Mass Effect 5e - Player's Handbook
General
Overall, this system attempts to keep things in line with D&D 5e rules as much as possible. There are some significant additions, like Shield Points, but most are minor, like the addition of a few more conditions. Some changes might seem pointless at first, such as using meters instead of feet as the base unit of distance. In these situations we have made the changes in order for the rules to better reflect the Mass Effect setting.
We call the Dungeon Master the Galaxy Master (tm tm tm)
5ft = 2m
Playmat: 2m = 1 square
Mass Effect 5e uses meters instead of feet. Why? Because this is set in the future, and it's sci-fi, and using metric make more sense.
Your Strength score determines the amount of weight you can bear. The following terms define what you can lift or carry. These weights have been adjusted from 5th Edition to work with kilograms (kg) instead of pounds (lbs).
- Carry Capacity
- You can carry capacity is your Strength score multiplied by 5. If you are wearing armor, your carry capacity is your Strength score multiplied by 10 (due to the built-in servos and pneumatics). This score is not affected by weapons or armor (see below).
- Push, Drag, Lift
- You can push, drag, or lift a weight in kgs up to twice your carrying capacity or 10 (20 w/ armor) times your Strength score. While pushing or dragging weight in excess of your carrying capacity, your speed drops to 2 meters.
- Size & Strength
- Larger creatures can bear more weight, whereas Tiny creatures can carry less. For each size category above Medium, double the creature's carrying capacity and the amount it can push, drag, or lift. For a Tiny creature, halve these weights.
- Weapons
- You have 2 weapon slots and can equip a single weapon in either slot. Weapons equipped in a slot do not affect your carry capacity. Any additional weapons you pick up count against your carry capacity.
- Armor
- The armor matrix has a minimum Strength score for the combination of armor types. You must meet or exceed that score.
The lifting and carrying rules attempt to keep the simplicity of 5th edition, with the added restrictions of weapon capacity. Here is a variant if you are looking for more detailed rules for determining how a character is hindered by the weight of equipment. When you use this variant, ignore the minimum Strength column of the Armor table and ignore the weapon slot limitation.
Your carry weight is equal to two times your Strength score.
Each weapon and armor piece has a weight. If your total weight from all weapons and armor is in excess of your carry weight, you are encumbered, which means your speed drops by 4m.
If your total weight from all weapons and armor is in excess of four times your Strength score, you are instead heavily encumbered, which means your speed drops by 10m and you have disadvantage on ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws that use Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution.
In Mass Effect 5e, we restrict a race's class options. The primary reason is that biotic abilities available to Adepts, Vanguards, and Sentinels are either rare or non-existent in certain races. Instead of making our own distinctions about what races can play what classes, we used the race/class combinations available in the Mass Effect 3 and Mass Effect: Andromeda multiplayer system. Feel free to review the Race/Class combinations in the links below:
Recommendation, not Law
However, our restrictions should be considered a rule of thumb and are not based on game balance. Therefore, we encourage players and Galaxy Masters to talk about other race/class combinations and make their own decisions.
If the decision concerns whether or not a race can play as a biotic-capable class, we recommend reading the Mass Effect Wiki's page about biotics. Specifically, the sections titled "Alien Biotics" and "Biotics in Andromeda." If the decision is based on a different combination, we cannot offer any other insight other that using your own judgement.
There aren't enough spells and powers to justify making bonuses like "double damage to beast". In addition, many of the 5th Edition creature types don't make sense in the sci-fi setting (celestials, undead, fey, elemental, etc.). Instead there are only three creature types: Organic, Synthetic, and Synthorganic.
Synthorganic creatures are considered both synthetic and organic.
A creature with infrared vision, out to a specific range, can see in darkness, is unaffected by lightly or heavily obscured areas, and see invisible and hidden creatures and objects that give off heat.
However, the creature cannot see beyond intense heat sources and is effectively blind when looking at an intense heat source.
The Variant: Paragon & Renegade (P/R) rule adds another layer of complexity to skill checks.
Paragon and Renegade points
Your Paragon and Renegade points can add a bonus to skill checks. You gain a +1 bonus to your skill check for every 10 Paragon or Renegade points you have. For example, if you had 14 Paragon points and 22 Renegade points, you would add +1 to any paragon rolls and +2 to any renegade rolls.
You can gain points in Paragon and Renegade, but your total combined points can never be more than 100.
Paragon and Renegade rolls
A Paragon or Renegade roll is any skill check in which your GM allows your P/R bonus to augment the outcome of the roll. It's the player's responsibility to ask the Galaxy Master about adding the P/R bonus, but the Galaxy Master can proactively ask for a check with the P/R bonus added.
When to or when not to apply P/R bonus to a roll is entirely up to the GM. However, the rule of thumb is that the action taken is more Paragon-like or more Renegade-like than what an average sentient being would do.
Paragon examples:
- Acrobatics: jump in front of a bullet to protect someone
- Athletics: Hold fast a door why your party escapes a threat
- Intimidation: Threaten someone with justice
- Medicine: Stabalize an enemy
- Vehicle Handling: Lead your chasers right to the authorities
Renegade example:
- Athletics: Hold fast a door so the threat burns inside
- Deception: Convince the bounty hunters their target fled into that cave (which happens to be booby-trapped)
- Electronics: Broadcast the controversial research to the galaxy, let the politicians and scientists figure it out
- Intimidation: Threaten someone with pain
- Vehicle Handling: Lead your chasers right into a reinforced-steel wall
Earning P/R points
In general, whenever you succeed on a P/R roll, you should gain one point for the trait you used as your bonus. Depending on the magnitude of the action, the GM can award additional points, but no more than 5. GMs can also reward P/R points for non skill checks based on a player's roleplaying choices.
For Galaxy Masters, you want to award about 5 points of paragon or renegade per player level. I.e., a level 20 character should have about 100 points if they added their P/R scores together.
P/R and Alignment
Paragon and Renegade aren't necessarily correlated with alignment. Paragon doesn't mean 'good' or 'lawful' just as Renegade doesn't mean 'evil' or 'chaotic'. However, characters who a chaotic evil would tend towards renegade and vice versa.
WTF is sexy level? ... A joke. But please read this very scientific article for more information.