2400

LO-FI SCI-FI RPG • JASON TOCCI

BATTLE
MOON
HOW TO PLAY
IN GENERAL: The GM describes the world and its
denizens, asking players in turn, What do you do?
Players describe their characters’ goals and
actions. The GM judges when those are…
￭ Impossible: GM advises trying something else
(“It’s too smooth to climb, but get a boost…”).
￭ Costly: GM offers options (“If you do, the knife
will break”). The player can accept, or propose
a more modest goal and/or better tactics.
￭ Risky: GM advises of risk (“You could be shot,
maybe killed”). The player can rethink their
goals and/or tactics, or roll the dice. Players
ONLY roll to attempt to avoid risks.
￭ Not risky: The player does what they intended.
If the only “risk” is “you’d try again,” don’t roll.
ROLLING: Roll a d6 skill die, unless you’re…
￭ Skilled: Use the single highest skill die you
have (e.g., from a relevant trait or vocation).
￭ Hindered: Replace skill die with a d4 if you’re
injured, carrying more than 1 heavy item, or
disadvantaged (can’t see; pinned down).
￭ Helped: If by circumstances (immobilized foe;
high ground) or a risky stunt (push yourself,
hindering next roll), roll an extra d6; if helped
by an ally, they roll their skill die and share
risk. Use the highest die rolled for the result.
1–2 Disaster. Suffer the full risk. If it’s mutually
exclusive with your goal (GM’s call), you fail.
3–4 Setback. A lesser risk or partial success.
5+ Success. The higher the roll, the better.
If success can’t get you what you want (you make
the shot, but there’s a force field!), you still get
useful information or set up an advantage.
LUCK: The GM can roll a die anytime to test luck
(e.g., run into guards, or out of ammo), checking
for (1– 2) trouble or (3–4) signs of it.
EDITING: The GM leads in setting lines not to
cross in play and suggesting when to pause, fast-
forward, rewind, or retcon for pacing and safety.
All players are invited to do likewise.
For expanded rules guidance, see the free supplement 2400: Emergency Rules, or ”Combat in 24XX” at pretendo.games
RISK-SETTING: The GM doesn’t plan solutions for
problems. Instead, they advise of risks before
players roll, and improvise what happens next
based on what players do and what the dice say.
When presenting risks, the GM should consider…
￭ The worst-case scenario: If playing Battle
Moon like a Saturday morning cartoon, the
worst case scenario of “trying to punch out a
killer robot” is getting hurt. In a sci-fi/horror
game, the worst case would be death. If
players revise plans, the GM signals a new
worst-case scenario. “I run by to distract the
robot” might only risk getting cornered.
￭ On a “miss”: If an attack goes wide, the real
risk is what changes — out of ammo, jammed
gun, gave away position, drew fire, etc. If you
can just try again without issue, it’s not a risk.
￭ If you forget: If someone rolls a 1–4, but the
risk wasn’t made explicit, the GM describes
logical consequences given already signaled
details — no surprises. Death and permanent
injury are off-limits if these weren’t already
unambiguously established as risks.
CONSEQUENCES: Assigning risks is meant to be
intuitive, based on context, not a pick-list. That
said, if players need help coming up with more
modest goals than “shoot to kill,” or if the GM
struggles to describe new risks after players
revise their goals and tactics, look lower on this
list for examples of shorter-term risks.
￭ Permanent: dead, maimed, item lost forever
￭ Days or weeks: wounded, broken bone or item
￭ Minutes or hours: dizzy, sore, exhausted
￭ Brief: tripped, distracted, exposed, disarmed
DEFENSE: When a character would be harmed, a
player may declare an item or cyber-limb broken
to suffer only a brief hindrance (like stumbling)
instead. Broken items are useless until repaired.
DEATH: If a player’s character dies, introduce a
new one (or take over one the GM doesn’t need)
ASAP. Favor quick inclusion over realism.

OPPONENTS: The GM doesn’t roll skill dice.
Instead, they describe characters based on…
￭ Behavior: What do they do to get what they
want? Beasts just want survive, but sapient
beings have drives. Not everyone just wants to
kill you, even on Battle Moon.
￭ Risks: If the players come in conflict with this
character, what do the players risk? (Maybe
they’ve got a knife, or it’s big enough to kill you
just by stepping on you.) The GM should signal
this when introducing a potential opponent,
before anyone initiates conflict. If conflict
would risk nothing (an unwary, vulnerable,
isolated target), players don’t roll.
￭ Obstacles: Would anything prevent players
from overcoming this opponent in one roll? As
above, the GM signals this before players roll.
(You need to find a way through their armor
first, or there’s too many to take on alone.) If
there are no obstacles, an opponent — even a
group — can be defeated in one roll.
HAZARDS: When characters are cautious and
alert, the GM is generous with information about
hazards (“The dirt looks freshly swept over,” or
even, “You spot a pit trap”). Characters only risk
harm from unseen hazards when in a rush. which
the GM signals as a risk (“You can flee, but you
risk an enemy pursuing — or running into a trap”).
STEPS: If a situation can’t be resolved in 1 roll…
￭ Establish actions & risks as you normally do.
There’s no rigid turn order, but strive to give
every player a chance to be in the spotlight.
￭ Each player rolls as needed. Actions might go
in sequence (“disarm, then attack!”), or all at
once (“grab the guns while I hold them off!”).
￭ Evaluate the results as you normally do, with a
focus on how the situation changes.
￭ Repeat until situation is resolved or escaped.
RULINGS: The GM improvises rulings when rules
are unclear. On a break, discuss unsatisfactory
rulings, maybe to retcon or revise for next time.
CHARACTERS
► Come up with a name and pronouns, and choose
whether you’re on Battle Moon as a rescuer or a
combatant.
RESCUER: You’re sneaking or breaking in to save
someone fighting against their will. Use the rules
below to create a member of a ragtag group of
misfits, or build a character using another fitting
2400 game, such as ALT, Eos, Resistors, Xenolith,
or the free Inner System Blues.
COMBATANT: You’re here to fight — whether you
like it or not. Invent, choose, or roll on the next
page (under “Tonight’s combatants…”) to select a
trait, a vocation, and a weapon.
￭ Traits let you to do things (e.g., being winged
lets you fly) and/or grant a d8 skill die, instead
of a d6, when used to face a risk (e.g., roll your
d8 quick die to shoot before your enemy).
￭ Vocations also grant a d8 skill die (e.g., roll
your thief skill die to sneak, climb, lie, etc.). If
your vocation and trait seem redundant, feel
free to replace one. You only roll 1 skill die at a
time — whichever’s higher or more relevant.
￭ Weapons describe what you can do (e.g., you
need a gun to shoot) and only affect what dice
you roll when they’re especially well or poorly
suited to a particular situation (e.g., a heat ray
helps fight an ice-creature, but is hindered
against a creature from a very hot planet).
► Decide or roll d12 for why the combatant is here.
1 Botched a rescue 7 Political enemies
2 Caught stealing 8 Prison crowding
3 Family tradition 9 Seriously no idea
4 Impress a crush 10 Sold out by partner
5 Lost a bet 11 Thrill seeker
6 Mistaken identity 12 Undercover plant
► If you survive this scenario, advance.
Gain a trait, raise a skill die (d6 ➡d8 ➡d10 ➡d12),
or revise the wording of a trait or vocation to be
more useful. For additional advancement rules
and options, see other 2400 games.
 THEY CALL IT “BATTLE MOON” — a domed arena Use Battle Moon as a single-episode scenario for
on a lawless rock, where captives fight robots, captive combatants or would-be rescuers — or as
beasts, professional gladiators, or even their own a tutorial and rules reference to help run and play
friends, all for the amusement of the hyper-rich. out fight scenes in an RPG without “hit points.”

► Tonight’s combatants include a… Armed with…

1 black-belt… 1 army deserter 1 an antique Tommy gun!

2 creepily intense… 2 asteroid miner 2 an arcwire tool — stuns, hacks, and scans!
3 cunning… 3 bounty hunter 3 a bandolier of 4 plasma grenades!
4 quick… 4 burglar 4 a glitchy force-field generator!
5 lovable… 5 chessboxer 5 a gravity glove with a half-charged battery!
6 retired… 6 combat engineer 6 a freeze ray — set to “crystallize”!
7 showboating… 7 demolitions expert 7 a heavy, diamond-tipped chainsaw!
8 sticky-fingered… 8 ex-warlord 8 a heavy flamethrower!
9 stressed-out… 9 guerrilla 9 a heavy gravhammer!
10 tough-as-nails… 10 master of disguise 10 a heavy harpoon gun with a retractable cable!
11 cephalopoid… 11 medic 11 a heavy laser — just wait until it charges up!
12 chimpanzee… 12 prison escapee 12 a heavy plasma-gat — too heavy to run & gun!
13 cobra-headed… 13 private eye 13 a heavy photon glaive!
14 four-armed… 14 refugee 14 a heavy riot-foam sprayer — stick ‘em up!
15 froggish… 15 salvager 15 a heavy sniper rifle — if they can set it up fast!
16 robot… 16 smuggler 16 a monomolecular-edged homing boomerang!
17 stone-skinned… 17 spy 17 an odd, humming device — what might it do?
18 telekinetic… 18 starship captain 18 a pair of ion blasters!
19 telepathic… 19 vidcast celebrity 19 an replica sword and shield — gladiator style!
20 winged… 20 war-zone journalist 20 a sentient Rigelian worm-whip!
► And our combatants must also contend with… ► How might this end? Signal an opportunity like…

1 “Capture the Flag” — get it back to “base”!
2 the Chamber of a Hundred Wooden Men!
3 deranged duplicates of themselves!
4 enforcers on gravbikes picking off laggards!
5 explosive collars, detonating upon death!
6 extra weapons hidden & tossed in at random!
7 floating platforms accessible by grav-jumps!
8 gravity randomly changing directions!
9 knee-deep mud — slip, slide, and hide!
10 a hellscape worthy of Hieronymus Bosch!
11 hoverboard jousting over lava!
12 “King of the Hill” — hold the peak for 1 minute!
13 the legendary Maze of Mirrors!
14 a lifelike recreation of Earth’s first World War!
15 lions, tigers, and dinosaurs — oh my!
16 occasional gouts of flame & freezing mists!
17 pit traps, swinging blades, and falling blocks!
18 a synthetic jungle — practice your Tarzan yell!
19 vacuum — no sound but radio in their helmets!
20 the whims of a special guest — The Emperor!
Version 1.1 • Cover art by Frank R. Paul • Permission is granted to reproduce for personal use
1 Convince Big Grizz teaming up to escape is
better than “winning” & others might follow
2 Camera operator in an antigrav pod floats by
— if you can reach it, you could rush the stands
3 You notice the cleanup crew doesn’t check
bodies for a pulse after a match
4 Armed professionals blast in to stage a
rescue — quite possibly for your opponent(s)
5 Police raid — everyone scatter! (At least until
the owners manage to strike a deal)
6 Dome breach! Something was a little too
explosive, and now everybody’s in danger
7 Break into utility tunnel, get to control room,
unlock docking clamps — or set self-destruct
8 Rich & “important” people in audience would
make great hostages during an escape
9 If survival is the only option, the winning team
can ask for a “boon” from The Emperor
10 Hey, you’re actually pretty good at this — we
got bigger things in mind for you…