This chapter explains the stat block formats used throughout this book, the mechanical rules for encumbrance and availability, how to read and apply item qualities, and the conventions used to flag restricted or GM-only information. Read this chapter before using stat blocks from any other chapter. The entries are short but the distinctions matter.
Stat Block Formats
Every item in this book uses one of three stat block formats: weapon, armor, or gear. Gear entries do not use a fixed stat block format; they are described in prose with key statistics called out inline. Weapons and armor use the formats described below.
Weapon Stat Blocks
Weapon entries use the following column headers:
| Weapon | Skill | Dmg | Crit | Range | Enc | Price | Avail | Qualities |
|---|
Weapon: The item's name.
Skill: The skill used to make attacks with this weapon. Most personal weapons use either Melee (for close-quarters weapons) or Ranged (for firearms and projectile weapons). Unarmed attacks use the Unarmed skill. Some specialist weapons use other skills as noted in their entries.
Dmg: Base damage the weapon deals on a successful hit. A plain number (for example, 6) means the weapon always deals that much base damage regardless of the attacker's characteristics. A number preceded by a plus sign (for example, +2) means the weapon adds that value to the attacker's Might characteristic (for Melee weapons) or Agility characteristic (for Ranged weapons). Adding characteristic scores to weapon damage is the standard for close-combat weapons; fixed damage values are more common for firearms.
Crit: The number of Boon results needed on the attack roll to trigger a Critical Injury. Lower numbers mean the weapon causes critical effects more readily. A result of 2 is extremely dangerous; a result of 5 is difficult to trigger with a single attack.
Range: The effective engagement range of the weapon. Ranges are:
- Engaged: Only usable against a target you are in direct melee contact with.
- Short: Within the same room, corridor, or immediate area (up to approximately 10 meters).
- Medium: Across an open space, across a street, to the far end of a mid-sized chamber (approximately 10 to 50 meters).
- Long: Open terrain, elevated firing positions, through a ship's cargo hold (approximately 50 to 200 meters).
- Extreme: Maximum effective range requiring specialized equipment or exceptional conditions (200 meters and beyond).
Weapons used outside their listed range suffer increased difficulty as described in the core rules. Melee weapons used against targets outside Engaged range cannot be used at all without special abilities.
Enc: Encumbrance value. See the Encumbrance section below.
Price: The baseline cost in credits (cr) at a mid-sized independent station. Prices vary by location; see Chapter 3 for full guidance. A price followed by /R or /I indicates the item is Restricted or Illegal regardless of its baseline price.
Avail: Availability tier. See the Availability section below.
Qualities: Item qualities, both passive and active, that apply to this weapon. See Item Qualities below and the full quality rules in Chapter 13.
Sample Weapon Entry
| Weapon | Skill | Dmg | Crit | Range | Enc | Price | Avail | Qualities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat Rifle | Ranged | 9 | 3 | Long | 4 | 900cr | Common | — |
| Vibroblade (Light) | Melee | +2 | 2 | Engaged | 2 | 250cr | Uncommon | Pierce 2, Vicious 1 |
The Combat Rifle deals a flat 9 damage regardless of the attacker's Agility and has no special qualities. The Vibroblade (Light) adds 2 to the attacker's Might characteristic, has a Crit threshold of 2 (very easy to trigger a critical), and carries the Pierce 2 and Vicious 1 passive qualities.
Armor Stat Blocks
Armor entries use the following format:
| Armor | Rating | Enc | Price | Avail | Notes |
|---|
Armor: The item's name.
Rating: The armor's Resistance bonus. This value is added to the wearer's Resistance characteristic when calculating how much damage is reduced on a successful attack. Higher ratings mean more protection. Standard civilian gear runs from 1 to 2. Military-grade armor runs from 3 to 5. Extraordinary protection may go higher.
Enc: Encumbrance value.
Price: Baseline cost in credits.
Avail: Availability tier.
Notes: Special properties, species restrictions, environmental ratings, or other considerations not captured in the numeric values. This column also flags legal restrictions specific to this item beyond its general Availability rating.
Sample Armor Entry
| Armor | Rating | Enc | Price | Avail | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Security Vest | 2 | 2 | 600cr | Common | — |
| Boarding Armor | 3 | 4 | 1,500cr | Uncommon/R | Sealed; 30-min vacuum rating; integrated mag boots |
The Security Vest is straightforward: Rating 2, Encumbrance 2, no special properties. The Boarding Armor provides Rating 3, costs more, is Restricted (the /R tag), and includes environmental features described in the Notes column.
Encumbrance
Every character can carry a total encumbrance equal to 5 plus their Might characteristic before encumbrance begins to affect their physical performance.
Characters carrying more than their encumbrance threshold add 1 Bane Die to all physical checks for each point over the threshold. This penalty applies to Athletics, Agility-based movement, physical combat actions, and any other check the GM determines is affected by carrying too much weight. Mental and social checks are generally not affected by encumbrance.
Example: A character with Might 3 has an encumbrance threshold of 8 (5 + 3). They are currently carrying a Combat Rifle (Enc 4), a Standard Sidearm (Enc 2), and Combat Armor (Enc 3), for a total of Enc 9. They are 1 point over threshold and add 1 Bane Die to physical checks.
Items with Enc 0 do not count against the total. Worn armor counts toward encumbrance. Stowed and carried items both count. Items left in a ship locker, stored in a crate, or otherwise not on the character's person do not count.
Encumbrance and Species
Dhoran characters use a modified threshold: 7 plus Might rather than 5 plus Might. Their dense frames and high-gravity origins make them capable of carrying substantially more than other species before the load affects their performance.
Ilyari characters use 4 plus Might due to their light frames. What feels manageable to a human pilot is a significant burden to an Ilyari medic of the same Might score.
Ssarathi characters apply encumbrance to upper-body and carried items only; leg-worn and boot-slot items do not apply to their threshold since they do not have legs.
Availability
Every item carries an Availability rating that indicates where it can typically be found and purchased without extraordinary effort.
Common: Available at virtually any settlement, station, or port of call with a commercial district. Standard civilian hardware stores, general outfitters, and ship chandlers stock Common items. No special contacts, permits, or faction connections are required.
Uncommon: Found at major ports, faction hubs, and well-supplied stations. Not available everywhere, but not difficult to locate given access to mid-tier commerce. A crew operating regular routes through established space will encounter Uncommon items regularly.
Rare: Requires a specialist dealer, access to faction territory, or a specific contact who can source the item. Rare items are not impossible to find, but they are not sitting on open shelves. Expect to spend time locating a source, and expect to pay for the scarcity.
Restricted (R): Legal to own in some jurisdictions with the correct permits, licenses, or faction authorization. Purchasing Restricted items openly requires documentation. Without documentation, Restricted items must be sourced through black-market channels, which affects both price and legal exposure. See Chapter 3 for jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction details.
Illegal (I): Cannot be purchased, carried, or possessed openly in any major power's jurisdiction without facing criminal charges. Illegal items are sourced exclusively through criminal networks, faction black ops channels, or very specific fringe connections. See Chapter 12 for black market sourcing rules.
Availability and Purchasing Time
Finding an item takes time based on its availability tier. These are guidelines; GM judgment applies.
| Availability | Typical Search Time |
|---|---|
| Common | On hand or immediate |
| Uncommon | Hours to 1 day |
| Rare | 1 to 3 days; requires contacts |
| Restricted | 1 week or more; requires documentation or black market |
| Illegal | 2+ weeks; criminal sourcing only |
Price Variance
Listed prices are baselines, not fixed values. The GM adjusts prices based on local conditions. The following modifiers are guidelines:
| Condition | Price Modifier |
|---|---|
| Major faction hub or core world | —10% to —25% |
| Standard independent station | Baseline |
| Fringe colony or remote posting | +25% to +50% |
| Active conflict zone (scarcity) | +50% to +100% |
| Active conflict zone (surplus) | —25% to —50% |
| Black market source (Restricted) | +50% to +150% above baseline |
| Black market source (Illegal) | +100% to +200% above baseline |
| Desperate seller | —25% to —40% |
| Crew has positive faction reputation | —10% to —20% at faction outlets |
GMs should feel free to adjust prices for dramatic effect, local flavor, and narrative logic. The listed price is the starting point for negotiation, not the end of it.
Item Qualities
Item qualities are special properties that extend or modify an item's mechanical behavior beyond the baseline stat block. Two types exist:
Passive qualities are always active. They do not require the character to spend any resources to activate. Pierce X, Accurate X, Vicious X, and Concealable are examples of passive qualities. If the weapon has it, the effect applies every time the weapon is used.
Active qualities require spending Boon results from the attack roll to trigger. Most active qualities cost 2 Boons to activate unless otherwise noted. A character must generate enough Boons on a single roll to pay for any active qualities they wish to use. Boons not spent on active qualities may be spent on other results per the core rules. Auto-fire, Blast, Burn, Ensnare, and Knockdown are examples of active qualities.
A brief summary of common qualities is included in each weapon and armor chapter. Full rules for every quality, including stacking behavior and edge cases, appear in Chapter 13: Item Qualities and Modifications.
Reading Quality Notation
When a quality appears as Quality X in a stat block, X is the numerical rating for that quality. Pierce 2 means the quality ignores 2 points of the target's Resistance. Accurate 1 means 1 Boon Die is added to attacks with this weapon. Vicious 3 means 30 is added to Critical Injury rolls made with this weapon.
When multiple qualities appear in a stat block, they are separated by commas. All qualities listed apply to the same weapon.
A dash (—) in the Qualities column means the item has no special qualities.
How to Read Item Descriptions
Every item in this book includes a stat block and at least a brief description. Descriptions cover:
- Function: What the item does, how it works, who makes it.
- Culture: What carrying this item signals. Who typically owns it. What assumptions it creates.
- Notes: Any mechanical edge cases, species interactions, or jurisdictional details specific to this item beyond what the stat block captures.
Some entries include additional detail on faction variants, modification options, or common field modifications. These notes are part of the item's reference entry and are intended to give GMs and players material to work with at the table, not just at the equipment checkout counter.
GM-Only Sections
Sections and tables marked [GM] contain information players would not necessarily have access to in-world. These include:
- True sourcing difficulty for black-market items.
- What faction intelligence agencies actually know about contraband flows.
- Price manipulation tactics used by vendors under faction pressure.
- Notes on which items are tracked by which powers' surveillance systems.
Players are welcome to read these sections; this is not hidden content in the sense of rules secrets. It is simply information that belongs in the GM's toolkit rather than a player's character sheet.