“Reinforced” on an armor is extra plates bolted over the joints. On a rifle, it’s a hardened barrel. On a rover, it’s supplemental hull plating. Same rule, three different images. That’s the whole idea and it took dismantling four separate tables to get there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At some point in Sol Fracta<\/a>‘s development, I had four separate upgrade tables. One for armor, one for weapons, one for general gear, one for vehicles. Each with its own wording, its own exceptions, its own edge cases. Updating a single design decision meant touching all four, hoping I hadn’t introduced an inconsistency somewhere in the middle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There’s a principle in software called DRY<\/a> \u2014 Don’t Repeat Yourself<\/a>. The idea is simple: if the same logic lives in three places, you’ll fix a bug in two of them and forget the third. Game design has the same problem. When “Renforc\u00e9” means “+2 durability threshold” on armor and “+2 structural integrity” on a rover and “+2 barrel resistance” on a rifle, those aren’t three different mechanics. They’re one mechanic with three names, three locations in the rulebook, and three opportunities for drift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I burned the four tables and wrote one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The table<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sixteen modules. They apply to armor, weapons, gear, and vehicles. Slots are determined by die rating: D4 gets one, D8 gets two, D12 gets three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reinforced on a combat suit is additional plates over the joints. On a rifle, a hardened barrel. On a multi-tool, a hardened casing. On a rover, supplemental hull plating. fullproof on armor means hermetic seals; on a weapon, a pressurized chamber; on a scanner, a vacuum-certified housing; on a vehicle, a sealed cockpit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stealthy on armor is sound-absorbing coating and a reduced signature. On a rifle, advanced silencing and a matte finish. On a thruster, thermal dissipation that masks the heat trail. Overcharged on a weapon means dumping extra charge into a single shot. On a scanner, one capacitive burst for extended range. On armor, reactive plates that spike absorption for one hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mechanic doesn’t change, the fiction does. That’s the whole point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The stacking rules<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Reinforced is cumulable. Stack it as many times as you have slots. Lourd and L\u00e9ger are mutually exclusive. Everything else: one instance maximum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I almost introduced compound modules \u2014 “Ultra-Reinforced +6” to avoid writing the same word three times on a character sheet. It felt cleaner. It wasn’t. It added a lookup, a new tier, a new word to learn. Three instances of Renforc\u00e9 is self-explanatory: you added more of the same thing, it cost three slots, done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The modules with built-in trade-offs (Overcharged degrades after use, Exo costs RE per activation, Light lowers your degradation threshold while it improves your mobility) create interesting decisions without a separate rule set. They live in the same table, follow the same slot logic, and play by the same stacking rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nModule<\/th> Effect<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Reinforced<\/td> +2 degradation threshold. Stackable.<\/td><\/tr> Heavy<\/td> +2 effective absorption. Mobility disadvantage. Incompatible with Light.<\/td><\/tr> Light<\/td> Mobility roll advantage. Degradation threshold \u22122. Incompatible with Heavy.<\/td><\/tr> Redundant<\/td> First degradation per scene cancelled.<\/td><\/tr> Robust<\/td> No performance penalty in harsh conditions.<\/td><\/tr> Fullproof<\/td> Immunity to environmental degradation (vacuum, toxins, radiation, pressure).<\/td><\/tr> Integrated<\/td> Embedded tech (HUD, comms). Advantage on intel and coordination rolls.<\/td><\/tr> Exo<\/td> Motorized system. Physical roll advantage when active. \u22121 MC RE per use.<\/td><\/tr> Autonomous Protocol<\/td> Converts the item into an autonomous agent with a deterministic protocol. Defines a Role; the item acts only in accordance with that Role. The Role can be changed. Enables the black box and the physical\/remote connection system. (Cryptographic protocol protection)<\/td><\/tr> Self-Repairing<\/td> +1 ND recovered after each rest. Requires RE ND6+ colony.<\/td><\/tr> Overcharged<\/td> +2 damage (weapon) or +2 absorption for one hit (armor\/vehicle) or +2 SR for a roll (gear). Degrades 1 ND after.<\/td><\/tr> Stealthy<\/td> Sound-absorbing coating, signature reduced.<\/td><\/tr> Electrified<\/td> Delivers Paralyzing on contact. On armor: melee strike = Paralyzing returned.<\/td><\/tr> Sensors<\/td> Extended detection. Advantage on detection and anticipation rolls. Requires RE.<\/td><\/tr> Modular<\/td> Replace 1 module without losing base ND.<\/td><\/tr> Adaptive<\/td> 2 preset modes. Switching = free action.<\/td><\/tr> Locked<\/td> Biometrics\/code. Unusable by others. +1 SR for owner.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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