Heroes Unlimited House Rules Designed for Heroes Unlimited, but compatible with all Palladium Books games. (combined from Heroes Unlimited p. 65 and Ninjas and Superspies p. 71) Cybernetic Lung Features. This implant can be combined with Standard Bionic Lungs (for the character to hold her breath up to 25 minutes). .Or Midnighter could you know kill them Mine is a Midnighter who's been trying to give up a lofe of violence. And in any event, Midnighter doesn't.
Hello readers – I’m really glad to talk to you today about abook that is one of my favorites (it is on my top ten list) for superhero RPGsourcebooks. The book’s name is Century Station and it is a standout settingfor superhero roleplaying; this is not your typical bland city that you see inso many superhero RPGs… no, Century Station is a great location with a lot ofproblems for player characters to solve!
Here’s where I give you, gentle reader, full disclosure: I’ma big fan of author Bill Coffin’s work on Heroes Unlimited and Rifts, andCentury Station is no exception. Bill’s a very creative and talented writer,and it is a pleasure to finally get some time to devote to this long-overduereview.
The City of the Future
Century Station is a setting for the Heroes Unlimited RPG.However, the majority of the book’s content works just fine regardless ofsystem – the ideas, characters, enemies, situations, and locations are allfantastic for just about any superhero RPG on the market.
In the Beginning
The book starts out with a detailed look at the city’shistory. In a nutshell, Century Station started out as a high-tech utopia, ledby a particular scientist into various experimental fields like cold fusion. Itwas granted the status as an autonomous district (similar to Washington, D.C.).The city featured many cutting-edge technological advances, includingsupercomputers, powered armor, robotics, cybernetics, flying cars, and soforth. Many of these research facilities took shortcuts in a race to dominatethe market, creating all kinds of “origin stories” for superheroes andsupervillains alike.
However, it turned out that the scientist driving thistechnological revolution was actually an alien fugitive from an advancedcivilization. An intergalactic police force arrived on the planet to take thiscriminal into custody, and the revelation of the scientist’s true nature causeda huge economic downturn in the city. All of a sudden, Century Station was acity with tons of warehouses full of advanced tech and failing businesseseverywhere. Unemployment and crime shot into record numbers, and thesupervillains took advantage of this opportunity to build massive criminalempires of their own.
The rise in supervillain activity led to a massive conflictbetween the city’s authorities, its superheroes, and a criminal mastermindnamed Iron Mike that ended tragically. In an event that came to be known as “BloodyMonday,” Iron Mike was killed and his syndicate broken up… but at a heavy cost.Most of the city’s superheroes were slain in the conflict, and casualtiesamongst the regular authorities (the police and emergency services) were high.
In the aftermath of the devastation of Bloody Monday, the USPresident issued an ultimatum to the city: restore order and dramaticallyreduce crime in the next five years, or face serious Federal measures andintervention, including the declaration of Martial Law.
With the threat of losing its special status as an autonomousdistrict – not to mention the idea of US tanks rolling down the streets of thisonce-thriving metropolis – the government of Century Station made some radicalchoices to try and achieve their goals. This includes sanctioning superheroesas agents of the city’s law enforcement in a bid to leverage superheroicadventurers for the benefit of the city.
A Compelling Reason to Adventure
For me, it is the President’s mandate that really drives theentire setting. I love the fact that the setting really gives superhero teams areason to get out of the typical habit of “we sit on monitor duty at the Hallof Justice waiting for a trouble alert.” Instead, superheroes in CenturyStation have to be proactive… they have to get out there into the nasty partsof the city and hunt trouble down before it gets out of hand, because ifanother mastermind rises too high and too fast, Century Station could bedoomed.
The movers and shakers in the city are well aware of this,and there are tons of cool adventure seeds and plot ideas revolving around thepower blocs in Century Station and how they want to address the issue of themandate.
There are even factions within the superhero community inthe city. One faction is led by CHIMERA, an over-arching law enforcement agencyput into place by the city’s government. CHIMERA uses sanctioned superheroes aslaw enforcement agents and they have their own superteam, the Centurions, ontheir side. Unfortunately, CHIMERA has its own issues with authority,corruption, and a particular vision for the city that clash with many of theother factions.
A second faction is the unsanctioned heroes – superheroes whobattle crime outside of CHIMERA’s restrictive rules and regulations. Theunsanctioned heroes are often far more concerned with protecting the citizensof the city than with “cleaning up the streets,” (a popular mantra of CHIMERA),and clashes between them and the sanctioned superheroes are common.
There are other groups as well – groups that are anti-alienin nature (due to the revelation of the scientist’s true nature), groups thatwant independence for Century Station, groups that serve the city’s morewealthy and influential “Council of Industry,” and of course, a ton ofenterprising supervillains all scheming to take Iron Mike’s place as king ofthe hill.
A City for All Heroes
Century Station offers a unique setting that appeals tonearly every single style of superhero you can think of. Many other publishedsettings work well with the “classic” superheroes, but don’t have a lot of roomor support for characters who are aliens, mutants, or rely heavily on advancedtechnology. Those that do don’t often showcase options for low-poweredstreet-level superhero adventures alongside the more epic “Justice League”style. Century Station, however, has it all sewn up brilliantly.
Alien heroes can either be fugitives from the intergalacticenforcement attempting to redeem themselves, or agents of that sameorganization on Earth trying to atone for the unintended consequences ofremoving the scientist from the city’s equation.
Technological heroes have their pick – tons of cyberware,power armor, and robotics were built up during the city’s boom years. All theshort-cuts taken resulted in lots of accidents, and any of these could expose apotential superhero to all kinds of energy, radiation, or serums. Ditto formutants!
Magical heroes could be drawn here to the growing conflictbetween sanctioned and unsanctioned heroes, or see something noble in the city’sattempt to rise from the ashes of Bloody Monday.
And this is all just the tip of the iceberg – the book hasplenty of guidance for involving heroes from nearly all origin types.
What’s Inside
After describing the city’s history and the major players inCentury Station, the book takes time to go through each borough of the city indetail, from the richest and most advanced regions to thenear-cyberpunk-wasteland areas devastated by the economic crash.
Next, the book details the “Who’s Who” of the city, from itsstruggling Mayor to the shadowy figures of the Council of Industry. The forcesof CHIMERA are also showcased here. Wayne Breaux turns in some of his bestartwork (although the Sector 10 Agent still has very screwy proportions), andoverall the artwork in the book is of a very high quality.
The police department, the media, and various politicalgroups of Century Station are all detailed here as well, providing tons ofgreat ideas for contacts, allies, or enemies of the player characters.
Next, the book goes over the Centurions (also featured onthe book’s cover), the city’s most lauded superhero team. This group isinteresting and has some good ideas, but I feel that Bill is more showing offwhat player characters can become, although the team is still useful for a GMto use as a guideline for how the city handles sanctioned heroes.
More of Century Station’s superheroes are presented in thischapter as well, with a few standouts being the Iron Brigade (an all-powerarmor team of unsanctioned vigilantes) and the Victorian, a Question-likevigilante who fights with a swordcane, monocle, and bowler hat – very much amasked adventurer version of John Steed.
The rest of the book is taken up with a ton of adversariesand bad guys to use in your superhero campaign. The triad assassins and theShadow Margin – a criminal organization led by an ancient immortal Chinesesorcerer – are the most interesting of this group.
Finally, the book closes with 101 adventure seeds to helpthe GM come up with ideas for things to do in Century Station.
In Closing
Century Station is a really well-designed sourcebook topresent a GM with a ready-made city for any superhero RPG. It’s greateststrength is the five-year countdown and the way that it encourages players tobe more pro-active about crimefighting. It’s greatest weakness is probably thatthe included heroes and villains are largely lackluster. However, this last issueis actually fixable with the book’s sequel – Gramercy Island. This book is afollowup to Century Station and focuses on a supervillain prison, and includesa ton of bad guys. All in all, the reason to buy Century Station is for thefantastic setup, the great incorporation of different superhero origins, andthe sweet, sweet situation of the city’s political and social scene. Absolutelycheck out this book if you’re looking for a fresh take on a high-tech city foryour superheroes to patrol.
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'Hey! Not bad at all! But couldn't you have done something about the hair? I know it was grey, but I would`ve liked brown a lot more . . . And why in blazes did you have to preserve that scar from my appendicitis? No, no, It's alright, I understand. Yes, it is a work of art, you captured the look of my old body perfectly, that you did. Now, lets put this replacement through its paces. Further testing? Hell no, I know this nightclub where the music is great, and the guys are cute . . .
The VX-2050 body was initially designed for the pilots working on the top secret XM-3000 project. Since they were to be placed in a cyborg body which had no humanoid shape whatsoever, and because the project was so secret that no one was supposed to know that the pilots had even undergone a cyborg conversion, it was decided to build cyborg replacement bodies for the pilots, bodies that would look and feel exactly like the human bodies that they were giving up! This would enable them to convince everyone around them that there was nothing wrong and that they were still human! Furthermore, it would significantly reduce the stress that the cyborgs would normally feel of having an aircraft body without arms, legs, and other humanoid appendages.
The cyborg bodies that the engineers from Triax made were nothing short of miraculous. The basis for each cyborg is a skeletal cyborg body, with its size based on the size of the skeleton of the human that was to be turned into a cyborg. This 'skeleton' looks a bit like the body of a coalition skelebot, except for its size. The skull of the borg is an exact replica in M.D.C. materials of the original skull of the converted human. This entire body is made out of M.D.C. strength ceramics and polymers. Even the inner servomechanisms are mainly made out of plastics and composites. All of this was done to make the body as lightweight as possible. Metals were only used when absolutely unavoidable. In the chest cavity of the skeletal main body is room for a standard cyborg brain casing, as used by most of the NGR Robot Soldiers.
Covering this body is a tough layer of polymers and myomers (artificial muscles) which emulates a real musculature. When the cyborg moves the artificial muscles move and behave like the real thing, but they are purely cosmetic! Covering this musculature is a weave of fibers designed to give S.D.C. protection against lasers and ballistic weapons. The final covering is a artificial skin that looks and feels just like the real thing, and is heated, so that it even has the same temperature as real skin! This artificial skin is made to look exactly like the skin of the human who is to be transformed into a cyborg. Hairs and moles are all skillfully placed on the skin, although the hairs will NOT grow, they are simply polymer replacements. Running through the skin are veins filled with blood, so that small wounds actually bleed.
Thus, the appearance of the cyborg body is fully human. The muscles in the face allow for the full range of facial expressions, and it is even possible to eat and drink small amounts, but although the character has some sense of taste, this is the sense that is most affected by the conversion. All food will taste bland and mediocre. The other senses are much more acute, but even so they feel rather alien. Touch is especially affected by this, for while it is very sensitive in the fingertips, it is virtually nonexistent on the rest of the body. The Brain Casing can be placed and removed by means of a special opening in the artificial skin in the abdomen. Although it is normally closed, and cannot be located, a command from the cyborg will open it up, allowing for access to the brain casing. At first sight this appears to be a somewhat grisly process, because it looks as if the belly of a healthy human suddenly splits open! However, there are no blood or guts to be seen.
The Cyborg body listed here is the basic model that all cyborgs working on the XM-3000 project have received. The only differences will be in appearance. Although it is possible to add more systems to the cyborg, this is discouraged, as it would eventually lead to the destruction of the borg's human appearance. Besides that, the body isn't private property, it's owned by the NGR!
Although this cyborg replacement body, for it is just a body to wear for the cyborgs when they are not inside of their aircraft bodies, is customized for the XM-3000 pilots, there is talk of creating slightly more generic models, so that other cyborgs with non-humanoid bodies can also use them. (This applies ONLY to the Robot RCC cyborgs, not to the normal VX series of cyborgs!) Furthermore there is talk of using cyborgs equipped with such a body as spies, to be sent to the coalition. Such spies would have many more bionic features, and would be able to change their appearance, their voice, and even their length, to emulate other persons! For now this is all just talk, but it is a frightening vision of things to come . . .
Because of the nature of this cyborg, it cannot use any of the standard cyborg body armors. Instead, it is possible to use any human body armor, and even to wear standard power armors, without any modifications at all!
Go to XM-3000 “Grey Death” Cyborg Stealth Fighter for more details on Cyborg fighter.
Model Type: VX-2050
Class: full conversion cyborg
Crew: One human volunteer
Class: full conversion cyborg
Crew: One human volunteer
M.D.C. / S.D.C. by Location: | M.D.C.: | S.D.C.: |
[1] Hands (2): | 10 each | 7 each |
Arms (2): | 30 each | 21 each |
Vibro-blade : | 5 | |
Feet (2): | 15 each | 11 each |
Legs (2): | 60 each | 42 each |
[2] Head: | 50 | 35 |
Cyborg Brain Casing: | 10 | |
[3] Main Body: | 130 | 91 |
Notes:
Any damage to the cyborg is first subtracted from its S.D.C. When all S.D.C. is depleted from a hit location, the M.D.C. skeleton underneath becomes visible. This is a horrifying sight, as it appears as if the character is continuing to move although his flesh has been stripped of his skeleton! This has a horror factor of 14.
[1] Hand and Feet are difficult targets. They require a called shot and are to hit and are -5 to strike
[2] Destroying the head of the cyborg will NOT kill the character! It will destroy all acoustic and optical sensors. The cyborg still has radar and tactile senses. Under these conditions the cyborg has no combat bonuses whatsoever. However, the head is a small and difficult target to hit. The attacker must make a called shot and even then is -3 to strike.
[3] Depleting the main body will effectively destroy the artificial body, but the brain casing is still intact, and will continue to provide life support for 72 hours. Recovery of the damaged body will allow doctors or engineers to place the casing into a new cyborg body. If the body takes over 70 M.D.C. below zero, the brain casing is exposed, and vulnerable to damage.
Any damage to the cyborg is first subtracted from its S.D.C. When all S.D.C. is depleted from a hit location, the M.D.C. skeleton underneath becomes visible. This is a horrifying sight, as it appears as if the character is continuing to move although his flesh has been stripped of his skeleton! This has a horror factor of 14.
[1] Hand and Feet are difficult targets. They require a called shot and are to hit and are -5 to strike
[2] Destroying the head of the cyborg will NOT kill the character! It will destroy all acoustic and optical sensors. The cyborg still has radar and tactile senses. Under these conditions the cyborg has no combat bonuses whatsoever. However, the head is a small and difficult target to hit. The attacker must make a called shot and even then is -3 to strike.
[3] Depleting the main body will effectively destroy the artificial body, but the brain casing is still intact, and will continue to provide life support for 72 hours. Recovery of the damaged body will allow doctors or engineers to place the casing into a new cyborg body. If the body takes over 70 M.D.C. below zero, the brain casing is exposed, and vulnerable to damage.
Speed:
Running: 50 mph (80 kph).
Leaping: Powerful bionic legs can leap 20 feet (6 m) up or across, with a running start add 30 ft (9 m)
Flying: Borg can use any flight pack available for human characters.
Running: 50 mph (80 kph).
Leaping: Powerful bionic legs can leap 20 feet (6 m) up or across, with a running start add 30 ft (9 m)
Flying: Borg can use any flight pack available for human characters.
Statistical Data:
Height: 5 feet 3 inches (1.58 m) to 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m).
Weight: 208 (94 kg) to 312 lbs ( 141 kg)
Physical Attributes: P.S. 23, P.P. 20, and SPD 90.
P.B. is entirely dependant upon the characters previous appearance!
Power System: Nuclear Fusion, average life is 5 years
Cargo: None.
Black Market Cost: Not available on the black market! If such a body were to be made available in good condition, it could fetch up to 40 million credits!
Height: 5 feet 3 inches (1.58 m) to 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m).
Weight: 208 (94 kg) to 312 lbs ( 141 kg)
Physical Attributes: P.S. 23, P.P. 20, and SPD 90.
P.B. is entirely dependant upon the characters previous appearance!
Power System: Nuclear Fusion, average life is 5 years
Cargo: None.
Black Market Cost: Not available on the black market! If such a body were to be made available in good condition, it could fetch up to 40 million credits!
Standard Bionic Features (Non-Weapon Types): All of these features are found in the bionic/cybernetic section of Rifts RPG
- Bionic Lung with Gas filter and oxygen storage cell
- Built in language translator
- Sensor hand on each hand: Transmits to head jack, gives heat detection, motion detector, radiation detector, radar detector, gyrocompass, and clock calender
- Molecular Analyzer
- Head jack with amplified hearing, ultra ear, and sound filtration: Gives +1 to parry, +2 to dodge, and +6 to initiative
- Multi optic eye
- Optic nerve implant
- Bio Comp self monitoring systems
- Internal clock calender
- Internal Comp-Calculator
Weapon Systems:
- Laser Beam Eye: Works by looking at the target and a mental command causes the gun to shoot. The laser beam eye can shoot at any target that can be looked at. The laser beam eye is made by Triax, but unlike the standard version, this one looks completely normal.
Maximum Effective Range: 1,000 feet (305 m)
Mega Damage: 2D6 for single eye blast.
Rate of Fire: Equal to combined hand to hand (usually 5 or 6)
Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
Bonuses: +3 to strike - Palm Ion Blaster: In the palm of one of the hands of the Cyborg is a small pulse Ion weapon. The system is basically a Triax TX-24 that has been removed from its casing and linked to the cyborg's power supply. The blaster is located in the palm/forearm opposite to that which holds the Vibro-Blade. The choice in which arm/hand to locate which is up to the cyborg. This weapon is only used as a last resort, because firing it will burn and scorch the 'flesh' of the palm, clearly giving away that the character is at least a partial cyborg.
Maximum Effective Range: 500 feet (152 m)
Mega Damage: 2D4 per single blast or 4D6 per multiple pulse burst
Rate of Fire: Equal to combined hand to hand (usually 5 or 6)
Payload: Effectively Unlimited - Concealed Vibro-Blade : In one forearm is a vibro blade for melee combat. It is made out of a high density material and the energy field vibrates at high speed for mega damage. When activated the blade emerges from a opening between the knuckles of the middle and ring fingers. When retracted the artificial flesh closes over the opening as if it wasn't there, but the opening can be forced open by applying sufficient pressure.
Maximum Effective Range: Hand to Hand
Mega Damage: 2D6.
Number of Attacks: Equal to combined hand to hand (usually 5 or 6)
Payload: Effectively Unlimited - Optional Hand Held Weapons: The Cyborg can use any human sized and slightly larger than human sized weapons. These can include rail guns, energy rifles, energy pistols, grenades, and other weapons.
-
Hand-to-Hand Combat: Rather than use a weapon, the cyborg can engage in mega-damage hand to hand combat. Most of the attacks are S.D.C. except special attacks.
Special (M.D.C.) attacks done with bare hands/feet strip the S.D.C. covering off the appendage used, exposing the ceramic cyborg components beneath!
Attacks per melee: Equal to player characters hand to hand attacks.
Combat Bouses: +6 to initiative, +1 to Parry, +2 to dodge. P.P. 20 bonuses: +3 to strike, Parry, and Dodge.
Total Bonuses, including Robot RCC Bonuses: +8 to initiative, +4 to Strike, +5 to Parry, +6 to Dodge. This does not include bonuses for skills and hand to hand.
Damage:Restrained Punch: 1D6 + 8 S.D.C.
Full Strength Punch: 4D6 + 8 S.D.C.
Power Punch: 1D6 M.D.C. (Costs 2 melee attacks)
Head Butt: 2D6 S.D.C.
Kick: 4D6 + 8 S.D.C.
Jump Kick/Leap Kick: 2D6 M.D.C. (Costs 2 melee attacks)
Judo Style Flip/Throw: 3D6 S.D.C.
Full Strength Ram/Body Block: 1D4 M.D.C. (Costs 2 melee attacks) - Cyborg Brain Casing: This is the casing which holds the human brain of the cyborg. It is lightly armored, but holds all the life support apparatus the brain needs for 72 hours. The casing can be removed by mechanics, to be placed in a replacement body, or in case of an emergency it can be ejected by a command of the cyborg itself. When this is done, the casing is ejected out of the body. The casing is about the shape and size of a rugby ball. It is made of the same RAM materials as the XM-3000 fighter, and has a few basic sensors build into it.
Mega Damage Capacity: 10.
Bionic Features: 1 Multi-optic eye, 1 built-in radio receiver/transmitter, emergency life support for 72 hours.
Stealth Features: Same as the XM-3000
Payload: One
[ Altarain TM, Bandito Arms TM, Brodkil TM, Chipwell Armaments TM, Coalition States TM, Cyber-Knight TM, Federation of Magic TM, Free Quebec TM, Golden Age Weaponsmiths TM, Horune TM, Iron Heart Armaments TM, Kankoran TM, Kittani TM, Kydian TM, Larsen’s Brigade TM, M.D.C. TM, Mechanoids TM, Mega-Damage TM, Megaversal Legion TM, Millennium Tree TM, Mutants in Orbit TM, Naruni Enterprises TM, Naut’Yll, New Navy TM, New Sovietskiy TM, NGR TM, Nog Heng TM, Northern Gun TM, Phase World TM, Psyscape TM, Rifter TM, SAMAS TM, S.D.C. TM, Shemarrian TM, Splugorth TM, Stormspire TM, Sunaj TM, Tolkeen TM, Triax TM, Wellington Industries TM, Wilk’s Laser Technologies TM, Xiticix TM, and Zaayr TM are trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. ]
[ Beyond the Supernatural®, Heroes Unlimited®, Nightbane®, Ninjas & Superspies®, Palladium Fantasy®, and Rifts® are registered trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. ]
write-ups by Mischa (E-Mail Mischa ).
Copyright © 2000, Mischa. All rights reserved.