Gameplay Rules

Mothership is a percentile based system, and as such, almost all checks are rolled using a d100. The cheat sheet below gives the basics of playing the game, but does not incorporate every rule in the Player's Survival Manual. That said, the basics are explained below. As more situations and circumstances arise that might require further explanation or clarification, the rules will be added to this thread. If a situation occurs where the Warden determines the player may not have committed to a choice or decision due to misunderstanding or ignorance of a rule not presented here, the Warden will explain a rule and ask if the player is still willing to commit to their actions or if they would like to do something different.



STAT CHECKS
When attempting an action where success is uncertain, roll 1d100 and compare with the appropriate Stat (Strength, Speed, Intellect, or Combat). If the player rolls under the appropriate Stat, the PC succeeds. If the roll is equal or higher than said Stat, the roll fails, and the PC will likely take 1 point of Stress. Rolling 90+ is always a failure, regardless of the Stat and any Skill bonuses.

SAVES
Roll 1d100 under the relevant Save score to succeed a Save. Rolling equal or higher fails and the PC will likely take 1 point of Stress.

PANIC CHECKS
PCs must make a panic check any time they roll a critical failure on another check, as well as any time the Warden decides it is appropriate (seeing a hideous creature for the first time, seeing multiple allies die at the same time, etc.) The player must roll 1d20 OVER their current Stress score. Rolling equal or under the PC's current stress results in a failure, and the Warden will then roll on the Panic Table to determine the PC's reaction.

SKILLS
When a player believes their PC has a skill relevant to the current circumstances, they may add their Skill Bonus to the Stat before making their percentile roll. Note that Skill bonuses DO NOT stack, so the player should only choose one Skill bonus to apply to the check before rolling.

ADVANTAGE and DISADVANTAGE
If the warden determines a PC has a situational Advantage (+) due to underlying circumstances before making a check, the player may roll twice and take the better result. If Warden determines that circumstances would result in a situational Disadvantage (-) before making a check, the player must roll twice and take the worse result. Note that low percentile rolls do not necessarily equal the better result, and high rolls don't always mean the worse result. For example, a PC with a stat of 35, making a Stat Check with Advantage (+), rolls a "66" and an "84". When keeping taking the better result due to Advantage (+), the player should keep the "84". Both rolls fail, but the "66" would result in a Critical Failure (see below).

CRITICALS
When a player rolls doubles on a Stat Check or Save (22, 55, 77, etc.), they have rolled a Critical. If they succeed on their roll, they rolled a Critical Success and the Warden will determine something exceptionally beneficial as occurring in addition to their successful result. Likewise, if a Critical roll fails, they have rolled a Critically Failure, and something exceptionally bad will happen in addition to the standard failure, and the PC must immediately make a Panic Check.

DAMAGE
When a PC or NPC is injured, their health is reduced by the amount of Damage taken. When the character's Health reaches 0, they take 1 Wound and the Warden will roll on the Wound Table to determine the nature and degree of seriousness of the injury. If the PC or NPC still has more wounds remaining, their Health will return to the character's maximum. When the character's Health is reduced to 0 and they no longer have wounds remaining, the Warden will make a Death Save. Not all rolls on the Death Table result in permanent death, and characters may simply find themselves unconscious or comatose. Note that the effects of some wounds, determined by the Wound Table are relatively minor, while the effects of some wounds are fatal, regardless of whether the PC has wounds remaining or not.


ARMOR and COVER
If a character is wearing armor or is behind cover, they may ignore any Damage less than the character's current AP (Armor Protection). Any Damage greater the character's AP destroys the armor and carries over to Health lost. Note that some armor or cover has Damage Reduction. Damage Reduction always provides AP and cannot be overcome even if the armor or cover would otherwise be destroyed.


RANGES
Approximate Ranges for distances are measured as follows:
Adjacent - Can be touched (less than 1m/3ft)
Close - Can get within touching distance in one turn (~5-10m/13-30ft)
Long - Can hot you with a standard range attack (~20-100m/50-300ft)
Extreme - Can be heard if vocalizations are loud enough (over 100m/300ft)

COMBAT
While not on the cheat sheet above, the rules for Combat are described briefly below:
1. If the Warden determines there's a chance the PCs were snuck up on, or otherwise caught off guard, the players will make a Fear Save. Those that succeed are not surprised and will act this turn. Those that fail are surprised and will not be able to act until the next turn.
2. All PCs who are unsurprised. involved make a Speed check (failure on this check will not result in the PC taking any additional Stress. Those that succeed in their Speed check will act before the enemies, then the enemies act, and finally those that failed their Speed check.
3. To attack, the player makes a Combat check. A failed roll results in a miss, and the PC takes 1 Stress. On a successful roll, the player may roll damage according to their weapon's Damage and applies it to their target. If the target's Health reaches 0, they take 1 wound and the Warden will roll on the wound table. If the target has wounds remaining, and they were not killed due to an unfortunate result on the Wound Table, their Health returns to it's Max Health.
4. When a character has lost all Health and has no wounds left, the Warden will roll on the Death Table and apply the results to the incapacitated character.

WEAPONS TABLE and ARMOR TABLE