2300AD Conversions to the Unisystem
2300AD is a science fiction game published by GDW in 1988. Although it has its own system, I feel that Classic Unisystem would be a better engine for it. Here, you will find some conversion notes to help bring characters and equipment over to Eden StudiosÕ house system. This is not complete, but should give you enough information to start a game.
If you wish to create characters straight into Unisystem, you can do it with the following point distribution, depending on the degree of competency the GM desires:
Attributes: 15 to 20
Qualities: 5 to 15
Drawbacks: up to 10
Skills: 30 or 35
A low Attribute point group can be compensated by Attribute bonuses from professional (Interface Military, Troubleshooter etc.) or physical (Mesomorph, Ectomorph etc.) Qualities.
The skill group can substituted for an alternative system based on several factors, like age, Intelligence etc.
Converting Attributes
Not all 2300AD attributes convert well to Unisystem. Size, for example, has no correlation, although it could probably be used as a guide for Qualities like Hard to Kill. Eloquence can be translated as the Charisma Quality by taking the 2300AD attribute bonus and subtracting 2, which yields the Unisystem Quality level (the same system could be used for Size).
|
2300AD |
Unisystem |
|
Size |
-- |
|
Strength |
Strength |
|
Dexterity |
Dexterity |
|
Endurance |
Constitution |
|
Intelligence |
Intelligence |
|
Intelligence |
Perception |
|
Determination |
Willpower |
|
Eloquence |
Charisma Quality |
|
Education |
-- |
|
2300AD |
Unisystem |
|
3- |
0 |
|
4-7 |
1 |
|
8-11 |
2 |
|
12-15 |
3 |
|
16-17 |
4 |
|
18-19 |
5 |
|
20-21 |
6 |
|
22-24 |
7 |
Unisystem's secondary attributes are calculated normally:
Life Points: (STR+CON) x 4 + 10
Endurance: (STR+CON+WILL) x 3 + 5 (este atributo pode ser opcional)
Coolness under Fire (CUF) can be brought over to Unisystem in order to substitute for this system's conventional initiative system. It could be generated as in 2300AD -- 1D6 + turning points. The turning points would be determined by rolling successive D10s until the amount rolled equaled the character'' age minus 18. For example, Carlos is generating Sawyer, a 43-year old interface pilot. This means that Sawyer's service terms lasted 25 years (43 Š 18). Rolling the first D10, Carlos gets an 8; the second rolls also yields 8; and the last one, 10. This would be 26 years of service, but since Carlos has already determined that Sawyer is only 43 years old, not 44, the last roll is decreased to 9.
Another way to handle CUF is to consider that all characters have a base level of 3 (as suggested in Character Generation: The Point-based System, AdventurerÕs Guide, p. 11) and raising it costs 2 Quality points per CUF point.
Unisystem has a system that emulates the definition of CUF Š keeping your cool under fire. In this system, coolness is the result of a Simple Willpower Test, which makes the existence of an attribute dedicated to this characteristic unnecessary.
Converting Professions and Body Types
Profession and body type Qualities can be used to supply characters with extra attribute and skill points. 2300AD's professions can become professional Qualities, such as:
Interface Military
6-point Quality
Characters that belonged to an interface military branch gain one level in the following skills: Guns (Rifle), Guns (Pistol), Piloting (Aircraft), Mechanics or Electronics, and Survival.
This can be considered a sort of basic training, with the levels listed in the AdventurerÕs guide being representative of a fully trained member of that profession. Thus, a GM could require characters who buy a professional Quality to invest enough skill points to bring their skill levels up to those listed minimums.
Body Type Qualities are basically attribute bonuses, although a GM could include such things as Hard to Kill or Resistance levels. To create a Body Type Quality, just halve the bonuses listed in the AdventurerÕs Guide.
Mesomorph
2-point Quality
Mesomorphs gain +2 to Strength and +1 to Constitution, but have -1 to Dexterity. These bonuses and penalties cannot take a mesomorphÕs attribute below 1 or over 7.
Converting Skills
Skill levels can be converted between the two systems on a 1:1 scale. A zero level can also be introduced in the Unisystem. When a character has a zero-level skill, he can attempt a Task with that skill using only the appropriate Attribute, without suffering the -2 or -3 unskilled penalty. During character creation, a skill point can be translated into two zero-level skills. When using experience points, just use the New Skill cost for new zero-level skills. In other words, when buying a new skill, the character is actually buying a zero level in it, which can later be increased to 1 by spending 1 point.
The Optional Skill Point Generation System (WC, p. 55) can be adapted to 2300AD. In this case, the factors to be taken into consideration are:
Base: 15
Intelligence: 3 points/attribute level
Willpower: 3 points/attribute level
Age: 1 point for every 2 years above 30 (this can be changed to 1 point/year if the GM wants younger and more competent characters)
Status or Resources: 1 point/level of the highest Quality
Converting Weapons
Converting firearms proved a bit confusing. At first, I tried to establish a correlation between DP and Unisystem damage codes, but then decided to use the 2300AD ammunition size or energy as the main guide to find the appropriate damage value. Even so, IÕm still not sure about some of them, like the 175 MW plasma or the missiles, which you wonÕt find listed below precisely for this reason. What this means is that I donÕt think this is a perfect match. So, by all means, tinker away and send me your suggestions.
Rifles
|
2300AD [DP] |
Unisystem |
|
4 Š 5 mm [0,2] |
D4 x 4 (8) |
|
4.54 mm FSF* [0,5] |
D6 x 4 (12) |
|
5.5 mm/4.5 mm FSF* [0,6] |
D8 x 4 (16) |
|
7.5 mm [0,7] |
D8 x 5 (20) |
|
9 mm [1] |
D8 x 6 (24) |
|
10 mm [3] |
D10 x 5 (25) |
|
12 mm [4] |
D10 x 6 (30) |
|
20 mm [4] |
D10 x 10 (50) |
* 2300AD gauss rifles fire Fin-Stabilized Flechette (FSF). They should be treated as bullet-type damage that either multiply the damage that overcomes AV by three or that multiply AV by 3/4 (e.g., AV 20 becomes AV 15).
Pistols
|
2300AD [DP] |
Unisystem |
|
5 mm [0,2] |
D4 x 2 (4) |
|
9 mm [0,3] |
D6 x 4 (12) |
|
9 mm [0,4] |
D6 x 5 (15) |
|
11 mm [0,8] |
D6 x 6 (18) |
Laser
Lasers divide AV by 2 and double the damage that gets past it. This is the same as All TomorrowÕs Zombies energy damage type.
|
2300AD [EP] |
Unisystem |
|
0,2 MJ [0,6] |
D8 x 4 (16) |
|
0,3 MJ [0,9] |
D8 x 5 (20) |
|
0,35/0,4/0,9 MJ [1] |
D8 x 6 (24) |
|
0,7/0,8 MJ [2] |
D10 x 5 (25) |
Plasma
Plasma works as a laser, but if the GM wishes more this weapon to be more lethal, she can state that the damage that gets past AV is tripled. Additionally, plasma shots generate an explosion at the point of impact.
|
2300AD |
Unisystem |
Range |
|
5 MW [1] |
D10 x 6 (30) |
1/5/10 |
|
10 MW [2] |
D10 x 10 (50) |
1/5/10 |
|
15 MW [3] |
D10 x 15 (75) |
3/8/15 |
|
20 MW [4] |
D10 x 20 (100) |
3/8/15 |
|
30 MW [6] |
D10 x 30 (150) |
5/10/20 |
|
175 MW [15] |
D10 x 75 (375) |
5/10/20 |
Example weapons
|
Nome |
Alcance |
Dano |
Cap |
EV |
Cost |
Notas |
|
FAM-90 |
10/50/150/400/900 |
D8 x 4 (16) |
60 |
4,5 kg |
490 |
FSF, RC2* |
|
30 mm grenade |
30/50/100/200/500 |
D6 x 10 (30) |
3 |
-- |
-- |
x8/x3, 2/6/10 |
|
P-11 |
4/15/40/120/240 |
D6 x 6 (18) |
7 |
0,2 kg |
350 |
bullet |
|
Gon¨alves-Brasilia Luz-7B |
10/80/200/500/1000 |
D8 x 6 (24) |
12 |
1 kg |
720 |
energy |
|
30 mm grenade |
30/50/100/200/500 |
D6 x 10 (30) |
3 |
-- |
-- |
x8/x3, 2/6/10 |
|
Kurita Type-21F |
30/100/200/500/1000 |
D10 x 15 (75) |
4 |
9 kg |
1,400 |
x50/x25, 3/8/15 |
* This weapon has two levels of recoil compensation. When firing bursts or full auto, the penalty is reduced by two. For example, firing two bursts would normally result in a -3 penalty for the first one and -6 for the second. With RC2, this becomes -1 and -4, respectively.
Converting Armor
2300AD armor is rather ineffectual when compared to Unisystem ones. I tried to keep that in mind when converting the values. GDWÕs game also makes a distinction between rigid, nonrigid and inertial armor. This distinction doesnÕt exist in Unisystem. But could probably be ported over by making characters also suffer basic Endurance damage when hit while wearing nonrigid armor. For example, when hit by a weapon that does D6 x 4 damage, a character with nonrigid armor takes 4 (as if rolling a 1 in the damage die) Endurance points, even if his armor stops all the damage.
Armor
|
2300AD |
Unisystem |
|
0,1 |
D6+1 (4) |
|
0,2 |
D8+4 (8) |
|
0,3 |
D6+7 (10) |
|
0,4 |
D6x2+6 (12) |
|
0,8 |
D8x2+8 (16) |
|
1 |
D8x3+8 (20) |
|
2 |
D8x5+20 (40) |
|
7 |
140 |
|
8 |
160 |
Example armors
|
Nome |
AV |
ērea |
EV |
Pen.* |
Cost |
Notas |
|
High-Threat Combat Helmet |
D8x5+20 (40) |
Head |
1 kg |
-- |
20 |
rigid |
|
Rigid breastplate |
D8x3+8 (20) |
Torso |
8 kg |
-1 |
20 |
|
|
Nonrigid vest |
D8x2+8 (16) |
Torso |
2 kg |
-- |
20 |
|
|
Full-body Inertial Armor |
D6x2+6 (12) |
Torso, limbs |
10 kg |
-1 |
350 |
Rigid for blunt |
|
Full-body combat armor |
D8x3+8 (20) |
Limbs |
20 kg |
-2 |
100 |
nonrigid |
|
BH-21 Combat Walker |
150 |
All |
380 kg |
-4 |
17,000 |
|
* Unisystem encumbrance penalty
Converting Vehicles
Most of the stats can be converted without much problem. The damage capacity (DC) can be calculated using the formula in AFMBE, p. 115. However, 2300AD vehicles are lighter than modern ones and that results in less damage points than would be expected. That can be solved by doubling the DC to represent that the materials are lighter, but stronger. Toughness, Handling and Accuracy can eyeballed based on the write-ups for similar vehicles. The upcoming Misfit StudiosÕArmed Forces supplement for Armageddon will have extra features that can be applied to a vehicle to customize it and that could emulate some of the 2300AD characteristics, like the Evasion and Off-Road
Military ACV-APC
Weight: 3.000 kg DC: 220
Speed: 220/200 kph AV: 40 (plenum)/120 (faces)
Acceleration: 50 Accuracy: 2
Autonomy: 3.600 km Cost: Lv 40.000
Toughness: 4
Handling: 3
Armament:
Guiscard Aero-12 (6 missiles) [D10 x 40 (200)/AP5/x3/100*/500/1000/2500/5000]
25 mm autocannon [D10 x 10 (50)/AP2/100/200/800/1500/2000]
5.5 mm machine gun [D8 x 4 (16)]
Example Character
This is a character I currently play in a friendÕs 2300AD campaign. IÕm listing its 2300AD sheet and the Unisystem conversion to show what kind of translation results. I attained myself to the basics here.
Sawyer (2300AD)
Attributes: Size 9, Str 9, Dex 15, End 9, Det 12, Int 12, Elo 15, Edu 13
CUF: 5 Renown: 2 (general) Looks: Attractive
First career: Interface Military Second career: Troubleshooter
Skills
Primary: Aircraft Pilot 5, Combat Rifleman 3, Electronics 3, Mechanical 2, Melee 2, P-Suit 3, Pilot 0, Recon 2, Sidearm 3, Survival 2, Hover Vehicle 3
Related: Ground Vehicle 3
Unrelated: Agra Mythos 0, Eber/Yili 0, Stealth 1, Streetwise 1, Theoretical Science 0,
Sawyer (Unisystem)
Attributes: Str 2, Dex 3, Con 2, Int 3, Per 3, Will 3
Life points 26, Endurance 26, CUF 5
Qualities: Attractiveness 1, Charisma 1, Renown (General) 2, Interface Military
Drawbacks:
Skills: Brawling 2, Driving (Ground 3, Hover 3), Electronics 3, Guns (Pistol 3, Rifle 3), Hand Weapons (Knife) 2, Mechanic 2, Myth and Lore (Agra) 0, Notice 2, Pilot (Air Vehicle 5, Starship 0), Science (Theoretical) 0, Stealth 1, Streetwise 1, Survival (Type) 2, Vacc Suit 3
Languages: English 5, French 3, Eber/Yili 0
Well, enjoy it! And if you want, you can drop me a fred AT patchlord DOT com.
Last Update: 21-Jul-07
