Player's Handbook - The Artifact RPG

211 Pages·2014·4.51 MB·English

The Artifact
Player's
Handbook
Created By: Emmett O'Brian
Written By: Emmett O'Brian
Cover Art Emmett O’Brian
Interior Art: Emmett O'Brian
Aaron O'Brian
Edited By: Alexia O'Brian
Rules Editor: Cody Pelz
A Note: This book is designed as a game, in no way are the aliens, monsters, powers, places,
and/or governments real. This book does not in any way reflect the author's or company's
attitudes or beliefs. If you find any material in any way offensive we give you our sincere
apologies. The game enclosed is designed to be fun, and a fantasy version of things in the future.
Dedicated To: Cody for putting up with my crack pot rants.
Player's Handbook 1 The Geetin 25
The Gijorn 26
A Report By Evan
Rantaa’ Books 26
Larrs 1
Banner Stones 26
The Artifact Itself 1
Science and Medicine 26
Technology 2
Kelrath Parties 27
CCC 2
Oracle 27
LCF 3
Communications Officer's
Energy Storage 3
Guide 30
Quantum Liquid Computers 4
Laser Technology 4 Communication 31
Plasma Technology 4 Scrambling Signals 31
Force Fields 5 Reinforcements 32
Anti-Gravity 5 Expert Advice 32
E-suits 5 Tactical Support 32
Subterranean Weather 6 Resupply 33
Surface Weather 6 Translation 33
Biology 6 Observation 33
Water 9 Sensor Inferometry 33
Clothing 9 Conduction Mapping 33
Photosynthetic Biosphere 9 Protection 34
Thermosynthetic Biosphere 9 Countermeasure Assistance 34
The Methane Wastes 10 Chezbah Hex Mainframe
Language 10 Virus 35
The Kelrath Language 13 Monitoring for Intrusion 35
The Scimrahn 15 Hacking 36
Intrusion Methods 36
Gadios 15
Advanced Hacking Rules 37
Music 16
Social Engineering 38
Guided by Signs 16
Deploying Viruses 38
Traveling Under Cover 17
Creating A Virus 38
Power Hex Conduits 19
Backdoor 39
Industry Hex Conduits 19
Trojan Viruses 40
Filtration Hex Conduits 19
Hosent Hive Virus 40
Agricultural Hex Conduits 20
The Network 41
Residential Hex Conduits 20
QLC Commands 42
Reservoir Hex Conduits 20
QLC Software 43
The Chezbah 21
Chezbah Reaction 43
Definition and Pronunciation 21 The Chezbah and the
Religion 21 Network 44
Masks 21 Kelrath Communications 44
Law 21 Computers and Software 45
Home Life 21
Software 46
Business 22
Engineer's Resource 52
Serving the Priesthood 22
The Engineering Team 52
Serving the Warrior Class 22
Measuring Work 53
Farming 22
Measuring Energy 53
Entertainment 23
Mobility 54
Industry 23
Road Building 55
Military Service 23
Bridge Building 55
Technology 23
Repairing and Starting Hex
Visiting the Kelrath 23 Conveyors 56
Vertical Transport of Heavy
Kelrath Cities 24
Equipment 57
Kelrath Society 25
Overcoming Enemy Defensive Cutting Charges 76
Blockades 57 Local Sources 76
Common Chezbah Defenses 58 Shaped Charges 76
Chezbah Warrior Bunkers 58 Maintenance 78
Lookouts 58 Field Repairs 79
Hull Down Positions 58 Field Enhancements 79
Hound Holes 59
Building 81
Buried Demolisher 59
The Manufacturing Process 81
Common Kelrath Defenses 59
Materials 81
Towers 59
Cement 81
Plugged Hex Passages 60
Mud Brick 82
Casemate Lookout 60
CCC 82
Kelrath Boobytraps 61
Cloth 83
Berms 61
Dirt 84
Gates 62
Metal 84
Magnetic Mines 62
Plastic 84
Countermobility 63
Build Time 84
Walls 63 Structures 85
Mines 63 Building Equipment 86
CCC Plug 63 Generating Power 86
Wire Obstacle 63 Custom Power Generation 89
Flooding 64 Weapon Build Transforms 95
Electric Wire Fence 64 Building Lasers 96
Traps 64 Building Plasma Weapons 98
Trap Concepts 65 Building Particle Beam
Block Dropping 66 Weapons 99
Vehicle Impact Traps 67 Building Meta Atom Weapons 100
E-Suit Leg Snares 67 Building Projectile Weapons 101
Springs 67 Building Mechanical Projectile
Snares 68 Weapons 103
Powered 68 Building Electro-Thermal Chemical
Planted Weapons 69 Weapons 104
Explosives 69 Building Electro-Magnetic
Lasers 69 Weapons 105
Plasma Spray 69 Building Missile Launchers 106
Magnetic Mines 69 Shields 108
Hazardous Ordinance Disposal 70
Ion Cascade Shields 108
Plasma Weapons 70
Kerdi Shields 110
Fuel Stores 70
Sensors and Countermeasures 110
Laser Weapons 70
Sensors 111
Batteries 70
Electro-Magnetic Counter
Chemical or Biological Weapons 71
Measures 112
Nanotech Weapons 71
Electro-Magnetic Counter Counter
Defense 72
Measures 113
Elevation 72 Illumination 114
Grade 72 Other Items 115
Water Barriers 72 Life Support 115
Channeling Enemy Approach 73 Turrets 115
Bunkers 73 Arms 115
Earthworks 73 Building Vehicles 118
Trench 74
Vehicle Ratings 119
Caponier 74
Light Vehicles 119
Moat 74
Medium Vehicles 120
Berm 74
Heavy Vehicles 121
Foxholes 75
Super Heavy Vehicles 121
Turret Down and Hull Down 75
Control Systems 122
Casemates and Lookouts 75
Computers 123
Demolition 76
Passengers 124
Cargo 124
Drive Types 124
Articulated 125
Land 126
Water 126
Flying 127
Orbital 130
Hull 131
Hull Material 131
Protecting Critical Hit Locations 132
Hull Mass 132
Final Mass Calculations 132
Power Demands 132
Vehicle Design Transforms 133
Critical Hit Locations 134
Equipment Compendium 138
Survival Gear 138
Scientific Hardware 147
Defensive Systems 150
Archaic Weapons 151
ASO / I-CA Weapons 154
Assault Weapon / Submachine
Gun 155
Artillery Weapons 160
Pistol Ammunition 163
Rifle Ammunition 163
Artillery Ammunition 166
12 Gauge Ammunition 167
Gun Accessories 167
Demolition and Construction 171
Non-Lethal Weapons 174
Chemical Cocktails 180
Acids 180
Scimrahn Survival
Gear 182
Scimrahn Weapons 184
Vehicles 186
Earth Vehicles 186
Skid Steer 191
ASO Vehicle 193
C-Suit 194
Scimrahn Vehicle 199
Appendix 202
T
Player's Handbook
h
e
The Player’s Handbook for There is a lot of general information
The Artifact RPG is a reference contained in this report is from the A
work, a tool box and an extensive viewpoint of a character within the r
expansion to two of the more game. There are no stats, and no t
complex character types in the game, the specific mention of equipment. This science i
f
Communications Officer and the Field report is designed to let the players know a lot a
Engineer. Through these pages the players get of general information about The Artifact and
c
a treasure trove of information about the its inhabitants. (Players also include the Game
t
world around them starting with a report by a Master in this instance.) This is done to
1
field scientist. encourage role play. Some of the information
in this book is conjecture on the part of Officer
The science report is an introductory
Larrs, and may be substantiated or
guide to The Artifact. It is told from the
contradicted at a later time, but for the most
viewpoint of an ASO field scientist Evan Larrs,
part this volume can be considered
giving a report to the ASO training branch.
authoritative.
A Report By Evan Larrs
Hello, my name is Evan Larrs. I sparseness of my documentation. My notes
signed up for The Artifact project in 2078 and were recovered from my P.D.A. (personal data
in 2079 I was accepted. I am a field scientist apparatus) by an alien thinking machine after
for the Artifact Study Organization (ASO) at it was melted by plasma fire. My estimate was
the time of this initial writing it is 2086 and that 36% of the information was
these are my findings for my first ten months unrecoverable. (My backups were destroyed
on the Artifact. I apologize for the occasional six days before by water damage.)
The Artifact Itself
When I first arrived on the Artifact I Artifact Potential Population
was astounded by it's immensity. Try as I 7,082,960,000,000,000,000 or 7.0E18
might, I can find that no words can prepare
you for the vast expanses. Perhaps 17th Plasma Conduits 4068
century sailors would have some sense of how
it is to travel for months and not see a soul or 95% of the current population lives in close
not have any obvious marker that you had proximity to a plasma conduit in .0002% of
gotten anywhere. In my records I found some the habitable area
initial calculations of volume.
The above are just rough calculations,
but they do serve one useful purpose. They
Total Volume S
convey that even when presented with aspects
309,510,000,000,000 km^3
of the Artifact it is difficult to grasp. Even c
when I see these figures, my mind can scarcely i
Core Volume 93,591,200,000,000 km^3 e
comprehend their enormity. Another statistic
n
that has been difficult to swallow is that at one
Polar Volume
time, there may have been over nine Trillion c
215,919,000,000,000 km^3
inhabitants of The Artifact at one time several e
thousand years ago.
Number of Hexes (Grier) 1,500,210,000,000 R
The Artifact is very different from
e
Number of incremental cities Earth, more so than it would at first seem.
p
24,593,616,868 Hexes are at the same time like being inside a
structure, and like being outdoors. A single o
r
t
thex is beyond the engineering capabilities of Artifact. Without it the hexes inside die and
rearth builders. This all seems academic until cannot support life as we "Earthers" are
o
one is forced to contend with them. The accustomed to. I will go into this later but for
pstructures in the Artifact shape the societies now it is suffice to say that just as we Earthers
ethat live in them. People have to adjust to the look to our Sun for life, the residents of The
Rstructures around them. There is no real Artifact look to the super heated plasma gas
weather, no day or night. Because radio is that distributes power to bowels of The

eonly good for short range communication Artifact's interior.
c(10km or less), and wire based The Industry Hexes are readily
ncommunication is expensive to implement, available factories able to produce nearly any
messengers are vital to communications.
e machine. This has caused a proliferation of
Radar is also a short range (10km) detection
i manufactured goods, with very few skilled
csystem, so other systems are needed. It is so laborers.
Sdifficult to explore the vast number of hexes
that a majority of The Artifact may have never Energy is widely available in the form
been seen. For all that we know there could be of plasma energy, this cheap availability of
the equivalent to the discovery of America power makes for unusual opportunities.
lying in the interior somewhere. Scientists can study high energy physics
applications that would blackout a city on
Darkness is ever present
earth. It has made the inhabitants of The
underground, with islands of powered areas
Artifact numb to the resources they wield on a
that sponsor life. Plasma power that gives
daily basis.
light, heat, and water is the life blood of The
Technology
As amazing as the technology on The none the less impressive. Energy storage is
Artifact may seem, there are only a few areas one such field. For the most part, high power
that the inhabitants are truly advanced in. The laser technology is dependent on the ability to
majority of the advanced technology that the store large amounts of energy. The Scimrahn
inhabitants use, are found within The Artifact and Kelrath use a conductive carbon polymer
itself. Plasma weapons and tools are an to make their high energy batteries and the
imitation of the technology in the plasma Chezbah use a lithium ion formula that is
conduits. Many material technologies such as extremely advanced.
CCC (Carbon Ceramic Composite) are the
Other advancements are evident, such
building materials of The Artifact. In addition,
as the liquid quantum computers used in most
many of the mechanical systems in vehicles
computer technologies on The Artifact. Below
such as E-suits can be found in Hosent.
is a detailed discussion of several of these
Several true advancements that are technologies.
not found "naturally" within The Artifact are
CCC
Carbon ceramic composite (or CCC) is carbon and a ceramic adhesive. The thickness
a substance that looks like stone but acts like a of these layers vary with their application. The
2cross between hard plastic and metal. For it's CCC in Hex (or Grier) walls is a very low grade
strength it is very light, having a tensile and the carbon layers are sometimes up to

tstrength only slightly lower than steel. half a centimeter thick. This makes the walls
c
more ridged and brittle. CCC used in every
a CCC is one of the most common
day items such as tools is a medium grade and
materials in The Artifact. It is the primary
f
the carbon layers are often in the range of four
iconstruction material The Artifact is
t to five hundred microns thick. High grade
composed of. It is used by the inhabitants in
r CCC is used in vehicle armor and engine
most of the places that people from earth
A
components and uses a higher grade ceramic
would use metal or plastic. There is very little
metal on The Artifact, and no fossil fuels to bonding agent. The ceramic layer is often only
e
ten to twenty microns thick.
make plastic from, although The Artifact's
h
inhabitants have made plastics from raw
T
carbon. It is constructed from thin layers of
CCC such as Hex walls. They don't have to T
make the carbon tubes that makes up CCC.
h
Whoever first made The Artifact could e
not have had the enormous quantity of these

tubes required to build The Artifact available A
to them. These raw materials must have been
The carbon layers of CCC is r
created by someone. How this was t
manufactured in individual paper thin sheets
accomplished is a question that is still i
and then laminated (or "glued") together by f
unanswered.
an even thinner layer of ceramic bonding a
agent. The carbon layers are made of The carbon layer of CCC is a good c
microscopic carbon tubes (essentially rolled conductor of electricity and heat. If the carbon t
up graphite) that intertwine and hook tubes were to be aligned, CCC would have 3
together to form a flexible sheet. nearly no resistance to the passage of heat and
electricity. However the random alignment of
Similar carbon tubes were discovered
the tubes does cause some resistance.
in a laboratory environment on Earth in the
late twentieth century. These tubes are very The ceramic layer of CCC however can
difficult to manufacture and manipulate on either serve as an insulator to heat and
any useful scale. The tubes are so small that electricity, or can be engineered to be a
billions of them would hardly be the size of limited conductor of heat, electricity, or both.
the period at the end of this sentence. An interesting upshot of this is that
The most amazing part of making computerized vehicle or tool can be given a
CCC is getting the microscopic tubes to limited sense of touch. A mild electrical field
connect together on a large scale. This is is passed through the carbon layers of CCC.
accomplished through a chemical soaking that When an object touches the outer hull, a small
unbinds the tubes allowing them to be spread current is drawn. The computer detects this
like a paste. The paste is then baked in ovens. and registers that the hull is touching
The fast drying process causes the tubes to something. If a significant amount of pressure
again, curl around each other and become a is applied to the hull, the pressure alters the
solid sheet. resistance of the CCC and the computer can
tell how much pressure is being applied by the
HDCCC (High Density Carbon
number of layers that are affected. Likewise,
Ceramic Composite pronounced "H, D, triple
damage to the hull also alters it's electrical
C") is manufactured using a slower
properties and is sensed as an artificial pain.
manufacturing process and complex drying
ovens that are difficult to maintain. This Another application of this is that
makes HDCCC a much stronger and a higher computers can communicate by touching the
quality. However it is also very scarce. hulls of two vehicles together and sending
data over their "skin". This allows for quiet
When the inhabitants of The Artifact
communication between vehicles. This feature
make CCC they break down already existing
is included mostly in military vehicles.
LCF
Liquid Carbon Fuel (or LCF) is Invented nearly two thousand years S
another carbon based material used by the ago by an unknown Kelrath scientist, LCF is a
c
inhabitants of The Artifact. There are no fossil carbon polymer. This polymer has many times
i
fuels in The Artifact, so for millennia, the explosive force of petroleum based fuels e
methane from the methane wastes, and used on Earth. It has nearly as much explosive n
plasma was used for fuel. However methane is power as some solid rocket fuels.
c
difficult to transport to everyone on The
e
Artifact and Plasma is difficult to store.

R
Energy Storage e
p
One of the few places plastics are used cathode of the battery, and a semi-conductive
o
by The Artifact's inhabitants is in manufacture layer becomes the anode. A third insulator
r
of batteries. Conductive plastics form a layer isolates the poles and allows each cell to
t
tbe given a high voltage charge. Because of These high voltage states allow the battery to
rthis, these batteries act like conventional hold a much higher level of power.
o
batteries, but also behave like capacitors.
p
e
Quantum Liquid Computers
R
Quantum Liquid Computers use silicon supplies began to become scarce (in

ephoton energy in a liquid sodium media to 2040), Liquid Quantum Computers have
cstore and calculate information. Although hundreds of times the quibits (Quantum Bits)
ncomputers using a similar processors became than those built on earth.
emore common on earth after transistor grade
i
c
SLaser Technology
Laser weapons used by the The most efficient laser inhabitants of
inhabitants of the planet are a never before The Artifact (namely the Chezbah) have
seen free electron laser or FEL design that is devised is a gamma ray laser that uses meta
much more efficient than earth designs at material black holes to create the energy
converting electrical power to optical power. emission media. However this laser is so
prohibitively expensive to build it has only
These lasers frequently use plasma
been installed on the Chezbah's orbital
mirrors as glass could melt under the energy
defense systems.
of the laser. A small plasma field is generated
that is reflective. This method also has the The most widely used laser is an
advantage of being rugged. Some Kelrath violet/ultraviolet laser that is still very
designs have been known to use diamonds as efficient in contrast to Earth technology.
reflecting mirrors but these are often in
stationary systems.
Plasma Technology
Most of the advanced plasma "slippery", in other words it can seep out of its
management seen in many of the everyday magnetic bottle. However, whoever
items on The Artifact is either identical to or constructed The Artifact developed a method
only slightly modified from the plasma of compressing tesla, or lines of magnetic
distribution system on The Artifact. From that force. This naturally happens in iron and
fact we know that there has been little or no other ferrous materials but is difficult to
advancement since The Artifact's creation. It achieve in air (or a vacuum). This process is
seems odd that over thousands of years, this still under study. All of that said, one might
technology has remained so stagnant. ask how does a plasma weapon work? The
system works something like this. A mild
Plasma is in essence superheated gas,
negative electrical charge is passed through
well into the tens of thousands of degrees. The
the air before the weapon is discharged. Then
molecules become so excited that they shed
a condensed magnetic field forces the
off their electrons and take on a positive
negatively charged air out of the way. Then a
electrical charge. The problem with plasma is
4 column of plasma is accelerated down the
that it is difficult to contain. If it touches it's
magnetic path. One upside of this method is
physical container the container melts or the
t that the plasma can be accelerated all the way
cplasma cools and looses energy. Plasma must
down the path to it's target by the magnetic
abe kept in a vacuum and away from the walls
field giving the weapons a relatively long
of it's container. One natural advantage to
f
range. Of course once the negatively charged
icontaining plasma is it's electrical charge.
t air is pushed out of the way, electrically
Because of it's charge plasma reacts with a
r neutral air tries to rush in to fill the void. As a
magnetic field. It also creates it's own
A
result the plasma has only a second of time to
"magnetic bottle", a magnetic containment
field. However plasma is notoriously travel to it's target.
e
h
T
Force Fields T
h
Force fields are high energy devices As matter or energy enter the field,
that make use of powerful magnetic fields and they are bombarded by the stream of ions. e
a cascade of ions to form a temporary curtain Plasmas diffuse and dissipate under this
A
to protect anything inside the force field. barrage. Photons in lasers are diffused or
These devices employ similar technologies as absorbed and become harmless light. Solid r
plasma weapons. Tesla compression, as used object such as bullets are deflected and a t
i
in plasma storage, allows more precise ion majority of their energy is absorbed. f
flow control and density. The emitter launches a
Standing too close to a force field is a hair
ions into the magnetic field at high velocity c
raising experience (literally). The electrical
and because they are electrically charged, they t
charge of the ions partially discharges in the
follow the path of the magnetic field. The ion
air and causes a (surprisingly) mild charge in 5
generator must either use the surrounding air
the local atmosphere, making hair stand on
(if there is any) to replenish ions, or
end and causes mild shocks.
preferably reclaim them as they curve back
along the magnetic field.
Anti-Gravity
Anti-Gravity systems vary in different fluctuates to cause the superconductor to spin.
applications. Some systems only produce lift, Once the electro magnet reaches one hundred
some are used in lift and propulsion. Many thousand RPM the engine has reached it's
Scimrahn systems are very simple. As a result optimal lifting capacity. Despite their relative
they are often not very efficient or fast. common nature, Anti-grav engines are
However some systems are so reliable, they expensive to build because of exacting
rarely need any type of maintenance. This is material fabrication. The superconducting
because most use magnetic fields and near cone, (also referred to as a core) is an
vacuums to eliminate friction. A cone shaped application of nanotechnology. The material
super conductor cooled to approximately -120 that makes up the core is a precisely aligned
C is suspended by magnetic coils. The field crystal of carbon, boron, and sodium.
E-suits
E-suits as a technology is a diverse These "muscles" allow
topic. Essentially the root idea behind the E- for quick reflexes that
Suit is traveling in harsh conditions. However, would be impossible in
most designs are military in nature. Each hydraulic systems.
nation has their own strategy to designing E-
The most
suits. Scimrahn suits are simple systems and
impressive feature of the
the chassis is designed for easy modifications
E-suit is it's complex
and repair. Kelrath suits tend to be well armed
and elegant control
and heavily armored. Chezbah E-suits are
system. In the TF-2394
designed to be light, compact, fast and
two terrain computers, A TF-2394 engine
maneuverable. E-suits are mainly hydraulic S
one in each leg, study assembly and protective
mechanisms supplying a majority of the sensor data and firewall c
system's movement. determine how to i
e
Scimrahn and Kelrath suits achieve maintain balance. The main computer
n
hydraulic power from internal combustion determine how to proceed according to the
engines. pilot's commands. The controlling computer c
uses multiple inputs including manual e
Chezbah suits use electromagnetic
controls and voice command. The systems can
rails that form a linear motor. Their more R
adjust on the fly as to what inputs are being
rugged construction vehicles use a sonic
used. One moment the manual controls are e
piston to create hydraulic pressure.
used to target, the next moment, the pilot can p
Fine motor skills use a metal and a bark out firing co-ordinates. The system's o
polymer basket weave tube that contract when flexibility it's primary strength.
r
and electrical current is passed through them.
t