The Zeppelin Games Rulebook

BEING A MANUAL FOR CORRECT BEHAVIOUR AND PROPER CONDUCT IN THE PURSUIT OF ENTERTAINMENT IN LIVE ROLE PLAYING GAMES, SO THAT SAID GAMES WILL BE A JOY FOR LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF ALL TASTES.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents .......................................................................... 2 The Facts of Zeppelin Games ...................................................... 4
The Fundamental Principles The Masquerade The Narrative Objective Character Skill Vs Player Skill Opposed Skill Checks Co-Operative Skill Checks Combat Roles Rule One The Other Rules Age Restrictions Feeling Comfortable Alcohol Game Calls Combat Costume Step One: Character Concept Step Two: Character Abilities A Note on Social Status & Finance in Fumare Step Three: Character Discussion Step Four: Props & Costume Step Five: Play the game! Mind (Untrained) Body (Untrained) Fumare Citizenship (Untrained) Socialise (trained) Perks Of the Common Arts Health Combat 4 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 10 11 11 12 12 13 17 18 19 25 28 29 29 30 31 32 35 40 53 59 Page 2

The Laws of Theatrics ................................................................ 10

The Anatomy of a Character ..................................................... 18

The Common Arts ...................................................................... 30

The Science of the Soldier .......................................................... 53

Safety In Combat Fighting at night Goggles and glasses The "Fainting Rule" Armour Use (trained) Defence (Trained) Firearms (Untrained) Melee Weapons (Untrained) Perks of the Soldier Appendix: Exotic Weapons and Restricted Weapon Talents A Dangerous Game Investigation (Untrained) Legerdemain (Trained) Stealth (Untrained) Perks of the Detective and His Opponent Illness Scholar (Trained) Medicine (Trained) Perks of the Academic Foreword - A Note about Form and Function Science (Trained) Designing and building Inventions Mechanical Engineering (Trained) Chemical Engineering (Trained) Aesthetic Engineering (Trained) Perks

62 62 62 63 64 68 69 72 74 85 86 86 88 90 91 104 99 103 108 110 111 112 128 130 133 135

The Methods of The Detective and His Opponent ................... 86

The Learnings of the Academic ................................................ 99

The Art of Invention ................................................................. 110

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THE FACTS OF ZEPPELIN GAMES

Zeppelin Games is a remarkable, fantastical and generally quite clever (or so says Roberts Mum) Live-Action-Role-Playing assemblage run in and around the admirable city of Melbourne, Australia set in a curiously fanciful steampunk-inspired universe. The self-proclaimed ingenious inventors, writers, directors, creators, producers, proprietors, Organisers, game masters and high overlords of Zeppelin Games (at least at the time of writing) are Lisa McOrist, Robert Anderson-Hunt, Gareth Jones and Joe Mills.

THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

LARP or Live Action Role Playing, sometimes referred to as LRP (Live Role Playing) is, in essence, a form of improvisational theatre. Similar to acting, the goal is to take on a Character, though instead of following a script you act and react as your Character would if she found herself in the situation before you. Its very much like the make believe games that children play, though somewhat more involved than most. There are possibly hundreds of different kinds of LARPs going on all around the world, but for the sake of convenience, from here on we will only be describing LARP as it applies to Zeppelin Games.

THE MASQUERADE
As stated above the goal of a LARP is for the participants to fully take on the role of a Character. This means that where possible, you should talk as your Character would talk and do as your Character would do. You are an actor playing a Character, and your Character is your role. Of course, you also get to play scriptwriter, creating your own background story, motivations, dark secrets and heroic

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dreams not only that, but you get to be the costumier, bringing your Character to life with detailed costumes and props.

THE NARRATIVE OBJECTIVE

LARP is also about telling a story. This is a collaborative enterprise in which all the people involved get to help shape and direct it. The writers of Zeppelin Games events have created the world in which your Character resides, full of plots and stories just begging for your Characters entanglement - but it is up to you to take part and its the actions of your Character that will determine the outcome. Zeppelin Games is primarily a free-form or sandbox style game. Essentially, this means that you have full control over where your Character goes and what they do within the game system. Naturally, there will often be narrative consequences for their actions without risk there is no gain, after all! Indeed, your Characters actions will often have a lasting impact on the game world. The world changes based on the actions of Players, and the plot of the ongoing campaign is heavily Player-Character driven. A detailed world and culture brief can be found in The Nation of Fumare. This booklet will also give you a good idea of the style of the Zeppelin Games setting. Of course, this is not only improvisational theatre, its also a game and that means we need rules, and referees. The rules are needed to create balance (stopping one Character from being able to do everything), to make it possible for you to play a Character vastly different from yourself (by giving you capabilities that you cant approach in the real world), to make it safer (by using things like NERF guns in place of the real thing), to simplify the world and how it works (because were not all physicists in nuclear medicine) and because some people find playing with numbers fun.
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The referees or GMs are there to ensure the rules are being followed, answer questions about the world and game, to fill in the blanks (when its not possible to re-create something they are there to describe it) and, of course, to find out what happens in the story! We cant do everything in life and neither can our Characters. What a Character can and cannot do will depend on their talents, tricks and training or what we commonly refer to as stats. All you need to know about building a Characters stats can be found in The Anatomy of a Character, but there are a couple of things that are worth mentioning here.

CHARACTER SKILL VS PLAYER SKILL

One of the key elements of Live Role Playing is the dynamic between Character skill and Player skill. The game is more fun if you as a Player get to do stuff just as your Character would do. In many situations it is impractical for you to do exactly what your Character would do (like shoot someone) so improvised tasks are used to simulate the action the Character would be making (like using NERF weapons). In many situations, both Player skill and Character skill will come into play to determine the outcome of a task. Talents and Skills are designed to act as enablers. In practice, this means that most tasks will have required Talent Ranks attached. If your Character lacks the appropriate Talent, you may not attempt the task (well, you can, but youre guaranteed to fail). On the other hand, if the Character does have the required Rank, you must roleplay through the task, and your own skill will determine your success. There will often be improvised challenges for tasks that cannot easily be roleplayed. Unfortunately it is impractical to do this for every situation that arises in-game. At these times Character skill
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will play a bigger part in determining the outcome. Generally speaking, you should always attempt to roleplay the task as best you can, i.e.; if you are hiding really try and hide, dont just rely on your Hide Rank 3 to get you through. For example, Katarina the Archaeologist is attempting to decipher some strange text she has found on the wall of a cave. She has Scholar 3, with the Skills Ancient History and Cryptography. Katarina spends a few minutes taking down a copy of the strange text in her notebook, then compares the lettering with some she has found at another site that looks similar. After some time Katarina realises that this writing must be in some kind of code and she sets about trying to decipher it. ... Katarina's Player asks a nearby GM if she can work out this code. The GM (after checking the Character has the relevant Skills and Talents) gives the Player the key to the code. ... After a short while, Katarina finally works out the code that is being used, and then spends a few minutes deciphering this ancient text in her notebook.

OPPOSED SKILL CHECKS

When your Character is in active opposition to another Character, an opposed Skill check may be called for. Your success would mean their failure and vice versa (like in an arm-wrestling competition). In these situations it is still vital for you to roleplay the task just as you would any other. If your Skill is higher than your opponent you win, if theirs is higher you lose. If your Skills are equal, things get a little more complicated. Some of the rules will clearly specify who should win a particular type of action, often based on another outside factor- for example, If its night, or in a poorly lit area the Hider will win, if its in a well-lit area the Seeker will win

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If there is a GM handy they will be able to adjudicate the result. If not, and the rules dont specify the result, use the following guidelines: First, can you determine the outcome via Player skill? This could be done by one Player acknowledging the other Player has fairly won the challenge; second, look for an adequate compromise, or have the contest result in a draw. Finally, if no other solutions can be found, there is always Rock, Paper, Scissors.

CO-OPERATIVE SKILL CHECKS

A co-operative skill check is used when multiple people contribute to a task to make it easier. You may only use skills co-operatively when the task would actually be made easier by more people helping - for example, when lifting a large heavy object. All cooperative tasks must be adjudicated by a GM.

COMBAT
Combat in Zeppelin games primarily takes the form of simulated gun fights using NERF weapons. You can read more about the rules of combat in The Laws of Theatrics and about Health Levels, weapons, and everything else in The Science of the Soldier but there are a few things to note that separate us from some other LARPs in this regard. Zeppelin Games considers itself to be a low combat game, and it is entirely possible that you could go through a whole event without getting into combat at all. If you are the type of person that is likely to get bored if you dont get to hit something we suggest this isnt the game for you. Zeppelin Games aims to have a low Character fatality rate. The system is designed around the fact that the world strongly believes that killing a person is always considered an act of murder. However, death is permanent. There is no way to resurrect or otherwise revive a Character that has died.
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ROLES
A Participant is anyone that comes to a Zeppelin Games event including Players and crew. Player Characters (PCs) are Characters that are usually written by a Player for themselves to play. They are self-governed. Some PCs are pre-generated, which means they are written by the Organisers and somewhat restricted in terms of their choices. Non-Player Characters (NPCs) are Characters written by the Organisers and played by volunteers. Many of these Characters will be directed by GMs in order to facilitate the story. A Character is a term used for the people who inhabit the game world. This includes NPCs and PCs. Crew is a general term used for people that are helping with the running of the event. This includes NPCs, GMs and Organisers, but also some PCs that take on extra responsibilities like cooking meals for everybody. Game Masters (GMs) are responsible for the running of the event once it has begun. They also act as referees. Note, for convenience you will always be able to find a GM in the dining hall of the campsite. This person is referred to as the stationary or non-roaming GM. Organisers (Orgs) are the people that organise the events, from writing the NPCs and story, to booking the site, to building the props.

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THE LAWS OF THEATRICS

BEING A LIST OF LIMITATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS OF THE FORMS AND RESTRICTIONS OF LIVE ROLEPLAYING.

RULE ONE
Play fairly and safely.

THE OTHER RULES

Players are expected to stay in-Character at all times that means that within reason, you act as your Character would act, and speak as your Character would speak. Out of play areas are clearly marked, and anyone in a play area is assumed to be in play. The exceptions to this rule are GMs and those people involved in discussion with GMs. In general, the rules are pretty clear about what you can and cant do (see the Character section, below for skill descriptions), but if youre in doubt, or theres a conflict, check with a GM. A GM call is final and play continues. The time to play rules lawyer is after the game, when were happy to discuss and fix issues but disrupting play for a rules discussion is no fun for anyone, and we will not do it. Zeppelin Games Steampunk Live-Action Role-Playing involves several possibly dangerous elements and may involve themes or situations some participants may find uncomfortable. Therefore, safety and comfort are of paramount concern.

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AGE RESTRICTIONS
Zeppelin Games events can and do deal with mature themes. The Organisers are not running a game for children, but for adults. As such, the Organisers reserve the right to refuse any Player under the age of 18. Even if Zeppelin Games chooses to allow a Player under the age of 18, we will require prior and informed consent of a parent or guardian.

FEELING COMFORTABLE
In-Character situations may arise that make a Player feel uncomfortable or distressed. In such situations, Players should know that they are able to call TIME OUT (see Game Calls, below) for an opportunity to sort things out with the people around them. Participants should be aware that other participants may be distressed by certain topics for personal reasons, have issues with touching or personal space, or have illnesses or conditions which mean that certain behaviours or activities are off-limits. All participants should respect such boundaries. Participants who have allergies, medical conditions or other special requirements should make them known to the Organisers before play commences, preferably well before an event. The Organisers will do their best to accommodate the needs of all participants where possible. Players who have an out-of-Character problem or grievance with another participant should feel welcome to express their concerns to an Organiser. The organising team will make their best efforts to ensure that such out-of-Character problems are resolved where possible.

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ALCOHOL
Participants under the effects of alcohol are not permitted to engage in combat activities. A rough limit of .05 blood alcohol content should be used to determine if a Participant is under the effects of alcohol. A GM may at any TIME IN struct a Participant to remove themselves from combat on the basis of inebriation. Participants under the effects of alcohol who find themselves unable to avoid a combat situation should make use of the "Fainting Rule", as described in The Science of the Soldier.

GAME CALLS
The following game calls and signals are used to interrupt and recommence play at Zeppelin Games events. All Participants must understand the meaning and significance of these calls. Game calls should always be announced clearly and if necessary, repeated by other participants in the area. Some can only be made by a GM; others can be made by anyone.
CODE RED

The most important game call. This call can be made by anyone. CODE RED indicates that an injury has taken place or there is a medical or other emergency. Anyone who hears CODE RED called should immediately stop whatever they are doing. CODE RED immediately stops game play and play will not recommence until a GM determines that it is safe to resume play and calls TIME IN .
TIME OUT

This game call can be made by anyone. TIME OUT stops game play. This call is most commonly used by GMs to explain rules or the environment in which the Characters find themselves. Players may use this call to indicate that they need to briefly interrupt play in order to clarify a situation, explain a dangerous or complicated inCharacter action or similar reasons. TIME OUT can also be used
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when an unsafe situation has arisen in order to make the situation safe for gameplay. Play recommences when a GM (or, if appropriate, the Player who called TIME OUT ) calls TIME IN .
TIME FREEZE

This call can only be made by a GM. TIME FREEZE pauses gameplay. Players in a paused area should stand perfectly still, close their eyes and sing to themselves. This call is most commonly used to allow a GM to set up an instantaneous in-game effect which would take Characters by surprise. Play recommences when a GM calls TIME IN .
TIME IN

This game call means that game play has commenced or recommenced.
THE HALF-MOOSE

Not technically a game call at all, the Half-Moose is conducted by spreading ones fingers and placing a thumb to the temple. This signal can be made by anyone. This is a temporary way of suspending Character to make a brief clarification either to a GM or other Player. Please use it sparingly.
HAND ON HEAD

A participant with her hand on their head is not in-Character or present in the game world. They should be ignored by all inCharacter participants. Abuse of this signal is strongly discouraged and extremely annoying.

COMBAT
Players will occasionally engage in simulated combat using weapon props to represent either melee weapons (such as knives or clubs) or ranged weapons (such as guns). Several measures must always be taken to ensure that such combat remains safe for all Players involved.
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In combat, participants must: Maintain self-control and behave in a safe fashion. Be aware of their surroundings and take steps to avoid unsafe areas. If combat becomes unsafe, call TIME OUT (see Game Calls, above) Use only approved weapon props. Pull their blows at all times. Never hit harder than is necessary. A hit should never be hard enough to leave a bruise. Never aim to hit the head, throat or groin. They are restricted target areas. Weapon blows hitting these areas will still count, but participants must never aim for them. Unsafe participants should be reported to a GM, who may remove the participant from combat. Never stab or thrust with a weapon prop. Most cored latex weapons are not designed to be safe for thrusting, and even thrust-safe weapons may not be used for thrusting at Zeppelin Games events. Never crouch or duck in melee, as this increases the likelihood of being hit in the head or face. Never swing a melee weapon blindly, strike outside your field of vision, or otherwise attempt an attack which reduces your control of your weapon prop. Never grab an opponent's weapon. This is unsafe, and may also result in very expensive damage to weapons.

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Unarmed combat of all kinds is prohibited. Never push, slap, kick, punch or trip another Player. Under certain limited circumstances, with explicit prior negotiation between both Players and a GM, Players may grapple each other, but this is a rare exception to the normal run of things. Never use a ranged weapon prop for melee combat (or vice versa!) without the express clearance of the Organisers. Be aware that many ranged weapon props are not safe for melee and caution should be used when taking them into melee combat.

Players whose Characters faint or are injured to the point of incapacitation (see The Science of the Soldier) should always ensure that when adopting an unconscious position, it is safe to do so. This includes moving away from any combat and checking terrain for possible hazards. Players who are about to be trodden on should call TIME OUT and move away. For this reason, prone Players should always keep their eyes open during combat. When fighting at night or in low-visibility conditions, all participants MUST reduce their speed and exercise extra caution. A GM may instruct Players to move at half-speed, meaning no sprinting or rapid series of swings.
WEAPON PROPS

All weapon props should be checked and cleared as safe by Organisers before play commences. Ranged weapon props must be foam dart blasters such as NERFbrand products. Home-made or modified weapon props are permitted, if deemed safe by the Organisers. Any ranged weapon prop must not shoot projectiles at a velocity which would harm
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another participant if they hit. A good rule of thumb is that dart blasters with a range higher than 20m are unlikely to be cleared, but weapon props will be individually tested. Rounds for ranged weapon props will be supplied by Zeppelin Games. Please inform the Organisers if the ranged weapon you wish to bring uses unusual ammunition. Melee weapon props must be latex or rubber foam LARP-safe weapons in good condition. Weapon props with solid elements, thin foam, exposed core or other defects will not be cleared as safe. If a participant brings a weapon prop to an event and it is rejected on the basis of safety, the Organisers will endeavour to supply a cleared replacement, though this is not guaranteed.
PROTECTION

Players are encouraged to wear some form of eye protection to Zeppelin Games LARP events. This is not obligatory, but Characters will receive benefits from wearing eye protection (see The Science of the Soldier for details). Players wishing to engage in melee combat may also wish to wear a protective cup to prevent groin injuries, or in-genre headwear to prevent head injuries. This or other protective gear is purely optional and the responsibility of individual Players. Some protective gear will provide in-Character bonuses, as described in the game rules.

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COSTUME
PCs are expected to have at least a base level of costuming. A base level could be as simple as a button up shirt, slacks and comfortable boots. Sneakers, t-shirts or other obviously out-of-genre gear is highly inappropriate, and we expect props to be built or modified to fit in with the themes. PCs are also expected to come with whatever props they need to approximate the equipment of their Character. NPCs will have some costumes and most props provided for them. Please speak to an Organiser about what can and cannot be provided.

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THE ANATOMY OF A CHARACTER

BEING AN IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION OF THE ZEPPELIN METHOD FOR CHARACTER CREATION

Being a roleplaying game, one of the first things you need to do is to write your role which we refer to as your Character. This section deals mainly with the numbers that define that Characters abilities, but also with their personality, background, hopes and dreams and importantly, with their costume and props as well. A note here Characters in many roleplaying games start as untrained beginners, building their way over time to become experts in their fields. In Zeppelin Games, Characters are considered competent professionals at creation.

STEP ONE: CHARACTER CONCEPT

The first step is to come up with a good idea of your Character. Every other element of Character creation stems from this idea. Think of who your Character is: Whats their name? What do their friends call them? What does he or she do? Where is your Character from? What are a few of his or her mannerisms? How does he or she dress? You will want to spend some time reading or talking about the setting of the campaign. The Nation of Fumare is an extremely helpful and pleasantly readable assistance in this endeavour. It is also important to think about what kind of story you would like to tell with your Character - a gung-ho sharpshooter wouldn't necessarily be the best idea if you're looking to play a high society game, for example.

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Make sure youre happy filling the role of your Character over a number of events. Make them interesting. Speak to an Organiser once you've got your Character concept worked out. They are more than happy to help you ensure that your idea fits into the setting and the genre, or to give you some advice about the next step.

STEP TWO: CHARACTER ABILITIES

Once your Character concept is solid, you will need to decide on your Character's abilities - the rules side of Character creation. On paper, Characters are made up of five elements (of course, these are near-irrelevant compared to the intricacies of personality and costume, but are nonetheless necessary):
TALENTS AND SKILLS

Talents are ranked 0 to 4 (Inexperienced, Amateur, Experienced, Professional, Master), reflecting how talented your Character is in a given field. High numbers are better, but starting Characters can't take any Talents above Rank 3 (you can take Talents to Rank 4 later). Rank 0 (Inexperienced) reflects no understanding of that field at all. Rank 1 (Amateur) is analogous to a weekend course in the field, while a Character with Rank 2 (Experienced) might have a year or two of training. A Character with Rank 3 (Professional) is extremely competent, and at Rank 4 (Master), the Character is one of the best in the world, and probably famous for their ability. Talents are divided into two types; Untrained, where the Skills share the same basic fundamentals, and Trained, where the Skills represent specific and isolated areas of study and expertise.

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A Character very rarely uses a raw Talent they are further modified by Skills. When performing Skill checks, if the Character has bought the appropriate Skill, they use their full Talent Rank. If they have not, and the Talent is a Trained Talent, then they are considered to have Rank 0 in that Skill; if the Talent is an Untrained Talent, the Character may use that Skill at one Rank lower than their Talent Rank.
CREATIVE POINTS AND PERKS

Creative Points (CP) are used to activate Perks and to create scientific inventions. Characters will generally receive 15 CP per event, but a GM will notify you upon arrival of how many CP you have available. For more details on using CP For Science! see The Art of Invention. Perks are tricks which your Character can activate during games, to grant unique abilities. Usually, activating a Perk will require the expenditure of Creative Points this is the Activation Cost of a Perk. Perks will state their activation costs in their descriptions. If Perks list multiple Talent Ranks in their requirements, the activation cost is based off the higher of the Characters Talents. To gain access to a Perk, Characters must spend XP to buy them the XP cost of each Perk is also listed in its description.
HEALTH LEVELS

Characters in the Zeppelin Games system have six levels of health: Healthy, Bruised, Wounded, Seriously Injured, Incapacitated and Dying. At Character creation, they are considered Healthy. See The Science of the Soldier for more details.
INCOME

This is a reflection of your Character's personal income. Don't worry if you don't take Ranks in Income, you won't be completely broke:

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Income Ranks are above and beyond normal employment. See the Income & Ownership section below for more details.
REPUTATION

Characters whove been around a bit may have a Reputation. A Characters Reputation includes two short descriptors, either negative or positive, that describe how a Character is seen by the world at large. At Character creation, most Characters will not have a Reputation. See The Common Arts for more details. DETERMINING YOUR ABILITIES All Players receive a base of 200 Experience Points (XP) to spend on a new Character, and these Characters also receive a few abilities for free. Characters from Fumare receive the following free at Character creation: The Fumarean Citizenship Talent at Professional, with one regional and one social group Skill - this reflects your Character's general knowledge, education, upbringing and so on. See the Common Arts for more detail on the Fumarean Citizenship Talent. The Body and Mind Talents at Amateur, with one Skill in each these reflect your Character's basic physical and mental capabilities. See the Common Arts for more detail on the Body and Mind Talents. Starting XP are spent according to the Table below. Spend all your points, but don't worry about not being able to take every ability you want. You can earn more XP by participating in Zeppelin Games events.

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ABILITIES XP COST TABLE Talent Rank Inexperienced (0) Amateur (1) Experienced (2) Professional (3) Master (4) Starting Cost 0xp 10xp 30xp 60xp -Improvement Cost None From Inexperienced 10xp From Amateur 20xp From Experienced 30xp From Professional 40xp + additional requirements speak to a GM

Skills - It costs 10 XP for each Skill after the first in each Talent. Remember, you get to choose a free Skill with every new Talent. Perks - Perks each have a different XP cost, described in the Perk description. Perks are detailed within the Talent to which they pertain. Note that most Perks from The Art of Invention take the form of Blueprints or Recipes - things that your Character can make or build. Income - Income costs 10 XP per level.

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TALENTS FROM THE COMMON ARTS

BODY

A measure of natural physical ability and training.

FUMAREAN CITIZENSHIP

Understanding of Fumarean society, as well as certain capabilities inherent to anyone who grew up in Fumare.
MIND

Quickness of wit, alertness and strength of will.

SOCIALISE

The fine art of conversational manipulation. TALENTS FROM THE SCIENCE OF THE SOLDIER
ARMOUR USE

The ability to use protective gear and armours, and move around while doing so.
DEFENCE

Keeping safe from harm when others wish to harm you.

FIREARMS

The use and care of shooting irons, be they rifle, pistol, or something entirely other.
MELEE WEAPONS

The ability to hurt people up close and personal. TALENTS FROM THE LEARNINGS OF THE ACADEMIC
MEDICINE

Diagnosis and treatment of ailments, injuries and sicknesses.

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SCHOLAR

Academia, curiosities and research into specialised fields. TALENTS FROM THE SCIENCE OF THE DETECTIVE AND HIS OPPONENT
INVESTIGATION

Reading information, turning clues into a book written entirely for you.
LEGERDEMAIN

Sleight of hand, pickpocketing and other tricks of the nimblefingered.

STEALTH

Remaining undiscovered until the right moment useful for either predator or prey. TALENTS FROM THE ART OF INVENTION
SCIENCE

The invention of weird, wonderful, or simply baseline functional creations.

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Turning a lifeless blueprint into a mighty machine.

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

The creation of chemical compounds from base materials.

AESTHETIC ENGINEERING

Life without beauty is not worth living, as all civilised people understand.

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A NOTE ON SOCIAL STATUS & FINANCE IN FUMARE

EMPLOYMENT

The Characters you play are exceptional individuals, and can easily find work if they want it. A Character will be paid Fumarean dollars equal to the Rank of the highest Talent they have that is appropriate to the field they choose to work in. Working at a job between events is a time-consuming process and so a Character must spend 1 XP to do so. For example, Katarina has managed to find gainful employment as a mechanic. Katarina has the relevant Talent of Engineering to Rank 3 (Professional). This means that at the start of the game, Katarina will spend 1xp and be given three Fumarean dollars from her job. She could, if she chose, have worked as a manual labourer instead, but as her Body Talent is only 2, she would only have earned two dollars.
INCOME & OWNERSHIP

The other major source of income that a Character may have is through the ownership of something profitable, bank interest, investments, or any of a whole series of things that we roll into one number, which we call Income. How a Characters Income is reflected in the game world is up to the Player, who should discuss something appropriate to their background with an ORGANISER Income is measured in levels, and each level of income will supply the Character with two dollars per game. For example, Katarina has managed to gain ownership of a small coal mining claim in Lesser Colton. The claim is worth 1 Level of Income, which means that at the start of each event, Katarina will get an additional two dollars from the claim, on top of her work.

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TITLES & LIFESTYLE

In Fumare, aristocratic titles are given based upon a Character's income. Thats yearly income, assessed at tax time, not savings. Academic titles are given (in-game) when a formally-educated Character has achieved a certain Rank in a number of specific Talents (Scholar (Formal), Science, Mechanical or Chemical Engineering or Medicine). When a Character has one of these Talents to the Professional Rank, they may claim the title of Doctor. When a Character has one of these Talents to Master Rank, they may instead claim the title of Professor. Academic titles are also given by position within the bureaucracy. They are considered significantly more prestigious than aristocratic titles. For example, Katarina, being a mechanic, has Engineering to a Professional Rank. Thus, Montverne University acknowledges that Katarina is formally Doctor Katarina. Having a title carries a number of responsibilities. All Characters of a certain aristocratic status are expected by society to live a lifestyle of a particular quality. Hence, each title has an amount of money that must be spent in conspicuous waste. While a Character may choose to not spend this money, acting against society's wishes often has severe and surprising consequences. Aristocratically-titled members of society are also expected to devote a portion of their wealth towards the scientific and cultural development of Fumare. Hence, aristocrats are expected to take requests for grants from Scientists, Artists and the like into careful consideration. Academically titled members of society are also expected to devote a portion of their time towards the scientific and cultural education

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of Fumare. Hence, academics are expected to take requests from potential students into careful consideration. Note that it is possible to have both an Academic and Aristocratic title.

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TITLES BY INCOME & LIFESTYLE COST Aristocratic Title Sir/Madam Lord/Lady Count/Countess Baron/Baroness Duke/Duchess Minimum Income 5 17 65 257 1025 Lifestyle Cost 3 9 33 129 513

STEP THREE: CHARACTER DISCUSSION

Once you have decided on your Character concept and his or her abilities, you should discuss your Character with an Organiser. During this process, you should go over the details and discuss your Character's background, make sure it fits with the campaign, get any clarifications on how your abilities work, and so on. This also gives the Organisers a chance to get acquainted with your Character. After the Organiser feels that your Character is finished, they may assign a small number of additional abilities based on your concept and any background you've given them to work with. Remember that the Organisers love getting more details about your Character: the more you put in, the richer your experience will be.

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STEP FOUR: PROPS & COSTUME

Getting dressed up is an important part of LARP! It's technically possible to do the bare minimum and still have a great time, but having a great costume and a few interesting props will go a long way towards enriching your experience. There's no reason you can't start thinking about (or even working on) your Character's props & costuming at any stage of Character creation. The Organisers do feel that it's best to wait until you have at least spoken with them about your Character concept - if only to check if there are any good reasons not to start work. The Organisers are happy to give advice on props and costumes, and have a few tips on where to find inspiration, buy things, or get materials.

STEP FIVE: PLAY THE GAME!

Once you've got your concept and abilities worked out, spoken to the Organisers, gotten your costume together and picked up a few neat props, you're ready to play. Read over the rules, head along to the next Zeppelin Games event and have an awesome time. See you there!

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THE COMMON ARTS

BEING A FULL ELUCIDATION OF THE TALENTS THAT RELATE TO ALL PEOPLE, AND THE LACK OF WHICH COULD REPRESENT LIMITATIONS BELOW THE EXPECTATION OF BASIC HUMANITY.

MIND (UNTRAINED)
The Mind Talent describes a Characters basic intelligence, quickness of wit and strength of will. It describes their ability to think on their feet, and to understand and make sense of the apparent chaos of the world around them. Mind includes a Characters ability to plan for the expected and react quickly to the unforeseen. SKILL: PERCEPTION Perception is a combination of actively watching your surroundings and instinct. It reflects a Characters attunement to their environment, and their degree of attentiveness to what they can see, hear and touch. Characters with high Perception ratings are particularly observant, capable of noticing slight deviations from the norm and rarely surprised. Conversely, a Character with low Perception may be absent-minded, short-sighted or simply inwardly focused. SKILL: WILLPOWER Willpower measures a Characters mental strength and force of will. It may show itself as a stubborn refusal to bend in the face of adversity, or a flexibility of mind that takes adverse circumstances and sees the opportunity in the crisis.

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Characters with high Willpower are difficult to sway once set, and near-impossible to intimidate or break. They are also capable of continuing through pain and injury. SKILL: EMPATHY Empathy describes a Characters ability to sense and understand other peoples feelings, emotions and underlying aims. It does not necessarily mean that Characters are sympathetic to those feelings, nor identify with them. Characters with high Empathy can read other people like books the slightest slip of expression or tone reveals entire essays, and faces are much like pages of diaries. Manipulations and obfuscations seem clumsy and obvious to them.

BODY (UNTRAINED)
The Body Talent describes a Characters basic physical capabilities, whether gained from natural talent or a significant amount of time exercising. SKILL: FITNESS Fitness is the measure of a Characters physical strength and stamina. In game, it is often used to lift heavy loads, perform feats of strength or resist physical hardships requiring brute force or endurance. Characters with high Fitness are highly resilient, and capable of doing hours of hard labour. Some objects will require a Fitness Rank to lift. If one of these objects is dropped on a Character it will do damage equal to the Rank needed to lift it. To throw the item requires a Fitness Rank twice the Rank required to lift the item.

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SKILL: AGILITY Agility is the measure of a Characters speed, dexterity and manual deftness. Hand-eye co-ordination, litheness and sheer grace of movement are all functions of a Characters Agility. In game, it is often used to avoid physical hardship through grace or speed.

FUMARE CITIZENSHIP (UNTRAINED)

This Talent effectively represents the amount of time you have spent in Fumare. It represents all the knowledge gained from living in Fumare, including the spoken and written language as well as understanding the culture and customs. The Skills represent the areas in which you have spent most of that time, and potentially your social position. All Fumarean Characters begin the game with Fumare Citizenship at Professional and two free Skills (one Regional Skill and one Social Group Skill). Note that while other cultures also have Citizenship Talents, these are restricted. If you would like your Character to be familiar with a different country, please speak to an Organiser. See The Nation of Fumare for more details on the social classes and areas of Fumare. Inexperienced: A Character with Inexperienced Fumare Citizenship does not come from, has never been to and knows very little about Fumare. Amateur: The Amateur Rank represents a Character that has possibly spent a small amount of time in Fumare, or read a bit about Fumare. They recognise the language and may be able to speak a few simple words or phrases. They may simply know someone from

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Fumare that has talked about it in some detail. They know a little bit about Fumarean culture and customs. Experienced: The Experienced Rank represents a Character that has spent a significant amount of time in Fumare, though they are recognisably outsiders. They can speak the language, though they will have a thick accent and may have a somewhat limited vocabulary. They know enough about Fumarean culture and customs to get by without offending people. Note that without the appropriate Skill in the subculture or class this is the Rank many Characters will find themselves operating at when in areas or classes they are unfamiliar with. Professional: The Professional Rank represents a native; someone that has lived in Fumare for many years or their whole life. Characters with this Rank have almost certainly finished a primary school education. They speak the language fluently. They know all general cultures, customs, and other matters that are common knowledge to the people of Fumare. Master: The Master Level represents an intimate and studied understanding of Fumare. They know all the cultures and customs including those specific to subcultures within that country. They can not only fit in as a native, they will be accepted amongst any class and in any region. SKILL: REGIONAL These Skills represent the area where your Character was born or where they have lived most of their life. They know the idiosyncrasies of the area, and can fit in as a local in that area. They can find their way around and can answer most where can I find this? questions. They dont stand out as a tourist.

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Admontein: The lost capital of Fumare, former home of the Arts Faculty and University administration. Before the Disaster, Admontein was the most populous city in the nation. Montverne: Montverne is home to the Science Faculty. Situated in south-west Fumare, the cultural capital of the nation is progressive and modern. Montverne was originally settled by the Lelibrans and to this day remains Fumares most cosmopolitan region. Welleston: Welleston is home to the Engineering Faculty. Situated in north-east Fumare, the manufacturing capital of the nation is a powerhouse of industry. Steeped in tradition, Welleston has become Fumares financial centre since the Admontein Disaster. Rural: The Fumarean countryside is wide and varied, taking in such diverse locales as the orchards of Appleton, the seedy riverways of Westlake and the surprising potential of Lesser Colton. SKILL: SOCIAL GROUP These Skills represent the social strata in which a Character has spent most of her life. A low-class Character will not understand the intricacies of high society, and an aristocrat will be completely out of place on the streets. The Public: The working class of Fumare are straight-forward and diligent. Nonetheless, they are educated and intelligent. The Faculty: The upper class of Fumare technically includes both the aristocracy and academia. They are expected to adhere very closely to a strict set of social rules. The Faculty wields all political power in Fumare. The Military: The military of Fumare makes up its own social class. Most members join very young, often straight out of primary school, and many remain in the Service for life.
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SOCIALISE (TRAINED)
The Socialise Talent represents a Characters ability to read people, understand what motivates them and to find the best way to communicate with them. It also covers etiquette and the methods of proper behaviour. Socialise can be used to make friends, influence people, conceal your identity and to hold interesting conversations. This Talent will not force a Character to do anything, and neither will it make them give up strongly-held principles. It can however make them more likely to listen to opposing arguments. The description of each Skill includes its opposing Skills these are used to resist the influence of the socialite. If a Character attempts to resist the use of a Socialise Skill, compare the resisting Characters opposing Skill to the active Characters Skill. If the resisting Character has a higher or equal rating, then the effect of the Skill is resisted and can be entirely ignored. Characters can always choose not to resist. Most of the Skills in this Talent have similar in-game effects, but they differ in style and flavour. Some Characters will be more susceptible to particular Socialise Skills a coward might be more likely to bow to Intimidate than agree with Convince, while an aristocrat might take umbrage at heavy-handedness but bend to flattery. Players are encouraged to also decide upon strengths and weaknesses their Character may have and roleplay them, though no rules effects are given for these. Players should roleplay the Rank of the Skill their Character has (or lacks!), and pretend that the Character they are interacting with is as interesting and convincing as their Skills indicate. Characters should

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generally listen to Characters with higher Socialise, unless they have good reason to do otherwise or can successfully resist. Some roleplaying by the Player is still required for this to come into effect. The Socialise Talent is designed to be used as an enabler and a Character bonus and is not supposed to replace good roleplaying or genuinely interesting conversation. Socialise Three, this conversation is awesome is actually pretty tedious. Prior to his unfortunate demise, the unlucky Stevie was arrested. Katarina, wanting to help her friend, tries to get into the prison to speak to him. To achieve this, she needs the permission of the local constable. Approaching the Constable, Katarina speaks to him for a few minutes, pointing out her need to get Steves side of the story, to check that hes okay, and to ensure he has access to the justice that Fumarean citizens have a right to expect. The Constable doesn't let just anyone in to see prisoners, but as Katarina has a high Rank of Socialise (Convince), he decides to make an exception in this case...
REPUTATION

Actions have consequences. Characters will find that notable behaviour gets people talking. Characters develop Reputations, which any half-competent socialite will discover almost immediately. To reflect this in the game rules, Characters may develop a Reputation. A Characters Reputation includes up to two short descriptors, either negative or positive, that describe how a Character is seen by the world at large. A Character may only have two Reputation descriptors at any time. These descriptors have levels representing how widespread and ingrained that Reputation is. Perk uses modify the level of these descriptors. The descriptor itself is set at the creation of that Reputation and never changes.

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If a Character already has two Reputations, then one of them must be removed (by permanently reducing its level to 0 through the use of Perks) before another may be given. If a Players Character has Socialise (Any Skill) at Amateur, that Player may, by briefly dropping out-of-Character and asking, immediately discover a Characters Reputation. If a Character has no Socialise Talent, they may still have a Reputation. They will not, however, know about it Reputations are out-of-Character knowledge for non-Socialites. A Reputation may be modified temporarily or permanently, depending on which Perk is used. If a rating is temporarily modified, this should be stated as part of the Reputation Ranking, e.g., a Character could have Really Quite Clever 3, and A Bit Violent 1 (temporary). SKILL: CONVINCE The Convince Skill is used when a Character is making a reasoned argument in an attempt to sway the judgement of another Character. The socialite who relies on Convince makes a claim and supports it with evidence, clear examples and logical reasoning in order to build a strong argument. You can choose to lie with this technique but most find it is more successful with the truth, said in the right way. Convince is opposed to Convince or Empathy, whichever is higher. SKILL: INTIMIDATE Intimidate is used to change minds through fear, whether via overt threat, subtle insinuation or simply terrifying demeanour. Characters with high Intimidate give off a near-tangible aura of danger, when they choose to do so.

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Intimidate is opposed to Intimidate or Willpower, whichever is higher. SKILL: CHARISMA Charisma represents a Characters presence, force of personality, or just sheer physical beauty. Characters with high Charisma are attractive and magnetic, and people just generally want to make them happy. Use Charisma when youre trying to get what you want by charming someone. Charisma is opposed to Charisma or Willpower, whichever is higher. SKILL: FAST TALK There are times when you actually dont have solid evidence or a good argument for your point, but you need to make it anyway. These are the times when you use Fast Talk, glibly overriding objection, deflecting argument and generally spinning a web of verbosity that makes it impossible to argue against you. Fast Talk is opposed to Fast Talk or Empathy, whichever is higher. SKILL: LEADERSHIP Great leaders exude authority and competence. Their presence inspires those around them to new heights, their passion is infectious, and lesser mortals have no choice but to fall in line. Leadership is used whenever a Character invokes their personal authority or particular competence to bring about desired outcomes. Leadership is opposed to Leadership or Willpower, whichever is higher. SKILL: DISGUISE The Disguise Skill is used to obscure your identity, whether with elaborate costume, makeup, or simple misdirection. The thief who
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pretends to be a guard, the spy who appears as just another man in the street and the wanted criminal with a fake moustache are all beneficiaries of the Disguise Skill. If you suspect that a Character is in disguise, you may speak to that Player or a GM and call your Disguise or Perception, whichever is higher. If your Skill is higher than the targets Skill, the Player or GM will give you an indication of whether or not that Character is in disguise. Seeing through a disguise does not give any further information only that the Character is in disguise.

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PERKS OF THE COMMON ARTS

CRAFTY Requirements: Mind (any Skill) at Professional. Description: Youre inventive, creative, and a source of inspiration and interest. You always seem to have new ideas and approach situations from a unique point of view. Effects: The Character has an additional three Creative points in their pool an average Character with this Perk would thus have 18 CP to use per event rather than the usual 15. Countering: None. Experience Cost: 10 Experience points. Activation Cost: This Perk is always active. BUILT LIKE A BRICK OUTHOUSE Requirements: Body (Fitness) at Professional. Description: Youre solid, muscular, and tough as year-old jerky. You can take hits that would fell anybody else and get up smiling. Effects: The Character has an additional Health level. She has seven levels rather than the usual six. Treat this additional level as a second Healthy that is, after taking a single level of damage, the Character is still considered to be at Healthy, and it takes two levels to Bruise the Character. Countering: None. Experience Cost: 10 Experience points.

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Activation Cost: This Perk is always active. DISGUISE OTHER Requirements: Socialise (Disguise) at Professional. Description: Youve learnt how to teach others how to carry themselves and how to fake identities. You can apply makeup, dress them up and show them how to fool the casual observer. Effects: You can apply a disguise to another Character. They are considered to have the Disguise Skill to Rank 2 for that disguise only. Countering: None. Experience Cost: 5 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 4 Creative Points at Professional and 3 at Master. I AINT GOT TIME TO BLEED Requirements: Mind (Willpower) at Professional. Description: Pain is for ignoring, and injuries are irrelevant. Youll rest when youre dead, and the real problem is that the blood might well ruin your suit. Effects: The Character can activate the perk when Seriously Injured or Wounded. They do so by saying something dismissive about their injuries, or about those who let their pain slow them down. It allows the Character to act as if they were merely Bruised, though the Character does not regain Health Levels, and will still collapse if Incapacitated.

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Countering: If the Character is Incapacitated, this Perk will have no further effect. Experience Cost: 5 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 3 Creative Points at Professional and 2 Creative Points at Master. I THINK IVE BEEN THERE Requirements: Citizenship at Professional (any Skill) Description: Youre a well-travelled individual, or youve read enough geography texts to fake it. You can recite enough pointless facts about various places to bore anyone to sleep. Every now and then, one of those facts proves quite helpful. Effects: Activate this Perk by speaking to a GM and asking them what you know about a particular place. The GM will usually provide you with a fun fact or two, the sort of thing generally only known to locals. Occasionally youll get nothing at all, and in these cases you will not be required to spend Creative Points. This Perk is used for esoteric information and triviality about geography, population, and other wiki-esque snippets. Countering: None. Experience Cost: 5 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 3 Creative Points at Professional and 2 Creative Points at Master. ON THE TIP OF MY TONGUE Requirements: Citizenship at Professional (any Skill) and Mind (Perception) at Amateur.

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Description: Youre well-read, and pay a lot of attention to the oddities and trivialities of history. Fumare is full of secret societies, and its historical figures are almost invariably highly eccentric. Youve paid attention to these things, and are full of esoteric knowledge and interesting titbits. Effects: Activate this Perk by speaking to a GM and asking them what you know about a particular society, social group or historical figure. The GM will usually provide you with a quick overview, or some useful (or irrelevantly trivial) information. Occasionally youll get nothing at all, and in these cases you will not be required to spend Creative Points. Countering: None. Experience Cost: 5 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 3 Creative Points at Professional and 2 Creative Points at Master. THAT NAME RINGS A BELL Requirements: Socialise (any Skill) at Professional or Citizenship (of the same nation as the target) at Master. Description: Your social network stretches far and wide, and it catches all sorts of interesting gossip about all sorts of people. Effects: Activate this Perk by speaking to a GM and asking them if youve heard anything about a particular person. The GM will usually provide you with a quick summary, along with some interesting titbit of gossip. Occasionally youll get nothing at all, and in these cases you will not be required to spend Creative Points. Often, youll get something entirely irrelevant. Still, every now and then youll hit gold.

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Countering: None. Experience Cost: 5 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 3 Creative Points at Professional and 2 Creative Point at Master. MAKE AN ENTRANCE Requirements: Socialise (Charisma or Intimidate or Leadership) at Professional. Description: You are capable of turning heads effortlessly. When you arrive at an event, conversations go quiet, all eyes follow, and for the barest of seconds, you are the focus of all attention. Effects: Just before walking into a room, inform a GM that you wish to activate this perk. Everyone in the room stops what they are doing and looks at the door, while you walk through it. Countering: None Experience Cost: 10 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 2 Creative Points at Professional and 1 Creative Point at Master. SLIP OF THE TONGUE Requirements: Socialise (any Skill) at Experienced or Mind (Empathy) at Professional. Description: Always composed, you recall details effortlessly. You never forget a name or a face, and youre the one who remembers that its the Professors daughters birthday today, and you gain endless small favours because of it.

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Effects: You may slip out of Character for a brief moment by putting your hand on your head to ask one Character one question that you should know the answer to or consult a note (If the Character has been introduced to you before this includes their name). The Character you ask must be within close range of you and not be inconvenienced greatly; you could also pull a GM aside if theres one nearby. Countering: None Experience Cost: 10 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 4 Creative Points at Experienced, 3 Creative Points at Experienced, 2 Creative Points at Professional and 1 Creative Point at Master. THE PERFECT ONE LINER Requirements: Socialise (Convince, Charisma or Leadership) at Professional and Mind (Empathy) at Amateur. Description: Always ready with a cutting quip or supportive word, you can build someone up or tear their heart out with a single comment. Effects: This technique is activated by calling The Perfect One Liner and the effect you wish to have on the target Character. That Character will feel the emotion that you choose in response to your brilliant quip, within reason. For example, Duchess Katarina the Professional Ransom Negotiator finds herself speaking to a pair of kidnappers. When they dont trust her word, she convinces them with The Perfect One Liner by saying The Perfect One Liner I am completely trustworthy! The kidnappers are now prepared to negotiate.

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Countering: Empathy at Master can completely ignore this Perk. Experience Cost: 15 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 3 Creative Points at Professional and 2 Creative Points at Master. KNOW THE SCENE Requirements: Socialise (any Skill) at Professional. Description: There are those who bluster and those who puff themselves up, but you can read the looks and the hesitations, the sideways glances and the vocal tones, and where the puppet strings of power really lie. Effects: When you are introduced to a group of people you may spend some time studying the dynamics of the group. You must observe and interact with some of the members of the group. When it is convenient to do so you may inform a GM of what youre trying to find out. Examples of possible targets include but are not limited to; Whos the most influential person in the room? (an indicator of Socialise Talent) Whos the most important? (an indicator of social or political power) Whos the most powerful in the room? (an indicator of wealth or other power).

Note that the GM might not answer immediately, and that the result will rarely be the complete truth. You also discover the Reputation of each person observed.

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Countering: Any Character with Socialise at Master can avoid detection by this Perk if they choose to, and any Character with Empathy at Master will see the Character using it. Experience Cost: 15 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 5 Creative Points at Professional and 4 Creative Points at Master. DONT LOOK AT THAT, TALK TO ME! Requirements: Socialise (Charisma or Fast Talk) at Amateur. Description: You can command the attention of your target, using body language, social cues or scintillating conversation to focus their attention entirely on you, missing those subtle secrets in the background. Effects: During a conversation with another Character, you may activate this Perk (by calling Distracting, followed by your rating in either Charisma or Fast Talk). The target Character, if their Empathy is lower than the called Skill, has their Perception score lowered by 1 for the duration of the conversation. Countering: This Perk only works on Characters if their Empathy is lower than your Charisma or Fast Talk. Experience Cost: 10 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 4 Creative Points at Amateur, 3 Creative Points at Experienced, 2 Creative Points at Professional and 1 Creative Point at Master. DID YOU HEAR WHAT HE DID? Requirements: Socialise (Any) at Experienced.

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Description: Reputation is the currency of the social scene, and lives have been both created and destroyed on the fickle opinions of the 'Scene. To a lesser extent, you know how to manipulate the Reputations of others, as any good social warrior should. Effects: Using this Perk will temporarily (until the end of the current game event) give a Character a negative Reputation descriptor with a level of 1. Use this Perk by speaking to a GM and gossiping to other Characters about the target Character (which may be yourself, of course). This Perk may also be used to temporarily reduce a positive Reputation level by 1, or temporarily increase a negative Reputation level by 1. Countering: Other Reputation Perks can be used to remove Reputation descriptors given by this Perk. Experience Cost: 10 Experience Points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 4 Creative Points at Amateur, 3 Creative Points at Experienced, 2 Creative Points at Professional and 1 Creative Point at Master. THAT GIRLS AWESOME! Requirements: Socialise (Any) at Experienced. Description: Reputation is the currency of the social scene, and lives have been both created and destroyed on the fickle opinions of the 'Scene. To a lesser extent, you know how to manipulate the Reputations of others, as any good social warrior should. Effects: Using this Perk will temporarily (until the end of the current game event) give a Character a positive Reputation descriptor with a level of 1. Use this Perk by speaking to a GM and

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gossiping to other Characters about the target Character (which may be yourself, of course). This Perk may also be used to temporarily reduce a negative Reputation level by 1, or temporarily increase a positive Reputation level by 1. Countering: Other Reputation Perks can be used to remove Reputation descriptors given by this Perk. Experience Cost: 10 Experience Points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 4 Creative Points at Amateur, 3 Creative Points at Experienced, 2 Creative Points at Professional and 1 Creative Point at Master. SOCIALITE Requirements: Socialise (Any) at Professional Description: Reputation is the currency of the social scene, and lives have been both created and destroyed on the fickle opinions of the 'Scene. So used to dealing with the weapons of the Scene are you, that you see more in a Reputation than others. Effects: Using this Perk allows a Character to discover how significant a Characters Reputation is. When you ask about a Characters Reputation, they also give the level of the Reputation. Countering: None. Experience Cost: 10 Experience Points. Activation Cost: This Perk is always active. SOCIAL KING Requirements: Socialise (Any) at Master
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Description: Reputation is the currency of the social scene, and lives have been both created and destroyed on the fickle opinions of the 'Scene. As a master in this battlefield, the Reputations you can now give to others or yourself are as permanent and as powerful as hanging a medal around their neck. Effects: Using this Perk will permanently give a Character a positive Reputation descriptor. Use this Perk by speaking to a GM and regularly gossiping to other Characters about the target Character. See Reputation, above, for details on how to change Reputation levels. This Perk may also be used to reduce the level of a permanent negative Reputation descriptor. Countering: Other Reputation Perks can be used to remove (or modify the ratings of) Reputation descriptors given by this Perk. Experience Cost: 20 Experience Points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk uses a variable number of Creative Points, where the number of Creative Points expended reflects the change in Reputation level. SOCIAL PARIAH Requirements: Socialise (Any) at Master Description: Reputation is the currency of the social scene, and lives have been both created and destroyed on the fickle opinions of the 'Scene. As a master in this battlefield, the Reputations you can now give to others are as permanent and as powerful as stapling a dunces cap to their head. Effects: Using this Perk will permanently give a Character a negative Reputation descriptor. Use this Perk by speaking to a GM

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and regularly gossiping to other Characters about the target Character. See Reputation, above, for details on how to change Reputation levels. This Perk may also be used to reduce the level of a permanent positive Reputation descriptor. Countering: Other Reputation Perks can be used to remove (or modify the ratings of) Reputation descriptors given by this Perk. Experience Cost: 20 Experience Points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk uses a variable number of Creative Points, where the number of Creative Points expended reflects the change in Reputation level. HOLD THE LINE! Requirements: Socialise (Intimidation) at Professional and Mind (Willpower) Description: Sometimes, all a group of people needs to become a cohesive unit is for someone to start shouting at them. After years of practising your best Drill Sergeant voice, you have mastered this trick. Effects: To activate this Perk, you need to start commanding the group of people that you are with. If they accept your command, then for the duration of that encounter or scene, while obeying your direct commands, they may ignore wound penalties. Countering: This perk only works while the recipients are obeying the direct orders of the leader. Either disobedience or the removal of the leader from command will end the effect. Experience Cost: 15 Experience Points

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Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 5 Creative Points at Professional and 4 Creative Points at Master. MY FELLOW FUMAREANS... Requirements: Socialise (Leadership) at Master Description: People hold hidden depths, and what they need to bring those buried strengths to the surface is a muse. When the Professors built the first steam-trains and zeppelins, when the first of the Colonies was founded, when the military lines held against the worst that the Ramian could throw against them, the effort always began with a truly great leader giving them a truly great speech.... a truly great leader like you. Effects: To activate this Perk, you need to give an inspirational speech describing a specific task. At the end of the speech, you may distribute any number of your Creative Points among members of the audience. These Creative Points may only be spent in directly furthering the task described in the speech. Countering: None. Experience Cost: 20 Experience Points Activation Cost: Activating this Perk uses a variable number of Creative Points, where the number of Creative Points expended reflects the number of Creative Points that you may distribute amongst the audience.

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THE SCIENCE OF THE SOLDIER

BEING A FULL AND COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF ILLNESS AND INJURY IN ZEPPELIN GAMES, AND DIVERSE MEANS OF INFLICTING OR MITIGATING SAME.

HEALTH
This section outlines the rules for determining how healthy a Character is, the penalties for being injured, and how to recover from injury. GETTING HURT Characters in the Zeppelin Games system have six levels of health: Healthy, Bruised, Wounded, Seriously Injured, Incapacitated and Dying. Harmful effects (such as being hit by bullets and so forth) have specific damage ratings each level of damage removes one health level from the Character. Some effects deal multiple levels of damage - it is possible to skip several levels if hit by something significant, like a phosphorous bullet, or a cannon shell. Taking damage has negative effects on a Character's abilities and capabilities. If a Character loses all five levels of health, then they may die. For example, Katarina the Bookseller has gotten herself into a little trouble. The first edition she sold turned out to have been a water damaged eighth edition, and the disenfranchised buyer has pulled a knife and slashed her. The knife does two levels of damage, reducing Katarina to Wounded . That hurts.

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THE LEVELS OF HEALTH Healthy is the default state of a Character. Theyre fine and well. If a Character takes a level of damage, they are Bruised. Ouch. Still, its only a flesh wound, and a Bruised Character can do anything they could do when they were Healthy, except that if they take another level of damage... They go to Wounded status. A Wounded Character is in serious pain, and they should probably sit down, or maybe lie down, or find a doctor or something. Theyre having trouble concentrating on much other than their injuries. Plus, if they take a third level of damage... Theyre in Seriously Injured condition. Seriously Injured Characters cannot engage in rigorous activity (unless they have specific abilities allowing them to do so). Theyre having trouble walking, and lifting a big heavy revolver is impossible. Its hard to speak, and if they take another level of damage... Theyre Incapacitated. They are no longer able to stand and walking is right out. If still conscious, the Character will definitely be unhappy about it. Speaking will either be through gritted teeth or shouting. If the last level of damage is taken... Theyre Dying. The Character has been rendered unconscious by her injuries and is unlikely to live without aid. Unless stabilised (see the Medicine Talent) within five minutes, that Character is Dead. If Stabilised, that Character regains a single health level, raising them to the Incapacitated health level, but will remain unconscious for five minutes.

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Note that the Dying level is the lowest level a Character may be reduced to with damaging effects. Further damage is effectively ignored. Continuing the example, Katarina the Bookseller has a couple of friends on hand, fortunately for her. Two of these friends are nearby, and theyre packing fairly significant firepower. They both open up with their revolvers, dealing eight levels of damage to the unfortunate buyer. How inappropriate. The buyer is reduced to Dying, unconscious on the ground. The two additional damage levels are ignored, and Katarina, suddenly remorseful, grabs her medicinal kit and begins binding the wounds, Stabilising her customer and ensuring his survival. Dead Characters are no longer playable. There are no means available to revive Dead Characters. Participants whose Characters have become Dead should continue to roleplay their remains until it is no longer necessary to do so, then speak to an Organiser. While it is usually only possible for a Character to die by being reduced to Dying and then bleeding out in their allotted five minutes, note that it is also possible to die if a Character is the victim of the "Coup de Grace" perk, or similar ability. In Fumare, while violence in the cause of self-defence is laudable, allowing another person to die is a serious capital crime (even if they had such things in mind for you), and actually deliberately killing someone is almost unthinkable. Players should seriously consider the implications of such action; any Character who would do such a thing is probably either socio- or psycho-pathic.

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HEALTH SUMMARY TABLE Health Level Healthy Bruised Levels remaining 5 4 Effects No effects: The Character can act normally. No effects: The Character can act normally (but may be sore in places) The Character is in serious pain and must show it - limping, wincing, etc. Fast or strenuous action such as combat or running is hampered, and impossible to sustain for more than one minute.

Wounded

Seriously Injured

The Character cannot engage in combat, run, lift heavy objects, or perform strenuous activity. They may walk slowly or crawl, with some difficulty. The Character cannot stand or walk. The Character can only speak through gritted teeth, scream, or accept assistance. It is perfectly acceptable (and, indeed, likely) to pass out from pain. The Character is unconscious and will die if left unaided for five minutes.

Incapacitated

Dying

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GETTING HEALED Modern Science is full of ways to treat or fix harm to the body. The main Talent used to do so is Medicine, which is covered in full detail in The Learnings of the Academic. Some mechanical inventions or chemicals can also be used to heal, treat or stabilise Characters. These are discussed in the Art of Invention. It is vitally important that Characters who have received damage are Treated for their injuries. An untreated wound cannot heal, and is at risk of being Infected. Infections are covered in full detail in The Learnings of the Academic. Any Character who has not received treatment within an hour of becoming hurt should inform a GM. Wounds that have been Treated will continue to heal at the rate of one Health Level after each full night of rest. There are four ways of assisting an injured Character:
TREAT WOUNDS , which avoids the possibility of infection or

illness stemming from raw injuries.

STABILISE , which prevents a Character from Dying. BANDAGE , which heals the Character by granting temporary

Health Levels.
SURGERY , which can repair serious damage taken by a Character.

A Character with the Medicine Talent (at any Rank and with any Skill) may Treat Wounds and/or Stabilise a Dying Character.
TREAT WOUNDS AND STABILISE

In order to Treat Wounds and/or Stabilise a patient, the medic should spend a couple of minutes with the patient and roleplay their treatment (cleaning wounds and staunching bleeding, for example). The Characters wounds will then no longer be at risk of becoming
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Infected. A Dying Character who receives this treatment is also Stabilised and healed to the Incapacitated Health Level. Dying Characters healed by this process should remain unconscious for about five minutes after receiving aid, and will likely be in considerable pain upon awakening.
BANDAGING

A Character with the Talent Medicine (Field Medic) at Experienced Rank or higher may Bandage other Characters. Bandaging grants Bandage Points, that act as "virtual" Health Levels while the patient heals. If a Character is Dying, they should be Stabilised (see above) before being Bandaged. Their wounds should also be Treated, preventing the risk of Infection. A medic wishing to Bandage a Character should roleplay treating the patient's injuries. For every two minutes of roleplay, the patient receives a Bandage Point, until the Character is effectively Healthy or has received a number of Bandage Points equal to the medic's Rank in Medicine (Field Medic). When a medic uses this Talent, any current Bandage Points on the patient are removed first, then the new Bandage Points are applied. The medic must also provide the patient with a prop (a bandage or similar) to represent the treatment. This prop must be worn or carried for the Character to keep the Bandage Points. If a Character takes damage, it should be taken from their Bandage Points before their Health Levels (but after their Armour Points, if they have any). If a Character takes more damage in one hit than they have Bandage Points, further damage will be taken from the Characters Health Levels.

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After 4 hours of solid rest, Bandage Points are converted to normal Health Levels. Further injuries are healed at the normal Treated rate of one Health Level after each full night of rest. Note that although this process is called bandaging this actually represents any medical technique that could be used to treat a wound, such as applying stitches, making splints, etc.
SURGERY

Some events might cause massive physical trauma such as severed or broken limbs. Other conditions may also arise which require more complicated treatments altogether. These can only be repaired through Surgery. This is covered in full detail in The Learnings of the Academic.

COMBAT
The most dramatic method by which Characters may do harm to each other is Combat. Combat at Zeppelin Games events should always be conducted with participant safety in mind. For this purpose, several safety rules are in place, as well as rules covering the props that may be used in combat. There are two ways to engage in combat - either in melee (using weapons to directly strike another Character) or at range (using firearms to shoot other Characters from a distance).
PROPS AND SAFETY

All Players will be required to pass a short weapons training test before being allowed to use weapons in game this will be more stringent for certain weapons, in particular melee weapons. All weapons will be represented by props in game. All weapon props must be checked by the Organisers before being used in game
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play. Weapons that are not approved will be removed from the game play area. A Player unfamiliar with a weapon prop should not attempt to use it. If Participants bring a weapon which is rejected on the basis of safety, the Organisers will endeavour to supply an approved replacement for use. However, this is not guaranteed. Players found to be using non-approved weapon props, or using melee weapons without appropriate Zeppelin Games melee training, will be subject to harsh penalties.
RANGED COMBAT

To shoot with ranged weapons, a Player should simply use the props shooting mechanics. A Player shooting a weapon should call the number of damage levels dealt by a hit, e.g. Two! If a Character receives a hit, but no call was made, the hit should be counted as dealing one point of damage. Shots made accidentally still count and a Player should call damage for such shots. Be careful with your guns, children. If a dart or other projectile contacts any Character, then that Character takes damage levels appropriate to the damage call. When hit, a Player should respond "Aye" to ensure that both Players know when a shot has landed. Rounds which ricochet before hitting a Character should not be counted as hits. Zeppelin Games' targeting-safety limitations apply to ranged weapons: no deliberate shots should be made against the groin or head. Any hits which do occur in those locations will still be counted as hits. Players found to be targeting restricted areas will be subject to harsh penalties.

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All ranged weapon props have a minimum safe range of one meter. If your target is within one meter of your weapon, you should shoot at the ground instead. The Character still takes all damage. Ranged weapons struck by any type of damage are considered Broken and may not be loaded, primed or shot until repaired by a Character with the appropriate Skill.
RANGED WEAPONS IN MELEE COMBAT

Ranged weapon props are under no circumstances to be used as melee weapons. Players found to be using ranged weapons as melee weapons will be subject to harsh penalties. Players are reminded that many ranged weapon props are not safe for melee. It is recommended that Players do not use ranged weapons in melee combat, but doing so is not forbidden so long as any shots taken are beyond the minimum safe distance.
MELEE COMBAT

A Player wielding a weapon should, with each swing that is likely to land a blow, call the amount of damage dealt by a hit, e.g. Two! When hit by a melee weapon, a Player should respond "Aye" to ensure that both Players know when a hit has landed. Players should swing a weapon no harder than is necessary for another Player to know that they have been hit. If a Character receives a hit, but no call was made when the weapon was swung, the hit should be counted as dealing one point of damage. Targeting-safety limitations apply to melee weapons: no deliberate shots should be made against the groin or head. Any hits which do occur in those locations will still be counted as hits.

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Players found to be targeting restricted areas or repeatedly swinging too hard will be subject to harsh penalties.
MELEE WEAPONS IN RANGED COMBAT

Players may not attempt to deflect shots from ranged weapons. Any Character whose weapon is hit by a shot from a ranged weapon should drop their weapon. Players may not attempt to use melee weapons as thrown weapons.

SAFETY IN COMBAT
All participants must be aware of and familiar with the Zeppelin Games Safety and Comfort Rules before they can participate in combat activity (or, in fact, in the game at all, but its important enough to reiterate here) said rules are contained in The Laws of Theatrics.

FIGHTING AT NIGHT
When fighting at night or in low-visibility conditions, all participants MUST reduce their speed and exercise extra caution. A GM or Organiser may instruct Players to move at half-speed, meaning no sprinting or rapid series of swings.

GOGGLES AND GLASSES

Zeppelin Games events can sometimes involve fast-moving small objects with the potential to do injury to Players eyes. Since its only fun and games until somebody loses an eye, goggles and other eyewear are recommended as marvellously in-genre methods of preventing such an occurrence. Wearing goggles (fully-enclosed eyewear) will also grant a Character two additional Armour Points (see the Armour Use

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Talent, below, for more details about how armour works) which can act as extra protection. Wearing glasses (other eyewear) will grant a Character a single additional Armour Point. The Character does not need the armour skill to gain this advantage. If eyewear armour receives damage, the Character can repair them: the Player should remove the eyewear prop and roleplay around half a minute of re-adjusting, cleaning and other fiddling.

THE "FAINTING RULE"

Some Characters (as well as some Players) are severely adverse to or overwhelmed by the mere idea of violence. As such, it is a perfectly acceptable reaction to the outbreak of hostilities for a Character to simply exclaim Oh, my! (or similar) and pass out. The participant using this rule should lie down if safe to do so, or else remove themselves from the combat area until it is safe to return and roleplay being unconscious. This action may be performed at any time within reason, and other Characters are expected to roleplay appropriate reactions. While the Fainting Rule" may be applied at will, it is not without cost: any Character that faints will lose a level of Health, ignoring any armour or other defences the Character may have (down to the Incapacitated level - a Character cannot progress to Dying by using the "Fainting Rule") and will remain unconscious until roused by another Character or roughly five minutes have passed. Health Levels lost in this manner are not at risk of Infection and are considered Treated in regards to the normal healing rules. Characters with the Field Medic Skill at Experienced or higher may still Bandage a Character who has taken damage from Fainting.

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Other Characters may wake a Fainted Character easily through non-intrusive means (by calling their name, gently shaking them, or using smelling salts, for example). Note that participants under the effects of alcohol who find themselves unable to avoid a combat situation MUST make use of the "Fainting Rule". Refer to the Zeppelin Games Safety and Comfort Rules in The Laws of Theatrics.

ARMOUR USE (TRAINED)

The Armour Use Talent represents a Characters experience with protective gear of various kinds. It allows Characters who are wearing or using defensive equipment to act relatively normally and move unencumbered. Armour has its own special Health Levels as well as an Armour Rating (AR). Most Armour has an Armour Rating which ranges between 1 and 4. This Rating determines the minimum Talent Rank required for a Character to use armour without penalty, as well as the level of protection provided by the armour. An Armour items Health Levels are equal to its AR squared (i.e. AR 1: 1, AR 2: 4, AR 3: 9, AR 4: 16). These are independent of the Character wearing it, and reduced by damage taken. Any damage taken by the armour carries over if the armour is transferred to another Character - highly advanced AR4 steam plate has 16 Health Levels even on an Inexperienced wearer, and AR1 thick leathers have 1 Level even on a Master. If a Character wearing armour takes damage, their armour is considered to have taken the damage first. After their armour has lost all its Health Levels, then the Character begins to lose their own Health Levels (plus, their armour is Broken). For simplicity, this
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happens regardless of where the Character is hit your steel-plated apron protects your arms just as well as your belly. If a Character takes more damage in one hit than their Armour has Health Levels, further damage caused by that hit will be taken from the Characters own Health Levels. Once armour has lost all its Armour Points, it is Broken and will have no effect at all until it is repaired by a qualified Character. Armour items will have a higher AR if they are made of better materials or protect more of the body. Players should consult with Organisers for exact details of any armour they plan to use. If a Character wears or uses an armour item with an Armour Rating higher than their Talent Rank, all of that Characters Talents are reduced by the difference between the two ratings (summarised below) and all Talents are considered Trained (See The Anatomy of a Character). These penalties do apply to mental or social Talents as well as physical and combat Talents. Talent Rank Inexperienced Amateur Experienced Professional Master AR 1 -1 0 0 0 0 AR 2 -2 -1 0 0 0 AR 3 -3 -2 -1 0 0 AR 4 -4 -3 -2 -1 0

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SKILL: WORN ARMOUR The Worn Armour Skill covers a Characters ability to act normally while wearing armour, ranging from the flak jackets and war suits of soldiers through to a welders mask and gloves. All armour that a Character wears is, for rules purposes, conglomerated into a single item of Worn Armour, even if it consists of multiple individual props so a helmet, shoulders, breastplate and gloves are all considered one item, just as a mask, goggles and apron would be a single item. All of the props must be worn together in order for a Character to receive the afforded level of protection. To put on or remove an item of worn armour, a Character requires a Rank in Armour Use at least equal to the Armour Rating of the item. If a Character receives assistance, then the assisting Characters Rank in Armour Use may be used for the purpose of putting on or removing the armour. Any penalties for acting while using the armour will still apply. For example, Katarina the Bodyguard is going to be escorting a Fumarean VIP through some fairly dangerous territory. She decides to equip him with a bit of extra physical protection, and pulls out her spare flak jacket and helmet, which is considered a single item of worn armour with AR2 (and thus, has 4 additional Health Levels) however, the VIP has 0 Armour Use, so Katarinas going to have to strap them on for him. She has Armour Use 3, so its easy enough, but the VIP will be at -2 to all his Talents until she gets it off him at the end of the trip.

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As noted above, Players should bring their armour props to an Organiser, who will assign a total AR for them, but the following list can be used as a rough guide for Character design. A heavy engineer's apron and welders mask might count as AR 1. A cast-iron stove door strapped across the chest might count as AR 2. A long coat lined with "steelweave" and a cowboy hat might count as AR 3. A fully-enclosed suit of steam-powered armour might count as AR 4.

SKILL: SHIELDS The Shields Skill allows Characters to use protective devices held in the hand or attached to the arm. If it is hit, a shield takes damage instead of the Character using it. Without this Skill, a Character is simply unable to get their shield in the way of a strike (and if by some chance they do, it counts as hitting the Character for rules purposes). If a shield takes more damage in one hit than it has Health Levels, the excess damage is not transferred to the Character, but is simply ignored. If a shield has no Health Levels left, it is useless - any further damage to the shield is taken from the Character's Health Levels. It is also Broken, and has to be repaired before it can be of use again. Shields must be actively held and/or strapped-on to the arm to be used. A shield which is (for example) slung across a Participant's back will not count as a separate hit location and any hits it takes will be transferred to the Character as if it was not there.

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Shields and other pieces of held armour do not require equivalent Ranks to pick up or put down: they do cause a Character to suffer Talent penalties while they are being carried, as per the Armour Use penalty table (See above).

DEFENCE (TRAINED)
The Defence Talent allows Characters to withstand or dodge hits or effects without incurring injury. The Defence Talent allows a Character to completely ignore a certain number of hits in combat through use of "dodges". These do not necessarily represent the Character physically avoiding the effect, rather a combination of active defence, awareness of combat techniques and sheer brute toughness. Characters receive one "dodge" per Rank in the Defence Talent. This pool of "dodges" is shared between any Skills the Character may have e.g. a Character with Defence 2 and both Skills has 2 "dodges", and may choose whether to use Avoidance or Resilience when he uses each "dodge". To use a "dodge" a Player must call "Dodge!" immediately after being hit by a weapon or environmental effect. The Character then takes no damage from the hit whether the hit would have dealt 2 damage or 4. A Characters "dodges" are expended after being used, but can be recovered after a short rest. A Character may spend five minutes resting (doing nothing more strenuous than talking, eating or receiving medical aid) after which the Character recovers all their "dodges". SKILL: AVOIDANCE The Avoidance Skill represents the ability to sidestep, duck, or otherwise avoid injury by moving out of the way of whatevers

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coming. The Avoidance Skill can only be used when the Character is aware of the danger, but also avoids secondary non-damaging effects from attacks. For example, Katarina the Bounty Hunter is chasing the dastardly Baron von Evil. He fires his Great Globby Glue Gun at her, which does 2 damage and glues the target to the ground however, Katarina uses an Avoidance dodge to avoid both effects, and brings him down. Sadly for Katarina, one of the Barons henchmen is behind her with another glue gun, and because she is unaware of the attack, she is unable to use the Defence (Avoidance) Talent at all, and takes both the damage and the glue. Von Evil escapes again! SKILL: RESILIENCE The Resilience Skill allows Characters to resist injury through extreme bodily endurance. Characters with high Resilience are determined, resolute, and the very definition of pure toughness. Resilience "dodges" may be used even if the Character is unaware of the attack, but do not avoid secondary effects from the sources of damage. Using the earlier example, if Katarina had used Resilience (instead of Avoidance) to resist the attack from the glue gun, she would have taken no damage, but would be struck by the glue. When the henchman also fired, Katarina could use Resilience again to avoid the damage. Von Evil escapes either way, at least in this example. A Character with the Resilience Defence Skill may not use the "Fainting Rule" to avoid combat, unless the Player is under the effects of alcohol.

FIREARMS (UNTRAINED)

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The Firearms Talent grants Characters familiarity with ranged weapons classed as Firearms. See the Ranged Combat section of The Science of the Soldier for more details on using firearms in combat. There are three grades of firearm: Basic, Standard and Advanced. While any Character may pick up and shoot a Basic or Standard Firearm, the appropriate Firearms Skill at Experienced or Professional respectively is necessary to load or prime the gun, or to clear any malfunctions in the weapon. Advanced Firearms require much more Talent to wield, and only Characters with Firearms at Master are capable of even firing such a weapon. The damage dealt by a firearm is not determined by the grade of weapon or the Talent of the user, but by the type of ammunition being used. Ammunition for firearms is collectively known as "rounds". Standard rounds deal 2 points of damage on a hit. Speciality or high-damage rounds can deal more, but are dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Rounds for all Firearms take the form of foam darts. Any rounds which have been loaded into a weapon will count as "Spent" if they are shot from the weapon. These cannot be reused. For out-of-game convenience, they should be collected and given to the Organisers or a GM at an appropriate time. Rounds which fall out of a weapon also count as Spent. Players are advised to be careful when carrying firearms, and are reminded that any hit counts, including those from accidental discharge. See Ranged Weapon Combat, above, for more details.

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Repairing firearms requires the Mechanical Engineering Talent. See The Art of Invention for details.

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SKILL: PISTOLS The Pistols Skill allows a Character to use guns designed to be wielded in one hand. A Character may wield a pistol in each hand at the same time without penalty (aside from the encumbrance caused to the Player by trying to load & prime the weapons). SKILL: RIFLES The Rifles Skill allows a Character to use guns designed to be wielded in two hands. A Character may fire a rifle while holding it with only one hand. However, the Player must drop or put down the rifle immediately after doing so.

MELEE WEAPONS (UNTRAINED)

The Melee Weapons Talent reflects a Characters training and talent with using weapons intended for close quarters combat. Any Character may pick up a melee weapon and strike another with it, dealing the weapon's base damage. However, without the appropriate Talent, they will soon find themselves disarmed and defenceless. The Rank required to effectively wield a melee weapon is based on its size. The damage dealt by the weapon is equal to the Rank required to wield it or the Characters Skill Rank, whichever is higher. If a Character uses a weapon with a level higher than their Skill Rank, then they must immediately drop the weapon (or put it down if it is unsafe to drop it) if any one of their attacks is parried, or if they attempt to parry an attack from another Character.

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Dual-wielding melee weapons, one in each hand, reduces a Character's effective Rank in Melee Weapons by 2. Weapons requiring Skill Rank 3 or greater to wield effectively may not be dual-wielded. Players must bring their melee weapon props to an Organiser, who will inform them of the weapons required Skill Rank. The following list is used as a rough guide. Length is a total length, including the hilt. Weapons roughly the length of a person's forearm (or shorter) require Rank 1. Weapons which would rise roughly up to a person's waist require Rank 2. Weapons about the height of a person require Rank 3, generally require two hands to use effectively and cannot be dual-wielded. Weapons taller than a person require Rank 4 and are impossible to wield one-handed. Some weapons may be made of higher-grade materials or enhanced in some fashion, giving them a higher base damage. SKILL: BLUDGEONS Bludgeons are weapons designed for shattering bones and delivering blunt trauma. This Skill grants a Character familiarity with these weapons and their use. SKILL: KNIVES Knives are single-handed, short-bladed weapons designed for swift combat and ease of concealment. This Skill grants a Character familiarity with these weapons and their use.

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PERKS OF THE SOLDIER

BETTER PART OF VALOUR Requirements: Defence (Avoidance) at Experienced. Description: There are old heroes and there are bold heroes, but, as you are well aware, there are no old bold heroes. Youve worked out when to stand and fight, and when thats just not a particularly good idea. Effects: To use this Perk, the Player should call Quick Run. All other Players in the vicinity should then enter TIME FREEZE for a period of 2 seconds. During this TIME FREEZE , the Character using this Perk can take no action other than to flee the scene. This Perk cannot be used while wearing armour. Countering: Other Characters may use Quick Draw, Better Part of Valour or similar Perks in immediate response to the Character using Better Part of Valour in order to avoid the TIME FREEZE (limited by the normal restrictions on their actions while using those Perks). This perk can also be used in immediate response to Quick Draw or similar Perks. Experience Cost: 15 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 4 Creative Points at Experienced, 3 Creative Points at Professional and 2 at Master. BODYGUARD DIVE Requirements: Defence (any Skill) at Professional and Mind (Perception) at Professional.

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Description: The Character is trained in protecting others and can throw herself in the way of a hit or effect aimed at another Character, valiantly sacrificing herself for the good of Fumare (or possibly for a significant pay check, who knows?). Effects: To use this Perk, the Character must be close enough to touch the Character that is the target of the ability, actively attempting to defend that Character, and aware of the attack they are guarding against. Immediately after the target of this Perk is hit with a weapon or other effect, the Player using it must call Guard. The hit or effect is then ignored by the original target and is taken by the Character using this Perk. The Character using this Perk cannot use their "dodges" to avoid this damage, though armour and shields will still work. Countering: None. Experience Cost: 10 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 4 Creative Points at Professional and 3 Creative Points at Master. CALLED SHOT: KNOCKDOWN Requirements: Melee Weapons (Bludgeons) at Professional, Body (Fitness) at Amateur. Description: Like a giant, your blows smash their targets into the ground, or blast them backwards. None stand against the might of your club. Alternatively, you could be nimble, striking at pressure points and weak spots to send your opponents tumbling around you.

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Effects: To use this perk, the Player should call Knockdown on a swing. If that swing connects (or is parried) and the target does not call dodge, then the target is knocked down and drops prone. The attack still deals normal damage, and this should be called (i.e. Knockdown Three!. Countering: Characters with Body (any Skill) at Professional may ignore the Knockdown effect, although not the damage dealt. Experience Cost: 20 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 4 Creative Points at Professional and 3 Creative Points at Master. CALLED SHOT: NONLETHAL Requirements: Melee Weapons (any Skill) at Experienced. Description: Only the unsubtle and the bloodthirsty fight to kill the true purpose of combat is to win. Youve learnt to fight in such a way as to ensure your opponents survive. Effects: Activate this Perk by calling Non-lethal immediately after an opponent falls from taking damage from one of your melee strikes. Your opponent remains Incapacitated, but they are considered Stabilised, and will not bleed out. This Perk cannot be used if you are wielding a weapon you cannot effectively wield. Countering: None Experience Cost: 5 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk has no cost.

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CALLED SHOT: SUBDUE Requirements: Melee Weapons (Bludgeon) at Master Description: A swift rap in the right spot and your opponent falls youve learnt the fine art of knocking your opponents out with a single, well-aimed strike in the right spot. Effects: The Character must hit his target somewhere on his torso and immediately call Subdue. The target immediately falls unconscious and is considered fainted (see The Fainting Rule, above, for details). The target takes no damage from this attack. Countering: Body at Master can completely ignore the effect of this Perk, and will still take no damage from the strike. Experience Cost: 20 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 7 Creative Points at Master. CALLED SHOT: DISARM Requirements: Firearms (any Skill) at Professional. Description: As a truly heroic gunslinger, your talent allows you to shoot to disarm, rather than to injure your enemies. Blowing the guns out of opponents hands is not only a neat way to show off, but also a particularly effective way of taking prisoners. Effects: To use this Perk, a Player should call Disarm while shooting their weapon. Should the shot hit another Players hand, arm or weapon, that Player must immediately drop or put down any weapon held in that hand/arm. If the shot misses, the Perk and CP are wasted. Countering: A Character with Body, or the weapon Skill for the weapon they are using, at Master may ignore this effect.
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Experience Cost: 15 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 3 Creative Points at Professional and 2 Creative Points at Master. COUP DE GRACE (RESTRICTED) Requirements: Firearms (any Skill) at Professional or Melee Weapons (any Skill) at Professional. Description: You are a cold-hearted killer, and one of the few people in Fumare nasty enough to be capable of snuffing out anothers life. Perhaps you are simply a sociopath, or perhaps your madness takes other forms, but either way you have chosen the capability to deal death. Effects: To use this Perk, the target Character must be unresisting, Incapacitated or heavily restrained. The Player must rest the striking surface of their melee weapon or the muzzle of their firearm on the targets shoulder and call Coup de Grace. If using a firearm, a single shot should also be fired (into the ground, obviously, remember safe firing distances). The target Character then dies. This effect cannot be avoided with dodges, armour, shields, or other Perks. Countering: A Character with Body at Master Rank may ignore this effect. Experience Cost: 15 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 5 at Creative Points at Professional and 4 Creative Points at Master. DODGE THIS! Requirements: Firearms (any Skill) at Professional level.

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Description: If you can get close enough, and hold your aim, there is no force in the world that will prevent your bullet from striking home. Effects: The Character's weapon must be within one meter of the target. The Character must have a clean shot, and hold that aim for a full 2 seconds. The Player then exclaims "Dodge this!" and fires a shot at the ground. The target must then take the damage of the round plus an additional level of damage and cannot use any dodges. Countering: None Experience Cost: 20 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 5 Creative Points at Professional and 4 Creative Points at Master. FIELD REPAIR (ARMOUR) Requirements: Armour Use (any Skill) at Professional. Description: The Character is familiar enough with their armour to be able to carry out field repairs. Effects: The Character activates this Perk by removing their armour and spending a minimum of ten minutes roleplaying making repairs to the armour. A Character should have available and use the appropriate tools to do so you cant field repair using sticks and moss. After completing the field repair, the Characters armour regains up to 6 Health Levels but never more than the item originally contained. A piece of armour on which this Perk has been used cannot gain Health Levels from further uses of this Perk until an Engineer has

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had a chance to repair the armour. This Perk can only be used to repair armour in which the Character has the appropriate Skill. Countering: None Experience Cost: 10 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 5 Creative Points at Professional and 4 Creative Points at Master. GUNSLINGER: RIFLES Requirements: Firearms (Rifles) at Professional and Body (Fitness) at Experienced. Description: Through flexibility, dexterity and hard-won experience, you have learned to fire long-barrelled weapons from the hip, without need of your off-hand to balance the weapon. Effects: The Character suffers no penalties for firing a rifle with one hand. It does not allow you to wield a second rifle in the other hand. Countering: None Experience Cost: 10 Experience points. Activation Cost: None. This Perk is always active. IMPENETRABLE DEFENCE Requirements: Defence (Resilience and Avoidance) at Professional level. Description: Through meditation, you prepare yourself for any eventuality. Through quiet preparation alone, you summon up a preternatural awareness of your surroundings, reacting to and avoiding danger almost before youre consciously aware of it.

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Effects: Activate this Perk during a quiet period. You must spend five minutes in relative quiet, without speaking to others to activate this Perk. By doing so, you gain one extra single-use dodge (in addition to those from your Defence Talent). Impenetrable Defence "dodges" must be used on the first damage you take after activating the Perk, before standard recoverable "dodges", and do not recover when standard dodges recover. Countering: The "dodges" granted by this Perk can be countered by anything that would normally counter "dodges". Experience Cost: 15 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 3 Creative Points at Professional and 2 at Master. "IT MUST HAVE HIT MY POCKET WATCH!" Requirements: Defence (Any Skill) at Amateur. Description: You lucky, lucky lad. That murderous strike, which would have killed a lesser mortal, has bounced off your watch, or that tightly-folded speech in your jacket pocket, or some similar deus ex machina has contrived to save your life. Effects: This Perk is used once the Character is taken into the Dying health level. The Character is immediately Stabilised and wounds Treated (although this is not apparent to onlookers unless they examine the Character closely). The Character must remain unconscious for at least 5 minutes or until woken, and once awake must exclaim that must have hit my..." and mention an object on their person. That item is now damaged beyond repair. The Character will remain at the Incapacitated Health Level until given medical aid or naturally healed.
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Countering: None. Experience Cost: 15 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 7 Creative Points at Amateur, 6 Creative Points at Professional and 5 at Master. MAKE STANDARD ROUNDS Requirements: Firearms (Rifles or Pistols) at Experienced. Description: The Character is able to fashion ammunition for most common guns. Effects: The Character activates this Perk by spending a few minutes roleplaying making bullets. The Character receives five standard rounds appropriate for use with his chosen weapon prop. Countering: None Experience Cost: 10 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 3 Creative Points at Experienced, 2 at Professional and 1 at Master. QUICK DRAW Requirements: Firearms (Pistols) at Experienced. Description: Whether the quickest gun in Fumare or not, youre certainly a contender. You can draw, aim and fire in the time it takes most people to pull the trigger, and often faster. Effects: To use this Perk, the Player calls Quick Draw. All other Players in the vicinity should then enter TIME FREEZE for a period of 2 seconds. During this TIME FREEZE , the Character using this Perk can take no action other than to draw, prime and/or fire a previously holstered pistol weapon.
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Countering: Other Characters may use Quick Draw, Better Part of Valour or similar Perks in immediate response to the Character using Quick Draw in order to avoid the TIME FREEZE (limited, of course, by the normal restrictions on their actions while using those Perks). Experience Cost: 20 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 3 at Creative Points Professional and 2 Creative Points at Master. SELECTIVE ATTENTION Requirements: Defence (Resilience) at Professional and Mind (Willpower) at Amateur. Description: The Character is capable of incredible focus and stubbornness, to the point of being able to ignore anything they choose. This irritates their friends, family and lovers immensely, but can occasionally prove particularly useful. Effects: Characters may activate this Perk for one of two purposes: 1. Ignoring pain: The Character may ignore any ill effects of injury for a period of five minutes or until they reach the Incapacitated Health Level. Ignore Distraction: The Character may use this Perk to counter distracting effects, such as the Dont Look at That, Talk to Me! Perk.

2.

Countering: None. Experience Cost: 15 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 4 Creative Points at Professional and 3 at Master.
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WITHOUT A SCRATCH Requirements: Defence (Resilience and Avoidance) at Master. Description: You are an incredibly lucky individual, or so it seems, managing to survive hails of bullets or mineshaft explosions with little more than torn clothes and minor bleeding. Effects: This perk can only be used if the Character is been reduced to the Dying level in a very short period of time (roughly 30 seconds). Instead of being at the Dying level, the Character takes one damage and is rendered unconscious, as if they had made use of the "Fainting Rule". Upon awakening the Character should make a point of brushing off dust, commenting on how amazingly lucky he or she is, etc. Countering: None Experience Cost: 20 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 6 Creative Points.

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APPENDIX: EXOTIC WEAPONS AND RESTRICTED WEAPON TALENTS

There are a range of weapon types other than those normally available to Fumarean Characters. Further weapons are uncommon or rare in Fumare. If a Player is interested in such an exotic weapon they should contact the Organisers when writing their Character. Characters may attempt to use weapons from other cultures, but any weapon from a culture with which a Character is unfamiliar (having 1 or less Ranks of Citizenship in that culture) will require one Skill Rank higher than usual for a Character to use effectively, without any increase in damage. This applies to firearms, melee weapons, or other, more esoteric weapons. The following Skills are unavailable to most Characters from Fumare: Swords: The Swords Skill allows a Character to use a bladed weapon that is much longer than a Fumarean knife. Most other nations use swords. Axes: The Axes Skill allows a Character to use an axe as a weapon. Axes are common weapons in the Thedorian Archipelago. Thrown Weapons: The Thrown Weapons Skill represents a Character's ability when throwing things with the intent of injuring someone. Lelibrans and Thedorians use throwing daggers regularly. Heavy Weapons: The Heavy Weapons Talent allows Characters to operate and maintain a weapon which is larger than a rifle, pistol, or thrown weapon or does not fit into any of these categories. Fumareans, Ramians and Lelibrans all use Heavy Weapons, but the skill is uncommon enough that the Organisers have chosen to restrict it at Zeppelin Games events.

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THE METHODS OF THE DETECTIVE AND HIS OPPONENT

BEING A FULL AND FRANK DISCUSSION OF THE VARIOUS EVASIONS EMPLOYED BY THE CRIMINAL ELEMENT AND DIVERSE MEANS BY WHICH THEY CAN BE UNCOVERED

A DANGEROUS GAME
Working as part of the criminal element can be attractive, but it has serious consequences! Your actions will leave traces, and masters of the game are quite capable of following those traces right to your doorstep. Be careful. Be wary. Get good enough to ensure those traces get erased or better, lead to someone else.

INVESTIGATION (UNTRA INED)

The Investigation Talent represents a Characters Talents at gathering information and gaining insight from physical evidence. While Characters with high Investigation Talent may not be particularly quick, they are insightful, and can reconstruct entire sequences of events from seemingly insignificant evidence. In-game, there are two ways in which a Character can gain information using their Investigation Talent. Certain scenes will include clues for investigative Characters to find. The clues are represented by stickers. Each of these will state the Skill and Rank required to understand the clues meaning. If your

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Character has the required Rank, inform a GM, who will tell you what your Character has worked out. If you wish to investigate a scene not marked with stickers, inform a GM, who will roleplay through your investigation with you. Some scenes will be marked by a triangular orange flag, and these are often good choices for investigation.
MODIFYING AND REMOVING EVIDENCE

Modifying evidence requires the use of the Modify Evidence Perk. The Character modifying the evidence is required to roleplay appropriately, e.g. sweeping-up tracks and back-tracking for Tracking, or planting false fingerprints or evidence for Forensics. Modified evidence gives misleading information to any Character attempting to investigate it. Characters with a lower Investigation Rank than the modifying Characters Investigation Rank will be misled. Characters with a Skill Rank equal to the modifying Characters Rank will be able to determine that the evidence has been modified, though not necessarily what the original meaning of the evidence was. Characters with an Investigation Rank higher than the modifying Characters Rank will also determine the real significance of the evidence. You must be in the presence of a GM to do this. The GM will adjudicate the effort and will attach a new sticker to the modified evidence, with the modifying Characters Skill Rank written on it. Once the GM has attached the sticker to your modified evidence, you may not move it without informing a GM. For example, Katarina the Corrupt Detective has been paid off by certain criminal elements to make sure a particular murder investigation does not find the target. Finding herself with a few minutes alone at the scene, she erases fingerprints, leaves some dirt from a nearby quarry, and a couple of other forensic deceptions.
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She has Forensics 3 and the Modify Evidence Perk, so unless the investigating detective is a Master of Forensics, shes not going to be able to decipher the original evidence. Of course, if she has Forensics 3, shell be able to work out that someones been leaving red herrings. SKILL: TRACKING The Tracking Skill allows a Character to determine the number and nature of animals or people in an area or travelling in a direction, by examining tracks, droppings, leftovers and other such evidence. The Character must examine the evidence in order to use this Talent. SKILL: FORENSICS The Forensics Skill allows a Character to determine prior events from physical evidence at a scene. SKILL: FORGERY The Forgery Skill allows a Character to recognise forged artefacts, and to make use of the Create Forged Items Perk. To forge an item, you must have at least one Rank in the Skill that would be used to create the original item. Most documents and certificates would require an appropriate Citizenship Skill and an artwork would require the Scholar Talent. Forged items have a Forgery level. Characters examining the forgery will detect the false nature of the item if their Investigation (Forgery) is equal to or higher than the Forgery level of the item.

LEGERDEMAIN (TRAINED)
Legerdemain is the Talent of the professional thief, sneak, pickpocket and burglar.

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The difficulty of using Legerdemain varies depending on the size of the object you are dealing with. You can expect anything larger than about the size of a pocket watch to incur a penalty. SKILL: CONCEAL You have to actually conceal the object you wish to hide. If someone searches for it, they make an opposed check using their Mind (Perception) or Legerdemain (Conceal), whichever is higher, against your Legerdemain (Conceal) Skill. It is possible to use the Pickpocket Skill to conduct a physical search without the person noticing, though they will still get to make their opposed check on that as well. SKILL: PICK POCKET To pick the pocket of a Character, inform a GM of your intent, and stand within touching range of the target Character for several seconds. Pickpocket is an opposed Skill check using your Legerdemain (Pickpocket) against the targets Mind (Perception) or Legerdemain (Pickpocket), whichever is higher. Observers may also notice a pickpocket at work (at the GMs discretion). The GM will apprise you (and any other Character who becomes aware) of the results of your ministrations. SKILL: STAGE MAGIC This is the Skill used to make something "disappear" without anyone seeing. You have to actually conceal the object you wish to dematerialise. While to the audience, the object will appear to magically vanish, Stage Magic does not conceal an object from a physical search.

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You must be touching the item you wish to dematerialise. Stage Magic is an opposed Skill check using the magicians Legerdemain (Stage Magic) against all observers Mind (Perception) or Legerdemain (Stage Magic), whichever is higher. Ties are resolved in favour of the magician. SKILL: PICK LOCKS Locks have a difficulty level. You must have an equivalent Rank in Legerdemain (Pick Locks) to pick the lock. The Player must roleplay the attempt for at least a number of minutes equal to the difficulty level of the lock. Picking locks will leave traces that are detectable through use of the Investigation Talent.

STEALTH (UNTRAINED)
The Stealth Talent allows Characters to avoid notice by other Characters, by using cover, darkness and silent movement. The Stealth Talent depends much more on Character skill than on Player skill. Regardless, the Character using Stealth must physically hide behind some form of cover. The Character should be more than half concealed, at a minimum. A Player must remain silent while hiding. Any significant noise, such as drawing, priming or loading a weapon, or talking above a whisper, will render Stealth ineffective. In addition, Characters using Stealth must move quite slowly. Armour makes noise which is likely to draw the attention of an observer. Any Character while wearing armour with an Armour Rating of 2 or more cannot use the Stealth Talent. Goggles and glasses do not confer any such penalty.
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DETECTING A STEALTHY CHARACTER

In order to detect a Character using Stealth, a Player calls out their Mind (Perception) Rank. If the detecting Characters Perception Skill is higher than the stealthy Characters Stealth Talent, then the stealthy Character should call Spotted. The Player of the detecting Character may then roleplay having noticed the stealthy Character. The stealthy Character is not necessarily aware that they have been spotted. If the stealthy Characters Stealth Skill is higher than the detecting Characters Perception Skill, then the stealthy Character should ignore the call. The detecting Player should assume that the stealthy Character simply isnt there, and may not roleplay having any knowledge of the hidden Character. Players are strongly encouraged to use good roleplaying and common sense when dealing with hidden Characters. If the stealthy Characters Stealth Skill and the detecting Characters Perception Skill are equal, then the tie is broken by the environment. During the day, the detecting Character wins draws. During the night, the stealthy Character wins draws. A well-lit room is considered daytime regardless, and a dark room with no windows is considered night. Using a detection call is an out-of-character action, and no other Player may roleplay their Character reacting to the calls. In addition, no other Player may make a detection call for 15 seconds.

PERKS OF THE DETECTIVE AND HIS OPPONENT

QUICK, UNDER THE RUG! Requirements: Stealth at Professional.

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Description: The Character is able to hide another Character from view. Effects: The Character must roleplay hiding the other Character and explaining a bit about how to hide (dont move, and be very quiet). The hiding Character, as long as they continue to hide in that spot and do as they were instructed now has an effective Stealth Rank of 3. Countering: See Detecting a Stealthy Character, above. Experience Cost: 10 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 4 Creative Points at Professional and 3 Creative Points at Master. NOT A SOUND Requirements: Stealth at Experienced. Description: The Character may make a significant action without giving up his location. Effects: While hiding or sneaking, you may take one action that would normally give up your location (like priming a weapon), while doing this you should make the sound shhhhhh. Other Characters in the room with not hear this or the action you have made. Countering: None, though Characters that would normally beat your Stealth Rank still do. Experience Cost: 15 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 6 Creative Points at Experienced, 5 Creative Points at Professional and 4 Creative Points at Master.
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DEAD FISH Requirements: Stealth at Experienced. Description: The Character may lie so still others would think him dead. Effects: You may activate this perk by simply lying very still, essentially playing dead. Characters may approach you and inspect, i.e. state that they are checking your pulse etc. Unless they are a well-trained medic they will not be able to tell that you are alive. Countering: Medicine (any Skill) at Professional. Experience Cost: 15 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 5 Creative Points at Professional and 4 Creative Points at Master. STREET URCHIN SPRINT Requirements: Legerdemain (any Skill) at Professional and Body (Agility) at Experienced. Description: The Character is able to run away remarkably fast. Effects: To use this Perk, the Player should call Quick Sprint. All other Players in the vicinity should then enter TIME FREEZE for a period of 2 seconds. During this TIME FREEZE , the Character using this Perk can take no action other than to run away. Countering: Other Characters may use Quick Draw, or similar Perks in immediate response to the Character using Street Urchin Sprint in order to act (limited, of course, by the normal restrictions on their actions while using those perks). Experience Cost: 15 Experience points.
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Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 3 at Creative Points Professional and 2 Creative Points at Master. CREATE FORGERY Requirements: Investigation (Forgery) at Experienced. Description: You may create forgeries that are at least a little believable. Effects: To use this perk a Player must supply a suitable prop and inform a GM. Countering: Forgeries are countered by Investigation (Forgery). The Investigation (Forgery) of the countering Player must be equal to or higher than the Forgery level of the item. Experience Cost: 5 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 1 Creative Point per Forgery level of the item. Characters may not create items with a Forgery level higher than their Forgery Rank. MODIFY EVIDENCE Requirements: Investigation at Professional (any Skill). Description: This perk allows the Character to place false evidence on a scene, as described above in "Modifying Evidence". Effects: To use this perk a Player must inform a GM and spend a few minutes roleplaying modifying evidence. Note: a Character may choose how difficult the evidence is to find, up to their Talent Rank. Countering: Modify Evidence is countered by Investigation. Experience Cost: 5 Experience points.

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Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 1 Creative Point per difficulty level of the false evidence, up to a maximum of your Investigation Talent Rank. ELEMENTARY, MY DEAR WATSON Requirements: Investigation (any Skill) at Master and Mind (Perception) at Professional. Description: This perk allows a Character to discover a fact about a scene that would normally be impossible to discover from the evidence provided. Effects: At any forensic scene, the Character may use this Perk by stating the line "Elementary, my dear <insert name here> in the presence of a GM. The GM will then give the Character a clue that would otherwise be impossible to find. The Character must then explain how they were able to discover this piece of information. Countering: None Experience Cost: 20 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 8 Creative Points at Master. ILL JUST PUT THIS IN A SAFE PLACE Requirements: Legerdemain (Conceal or Stage Magic) at Master. Description: The Character is able to hide a small object where noone will ever find it. Effects: To use this perk the Player informs a GM they are using it and hands them the object they wish to hide. This object has to be small enough to fit in one hand. The Character may then retrieve the item at any point by visiting that GM. No-one other than that Character may retrieve the item.
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Countering: None Experience Cost: 20 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 5 Creative Points at Master. POCKET-DROP Requirements: Legerdemain (Pick Pocket and Conceal) at Professional. Description: The Character is able to hide an object on another Character without said Character noticing. Effects: As per Pick Pocket, above, though when the Character talks to the GM they inform them they have pocket dropped and give them the item to be dropped. Countering: As per Pick Pocket, above. Experience Cost: 15 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 3 Creative Points at Professional and 2 Creative Points at Master. LOOK! A DISTRACTION! Requirements: Legerdemain (Stage Magic) at Professional. Description: The Character is able to distract someone with their amazing feats of magic. Effects: The Character must roleplay showing another Character a neat trick, and state distract. The Opposing Character is then distracted and their Mind (Perception) is reduced by 1 for the duration of the trick.

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Countering: This can be countered by Mind (Empathy) at Professional. Experience Cost: 15 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 4 Creative Points at Professional and 3 Creative Points at Master. I'M WORKING, LET ME ALONE Requirements: Legerdemain (Lock Pick) at Professional and Mind (Willpower) at Professional. Description: The Character is focused on a task and will not let anything stop him from its completion. Effects: When a Character is faced with a challenging task that requires full concentration (like opening a really difficult lock) he may state Im working, let me alone from that point on and until he completes the task or stops working on it (minor pauses of less than one minute are allowed) he is immune to all distraction techniques and may ignore wounds up to Incapacitated. Countering: None, although a GM may decide that the task does not require the full attention of the Character and cancel the use of the Perk. Experience Cost: 15 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 5 Creative Points at Professional and 4 Creative Points at Master. "KNOCK" Requirements: Legerdemain (Lock Pick) at Master. Description: Tap it in the right spot and the right way, and many locks will just give way. You know the spot. You know the way.
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Effects: The Character may use this Perk on any lock. It is activated by the Character asking Are you sure its locked? and tapping on the lock with a knuckle. The door then opens immediately. Countering: Locks with a rating above 3 are immune to this perk. Experience Cost: 20 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 8 Creative Points at Master.

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THE LEARNINGS OF THE ACADEMIC

BEING A COMPLETE AND UNPLAGIARISED DESCRIPTION OF THE METHODS AND WORKS OF THE HONOURED FUMAREAN SCHOLARS OF BOTH MEDICINE AND OTHER DISCIPLINES.

SCHOLAR (TRAINED)
The Scholar Talent represents a Character's ability to uncover and make sense of obscure or complicated information. It often represents a Character's university study, though it is also possible to achieve high Ranks of the Scholar Talent via sheer personal effort. A high Rank of Scholar represents a Character who has strong and in-depth knowledge in their fields of interest. Their Skill Ranks indicate their depth of knowledge, while their Perks represent which fields they are capable of working within. The Scholar Talent makes heavy use of props and handouts, which can be researched by Characters with the Talent at the required Rank. These can either be given to the scholar by the Organisers before play begins or discovered in play. Scholars may also conduct research on a topic related to their Perks. They should inform a GM that they wish to do so, and then roleplay their research. Note that the ability to read and/or write is covered by the Citizenship Talent. Fumarean Characters are all considered able to read and write Fumarean fluently, unless a Player decides otherwise at Character creation - this then becomes a matter of roleplaying.

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USING FIELDS OF STUDY Fields of study represent the focus of a Character's learning. They are bought in a similar way to Perks, and allow the Character to access information that fits into that area. Each Field of Study costs 10 XP to purchase. The list of Fields of Study included in this book is not comprehensive, and if you would like your Character to have studied a different field, speak to an Organiser. A Character with a particular Field of Study will be given more information about the topic in which they are expert, and may also spend Creative Points to ask specific questions of the GMs. Tasks will have a required Scholar Rank to complete. If a Character does not have the required Scholar Rank, they may not spend Creative Points on the research effort. The expenditure of Creative Points on answers to these questions is dependent on the accessibility of the information and the detail of the required answer. It is reduced by the Characters Rank in the Scholar Talent. The expenditure may not be less than 1 CP. For example, Doctor Katarina the Mercenary Researcher has been hired by some outlaw cryptographers to find out some information on a new coding machine. Katarina has Scholar (Formal) 3 and the Field of Study: Cutting Edge Science, so she's capable of doing the work. The information is quite esoteric and difficult to find, so the GM tells her that this will cost 15 Creative Points. However, Katarina is a Doctor, and gets to reduce the cost by 3 CP, meaning that this research will cost her 12 CP (and take significant time). Katarina's not quite sure she wants to take the job, so she asks the GM what she knows about these cryptographers. The GM tells her it'll cost 3 CP to answer the question - being a Doctor, this drops to 1, which Katarina happily spends. The GM tells her that one of those guys recently published a paper coming out against the

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machine, and has a lot invested in its failure. She takes the job anyway, and invests 6 of her CP into it immediately, thinking that next time she gets CP she will invest the other six to finish the project and receive the information. SKILL: FORMAL STUDY This Character has spent time studying at one of the great Fumarean universities. They have some form of official qualification and will have their name on record as an alumnus. At Amateur, the Character has done an officially recognised workshop or weekend study, and has a certificate recognising the fact. At Experienced, the Character has done a three or four-year Bachelor's degree, and is a graduate of the University. At Professional, the Character has completed a post-graduate degree and has either a Master's or a Doctorate. They will have had several papers published under their name. At Master, the Character is an acknowledged leader in the field and holds the title Professor. SKILL: INFORMAL STUDY The Character is an official graduate of the School of Hard Knocks. Lacking the capability or inclination to attend a university, the Character has learnt what they know through pure hard work, contacts or possibly a friendly mentor. It is possible for a Character using the Informal Study Skill to be as well-informed as post-graduates and leading university scholars, although the Informal Character will probably have much more practical than theoretical knowledge.

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And, of course, there are some things you just can't learn at university. FIELD OF STUDY: FUMAREAN ARCHAEOLOGY Effects: The Fumarean Archaeology field of study covers the country's ancient past. It also provides a degree of familiarity with ancient Fumarean history that goes deeper than that provided by Fumarean Citizenship, as well as certain more esoteric knowledge unavailable to most citizens. FIELD OF STUDY: FUMAREAN MYTHS AND LEGENDS Requirements: Scholar (Informal) Effects: The Fumarean Myths and Legends field covers Fumare's secret histories. The Character will have some background knowledge on some of the less-widely-accepted parts of the world, though this may not always be exactly accurate. FIELD OF STUDY: CRYPTOGRAPHY Requirements: Fumarean Citizenship (Military) Effects: The Cryptography Field of Study allows a Character to decipher coded messages. Any coded message will have an associated Talent Rank required to attempt deciphering it. Characters without the Talent Rank required and this skill may not attempt to decipher the code. FIELD OF STUDY: RAMIA Requirements: Scholar (Formal Study) Effects: The Ramia field of study covers information about Ramia the country as well as the Ramian people. Note that this knowledge comes from a Fumarean understanding and standpoint. FIELD OF STUDY: LELIBRE
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Requirements: Scholar (Formal Study) Effects: The Lelibre field of study covers information about the Lelibren people and their history. Note that this knowledge comes from a Fumarean understanding and standpoint. FIELD OF STUDY: THEDORY Requirements: Scholar (Formal Study) Effects: The Thedory field of study covers information about the Isles of Thedory as well as the Thedory people. Note that this knowledge comes from a Fumarean understanding and standpoint. FIELD OF STUDY: HISTORY OF SCIENCE Effects: The history of science field of study grants the Character knowledge of past inventions, and inventors, including relevant dates. FIELD OF STUDY: CUTTING EDGE SCIENCE Effects: The cutting edge science field of study allows the Character to have the most up to date information on new inventions, as well as the fields of science that are currently being developed.

MEDICINE (TRAINED)
Medicine is the Talent of doctors and healers. The study of anatomy and how the body works grants Characters the ability to determine if a person is unwell or injured and what might be needed to help them. Characters whose wounds are not Treated within an hour of taking them may become Infected. Infections take the form of Illnesses determined by a GM based on factors such as what caused the wounds in question and what the environmental conditions are like in the area.

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STABILISING DYING CHARACTERS Any Character with the Medicine Talent, at any Rank and with any Skill, may Treat Wounds and/or Stabilise a Dying Character. Dying Characters who are not Stabilised within five minutes will die. In order to Treat Wounds and/or Stabilise a patient, the medic should spend a couple of minutes with the patient and roleplay their treatment (cleaning wounds and staunching bleeding, for example). After undergoing this process, the patient is Stabilised and healed to the Incapacitated Health Level if they were Dying, and their wounds are no longer at risk of becoming Infected. Dying Characters healed by this process should remain unconscious for about five minutes after receiving aid, and will likely be in considerable pain upon awakening. ILLNESS Illnesses are ongoing conditions such as infections, diseases, poisons or other unwellnesses. Any Illness will have a Chemical Colour attached to it, as well as a set of identifying symptoms. To treat Illnesses, the Chemical Colour must first be identified using the Medical Specialist Skill of the Medicine Talent. The same Skill allows the Character to determine the appropriate treatment. Some Illnesses may require the application of specific Chemical Compounds as medicines to cure them. See The Art of Invention for further details on creating Chemical Compounds. SKILL: FIELD MEDIC The Field Medic Skill is used to treat people that have been injured in combat, allowing a medic to aid them quickly so they are able to resume normal life. Field medics are trained very well in this specific area but have little knowledge of other aspects of medicine.

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Characters with the Field Medic Skill are primarily accustomed to dealing with direct physical trauma (such as bullet or knife wounds, broken bones or simple burns). More complicated conditions are beyond them and must be seen to by a Character with either the Surgery or Medical Specialist Skill (missing limbs, Infected wounds or the effects of diseases and poisons, for example). The Character can readily identify what Skill is required to treat such conditions, however. At Experienced Rank or higher, a Character with this Skill may Bandage other Characters. Bandaging grants Bandage Points, that act as "virtual" Health Levels while the patient heals. A medic wishing to Bandage a Character should roleplay treating the patient's injuries. For every two minutes of roleplay, the patient receives a Bandage Point, until the Character is Healthy or has received a number of Bandage Points equal to the medic's Rank in Medicine (Field Medic). The patient's wounds are also Treated and they are Stabilised if they were Dying. When a medic uses this Talent, any current Bandage Points on the patient are removed first, then the new Bandage Points are applied. The medic must also provide the patient with a prop (a bandage, splint or similar) to represent the treatment. This prop must be worn or carried for the Character to keep the Bandage Points. If a Character takes damage, it should be taken from their Bandage Points before their Health Levels (but after armour). If a Character takes more damage in one hit than they have Bandage Points, further damage will be taken from the Character's Health Levels. After 4 hours of solid rest, Bandage Points are converted to normal Health Levels. Further injuries are healed at the normal Treated rate of one Health Level after each full night of rest. Note that although this process is called "bandaging" this actually represents any
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medical technique that could be used to treat a wound, such as applying stitches, making splints, etc. SKILL: SURGERY The Surgery Skill allows a Character to investigate and treat serious medical conditions or to enhance or alter another Character's physical features. It also allows Characters to act as assistants in surgical procedures and prepare surgical areas. Any Character with the Surgery Skill may prepare a surgical area, taking a few minutes to roleplay cleaning and sterilising the area, or setting it up for a specific surgical procedure. Any Character receiving Surgery in an area which has not been prepared is at risk of becoming Infected and a GM should be informed. Characters at the Experienced Rank or higher may perform Surgery on a patient. Surgical procedures have a minimum Rank required to attempt them, based on their complexity, as determined by a GM. In order to perform Surgery, the medic and any assistants should roleplay the surgical procedure for around ten minutes per Rank of surgery required to carry it out. For each Character assisting in a surgical procedure, this time is reduced by five minutes, to a minimum of five minutes. Patients receiving surgery will generally be Stabilised and be at the Bruised Health Level at the completion of the surgical procedure. Patients who have received Surgery in a prepared area will also have their wounds Treated. In order to attach a limb, it must be in reasonable condition and not removed from the patient for more than an hour. Only Master-Rank Characters may perform Surgery to attach limbs in poor condition, removed for more than an hour, transplanted limbs or artificial limbs.
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Note that Characters at the Amateur Rank may not perform Surgery, only assist in surgical procedures or prepare surgical areas. SKILL: MEDICAL SPECIALIST The Medical Specialist Skill covers the abilities to diagnose and treat Illnesses. Medical fields not covered by the Field Medic or Surgery Skills, (such as midwifery, general practice, paediatrics and so on) are also included in this Skill. Illnesses, poisons and drugs are related to Chemicals and Chemical Compounds. Each Chemical has differing biological effects at different levels of concentration, as well as different cures at each level. This Skill also provides the PC with the information about the biological properties and counters of all non-restricted Chemicals of level equal to or less than the Character's Medicine Talent. A Character that is directly exposed to a raw Chemical may suffer an Infection and experience the biological effect of that Chemical. This also includes diseases and poisons there is no difference in Zeppelin Games (although some effects may be contagious). Note that Chemical Compounds will have different effects, unique to each individual Compound. Chemical Infections can be remedied only using prepared medicines, which are unique Chemical Compounds (see The Art of Invention for more details). Once a treatment has been administered, the person's condition will improve and possibly be cured. Compounds made to treat lower-level infections can in some cases be used to assist a Character with a higher-level infection; the effects of the Infection might temporarily drop the level of the Infection or slow the effects, at the discretion of a GM.

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The preparation of Chemicals into medical cures may be performed by a Character with Chemical Engineering (Pharmaceutical Preparation), or Science and the appropriate Chemical Skill.

PERKS OF THE ACADEMIC

FOUR EYES Requirements: Medicine (any Skill) at Professional, wearing glasses and not be carrying any weapons. Description: You gain the armour benefit as if you were wearing goggles instead of glasses. Effects: See The Science of the Soldier for more details on the effects of goggles. Countering: None Experience Cost: 5 Experience points. Activation Cost: None. This Perk is always active. LET ME GET MY NOTES Requirements: Scholar (Any Skill) at Experienced. Description: The Character is able to avoid injury by simply running away. Effects: To use this Perk, the Player should call "Quick Run". All other Players in the vicinity should then enter TIME FREEZE for a period of 2 seconds. During this TIME FREEZE , the Character using this Perk can take no action other than to flee the scene. Countering: Other Characters may use Quick Draw or similar Perks in immediate response to the Character using Let Me Get My Notes in order to act (limited, of course, by the normal restrictions
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on their actions while using those Perks). This perk can also be used in immediate response to Quick Draw or similar Perks. The Let Me Get My Notes Perk cannot be used while wearing armour. Experience Cost: 15 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 4 Creative Points at Professional and 3 Creative Points at Master. STABILISE SELF Requirements: Medicine (Any) at Professional. Description: Amazingly... he survived. Effects: This perk is used once your Character is taken into the Dying health level. Instead of being Dying, your Character is instead merely Incapacitated and fainted. Your Character remains unconscious for 5 minutes or until woken and once awake must explain the medical reason for your survival, e.g. it must have missed all the vital organs... Your Character will remain Incapacitated until treated or naturally healed. Countering: None Experience Cost: 15 Experience points. Activation Cost: Activating this Perk costs 6 Creative Points at Professional and 5 at Master.

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THE ART OF INVENTION

FOREWORD A NOTE ABOUT FORM AND FUNCTION
Any model that seeks to describe a complex system in a simple and understandable manner will almost invariably include a number of approximations and simplifications. The Art of Invention is no exception to this statement. However, due to the exploratory nature of this piece of the Zeppelin Games rule set and the nature of the people who may seek to use it, a note here is probably a good idea. The Art of Invention is a set of rules that describes the design, construction and modification of Scientific Inventions, and in the way these rules approach this topic is through Function, rather than Form. What that means is that the purpose of the invention is more important than its structure. For example, a slingshot and pistol are functionally identical - they are inventions that are designed to deliver damage at range - but have very different Forms. Examples of the opposite are also possible. That these rules are based upon Function has a number of effects upon the game world. Some are positive (such as the ability to make the rules of Invention simpler). As the ruleset makes no attempt to model the complete physical world, a Player needs no knowledge of actual science to perform the act of invention. On the other hand, a number of seeming logical paradoxes have the potential to arise, drawn from the Player's understanding of the materials and physical interactions of the real world. For example, the cost of constructing the slingshot would be exactly identical to that of the pistol, as functionally they are the same, which is from our vantage point in the real world obviously incorrect.
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While these paradoxes may be puzzling, it may be illuminating to point out that what these rules are describing in no way resembles the real, physical world. This is a deliberate decision. While it introduces a few minor oddities, what it is really designed to do is to remove the imposed limitations of the real world from the imagination of the Inventor.

SCIENCE (TRAINED)
This Talent allows the user to design and create new Inventions to perform a multitude of functions.
INVENTIONS: DEVICES AND COMPOUNDS

The Science and Engineering Talents are used in the design, construction and modification of Inventions. An Invention is a technological item that does something. What it does depends on the design of the object, and is represented by a number of Components. Components are the part of an Invention that supply a single function. Inventions are referred to as either Devices (which are primarily constructed from Mechanical Components) or Compounds (which are primarily mixtures of Chemical Components). However, Inventions that are defined by a combination of Mechanical and Chemical Components may be freely constructed.

For example, Katarina the Chemist wants to design a grenade that explodes and splatters blindingly bright goo everywhere, like an extremely messy flare. This Invention has two Components, an Explosive Chemical Component and a Luminescent one. Steve the Mechanic, on the other hand, makes an umbrella that automatically raises itself when a sensor plate gets wet is an Invention that is described by a Sensor Component (the water sensing plate) an Automation Component (giving it the ability to act without manual intervention) and potentially an Armour Component (depending how heavy duty the umbrella is).
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The Science Talent has a number of Skills named either Mechanical or Chemical and these define which types of Components you may use to construct Inventions from. Finally, nothing is free, and the construction or modification of an Invention will have a cost, both in CP and in materials.

DESIGNING AND BUILDING INVENTIONS

Let's work through our two examples from before, the Automatic Umbrella and the Flare Goo grenade. The Automatic Umbrella has three Components; Sensors (which only needs to be level 1, to sense wetness) Automation (again, this only needs to be level 1, as it is a very simple automatic action) and Armour (which has no requirement, but Steve is a very nervous person and wants to be able to use it as a shield, and so sets the level at 2). The Flare Goo Grenade's two Components are also variable in their level. Katarina wants a small explosion, not really designed to do any damage, but wants a blindingly bright light produced, so choses to set the level of the Explosive Chemical Component to 1 and the Luminescent chemical to 3.
BASIC CONCEPT

Designing an Invention has a number of steps. The first, and possibly most important, is the idea. Once you have your idea, sit down with a GM, and they will work through the next few steps with you.
COMPONENT LEVELS

At this stage, the design will need to be broken down into the Components that will be required. Each Component has a level determined by the complexity or power of the Components function.

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REQUIRED SKILLS

The level of each Component that a Scientist may construct is governed by their Rank in the Science Talent as follows; Amateur: Amateur Characters may build Inventions that contain Functions of levels no higher than 1. Experienced: These Characters may build Inventions that contain Functions of levels no higher than 2. Professional: Professional Characters may build Inventions that contain Functions of levels no higher than 4. Master: Master Characters may build Inventions that contain Functions of unlimited level. The designer then needs to consult her Character sheet to see if she actually has the required Skills, and to see if her Science Talent has a high enough Rank. If not, it may be necessary to collaborate with another Character.

Steve has all of the required Skills and has Science 3, which means that Steve is capable of constructing the Automatic Umbrella. However, Katarina, our grenade maker, does not have the Luminescent Skill, only the Explosive one. She has a friend who has the Luminescent Skill (and the necessary Talent Rank in Science) and convinces him that they should work together on the project. As all of the required Skills and Ranks are now held by the group working on the Invention, they may now proceed.

Note that the Mechanical Comprehension Skill is required to build non-Simple Inventions. For more on Simple and non-Simple Inventions, see the section below.

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CONSTRUCTION AND ASSEMBLY COSTS

Associated with every design is a cost. This Construction Cost is made up of a combination of Creative Points and Materials (specific Chemicals, pre-made Components or money). The basic cost of an Invention in CP is equal to the sum of all of the levels of the Components as well as an optional Assembly Cost. The Assembly Cost is equal to a cumulative 1 additional CP to add the second Component, 2 additional CP for the third Component, 3 additional CP for the fourth Component, etc, and so an Invention with four Components will have an Assembly Cost of 6. The Assembly Cost is optional, so you don't have to pay it if you don't want to. While not paying this price might save you a few CP and some materials, Inventions where the Assembly Cost was not paid tend to be a little... extremely unstable, and surprising and horrible things might happen.

The Automatic Umbrella has three Components, two at level 1 and one at level 2. The Assembly Cost is equal to 3 CP (1 CP to add Automation, and an additional 2 CP to add the Armour Component). This makes the total cost of the Invention 7 CP. Steve decides to take a gamble and skip the Assembly Costs, so the total so far is 4 CP. The Flare Goo Grenade has 4 levels of Components (level 1 Explosive and level 3 Luminescent) and an Assembly Cost of 1 CP. Deciding that it would be imprudent to gamble on the assembly of a grenade, Katarina pays the Assembly Cost, and so the total so far is 5 CP.

Note that paying a fraction of the Assembly Cost has the same effect as not paying it at all. The Material cost for an Invention is also dependent of the levels of the Components.

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The Automatic Umbrella has 4 levels of Components, and the Assembly Cost is not being paid, so the material cost to build this item is $4. The Flare Goo Grenade, on the other hand, is a little more complicated. It will require 1 unit of the Explosive chemical, 3 units of the Luminescent chemical and $1 for the Assembly.

For Mechanical Components, the material cost is equal to 1 Fumare Dollar per level. This represents the 'mechanical parts' that the scientist is using. For Chemical Components, the material cost is equal to 1 unit of the chemical in question per level. Chemical costs vary due to availability. There is also a material Assembly Cost, which is the same amount in Fumare Dollars as it was in CP.

It's possible to use pre-made Components to reduce these costs (both in CP and in materials). For more information, see Mechanical and Chemical Engineering below. The story doesn't finish there, though. There are a few more factors which affect the construction costs, so let's keep going....
SUSTAINED-USE INVENTIONS, POWER SOURCES AND FUEL

Inventions are things which do something. Sometimes that something is an instantaneous effect (such as raising an umbrella) and sometimes that something is a sustained effect (such as the continuous production of light over the course of hours). Inventions that have a sustained use require a power source. There are three basic types of power sources, and they all have their pros and cons.

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The Automatic Umbrella is not a sustained-use Invention, and so does not need a power source. The Flare Goo Grenade, on the other hand, is a little more complicated, as it produces a sustained Luminescent effect. Fortunately, as this is a chemical Component, the 3 units of the Luminescent chemical used in the construction will power this glow for 1 hour, and so no additional power is needed. However, Katarina decides that she wants it to glow for 2 hours, and so adds another 3 units of the Luminescent chemical to the design to be used as fuel. The grenade will now explode and the goo it splatters will glow for 2 hours (consuming the first 3 units of the chemical in the first hour and the second 3 in the second hour). The grenade now costs 5 CP, 1 unit of the Explosive Chemical, 6 units of the Luminescent chemical and $1.

The first is a manual power source (such as a hand crank). The device will keep working as long as a person pumps a pump, turns a wheel, pushes a handle, or the like. This is good, because it is simple to add to the Invention, but it is bad, because someone will have to stand there and work the thing. Note that the combined Body Ranks of the people manually powering their Invention must be equal to the highest level Component in the Invention. Manual power sources do not have any additional cost in CP or materials, and do not have to be added as a Component.

The second type of power source is to add a steam engine. This must be added to the Design as a Component (increasing the Assembly Cost, of course). This is good because it doesn't require a person to power the Invention, but is bad because it will make the Invention more expensive and also requires fuel. Steam engines require 1 unit of coal per level of the engine to run for 1 hour. Note that the combined level of the steam engines in the Invention must be equal to the highest level Component in the Invention.

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The third type of power source is a Chemical power source. If the sustained effect of the Invention is due to a chemical Component, then this need not be included as a separate Component, although the chemical in question will get used up after an hour of use. Otherwise, the Chemical power source must be added as a Component in the same fashion as a steam engine. The fuel required is the specific Chemical that the power source runs on (this may be any Chemical, but once you choose the Chemical, that is the only thing that the power source will run on). Chemical power sources require 1 unit of the Chemical per level of the power source to run for 1 hour. Note that the combined level of the chemical power sources in the Invention must be equal to the highest level Component in the Invention. It is possible to combine multiple power sources in a single Invention, although this will raise the Assembly Cost substantially.
SINGLE OR MUTLI-USE ITEMS

Inventions are either SingleUse or Multi-Use. A Single-Use Invention will only function once and then be expended, the Components destroyed. Some examples of Single-Use Inventions are a grenade or Device that in the process of unlocking a lock destroys itself.

The Automatic Umbrella is a multiuse Invention, and so the cost of the item is multiplied by 10. The umbrella now costs 40 CP and $40 to make. The Blinding Goo Grenade , on the other hand, is a single-use item, and so while the cost remains unchanged, after it is used, all of the materials used in the construction are destroyed.

Multi-Use Inventions will function over and over again, as long as there is a source of power. Examples of Multi-Use Devices are Steam Trains (which are powered by Steam Engines), Perfumes (powered by a supply of a

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particular chemical), or an Umbrella that raises itself every time that it starts to rain. Multi-Use items that have an instantaneous effect, rather than a sustained one, do not require a power source. Multi-Use Inventions are far more expensive to manufacture than their Single-Use counterparts. If an Invention is Multi-Use, the construction and assembly costs are multiplied by 10. While Single-Use Inventions may use an improvised prop, or, in an emergency, simply be described to a GM during play, a Multi-Use Device must have a physical prop.
SIMPLE INVENTIONS: A SPECIAL CASE

Some special multi-use Inventions are called Simple Inventions. Simple Inventions are always Multi-Use, but are much less expensive to construct than other Multi-Use Inventions. In fact, they only cost as much to construct as a Single-Use Invention!

After explaining the design of the Automatic Umbrella to a GM, the GM considers it and decides to classify the Invention as Simple. This makes the Invention cost the same as a Single-Use item (effectively dividing the costs by 10). The umbrella costs 4 CP and $4 to make, again.

The Simple Characteristic may only be assigned to an Invention by a GM. Weapons are never Simple, and any Invention that has significant levels in any Component is unlikely to be Simple. An example of a Simple device is a handcranked light.
BUILDING THE INVENTION AND BLUEPRINTS

The Design stage is finished! Your invention should now be taken to a GM for approval. Now all you need to do is to pay the costs. This doesn't need to be done all at once, and doesn't need to be done by only one person
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Steve, the designer of the Automatic Umbrella, decides that he will pay all of the CP immediately, but does not have enough money to complete the prototype. He supplies half of the $4 himself and then goes in search of an aristocrat, to see if he can get a research grant worth $2 so he can finish it. Once the additional money is given to a GM, he will receive his unstable Automatic Umbrella and the blueprints for the design. The Blinding Goo Grenade, on the other hand, has two people working on it. They pool their resources and supply all of the material goods (the various chemicals and $1 assembly cost) immediately. They then decide who shall pay the 5 CP. After a bit of negotiating, one of the Player's agrees to pay 4 of the CP, as long as the device is named after their Character, while the other Character pays the final CP. Thus the prototype of the Katarina Flare is created, as well as a copy of the blueprints. anyone working on the Invention (that is, anyone who spends time on the construction and also has the appropriate Talent and Skills to create at least one the of the Components) may give CP towards its' construction. Once all of the costs have been paid, the Character receives a prototype version of the Invention and also a copy of the blueprints describing the Invention. Blueprints may be used by Engineers to reproduce the Invention more cheaply (see Mechanical and Chemical Engineering).
MODIFYING DEVICES

The process of modifying devices is reasonably similar to constructing them. Modifications may take the form of removing functional Components from an Invention or adding them. A Character can also make an unstable Invention stable by paying the Assembly Cost, or retrieve the Assembly Cost from an Invention, making it unstable.
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To remove a Component, the Character doing the modification must have the Talent Rank and Skill that would be required to construct it. Once the Component is removed, the Character gains half of the material construction cost, although they gain no CP. To add a Component, the Character uses the same process as in construction, so the level of the Component to be added must be paid in materials and CP, as well as an optional assembly cost (where the cost takes account of all of the existing Components). Finally, the Assembly Cost of an Invention may be added or removed. Removing them Assembly gives the Character half of the materials used in the Assembly and adding it costs whatever it should cost (depending on the number of Components) in CP and materials. For example, Katarina the Mechanic has gotten her hands on a fabulous Automatic Umbrella that raises whenever it gets wet. Looking at the umbrella, she realises that as it is armoured, it could be put to a more combative use. She decides to change the sensor plate to an acoustic drum that triggers whenever it 'hears' a gunshot. To remove the sensor plate, Katarina would need to have Science 1 and the Sensors Skill, which she does. After a few minutes of fiddling with the device, she receives 50 cents in parts ($1 from the level 1 Component if the Assembly Cost had been paid, she also would have received $1 from that half of the cost for the third Component but as it was not paid, she does not receive this). Adding the new acoustic sensor is a level 2 Component, so she has to pay 2 CP and $2. Having an unstable bullet shield isn't exactly what she had in mind (combat is no time for a device to fail!), so she decides to add the unpaid Assembly Cost into the device, to give it some predictability. As the device has three Components, this will cost her $3 and 3 CP (1 for the second and 2 for the third).
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Or so she thinks! After coming up with this plan, Katarina's Player approaches a GM and explains what she wants to do. The GM agrees this may be done, but the device would lose its Simple status, and so a vast increase in both CP and materials must be paid to make up the difference. Katarina shakes her head and benches the modifications, deciding to keep it as just an umbrella.

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DAMAGE AND REPAIR

Like Characters, Inventions may be damaged. Unlike Characters, most Inventions only have two Health Levels, Working and Broken. If an Invention is Broken, then it doesn't work at all. There are two additions to this, though. Each level of the Structure Component that the Invention has adds a health level (all of the additional Health Levels are additional Working levels). The Armour Component adds additional Working Health Levels equal to the square of the Armour Component level (level 1 adds 1 health level, level 3 adds 9 Health Levels and level 5 adds 25 Health Levels). To repair a Broken Invention, it costs half of the normal construction cost of the Invention in both materials and CP. To repair an Invention with either Structure or Armour that has taken some damage, but not enough to break it, the process of Modification is used. That is, the Structure (or Armour) Component is removed and then reinstalled. SKILL: MECHANICAL COMPREHENSION The Mechanical Comprehension Skill covers three main areas. Theory This Skill allows the Science Talent to be used as a source of knowledge with regards to the mechanical sciences. Identification This skill allows a Character to identify (nonrestricted) Components and Levels of the Components in an Invention, with only a little study of the device. Complex Mechanical Design This Skill is required to design nonSimple mechanical Devices.
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SKILL: MECHANICAL COMPONENT Note: Only the common Component Skills are listed here. Other, more esoteric, Skills are available for description upon request. Structure: This Function provides a structural frame for an Invention. Each level of this Function will provide the Invention with an additional Working Health Level (see Damage and Repair, above). Each level of the Function may can bear approximately 40 kg, and 2 levels are required to support a person. Articulation: This Function provides a flexible feature to an Invention. More flexibility requires higher levels of this Function. For example, a simple elbow-joint may only require level 1, while a tentacle may require level 4. Automation (Restricted): Automation Features allow the invention to work without human intervention, via the use of Gallagher (Difference) Engines. Sensors: This Function allows the Invention to act, or react in response to external stimulus. The more complex the stimulus, the higher the required level the Function. Locks: This Function will either act to lock, or unlock something. The level of the lock produced (or that may be overcome) is defined by the level of the Function. Combat Apparatus: This Function acts as a melee weapon. The base damage of the weapon is equal to the level of the Function (see The Science of the Soldier). Gunsmithy: This Function acts as a ranged weapon. This Skill is used to create common guns. The level of the Function corresponds to the type (Basic, Standard, Advanced) of weapon produced (see The Science of the Soldier).
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Armour: This Function provides the Invention (and anything contained within it) with an Armour Rating equal to the level of the Function (see The Science of the Soldier). Steam Engines: This Function provides an Invention with power by burning coal as fuel. Temperature Control Apparatus: This Function allows an Invention to alter the temperature. Non-chemical luminescent affects are covered by this Skill. Mechanical-Biological Coupling (Restricted): This allows an Invention to be coupled to a living being. This Function must be at least the level of the most complex other Function. Note that this Skill will not attach the Invention to the being; that requires Surgery. Simplification (Restricted): This Function allows an Invention to be used more easily than normal. Vehicular Apparatus: This Function allows an Invention independent movement. It also covers the control apparatus necessary. Cryptography: This Function will either act to encrypt, or decrypt a message. The level of encryption is defined by the level of the Function. Note that this does not allow a message encrypted using an unknown cipher to be decrypted the Function is not intelligent and will only operate with predefined ciphers. SKILL: CHEMICAL COMPREHENSION The Chemical Comprehension Skill covers four main areas. Theory The Chemical Comprehension Skill allows the Science Talent to be used as a source of knowledge with regards to the chemical sciences. Also, the physical and biological properties of

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Chemicals which a Character has as a Skill are supplied to the Player. Identification The Chemical Comprehension Skill allows a Character to identify (non-restricted) Chemical Components and the Levels of these Components in an Invention, with only a little study of the compound. Complex Chemical Design The Chemical Comprehension Skill Skill is required to design non-Simple chemical compounds. Biological Preparation - The Chemical Comprehension Skill allows a Character to prepare a Chemical that the Character knows the corresponding Chemical Skill for in a pharmaceutical manner. (As a pill or ingestible fluid, for example). The level of the pharmaceutical to be prepared is limited by the Character's Talent in Science (see Required Skills, above). This process costs 1 CP and 1 unit of the appropriate Chemical per level of the prepared Pharmaceutical. SKILL: CHEMICAL COMPONENT This list of Chemical Component Skills refers to groups of chemicals, rather than particular specific ones. In Zeppelin Games, we have colour coded the chemicals available in the world, and each has both a physical and biological effect. Red (Comburent): The physical effect of Red chemicals is flammability and the biological element will affect the digestive system. This chemical is required for inventions involving flame or burning. White (Medicinal): The physical effect of White chemicals is insulation and the biological element will heal the body. This chemical is required to create inventions which have healing properties.
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Yellow (Luminescent): The physical effect of Yellow chemicals is illumination and the biological element will relax a person. This chemical is required to create inventions which give off light. Magenta (Adhesive): The physical effect of Magenta chemicals is to adhere things together with a virtual Body (Fitness) Rank equal to the level of the Component and the biological element will affect the skin. Brown (Acidic): The physical effect of Brown chemicals is to destroy and eat away matter and the biological element affects the eyes. Tan (Aeriethereal): The physical effect of Tan chemicals is flotation and the biological element affects consciousness. This chemical Component is lighter than air, and so required for inventions that involve flight. Sky (Alleviating): The physical effect of Sky-blue chemicals is cooling and the biological element numbs the body. This chemical is required for inventions which freeze things. Green (Explosive): The physical effect of Green chemicals is explosiveness and the physical element affects the breath or voice. Be careful with this one! Teal (Lubricative): The physical effect of Teal chemicals reduces friction in an area and the biological element stimulates the mind or body. Burgundy (Sedative): The physical effect of Burgundy chemicals is inertia and the biological element has a sedative effect. This chemical can be used as a stabilising agent in Compounds.

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Chemicals not commonly known in Fumare (Restricted): Many and varied!

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING (TRAINED)

Mechanical Engineers can only create Devices which they have the blueprints for. Alternatively, blueprints can be purchased as Perks, after which the Engineer has memorised the design and may construct the Invention at will (paying the required cost, of course!). For a Mechanical engineer the process of constructing a device is much the same as Science except that the costs, both in Creative Points and Fumarean dollars are halved, and that the Mechanical Engineering Talent cannot be used to design new Inventions.
COLLABORATING WITH SCIENCE

To reduce the construction costs of an Invention being created using the Science Talent, a Mechanical Engineer may construct individual Components via blueprints to reduce the expenditure of both CP and materials. For example, Katarina the Mechanic is designing and constructing a clockwork motorcycle. To reduce the cost of the Invention, she calls upon her friend Cecilia the Mechanical Engineer, who knows how to construct basic steam engines via a Perk she has learned. Cecilia constructs the steam engine Component using her Mechanical Engineering Talent (so the cost in materials and CP is halved) and then gives the working engine to Katarina. The Assembly Cost may need to be still paid, however, the total cost of the motorcycle is reduced. SKILL: IDENTIFY This Skill allows a Character to quickly recognise any non-restricted Mechanical Components within an Invention. If the Component's level is equal to or lower than one that the Character could create

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using Mechanical Engineering, they may also quickly recognise the level of that Component. Further study of a Mechanical Invention requires Science (Mechanical Comprehension). SKILL: REPAIR With this Skill, a Character may halve the repair cost of a purely Mechanical Invention (where the most complex Component level is equal to or less than the Character's Mechanical Engineering Talent). This means that the repair of a Device will cost one quarter of the unmodified Construction and Assembly cost of that Device. If the Character also has the Chemical Engineering (Repair) Skill, Inventions which have both Mechanical and Chemical Components (of levels lower than the Character's appropriate Engineering Talent Ranks) may be repaired at this reduced cost. SKILL: MODIFY The Modify Skill allows the Mechanical Engineer to perform Minor Modifications upon Devices. A Minor Modification is an alteration of a Device that is not significant enough to change the Functions, or levels of the Functions of that Device. More fundamental modifications require the Science Talent. In order to perform a Minor Modification to a Device, the Character must have a level of Mechanical Engineering at least equal to the level of the Mechanical Component being altered. The cost of performing a Minor Modification is equal to 1/4 of the level of the Component(s) being altered, both in CP and in materials.

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Note, if the modification would change an Invention from a Simple one to something a GM rules is not Simple, then the modification may not be performed using this Skill. For example, altering a sensor plate from detecting wetness (a level 1 Sensor Component) to a plate which detects loud noises (also a level 1 Sensor Component) is a minor modification. Changing it to a plate which specifically detects gunshots is a level 2 Component, so this change may not be performed using this Skill and will require the Science Talent.

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING (TRAINED)

Chemical Engineers can only create Inventions which they have the blueprints for. Alternatively, blueprints can be purchased as Perks, after which the Engineer has memorised the design and may construct the Invention at will (paying the required cost, of course!). For a Chemical Engineer the process of making a compound is much the same as Science except that the costs, both in Creative Points and Materials are halved, and that the Chemical Engineering Talent cannot be used to design new Inventions.
COLLABORATING WITH SCIENCE

To reduce the construction costs of an Invention being created using the Science Talent, a Chemical Engineer may construct individual Components via blueprints to reduce the expenditure of both CP and materials. For example, Katarina the Mechanic is still working on her clockwork motorcycle. To further reduce the cost of the Invention, she calls upon her friend Ambrose the Chemical Engineer, who knows how to construct standard Luminescent light globes via a perk he has learned. Ambrose constructs the headlight Component using his Chemical Engineering Talent (so the cost in materials and

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CP is halved) and then gives the working light to Katarina. The Assembly Cost may need to be still paid, however, the total cost of the motorcycle is reduced.

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SKILL: IDENTIFY This Skill supplies the Character with information about the physical properties of all non-restricted Chemicals. The Character may also quickly recognise these Chemicals in a Compound. Study of unknown Chemicals will require Science (Chemical Comprehension). SKILL: REPAIR With this Skill, a Character may halve the repair cost of a purely Chemical Invention (where the most complex Component level is equal to or less than the Character's Chemical Engineering Talent). This means that the repair of a Compound will cost one quarter of the unmodified Construction and Assembly cost of that Device. If the Character also has the Mechanical Engineering (Repair) Skill, Inventions which have both Mechanical and Chemical Components (of levels lower than the Character's appropriate Engineering Talent levels) may be repaired at this reduced cost. SKILL: MODIFY The Modify Skill allows the Chemical Engineer to perform Minor Modifications upon Compounds. A Minor Modification is an alteration of a Compound that is not significant enough to change the Functions, or levels of the Functions of that Invention. More fundamental modifications require the Science Talent. In order to perform a Minor Modification, the Character must have a level of Chemical Engineering at least equal to the level of the Chemical Component being altered.

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The cost of performing a Minor Modification is equal to 1/4 of the level of the Component(s) being altered, both in CP and in materials. Note, if the modification would change an Invention from a Simple one to something a GM rules is not Simple, then the modification may not be performed using this Skill. SKILL: PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATION This Skill allows a Character to prepare non-restricted Raw Chemicals to have only specific Biological effects (for example, refining a unit of Red into a pill that will have a laxative effect when ingested). The level of the Chemical effect once prepared can be equal to or lower than the Character's Ranks in Chemical Engineering. This Skill also allows a Character to prepare medicinal compounds to treat Infections of a level equal to or lower than their Ranks in Chemical Engineering. Both of these processes cost 1 CP and 1 unit of the appropriate Chemical per level of the prepared Compound.

AESTHETIC ENGINEERING (TRAINED)

Life without beauty is not worth living! A Character can use this skill to reflect the value of beautiful Inventions or crafted items in-game. This also increases the dollarvalue of the item in the eyes of other Characters. After creating an item, the Player may present the physical prop to a GM. The GM will then rule whether the prop is fine enough to have an Aesthetic Rating.

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The Character may then spend CP to give the item an Aesthetic Rating equal to the number of CP they spend, to a maximum defined by their Rank in Aesthetic Engineering and the physical beauty of the prop supplied in the opinion of the GM. Each Rank in Aesthetic Engineering raises the value of the item by two Fumarean dollars. Amateur: Amateur Characters may add an Aesthetic Rating of up to level 1 to an item. Experienced: Experienced Characters may add an Aesthetic Rating of up to level 2 to an item. Professional: Professional Characters may add an Aesthetic Rating of up to level 4 to an item. Master: Master Characters add an Aesthetic Rating of any level to an item. SKILL: MECHANICAL The Character may add an Aesthetic Rating to a Mechanical Device. SKILL: CHEMICAL The Character may add an Aesthetic Rating to a Chemical Compound. Note that both Aesthetic Engineering (Mechanical) and Aesthetic Engineering (Chemical) are required if an Invention has both types of Components. SKILL: CRAFT The Character may add an Aesthetic Rating to a non-Scientific item.

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PERKS OF INVENTION
BLUEPRINT (INDIVIDUAL INVENTIONS) Requirements: Varies - Mechanical Engineering at the level of the most complex mechanical Component in the Design and Chemical Engineering at the level of the most complex chemical Component in the Design, and a physical copy of the blueprints to learn from. Description: You have memorised the design of an Invention and may reproduce the Invention more easily due to your streamlined work practices. Effect: Once the blueprint Perk for a specific Invention is purchased, the Character may create the Invention without need for reference to the blueprint. Simple Inventions for which the Engineer has taken the blueprints as Perks may be constructed within a 10second timeframe, given appropriate materials. Countering: None. Experience Cost: Varies - 2 Experience Points multiplied by the level of the most complex Component in the Invention's design. Activation Cost: Varies Half of the Construction (and Assembly) Cost of the designed Invention. COPY BLUEPRINTS Requirements: Science at Professional, or Mechanical Engineering at Professional, or Chemical Engineering at Professional. Description: You know all of the standard blueprint notation well enough to duplicate blueprints. Effect: You may make a copy of a physical blueprint, or of a blueprint that you have memorised via the Blueprint Perk.
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Countering: None. Experience Cost: 5 Experience Points. Activation Cost: 2 CP at Professional, 1 CP at Master. REVERSE ENGINEER MECHANICAL BLUEPRINTS Requirements: Science (Mechanical Comprehension) Professional, or Mechanical Engineering (Identify) at Master.

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Description: Due to your great knowledge of working mechanical Devices, it is possible (with enough study of a Device) for you to figure out how it works well enough that you may produce a set of blueprints from a device you have. Effect: You must have access to a Device and spend an hour working with it, after which you may create a set of Blueprints describing that Device. Note that if the Device has any Chemical Components, you must also have the Reverse Engineer Chemical Blueprints perk to successfully create a set of blueprints. Also, if the Invention has any restricted Components, this may not be possible at all (and you won't lose any CP in the attempt). Countering: None. Experience Cost: 10 Experience Points Activation Cost: 4 CP at Professional, 3 CP at Master. REVERSE ENGINEER CHEMICAL BLUEPRINTS Requirements: Science (Chemical Comprehension) at Professional, or Chemical Engineering (Identify) at Master. Description: Due to your great knowledge of working chemical compounds, it is possible (with enough study of an Invention) for

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you to figure out how it works well enough that you may produce a set of blueprints from a compound you have. Effect: You must have access to a Compound and spend an hour working with it, after which you may create a set of Blueprints describing it. Note that if the Compound has any Mechanical Components, you must also have the Reverse Engineer Mechanical Blueprints perk to successfully create a set of blueprints. Also, if the Invention has any restricted Components, this may not be possible at all (and you won't lose any CP in the attempt). Countering: None. Experience Cost: 10 Experience Points Activation Cost: 4 CP at Professional, 3 CP at Master.

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