll again.  If this comes up a
success, add another one to the difficulty, and roll.  Keep doing this until
you roll a failer.
       If a one comes up on the Fortune Die, do the inverse of the above.
Roll the die.  If it is a failer, subtract one success from your total
successes, subtract one from the difficulty, and roll again.  etc.  If your
total number of success ever becomes negative, then something terrible
happens.  Exactly what is up to the GM, but you can count on it not being
good.

       (The driver of the blue Plymouth thought he was safe.  It seemed
that the guy he was tailing hadn't a clue in the world.  At least that was
what he thought.  The old Chevy careened across four lanes of traffic and
down a small side street of to the left.  The driver had only moments to act.
The GM decides that the Driver has to make an Observation-Wits roll
versus 7 to react in time.  The driver has 2 dice in observation but only one
dice in Wits, giving him 3 dice in his dice pool.  He marks one of his dice
as his Fortune Die (The first one he rolls), and rolls.  He gets a 1, a 6, and
a 9.  Normally that would be one success, but the one on his Fortune die
means something bad has happened to him. He rolls his Fortune Die again
and gets a 3.  This means that he must subtract one from his total number
of successes.  Leaving him with zero.  He subtracts one from his difficulty,
lowering it to 6, and rolls his Fortune Die again.  This times he rolls a 6,
meaning he need not roll again.  The Driver is left with zero successes and
therefore fails.  He slams on his brakes and stops 100 yards form the side
street.
       Shifting down into first, the Driver brings the car around with a
squeal of rubber.  As he plows toward the side street he gets ready to turn,
but to his misfortune a truck happens to be turning out at the same time.
The GM decides that the Driver has to make a Driving-Dexterity roll, again
versus 7, to get around the truck.  This time the Driver is a little better off
.
He has 3d in driving and 2d in dexterity, giving him a dice pool of 5 dice.
He marks his first die as his Fortune Die and rolls.  He rolls a 10, a 3, two
1's, and a 9.  Normally that would be two successes, but he rolled a 10 on
his Fortune Die.  Things will swing even more into his favor.  He rolls the
Fortune Die again and get a 8.  That's a success, and he adds it to his total.
He raises his difficulty to 8, and rolls again.  This time he gets a 1, which
means that he cannot roll again.  It does not mean, however, that he was to
start rolling for negative successes.  Looks like he made it around that truck
without any problems (4 successes).  Lets hope he's just as luck when he
trys to dodge that telephone pole...)

       There is one last characteristic of dice pools that must be mentioned:
All dice in a dice pool do not have to be used toward the same action.
Dice pools can be split into multiple actions.  i.e. shooting twice in a
round, catching a grenade and throwing it, patting your head and rubbing
your stomach, etc.  If the actions you wish to take are dissimilar, then you
take the smallest dice pool of the bunch and split that up between the
actions.  Only one Fortune Die is rolled, no matter how many actions are
taken.  The player may decide for with action successes are added or
subtracted.

       (Okay, say that the drive above wanted to shoot at Baxter AND
dodge the truck.  He has 5d in his Driving-Dex dice pool, but only 4d in
his Handgun-Dex pool.  Therefore he would have to split up 4 dice between
his two actions. 2d in both, or 1d in shooting and the other 3d in driving,
etc.)


II.II  Extended and Opposed Actions.

       Extended and opposed actions are rolled in exactly the same manner
as the above rolls, it is only the successes that are handled differently.
       An extended action is an action that takes many rolls over time.
Such as fixing a car or pushing a rock up a hill.  In extended actions the
successes from many different rolls are added together in hopes of reaching
a total set by the GM.  As in the example of the car, maybe it requires 20
success to get the car running again.  The repairman would roll Mechanics-
IQ versus 6 every round he is fixing the car until he reaches a total of
twenty.  In the example of pushing the rock up a hill, maybe it requires 15
successes on strength rolls versus 4 to get it up there.  When 15 successes
is reached the rock is at the top of the hill.
       In extended actions teams can work together on an action.  Three
people can make Mechanic-IQ rolls, each adding his successes to the total.
They would reach the goal of 20 much quicker.  The old adage: "To many
cooks spoil the broth" may come into play, but that's up to the GM to
decide.
       An opposed action is an action in which two people are doing an
extended action against each other.  An example would be arm wrestling,
or tug of war.  In this case success are tallied as in extended action, but one
person's success are subtracted from the other person's.  When ever one
person's success equals the target number plus the opponents success they
have won the action.  Again, teams may work together.
       Some opposed actions mearly require one character to beat the other
character's successes for that round.  These are called one round opposed
actions and do not require a success goal to be set.

       (It doesn't seem that Baxter is having a very good day either.  No
sooner had he eluded the blue Plymouth, when his own car stalled and died.
Rolling to a stop only 250 yards from his perusers, Baxter frantically
pushes at the ignition button.  Nothing.  This happens all the time.  The
cars very old.  Baxter knows that he has to get the car moving so he can do
a rolling start.
       Baxter is in luck, the road begins to decline after about a 100 yards,
he only has to push it there.  But the Gentlemen from the blue Plymouth
are out of their car, looking at the dent the telephone pole made. It's only a
matter of moments before they come after him.
       The GM decides that it will require 10 success to get the car to the
edge of the hill.  Baxter will be rolling his Strength versus 7 (Its a heavy
car).  Baxter's strength is 2 dice which is the total of his dice pool (on skil
l
for pushing).  He climbs out the car and starts pushing.  First dice he rolls
his his Fortune Die.  The first roll is a 10 and a 7.  Two successes, he rolls
the Fortune dice again. A 6...  Well its a beginning.  The next round he
rolls a 9 and a 8.  Two more!  That's four so far.  The third round he rolls
a 4 and a 5.  Drat, that's no help at all.  He looks back over his shoulder
and sees the two men walking towards his car.  Fourth round two 7's!  Six
altogether.  All most there... Seventh round, an eight and a two.  Seven
altogether.  In his rear view mirror he sees one of the men reaching under
his jacket.  Eighth round, a 5 and a 1!  Oh no, he rolls the Fortune Die
again and gets a 3.  He rolls again and gets a 8.  For that roll Baxter has a
negative number of successes.  He slips to the floor and the car rolls away
from him.  Baxter has to make a quick decision.  Should he keep pushing
the car even though the men are almost upon him (he only needs three more
successes to reach the hill), or should he make a run for it to the warehouse
at the side of the street?  One of the men pulls a Browning High Power
from under his jacket.  Baxter bolts for the warehouse.)


II.IV  The Round.

       As you can see from the above example the Reflex System divides
its game into rounds.  Much like any other Role Play Game or, for that
matter, Game in general.  The round is variable in length, and represents
the amount of time it takes a character to make one action.  The smallest
amount of time it can represent is 3 to 4 seconds, this being in combat.  It
can be as long as hours (for car repair), days (for an experiment), or years
(producing a new computer system).  Mainly rounds only come into play in
the next section, where time is of the up most importance.


II.III  Experience.

       When ever three successes or more are rolled in a single dice pool,
experience is gained.  One pip is gained in what ever skill was used for that
dice pool.  i.e.  If a character got three successes in a Dextarity-Drive, he
would increase his Drive skill by one pip.  The three success must be rolled
in the same round, experience is NOT given for every three successes is a
extended action.
       Also, when ever the GM rewards a character with a Hero Point 1d6
pips can be allocated into any one skill or attribute.  This is the only way
that an attribute can be improved.



II.V  Combat.

       In any Role Play Game the area that requires the most detailed rules
is always the Combat system.  Even if combat take up a small part in the
actual game, a complete combat system is still needed.  This fact probably
dates back to the origins of Role Play Games: in the War Games that boys
play.  The main problem with playing War is in the fact that if a person get
shot they have no real compulsion to die.  Hence the argument: "Bang!
Your Dead!  No I'm not!  Yes you are!  You Missed!  How could I, I'm
standing right behind you!  Well you hit my bullet proof vest then!  What
vest, I thought we said no vests!  But...(pause)...Bang! Your Dead!"  and
so on.  The purpose of a combat system in a Role Play Game is to avoid
this, and tell everybody, once and for all, who's dead.
       The Combat in the Reflex System attempts to be a moderation of
reality and ease of use.  Even the action rules attempt to be quick and easy
to use, not bogging the game down in a mountain of charts and stats.  The
narrative rules are even quicker to use, although they sacrifice so much of
reality for quickness that the players may begin to feel cheated.  If the
players lives are going to be in danger (and they probably will) it is better
to use the action system.  Because if you use the narrative system and their
character ends up dead in an ally, they'll probably be whining into next
Tuesday.

II.VI  Initiative

Action Rule:
       At the start of every combat round every one must declare what they
are doing. (Those of you who are experienced Role Players know that many
systems require you to do this, and- of course -none of us ever do.  But in
the Reflex system this declaration is of up most importance.)  Once they
have determined what action they are taking, all the players gather together
the appropriate dice pool.  Dice pools in Combat are calculated in the same
way as any other roll (Attribute + Skill).
       Once everyone knows what they are doing (and the GM knows what
the NPC's are doing) then initiative must be determined.  In the Reflex
System Initiative is determined by the bidding of one's dice pool.  i.e. "I
bid one dice to go first.  I bid two dice.  I see your two and raise you one
(bid at three).  Okay you get to go first."  The dice that are bid are taken
out of the bidder's dice pool and placed in the center of the table (or other
neutral place).  All the dice bid are collected.  Even if you didn't win the
bid the dice you bid are collected.  These dice that are removed should not
be forgotten, because they become the hero pool and their use will be
described latter in Section II.XIV   Hero Points.  If no one bids any dice
then the person with the largest dice pool has initiative, then the next
largest, then the next largest, etc.

       (It seems our good friend Baxter is in a little bit of trouble.  One of
the men from the blue Plymouth wants to put a 9mm slug between his eyes
and Baxter has over 20 feet to run before he's at the warehouse.  Lets see
how he does.
       The man with the pistol (a NPC, run by the GM)  declares that he is
trying to shoot Baxter.  The man's Pistol skill is 2 dice and a Dexterity of 2
dice, giving his a dice pool of 4 dice.  The difficulty of his shot will be 6.
       Baxter declares that he is running for the warehouse as fast as he
can. He has 1d in Agility and 1d in Running, giving him a grand total of 2
dice.  The difficulty of his action will be 4.
       Well, the gun man has a bigger dice pool than Baxter and will go
first unless Baxter gets the initiative (and make his roll).  With this in mind
Baxter bids one dice for initiative leaving him one.  The gun man, mad
about his car, really want to get Baxter, so he bids two dice for initiative.
Since Baxter has only one dice left he can't out bid the gun man (it would
require two dice to give him a bid of three).  It seems that our hero is
destined to get shot.  Or is he...)

       As you can see, the person with the biggest dice pool is at a major
advantage.  This is as it should be, implying that the person who is better at
what he is doing can do it quicker.  But there is a reprieve for those with
terminally low dice pools:  Difficulty levels can be exchanged for dice.  In
other words you can get more dice to bid with by making you action harder
to do.  This represents rushing though an action, shooting blindly or
throwing a wild punch. You may go first but you have a greater chance of
failing.  Which, in a case of life and death, maybe worth the risk.
Difficulty levels can be exchanged for dice according to the chart below.

+ to Diff. Level                      Total Dice Gained

        2                                       1d
        3                                       2d
        4                                       3d
        5                                       4d

       Say you are at difficulty level 5 and need more dice.  Rolling against
a difficulty level of 7 would get you 1 dice. Difficulty level of 8 would get
you 2 dice.  Level 9 would get you 3 dice.  Level 10, 4 dice.  Etc.

       (Baxter may have only one dice left but if difficulty is only at 4.  He
knocks it up to a difficulty of 7 and get two extra dice to bid with.  He bids
them both for the initiative.
       The gun man, figuring the best that Baxter can do is get one
success, lets him go first.  Though he does raise his own difficulty up to 8
so he now has 3 dice to shoot Baxter with.
       Dodging is a one turn opposed action, but only if the dodger gets the
initiative.  Baxter rolls one dice and get an 8.  One success, lets hope its
enough.  The gun man rolls his four dice and get a 7, a 6, and a 2.  One
success.  Baxter's one success cancels with the gun man's success meaning
the shot misses.  Flying harmlessly by, inches from Baxter's head.  Well
Baxter made it to the warehouse.  So far so good.)

Narrative Rule:  Initiative is determined to be the character with the highest
dice pool for that round.

II.VII  Range Combat

       Combat is divided into two main sections:  Range and Hand to
Hand.  Range combat, covered here, effects characters blasting at each
other with guns, lasers, bows and arrows, rocks, what have you.  Hand to
Hand Combat, covered in the Section II.X, effects fist fights and marital
arts.  Combat is an action like any other described in Section II.I.  The
effect is what is described in these sections.
Action Rule:
       Once you have gone through dice pools, initiative, and rolling, you
should come out of it with number of success.  This number of successes
effects the location of the hit upon your target and the damage done.
       First you must roll a 10 sided dice and compare the result to the hit
location chart:

Roll           Area Hit

 0               Head  (Double Damage)
1-3              Torso
4-5            Abdomen
 6             Right Arm
 7             Left Arm
 8             Right Leg
 9             Left Leg


  This will tell you where your shot has landed.  Then compare the number
of successes you received with the chart below:

Success               Result

   1                    -
   2                  Normal
   3                  1 Bump
   4                  2 Bump
   5                  3 Bump


       Normal means just that.
       A 1 Bump result means that you can move the hits area one
location.  Legs can be bumped to abdomen; abdomen to torso or legs; arms
to torso; torso to arms, abdomen, head; head to torso.  Legs cannot be
bumped to torso, or arms to legs, etc, on one bump.
       A 2 Bump means you may bump the hit two areas.
       A 3 Bump means you may bump the hit three areas.

       Damage is determined by the caliber of the weapon in question (see
chart below).  Roll the indicated sized dice and add the number of successes
you received on your hit.  For each bump that you take subtract two points
from your damage total.  Subtract this result from hit points in the hit
location that was hit.  See Section II.XII Damage for the effect of this
damage.

Note:  If the range is within Point Blank Range (Point Blank is determined
as your dice pool in yards) then damage is doubled.

Pistol Damage
Caliber                       Damage

.22                           1d4
.38-9mm                       1d6
.45-10mm                      1d8

Rifle Damage
Caliber                       Damage

.223-7.72mm                   1d8
.50-10mm                      1d10
12 gauge              1d3 - 1d4's / 1 - 1d4


       Of course, a character's best chance when being shot at is not to be
where the gun is shooting.  This can only be achieved if the target wins the
initiative and rolls an Agility-Gymnastics/Running roll.  Succeeding in this
isn't quite enough though.  This is only an opposed roll against the
shooter's attack roll.  The dodger must get more success than the shooter,
or he will still get hit.

Narrative Rule:
       Test to hit are as normal, except there is no roll for hit location.
The round hits where the GM says it hits.  And if there's no hit chart
there's no reason for the bumping rule.  For damage just have every bullet
do 1d6 point of damage.

II.VIII  Automatic Fire and Shotgun Blasts

Action Rule:
       Automatic fire is dealt with a little differently than normal range
combat.  Determine how many rounds will fire in that round, then role to
hit for one shot only.  If that shot hits, even with only one success, roll one
dice for every other bullet that was fired against the same difficulty as the
first shot. The hits in this second group of rolls cannot be bumped, they hit
where the chart says they do.  Their damage is not modified by the number
of successes from the shot.  If the first shot misses still roll the dice for t
he
other bullets, but with a difficulty of 2 higher.
       Spraying an area with an automatic weapon is dealt with differently.
Collect a number of dice equal to number of rounds that you are firing then
subtract a dice for every ten degrees of your spay arc.  Roll these dice as
you dice pool against a difficulty of two higher than normal.  Success are
divided evenly amongst the targets.  (Note:  Spray fire does not use your
skill-attribute dice pool, although these are still the dice you bid with.  One
dice must remain in your dice pool at the end of bidding.)
       Shotgun hits are rolled just like a normal attack against the main
target in question; but once that roll has been determined you roll half of
your dice pool against any other target within 2 yards of the main target
(that's half of your dice pool for each target).  Same difficulty.  Each
target, including the main target, takes 1d3 hits, each of which are rolled
separately.

Narrative Rule:
       Add a number of dice to you skill dice pool equal to the number of
rounds fired, and role against a difficulty of one higher.  For spaying and
area just halve the dice pool.  Shotgun only hit one target.

II.IX  Cover and Body Armor

Action & Narrative Rule:
       Cover and body act in the same fashion in the Reflex system.  Both
absorb damage to certain hit locations.  Say a man is standing behind a half
stone wall that provides 10 points of cover, any shot that hit his legs would
have to get through the stone wall before they start damaging his legs.
Also, a man wearing a bullet proof vest that provides 5 points of protection
to the torso and abdomen would have to sustain 6 points of damage before
he took a point of damage.  7 points would do 2 points of damage, 8 points
3, etc.  Of course if the shot hits in a location that does not have any cover
or armor then damage is at full.
       Some cover will be destroyed as soon as it has taken it's full amount
of damage.  Some cover can take a tremendous amount of damage before it
is destroyed, and will keep on providing cover until then.  All types of
cover and armor are given a cover rating and a structural one.  The cover
rating is the amount of cover that it provides.  The structural rating is the
amount of damage it can take before it is destroyed.


       (Let's return to our example and try and make some sense out of the
above.  Baxter had managed to make it to the warehouse, but he's far from
out of trouble.  His two perusers are right on his tail, and all Baxter has is
his pocket .22 tucked into his boot.
       Lucky for Baxter the door to the warehouse is open and no one
seems to be inside.  He dives behind a stack of packing crates as the
shadows of the two thugs are cast across the floor.  Baxter will have to play
this one close to the chest, he's out manned and out gunned.
       Well, so much of close to the chest.  Baxter rolls out into the open a
pulls of a shot at first thug.  The thug is surprised and unable to bid for
initiative.  Baxter has two dice in pistol and 1 dice in dexterity, giving him
a dice pool of 3 dice.  The thug has a dice pool of 4 with his pistol, which
he plans to use if he can get the chance.  Both difficulties are at 5.
        Baxter rolls two 5's and a 4.  Two successes!  He lands a hit.
Rolling a ten sided dice for hit location Baxter gets a 9.  A hit in the left
leg.  The damage with a .22 is 1d4 and Baxter rolls a 3.  Adding the 2
successes from the hit, Baxter does 5 points of damage to the thug.  The
thug's leg buckles under him as the bullet rips though his thigh.  He falls to
the floor just in time for Baxter to see the second thug pull a Thompson
SMG from under his coat.
       Oops.  Baxter dives back behind cover as the thug lets loose.
Baxter's Gymnastics-Agility dice pool is at 3 dice, and the difficulty of his
manoeuvre is at 5.  The thug is going to shoot Baxter with 10 rounds,
having 5 dice in his Dexterity-Rife dice pool. His action is at a difficulty of
6.  Baxter bids 1 dice to go first and the thug lets him.  Figuring the
volume of bullets he's going to let loose, he doesn't think that Baxter has a
chance.
       Baxter knocks the difficulty of his action up to 8, giving him two
more dice to roll.  He rolls his four dice and gets an 8, a 5, and two 3's.
Well, one success is better than none.
       The Thug rolls his five dice (for the first bullet) and gets a 10 (on
his Fortune Die), a 5, a 4, a 3 and a 1.  He re-rolls the Fortune Die and
gets a 3. .  That's a grand total of one success.  Fortunately that success
cancels with Baxter's, who thanks his luck stars for the favor.  But the thug
now gets to roll for the rest of the shots he fired.  The difficulty for these
will be two higher since he missed with the first bullet.  That's 9 dice at a
difficulty of 8.  He rolls a 9, a 4, two 7's, two 3's, a 2, and a 1.  One
success, meaning one shot hit Baxter.  For all of Baxter's luck he still
catches a bullet.
       The thug rolls for hit location for that bullet and rolls a 6, that's a
hit in the right arm.  The damage from a .45 slug is 1d8 points, and the
thug gets a 4.  Baxter subtracts that amount from his hit points in his right
arm (no successes added because it was auto fire), and rolls painfully
behind the crates he was diving for.  Maybe Baxter will be more careful
next time.  (As you may see Baxter has three hit dice in his left arm, this
does not mean Baxter has just lost his arm.  Damage will be fully explained
in Section II.XII Damage.)
       Baxter grabs at the bullet hole in his arm.  It looks pretty bad, and
hurt like hell.  But Baxter doesn't have any time to complain, the shadow of
the thug moves quickly toward him.  He clambers over a storage crate
nearby with frantic intent, dropping to the floor just as the thug turns the
corner.  The thug, not seeing where Baxter has gotten to in the dim light,
decides to spray the area in a 20 degree arc.  There are three crates that
will act like targets (Baxter is behind the first crate, which acts as five
points of cover), and the difficulty will be at 6.  Since the thug is spraying
the area his attribute-skill dice pool has nothing to do with the shot.  He is
shooting 10 rounds, the max for his gun, which acts as his dice pool.  He
subtracts five dice for the 50 degree arc, leaving him 5 dice to roll.  The
difficulty for the shot is two higher than normal, making it a difficulty of 8.

He rolls and gets two 9's, a 6, a 3, and a 2; two successes.  Two of the
crates get zapped, both for 1d8 damage.  One takes 4 points of damage, the
other 8.  Rolling 1d6 to randomly to determine which ones get hit
(remember Baxter is behind the first), I come up with a 5 and a 2.  That
means that Crate 1 got hit with the first shot and Crate 3 got hit with the
second.  Luckily the first shot only did 4 points of damage, the crate gives
5 points of cover.  If it had been the second shot that had hit crate one
Baxter would have taken 3 points of damage.
       Well, Baxter has managed to take out one of the thugs, but as a
result he is pinned down with has a badly wounded right arm.  Will our
hero survive?  Only time (and more examples) will tell.)


II.X  Hand to Hand Combat

       Hand To Hand Combat involves fist fights and other bare handed
struggles.  The skills governing Hand to Hand Combat are Martial Arts and
Street Fighting.  This type of combat is treaded in almost the same manner
as range combat, except for a few important differances.

Action Rule:
       Determine dice pools, difficulty, and initiative for the combatants as
normal.  The remining dice in the dice pool can either be rolled as normal
or they can be spent to raised the oppenents difficulty.  This is done on a
one to one basis.  i.e.  I have three dice remaining in my dice pool and my
oppenents difficulty is a 6.  I could spend a dice and raise his difficulty to
7, or two dice and raise it 8.  Leaving me two dice or one dice to roll for
my retaliation strike respectivly.
       Dice are then rolled against the difficulty as normal.  The number of
success that are scored are the number of damage points done.

Narrative Rule:
       Compare the successes from the two combatants, the one with more
successes does that damage to the other.

       (Since Baxter dropped his pistol when he was shot in the arm, Hand
to Hand Combat has become his only alternative to death.  If we take a
brake in the action for a second to review Baxter's Character sheet, we can
see that he has 2 dice in both Street Fighting and Martial Arts.  Hopefully
this will be enough to get him out of the mess that he got himself into.
       Because of his injury, Baxter won't be punching very much at all.
(See Section II.XII Damage.)  Martial Arts covers kicking far better than
Street fighting does, so he will be using that as his H to H skill.
       Still cowering behind the remains of the bullet ridden crate, Baxter
waits for the Thug to get closer.  The Thug, not hearing a sound from
behind the crates, decides to check on his handy work.  As he approaches
Baxter prepares to attack.
       As the Thug's hand pops around the edge of the packing crate,
Baxter leaps in with a kick.  The Thug tries to pull of a shot.  Baxter has 3
dice in his Martail Arts-Agility dice pool; the Thug has four dice in his
Rifle-Dex pool.  Since Baxter is surprising the Thug he automatically gains
the initiative.  The thug, in an attempt to save himself, spends two of his
dice to raise Baxter's difficulty from 6 to 8, leaving the Thug two dice in
his dice pool.
       Baxter rolls his dice pool of 3 dice against 8 and gets a 10 (on his
Fortune), an 8, and a four.  He re-rolls the Fortune and gets a 5, giving
him two successes all together.  Baxter has scored a hit on the thug and
rolling for hit location, he finds does 2 points of damage to the thug's
chest.  The thug gives out a nasty grunt and staggers back across the floor.
He grips his chest in pain, and lowers the machine gun.  Baxter wastes no
time and attacks again. Becouse of the injury the thug can only defend
himself for the next two rounds.  His Street Fight-Agility dice pool is 3
dice, and he puts all three dice into rasing Baxter's difficulty.  Giving
Baxter a difficulty of 9.  Baxter rolls a 9, a 6, and a 2. One success, one
point of damage.  Rolling for hit location Baxter finds he hit in the head.
The thug recoils from the shock of Baxter's blow, falling backwards to the
ground.  Baxter relaxes, thinking both thugs beaten to a halt.  But his glee
his quickly cut short as a pistol butt cracks across his head.)

II.XI  Melee Weapons.

       Melee Weapons include everything from Broadswords to broken
bottles.  Anything that is used to do damage, but which is not shot or
thrown.
       Melee Combat is treated just as Hand to Hand Combat, with an
offensive and defensive dice pools.  Difficulty level of these dice pools is
then determined by the weapon, and a damage modifier is added to the
number of successes received.  See the equipment list for these values for
particular weapons.

       (The first thug, the one Baxter had shot in the leg, had pulled
himself onto of one of the creates.  As Baxter fought with the second thug
he moved to within reach of the first thug, who took the opportunity to bash
Baxter a good one across the head.  He is using the butt of his pistol which
counts as a improvised weapon.  Giving him a difficulty of 7 and a damage
mod. of +1.  He has 3 dice in his dice pool, and Baxter is unable to raise
the difficulty (Since he doesn't know what's going on).  He rolls a 8, a 6,
and a 1.  Two successes.  Adding the +1 damage modifier to the success
gives the Thug 2 points damage to do.  Since he was attacking Baxter from
above and behind he hits him in the head.  Baxter subtracts the damage
points from his head location.
       For Baxter the lights begin to dim.)

II.XII  Damage

Action Rule:
       Speaking of hits to the head, a discussion on taking damage in the
Reflex system is long overdue.  As stated before, a character has a number
of hit points in each of the hit locations equal to his Endurance dice.  This
is not the maximum amount of damage a character can take in that location.
Multiples of the hit point score relate the effect of the amount of damage
taken.  Refer to the chart bellow:

       Multiple of Hit Points                Effect                 Medic Diff

                0 to x0.9             Scratched                             -
               x1 to x1.9             Flesh Wound                           -
               x2 to x3.9             Injured                               6
               x4 to x6.9             Seriously Injured                     7
               x7 to x9.9             Critical Injury                       8
               x10 up                        Area Destroyed                 9


       i.e. If you have 2 dice in Endurance, 0 or 1 point of damage would
mean that you are scratched.  2 or 3 points of damage would mean that you
have suffered a flesh wound.  4 to 7 would represent an injury.  8 to 13 a
serious wound.  14 to 19 a critical hit. 20 or above would mean the area is
destroyed.
       So what does it mean to be Injured?  Or Critical? Or Seriously
wounded?  Quite a bit, to both the character and the player:
       A Scratch has no effect on the character's performance. Though for
the round after taking the hit the character can do nothing but defend and
tend to his wound.
       A Flesh Wound subtracts a dice from any dice pool rolled which
requires the use of that body location (the head is considered to be used in
all actions, the body in any physical one), until medical attention is
received.  The character will not be able to take any other action other than
defend for two rounds after taking the hit.
       Note:  Any hits of Flesh Wound level or above that are inflicted to
the head require the injured character to make a Well Being roll versus 5.
If they fail they fall unconscious.
       A Injury halves any dice pool rolled which requires the use of that
body location.  The character will be out of commission for three rounds
after the hit, only able to defend.
       A Seriously wounded character has all of his dice pools halved until
he receives medical attention.  Not that he will be doing much anyway.  A
character with a critical wound will begin to go into shock and must make
Well Being rolls versus 6 or become unconscious.  He will take one
damage point for every twenty rounds that he does not receive medical
attention, until he finally reaches x10 his hit points.  If the wound was to
the body or head, the character dies.  If the wound was to the arms or leg,
they will have twenty rounds before they expire.
       If a character takes a Critical wound to the chest body or head he
must roll Well Being versus 6 as soon as he takes the hit or he will fall
unconscious and begin to die.  If medical attention is not received
immediately the character will pass away in twenty rounds.  If the would is
to the arm or leg the character still has to make the roll as above, but if
they fail they will take 1 damage point for every five rounds they do not
receive medical attention.  If the character makes his Well Being roll he
will take one damage point for every ten rounds that he does not receive
medical attention.  When the character reaches x10 his hit points he may
die as above.
       If a character receives a destroyed area to the head or body, they
will die instantly.  If the hit is to the arm or leg, they will have twenty
rounds before they go.

Narrative Rule:
       The character has ten times his endurance dice in each hit location.
When all the hit points in that location are gone, the area is destroyed.


II.XIII  Medical Attention & Healing.

Action Rule:
       If a character with medical skill makes a IQ-Medical roll versus the
Medic Difficulty listed on the chart the injured character is considered
stabilized.  This means  that the injured character stops taking any damage
from blood loss, and will no long laps in to unconsciousness.  The GM
should determine if there are any more rolls required to keep the injured
character stable.  If not, the character begins the long road to recovery.
       The recovery of hit points is dependant on the type of injury.  A
Scratch will heal at a rate of one point a day.  A Flesh wound at two points
per week.  An Injury at a rate of one point every week.  A Serious Injury
at two points a month.  A Critical Wound at one point every month.  And a
destroyed part will never heal.
       Theses healing rates are for a character in perfect conditions:  Plenty
of medical attention, good medicine, a good doctor.  If any of the factors in
the character's recovery are less than perfect, the rate of healing may vary.
It is up to the GM to decide what modifier should be applied, but if a
character is trying to get better while laying in a muddy ditch he shouldn't
be at all successful.

Narrative Rule:
       The character gains back one hit point every two days.

       (Baxter comes around laying on a cot in a dimly lit room.  His head
throbs and aches from the thug's liberal use of his pistol butt, and the rest
of his doesn't feel so good either.  If you remember Baxter took four points
of damage to his right arm, an amount we now know would count as a
Flesh Wound (he has a Well Being of 3 dice).  He also took 2 points of
damage to his head, which count as a Scratch to Baxter.
       As Baxter surveys his surroundings he becomes aware that the dimly
lit room is in fact a prison cell.  Someone  had cleaned and bandaged his
injuries.  "Strange thing to do,"  He thinks.  "for people who had just tried
very hard to kill me."
       How long will it take Baxter to heal?  Well, the bump on the head
and the soreness in the ribs will clean up in a couple of days.  As for the
arm, four points of damage at a rate of 2 point per week, will take a total
of 2 weeks.  Though he will be using his arm long before then.
"Humm..."  Baxter wonders.  "Will I be in here that long?")


II.XIV  Hero Points.

       There is one last subject that must be discussed before the rules of
the reflex system are complete:  The use of the Hero Point.
       The Hero Point reflects the fact that the characters are special, more
than just any old so and so.  The Hero Point is what allows the character to
get out of scrapes when most mortals would be cattle fodder.  It is the Hero
Point that the players will come to rely on very heavily.
       Every character starts out with 1d3 Hero Points.  A Hero Point can
be spent at anytime during the round to allow the player to collect all the
dice that have been bid for initiative in that round (called the hero pool).
i.e. If a player bid 1 dice for initiative and is countered with a bid of 2
dice, there would be three dice in the hero pool.  If no dice have been bid
for that round the hero point cannot be spent.
       These hero dice are added to the players dice pool for that round,
and are rolled just like any other dice. (In Hand to Hand Combat they
would be doubled just like any of the other dice in the character's dice
pool.)  But Hero dice can also be spent in a fashion that no other dice can
be spent in:  Direct dodge in Range Combat.  Hero dice, and only Hero
dice, can be rolled against the attacker's attack roll, even if the character
has lost the initiative.  Difficulty is the same as the shooter's.
       This is an effective way to save yourself from death if all else fails.
       (If we had known about Hero points back in the warehouse, maybe
Baxter wouldn't have had to take a bullet.  Let see:   In the turn in which
Baxter had been shot one dice had been bid for initiative (by Baxter).
When Baxter became aware that the thug had scored a hit upon him.  He
could have spent a Hero point and gained back that dice.  Rolling that dice
against the difficulty level that the thug shot at (6), he may have been lucky
enough to dodge that bullet that caused him so much pain.)

III   The World of the Screaming Silence

III.I   History of the Screaming Silence


       The War
       Probably the best place to start a discussion about the world of The
Screaming Silence is with a narrative of its history.  As you will see, the
world of The Screaming Silence and our own world have existed in parallel
for much of there history.  It wasn't until a storm began to brew in the
Indian Ocean, that the two world's history's diverged.
       It was the height of the Second World War.  The U.S. had not yet
entered into the war, and the British forces in North Africa were facing the
possibility of a sound defeat.  There only hope stood in their ability to stop
Rommel's push into Egypt.  They were hanging by a slim supply threat,
shipped around the cape.  This had to be maintained if they were going to
turn back the assault.  If this could be achieved, the war could still be won.

       But a storm began to brew in the Indian Ocean.  It was just a small
one, easy enough to avoid; but a Japanese battleship, through a combination
of poor planing and bad luck, sailed into it.  They were out on the Indian
Ocean for routine maneuvers, but the storm blew them far enough off
course to put them off the coast of Africa.  Off the coast of Africa, and in
the path of the British supply lines.
       Though the British and Japanese were not yet officially at war,
foolish bravado and poor translations led to shots being exchanged.  The
British escort ships had insufficient firepower to defeat the battleship, and
the supply convoy was held up for almost three days while ships were
dispatched from Cairo.  The Japanese Battleship, faced with a superior
force, retreated with heavy damage, but it had inflicted a blow far greater
than anyone could have conceived.  The three day delay was only a hiccup
in the grand scheme of the war, but it came at the height of Rommel's
assault.  The British, with insufficient ammunition and medical supplies,
collapsed under the weight of the Afrika Corp.  Egypt fell, and so did
British plans for North Africa Campaign.
       The German Army swept through Middle East and into the oil fields
of Iraq and Iran.  Hitler was free of all other concerns, able to focus in on
his winter campaign in Russia...
       While the German's attack on Russia was being fueled by new
forces from Africa, and by Middle Eastern oil, things in England are not
going as well.  A small faction of Parliament that wishes to make peace
with Hitler, grows in strength and eventually overthrows Churchill's
government.  Peace talks began as the German army finished off the last of
the Russian army.  As the ink dried on the armistice, the German's toasted
their victory with Russian vodka.
       The war in Europe was intensively over.  Though the British
retained their sovereignty, the peace treaty leaves them all but puppets to
the Third Riche.  The war in the Pacific began, and the U.S. declared war
on Germany.  But it was a war in name only.  For never an angry shot is
fired between to two powers.  Not one shot, that is, until the big one.
       What followed was four years of small skirmishes and battles.  The
Americans made swift work of the Pacific Islands, and isolated the Japanese
to Japan and China.  The German face no real opposition in their expansion
through Asia and Africa, only having to apply any real force against small
bands of militant communist rebels in Russia.  Europe remains in relative
peace.  The American's were faced with a difficult decision:  An all out
assault on the island of Japan, or an all out assault on Fortress Europe.
Lucky for President Truman, his scientists gave him enough card to play.
       The Nuclear Bomb was produced on schedule.  Truman became
aware of the immense power of new weapon that had put at his disposal,
and the only question became:  Where to drop it?  Truman secretly met
with Churchill and Deguale, both in exile in Canada, to discuss the target.
There advice was clear.  Berlin could be the only target.
       On August 6, 1945 a greatly reconstructed Berlin disappeared of the
map.  With it went Hitler and most of his Third Riche High Command.
The next day President Truman received the official surrender from both
the German and Japanese Commands.


       The Revaluation
       With the distraction of one city, the United States had taken control
of almost the entire globe.  All of Europe and Russia came under the
U.S.'s control, along with all of Europe's colonial possessions.  America's
mission suddenly changed from a military one, to a desperate attempt to
keep control of such a global empire, and try to restore the world to some
sort of pre-war condition.  Even with all of it's hard won experience, the
U.S. government wasn't up to such a massive task..  The world began to
slip away from them.  Slip away into the depths of anarchy.  The fate of
the world was placed onto the shoulders of President Truman.        Arguments
still rage to this day about the success of his actions.  With the second
explosion of a nuclear bomb, the world was united under the stars and
strips.  The target was a small one, a remote base in Tibet used by Chinese
Communist Rebels, but it was big enough to send a message to the world:
America had the nuclear bomb, and they were will to use it against all who
brought arms against them.  Truman had saved the world from anarchy, but
at the cost of the sovereignty of nations.  Some were horrified, some were
elated, but all acknowledged the validity of America's claim.
       Peace was assured throughout the world, through the ever present
threat of nuclear assault.  The U.S. was safe from without, but could no
more defend against attacks from within, as they could before the invention
of the bomb.  And this was what finally defeated the powerful U.S.
       As the truth about the Nazi's atrocities started to come to light,
questions started to be asked about the involvement of the U.S. in the war.
Why did the U.S. not mount an assault on Europe?  Could the U.S. have
entered the war at an earlier date?  Did the government know about the
atrocities at the time?  This, coupled with politicians using the newly
formed television media as a platform for personal assaults, led to a general
feeling of mistrust for the government in the general public.  Communist
revolutionaries, playing on the fact that Soviet Russia was the only force
that fought against the Nazis for majority of the war, began to find favor
with much of America.
       By 1955, Communists of one type or another held one third of the
seats on Congress.  Very few people in America were actually Communists,
but virtually everyone was against Democratic/Republican government that
they saw a Imperialistic, and in some fashion responsible for the atrocities
on Europe.  The country was ripe for revaluation, all that was needed was
figure to lead.
       This figure came in the form of William Malpho.  A war hero from
the Pacific Campaign, turned Communist Revolutionary.  He was born to a
middle class, mid-western, farming family, and was both a Patriot and a
stout Christian.  He personal version of Communism, which he developed
while fighting in China, was far more watered down that Leninism, or
Stalinism.  It placed at its center the idea of the nuclear family, and the
individual's duty to his society.  "A loving family"  He said.  "breads men
willing to fight for it.  So will a strong country, if the man knows that the
country loves him."
       He was a charming man and a strong speaker, appealing to the
common man.  He and his followers, The Silence, preached peaceful
overthrow of the corrupt Capitalist government, and the construction of a
Democratic Communist government; by the people, for the people.
       On December 10, 1958 he and his Silence marched on Washington.
They met with no resistance as they marched through the city; and they
walked, unhindered, into the Capital Building.  There, William Malpho
demanded the President Esinhower step down from power, and that the
Congress suspend all operation until father notice.  Both the President and
the Congress complied, and Malpho installed himself in power.
       So the Silent Revolution, as it came to be called, began and ended.
Of course, it wasn't as easy as just walking in and asking for power.
Malpho had the backing of the majority of Congress, and the Armed
Forces, who he had promised full freedom in ruling the provinces under
U.S. control.
       The U.S. Congress, and the Constitution that governs it, were never
officially disbanded.  Malpho constructed his new Communist regime
around the basis of the old U.S. government.  Though the Congress, to this
day (two hundred years later), has never been reconvened.


       The Great Division
       As one might presume, the private corporations of the world were
not to pleased at the end of the Capitalistic era.  They had all profited
greatly by America's dominant position in the world, and were not looking
forward to the prospect of a Communist world government.  They quickly
learned that they were unable to dislodge the new Communist Government;
and with the army behind the Communists, violent attack was out of the
question.  So a few of the top leaders in the entire capitalistic system met to
devise a plan by which they would be able to out last the Communists with
all their resources still in one piece.  They thought that Malpho and his type
wouldn't last longer than the first crisis that the government encountered,
and the capitalists wanted to be ready to take back control of the world.
       They quietly liquidated as much of their assets as they could, and
purchased a small island in the Pacific.  Here they figured they could wait
out the Communist era in relative peace and luxury.  This decision, in
itself, was not enough to case the Great Division:  The communist regime
weathered through the storm, and alone the old capitalist would have
eventually run out of time and money.  But they did not go to their remote
island on their own.  They took with them some individuals who were very
important to future of the world:  America's top scientists.
       The scientific community was thrown into turmoil after the dropping
of the second nuclear bomb.  The first use of the weapon they had given to
the world was traumatic enough, but they were justified that it was used to
destroy a tyrant.  The second use of nuclear bomb, though, could only be
interpreted as a tyrannical action.
       The scientific community was abhorred.  What kind of monster had
they created?  Then the old Capitalists, who were beginning their exodus,
came to the top members of the scientific community.  They promised them
unlimited research funds, and isolation from government intrusion.  Many
of the scientists jumped at the chance, and left for the remote tropical
island.  Those that didn't leave with the first wave trickled away from
mainstream society as news returned as to what their colleagues were
achieving.
       Mainstream society began to suffer from the sudden brain-drain, but
the new Communist government had no time to worry about such trifles.
They were trying desperately to hold onto power, and to a world
government.  Their inability to stop, or even acknowledge, this exodus of
capitalistic and scientific talent would lead to the shaping of the world for
the next two hundred years.


       The Era of Peace
       For the next two hundred years, peace reigned over the world.  The
Communist government, and Communist theory, eventually installed itself
firmly into power.  The world outside of the U.S. was initially controlled
by a military government, but through some fancy dealings and a lot of
propaganda it came under the Communist's sway.
       To begin with, life was hard.  There was a cut in the standard of
living across the world.  But as time went by, and the Communist system
installed itself, life generally became easier.  It was over 80 years before
the promise of a middle class lifestyle for all was achieved; but it was
achieved, and it was achieved right across the board.  The government was
iron fisted, but they weren't tyrannical.  Much of the  U.S. constitution was
still, technically, in effect.  Criminals received a trail before a jury of the
ir
peers, and everyone had the right to assemble.  Free speech, however, was
strongly discouraged, and an armed militia met with a swift military end.
One could not say that the people of the world were free, but they were far
from downtrodden.
       The old Capitalists, on the other hand, were left virtually
unmolested.  In the beginning, the government did believe that the
Technocracy (as they were known) were a threat; and as time went on, they
simply denied their existence entirely.
       The Technocracy's advancements in science and technology were
staggering:  They quickly improved upon, and then surpassed, nuclear
theory.  By the end of the 1960's they had developed, and were using,
microchip technology in their computer systems.  As the decades past, their
rate of technological progress didn't slow.
       As more and more scientists joined their group, they quick grew
larger than their small Pacific isle.  They began construction on half a
dozen secret research facilities around the globe.  They operated in parallel
with normal society, on intersecting to buy raw materials, and recruit new
talent.
       In the beginning, scientists came to the Technocracy voluntarily; but
after 50 years or so, normal society was dry of scientific talent.  The
universities and collages of the world had abandoned their technical
departments out of a lack of skilled professors.  No students were study the
sciences, and mainstream society ground to a technological halt.  The
Technocracy realized they were rapidly become a close society, and their
leaders worried about the possibility of entropy.  The Technocracy were
advanced enough in their computer technology, and conversant enough in
probability theory to be able to construct massive probability machines.
These machines they used to predict the possibility of someone of high
scientific merit being born amongst the population of the world.  At first it
was a hairy business, that produced a lot of failures; but as time went by,
their system became more and more accurate, and almost infallible.  Those
predicted to be great scientist would be abducted from their homes at a
young age, and brought to the Technocracy.  There they would received
advanced scientific training, and a total immersion in their field.
       This policy of abduction was general successful for the Technocracy,
though mainstream society suffered from the loss of its greatest minds.
Mainstream society became completely stagnant.  There technology stuck in
the 1950's.  Rumor has it that they have even lost the ability to construct
nuclear weapons, though the government stoutly denies this.


       The Present
       After all of this, what is it like to live in the America of 2159?  It i
s
in some ways very similar, and in some ways frightening different.
       Imagine 1950's America of our world.  The `Leave it to Beaver'
years.  Technology and fashion are pretty much still of that era.  The
former through the reasons described above, the latter because of the one
type of pants, one type of skirt mentality of the Communist government.
       Population is about the same, through the use of mandatory
contraception; and lifestyles are generally as old fashioned and idealistic.
Father goes off to work, mother cleans the house, son build a soapbox
racer, etc...  Cars are still the monuments to steel that rolled out of Detroit
,
and motorcycles are all Harley's.  Gas hogs, and hard to steer.  Everyone
goes to church on Sundays, and celebrates the Silent Revaluation on
December 10th with burgers and fireworks.
       Its generally a pleasant lifestyle, and most families have been living
in it for at least 7 or 8 generations.  People very seldom have to stand in
lines for anything anymore, though your grandparents will tell you stories
about having to wait two hours for a pair of shoes.  You do the job given to
you by the state, and collect your ration of meat and eggs from the man
who comes around in his trolley.  If you're lucky, you'll pick up a little
extra on the black-market.  Never hurts to have a little more.
       But for some this idyllic lifestyle isn't enough.  Some have learned
of the existence of the Technocracy and wish to have the secrets of
technology that they possess.  Many of these people have joined together in
an underground organization called the Screaming Silence.  An international
terrorist organization dedicated to liberating technology from the grasp of
the Technocracy and freeing it for all people.  This is where the players
enter into the story.  Will they be able to liberate the secrets of technology
from the Technocracy, and return normal society to its normal path of
evaluation?  Or will the world collapse in upon itself after two hundred
years of stagnation?


III.II   The Screaming Silence

       What is the Screaming Silence?  Where did it come from?  Where is
it going?  Who belongs to it?  All these questions should remain a mystery
to the players.  Even though they are a member of the organization, they
know little about its actual operation.  The below information is of the
Game Master, to be given to the players in small doses.

       The Screaming Silence (the name an obvious play on the name of
the original Communist revolutionaries:  The Silence) was founded about
ten years ago.  Terrorism wasn't in their original charter, but they soon
discovered that is was the only way to pursue their goals.  Both the
government and the Technocracy view them as a threat, and membership in
the organization is punishable my mandatory jail time.
       The origins of the Screaming Silence is unclear.  It seems to be
more the union of several techno-terrorist organizations, than the product of
a single movement.  The first terrorist attacks are known to have taken
place in California, and therefore it is assumed that the group began there.
       The command structure of the Screaming Silence is maintained
through long links of contacts.  Any one member of the Silence will only
know of his contact above him, and his contact below.  Therefore, if any
member of the organization is captured, they can only implement two other
members of the group.
       Virtually all of the Screaming Silence's business is done in the many
speakeasies that litter the cities of the world.  (Note:  It is not the alcohol
that is illegal in the speakeasies, its the music.  The government strongly
discourages self expression, and has therefore outlawed jazz and blues.
This doesn't stop people from playing it, it just means they have to do it
underground.  More on this later.)  In the speakeasies they get orders from
their superiors, and collect equipment and weapons.  Most of the Silence's
weapons are stolen by sympathizers in the Armed Forces.  They reportedly
have no shortage of arms or explosives.
       It is the policy of the Screaming Silence to target structures and
technology for attacks, and to keep the civilian casualties to a minimum.
This is often hard to do, and there have been many instances of large
numbers of innocents being killed in a Silence attack.  Normal the Silence
only targets installations and property that is connected to the Technocracy,
though lately they have been increasing there attacks on the Communist
Authorities.  They wish to force the government to acknowledge the
existence of the Technocracy, and to take actions against it.  Despite the
Silence's efforts, they government still denies the existence of the
Technocracy.  There seems very little chance that they will soon change
their tone.
       To the general public, the mention of the Screaming Silence induces
fear.  They are viewed as vicious killers trying to undermine the Malphoist
way of life.  While this might be true in some cases, the Silence are neither
killers or anti-Malpho; though the reputation can sometimes be used to its
favor.
       While the Screaming Silence has no set uniform or insignia, a de
facto version of both has sprung up in the last few years.  Many of the
members of the Silence have begun to where black motorcycle leathers with
full face mask, and mark this insigna on either a gold pin or a gold coin:

(Picture on its way..)

       This is really all that can be said about the Screaming Silence as a
whole.  The Silence is far to loosely organized to make any comments
about their day to day existence.


III.III   The Technocracy

       The players will start the game knowing nothing (or at least very
little) about the Technocracy.  99% of the Population doesn't either know,
or believe, that the Technocracy exits; and of those that do know of it
existence, most believe the Technocracy draws its power from the
supernatural not the technical.  Mainstream society is a world that exists
without any concept of science.  The Technocracies advanced science seems
more like magic to them.

       As stated in the above history, the Technocracy is derived from the
old capitalist corporations.  Most of these corporations, however, have
vanished long ago, consumed by their larger competitors.  After two
hundred years of a completely open free market economy, the Technocracy
has petered down to three giant corporations:  AquaTech, Terra Mechanics
Inc, and Aero-Systems  These corporations exist in harmony through a
massive network of trade agreements, and their monopolistic control of
their markets.  As you can probably tell by their names:  AquaTech
controls all over/under sea operations and technology, Terra Mechanics Inc.
controls all land based activity and technology, and Aero-Systems controls
all air/space technology.
       An observer from out world would find these corporations to be
rather strange compared to corporations of our world.  There are no
marketing departments, they produce no product, and they have no general
public to satisfy.  We would look at them more as research institutes than
businesses, with virtually all their staff in the R&D department.
       Exactly how far advanced is the technology of the Technocracy?
What can a GM use as a basis?  Think about it with respect to that staple of
modern science fiction:  Star Trek The Next Generation.  While the
Technocracy has not developed Warp Drive or Transporters (though ask a
few questions around a Aero-Systems R&D base and you'll get a stout
"We're working on it, alright?") their computer systems are as advanced as
Star Trek's, and they have capability to make androids as sophisticated as
Data.  They have various types of energy weapons, though firearms are still
more practical, and they can employ energy and cloaking shield technology
(though its bulk and only used around buildings or spacecraft).  They have
the ability to genetically engineer humans, or extend a man's life span
indefinitely, though all research in this area is strictly against corporate
regulations.

       Lets take a brief look at each if the three corporations in detail:

AquaTech
       AquaTech has a total monopoly on all ocean based technology.
Virtually all of their installations are underneath the ocean, and their
corporate headquarters are actually build to the underside of the arctic ice
cap.  In the past few years AquaTech has moved more and more to Eco-
friendly stance on technology, and has been pursuing sources of clean
power.  Their vast fleet of submarines has moved to a Electo-Magnetic flux
engine technology that produces no pollution.
       AquaTech has very little contact with mainstream society, though
lately they have been making limited assaults on Communist installations
that are large producers of pollution.

Terra Mechanics Inc.
       Having a total monopoly on land based technology, Terra Mechanics
Inc. is also the most advanced Corporation in natural resource acquisition
and refining.  This corporation works almost totally in parallel with
mainstream society, having most of its facilities in normal cities.  There oil
wells and coal mines are all staffed by normal Communist workers who no
nothing of the actual owners of their installations.  It is said the Terra Inc.
has bought off most of the communist government, and this is why they are
able to operate within normal society.  Something like this can't be to far
from the truth.  Terra Inc.'s corporate headquarters are in the Australian
Outback.  The whole continent of Australia is almost totally under Terra
Inc's control.
       Unlike AquaTech, Terra Inc. has a much more mercenary attitude to
exploiting the worlds resources.  This includes the populous of the
Communist world.  They feel that normal society is a resource to be used
and, if done discreetly, will not compromise the privacy of the
Technocracy.  Terra Inc. is usual the first corporation a member of the
Screaming Silence encounters.

Aero-Systems
       This corporations is the most technically advanced of all the
corporations.  Though they began their corporate life building planes and
helicopters, they have long since moved to space technology.  The other
corporations have holding in space:  Terra Inc. has mines on Mars, and
AquaTech has research vessels on Venus, but they are all dependent on
Aero-Sys to get them to and from their locations.  Aero-Sys has explored
virtually all of our solar system, and has sent many probes out of it.  Their
major research at the moment is to produce an engine that can take them
out of out solar system.  Aero-Sys's corporate headquarters is an orbiting
station employing various types of cloaking shield to hide it from the earth.
       Even though most of Aero-Sys does most of its operations in space,
it is still dependent on the each for fuel and water.    Most of this they
produce for themselves, but some they have to purchase from mainstream
society.  Much to their chagrin.



III.IV   The Malphoist Government (World Socialist Government)

       As stated before, the Malphoist government that controls almost the
entire globe is not the oppressive communist regime of Salinist Russia.  It's
benign, and though not democratic, is receptive to the needs of its people.
Of course, all the receptiveness world doesn't justify the fact that the
government is a dictatorial regime that suppresses freedom of speech, and
personal will.  Many are will to ignore this fact, however, in favor of the
security that Malpoism has brought.  Security and comfort across the globe.
       Its hard to imagine in respect to our polarized world, but people
from Ethiopia to Beverly Hills live pretty much in the same state of Middle
Class bliss.  Everyone lives in good suburban housing, and eats three
square meals a day.  Of course, those cultures that really didn't like to live
this way, were forced to do so at the end of gun; but generally everyone is
happy and content.
       So what exactly can one do in this world that is neither free nor
oppressed?  Here are a few examples that might illustrate the point:

You Can:
       -hold pretty much any job you want, as long as it is officially
       sanctioned by the state.
       -marry anyone you want, live a long life, and die an old man (or
       woman).
       -have up to two children.
       -get a fair trial in from of a jury of your peers.
       -pray to what ever god you choose.
       -live most anywhere you want.
       -get a good education, and go to collage (if you past the tests).

You Can't:
       -pursue any art form that encourages self expression (no jazz,
       modern art, or poetry).
       -speak out against the government, Malpho, or pretty much anything
       at all.
       -have more than two children.
       -not pray to any god at all.
       -buy anything on the black market.
       -mention the Technocracy.
       -travel freely around the world.
       -read most books writing before the Silent Revolution.

       Hopefully this will give you a good picture of the world under the
Malphoists.  If not, just keep in mind this basic rule:  If you just live a
simple life, and don't try and look beyond your limited horizon, life is
idyllic.  If you want to try and expand your horizons, you going to run into
trouble.


III.V   The Black Market

       The black market is important enough to the world of the Screaming
Silence to justify its own discussion.  The black market is where the players
will have to turn when they need something quick.  Even though just about
anything can be purchased through the government stores, dealing with the
bureaucracy will probably be more than the players will want to deal with.
And of course, they have none of the illegal items that the players will most
defiantly want to get their hands on.
       Before anything else, it must be said that black marketing is the
most heinous crime under Malphoist law.  Worse than rape, worse than
murder.  Punishable by death.  Malpho knew that if his regime was to
succeed, he would crush any desire for his people to use the black market.
Still, there is a thriving black market though out the world, and the players
will become quite quickly dependent upon it.
       The question will eventually come from the players, and feel free to
answer it as brashly as you wish:

       Question:  So, what exactly can I get from the black market?

       Answer:  What do you want?

       It's just a matter of money.  The players want a ton of power while
bathroom tissue?  No problem.  They want an army surplus armored
vehicle?  Camouflage or desert brown?  It might cost the GNP of Costa
Rica, but they can get it for you.  You, as the GM, should always make the
prices painful, but not insane.  If the players need something to complete a
mission, let them get it; but charge them the shirt off their back for it.  The
black marketers are risking their lives for this, it should always be worth
their while.
       If the players start asking for insanely large things, or things that ar
e
just plain stupid (trust me, this will happen) they will meet with a uniform
response:  Hay, you'll have to go to Hong Kong for that.  Hong Kong is a
dichotomy in the world of the Screaming Silence.  Even though it is
officially part of the World Socialist Government, the black market operates
openly there.  It is the single vessel of capitalism in a sea of communism,
and it is thriving.  Rumor has it that the Technocracy maintains it for its
own uses, though this has never been verified.  The government officially
states that no black market activity is going on there.  Ignoring the obvious,
as usual.


IV    The Game, and Examples of Play

IV.I   The Game.

       So, how does an actual game of The Screaming Silence go?  This is
hard to say, since every GM will bring a particular twist to his or her own
game.  But I'd like to give you a few tips and examples so you can avoid
the mistakes that I made while play testing this game.

       Above all, the biggest mistake a GM can make in a game of The
Screaming Silence (and trust me, because I make it too) is to use the
Technocracy as an omnipresent enemy.  The games I ran to play test the
system fell in to a standard:  Players learn about (ordered to investigate)
something strange, they look into it, they find that the Technocracy behind
it, they Technocracy sweep down with high tech weapons and vehicles, kick
the shit out of the players, and the players skulk away licking their wounds.
While this gave the players a good idea of their place in the world; by the
third time it happened, they were scared to even get out of their car.  There
is a lot of potential for interesting and varied games in the world of the
Screaming Silence, one must be careful not to fall into a gaming rut.
       Try to increase your players knowledge of the Technocracy slowly.
If you give them to much information to quickly, the game will quickly
become boring.  Always leave the question of what the Technocracy's
motives and goals are open to interpretation.  The Technocracy should be
nebulous and confusing.  If their not, their just a bunch of guys with big
guns.
       Remember that you do not have to have the Technocracy in
everyone of your adventures.  In fact, the players should only have to deal
with them once in awhile.  Never as a matter of course.  The Malphoists
are sufficiently dastardly to make perfectly good antagonists for the players,
not to mention greedy Crime Bosses, extreme right wing military colonels,
and other nefarious inhabitants of the world.
       The players are going to hoard all the high-tech hardware they can
get their hands on.  While this is fine, and pretty much a corner stone of
the game, remember that the players have no real idea of how to use or fix
the equipment the stole.  Feel free to use the phrase:  "You can't do that,
your character doesn't know how."  Its hard for us all to distinguish
between what we know instinctively, and what is technically knowledge.  If
your like me, you find it hard to believe that people don't even know how
to change a directory on a computer.  It seems so simple, so easy.  But its
technical knowledge, simple technical knowledge, but technical all the
same.  If you were someone who hadn't been taught how to do change a
directory, it would be hard to ever understand.  This is the predicament the
player characters are in.  The characters know virtually nothing about
technology, and there's no one who's going to stop and tech them.
Something as simple as a pocket calculator would probably confuse of
character for days.  Use this to your advantage as GM, don't let your
characters get to powerful to quick.

Appendix A.   Attributes.


       Physical                       Averaged                      Mental

       Well Being                     Perception                     Wits

       Strength                       Endurance                      Willpower

        Agility                       Dexterity                       IQ

       Here is a quick description of the Attributes in the Reflex Role Play
System, with a breakdown as to their meaning according to dice level.

Physical

Well Being
       Well Being is very easily confused with Attribute of Endurance.  It
may become difficult to determine where to use one, and where to use the
other.  Keep in mind that Well Being is the measure of the character's
health.  Endurance is the measure of the character's ability to continue
under adverse conditions.
       Apart from being a simple measure of a character's health, Well
Being is also the general measure of the character's build and weight.
Characters with low Well Being will probably be short or pudgy.
Characters with a high Well Being, tall and lean.  There are no hard and
fast rules about this, however.  You can still make your character as you
see fit, regardless of his Well Being.

1d     -       Character is either runtish or overweight.  The character has
               a cardiac chasing after their grandmother.

2d     -       Character is of normal build and weight, though is probably
               of the couch potato type.  Fine for long walks or short runs,
               but is definitely not the athletic type.

3d     -       The athletic type.  Collage athletics to lower professional
               level.  A good athlete, but nothing remarkable.  Though with
               a little practice...

4d     -       Professional athlete.  A physical powerhouse.  All you need
               is the opportunity to become one of the greats.

5d     -       Adonis.  Lesser mortals cower in your presence.

Strength
       A simple enough attribute.  The measure of the physical power of
your body.  Want to bend steel, or punch through walls?  This is the
attribute for you.

1d     -       Physically inconsequential.  Hopefully your either a child  or
               an invalid.  You can lift your backpack, that's about it.

2d     -       Normal, day to day strength.  You can open the tops of jars
               and move furniture around.

3d     -       You've either pumped iron, or worked in a job with a lot of
               lifting. You're the kind of person people like to have on their
               side in a fight.

4d     -       Professional body builder or muscle man.  You can do some
               cool tricks, like bending bars or tearing up phone books.
               People don't mess with you unless they really have to.

5d     -       You once killed a man by flexing your left peck.  You either
               the strongest man in the world, or you want to find him and
               kick his ass.  Your one bad mother-(Shut your mouth!)  I
               was just taking about 5d.

Agility
       The ability to control your movements and actions.  Your over all
balance and stability on your feet.  This is the attribute that lets gymnast do
what they do.

1d     -       You trip over the curb a lot.  Gym Class was torture to you.
               You've found that if you remain seated, nothing bad will
               happen to you.

2d     -       You were a terror on the Jungle Gym as a child, but you
               can't do a hand stand to save your life (not that you've ever
               had the urge to).

3d     -       You can do some impressive acrobatics, and can do some
               great slam-dunks with a basketball.

4d     -       You could compete in the Olympics or walk a tight rope.
               Combined with Martial Arts, you make a deadly
               combination.

5d     -       Master Ninja.  Jackie Chen has nothing on you.


Mental

Wits
       The measure of your overall mental health and sharpness.  This is a
nebulous attribute that deals with everything from imagination to humor.
People with high Wits make good stand up comedians, and poets.  A low
Wits score could imply a psychosis, or simply just a boring mentality.

1d     -       Your about as interesting as a squash.  You've never quite
               grasped the humor behind the "Who's on first skit".  You
               think Full House is a laugh riot.

2d     -       Your generally a nice person, though you can get irritable.
               You can hold your own in a "Your mother..." contest.

3d     -       Your a pleasant and interesting person, probably an artist of
               some sort.  Your witty enough to write sit-coms in your
               sleep, and your always mulling some great idea over in your
               head.  One day you might write it all down...

4d     -       You make a good living off your imagination.  Comedies,
               tragedies, poems, novels; you've done them all.  In an
               argument, you can turn your opponent to jelly in under five
               minutes.

5d     -       When you die, God had you and Shakespeare down to work
               on a project together.  You are hailed as one of the master
               creative powers of your generation.

Willpower
       The measure of your mental strength.  This is an attribute that only
comes into play under adverse circumstances, when pressure is put onto a
character.  The attribute becomes of great importance in Reflex Games that
involve the supernatural.

1d     -       You can't handle pressure.  You passed out while taking your
               SAT exam.  You worry constantly about the hole in the
               ozone.

2d     -       You can deal with pretty much anything that hits you in daily
               life. Though anything outside of your paradigm sends you for
               a loop.  You own a gun to protect yourself  from crime.

3d     -       Your cool as a cucumber.  Man men with knives don't even
               phase you.  The supernatural though, is a little beyond you
               tolerance.

4d     -       You have, to coin a phrase, balls of steel.  You leap across
               precipices of lava just for the fun of it.

5d     -       "Are you talking to me?  Are you talking to me?  I don't see

               nobody else here.  You must me talking to me."

IQ
       The ability to use your mind quickly and efficiently.  What most
people think of when they think of intelligence.

1d     -       Your brains directly attached to your drool gland.  You never
               understood what picture you were supposed to see in those
               ink blot tests.

2d     -       Average moxy.  You made it through high school algebra,
               but switched to an easier major in collage because you
               couldn't hack the math.

3d     -       You can wrap your head around Quantum Electrodynamics
               without any trouble, though you still have to stop and do
               addition on your fingers.

4d     -       Intellectual powerhouse.  You think chaos theory is a way to

               spend a fun evening.

5d     -       "12.54352 days to be exact, Captain."

Averaged

Perception
       One's physical and mental health determine how receptive one is to
the environment around them.  Perception is the measure on your ability to
pick out important details from the mass of useless information that
bombards us everyday.

1d     -       You miss some of the simplest things.  You didn't know
               there was anything wrong with your marriage until your wife
               packed her bags and moved to her mothers.  Hay, watch out
               for that car!

2d     -       You spot most stuff of importance.  You can play poker with
               you buddies, and know when they are bluffing.

3d     -       You would make a good police detective.  You can usually
               tell if someone is lying to you, and you clean up at Easter
               egg hunts.

4d     -       You senses are keenly tuned.  You very seldom miss
               anything; and if you do, someone was probably hiding it
               from you.

5d     -       "Elementary my dear Watson."

Endurance
       Being the combination of your physical and mental strength,
Endurance is not as much the measure of your physical fitness, but more
the measure of your perseverance.  How far can you run, or how long can
you go without food?  It comes in to game play mainly with respect to
operating with injuries.

1d     -       Climbing out of your easy chair winds you.  You faint at the
               very sight of your own blood.  No one wants you around
               when furniture has to be moved.

2d     -       Your fine for normal exercise, but any kind of extended run
               leaves you flat. You shrug of most minor wounds.

3d     -       On a good day, you can run a marathon.

4d     -       Tough as nails.  Your one of those African guys who chases
               after the giraffe until it falls over dead from fatigue.  Cool.

5d     -       You once got hit in the head by a falling brick. Didn't even
               phase you.  Does the phrase:  `Unstoppable mutant beast
               from hell', mean anything to you?

Dexterity
       This attribute measures you ability to do fine manual tasks.  It is the
average of you Agility (physical adeptness) and your IQ (mental adeptness).
It requires a combination of both to be good with your hands.

1d     -       Butter fingers.  You can't catch a baseball, and you throw
               like a girl.  "Here, let me hold that priceless vase for you-
               (smash)  Opps, sorry."

2d     -       You can play a slick game of foozeball, type 40 wpm, and do
               the hand jive without braking a bone.  You still crash into the
               canyon walls in `Rebel Assault' though.

3d     -       Your a video game master.  You can do that cool thing
               where you spin a pen around the back of your thumb.
               Anyone for a game of Pick Up Sticks?

4d     -       You one rewired a TV in under ten minutes.  You can flip a
               coin and always get it to land heads up.

5d     -       Your either a knife thrower or a steno typist.  You roll 7 or
               11 every time at craps.


Appendix B   Skills

       Here is a quick description of the skills in the Reflex System.
Remember:  If can find a skill that quite fits what you want your character
to do, make a new one.  Skills should be somewhat flexible in the Reflex
System.

Acting
       The ability to take on the persona of a character, either real or
fictitious.

Area Knowledge
       Self explanatory, Sub-skillable to a specific town or city.

Biology
       The study of life.  Useful in any situation involving the theory of
organic.

Bureaucracy
       Familiarity with bureaucracies of all kinds.  Useful when one wants
to speed up a governmental process that is designed to be slow.

Carpentry
       The ability to construct think out of wood.  From toys to bridges.

Chemistry
       The study of chemicals.  Useful in any situation involving the theory
and application of chemicals. (explosives, poisons, etc.)

Climb
       Guess.

Computer Operation
       The use of Computer Systems (not used in Screaming Silence).

Computer Programming
       The programming of modern computers (not used in Screaming
Silence).

Drive
       Operation of motor vehicles, from car to trucks.

Electronics
       Basic Electric circuit design and construction (remember, the
integrated circuit was never invented in the world of the Screaming
Silence).

Etiquette
       The knowledge of how to act in certain social situations.  Sub-
Skillable to different social levels and societies.

Forensics
       The study of a crime scene.

Finance
       The study of how to make money (legally).

Full Armor
       The ability to move in a full suit of armor, or environmental suit,
without collapsing from exhaustion.

Gambling
       Knowledge of how to play (and win) at games of chance, from
roulette to poker.

Gymnastics
       Ability to perform physical stunts.  Most often used in the game to
dodge.

History
       Self explanatory.  Sub-Skillable to a specific era or place.

Heavy Machinery
       The use of construction machinery.

Heavy Weapons
       Knowledge of the use and maintenance of heavy weapons, from
bazookas to artillery pieces.

Linguistics
       Knowledge of languages.  Sub-skillable to specific languages.

Law
       Knowledge of law.

Leadership
       One's ability to lead people.

Martial Arts
       Knowledge of the martial arts.  Used in hand to hand combat.

Mathematics
       Everyone's worst enemy.

Mechanics
       The ability to operate and fix mechanical devices.

Medicine
       First aid to surgery.

Melee
       The use of various Melee weapons.

Observation
       Sherlock Homes greatest skill

Philosophy
       The most useful skill in the Reflex System :-)

Photography
       The operation of a camera, and the overall theory of taking good
pictures.

Physics
       The theories of physics.  Great for determining when your exactly
going to hit the ground after throwing yourself off a building.

Pilot
       Operation of flying machines.

Pistol
       Use of handguns.

Play Instrument
       The ability to play musical instruments.  Sub-skillable to a specific
instrument.

Psychology
       Am I crazy, or are we playing a game?

Read/Write
       This skill has two meanings:  In a game setting where it is assumed
that the players can read and write (like the Screaming Silence) this is a
measure of a character's literary ability.  If it is not assumed that the
characters can read, then this is their ability to read and write.

Research
       Library use, and all round collage skills.

Ride
       The operation of a motorcycle (or a horse in a world without
motorcycles).

Rife
       Use of rifles, machine guns, SMG's, etc.

Running
       You ability to spring great distances.

Sail
       Operation of water vehicles.

Smithy
       The ability to forge metal.

Social Science
       Communism.  Capitalism.  Where to pick up your welfare check.

Stealth
       Be very quiet, I'm hunting rabbits.

Street Fighting
       Ability at improvised hand to hand combat.

Streetwise
       Where to contact the black market, and what to say when you do.

Survival
       Knowledge of how to live in the great outdoors.  Sub-skillable to a
specific climate.

Swim
       Blub.

Throw
       Whap.  Hay watch where your throwing that thing!

Track
       Hmm, three men on two horses pass this way.  One horse have bad
limp.

Appendix C.   Weapons and Equipment

       Below is a list of weapons that can be used with the Reflex System
(a la Screaming Silence).  Of course, this won't satisfy you hardware
hounds out there, so here's what you do:  Go out and get the Compendium
of Modern Firearms from R. Talsorian Games for all the guns you will
ever need; and get The Compendium of Weapons, Armour, & Castles from
Palladium for all blades and clubs.  Here's how to convert them for the
Reflex System:

Compendium of Modern Firearms
       Look at the chart on page 213-214.  This is all the bullet damages
for a bunch of different systems.  Look at the last column, the D20 System,
for the damages for all the bullets in the Reflex System.  Easy, huh?
Really, I didn't plan it this way...
       Now flip to the data on the particular weapon that you want.  Ammo
Type and Clip are right in front of you.  Load Time is easy to figure:  If its
has a clip, Load Time is 1; if it's revolver, Load Time is 3.  S/R is
determined by looking at the Rate of Fire.  Divide the (SS) by 30 and round
up to find the S/R.  If the gun is capable of automatic fire, its automatic
rate is 10 (unless its some kind of mini gun, then you can put the S/R
higher, GM's decision.)
       Dice Mod and the Ranges are a little harder to figure.  Dice Mod is
zero unless the GM feels there is a reason that it should be otherwise.
Unless a weapon has a reputation for being either accurate or inaccurate,
you don't have to worry about that.  For Close Range, look down the
Range Chart for the weapon.  Where the probability for a body hit changes
from 0.990 to any other probability is Close Range.  i.e.  The HP-35
Browning Hi Power has a 0.990 probability of a body hit at 50 meters.  It
has a 0.972 probability at 75 meters.  That means the Browning's Close
Range threshold lies somewhere between 50 and 75 meters.  Lets take 50 as
a nice round number.  Long Range cannot be determined from the
Compendium.  Just say its at 200, unless you have a reason to think
otherwise.

The Compendium of Weapons, Armour, & Castles
       This is really, really, easy:  Look at the data on the weapon you
want.  Look at the Damage stat.  This is the plus to the melee attack in the
Reflex System.  Look at the Dex. stat.  Add this to 5 to determine the base
difficulty for the weapon.  That's it.


Weapons and Equipment List

Firearms:(Dice Mod,S/R,Ammo Type,Close Range,Long Range,Clip,Load
Time,Cost)

Melee Weapons:(Base Diff,Damage Plus,Cost)

Equipment:(Cost,Weight)

Colt .45 Auto:        (0,2,.45,40,180,7,1,NA)  The standard issue sidearm
of the Communist Army of the People.  Hasn't changed or been modified
in the two hundred years of service.  This is the only automatic pistol that
is officially build by the government, and is there for the only one that ever
makes its way into the hands of the Screaming Silence.

Browning HP: (0,2,9mm,30,200,6,1,NA)  This model has not be in
production since before the Silent Revolution, but some copies have been
produced (unofficially) for collectors and gun enthusiasts.  The pistol is a
hell of a lot easier to come by, though, than the ammunition.  9mm ammo
is not produced by the government and is therefore almost impossible to
find.  Many Brownings that are actually used are converted to a .38
chamber.

S&W .38: (0,1,.38,40,180,6,3,NA)  Revolver that is almost exclusively
used by the People's Police.  These weapons are very seldom found on the
black market, and is therefore seldom found in the hands of civilians.  If a
player gets his hands on one of these, he probably took it off a policeman.

M1 Carbine:  (0,2,.30,100,1000,16,1,NA)  Standard issue rife for the
military.  Often found on the black market.  Seldom used by the Screaming
Silence, though.  It is hard to carry or hide.

Lee-Enfield: (+1,1,.303,200,1500,10,2,NA)  This rife of British origin has
survived the centuries mainly because of its use by military snipers.  Its
construction has gone from mass production of the World Wars, to the craft
that it has become today.  Every rife is build by, hand by craftsmen in
England, and are therefor rather expensive.  They are of fine workmanship,
and completely reliable.

Thompson SMG: (0,2/10,.45,40,350,20/50,1,NA)  Most players of any
Screaming Silence game are going to spend a lot of time obtaining and
using this weapon.  Other than the Browning .50. this is the only automatic
weapon that the government produces in any quantity.  Many have found
their way to the black market, and in to the hands of the Screaming Silence.
They are employed extensively there, and their use is always at a premium.
The 20/50 in Clip refers to the use of a clip or a drum.

12 Gauge Pump Action Shotgun:
(+2/-1,1,12gu.,15,40,10,5,200)  This weapon, and its two barreled
brother, are the only weapon that private citizens are legally allowed to
own.  One has to live in the country, and have a certain acreage of land to
get a license, but they are still sold over the counter in most hardware
stores.  The +2/-1 in Dice Mod is for close and long ranges.

Browning .50: (0,20,.50,100,1000,Belt,Belt,NA)  Industrial strength
firepower.  This liquid cooled weapon is the largest thing that the player
can ever real expect to get their hands on (excluding Hi-Technology of
course).  Once and a while the players may find this weapon on the black
market; but if they do, it will be over priced and dangerous to own.  The
Browning is no tiny weapon, and is rather hard to hide.

Hunting Knife: (5,+1,15)  Standard Bowie knife.  Well made and long
lasting.  Available from any hardware store.

Night Stick: (6,+2,NA)  Police Night Stick.  Wap.

Character Sheet

The Reflex System

Name:                         Morality:  Charitable/Selfish
Height:        Weight:        Method:    Conformist/Rebel
Age:           Race:          Drive:     Pacifist/Militant
Hero Points:

Attributes

     Physical                                 Mental

___ Well Being  ___  ___  Perception ___  ___   Wits      ___
___  Strength   ___  ___  Endurance  ___  ___ Willpower   ___
___  Agility    ___  ___  Dexterity  ___  ___    IQ       ___

Skills               Pips           Dice

___ Acting      ___  ___ Area Know.* ___  ___ Biology     ___
___ Bureaucracy ___  ___ Carpentry   ___  ___ Chemistry   ___
___ Climb       ___  ___ Comp. Op.   ___  ___ Comp. Prog* ___
___ Drive       ___  ___ Electronics ___  ___ Etiquette*  ___
___ Forensics   ___  ___ Finance     ___  ___ Full Armor  ___
___ Gambling    ___  ___ Gymnastics  ___  ___ History*    ___
___ Hvy Mach.   ___  ___ Hvy Weapons ___  ___ Linguistics*___
___ Law         ___  ___ Leadership  ___  ___ Martial Arts___
___ Mathematics ___  ___ Mechanics   ___  ___ Medicine    ___
___ Melee       ___  ___ Observation ___  ___ Philosophy  ___
___ Photography ___  ___ Physics     ___  ___ Pilot       ___
___ Pistol      ___  ___ Play Inst*  ___  ___ Psychology  ___
___ Read/Write  ___  ___ Research    ___  ___ Ride        ___
___ Rifle       ___  ___ Running     ___  ___ Sail        ___
___ Smithy      ___  ___ Social Sci. ___  ___ Stealth     ___
___ Street Fight___  ___ Streetwise  ___  ___ Survival*   ___
___ Swim        ___  ___ Throw       ___  ___ Track       ___

                                             Sub-Skills
Life Path:                              _____________________
                                        _____________________
                                        _____________________
Exception & Detrimental Abilities       _____________________
                                        _____________________
___________   ___   ___________  ___    _____________________
___________   ___   ___________  ___    _____________________
___________   ___   ___________  ___    _____________________

Pips   Dice+   Diff Total     Dice      Success   Result
10   --  1d         2         1d           1       1/2
30   --  2d         3         2d           2      Normal
60   --  3d         4         3d           3      1 Bump
100  --  4d         5         4d           4      2 Bump
150  --  5d         6         5d           5      3 Bump


Equipment                                    Ammo



   Hit Chart

                   Head ___
                 ___________


     R Arm ___    Torso ___     L Arm ___
   ____________  ___________ ____________

                 Abdomen ___
                 ___________


              R Leg ___L Leg ___
            ___________  ____________





Money






Firearms

Weapon         Dice Mod.   S\R   Ammo   Close   Long  Clip Load









Melee Weapons

Weapon         Base Diff.     Damage Mod.