2400: XOT

LO-FI SCI-FI RPG

JASON TOCCI
Version 1.2
Permission is granted to reproduce for personal use

IT'S BEEN A GENERATION SINCE THE ARK FELL. Long enough to lose knowledge of space
flight; more than long enough for this planet to change you. Small settlements dot
a strange landscape, desperate for travelers like you to trade resources, share
knowledge, and master the exotica of a lost civilization. Adapt to this world, and
humanity may survive what those who came before could not.

RULES

Play: Players describe what their characters do. The GM judges when their action is
impossible, demands a cost or extra steps, or presents a risk. Players can revise
plans before committing so as to change goal/stakes, and only roll to avoid risk.

Rolling: Roll 1 skill die — d6 by default, higher with a relevant trait or vocation
(whichever is highest if multiple fit), or d4 if hindered by injury, circumstances,
or carrying more than 1 bulky item. If helped by circumstances, roll an extra d6;
if helped by an ally, they roll their skill die and share the risk. Take the
highest die.

1–2 Disaster. Suffer the full risk. GM decides if you succeed at all. If
risking death, you die.
3–4 Setback. A lesser consequence or partial success. If risking death,
you’re injured.
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.

Defense: Break an item to turn a hit into a brief hindrance. Broken gear is useless
until repaired.

Change: When your highest die in a roll rolls its max, you may turn it into a 1 to
either gain a new trait, raise a trait or vocation’s skill die by 1 step (d6 to d8
to d10 to d12), or add or replace a word in a trait, vocation, or distinction.

Harm: Seek healers or exotica to clear injuries. If killed, introduce a new

character ASAP.

GM: Describe characters in terms of behaviors, risks, and obstacles, not skill
dice. Lead the group in setting lines not to cross in play. Fast-forward, pause, or
rewind/redo for pacing and safety; invite players to do likewise. Present dilemmas
you don’t know how to solve. Move spotlight to give all time to shine. Roll a die
periodically to test luck (e.g., run into predators, or out of bandages), checking
for (1– 2) trouble or (3–4) signs of it. Improvise rulings to cover gaps in rules;
on a break, revise unsatisfactory rulings as a group.

CHARACTERS

Choose, invent, or roll d20 for a name.

1 Alyx
2 Briar
3 Citlali
4 Dusty
 5 Esen
6 Farai
7 Grey
8 Hyun
9 Ime
10 Jaya
11 Kyo
12 Lux
13 Ming
14 Nur
15 Ori
16 Qamar
17 Raine
18 Taylor
19 Van
20 Zhi

Choose, invent, or roll d20 for a trait that lets you do unusual things (being
winged lets you fly) and/or roll a d8 skill die against relevant risks.

1 Acrobatic
2 Ascetic
3 Charming
4 Fearless
5 Protective
6 Sharp-eyed
7 Stealthy
8 Strong
9 Swift
10 Zealous
11 Amphibious
12 Boneless
13 Clairvoyant
14 Fanged
15 Four-armed
16 Horned
17 Telekinetic
18 Telepathic
19 Undying
20 Winged

Choose, invent, or roll d20 for a vocation with a d8 skill die. Take a knife,
clothes, and these items.

1 Chronicler: portable terminal with camera

2 Chemist: acid vial, glitchy chemical scanner
3 Courier: weatherized cloak, hidden pockets
4 Fugitive: chain & broken shackles (bulky)
5 Gambler: hidden blade, cards, trick dice
6 Herbalist: mortar, pestle, analgesic herb
7 Hunter: slugthrower (bulky), snares
8 Mechanic: cutting torch, goggles, pads
9 Mystic: robes, extra trait (e.g., clairvoyant)
10 Mapmaker: map tube, pens, flimsies
11 Mycologist: edible & toxic fungi, hand lens
12 Pit fighter: cestus, blindfold, bandage
13 Priest: vestments, scripture, medallion
14 Salvager: cutting torch, chain, flares
15 Scout: binoculars, muddy cloak
 16 Soldier: sword, cape, repainted armor
17 Stonecutter: sledge (bulky), hammer, chisel
18 Surgeon: scalpel, bone saw, bandage, wire
19 Survivalist: tent, water purifier, long scarf
20 Trader: hidden blade, scrap for trade (bulky)

Choose, invent, or roll d6.d6 for a distinction — something strange or useful that
stands out even on this world. Decide specifics with the GM.

1.1 A cat-sized tardigrade floating nearby

1.2 White-hot saliva
1.3 A detachable head that plugs into any body
1.4 A plasma cannon for a hand
1.5 Blurry, confusing features
1.6 Otherworldly beauty
2.1 Cameras for eyes
2.2 Edible fungal growths
2.3 A cloud of glowing butterflies
2.4 Magnetic hands
2.5 A back full of pipes spewing greasy smoke
2.6 Skin studded with jagged crystals
3.1 A voice like thunder
3.2 Telescoping limbs
3.3 Stinging tentacles
3.4 Finger-plugs that interface with machines
3.5 A robot bodyguard
3.6 A tendency to vanish
4.1 Malleable features
4.2 Stony flesh
4.3 An electrical current
4.4 The power to transfer wounds with a touch
4.5 An aura of flame
4.6 Silver eyes with x-ray vision
5.1 Two bodies that share one mind
5.2 A hypnotic gaze
5.3 Fists that can shatter stone
5.4 Remote-controlled eyes
5.5 Glowing eyes with heat vision
5.6 Psychedelic sweat
6.1 Command over insectoid life
6.2 Suction-cupped hands
6.3 Spiny projectiles
6.4 A symbiotic organism over their face
6.5 An aversion to gravity
6.6 A faithful cult

EXOTICA

Start with 3 xot — small, unstable, single-use exotic devices — inspired by

combining 2 words from the lists below. The exact function is up to the GM to
interpret, but player suggestions are encouraged. (These lists can also inspire
stable exotic artifacts, but players don’t start with any.)

1 Atmospheric
2 Cybernetic
3 Electromagnetic
4 Geomorphic
5 Gravitic
6 Haptic
 7 Hydric
8 Kinetic
9 Mnemonic
10 Necrotic
11 Oneiric
12 Perceptual
13 Photonic
14 Psychic
15 Seismic
16 Sonic
17 Spatial
18 Temporal
19 Thermic
20 Xenobiotic

1 Annihilator
2 Assembler
3 Conductor
4 Container
5 Dampener
6 Disruptor
7 Distributor
8 Expander
9 Focuser
10 Injector
11 Manipulator
12 Multiplier
13 Nullifier
14 Projector
15 Regenerator
16 Scanner
17 Shield
18 Transformer
19 Transmitter
20 Transporter

Identification: You recognize items on sight as artifacts or xot. When you try to
determine what they do, you risk (1–2) accidental activation or (3–4) only getting
a vague sense of function. Rolling again yields no further information.

Instability: When you risk harm while carrying 4 or more xot, the roll also
indicates whether your xot activate or act unpredictably (1–2) at once or (3–4)
with just enough warning to throw them. Xot litter the world. They are powerful and
dangerous to hoard. Use or trade them often.

Artifact use: When you use an exotic artifact in a risky situation, the roll also
indicates whether it is depleted (1–2) already, or (3–4) after this use.

Trade: 1 xot is worth 1 useful tool or weapon, or 1 bulky scrap bundle. Artifacts
are worth 10+ xot.

GM PROMPTS

A settlement named for its…

1 Bone…
2 Floating…
3 Fungal…
4 Gargantuan…
 5 Gilded…
6 Iron-veined…
7 Mesmerizing…
8 Mirrored…
9 Mist-cloaked…
10 Phasing…
11 Prismatic…
12 Radiant…
13 Shimmering…
14 Silent…
15 Spherical…
16 Sunken…
17 Thorned…
18 Translucent…
19 Ubiquitous…
20 Whispering…

1 Armory
2 Bridge
3 Chapel
4 Dungeon
5 Forges
6 Garden
7 Gates
8 Graves
9 Halls
10 Lanterns
11 Livestock
12 Market
13 Port
14 Roads
15 Ruler
16 Servitors
17 Spires
18 Spring
19 Statues
20 Walls

Needs (or has)…

1 Building materials
2 Clean water
3 Couriers
4 Defenses
5 Energy
6 Exotica experts
7 Hope
8 Hunters
9 Info on fauna
10 Info on flora
11 Info on people
12 Labor
13 Medicine
14 New leadership
15 News
16 Repairs
17 Room to grow
18 Scrap
19 Shelter
 20 Visitors

And is dangerously close to The…

1 Blinding…
2 Burning…
3 Crawling…
4 Cyclopean…
5 Hungry…
6 Invisible…
7 Last…
8 Living…
9 Murmuring…
10 Quicksilver…
11 Quivering…
12 Scouring…
13 Screaming…
14 Shadow…
15 Static…
16 Sundered…
17 Unreached…
18 Vanishing…
19 Wasting…
20 Weeping…

1 Archive
2 Basin
3 Caverns
4 City
5 Cliffs
6 Colossus
7 Dome
8 Forest
9 Fortress
10 Isle
11 Monolith
12 Moon
13 Palace
14 Peak
15 Plain
16 Swamp
17 Temple
18 Tomb
19 Tower
20 Vault

You encounter a…

1 Blurry…
2 Carnivorous…
3 Dead…
4 Disguised…
5 Faceless…
6 Gigantic…
7 Hive-minded…
8 Hovering…
9 Hypnotic…
10 Levitating…
11 Plagued…
 12 Protean…
13 Quick…
14 Small…
15 Spectral…
16 Stealthy…
17 Synthetic…
18 Telekinetic…
19 Telepathic…
20 Teleporting…

1 Beast
2 Beggar
3 Bird
4 Blob
5 Bug
6 Cult
7 Fish
8 Flower
9 Gang
10 Head
11 Reptile
12 Rodent
13 Settler
14 Swarm
15 Thief
16 Trader
17 Tree
18 Tripod
19 Warlord
20 Worm

With what appears to be…

1 Autonomous…
2 Bioluminescent…
3 Caustic…
4 Coppery…
5 Crystalline…
6 Cybernetic
7 Electrified…
8 Ice-cold…
9 Mismatched…
10 Mossy…
11 Oily…
12 Oxidizing…
13 Reflective…
14 Retractable…
15 Softly humming…
16 Stolen…
17 Stone…
18 Venomous…
19 Undulating…
20 Worm-ridden…

1 Armor
2 Antennae
3 Arms
4 Bones
5 Claws
 6 Clothing
7 Eyes
8 Flesh
9 Glands
10 Horns
11 Legs
12 Scales
13 Shackles
14 Skin
15 Spines
16 Teeth
17 Tendrils
18 Tools
19 Weapons
20 Wings

And in need of…

1 Acid
2 Allies
3 Escape
4 Exotica
5 Food/water
6 Grooming
7 Information
8 Justice
9 Medicine
10 Opponents
11 Passage
12 Penance
13 Prey
14 Protection
15 Purpose
16 Rest
17 Shelter
18 Supplies
19 Surgery
20 Warmth