P Ω L A RI S
TM
T H E RO L E P L AY I N G GA M E
“A system? What system? I just wanna
blow that guy up! ”
— A Player
FREE PDF #2
QUICK-START RULES
Archetype
⁄ PIRATE
Background
information
”Prepare for boarding!” This clamor is sweet
to your ears...
You are a predator of the seas, proud of who
you are and of your blood brothers and sisters. Let the enemy shake, because you’ll
never let anyone get in your way. Although
you enjoy fighting, you are not a mindless
brute; boarding a ship needs a lot of cunning
and you are here to get rich, not die stupidly.
You are aware you are a part of the legend
of the seas. Many are the merchants who
fear you, whether they’re right or wrong to
do so. You are an outcast, but all you want is
to share the riches more equitably! Rumors
about you make you smile. They think you are
just a bloodthirsty monster. That’s whaleshit!
You are no crueler than many decorated generals... At least you can count on the fear you
inspire...
Let’s have a good catch, my fellow
pirates, and tonight the drink will flow
freely!
skills (15 cp)
attributes (7 cp)
STR
CON
COO
ADA
PER
INT
WIL
PRE
Base
16
15
15
15
12
11
15
8
N.A.*
3
2
2
2
1
1
2
0
SECONDARY ATTRIBUTES
Luck
13
Reaction
13
Melee Damage
Modifier
+3
Damage
Resistance
-3
*N.A. stands for Natural Ability
Disadvantage (3 CP)
• Wanted (+3 CP: nation or faction of major importance)
equipment
• Savings: 3,000 Sols.
• Personal Gear: Exo-1 diving armor, Heavy pistol, Knife, Saber.
• Accessible gear: Pretty much any kinds of gear (stolen of course!).
• Combat (melee): Armed combat (5+6)  11; Hand-to-hand
combat (5+5)  10; Martial arts (Offense techniques)
(4+5)  9.
• Combat (shooting): Automatic weapons (4+7)  11; Handguns (3+11)  14; Shoulder-fired weapons/Rifles (3+10)  13;
Underwater weapons (3+5)  8.
• Soc. Relationships/Communication: Intimidation (2+8)  10.
• Knowledge: Gambling (3+5)  8; Knowledge of a nation (Pirate nations, orig.) (2+5) 7; Knowledge of a natural environment (Oceans) (3+0)  3; Tactics (Special ops) (3+5)  8.
• Stealth/Subterfuge: Pickpocketing (4+5) 9; Stealth/Silent
movement (3+7)  10.
•Languages: Native language (Neo-azuran) (Special)  7;
Specific language (Ithraxian) (2+5)  7.
• Piloting: Armor Maneuvering (Underwater Armors)
(4+2)  6; Remote piloting (3+5)  8.
• Survival/Outside: Observation (3+5)  
8; Orientation
(3+5)  8; Survival (4+5)  9.
P Ω L A RI S
TM
T H E RO L E P L AY I N G GA M E
Game system by
raphael bombayl
The game system for Polaris RPG 3rd Edition requires
standard 6, 10 and 20-sided dice (d6, d10 & d20).
SUCCESS MARGIN
Degree of Success
Success Modifier
1–2
Just barely
+0
How to use your skills
3–4
Decent
+1
5–6
Fairly good
+2
The Success Probability for your skill test is equal to your Skill
level + any difficulty modifiers that might apply.
Example : The pirate (presented in this leaflet) tries to drinking
water in an abandoned Genetician depot. He needs to make a
Survival skill test to see if he’s successfull with his research. His
Survival Skill level is 9. He has searched this depot before. The Gamemaster determines that knowing where to find the necessary
resources would be a rather easy task for him and grants him a +3
modifier. The Success Probability would then be 12 (9+3).
7–9
Good
+3
10–12
Very good
+4
13–14
Excellent
+5
15–19
Perfect
+6
20–24
Extraordinary
+7
FAILURE MARGIN
Degree of Failure
Failure Modifier
1–2
Just barely
+0
3–4
Mediocre
-1
5–6
Fairly bad
-2
7–9
Bad
-3
10–12
Very bad
-4
13–14
Terrible
-5
15–19
Catastrophic
+6
DIFFICULTY OF THE ACTION
MODIFIER
Very easy
+7
Easy
+5
Fairly easy
+3
Average
+0
Difficult
-5
Very difficult
-7
Extremely difficult
-10
How to test your attributes
It sometimes happens that a Test is not linked to a Skill but is instead directly linked to an Attribute. For example, you can test the
Strength of a character, to see if he is able to lift a very heavy object.
In this case you simply use the level of the Attribute in question.
Rolling the dice
To work out the result of a Test, roll a D20:
»› If the result of the roll is equal to or less than the
Success Probability of the Test, the attempted action
has succeeded.
»› If the result of the roll is higher than the Success
Probability of the Test, the attempted action has failed.
Success or failure Margins
The Success Margin of a successful Test is equal to the result of the
roll (this is a direct reading: the aim is therefore to roll the highest
possible score that is still below the Success Probability score).
The Failure Margin of a failed Test is equal to the number of points
over the character’s Success Probability (taking into account the
Difficulty Modifier).
The Degrees of Success or Failure are descriptive terms. Among
other things, they allow the Gamemaster to describe more precisely the result of the action: they are above all a guide and a
narration tool to help develop the atmosphere.
Critical Successes and Failures
»› CRITICAL SUCCESS
If the result of the roll is exactly the same value as the Total Success Probability (thus taking into account the Difficulty Modifier),
you score a Critical Success. In this case, you can add the Mastery Level (the second value mentioned between parenthesis for
each skill in the provided character Archetypes) to the previously
obtained score to increase your Success Margin.
»› CRITICAL FAILURE
If the die roll produces a «20» this is a Critical Failure. In this case, roll
the D20 again and add the result to the Test’s original Failure Margin.
Luck
Luck is an Attribute that can be used at the discretion of the Gamemaster in order to work out if an event will affect a character or a group
of characters. The Test is a normal Random Test: the Player must roll
a D20 and obtain a result lower than or equal to the Luck level of his
character. If the Test is a success, the events become favorable to the
character or group of characters. A player can also spend a Luck point
to gain a clue from the GM or a +5 bonus on a skill or attribute check.
combat
Opposed Tests
Sometimes a character’s actions are confronted by another
character. In this case, we refer to an Opposed Test. This kind of
Test is used during hand-to-hand combat, for example.
Both characters first determine their Success Probability. Then
both roll their d20 and check whether or not their test is a success.
If only one character rolled below his Success Probability, he is
the winner of the confrontation. His Success Margin is the result
of his die roll.
If both characters succeed at their Test, the winner of the
confrontation is the one who obtained the highest score on the
die or the highest final total after applying any Critical Successes
(so you need to roll a score lower than your Success Probability,
but higher than your opponent’s score). The Success Margin of the
winner is the number of points he obtained over the loser’s score.
If both characters succeed at their Tests and get the same score on
the dice or the same final total after applying any Critical Successes,
the result is considered to be a “tie.” They both succeed in performing their action, but neither of them manages to take the upper
hand. The Success Margin of both opponents is 0.
Summary of a Combat Round
1. Surprise (if Applicable)
If one or more of the participants are at risk of being surprised
by their opponents (ambush, sudden attack, etc.), they must
perform a Reaction Test, to see if they can act. Characters who
fail their Test in the first Combat Round will have a normal Initiative
again during the following Round.
2. Base Initiative
For the Quick Start rules the Initiative of each character is equal
to his Reaction Level.
3. Resolving the Actions
Actions are resolved in decreasing order of Initiative (the fastest goes
first), during their respective Action Phases. Therefore, the character
with the highest Initiative can act during the first Action Phase. The
Players perform the required Tests in turn (the Attack Tests, for example), then the GM announces the Action and its result.
Types of Actions
During a Combat Round, each character is given the opportunity
to perform one of the following Actions:
»› A Movement, to move around in the area of the combat.
»› A Combat Action, often an Attack in Melee Combat or with a
Ranged-Combat weapon.
»› Any other Simple Action that can reasonably be performed in
less than five or six seconds.
»› Free Actions are very fast actions that do not slow down the
character at all (saying a word, dropping an object etc.). As these
actions are almost instantaneous, we will consider that a character can always perform a Free Action, before, during, or after
a normal Action.
Attack & damage
Melee combat
Melee tests are resolved through an Opposed Test made by
each of the two combatants rolling on the Skill their chosen combat technique is based on, which is determined by the weapon
they are using: Heavy weapons, Armed combat, and Hand-tohand combat.
Ranged combat
»› In ranged combat: Weapon Damage roll + Success Modifier
To this base total of damage, you must also add the Modifier for
the target character’s Damage Resistance.
The final total must be compared to the character’s Wound
Thresholds: every 5 points of damage increases the severity of
the wound by one threshold. The wound inflicted corresponds to
the highest threshold crossed.
Wound Thresholds
Physical Wounds are classified depending on their level of severity. Each level of Wound severity is associated with a fixed
Wound Threshold. As soon as the sum of physical Damage Points
inflicted becomes equal to or larger than one of these thresholds,
the character receives the equivalent Wound:
THRESHOLD
Seriousness
5
Light Wounds
10
Moderate Wounds
15
Serious Wounds
Modifier
20
Critical Wounds
Point Blank Range
+5
25
Mortal Wounds
Short Range
+0
30
Sudden Death/Limb Destroyed
Medium Range
-5
Long Range
-10
Extreme Range
-15
SIZE OF TARGET
Modifier
A Shooting Test is a normal Test based on the appropriate Skill.
The Difficulty Modifier is essentially based on two factors: the distance to the target and its size. The two tables below indicate the
Modifier to use:
DISTANCE
Tiny (around 30 cm)
-10
Very Small (around 50 cm)
-5
Small (around 1 m)
-3
Medium (human size)
+0
Large (around 3 m)
+3
Very Large (around 5 m)
+5
Damage and Wound Points
Wound Scale
The total number of Wounds that a character can receive is limited. As soon as a character is wounded, the Player must then
tick one of the boxes in the Wound Scale of his character sheet,
as determined by the Wound Threshold chart above, depending
on the Location of the hit and the severity of the wound.
In each Location, when all of the boxes of a line have been ticked
and the character receives another Wound of the same severity,
the Player should then:
1. Tick a box in the next higher degree of severity.
2. Erase the Wounds noted in the boxes of the completed line.
Indeed, we will consider that the total of the Wounds inflicted at a certain level of severity ends up creating a wound of a higher severity.
A character who hits his adversary will inflict physical Damage
points equal to:
»› In melee: Weapon Damage roll + Success Modifier + character’s Melee Damage Modifier.
Wound Scale
WOUNDS
HEAD
BODY
Hit location
table
RIGHT ARM LEFT ARM RIGHT LEG
LEFT LEG
Penalties
Light (5)
¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨
¨¨¨
¨¨¨
¨¨¨
-1
Moderate (10)
¨¨¨
¨¨¨
¨¨¨
¨¨¨
¨¨¨
¨¨¨
-3
Serious (15)
¨¨
¨¨¨
¨¨
¨¨
¨¨
¨¨
-5
Critical (20)
¨¨
¨¨
¨¨
¨¨
¨¨
¨¨
-10
Mortal (25)
¨
¨¨
¨¨
¨
¨
¨
Impossible
action
Death/Limb
Destroyed
Death
Death
¨
¨
¨
¨
Impossible
action
1D20
1-2
3-8
9-11
12-14
15-17
18-20
Location
Head
Body
Right arm
Left arm
Right leg
Left leg
The polaris effect
The Polaris Effect lives inside all things and seems to
consciously act in certain circumstances. The manipulation of
the Effect is still in its infancy.
Use of the Polaris Effect is achieved in two steps: first the character releases the Polaris energy that is inside him, then he
shapes it into a specific form that will be the effect of the power.
Step 1 : In terms of game play, you must first perform a Mastery
of the Polaris Effect Test to know if the character can succeed in
releasing the Polaris Effect while controlling it:
»› On a Success, the character releases the Effect and maintains control of it. He may then shape the Polaris Effect to use a
specific power. Got to step 2.
»› On a Failure, the Polaris Effect is poorly controlled, which
may lead to consequences of varying severity (examples :
temperature changes, pressure changes, noises, itching, dizziness, outages, seizures...).
Polaris Powers
Disruption of Reality
Penalty to the actions : -1 - Success Modifier.
Area of Effect: 5 meters in diameter +/- Success Modifier.
Max. Range from the center of the Area of Effect: 15 meters +/- Success Modifier.
Duration: 5 Combat Rounds +/- Success Modifier.
Reality seems distorted under the effect of this disruption. Distances can no longer be estimated, senses are
disturbed, etc. For the whole duration of the power, every
Action performed in the spherical Area of Effect suffers a
penalty.
Step 2: To use a power of the Polaris Effect, you must perform a
Polaris Power test corresponding to the power used:
»› On a Success, the power is triggered and produces the expected effects. The Success Margin allows you to increase the
effects of the power. See “Powers of the Polaris Effect” below.
»› On a Failure, the power is not triggered (and nothing further
happens).
Molecular Healing
Note: the character can use this power on himself.
The character can heal physical wounds (Location by
Location). If the Test is successful, the healed Location
immediately recovers a number of Wound boxes equal to
the Success Modifier.
ENERGY BOLTS
Number of energy bolts: 1 + Success Modifier.
Damage: 2D10, +2 points per additional bolt. It is possible
to spread the energy bolts in order to attack several opponents at once.
Range: 15 meters +/- Success Modifier.
Duration: 5 Combat Rounds +/- Success Modifier.
This power creates a number of energy bolts that inflict
physical damage. If the power is controlled, the PC chooses
his targets as long as he can see them. The attack Test is
performed with the Energy bolts Skill. Armors and protections are usually effective against this power.
If the power is not controlled, the bolts randomly strike at
1D4 target(s) each Combat Round. An attack Test must be
performed with a Skill Level of 10 + Success Modifier.
Archetype
⁄ Priest of the Trident
Background
Information
The Polaris Effect is a powerful ally.
However, few members of the Cult of the Trident are able to master this mysterious energy. Most of them are devoted to the numerous
other activities of the organization: research,
diplomacy, science, and medicine... You didn’t
forget to nourish your mind while you were
learning to control your powers.
You are indeed one of the few to have this
gift—some call it a mutation— the ability to
create a Polaris Effect. You are aware there
is a certain amount of danger; therefore, you
have learned to use your ability with moderation. You know only too well the disastrous results of the “Polaris incidents” triggered without any control. For the time being, you have
been taught how to act wisely, happy that the
Cult offered you a way to channel this power.
To master one’s mind is to master the
world.
attributes (7 cp)
Base
N.A.*
skills (11 cp)
STR
CON
COO
ADA
PER
INT
WIL
PRE
10
10
12
14
11
16
17
15
1
1
1
2
1
3
3
2
SECONDARY ATTRIBUTES
Luck
13
Reaction
12
Melee Damage
Modifier
+0
Damage
Resistance
+0
*N.A. stands for Natural Ability
Advantages / Disadvantages
•
Polaris Effect (5 CP)
•
Age-Old Enemy (+3 CP)
equipment
• Savings: 5,600 Sols
• Personal Gear: Combat staff, Computer (personal assistant).
• Accessible gear: Bladed weapons, Computer hardware, Standard gear.
• Combat (melee): Armed combat (2+5)  7.
• Soc. Relationships/Communication: Empathic analysis (4+5) 9.
•Knowledge: Education/General knowledge (6+6)  12;
Finding information (6+0)  6; Knowledge of a nation
(Equinox, orig.) (6+3) 9; Knowledge of an organization (Cult of the Trident) (6+4)  10; Science (Medicine)
(6+7)  13.
•Languages: Native language (Neo-azuran) (Special)  16; Specific language (Absolanese) (6+0)  6; Specific language (Inesisian) (6+5)  11.
•Survival/Outside: Observation (4+3)  7.
•Techniques: First aid (5+7)  12.
• Special Skills: Body control (4+5)  9; Mastery of the Polaris Effect (6+8)  14; Mind shield (6+5)  11.
polaris powers
• Disruption of reality (6+2)  8.
• Molecular healing (6+4)  10.
• Energy bolts (6+5)  11.
EQUIPMENT
»› Dam.: Physical damage inflicted by the weapon. In this section,
»› Reach: Reach bonus of the weapon (melee weapons).
»› Firing Mode: Firing mode (firearms), with «SS» for single shot,
the damage from individual weapons relies most of the time on
the Human Scale, contrary to torpedoes or weapons capable of
creating damage on the Ship Scale.
»› Range: range of firearms, in meters (Short/Medium/Long/
Extreme). The maximum range is also indicated between parentheses, beyond which a target is considered impossible to hit.
»› STR: Minimum strength to handle the weapon.
»› Init.: Penalty imposed on Initiative (Preparation), caused by
the weight and/or the poor maneuverability of the weapon.
«SB» for short burst, «LB» for long burst.
»› Cost: Approximate value of the object, in Sols.
»› Ammo. (Cost): Magazine capacity (firearms), and cost of ammunition (per magazine).
»› AVA (B. Mkt): Availability The value in parentheses indicates
the availability of the object on the black market.
»› TL: Technological level.
MODEL
Dam.
STR
Init.
Reach
Cost
Charge (Cost)
AVA (B. Mkt)
TL
Barehanded
1D6
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Combat staff
1D10+5
11
-
+2
600
-
20 (20)
I
Shark dDagger - Shark
1D10+2
-
-
-
200
-
15 (20)
I
Knife - Conger
1D10+1
5
-
-
120
-
20 (20)
I
Sword/saber - Capitan
2D10+2
10
-2
+2
600
-
15 (20)
I
MODEL
Dam.
Range
STR
Init.
Firing Mode Cost
Ammo. (Cost)
AVA (B. mkt) TL
Handguns and Submachine Guns
1D6
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Light pistol
2D10+3
3/7/15/30 (50)
10
-
SS
1,000
12 (80)
15 (20)
II
Medium pistol
3D10
3/7/15/30 (50)
13
-
SS
1,500
15 (100)
15 (20)
II
Heavy pistol
3D10+1
3/7/15/30 (50)
15
-
SS
2,000
15 (150)
15 (20)
II
Light assault rifle
4D10
10/50/100/200
(300)
15
-3
SS/SB/LB
3,500
35 (280)
5 (10)
II
MODEL
Dam.
Range
STR
Init.
Shooting
mode
Price
Ammo. (Price)
AVA (B.
mkt)
TL
Medium harpoon
launcher
2D10+5
2 / 5 / 1 0/ 2 0
(30) **
10
-
SS
500
1 (10)
15 (20)
II
Heavy repeater harp.
launcher
3D10+3
1/2/5/10 (20)
**
13
-
SS
3,200
2 (120)
15 (20)
II
Polaris RPG. All rights reserved. © 2015 Black Book Editions. A Roleplaying Game by Philippe Tessier. Game system by Raphael Bombayl.
Illustrations: Geoffroy «Djahal» Thoorens (cover, archetypes, interior illustrations) and Anne Rouvin (combat scene).
Find out more about POLARIS RPG with free PDFs:
POLARIS: Universe (already available) & POLARIS: An introductory adventure (upcoming)
Available on our website:
www.polaris-rpg.com