Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Judge Dredd GW
Judge Dredd GW
Judge’s Manual
Originally published by Games Workshop
This unauthorized electronic version is courtesy of The Sector 142 South Reclamation Project, and has been updated to
include material from the Judge Dredd Companion sourcebook, as well as various published scenarios and articles.
Contents
1: INTRODUCTION.....................
INTRODUCTION...................................
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..... 4
R OLE
OLE-PLAYING GAMES ..........................
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HOW TO USE THESE BOOKS ..........................
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EQUIPMENT NEEDED ............................
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2: THE MAKING OF A JUDGE ..........................
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CREATING A CHARACTER ............................
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SPECIAL ABILITIES ..........................
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A JUDGE’S CHARACTER ............................
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A JUDGE’S EQUIPMENT ..........................
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A JUDGE’S WEAPONS ...........................
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........ 12
THE CHARACTER SHEETS ............................
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3: MAKING AN ARREST.....................
ARREST...................................
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GAME TURNS AND COMBAT R OUNDS OUNDS ..........................
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ACTIONS ............................
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PHASES ............................
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................ 18
THE ACTIONS ...........................
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...... 19
THE CHALLENGE ...........................
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SURRENDERING PERPS............................
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OPENING FIRE...........................
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...... 22
LIGHTING...........................
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MOVING TARGETS ...........................
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SHOOTING..........................
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TYPES OF FIRE ..........................
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...... 24
WEAPON MALFUNCTIONS ...........................
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................ 25
DAMAGE FROM WEAPONS ...........................
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................ 26
I NJURIES AND SAVING LIVES ............................
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.......... 28
DAMAGE TO EQUIPMENT ...........................
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THROWING MISSILES ............................
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HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT ...........................
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................ 31
PSYCHIC ATTACKS ..........................
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ARREST EXAMPLE ...........................
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............ 32
4: OTHER ACTIONS ............................
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........ 35
OTHER MOVE ACTIONS ..........................
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..... 35
S NEAKING AND SEARCHING ..........................
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LIFTING AND THROWING ...........................
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... 40
FALLS AND FALLING OBJECTS ............................
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........ 40
DOORS ...........................
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R EPAIRING
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5: ON PATROL ............................
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... 44
PATCHES & PATROLS ...........................
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COMMUNICATING ............................
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MOVING IN THE MEGA-CITY ............................
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MOVING ON FOOT............................
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PUBLIC TRANSPORT............................
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.......... 46
ACCESSING & USING DATA...........................
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ARRESTING & SENTENCING...........................
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TRANSPORTING PERPS ............................
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..... 48
BACK -U
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................ 48
BACK AT THE SECTOR HOUSE ............................
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........ 49
Contents
1: INTRODUCTION.....................
INTRODUCTION...................................
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..... 4
R OLE
OLE-PLAYING GAMES ..........................
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........ 4
HOW TO USE THESE BOOKS ..........................
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............... 5
EQUIPMENT NEEDED ............................
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.......... 5
2: THE MAKING OF A JUDGE ..........................
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........ 8
CREATING A CHARACTER ............................
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SPECIAL ABILITIES ..........................
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............ 10
A JUDGE’S CHARACTER ............................
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... 10
A JUDGE’S EQUIPMENT ..........................
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..... 11
A JUDGE’S WEAPONS ...........................
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........ 12
THE CHARACTER SHEETS ............................
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............... 17
3: MAKING AN ARREST.....................
ARREST...................................
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........ 18
GAME TURNS AND COMBAT R OUNDS OUNDS ..........................
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ACTIONS ............................
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PHASES ............................
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................ 18
THE ACTIONS ...........................
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...... 19
THE CHALLENGE ...........................
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SURRENDERING PERPS............................
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OPENING FIRE...........................
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LIGHTING...........................
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MOVING TARGETS ...........................
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SHOOTING..........................
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TYPES OF FIRE ..........................
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...... 24
WEAPON MALFUNCTIONS ...........................
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................ 25
DAMAGE FROM WEAPONS ...........................
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................ 26
I NJURIES AND SAVING LIVES ............................
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.......... 28
DAMAGE TO EQUIPMENT ...........................
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... 28
THROWING MISSILES ............................
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........ 30
HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT ...........................
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................ 31
PSYCHIC ATTACKS ..........................
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ARREST EXAMPLE ...........................
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4: OTHER ACTIONS ............................
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........ 35
OTHER MOVE ACTIONS ..........................
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..... 35
S NEAKING AND SEARCHING ..........................
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LIFTING AND THROWING ...........................
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... 40
FALLS AND FALLING OBJECTS ............................
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........ 40
DOORS ...........................
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R EPAIRING
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..... 42
5: ON PATROL ............................
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PATCHES & PATROLS ...........................
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COMMUNICATING ............................
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MOVING IN THE MEGA-CITY ............................
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MOVING ON FOOT............................
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PUBLIC TRANSPORT............................
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.......... 46
ACCESSING & USING DATA...........................
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ARRESTING & SENTENCING...........................
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TRANSPORTING PERPS ............................
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..... 48
BACK -U
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................ 48
BACK AT THE SECTOR HOUSE ............................
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........ 49
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ORGANISATION ............................
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6: EXPERIENCED
EXPERIENCED JUDGES ..........................
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........... 52
SPECIALIST JUDGES ............................
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EXPERIENCE POINTS ...........................
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USING EPS ............................
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SPECIAL ABILITIES ..........................
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I NITIATIVE BASED ABILITIES ............................
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COMBAT SKILL ABILITIES ...........................
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DRIVE SKILL ABILITIES ..........................
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TECHNICAL SKILL ABILITIES ............................
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STREET SKILL ABILITIES ...........................
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MEDICAL SKILL ABILITIES ............................
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PSI SKILL ABILITIES ...........................
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.......... 64
1: Introduction
One time, a hip juve could only sit and read of Mega-City One in the pages of 2000 AD, and merely dream of stalking its
deadly streets at the side of that most famous of lawmen, Judge Dredd. With Judge Dredd - The Role-Playing Game,
however, you can really be there, patrolling the meg-ways and underzooms on your Lawmaster on the lookout for dangerous
perps. In this volume, you will find rules for creating individual Judges, rigged out with all the necessary skills and equipment,
and for patrolling the city, watching out for criminals. There are rules for arresting lawbreakers, using force, weapons, or just
plain Authority, and a good many others, all there to help you do your job as a full-time Judge of Mega-City One.
The companion volume to this one, the Game Master's Book, has details on setting up and running adventures for Judges,
including the many different types of crimes and criminals that abound in Mega-City One, together with rules for equipment,
weapons, aliens, mutants and robots, and much more besides. In short, there are all the rules you need to create hundreds
of crime-fighting adventures in Mega-City One!
Role-Playing Games
This game is not a traditional board-game; as the name says, this is a 'Role-Playing Game'. This means that you don't simply
throw dice and move a piece around a track on a board in an abstract way. Instead, each player in the game actually takes
on the role of a Judge, almost like an actor in a film, and tries to play the game as if they really were that person.
Since everyone plays an individual 'character', as each person in the game is usually called, you also need someone to
actually run the game for you. This referee, known as the 'Game Master' (or GM), doesn't play a character like you do.
Instead, he designs the cases for you to solve, using the game rules presented in this book and his own special manual, the
Game Master's Book. Equipped with an adventure he has designed earlier, your Game Master will then present it to you in
the form of a Judges' investigation, revealing the plot piece by piece as you solve each clue or win each fight. He will use the
game rules to decide on the outcome of random events - whether one of your punches lands, how fast a speeding car is
travelling, and so on - leaving you free to play the Judges and solve the case. Basically, a Game Master presents situations
to you, but then asks you to decide what to do next.
It is also the job of the Game Master to make the adventures he sets up, the criminals and the crimes he creates, as devious
and interesting as he can, in order to make the game as challenging and exciting for his players as possible. The Game
Master must be able to do this fairly, however, for the Judges are playing, not against him or her, but the crooks and their
crimes that he or she creates, and the rest of the 'world' they run. Although it is the Game Master who takes on the role of the
criminals, aliens, robots, and all the other people and entities the Judges have to meet, fight, or arrest, he must remember
that he is primarily there to make the game run smoothly and in an exciting, challenging manner. If the Game Master simply
kills off all of the Judges in the first ten minutes of an adventure there won't be much of a game left to play (There are more
detailed guidelines on how a Game Master creates and runs adventures in The Game Master's Book.)
When playing this, or indeed any role-playing game (RPG), it is important that everyone understands that there is no one
winner or loser of the game, as such. Because the Judges should be played as though they were, in effect, real people,
albeit ones living in a fantasy world, their lives should be realistic too, with all that that implies. Certainly, there are triumphs
and failures, and it is the high point of many a game when the Judges finally capture a criminal they have been chasing, via
all manner of clever clues, for many weeks, but this is a different sort of winning, and should be enjoyed by everyone playing,
rather than just one winner. Similarly, the players must not think that they are playing against the Game Master; they are
attempting to solve the puzzles he sets, and to fight the criminals he has created, but not actually fighting against him. To
most players, it is the thrill of imagining they are actually there in Mega-City One, stalking the streets as Judges, on the trail
of infamous perps and dangerous aliens, which is the real excitement of playing the game.
The players, when playing their Judge characters, must also try to be unbiased, and forget that they know things that their
characters could never know. For example, although Steve Williams (player) may know how to analyse fingerprints, unless
Judge Washington (his character) possesses a similar skill, the Judge will not be able to do such a thing. The actual
mechanics of the game, such as the number you must roll on the dice to fire a Lawgiver successfully, for example, would
again not be known by your Judge. It is this 'playing in character' aspect that stretches the imagination of each player, and
really makes this a role-playing game.
All the players in Judge Dredd must remember that they are part of a team, and it is through co-operation, rather than
competition, that they will solve the clues, catch the crooks and bring them to justice. Players must work together - the streets
of Mega-City One (as any reader of 2000 AD will know) are so tough that a single inexperienced Judge wouldn't last very
long, and only the very best Judges go out alone. Even the mighty Judge Dredd needs help sometimes! As the game
progresses, and the Judges gain experience and specialist abilities, each will become an individual part of the team,
specialising in a field that his or her fellow Judges know very little about. Playing as part of a team will help keep any 'winner'
and 'loser' urges down to a minimum as well; and after all, a communal fantasy, shared by a group of people each playing
their part, is so much more enjoyable than anything one person could ever dream up on their own!
It must also be remembered that although Judges have a free choice as to what they do when on patrol in Mega-City One, or
in pursuit of criminals, they are not free agents as such. All their efforts must be directed towards fulfilling their calling, which
is upholding the Law of Mega-City One. On rare occasions, this may even mean that you are forced to 'sacrifice' a favourite
Judge character in attempting to perform something against your own best interests. This is the essence of good role-
playing, however, and will be looked back on with fond memories later, no matter how much it hurts at the time!
At first, everyone should read this volume, The Judge's Manual; it gives a general introduction to the game, as well as
containing all that a Judge's player should need to know. One person should then elect, or be chosen, to be the Game
Master, and only he or she should be allowed to read the Game Master's Book. Much of the information the second volume
contains would only spoil the game for the players if they knew it, so it is better if only the GM has access to it.
When reading through either book, it is a good idea to follow through the examples, and possibly make up some of your own.
Roiling up a few sample Judges to try out the rules with will help you understand any unfamiliar sections; later, try running
through a few arrests similar to the examples given. Whilst it certainly isn't necessary to have memorised everything in the
Judge's Manual, a good knowledge of the basic rule system is very helpful when it comes to playing the game.
Equipment Needed
Apart from the two rulebooks, there are a number of other items which will be of some use in playing Judge Dredd, including
dice, miniature figures and floor-plans.
Dice
A set of moulded plastic dice are used throughout the game whenever an action has a chance of succeeding or failing, or a
particular random number is required.
The shapes of these dice may be unfamiliar to you. Quite simply, each is named after the number of sides it has, or the
range of the numbers it can generate. Thus, the pyramid shaped die has 4 sides, can generate a number between 1 and 4,
and is simply known as a 4-sided die; this is usually abbreviated to D4, where D stands for 'die' and the '4' is the number of
sides it has. This particular game uses dice with 4, 6, 10, 12, and 20 sides.
The four-sided die (D4) is used to generate a number from 1 through to 4; it differs from the other dice in that it is read
around the base, rather than on the uppermost surface, because of the pointed 'pyramid' shape. The 6-sided die (D6), 10-
sided die (D10), 12-sided die (D12), and 20-sided die (D20) are read on the upper surface.
When a number between 1-100 is needed, you should roll two D10 , and read the result as if the first was the 'Tens' and the
second was the 'Units'. For example, rolling two D10 results in a 6 and an 8; the number generated is therefore 68. When
this type of roll is required, it is usually referred to as a D100. This roll is used frequently in Judge Dredd , as it can easily be
used to simulate the percentage chance of succeeding at a particular action. When used in this way, the idea is to roll less
than or equal to the percentage required. For example, with a 48% chance of doing something, any roll on a D100 between 1
and 48 would indicate success.
A few other number-spreads will occasionally be required. A D2 means you should roll a D4, and halve the result. The
easiest way to do this is to take 2 from any result above 2; thus a 3 would be 1, and a 4 would be 2. This method can also be
applied to a D6 to create a D3, and a D10 to make a D5.
A number before the 'D' means roll that many of the die specified. Thus, 4D6 means you should roll 4 six-siders, and add the
result together (to get a number between 4 and 24 in this case); 2D10 is a number between 2 and 20, and 3D2 is one
between 3 and 6.
There may also be a need to add or subtract (or 'modify') a die roll. For example, the term D6+1 simply means roll a six-sider,
and add one to the score - which gives you a number between 2 and 7. Similarly, D6-1 means roll the die and take one away
from the result to give you a number between 0 and 5. A slightly more complicated example may ask you for something like
2D10+20, where you must roll two D10s, add the scores together, and add a further 20 to the result. This gives a number
between 22 and 40, and you will soon discover that you will be using this particular die roll quite frequently.
With careful application of these various principles virtually any spread of numbers can be generated simply by the rolling of
a few dice. If in doubt, or you need to apply a value to an action that hasn't been assigned one, assign a percentage chance
of success based on how difficult the action is, and use a D100 .
Miniature Figures
Although Judge Dredd can be played strictly verbally, contained totally within the imaginations of the Game Master and
players, this will present problems when it comes to remembering where everybody's Judge is, who is hiding behind who,
who can be hit by the perp with the gun, and so on.
For this reason, it is very useful to have a number of scaled model figures to represent Judges, perps, monsters, vehicles,
and anything else which could crop up in the game. When the figures are arranged on the tabletop you will be able to see
exactly where everyone is, and avoid any confusion. Figures also add a focus to the game, allowing all the players to work
together around a central area.
Citadel Miniatures made a useful range of Official Judge Dredd Miniatures, designed especially for use with this role-playing
game. The range includes citizens, punks, juves, and other typical characters as well as Judges and their Lawmasters. You
could also use selected figures from other ranges, including gangsters, superheroes, and science fiction figures - after all,
Mega-City One is a very weird place!
With a little imagination you can also build your own settings on which to play out your adventures, though this is by no
means essential. Toys, especially model cars and trucks, are obviously useful. Children's building blocks, rail-way and
modeling accessories, polystyrene sheets and blocks, and all kinds of other oddments can also be useful, using just a little
bit of imagination.
Scales
Although movement rates are fully covered in the rules that follow, you will generally need some form of scale it you are
playing on a tabletop. A standard scale is to use 5cm (2 inches) to stand for 3m (or 10 feet). This will make a 25mm
cardboard or metal figure about 2m tall, and is also compatible with commercially available floor-plan sets.
Other Equipment
Apart from the dice, the only essential items needed are pencils, erasers, and a healthy supply of scrap paper for making
notes, drawing rough maps and soon. The two special Character Record Sheets may be copied, or you can write the details
of your Judge on scrap paper when you create him or her - in a few moments from now...
THE MEGA-TIMES
5 November 2107
Mornings begin pretty early here for the raw recruit - it's up at 06H00, and in the classroom by seven, a time when most of
Mega-City's night-people
night-people are just about to hit the sack. From 07H00 to 12H00, a Cadet receives academic tuition from one of
the Academy's Judge-Tutors.
Judge-Tutors. I asked Judge-Tutor Coburn how his pupils took to their rigorous study program,
program, especially the
young ones - remember a Judge's training starts at 5 years old!
“We get the Cadets via Gen-Con (Genetic Control),” he said, “so they have no problems taking to it, because they are
selected specifically
specifically to be ideal pupils, and eventually ideal Judges.”
“But surely,” I asked, “you get truancies, fighting and arguments just like any other school?” Judge Coburn's reply was, I
was soon to learn, a typical one: “No, the only thing the Cadets want to be is a Judge. It's a privilege and an honour to be
chosen, and no Cadet gives us anything less than his best - complete dedication."
You only have to look at the older Cadets to see how true these words are. “Judges are trained to serve the citizens,” said
one Cadet I spoke to. “We can't afford to have emotions or interests, because they are unnecessary to our jobs, and would
hinder our interpretation of the Law.”
I grabbed a quick synthi-burger in the canteen, before Judge-Tutor Cooper took me round to the Gym. “It's no good
knowing every single Law of the city if you can't enforce any of them,” he told me, thrusting a pair of plasti-flex boxing gloves
onto my hands. “Here we teach every martial art ever practiced; we hone every reflex, and teach the Cadets how to deal with
injury, stress and
and violence all the things they will
will need out there on the streets!”
streets!” And with that, he pushed me into the ring.
When I came round, the Medics were just finishing up. “You just went 8 seconds with Cadet Lee over there,” he said,
splashing some noxious liquid onto my bruises. Lee couldn't have been more than seven years old.
After a cup of synthi-synthi-caff,
synthi-synthi-caff, I could almost move normally again, and went to find Judge Eastwood down at the firing
ranges. The Judge was demonstrating fast shooting and dodging techniques to a group of 12-year olds when I arrived. “The
Lawgiver is the most powerful handgun in the world,” he told me, “and a Judge is the most highly trained lawman in the
world.” I didn't argue, as I watched a group of Cadets weaveweave their way through a Fire Tunnel. “The Fire Tunnel is designed
to improve reflexes,“ Judge Eastwood told me. “The student has to get from one end to the other. Between the entrance and
exit, however, there are a series of invisible laser beams. The Cadet is bound to trip at least half-a-dozen of them as he
traverses the range; once activated in this manner, one of the guns will swing into line, giving the Cadet about a half-second
to spot it, react, and get out of the way before the weapon
weapon fires!” I watched open-mouthed
open-mouthed for five minutes or so, but none of
the Cadets were hit, which was just as well,well, as they were using live ammunition. It was getting late by now, however, and I
was due to go out with some Rookies at 20H00 hours, so I left the firing range, heading off to Justice Control. Eastwood's
warning came just too late, and then 'dagga-dagga-dagga!!' and I hit the deck double-fast. The Medics seemed pleased to
see me again. Fortunately, it was only a minor flesh wound, and I was able to keep my appointment with Judge Van Cleef
and his Rookies.
“Where’d ya get the plasti-cast?” asked Judge Van Cleef, as I tried to shake hands with the famed veteran Lawman. He
introduced me to the other Judges, both Rookies. When a Cadet is eighteen years old he faces his final examinations, and. if
he passes, becomes a Rookie Judge, and is awarded the white helmet and half-eagle insignia that goes with the rank.
“Being a Rookie is a testing time for us,” explained Rookie Judge Tamlyn. “For one thing, it's our first real experience of the
Mega-City. As Cadets, we weren't even permitted outside the Academy complex itself, except as organised touring parties
and the like.”
I asked Rookie Judge Dolton if he thought that this isolation from the city made it harder to understand the motives of the
citizens. “Our job,” he said. “isn't
“isn't to understand citizens, but to
to enforce the Law.” I accompanied Judge Van Van Cleef and
Rookie Tamlyn on patrol in Sector 101. Every Rookie spends at least a month working in the company of a senior Judge, an
experience which is designed to round off all those years of training. At the end of the day, it rests solely on the word of this
senior Judge as to whether the Rookie qualifies as a full Judge or not; it is a measure of the Rookies' dedication to their
calling that 99.7% of them make it first time!
“A Judge has got to be on the look-out for crime every waking minute,” Judge Van Cleef explained, disapprovingly
declining the stick of Munce Gum I offered him. “A Judge has to be able to apply the Law indiscriminately, without favour,
and without regard for the severity of the crime. To a Judge, all crime is a breach of the Law, and therefore has to be
punished.” It was as I listened to the hardened Judge, that I witnessed Rookie Judge Tamlyn's first ever arrest. “Citizen
Snoop,” she said to me, “you must know that littering is an offence.” I looked disconsolately down
down at the Munce Gum wrapper
in the gutter, and smiled weakly at the Judge.
NEXT WEEK – The Tough Life in our Prison Service. An in-depth probe into the hardships endured by iso-cube guards in
Sector 101, by our man on the spot, at least for the next 100 days, Douglas Snoop, prisoner number 226/104972.
2: The Making
Making of a Judge
The training of a Mega-City Judge is long and grueling, but then it needs to be, if only to cope with life on the streets
themselves,
themselves, where on average ninety-six crimes are committed every second. Children that have the correct genetic makeup
to be suitable Judge material are identified by Genetic Control at a very early age, and when they reach 5 years old are
enrolled at the Academy of Law, a vast Justice Department complex that will be their only home for the next 13 years. The
Academy provides everything
everything a growing child could need - schooling, recreation, playmates and friends, and a stable home,
but everything is geared to a future life as a Judge.
At the age of eighteen, after all the many years of exhaustive training, a Cadet Judge takes his final examinations, both
written and practical, and upon passing receives the coveted white helmet and half-eagle of a Rookie Judge. Rookie Judges
are a breed apart from the rest of the trainees: they have their own quarters in the Academy, away from the younger pupils,
and a very competitive spirit often prevails between the various Rookies, as each tries to outdo the others in training. At this
time, each Rookie is assigned to an experienced Judge, who takes him or her out onto the streets for the first time, to
experience 'combat conditions'. Provided they satisfy the Judge, whose word can make or break a Rookie, they are awarded
the black helmet and full eagle of a Judge.
In Judge Dredd - The RoIe-Playing Game, Game , the Judges are assumed to have already undergone this arduous and time-
consuming period of training, and to have just qualified as fully-fledged Judges, ready to fight crime on the streets of Mega-
City One. This chapter details how each player creates a Judge character, by rolling dice to define their various
characteristics
characteristics and skills, and then adding their equipment and weapons.
Creating a Character
Every character in Judge Dredd, from the Chief Judge to the lowest mutant, is defined by way of a number of characteristics,
dice-generated scores which go together to make up the skills and personality of each individual person.
As you begin creating your Judge, you should write the various details on a scrap of rough paper; his or her details can be
later transferred to the specially-designed Character Sheets included later in this chapter, once all the details have been
finally worked out.
Strength
Roll D10 for
for your Judge's Strength score,
Strength score, and consult the following chart:
Roll Strength
1–6 2
7–9 3
10 4
This characteristic is a measure of how tough a Judge is - it covers his ability to both inflict and take damage, as well as his
build and general fitness. It will be applied should your Judge have to knock down doors or lift heavy objects, bend steel bars
or wrench open traps. Slightly-built
Slightly-built Judges will have a Strength of
Strength of 2; most characters will have the average score of 3; really
tough or huge Judges will have a Strength of
Strength of 4. Female Judges with a Strength of
Strength of 4 aren't necessarily hulking great monsters
who look like East-Meg lady shot-putters, however; rather, they are tough, with great reserves of stamina and endurance.
As we go along, we're going to create a Judge, to show how it's all done. We've already decided to call him Judge Blaylock
(and that he actually is a him!), and we'll start off with his Strength score.
Strength score. We roll a 4 on the D10,
D10, which is counted as 2: an
average score, meaning Blaylock is nothing special Strength-wise.
Strength-wise.
Initiative
For this skill you should roll 2D10 , add the scores together, and add a further 20 points, to get a final score between 22 and
40 points. Initiative is
Initiative is a measure of the speed and alertness of a character, and like all the skills, except only for Strength,
Strength, it
has a full range from 1 to 100. Due to his extensive training, a Judge has a head-start on most other people, and can later
increase his score even further with training and experience on the streets. Initiative will
Initiative will be used to determine how fast you
can move or act, in such situations as fighting, dodging, running, making snappy decisions,
decisions, and so on. It is also a measure of
how fit and dexterous you are, and may be used to determine how far you can jump or swing on a rope, for example.
Combat Skill
Again, you should roll 2D10 plus another 20 for your Judge's starting Combat Skill . A Judge with a high score in this
characteristic is a good marksman, is able to handle a weapon better, and is skilled in hand-to-hand fighting. Given time,
however, even the lowest of Combat Skills can
Skills can be improved, with practice and experience, so a low CS is
CS is only a temporary
disadvantage.
Our example, Judge Blaylock, only rolls a 2 and a 1, which added to the 20 still only gives a starting Combat Skill of
Skill of 23.
Blaylock is
Blaylock is going to be spending a lot of time in the firing ranges, working hard at that shooting!
Drive Skill
Drive Skill is
is rolled on 2D10 plus
plus a further 20 points; the resulting score is a measure of your Judge's ability at controlling a
vehicle. In the 22nd Century just about everyone can control a simple hover-car, but negotiating a high-powered Lawmaster
bike along crowded roads with minimum speed limits of 300 kilometers an hour requires a certain amount of training and
skill! Judges and other characters with a very high Drive Skill are
are allowed to attempt dangerous stunt maneuvers and other
spectacular driving feats, as will be explained later.
Technical Skill
Your Judge's Tech Skill is
is rolled, again, on 2D10 plus
plus a further 20 points, and is a measure of his technical competence
when trying to cope with the advanced technology of the era. This will include the use of computers and other sophisticated
devices, and the ability to repair damaged weapons and equipment in a hurry. If your starting Tech Skill is is particularly high,
you may be able to specialise as a Tech-Judge (see Special Abilities below).
Abilities below).
Judge Blaylock is
Blaylock is a typically average character when it comes to his Tech Skill,
Skill, as he rolled a total score of 29 (7+8+20). It
could be worse, however, and can be raised with experience and training.
Medical Skill
Generated for beginning Judges by rolling 2D10 plus
plus another 20 points, Med Skill will
will prove to be a very useful characteristic.
characteristic.
The streets of Mega-City One where the Judges patrol are highly dangerous places, and a good MS MS may mean the
difference between life and death. Med Skill covers
covers all aspects of First Aid and other medical knowledge; it may also branch
out, at higher levels, into detailed knowledge of aliens, mutants or animals. A particularly high starting Med Skill may
may allow
your character to specialise as a trained Med-Judge, as detailed below.
Street Skill
Roll 2D10 plus
plus 20 again for your Judge's Street Skill . All Judges are trained to be cool, imposing and unflappable, with a
voice that will stop a perp dead at 20 meters; this is reflected in the Street Skill score. The characteristic also covers
knowledge of a particular area, and various other 'streetwise' abilities such as sensing whether a perp is lying to you when
you interrogate him.
Psi Skill
This characteristic is generated by rolling 2D10 and
and adding 20 to the result, but there are further complications, because the
gift of full psychic powers is a very rare one. Any Judge with a Strength score
Strength score of 2 may roll for a bonus of 1D6 points,
points, which
is added to their PS. Psychic skills tend to be more prominent in Judges who are of a slighter, more delicate build. If the
Judge has a Strength of 4, though, he cannot have Psychic skills; no-one seems to know why this happens.
When rolling for Psi Skill there is a chance that your Judge is psychically immune. This chance is 1 in 10, or 10%. To check
whether your Judge is immune, roll a D100 ; if the score is 10 or less he is resistant, and will be totally unaffected by psychic
powers directed at them. A Judge who is completely immune will have a Psi Skill rated as '000', to indicate their immunity.
If you end up with a Psi Skill of 40 or even more, you are eligible to become a Psi-Judge and develop your special talents.
These will include the ability to use various psychic powers. If, however, your PS is under 40, it can never be increased
beyond this by practice - unlike the other skills.
Judge Blaylock rolls his Psi Skill - two 5s plus a 3 on his Strength bonus plus the additional 20 points give him a PS of 33, a
perfectly average score for a Judge. Checking for psychic immunity, he rolls an 85, and quite obviously fails to get the 10%
needed.
Special Abilities
If you roll a maximum score of 40 for any of your Judge's skills or Initiative there are added bonuses, and you may choose a
Special Ability . Normally only more experienced Judges have scores high enough to receive them, but this Judge is
obviously an exceptionally good officer. All this is explained fully in the Special Abilities section.
A Judge who rolls a straight 40-plus for their Psi, Tech or Med Skills may also choose to become a specialist Judge, and
concentrate on their special talent. If you don't want to be a specialist you can still choose a Special Ability and develop the
skill (though a non-Psi Judge can only ever have one Psi-based ability, if any). See the Special Abilities section for more
details; your GM has further details if you need advice on this.
Handedness
Once all your Judge's characteristics have been rolled and adjusted, you should decide whether your Judge is right or left
handed. The choice is yours, and needs no die roll, as it makes no difference to your capabilities. All Judges are trained to be
ambidextrous in their first year as Cadets, but every Judge will have a preferred hand, in which he will usually be found
holding a weapon. In the event of an injury to one of his hands, it may be necessary to know which one he was using at the
time, which is why it should be chosen now.
A Judge’s Character
Up to now, all the details of your Judge have been abstract, and rather mathematical. In a Role-Playing game such as this
one, however, the emphasis should be on playing the character as a real person, rather than simply using it like a playing
piece on a board. Those numbers you have just rolled can define your Judge in terms of how strong he is, or how well he can
fight; what they don't tell you is what sort of a person he is. In the Judge Dredd stories in 2000AD, you can quite easily see
that every single Judge has his or her own particular character. Dredd is stern but fair, always sticking to the letter of the Law
with a grim dedication. Psi-Judge Anderson, is almost completely the opposite: she is flippant and irreverent, and doesn't
appear to take her work too seriously. So what sort of person is your Judge going to be? Remember, despite their public
image as faceless robots, every Judge you play should be a different person.
When defining your Judge's character, you should remember that Judges are utterly dedicated to the Law that they serve,
though each serves it in their own special way, and as far as their job is concerned it is their sole guide on how to govern
their actions. Whatever personality you play your Judge as, remember that the Law comes first. All Cadets and Rookies are
taught to subdue their own personal feelings, and to let the Law be their guide. As a Judge matures, though, his training will
instill in him a reliance on a delicate combination of superb training and strong personal qualities; strength of character is
therefore just as important to any Judge.
It may help you consider the sort of character your Judge has, if you decide on the various facets of his character, and his
attitudes to the things around him. For each different aspect of his personality, he will vary between two extremes; for
example, his character should fall somewhere between 'Very Trusting' and 'Highly Suspicious', for example. Decide upon
your Judge's other aspects in the same way, seeing what his sense of humour is like, whether he is a loner or part of a team,
a natural leader or a typical follower, and so on, until you have fully rounded out your Judge's character.
A Judge's attitudes to the various aspects of Mega-City life may also help in defining his character. Judge Dredd, for example
retains a very professional distance from everything except the Law he serves - although he looks on much of Mega-City life
with distaste, this rarely brims over into an actual dislike. Some Judges, however, get on well with mutants, whilst others hate
them, for example, and the same may apply to other groups - juves (or young people), robots, aliens, or whatever. As you
gradually encounters all the differing forms of life, whilst on patrol in the Mega-City, your Judge will form his opinions more
clearly, but you may like to have some starting preconceptions.
There can never be any hard and fast rules about how you should go about role-playing your character; the most important
things, however, are that you try to differentiate between what you know and what your Judge knows, and try to play in
character; and above all, that The Law is all.
A Judge’s Equipment
Life on the streets of Mega-City One for a Judge can be very tough, as you will discover soon enough. For this reason, you
have some very special equipment to help you cope, including a toughened protective uniform, a personalised weapon (the
Lawgiver pistol), your own personal transport (the Lawmaster bike), and a number of other special items.
Helmet
Every full Judge wears the characteristic black helmet, which manages to combine communication equipment, a respirator,
and an anti-glare visor. The helmet itself is very tough, though flexible, being made of expanded plasti-steel resin, and offers
your Judge an initial 75% chance of protection from a head wound (this system is explained further in Chapter 3, Making An
Arrest ).
Helmet Radio
Most importantly, after its initial protection value, the helmet has a radio built into it. This gives direct access to your
Lawmaster, and (via the bike's computer) to MAC, the Justice Department central computer. This microphone remains
functional at all times; it cannot be switched off (an unnecessary function in any case), and therefore doesn't need to be
activated should you need it.
Respirator
The Respirator is fitted in position at the top of the helmet when not in use; when it is required, you can pull it down over your
nose and mouth with a free hand. Respirators are 99% effective against all types of harmful gases. The Anti-glare Visor
serves two purposes. Its main function is to protect your eyes from any sudden blinding flashes, from explosions and the like;
this it does with 90% efficiency. It also hides your eyes and much of your face, giving you a very imposing, and impersonal,
appearance, which helps command respect from those you encounter.
Armour
You must be prepared to take a few knocks on every tour of duty - it's a tough world out there! As a result, your uniform is
strengthened at the elbows, knees, and shoulders with plasti-steel reinforced padding, which is very tough and hard-wearing.
Each piece of padding (there is one piece on each arm and each leg) provides a 25% protection chance, as detailed in
Chapter 3.
Gloves
The gloves you wear are made from a similar material to your uniform's padding, with a light but resilient synthi-fabric
strengthened by short strips of plasti-steel. As well as protecting your hands, however, the gloves also provide additional
storage space, with each glove having small pouches on the back of the forearm. Those on the left glove each contain three
Heat Seeker bullets; those on the right have three shots of Hypo ammunition. (These types of ammunition are explained
below, in the description of the Lawgiver pistol.)
Boots
A Judge's boots need to be extra-tough, and are made of the same strong material as your gloves and padding; they also
provide space for some of the Judge's weapons. The right boot incorporates the holster for your Lawgiver pistol, a position
which enables you to draw the weapon quickly when riding your Lawmaster, as well as on foot. The left boot incorporates a
sheath for a handy boot knife. (These positions are reversed for a left-handed Judge.)
Utility Belt
Each Judge's Utility Belt incorporates a number of padded pouches, which are designed to be easily opened using only one
hand. The following items are contained within the pouches:
A Birdie Lie Detector, five Bleepers, 2 sets of Hand Cuffs, a Hand Radio, an Infra-Red Lawgiver Sight, three Lawgiver
Magazines, a Lawgiver Silencer, a Medi-Pack, a Pollution Meter, three Stumm Grenades, and a Flashlight.
For example, Judge Blaylock is on the trail of the perp w ho has just mugged (or tapped ) a citizen. Spotting a scruffily-dressed
punk hurrying away from the scene, he apprehends him, and begins questioning him about the tap, using his Birdie. Blaylock
has a Street Skill score of 28, which, when added to the basic Birdie score of 50%, gives a chance of detecting a lie of 78%.
Whilst the punk vigorously denies his involvement, the Game Master rolls for the Birdie, on a D100. Getting a score of 22 the
GM informs Blaylock that the Birdie doesn't register any falsehood (because, in fact, the punk is telling the truth!).
Bleeper
You will occasionally, during the course of your work, need to put a tail on someone, and to this end you carry a number of
Bleepers. Bleepers are small radio transmitters that can be attached to clothing, dropped in a pocket, or stuck to the
underside of a vehicle. Using your Lawmaster communications unit, you can follow the source of the signal from a distance
(up to one whole City Sector).
Hand-Cuffs
Cuffs are used to restrain arrested Perps once they have been apprehended, either on their own or used in conjunction with
a Holding Post (see Chapter 5, On Patrol ). The cuffs themselves are engineered in toughened plasti-steel, and can only be
opened using a high-powered cutting tool or the special keys only available at Justice Department buildings pr PatWagons.
Hand Radio
The hand-radio provides a useful back-up to your helmet radio, and is powerful enough to allow you to communicate directly
to virtually everywhere within the Mega-City, but specifically with MAC , the Justice Department computer. (There is more
information on Communications, in Chapter 5: On Patrol later.)
Medi-Pack
A Judge's Medi-Pack contains simple dressings and drugs; these include broad-spectrum allergy pills, anti-rad pills, and
various antibiotics. The use of a Medi-Pack will add 10% to your Med Skill, when attempting to give First Aid, as detailed in
Chapter 3: Making An Arrest.)
Pollution Meter
The pollution meter is a simple hand-held device, similar in appearance to a Birdie Lie-Detector. Pollution is a serious crime
in Mega-City One, and a Judge has the power to arrest any citizen breaching the many Anti-Pollution Laws. Readings from
the Pollution Meter have a 50% chance of being accurate, and so you must also apply your skill and experience when taking
readings. You must add your Tech Skill score to this 50% chance when testing for pollution or contamination. The die roll will
be made in secret by your Game Master, however, as you should not really know whether there is any pollution there to be
detected in the first place!
For example, Judge Blaylock, on patrol in the seamier side of Mega-City One's Old City, has come across a filthy alleyway
behind the ZZT Nosherie. Feeling his stomach protesting already, he reaches for his Pollution Meter. He has a Tech Skill of
29, which gives a total chance of detecting any pollution present of 79%. The GM rolls the D100, and gets a 92 telling
Blaylock that there is no pollution to be detected. Blaylock is none too happy about this, as his stomach is obviously telling
him otherwise, and moves in to investigate anyway. A Judge should never place too much reliance in his equipment;
ultimately, it is the Judge who must decide what is right and what is not.
Flashlight
The Meg is usually brightly lit, even during the day; but sometimes you’ll find yourself in the dark. This small flashlight has a
range of 15 meters, and can light up an area 1 meter in radius (2 meters across). It also incorporates an infra-red option
which may also be used to spot heat traces, such as recent footprints.
A Judge’s Weapons
The Lawgiver
The Lawgiver is the specially-designed, computer controlled, personal hand weapon of all Judges, and you should never be
without it. It is usually kept in a holster incorporated into one of your boots, where it is easily accessible from both a standing
and a sitting position (such as on the back of your Lawmaster). The Lawgiver is a very advanced weapon which includes its
own small computer, which can lock onto a target, identify it and its range, and flash all the relevant information up on a data
readout on the gun's sights.
The Lawgiver is able to fire six different types of shell, as well as two extra special shots. Ammunition is carried in two
magazines: the Primary just in front of the trigger section on the underside of the barrel, and the Auxiliary magazine on the
top of the barrel, directly opposite it (see the illustration). Each of the two magazines has two chambers, and each chamber
can hold up to 12 shots. As each chamber can be loaded with a particular type of shell, it follows that the Judge has
automatic access to 4 of the 6 types of shell at any one time.
The different types of shells, with their varying uses and effects, are detailed below. As detailed later, the Character Sheet
has spaces for recording the different types of ammunition the Lawgiver is carrying at any one time, and for crossing off the
different shots as they are fired. Each Judge will probably develop his own favourite combination of ammunition types, and
apart from the few restrictions listed below, a Judge may have any combination he wishes; it is probably best, however, to
have as many different types as possible. The Actions and Effect Modifiers will be explained further in the next chapter,
Making An Arrest.
General Purpose ammunition is the most commonly used type of shell; it has no special effects, but has the advantage of its
long range. At least half the ammunition a Judge carries must be GP type (it’s the Law).
The HE shell is designed to deliver an area-burst explosion. This burst has a diameter of 5 meters, and adds a +1 Modifier to
the weapon's Effect, as will be explained further in the next chapter. This shell is limited by its very short effective range,
which is due to the weight and nature of the charge, but this is outweighed by its destructive power.
AP shots are designed to give an extra punch, at comparatively long ranges. When using an AP shot, there is a +1 Effect
Modifier, and all armour is treated as though it gave 25% less protection than usual. Thus, an armoured helmet, normally
giving 75% protection, would only provide only 50% protection vs. an AP shot.
Incendiary (I)
Max Range 100 meters
Reloading 2 Actions
Special Effect Burning
Incendiary shots explode, to shower their targets with an unstable and inflammable chemical. The shot hits with a normal
Effect, but there is then a 90% chance that the target will catch fire. These flames will cause an extra +1 to the Effect in that
Combat Round, and then +3 for each Subsequent Round, until the flames are put out. (There is more information on these
shells, and the effect of Burning, in the Game Master's Book.)
Grenade (G)
Max Range 50 meters
Reloading 2 Actions
Special Effect Area burst
A grenade shot is very similar to a 20th Century shotgun cartridge, in that it gives a low velocity hit, spread over an area. The
burst area of the shell is 5 meters in diameter, hitting with a -1 Effect. Grenade shells are useful in incapacitating, but not
killing, large crowds of opponents.
The titanium-tipped Rubber Ricochet shell is designed to bounce off walls and ceilings, and flush perps out of enclosed
spaces, such as rooms, tunnels, and so on. A RR shot is only truly effective when used in this manner. In a room or vehicle,
or other enclosed area, the shell causes a double-chance Wild Fire hit on every occupant; in a tunnel or passage, the shell
causes a double-chance Wild Fire hit on each target within 5 meters of the first person or object to be hit. The double-chance
means that if the standard chance is 3%, in this case it would be 6%, and so on. (The Wild Fire hit is fully explained in the
next chapter, along with all the other mechanics of Weapons Combat.)
Lawgiver Accessories
Heat Seekers
Max Range 50 meters
Reloading 2 Actions
Special Effect See below
These are small, heat-guided missiles, which fit on to the end of the Lawgiver's barrel, and are propelled by a GP shell. Each
Judge carries up to 3 Heat Seekers in his glove pouches, and loading one takes the usual 2 Actions.
Heat Seekers are especially tuned to home in on to human body temperature; consequently, they are useless against
animals, robots, or aliens. They are, however, very useful against humans in the dark, or hidden amongst a group of
inanimate objects. Hotshots, as they are sometimes called, have a minimum range of 15 meters, below this distance they will
not work. They have a built-in safety cut-out to stop them doing a quick about-face and hitting their firer. Heat Seekers
always hit the nearest target within a 90° arc, up to its maximum range (50m); if there is no eligible target, there is a 75%
chance it will hit the nearest target within a 180° arc. (The Game Master will deal with all the fine points of Heat Seeker fire
from the appropriate sections in the Game Master's Book.)
Hypos
Max Range 50 meters
Reloading 2 Actions
Special Effect See below
A Hypo works in exactly the same way as a Heat Seeker, but rather than having a standard shell they instead deliver a
measured dose of a knockout drug. This delivers a standard Knock-out, as detailed in the next chapter.
Silencer
The Lawgiver's Silencer is kept in a pouch in your Utility Belt. It may be used with any Lawgiver shot, except Heat Seekers
or Hypos, to deliver a noiseless, flashless shot (unless, of course, you are firing high-ex.)
Infra-Red Sight
The Lawgiver's IR Sight is stored in your Utility Belt until needed. When used, it slots into a groove on the top of the
Lawgiver's barrel, and allows a Judge to observe at night as though it were normal daylight.
Self-Destruct Charge
Every Lawgiver is protected from any misuse by the inclusion of an inbuilt hand-print sensor. A Lawgiver can only be used by
the Judge whose print is registered in the gun's computer; should anyone else try and use it, the gun will immediately
explode, causing a hit to the arm holding the gun, with a +2 Effect Modifier, as many perps have found to their cost! This
does, of course, also mean that you may not use a fellow Judge's Lawgiver either, without first disabling the self-destruct
charge (requiring a Tech Skill roll and one full Combat Round ).
Stumm Grenade
Stumm Gas is used to quell rioting and unruly behavior, by causing extreme dizziness and vomiting. There is also an
occasional chance that it will induce an extreme allergic reaction which requires hospitalisation. The effects of the gas are
instantaneous, and any character (including any Judges) caught in it without a respirator will be affected. The gas causes
any person inhaling it to drop all weapons and other hand-held equipment; their eyes become clouded and water terribly,
breathing becomes painful, and they have trouble even standing up. As a result, of course, Stumm is very useful when
controlling crowds of rioting citizens, or mobs of criminals. Every Judge carries 3 Stumm grenades. They can be thrown, and
explode with a burst radius of 5 meters.
The Lawmaster
The Lawmaster is the Judge's own personal transport, a specially designed armoured motorbike to provide long-range
mobility, heavy firepower back-up, and access to vital communications links. Lawmasters have powerful onboard computer
units, which provide instant access to MAC, the Justice Department central computer and all its vast data files; it can also be
used to run the Lawmaster independently from its Judge on automatic, if commanded.
Dimensions
Overall Height 1,156 mm
Overall Width 950 mm
Overall Length 2,500 mm
Wheelbase 1,956 mm
Weight 48 kgs
Fuel Capacity 54.04 liters
Each Judge has his own particular Lawmaster, and may ride it, and use all of its equipment manually, or he may set it on
automatic, under the control of the bike's computer. In addition, instead of having to manually flick a switch to turn on the
lights, or fire the Bike Cannon, a Judge may simply vocally order the computer to do it for him. The Lawmaster's steering,
drive and weapon systems are turned over to manual mode as soon as you sit in the driving seat, but you may decide to
vocally or manually order the Lawmaster to take over any of these positions.
Armoured Seat
The Lawmaster's seat is armour-plated, with 12mm of plasti-steel, and is designed to give some degree of protection to the
Judge's back.
Bike Computer
The Lawmaster's computer is its single most important feature, and governs all of the bike's operations. It has its own
personality, to some extent, and can deliver information to its rider via a Vocal Synthesiser. Like any other Computer or
Robot, it has its own Characteristic Scores, just like a normal character, and these are applied when the Lawmaster is
running on automatic (as though the bike suddenly became a new person).
Lawmaster Computer
S I CS TS SS DS MS PS
- 25 30 30 0 60 0 0
Communications Unit
This unit gives audio and visual contact with either Justice HQ, or your own divisional Sector House. The unit's vid-screen
transmits as well as receives video, and may be activated or deactivated either manually or verbally. There is also a hand-
held radio, connected to the unit with 2m of coiled cable. Fitted into the corner of the unit is the small red Emergency button:
this is the Judge's SOS alarm, which immediately summons other Judges to aid the presser. This button is only there to be
used as a very last result, however; Judges are meant to be able to stand up to a lot of punishment before they need
assistance!
Engine
The Notron 4000cc V8 engine with ASB quadruple carburetors is the power behind the Lawmaster, and generates enough
energy to run virtually all the bike's multitude of functions. As it is so vital, it is protected behind l2mm of plasti-steel plating. It
runs on specially-formulated non-flammable fuel developed by the Justice Department Tech-Division.
Displacement 4000cc
Compression Ratio 16.5.1
Max Horsepower 250 bhp
Max Torque 60.5 kg-m
Max Speed 570 kph
Starting System Electric
Gearbox 6 speed
Clutch Multi Plate Wet
Firerock Tires
The Lawmaster is expected to hold its own across a wide range of road and terrain conditions, and so the large balloon tires
are reinforced with steel bands, and are virtually bullet proof as well
Fuel Tank
Since it is the must vulnerable part of the Lawmaster, the fuel tank is hidden away in the middle of the body and is armour-
plated for extra protection. For even greater safety, the Lawmaster runs on specially formulated fuel, which is much less
flammable than usual petrol.
Lamps
Each Lawmaster has five normal headlamps, and one special Infra-Red Lamp (for night work). The five headlamps are
arranged in two banks: the two main lamps, and then three back-up lamps, which are used in fog or heavy rain. The Infra-
red Lamp will light up an area of darkness as if it were normal daylight, and may also be used to spot heat traces, such as
recent footprints.
Daystick
Also known as the ‘two second lobotomy’, the daystick is a meter-long club made from reinforced plasti-steel. Used in crowd
control, or simply when blunt trauma would be preferred to a firefight. The daystick may also be looped on the Judge’s utility
belt for easy access when away from the Lawmaster.
Scatter Gun
As well as the Lawgiver pistol, a Judge has a back-up weapon, a Scatter Gun, which is kept in a holster to the right of the
Lawmaster's Fuel Tank
The Scatter Gun is a pump-action gun, rather like the old 20th Century shot-gun, which can fire cartridges or Stumm
grenades. Each gun can hold up to 12 cartridges at any one time, in a tube beneath the breach. More cartridges can be
inserted, up to a maximum of 12, at any time.
Stowage
The Lawmaster's stowage space consists of two large panniers which straddle the rear wheel of the vehicle. These pod-like
containers are armoured, and contain the following items:
Spares for - Bike Cannon, Bike Computer, Communications Unit, Cyclops Laser, Headlamps, Infra-Red Lamp, Lawgiver
Pistol, and Vocal Synthesiser.
Other Equipment - Ammunition for Bike Cannon, Scatter Gun, Lawgiver, Cling Net, Cuffs, Hand bombs, Spare MediPack,
Rad Suit, Respirator, and Stumm Grenades.
Vocal Synthesiser
The Lawmaster's Vocal Synth allows the bike's computer to speak to its rider, allowing the Judge to keep his eyes on the
road, rather than having to read the information off the bike's vid-screen. This unit can also be used in reverse, to amplify a
Judge's voice like a megaphone, enabling it to be clearly heard up to 200 meters away.
Lawmaster Armaments
The Lawmaster has two distinct weapons: the Cyclops Laser, and a pair of Bike Cannon. These may be fired manually, or
via a vocal command. If fired via the vocal command, the Bike Computer's Combat Skill will be used rather than yours. If both
weapons are fired at the same time, they must be fired at the same target, as their aim depends upon the direction of the
Lawmaster's steering bars.
The Lawmaster's cannon are mounted in pairs, on either side of the front wheel. They are aligned so that they fire together,
at the same time and at the same target. The cannon fire 20mm ammunition, in 36 individual shots or 6 bursts (of 6 shells
each) or any combination of the same. To reload the magazine, the Lawmaster must be stationary; the magazines are stored
in the Lawmaster's stowage panniers over the rear wheel.
The laser mounted into the front of the Lawmaster is a small version of a standard Laser Cannon, which draws power from a
generator, which in turn is powered by the bike's engine. The laser only stores sufficient energy to power one firing. After this,
the generator must be allowed to recharge, a process which takes one whole Game Turn (1 minute). The Hit Effect of the
laser varies tremendously according to its range. At short range, it is high, but at long ranges the effect tails off sharply. The
weapon hits with a burst diameter of 5 meters. At a range of up to 50 meters, the Effect Modifier is +3; between 51 and 200
meters it has a +1; and over 200 meters there is no Effect Modifier.
The Character Sheets
Now that you have created your Judge and learned about his equipment, you can transfer all his details to the specially
designed Character Sheets included here. When filling in your sheets, it's advisable to use a pencil, as you may need to
change some details later on.
There are two specific sheets for each Judge. The first is for your Judge's characteristics, together with the weapons and
equipment he is carrying on him. The second is a reference sheet for his Lawmaster bike. No details need to be entered
upon this sheet, but it is a useful summary of the bike's attributes and equipment.
From the moment he sets foot on the streets of Mega-City One for the very first time, each and every Judge knows very
rapidly what it is like to arrest someone. Arresting criminals is a way of life for your Judge, and the tide of offenders whose
arrests are demanded can never be stemmed. As part of your training, you will have been through many robot-simulated
arrests, using both fake and real ammunition, but there is no way of ever substituting that first feeling of danger and
excitement when you make your first ever real-life arrest on your own.
When making arrests, there are certain procedures that you must follow. The first is the concept of the Challenge. Except in
certain rare circumstances, you must always issue a warning to a prospective target before you shoot, though this doesn't
apply to firing over a perp's head, or shooting at a door, for example. This in turn allows each criminal the chance of
surrendering without a fight. Should the target fail to give himself up, and decide instead to fight it out, the rules for either
Weapons or Hand-to-hand Combat (or both) should be used to determine the outcome of any fight.
Arrests, including fights, chases, and so on, are divided up into individual Combat Rounds. Six Combat Rounds go together
to make up one Game Turn.
This second term is used when describing lengthier actions, such as driving through the Mega-City, searching for data in a
massive computer file, and so on. Although there is no set time period for either one Game Turn or one Combat Round, it is
appropriate to consider that a Combat Round is approximately 10 seconds long, which makes each Game Turn about a
minute long.
Actions
Depending upon your Initiative score, your can perform a certain number of Actions in a particular Combat Round. To
determine the maximum number of Actions your Judge can perform in a single Round, simply divide your Initiative by 10,
rounding up to the nearest whole number. (Thus, an I of 9 gives 1 Action, an I of 48 gives 5 Actions, and an I of 83 gives 9
Actions.) This doesn't just apply to Judges, but to all other characters as well. On average, a starting Judge will have either 2
or 3 Actions; with training and experience, any character can increase their Initiative scores, however, and thus increase the
number of Actions they can perform. This is covered further in Chapter 7, Experienced Judges.
Phases
Once you have determined how many Actions your Judge can perform in a particular Combat Round, the next step is to
determine when, during the Combat Round, these Actions may be performed. This is because characters with a higher
number of Actions may be able to perform them before, during, and after the Actions a slower person performs.
To this end, each Combat Round is divided up into 10 Phases; you may perform actions in some of these Phases, but not in
others, depending upon how fast you are. There are Active Phases, in which you may perform an Action, and Inactive
Phases, in which you may not. The number of each of these two types depends on your Initiative and your Actions.
Within a particular Combat Round, all Actions occurring in the same Phase are assumed to be happening simultaneously.
However, since it would be impossible for a Game Master and his players to do everything all at once, in each Phase where
two or more characters are entitled to perform an Action, the character with the lowest Initiative declares the Action he is
making first, and the character with the highest Initiative declares last. This represents the faster character's ability to act
swiftly on a quick appraisal of the situation. Although the Actions are declared in this order, they are actually performed
simultaneously.
To determine the actual Phases on which your Judge may perform an Action (his Active Phases), and those on which he
may not (Inactive Phases), consult the following chart. The number of Actions you have should be cross-referenced to find
the individual Phases (out of a possible 10) that you may perform an Action in. When it comes to running through a fight,
your Game Master will run through the Combat Rounds, asking whether anyone is able to perform an Action in Phase, then
in Phase 2, and soon. When it comes to the Phases you are able to perform Actions in, simply state what you would like to
try and do.
Actions/Phases 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 X
2 X X
3 X X X
4 X X X X
5 X X X X X
6 X X X X X X
7 X X X X X X X
8 X X X X X X X X
9 X X X X X X X X X
10 X X X X X X X X X X
For example, a Judge with Initiative 23 is entitled to 3 Actions per Combat Round, which may be performed in Phases 3, 6,
and 9. In all other Phases (that is, numbers 7, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 70 in this case), this Judge may not do anything.
Should there be one or more Phases in which no characters may make an Action, the GM will simply move on to the next
one. Bear in mind, too, that no character has to make any Actions, and may instead decide to do nothing. In fact, there may
be quite a few Actions wasted in conferring with friends about tactics and problems, reacting with surprise to a sudden event,
and so on.
The Actions
Now that you know when you can do something, you must work out what you can do. Everything you can do is called an
Action, and you can make 1 Action in every Active phase you have.
Below is a short list of sample Actions. It is by no means complete or exclusive, however; although it lists the most common
Actions, Judges and other characters will invariably want, or need, to make Actions not listed. In these cases, the move in
question may be fitted into the framework by assigning it an Action, or a number of Actions. A little common sense will tell
you what a character can or cannot do in the space of one Action.
Move
Walking & Running: You may move up to your full movement rate, using 1 Action. This rate is 2m walking, or 4m running, per
Action you spend. Up to 4 Actions per Combat Round can be used for Move Actions, if your character's Actions allow it, to
create a maximum running speed of 16m per Combat Round.
Jumping: Any one Move Action may incorporate a 4m horizontal, or 2m vertical leap. The other 2 meters remaining (if any)
are assumed to be your run-up. You may also stack up Move Actions, using them as a run-up; for every extra Move Action
spent directly before a horizontal jump you may add a further meter to your jump (up to a maximum of 4 Move Actions).
Climbing: You may climb a suitable surface (a rope, rough slope, etc) at a rate of 1 m per Action, using up to 4 Actions per
Combat Round as usual. If the ascent is particularly difficult, your GM may restrict your movement rate, or force you to check
against your Initiative.
Swimming: You may swim at a normal rate of 2m per Move Action, up to the usual maximum of 4 Move Actions. If you are
having to keep someone else afloat, or are towing something, this rate is reduced to 1 m per Action, and the GM may well
reduce this further.
Speak
Speech is handled differently to other Actions. In a Round, regardless of anything else you may do, you can speak 20 words
plus two more for every Action you can normally make in a Round. Thus, a Judge with 4 Actions may speak up to 28 words
in a Round, as well as making his 4 Actions as he wishes. Your GM may insist you reduce this number according to the
situation you find yourself in.
Listen or Observe
Carefully listening at a closed door, in an attempt to hear sounds from within, takes 1 Action. Observing a situation, too,
either with the naked eye or through binoculars or night-sights, will take at least 1 Action too.
Open or Close (a door, container, and so on.)
Opening or Closing any object, whether it is a door, belt pouch, or a tin of Synthetti Hoops, will require at least 1 Action. If the
object is locked or barred, other Actions must be spent so that the door can be opened. A door, for example, that is standing
open obviously doesn't need to be opened, though a Move Action must be spent to get through it.
Aiming a weapon
Aiming a weapon before firing it will make the shot much more accurate. Aiming expends 1 Action, but will add a significant
amount to the chance of hitting; you may also spend more than one Action in Aiming, before loosing off a shot, adding even
greater to your chances. Aiming Actions must immediately precede Firing, however; you cannot Aim, Move, Fire, and still
gain any Aiming bonus, for example. You may, though, Aim and then Speak, up to any number of Actions, and then Fire, and
still gain the Aiming bonus. You may Aim and Fire at a target, and then Fire at the same target again without Aiming, and still
gain the bonus, but only if the target does not move in between times, and your aim is not disturbed.
Fire a weapon
Firing a weapon once takes 1 Action. However, a Judge must expend at least Action in Aiming his Lawgiver pistol before
firing it (in the interests of the safety of innocent bystanders), and thus it follows that a Judge must, in fact, expend (at least) 2
Actions when firing a weapon. This applies to any weapon you use in the course of your duties.
Reload a weapon
Reloading a weapon will depend upon the particular details of the weapon in question. Each weapon has its special
requirements, as listed in the descriptions under Judge's Equipment, and in the Game Master's Book. In general, however, a
hand-held weapon takes 2 Actions to reload -this time includes removing the spent cartridge or magazine, taking a new one
from its pouch, and fitting it to the weapon. This time may well be extended for using an unfamiliar weapon, being under fire,
trying to reload whilst moving, and so on, depending upon the situation, and the ruling of your Game Master.
Strike a blow
Striking a blow in hand-to-hand combat, be it a punch, block, kick, parry or head butt, requires 1 Action, as is more fully
detailed under Hand-to-Hand Combat, later in this chapter.
Drive a vehicle
To drive any vehicle, using manual control, you must expend at least 1 Action per Combat Round. Failure to do this will result
in Control Loss, which is explained further in Chapter 4. Only 1 Action per Combat Round need be expended on driving the
vehicle in question however, leaving others, if available, for other Actions.
Halt a vehicle
Bringing any vehicle to a halt requires the expenditure of 1 Action. As detailed in the section on Driving and Riding Vehicles,
below, the vehicle must be travelling within its particular Stopping Speed, however. If it is travelling faster than this, you must
first expend at least one more Action in Driving the vehicle, in order to decelerate down to the Stopping Speed required.
Judge Weiss leaps onto his bike (1 Action: Mount Vehicle), moves off in pursuit (1 Action: Drive), and draws his Lawgiver (1
Action: Draw Gun). He has only used 7 Combat Rounds, and is already hot on the trail of the speeding perp...
After a short chase, the perp abandons his vehicle, and dives away down an alleyway, in a vain attempt to escape. Weiss is
right behind him, though, and soon has him cornered in a dead-end alley. The perp, looking determined, pulls out a snub-
nosed pistol!
The perp only has an Initiative of 18, which gives him 2 Actions; Weiss has an I of 23, and thus has the edge with 3 Actions.
Referring to the Phase Table, both Judge Weiss' player, and the Game Master (who is playing the criminal), discover that in
Phases 1 and 2 neither of them can act.
These Phases are therefore ignored. In Phase 3, however, Judge Weiss may act, and uses the opportunity to challenge the
perp to surrender, with the words, 'Drop your gun and come quietly, spug-head!' while moving in closer to his target. In Phase
4, the perp having ignored the plea to surrender - takes Aim (1 Action: Aim). Judge Weiss does the same in Phase 6, before
the perp lets loose a shot in Phase 7, which misses. In Phase 9 Weiss replies, and blasts away with his Lawgiver (1 Action:
Fire weapon).
In the next Combat Round, Judge Weiss Aims again (Phase 3), but the injured perp surrenders in Phase 4, bringing the fight
to an end.
The Challenge
A Judge cannot and must not simply go around shooting anyone he feels like whenever it takes his fancy! That would be a
breach of The Law, and a Judge who breaks the Law is not worthy of his badge, or of anything else either; the penalty for
any Judge who breaks the Law is a minimum of 20 years of hard labor on the prison planet Titan. A Judge's job is to take
people alive, so that they can serve their time in prison. Judges are not executioners.
When making an arrest, a Judge must first issue a challenge to the perp, to surrender, give himself up, and come quietly. As
a result of this challenge, there is a chance that the perp (or perps) in question will simply throw down his gun, and give up
without a fight. Such is the imposing authority you have, many perps will do so automatically, and it is often only the very
desperate who will try and take you on!
Challenges may take any form you want, but to have the desired effect they should be direct, sharp, and delivered in an
authoritative voice. It is best if you limit a challenge to around 10 or so words, as this will fit into a single Round, but if time
allows you can spend longer.
A challenge can be made to all Perps within a 20 meter radius, and the use of a megaphone, or the Lawmaster's vocal-synth,
will extend this range to 70 meters. A challenge need only be made once for all the Perps in the area; you don't have to
challenge each Perp separately. If you say something like, 'Come out, Whitey, the game's up!' the challenge must be
assumed to be directed solely at the person named; in this case none of Whitey's fellow Perps would be affected by the
challenge.
Surrendering Perps
Any perp who hears the Challenge may decide to surrender without a fight. The chance of this happening is equal to your
Street Skill rolled as a percentage. The Game Master also has various modifiers for different types of perps, which he may
also decide to apply; these are usually in the order of + or -10%. (See the Game Master's Book for more details.)
The chance of a perp surrendering may be increased if you fire over his head, if you aim directly at him and then ask him to
surrender, or if he is wounded; your Game Master will tell you of any modifications to the basic chance.
Any perp who fails to surrender when initially challenged will not surrender to any subsequent challenge, unless he has been
Wounded, his friends have surrendered that Combat Round, or if he is being Aimed at by the challenging Judge. In these
cases, a re-roll may be allowed by your Game Master, and may have an effect.
A perp who does surrender is allowed to make 2 instant Actions, even if it is not his Active Phase, and even if he doesn't
have 2 Actions. He must:
• Throw down any weapons he is carrying, and put his hands up in the air.
• Declare he is surrendering. He can say anything he likes, as long as it declares his intent.
A surrendered perp must use all of his subsequent actions to get out of the way of the fighting. He must, if necessary, submit
to cuffing, and obey your instructions. You may radio for a Catch Wagon, or take in the perp himself, as required (see
Chapter Five). When escorting a perp you take your turn as normal, but may only make up to 2 Move Actions per Combat
Round.
For example, Judge Morris has chanced upon Bendo Kendo, an infamous cat burglar, as he drops to the ground from the
first-floor balcony of an apartment in the Len Nimoy Con-Apts. Judge Morris has an Initiative of 38; Kendo has an I of 26.
Thus, in Phase 2, Morris draws his Lawgiver. In Phase 3, Kendo disentangles himself from his rope. And in Phase 4, Morris
Aims the Lawgiver straight at the frantic perp. Having now disentangled himself from his rope, Ken do draws a Stub Gun
from the pocket of his jacket; at the same time (since both combatants share Phase 6), Morris yells out, 'The game's up,
Kendo - now drop that spugging gun!!' Faced with this terribly eloquent challenge (as well as the Lawgiver pointed straight at
his head!) Kendo (as controlled by the Game Master) rolls to see if he surrenders, using a D100. Judge Morris' Street Skill is
27; the GM adds +30% for the pointed gun, to give a total Surrender chance of 51%. The Game Master rolls a 32, and there
is a hollow clatter as Bendo's Stub Gun falls to the floor...
Opening Fire
As has already been emphasised, you must not simply open fire on anyone without first issuing a challenge, to give them a
chance to surrender. In certain circumstances, however, to waste time on a challenge would be to endanger someone's life,
and so you are forced to open fire, You are allowed to open fire on a perp if:
In each of these cases, it will be your decision as to whether you should fire or not (though your Game Master may be
disposed to giving you advice). With experience, you will learn the right and wrong way to handle particular types of
situations. An inexperienced Judge, however, will have to be very careful.
This ban on opening fire first does not apply to Warning Shots, which may be fired over the head of a perp as a prelude to
asking him to surrender. These must be deliberately Aimed to miss; if you accidentally hit someone whilst firing a Warning
Shot, it will be considered Murder.
Observation
You obviously cannot fire at a target unless you can see it, and trace a clear line of sight. If you are using miniature figures or
detailed maps, this problem should not arise, but in other cases there may be some confusion; in all cases, however, it is the
Game Master who will adjudicate.
Whether a target is visible or not will depend, to some extent, upon its size. Every item of equipment, every character, and in
fact everything you encounter has a specific Target Size. (The Game Master has more information on the various sizes of
specific items, in the Game Master's Book.)
Small Targets
A Small Target is any object less than about 1m x 1m in size. People lying down or crouching are Small Targets. The visible
part of someone inside a vehicle is a Small Target. Specific parts of a person are Small Targets. Hand-held equipment, such
as a Lawgiver, Birdie, or Hand Bomb, are all Small Targets.
Small Targets cannot normally be aimed at, at distances over 50 meters without an optical gun-sight or other magnifying
equipment, and they cannot be Fired at except within this range. The specific parts of a Small Target, such as the magazine
of a hand-gun, may never be hit, except as a result of a random hit.
A Small Target will have a modifier which makes it harder to hit should you wish to shoot at it, unless you have a Special
Ability (see Chapter 7).
Normal Targets
A Normal Target is bigger than 1m by 1m, but smaller than 30m by 30m. Accordingly, this covers almost everything,
including humans, vehicles, small buildings, and so on. Normal Targets may be seen up to 300 meters, if the line of sight is
clear.
There is no modifier for shooting at a Normal Target. You may shoot at parts of a Normal Target, as Small Targets, for the
standard modifier (as detailed below).
Large Targets
Large Targets are those which are larger than 30m by 30m. The term includes large trucks, mo-pads, aircraft, City Blocks,
and spaceships. Shots fired at such Large Targets hit automatically at ranges up to 100 meters; remember, however, that
shots won't do much damage (if any) to such a large object as a whole. Any Large Target may be considered as consisting of
numerous Normal and Small Targets, however, (such as windows in a City Block) which may be shot at individually.
Lighting
Twilight
Mega-City One is usually fairly well lit, except in the poorest areas around City Bottom. In fact, some areas never actually get
dark at all, as artificial light automatically takes over when the sun sets. In such cases, however, the light intensity is less
than that of full daylight, creating a sort of artificial twilight. In twilight, all Target Size location distances are halved (so you
can only automatically hit a Large Target if it is up to 50 meters away, for example).
Night
Night occurs where there is almost no light at all, such as within enclosed and unlit streets, buildings or vehicles, for example.
In such a low light intensity. nothing can be seen at a distance greater than 3 meters, without some form of illumination or
Infra-red device.
Illumination
A standard head-lamp cluster, such as that found on a standard car, can illuminate an area of up to 10 meters across, at a
distance of up to 150 meters. Any illuminated area may be fired into as though it were normal daylight, if it is within range. In
a cluster of lights, the destruction of a single lamp will reduce the area illuminated by 2 meters (thus a 5m radius goes down
to a 4m radius), to a minimum radius of 1 meter (2 meters across). Once all lights in a cluster have been destroyed, there will
obviously be no light given off at all.
A searchlight will light up an area 10 meters across, from a distance of up to 250 meters. A flashlight has a range of 15
meters, and can light up an area 1 meter in radius (2 meters across).
Moving Targets
If the target you are aiming at is moving, there may be a modifier to your chance to hit. If the target is moving directly towards
or away from you, there will not a modifier for the movement, though there may be one if it moves out of range. A target
moving across your field of vision, however, will be harder to hit, and your chance of hitting it will be reduced (see below).
Provided you do not make any other Action, you may maintain your Aim at the target as it moves, up to a maximum of 3 Aim
Actions only.
Shooting
Very simply, the chance of hitting the target with a shot is equal to your Combat Skill, rolled as a percentage.
• Each Action spent Aiming before firing adds 10% to the chance of hitting.
• If the target is a Small Target, there is a -10% from the chance to hit.
• If the target is a Large Target, at a distance of over 100m, there is a +25% to the chance to hit; you must also modify this
for the range of the shot (see below).
• There is a +30% if your target is within 3 meters (this is known as Point-blank range), or a +10% if it is between 3 and 10
meters away.
• There is a -10% if the target is between 30 and 50 meters away; -20% if it is between 50 and 200 meters away; and -
30% over 200 meters away; up to the weapon's maximum range.
• If the target is moving towards or away from you there is no modifier; but if it is moving at an angle to you, so that you
must follow it with your gun before you fire, there is a 10% modifier for each Action you move your weapon before you
fire. For any moving target, there is a minimum modifier of -10%.
Automatic Failure
For any action in this game demanding the roll of a D100 , no matter what the chance of success is, a score of exactly 100
rolled on the dice will always indicate a failure.
For weapons fire, a roll of 100 means that the weapon has malfunctioned, jammed or misfired. See the section below for
further details. If, after all modifications to your die roll, your chance of hitting is 0 or below, you should still roll the D100 , to
see whether your weapon malfunctions.
Types of Fire
There are a number of different types of shooting, including General Fire, Wild Fire, Area Effect Fire, and Target Point Fire.
These all use the standard system, as detailed above, but with further modifications.
General Fire
This is the standard method of firing, used almost all the time by Judges, and by many other characters as well. You may fire
at anything that presents itself within a clear line of sight, and within the range of the weapon being used.
Hits caused by General Fire will strike a random part of the target, as determined from the Hit Location tables below, and the
weapons do standard damage.
For example, Judge Thomson is in the middle of a firefight, after having disturbed the Dwarf Gang raiding a warehouse. He
selects his target, a perp 60 meters away, standing on a packing case. Thomson has an I of 34 (so 4 Actions), and a CS of
35. He has already used his first Action in challenging the gang of perps, so he uses his next in Aiming his Lawgiver at his
chosen target. When his third Action comes around the perp has moved, but Judge Thomson is still Aimed at him, and fires.
His chance of hitting is 31, plus an extra 10% for 1 Action's Aiming, but minus a whole 25%, because the target is over 50
meters away, and minus another 10% because his target moved, giving a basic chance of hitting of 10%. His player rolls the
D100, and gets a 01 - a hit!
Wild Fire
Wild Fire is the term used when a character fires without first spending at least 1 Action in Aiming, Since you as a Judge
must spend at least 1 Action in Aiming, they are not permitted to use Wild Fire as such. (It follows, therefore, that a Judge will
not be able to use his Lawgiver once his Initiative drops below 10, as a result of injury. Such a Judge must defend himself as
best as he can, and seek medical attention as soon as possible.)
However, since other characters may fire indiscriminately without first Aiming, and since the effects of Rubber Ricochet
shells are treated as Wild Fire, this method is detailed here.
Wild Fire is calculated as follows. Firstly, work out the chance of hitting as usual (Combat Skill as a percentage).
• If the target is within 10 meters, halve the CS to get your chance of hitting.
• If the target is over 10 meters away, divide the CS score by 10, rounding any odd numbers up.
There will also be the usual modifiers for Small Targets, Point Blank range, or Moving Targets, which are applied next, if
necessary; other range modifiers will not apply.
Thus, a character with a CS of 42 firing at a stationary target 35 meters away, has a basic 5% chance of hitting when using
Wild Fire.
If a Wild Fire shot misses its target, there is a possibility that the shot will hit someone or something else, and damage them.
There is the same chance as usual of hitting anyone (or anything) within 10 meters of the original target, though the Game
Master is at liberty to adjust this chance, depending upon how crowded the area around and behind the intended target is.
For example, Judge Fantorrini is chasing Tern the Hand, a notorious scrawler (graffiti vandal) through the crowded shopping
mall of Tony Blackburn Block. Suddenly, the Perp turns, whips out a small Stub Gun, and fires, without Aiming, at her
pursuer.
The Game Master consults his notes, and sees that Tern has a Combat Skill of 53. The Judge is 8 meters away, and is
moving at an angle to her. Thus, her chance of hitting Fantorrini with this Wild Fire shot is 17% (53/2 is 27, with a -10 for the
Moving Target). The Game Master rolls a D100, but gets a 99, which is a very definite miss (a 100 would have been a
malfunction, as usual). Behind the Judge is a large crowd of (around 30) shoppers, desperately trying to get out of the way.
Rolling a D100, the GM gets a score of 03, and one of the bystanders, selected at random by the Game Master, goes down,
hit by Tern's Wild Fire shot.
Rapid-Fire
Most weapons fire a single shell for each pull of the trigger; some, like the Lawgiver, also support rapid-fire. Rapid-fire will fire
multiple shell for a single pull of the trigger, which can be useful in certain situations. Justice Department frowns on the use of
rapid-fire by Judges as it can be a crutch for sloppy marksmanship; more can be accomplished with a single well-aimed shot
than by spraying the area with lead. Rapid-fire also quickly uses up available ammunition and this must be weighed against
the damage benefits it provides.
Should the shot hit, it will have a particular burst area (as detailed in the individual weapon's description), centered on the
target.
Should the shot miss, it may well hit and explode somewhere else. To determine where the shot actually hits (in the event of
it missing its intended target), the Game Master should throw a D12, working on the 'clockface' randomismg principle, to
determine which direction, and a D10 for the distance in meters away from the original target it goes. Once you have found
where the shell does explode, its burst radius should be used as usual.
If you wish, special 'Burst Markers' may be made from a circle of stiff card or plastic, to the same scale as the figures and
floorplans you are using. When an Area Effect weapon is used, the marker need only be placed over the center of the
explosion, and everything within it is considered to have been hit by the burst. Although a few weapons differ, most will have
a Burst Radius of either 5 or 10 meters.
For example, Judge Younger has encountered a vicious group of mutants, who have somehow sneaked into the Mega-City
(they are normally banned), and decides to use a Grenade shell to take out the whole group. Aiming it at the middle of the 5
muties, he fires, and hits (rolling against his Combat Skill, modified for range, etc, as usual). The grenade shell has a burst
radius of 5 meters. The Game Master uses his card Burst Marker, and finds that all but one of the mutants must roll for
damage, as described below.
You may not use Target Point Fire when shooting at Small Targets (except to negate the -10% modifier), since a small part
of an already small object is just too small to hit In such cases, General Fire's randomised Hit Location must be used, which
may result in your shot hitting the particular spot anyway (though by accident). You may not try and use Target Point Fire
from a moving vehicle until you have a Combat Skill of 60 or more, and Target Point Fire may not be attempted when using
an Area Effect weapon, as you'll simply tend to blow away the whole object!
Weapon Malfunctions
As we've already said, a roll of 100 (or '00') when rolling for a hit indicates that the weapon being used has malfunctioned.
Once this happens, you should then roll a Dl 00, and consult the following table, to determine the nature of the fault.
Missile Weapons
Weapon jams
Clearing a jam takes 1 Action to remove the jammed shell, and 1 Action to ready the weapon for use, giving a total time of 2
Actions. Two hands are required for this operation. If you are not familiar with the weapon in question, you will have to make
your Tech Skill, rolled as a percentage, before you can attempt to unblock the weapon (this roll does not use any extra
Actions in itself).
Shot misfires
A missile weapon may misfire due to a defective propellant or casing, which can cause either a poor or too powerful
discharge. Roll a second Dl 00:
Weapon explodes
The weapon explodes, causing 1 hit on you, as if you had been shot by the weapon itself (with all the appropriate Effect
Modifiers, if any). If the weapon uses Area Effect Fire, the burst is centered around the weapon, and all caught within the
radius will take the usual damage.
Energy Weapons
Weapon explodes
As with Missile Weapons, the weapon malfunctions badly, and explodes, causing 1 random hit on you.
Hits on Characters
Once a hit has been scored, by succeeding at the D100 roll, the next stage is to discover where the shot has struck. You
should roll a Dl 00, and consult the following chart.
Score Location
01 – 05 Head
06 – 30 Chest
31 – 50 Abdomen
51 – 60 Right Arm
61 – 70 Left Arm
71 – 85 Right Leg
86 – 00 Left Leg
Armour
Once the location of the hit has been determined, you should check for any armour protection. You wear armour on your
head, arms and legs (perps may wear it over other areas too). These offer a certain (percentage) amount of protection, which
is used as a saving throw, rolling on a D100.
For example, Judge Lucas’ arm pads provide 25% Armour protection. When the dice indicate that a shot has struck his arm,
his player rolls a D100, trying to get 25 or less. If he succeeds, the shot bounces off; if he fails, the shot goes through, or
misses the armour, and Lucas takes the damage from the weapon as usual.
When a shot is deflected by a successful armour roll, the armour takes damage, however, and its protection chance is
reduced by 5%. This will happen each time a save roll is successful; when the score reaches 0%, the armour is assumed to
be destroyed, or at least so damaged as to be useless, and it will not offer any more protection.
Personal Damage
If the shot does get past the armour, or if there is no armour there in the first place, use the following chart to determine the
effects of the hit. The character who shot at you rolls a D6, and modifies the result according to any Effect Modifiers the
weapon has.
For example, a Lawmaster's Bike Cannon has an Effect Modifier of +2 which therefore means that 2 should be added to the
dice roll.
Details of the individual Effect Modifiers are given in the various weapon profiles, both in Chapter2 and in the Game Masters
Book.
Personal Damage
Stuns
A Stun represents a knock, graze or minor flesh wound, and any injury that doesn't actually stop you from carrying on, but
just slows you down a little. Every Stun prevents you from carrying out one Action, starting with the next one.
For example, a character with 5 Actions (occurring on Phases 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9) is nicked by a bullet in Phase 2.
A roll of4 on the D6, with no special Effect Modifier, gives 2 Stuns. As a result, he loses the Actions that he could have
performed, in Phases 3 and 5, and recovers in time to act in Phase 7.
Wounds
Each Wound you receive will temporarily remove 1 point from your Strength score, until the end of the adventure. You also
lose all the Actions you could have performed in the next Combat Round. If your Strength drops to 0, you may not perform
any Actions, and you may be unconscious or dying; see Saving Lives, below.
Initiative Loss
As well as Stuns and Wounds, hits also temporarily reduce your Initiative score, by the amount indicated. As Initiative falls,
so your Actions will also be reduced. If your Initiative reaches 0, you will need medical attention, as detailed in Saving Lives,
below.
Wound Damage
When you receive a Wound, there is the possibility that you may have suffered a permanent injury of some kind. Consult the
appropriate section below according to the location of your Wound.
Head hit
You are Knocked Out (see Hand-to Hand Combat below) for D6 Combat Rounds. When you recover, subtract 5 from all your
Skills, and your Initiative (but not from your Strength). There is also a 10% chance every subsequent Combat Round of
losing an additional D6 Initiative points, unless you receive medical attention.
Chest hit
Subtract 10 from all your Skills, and your Initiative. There is also a 5% chance that you will lose an extra 1 Wound, rolled
every 2 Combat Rounds, until or unless you can get medical attention.
Abdomen hit
If you get a Wound to the abdomen, you may not move at all. Take 10 from your Skills and your Initiative. There is also a
10% chance per Combat Round of it developing into 1 further Wound, unless medical attention is obtained. If you have an
abdomen wound you may be carried, but there is a 10% chance that you will lose a further D6 Initiative points for every
Combat Round of movement.
If your Initiative drops to 0, you must receive some sort of medical treatment within 12 Combat Rounds (2 Game Turns) or
you will die! Medical treatment will restore a certain amount of Initiative, however, depending upon the treatment given. If
your Initiative is sufficiently restored, you may continue to take part in the game. If not, your team should call a Med-wagon
and cart you off to the nearest hospital.
If your Strength is reduced to 0 or below, you are in much more serious trouble, because there will also be the crippling
effects on your body, as detailed above. Once your Strength reaches 0, you must roll a D100; there is a 5% chance, per
Combat Round, that you will die. Medical attention will reduce this chance, depending on the particular treatment given (see
below). If the treatment can reduce the chance of dying to 0%, your condition will stabilise and you can be considered to be
alive, but you will still be very ill, and unable to take part in the rest of the adventure, and you should again be taken to
hospital as soon as possible.
For example, considering an unattended character's chance of dying is 5%, another character attending him with an MS of22
and a Medi-Pack would therefore reduce his chance of dying by 4%, giving only a 1% chance of dying. After another bout of
treatment, the character will be out of danger.
Damage to Equipment
Every item of equipment, be it a weapon, vehicle, or specialised instrument, has a distinct Profile. This gives details of the
piece's Armour, Target Size, various Target Points, and the numbers to be rolled for Random Hits from General Fire. A
sample Profile is given below.
Armour protection is worked out as usual, giving a percentage chance of stopping a shot, and being reduced by 5% for every
successful stoppage (see section above)
Target Points are only used when the equipment is hit using Target Point Fire.
The Random Hit details are used with all other types of fire, but most specifically General Fire. The effects of fire on par-
ticular Target Points for a wide variety of items are detailed after the Profile.
The Roadster counts as a Normal target when using anything other than Target Point Fire.
Ammunition
Weapons usually carry ammunition either as shells in a magazine, or as a battery (in the case of energy weapons). A hit on
ammunition will cause it to explode, destroying the weapon and possibly endangering the user. You will receive 1 Hit as if
you had been hit by a shot from the weapon itself. A hand-held weapon will strike you in the arm; if a larger weapon
explodes, you or the Game Master should roll for a random hit.
Auto-Drive
A hit on an Auto-Drive unit will cause it to cease to function. There is, however, a 75% chance of the vehicle automatically
reverting to manual control due to an in-built safety measure. If this happens, the vehicle will suffer Control Loss, as
described in the next chapter. There is then a 25% chance, next Combat Round, that you will be able to regain control of the
vehicle, providing it is still in one piece.
If the Auto-Drive unit does not switch to manual, you will not be able to regain control of the vehicle, until you have switched it
to manual drive. The chance of this succeeding, under these circumstances, is equal to your Tech Skill as a percentage. This
attempt will take 1 Action. You may switch, and attempt to regain control, as part of the same Action. Once control is
regained, the vehicle may be driven normally on manual drive.
Coachwork
This refers to the general mass of non-mechanical parts and empty space within the body of a car. Hits on coachwork will not
normally have any effect. However, if a vehicle has been packed with extra equipment or cargo, which is not included in the
standard profile, then these may be hit instead, and you should refer to these items' own profiles.
Computer
A hit on a computer control unit will instantly deactivate all of its functions! There is a 50% chance that the damaged item is
only a Non-vital Component (see below), which may be replaced; otherwise, the damage is so severe that only a complete
rebuild will restore the computer unit to full working order. In some cases the memory may be damaged, in which case vital
data may be lost. Your Game Master will give you more information should this happen.
Coupling
A coupling hit will break the link between the vehicles, and any cargo pods or carriages being towed will break free. Cargo
pods and the like will slow down at their maximum Deceleration Rate, until they come to a dead halt, due to in built
emergency Systems.
Engine
An engine hit will cause such serious damage that you, as driver, must decelerate and try and halt the vehicle as soon as is
possible. The vehicle will suffer Control Loss, as detailed in the next chapter, and you must test against this for each
subsequent Combat round the vehicle keeps moving. Once stopped, the vehicle may not be started again under its own
power.
Fuel
If an item's fuel source is hit, there is a 75% chance of its exploding. The explosion will cause D6 +4 random hits on the item,
and will have a burst radius of 5 meters and a +1 Effect Modifier for any person hit by the blast.
Lights
The particular light hit will be destroyed, and will have to be replaced before it works again. Other lights, if the damaged one
is part of a cluster, will continue to work until they also receive a hit.
Mountings
The field weapon's mountings will be jammed, thus preventing the equipment from being repositioned or aimed accurately.
Any item with damaged mountings may still be used, but may not be repositioned more than 10 degrees from its current
facing.
Non-vital Component
If a 'component' (a small but indispensable part of a particular item) is hit, it will be destroyed, but if it is a non-vital piece it
may be replaced. Your chance of recognising the broken piece is equal to your Tech Skill as a percentage. Once recognised,
you will then have to fit the component. Your chance of doing this successfully and correctly requires a second roll of your
Tech Skill as a percentage.
Removing a damaged component takes 1 Action; attempting to find a new one will take at least another Action; and replacing
it will take a further 1 Action. Spare components may or may not be available, although most equipment comes with a built-in
tool and spares box, and you will usually be carrying spares for your own equipment in your belt pouches or Lawmaster
storage panniers. Equipment will not function until the new component is correctly fitted.
Occupant
Roll on the standard human Hit Location chart (see earlier) for the location of the hit, and use the damage tables, as detailed
earlier. If there is more than one person in or on the vehicle, the Game Master will randomly choose by rolling an appropriate
die, unless you are using Target Point Fire, in which case you may specify which person you hit.
Operator
Some large items of equipment, and in particular large weapons, will have specific operators. Use the standard human
damage system to determine the effect of any hit.
Steering Unit
A steering unit hit will force you to decelerate, and bring the vehicle to a halt as soon as possible. The vehicle will suffer
Control Loss, and you must test each subsequent Combat Round, until the vehicle comes to a halt. Once the vehicle has
been halted, any attempt to restart it will reveal that it is almost impossible to steer, requiring a successful throw of your Drive
Skill as a percentage, every 2 Combat Rounds, to retain control (otherwise, it will continue to suffer Control Loss).
Tires
A hit will simply blow the tire out; you must decelerate the vehicle and bring it to a halt as soon as possible. The vehicle will
suffer Control Loss each subsequent Combat Round that it continues to move. You may not restart and drive a vehicle with a
damaged tire, until the tire is replaced.
Vital Component
As with a Non-vital Component, any hit of this sort will destroy the piece. In this case, however, it may not be repaired or
replaced, and the equipment is rendered virtually useless.
Windscreen
A hit will shatter the screen (usually made of plasti-glass). If a vehicle is been driven under manual control, you must roll for
Control Loss. Vehicles on Auto-drive are not affected.
Throwing Missiles
Throwing any sort of grenade or hand-bomb is treated in much the same way as firing a shot, except that it is your arm
propelling the missile rather than your gun. You may Throw a missile as 1 Action, though you may not Aim beforehand (it is
not necessary to do this, even for a Judge). All hand-grenades and bombs use Area Effect Fire, and have their own burst
areas, as detailed in their individual Profiles in the Game Master's Book.
You will normally throw the missile with your 'dominant' hand (as detailed earlier), though you may use either with no loss in
accuracy. The hand you wish to use must be free; anything else in this hand must be transferred to the other hand, or into a
pouch or a holster, taking 1 Action.
The maximum range of your throw is calculated as current Strength x 3 + 15 in meters. Use the standard Area Effect Fire
rules, as detailed above, to determine whether you hit your target.
For example, Judge Blanchard wishes to throw a Stumm Gas grenade at a group of rioting members of the Fat Abolition
Front after a demo outside the New New Hall of Justice. Her Strength score is usually 3, but since she suffered a Wound in
an earlier confrontation, it is down to 2. Thus, the maximum range of her throw is 27(2 x 3, +15) meters.
Bottles and Stones
You may throw any bottle, stone, or similar small, light object, using the same system as above. In this case, however, if the
item weighs less than 250 grams, you may use Aim Actions, with their standard +10% for each extra Action. Damage is as
for General Fire, but there is a -1 Effect Modifier on the hit.
Hand-to-Hand Combat
During any particular Combat Round, you may use up to 3 Actions (if available) to strike a hand-to-hand blow. To be able to
hit, you must be within 2 meters of your intended target. Each separate move in Hand-to-Hand Combat takes 1 Action. This
can include delivering a punch, kick, push, or head-butt; blocking or parrying someone else's blow, leaping out of the way,
ducking, and feinting also use 1 Action each, if it is available.
Actions should be organised in the standard way, using Active and Inactive Phases. In hand-to-hand combat, the faster you
are, the more deadly you become, as you will have more chances to deliver and counter blows!
Scoring a Hit
Your basic chance of scoring a hit is equal to your Combat Skill, rolled as a percentage, with modifiers.
• You may aim for a particular part of your opponent, with a -10% modifier for trying to hit a Small Target, as usual. This
does not require you use an Aim Action beforehand, however; these are not necessary in Hand-to-Hand Combat (even
for a Judge).
• If your opponent is stationary when you strike at him, you may add +10% to your chance to hit. This does not apply to
any attempt to stop an opponent's blow, however.
Otherwise, you are considered to be doing something else, or are too slow to respond in time. The chance of blocking or
dodging a blow is equal to your Initiative as a percentage. If you are successful, the intended blow (be it a punch, kick, push
or whatever) has no effect on you.
Push-backs
In hand-to-hand combat a particularly strong blow can push your opponent away from you. When you deliver a punch or a
push as your blow, you may choose, instead of hurting your opponent, to push him back a distance of twice your Current
Strength in meters. A Push-back will make your adversary lose his next 2 Actions in trying to recover.
Restraining
When grappling with someone, you may try to refrain from damaging them, and to instead merely restrain them. When you
hit the person, state that you are trying to rest-rain them, and don't roll for damage; when you have scored a number of
successful hits equal to your opponent's Current Strength, they may be considered subdued, and you can handcuff them.
Score Location
01 – 10 Head
11 – 15 Chest
16 – 30 Abdomen
31 – 45 Right Arm
46 – 60 Left Arm
61 – 80 Right Leg
81 – 00 Left Leg
Armour will have its standard effect, offering a percentage chance of protecting a particular area. However, if the hit strikes
the armour, it does not reduce the protection chance by 5%, unless the blow came from an Electro-Prod or a Las Knife.
Damage
After randomising for the area hit, and making any appropriate Armour roll, you must work out the damage the blow does.
Roll a D6, add half your Strength (rounding up) and modify the score according to the blow, thus:
Fist or Kick -2
Lawmaster Kick 0
Gun-butt, daystick, or club -1
Electro-prod or knife 0
Las-knife +1
The resulting score should be applied to the standard Damage Table, as detailed earlier, to produce No Result, Stun, or
Wound, together with Initiative reductions.
If you receive enough Stuns or Wounds so as to prevent you from performing any Actions in the following Combat Round,
you are Knocked Out!
Knock Outs
If you are Knocked Out, you will receive additional Stuns, which render you unconscious, and prohibit you from doing
anything (except lying motionless on the floor!) for D10 Combat Rounds. There is no additional Initiative loss for being
Knocked Out.
Lawmaster Kick
All Judges have a special attack, which only they may use, when they are riding their Lawmasters into a fight. You may drive
your bike through a group of opponents, and administer 1 Kick attack to up to 2 of them, at the loss of only 1 Action (Drive
vehicle) for the whole move. If you kick more than 1 person, you must roll for each attack separately, however.
Psychic Attacks
As detailed in Chapter 6, Experienced Judges, there may well be a number of characters, both Judges and other people,
who have Psychic Powers. Whilst these are not available to the majority of characters, if you are attacked by a Psyker
(person who uses Psi powers), you are allowed a Psi-save, to try and block the attack. This saving throw is equal to your Psi
Skill, rolled as a percentage. If the roll is successful, the Psionic attack has no effect, and bounces off. A save does not
require the expenditure of any Actions, as it is treated as an automatic reflex. Should the Psi-save fail the attack has its usual
effect.
Arrest Example
In the following section, all references to rules and the game system are printed in italics.
It is a hectic Midsummer's Eve in Mega-City One, and many citizens are out on the streets, watching the various local
carnivals many of the Sectors are staging. In Sector 66, Judge Arnez and his team (Judges Ballard, Cant, and d'Orly) are
patrolling on their Lawmasters, on the look-out for trouble. Already this evening, they have arrested two murderers, an
arsonist, thirty-four rioting Punks, and a vast assortment of taps, dips, pranksters, and drunkards, litterers, jaywalkers, and
scrawlers; and it's only half past eight. It's going to be a long night..
Ballard: S 3,1 22, CS 27, DS 33, TS 27, SS 34, MS 25, PS 25. 3 Actions.
Cant: S 2, 1 19, CS 32, DS 35, TS 38, SS 29, MS 28, PS 35. 2 Actions (Cant was injured earlier].
As the team turn onto the Brian Gysin Skedway past the Andy Lloyd Webber Mortuary, an urgent message flashes up on the
Com-Screens of their Lawmasters, followed by a verbal confirmation: 'Attention, Judge Arnez and team. Armed Robbery in
progress, Dippy's Fun Palace, corner of Inman and de Laurentis. Five perps, armed and possibly intoxicated. Proceed and
intercept immediately.'
Arnez and his team wrench their bikes around, and zoom off in the direction of de Laurentis Avenue. They are there within 2
minutes, but as they screech to a halt outside, the Perps burst through the mock-Western swing doors of the arcade. Seeing
the line of Judges outside, however, they do a double-take, and stop in their tracks.
At this point, the Game Master decides to start imposing Phases and Actions, as up to now the game has been run without
an imposed framework. The Perps each have the following characteristics:
Each Heister carries a Stump Gun, a pump-action shotgun (12 shells, - 7 Effect Modifier - see the Game Master's Book for
more details), and a large bag bursting with Credits.
As the first Combat Round starts, the Judges are sitting on their Lawmaster bikes, facing the front of the arcade. The Perps
are standing opposite them, about 70 meters away, brandishing their Stump Guns. Most of the Judges will act on Phases 3,
6, and 9; the Perps and Judge Cant will act on Phases 4 and 7.
'OK creeps! Guns down, hands up, and out here! NOW!!' Arnez shouts. At the same time, Ballard and d'Orly draw their
Lawgivers. 1 Action - Draw weapon. The Perps recover from the shock of having 4 large-as-life Judges suddenly turn up, just
as they were about to get clean away.
The Game Master rolls to see w hether the Perps surrender as a result of Arnez's challenge. The basic chance is equal to the
Judge's Street Skill as a percentage (thus it is 29%). The GM, rolling for each Perp, gets 82, 52, 96, 58, and 77; none of the
Perps show even the remotest indication of surrendering! On to Phase 4...
The Perps, having decided not to surrender, immediately dive back through the doors, into the arcade. 1 Action -Move.
Judge Cant draws his Lawgiver pistol.
Phase 6: Judge Arnez picks up his Hand Radio, and turns it on; Judges Ballard and d'Orly dismount from their Lawmasters.
Phase 7: Outside, Judge Cant dismounts from his Lawmaster, right behind his fellows. Inside the building, Perps 1 and 2
have gone left, towards the arcade's office (since they know that in the office lie two bound and gagged employees, who
might be useful hostages). Two others are heading for the back of the arcade, where rows of slot machines will offer a good
deal of cover. Perp 5 has headed right, and ducked into the cashier's Change Booth, just inside the front door.
Phase 9: Outside the building, the Judges are preparing themselves. Arnez has contacted HQ, and is informing them of the
situation: 'Have arrived at Dippy's, and going in! No back-up required.' Ballard tells Cant to go around the back, and try and
find a way in; d'OrIy takes up position to the right of the door, and cautiously peers into the building.
Next Combat Round, the action starts on Phase 3: Arnez dismounts from his Lawmaster. Ballard removes a Heat Seeker
shell from his glove pouch and fits it to the end of his Lawgiver (which is set on GP). d'Orly takes Aim with his Lawgiver (also
set on GP), peering into the darkened arcade.
Phase 4: Cant turns the corner, round to the back of the small building, into a very dirty alley which leads up to a small fire
door. (Cant makes a mental note to book someone for a hygiene violation!) Inside, Perps 1 and 2 have reached the office,
and slipped inside. Perps 3 and 4 crouch down behind a couple of slot machines, and aim at the doorway with their Stump
Guns. Perp 5 pushes the end of his Stump Gun through the small service slit in the change booth's grille, and takes aim at
the doorway.
Phase 6: Arnez moves over towards the doorway. At the same time, Ballard fires his Heat Seeker shot into the darkened
interior. Using a GP shell as propellant, the Heat Seeker will hit the nearest human target (though an in built safety feature
means that it has a minimum range of 15 meters). Ballard rolls for a normal hit. He Aimed for one Action, as is required of a
Judge, but the Heat Seeker will usually hit automatically. However, there is the usual chance of a Weapon Malfunction, so
Ballard rolls the D100; he gets a 67, and the shot hits. The Game Master decides that out of all the Perps, only 3 and 4,
hiding at the back behind the slot machines, are eligible to be hit. Rolling a D6, to choose he gets an odd number, and Perp 3
is hit. Rolling for Hit Location, a score of 16 gives a Chest hit. The location is not protected by any armour, and so Ballard
simply rolls for damage, using a D6. The Heat Seeker has no Effect Modifier, so the score of 2 produces 1 Stun and D6
Initiative loss (a 6 is rolled). Perp 3 now has 12 Initiative, though still has 2 Actions, and loses his next Action.
A yell comes from the inside of the building, as Perp 3 falls over, having been hit by Ballard's Heat Seeker shell. d'Orly says,
‘Stand back, I'll Stumm 'em!'
Phase 7: Round behind the building, Cant is investigating a locked steel fire-door, mentally making a note to also book
someone for a Fire Regulations Violation! The door is made of rusting plasti-steel, which was once painted a faded brick-red
colour. There is no handle on this side.
Meanwhile, inside the building, Perps 1 & 2 are trying to discern what has happened to their friends, after hearing Perp 3's
yell (last Action). Perp 3 himself is lying on the floor, temporarily stunned, and bleeding slightly from the chest hit. Perp 4
crawls over to him. Perp 5 breaks his Aim by trying to peer back into the darkness, and see what has happened back there.
Phase 9: Arnez sets his Lawgiver to Incendiary. Ballard draws back out of the doorway to allow d'OrIy to throw in the Stumm
Gas grenade. d'OrIy pulls the pin, and throws it in the rough direction of the back of the arcade.
The Judge rolls against his Combat Skill of 34, but gets a 52, which is a miss. The GM rolls a D12 for the direction of the
grenade, and gets a 12 - the grenade overshoots the target.
When the Stumm Grenade lands, it explodes between the room containing Perps 1, 2, and the two trussed employees, and
Perps 3 and 4. Every one of these people is affected by the gas, and the Perps all go down coughing and crying.
Phase 3: Arnez yells, 'You in there - come Out with your hands up!' Ballard and d'Orly pull down their Respirators.
The Game Master rolls to see whether the Perps will surrender, deciding that the Stumm Gas will add 30%, and Perp 3's
Stun will add a further 10%. Arnez's 55 of 29 means that the chance of the Perps' surrender is 69%. Arnez rolls a 50... ...and
the Perps stumble out, with their hands above their heads, and coughing fit to bust...
4: Other Actions
This chapter deals with other moves and actions you may e (or need) to make, in the course of your duties. It includes details
of chasing perps, climbing ropes, swimming, moving silently, driving or flying a vehicle, kicking down doors, throwing heavy
objects, repairing damaged gear, and more besides. In each case, the section will only details what you, as Judges, need to
know; your Game Master will have more information on the subjects.
Pursuing a Perp
When on patrol, you will often find yourself in pursuit of fleeing perps, either on foot or your Lawmaster bike. Mega-City One
isn't the best place in which to try and follow someone, however, and there may be a chance of your losing the person you
are chasing.
If you are trying chase a Perp through a large crowd of people, or around a maze of winding alleys, this chance is worked out
as follows. (It is up to your GM to decide whether you will have a chance of losing your Perp, or whether you can catch him
without too much trouble.) The chance of keeping up with the person you are chasing is equal to the average of your
Initiative plus your Street Skill if you are chasing him on foot, or of your Initiative and your Drive Skill if you are in a vehicle. If
your quarry has a greater Initiative than you, however, this chance is reduced by 1% for every point his Initiative is greater
than yours. Similarly, if yours is greater than his, you may add 1% for every point your Initiative is greater than his. This
check is made at the beginning of every Combat Round, before any Actions are announced. Your GM may well impose other
modifiers to reduce this chance, though, if the roads are especially busy, if you are wounded, and so on. He has guidelines
on these in the Game Masters Book.
Whether your GM decides you need to throw for losing him or not, use the following to work out the distances between you.
The distance you are chasing the Perp at is at first equal to the original distance between you when you started chasing your
target. But for every extra Move Action you make above the number he makes in a Combat Round, you may gain the usual
4m. Thus, if in a round you have 4 Move Actions, but your Perp can only make 2 (because of his Actions), you can gain 8
meters on him in that round. This continues until you feel you are able to fire at him, ask him to surrender, catch up and
apprehend him, or you lose him and have to give up.
For example, Judge Messenger has just witnessed a vicious Tapping on an OAC (Old Age Citizen), who is now lying in a
pool of his own blood. The tapper decides to ignore her call of 'Surrender creep, and I won't cripple you!', and makes a run
for it. Messenger has I 29 and SS 28, and the Tap has I 11; they are about 78 meters apart. The Judge decides that it
wouldn't be safe to shoot at the Perp as he disappears into a large crowd of juves as they pour out of robo-school nearby,
and she sets off at a fast pace.
At the start, they are 78m apart. The GM rules that the Perp had a 1 Move Action head-start on Messenger, so she is now
22m behind. Before the Combat Round starts, the GM rolls to see whether the Perp has lost himself amongst the Juves. The
chance of keeping tabs on him is the average of her I and SS scores (29+28/2 is 28.5, rounded up to 29); added to this is the
difference between their Initiative scores, which is 29-17, or 12. The final chance is therefore 41%. Before secretly rolling,
though, the GM decides to add 20% to the chance (as the Perp is taller than the juves, and can be seen above bobbing
heads) to give a final chance of 61%. Rolling a D100, the GM gets a 79 and in forms Judge Messenger that the Perp has
suddenly disappeared! (In reality he has ducked behind the juves, and is creeping into the robo-school, hoping to hide until
the Judge has gone...)
If, as in the example above, you lose your quarry, you may try and find them again, re-rolling as above, but with a -20% to
the chance (which is imposed cumulatively each time -so if you lose him twice in the same chase there is a -40% chance,
and so on). Again, the GM may modify this score, depending on where the Perp now is, how he is hiding, and so on.
Tracking
Tracking a Perp is a much harder task than chasing him. It's difficult enough when dealing with a fresh trail over damp mud,
but if the Perp fled a long time ago along clean concrete streets, the task is nigh on impossible Should you decide you would
like to try and track your Perp, the GM will advise you how difficult it is, and whether to bother at all. Tracking isn't used very
much at all in the Mega-City, except when using an Infra-Red Light to follow warm footprints across dusty ground at night
(which is in itself an incredibly rare occurrence). The chance of successfully tracking a Perp is equal to an average of your
Initiative and your Street Skill, as a percentage, though your GM will normally impose very restrictive modifiers to this. You
should roll every six Combat Rounds (1 Game Turn); tracking usually takes all of your Actions, though you may expend up to
two in a walking Move Action, to follow the trail.
For example, Judge Bentham is chasing renegade punk Shelagh 'The Slasher' Dwyer across a bomb-cratered radpit, in one
of the destroyed Sectors of the City. Ahead of him, the perp starts clambering up the side of the pit, and Bentham decides to
try and cut her off by scaling the steeper slope beside him. His Initiative is 48; his Combat Skill is 31. Scrambling up the
steep crater side, Bentham decides to loose a shot at Dwyer as she struggles up the side ahead of him. In his first Action, he
takes Aim with his Lawgiver, and rolls against his I score. He gets a 41, and keeps his foothold. Next Action, as Dwyer still
struggles up the rough slope, he tries to shoot her, using a pre-selected GP shot. Rolling against his Combat Skill Bentham
gets a 15, and hits Dwyer in the arm. Checking against his Initiative, however, he rolls a 96, and loses his footing, tumbling
down the muddy slope to the bottom, where he fortunately lands on the injured Dwyer, who has also fallen down the slope,
much to her surprise...
You may also wish to use other aspects of climbing, such as swinging on ropes. For this sort of action, you'll need to make
an Initiative check, or you will again fall.
For example, Judge Bolland wants to climb up a rope, and then swing across to a ledge (since he is in a strange complex
deep in the Undercity). Climbing the rope is quite simple, but he is being shot at by a motley assortment of ravagmg troggies,
so the GM decides to make him check against his Initiative every two Move Actions, to see whether he falls. When he
reaches the required height safely, the GM will allow him to swing across on the rope, provided he makes 1 further Initiative
check as he swings across to land on the ledge.
For details of damage from such falls, see the section on Falls and Falling Objects later in this chapter. If you make a
deliberate jump, and save against your Initiative, however, you can reduce the damage you take by 1 hit. This means that
you can fall for up to 5 meters without taking any damage, if you can make this roll. For any fall over 5 meters, however, you
will still lose the number of Actions you would normally make in 1 Combat Round, recovering from the fall, as detailed under
Falls. (So for example, if your character has an Initiative of 45, and therefore 5 Actions per Combat Round, you will lose your
next 5 Actions upon falling - in effect, this means that you will lose the equivalent of 1 Combat Round).
Rolling when you fall will take 1 Action, but will halve the amount of time you must spend recovering from the fall. This
doesn't require an Initiative roll, but you must state that you are going to try and roll, before you hit the ground. If you don't,
you won't be allowed to roll. Rolling will lose you your next available Action, so if your next Action isn't due until the next
Combat Round, you will still lose it!
Moving Silently
Creeping about on tiptoes is a useful skill to use, as it often enables you to catch people unawares, and have the Perps
arrested, cuffed and sentenced before they have recovered from the shock! Moving silently can be incorporated into a
standard walking Move Action, but needs a successful roll of your Street Skill to move without any noticeable sound. Your
GM may modify this if the floor you are walking on is made of creaky floorboards or covered in small and very loud twigs!
Hiding
Trying to hide in a place you aren't familiar with is often quite difficult, particularly if you must do so at a moment 5 notice.
Whether you are able to hide or not will obviously depend upon where you are. If you are in a brightly-lit room which is devoid
of all furniture, your GM would be quite right to not allow you to hide. Should you be in a pitch-black warehouse, with many
piles of boxes and containers to hide behind, you should be able to hide quite well. In general, if your GM rules that you are
able to try and hide, you should roll your Street Skill as a percentage, and it is unlikely that you will be found (unless
someone is deliberately looking for you). Your GM will almost certainly impose various modifiers upon this roll, however, and
may require you to re-roll as time goes by, to remain hidden.
Disguise
Taking on the appearance and persona of another person is much harder, and requires a good deal of preparation. As a
result, it can only usually be gained as a Special Ability (see Chapter 6 - Experienced Judges for more details). There are
also even. more advanced disguise experts, known as the Wally Squad: these are Judges who spend their whole careers
posing as citizens, and infiltrate major crime syndicates and gangs. Being such a Judge takes a great deal of training and
experience; only the best Judges are assigned to the Wally Squad.
Similarly, you may be deliberately searching a room, or watching a suspect, or whatever, in the specific hope of finding
something. In this case, your GM should again make a secret roll against your Street Skill, but should tell you whether you
see anything or not. (Though of course, if there isn't anything to spot, he will tell you that you don't find anything, which may
make you think that you just didn't see it!)
Traps
In some of your adventures, Perps may decide to set a trap for you. Quite obviously, each trap will be different: an ambush
by gunmen, a remote-control bomb, a false floor over a pit of acid, an electronic maze, or whatever. But your chance of
sensing that there is a trap is again a secret roll (by your GM) using your Street Skill as a percentage. If your GM rolls that
you spot something he will tell you; if not, you may well just walk straight on into it!
If you feel suspicious, you may ask to search around for a trap, in the same way as above, with a secret GM roll against your
Street Skill giving a 'Yes, you spot something' or a 'No, there's apparently nothing there' answer.
Should you discover a trap, it will be solely up to you and your skill to figure out how to dismantle it, get around it, or even
escape from it once it has sprung.
Vehicles
Driving, riding or flying any sort of vehicle (as appropriate) takes 1 Action per Combat Round. The vehicle is moved during
the same Action as your Drive Action, which may be before or after you have performed any other Actions, if available.
Vehicles may only have 1 Drive Action per Combat Round, and it is not permissible to switch to a second driver and then
have a second Drive Action. Similarly, once a vehicle has been started up, moved, and/or halted it may not have anything
else done to it in the same Round (though other people may shoot at it, crash into it, etc). Opening doors or winding windows
may be done at any time, however, subject only to the Actions available.
If you are unable, or in some cases unwilling, to expend the 1 Action in Driving the vehicle, you will find that your vehicle will
go out of control, as detailed below under Control Loss.
Thus, for example, a Lawmaster in combat can be taken up to a Maximum Possible Speed of 560 meters per Round, if your
save against Control Loss is successful.
To reach such speeds, however, a vehicle must gradually accelerate, at a fixed rate, until it is eventually travelling at the
required speed. Similarly, if you are travelling along at over 200 meters a Round, you will not be able to come to a dead stop
without losing control of your vehicle. Instead, each vehicle has an Acceleration/Deceleration Rate, which is the maximum
rate you may increase or decrease your speed per Round.
For example, a vehicle with an Acceleration/Deceleration Rate of 20 which is travelling at 700 meters per Combat Round
may reduce its speed to 80 in the next Round; in the next, it may be reduced to 60, and so on.
Each vehicle's Acc/Dec Rate is noted in its particular Profile. You will notice that most vehicles are potentially capable of very
high speeds, and as a result are rather chaotic when involved in simple combat, as they tend to appear and race through the
action in a split second, unless they are travelling at a deliberately slow speed. If they were travelling at their Full Speeds,
you wouldn't see them as they sped past in a blur (and their drivers certainly wouldn't be able to maneuver into combat).
Stopping
Once a vehicle has slowed down sufficiently, it may come to a stop. Each vehicle has a Maximum Stop Speed, which is the
greatest speed a vehicle may be travelling at to stop safely. Because brakes are reasonably efficient, this speed is usually
higher than the Acceleration/Deceleration Rate; if you have to make an emergency stop, travelling at a speed higher than
your Stop Speed, however, you must roll for Control Loss, as detailed below.
For example, a Lawmaster has an Acc/Dec Rate of 80, and a Stop Speed of 120. If it is travelling at 140 m/R it will require 2
Actions (but not necessarily 2 Rounds) to stop dead. On the first Action it must be slowed by 80 to 60 (using the standard
Drive Action). On the second Action, it will come to a dead stop, using a Halt Vehicle Action (which as explained before is
separate from the single Drive Vehicle Action you are allowed in a Round).
Hover Vehicles
Using the futuristic technology of Mega-City One, vehicle manufacturers have developed an interesting variant on the
standard road vehicles, by introducing Hover vehicles. These are much more expensive than the standard road-confined
cars, but are nevertheless quite common. Hover vehicles may skim over the surface of roads, as if they were normal
wheeled vehicles. In this mode they should be treated like normal vehicles, as above: Alternately, they may be flown through
the air, like a standard aircraft, though Hover vehicles do not handle anything like as well. In the air, a hover vehicle may
Climb at a rate of 25% of its current speed (round fractions up to whole numbers), and Dive at a rate of 50% of its current
speed. In an emergency, you may attempt to Climb or Dive at speeds greater than this, but you must save against Control
Loss, as detailed below.
Vehicles on Auto which are acting under your direct vocal command take their turn at the same time as you do; but vehicles
which are acting independently of any orders take a turn as normal, depending upon their Initiative skill, and its resultant
Actions. The average scores for a standard Auto Drive are Initiative 30 and Drive Skill 30, though these will often vary from
model to model.
Usually, all functions controlled by an Auto unit are turned over to Manual as soon as you sit in the driving seat. You may
vocally order an Auto unit to take over control of any of its functions, or you may use a switch. When the vehicle is on Auto, it
will obey orders, but you lose absolute control over the running of the vehicle. In this mode, you need only expend Actions in
Speaking to make the vehicle operate. A character who has no Actions at all due to injuries, will usually be allowed to order
his bike to carry him to the nearest medical help.
Characters in Vehicles
When you and your fellow characters get into or onto a vehicle, you should note which of you is sat where, and specifically
who is doing the driving. In the event of someone shooting at your vehicle, the Profile for the vehicle will include a Driver, and
you should use this chart rather than a Human Hit Location chart, and consider vehicle and driver to be one target. Of
course, if the random hit on the vehicle does turn out to have hit you, you should then roll on your own Hit Location chart, to
determine exactly where you have been hit, just like normal weapon combat. If you are wounded whilst in Manual control of a
vehicle, you must roll for Control Loss, until you are able to bring the vehicle to a safe halt.
Control Loss
You may find you have lost control of your vehicle for any number of reasons, including going too fast, trying to stop too
suddenly, having to swerve around an obstruction, and so on. In the following Combat Round, you may try and regain
control, in your Drive Action, by rolling against your Drive Skill as a percentage. If the roll succeeds, you may regain full
control of your vehicle in your next Drive Action, unless the vehicle is still in a position requiring a Control Loss roll (such as
still moving much too fast). If you fail your Drive Skill roll, the vehicle will suffer from Control Loss again, but you may try and
regain control next Combat Round (if you are still in one piece!).
When Control Loss occurs, your Game Master will roll to determine the direction the vehicle will travel in during the next
Combat Round, by consulting the section in his Game Master's Book. Once he has determined the direction, the vehicle will
travelling at the speed it was originally going at, whatever the consequences. Remember, there is nobody controlling this
vehicle! There is also a chance, if the vehicle is travelling fast enough, of it Spinning, Skidding or Rolling, which your GM will
again determine. If your vehicle goes into a Roll it may end up on its roof or on its side; whatever happens, it will badly
damage the vehicle. A Skid will do less damage, but may end up spinning the vehicle. In this latter case, you may have to roll
against your Drive Skill to regain some control of your vehicle. Your GM will give you full details of what happens to you and
your vehicle should any of these happen to you.
Collisions
With so many vehicles crowding onto the 13¼ billion miles of Mega-City One's roads, there are ample 'opportunities' for
collisions to occur, especially if you are a Judge chasing a fleeing Perp through heavy traffic. When a vehicle goes out of
control in the middle lane of a crowded Meg-way, it is virtually certain that it will hit other vehicles. Although there are a large
number of vehicles which tie in to Traffic Control and operate on Auto from central computer control, there are still numerous
drivers who do not.
What a vehicle actually hits will, of course, depend upon what exactly is in the way at the time, if anything. To this end, it is
up to the Game Master to decide just what happens. (In such instances, model vehicles and detailed maps are obviously
useful.) Once he has determined just what has happened, you should then work out what damage has occurred.
Damage To Vehicles
Damage to colliding vehicles may be calculated by adding together their respective speeds. Every 20 meters of aggregate
speed will cause 1 random hit on each vehicle involved, in this case rounding down any fractions.
For example, if a car moving at 50 m/R hits another travelling at 35 m/R their combined speed is 85 meters, resulting in 4
random hits to each vehicle. If the same car hits a stationary object, the combined speed would be 50+0 meters, resulting in
2 hits.
Damage To Buildings
Buildings and other large structures are a lot harder, in general, so any vehicle colliding with one will take TWO hits per 20
m/R of speed. Buildings may be damaged, depending on the speed of the vehicle hitting them, but it is very unlikely that they
will take any serious damage. Generally speaking you won't do much damage to a city block by ramming it - unless you
happen to be piloting a 250,000 tonne spaceliner of course!
Large plate-plasteen windows can be driven through, however, causing D2~1 hits on the vehicle, and breaking the window.
Shattered plasteen has a 25% chance of hitting anyone within 3 meters, causing 1 hit.
Damage To People
If a moving vehicle strikes a person, it will cause random hit for every 20 meters of speed (rounding down again). The vehicle
itself has a 20% chance of receiving 1 hit as a result of the collision. There is also a chance of Control Loss: 50% chance for
a bike, and a 10% chance for any other vehicle.
To lift anything which weighs more than half your allowed Carry or Lift weight as detailed below, you must have both hands
free. When you have the object in your hands, the number of Move Actions you are able to make in a round is halved
(rounding up), and you may not run or jump.
Dragging a heavy item will likewise halve the number of Move Actions. You will be allowed to drag items which are too heavy
to carry, or too large or cumbersome to lift. Large items of furniture or equipment are obvious examples.
Throwing weighty objects will likewise require both hands, and will need 2 Actions: 1 to lift, and one to throw. You cannot
throw anything you cannot carry. As detailed in Chapter 3, you may throw a small object such as a grenade or hand-bomb for
up to (Current Strength x 3) + 15 meters. The maximum weight of such an object is 5kg; for every 2kgs over this weight,
reduce the range it can be thrown by 1 meter, with a minimum distance of 0 meters (i.e. you can't really throw the object at
all, though you may still be able to drop it!).
The following chart is offered as a rough guide to what you are able to lift. These figures do not make allowances for the size
or awkwardness of the object; the Game Master will adjust the weight you are allowed to carry accordingly.
Max Carry : This weight is the maximum that can be carried for any length of time greater than 1 Game Turn (6 Combat
Rounds).
Max Lift : This is the maximum weight that can be briefly lifted, using a method similar to that of a weight-lifter. Objects that
weigh more than the Max Carry limit cannot be held up for more than 1 Game Turn (6 Combat Rounds).
Max Drag : This weight is the maximum that you can drag, without lifting the item off the floor. The weight assumes that the
floor surface is reasonably flat; if it is rougher than usual, the Game Master may decide to reduce the weight that can be
dragged across it.
For occasions when there are two or more people lifting one object, the new weight limits are a half (of their original weight)
again. Thus if two people with Strengths of 3 are moving something, they can carry 70+35, or 105 kg; three such people
could carry 70+35+35, or 140kg, and so on. T wo or more people trying to throw a heavy object will add an extra meter to the
distance for each extra point of Strength. Thus two characters with Strength 3 can throw for a standard distance of 24
meters, minus the modifiers for the weight of the object. If there are any difficulties in working out these rather complicated
maneuvers, your GM will be able to help, or make a ruling depending upon the situation.
Falling
Any fall from a height greater than 3 meters will damage you, to a greater or lesser extent, depending upon the height of the
fall. You will take 1 random hit for every 5 meters fallen (rounding up). If you are unsure of the exact distance, it may be
easier to assume that each story of a building will be 5 meters.
If you are wearing armour on your head, arms or legs, it will give a normal Armour Save. Soft landings are rare in MegaCity
One, but in the event of a fall being broken, by water, a cling-net, or whatever, you should give each hit an Effect Modifier of -
1 (and thus take 1 off the damage die roll). Conversely, landing on a particularly sharp object (such as a length of pointed
railings!) may add a +1 Effect Modifier, subject to the Game Master's discretion.
After you have made the fall, you will lose a Combat Round's worth of Actions recovering. In other words, if you normally
have 6 Actions a Round, you lose your next 8 Actions, and so on.
Falling Objects
With falling objects, there are two factors that need to be taken into account - the weight of the object, and the height it is
falling from. To this end, you should take 1 hit for every 5 meters the object has fallen, and 1 hit for every 50 kilos that the
object weighs (rounding down in both cases, to a minimum of 1 hit). The Game Master should hopefully have determined the
weights of various objects beforehand, based around the tables in the Game Master's Book.
Falling objects must be fairly substantial in order to inflict heavy damage; objects such as glass vases, bottles, books, etc,
will rarely do more than 1 hit, no matter how far they fall before they hit (though the Game Master may decide to adjust the
Effect Modifier if they fall from a very great height).
Objects being dropped count as standard targets, but there will be the usual modifier for a Moving Target, no matter what
angle you are firing from.
Doors
In the course of your investigations, you will undoubtedly find yourself on the wrong side of a barred door. This section deals
with all types of locks, and how to get past them. You, of course, will not put this information to practical use; you will rarely
need to do more than kick a door open.
Locked Doors
Mega-City One being what it is, it is unsurprising that almost every door in the city is kept locked at all times! In the course of
your daily patrols you will come across all sorts of different locks, but the three main types are as follows.
There are the standard mechanical locks, using keys or bolts, using designs which have changed little over hundreds of
years. These are normally to be found on old preAtomic War buildings, antique vehicles and the like. These usually need the
specific key to open, but can be broken through quite easily (see below). Many vehicles and a few buildings and apartments
have similar locks, though slightly more up-to-date, in that they read a magnetic card, rather like a credit card, which has a
specific code written into the magnetic strip on the back. These locks cannot be broken by an Auto-key, but can be opened
by simply dismantling the lock unit (which does take time) or by breaking open the door itself.
More modern locks have a keyboard-style access, into which a specific number-code must be punched for the lock to open.
An Auto-key device will be able to decode the lock and open it. (Auto-keys are only used by criminals, and are detailed in the
Game Master's Book.) It takes 1 Action to punch in a code on a keyboard.
There are also even more sophisticated locks involving vocal commands or hand prints. The first recognise both the words
said and the voice patterns of the person saying them. Recorded voices will not always be accepted, but given time (and an
operator with a high Tech Skill) a computer Voice Synth may be able to come up with the appropriate voice pattern, only
leaving the would-be door-cracker to discover the right code word (though many cheaper locks will accept any words, relying
only on the correct voice). Speaking a vocal command to open a lock will take the usual 1 Action per 10 words; trying to
figure out the exact voice pattern will take much longer. Hand-print operated locks are the most difficult to crack, as they can
only be opened by the person who programmed them. The hand print must be from a warm, living person, and must be the
correct hand too! Fortunately for the would-be burglar, however, these units have a safety over-ride circuit, which may be
used by a computer to break the lock. The Game Master's Book has more details on such criminal activities.
Unlocked doors will still require the expenditure of another Action to open, as detailed in Chapter 3.
For example, Judge Minter is following up some routine enquiries, and has called at the house of a particular citizen.
Knocking at the door (Judges never ring the bell I), she calls out, 'You in there, open up! It's the Law!' Getting no answer; but
hearing various sounds of scurrying from inside, she decides to force the door. With a Strength of 2, she has a 40% chance
of success. In her first Action she rolls a 65, and fails. Inside, meanwhile, the citizen is hastily feeding the evidence (the body
of his wife!) down the garbage grinder. Judge Minter tries the door again, and this time her chance is 45%. She rolls a 05,
and flies into the flat, bursting through into the kitchenette just in time to see a pair of feet disappear into the machine!
Held Doors
A door may be held shut, by someone or something. If the door is held by someone, the chance of breaking it in is reduced
by 10% per Strength point the holder has. The holder may not perform any other Actions other than Speak whilst he is
holding the door.
If it is an object that is blocking the door, there is a -5% for every 25 kilos weight put behind the door. The Game Master may
decide to add or subtract further modifiers, depending on other circumstances. A chair wedged under a door handle will not
have much of a modifier because of its weight, but it will nevertheless be very effective at keeping all but the strongest
people out, for example.
Listening At Doors
You may listen at a door in an attempt to try and hear anything which may be within. The attempt will take 1 Combat Round
(this includes maneuvering your ear quietly against the door, and listening for an adequate length of time). To determine
whether you have heard anything, the Game Master will roll, in secret, against your Street Skill. He rolls in secret because in
the event of failure, there may not be a noise to hear, or you may just not have heard it.
Doors As Targets
A lock may be shot at, in an attempt to open the door. Locks are considered Small Targets, and you will have the standard
modification to your die roll. Do not forget, however, that a broken lock is not necessarily open - your shot could have
jammed it shut, or completely damaged the mechanism and thus destroyed any chance of the lock ever being opened. There
is also a chance, particularly when dealing with computerised locks, that you have not recognised where exactly the lock's
mechanism actually is. The Game Master has more information on this, to assist you when you attempt to shoot off a look.
People holding doors shut may be hit by shots coming through a door. Most doors are not bullet-proof; in the case of bank
vaults, Justice Department security doors, or other large armoured structures, however, the Game Master may decide to
impose a modifier to the chance of scoring a successful penetrative hit. Shots fired through doors count as Wild Fire into the
room beyond, with any character holding the door counting as the target. This is for damage only - a Judge must still Aim if
he wishes to shoot through a door, and anyone using Wild Fire to hit the door in the first place will have the effect of their fire
halved again.
For example, Red Stripe Bemmo the notorious assassin, wishes to fire through a door, into an apartment which he believes
contains two Judges. He fires quickly, without Aiming, with a Combat Skill of 64. He is 3 meters away from the door, and the
nearest Judge is another 4 meters away, on the other side of the door. The total range for the shot is therefore 7 meters,
which means that his standard Wild Fire chance would be 32. Because he isn't Aiming, however, this score is further halved
down to 16%...
Repairing Equipment
In the course of an adventure, it may turn out that a particular item of equipment will break, or be damaged, in any one of a
number of circumstances. Should this happen, for whatever reason, you may wish (or need) to attempt to repair the
equipment.
As has already been detailed, in the Effects of Damage to Equipment section Chapter3 earlier, most items are made up of
Vital, and Non-vital Components.
Should a Vital Component be damaged, it may not be replaced, and the item will be unusable, and must be replaced as a
whole.
Non-vital components may be replaced should they break, however, but only if the particular replacement part is available.
Your Lawmaster has spare parts for your Lawgiver, and various bike parts, including its weapons, computer, and headlamps.
Other items of equipment may have spare parts with them - a truck, for example, would usually have spare spark plugs, fan
belt, tires, and so on. Smaller items will rarely have spares available, however, and will therefore be unrepairable.
If you do have spare parts available for the broken equipment, you may attempt to repair the item. You must first try and work
out which particular part of the equipment has been damaged. In the 22nd Century, everything is crammed full of micro-
circuitry and computer chips; as a result, finding out exactly which little bit has broken can be rather difficult. You should roll
against your Tech Skill as a percentage in order to recognise what is wrong.
Once you have found what is wrong, you may attempt to fit a new piece. To fit it correctly, you must again roll against your
Tech Skill, as a percentage. If successful, the equipment is repaired, and you may use it again.
It will take you 2 Actions to recognise and remove the broken component; 1 Action to remove the part from your belt- pouch,
or wherever; and 1 Action to fit the new piece.
5: On Patrol
To support your Judges in their unceasing fight against crime in Mega-City One, there is the full weight of the Justice
Department. The Department is virtually a separate section of the Mega-City community, with its own schools, housing, and
other buildings, and inhabited by a rather special class of people. Every day and every night, Judges like you emerge, to go
and patrol the streets of Mega-City One, on the look-out for crime.
Each and every day, your Judge (or team of Judges) is required to spend at least 12 hours on 'active service'; this may
include a circuitous patrol of the city, surveillance duty in a Watching Bay overlooking a major road junction, research or
interrogation in your local Sector House, or just catching up with all the paperwork (though this last activity is usually done
after the 'active shift' has ended). Most adventures will start whilst your Judges are patrolling the Mega-City; you may see a
crime being committed, or be called in to respond to an offence seen by a security camera or reported by a citizen.
When first assigned a new patch, you will be able to learn general details about the area by subconsciously being fed
information by a computer whilst in a hypnotic trance or asleep. These will take in the physical nature of the area, with its
Blocks, roadways, and special and public buildings; and its history, including details of local Perps and famous crimes. When
you start patrolling your patch, you will pick up much more specialised knowledge of the area, though, and will soon become
aware of the particular group of citizens which inhabit it. You may get to know prominent people, local Juve and Punk gangs,
Perp rackets and possibly acquire a few Narks, informants who keep an ear open for you (at a cost). (There is more
information on Narks in Chapter 6.)
While on patrol, it is common practice for a Judge to spend some time sat on his Lawmaster in a Watching Bay. These are
small lay-bys, generally just off a major Meg-Way, from which a Judge can observe a wide area. Often located overlooking
particularly dangerous traffic junctions and large city pedestrian plazas, Judges may position themselves here, both looking
out for trouble and awaiting a call from MAC, the Justice Department computer, asking them to respond to a crime nearby.
Communicating
Whilst out on patrol, there should be a frequent two-way exchange going on between you and your Sector House, or with
MAC the Justice Department computer. There will be information on crimes, local traffic conditions, and so on, and in return
you may require reinforcements, information on Perps, and much more. On your Lawmaster you have a vid-screen,
communications unit, and a band-held radio; and you have a short-range radio mike, which can relay messages to other
Judges close by, built into your helmet.
Vid-screen
The Lawmaster's vid-screen is the standard link with your Sector House and MAC, scrolling up a constant stream of crime
incidents, Judges information, and general messages.
There is also a sound function with the vid-screen, which may be left on all the time to read out every entry on the screen as
it arrives, or it may switched so it only operates when a call specifically relating to you is received.
The communications unit enables you to relay a message, via the bike's computer, to your Sector House or to MAC, using
only a vocal command, and rather than having to use the hand-held radio. It costs 1 Action to activate the unit, 1 Action for
the computer to make the link, and then you may speak up to your word limit per Round.
Hand-radio
This unit is stored on the vid-panel of the Lawmaster, to one side of the vid-screen, and is attached by a coiled lead which
can be extended for up to 3 meters. The hand-radio may be used for a wide variety of communication links. It is normally
used to set up a link with the Sector House or MAC, and may be used from anywhere within the Mega-City. Using the 'radio
requires 1 Action to attempt to make the link; this is successfully achieved by rolling your Tech Skill as a percentage (usually
accompanied by the words, 'Judge Evans to control - come in control!' or some such). If you fail at this roll, you may repeat
your attempt on your next available Action, until contact is made.
For example, Judge Elliott is out on patrol, riding down Marcus L Rowland slipzoom, when he sees the familiarly obese
outline of an old enemy trying vainly to hide behind a holding post. Recognising the shape as belonging to Dik 'Wide-boy'
Edwards, he radios in to his Sector House to inform them that he is giving chase. Picking up his hand-radio (1 Action), he
tries to contact them, rolling against a Tech Skill of 79 (another 7 Action). He rolls a 97, however, and only gets a local Robo-
taxi firm and a lot of static. Next Action he rolls again, and with a score of 76 finally manages to get through...
Helmet Radio
The helmet radio may be used to talk to another Judge within the Sector, or to the Lawmaster's computer (which may then
set up a link between the helmet radio and your Sector House, for example). This method will not normally require a Tech
Skill roll.
You may talk normally with anyone within 7 meters; this range also applies to the cries of creatures, and the voice-boxes of
robots and other equipment. You may shout -and be understood - at a range of up to 20 meters. Using a megaphone or the
Lawmaster's voke-box will extend such a range to 50 meters; activating the 'synth will require 1 Action.
As a result, Judges tend to only learn (in any great detail) the particular routes which they travel regularly, usually as part of
their patrols; should you have to deviate from such a path, you can contact Traffic Control at the Justice Department for the
best route, and program it into the Automatic setting of your Lawmaster.
The Mega-City's road system is nominally divided into a number of categories of road, depending upon the size and function
of the roadway, though the terms are often more confusing than informative. Some of the most common terms are as follows:
Meg-Way : Major roadway, normally with 3 or more lanes (and often as many as 40!), and usually with traffic going both
ways.
Skedway : A lesser road, up to 5 lanes wide, but often just one, and normally with one-way traffic only. Occasionally also
known as a speedway.
Slipzoom: A side road, often connecting two larger roadways.
Pipeway & Zipstrip: A minor road that leads to a Block; the former is enclosed, the latter open to the air.
Each roadway is also called by a proper name, a city reference number, and often several nicknames too, which all go to
confuse everybody even further. The main Meg-Ways are called names such as Sector 12 Xpressway, or Meg-Way 2 East,
as well as being given reference numbers. The Judges will usually refer to such numbers (such as Meg-way 1143, for
example), though not always! Lesser roads often don't have numbers, and may be called virtually any-thing! Some are
named like traditional streets, with examples like Bill Burroughs Boulevard, Jon Sutherland Skedway, or Victory Avenue;
others are named after the Blocks they serve, such as the Davy Langford Slipzoom, Hilda Ogden Skedway 1, or Milos
Mastrianni Xpressway. Basically, a roadway can be called virtually anything, and there can never be any hard and fast rules
about them - you must expect only to be thoroughly confused, just like the citizens!
Moving along the Mega-City's roads is a very unpredictable affair. Multiple pile-ups, sixty mile tail-backs, day-long jams,
street pirates and Wreckers (modern day highwaymen), and a fair proportion of homicidally-inclined drivers all go together to
make any journey time more a matter of luck than distance. Furthermore, just because it takes you, say, 4 hours to get from
A to B one day, it does not follow at all that it will take 4 hours to go from B to A, or even to go from A to B a few hours later!
Travelling across from one point within a Sector to another in the same Sector will take 10 x D20 Game Turns, though more
or less time may be specified by the Game Master, according to the needs of the adventure he is running. (This time may
also be modified for a Special Ability based around Street Skill; see Chapter 6, Experienced Judges for more details.)
It is perfectly possible, given the utterly shambolic nature of Mega-City One's road system, for two Judges to set off from a
particular point, one after the other, and for them to both arrive at the same time, or over a day apart! Sometimes, you may
be lucky and find a path through the jams, or a neat short-cut down a side-street; at others, you could be stuck for hours!
More delays to a journey can be caused by MAC itself. If you are in the area when a crime is called, you're normally
expected to respond, or at least inform other Judges nearby. Judges are not allowed to simply ignore any breaking of the
Law, just because they are on a different case I
Moving between Sectors will take much longer. Multiply the time taken by the number of Sectors you are moving through.
Thus, moving from one Sector to another entails moving through two Sectors, and you should double the time taken. Moving
from a particular Sector, through a second, and into a third will involve trebling the time, and so on.
Moving on Foot
Walking in Mega-City One is not quite as dangerous as driving, but it is pretty close! At City Bottom, the 'ground level' of the
Mega-City, there are many pedestrian-only plazas. During most of the day and much of the night, these are crowded with
people. There will be many ordinary citizens strolling and socialising. There will be small stalls, selling kneepads or candy.
There may be gangs of Juves or Punks, strutting around and posing in their latest fashion rad cloaks. And there will always
be Perps - tap gangs (muggers) are most common, but there may also be dunks (pickpockets), pongos (confidence
tricksters), and many others.
When moving around the plazas and parks, most civos will walk, or more usually these days use the slidewalks and
eeziglides -the moving pavements. These are rather slow, however, and would be useless to you if you were chasing a Perp,
and you would do better to rely on your feet or your Lawmaster. In some plazas, particularly the larger ones, there may be
Block Buggies, small single-seater electric seats which can be steered around any level piece of ground on their small
wheels. They don't go especially fast, but many citizens use them to get to places which aren't served by the slidewalks.
Above the ground, there are pedways, often combined with slidewalks, which soar and spiral up to various levels of the
Blocks, in a similar fashion to the Meg-Ways. Alongside some roads there are sidewalks and pavements, but most of the
higher roadways are vehicle-only.
The standard Move Action walking distance of (up to) 8m a Combat Round is only used when carefully stalking about in a
combat situation. On the streets you can increase this to 12m, or 72m a Game Turn, provided the area is not too crowded.
Running will double this speed, but again you will be subject to the other pavement users. Moving pavements travel at a
carefully regulated 10m/R, and are fitted with prominent safety cut-off switches in case of accidents.
Public Transport
In Mega-City One, there are a number of different forms of public transport. Although you as a Judge will not normally use
them, it may happen that you have to chase a fleeing perp via one, or deal with an accident (or crime) involving one.
The cheapest form of transport for most citizens is the autobus. These 22nd Century versions of the standard city bus are
enormous, often consisting of a large number of coaches strung together, pulled by a leading tractor-type unit. Fares are
reasonably cheap, but passengers are usually only those who aren't in a hurry (see the note about travelling times above!).
Slightly quicker, though dearer, there are the hoverbuses. Like the autobuses, they stop at predetermined points throughout
the Mega-City, though in this case these stops are usually high up the levels of tall Blocks. A hoverbus is usually quite small
in comparison to an autobus, seating perhaps 40 people.
As well the buses there are close on a million small robotaxis, individual hover vehicles controlled by robot drivers. These are
expensive, but will take you exactly where you want to go in a reasonable sort of time.
The most widely-used form of transport over any great distance is the zoomtube (sometimes just called, the zoom) or skyrail,
which is a very fast aerial railway that runs through long stretches of the Mega-City. There are numerous routes and stations,
and it is possible to get to virtually anywhere via the Zoom. It is reasonably cheap, and fast, but is very crowded at all times.
(One interesting result of Mega-City One's 87% unemployment rate is that there is never a 'rush hour' of people going to or
from work!)
Your Game Master will have full details of the speeds of these various modes of transport, in the Game Master's Book.
MAC
MAC is the Justice Department's central computer. It deals with most of its day-to-day running, providing every Judge with a
continuous data supply via your Lawmaster's vid-screen, as well as maintaining full data files and records of every case the
Judges have ever handled (as you may expect, it's a very large data-file). Furthermore, data is also received and stored from
each of the million or so 'spy-in-the-sky' flying cameras which watch the Mega-City, as well as from the street surveillance
cameras positioned on most street corner. These are sometimes used to find the last known whereabouts of a particular
person (simply by typing in their name - MAC already has full details of their appearance), or in fact find out where someone
was at any particular time in the last 45 years!
Quite often, numerous vital clues to the solving of a case will be hidden somewhere within MAC's gigantic data banks. You
may access MAC's files either remotely (from your Lawmaster), or by using a terminal in your Sector House or Justice
Headquarters. From your Lawmaster, you may ask a trained operator with access to MAC (usually back at your Sector
House) to find out a particular detail, or to give everything on the file, on a specified subject. The operator, usually a
specially-trained Tech-Judge, can give a verbal reply to a simple question (such as 'Where was Stevie 'The Puffin' Jackson
last seen?'), or feed the data onto the Lawmaster's vid-screen if it is too long to be spoken (such as 'Puffin' Jackson's criminal
record). The operator will usually be a specially-trained Tech-Judge, with a high Tech Skill, and will therefore have a good
chance of finding the required data if it is available. The Game Master will inform you whether the operator's search was
successful.
Alternatively, you may utilise one of the numerous terminals in your Sector House, or indeed in any of the other Justice
Department buildings. These terminals give direct access to MAC. This does mean, however, that you will have to rely on
your own computer knowledge (based on your Tech Skill). The Game Master will roll (in secret) to see whether you find the
relevant data. You may examine and re-examine material as often as you like, with your GM rolling every Game Turn until
you are successful. In such situations, however, you may often be very pressed for time (someone might be getting
murdered out there), and it is probably best to save personalised computer use for when you have the time to spare, and for
emergencies.
Barney
MAC is closely linked to Barney, the civil computer housed in City Hall. Whereas MAC's details on all the citizens are to do
with security (crime records, mental welfare and personal habits, political persuasions, etc), Barney's are more to do with the
normal running of the city, including a citizen's tax returns, financial situation, housing records, vehicle and weapon licensing,
and so on. Barney can be accessed by MAC as an automatic function of looking for data. Alternatively, you may decide to
visit Barney yourself, in City Hall (which is in Sector 38, East region). Accessing Barney is included in the Tech Skill roll for
using MAC.
Libraries
Apart from retaining the standard works of fiction and academia (including reference books), the City Libraries (including the
Central Mega-City Library, which is in Sector 48, East) also retain complete newspaper files. These can occasionally be very
useful to your enquiries, especially if a crime has its roots in some event from the past.
The libraries store most of their material in the form of vidslugs, rather than printed matter, as these last much longer than
paper. Even very ancient books and records have generally, by this time, been transferred onto vid.
All libraries have hundreds of terminals. These link into the General Index, from which any one of a billion titles can be
accessed. You may scan any one of these on a vid-screen, or take away the required titles as vidslugs or paper printouts.
Most Blocks also have libraries. These are smaller affairs, usually consisting of a small data bank and a large number of
terminals which can access into the nearest proper library. Block libraries are occasionally useful for their archives, which
detail the individual history of the Block in question - its famous citizens, most gruesome Block-wars, infamous crimes
committed there, and so on.
Sentencing
Once your perps have been arrested, they must be sentenced to a term in one of the Mega-City's Iso-blocks. In your first few
adventures, you probably won't have much idea about the correct sentences to give for particular crimes. Most of the major
ones are given in the list below, but the situation is often complicated by multiple crimes, strange circumstances, and so on. If
you are stuck for a particular sentence, your Game Master may suggest an appropriate term from these guidelines. As your
Judge gets more 'streetwise', he'll be able to give his own suggestions for sentences, and incorporate them into typically sar-
donic lines like 'You're doing five, creep!' The following are suggested sentences for typical crimes. These may be slightly
modified for the severity of the crime. Remember-Judges are tough but fair!
After you have sentenced the perps, they may be taken to one of a number of different places, by a number of different
means. Most perps must be taken to the nearest Iso-Block. These large, secure blocks are made up of hundreds of small,
individual cells, in which prisoners serve their time. Each cell is made of semi-transparent plasteen, and is only fitted with
sanitary and food input facilities.
Another destination may be the Sector House. You may take dangerous perps here for a temporary stay in the Holding
Tanks (fortified cells) before they are transferred to a high-security Iso-Block. Perps may be interrogated here, by both
physical and electronic means (including skin searches and dream analysis - see later). Very badly injured criminals can be
put into Sus-an (suspended animation) in the Vaults, where they will stay until their injuries can be cured and they can serve
their sentence.
In some cases, you will have to arrest people who are psychologically disturbed, particularly the victims of Future Shock
Syndrome (Futsies). These must be taken to a Psycho-block, and imprisoned in one of the Psycho-cubes (sometimes known
as Kook-cubes) for treatment, often over an indefinite period.
Very dangerous perps may be imprisoned elsewhere. Devil's Island is a very high security prison in Sector 102, East, which
is situated on a traffic island surrounded on all sides by speeding juggernauts, which travel around on remote-control day and
night, making escape impossible. Even more serious crimes may be punished by exile to one of the off-world prison colonies.
The one on Titan is most feared, as it is home to Judges who have been found to be corrupt and criminal. There is no
atmosphere on Titan, so the bodies of the detainees are adapted (with their mouths and noses sealed up and air-pipes fitted
into their throats) to live without spacesuits. No Perp will ever forget 20 years on Titan!
Transporting Perps
Transporting a perp, or gang of perps, to an Iso-Block or the nearest Sector House may be done by one of several methods.
If you are unable to stay with the Perps, either to wait for them to be collected or to take them in yourself, you may 'handcuff
them to a Holding Post. These large plas-crete columns are dotted around all areas of the Mega-City, and are covered with
hoops to which a Perp may be handcuffed, to await collection by a Justice Department Pat-Wagon. As you speed off in hot
pursuit of other Perps you should notify your HQ about the Perp, so that he can be picked up by the next wagon along. There
are Holding Posts on most street corners and city plazas - your GM will inform you of the location of the nearest one, should
the need arise!
After a particularly large arrest, you may have already called in reinforcements. These will usually have included a number of
Pat Wagons, which may be available to transport the Perps to their place of imprisonment.
If time allows it after an arrest, you may wait with your Perp for the wagon to arrive, or you may take him in yourself, if there is
a Holding Tank or Iso-Block nearby. You may make Move Actions as standard, except that you may only make a maximum
of 2 per Round, as you slowly lead your cuffed perp to the 'Cubes.
Back-Up Units
Although Judges are very tough characters, supposedly able to handle anything, there may well come a time when you really
do need some extra firepower. In other situations, too, you may need to call upon the services of a backup unit.
Do bear in mind, however, that the GM will not allow you to simply cal! in the heavy squad just because you are having a little
trouble dealing with a couple of juves! Unwarranted use of reinforcements may well earn you a demotion (or at least a loss in
Experience Points!). This will not apply, however, to the use of a specialised Tek-Judge to do a forensics test, for example, or
in any situation not covered by a normal Judge's training.
Medical Aid
Med-Squad : A standard Justice Department Med-squad consists of two drivers, 3 Med-Judges, and a Robodoc unit, in a
modified Hover Wagon (H-Wagon). The team is equipped to treat all sorts of injuries, and can also transport injured
characters to hospital.
Meat Wagon: If the Med-Squad is too late, a Meat Wagon is needed to take the corpses to the morgue, and from there onto
Resyk, the Mega-City recycling plant.
Technical Crews
Clean-Up Squad : After all the fighting is over, the clean-up squads move in, in their huge Pat Wagons. They repair damaged
street fittings, roadways and buildings, clean up contamination, and generally return everything to normal, using teams of
specially-programmed rammed droids.
Fire Squad : These crews are considered part of the Civil Administration, but they can be called in by Judges too. They put
out fires, and are equipped with advanced fire-fighting vehicles and equipment, including Hover Water-cannon and Mobile
Foam-carriers.
Tek Squad : These important units move into the scene of a crime, and deal with forensics and other technical evidence.
They use snufflers and street scanners to pick up the minutest shred of evidence, and they are not just Judges, but highly
qualified scientists too. You may also need the services of a Tek-Judge when dealing with a computer, in repairing a
particularly technical item, and providing other scientific details.
Extra Firepower
Heavy Weapons Team: These units are called in to deal with sieges, Block Wars, and other major disturbances. They
usually consist of troops of Judges in heavily armoured H-Wagons, fitted with various large laser weapons, sonic cannon,
and the like.
Holocaust Squad : This unit is the real heavyweight of the Justice Department - a suicide squad empowered to deal with only
the largest of disasters. As such, they have only ever seen action once, when encased in heavy armour they parachuted into
the heart of the Power Tower to deactivate a raging volcano. Despite this single use, they are always ready to be called in at
a moment's notice.
Riot Squad : The especially trained Riot Squads see service at many of Mega-City One's demonstrations and protest
marches, dealing with trouble speedily and easily by spraying everyone with fast-setting Riot Foam, thus rendering them
incapable of any actions at all, until they can be removed and charged! The squad are also equipped with light armour,
electro-cordons, and day-sticks.
Other Units
Psi Division: This unit, made up entirely of Psi-Judges, is involved with attempting to gain pre-cog knowledge of future
events, in reading the minds of reticent Perps, and utilising other psychic powers. They are called in only rarely, but when
they need to be they prove to be very effective.
Special Judicial Service: The SJS exists semi-independently of the Justice Department. Its role is to deal with crimes and
corruption within the Department, and ensure no Judge abuses his authority. Its members are drawn from the highest Justice
Dept circles, and carry out their task with ruthless severity and precision.
Using the facilities of any of the departments will take time. A simple Yes-or-No answer question will usually take between 2
minutes and an hour to get a reply. More complicated actions, such as checking for fingerprints over a vehicle, calling in the
SJS to investigate a 'bent' Judge, and so on, may take much longer. Your Game Master will handle these - all you have to do
is request the particular back-up; he will tell you whether you can have it, an approximate reply time, and then inform you
when you get a result.
A Sector House can be any size or shape, but most are fairly large blocks, up to about 300 stories high (though some do go
much higher). They are organised similar to the larger Hall of Justice in Sector44, though on a much smaller scale, with
many different departments scattered around the complex. Some of these are detailed below, together with the way you may
use them; other, less important functions will be told you by your GM, should the need arise.
Admin Facilities: As soon as you wake up, you grab some breakfast and then plug yourself into the Briefer. The Briefer
summarises all the crimes of the previous 24 hours, gives details of all major road and social blackspots, and forthcoming
events; all this is comes as subconscious suggestion, and takes about 15 minutes!
Dotted around the building are numerous computer terminals, which can give access to MAC and Barney, as detailed above.
In the Control Rooms there will be qualified Tek-Judges who are qualified to use the units, but there are many other units
around too.
If you need new supplies, or an item repaired, there are departments to deal with them. The Quartermaster's Store contains
spares and new items for every aspect of a Judge's equipment, weapons, and vehicles, from new Hypo Shells and
replacement Respirator straps to complete uniforms and new Lawmaster bikes! The Repair Bay is staffed by a team of
experienced Tek-Judges, who are able to repair most items within 24 hours; you may get to use their services quite often, as
you shouldn't expect to get a new bike every time you scratch the paintwork!
Holding Facilities: There are a number of different facilities which handle Perps in a Sector House. While most ordinary
offenders are taken straight to the nearest Iso-Block, the more dangerous are held in the specially fortified Holding Tanks
deep in the bowels of the Sector House, until they can be taken to a high security installation like Devil's Island, or
transported off-world to a prison colony.
Fatally injured Perps are kept alive, under Sus-an, in The Vaults, until medical advances mean they can be healed and then
serve their rightful sentence in prison.
There are special rooms for the interrogation of Perps in the lower levels of the Sector House. These may be fitted out with
special lie-detecting units, and more sophisticated equipment. Dream Machines read the subjects mind when he sleeps,
broadcasting his subconscious thoughts onto a vid-screen. Skin Searching involves completely removing the top layer of the
Perp's skin, and analysing it for incriminating evidence. These and other techniques may only be carried out by specialised
Med- and Tech-Judges. Though you are allowed to ask for such tests to be done, you cannot participate until you gain more
experience, i.e. the particular Special Abilities (see Chapter 6).
In every Sector House there is a fully-equipped Forensics Lab, run by highly qualified Tek-Judges. They analyse chemical
traces picked up at the scene of the crime by snuffler Units, and from a Perps clothes and skin.
Under the Sector Chief are a number of divisional officers, including the Chief Forensic Scientist, Chief Medical Officer, and
Chief Technician. These are each responsible for their own departments, which they run near-independently from the main
organisation of the Sector House. There are also many other lesser departments, each dealing with one area of the Sector
House's facilities, which are detailed above. Each of these also has a chief, who reports to the Sector Chief.
Scattered throughout the Mega-City are several heavily-protected armouries. The smaller of these establishments only store
standard supplies, including Lawgiver shells, Lawmasters, and a Judge's personal equipment, but the largest can store
heavily armoured H-Wagons, special Zippers for the Justice Department Flying Squad, and much more heavy equipment.
Should you need to request the back-up of something like a Heavy Weapons Team, they may often have to first travel to the
nearest armoury to pick-up the necessary equipment, before they can set off to assist you.
A final, special place is the Statue of Judgement. Erected in 2099 by the citizens of Mega-City One in honour of the Justice
Department, it towers over the nearby ancient Statue of Liberty, in Sector 44, South. The view from the top is quite breath-
taking, looking out west to the Cursed Earth, or east over the Black Atlantic Wall and beyond. Millions of people visit it each
year, and queues form well before the doors are opened, and last right through the day. To all citizens, the Statue of
Judgement stands as a reminder of the unceasing vigilance and protection of the Judges!
6: Experienced Judges
This chapter details the specialist divisions of the Justice Department - the Psi-Judges, Med-Judges and TekJudges. It also
has full details of Experience Points and Special Abilities. These are gained as a measure of your increased experience at
being a Judge, and they can confer special skills on you.
Specialist Judges
You can only become a specialist Judge if you roll a straight score of 40 for your Med, Tech or Psi Skills when generating
your character, as described in Chapter 1. If you do manage such a feat, and few Judges will, you may elect to become a
specialist based around this 'super-skill'. If you do, you may choose one Special Ability from the section appropriate to the
skill in question (see later). You come under the administration of a separate section of the Justice Department, and will wear
a slightly different uniform. You may take part in cases with your team as normal, and follow a normal Judge's service life.
Because of your specialisation, however, you will find that your Experience Points will tend to concentrate on your speciality
at the expense of your other skills.
Experience Points
Experience Points are awarded by your Game Master for any number of actions, and are a good measure of your success in
a particular adventure. They may be earned when a Judge has a good idea that helps his team out of a tricky situation, or
when he manages to find a good clue that leads to the Perps, or for making the final arrest itself. The GM has guidelines for
the awarding of Experience Points (or EPs as they are known), in the Game Masters Book. All you need to know is that when
you have earned enough (and they are earned for being a good, brave Judge - not for killing a Perp or for having to call in
the Riot Squad to help!) they may be traded in for a Special Ability.
Using EPs
When you are awarded Experience Points by your GM, usually at the end of the current adventure, you should note down
the running total in the space provided on your Character Sheet (see Chapter 2). When you have 100 points, you may
exchange these for an increase in any one of your characteristics, subject to the rules below. (If you have more than 100, the
remainder may be kept, to start the next 100.) The 100 points may remain recorded, but your Experience Points must rise by
another 100 before you can raise a characteristic again (you may choose the same one, or another, as you wish).
When you trade in your 100 points, you may increase any one characteristic. You may never, however, increase your
Strength, and only the specially-designated Psi-Judges may increase their Psi Skill beyond its original score.
The increase in the characteristic chosen is found by rolling 2D3, thus giving a points increase of 2 to 6.
For example, Judge Oakey has lust finished her first ever assignment as a full Judge, and her single-handed arrest of the
notorious Bemmo Gang for murder, anti-mutie vigilante activity, spitting at Judges, scrawling and being unkind to their
mother has earned her 105 Experience Points. [Be warned!! This is only an example! This sort of thing doesn't usually
happen!] Her player decides that her Initiative, currently standing at 22, needs a boost, and rolls 2D3 for the increase. Using
2D6 she gets a 4 and a 6. Halving these (to get D3 scores) Oakey gets 2 & 3, and therefore adds 5 points to her score,
giving her a new Initiative of 27.
The specialist Med-, Psi-, and Tech-Judges each have slightly different ways of determining skill rises, however, as detailed
here.
Med-Judges
As a Med-Judge, once you have 100 EPs to trade, you may increase your Med Skill by 3D3, or one of the other skills by
1D6.
Psi-Judges
Because of your intensive and highly sophisticated training as a Psi-Judge, you may trade in 100 EPs for an increase in your
PS of 2D3, or in one other skill of 1D3 points. Remember, that no other Judge can increase their Psi Skill.
Tech-Judges
You may trade 100 EPs in for a 3D3 increase in your TS, or a 1D6 increase in any one other skill.
Special Abilities
Increasing a Judge's characteristic scores is very useful in itself - it makes the Judge more able to deal with the day-to-day
policing of the Mega-City. Additionally, as we've said above, the increase also allows you to receive some Special Abilities.
These reflect much more clearly the way you have increased in experience and skill. They also help to individualise your
Judge much more, as you will have access to skills which your other Judges may not have.
When you qualify for a Special Ability you should choose one from the list appropriate to the characteristic you have just
raised. It should be noted that a few of the Special Abilities below are only available when your characteristic has reached an
even higher score. The abilities marked with an asterisk may be chosen twice, giving double the bonus. Thus, for example,
Use Data 2 gives you a +20% bonus to finding data, and so on.
Abilities as Actions
Unless stated otherwise in the description of the particular Special Ability, an Ability does not take up any of your Judge's
Actions! Some Abilities may be used at any time during a Combat Round, but some may only be used during one of your
Phases. (For example, you must use 'Crack Shot' just before firing.) Whenever you can use your Abilities, remember that all
of them are incompatible, and they may not be combined. You can use them one after another, but they may not be used
together. You may use a maximum of 5 Special Abilities per Combat Round (if you have them!); you may repeat an Ability as
part of this total.
Agile *
The Judge is exceptionally fit and athletic, and usually lands on his feet! Whenever you must roll for damage from a fall, or
from being hit by a speeding vehicle, you may deduct 1 from the score rolled (i.e., the D6 rolled for the hit's effect).
For example, Judge Nikita is entering Pat Troughton Block to apprehend a suspected Perp, when the villain in question
decides to drop an ornamental statue on the Judge's head from the Promenade Park several levels above. Hearing the
whistle of the falling object, Nikita rolls a D 100 against an I score of 64, using his Avoid Falling Objects skill. The dice come
up with a score of63, and Nikita just manages to leap away as the statue slams into the space he occupied only a moment
before!
Avoid Shots
This Judge has honed his reflexes to a remarkable degree, for a very specialised skill. You may actually attempt to avoid any
ONE shooting hit, fired at you during a particular Combat Round, and may repeat the attempt during each other Combat
Round. You simply dodge, weave, twist, or leap out of the path of the bullet, dart, or even missile!
When a particular shot hits you, you must declare that you are going to attempt to use this Special Ability, to try and escape
its effects. If you are due to be hit by two or more shots at the same moment, you may still only attempt to avoid one of them.
Your chance of avoiding the shot is equal to your Initiative as a percentage. If you make the roll, you have managed to
escape the shot; otherwise, it hits as normal.
For example, Judge Ammon is attempting to arrest Kind-Hearted Critchlow, the notorious Burglar, when the Perp pulls a
Stub Gun and lets loose a shot at him. The GM rolls a hit, but Ammon remembers his Special Ability, and rolls a D 100. His I
score is 56, but he rolls a 77, and unfortunately has to roll again for where the bullet hit him!
Break Fall
Apart from falling from the tops of city-blocks, Judges may also find themselves falling lesser distances - when their
Lawmaster goes off the side of a slipzoom, for instance, or if they are pushed back during hand-to-hand combat and fall off
the edge of a pedway. Normally, they take 1 random hit for every 5 meters fallen, rounding up, but the Judge with this ability
is able to land in such a way that these are cushioned, and he need only take 1 random hit for every 8 meters fallen,
rounding up. Also, instead of losing actions for a Combat Round, he will only lose half a Combat Round's worth, again
rounding up any fractions.
Duck
An unexpected duck or dodge can throw a hand-to-hand opponent off-balance, and a Judge with this Special Ability is quick
enough to do it. And unlike a normal Judge, he doesn't need to have a spare Action to do it! The Ability is declared when an
opponent in a hand-to-hand fight manages to hit you, and the chance of it succeeding is equal to your Initiative rolled as a
percentage. If successfully made, you avoid all damage from the hit. The roll may be attempted for any one hit per Combat
Round.
For example, Judge Fox has been set upon by a Punk, who is determined to give her a good beating for arresting his friends.
The Game Master informs Fox's player that the Punk has landed a punch, whereupon the Judge declares that she will try
and duck out of its way. Rolling a D100 against an I score of 43, Fox manages a 07, and the Punk's fist goes flying past her
chin with inches to spare I
Fast
All Judges are fast, but the Judge with this Special Ability is faster than most. If you have this ability you may claim one
EXTRA Action in every Combat Round (bearing in mind that NO Judge may have more than 10 Actions per Combat Round).
Instant Reactions
The Judge who gains this Special Ability has a rather unique skill - he may attempt to perform one extra Action at any time
within a Combat Round, except on his Phases. This is a very useful Ability, allowing you to get behind cover if you are
suddenly shot at, or to put your respirator on if attacked by gas. You may not use this Ability to get out of the way of a bullet
or falling object as such, but you can use it to take cover, so making yourself near impossible to hit. To attempt the extra
Action, you must roll your Initiative on a Dl 00. You may attempt to use this Ability once per Combat Round, as necessary.
For example, Judge Lynton is exchanging fire with a Perp. He starts off by Aiming his Lawmaster at his opponent in Phase 1,
but is surprised when the Perp looses off a shot, using Wild Fire, in Phase 2 and decides to try to leap into cover behind a
parked truck. His Initiative being 80, he rolls a D100, and succeeds with a score of 43, and manages to duck behind the
truck. Unfortunately for Judge Lynton, the Perp rolls a 01 for his shot, and manages to hit what little of the Judge is showing
anyway, but that's just plain bad luck!
Note: The speed of the vehicle is not important, unless it is travelling exceptionally fast, when you should apply penalties as
you see fit.
In the case of the Lawmaster or any other bike-shaped vehicle, a successful boarding is assumed to have placed the Judge
in the seat, ready to assume control, subject to the usual driving rules. This can be very useful if in trouble, a Judge could call
his Lawmaster on his helmet radio and tell the computer to drive towards him, then leap aboard as it drives past. In the case
of hover vehicles, the vehicle may not be more than 1 meter above the ground (or the level of the Judge's feet).
Quick Learner
This Special Ability is not one which is instantly useful, but it can be very helpful at the right time. Judges with this Ability
show an astounding capacity to absorb information, and learn from their experiences. Accordingly, with this Special Ability
you may add 10% on to the value of all Experience Points you are awarded from now on.
Recover Quickly
The Judge with this ability is exceptionally robust and healthy, and doesn't get laid out quite so often as his comrades!
Whenever a roll for damage from gunfire or a hand-to-hand blow produces Stuns as a result, you may deduct 1 from the
number of those Stuns (for example a roll of 3, with no effect modifiers, normally causing 1 stun and a d6 Initiative loss,
would not stun you at all, although the Initiative loss would still apply). Also, if the Judge is knocked out, instead of rolling a
D10 to determine how many Combat Rounds he or she remains unconscious for, you roll a D6 instead.
Note: The benefits gained from having this ability are gained only on Stuns received from bullets or hand-to-hand blows, and
not from falling or being hit by a moving vehicle (the Judge must use Agile or Break Fall for something like that).
You may care to allow the Judge to make several attempts during his or her fall, but we recommend no more than three be
allowed. There will also be the following side effects: failure on first attempt gives one broken arm (1 wound); failure on the
second attempt gives another wound - perhaps another broken arm! (1 wound); failure on the third attempt - roll for damage
from the impact (usually resulting in death and an almighty 'Splat' sound!). If the Judge has caught onto something he should
then be able to pull himself to safety. or at least hang on until help does finally arrive.
Super Leap
The normal distance for a leap is up to 4 meters, as part of one Move Action, but any Judge with this Special Ability is so
athletic he can cover twice this distance in a horizontal jump, moving up to 8 meters in a single bound! This still counts as 1
Move Action, but the Judge performing the jump is unable to make any other jumps, in the same Combat Round. This Ability
is especially useful for those daredevil chases across the rooftops of very high buildings!
Crack Shot
A Judge with Crack Shot Special Ability treats every Action spent Aiming as though it were actually lasting for two
Actions; that is, for every Action spent Aiming, you can add 20% to your chance to hit, instead of the usual 10% addition.
Fast Aim
This Special Ability is only available to Judges with a Combat Skill of 60 or more; it is not available to any Judge with a CS
less than this. This rather remarkable ability allows a Judge to aim and fire in one action! It must be in that sequence, and
cannot be mixed with anything else. Aim actions can still be stacked (up to a maximum of 3), so a Judge could, for example,
spend two phases Aiming and then Fast Aim, for a bonus of 30%. This ability can be used once every two Combat Rounds.
Fast Draw
The Judge shows a natural adeptness at fast-drawing a pistol weapon. You are so fast that a weapon may be drawn as part
of any other Action, and therefore in effect costs no Actions at all itself.
Fast Shot
Training and talent has endowed this Judge with the ability to fire well-placed shots faster than usual. You may Aim as usual,
but may then, if necessary, fire twice, counting both shots as being Aimed, and using up 1 Action per shot as usual. When
using this Special Ability, you may not use more than 1 Action in Aiming. The upshot of all this is that you may use the
sequence Aim/Fire/Fire - Aim/Fire/Fire, instead the normal Aim/Fire - Aim/Fire one.
Painful Strike
This ability improves upon the Judge's fighting ability, and allows him to deliver punches and kicks that cause great pain to
the victim. They usually suffer no long4erm ill-effects, but immediately after the blow they are in extreme agony and the only
thought that enters their mind is one of respite, surrender, and above all not getting hit again!
When a Judge lands a close combat strike on someone, he can declare he is using his Painful Strike ability. Immediately
after the blow, the GM must make another Surrender roll, with a +5% bonus. Each time the Painful Strike is used (bearing in
mind the usual limit of once per Combat Round), the chance of an instant surrender goes up a further 5%. With this ability,
even futsies and blitzers and others with a 0% surrender chance could be brought to Justice - well, sometimes. Do bear in
mind that if you don't want a perp to surrender, they are allowed to ignore the die rolls and keep on fighting!
Example: Judge Weaving hits a perp and uses her Painful Strike ability. When she made her initial challenge she had to roll
55 or less to make the perp surrender, but this time needs only to roll a 60 or less If she fails, but then hits again, the chance
will be 65, and so on.
Precise Throw
The Judge with this ability has a remarkable natural forte for throwing things. So, quite simply, he or she may apply a +25%
bonus to the To Hit roll for all items thrown - grenades, hand-bombs, etc. The weight of the object does not matter, as this is
taken into account when working out the maximum distance the object can be thrown.
Self Defense *
A Judge who chooses this Special Ability has developed a special block for use in hand-to-hand combat, which adds 10% to
his chance of blocking an opponent's blow. This bonus is applied to every time you try to block an opponent's blow.
Special Strike *
This Judge has a natural aptitude for hand-to-hand fighting. As a result, this Special Ability confers a 10% bonus to your
chances of hitting whenever you attempt to strike a blow in hand-to-hand combat.
Strong Strike
This ability is similar to Knock Out. It allows the Judge to add a + 1 effect modifier to all damage from hand-to-hand blows.
This doesn't apply to those using laser weapons or electroprods, however, as they rely on a power source rather than force
for their damage.
Drive Skill Abilities
Avoid Collision
This Special Ability allows the driver of a moving vehicle to attempt to swerve out of the way to avoid an otherwise certain
collision. With this skill you may attempt this at any time during the Combat Round, not just when it's your particular Phase.
The attempt is made by rolling against your Drive Skill as a percentage. If the roll is successful, the Game Master may allow
you to swerve out of the other vehicle's path, in any convenient manner.
For example, Judge Mendham is on patrol, riding on Skedway 26, when a snazzy roadster, driven by a very drunk old lady
OAC, veers across the lanes towards his Lawmaster. Mendham immediately attempts to take evasive action using his Avoid
Collision Special Ability, and rolls a D1OO against a DS of 55. The dice come up with a roll of 7Z and Mendham swerves
past the roadster as it zips by, before turn mg his Lawmaster around, and giving chase...
Control Roll
Occasionally, a piece of daring by a Judge may turn out to be just too foolhardy, and the result is often the Control Loss of a
vehicle, resulting in it rolling over. With this Special Ability, however, you are able to control the errant vehicle, and bring it to
a relatively safe stop. The vehicle will take only D6 hits damage from the roll, as opposed to the usual D1O. In addition, you
may either add or subtract 10% (your choice) from the Attitude Roll, or may leave it as it is, which gives you a certain amount
of control over whether the vehicle lands on its roof, side, or whatever.
For example, after rolling a commandeered saloon car, Judge Smith rolls on a D100 for the Attitude the car ends up in. A
score of 83 would mean that the saloon lands upon its left side, but she applies her Control Roll bonus, and decides to take
10% off the score, giving 73, which means that the car lands upon its wheels instead.
Control Skid
Should the Judge with this Special Ability ever get into a Skid, he may control it enough to minimise the damage, and affect
the direction the vehicle ends up travelling in. Instead of taking D3 hits from a Skid, the vehicle takes D3-1, giving a range of
0 to 2 hits. In addition, you may either add or subtract 1 from the result of the D6 direction roll, or may leave the result as it is
(your choice, after the D6 is rolled).
Control Spin
The Judge with this Special Ability is well-practised at spinning a vehicle; as a result, a vehicle driven by this Judge takes D3-
1 hits (giving a range of between 0 and 2 hits), instead of the usual D3 hits, in the event of a spin.
Drive Fast
When a vehicle is driven faster than its maximum speed, there is a chance of Control Loss, saved only by the driver rolling
against his Drive Skill. With this Special Ability you may add 20% to such a roll, allowing you to potentially drive at faster
speeds, without losing control of your vehicle.
Emergency Stop
The Judge with this Special Ability may attempt to bring a vehicle to a dead halt, no matter how fast it is going. The chance of
such an action working is equal to your Drive Skill as a percentage. This still only takes 1 Halt Action, and doesn't affect your
ability to bring it to a halt from within the usual Stopping Speed (i.e., without needing a die roll).
Far example, Judge Perrin is roaring after an escaping Perp on his Lawmaster. The Perp is on the back of a Hover-bike, and
is getting away, so Perrin takes his Lawmaster up to 760, and begins to gain on his quarry. Suddenly, however, a large
Jugger pulls onto the Megway from the Under-zoom, right into his path. Which a screech of brakes and smoldering tires,
Perrin attempts to stop the bike in time, rolling against his Drive Skill (currently 45). Rolling a D700, the lucky Judge scrapes
a score of44, and narrowly avoids turning himself into synthi-spread. By the time the truck has moved out of the way, though,
the Perp is long gone.
Fast Dismount
The Judge who picks this Special Ability is able to leap from a stationary vehicle as part of any other Action, in effect taking
no time at all. The vehicle, which can include the Lawmaster, must be open, however - it will cost you the usual 1 Action to
open the door of an enclosed vehicle.
Fast Mount
In a way very similar to the Fast Dismount, the Judge with this Special Ability need not expend an Action in leaping aboard
any open vehicle, including the Lawmaster, by combining it with any other Action. An enclosed vehicle will require the
expenditure of 1 Action in opening the door, but using this Special Ability, you may combine this Action with the one of
entering the vehicle.
Lawmaster Leap
This Special Ability enables the Judge to 'jump' his vehicle, using any appropriate nearby ramp or slope to give him a lift (a
kerb, or a sloping parked roadster will do). The vehicle used (usually the Lawmaster) needs to have traveled at least 20
meters during the Round before the leap; leaps do not have to be counted as part of the usual move distance, however. The
length of the jump is equal to half the speed of the vehicle that turn, in meters, plus or minus 5 meters. (Roll a D10 - if the
result is from 1 - 5 take that amount from the speed; if from 6 -10, take 5 from the number and add the result to the speed.)
The height of the jump is D4 meters. Jumps are always in a straight line, in the direction of movement. When the vehicle
lands you will have to roll for Control Loss (though you are allowed to use a Control Spin, Skid or Roll ability, if you have
one).
Lawmaster Wheelie
This ability can be a very useful one. It allows the Judge to jerk his or her Lawmaster up onto the back wheel and drive along,
with only a slight (10% maximum) reduction in speed. This has the advantage of shielding the rider and the rest of the
Lawmaster from any shots from positions directly ahead of it. The rider can still see where he is going, and all Lawmaster
functions work as normal. The attempt to wheelie works automatically but if the Lawmaster hits any obstruction (the kerb, a
sign or pedestrian, perhaps), you must roll for Control Loss.
If a "perp-like human" (as opposed to an innocent citizen!) is hit while a wheelie is in progress, the Lawmaster’s front wheel
will return to the ground, the perp will be knocked to the ground and the Lawmaster will run him over, causing 1 random hit
with a +1 effect.
Access *
This very basic but highly useful ability will enable a Judge to add 10% to his or her basic Tech Skill roll to use a radio to talk
to Control, MAC or another Judge.
Analvse Chemical
Using the facilities of Justice HQ, his Sector House, or p05sibly a civilian laboratory, a Judge with this Special Ability may
attempt to analyse any chemical trace picked up either by a 'Snuffler' machine, or the Judge himself. The chance of correctly
analysing the chemical is equal to your Technical Skill as a percentage. If you fail to analyse the substance, you may
continue your analysis, re-rolling once every Game Turn (every 6 Combat Rounds). Your GM may permit only a limited
number of attempts, however, depending upon the size of the sample, and the type of test.
Disable Mechanism
The Judge with this Special Ability is able to disable 1 non-vital component piece of any mechanism, rendering the whole
thing non-functional. This takes only 1 Action. You may disable 1 vital component piece, in the same way, taking 1 entire
Combat Round. When disabled, the components must be replaced, rather than repaired, for the item to work again.
Fit Component *
This very basic, but highly useful Special Ability will enable you to add 10% to your chance of fitting a component, when
rolling against your Tech Skill as a percentage.
Open Lock
With this ability a Judge has a chance of short circuiting any electrical lock and causing it to open. This includes magnetic-
card, keyboard access, vocal command or even hand-print locks, though the GM is more than likely to impose a negative
modifier for the more advanced locks. The Judge must make a Tech Skill roll. If you feel it's necessary, impose the following
modifiers:
The attempt will take 2d6 Combat Rounds. One interesting side-effect of this ability is that the Judge also gains the totally
useless ability to pick ancient mechanical locks, with no adjustment to the Tech Skill roll. Totally useless, you ask? Well, how
many 22nd Century citizens do you think still use such antique methods of locking up their most prized possessions?
Recognise Component *
The Judge with this Special Ability has acquired the knack of using and repairing equipment. The result is that you may add
10% to your chance of recognising a Component piece, when rolling against your Tech Skill as a percentage. This Special
Ability can be used in conjunction with Fit Component, if you know it.
Recognise Mechanism
Occasionally, a Judge will be confronted with a boobytrapped device, or a weird gizmo that has to be understood in order to
be made to work. This Special Ability allows you a basic chance of recognising the type and construction of the mechanism,
equal to your Tech Skill. Occasionally, the Game Master will present a particularly 'tough' device, and will require that there
be a penalty of perhaps minus 10% or 20% from your roll to understand the mechanism because of it. This skill may be used
in conjunction with Disable Mechanism, if the latter is also known.
The effect of a successful shot on this point will vary according to the GM's discretion, but the item will always cease
functioning. Of course, the GM is allowed to include items which don't have vital spots!
Robot Knowledge
This ability confers a whole host of encyclopedic knowledge about robots and droids. In Mega-City One, nearly all of the work
is done by robots, and citizens see as many artificial people as they do ordinary humes. Robots are meant to obey humans
and follow the laws thought up by Judge Asimov all those years ago, but some robots are used for criminal purposes.
Interrogating a robot may prove very frustrating, though, as lie detectors cannot work on metal skin and memory playback
facilities may be deliberately hidden deep in the robot's computer brain. However, a Judge with this ability will be able, on a
successful Tech Skill roll, to access all available information via the robot's control panel and a computer link.
That's just one example of how this ability works. It also confers the knowledge of robot culture and ideologies, robot
construction and operation, robot behavior patterns and power sources, among many other aspects of robot life. If this ability
is possessed along with a TS of 70 or more, the Judge can program and reprogram robots with their own instructions
(making one or more successful TS rolls as they go along, naturally), and with a rating of 85 or more can actually construct
robots that work smoothly and efficiently.
Use Data *
All Judges are very familiar with the vid-screens and other data-access Systems used throughout Mega-City One, and are
able to use libraries and scan video material. This Special Ability allows you an even greater chance of successfully finding
pertinent material, and of noticing irregularities and clues in it, by adding 10% to your Tech Skill (when used a percentage
when rolling for Using Data).
Aura of Cool *
Any Judge with this Special Ability is so cool he commands instant respect from his foes. Any Perp faced with such a cool
Judge as you must add 10% to his chance of Surrendering, such is the aura of confidence in The Law you radiate.
Discourage Perp
In a way, this ability is parallel to Aura of Cool and Sense Aim, and it may save the Judge's life many times without him even
knowing it! Judges with this ability emanate such a powerful atmosphere of invulnerability and strength that any perp trying to
Aim at them must roll higher than the Judge's 55 to gather the courage to pull the trigger! This does not apply if the Judge
can see and respond to his opponent. If the perp's SS is higher than that of the Judge, he may add 10% of it (rounding up) to
his chance of overcoming his fear; if his is lower he must subtract 10% of it from the chance.
For example, Judge Knifton is bringing a captured perp in to the sector house on the pinion of his Lawmaster but - unknown
to him - one of the perp's associates, a certain Kernal Kuster, is waiting to pick him off. This other perp is up on a nearby
rooftop, aiming with a spit carbine, which usually has a +1 effect and a burst radius of 5 meters. Knifton has the Discourage
Perp ability. Kuster's SS is 46, less than Knifton's 54, so the roll is reduced by 5 (70% of 46, rounded up) from 54 to 49.
Kuster or rather the GM, rolls a 63, grits his teeth to overcome his fear and a moment later a Judge and his prisoner are
riding the expressway to Valhalla.
Interrogate
This Special Ability represents the outcome of training and experience in handling Perps. With this ability you may put
specific questions to a Perp, and the chance of receiving a useful and/or truthful answer is equivalent to your Street Skill as a
percentage. A question may be put as many times as you wish, but each time after the first asking the chance of getting the
required answer is decreased by a further 10%, until zero is reached.
Keen Observation
The Judge with this Special Ability is so eagle-eyed he can see Small Targets at a range up to his Street Skill score in
meters. Since the normal observation range of a Small Target is 50 meters, there is no point in a Judge with an SS of 50 or
less having this Special Ability.
Pursue *
Occasionally, when a Judge is chasing a perp, he or she may lose them in a crowd or around the corner. This ability adds
10% to the usual Street Skill roll to keep them in sight. However, even with this ability, if your adventure demands that the
Judge lose the perp, that is what will happen.
Sector Knowledge
The Judge with this Special Ability has spent a long time studying maps, and travelling the streets of his home Sector, and as
a consequence has built up a thorough working knowledge of it. As a result, any journey within this Sector will take only half
the time it usually takes (to a minimum of 10 Game Turns, and rounding up to the nearest 10 Game Turns). This skill can
only be applied to one particular Sector.
Sense Aim
This ability confers a rather remarkable skill. The Judge is sometimes able to sense when a perp is aiming a weapon at him!
Whenever some person is performing an Aim action with the Judge as the target, the GM rolls in secret to see if the Judge
notices. The chance of this happening is his Street Skill minus the distance from the weapon in metre8, rolled as a
percentage. If successful, the GM should drop small hints like 'The prickling on the back of your neck tells you there's a
carefully-hidden sonic cannon aimed at you perhaps 5 meters away!'
For example, Judge Collins is standing on a street corner, watching the citizens go about their inexplicable business.
Unknown to her 20 meters above, young Johnny John John-John has had enough of school his mom and life in general and
is even now aiming a laser rifle at that cute little eagle badge on the Judge's chest. The GM rolls a D100, and manages to get
beneath the 32 (SS of 52-20) required. Colllns starts feeling very uncomfortable about something. She looks down, and
there's a crisp new 1000 credit note at her feet! She bends to retrieve it - litter is litter whatever it's worth - and a flash of laser
death melts the window of a roadster parked at the kerb next to her!
Judge's Nark
The Judge is adept at manipulating the seedy underworld characters to his will; as a result, there is a chance of any
Henchman-type criminal encountered being willing to work as a Nark, or informer, for the Judge. This chance is equal to your
Street Skill divided by 10 (and rounded up) as a percentage.
For example, Judge Oakey has an SS of 84, so his chance is 8.4, which rounds up to 9%.
Your Nark escapes prosecution for his past crimes (if any), in exchange for providing you with information about forthcoming
or past criminal activities. All Narks have a regular hiding-hole, where they can by found 50% of the time. A Nark has a
chance of knowing about any specific crime within his Sector equal to his own Street Skill rolled as a percentage. Narks can
also attempt to find out about crimes the Judges don't yet know about; this takes 30x D20 Game Turns. Once he or she has
the information (if they find out anything) the Nark usually puts in avid-call to Justice Central, with your Judge then receiving
the information via his Lawmaster communications unit.
Sense Crime *
Occasionally, whilst making a regular patrol of l'is patch, a Judge may have a chance of spotting a crime in progress This
particular circumstance is handled by the GM using information in the Game Master's Book, but with this Special Ability there
is an extra 10% chance, to be added to your Street Skill roll for spotting the crime
Sense Perp
This Special Ability confers a rather remarkable skill. The Judge is so street-wise he can literally smell danger, even if he
cannot see it. This ability has a range of 1 meter for every 10 points of Street Skill that you have. The chance of your Sense
Perps skill actually detecting some inkling of hidden danger is equal to your SS rolled as a percentage.
For example, Judge Bailey is patrolling amongst some dilapidated ghetto-shacks in downtown Sector 2Z in the middle of the
night. The GM knows that there is a gang of thugs hiding in wait for the unwary Judge. When Bailey, with his SS of 50, gets
within 5 meters of the ruined shed they are hiding in, the GM rolls against his Sense Perps Ability on a D100. (The GM does
this in secret, because the Judge will know something might be there if he is asked to roll for himself.) In this instance, the
GM rolls a 90, and Bailey walks on, to certain death...
For example, Judge Webster is seated on his Lawmaster, in a Watching Bay overlooking a pedestrian plaza, when three
rough-looking thugs sidle past In secret, the Game Master (knowing that one of them has a Stub Gun hidden under his coat)
rolls against Webster's Street Skill - which is 48-using a D7OO. The GM gets a score of25, and Webster suddenly shouts,
'OK you spugs! FREEEEEZZEII'
Administer Treatment
This Special Ability is only available to Judges with a Medical Skill of 75 or above. Characters with an MS score under 75
may not pick this Special Ability.
Using a properly-equipped hospital unit, someone with this Ability may administer treatment to wounded Judges and other
characters. Also (if it is the only thing available), a Justice Department Med-Wagon carries enough equipment to deal with
arm and leg wounds, but no others,
Other Wounds
Treatment takes 1 Game Turn (or 6 Combat Rounds) to deal with each wound, and only one attempt may be made for each.
Again, the chance of successfully dealing with each wound is equal to your Medical Skill as a percentage. If the attempt is
successful, the character makes a complete recovery within D6 weeks, regaining all lost Strength and Initiative points
originally lost, and leaving hospital at the end of this time.
If the attempt is not successful, the Judge will live, but is no longer well enough to cope with the high-powered life of a Judge,
and is permanently retired from the game (usually to become a non-player Tutor Judge at the Academy of Law).
Emergency Resuscitation
A Judge, or other character, who has died within the last 3 Combat Rounds, may be revived by a Judge with this Special
Ability, using emergency heart massage techniques. The attempt will take an entire Combat Round, and the chance of
success is equal to your Medical Skill as a percentage. Only one attempt may be made per person.
Once revived from the edge of death, however, a character will still be in the condition that he died in, and will require more
Medical treatment immediately, or they will die again. Characters crushed, mangled, or fed into Garbage Grinders will not
respond to this sort of treatment, no matter how enthusiastically it is applied'.
Hypnotise
The Judge with this ability has a thorough knowledge of hypnosis and psychology, and has mastered various techniques for
placing people into trances or euphoric states in which they are quite susceptible to questioning and may even give
information which they would not reveal otherwise under any circumstances. To use this ability, the subject must be stunned,
mesmerised or otherwise incapacitated (by the use of carefully administered drugs, for example) and the chance of getting
the subject into hypnosis is equal to the Judge's MS as a percentage. While the roll is made, the Judge is presumed to be
grabbing the subject's ears, tapping them on the forehead or waggling a digital timepiece in front of their eyes.
If the initial roll succeeds, the subject is either put into a hypnotic daze or into a deep sleep The Judge must make a second
MS roll. If this fails the sound of snoring will tell him or her that they have failed! If it succeeds, however, a third roll must be
made. If this fails, the subject turns stupid and regresses to an infantile state, wherein he starts making a noise like a
roadster ('Brm! Brum! Beep-beep!'), his thumb becomes affixed to his mouth and so on - use your famous GM's discretion
here, but beware of psychologically-minded players using it to work out what a sick sense of humour you've got! If the roll
succeeds, the subject is at last drifting peacefully in a hypnotic state and can be asked just about anything. Whether he
answers properly or correctly is up to you again, although most questions will get some kind of response.
A subject can be removed from a trance by a simple snap of the fingers, or another sharp, loud noise. Someone coming out
of a hypnotic trance loses all actions for the next d6 rounds.
Improvise Cure
If a particular disease is totally unrecognisable, or if there aren't any suitable drugs at hand to treat a known complaint, a
Judge with this Special Ability may be able to improvise a cure using drugs from a standard Medi-kit. The chance of doing
this equals your MS as a percentage.
For example, Judge Linnett and her team are on a patrol in the Cursed Earth, when one of them comes down with an
unknown complaint. Judge Linnett hasn't encountered the disease before, but remembers her Improvise Cure Special Ability,
and immediately begins looking through her Medikit. Rolling against an MS of 74 on a D100, she gets a 05, and is soon
treating the poorly Judge.
Incapacitate
This ability allows a Judge to do two useful things. One, knock someone out. The victim must be stunned enough times to
allow the Judge two actions pushing on pressure points, squeezing major arteries, etc; in other words, the Judge must spend
two of his actions 'treating' a Stunned victim. No special roll is required, providing the above conditions are met; the subject
will be under for 2D10 Combat Rounds.
Two, send someone to sleep. The victim must be knocked out (as above), and in addition, the Judge must make an MS roll.
Success means that all the poking about has paid off and the subject is dead to the world for d4 hours. If the roll is failed, the
subject remains senseless but will waken at the end of 2d10 Combat Rounds (the Judge will not know which of these two
options has occurred until they become apparent).
Rousing sleeping or unconscious subjects: Some people are harder to wake up than others. For either condition, roll a D4
and consult the following chart:
Roll Result
1 Will wake at any sound louder than a whisper, or if moved or knocked in any way.
2 Will wake at any sound louder than normal speech, or if lifted or knocked heavily.
3 Will wake at any sound louder than a shout, or if roughly handled or shaken vigorously.
4 Will wake at any sound louder than a shout in close proximity to his ear, if dropped or very roughly handled.
If the subject does awake, it will be 6 minus Strength rounds before they are fully in charge of their faculties. Until this time
they will have only 1 Action per round.
Psychology
This Special Ability is only available to characters with a Medical Skill of 50 or more; any Judge with an MS less than 50
cannot choose this skill until his MS is raised to the required score.
With this Special Ability, you are a specialist at persuading Perps to surrender, simply by talking them out of fighting. The
basic chance of doing this is your Medical Skill as a percentage; the attempt takes one whole Combat Round, during which
time the Perp must not be under attack. This ability over-rides all normal modifiers to the Challenge roll normally used. This
ability may only be used once per Perp. Using this Special Ability even Perps who would normally fight to the death, such as
futsies and blitzers, can be talked into surrender.
For example, Judge Johnson and his team have chased a Perp into Mega-City One's Alien Zoo, only to lose her amongst the
exhibits. Suddenly, they find themselves confronted by a seething mass of green jelly that has been let out of its tank by the
Perp to slow them up. As the disgusting slime creeps towards them, the Game Master rolls against Judge Johnson's Special
Ability. Rolling a D7OO against an MS of 68, the GM gets a 57, and tells the Judge that he knows that the creature is
harmless; the Judges edge around the jelly-being, and continue the chase.
Recognise Disease
This Special Ability allows a Judge to automatically recognise any obvious signs of disease, and then allows him a chance
equal to his Medical Skill as a percentage of actually knowing what the disease is, the method of treating it, and 50 on, as
defined by the Game Master.
Resist Disease
This ability is available only to Judges with an MS of 75 or greater. Judges with an MS lower than this score may not choose
it until their MS rating has risen to 75 or more . The Judge with this special ability has spent so much time around sick,
diseased people that he or she has become especially resistant to some specific complaints. Whenever the situation decrees
that the Judge could be infected, a successful roll of their MS + (S x 4) will mean that all Resistance Modifiers to the Infection
roll are ignored. If a Resistance roll then succeeds, the Judge cannot be infected by this particular disease for up to d6 days
in its presence. This ability does not cover radiation sickness or related mutations.
Revive
The Judge with this Special Ability has been trained in reviving other characters that have been Knocked Out. You may do
this automatically for one character per fight. The revival takes 2 Actions, and the revived character may enter play as normal
after resting for 1 Combat Round.
Note: A character may use only 7 Special Abilities based on this skill each Combat Round, though as usual they do not cost
any Actions.
Animate Corpse
This Special Ability is only available to Psi-Judges with a PS of 60 or more.
The Psi-Judge with this Special Ability can return one corpse to life for as long as their PS in Game Turns, at a maximum
range equal to a quarter of their PS in meters (rounded up). The chance of animation is equal to their PS as a percentage.
The corpse may be questioned, or can be directed to perform a limited number of tasks. The body will rate as S 1, I 10, CS
10, regardless of what its scores were in its former life. Corpses are unaffected by all Stun results, and take all damage at -1
effect. Once killed, or rather re-killed, they may not be raised again. If their animator is killed they will die immediately:
Detect Intent
This Special Ability allows you to read the thoughts, intentions and memories of other people. It is most often used to release
facts from the brains of Perps that dream-reading and lie detectors can't coax to the surface, but can also be very useful for
finding the location of someone quite a distance away. The target doesn't even need to be thinking about the Judge - they
can just tune in and pick him up, like a high-frequency radio!
Such an awareness is obviously a rather nebulous subject, so your GM will inform you of the exact extent of what you do and
do not know about your subject's activities. The range of the power is limited to the Sector you are in, and the chance of
success is equal to your Psi Skill as a percentage. You are allowed to roll once every 10 Game Turns (i.e., every 6 Combat
Rounds). To attempt this Special Ability you must dispel any current Psychic Blocks, Hold Doors, and all other Psychic
activity for the duration of the Detect attempt (1 Combat Round in every 6).
Detect Psyker
Using this Special Ability, a Psyker may detect the rough direction and distance of another Psyker, but only if they are
actively using their powers this Combat Round. The range of this ability is limited to the particular Sector you are in. You will
automatically sense the other Psyker if you have this Special Ability, without having to concentrate on it, and can also tell
approximately whether they are a poor, average, or powerful Psyker.
Hold Door
Using this Special Ability, a Psyker may hold a door shut using psychic energy, preventing it being opened even if the locks
are forced. Such a door may not be broken in or shot through. Once 'psyked shut', the door will remain shut, as long as you
remain within the same City Sector as it, and do not put up a Psychic Block or a Mind Control ability, and are not controlling a
jinxed vehicle or an animated corpse. Doors held in such a manner may be blown apart, using high explosive shots or
bombs.
Hypnotise
This works in very much the same way as the Med Skill ability, but relies on PS rather than MS for its use. It is more likely to
be triggered, too, by deep stares into the eyes of the hypnotist than by watches or taps on the head.
Illusions
The Judge with this Special Ability has the ability to create illusions, particularly ones of a very frightening kind. The
maximum range of an illusion is equal to your Psi Skill in meters, and the maximum size of the illusion produced must be 5m
by 5m by 5m. It can be of anything you wish -either a real monster, or one from your imagination, for example. Anyone who
sees it must make their Psi-save. Those who fail are unable to do anything for the next two Combat Rounds, during which
time they will be transfixed to the spot with surprise and fear.
Jinx Mechanism
Using this Special Ability, you can attempt to make any mechanism work, for you, for 1 Combat Round; this enables you to
open door locks without keys, turn lights on or off, make weapons fire of their own volition (despite failed components), and
so on. This power has a range equal to your Psi Skill divided by 2 (thus, a PS of 54 gives a maximum range of 27m, for
example), and the chance of it working equals the Psi Skill as a percentage. This power can equally be applied in reverse, so
that weapons won't fire, equipment will switch off, and so on.
Jinx Vehicle
The Psyker with this Special Ability has the power to influence various mechanical objects, and in particular parts qf vehicles,
such as doors, headlights, brakes, and so on. Using this ability, you may completely take over a vehicle, as if you were an
over-riding automatic control, similar to Traffic Control. The range of this skill is equal to your Psi Skill in meters, and the
chance of succeeding in the takeover is your PS as a percentage. A 'jinxed' vehicle passes into your complete control, and
you may drive it as you wish. If you cannot actually see the vehicle, you must roll for Control Loss every turn. Otherwise, you
may move, crash, or ram the vehicle, and so on, as you wish.
Levitation
The Psyker with this Special Ability has the power to raise himself off the ground. Whilst Levitating, any Move Actions may be
made, irrespective of the ground: vertically, horizontally, over gaping holes, and so on. You must roll at the beginning of each
Combat Round to see if you can Levitate through that turn. The chance of success is equal to your Psi Skill as a percentage;
if you start your turn already Levitating, and then fail your throw you will suffer the usual damage as you fall to the ground
(see the Damage From Falls section earlier).
Mind Control
This Special Ability is only available to characters with a Psi Skill of 80 or above; other Psykers cannot choose it until their PS
is raised to 80 or above.
The range of this skill is 1 meter for every 2 PS points you have, and the chance of the link succeeding equals your Psi Skill
as a percentage. Victims are allowed to try and save against the attempt, using their Psi-save, but failure means that they are
totally under your control until you break the link. When under Mind Control, the victim gets only 1 Action, and perform
Actions as part of your Phases (since you must order their Actions). Whilst under Mind Control, a victim will do almost
anything, but particularly repellent orders - such as killing someone or leaping out of a high window for example - will only
succeed if the victim fails another Psi-save throw (though "our GM will have the final say on whether they will do your
bidding).
Mind Wipe
This Special Ability is only available to characters with a Psi Skill of 80 or above; other Psykers cannot choose it until their PS
is raised to 80 or above.
This powerful ability allows a Judge to make a subject forget a certain quantity of information, and leave them open to
suggestion and lies, as gullible as a small child. To make the attempt, the Judge must be within 3 meters, or in actual
physical contact. He or she must then roll less than or equal to PS on a D100. If the attempt fails, the Judge loses 2D10
Initiative; if it succeeds, he loses D6 points. On a successful roll, a D6 should also be rolled to determine the effects of the
Mind Wipe. At each stage the previous effects also apply (a roll of 3 includes the effects of a roll of 1 and 2, etc):
Roll Result
1 The victim forgets that the Judges are enemies (whether or not he thought they were beforehand).
2 The victim forgets exactly where he is, and how he got there.
3 The victim forgets anything about any ongoing crime he is committing, who he is working for and who his
accomplices are.
4 The victims forgets any acquaintances of his, except family and lifelong friends.
5 The victim forgets all his skills (driving, shooting, sheet-metal welding, etc) and all his interests.
6 The victim forgets everything he knows, even his name, age, what Judges are – everything!
The victim will also feel very disorientated for 2D6 rounds after the Wipe. The effects of the Wipe will begin to wear off, from
6 downwards, after Stage x D4 days, at one stage every two days. (If the die roll indicated a maximum of stage 4, for
example, the effects would wear off after 4 x D4 days.)
Psychic Attack
A Psyker with this Special Ability may mount a Psychic Attack against any other character, at a range equal to their Psi Skill
score in meters.
A Psychic Attack is mounted as follows, Firstly you should roll 'To Hit', using your Psi Skill as a percentage. If a hit is scored,
the subject must try to make his usual Psi-save roll. If successful, he avoids all damage; if failed, damage is scored as if from
a normal Hand-to-hand hit (see Chapter3). Note: you do not have to be able to see the subject to hit him, as long as you
know where they are to reasonable degree of accuracy - you could hit a Perp hiding behind a wall, for example.
For example, Psi-Judge Denning wants to use a Psychic Attack against Mad Johnny Marsden, an insane futsie who is hiding
inside a ruined apartment in a war-damaged Block. Denning's Psi Skill is 85, so he can project the Attack for up to 85 meters.
Rolling a D1OO to hit, he gets a 52, and the Game Master must roll for Marsden's Psi-save. The Futsie has a PS of 14, so
the GM tries to roll under this on a D1OO. She gets a 78, however, and the Attack gets through, which means she then has
to roll a D6 for the damage. Consulting the Hand-to-Hand Combat section of her playsheet, she rolls a 5, and Marsden takes
2 Stuns and loses 8 Initiative points...