Heat Signature Jumpchain (PDF)

You step off a tram and sit down at the bar. ಯHello, newcomer!ರ the
barkeep asks. ಯWhat will you have to drink?ರ
ಯJumper!ರ Someone who looks vaguely like your patron hollers from a
bench across the room. ಯOver here! They wonಬt be having any drinks right
now, weಬve got some things to go over.ರ Your patron leans in close. ಯDonಬt
drink that. Heಬs the worst bartender in the galaxy.ರ Starting Budget: 1000
CP

Background:
Age: 1d8 + 20. Gender: Flip a coin. If you donಬt like it, switch it for
free.
Drop-In/Wandering Mercenary: 0 CP You arrive because thereಬs
things to do and people who tend to pay people to do these things. Not

much more to it. You get a set of memories from a life of doing these things
in other places. Or you donಬt. You get a set of gear as if youಬve been doing
these things for a while now.
Defector: 300 CP You arrive from a station youಬve betrayed and
liberated. You get a set of memories and gear according to your former
faction. Roll 1d8, divide the result by two rounding up. 100 CP override.
1

Glitcher: Glitcher tech can ಫglitchಬ or teleport small things big

spaces or big things small spaces (they havenಬt quite figured out the ಫtimeಬ
part). They tried to glitch a big thing a big space, and got stuck here.
2

Offworld: Offworld Security keeps people away from places

they shouldnಬt be. They serve the nearest planet and technically have
jurisdiction. They have a penchant for nonlethal violence and doing
anything to save lives (no matter whoಬs). Anything frequently includes
torture.
3

Foundry: Sent by the Sovereign to see if the mining was any

good. It was! But they bricked their long range drive. They got stuck.
Incredibly resourceful, considering their response to getting left behind for
43 years was to make a few dozen space stations.
4

Sovereign: Hey Foundry, I heard the mining was good here! Iಬll

just take that and leave you here. Acts with ruthless efficiency in favor of
maximum profit.

Location:

Roll 1d8, then disregard the results. ಯLook around you. Youಬre in an
independent station. Are you blind?ರ

Perks:
ಯIಬm sure you didnಬt come here for the drinks.ರ
Space-Competent: FREE You wonಬt die because you opened the
airlock to your pod in the middle of space pressing buttons, you know how
to fly most ships and you generally know what youಬre doing. You also know
where to find the best bartenders, or where to find information like that.

50% off Drop-In/Wandering Mercenary
Iron Lungs: 100 CP You can survive in the vacuum of space for thirty
whole seconds! Thatಬs rather impressive considering your body would
normally die in many horrible ways.
ಫDownloadಬ Blueprints: 100 CP You know the general layout of any
ship you enter. Applies to buildings too, radius 50m.
Keep Your Head: 300 CP When you are engaged in a situation where
tensions are running high you are guaranteed to keep a level head and not
panic. Every ally you give a direct, barking order to will immediately follow
to the best of their ability in these situations. Youಬll also always see a
potential route out of your current situation. Whether it works or not is up to
your actual planning abilities, this just speeds up how fast they work.

Super Heat: 300 CP Stop your perception of time, including yourself,
at any time for as long as you want. If youಬre aware of where bullets might
come from, you may actually be able to dodge them with human agility.
You can access any information you have available to you during this time
and you wonಬt need to rifle through your backpack for the things you need.
Optional: A tattoo of a spacebar.
Fast-Charging: 600 CP Your rechargeable equipment recharges 225
times as fast. 24 hour recharge times become 16 seconds. This effects cell
phones, laptops, etc. but it doesnಬt give them a self-powering source.
Abort! Abort!: 600 CP You may rewind time to ten seconds in the
past. If you were to fall unconscious, this ability activates immediately. Use
three times, replenishes every week.

50% off Defector
Name Relevant: 100 CP Youಬve got a neat device capable of
detecting heat signatures nearby, displaying them in real-time.
Headlong Rush: 100 CP You can close a four meter gap between
yourself and a foe in the blink of an eye so long as you have something
with which to stab them or beat them over the head with when you arrive.
(Wo)Man Up: 300 CP You can block out pain from a handful of
gunshot wounds. They wonಬt knock you over until you go into shock (or run
out of blood in your limbs). You can also block out several doses of
knockout drugs or a single blast from a concussive gun. Concussive

attacks, like wrenches, stagger you instead of knocking you out. Youಬll still
need medical attention!
<Need 300, 600 CP things here>

Gear: ಯX Techರ is just flavor, not actual discounts. Items marked with > are upgrades.
Pod: FREE A spaceship that is smaller than other spaceships. Allows
you to get into the spaceships without their notice, and masks your
signature in the airlock. Just donಬt let them see you get to the airlock. If you
are a drop-in, you get this one. If you arenಬt, you get a specialization
according to your former faction. Specializations are as follows:
>

The Glitch Tick: 300 CP, FREE GLITCH Letಬs just teleport to

the airlock and skip the intermediate steps. Requires a free path, distance
not to exceed 100m.
>

The Offworld Angel: 300 CP, FREE OFFWORLD A personnel

retrieval net surrounds this pod. When activated it pulls select objects in. A
medical system inside can quickly restore consciousness and blood loss.
>

The Sovereign Coldfire: 300 CP, FREE SOVEREIGN When

activated, a low-power mode masks your electrical signature and makes
you invisible to scanning, radar, and the human eye against the blackness
of space. Also has the coolest name.

>

The Foundry Brick: 300 CP, FREE FOUNDRY Airlock? Psh!

Ram into their ship and break off a piece. Thereಬs an airlock! Theyಬll
certainly notice you.
Longblade/Wrench: FREE One is the classiest way to die, one makes
a satisfying ಫbonkಬ sound. Tough call. (Wrench is nonlethal.)
>

Armor Piercing: 200 CP Your longblade shreds Kevlar like

paper.
>

Concussion Hammer: 200 CP, FREE OFFWORLD Concussion

hammers canಬt penetrate armor, but they knock people back so far and so
hard (~15m) they hit the wall and fall unconscious or break through
windows. This functionality can be turned off.
Rifle: 100 CP, FREE SOVEREIGN, OFFWORLD Because
sometimes you just need to shoot someone in the face. About as loud as a
child screaming.
>

Concussive: 100 CP, FREE OFFWORLD Because sometimes

you donಬt want them to die.
>

Quiet: 100 CP About as loud as regular speech

>

Quickfire: 100 CP, FREE OFFWORLD Semi-automatic.

>

Silent: 200 CP About as loud as a whisper.

>

Automatic: 200 CP, FREE SOVEREIGN Fully automatic.

>

Armor Piercing: 300 CP So much for bulletproof! Shreds Kevlar

like paper.
Hacked Glitch Trap: 300 CP, FREE GLITCH Teleports you anywhere
within 10 meters without restriction, unlike all the other teleporters youಬll
find. Holds five charges, recharges over the course of twenty-four hours.
Mainframe Crashbeam: 300 CP, FREE FOUNDRY Alarms are loud
and doors are annoying. This lets you turn either off at your leisure.
Seed Capital: 100 CP You start with fifty... is that oil? Can be taken
repeatedly. Doubles starting money every time. Refreshes at the start of
every jump, converts to USD at a 1:10 ratio. Optional: A garish yellow
wallet.
The remainder of the gear is 50% off for Drop-In/Wandering Mercenary.
Hijack Helper: 200 CP Foundry Tech. The shipಬs alarms will no longer
go off when youಬre trying to hijack a ship. It also allows you to set any ship
to autopilot (gets you in the vicinity of your objective, you have to dock
manually).
Item Nabber 2000: 200 CP Glitch Tech. Recharges over a third of a
second. Teleports loose items within 10 meters to your person. Considered
mandatory by many mercenaries.
Pod Remote Control: 200 CP Sovereign Tech. Because sometimes
youಬd prefer not to die in the vacuum of space. Considered mandatory by
many badasses, including Sader Fiasco.

Pod AI: 200 CP Offworld Tech. Because sometimes you find yourself
unconscious in the vacuum of space. It will try to retrieve you and bring you
to safe haven should you fall into the vacuum of space. (The Foundry Brick
will not break ships apart to get to you.) Requires Pod Remote Control.
Fiascoಬs Facebreaker: 600 CP Originally Sleeper Tech. Fiasco,
potentially the very most badass woman ever, lost her beloved kinetic
Facebreaker. Itಬs freakishly light, fast, penetrates Kevlar like itಬs not even
there, and hurts like hell. You found it. Donಬt let her catch you with it.

ಯInstantly resolves any personnel-related disputes.ರ -Sader Fiasco
Geminiಬs Toybox: 600 CP Delivered daily to your warehouse, a
ಫtoyboxಬ full of Heat Signature tech arrives. These gadgets are single-use
apiece and lose their charge over the course of 48 hours. These gadgets
include key cloners, crashbeams, subverters, teleporters), and more!

Supplies:

Companions:
You brought friends!: 100 CP Import or gain a companion. Fiasco
wonಬt join you unless you help (or ಫhelpಬ) her find her Facebreaker. (If you
bought it above, youಬll get an identical copy when you next jump.)
Even more friends!: 400 CP Import up to eight companions. Not
exactly subtle, are you?

Drawbacks:
ಯYou masochist.ರ
Actual Crapshoot: +100 CP You canಬt aim worth a damn. Good luck
with that in a world run by the man with the biggest gun.
Weakling: +100 CP A satisfying ಫbonkಬ is met with confusion instead
of fainting. Theyಬll be pissed.
Spacecraft-Stupid: +100 CP How does a pod work again? Youಬre
going to either need a pilot or a Foundry Brick, because you canಬt
maneuver this thing worth a damn.
Moral Code: +100 CP Hail, Offworlder! Youಬre the good guy, right?
The good guys donಬt kill people. Well, thatಬs where you draw the line
anyway.
Fragile: +200 CP No chance of ಫshaking offಬ that bullet wound.
Getting hit by just about anything knocks you out.

Conclusions:
Remain a Mercenary: Ten years not long enough for you?
Head Home: A perfectly fine option. If youಬre a wimp.