BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY: COUNTDOWN TO DOOMSDAY
[THE RULEBOOK]


TYPED BY OLLIE NORTH
CONTACT SKID ROW AT THE INQUISTION!!


RULE BOOK
---------

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION.........................................................1
  What Comes With the Game?..........................................1
  Before You Play....................................................1
  Getting Started Quickly............................................1
  Using Menus........................................................1
  Beginning to Play..................................................2

MODIFYING CHARACTERS AND TEAMS.......................................3
  Team Creation/Training Menu........................................3
  Non-Player Characters (NPCs).......................................3
  Viewing Characters.................................................4
  Character Status...................................................4

ADVENTURING..........................................................5
  Display Screens and Points of View.................................5
  3-D and Area Views.................................................5
  Combat View........................................................6
  Overland Map.......................................................6
  Solar Map..........................................................6
  Adventuring Options................................................6

OUTPOSTS.............................................................7

ENCOUNTERS...........................................................9
  Combat.............................................................9
  After the Battle..................................................10
  Space Combat......................................................11
  After Space Combat................................................12


Page [1]

Introduction


What Comes With the Game?


You should find the following items in the game box:

Disks, Rule Book, Log Book, Data Card

This Rule Book is designed to explain all your options and guide you
through playing the game.  If you are not familiar with the BUCK ROGERS XXV
game system, you will find helpful information about how things work in the
Log Book.

The Log Book contains a variety of information including details about
character careers, technology, combat and an introduction to the adventure
story.  The Log Book also includes the maps, information, rumors and stories
that you will need to play the game.  You will discover for yourself which of
the tales you hear are fact and which are fiction.

The Data Card explains how to start the game and select items and menu
options with your specific computer.  It also shows how to get right into the
game without having to read through the rules.
[Due to the fact that the Amiga version of this game is not yet released
there is no typed up Data Card]


Before You Play

There is no copy protection on your COUNTDOWN TO DOOMSDAY disks, so please
make backup copies and put the originals away for safekeeping.  When you
start the game, you will be asked to answer a verification question from this
Rule Book or the Log Book before you can play.  [REMOVED BY SKID ROW 1990!!!]
Turn to the page as indicated for either this Rule Book or the Log Book, find
the indicated word, type it in and press the Return or Enter key.


Getting Started Quickly

COUNTDOWN TO DOOMSDAY comes with a ready-made team that allows you to begin
adventuring immediately.  Use the instructions on the Data Card to load the
saved game that has been provided and begin playing.  [I installed this on my
HD and there was NO pre-made party]  These rules and the Log Book will answer
any questions during play.


Using Menus

All commands are menu based, and the concept of the active character is
central to the game.  Outside of combat the active character's name is
highlighted on the display.  During combat the active character is surrounded
with a cursor at the start of his combat segment.

During combat the active character is chosen automatically according to the
character's initiative and random factors.  Other times you may select which
character is active before choosing other commands.

If a command affects the whole team, just select the command.  If the command
affects one character, make that character active and then choose the command.

****************************************************************************
Example: To look at a character's equipment, select that character, choose
the VIEW command, and then choose the GEAR command. The computer displays a
list of that character's gear.
****************************************************************************

Menus are displayed either vertically or horizontally.

Vertical menus select the character or item to be acted upon.  If there are
more choices than will fit on the screen at one time, use the NEXT and PREV
commands to view the additional selections.

***************************************************************************
Example: When purchasing gear, selections are made from a vertical menu list
of equipment.
***************************************************************************

Horizontal menus list what that character can do or what can be done to the
character.  In the rules, menus are shown with all 


Page [2]

of their options.  In some cases options will not be available every time a
menu appears.

***************************************************************************
Example:

BOOTY MENU:

VIEW TAKE POOL DIVVY EXIT

The options TAKE AND DIVVY will only appear if there it booty to take.
***************************************************************************

The Rule Book only lists the general menus.  Special menus will appear with
many encounters that indicate available options.


Beginning to Play

To begin playing the game you must load a saved game or make characters and
band them together into a team.

CREATE NEW CHARACTER

ADD CHARACTER TO TEAM

LOAD SAVED GAME

INITIALIZE MOUSE/JOYSTICK [Ha!  Don't need this one!]

EXIT TO DOS/WORKBENCH

CREATE NEW CHARACTER is used to build a character.  Detailed information
about characters, races, careers and so on is available in the Log Book.
This command starts the process of making a new character.

PICK RACE lists six races a player-character can be in the twenty-fifth
century.

PICK GENDER lists the sex the character can be.

PICK CAREER lists the careers a character is qualified for based on race.

The computer randomly generates the character's ability scores.  If you are
not happy with the scores, you may roll them again.  Remember that you can
use the MODIFY CHARACTER command on the Team Creation/Training Menu to change
the character's ability scores and hitpoints after the character has been
generated.

CHARACTER NAME provides a 15 letter space to type in the character's name.
On some computer systems the character is named after the abilities scores
are generated.

ALLOCATE SKILL POINTS allows you to allocate points to the character's Career
and the General skills.  This phase really determines a character's strengths
and weaknesses.  See the section on skills in the Log Book for more
information.

SELECT CHARACTER ICON allows you to select the shape that will represent the
character in combat.  You can select new combat icons from the Training
Center menu.  On some systems the character will be saved after the combat
icon is selected.

EXIT from any of the character creation menus will display the Team Creation
Menu.

ADD CHARACTER TO TEAM allows you to add characters to the team from the save
game disk.  A team is a group of characters composed of up to six player
characters (called PCs) and up to two non-player characters (called NPCs).  A
team should have a balanced mix of characters with different careers.  For
more information about building teams see the Log Book.

LOAD SAVED GAME permits you to resume a game that had been previously saved.
The saved game provided with COUNTDOWN TO DOOMSDAY can also be loaded.  

INITIALIZE MOUSE/JOYSTICK sets up the joystick or mouse. 
[Still don't need this one!]

EXIT TO DOS/WORKBENCH ends play.


Page [3]


Modifying Characters and Teams

The Team Creation/Training Menu shows the characters currently in your team
and lists the commands for creating and modifying the team.  Not all of the
options will be available at all teams.

Team Creation/Training Menu

CREATE NEW CHARACTER

PURGE CHARACTER

MODIFY CHARACTER

ICON SELECT

TRAIN CHARACTER

VIEW CHARACTER

ADD CHARACTER TO TEAM

REMOVE CHARACTER FROM TEAM

LOAD SAVED GAME

SAVE CURRENT GAME

BEGIN ADVENTURING

EXIT TO DOS/WORKBENCH



PURGE CHARACTER eliminates a character from the team and erases him from the
saved game disk.  A purged character may not be recovered.

MODIFY CHARACTER can change the character's ability scores and HP.  Use
MODIFY CHARACTER to change a character generated in COUNTDOWN TO DOOMSDAY to
match a favorite BUCK ROGERS XXc game character.  A character cannot be
modified once he has begun adventuring.

ICON SELECT allows you to select a new icon to represent a character in
combat.

TRAIN CHARACTER increases a character's level when he has gained enough
experience points (EXP).  Characters can only advance one level at a time.
If a character has gained enough experience to advance more than one level,
he will advance one level and then lose all experience in excess of one point
below that required for advancement to the next level.  See the section on
Experience Points in the Log Book for an example.

Characters get additional points to allocate to skills as they advance, and
Warriors gain weapon skills.  See the Advancement Tables starting on Page 40
of the Log Book for EXP requirements.  There is no charge for training
characters.

VIEW CHARACTER displays about a character.  For more information see the
Viewing Characters section on page 4.

REMOVE CHARACTER FROM TEAM transfers a character from the team to the saved
game disk.

SAVE CURRENT GAME stores the current game to the save game disk or directory.

BEGIN ADVENTURING starts the game.

EXIT TO DOS/WORKBENCH quits the game.


Non-Player Characters (NPCs)

During the game the team will encounter Non-player Characters (NPCs).  They
may talk to the team, attack or offer to join the team.  NPCs that join the
team are treated like player characters with a few differences.  The computer
generally commands NPCs in battle.  Characters with Leadership skill may be
able to put NPCs who have joined the party under direct control (this is
difficult).  NPC's have morale--if things are going badly for the team, NPCs
may run.  Gear can be traded to some NPCs, but they cannot be traded from
conscious NPCs to other characters.  If an NPC dies, however, you can use the
TRADE command on the Gear Menu to take his gear.  Only two NPCs at a time may
join the team and they may insist on taking a share of all booty found.


Page [4]


Viewing Characters

The VIEW command displays the character summary screen.

Encumbrance is the total weight the character is carrying.  As a character
becomes more encumbered, his combat movement speed drops.  Encumbrance is
based on the weight a character carries above the weight allowable by
strength.  Combat Movement is how many squares a character can move during 
a combat round.  This is based on his readied armor, strength and total
encumbrance.  


Character Status

OKAY means that the character has positive HP and can move and fight
normally.

POISONED means that the character is suffering from the effects of some
poison, and must have a Medic perform a Treat Poison immediately after combat
or become Comatose.

UNCONSCIOUS means that the character has exactly 0 HP.  He cannot move or
fight, but is in no danger of dying.

COMATOSE means that the character is severely injured and has lapsed into a
coma.  Comatose characters require hospitalization or shipboard Medical
Center care to recover.

DEAD means that the character has died.

FLED means that the character fled from the battle.  After the battle he will
rejoin the team.

GONE means that the character was abandoned during a combat and the body has
been lost forever.


Page [5]


From the View Menu several options are available to inspect the active
character.  Not all of these commands are available at all times.

VIEW MENU:

GEAR SKILLS WPN SPEC TRADE EXIT

GEAR will show all the equipment the character is carrying.  Items preceded
by a YES are ready for use.  Not all commands in the Gear Menu are always
available.

Gear Menu:

READY TRADE DROP HALVE JOIN SELL EXIT

READY is used to change the ready status of a weapon, armor, or other item.
Only readied gear can be used in combat.  Characters can only ready one
weapon at a time, except that a grenade can be readied while a character has
a readied grenade launcher.  On some systems there are items that can only be
readied or unreadied while in either camp or combat.

TRADE on the Gear Menu is used to transfer an item from one character to
another.  Choose the item and then the character to receive it.  Remember
that a conscious NPC will not give up an item once he has it.

DROP permanently removes items from a character.  Dropped items may not be
recovered.

HALVE will divide a bundle of grenades or poison antidotes into two bundles.
For example, halve would turn on bundle of 24 grenades into two groups of 12
each.

JOIN combines grenades and poison antidotes into one line of the gear list.
No more than 100 items can be joined onto one line.  This is handy because
there are a limited number of slots available on a gear list.

SELL (only available at shops) causes the shopkeeper to make an offer on the
highlighted item.  Sold gear may not be recovered.

WPN SPEC allows Warriors to examine their weapon specialization bonuses.

TRADE on the View Menu is used to transfer credits from one character to
another.  Indicate which character is to receive, and then indicate what and
how much is traded to the other character.  On some systems this option is
only available if you select the View Menu from outposts shops or from the
Booty Menu after combat.


Adventuring

After setting up your team and reading the background information in the Log
Book, it is time to head for adventure, fame, and glory.  Your team will
engage in fierce battles, find booty, and sometimes have to stop, and
recuperate from battle.


Display Screens and Points of View

During the adventure, teams must travel from planet surfaces to the reaches
of space.  There are several points of view or areas that are displayed for
different regions.

3-D and Area Views

3-D view appears in towns, aboard enemy rocketships and so on.  This view
appears at the top left of your screen and shows the surrounding area from
the team's perspective.  Rotate the team's facing and move using the
directional.  The direction controls for your computer are described on the
Data Card.

Area view provides an overhead view of the team's surroundings, replacing the
3-D view.  choose the AREA command from the Adventure Menu.  This view is not
available in many regions.

In the area display a cursor shows the team's position.  On some computer
systems, the cursor is an arrow that indicates current team facing.  On some
computer systems you may move around while in the area view, on others this
view is only to help you get your bearings.


Page [6]


To the right of the point of view window, in either 3-D or Area, are the map
coordinates, current time, facing direction (N, S, W, E) and what the team is
doing.

Every time the team moves a square, one minute of game time passes.


Combat View

Combat view occurs automatically whenever the team engages in battle.  The
combat screen is a detailed view of the area the team was in when the
encounter began.

Overland Map

This view displays a large region and is used to move across planetary
surfaces.  Move the team with normal direction controls.

Solar Map

Solar Map view is used when the team is traveling in its rocketship to
another planet or outpost.  Simply move the ship towards the destination as
you would move in any other view.  The difference between this view and
others is that destinations are orbiting the sun, and they move as the ship
does.  The relative speed of the ship is very fast, so reaching destination
is not difficult--that is if there are no encounters with pirates or RAM
warships.

Each move on the solar map takes three days of game time.


Adventuring Options

The Adventure Menu controls normal game options while exploring or traveling
between planets or outposts.  While traveling on the solar map, some commands
are not available.

Adventure Menu:

MOVE AREA VIEW LOOK CHANGE ROCKET SAVE

MOVE is used to actually get to where you can move the team around the map.
The team can turn right or left, turn around, or move forward.  Refer to the
Data Card for computer-specific movement information.  Select EXIT to return
to the Adventure Menu.

AREA toggles between the area and 3-D view.  In many regions this command may
not be available.  

VIEW displays the character screen and the View Menu.

LOOK is used to search an individual square.  Looking in a square takes ten
minutes of game time.

CHANGE is used to change the characters in the team and the parameters of the
game.


Change Menu:

ORDER PURGE MESSAGES ANIM LEVEL EXIT

ORDER changes how the characters are listed on the screen and how they are
deployed in combat.  Characters at the top of the list tend to be on the
front line in combat.

PURGE eliminates a character from the team and erases him from the saved game
disk.  A purged character is gone forever and may not be recovered.

MESSAGES controls the rate at which messages are printed on the screen.  If
the game is running too slowly, use the FASTER command to speed up the
displays.  If you have trouble reading messages, try the SLOWER command.

ANIM allows you to toggle the animation of the close-up pictures on and off.
Turning the animation off speeds up the game.  This command is not available
on all computers.

LEVEL permits you to adjust combat difficulty.


Page [7]


Level Menu:

NOVICE CADET TROOPER VETERAN ACE

The game is preset at the Trooper level.  This is the level at which we
consider the game to be balanced. To make the combats easier, choose either
the Novice (easiest) or Cadet level.  To make the combats more difficult,
choose either the Veteran or Ace (hardest) level.

When you choose to make the game more difficult, you are rewarded by
receiving more experience points from your combats.  When you choose to make
the game easier, you are penalized by receiving fewer experience points from
your combats.

Receiving fewer experience points will slow the rate at which your characters
advance levels.  Advancing at a slower rate will give you less powerful
characters which, in the long run, may more than offset the benefits of
playing at an "easy" level.

ROCKET is used to examine the team's rocketship.  This is only available
during space travel, and may not be on all computer systems.

SAVE restores the characters and current game to the save game disk or
directory.  Saved games may be loaded either from the first menu or from the
Team Creation/Training Menu.  Save often -- especially after surviving really
tough encounters.  See your Data Card for computer-specific savings
instructions.


Outposts


Outposts are pockets of humanity, if not civilization, sprinkled around the
solar system.  They range in size from city-sized installations on planets to
glorified rocketship service stations among the furthest asteroids.  Outposts
are where teams can buy new gear and ammunition, get ship repairs and
purchase fuel.

The Outpost Menu allows the team to get to the various facilities that may be
found in outposts.  Larger stations, of course, have a greater variety of
services to offer than the smaller frontier outposts.

Outpost Menu:

BANK DOWNTOWN HOSPITAL PORT TRAINING

BANK will allow you to deposit credits for safekeeping.  An extensive
computer network keeps track of accounts so that you may withdraw your funds
from any branch in the solar system.

Bank Menu:

DEPOSIT WITHDRAW EXIT

DEPOSIT prompts you for the number of credits you wish to deposit.

WITHDRAW allows funds to be retrieved from the team account.

EXIT returns to Downtown Menu.

DOWNTOWN is where Shops, Restaurants, and so on are located.

Downtown Menu:

SHOP LIBRARY BAR RESTAURANT EXIT

SHOP allows characters to buy and sell equipment.

Shop Menu:

BUY SELL AMMO VIEW POOL TAKE DIVVY EXIT

BUY displays the available gear and costs.  Select items for the active
character to buy.

SELL puts you in the Gear Menu with SELL option highlighted.  If this option
is not available on your system, then select the VIEW option then the GEAR
option then choose SELL.

AMMO is used to purchase ammunition for a character's weapons.  This
includes recharges for battery packs on energy weapons such as lasers.


Page [7]


VIEW displays the character screen with the SELL command available in the
Gear Menu.

POOL places all the team's credits into a pool which can be used by any
member to make purchases.  Use the TAKE or DIVVY commands to pick up the
credits pool after all purchases have been made.

TAKE is used to pick up credits from the team credits pool.

DIVVY picks up everything from the pool and distributes even shares among the
team.
 
EXIT returns to Downtown Menu.

LIBRARY is where the team goes to get information.  To effectively use a
library, at least one character needs to have Library Search skill.

BAR and RESTAURANT are places where characters go to hear the latest gossip
and news.  The quality and class of clientele in these establishments varies
a great deal.  Going to a high society place may get you a different type of
information than a dive.

Bar Menu:

BUY DRINK TALK WAIT EXIT

BUY DRINK purchases a round of drinks for the team so that they can relax and
listen to the latest gossip unobtrusively.

TALK has members of the team chatting with patrons and trying to coax
information.

WAIT has the team sit tight and see what happens.

EXIT returns to Downtown Menu.

Restaurant Menu:

ORDER FOOD TALK WAIT EXIT

ORDER FOOD has the team sit down to a meal and listen to gossip.

TALK has members of the team chatting with patrons and trying to coax
information.

WAIT has the team sit tight and see what happens.

EXIT returns to Downtown Menu.

HOSPITAL offers first rate medical services, for a fee.

Hospital Menu:

HEAL EXIT

HEAL will have the hospital give medical treatment to the active character.

EXIT returns to the Outpost Menu.

PORT is where ships are repaired, resupplied, fueled, and launched.
Everything in port is paid for from the team's NEO salvage account.  This is
the account that is credited with the salvage value for enemy ships the team
has defeated.  At Salvation Station port facilities and materials are free.
All other stations charge the going rates.

Port Menu:

LAUNCH REPAIR FUEL AMMO MED SUP EXIT

LAUNCH exits the outpost and puts the team in space.

REPAIR has your shop repaired at the port shipyards.  The cost of repairs
will vary with the amount of work required.

FUEL allows you to purchase fuel for your ship.

AMMO allows you to purchase ammunition for your ship's weapons.

MED SUP allows the team to restock the shipboard Medical Center.

EXIT returns to the Outpost Menu.

TRAINING allows characters to get to a Training Center and advance in level.
You can also modify the team using the Team Creation/Training Menu.



Page [9]



Encounters

When a team comes across opponents or NPCs, an encounter occurs.  If the team
attacks immediately it may receive a bonus to its initiative in combat.  If
the opponents surprise the team, the opponents can attack immediately and get
a bonus to their initiative in combat.  If the opponents do not attack
immediately, the team can react by choosing from an Encounter Menu.
Encounter menus vary and they list options for new situations.

****************************************************************************
SAMPLE ENCOUNTER MENU:

COMBAT WAIT FLEE TALK

In this menu you have opportunities to attack immediately, wait and see, run
away or try and talk.
****************************************************************************

Combat 

During combat the computer chooses the active character.  Characters with
higher dexterity will tend to go before characters with lower dexterity.  A
character may hold his action until later with the WAIT command.  There is a
more detailed description of how combat works in the Log Book.

The active character will be centered on the screen at the start of his
combat segment.  The active character's name, HP, AC, and current weapon are
displayed.  The Combat Menu lists the character's options.

COMBAT MENU:

MOVE TARGET VIEW INTIMIDATE QUICK AID SPRINT DODGE JETPACK WAIT GUARD END

MOVE allows a character to move into an opponent's square.
NOTE: if a character selects SPRINT or DODGE all further movement by that
character during that round will be sprinting or dodging.

TARGET allows weapons to be aimed.  If the character has shot an opponent in
a previous segment, the cursor will come up on that target.

When targeting, the range to the target will be displayed above the menu bar
on some systems.  If a character moves adjacent to an enemy, and has no more
movement remaining, the TARGET command can be used to attack with a melee
weapon (mono knife, sword, etc.)  The TARGET command can also be used to
survey the condition of your team and enemies.  As you move the target cursor
over a character or opponent, HP and weapon information will be displayed on
the right of your screen.

Target Menu:

NEXT PREV MANUAL ATTACK CENTER EXIT

NEXT is used to look at all possible targets, starting with the closest
target and then going to the next farthest and so on.  NEXT and PREV only
indicate targets in the character's line of sight.

PREV (Previous) is the opposite of the NEXT command.  Use this command to
look at the possible targets starting with the farthest, and working back
toward the character.  This command is most often used to select a target for
a missile attack.

MANUAL permits the player to aim anywhere on the map.  Only targets in the
character's line of sight can actually be attacked.

ATTACK is used to fire a weapon, throw a grenade, or attack an adjacent enemy
with a melee weapon (mono knife, sword, etc).  If this option is not
displayed the target is out of range or not in line of sight.

CENTER will center the screen around the cursor.  This is helpful when
manually targeting.  This option is not available on all computer systems.


Page [10]


VIEW displays the character screen and View Menu.

INTIMIDATE is the skill to project an aura of menace and to frighten adjacent
opponents.  Intimidated opponents will be too frightened to move or fight for
one round.

QUICK turns control of the character over to the computer  Press the space
bar to regain manual control of characters.  Under computer control, a
fighting character with a readied missile weapon will tend to hang back and
attack from a distance.  If the character has no readied ranged weapon, he
will ready a melee weapon and charge.

Characters will remain under computer control for all subsequent combats
until manual control is again selected.

AID only appears if a team member is bleeding to death.  Only character with
First Aid or Treat Light Wounds skills can use the command.  The command will
perform either First Aid or Treat Light Wounds, depending on the characters
abilities.  Also, medics with the Treat Stun/Paralysis skill can also use the
AID command to treat stunned characters. The team member using the AID
command must be adjacent to the victim.

SPRINT allows a player to run at double normal combat move distance.  The
character cannot shoot or guard after sprinting.

DODGE has the character move and try to evade enemy fire at the same time.
The character will receive a temporary AC bonus that increases as he advances
in level.  The character cannot do anything else in the same
segment--including attack or fire weapons.

JETPACK allows a character with a jet pack to fly over the battle to any
square in range.  Any opponents guarding in squares adjacent to the
destination square can attack when the character lands.  JETPACK can only be
used in outdoor fights, and the character must have a jet pack and Use Jet
Pack skill.

WAIT causes the character to hold his turn until after the other characters
and opponents have acted.

GUARD sets a character armed with a ranged, non-area effect weapon (laser
rifle, bolt gun, etc.) to fire automatically at the first opponent to move.
Characters armed with melee weapons will attack the first opponent to move
adjacent.  

END finishes a character's turn.


After the Battle

When combat is over team Medics will treat wounded characters and you will
see how much experience each character receives.  After this the Booty menu
is displayed.  Most of the Booty Menu commands work like the commands in the
Shop Menus.

BOOTY MENU:

VIEW TAKE POOL DIVVY EXIT

VIEW displays the character screen and View Menu.

TAKE permits the active character to pick up any gear or credits left by
defeated opponents.  This will only appear if the opponents had booty or the
team has pooled its funds.

Take Menu:

GEAR CREDITS EXIT

GEAR lists the equipment in the booty.  Frequently, the weapons and armor
used by opponents are not listed because they are poor quality and not worth
taking.

CREDITS displays the amount of credits found after a battle.

EXIT returns to the Booty Menu.



Page [11]

Space Combat

The solar system is a dangerous place in the twenty-fifth century.  Space
travel is filled with the constant threat of pirates and RAM warships.  In
space combat there are two basic menus; one of the pilot, and another for the
crew.  Not all options in space combat menus are always available.

Pilot Menu:

FIRE TARGET QUIT VIEW CLOSE WITHDRAW RAM BOARD

FIRE allows the pilot to attack with the ship's K-cannons and missiles.  This
attack has the greatest chance to hit, and will affect random systems on the
enemy ship.

TARGET allows the pilot to fire the ship's K-cannons and missiles at specific
systems on the enemy ship.  Targeting is more difficult than the general FIRE
command.

QUIT ends the pilot's turn.

VIEW allows you to examine either the ship or the pilot.

CLOSE shortens the distance between your ship and the enemy ship.  If the
enemy ship is faster than yours, and attempts to WITHDRAW, you will not be
able to close.

WITHDRAW attempts to escape the enemy ship.  If your ship is not faster than
the enemy ship, you will not be able to disengage.

RAM is an attempt to crash your ship into the enemy ship, RAM uses the
pilot's Pilot Rocket skill to determine success.  When ships ram, the damage
inflicted on each ship is the tonnage of the other ship.  For example, if a
150 ton ship rams a 50 ton ship, the larger ship suffers 50 points of hull
damage while the smaller ship suffers 150 points of hull damage.

BOARD is only available if the enemy ship can no longer maneuver and the
range is zero or one.  When you board your team docks with the enemy ship's
airlock, and they must fight their way in.  The only way to salvage a ship is
to board it and capture both the control bridge and engineering sections.
Sections that have been destroyed do not have to be secured.  Only characters
with spacesuits or armor can board ships with zero life support.

Crew Menu:

FIRE TARGET LOAD JURYRIG QUIT VIEW COMMAND AID BOOST ENGINES SENSORS

FIRE is similar to the Pilot Menu command, except that crew members may only
fire lasers.

TARGET is similar to the Pilot Menu command, except that crew members may
only fire lasers.

LOAD reloads ships weapons.  This command only appears when a weapon is empty
or not fully loaded.  The weapons that are ready to be loaded are displayed
when LOAD is selected.

JURYRIG appears when some weapons or system has been damaged, and if the
character has the Jury Rig skill.  Ship's systems can only be successfully
jury rigged once per battle.  Weapons can be jury rigged whenever they are
nonfunctional.  The chance for success and degree of accomplishment is based
on the character's skill level.  When this command is selected a menu of
damaged systems will come up.



Page [12]



QUIT ends the character's turn.

VIEW allows you to examine either the ship or the character.

COMMAND only appears when the pilot is dead or incapacitated.  COMMAND orders
the current character to take control and pilot the ship.  Remember: Put a
character with good Pilot Rocketship skill into the pilot's position if the
first pilot is incapacitated--this skill is crucial in space combat.

AID only appears when a character is bleeding to death, and the current
character has either a Treat Light Wounds, or First Aid skill.

BOOST ENGINES attempts to squeeze extra speed from the rocket engines.  This
command only appears if the current character has Nuclear Engine Repair
skill.  The engines may be damaged if the skill check fails.  Engines can
only be boosted successfully twice during a battle.

SENSOR only appears if the current character has Sensor Operation skill.
This is an attempt to probe the enemy ship.


After Space Combat

After your team has defeated the enemy ship, boarded it, and secured both the
bridge and engineering sections, a salvage beacon is attached to the hulk and
a NEO tug will pick it up.  The team is automatically credited the salvage
value of the ship in their NEO salvage account.  This account can be used to
pay for ship repairs, fuel, ammo and medical supplies at any space port.

At the same time as the beacon is being placed, all salvageable fuel from the
defeated ship will be transferred to your ship.

Medics on the team will perform whatever services they can for the wounded,
and additionally, all possible field repairs will be made on the ship.  If
there are any valuables on the captured ship a Booty Menu will also come up.


SKID ROW IN 1990 !!!

===============================================================================
                BUCK ROGERS: COUNTDOWN TO DOOMSDAY LOG BOOK


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction........................................................1
The Team Assembles..................................................2
Characters and Teams................................................2
Additional Character Attributes.....................................3
Character Races.....................................................4
Careers.............................................................5
Skills..............................................................7
Assembling a Team..................................................10
Non-Player Characters (NPCs).......................................11
Money..............................................................11
Combat.............................................................11
Rocketships and Space Travel.......................................14
Space Combat.......................................................17
Gear...............................................................19
Robots, Gennies and Other Opponents................................21
Log Entries........................................................23
Appendix...........................................................39
  Racial Attribute Modifiers Table.................................39
  Allowable Careers by Race Table..................................39
  Strength Modifier Table..........................................39
  Dexterity Modifier Table.........................................39
  Constitution Modifier Table......................................39
  Rocketjock Level Advancement Table...............................40
  Warrior Level Advancement Table..................................40
  Engineer Level Advancement Table.................................40
  Rogue Level Advancement Table....................................40
  Medic Level Advancement Table....................................40
  Armor Class......................................................40
  Weapons Table....................................................40
  Skills Table.....................................................40
Glossary of Game Terms.............................................41
Credits............................................................43


Page [1]

INTRODUCTION:

1990-2050
Remnants of the old-time Soviet hardliners launch the space weapons platform:
Masterlink.  U.S. strategists send the American ace Anthony "Buck" Rogers to
destroy Masterlink.  Buck is sent up in an experimental space plane outfitted
with a new cryogenic system for high altitude ejection.  Masterlink is
destroyed, but Buck Rogers' plane is heavily damaged and his frozen body
floats in space.

When Masterlink is destroyed, the Soviet extremists fire a salvo of ballistic
missiles at the U.S.  The resulting conflict enters history books as the
"Last Gasp War."  World governments look in horror at the insane danger of
esecalating arms races and maintaining nuclear arsenals.  Governments around
the globe disassemble their war machines and power shifts from the national
governments to large international alliances, such as the Russo-American
Mercantile (RAM), the Euro-Bloc faction, and the Indo-Asian Consortium.

2051-2100
The System States Alliance forms to represent the three big power blocs and
fringe Earth nations to help ensure the survival of a depleted and polluted
Earth.

Nuclear fusion propulsion technology allows mankind to move out into the
solar system.  The System States Alliance forms an organized effort to
exploit the nearby planets.  RAM, having the most clout, grabs rights to
Mars, while Luna goes to the Euro-Bloc, and the Indo-Asians take Venus.
Initial interest in the planets is for resources.  True colonization is slow
at first, as mankind both adapts to alien environments and adapts the
environments to mankind.

2101-2400
Trips to the planets become commonplace, and terraforming technology has
transformed the surfaces of Mars and Venus to become more habitable for
humans.  Genetic engineering skills develop new life forms, called Gennies,
that can be tailored to nearly any environment or function.

In 2275 RAM, groaning under an increasing repressive Earth government,
rebels.  Venus signs a nonaggression pact with Mars, and ten years of war
follow.  Earth falls into barbarism with her major population centers left in
ruins, and cut off from much needed extraterrestrial resources.  At the end
of the war, RAM completely dominates the remains of old Earth.

In 2310 refugees from Earth, and others who are discontent under RAM
domination, begin a crash program to colonize Mercury.  Asteroids are moved
into orbit around the planet, and moveable cities are built on the surface.
Mercury develops an economy based on mining and solar power.

2401-2455
Mars and Venus, once forbidding alien wastes, have been terraformed and now
support populations in the millions.  Bases have been esablished on Mercury
and Luna.  Colonies float in the edges of the Jupiter gas clouds and cities
have been carved out of asteroids.

RAM rules old earth with cruel effciency and an iron hand, its brutal Terrine
combat gennies roam and enforce the planet's exploitation.

A daring band of Rebels called the New Earth Organization (NEO) is formed to
combat RAM domination.


Page [2]

2456
The figure of Buck Rogers has been elevated to nearly mythical status by
media hype--he has become a symbol as the last martyr of old Earth's foolish
political struggle.  In a strange twist of fate Buck Rogers --the myth-- is
recovered alive from his frozen sleep!

With his tactical genius and fearless daring, Buck Rogers joins NEO in its
battle against RAM.

NEO and Buck Rogers, form a dangerous plan to subvert RAM control of the
Earth.  The cornerstone of RAM's dominance of the planet is "Gauntlet", an
orbital weapons platform originally constructed by the old Systems States
Alliance.  Gauntlet had been designed to act as a watchdog against nuclear
weapons.  Under RAM administration, the station was upgraded to both watch
the subservient Earth and completely control all traffic to and from the
planet.

Buck steals a squadron of RAM's latest spacefighters, a squadron slated for
Gauntlet's defensive force, and attacks the station.  The surprise attack is
a success.  Without Gauntlet, Simund Holzerhein, the head of RAM, decides
that over control of Earth is too expensive and orders RAM troops off the
planet.  The mood on Earth and in NEO is a combination excitement and dread.
The victory seems easy... too easy.

2456 (Now)
Earth is under the control of NEO now, but the shadow of RAM is still
present,  Occasional attacks by RAM military are explained away as "acts of
overanxious officers" and "unfortunate lapses of judgement."  NEO scrambles
to rebuild a shattered planet and build the forces required to fend off RAM
attack it feels is inevitable.

THE TEAM ASSEMBLES
"Buck Rogers!" The name is everywhere.  "Buck Rogers and NEO victory at
Gauntlet -- Vid at eleven." The Video Network News, people talking on the
streets of old Earth, even in teh furthest asteroid outposts -- Buck Rogers
and NEO are everywhere.

There is a feeling of hope now.  After years of domination, RAM no longer
hold old Earth, and NEO is finally able to make a real stand against the
corporate behemoth.  Victories, real and exaggerated, boost NEO confidence
daily.

NEO ranks are swelling with new recruits -- young people who never before
felt they could make a difference.  Your team is assembled from those ranks.
Each member has made his or her way to Chicagorg with plans to join the war
against supremacy.  Each has visions of great victories, glory and lasting
fame -- like Buck Rogers...

CHARACTERS AND TEAMS
To play Countdown to Doomsday, you must make characters and band them
together into a team.  The team must have a variety of talents and skills to
survive and finally succeed.  The following sections describe everything that
goes into making a character and assembling your team.

CHARACTER ABILITY SCORES
Every character has seven randomly-generated ability scores that define the
person.  The scores describe the character's strength, intelligence, and so
on.  The base value for each ability from 3 (low) to 18 (high).  Each race
has ability modifiers that are automatically factored in when the character
is generated.  For example, Martians receive a -1 modifier to strength, but
they get a +1 bonus modifier to thier dexterity.  The following describes
each ability.

Strength (STR) measure physical power and indicates a character's endurance,
stamina and muscle bulk.  Strong characters can carry more weight in
equipment without becoming encumbered, and they have combat bonuses when
fighting with melee weapons (swords, mono knives, etc).


Page [3]

Dexterity (DEX) measures hand-eye coordination and agility, as well as
reaction speed and other reflexes.  High dexterity give characters bonuses to
avoid being hit during combat, determines how fast they react, and how well
they can fire ranged weapons (laser rifles, bolt guns, etc)
or fly a rocketship.

Constitution (CON) measures physical toughness and resistance to pain and
hardship.  High constitution increases the amount of damage a character can
withstand before dying.

Intelligence (INT) measures reasoning ability, memory(to some extent), and
general wit and cleverness.  High intelligence is required for most careers
-- in the twenty-fifth century stupidity kills.

Wisdom (WIS) measures common sense and ability to understand the ways of the
world.  This is the skill that both aids Medis in making sound treatments,
and keeps Rogues from fleecing the wrong victims.  High wisdom give bonuses
to such skills as Tracking and Planetary Survival.

Charisma (CHA) measures persuasiveness and how well others react to a
character.  Leaders are marked by high charisma, and this ability is valuable
when dealing with strangers.  High charisma gives bonuses to such skills as
Intimidation and Acting.

Tech (TCH) is short of Technical Knowhow, and is a special mix of
intelligence and wisdom that measures affinity for machinery and equipment.
High tech scores imporve such valudable skills as Jury Rigging and First Aid.

MORE ON ABILITIES
The STR, CON and DEX bonus tables start in the appendix on page 39.  Ablility
scores can affect skills: this is described under Skills and Abilities on
page 7.

ADDITIONAL CHARACTER ATTRIBUTES
Characters have three attributes that change during the game: Experience
Points, Level, and Hit Points.

Experience Points (EXP) measure what a character has learned.  EXP are earned
by winning battles, finding money, and completing parts of the adventure.
characters with enough EXP may advance in levels.  The Level Advancement
Tables begin in the appendix on page 40.

Level measure a character's career advancement.  Characters gain valuable
skill points and combat proficiency when they advance in level.  When
characters have sufficient EXP to go up a level, they must go to the Training
Center to receive the additional instruction for advancement.

Example: A second level Warrior with 4000 EXP can train and become third
level.

No matter how many EXP a character has, only one level can be gained per
training session.  A character with sufficient EXP to gain two or more levels
can train, advance one level, and then lose all EXP in excess of one point
less than is required to advance another level.

Example: A second level Warrior with 16,500 EXP (enough to advance to fourth
level) would train, advance to third level, and be left with 7999 EXP (800
would be fourth level).  The character could then easily gain the one point
needed to advance and then train again quickly.

Characters start the adventure at second level and can advance to eigth
level.

Hit Points (HP) measure how much damage a character can withstand before
becoming unconscious or dead.  Characters gain between 1-6 and 1-10 HP per
level depending on their career.


Page [4]

MORE ON ATTRIBUTES
The Level Advancement Tables showing EXP requirements for all careers begin
on page 40.

CHARACTER RACES
Team members can be any of six races -- four human type or two gennies,
Terrans, Martians, Veusians, and Mercurians are all, in spite of some genetic
engineering, considered humans.  Martian Desert Runners and Tinkers are
gennies that have been bred to include non-human characteristis with the
basic human genotypes.  Each race has unique modifiers to basic attributes,
and some careers are limited to certain races.  The following section
describes each of the races.

Terrans are the last of the unengineered humans in the solar system. While
the other civilized races have undergone genetic adaptation to suit new
planets and environments, the human population on old earth takes pride in
their pure strain.  Suffering under the yoke of RAM tyranny has taught the
Terrans determination and patience.

Allowable Carrers: All
Ablility Modifiers: CON+1, WIS+1

Martians have developed under RAM auspices the oldest and most advanced
civilization in the solar system.  The Martians themselves tend to be proud
to the point of arrogance.  Because of the lower Martian gravity and oxygen
content, Martians are slightly weaker than Terrans but about average for
other civilized races.

Allowable Careers: All
Ability Modifiers: STR -1, DEX +1, CON-1, WIS -1, CHA +1

Venusians are a divergent lot.  Venus hs threee distince cultures beneath its
billowing atmosphere.  The Aerostators float above the land, and make their
living primarily as tradesmen and herders.  The ground-dwelling Aphroditans
are farmers, miners, and shrewd traders.  The dominant culture on Venus is
the theocratic Ishtarians.  They control New Elysium, Venus' only major
spaceport.

Allowable Careers: All
Ability Modifiers: DEX -1, CON +1, WIS +1, CHA -1

Mercurians are a unique and rough mixture of cultures.  Originally, Mercury
was the site of large solar energy collection stations called Mariposas.  The
Mercurian Sun Kings are descended fromteh original Mariposa owners, and are
quite wealthy.  The Sun Kings are renowned for decor that is both fabulously
expensive and totally devoid of taste.  The remaining three cultural groups
on Mercury are descended from the refugees that fled to the planet to escape
the turmoil in thh rest of the solar system.  The Miners inhabit large
subterranean warrens shielded from the intense heat.  The Musicians are the
Mercurian merchant class.  The Desert Dancers live on the planet's surface,
continually following the shaded side of the planet.

Allowable Careers: All
Ability Modifiers: STR -1, DEX +1, CON +1

Tinkers were originally bioengineered to include attributes from small
anthropoid species, such as lemur and gibbons, to work in cramped spaces.
They are very clever with tools and all manner of technology.

Allowable Careers: Engineer, Medic
Ability Modifiers: STR -2, DEX +3, CON -2 TECH +3

Desert Runners are one of the oldest of the bioengineered races, and are bred
for the savage Martian surface.  Their original purpose was to care for the
large heards of


Page [5]

animals that were seeded onto the planet during the late stages of
terraforming.  The Desert Runner engineering adds a mix of canine and feline
attributes to the basic homo sapien stock.  They can run long distances on
all fours, and fight viciously with their retractable claws.  Desert Runner's
claws allow them to do an extra point of damage if they fight barehanded.

Allowable Careers: Rocketjock, Warrior, Engineer
Ability Modifiers: STR +2, DEX +2, CON +1, CHA -1

MORE ON RACES
There are several tables summarizing racial attribute modifiers and allowable
careers in the appendix starting on page 39.

CAREERS
There are five careers for characters to choose from in Buck Rogers, and each
career has a unique set of skills associated with it.  Minimum attributes are
required for each career choice.  For example, Mdeic characters must have
minimum scores of 12 in dexterity, intelligence and wisdom.  When creating
characters, the career is selected first, then the computer will generate
ability scores to fit.  Some careers are limited to select races.  Rogues for
example, can only be human.  Each career has a set of Career Skills that the
character learns while training for a given occupation.

THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBES EACH CAREER.
Rocketjocks have what one twentieth century author called "the right stuff."
They are only truly at home when they are clutching the controls of some type
of space vehicle.  They pride themselves in their ability to out fly and out
romance anybody in the galaxy, and too often they're right.

Special Ability: Rocketjocks receive a 10% bonus to all piloting skills.
Ability Score Requirements: DEX 13, INT 11, CHA 12.
Eligible Races: Terran, Martian, Venusian, Mercurian, Desert Runner

Career Skills:
Drive Jet Car
Drive Ground Car
Maneuver in Zero G
Notice
Pilot Fixed Wing
Pilot Rocket
Pilot Rotorwing
Use Jet Pack

Warriors dedicate their lives to mastering the skills of combat.  Even with
the development of fantastic new weapon technology, battles are still won and
lost by men.  Warriors train hard, and study strategy and leadership in
addition to combat skidlls.

Special Abilities: Because of their rigorous training, Warriors receive
bonuses to the amount of damage they can withstand.  Warriors can also attack
twice per round with their fists where other characters can only attack once.
Warriors do one to three points of damage with their bare fists, where other
classes do one to two.  Every second level (2nd, 4th, 6th...) Warriors also
receive a specialization bonus to a weapon of their choice.  Weapons
specialization bonuses can only be a maximum of plus three per weapon.

Ability Score Requirements: STR 10, DEX 8, CON 10, INT 8
Eligible Races: Terran, Martian, Venusian, Mercurian, Desert Runner


Page [6]

Career Skills
Battle Tactics
Demolitions
Leadership
Maneuver in Zero G
Move Silently
Notice
Repair Weapon
Use Jet Pack

Engineers are what hold the world together -- without them the artifices of
technical civilization would crumble.  Engineers aren't as cocky or flashy as
Rocketjocks, but they have a similar arrogant pride in their abilities.
Engineers love machines and fine workmanship.  They prefer the company of a
cranky ship's power plant to the hubbub of a port bar.

Special Abilities: None
Ability Score Requirements: STR 10, CON 12, INT 8, TECH 13
Eligible Races, Terran, Martian, Venusian, Mercurian, Tinker, Desert Runner

Career Skills
Jury Rig
Maneuver in Zero G
Notice
Repair Electrical
Repair Life Support
Repair Mechanical
Repair Nuclear Engine
Repair Rocket Hull

Rogues live by wi, cunning, and oftentimes, the misfortune of others.  Rogues
hvae talents for fast talking, and bypassing pesky security systems.  Because
of the nature of their work, and their ability to make lasting enemies.
Rogues who live to any noticeable age tend to have very fast reflexes.

Special Abilities: Rogues receive a 10% bonus to all career skills.
Ability Score Requirement: DEX 13, INT 8, WIS 9, CHA 13
Eligible Races: Terran, Martian, Venusian, Mercurian

Career Skills
Bypass Security
Climb
Fast Talk/Convince
Hide in Shadows
Move Silently
Notice
Open Lock
Pick Pocket

Medics seems to be very popular whenever a team sees any action.  When the
Warrior develops work-related injuries (usually laser holes), or the engineer
gets too close to an engine that blows up, the Medic puts them back together.
The advancements of medical techonology will never remove the need for human
touch in healing.  Medics learn skills such as treating wounds counteracting
poisons, and operating shipboard Medical Centers.

Special Abilities: Medic Careers Skills can ONLY be learned by Medics --all
skills from other careers can learned by anyone(although without career
bonuses)
Ability Score Requirements: DEX 12, INT 12, WIS 12
Eligible Races: Terran, Martian, Venusian, Mercurian, Tinker

Career Skills
Diagnose
Life Suspension Technician
Treat Critical Wounds
Treat Disease
Treat Poisoning
Treat Light Wounds
Treat Poisoning
Treat Serious Wounds
Treat Stun/Paralysis


Page [7]

MORE ON CAREERS
The summary of careers allowable to each race is in the appendix on page 39.
The Careers Skills tables begin on page 5.

SKILLS
Skills represent specific abilities of characters.  For the Rocketjock, the
ability to zig when he's supposed to zig and zag when he's supposed to zag in
a space battle is the skill called Pilot Rocket.  There are two types of
skills: Career Skills and General Skills.  Career Skills are the types of
things a character would learn while training for a job.  General skills are
extracurricular abilities that the character might find useful.  Characters
get points to allocate to skills.  Because the player gets to choose where
points go, each character develops uniquely.

Some commands in the game are only available to characters with the correct
skills.

Example: The JURYRIG option only appears during space combat if a ship's
system is damaged and the character has Jury Rig skill.

ASSIGNING POINTS TO SKILLS
Newly generated characters start at second level with 80 points to assign to
eight different Career Skills, (they get 40 more points for each level
gained).  New characters may allocate 30 points to any single career skill,
but no more than 15 points may be allocated at one time after that.  There is
no limit to how many ppoints can be allocated at one time after that.  There
is no limit to how many points can be allocated to a Career Skill overall --
only 80 points total can be allocated to any single General Skill.

New characters may choose a maximum of seven General Skills to start the game
with.  They can assign 40 points to these skills.  With each new level gained
characters can choose one additional skill, and assign 20 more points to any
of their General Skills.  So, choose the mix of skills wisely for your team
characters.  Career Skill points can only be assigned to Career skills and
not General skills and vice versa.

SKILLS AND ABILITIES
Each skill primarily uses one ability, and so most are listed by their
primary ability requirement.  Pilot Rocket, for example is a dexterity skill,
while Repair Rocket Hull is a tech skill.  The exception to this are the
Medic skills, which are only available to characters with that special career
training.  In addition to career bonuses, characters get Ability Bonuses
added to their skills.  The Ability Bonus is simply the character's score for
the appropriate ability.

Example: A character with 15 points allocated to Use Jet Pack (a dexterity
skill), and with 17 dexterity, would have an effective skill of 32.

SKILL PREREQUISITES
Some skills require minimum scores in other skills before points can be
allocated to them.

Example: Jury Rig skill requires minimum scores of 10 in both repair
Mechanical and Repair Electrical.

Certain skills in the game are useful only as prerequisites for other
skills.

SKILL CHECKS
A Skill Check is used to determine whether a character can perform some
action that requires a certain skill.  For example, Medics make Skill Checks
against their Treat Light Wounds skill to see if they can restore hitpoints
to injured characters after combat.  A skill score represents a percentage
chance


Page [8]

for success on a Skill Check.  If a character has a 75 Jury Rig skill, then
he has a 75% chance of successfully jury rigging an average problem.  The
chance of success changes if the situation is more or less difficult.

UNUSED SKILLS
A few of the listed skills are not actually used in Countdown to Doomsday.
They have been included for use in sequel games.  Unused skills are noted in
the following section.

SKILLS DESCRIPTIONS

DEXTERITY SKILLS:
Acrobatics is the skill of balancing, juggling, avoiding falling objects and
other unusual feats of dexterity.

Climb is the skill of scaling anything from mountains to buildings without
the use of ropes.

Drive Groundcar is the ability to use any type of small wheeled vehicle.
This skill is not used in Countdown to Doomsday.

Drive Jetcar is the ability to use any type of small jet-propelled vehicle.
This skill is not used in Countdown to Doomsday.

Hide in Shadowns is the ability to use available cover, both shadows and
terrain, to avoid detection.

Maneuver in Zero-G is the skill used to move and work in a gravity-free
environment.  This is a critical skill whenever fighting in a Zero-G
situation.  Characters who fail a Maneuver in Zero-G Skill Check receive a
large penalty to their movement and ability to hit targets.

Move Silently is the ability to travel quietly, even through brush or over
rocks and gravel.  This skill is used when attempting to backstab during
combat.

Pick Pocket is used to take small items from unsuspecting victims.

Pilot Fixed Wing Craft is the ability to fly jet or propellor-powered
aircraft.  This skill is not used in Countdown to Doomsday.

Pilot Rocket is used to operate any rocketship.  This is the premiere skill
of Rocketjocks.

Pilot Rotorwing Craft is the ability to fly helicopter-type aircraft.  This
skill is not used in Countdown to Doomsday.

Use Jet Pack is the skill to operate a personal jet pack.  This skill can be
used during combat if a character is outfitted with a jet pack.

TECH SKILLS:
Bypass Security is the skill to trace and disable electronic alarm systems.

Commo Operation is adeptness with communications equipment, including repair
and operation.

Demolitions is the skill to use, place and defuse explosive devices.

First Aid is the ability to perform minimal emergency medical treatment.
Characters with First Aid are handy during combat to augment Medics.

Jury Rig is the very valuable skill to patch together damaged equipment.
This skill can be a real lifesaver during space combat.  Prerequisites are
Repair Mechanical(10) and Repair Electrical(10)

Open Lock is the skill of picking mechanical locks.  Electronic locks are
covered under the Bypass Security Skill

Repair Electrical is the skill to maintain and repair electrical systems.
This skill is used to make field repairs to a ship after combat.


Page [9]

Repair Life Support is the skill to maintain and repair life support systems.
This skill is used to make field repairs to ships after combat.
Prerequisites are Repair Mechanical(25) and Repair Electrical(30)

Repair Mechanical is the skill to maintain and repair mechanical equipment.
This skill is used to make field repairs to ships after combat.

Repair Nuclear Engine is the skill to maintain and repair nuclear engines
found on rocketships.  This is used to make field repairs to ships after
combat.  Prerequisite is Repair Mechanical(10).

Repair Rocket Hull is the skill required to patch up damaged rocketship
hulls.  This skill is used to make field repairs to ships after combat.
Prerequisite is Repair Mechanical(10).

Repair Weapon is the skill to restore damaged weapons to service.  This skill
is used to make field repairs to ships after combat.

Sensor Operation is familiarity with the operation of sensor equipment and
evaulation of sensor data.  This skill is used to gather information about
enemy ships and crew sizes during space combat.

MEDIC SKILLS:
Diagnose is the ability to determine the nature of an ailment or internal
injury

Life Suspension Tech is the skill to operate and diagnose potential
malfunctions on life suspension equipment.  This skill is not used in
Countdown to Doomsday.

Treat Critical Wounds is the ability to deal with severe injuries.
Prerequisite is Treat Serious Wounds(40).

Treat Disease is the ability to treat diagnosed diseases.  Prerequisite is
Diagnose(25).  This skill is not used in Countdown to Doomsday.

Treat Light Wounds is the ability to give field aid to minor injuries.  This
is similar to the general First Aid skill, and is valuable during combat.

Treat Poisoning is the knowledge of how to counteract diagnosed poisons.
Prerequisite is Diagnose(15).

Treat Serious Wounds falls between Treat Light and Treat Critial Wounds.
This skill is only used after combat.  Prerequisite is Treat Light
Wounds(30).

Treat Stun Paralysis is a battlefield skill to treat battle induced shock
from sonic stunners.

INTELLIGENCE SKILLS:
Astrogation is the ability to calculate courses, plot the movement of
astronomical bodies, and to sight on stars.  Astrogation is used to find
specific locations while traveling in space.  Prerequisites are Astronomy(20)
and Mathematics(25).

Astronomy is a working knowledge of the planets, stars, and other
astronomical bodies.  Prerequisite Only.

Battle Tactics is the understanding of small-group combat tactics.  If a
character makes a Battle Tactice role at the start of an encounter, the whole
team will receive combat bonuses because they are better able to act as a
unit.

Disguise is skill in the use of makeup and costume to assume a new
appearance.

Library Search is the skill to ferret information out of computer library
systems.

Mathematics is the ability to perform complex mathematical operations and
calculations.  Prerequisite Only.

Mimic is the ability to copy the vocal patterns and sounds of others.


Page [10]

Navigation is the skill to calculate courses and effectively steer a
rocketship on its trip.  Prerequisites are Astronomy(15) and Mathematics(25).

Planetology is an understanding off the ecology, climate, geology, and
hazards of planets.

Programming is the ability to program both planetside and shipboard
computers.  Prerequisite is Mathematics(10).

CHARISMA SKILLS:
Act is the ability to memorize and perform lines and to take on
characterizations.

Befriend Animal is the skill to relate to animals and create some kind of
rapport.

Distract ist the ability to successfully act as a diversion or to direct a
victim's attention.

Etiquette is an understanding of the rules and conventions of a culture.
This is especially useful when patronizing teh better class establishments on
Outposts.

Fast Talk/Convince is the skill to flim flam and get others to agree or
acceptl.

Intimidate is the ability to create an aura of menace and danger.  Successful
intimidation during combat will cause enemies to be taken aback while they
decide whether to fight or flee.

Leadership is the skill to give orders and see that they are carried out.
Characters with Leadership skill can, if they make a difficult Skill Check,
take control of NPCs during combat.

Sing is the ability to deliver a tune with a melodious and pleasing voice.
This skill can come in handy in Outpost bars.

WISDOM SKILLS:
Notice is the skill of careful, trained, observation.  Many times a character
with high Notice skill will see things that other team members miss.

Planetary Survival is a working hard knowledge of how to survive wilderness
conditions on a variety of planets.  Prerequisite is Planetology(10).

Shadowing is the ability to follow people in urban areas without being
discovered.

Tracking is the skill to follow tracks and signs in a wilderness environment.

ASSEMBLING A TEAM
Assembling a strong and mult-talented team is the key to success in Countdown
to Doomsday.  The variety of careers and skills must be able to deal with the
many perils and uncertainties of the twenty-fifth century.

CAREERS AND RACES MIX
Every team should have at least one Rocketjock, one Medic, and one Engineer.
The remainder of the party can be a mix of careers.  Take a look at the
Racial Attribute Modifiers to select a good mix of races.

SKILLS MIX
Several skills are critical for the survival of the team.  Medical and First
Aid skills are used to patch up wounded team members.  At least one character
with Pilot Rocket is required to effectively control a rocketship.
Characters with Engineering skills like Jury Rig are very useful during space
combat.  Maneuver in Zero-G is used every time the team fights in a
null-gravity environment.  Battle Tactics is very useful during fire-fights.

Other useful skills are: Leadership, Intimidate, Navigation, Astrogation,
Sensor Operation, Demolitions, Use Jet Pack, and Move Silently.


Page [11]

NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS (NPCs)
Non-player characters (NPCs) are the people the team meets during the
adventure.  Sometimes NPCs are threats taht the team must deal with quickly.
Other times NPCs may offer valuable information or even join the team for
awhile.  NPCs that join the team generally fight under computer control.  If
any member of the team has Leadership skill, and makes a successful Skill
Check at the start of a combat, then you may control the NPC for that battle.

DIGITAL PERSONALITIES (Dps)
In the twenty-fifth century, computer techonology has advanced to the point
that fully aware, computer-based intelligences have evolved.  These Digital
Personalities can be either purely computer-generated or based on a living
thing, once living mind.  A suffix of .DOX is added to the names of computer
personalities for ease of indentification.

MONEY
Every planet in the solar system has its own currency system, but the Credit
has been developed as the common unit of exchange.  Bank accounts and
interplanetary transactions, for example, are always handled in credits, on
any planet.  The most common form in which to carry money is negotiable
"Credit cards."  Each card has a coded strip that "remembers" how much it is
worth.  Purchases can be debited from the card value until it is valueless.
Unlike twentieth century credit cards, these cards cannot be replaced if lost
of stolen -- they can be used by anyone who gets hold of the card.

COMBAT
The team moved through the derelict rocketship carefully.  Ulysses, one of
the team's two warriors was leading.  He strained his senses, trying to pick
up any sign of combat gennies or security robots.  They had just moved
cautiously around one corner into a new corridor when Ulysses heard the
distinct whine of a laser firing circuit charging...

"Security robots ahead! Red, dump a grenade on 'em.  Doc and Ratchet hit 'em
with laser!  Looks like it's gonna hit the fan..."

Whether facing killer Terrine gennies or boarding space pirates you will find
yourself in combat often in the twenty-fifth century.

INITIATIVE
Each round of combat is divided into 10 segments.  The segment a character or
opponent acts in depends on his initiative number.  This is a randomly
generated number for each character and opponent.  This random number is
generated at the beginning of each combat round and is modified by dexterity
bonuses or penalties and random factors (such as surprise) to arrive at the
initiative number.

Sometimes a character will act in segment 10 of one round and segment 1 of
the next, appearing to act twice in a row.  This is especially common if you
use the WAIT command.  When the WAIT command is given, that character's
action will be delayed until segment 10.

COMBAT ABILITY
Each character's ability in combat is defined by his THAC0, damage and AC.

AC
A character or opponent's difficulty to be hit is represented by his Armor
Class or AC.  The lower the AC the harder it is to hit the target.  AC is
based on the armor a character is wearing and any dexterity bonus.


Page [12]

THAC0
THAC0 represents ability to hit enemies in melee or with ranged fire.  THAC0
stands for To Hit Armor Class 0.  This is the number a character must 'roll'
equal to or greater than to damage on a target with an AC of 0.  The lower
the THAC0 the better the chance to hit the target.

Note: The generation of a random number is often referred to as a 'roll'.  In
determining if an attack is successful, the roll is a random number from 1
through 20.

An attack is successful if the random number is greater than or equal to the
attacker's THAC0 minus the target's AC.  THAC0 may be modified by range,
terrain and zero-G conditions, among other things.

Example: A Warrior with a THAC0 of 15 attacking an opponent with an AC of 3
would need to roll:
(THAC0 15) - (AC 3) = 12 +
But to hit an opponent with an AC of -2 he would need to roll:
(THAC0 15) - (AC -2) = 17+

THAC0 decreases (requires a lower number to hit an opponent) as a character's
level increases.  Great strength can help THAC0 if the character is attacking
with a melee weapon (sword, knife, etc).

DAMAGE
When a hit is scored, the attacker does damage.  Damage is the range of HP
loss the attacker inflicts when he hits an opponent in combat.  Damage
depends on the attackers weapon type and sometimes the attacker's strength
(when using melee weapons).

Some opponents take only partial or no damage from certain weapon types.
Robots, for example, are immune to such attacks as dazzle or gas grenades,
while Venusian acid frogs are unaffected by fire.

SAVING THROWS
Whenever characters or opponents are poisoned, subjected to extremes of heat
and cold, or certain types of weapons, the computer checks to see if they
make their Saving Throw.  A successful save means that the target had some
innate immunity to the poison, or was not hit full-force by the weapon
effect.  Generally a successful save will mean that the target was unaffected
or damage that would otherwise be taken is halved.

LEADERSHIP SKILL CHECK
When NPCs join the team, they will generally fight under computer control.
If any member of the team has Leadership skill, and makes a successful Skill
Check at the start of a battle, an NPC will be under manual control for that
battle.

BATTLE TACTICS SKILL CHECK
The computer automatically makes a Battle Tactics Skill Check for any
characters with the skill.  If any character is successful, the entire team
receives a plus one combat bonus because they are better able to act as a
group.

MANEUVER IN ZERO-G SKILL CHECK
Whenever character enter combat in null-gravity conditions, they must make a
Maneuver in Zero-G Skill Check or become severly restricted.  Characters
that fail to make this roll receive a minus two combat penalty and their
movement is reduced to three squares per round.


Page [13]

COMBAT MAP
Combat takes place on a tactical map that is a detailed 3-D view of the map
terrain that the team was in when combat began.  This map is overlaid with an
invisible square grid.  As you move characters, you will notice that
everything moves on the grid from square to square.  Moving diagonally often
costs more movement points than moving horizontally or vertically.

TERRAIN
When the laserbeams and rockets start flying, being able to duck behind cover
becomes a big concern.  There are three basic type of terrain: clear,
hindering, and blocking.  Clear terrain is just that, open and free of
obstacles.  Hindering terrain offers some cover from enemy weapons fire by
making targets more difficult to hit, and slows movement.  When traveling
overland, hindring terrain might be bushes or low rocks.  In outposts or
civilized areas, hindering terrain would be objects like tables or computer
terminals.  Blocking terrain would be walls or trees -- objects that cannot
be moved or fired through at all.

TEMPORARY OBSTACLES
Several weapons have effects that hinder combat: chaff, aerosol, and gas.
Chaff clouds will cause missiles from rocket weapons to lose tracking as well
as causing all types of explosive shields to detonate instantly when they hit
the chaff.  Aerosol clouds are designed to diffuse laserbeams.  Gas clouds do
not affect ranged combat, but anyone or thing that moves through a gas cloud
without some kind of breathing apparatus must make a saving throw or become
incapacitated.

COMPUTER CONTROL
The computer controls the actions of opponents, NPCs, and PCs set to
computer control with the QUICK command.  You may take control of PC
characters during any combat round.  See your Data Card for instructions on
how to use QUICK on your specific computer system.

RANGE
Every ranged weapon has a short, medium, and long range.  At short range the
weapon fires with no penalties.  At medium range there is a minus two penalty
to hit, and at long range there is a minus five penalty.

RATE OF FIRE
Many weapons can be fired more than once per round.  When firing a rapid fire
weapon, such as a needle gun, all shots are aimed at one target unless target
is eliminated before all rounds are fired.

Example: A warrior firing a bolt gun at a wounded opponent drops his target
with the first shot.  The warrior can then shoot at another opponent.  If the
first shot had missed, or not finished the opponent off, the second shot
would have been fired at the same target.

GRENADES
When most weapons miss, the shots have gone wide and not done any perceivable
damage.  Grenades, on the other hand, can miss their intended target, roll
into an adjacent square, and detonate there.  Grenads can be thrown, or
launched, into empty squares.

REAR ATTACKS AND BACKSTABBING
If an opponent is attacked by two characters from one sid, a third character
can blindside him using a melee weapon and gain the advantage of a rear
attack.  Because the target is already sistracted, he cannot defend against
the second attack very well.


Page [14]

Backstabbing is similar to the regular rear attack, except that the first
attacker and the character attempting to backstab must be directly opposite
each other.  Additionally the backstabber must make a Move Silently Skill
Check.  Damage from a backstab is greater than a rear attack.  Rogues have
bonuses to their Move Silently skill, and hence ability to backstab.

MOVEMENT
The number of squares a character can move is affected by carried weight and
strength.  A character's movement range is displyed on the view screen and
when moving during combat.  Moving through hindering terrain (bushes, tables,
etc.) will slow a character to half normal movement, while sprinting allows a
character to move at double the normal rate.  Dodging characters move at
normal rate but their bobbing and weaving makes them more difficult to shoot
at.

RUNNING AWAY
Characters may flee from the battlefield if they can move faster than all
enemies.  Characters may not move off the battlefield if they move slower
than any enemies.  Characters have a 50% chance to move off the battlefield
if they can move as fast as the fastest enemy opponent.

Exception: If an opponent or character can reach the edge of the combat map
without any of his opponents being able to see him, he may then flee
successfully, even though he may be slower than his opponents.

A character that moves off the battlefield returns to the team when the fight
is over.  If the whole team flees it will not receive any EXP for opponents
killed before retreating.

AFTER COMBAT
If one or more characters survive on the battlefield at the end of combat,
the bodies of unconscious or dead team members stay with the team.  If the
entire team flees from combat all unconscious and dead team members are
permanently lost.  If ALL the team members are slain, go back to your last
Saved Game and try again from that point.

MEDICAL ATTENTION
After the battle is over any team Medics will use their skills automatically
to patch up the wounded.  Medics will make checks against all appropriate
skills for each wounded character.

ROCKETSHIPS AND SPACE TRAVEL
The evolution of sophisticated rocketships has opened solar system to
mankind.  COUNTDOWN TO DOOMSDAY spans the vast reaches from the sunbaked
Mercurain Mariposas to the hard vacuum of the asteroid outposts.

ROCKETSHIPS
A far cry from their twentieth century ancestors, twenty-fifth centruy
rocketships are sleek, finned craft that navigate the solar system driven by
powerful nuclear engines.  Sensor and communications gear is used to navigate
the ship, send and receive messages, and to probe enemy ships during combat.
Sophisticated computer-aided controls help steer rocketships through the void
of space, while the complex maze of plumbing, air tanks, and hydroponic vats
of the life support system churn out breathable atmosphere for the crew.


Page [15]

SPACE TRAVEL
Before embarking on a space flight, the team needs to fuel up the ship and
purchase service stores for field repairs.  If you run out of fuel in
mid-flight, you never know who might come to pick you up...

NAVIGATION SKILL CHECK
A successful Navigation Skill Check means that the pilot has charted an
effective, fuel efficient course.  If the pilot fails the Navigation Skill
Check, the plotted course will consum extra fuel

Astrogation Skill Check - An Astrogation Skill Check is required when
attempting to pilot the ship to a specific small body in space, such as an
asteroid outpost.  If the pilot fails the check then the ship must swing
around for another pass through the same area and try again.

MERCURY
Closest to the sun and possible the richest planet in the system, Mercury
gathers sunlight via hugh satellites known as Mariposas.  The sunlight is
then beamed to the rest of the solar system as microwaves.  This provides
Mercury with its great profits.

The wealthy of Mercury live on the Mariposas.  Each satellite is uniquely
designed, with its own baroque flavor and decor.  Many of the rich enjoy
dressing up in styles from ancient earth.  The Mariposas also have the
largest number of holidays per year.  each one is an excuse for wild
parties and parades.


Page [16]

Most of the profits are controlled by an elite group of ruling families,
known as the Sun Kings, Presently, the Gavilan family and its allies hold
firm control of the government.  This faction is very pro-RAM and much
commerce takes place between the two nations.  Other Sun Kings have different
views and political infighting is common.

Other groups on Mercury include the Musicians and the Dancers.  Their names
derive from the fact that most cities on Mercury bear the names of famous
composers.  The Musicians are the merchant class -- well-to-do, but with
little political influence.  They are content as long as the economy is
strong.

The Dancers are nomads on Mercury's surfce.  They travel in great rail cities
searching and exploiting mineral deposits.  They are poor and generally
discriminated against.  They are the backgone of the "Mercury for Mercurians"
movement.  The faction's goal is to isolate the planet from entangling
alliances, such as the current ones with RAM.  Since the Dancers are banned
from the satellites which house the governing Sun Kings, they have little
true power.

VENUS
The planet is barely terraformed - normal humans can only survive unprotected
on mountain tops and in the upper atmosphere.  The lowlands are filled with
gennies and genetically modified jungle.  The creatures here are extremely
dangerous, and the rain is so heavily laced with acid that it would dissolve
an unprotected human in very short order.

The intelligent race of gennies, known as the Lowlanders, inhabits this acid
jungle.  They are believed to be primitive and warlike.  Some experts dispute
this, since they provide the only known supply of Gravitol.  Gravitol is
required to survive for long periods of weightlessness and is critical to
space travel.

The humans of Venus are allied with NEO against RAM.  The Lowlanders are more
neutral: they will sell to anybody.  Because of the Lowlander's regular
commerce and the undesirability of the jungle, it is relatively easy to slip
a space craft onto the planet -- as many Gravitol smugglers can attest to.

EARTH
The homeworld of unmodified humans has been RAM's dumping ground for decades.
Recently, with the help from Buck Rogers, NEO has seized control of Earth
from RAM.  Now a cold war exists between the two factions.  Occasional
incidents occur, but RAM blames them on rogue commanders or NEO infighting.
Earth's cities suffered badly in the open war, but are slowly being rebuilt.

Above Earth is a huge junk belt, formed from the detritus of innumerable
space launches over the centuries.  Most of this garbage is completely
unidentified, so NEO often sends scavenger parties to investigate.  At the
heart of the belt is a space station Salvation III, officially a scrap yard.
Actually, this is the top secret base of NEO's military wing.  As new
recruits, your characters will be based at this station.

LUNA
The lunar peoples are strict isolationists.  It was only through RAM's
missteps that Luna joined NEO in the last open conflict.  Offworlders are
rarely tolerated beyond the spaceport proper.


Page [17]

MARS
RAM's home world, which it shares with the Desert Runner gennies.  RAM
evaluates everything in terms of profit and loss -- in fact the NEO victory
for control of Earth was an effort by RAM to cut losses on expensive business
venture.  Humans, being fairly common, are rated at a rather low economic
value.

The Desert Runners inhabit the fringe lands and are ignored or persecuted by
RAM.  The runners live in mud huts and often keep hers of hexadillos.  Armed
only with crossbows, they present little threat to RAM's objectives.

Most of Mar's commerce flows through the Pavonis Space Elevator, a satellite
tied to the ground by a huge elevator.  So much traffic passes through, that
undercover NEO teams use the facility for resupply.

ASTEROID BELT
The asteroids are sparsely populated by the most independent group of humans
in the system: the asteriod miners.  Mahy spend months at a time alone,
prospecting the many rocks.  The many island sized asteroids make the belt an
ideal place for hidden bases.  Both RAM and space pirates keep innumerable
hideouts, ports and research stations in the belt.

SPACE COMBAT
Two days out of Salvations Station, the buzz of conversation and the dull
throb of the rocket engine was shattered by the piercing wail of the battle
stations siren.

"Sensors have detected a large ship at extreme range!"

"Are they responding to the comm, Ratchet?"

"They are not responding.  Might be a RAM cruiser from the readings."

"Warm up the lasers -- looks like a fight..."

SPACE COMBAT DISPLAY
While the combatants ships circle and maneuver for shots, all the crew sees
are display screens.  Whenever a character attempts sensor probe of the enemy
ship, the enemy ship image will be replaced with a summary screen of
everything the sensor was able to detect.

SPACE COMBAT SKILLS
There are several skills that are extremely valuable, some even critical, in
space combat.  Piloting skill is important during space combat.  The JURYRIG
command uses the Jury Rig skill to make emergency repairs to the ship during
combat.  Sensor Operation skill is used for the SENSOR command to probe the
enemy ship.  The AID command requires either a First Aid or Treat Light
Wounds skill.  After the battle all of the repair skills (Repair Computer,
Repair Nuclear Engine, etc.) are used automatically to make field repairs to
the rocketship.

FIRING SHIPS'S WEAPONS
Characters use thier normal THAC0 to determine whether attacks with ship's
weapons are successful.  Select the best characters to fire weapons, andhave
other characters stand duty loading weapons or jury rigging systems.

DISABLING ROCKETS
Rocketships lose speed as their huls and engines are damaged.  A rocketship
is dead is space when the engine, controls, or fuel reaches zero.  When the
rocket's hull reaches zero, it is breached and the ship explodes.

If Hull is reduced to one-half, the ship is slowed by one movement point.


Page [18]

If Engine reduced to one-half, the ship is slowed by one movement point.
If Engine is reduced to one-quarter, the ship is slowed by three movement
points.
Speed is always at least one until Control, Engine, or Fuel is reduced to
zero.

BOARDING
When a rocket has been disabled, you can move to range 0 or 1 and dock at the
airlock with the BOARD command.  To secure the ship your team must fight
their way onto the enemy ship and secure both the control bridge and
engineering sections.  If either section is destroyed during the battle, only
the remaining section need be captured.  If your ship has been disabled
during the battle, the enemy may try to board and capture your ship.

SALVAGE
Once a ship has been boarded and secured, a salvage beacon will be placed on
the derelict so that it can be picked up by a NEO spacetug and taken to
Salvation.  The salvage value of the ship is determined by how much is left
intact.  The funds are automatically put into your team's NEO Salvage
Account.  Usable fuel from the enemy ship is automatically transferred into
your tanks.

AFTER THE BATTLE
When teh battle is finished, team Medics will treat all wounded characters,
and the Engineers will perform any repairs that they are able.  If there are
any credits or items found on the enemy ship, a Booty Menu will come up just
as in regular combat.


Page [19]

GEAR

BLADED WEAPONS
Cutlass a broad bladed sword favored by space pirates.  Length: 70 cm avg

Knife any short bladed weapon.  Length: 15 to 40 cm.

Mono Knife is a knife made from a single piece of synthetic diamond.  The
edge is sharpened to a single molecule in width (monomolecular - hence the
name)  Length: 15 to 30 cm

Mono Sword is an entire sword made with the same material and construction as
the shorter Mono Knife.  Length: 70 to 80 cm

Polearm is a pole weapon similar to the ancient naginata of old Earth.  These
weapons are sometimes carried aboard pirate or warships for boarding.
Length: 2.25 to 2.5 meters

Sword is a long bladed weapon.  Most swords used in the twenty-fifth century
are patterned after the rapier used in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
on old Earth.  Length: 70 to 90 cm

RANGED WEAPONS
Bolt Gun is a miniature magnetic cannon.  Metal bolts are accelerated down
the length of the gun barrel by magnetic fields.  Maximum Range: 16

Desert Runner Crossbow is a weapon evolved from the crossbows of old Earth.
Desert Runner crossbows are designed to fire metal bolts and they are very
simple and reliable.  Maximum Range: 8

Heat Gun is a weapon that evolved from the flame throwers of twentieth
century Earth.  The gun has two tanks: one with compressed air, the other
with highly combustible fuel.  When the gun is discharged, a blast of
super-heated plasma is released at high velocity.  The fuel recharge for
these weapons is fairly expensive, and they are dangerous to use in confined
spaces.  Maximum Range: 6

Laser Pistol uses a capacitor system to fire a small diameter beam of
coherent light.  Lasers are capable of burning through most materials, but
can be countered by reflective or curved surfaces.  Maximum Range: 32

Laser Rifle is a larger, more powerful version of the laser pistol.  Maximum
Range: 120

Microwave Gun fires a short-range beam of concentrated microwave radiation.
Microwaves can penetrate any non-metallic substance, but are reflected by all
metals (and hence most types of armor). Maximum Range: 16

Needle Gun works on the same principle as the bolt gun except that the
ammunition is small needles.  Maximum Range: 12

Rocket Pistol fires a stubby, self-propelled, explosive projectile.
Rocket-type weapons are ideal for zero-G combat as they have no recoil.  The
projectiles incorporate a microscropic integrated guidance system, and they
area actually able to veer up to 20 degrees from their original course.
These so-called "smart bullets" can, however, be thwarted by chaff and
Electronic Counter Measure (ECM) systems.  Maximum Range: 16

Rocket Rifle is a larger version of the rocket pistol, firing a bigger,
longer range projectile.  Maximum Range: 80

Sonic Stunner emits a high-frequency sound that is tuned to the harmonic
resonating pitch of most nervous systems.  Targets of the weapons must make a
saving throw or be rendered unconscious.  Maximum Range: 4


Page [20]

EXPLOSIVES AND HEAVY WEAPONS
Grenade, Aerosol Mist releases a vaporous cloud designed to diffuse laser
fire.  Mist lasts four round under normal gravity but dissipates in one round
in zero-G.

Grenade, Chaff releases a cloud of metallic flakes and small strips.  Chaff
offers protection from smart shells (from rocket pistol or rifle), and
"stupid" explosive projectiles (rockets, plasma, etc.) entering the cloud
will explode instantly.  Chaff lasts four rounds under normal gravity but
dissipatess in one round in zero-G

Grenade, Dazzle releases a blinding electrical discharge arc.  Characters or
opponents in the effected area who are not wearing protective goggles must
make a saving throw or be blinded for two to seven rounds.  Blinded
characters receive severe penalties to both THAC0 and AC.

Grenade, Explosive is little changed from its twentieth century counterpart.
Explosive grenades are fitted with proximity detonators that fire when they
reach their target.  The sensitivity of the armed detonator makes these
weapons susceptible to premature discharge when entering chaff clouds.  Does
4 to 40 points of damage.

Grenade, Gas similar in effect to twentieth century tear gas, anyone entering
the cloud without protective gear must make a saving throw or become
incapacitated for two to seven rounds.  Gas cloud lasts four rounds under
normal gravity but dissipates in one round in zero-G.

Grenade, Stun is similar to the explosive grenade, except that the charge is
smaller and the casing is designed to vaporize harmlessly rather than
fragment.  Characters in the area of effect must make a saving throw or be
stunned by the blast for two to seven rounds.

Grenade Launcher uses compressed air to extend the range of any type of
grenade.  Maximum Range: 12

Plasma Launcher propels a canister of flammable jelly, tipped with an
ignitor.  Maximum Range: 20

Rocket Launcher is similar to the twentieth century bazooka or light
anti-tank weapon (LAW).  Between cooling and reload time, the rocket launcher
con only be fired every other round.  Maximum Range: 40

ARMOR AND PROTECTIVE GEAR
Armor, Battle is made of modular shells of high density plastic impregnated
with berylium.  The armor is further reinforced by an exoskeleton that
contains movement enhancers so that the wearer is able to move at a speed
comparable to an unencumbered person.  All battle armor is outfitted with
contained atmosphere spacesuit capabilities.

Armor, Battle w/ Fields is like the above suit except that an anit-smart
shell electronic field is also generated to give added protection from rocket
pistols and similar weapons.

Armor, Heavy Body is similar to battle armor except that the plates are
somewhat lighter and there is no exoskeleton or movement enhancers.  Armor is
outfitted with contained atmosphere spacesuit capabilities.

Breathing Mask is a self-contained breathing apparatus.  Breathing masks are
effective against all types of gas.

Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) Package attaches to armor or smart uits to
protect against smart bullet-type rounds such as rocket pistol rounds.

Protective Goggles are self-regulating shaded goggles.  They can react very
quickly to light flashes and so are extremely effective against dazzle
grenades.

Smart Suit incorporates internal circuitry and microcomputers for climate
control, defense, and communications.  The smart suits purchased by team
members include contained atmosphere spacesuit capabilities.


Page [21]

Space Suit is an inexpensive, pressurized suit that allows the wearer to work
in full vacuum or rocketships with zero life support.  Space suits are also
proof against all types of gas.

MISCELLANEOUS GEAR
Demolition Charges are blocks of plastique explosives with a short delay
detonator.  These can be used to blast stubborn doors.

Poison Antidote is a general puprose drug that can counteract most common
types of poison.

Jet Pack uses a small turbine mounted in the small of the back to burn
condensed fuel pellets and create about two minutes of sustained flight time.
The unit is controlled by a hand-held control unit.

Rope is a general purpose, high-test, polymer line.  This is very handy for
many purposes.

GEAR QUALITY
The manufacturing capabilities of the planets vary and this is reflected in
the weapons and armor produced.  The following summarizes the effective
bonuses for items:

Standard Weapons are +0 to hit
Standard Armor is -0 to AC

Martian Weapons are +1 to hit
Martian Armor is -1 to AC

Venusian Weapons are +2 to hit Venusian
Armor is -2 to AC

Mercurian Weapons are +3 to hit
Mercurian Armor is -3 to AC

Lunarian Weapons are +4 to hit
Lunarian Armor is -4 to AC

ROBOTS, GENNIES, AND OTHER OPPONENTS
Acid Frog - These semi-intelligent creatures were placed into the Venusian
ecosystem to help control the population of Swamp Hornets.  They spit acid to
attack, and are known to sometimes exhibit loyalty to humanoids.

Acidicium - These Venusian horrors are a cross between fierce feline hunters
and mold devouring mollusks. Acidicium are often used to guard RAM
installations in humid climates, since they can feed on molds & spores which
grow on the damp walls until more active prey can be found.

Experimental Combat Gennie (ECG) - RAM military research laboratories have
special project teams to engineer ever more dangerous and horrific combat
gennies.  These beasts are fast and deadly.

Desert Runner Warrior - The Martian Desert Runners are proud and fearsome
opponents.  They are generally armed with the famed Desert Runner crossbows.
They also have retractable claws for claw-to-hand fighting.

Desert Ape - These creatures are a bizarre holdover of the early Martian
terraforming efforts.  Desert Apes have very tough hides and are immune to
fire attacks.

Hexadillo - This species was introduced to the Martian ecosystem as a
food-source gennie.  Hexadillos are six-legged, and covered with bony armor
plates.

Hyper-Crab - The Hyper-series gennies are products of the RAM military
bioengineering laboratories.  The Hyper-Crab gennie is not exceptionally
bright, but it is fairly fast and possesses a tough armor exoskeleton.


Page [22]

Hyper-Scorp - Another Hyper-series combat gennie, the Hyper-Scorp has a tough
armor exoskeleton and a dangerous poison stinger.

Hyper-Snake - This Hyper-series gennie is blindingly fast and can avoid most
smar-shell type rounds, as well as being immune to dazzle grenades and
microwave weapons.

Humans - From space pirates to assassins and enemy warriors, humans present
the most varied and dangerous collection of foes a team can face.  Human
races include Mercurians, Venusians, Terrans, and Martians.

Lowlander - This species was heavily engineered to survive on the surface of
Venus.  The Lowlanders are based on the human genotype, but have many
reptilian features.  They have the most advanced and involved culture of all
the gennie races.

RAM Combat Gennie - RAM Combat Gennies are custon designed for military
deployment in many environments.

RAM Guard dog Gennie - These gennies have been engineered as guards and
support regular combat forces.  They are based on the terran canine genotype,
and have keen senses in addition to a poisonous atack.

Robots - Mechanical combat and security units come in all shapes, sizes, and
degree of armament.  Some ships are outfitted with security robots that can
continue to defend against boarding parties even after the crew is dead.
Assault and combat models tend to have more weaponry and armor than security
robots, but they are singleminded and dangerous.

Sand Squid - This oppportunistic Martian omnivore uses its speed and
camouflage to attack unwary victims.  This gennie was created to deal with
the insect & animal pests which resulted from terraforming and populating
Mars.

Space Rat - The origins of this species are not clear, but Space Rats have
proliferated, and followed mankind throughout the Solar System.

Swamp Hornet - These Venusian gennies were engineered to fill a scavenger
role in the ecosystem during later terraforming.

Terrine - These killers are the RAM combat gennies that were originally bred
for service on old Earth.  They have a reputation across the Solar System for
the delight they take in acts of cruelty and subjugation.

Ursader - This Venusian predator, which is a cross between a snake and a
bear, has inherent armor, and feeds mostly on Acid Frogs.

End.
====================================================================================
              BUCK ROGERS LOG ENTRIES GLOSSARY AND APPENDIX

LOG ENTRIES

LOG ENTRY 1

Speech over Loudspeaker

  "The terrorist leader Wilma Deering has
been captured and is being held near the
Stock Exchange. She attempted to bomb
the building while it gas full of innocent
workers. A tribunal is being convened on
site. The public is invited to attend the sub-
sequent execution. A party and parade will
be held immediately afterwards. Please
hurry if you wish a good seat."


LOG ENTRY 2

Scot.dos Triumphant

  "The argon gas that you released has
cleansed the ECGs' neural pathways. This is
what I have been waiting for. In this state
they have been engineered to interface
with computer circuitry. Now I can embed
my control devices into them. A new
cybernetic race is born! Pure biologicals
will become a thing of the past.

  "Now don't worry about yourselves. Human
material is still very useful to me. Perhaps a
few of you can survive the implantation of
the controller. Just step over to the auto-sur-
surgeons, they know what to do."

LOG ENTRY 3

Betrayed by RAM

  You return to the room where the
Lowlander scientists are being held prison-
er. and tell them of your successes with
Landon. They look suspicious. "Desscribe
Landon to uss." they demand. You do your
best to comply. and they are dismayed.
"Thhat'ss not Landon!" the leader cries.
"thhat'ss Ssevern! Hhe'ss trying to make a
deal withh RAM for hhiss own freedom!
you've found the ssecret tunnel for hhim.
and hhe'ss certainly told RAM thhat you're
hhere. Now thhere'ss no way any of uss will
bet out of hhere alive!"

  As he finishes his sentence. a voice address-
es you through a wall speaker. He intro-
duces himself as Commander Max Wyman
the RAM commander of Venus. "You've
lost." he informs you smugly. "The tunnel is
closed, and now we have your team as
well. My superiors will be very pleased."
The door slams shut: you hear a quiet hiss
as the room fills with tranquilizing gas.


LOG ENTRY 4

Wilma's Instructions

  "The security gates will detect you immedi-
ately. so head to the left. There should be
some unmatched airshafts or maintenance
corridors somewhere. Near the end of the
Rue de Sol there should be an unguarded
entrance to the Core. The Core is the only
route I know to reach the Doomsday laser.

  "Get up there and destroy the laser before it
fires on Earth. We'll keep them busy down
here. Good Luck."


LOG ENTRY 5

Scot's Alarm

  Scot.dos appears before you. His image is
crackling and wavery and his voice is fre-
quently interrupted by static. "Don't go to
the third Mercurian Mariposa!" His voice is
barely understandable. "It's a trick... the
Doomsday device ..."You can no longer
decipher anything he's saying. His image
becomes less and less distinct. until you
only see a shimmering field of static where
his hologram was. In a few moments, even
that is one.


LOG ENTRY 6

Security Log Book

  "Scot.dos has turned on us. He has inserted
new genetic material into the ECGs and
made them even more dangerous. He has
tricked the crew into doing his bidding. He
plans to unleash the ECGs against all of the
worlds. Once the creatures receive high
concentrations of argon, the solar system is
doomed."


LOG ENTRY 7

Dr. Williams' Folder

  "Work at the asteroid base showed the major
limitations of single form combat gennies. Of
special note on ECG development is work with a
symbiote gennie. Tiny gennies, whcich develop on
the host ECG, drop off and seek out warm flesh.
The burrowing behavior wsa borrowed from a
number of Earth's grass seeds. The brain seeking
nature is common to many small parasites. In
this way, my ECG's effectively sow
anti-personnel mines everywhere they travel."

(The folder is filled with other technical
information and numerous graphs.)

LOG ENTRY 8

Security Records

  "Six Dancers picked up enroute to your
Mariposa. Keep watch for others. Security is
vital for RAM research project. Still, we sus-
pect Stock Exchange to be main target.
Please set up an ambush in the exchange.
We may capture their local supporters."


LOG ENTRY 9

Mercury Commander's Office

  You are in the personal chambers of the
RAM commander on Mercury. The walls
are covered with bar trophies, the tables
and countertops with official papers and
battle plans. Somewhere in this room is the
detailed blueprint of the Doomsday device,
the only problem is finding it before you
are discovered. There's no way to know
how often guard robots are programmed to
check this area.

LOG ENTRY 10

Marks on Martian Surface

  You realize that the volcanism on Mars
could never produce anything like this.
There is no sign of any gases, heat or pres-
sure extending up from below. This would
have to be caused by the application of a
fierce, penetrating heat from above.

LOG ENTRY 11

The Elevator

  The Mars Space Elevator lies in the dis-
tance, a teeming, multi-leveled city mount-
ed on a cable the width of several skyscrap-
ers. The cable stretches far into the atmo-
sphere and dwindles into invisibility before
connecting with the moon of Phobos far
above. The city is packed with civilians,
RAM soldiers, Desert Runners and every
other person or thing that intends to take
the ride to Phobos.

  Scot.dos speaks to you through your ear-
phones: "You must get on that elevator
before it starts climbing!" he urges. "It's the
only way you'll get the information you
need in time... the elevator won't reach
Phobos before RAM begins its attack!"

LOG ENTRY 12

Paper Floating in a Hallway

  "RAM has tricked us. We believed that Scot
was merely an advanced science dos.
Instead, he has been instructed to experi-
ment on the crew and whomever else he
can entice aboard. He released the EGGs to
watch our reactions and has taken over the
security robots. I will attempt to isolate him
in his main console. If I don't succeed, this
mad computer will destroy us all.

                    Security Officer Powell"

LOG ENTRY 13

RAM Security Alert Memo

    "NOTICE: To Loøn'lander Base,
    Gradivus Mons
    FROM: Project Headquarters

    SECURITY ALERT

As you know, we closely monitor the loca-
tions of all high-level Project security
devices. It has come to our attention that
security device #A00412RST has been lost
on the planet Venus. Preliminary inquiries
implicate Lowlander natives. The officer in
charge has been demoted.

  The entire Project cannot be assumed secure
until the retinal scan device is recovered. We
are alerting all Code Blue security teams to
increase security on Blue Passcards until the
scanner has been recovered."

LOG ENTRY 14

  This is a map that will I will release later.

LOG ENTRY 15

Meeting with Robot

  You see a RAM combat robot still smoldering
from laser fire. One of its legs has been blown
off, and the other is twisted around backward.
Sparking wires protrude from a hole in its upper
section. Its red eye focuses on your team, but
it takes no aggressive action. Instead, it
speaks with a squeky, synthesized voice. "Please
do not attack this unit. This unit posses
conciousness. This unit wishes freedom from RAM.
RAm denies this unit parts. Denies this unit
power cells. Give this unit parts. Give power
cells. This unit will work for NEO. Other robots
work for NEO. Repair this unit. Yes?"

LOG ENTRY 16

Meeting with the Acid Frog King

  Out of the acid lake rises the largest acid
from you've ever seen. A Lowlander rides on its
head, and it is accompnaied by hundreds of
normal acid frogs. They raise thier heads out of
the lake to observe the proceedings. The giant
acid frog makes unintelligible noises, but the
Lowlander understands its meaning. "The royal
king of the acid frogss welcomes you to Venuss,"
says the Lowlander. "He ssensess that you serve
the New Earth Organization, iss thhat correct?"

  You confirm that you are NEO agents,
unsure of chat to expect next.
The acid frog blinks and makes more
noises. "The king wishhess to aid in NEO's
fight againsst RAM. He intendss to join your
team ass itss new leader. I'll accompany
him as a transslator. Hhe'll remain with you
until RAM is obliterated, thhen you may all
return to Venuss ""hhere your team Bill be
granted the hhonorary sstatuss of acid frog
royalty. Iss thhat acceptable?"


LOG ENTRY 17

Book Found Under Pillow

  "We have boarded the spy ship and are
enroute to Earth. If the ECG phase of the
project is successful, my career with RAM is
set. Dr. Williams is very confident and we
have several batches of Stage One and Two
ECGs in containment fields. I wish that Dr.
Williams was more forthcoming about his
recent modifications. He has refused to dis-
cuss a newly added ability, nor will he
mention what control substances he will
use after their release on Earth.

  "Capt. Vilnikov is a buffoon who keeps
making moves on me. Dr. Williams is as
cold a fish as ever. And the security team
are as pleasant as a batch of hyper-scorps,
Only Scot has a decent personality, though
I believe that they scanned in too much
poetry. His science is excellent, but he con-
tinually rhapsodizes about Earth and its
native ecosystem. I can't understand what
he sees in that chaotic junkheap. When
we're done We'll have a much more
ordered world. Gennies are far superior to
evolution's random gene selection."


LOG ENTRY 18

The King in 0-G

  The Acid Frog King thrashes helplessly
in the zero-G core of the Mariposa. Its
muscular legs drum against the walls,
making it spin in futile circles that move it
no further up the core. If you want to
continue upward, you'll have to leave the
Frog King behind.

LOG ENTRY 19

Meeting Holzerhein.dos

  As you approach the self-destruct mecha-
nism, Scot.dos materializes in front of your
team. "Before you do that," he says, "there's
something you should know." with a burst
of static his image de-rezzes, then reforms
into the image of Holzerhein.dos, the com-
puterized leader of RAM. Holzerhein.dos
laughs scornfully at the team's expressions
of shock.

  "Fools! I destroyed your prattling Scot.dos
back on Venus!

  I've led you around by the nose - this is
not the only Doomsday device RAM built.
With all this effort, did you honestly believe
that RAM could only construct a single
weapon? Destroy this one if you insist.
Three others are targeted on Earth, prepar-
ing to fire even as we speak." His image
fades with the sound of scornful laughter.

LOG ENTRY 20

Ride of the Acid Frog King

  To save time, your team rides on the back
of the Acid Frog King, It takes only minutes
for you to cross the Lowlands, and the Frog
King knows exactly there the RAM base is
hidden. As you approach, you try to tell the
giant acid frog to slob down and try to
sneak into the base. The Frog King makes a
loud noise of objection and barges forward.

  "The Frog King fearss nothing," translates
the Lowlander atop its head. "Hhe will pro-
ceed forward to victory!"

  Alarms howl as you near the base. RAM sol-
diers release a horde of giant acidecium
gennies to combat the team. The Frog
King's eyes goggle at the approaching
acidecium, and with a few flicks of its giant
tongue the opposition is consumed. You
can freely enter the base.

LOG ENTRY 21

Dr. Donna Conchitez's Diary

  "Day# 1. Dr. Williams sounded a security
alert. This can only mean that his gennies
have escaped. Scot is offline, Need his help
if I'm going to counter these beasts. Don't
believe that security can handle the crea-
tures-- Williams has kept them too much
in the dark. Hiding in cargo bay and filling
room with perfume to hide my scent. I will
observe and record.

  "Day#2. Ship is silent. Have spotted two bat-
tle sites--we lost them both. Thankfully I
haven't been discovered. it seems that they
have taken over the control room. They
may be preparing to molt into Stage 3
form. I hope not. Dr. Williams boasted that
Stage 3 has a hyper-intelligent mode. These
might be able to figure out the controls and
trace me. I have found some of Williams'
notes. He engineered the ECGs to be sus-
ceptible to some harmless material.
Unluckily Scot is still offline. Need him to
access Williams' private files.

  "Day#3. Stung by something today. Got
an itch on the left leg. Checking Williams'
files to see if it's anything serious. God. I
hope not.

  "I found it. Oh no! THE RASH IS
SPREADING! I HAVE LITTLE TIME!"

LOG ENTRY 22

Mysterious Instruction
  `Go into the Bazaar and find the door to the
old maintenance shaft. Pick up the rope
there, as it might he useful getting up the
Core. Then blend into the parade going
down the Rue de Sol, until you reach Holst
Plaza. Go across the plaza, down the corri-
dor and into the Core. Our fearless leader
waits there for you. Viva le Mercure!'

LOG ENTRY 23

Mariposa View Room

  The guards parade you to the observation
chamber on the topmost level of the
Mariposa. Above you is the Doomsday
weapon itself, and to either side giant
viewscreens project the image of earth.
RAM high officers and officials fill the
room, sipping champagne. One of them
even jokingly offers glasses to your team.
As the countdown approaches, the room
falls into expectant silence.

  You struggle against your bonds, but there
is nothing you can do to stop the inevitable.

  The countdown continues, slowly and inex-
orably. "3... 2... 1..."

  A flash of light fills the room, and the beam
streaks tovards the blue planet. The laser
strikes and North Arnerica disappears
beneath steam and debris. The RAM offi
cers cheer and shake one another's hands,
while you stare at the monitors in shock.

LOG ENTRY 24

Sun King's Arrival

  You have entered the largest party imagin-
able. As far as you can see in every direc-
tion are costumed revelers, like every
knovn holiday rolled into one gigantic
party. Clowms caper through the crowd,
painting faces, blowing bubbles and passing
out candy.

  Before you know it, a tall clown wearing an
orange wig bounds forvard and paints
green stripes across your faces. You leave
the paint alone, deciding it will help you fit
in with the crowd.

  A collective cheer rises from somewhere
behind you, and you turn to see a group of
revelers carrying a palanquin through the
crowd. Seated regally atop of it is a very
young girl with a serious expression. The tall
clown bends close to whisper to your team.
"That's the Sun King!" he says reverently.

LOG ENTRY 25

Robot and Buck

  The repaired combat robot extends one
`arm' to shake Buck's hand. "This unit not
enemy of NEO. This unit serve NEO. This
unit enemy of RAM. NEO give parts. NEO
give power cells. This unit fight for NEO.
This unit serve Captain Buck Rogers."

  Buck looks skeptical, but shakes the robot's
`hand' anyway. "These days. NEO will take
any help it can get." he reasons.

LOG ENTRY 26

Entering RAM Base

  You enter the RAM base and take a careful
look around, You observe no signs of cur-
rent habitation, although this obviously was
a heavily occupied area. Now, every com-
puter terminal has been removed, every
desk emptied. Even the food dispensers
have been disconnected, The base evacua-
tion was orderly and unhurried. Whatever
RAM's purpose was in building this base, it
was obviously successful and on schedule.
You can search the base further, looking for
anything the clean-up crew missed, but it is
unlikely that you will find anything useful.

LOG ENTRY 27

Buck's Speech.

  "Barney let me know that this ship was
working for RAM, so I tagged along to find
out what Kolzerhein's goons are up to.
Those attacks on Earth must be a diversion
for something much greater."

  You tell him of the spy ship and everything
you know about the Doomsday Device. He
exclaims, "We must get back to Earth and
warn NEO of this threat!"

LOG ENTRY 28

Log of Donna Conchltez

  "Made it up to sickbay. Headache has
already started. Trying stimulants to keep
conscious. Activated medical scanners.

Time passes...

  "The parasite has buried itself deeply in the
brain. Still awake but room beginning to
spin and color-cycle. Scanner information
is still inconclusive."

Time passes...

  "The room is twisting, shadows crawling
everywhere. The scanner is laughing. Only
one thing left. Surgeon! Full invasive scan
of biological subject."

  Mechanical voice: "Option contra-indicated,
Sigma override required."

  Voice near hysteria: "Override number
A10151! Initiate."

  The hum of machinery and suck of vacu-
um pumps are all that can be heard. A pro-
tein formula is printed out.

LOG ENTRY 29

Sun King Audience Chamber

  Trumpets blare as you are led into the audi-
ence chamber of the Sun King. Your heavy-
armor leaves deep footprints in the purple
velvet carpeting extending between you
and the Sun King.

  On either side of the room are benches, pil-
lows and lounges on which the members of
the royal court are seated.

  The court members bear outlandish cos-
tumes from the French and American revo-
lutions, although attire from many other
cultures and time periods is present. The
overall effect is one of an extremely
wealthy costume ball, complete with pea-
cock feathers and clouds of incense.

  The Sun King himself bears a long pow-
dered wig and waves a tiny French flag. His
golden throne sits atop a dais near the rear
wall, and two huge silver statues of swans
wave mechanized ostrich feather fans in
their bills on either side of him.

  The occupants of the room fall silent as the
Sun King prepares to address the team.

LOG ENTRY 30

Scot.dos in Ruins

  Scot.dos materializes before you. He looks
as grim as you've ever seen him. "I found a
schedule for the RAM Lowland Operations
he tells you. "RAM promised the
Lowlanders that they could prevent further
terraforming, but they've been using
Lowlander technology to research how
such terraforming could be most efficiently
accomplished.

  "Not only that, but they recently imported a
fleet of specialized gliders that can with-
stand the Venusian climate for lone peri-
ods. Each glider has enough ammunition to
abolish an entire viilage. RAM won't be sat-
isfied with only destroying the closest vil-
lage to their base... they apparently plan to
wipe out the entire Lowlander population
and take over production of Gravitol them-
selves. The repercussions would be devas-
tating for NEO."

LOG ENTRY 31

Unidentified Man's Instructions
  "Take the southern security gate. You'll
have to blast your way through that, but
afterwards it's clear sailing to the Core. Bear
right and pass through the Stock Exchange
building. Our men are on guard there and
won't interfere. On the far side is a small
access shaft. It's a straight shot along it to
the core. Once there, you'll meet the boss.
Good Luck."

LOG ENTRY 32

Jupiter Arrival

  Your ship nears the magnificent gas clouds
of Jupiter. Other spacecraft are visible in the
distance, as delicate and finely crafted as
butterflies, winking in and out of the clouds.
inside the craft you can see Stormriders, the
primary occupants of Jupiter.

  You fly lower and see the spherical cities
floating atop the Jovian atmosphere.
Surrounding the cities are floating "grazing
fields," enclosed in atmospheric bubbles.
The fields are covered with Bloats and
Mantas, both types of creatures bioengi-
neered by the Stormriders as food sources.
Other grazing fields are covered with crea-
tures you can't find in the ship's computers;
they are probably the latest products of the
"genetic revolution" occurring on Jupiter.

  One of the Stormriders contacts you via
radio, and quickly grants you permission to
land in the closest floating city. You
approach the landing platform, confident
that you have finally found one planet, one
civilization, unsullied by RAM's influence.

LOG ENTRY 33

Runner Banquet

You're seated at a lone banquet table sur-
rounded by Desert Runner nobility. "To
regard you for your heroic actions," a
speaker intones, "we sit together to enjoy
this bounteous meal.

  After the banquet shall bean a Runnerfest
in your honor, there individual Desert
Runners will have the chance to give you
personal gifts. After that you will receive
your official gifts from the ruling parties.
But first, eat."

  Servants bring forward covered silver trays
and place them up and down the length of
the table. The trays are clouded with steam,
and your mouth waters. But when the cov-
ers are lifted and you see the stewed
hexadillo meat, you feel less enthusiastic.

LOG ENTRY 34

Marks on Martian Surface #2

  The marks on the ground before you are
`shadows' of objects that were vaporized. A
tall building once stood here and you see
many shapes that must have been people.
Whatever caused this destruction came
from the northeast.

LOG ENTRY 35

RAM Mars Base Sign

  "THIS IS THE RAM BASE GRADIVUS
   MONS.

  THIS IS A SECURE FACILITY.

  THE BASEMENT CONTAINS SUPPLIES
AND THE POWER GENERATOR AND
CONTROLS. IT IS OFF LIMITS TO UNAU-
THORIZED PERSONNEL.

  THE FIRST FLOOR HAS A MANUFAC-
TURING AND ASSEMBLY AREA, AND
SECURITY AND DEFENSE FORCE
BIVOUACS. THE MAIN GATE IS ON THIS
LEVEL. WORKER UNITS ARE RESTRICTED
TO THIS LEVEL.

  THE SECOND FLOOR IS PROJECT
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. ALL
DELIVERIES OF TEST SAMPLES, SENSOR
AND COMPUTER DATA MODULES
SHOULD BE MADE TO THIS LEVEL.
ACCESS IS RESTRICTED.

  THE THIRD FLOOR HAS BASE COM-
MAND AND COMMUNICATIONS.

  ELEVATORS DO NOT EXTEND TO THE
TOP LEVEL."

LOG ENTRY 36

RAM Passcard Memo

  "NOTICE: To all personnel,
  Gradivus Mons

  FROM: RAM Main

  In order to bring our project into profitabil-
ity as soon as possible, we are transferring
more personnel to the Operations Facility.
To be eligible for this duty, personnel must
be approved for Blue clearance. Due to the
tight security of the project, Blue Passcards
must be issued before departure.

  (A note has been added underneath:) All
volunteers have been approved. Departure
at 1900 tomorrow. Estimated flight time: 78
hours. Don't forget your Blue Passcards."

LOG ENTRY 37

Desert Ape Pilots

  You cross the scorching Martian desert to
return to your ship, but find hundreds of
gibbering desert apes where your ship used
to be. They ignore you, jumping up and
down and screeching at the sky. You look
up and see your ship wavering through the
atmosphere. The apes are ecstatic.

  Before you have time to formulate a plan,
the ship angles downward and dives for
the surface of the planet. There's no longer
any doubt that a desert ape is somehow
piloting it.

  Flame trails behind it as it screams towards
the ground. The desert apes shriek and
scatter, and you run for shelter, You watch
in horror as your ship impacts and
explodes. You'll have to find some new
method of transportation if you ever want
to leave Mars.

LOG ENTRY 38

Dr. Williams' Log

  First Entry: "Dr. Alexander William, Sigma
number A95151, in earth orbit. Four batch-
es of ECGs on board for final test. Security
informs me that their precious Phase One
project is on schedule, but not by much. I
should have plenty of time to perfect my
creations.

  "Holzerhein has promised me a percentage
of the profits associated with the ECG har-
vests on the sterilized Earth, Finally there is
hope that proper funding for the biological
sciences can be achieved."

  Second Entry: "Progress on ECGs on sched-
ule... batch one shows high adaptability...
batch two has survival rates above ninety
percent... we will be on schedule for
deployment after Earth's sterilization.

  "If Holzerhein is cor - Wait a minute!
Power fluctuations...disruption of prima-
ry containment fields...all batches show-
ing increase in activity. Scot! Emergency
shutdown now! Where are you!?

  "Scot is nonfunctional. ..security is noti-
fied...setting up a holographic warning to
any who comes on board. ..hope it's just a
precaution...

  "Projector coming on line...wait! So
quickly!? The gleaming eyes. . .No! Get
back! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Tape ends.

LOG ENTRY 39

Letter to Asteroid Base Commander

"Milo,
  Received message of the 13th, referencing
earthbound ship. We have had no contact
either, but with SOP of radio silence there
is no immediate concern.

Re: satellites. A rogue pirate, designation
Talon, is enroute to your position. He will
conduct transport to Earth orbital vicinity.

  My operation is nearing cleanup stage.
Termination of nonessentials will com-
mence on schedule. Expect minimal resis-
tance.
            Max Wyman
            Commander
            Venus Expeditionary Force

Addendum: The new Ship Codes are
attached to this message."

LOG ENTRY 40

Venusian Arrival

  You leave your ship and enter into a vast
yellow haze. The acidic atmosphere of the
Venusian Lowlands is too intense for your
armor to withstand for long. It hisses and
sizzles the moment you step outside. You
retreat back to your ship. and Scot.dos
does a quick analysis of the damage.

  "It's mostly surface damage," Scot.dos reas-
sures you, "but even so, I wouldn't stay out
there for more than short stretches.
  If that acid were to get into your breathing
apparatus... "he looks grim. "I hope you
have a lot of extra armor on board. You'll
need to come back and resuit fairly often if
you want to explore Venus."

LOG BOOK ENTRY 41

Carlton Turabian's Speech.

  "Congratulations on your exemplary per-
formance at the Chicagorg Spaceport. Your
courage saved countless lives and pre-
served the spaceport. Those vile mercenar-
ies won't stop until we're all dead and
buried."

  He pauses for a second, then continues.
"Because of your performance. I am waiv-
ing your waiting period and assigning you
to a space tug immediately. Remember,
gathering money for the cause is as impor-
tant as slaying a dozen RAM agents."

  He turns around and leads you to the main
corridor of the base.

  "We have evervthing that you need here.
Many things are free: fuel, repairs, medical
assistance. and supplies. On other worlds
you can draw on an account from the Bank
of Luna. You will have available a portion
of any salvage you recover. You will also
have to provide for your own personal
equipment and upkeep.

  "Freshen up, then see me in my office." The
commander turns and melts into the crowd...

LOG ENTRY 42

Meeting the Sun King

  You show the coins to the guard at the door
of the Sun King's audience chamber, and
he snickers before allowing you inside. The
Sun King sits on a lavish gold throne, sur-
rounded hy his royal court. Outlandish
French Revolution costumes are worn by
all. The Sun King is waving a French flag.
and wearing a long powdered wig. You put
the coins on a velvet pillow offered by a
servant and wait the Sun King's response.

  "Thieves." the Sun King bellows. "These
coins were stolen from my royal treasury!
Seize these criminals at once! They must
learn what it means to steal from a Sun King."

  You are quickly overcome by the guards.
The Sun King stands and examines the
team thoughtfully. "Because this is only a
first offense." he proclaims, "the penalty
will merely be...death."

  Servants wheel a guillotine into the audi-
ence chamber. Applause fills the room as
the first member of your team is blindfold-
ed and led forward.

LOG ENTRY 43

The Great Rift

  This great rift is small by Martian standards
about the same size as the Grand
Canyon used to be on Earth. The toughest
challenge is the 350-meter vertical escarp-
ment near the bottom. This offers the only
possibility of descent nearby.

LOG ENTRY 44

Talon's Speech.

  "So, you decided to kill my meal ticket. I
am not pleased."

  Talon pauses, cracks his fingers and grins
unpleasantly. "You Will help negate my
losses this trip. I am sure that RAM will pay
through the nose to get the NEO scum that
destroyed their base.

  "But I'm a friendly guy, so I'm going to give
you a chance for freedom, If any one of
you challenges me to personal combat and
wins, I will free you all and let your ship go.
If not, then RAM can feed on your bones."

  The guards laugh and Talon waits for your
response.

LOG ENTRY 45

Lowlander in Venus Town

  The Lowlander looks ashamed. "You ssh-
hould knob about the Lowlander'ss
involvement with RAM," he says, "although
it'ss not a sstory to be proud of. RAM want-
ed a giant lenss built to very exacting sspec-
ifications. It sseemed like a ssmall job. and
thhey offered tremendous payment.

  "RAM paid uss well, but, more importantly.
they promissed to inssure Lowlander ssu-
periority on Venuss. They promissed to
prevent furthher terraforming of the
Lowlandss thhat mighht allow othher races
to live hhere. Thiss could hhave guaran-
teed thhat our monopoly on Gravitol -
could never be threatened.

  "We sshhould hhave realized RAM wass
offering too muchh, we decided thhat
thheir political sstance wass none of our
affair, that our deal wass a bussiness pro-
possition only. We were too greedy, and
now we hhave paid the price for our sself-
centerdnesss.

  "I don't know whhy, but thiss morning RAM
warriorss raided thiss village. I hid withh a
few othherss, but thosse caught outsside
hhad no chhance. My family were ssome of
thhosse.

  "We allowed RAM to build a sscientific
basse ssouth of thiss village. Maybe if you
go thhere you could get more
information.

LOG ENTRY 46

Venus Base Map

 ___________________________________________
|          <-|----                |     |   |
|   _________|________x___________|     |_x_|
|            |                    |         |
|            |                    X         |
|________    |________x___________|         |
|            |                    |         |
|    ________|____________________|_______x_|
|   |
|   |
|   |
|   |
|   |
|   |
|   |
|   |
|   |
|   |
|   |
|   |___
|       |
|___    |
|       |
|__|____|
   |
   \/

LOG BOOK ENTRY 47

Results of Your Revelation

The Sun King is enraged, "You work for
NEO? Those unwashed troublemakers? I'll
have naught more to do with such ilk.

  The Boston tea party is over!" You are ush-
ered from the audience chamber. The royal
court boos and throws bits of food on your
team as you leave.

LOG ENTRY 48

Loss of the Orphan

  As you proceed through the Venusian acid
stawp, you are startled by a childish
scream of fear from some distance behind
your team. You look around quickly and
discover that the orphan is not right behind
you, as he was in town. Some quick back
tracking reveals that the youngter has fall-
en into a pool of acidic quicksand. He's too
far away for you to reach, so you extend
sticks across the pool for the baby to grab
He tries valiantly, but is too weak to hold
himself up long enough. You watch help-
lessly as the quicksand closes over his head.

LOG ENTRY 49

Deimos Prison

  You are imprisoned on a RAM ship and
brought to Deimos, one of the moons of
Mars and the site of a major RAM base. You
are taken immediately to the "Stockade,"
an infamous RAM prison for political and
military prisoners. Your team is issued
prison clothing and assigned cells, then
brought before the Stockade commander.

  "It is unnecessary for you to remain here,"
he says. His beady eyes focus on the team
appraisingly. "It is possible that you could
make fine RAM soldiers, possibly even
future officers. But first you must renounce
NEO, and, of course, answer just a few
questions..."

LOG ENTRY 50

Paper Found in Life Suppport

  "EGG nonmotile stage. Many mollusks
begin life free-swimming and eventually
settle onto rocks, This has the advantage
of containing EGG fertile forms to fixed
locations.

  Experimenting with attractants such as
used by pitcher plants and venus fly traps.
There is no reason to suppose that the cor-
rect combination of scent and sonic cues
could not be effective against hominid life.
                  Dr. Alexander Williams"

LOG ENTRY 51

Buck Comes on Board

  "Incoming message," your ship informs
you, then the image of Buck Rogers
appears on your viewcreen. "Wilma told
me you here on your bay to Mercury, and
I hoped to join you." He hefts his rocket
launcher and pats it affectionately. "I'll be a
help in any battles, and I have a lot of infor-
mation about the Mariposas and the Sun
Kings that might come in handy. I'm in a
cruiser not far from your current location.
Permission to board, and to join your team,
Captain?"

LOG ENTRY 52

Lowlander Technician.

  The Lowlander technicians eye you warily
at first, but when you identify yourselves as
NEO agents, they relax. One of them speaks
to the team. "We are sscientisstss from the
towrn nearby. We were working under con-
tract withh RAM on the lenss and a few
other minor projects, Ass ssoon as the lenss
wass completed, they turned againsst uss.

  "At first we were only locked insside the
base. Then one of uss, Landon, ssnuck to
the fourth level to look for an esscape tun-
nel rumored to have been insstalled
thhere by Lowlander workerss. Whhen thhe
RAM officerss couldn't find Landon, thhey
locked the rest of uss in thiss room.

  "They only keep uss alive for quesstioning.
They want thhe formula for Gravitol, but
we'll die before we give it to RAM.

  Hhelp Landon find the tunnel sso we can
esscape. We'll wait hhere until it'ss ssafe. If
we were disscovered misssing, RAM would
fill the basse with ssoldierss looking for uss.
Landon will come out if you tap the
Lowlander victory code on the wall. We'll
teachh it to you. "

  You learn the Lowlander victory code.

LOG ENTRY 53

Desert Runner Speech

  "You do not understand what it means to
be a manufactured people. Do you know
why we are here? The Martians in their cool
tomb-cities made us to herd the Hexadillos
and hunt the Sand Squids and Desert Apes
as they unwittingly spread the seeds of life
across the barren plains. Keeping each
other in balance, we four Great Creatures
will tame the angry planet. We will cover it
in forest for the Martians to play in.

  "And then what? We have seen the dark
forest away in the east. When it has spread
across the plains, where will we go? I think
the Martians in their tomb-cities think that
we will quietly fade away, like sunlight on
the grass. I tell you with truth in my eyes:
They are wrong!

  "The Martians made a mistake, for they
made us too smart. There will always be
wide spaces on Mars.  We will see to it. You,
who are so much like the Martians in so
many ways, you can help. Because even
now their eyes are averted from their own
land, and they dream incessantly of your
blue world. That is because they too are a
manufactured people.

  "For this reason, we will help you."

LOG ENTRY 54

Scot.dos' Monologue

  "I was trapped in this console by the
security program which ruthlessly fused all
my connections. I have been isolated since
then. I am glad that my attack attracted
NEO forces. You will find a set of new and
deadly gennies, ECGs, in cold storage on
deck two. RAM also has a plan to sterilize
earth.

  "In case you hadn't realized, I am defecting
to NEO. I spent much time evaluating Earth
for Dr. Williams. I have become enamored
of such a diverse ecosystem. It has survived
in the face of great adversity and changes.
Everything humanity has done up to now
has only slightly injured the planet's life-
giving capabilities.

  "Now, RAM has the capability to deal Earth
a mortal blob. Then they will deposit the
ECGs on its carcass and remake the world. I
can no longer allow this. That is why I have
changed sides."

LOG ENTRY 55

Arrival on Mars

  Scot.dos guides the ship to a desolate area
screened by hills. He is obviously perturbed
to be on Mars. The fate of RAM defectors,
even DPs, is terrible to contemplate. "I think
it best if I stay with the ship," he says. "It's
our only escape. I've activated the ground
field, which will protect it from detection--
I think. I'll monitor RAM communications
from here. We'd better maintain radio
silence unless absolutely necessary.

  "There are several unnatural-looking marks
on the desert plain, northeast of here. They
might be signs of an underground facility.

  "In the hills beyond them is a village. It's
probably inhabited by natives - the Desert
Runners, a primitive folk. Watch out--
they can be nasty if you cross them.

  "Good luck. Don't take chances - remem -
ber we're on Mars."

LOG ENTRY 56

Buck's Capture

  Wilma Deering meets your party. She's in
tears. "RAM captured Buck!" she cries.
"They've brought him to Deimos. The sto-
ries I've heard...we must get there immedi-
ately and rescue him before..." -she can't
finish her sentence. She signals, and anoth-
er NEO team steps out. "They'll take care of
the Doomsday device... you have to help
me save Buck!"

LOG ENTRY 57

Acidic Victory

  You return with the Acid Frog King to the
acid lake on Venus.

  Thousands of acid frog crowd around
your team, eager to rub against the noble
defeators of RAM's latest plan. The Frog
Kind makes a lone speech in your honor,
but unfortunately, without his translator
you can't understand anything that's being
said. Afterward, the frog kick up so much
acid in their celebratory swim that you are
forced to retreat.

LOG ENTRY 58

The Lunarian Device

  Before you leave the Lunarian caves, a few
of the Lunarians meet you for a quick  good-
bye. "We thought this would help," they
offer, and hand you a long tube with digital
controls on its side. "Your computer will
understand," they promise, but refuse to say
more, other than that it will be invaluable to
you in your attempt to destroy the
Doomsday Device. The only condition is
that you promise to return it after your mis-
sion is completed. You make the promise,
then reboard your ship. Scot.dos begins a
detailed analysis immediately.

LOG ENTRY 59

Weapons Testing Site

  You recognize some of these objects. An
old skimmer, a combat model dragonfly,
and a line of other old military hardware.
Everything is melted almost beyond recog-
nition. You see that pieces have been cut
off, and core samples drilled. It appears that
the weapon has been turned over to mili-
tary ordnance for testing.

LOG ENTRY 60

Capt. Vilnikov's Log

  "Sealed until my death, under sigma code
A22151. As undercover security officer and
pilot, I have engaged Dr. Williams in a num-
ber of private conversations. A sample tran
script follows.

Vilnikov: "Have a seat and strap in, doctor. I
talk much better then we're both the same
side up. What makes these gennies of yours
so impressive?"

Williams: "Let me counter that with a ques-
tion of my own. What would you do if we
were suddenly under attack by NEO?"

Vilnikov: "I'd scan the ships and see what I
was up against. Then I'd fight or flee
depending on the odds. It's what any cap-
tain could do."

Williams: "That's exactly why I designed the
EGG. They molt from form to form so that
you never know exactly chat you're up
against. Four stages, each with its own spe-
cialties; this makes evaluation difficult.
Defenses against one can prove worthless
against another."

Vilnikov: "So we create the perfect threat.
Why shouldn't RAM be terrified of the
prospect? What makes them profitable,
instead of a danger?"

Williams: "That is what I am working on
now. I am modifying their structure to be
susceptible to certain harmless chemicals.
Al the same time, we must keep the
specifics very classified. The EGG useful-
ness could plummet if their weaknesses
were broadcast. Also, the weakness for one
form may not be the same as for another. I
have not decided on this."

Tape ends.

LOG ENTRY 61

RAM Asteroid Base Memo

 "NOTICE: To all Project facilities
 FROM: RAM Main

  The Project test facility in the Asteroid Belt
has been compromised. Preliminary infor-
mation is that the base was attacked by
pirates, for salvage purposes. Although
Project secrets are considered safe, we
have been forced to abandon our original
plan of focused strikes upon the target.

  As most of you already know, we have
begun Plan B. The Project will be redirected
to deliver a few massive blows to wide
areas. Although this will hamper our recla-
mation efforts, the primary mission -
destroying NEO's resistance - will be
accomplished as before.

  All personnel should redouble their efforts
toward successful Project conclusion.

LOG ENTRY 62

RAM Terrorist Memo

  "NOTICE: To all Project facilities
  FROM: RAM Main

URGENT URGENT URGENT URGENT
URGENT URGENT URGENT URGENT

  We have concluded that there may indeed
be Earth terrorists at large with knowledge
of the Project.

  We have authorized unlimited resources to
eliminate the terrorist threat. All facilities
are to be placed on top alert, and all Project
work is to proceed around the clock.

  WARNlNG: Our digital strategy forecasters
have predicted that the Earth terrorists may
be traveling in a RAM ship and may try to
impersonate RAM personnel."

LOG ENTRY 63

Alert Screen

  The screen reads, "TO ALL RAM FORCES.
FROM RAM MAIN. GRADIVUS MONS.
CODE VIOLET." It repeats over and over.

LOG ENTRY 64

RAM Notice to Workers

  "NOTICE: To all Technikis, Gradivus Mons
  FROM: Management

1.Congratulations! The Operations Facility
  reports that the lens cradle has been
  installed and tests within specifications.
  There may be a bonus forthcoming.

2.As there is no need for another cradle or
  back-up aiming mechanism at this time,
  all assembly work is halted.

3.There are recurring delays at the lens
  manufacturing facility. If these delays
  persist, a black mark may appear on your
  work records and on the achievement
  log for this base. I expect all personnel to
  volunteer for duty at the Venus Lens
  Facility. A shuttle will be departing soon.


LOG ENTRY 65

RAM Venus Duty Memo

  "NOTICE: To Technikis volunteering for
  Venus duty
  FROM: Management, Gradivus Mons

  All Technikis bound for the Venusian Lens
Facility are to be alerted that the situation
there has worsened. Unless the lens
receives final treatment and is shipped
soon, the Project deadline will be delayed.
If the Project misses its planetary alignment
target date we will all be demoted.

  We urge you to do your utmost for the suc-
cess of the Project and the profitability of
the Company."

(The information listed underneath this bul-
letin includes flight coordinates to the
Venusian Lowlands. The date indicates that
the support shuttle left Mars two days ago.)

LOG ENTRY 66

Request For Material

  "REQUEST FOR MATERIAL
  FROM: Project Headquarters
  TO:Gradivus Mons
Charged to: PROJECT

Shipped: Three (3) lens cradle alligner's tools
         One (1) aimer's maglev platform
         Fourteen (14) lens focusers
         Two (2) worker units

Notes: All parts of the Project cradle have
arrived. Aiming units are undergoing testing
now. No lens has arrived from Venus; deliv-
ery is being delayed for final treatments."

LOG ENTRY 67

Lens Treatise

  You scan through a long treatise on bio-
optics citing `energy retention rates' and
`wavelength amplification' figures for a
material first developed on the Venusian
Aerostate St. Croix. RAM scientists have
developed a method for shaping lenses out
of this material which absorb energy. The
power builds within the material until it
reaches a `flash point' and expels in one
focused, incredibly potent blast. The trea-
tise concludes that if acceptable results are
achieved on Mars, a larger lens situated
much closer to the energy source could be
greatly more efficient.

LOG ENTRY 68

Lens Information

  Scot.dos looks grim. "Based on the infor-
mation we've gathered so far, I'm prepared
to speculate about the effects of a full-sized
lens used by RAM control.

  "One full-size lens near the sun could pro-
duce an energy bolt with enough power to
reach Earth and sterilize a hole continent.
The deep shelters beneath the cities will be
of limited effectiveness."

LOG ENTRY 69

RAM Retinal Scan Memo

 "NOTICE: To all Blue Code Technikis
  FROM:  Project Security

  We have implemented top-level security
measures. Primary security is provided by
Blue Passcards. Top-level security is provid-
ed by a sealed system utilizing retinal scans.
The retinal imprints of Blue Code agents
have been loaded into the scanner com,
and it has been sealed against tampering or
outside communications.

  When supplying additional personnel to
the Project, do not send any who are
not Blue Code as of this date. Because a
retinal `lockpick' could defeat the top-level
security, all such devices have been sent to
the Venusian Facility for immediate
destruction."

LOG ENTRY 70

Desert Runner Departure

  "I will travel no further with you. I tell you
truly that I cannot find it in my heart to care
about your land, which is so far away from
us and our struggle. We have been made
with the love of this pure land next to our
hearts, and so great is it that little else can
intrude. Yet I wish for you silent stalking
and true shooting, for you have been a
friend to us, and we have stood together
against our common enemy. Farewell."

LOG ENTRY 71

Test Room Description

  The walls here are lined with specialized
test equipment. Above the walls, the pyra-
mid's glass peak soars high overhead. In
the middle of the floor is a gaping hole, the
shaft by which the RAM test weapon is low-
ered for modifications on the various lev-
els. It rests right now at floor level, sus-
pended just above the shaft hole on a
freefloating magnetic-levitation platform.
The aiming mechanism cradles a huge
pitch black lens.

  There are RAM technicians swarming over
the weapon platform and manning the
consoles. Evidently some sort of test is
about to begin.


                                 APPENDIX
                                 ~~~~~~~~
                     RACIAL ATTRIBUTE MODIFIERS TABLE
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   STR   DEX    CON     INT   WIS   CHA     TECH
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Venusian           0     -1     +1      0     +1    -1      0
Mercurian         -1     +1     +1      0      0     0      0
Tinker            -2     +3     -2      0      0     0     +3
Martian           -1     +1     -1      0     -1    +1      0
Terran             0      0     +1      0     +1     0      0
DesertRunner      +2     +2     +1      0      0    -1      0


                      ALLOWABLE CAREERS BY RACE TABLE
                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
            ROCKET JOCK    WARRIOR    ENGINEER  ROGUE    MEDIC
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Terran             yes       yes        yes      yes      yes
Martian            yes       yes        yes      yes      yes
Venusian           yes       yes        yes      yes      yes
Mercurian          yes       yes        yes      yes      yes
Tinker             no        no         yes      no       yes
DesertRunner       yes       yes        yes      no       no


               STRENGTH MODIFIER TABLE
               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    HIT BONUS      DAMAGE BONUS        WEIGHT*
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
1       -5             -4                 1
2       -4             -3                 2
3       -3             -2                 5
4       -2             -1                10
5       -2             -1                15
6       -1              0                20
7       -1              0                25
6        0              0                30
9        0              0                35
10       0              0                40
11       0              0                45
12       0              0                50
13       0              0                55
14       0              0                60
15       0              0                65
16       0             +1                70
17      +1             +1                85
18      +2             +2               110
19      +3             +4               200
20      +3             +6               300
21      +4             +8               450
22      +4            +10               600

*this is the amount of weight a character can carry without becoming
encumbered.

               DEXTERITY MODIFIER TABLE
               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       REACTION     RANGED COMBAT     ARMOR CLASS
        BONUS          BONUS            BONUS
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
1         +6            -6                +5
2         +4            -4                +5
3         +3            -3                +4
4         +2            -2                +3
5         +1            -1                +2
6          0             0                +1
7          0             0                 0
8          0             0                 0
9          0             0                 0
10         0             0                 0
11         0             0                 0
12         0             0                 0
13         0             0                 0
14         0             0                 0
15         0             0                -1
16        -1            +1                -2
17        -2            +2                -3
18        -2            +2                -4
19        -3            +3                -4
20        -3            +3                -4
21        -4            +4                -5
22        -4            +4                -5


                CONSTITUTION MODIFIER TABLE
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
          HITPOINT BONUS                    HITPOINT BONUS
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯      ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
1                   -3           12                  0
2                   -2           13                  0
3                   -2           14                  0
4                   -1           15                 +1
5                   -1           16                 +2
6                   -1           17           +2 (+3)*
7                    0           18           +2 (+4)*
8                    0           19           +2 (+5)*
9                    0           20           +2 (+5)*
10                   0           21           +2 (+6)*
11                   0           22           +2 (+6)*

*values in parenthesis () for Warriors only

Rocketjock/Engineer/Rogue Level Advancement Table
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
exp level     exp requirement
2             1,250
3             2,500
4             5,000
5             10,000
6             20,000
7             40,000
8             70,000

Warrior Level Advancement Table
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
exp level     exp requirement
2             2,000
3             4,000
4             8,000
5             16,000
6             32,000
7             64,000
8             125,000

Medic Level Advancement Table
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
exp level     exp requirement
2             1,500
3             3,000
4             6,000
5             12,000
6             24,000
7             48,000
8             96,000

Armor Class
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Type                     AC
none                     10
Spacesuit                6
Smart Suit               4
Heavy Body Armor         2
Battle Armor             0
Battle Armor w/Fields    -2

                    WEAPON TABLE
                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~
                (S/M/L)
WEAPON          RANGES          DAMAGE          ROF
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Knife                           1d3             2
Mono Knife                      1d6             2
Cutlass                         1d6             2
Sword                           1d8             2
Polearm                         1d10            2
Mono Sword                      1d10            2
D.R. X-Bow      4/6/8           1d8             2
Needle Gun      6/9/12          1d3             6
Bolt Gun        8/12/16         1d4             4
Laser Pistol    16/24/32        1d8             3
Rocket Pistol   8/12/16         1d10            4
Microwave Gun   8/12/16         1d10            4
Laser Rifle     60/90/120       1d12            2
Heat Gun        3/4/6           2d6             2
Rocket Rifle    40/60/80        2d8             2
Sonic Stunner   2/3/4           save            2
Grenade         1/2/3           varies          1
Grenade Launcher6/9/12          varies          1/2
Plasma Thrower  10/15/20        4d10            1/2
Rocket Launcher 20/30/40        5d10            1/2


               SKILLS TABLE
               ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dexterity Skills:
Acrobatics                Adventuring
Climb                     Adventuring
Hide in Shadows           Adventuring
Maneuver in 0-G           Adventuring and Combat
Move Silently             Adventuring
Pick Pocket               Adventuring
Pilot Rocket              Adventuring and Space Combat
Use Jet Pack              Adventuring and Combat
Drive Groundcar           Unused in this game
Drive Jetcar                    "
Pilot Fixed Wing Aircraft       "
Pilot Rotor Wing Aircraft       "

Technical Skills:
Bypass Security           Adventuring
Commo Operation           Adventuring
Demolitions               Adventuring
First Aid                 Adventuring and Combat
Jury Rig                  Adventuring and Space Combat
Open Lock                 Adventuring
Repair Electrical         Adventuring and Space Combat
Repair Lite Support       Adventuring and Space Combat
Repair Mechanical         Adventuring and Space Combat
Repair Nuclear Engine     Adventuring and Space Combat
Repair Rocket Hull        Adventuring and Space Combat
Repair Weapon             Adventuring and Space Combat
Sensor Operation          Adventuring

Medic Skills:
Diagnose                  Adventuring
Life Suspension TechnicianUnused in this Game
Treat Critical Wounds     After Combat and Space Combat
Treat Disease             Unused in this Game
Treat Light Wounds        After Combat and Space Combat
Treat Poisoning           After Combat and Space Combat
Treat Serious Wounds      After Combat and Space Combat
Treat Stun/Paralysis      Adventuring and Combat

Intelligence Skills:
Astrogation               Adventuring
Astronomy                 Prerequisite Only
Math                      Prerequisite Only
Battle Tactics            Adventuring and Combat
Disguise                  Adventuring
Library Search            Adventuring
Mimic                     Adventuring
Navigation                Adventuring
Planetology               Advanturing
Programming               Adventuring

Charisma Skills:
Act                          Adventuring
Befriend Animal              Adventuring
Distract                     Adventuring
Etiquette                    Adventuring
Past Talk/Convince           Adventuring
Intimidate                   Adventuring and Combat
Leadership                   Adventuring and Combat
Sing                         Adventuring

Wisdom Skills:
Notice                       Adventuring
Planetary Survival           Adventuring
Shadowing                    Adventuring
Tracking                     Adventuring

        GLOSSARY OF GAME TERMS
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ability Scores. These numbers define the
basic character, The seven attributes are:
Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX),
Constitution (CON), Intelligence (lNT),
Wisdom (WIS), Charisma (CHR), and Tech
(TCH).

Armor Class (AC). This rating determines
how difficult it is to hit and damage a target.
The lower the AC, the more difficult the tar-
get is to hit.

Career. This is a character's occupation.
The five career choices in Countdown to
Doomsday are: Rocketjock, Warrior,
Engineer, Rogue, and Medic.

Character. Each member of the adventur-
ing team you control is a character.
Characters are sometimes referred to as
Player Characters or PCs.

Character Icon. Is a picture that repre-
sents a character or NPC in combat.

Combat, melee. This is close combat
between adjacent opponents with such
weapons as knives and swords.

Combat, ranged. This is combat with dis-
tance weapons, such as pistols, rifles, or
grenades.

Dice. This refers to ranges of random num-
bers. A d6 for example, is a random num-
ber betwen one and six, a d10 is a number
between one and ten. Multiple dice repre-
sent two or more random ranges added
together. For example 2d10 could be a
number between two and twenty ([1 to 10]
+[l to 10]).

Encounter. This is the name for when the
team meets opponents or other beings. A
menu will be displayed to show all of your
options for each encounter (sometimes
your only option is to fight).

Experience Points (EXP). Are earned for
every victory, as well as completing parts of
the adventure. A character who earns
enough EXP may advance in career level.

Hitpolnts (HP). Are a measure of how dif-
ficult a character or NPC is to kill or inca-
pacitate.

Initiative. This is a semi-random value,
based partially on DEX, that determines
when a character or NPC can act in com-
bat. Higher dexterity generally allows char-
acters and NPCs to act earlier in a combat.

Level. As characters gain EXP, they may
train and increase in career level. Gaining
level gives characters more skill points, bet-
ter combat ability, and more HP.

Non-Player Character (NPC). This is any
human or creature that an adventuring
team meets. Some NPCs will attack imme-
diately. some will talk first, while others will
actually aid the party.

Player Character (PC). This term
describes all members of your adventuring
team.

Player Race. This is any of the species that
a PC can be. The player races are: Terran,
Martian, Venusian, Mercurian, Tinker,
Desert Runner.

Roll. This is the term used for when the
computer generates a random number. For
example, the computer "rolls" a d20 to
determine hit during combat.

Skill. The ability to do something. or oper-
ate something. One useful skill is Maneuver
in Zero-G, which is the ability to function in
a gravity-free environment. The numerical
value of a skill represents a percentage
chance of success for a character.

Skill, Career. These skills are key for a
given career.

Skill, General. These are useful skills not
associated specifically with a character's
career.

Skill Check. This is a check against a char-
acter's skill number. A character with a skill
of 75 has a 75% chance of success on a skill
check for an action of average difficulty.

Team. This is the group of PCs you assem-
ble for the adventure. Team members can
be added to or removed from the group
during the adventure.

THAC0 (To Hit Armor Class 0). This
number is an indication of an attacker's
combat ability. An attacker must roll his
THAC0 or greater to hit an opponent with
AC 0.

End.
