Megaversal system
Encyclopedia
The Megaversal system, sometimes known as the Palladium system, is a set of mechanics
specifically employed in most role-playing game
s published by Palladium Books
, the exception is Recon. It uses dice
for roll-under percentile skill checks, roll-high combat checks and saving throws, and determination of damage (i.e. Mega Damage is to M.D.C. what "damage" is to S.D.C. ) sustained in melee encounters by which a character's Hit Points, Structural Damage Capacity (S.D.C.), or Mega-Damage Capacity (M.D.C.) is reduced accordingly.
vary across series. Depending upon the game, players may or may not need to select a race; for instance, it is assumed that characters in Ninjas & Superspies
are human, while in Palladium Fantasy
they very often are not. Nonetheless, all games share the same eight randomly generated attributes
:
For humans, most of these statistics are determined by a roll of three six-sided dice, whereas other species' attributes are determined more or less depending on how they compare to the baseline human standard.
Other statistics that may be used are:
:
pilot classes in Rifts
rather than a single "Robot/Power Armor Pilot" class.
s are described in detailed terms, outlining how a character will act in a certain situation: whether they will lie, how much force they will use against innocents, how they view the law, and so forth. The alignments are organized into three broad categories: Good, Selfish, and Evil. The seven core alignments are:
An eighth alignment, "Taoist", was introduced for Mystic China, but has not seen use outside of that game.
Palladium founder and lead designer Kevin Siembieda
has a noted distaste for "neutral" alignments (as used in Dungeons & Dragons
). This is stated in most core rulebooks in the alignment section, and stems from the idea that a truly neutral character would not do anything particularly interesting, like fight or go on an adventure.
, Heroes Unlimited
(for mutant animals only) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness
use "Biological Energy" (BIO-E) points to purchase mutations
. Palladium Fantasy assumes that non-human characters will be routinely played, so most races will use normal O.C.C.s instead of R.C.C.s.. Some games that feature advanced technology in science fiction
settings
like Rifts, Robotech
, and Splicers
use a special category of damage capacity called "Mega-Damage" (M.D.C.), the exception is Mechanoids. M.D.C. is 100 times more powerful than normal damage (i.e., 1 M.D.C. = 100 - 199 S.D.C.). Normal weapons cannot damage a Mega-Damage structure at all unless they are capable of inflicting 100 S.D.C. or more in a single shot or burst of ammunition; the archetypical example of Mega-Damage is a tank
, which can only be effectively destroyed through the use of powerful weapons designed to overcome its armor, while easily resisting small-arms fire. Many updates to the system in various campaign settings have also added Perception as a statistic prior to this it was entirely up to the GM if the player noticed anything.
Role-playing game system
A role-playing game system is a set of game mechanics used in a role-playing game to determine the outcome of a character's in-game actions...
specifically employed in most role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
s published by Palladium Books
Palladium Books
Palladium Books is a publisher of role-playing games perhaps best known for its popular, expansive Rifts series . Palladium was founded April 1981 in Detroit, Michigan by current president and lead game designer Kevin Siembieda, and is presently based in Westland, Michigan...
, the exception is Recon. It uses dice
Dice notation
Dice notation is a system to represent different combinations of dice in role-playing games using simple algebra-like notation such as 2d6+12....
for roll-under percentile skill checks, roll-high combat checks and saving throws, and determination of damage (i.e. Mega Damage is to M.D.C. what "damage" is to S.D.C. ) sustained in melee encounters by which a character's Hit Points, Structural Damage Capacity (S.D.C.), or Mega-Damage Capacity (M.D.C.) is reduced accordingly.
Attributes
Certain aspects of character creationCharacter creation
Character creation is the process of defining a game character or other character. Typically, a character's individual strengths and weaknesses are represented by a set of statistics. Games with a largely fictional setting may include traits such as race and class...
vary across series. Depending upon the game, players may or may not need to select a race; for instance, it is assumed that characters in Ninjas & Superspies
Ninjas and Superspies
Ninjas & Superspies is a role-playing game written by Erick Wujcik and published in 1988 by Palladium Books. The game is designed around espionage and martial arts action in the modern world, similar to movies such as the James Bond series or Chinese martial arts films...
are human, while in Palladium Fantasy
Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game
The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game is a game produced by Palladium Books. It is set in a unique world, called the Palladium World , with the primary setting being some 10,000 years after a great war between the elves and their dwarven allies...
they very often are not. Nonetheless, all games share the same eight randomly generated attributes
Attribute (role-playing games)
An attribute is a piece of data that describes to what extent a fictional character in a role-playing game possesses a specific natural, in-born characteristic common to all characters in the game. That piece of data is usually an abstract number or, in some cases, a set of dice...
:
- Intelligence QuotientIntelligence quotientAn intelligence quotient, or IQ, is a score derived from one of several different standardized tests designed to assess intelligence. When modern IQ tests are constructed, the mean score within an age group is set to 100 and the standard deviation to 15...
(I.Q.) - Mental Affinity (M.A.) - The character's personality and how well they can deal with others.
- Mental Endurance (M.E.) - The character's willpower.
- Physical Endurance (P.E.) - The character's basic level of toughness.
- Physical Prowess (P.P.) - The characters agility.
- Physical Strength (P.S.) - The character's strength.
- Physical Beauty (P.B.) - The character's physical attractiveness.
- Speed (Spd) - The character's running speed.
- Hit Points (H.P.)
For humans, most of these statistics are determined by a roll of three six-sided dice, whereas other species' attributes are determined more or less depending on how they compare to the baseline human standard.
Other statistics that may be used are:
- Structural Damage Capacity (S.D.C.) - Often supplements hit points; also functions alone as "hit points" of non-living objects.
- Mega Damage Capacity (M.D.C.) - In some cases in certain worlds will replace both S.D.C. and H.P.
- Potential Psychic Energy (P.P.E.) - Energy commonly used for magicMagic (gaming)Some role-playing games or game systems can include a set of rules that are used to portray magic in the paranormal sense. These rules simulate the effects that magic would have within the game context, according to how the game designer intended the magic to be portrayed...
and other non-psychic supernatural abilities. - Inner Strength Points (I.S.P.) - Energy used for psychic abilities.
Classes
The characters' race and attributes – not to mention the game itself – impacts their selection of character classesCharacter class
In role-playing games, a common method of arbitrating the capabilities of different game characters is to assign each one to a character class. A character class aggregates several abilities and aptitudes, and may also sometimes detail aspects of background and social standing or impose behaviour...
:
- Occupational Character Classes (O.C.C.) - Skills and abilities based on training.
- Psychic Character Classes (P.C.C.) - Focus on psychic powers.
- Racial Character Classes (R.C.C.) - Abilities and skills which are primarily a function of race, or are limited to members of a certain race.
Skills
Depending upon the game, skills can come either from the character's O.C.C. and a related list, or from the character's educational or occupational background. Games set on modern Earth tend to favor the second; all others favor the first. O.C.C.s tend to be more specific than character classes in other games, with a wide range of O.C.C.s in a given profession, such as six or seven specialized mechaMecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
pilot classes in Rifts
Rifts (role-playing game)
Rifts is a multi-genre role-playing game created by Kevin Siembieda in 1990 and published continuously by Palladium Books since then. Rifts takes place in a post-apocalyptic future, deriving elements from cyberpunk, science fiction, fantasy, horror, western, mythology and many other genres.Rifts...
rather than a single "Robot/Power Armor Pilot" class.
Alignment
Palladium's alignmentAlignment (role-playing games)
In some role-playing games, alignment is a categorisation of the moral and ethical perspective of the player characters, non-player characters, monsters, and societies in the game....
s are described in detailed terms, outlining how a character will act in a certain situation: whether they will lie, how much force they will use against innocents, how they view the law, and so forth. The alignments are organized into three broad categories: Good, Selfish, and Evil. The seven core alignments are:
- Principled (Good)
- Scrupulous (Good)
- Unprincipled (Selfish)
- Anarchist (Selfish)
- Miscreant (Evil)
- Aberrant (Evil)
- Diabolic (Evil)
An eighth alignment, "Taoist", was introduced for Mystic China, but has not seen use outside of that game.
Palladium founder and lead designer Kevin Siembieda
Kevin Siembieda
Kevin Siembieda is an American artist, writer, designer, and publisher of role-playing games, and the co-founder and president of Palladium Books....
has a noted distaste for "neutral" alignments (as used in Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
). This is stated in most core rulebooks in the alignment section, and stems from the idea that a truly neutral character would not do anything particularly interesting, like fight or go on an adventure.
Other system variations
Each game has its own variations to make the system better suit its genre. After the Bomb, SplicersSplicers
Splicers is a role-playing game using the Palladium Books Megaversal gaming system. The game is set in the midst of a war between humans and a world-wide computer intelligence alternately referred to as the N.E.X.U.S. or the Machine...
, Heroes Unlimited
Heroes Unlimited
Heroes Unlimited is a superhero role-playing game written by Kevin Siembieda and first published by Palladium Books in 1984. The game is based upon the Palladium Books Megaversal system and is compatible with any other game on the Palladium system, including Aliens Unlimited and Villains...
(for mutant animals only) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness is a role-playing game based on the comic book created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The core rulebook was first published by Palladium Books in September 1985 – a couple years before the Turtles franchise achieved mass popularity – and featured...
use "Biological Energy" (BIO-E) points to purchase mutations
Mutant (fictional)
The concept of a mutant is a common trope in comic books and science fiction. The new phenotypes that appear in fictional mutations generally go far beyond what is typically seen in biological mutants, and often result in the mutated life form exhibiting superhuman abilities or qualities.-Marvel...
. Palladium Fantasy assumes that non-human characters will be routinely played, so most races will use normal O.C.C.s instead of R.C.C.s.. Some games that feature advanced technology in science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
settings
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
like Rifts, Robotech
Robotech (role-playing game)
The Robotech Role-Playing Game, based on the Robotech and Robotech II: The Sentinels series, was originally published by Palladium Books from 1986 to 1998...
, and Splicers
Splicers
Splicers is a role-playing game using the Palladium Books Megaversal gaming system. The game is set in the midst of a war between humans and a world-wide computer intelligence alternately referred to as the N.E.X.U.S. or the Machine...
use a special category of damage capacity called "Mega-Damage" (M.D.C.), the exception is Mechanoids. M.D.C. is 100 times more powerful than normal damage (i.e., 1 M.D.C. = 100 - 199 S.D.C.). Normal weapons cannot damage a Mega-Damage structure at all unless they are capable of inflicting 100 S.D.C. or more in a single shot or burst of ammunition; the archetypical example of Mega-Damage is a tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
, which can only be effectively destroyed through the use of powerful weapons designed to overcome its armor, while easily resisting small-arms fire. Many updates to the system in various campaign settings have also added Perception as a statistic prior to this it was entirely up to the GM if the player noticed anything.