Rivet RPG

RIVET

A ROLE-PLAYING GAME

RIVET2010 Viral Games

Historical variances created by Lawnchair and Viral

The

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the

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ha

ve b

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invo

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in

the

slay

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of

thre

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iji. A

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impr

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ed o

r kill

ed.

The War to End All Wars

1914: Gavrilo Princip, a 19-year old with ties to the Serbian Military, assassinates Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Austria-Hungary issues the July Ultimatum. The major powers of Europe begin mobilizing toward what many expect to be a short land grab.

1916: French and British concerns witness firsthand the extent of Germany’s military technology. While the Allies struggle to rival the sophistication of German war machines, the Central Powers begin widespread use of the triplane, quickly establishing superiority across distant areas.

Japan supplies the Allied Powers’ enormous demand for resources and provides a valuable safeguard against Central incursions into the Indian Ocean and Arabia.

The major countries begin to make inroads into each others’ colonies, redrawing the borders several times and opening up new transport lanes.

1917: America enters the war on the side of the Allies and immediately begins supplying Europe with fleets of French-designed planes created from captured Central models.

Just as the combined supply might of the United States and Japan begins to turn the tide, Russia withdraws from the War, as years of internal conflict finally explode in the Bolshevik Revolution. The Tsar’s family is imprisoned and the Russian Empire collapses into civil war.

With one of their key enemies suddenly absent, the Central Powers take as much of Eastern Europe as they can.

1918: The outpouring of machinery sends platoons of soldiers and pilots to the far corners of the world, carrying Spanish Influenza. With resources already stretched too thinly, the pandemic kills millions, either directly or through unclean conditions. Britain suffers numerous bombardments and countless more die from fires and lack of aid.

Production in the United States drops as the country reels from the effects of the sickness. The sudden lack of supplies provokes a series of forcible military procurements against formerly neutral countries. Japan is largely spared due to effective isolation, but its many workers outside the island suffer the same as their American counterparts.

Vladimir Lenin is shot in the arm in a failed assassination attempt.

War’s End

1919: The Central Powers finally spread themselves too thinly - a series of decisive battles along the coal lanes of Ukraine late in the year breaks Germany’s back. The Spanish Flu continues to sweep across the world, despite quarantine measures.

The Great War ends in 1920. The death toll is catastrophic- more than two hundred million people are thought to have died from the war, either directly or indirectly.

In its aftermath, the war’s full burden becomes apparent. The infrastructures of entire countries are destroyed, and millions more die in the months after from lack of basic needs.

Nations begin to fear that they will lack the material they need for future wars, or even enough to rebuild in the months to come.

The new focus is on mechanization. New patents and grants begin to spring up for ever-larger and more time-saving devices.

The Victorious Powers look to the colonies

1921: Britain and the Soviet Union engage in several small conflicts across Africa. The prizes are a mix of former Central colonies: each others’ holdings and those of other nations. The bounties are immense, but the limitations of transportation begin to weigh on the colonies’ usefulness. Meanwhile, the field of aviation explodes, as dozens of new designs flare up and are quickly forgotten or copied.

The anti-monarchist faction of the fractured Chinese provinces appeals to the Soviet Union for aid against the Japanese. The Soviets are reluctant to lose a valuable trading partner, and offer only limited aid to a few socialist militias.

Japan begins a period of rapid mechanization, taking advantage of its wartime factories to supply engines for burgeoning industries of airplanes, ships and automobiles.

Within three years, a dozen more small wars flare up, as the major powers put their full economies into the land grabs. No one is willing to risk upsetting the precarious alliances with a direct invasion of a mother country.

1925: The United States joins the colony race by taking control of the former German colonies on the southern tip of Africa, despite significant internal pressure to remain apart from the other expanding powers.

The Twentieth Amendment gives American women the right to vote.

Timeline of Events: 1914-1951

Japan enters the fray

1926: Japan - afraid of losing its new place in the world - begins expanding to take more countries in a bid to rival the other major nations for land. It begins by devouring the former German New Guinea and quickly employs its superior industrial power against the other island nations of the Pacific. With the world’s attention turned elsewhere, Japan keeps its hold on China and uses it as part of the expanding Empire.

The Crash of ‘29

1929: Black Christmas. The Wall Street Stock Market crashes. Over the next few months, the other major powers follow suit as the world sinks into a seemingly endless depression.

1930: The Dust Bowl hits America and Canada. Crop yields plummet as entire farms begin to dry up and blow away. Waves of farmers and other workers from the central states move East, seeking jobs in the Atlantic machine factories.

Britain folds to communism

1931: Russia’s New Economic Policy continues to show results. The country is seemingly the only one immune to the depression.

As bread lines become more commonplace, Great Britain’s government moves toward a more isolationist stance.

With no end in sight and the apparent helplessness of their own leaders, the sentiments of the British poor begin to change as they push for their own revolution.

The government makes several attempts to suppress it, but after riots in the streets that end bloodily and the army’s refusal to intervene a new communist government takes the place of Parliament.

Britain extends an invitation to the former Crown countries of Australia, New Zealand and Canada. With pressure from the U.S., none of the three newly-sovereign nations join, but all agree to peaceful accords.

America extends the remains of its economic arm to its African colonies, creating a special air service for rapid transport of food. The sudden demand puts a severe strain on the colonies, triggering numerous riots.

America begins to fracture

1932: Dozens of criminal bands run rampant across the American Midwest, and a beleaguered and impoverished Department of Justice is largely incapable of stopping them. Public support is with the criminals.

An infamous marker is set when the first bank robber to escape police in an airplane eludes Nebraska authorities and is never apprehended.

Meanwhile, communist supporters in the U.S. point to the improved conditions of the Soviet Union and the newly formed British People’s State.

The Japanese take Hawaii

1933: The revitalized Japanese Empire seizes on America’s weakness and attacks Hawaii. America’s economy is too weak to mount any significant offense, and the islands fall under Japanese control. Congress enacts laws that begin moving Oriental citizens to internment camps.

Riots break out in several American cities - the National Guard fires on crowds in some places and refuses in others (and in at least one skirmish, joins the rioting). The partial repeal of Prohibition does little to assuage the population.

Chicago is abandoned to the criminals

1934: The United States passes the Harliss Act, withdrawing almost all federal support for the greater Chicago area as it concentrates its power on the coasts. The city quickly becomes a criminal Mecca.

The Midwest continues to blow away.

By 1935, the majority of the world’s countries are either destitute, Fascist or communist. Demagogues carry increasing sway over desperate populations.

1936: Spain explodes in civil war between the closely-elected communist coalition and an opposition tied to Italy’s Fascists and the reborn Nazi Germany. The Soviet Union and the British People’s State intercede on behalf of the communist leadership, mobilizing their armies inside of Spain’s borders. After less than twelve weeks of fighting, the fascists are roundly defeated.

The Great Switch

1937: The three communist states turn their attention toward Germany. In the months to come, they polarize Europe into declaring allegiance to one side or the other. For countries still locked in the Great Depression, the choice is easy.

France, Greece, Switzerland and Serbia make a unified switch to communism, creating a new government body with the British People’s State. The European Socialist States forms a counterweight to the Soviet Union, which absorbs Poland and Ukraine.

The Hindenburg disaster spells the end of the airship and the ascent of the airplane. Gigantic cargo planes ply the circuit from Florida to Brazil to American South Africa.

The Freedom War

1938: The E.S.S. moves on Germany and begins aerial bombardments of munitions factories and assembly plants. Italy enters the war on the Nazis’ behalf. Germany appeals to Japan and the United States for aid.

The Enemies of Freedom are defeated

1939: Italy and Germany are both targeted by the E.S.S. in a series of battles that stretch across central Europe. German blitz attacks on London cause the socialists to double their efforts.

By the end of 1940 both Germany and Italy are destroyed and divided up into a border zone between the E.S.S. and the U.S.S.R.

Relations between the two begin to sour as Stalin pressures the E.S.S. to join in the killing of ethnic groups.

1941: Japan’s empire spans the Pacific and into India. With a large enough population in place to oversee his new colonies, the Emperor adopts peaceful policies toward his conquered subjects. Chinese are still killed, but others are made into second-class citizens or pressganged.

Only the threat of E.S.S. intervention keeps the empire from moving on Australia or New Zealand.

Hawaii is still under martial law.

1942: The strain of rebuilding the economies of two war-torn countries begins to expose the weak points of the communist system. A recession sweeps across the communist blocs, triggering riots and widespread famine.

The E.S.S. and the U.S.S.R. engage in a wary game of peace. Neither country is willing to act with the threat of Japan looming in the east.

Soviets enter South America

1943: The U.S.S.R. sends war planes to Peru to aid in a conflict largely of its own creation. The Peruvian government is abolished and a new Soviet cabinet is put in place.

The move draws outrage from the United States, which sends four thousand soldiers to Brazil as a show of opposition.

New jobs in Army factories and steady rains for the first time in more than a decade give the American public a glimmer of hope.

American South Africa falls to the Europeans

1944: The E.S.S. declares that the American colonies in southern Africa are in danger of slipping into anarchy, and moves to secure them before the Soviet army can be mobilized to do the same.

Negroes in several areas riot over the callousness of U.S. military action in American South Africa. Hundreds of officials are airlifted out as the E.S.S. advances on the colonies.

On March 18, Congress votes to reinstate the draft. By July, Americans are shipping out.

The Second World War

1945: The E. S. S. begins deploying armaments to its longtime de facto colonies in the former French, British and Dutch Guianas. The United States sends another fifteen thousand soldiers to Brazil and allies with Mexico, Canada and many South American countries against the encroaching governments.

The first shots are fired on September 7, when an American recon plane strays into E.A.S. space and is shot down.

The U.S. declares war on the European states. By Christmas, the Guianas are under de facto American control.

The E.S.S. declares that America must be stopped for the good of the wold.

America is attacked on both fronts

1946: E.S.S. ambassadors fly to South America to sign a peace treaty with Venezuela. The same month, eastern Guiana is re-taken by an African-based fleet of Essie carriers.

Long-range cargo ships carry American B-17s from Argentina to New Zealand, as the U.S. begins preparing for war against the other powers.

Chinese separatists attack a Soviet regiment near the Japanese border. The resulting military action threatens to upset the two countries’ delicate balance.

1947: The Japanese engage in a surprise attack on California. The Navy base in San Diego is bombed in three waves, and a second attack hits Los Angeles, destroying most of Hollywood and killing hundreds.

The United States declares war against the Empire and retaliates, sending bombers from New Zealand to several nearby Japanese islands.

1948: Mexico, Brazil and Argentina enter the war on America’s side. Together, the Allies dig footholds into the Empire’s southernmost islands.

Australia finds itself in the strange position of being a favored sovereign state of the E.S.S. and a growing friend to the United States from Japan’s backyard.

1949: E.S.S. bombers launched from off the coast of Greenland attack New York City, damaging the Statue of Liberty and killing more than five hundred.

Freelance U.S. planes operating out of Liberia bomb Morocco.

The E.S.S. stokes the fire by sending the majority of the E.A.S. air force to strike Florida in a three-day blitz.

The new Fronts

1950: In response to the attacks, the American government pushes through emergency legislation, dividing the country into several regions with specific and draconian demands.

The western United States is zoned off as the Pacific Mobilization Front. Thousands of civilian vehicles within the zone are confiscated and added to the war effort, either whole or in pieces.

Texas and Oklahoma are cordoned off as a safeguard for their vast oil fields. The oil companies are brought into a semi-nationalized partnership with Uncle Sam.

The Eastern Seaboard becomes the Atlantic Front, and almost every factory is brought under government control. Warplanes are churned out across the country and flown from Brazil to the E.A.S.

The new science of nitrogen fixing creates more bullets and aids the giant farm companies in their bid to reclaim the Midwest. Vast stretches of the plains states still lie abandoned and nearly empty.

1951: It’s shaping up to be an interesting year.

CHAPTER 1

CHARACTERS

Getting Started

The first thing you (the player) need to do is think about what kind of character you want to play. In this setting, embittered prizefighters rub shoulders with looney pilots, scientists battle E.S.S. spies, and roving radio reporters share drinks with rivet queens in hidden South Pacific cantinas.

Read over the rest of the book if you want a better idea of what Rivet is all about.

All characters have six attributes, rated with different-size dice. Player characters and important NPCs have two Lousy attributes, two Normal attributes, one Good attribute, and one Great attribute.

Unimportant NPCs have two Lousy attributes, two Normal attributes and two Good attributes.

Lousy: d6Normal: d8Good: d12Great: d20

To make a check of any kind, two attribute dice are rolled together and their results are added.

Example: A character with normal Brains and great Luck rolls 1d8 (normal attribute) + 1d20 (great attribute) to make a Flying check.

Attributes:

Brains: Thinkers and scientists need brains, as well as anyone that isn’t a ditz or a dolt. Having lots of brains helps you make quick decisions, follow complex instructions, and think your way out of problems.

Brawn: Weightlifters, farm workers and bouncers have lots of brawn. It’s great for knocking heads together or tearing your way through a problem.

Aim: Race car drivers, sharpshooters and baseball pitchers all need aim. Having great aim helps with throwing a grenade or rewiring tiny fuses.

Flair: Radio newsmen, nightclub singers and carnival barkers all have flair. Someone who knows how to get all eyes on him (and keep them there) has natural showmanship.

Moxie: Someone that doesn’t take no for an answer and never gives up has a lot of moxie. It’s your spirit, your courage, or your pluckiness.

Luck: If you don’t know what luck is, you haven’t ever had any. When things could go either way, having Lady Luck on your side makes a world of difference.

Actions:

Action checks in Rivet are simple: two specific attribute dice are rolled together and their results are added (along with any modifiers). There are four levels of success: 10, 15 ,20 and 25.

A 15 is better than a 10, and a 25 or higher generally means an automatic success.

Every action has example situations listed for each level of success. The Ringleader (that’s the person running the game) must decide what level of success a particular action needs. If a player rolls under the number that they needed, they are at the mercy of the Ringleader.

Chapter Two has everything you need to know about actions.

Specialties:

Everyone has things they’re good at. When creating a new character, pick two actions that are your Specialties. You get an automatic +5 to your rolls for these.

Unions:

The remains of the US of A are split between dozens of factions, (some organized and some more vague) each with their own goals and concerns.

Being in a union (organized or not) isn’t a requirement, but it is a pretty handy way to get a leg up.

Characters that join a union get an extra Specialty. Every union has a minimum attribute requirement that a character must have in order to be a member.

The unions are laid out in Chapter Three.

Blitz Points:

Blitz Points (or BPs) can be used during play in situations where you need an edge. Spending a Blitz Point lets you draw seven cards from a regular deck of playing cards (Jokers included).

You can only spend one BP per round, and you must declare that you are spending it before you roll anything.

If one of the cards you draw is an Ace, your first roll counts as an automatic 25. If you draw any other Aces, you may assign them to other characters to use during that round.

If you draw a Joker, every character who goes after you gets an automatic 25 on his first roll for the remainder of the round. (This includes the bad guys!)

Every face card you draw gives you an extra d8 to roll during that round.

All cards must be returned to the deck and reshuffled before another Blitz Point is spent.

Characters normally start the game with 3 Blitz Points. You get a new Blitz Point every time you roll the maximum possible number on both dice during a skill check.

Example: A character that rolls 8 and 12 on a d8 and a d12 gets a new Blitz Point.

The Ringleader may also reward characters with one or two Blitz Points for the completion of a major storyline.

Finishing Touches:

Once you get everything else squared away, the last step is to pick two Finishing Touches from the list in Chapter Four. (You can’t take the same one twice.)

Name _________________________________ Job ______________________________________

Hometown ________________________________ Nationality ______________________________

Appearance ________________________________________________________________________

Background ________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

RIVET

BrainsBrawn

AimFlair

MoxieLuck

d_____d_____d_____d_____d_____d_____

ATTRIBUTES

l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l

l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PERSONAL GEAR

UNION BUSINESS

Union: ___________________________Buddy: ___________________________________________________________________________________________Union Specialty: __________________________

Specialty: _________________________Specialty: _________________________Finishing Touch: ____________________________________________________Finishing Touch: ____________________________________________________

Gunfighting:

Graze ○ ○ ○ Clipped ○ ○ Gutshot ○ Killshot ○

Fist-fighting:

Slap ○ ○ ○ ○ ○Bloody Nose ○ ○ ○ Knockdown ○ ○ ○ Lights-out ○

CHAPTER 2

ACTIONS

Action checks are simple and broadly defined, and can be made as often or sparsely as the Ringleader wants.

If the Ringleader wants a check, the player states his intention and the Ringleader decides the difficulty level: 10,15, 20 or 25.

Two attribute dice are rolled together and their number is added. Any modifiers or extra dice are added to the roll. If the result equals or exceeds the difficulty number, the check is a success.

Action Order:

When a character initiates something that calls for a check, he gets the moment to himself, unless someone else is ready to act immediately (like an E.S.S. officer with his pistol aimed at you). After one person has made a check, everyone else who wants to get in on the action draws a card. Higher cards go first (Aces are highest). If more than one person has the same card, they act in the same moment.

If someone draws a Joker, he can decide who acts first and who acts last (in the case of both Jokers being drawn, whoever draws the last Joker gets to decide!)

Multiple Actions:

A character can try to do more than one thing in a time period, but every action (including the first) has a cumulative five-point penalty.

Example: Henry tries to shoot the saboteur advancing on them and grab Jean’s hand as she slips.

Henry’s first roll (either shooting or athletics; the action must be declared before the roll) is made with an automatic five-point penalty, and his other action is made with a ten-point penalty.

If Henry tried to carry out a third action at the same time, it would be made with a fifteen-point penalty.

Time required:

You can’t make a plane in one minute by rolling a 37 on your Mechanics check.

Making a check takes a certain amount of time. For most simple actions, this is usually only a moment or two. More complex actions may require more checks or more time between attempts (you might not realize you’ve failed until you’ve spent four hours working).

The Ringleader decides how many checks it will take to accomplish something, and how long the action of a single check takes.

A moment is the smallest unit of time that a character has to act in. In one moment, you can punch someone, throw a grenade, or say “I love you.” Still, a lot can happen in a moment.

The next increments of time are minutes, hours, days and weeks.

Punching someone takes one moment, and one check. Building a plane might take ten (successful) checks, with a week between each check. A failed check during the construction means that not enough got done that week to count.

Ringleader’s Choice:

If the Ringleader decides that shooting a cigarette out of someone’s mouth calls for Aim + Flair, it does! A little improvisation can be a great thing.

Just make sure that you aren’t leaning too heavily on one attribute - if every check takes Moxie, characters with lousy Moxie are going to resent it.

Combat:

Combat in Rivet is fast and deadly.

Someone rolls to hit, and if he succeeds, his target marks off one of the appropriate spots:

Fist-fighting and blunt weapons:Slap (10), Bloody Nose (15),

Knockdown (20) or Lights-Out (25)

Guns and sharp weapons:Graze (10), Clipped (15),

Gutshot (20) or Killshot (25)

If a character fills in his Lights-out spot, he’s out cold until the Ringleader says otherwise. If he fills in his Killshot spot and doesn’t get a doctor to him immediately, he’s probably dead.

Unless a character has something special about him, his damage spots look like this:

Fist-fighting:

Slap ○ ○ ○ ○ ○Bloody Nose ○ ○ ○ Knockdown ○ ○ ○ Lights-out ○

If there are any opens spots in the category, one is filled in. If there are no open spots in that category, damage defaults to the next-highest spot.

If there are no open spots in that category, damage moves up again. This means that someone whose Slap, Bloody Nose, and Knockdown spots are completely filled in can have his lights put out by a Slap, and someone near death from gunshots can be killed with a Graze.

Clubs, hammers, and other blunt objects count as Fist-fighting damage. Knives, swords and other sharp objects count as Gunfighting damage.

Most weapons provide a bonus to the wielder’s action roll. Better weapons have a higher bonus, so they are more likely to inflict more damage. See Chapter 6 for the list of weapons.

Example: Bruce rolls a 19 to punch the other boxer - enough to give him a bloody nose! The swarthy man takes a swing at Bruce, but he rolls a 6 and doesn’t even connect!

Bruce gives him a good hit - a 16 - and bloodies his face again! The other boxer rolls a 23 and knocks Bruce to the mat!

Our downed hero leaps forward swinging, connecting with an 18 for another bloody nose! His swarthy opponent swings over his head, and rolls an 8 for another miss!

Bruce comes up with another rabbit-punch and rolls a 17. Normally, this would only be a bloody nose, but since his opponent’s Bloody Nose spots are all filled in, the next-highest open spot gets filled in instead - in this case, that means a knockdown!

Bruce pummels the other man to the mat and sways as the bell dings. Two more rounds and the prize money would be his!

Obviously, someone can be killed with repeated applications of a fist or a baseball bat. What happens after someone’s lights go out depends on the actions of the other characters and the Ringleader’s fiat.

See Chapter 6 for a more extensive breakdown of weapon combat.

Gunfighting:

Graze ○ ○ ○ Clipped ○ ○ Gutshot ○ Killshot ○

A Rough Guide to Fighting:

Firing a gun at someone: Shooting, Gunfighting damage

Hitting someone with a baseball bat: Athletics, Fist-fighting damage

Hitting someone with your fist: Punching, Fist-fighting damage

Hitting someone with a sword: Slashing, Gunfighting damage

Kicking someone: Athletics, Fist-fighting damage

Stabbing someone with a knife: Slashing, Gunfighting damage

Throwing a rock at someone: Pitching, Fist-fighting damage

Throwing a heavy rock at someone: Labor, Gunfighting damage

Dropping a bomb out of a plane:Bombarding, Vehicle damage*

Shooting at a plane from another plane:Shooting, Vehicle damage*

Firing a rocket or cannonBombarding, Vehicle damage*

*See Vehicle Combat in Chapter 5.

Healing and Doctoring:

If you get hurt in a fist-fight, you can erase one filled-in Knockdown spot per hour of rest. After a night’s rest, all Fist-fighting spots are erased. (Shiners and missing teeth are another story.)

A doctor can eliminate one Knockdown spot by rolling 20 with Doctoring, and revive someone who’s had his lights punched out by rolling 25.

If you get shot, you need to treat any wound worse than a Graze or it will not heal on its own. Grazes heal at the rate of one per day.

Erasing a Clipped spot needs a roll of 15.

Erasing a Gutshot needs a roll of 20, and must be performed within eight hours or the victim will die.

Erasing a Killshot spot needs a roll of 25, and must be performed within one minute or the afflicted won’t need any care again.

Ambush(Brains + Luck)Roll 10 to cure someone’s hiccups. Roll 15 to organize a surprise party. Roll 20 to get the drop on some other mook. Roll 25 to get the drop on a Chicago boss.

Animals(Brains + Flair)Roll 10 to call a friendly dog over. Roll 15 to calm a spooked horse. Roll 20 to calm an angry bull. Roll 25 to charm a cobra.

Athletics(Brawn + Aim)Roll 10 to jog around the block. Roll 15 to hit one into left field. Roll 20 to grab someone who’s falling. Roll 25 to run down a jalopy.

Bombarding(Aim + Luck)Roll 10 to drop it on the right town. Roll 15 to drop on in the right block. Roll 20 to drop it on the right building. Roll 25 to drop it down the chimney.

Burglary(Brains + Luck)Roll 10 to steal an unattended purse. Roll 15 to jimmy open a lock. Roll 20 to steal an officer’s uniform out of his trunk. Roll 25 to crack a safe.

Climbing(Brawn + Moxie)Roll 10 to race someone up a ladder. Roll 15 to climb over the top of a board fence. Roll 20 to climb a palm tree. Roll 25 to scale the side of a Titan. While it’s in the air.

Doctoring(Brains + Aim)Roll 10 to wrap a bandage. Roll 15 to set a broken arm. Roll 20 to remove a bullet. Roll 25 to save someone’s life.

ACTIONS LIST

Driving(Aim + Luck)Roll 10 to stop short for a duck in the road. Roll 15 to make a bootlegger turn. Roll 20 to drive with a fractured windshield and a blown tire. Roll 25 to jump your car over a ravine.

Electrics(Brains + Aim)Roll 10 to change a fuse. Roll 15 to rewire a radio. Roll 20 to fix a radio transmitter. Roll 25 to build a computer from spare parts.

Entertaining(Flair + Moxie)Roll 10 to make a smiling man laugh. Roll 15 to tinkle out a tune. Roll 20 to keep the crowd’s eyes on you. Roll 25 to keep a Texas congregation smiling in August.

Flying(Brains + Luck)Roll 10 to take off in good weather. Roll 15 to barnstorm a chicken coop. Roll 20 to keep in the air with a hole in the cabin. Roll 25 to land a downed plane without ruffling any feathers.

Gambling(Flair + Luck)Roll 10 to win at solitaire. Roll 15 to break even at blackjack. Roll 20 to clean up at poker. Roll 25 to win a gaffed game.

Investigating(Brains + Moxie)Roll 10 to find your key on a messy desk. Roll 15 to spot some scuffed footprints. Roll 20 to find a hidden panel. Roll 25 to determine which vial is poisoned.

Labor(Brawn + Moxie)Roll 10 to carry something heavy. Roll 15 to carry something really heavy. Roll 20 to do the work of two men. Roll 25 to do the work of five men.

Labor is a handy skill because you can make a Labor roll to reduce the number of men required to build something. See Chapter Five for more about building objects.

Lying (Flair + Moxie)Roll 10 to convince a little kid that Santa’s real. Roll 15 to lie to a policeman. Roll 20 to convince Army soldiers you’re just a harmless drunk. Roll 25 to convince an Essie officer that you’re in the Congo on your honeymoon.

Mechanics(Brains + Aim)Roll 10 to change a tire. Roll 15 to strip a jalopy. Roll 20 to repair a downed plane. Roll 25 to build a plane from scrap.

Navigating(Brains + Moxie)Roll 10 to find your hometown on a map. Roll 15 to trace the fastest route from Moscow to Monrovia. Roll 20 to trace the safest route from Moscow to Monrovia. Roll 25 to find your way back to a friendly landing strip with no radio, no radar and no clue.

Persuading(Flair + Moxie)Roll 10 to convince the waitress to give you another lump of sugar. Roll 15 to convince her to run you a tab. Roll 20 to get a small town to vote you in as mayor. Roll 25 to convince an Essie officer to let you go.

Pitching(Brawn + Aim)Roll 10 to underhand a baseball. Roll 15 to lob a grenade. Roll 20 to bull’s-eye a dart. Roll 25 to strike out DiMaggio.

Punching(Brawn + Aim)

Roll 10 to get somebody’s attention. Roll 15 to give him a bloody nose. Roll 20 to knock him down. Roll 25 to knock his lights out in one punch.

Radio Operating(Brains + Moxie)Roll 10 to find a country-and-western station on your jalopy’s radio. Roll 15 to unscramble a Morse code. Roll 20 to intercept a secret transmission. Roll 25 to reach civilization from the middle of the Pacific.

Science(Brains + Moxie)Roll 10 to build a radar detector in your garage. Roll 15 to mix up an explosive on the fly. Roll 20 to identify a rare Amazonian plant without your notes. Roll 25 to design the plans for your own superbomb.

Seduction(Flair + Luck)Roll 10 to raise a few eyebrows. Roll 15 to plant one on her without taking any flak. Roll 20 to take her to a petting party. Roll 25 to escort the minister’s daughter out from under him.

Shooting(Aim + Luck)Roll 10 to graze someone in the arm. Roll 15 to clip him in the side. Roll 20 to shoot him in the gut. Roll 25 to kill him in one shot.

Slashing(Brawn + Aim)Roll 10 to poke someone with a pen knife. Roll 15 to parry with a fencing coach. Roll 20 to stab someone in the gut. Roll 25 to give someone the axe.

Slashing attacks inflict Gunfighting damage.

Sneaking(Brains + Flair)Roll 10 to hide behind a tree at night. Roll 15 to sneak past a blind man. Roll 20 to hide in a busy office. Roll 25 to cross a no-mans-land in broad daylight.

Socializing(Flair + Moxie)Roll 10 to make small talk in church. Roll 15 to convince hostile natives not to kill you. Roll 20 to make friends with everyone in the room. Roll 25 to get invited to an Essie officers’ ball.

Threatening(Brawn + Flair)Roll 10 to scare a little kid. Roll 15 to chase off some punks. Roll 20 to make some Chicago Boys take a hike. Roll 25 to get a Japanese diplomat to talk frank.

Trailing(Flair + Moxie)Roll 10 to follow footsteps in the mud. Roll 15 to keep up with someone running ahead of you at night. Roll 20 to shadow somebody without him seeing you. Roll 25 to follow someone in a plane. With a car.

Wilderness(Brawn + Moxie)Roll 10 to kill a snake. Roll 15 to hunt up enough water and food so that no one starves. Roll 20 to blaze a trail to the nearest road. Roll 25 to build a covered raft and float there in style.

ACTIONS

UNIONS

CHAPTER 3

The unions of Rivet are more diverse than the word might otherwise suggest.

Some of them, like the Ellies and the American Radio Union, have their own cards and dues. Other groups like the Dusters don’t have anything in common besides expired Farm Relief Agency cards. Some of them, like the Chicago Boys, are downright illegal, and some of them like the Wingers and the Doughboys are (usually) friends with Uncle Sam.

Being in a union (organized or not) gives you a sense of belonging, and people you can (usually) call on for aid. People within the same union speak the same lingo and tend to get along better with each other than with others.

In exchange for the camaraderie a union provides, a character is expected to keep up certain obligations. This can range from yearly dues to sheltering bank robbers in your attic. Someone who shirks his union obligations enough times can expect a frosty welcome and less-than-helpful colleagues. Keep it up long enough and he’s out of the union.

The requirement listed for a union is the minimum attribute that a character must have to be in that union.

After picking a union, pick one of the extra Specialties that the union confers.

Finally, create a Buddy (with the Ringleader’s blessing) who’s in the same union as you and will (usually) vouch for your credibility or give you aid. Your buddy has two Lousy attributes, two Normal attributes and two Good attributes.

Characters who aren’t in a union don’t get an extra specialty or a Buddy.

If this list doesn’t sit well with a player who has something specific in mind, the Ringleader can whip up a custom union with a minimum requirement and three choices for a Bonus Specialty, as well as any union specifics or peculiarities. The player makes his Buddy like any other union.

A word about Unions

Ever since the Japs bombed Hollywood, the American Radio Union has picked up the slack in keeping the country (and for a few, the remains of the free world) informed and entertained.

The Union encompasses all the independent entertainers, journalists, and advocates that ply the airwaves. When someone joins the Radio Union, they enter under the blanket of Union protection. This includes (limited) legal aid, and preferential treatment from police and people in charge.

Someone with a Radio Union card can usually get into any entertainment venue (you never know who they’ll discover, and any press is good press). They get to cut in line when filing a story, and the approval or ire of some Union members can make or break a politician’s career.

Reporters are generally expected to file stories at the closest radio station at regular intervals (at least if they want to stay in the public eye and collect paychecks). Likewise, performers need to make regular appearances in person or on the air. No serious entertainer ever lets his A.R.U. dues lapse.

The Radio Union issues its members an embossed card that’s hard to fake (not that people don’t try).

The Union headquarters is in Columbus, Ohio, but it has field offices in several other cities.

American Radio Union(Organized, Sanctioned)

Required: Normal+ FlairBonus Specialty: Entertaining, Investigating or Persuading

“Listen, Joe, I need to get this on the air right away!”-Sam Derry, Roving Reporter

Chicago Boys(Organized, Illegal)

Required: Normal+ LuckBonus Specialty: Burglary, Driving or Shooting

When the Harliss Act went up, the greater Chicago area was written off as a loss. Despite the bloodshed when Uncle Sam first pulled out, the city managed to get back on its feet with a combination of graft and honest capitalism on the part of the mob and the remaining police force.

With so much space to patrol, the new ruling gangs found themselves in need of the people’s goodwill. A new system of reporting and self-policing sprang up, with anyone that was too attached to the old way leaving and “open-season” seekers flocking to it from across the country.

What’s left is a pastiche of well-armed residential blocks, insular communities of displaced Dusters, and functioning capitalist enclaves (Chicago is still a shipping hub, after all).

The remaining police tend to operate on either a system of acknowledged graft or a sense of duty to protect their home neighborhoods. In some places, the Chicago Boys run the town more efficiently than Uncle Sam ever could.

One of the Chicago Boys can (usually) hole up anywhere within a hundred miles of Lake Michigan, and might know some people in other places.

“Hey pal, you hungry? Have a lead sammich!”- Andy ”Fingers” Preston

DoUGHBOYS(Organized, Sanctioned)

Required: Normal+ BrawnBonus Specialty: Shooting, Sneaking or Wilderness

Back when Uncle Sam first got his hands on the South African colonies, the soldiers of the Great War were too bushed to pull a second shift as cargo minders. The government pared down the requirements for service and allowed in plenty of people that otherwise wouldn’t be fit for duty.

As the years went on and the colony soldiers were attacked by foreign powers and internal revolts, an elite crew emerged. These were the long-timers - men that had the wits and muscle to stay alive and (relatively) uninjured until the Essies came knocking in ‘44 (or in some cases, until the last Americans were liberated in ‘46).

When the Soviets moved into Peru and the Essies started arming the Guianas, you can bet that Uncle Sam called up the colony soldiers. Most of them had already served their terms, but the government wrote up a new law that brought them back into service for another four years (the higher pay helped with the grumbling).

Thing is, “four years from then” is three years ago today. The first men to rejoin (or be drafted) have been out of circulation going on forty months now. In that time, a growing fraternity of ex-soldiers has cropped up. Half social club and half mercenary army, the organization sets up meetings for security guards, foreign contract jobs, and (rumor has it) secret missions for Uncle Sam.

The union is more of a loose affiliation, but the dues get sent to an office in Washington, D.C.

“Wilco, Able Baker Zebra, out.”- (Former) Sgt. Skip Williams

DuSTERS(Unorganized, Unsanctioned)

Required: Normal+ BrawnBonus Specialty: Labor, Shooting or Wilderness

When the Great Plains dried up and blew away, farm folk and small-towners had to leave or starve. They scattered with the wind, to Chicago or the coasts.

Dusters are plain folks. They have a reputation as naive bumpkins, but they’re also hard workers that have lived hard lives without complaint. Most of them don’t expect much more than a few meals a day or a small paycheck.

Every one of them has a story about starving cows, blinding dust, and the final visit from the bank before they packed up their lizzies and trundled off.

Once the rain began to fall again, all those farms the banks bought up got snatched by a few big companies. These turned to mechanized labor and turned the Midwest into an overused landscape of tractor-trails in the mud.

The Dusters have taken on a wide range of jobs since then, some finding other jobs in the cities and some returning to work as part of a tractor crew in the remains of their former homes, but their country heritage never really leaves them.

A Duster has no real home, other than a half-remembered farm, but is almost guaranteed to know someone that lives nearby. Two flatlanders that run into each other are usually more than happy to chew the fat for a few hours.

“Don’t call me a Duster. I’m a woman from Kansas is all.”- Mary Thomson of Baltimore

Ellie Islanders

The roots of the Ellies go back to ‘44, when the government opened the doors to women who wanted jobs in the wartime factories. By ‘46, they were a vital part of the American war machine.

After four years of service, Uncle Sam started to take the ladies for granted, and foremen started demanding more hours and worse conditions. The women didn’t want to shirk their duties, but it was plain that the minders didn’t know the best way to run the operations.

When things really started heating up, the women of the Provisions and Armaments Unions got together and agreed to strike until they were allowed to oversee their own production works. Cries of Communism hit them hard, but the ladies kept their resolve, adamant that they could do a better job of providing machinery for the boys overseas if they were left alone. Since then Uncle Sam hasn’t given them much trouble, even though there are still a few people who call them Reds.

Even if you ain’t never been to New York, you probably saw a picture of what they did to the Statue of Liberty (or what they used to call the Statue of Liberty, anyway). Only took them a weekend. The city threatened to take it down, but they put a stop to that. Besides, most folks would agree that a rivet gun is more patriotic than a torch these days.

The Ellies are most active in the Northeast factory states. The union carries no respect out West - Uncle Sam maintains complete control of the vast Pacific Mobilization Front.

(Organized, Unsanctioned)

Required: Normal+ BrawnBonus Specialty: Climb, Labor or Mechanics

“Can do!”-Anonymous Ellie

Union of Concerned Scientists

Once Uncle Sam started rounding up automobiles and the country’s best brains for what amounted to conscription, a few dozen men and women managed to slip under the radar and go underground. In the year since then they’ve managed to bring grad students, amateur doctors and other trained individuals into their fold.

They’re not traitors by any means; every one of them is working hard to help the war effort from behind the scenes. They’re fugitives because they don’t want Uncle Sam telling them what they can and can’t do.

Union members come in all stripes, from the doctor who’d rather treat his county’s rural patients than work in a government lab to the scientists that (so the rumors say) are working with an expatriate Essie scientist to create their own superbomb and deliver it into the heart of Europe.

(Organized, Illegal)

Required: Normal+ BrainsBonus Specialty: Doctoring, Mechanics or Science

“Bring it in here. Did anyone follow you?”-Dr. Arthur Smith, Ph.D.

WINGERS(Organized, Sanctioned)

Required: Normal+ AimBonus Specialty: Flying, Mechanics or Wilderness

Wingers have been around the world and have the souvenirs to prove it. From African colonies to the Arctic Circle, if there’s a landing strip a Winger has been there.

The Wingers have an odd place in the war effort. Aviation has been a vital part of the American resource system for decades, and once the U.S. entered a state of total war with the Essies, Uncle Sam found his hands full with whole mercenary squadrons of former Colony pilots.

Most of them are men, but once things really got going, the Army started letting a few women into the planes. At first the women weren’t allowed to take part in any overseas runs, but after the Ellies pulled a strike in ‘48, they removed the “provisionary” part. Last time I heard, there were at least a hundred of ‘em.

Almost all Wingers have flown wartime runs, but when they’re out of official rotation they vie for unrestricted sanctioned missions for little pay and immense prestige. A competitive brotherhood of capable and foolhardy flight crews has sprung up around this system that patrols its own and dishes out contracts for freelance mayhem runs. These are generally missions that the Army considers too risky or expensive to carry out under official circumstances.

The way Uncle Sam sees it, if there are people willing to pay their own way, why not let them help out? Of course, sometimes the generals on the ground don’t see it like that.

“OK, boys. Let’s get this circus in the air.”-Captain Dave Young, pilot of the Two-Time Tina

CHAPTER 4

FINISHINGTOUCHES

All-AmericanYou get +2 to all your Athletics and Pitching rolls. This increases to +3 when using sports equipment like running shoes or baseball bats.

BarnstormerYou get +2 to all your Flying and Shooting rolls when flying close enough to touch your target.

Bush RangerYou get +2 to all your Sneaking and Wilderness rolls when in a specific remote region of the world (Alaska, the South American jungle, the Australian Outback, etc.)

CasanovaYou get +2 to all your Seduction rolls to seduce people you shouldn’t be making eyes at (like other peoples’ sweethearts).

If you succeed, your sweetheart must roll at least 15 on Brains + Moxie or agree to one simple request.

ClodhopperYou get +2 to all your Labor and Punching rolls when acting on a friend’s behalf.

College BoyYou get +2 to all your Doctoring and Science rolls. This increases to +3 when dealing with established medical or scientific knowledge.

CowboyYou get +2 to all your Animals and Wilderness rolls. This increases to +3 if you’re on your home turf.

CritterYou have a tame (at least for you) animal that obeys simple commands. You can spend a Blitz Point to have the animal perform an extraordinary action (like stealing a gun).

The animal can be no bigger than a medium-sized dog, and no smaller than a mouse.

The Ringleader has the final say on what a critter does or can do. If your critter is lost or killed, you can get another one, but it is an ordinary animal and you cannot spend Blitz Points on it.

CrookedYou get +2 to all your Burglary and Lying rolls. This increases to +3 when none of your accomplices are around.

Daddy WarbucksYou have a rich benefactor who provides you with a pleasant standard of living.

You can gain an additional large expense once per month by rolling 20 with Persuading (failed checks can be rerolled once per day with a cumulative -2 penalty).

DeadeyeYou get +2 to all your Shooting rolls from at least 30 feet away.

Don’t Know When To QuitYou have either two more Knockdown spots or one more Gutshot spot than normal (choose one when you take this). You may only take this once, regardless of which version you choose.

ExpatriateYou grew up someplace other than the United States. In your home country, you can find a friend by rolling 20 on Moxie + Luck.

Face for RadioYou get +5 to all your Entertaining and Persuading rolls over the airwaves. In person, the +5 bonus changes to a -3 penalty (and people aren’t likely to believe you are who you say you are).

FlyboyYou own (or have free access to) a used aircraft. The Ringleader will decide what type and how stripped down it is.

FootlooseAny time you are attacked in unarmed combat, you can avoid taking a Slap or Bloody Nose by rolling 20 on Aim + Luck.

G-ManYou secretly work for Uncle Sam. You get +3 to all your Persuasion rolls when dealing with the U.S. government, as long as none of your civilian friends are around. If your cover is blown, you lose this bonus.

GreasemonkeyYou get +1 to all your Electrics and Mechanics rolls. This increases to +2 when working on a model you’ve never operated before.

HeadlinerYou get +3 to all your Entertaining rolls when in front of a crowd of at least 50.

Head-TurnerEveryone in sight must roll at least 15 with Brains + Luck to avoid looking at you (at least for a moment).

High-RollerYou get +2 to all your Gambling rolls when you’ve bet more than you can afford to lose.

LightfootYou get +1 to all your Ambush and Sneaking rolls. This increases to +2 when there’s no noise around you.

LinguistYou can speak foreign languages by rolling 10 with Brains + Flair. You can speak them well by rolling 15.

LooneyYou get two Blitz Points every time you would normally get one. You start the game with five Blitz Points instead of three.

Lucky CharmAny vehicle you are driving or flying ignores the first Flack hit it receives in a combat situation.

Mad ScientistYou can build or repair machines using substandard or unconventional parts (at the Ringleader’s discretion).

PackratYou tend to accumulate odd things. You get +1 to all your Mechanics and Wilderness rolls, since you always seem to have something useful on you.

You can spend a Blitz Point to produce an uncommon (but non-unique) item that is no larger than your hand.

PreacherYou have a religious title. You get +2 to your Persuading rolls around the pious. You also have a number of faithful adherents equal to your Flair attribute (i.e. 6 for a d6, 10 for a d10, etc.).

Sam SpadeYou get +2 to your Investigating and Trailing rolls when you’re being paid to do so.

Silver TongueYou get +1 to all your Persuading and Socializing rolls. This increases to +2 when swindling someone out of his money.

Tough CookieYou get +2 to all your Threatening rolls when you’re injured (with at least one Bloody Nose spot filled in).

Underworld CroniesYou know quite a few of the wrong people. You can find someone willing to do a little dirty work in any city by rolling 15 with Socializing. You can find reliable help by rolling 20.

WheelmanYou get +2 to all your Driving rolls when attempting to flee other vehicles.

WildcatAny time you attempt more than one action at once (see Multiple Actions in Chapter 2), your first and second rolls are both made with a five-point penalty (instead of a five-point penalty for the first and a ten-point penalty for the second).

Your third action is made with the normal 15-point penalty, your fourth with a 20-point penalty, etc.

CHAPTER 5 CONVEYANCE

Maneuverability:

Maneuverability is the vehicle’s bonus or penalty to the operator’s Driving or Flying skill.

Loading a vehicle above its payload imposes an additional -2 to its Maneuverability. A vehicle loaded above its Overload cannot be operated normally.

Vehicle Combat:

Vehicle combat works slightly different than regular combat. In a combat situation, the person operating the vehicle must first makes a Driving or Flying roll before any other crew act.

His level of success (10, 15, 20 or 25) is the maximum level of success possible with any Shooting rolls made for the rest of the round.

Example: Jack tries to steer the Bombin’ Betsy to line up behind the Essie warplane, and rolls a 19 with Flying (making his level of success 15).

Sam is operating the forward bombardier’s guns. She rolls a 23 to shoot them, but because of Jack’s Flying roll, the highest success level she can have is 15.

The Bombin’ Betsy doesn’t stay level enough to keep a steady stream, and instead of putting a leak in the Essie plane she just dumps a little flak.

VEHICLE OPERATION

Vehicle Damage vs

Gunfighting Damage:

Vehicles can be damaged or disabled by small arms, but not as easily.

An attack on a vehicle by a weapon that does Gunfighting damage is treated as one success level lower than the roll indicates.

Example: Armed with nothing but a pistol and his wits, Andy takes aim out the window of the car at the crop duster overhead and fires (after rolling a 21 on his Driving check). Andy rolls a dead-eye pistol shot of 23 (success level 20) but the damage is scaled back (to success level 15). The crop duster fills in a Flak spot.

This means that a character can’t shoot down a fresh plane with small arms in one hit, but the rule concerning cumulative damage spots remains. If all the vehicle’s Leaking spots are filled in, the next Leaking spot becomes a Downed spot.

The reverse is also true: a character hit by a weapon that deals Vehicle damage fills in a damage spot one level higher than the roll indicates.

Example: Chuck dives for cover, but with nowhere to hide the plane easily strafes the area. The pilot rolls a 18 for his Flying check and 16 for his Shooting check.

Chuck would normally fill in a Clipped spot, but in this case he fills in a Gutshot spot. It’s almost the end of the line for him, and the plane is coming around for another pass...

Avoiding Combat:

A driver or pilot can opt to make an avoidance roll to avoid gunfire instead of setting up the guns. In this case, the vehicle’s operator rolls a Driving or Flying check like normal (after declaring that he’s trying to avoid being shot at).

His success level allows him to ignore all attacks below that success level for the rest of the round.

During these maneuvers, all vehicle-to-vehicle Shooting checks are made with a -10 penalty (cumulative with any other penalties).

Example: The Bombin’ Betsy is leaking, smoking, and barely staying airborne. Jack needs to get out of this fight, so he makes a Flying check to avoid being attacked.

He rolls a 24 (success level 20), so he can ignore all attacks of success level 10 and 15.

A fighter dives toward him, guns blazing, but the Essie pilot rolls an 18 (success level 15), and doesn’t even scratch the paint! Not like anyone can see the rear half through all the smoke.

Repairing Vehicles:

You can repair vehicles to make them function again (although telltale signs might remain, at the Ringleader’s discretion).

A character makes a Mechanics roll to fix a vehicle in the same way that a Doctoring roll is made to remove damage spots on a character.

Scuffed or Flak damage can be removed at the rate of one spot per day. Leaking or Downed damage can be removed at the rate of one spot per Check Time.

Build Time:

This is the minimum time needed to build the vehicle. Vehicles built in mass-production factories can be assembled much faster. The listed times assume bare-bones facilities and work crews.

Check Time:

This is the time required to spend working between each check. One roll per action is made during each period.

Required Checks:

These must be made at intervals specified by the vehicle’s Check Time. Some checks may be made less frequently than others during the Build Time.

Only one person is required to make any particular check.

Example: Leslie is constructing her own plane. It takes at least ten weeks to build, and the check time is one week (one week between each series of checks). It requires five Electrics checks and ten Mechanics checks.

The first week, Leslie rolls her Mechanics check. She wants to get them out of the way because she needs to make ten of them. Meanwhile, Leslie is still waiting to see if her friend can procure a new type of bombsight that must be installed before she can start making her Electrics checks.

Since she only has to make five weekly Electrics checks in a ten-week period, she can wait and make her Electrics checks later.

Laborers:

This indicates how many people are needed to assemble the vehicle. If there are fewer laborers than required, someone must pick up the slack with a Labor roll or nothing gets done that week.

The number of laborers needed during a particular time period can be reduced with a successful Labor check.

If someone involved in the construction rolls 20, he does the work of two men, and reduces the number of other laborers needed during that check time.

If any other laborers roll at least 20, they count as two men each. If any laborers roll 25, they count as five men each during that check time.

Example: Adam is helping Leslie construct her plane. If Leslie could pay six men to work on it, there wouldn’t be any need for Labor checks, but she isn’t made of money. It’s just the two of them in on this, so work may be slow - or maybe not!

Adam rolls a 26 on his Labor check, and does the work of five men this week! Leslie can help out when she isn’t working elsewhere, and together the two of them fulfil the six-man requirement for labor this week.

VEHICLE CONSTRUCTION

A9 ZERO FIGHTER

Payload: 500 lb.Overload: 1,200 lbMax. Distance: 2,500 miMax Speed: 550 mphManeuverability: +3Engines: 1

Crew: 2Maintenance: Fuel: $1 per 25 miles Service: $50 per monthGuns: 4

CARRIAGE:

Scuffed ○ ○ ○ ○ Flak ○ ○ ○ ○ Leaking ○ ○ Downed ○

CONSTRUCTION:

Build Time: 3 weeksCheck Time: One week

Required Checks: Two Electrics checks (15+) Three Mechanics checks (15+) Laborers: Three

The A9 is the pinnacle of Japanese efficiency. More durable than earlier models, yet faster and just as maneuverable, the A9 gained infamy as the plane that bombed Hollywood.

The design has leaked out since then, and models can be assembled outside of the Empire, but owning a Zero will get you shot in most places.

The pilot and bombardier sit back-to-back in the narrow cockpit. An innovative fold-down seat allows the two to switch places in midair.

B-17 BOMBER

Payload: 8,000 lb.Overload: 18,000 lbMax. Distance: 2,500 miMax Speed: 300 mphManeuverability: +0Engines: 4

Crew: 10Maintenance: Fuel: $1 per 10 miles Service: $100 per monthGuns: 9

CARRIAGE:

Scuffed ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Flak ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Leaking ○ ○ ○ ○ Downed ○ ○

CONSTRUCTION:


Required Checks: Five Electrics checks (15+) Ten Mechanics checks (15+) Laborers: Six

The B-17 is legendary for its ability to survive immense damage, withstand belly-landings and bring its crew home despite long odds.

The “Flying Fortress” has been in service for more than a decade, and several planes have been scrapped and repaired by mercenaries since then. At least three have been assembled solely by civilians.

A fully-crewed plane carries ten, but many crews have made due with far less. The nominal crew of an Army model consists of a pilot, copilot, bombardier, navigator, flight engineer, radio operator, ball turret gunner, two waist gunners, and a tail gunner.

CROP DUSTER

Payload: 800 lb.Overload: 1,200 lbMax. Distance: 800 miMax Speed: 250 mphManeuverability: +5Engines: 1

Crew: 2Maintenance: Fuel: $1 per 40 miles Service: $10 per monthGuns: None or 2

CARRIAGE:

Scuffed ○ ○ ○ Flak ○ ○ Leaking ○ Downed ○

CONSTRUCTION:

Build Time: 5 daysCheck Time: One day

Required Checks: One Electrics check (15+) Five Mechanics checks (10+) Laborers: Two

Cropdusters and vintage warplanes aren’t usually seen in combat, but stranger things have happened. They have one advantage over modern aircraft - the ultralight bodies let them turn on a dime.

Military biplanes and triplanes have guns and better carriages (how much better is up to the Ringleader), but are otherwise fairly similar to civilian models.

P-38 LIGHTNING

Payload: 5000 lb.Overload: 9000 lbMax. Distance: 1,500 miMax Speed: 450 mphManeuverability: +1Engines: 2

Crew: 1Maintenance: Fuel: $1 per 15 miles Service: $50 per monthGuns: 5 guns 4 rocket launchers

CARRIAGE:

Scuffed ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Flak ○ ○ ○ ○ Leaking ○ ○ ○ Downed ○

CONSTRUCTION:


Required Checks: Two Electrics checks (15+) Five Mechanics checks (15+) Laborers: Three

STANDARD AUTOMOBILE


Crew: 4Maintenance: Fuel: $1 per 50 miles Service: $10 per month

CARRIAGE:

Scuffed ○ ○ ○ Flak ○ ○ Leaking ○ ○ Downed ○

CONSTRUCTION:


Required Checks: One Electrics check (10+) Five Mechanics checks (10+) Laborers: 2

LIZZIE

Payload: 500 lb.Overload: 1,000 lbMax. Distance: 200 miMax Speed: 50 mphManeuverability: -2Engines: 1


CARRIAGE:

Scuffed ○ ○ ○ Flak ○ ○ Leaking ○ Downed ○

CONSTRUCTION:


Required Checks: One Electrics check (10+) Three Mechanics checks (10+) Laborers: 2

COMET TANK

Payload: 8,000 lb.Overload: 14,000 lbMax. Distance: 250 miMax Speed: 30 mphManeuverability: -2Engines: 1


CARRIAGE:

Scuffed ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Flak ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Leaking ○ ○ ○ ○ Downed ○

CONSTRUCTION:


Required Checks: Two Electrics check (10+) Two Mechanics checks (10+) Laborers: 5

M4 TANK


Crew: 5Maintenance: Fuel: $10 per 50 miles Service: $100 per monthGuns: 2 (Tank cannon & machine gun)

CARRIAGE:

Scuffed ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Flak ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Leaking ○ ○ ○ Downed ○

CONSTRUCTION:


Required Checks: Two Electrics check (10+) Two Mechanics checks (10+) Laborers: 5

LUXURY AUTOMOBILE



CARRIAGE:

Scuffed ○ ○ ○ ○ Flak ○ ○ ○ Leaking ○ ○ Downed ○

CONSTRUCTION:


Required Checks: Two Electrics check (10+) Six Mechanics checks (10+) Laborers: 2

SERVICE TRUCK



CARRIAGE:

Scuffed ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Flak ○ ○ ○ Leaking ○ ○ Downed ○

CONSTRUCTION:

Build Time: 1 weekCheck Time: One day

Required Checks: One Electrics check (10+) Seven Mechanics checks (10+) Laborers: 2

These trucks normally carry produce and chickens, but enterprising characters might find other use for a truck’s powerful engine.

MOTORCYCLE

Payload: 200 lb.Overload: 500 lbMax. Distance: 200 miMax Speed: 100 mphManeuverability: +1Engines: 1


CARRIAGE:

Scuffed ○ ○ Flak ○ Leaking ○ Downed ○

CONSTRUCTION:


Required Checks: One Electrics check (10+) Two Mechanics checks (10+) Laborers: 1

FISHING BOAT

Payload: 300 lb.Overload: 500 lbMax. Distance: 200 miMax Speed: 70 mphManeuverability: -2Engines: 1


CARRIAGE:

Scuffed ○ ○ Flak ○ ○ Leaking ○ Downed ○

CONSTRUCTION:


Required Checks: One Electrics check (10+) Two Mechanics checks (10+) Laborers: 2

CHAPTER 6

PROVISIONS

While an extensive list of equipment might appeal to some, most possessions in Rivet can fall into two categories: Useful and Useful.

A machine gun gives you a modifier to your Shooting skill (and thus means the chance of severely injuring your enemy is greater), but so does wielding a shoe or a typewriter.

There is no rule for hitting someone with a typewriter, but let’s say it’s a Labor check instead of a Punching check. After all, it’s more about hefting something heavy than any kind of finesse. Likewise, a Pitching check to throw a shoe could be made to deal Fist-fighting damage.

When it comes to your character’s on-hand possessions, nobody likes a pack mule (unless that’s your thing). The Ringleader is free to give players differing amounts of money (or none at all) at the start of the game, as well as any other possessions like typewriters, automobiles or businesses.

Here are some ideas for different kinds of characters, if you’re stumped:

Rich Socialite

• Designer hat (for women)• Fancy dress or tuxedo• Fur coat• Pearls or gold watch

Ex-Army

• Uniform• Knife• Pistol• Coat

Radio reporter

• Notepad• A.R.U. card• Pistol

Pilot

• Bomber jacket• Flight helmet• Pistol• Lucky charm

Drifter

• Can of beans• Coat• Hat• Knife

Scientist

• Government credentials• Labcoat• Suit and hat

Mechanic

• Coveralls• Work boots• Box of tools• Union card

Gangster

• Suit and hat• Tommy gun• Bottle of hi-test liquor

Fist-fighting damage

Name #/attack Roll mod

Bare knuckles 1 +0Baseball bat 1 +5Billy club 1 +3Beer bottle 1 +1Brass knuckles 1 +4Brick 1 +2Butt of a gun 1 +2Cane 1 +1Hammer 1 +2Rock 1 +1

Gunfighting damage


Army rifle 2 +4Axe 1 +3Flamethrower 1 +8Hunting rifle 1 +4Knife 1 +2Machine gun 2 +5 Pistol, revolver 1 +2Pistol, semi-auto 2 +3 Sword 1 +3Tommy gun 2 +5

Vehicle damage*


Aircraft gun 2 +3Bomb (small) 1 +3Bomb (large) 1 +5Tank cannon 1 +5

*See Vehicle Combat in Chapter 5

Weapons in Rivet are simple to use. Every weapon adds a modifier (either positive or negative) to the character’s roll.

Every weapon also has a number of times that it can be used per attack. In the case of rapid-fire weapons like machine guns, this is not an exact count of bullets discharged, but rather a generalization of how rapidly it can be fired.

Example: Bruce finds a man skulking about in the hangar, and opens fire with his officer’s pistol. The semi-automatic pistol can be fired twice per attack, and Bruce cares more about shot placement than putting a lot of lead in the air, so he opts to only make on attack.

Bruce rolls two times for his attack, and rolls 20 and 16! The outed spy is shot once in the gut and clipped again, sending him spinning around and collapsing into a crate!

A character can make multiple attacks with a weapon, but every attack (including the first) suffers a cumulative -5 penalty (-5 for the first attack, -10 for the second, -15 for the third, etc.). Multiple attacks must be declared before any dice are rolled.

Example: A young E.S.S. soldier fires his machine gun at Dexter! The machine gun can be fired three times per attack, but the inexperienced soldier fires madly (and makes two attacks)!

The soldier rolls three times for the first attack, all with a -5 penalty, and rolls 12, 14, and 19. Dexter tumbles for safety, but he’s still grazed twice and clipped once!

The soldier rolls again for his second attack (this time with a -10 penalty) and rolls 3, -2, and 8. The machine gun turns in the soldier’s hands, and the bullets fly out wildly, ricocheting off the nearby trees!

Remember that whoever’s steering the vehicle has to roll Driving or Flying before any guns come out. That Driving or Flying roll is the maximum level of success any guns can have that round.

WEAPONS

Rivet takes place in an America that has been broken and rebuilt. The central states are a sectioned-up graveyard of empty farmhouses and brown fields. The mob runs wild in Chicago.

Uncle Sam’s power is entrenched in the armament factories of the east coast and the endless locked-down expanse of the Pacific Mobilization Front that stretches from Seattle to Texas.

Years of buildup and war have left the country with a glut of stripped-down military hardware and a lack of basic fineries. Americans drive the same cars they did in 1939, but dozens of decommissioned bombers are in the hands of amateur and professional pilots, along with hundreds more cargo planes.

The world is at the end of an era. Conventional weaponry is on the brink of being supplanted by the superbomb, and Uncle Sam’s hand has finally been forced. The Europeans may have already won the atomic race. Hawaii is still under the rule of the Japanese. Florida lies ablaze from E.S.S. bombers.

The world is closing in, and America’s heart has been hollowed out.

Time to take off. RIVET2010 Viral Games

Rivet RPG

Documents

chicago police

central powers

atomic bombs

statue of liberty

major powers of europe

commissioner sanders

chicago boys

indian ocean