In general, most of the rules universal to Palladium games remain unchanged.
Ranged Combat
Personally, I'm not too fond of the Palladium rules for automatic weapons fire (a weapon firing 5 rounds of a 10 round clip dealing equivalent damage to a weapon firing 100 rounds from a 200 round clip and all that). I have designed supplemental rules which are more realistic and, perhaps, less prone to the abuse the existing Palladium rules have been subject to by those who don't understand how they're supposed to work. My rules can be found here.
Lethal Damage
Again, this is personal preference, but I feel that the Palladium system is too forgiving in terms of damage. Being shot hurts. I've had characters suck back hundreds of rounds of automatic weapons fire and live to return fire. As such, when I play in S.D.C. environments, I tend to rule that any attack which threatens the life of the character (ie, bladed weapons, firearms, and so forth) always deal their damage directly to hit points. Attacks which do not (punches, point-ed sticks) deal damage to S.D.C. first as detailed in the Palladium rules. Special martial art forms, like the 41 styles described in Ninjas & Superspies, would often deal damage to H.P. as well.
S.D.C. Damage
Metroplex is not an M.D.C. environment. It could
be, with a little work, but it isn't, so there. As such, the rules from
books like Heroes Unlimited or Ninjas & Superspies can be used verbatim.
Rules from Rifts, Robotech and other M.D.C. environments will have to be
used bearing in mind that M.D.C. does not apply to Metroplex.
Skills
The skills in Metroplex work like skills anywhere. Here I have compiled
a list of all skills which can be chosen by Metroplex characters. Descriptions
and percentages for these skills can be found in most games; a few are
unique, but self explanatory, in which cases I've provided percentages.
Note that the Weapon Proficiency section includes several Cyber WPs, with
existing WPs listed beside them, such as W.P. CyberRazors (Knife). This
means that the CyberRazors skill provides bonuses identically to W.P. Knife.
COMMUNICATIONS
Cryptography
Laser
Optics - 35% +5%/lvl
Radio (all types)
Surveillance
TV/Video - 25% +5%/lvl
COMPUTER
Computer Operation
Computer Programming
Cyber Hacking *
DOMESTIC
Cook
Dance
Sew
Sing
Play Instrument
Scrounge -- covers the skill of finding various needed bits and pieces
of discarded technology. 65% +4%/lvl
ELECTRICAL
Basic Electronics
Electrical Engineer
Cybernetic Electronics - 52% +4%/lvl
Cyberlink Electronics - 42% +4%/lvl
ROGUE
Concealment
Disguise
Escape Artist
Forgery
Interrogation
City Navigation - identical to Land Nav, but applying to large Urban areas.
-15% if the character is out of his native Plex.
Find Contraband, Weapons, and Cybernetics
Palming
Pick Locks
Pick Pockets
Sniper
Tracking
Streetwise
Criminal Electronics - applies to hotwiring cars, electronic locks, etc.
A poor grounding in general electronics, and very specialized toward things
one probably shouldn't legally know. 45% +5%/lvl.
Demolitions (what? In Rogue? Yeah, Metroplex is a fun place.)
Demolitions Disposal
Waste Navigation - For an urban dweller, the lands beyond the Plexes are
scary, indeed. Large areas, called Contaminate Zones, are highly lethal
to life as we know it. Most of the great plains and prairie of Canada and
the United States are given over to farming to support the massive populations.
Life beyond the Plexes are limited to small towns and the occasional city,
like Seattle or Mexico City. Most people beyond the Plexes live their own
lives in peace and quiet, but then, who wants peace and quiet? 38% +4%/lvl
Firearms - covers the maintenance, conversion and repair of modern firearms,
including setting weapon fire modes, integrating optional weapons packages,
and creating specialized ammunition such as dum-dum and hollowpoint rounds.
35% +5%/lvl
MECHANICAL
Auto Mechanics
Aircraft Mechanics
Basic Mechanics
Computer Repair
Mechanical Engineering
Weapons Engineer
Locksmith
MEDICAL
First Aid
M.D.
M.D. Cybernetics - 80%/60% +5%/lvl
Pathology - deals with diseases, their identification and the preparation
of counteragents. 75% +5%/lvl
Toxicology - study of poisons, contaminants and radiation. 55% +4%/lvl
Forensics - the study of reverse-engineering crime; using medical knowledge
to determine such factors as time of death, murder weapon, and rough events
surrounding and following the crime. Requires M.D. 40% +5%/lvl
Genetics - the study of Vatling enhancements and their implementation.
Also covers genetic diseaseas such as Cancer and Sickle Cell Anemia.
35% +5%/lvl
Paramedic
PHYSICAL
Acrobatics
Archery
Athletics
Body Building
Boxing
Climbing
Fencing
Gymnastics
Prowl
Running
Swimming
Wrestling
PILOT
Automobile
Motorcycle
Truck
Airplane
Boats
Helicopter
Jet
Tiltrotor - 75% +5%/lvl
Hovercraft - 55% +5%/lvl
Read Sensory Equipment
Vehicle Weapons
SCIENCE
Astrophysics
Biology
Botany
Chemistry
Mathematics
TECHNICAL
Art
Language - the same languages as today. English and Japanese are the
most widely spoken. English is broken down into two skills: technical
English, as spoken today, and Sprawl English, the patois of the streets.
Click here
to go to an excellent reference on Cyberpunk street slang. Literacy is
included in Language.
Other common languages include Spanish (widely used throughout South
America and the Southern U.S. Sprawls, and Esperanto, which is widely spoken
in the northwestern U.S., western Canada, and the Far East.
Writing
Corporate Law - covers the traditions, laws, practices and identification of the
major corporations and those they hire to do their dirty work. 55% +5%/lvl
Journalism - deals with finding contacts and scrounging information, judging
what the people will swallow, and preparing stories for broadcast. 35% +5%/lvl
Criminal Law - includes an understanding of the street-level laws of the
major Plexes, as well as punishments and the practices and customs of
police forces. 55% +5%/lvl
WEAPON PROFICIENCIES
Blunt
Chain
Knife
Sword
Staff
Revolver
Automatic Pistol
Rifle
SMG
Flechette
Heavy Weapon
Cyber Razors (Knife)
Cyber Edged - armblades, vibroblades etc (Sword)
Cyber Ranged Weapons (Rifle)
HAND TO HAND
Basic
Assassin
Expert
Martial Arts
Aikido !
Jujitsu !
Karate !
! = See Rifts Japan or Ninjas & Superspies for these martial art skills.
* = The rules for the special Cyber Hacking skill are reproduced here,
taken from an Appendix of the Cyberlink Computer
Interface Rules.
Cyber Hacking counts as 3 skill choices, and provides
the following Cyber interface computer related skills:
