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{{quote|''Worlds end, heroes die, systems malfunction''|Unofficial motto}}
''[[Systems Malfunction]]'' is an indie sci-fi LARP ([[Live Action Role Play]]) that has been played in and around Westchester County, NY
The game at one time had a website at https://web.archive.org/web/20111006100837/http://systemsmalfunction.webs.com/, but it appears to be long defunct. However, they have a [https://www.facebook.com/systemsmalfunction Facebook page] indicating that the game is still an active concern as of the end of 2016.
The creator's blog can be found
----
{{tropelist}}
* [[A God Am I]]: The GAIA, Two of the four resurrected GAIA aspects (Orion and Demiurge), the Lucifuge Entity, Motiliata and Hex Zero Rouge, Adam Cadmon and many others have all boasted this. Most were right, at least partially.
* [[Ace Pilot]]: Characters of the Pilot base class tend to be these, either of [[Mini
** The aptly-named character of "Ace" embodies this trope.
* [[Affably Evil]]: [[Mad Scientist|Dr. Langley]] is a PERFECT example of this.
* [[
* [[Aliens Are Bastards]]: Averted with the Xel, who had a completely peaceful utopian society before they were taken from their homeworld by the GAIA. After they integrated themselves into human society, though, [[Nature Versus Nurture|they became]] [[Humans Are
** Played [[Nightmare Fuel|terrifyingly]] straight by the [[Insectoid Aliens|Praxar]], who are basically a cross between [[Mechanical Monster|the Xenomorphs]] from [[Alien]] and [[Hive Mind|the Borg]] from [[Star Trek]], with a [[Might Makes Right|Survival of the Fittest outlook]] [[Social Darwinist|towards sentient life]] ([[Blue and Orange Morality|not that they generally bother trying to explain their motivations]]; [[Starfish Aliens|they're so monstrous and animalistic]] [[It Can Think|it took a while for anyone to even figure out that they were intelligent]]). They'll [[You Will Be Assimilated|assimilate]] you, but only if you're considered ''worthy''; if not, you'll probably be used as [[Human Resources|a living battery]], [[Body Horror|having the life very slowly drained out of you]] [[And I Must Scream|over the course of several weeks]]. It says something when the ''best'' outcome their captives can expect is to be [[To Serve Man|devoured]] [[Swallowed Whole|whole]] and thus given at least a ''relatively'' quick and painless death.
* [[All Just a Dream]]: Averted, subverted, played straight, and then subverted back again all at once, to the point of [[Mind Screw]].
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** Completely averted with the game's more recent editions. The first three years of the game may or may not have been a dream (even the game's creator hasn't given a definitive answer) but the newer editions take place in an [[Alternate Universe]] that's definitely "real." At least, as far as we know...
* [[All There in the Manual]]: A lot of seemingly bizarre or nonsensical character decisions actually make a lot of sense when you look at said character's backstory. Unfortunately, since these backstories usually aren't seen by anyone other than the person who created and played the character in question, this isn't very helpful for everyone else.
* [[Artificial Human]]: [[Blade Runner|Replicants]], one of the playable races from year one, are indistinguishable from humans on the surface, but are all synthetic underneath their skin.
* [[An Ice Person]]: The Demiurge a.k.a the GAIA aspect of Ice is a particularly nasty example.▼
** A Psionicist with the right skill selection can invoke this.▼
* [[Apocalypse How]]: The climax of the first metaplot ark at the end of year three resulted in a scenario somewhere between a class X-4 and X-5: The main Systems Malfunction universe (Malkhut, the physical world) was essentially destroyed, and the rest of the Sephirot and the multiverse surrounding it was hit hard. This multiversal turbulence lead to the creation of the splinter continuity in which years 4-7 have been set, as well as to the [[Starseed]] universe, which is effectively the shattered remains of the original universe that was destroyed.▼
** It might've actually been more of a class X-3, since it's been VERY subtly implied on a few occasions that the Systems Malfunction universe was really just one galaxy, [[Mind Screw|metaphysically isolated from the rest of the physical universe]]. It'd explain the "Mason Fence," the point around the edges of known space where warpgates and faster-than-light travel can no longer work, despite there being no known scientific reasons for such a phenomenon.▼
*** [[Sufficiently Advanced Aliens|Hex Zero Rogue]] and [[Sufficiently Advanced Aliens|the Volta]] also implied that the world they and the Xel were from would be unaffected by the impending metaphysical apocalypse, though they could've just been lying, or perhaps simply [[Not So Omniscient After All|overestimating their importance in the grand scheme of things]]. Then again, supporting their claims, [[The Omniscient|the completely and totally infallible archangel Uriel]] stated that the original Xel had an entirely different afterlife, with their own unseen and unknown metaphysical dimensions! (The reason that modern Xel still went to Heaven or Hell was because the ones raised in human society actually had human souls.)▼
** The [[Satan|Lucifuge entity]]'s original goal was a Class Z, it took the player's defeating him to downgrade the apocalypse to a Class X-4.5▼
▲* [[Artificial Human]]: [[Blade Runner|Replicants]], one of the playable races from year one, are indistinguishable from humans on the surface, but are all synthetic underneath their skin.
** There are also Matre'ds, which are essentially walking bombs with human skin. Thanks, GAIA.
* [[Badass Normal]]: Every Human character who is not an Psionicist or Adept is one by default.
** That goes double for characters that forgo cyberware and cybered-skills entirely, relying instead on SKILL ALONE to go toe-to-toe with the many monsters of the galaxy.
* [[BFG]]: The most common examples encountered in-game would be the anti-take rifles, rocket launchers, and smartguns, which are all [[BFG
* [[BFS]]: The Chainsword, historic weapon of Armand Carter (and later Adam Rensozuke) is a hybrid Greatsword and Chainsaw.
* [[Big Word Shout]]: This being a LARP, there's plenty of opportunity for the players to get in on this.
* [[Black and Gray Morality]]: The closest thing to good guys in the setting are the forces of the benign dictatorship who are trying to control galactic society for the greater good. On the other hand, you have DEMONS TRYING TO RAPE THE MULTIVERSE. Every shade of dark-gray in between is represented as well.
** It's notable that the "black" part of this comes mostly from completely inhuman entities like [[Our Demons Are Different|demons]], [[Cosmic Horror|incomprehensible]] [[Sufficiently Advanced Aliens|aliens]], and [[
** It is possible to play a heroic character, just don't expect to survive long.
* [[Chewing the Scenery]]: This is the inevitable outcome when you have non-actors engaging in what is essentially dramatic improv.
* [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder]]: EVERYONE, ALL THE TIME.
* [[Combat Medic]]: Hacker, Adept, and Scientist base classes can be built with this in mind. The Combat Medic prestige class fits this trope perfectly.
* [[Complete Monster]]: [[Evil Chancellor|Morgan]] [[Villain
** [[Psycho for Hire|Al the Killer]] ([[Legacy Character|both]] of them).
** [[Evilutionary Biologist|Doctor Cross]] ([[Truly Single Parent|all]] [[In the Blood|THREE]] of them).
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* [[Cyberpunk]]: Very this.
* [[Cyberspace]]: Played straight with GalaxyNet and later Y.G.G.D.R.A.S.I.L.
* [[Darker and Edgier]]: Than any other LARP you've heard of. Think somewhere between [[Alien]] and ''[[Warhammer
* [[Devil but No God]]: Whether or not he's really the biblical devil, Lucifuge is a nigh-omniscient being of pure evil, but there's no sign of God anywhere. {{spoiler|It's eventually revealed that Armand Carter severed God's connection to the physical world.}}
* [[Everyone Is Armed]]: One of the reasons the Systems Malfunction universe is a World of Badass. Weapons are cheap and easy to come by, and in many cases can be easily concealed or built right into the owner's body. If someone is walking around apparently unarmed,then you're probably not noticing the 3-inch hand razors built into their fingers, the turbine blade installed in their forearm, or the cybercannon they have in place of a shoulder blade.
** According to the rules of the game, every single character has access to an infinite supply of rocks with which to pelt enemies if they ever manage to be completely unarmed otherwise.
* [[Evil Plan]]: Every villain has one, and there are many, many villains.
* [[Face Heel Door Slam]]: Dante il-Grigori was just starting his [[Face Heel Turn]], plotting to kill the vampire overlord he'd been working with for the past few months and return to the church to beg forgiveness for his sins, only for [[Big Bad|The Shadow]] to appear out of nowhere (at least from his point of view) and murder him, along with several of his allies and enemies alike.
* [[Fighter, Mage, Thief]]: Soldiers, Gunslingers, Samurai, & Pilots are all broadly fighters. Hackers, Spies, & Scientists fit under Thieves. Adepts and Psionicists would be the Mages.
** A few of those are stretching it. Pilots aren't really fighters; while badass [[Giant Mecha]] combat pilots are common enough, there are plenty of other options for someone with the Pilot class. Scientist doesn't correspond to Thief at all, if anything Mage would be more appropriate, but even that's a VERY loose fit. The other 7 classes fit the [[Fighter, Mage, Thief]] paradigm pretty well, though.
* [[Gambit Pileup]]: There are dozens of factions within the setting, each with their own goals and plans. Numerous individual [[Non
** This trope is so prevalent in the Systems Malfunction universe that it's practically one of the story's main themes. The most obvious players would be the Republic and the three Great Houses, but there are also activist groups, terrorist groups, crime rings, militant religious orders, scientific combines, occult research groups, and countless smaller organizations that all have their own plans and agendas, many of which are surprisingly labyrinthine. And those are just the OVERT movers and shakers.
* [[Giant Space Flea From Nowhere]]: The Aetherial tick causing the mystical disturbances at Castle Clinton.
* [[The Gunslinger]]: One of the five original character classes.
* [[Guns Are Worthless]]: Strongly averted. Even in a world of [[Sufficiently Advanced Aliens|super-powered aliens]], [[Killer Robot|killer robots]], and [[Energy Being|energy beings]], guns are still just as effective as ever. [[Psychic Powers|Psionic badasses]]? [[Functional Magic|Master magicians]]? [[Cyborg|Chromed-out cybersoldiers]] with kevlar skin and titanium bones? A skilled enough [[The Gunslinger|gunslinger]] can take down any of them with a few well-placed shots.
** As demonstrated when [[Four
* [[Heaven]]: Surprisingly averted in the first metaplot arc: Heaven has either been destroyed, lost, or made innacessable due to events that took place between [[Iron Gaia]] and the beginning of that plot arc.
* [[Karma Houdini]]: Malcolm [[De Salvo]]. Martin Lyesmith and Vivian/Lucian Delacroix come close, but they at least LOST something meaningful. (Lyesmith was forced to [[Temporal Paradox|go back in time]] and [[By His Bootstraps|rebuild his empire from scratch]], and Delacroix did suffer the indignity of [[Death Is Cheap|losing]] [[Cloning Blues|a clone duplicate]].) [[De Salvo]] got away with his many, many crimes scot free.
** [[De Salvo]] didn't exactly escape retribution. He was [[Kill It
** Xeer came VERY close to fitting this trope, but doesn't quite make it: He never actually suffered ANY retribution for all the horrible, absolutely unforgivable things he did, including but not at all limited to [[Villainous Demotivator|constantly beating his only two allies]], [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder|betraying and eventually murdering two of his former allies]], and [[Cold
** Xeer really wasn't that bad, however--[[Ax Crazy|space geologist cum mass murderer William Flagg]] simply went into an extended period of rehab, and is doing much better now, thank you. The same cannot be said for his many, many victims.
▲* [[An Ice Person]]: The Demiurge a.k.a the GAIA aspect of Ice is a particularly nasty example.
* [[Magitek]]: Aetherial machines are rare in-universe, but tend to be pretty significant when the pop up. Psionically powered machines such as the Amplifier Jackhammer also exist.▼
▲** A Psionicist with the right skill selection can invoke this.
** An Aetherial starship was developed during year 3 of game. Then the Midnight Sons (re: "vampire extremists") stole and mass-produced it. Bad things happened.▼
▲* [[Apocalypse How]]: The climax of the first metaplot ark at the end of year three resulted in a scenario somewhere between a class X-4 and X-5: The main Systems Malfunction universe (Malkhut, the physical world) was essentially destroyed, and the rest of the Sephirot and the multiverse surrounding it was hit hard. This multiversal turbulence lead to the creation of the splinter continuity in which years 4-7 have been set, as well as to the [[Starseed]] universe, which is effectively the shattered remains of the original universe that was destroyed.
▲** It might've actually been more of a class X-3, since it's been VERY subtly implied on a few occasions that the Systems Malfunction universe was really just one galaxy, [[Mind Screw|metaphysically isolated from the rest of the physical universe]]. It'd explain the "Mason Fence," the point around the edges of known space where warpgates and faster-than-light travel can no longer work, despite there being no known scientific reasons for such a phenomenon.
▲*** [[Sufficiently Advanced Aliens|Hex Zero Rogue]] and [[Sufficiently Advanced Aliens|the Volta]] also implied that the world they and the Xel were from would be unaffected by the impending metaphysical apocalypse, though they could've just been lying, or perhaps simply [[Not So Omniscient After All|overestimating their importance in the grand scheme of things]]. Then again, supporting their claims, [[The Omniscient|the completely and totally infallible archangel Uriel]] stated that the original Xel had an entirely different afterlife, with their own unseen and unknown metaphysical dimensions! (The reason that modern Xel still went to Heaven or Hell was because the ones raised in human society actually had human souls.)
▲** The [[Satan|Lucifuge entity]]'s original goal was a Class Z, it took the player's defeating him to downgrade the apocalypse to a Class X-4.5
* [[Implacable Man]]: The Cybersoldier prestige class basically makes you this, John-1 and Adam Renzosuke are proof of that. [[The Juggernaut]], General Deftinwolf, and Coheed Kilgannon are some good non-Cybersoldier examples, too.
* [[Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons]]: On exactly two occasions, actual reptilian fire-breathing dragons have appeared in game, [[Giant Space Flea From Nowhere|randomly appearing on a planet and kicking ass before flying off]]. The game creator's ''only'' explanation as to why dragons even exist in the Systems Malfunction setting? [[Rule of Cool|"Because dragons are cool."]]
** Averted with the Aether Nightwyrms, as their existence in the setting actually has an in-game explanation. Though despite their draconic appearance, they're technically [[Our Spirits Are Different|spirits]], not actual dragons.
▲* [[Magitek]]: Aetherial machines are rare in-universe, but tend to be pretty significant when the pop up. Psionically powered machines such as the Amplifier Jackhammer also exist.
* [[Magnificent Bastard]]: Martin Lyesmith, Vivian/Lucian Delacroix, and the entire Page and Stanslick families, among others. Carter also has shades of this despite being the [[Designated Hero]]. Morgan Robespierre's whole appeal is that he SEEMS like this to his supporters, though he's really much more of a [[Complete Monster]]. Most of all, Sigmus the Fallen is the definitive Magnificent Bastard, with shades of [[Anti Villain]] and [[Sympathy for The Devil]] thrown in.▼
▲** An Aetherial starship was developed during year 3 of game. Then the Midnight Sons (re: "vampire extremists") stole and mass-produced it. Bad things happened.
* [[Mini Mecha]]: Jackhammers are 9-foot tall 2-ton powered armors, which can be specialized for nearly any combat role. [[Humongous Mecha]] are also present in-universe, it's just hard for these to be represented in a [[LARP]].▼
▲* [[Magnificent Bastard]]: Martin Lyesmith, Vivian/Lucian Delacroix, and the entire Page and Stanslick families, among others. Carter also has shades of this despite being the [[Designated Hero]]. Morgan Robespierre's whole appeal is that he SEEMS like this to his supporters, though he's really much more of a [[Complete Monster]]. Most of all, Sigmus the Fallen is the definitive Magnificent Bastard, with shades of [[Anti
* [[Mix and Match Weapon]]: The abovementioned Chainsword is one. There's also a Sniper Rifle/Longsword combo, an Anti-Tank Rifle/Greatsword combo, and the Xel Force Cube which can function as a dagger and a psi-gun. A Scientist-class character could conceivably make one using the custom weapon creation rules.▼
▲* [[Mini
▲* [[Mix
* [[More Dakka]]: The numerous weapons with the Full Auto firing rate, especially if they are also able to strafe. The Soldier's Lead Hose skill will add even more.
** The ArcArsenel Jackhammer is a [[Mini
* [[Mohs Scale of Science Fiction Hardness]]: Tends to stick toward the Hard sci-fi end. Gets a little softer when you factor in the Aether, Magic, [[Angel
** Basically, it's a sci-fi fantasy setting where the ''sci-fi'' elements are usually hard sci-fi, but the fantasy elements are taken for granted. Though there are a few soft sci-fi elements too, like [[Psychic Powers]] and [[Energy Beings]].
* [[Multiple Choice Past]]: [[The Devil|The Lucifuge entity]], the [[Big Bad]] of the game's first three years, could be: {{spoiler|An especially powerful and malevolent [[Sufficiently Advanced Aliens|alien]] [[Energy Being]] akin to a living black hole, a [[Fallen Angel]] who turned against mankind because man had killed God, a ghost or lesser demon from [[Alternate Reality|another universe]] who gained omnipotence in the Systems Malfunction universe by [[Demonic Possession|possessing]] the God-child who'd [[All Just a Dream|dreamed the Systems Malfunction universe into being]], a ''human'' interdimensional traveller who's power and malice increased to limitless levels on his journeys throughout [[The Multiverse]], [[God Is Evil|an aspect of God Himself meant to test humanity and/or punish mankind for its many sins]], a literal [[Made of Evil|embodiment of]] [[Ultimate Evil|all the evil that's ever existed]], or a [[Cosmic Horror|hyper-complex]] [[Eldritch Abomination|super-sapient]] [[The Virus|reality virus]] [[High Octane Nightmare Fuel|infesting the overmind of existence itself]].}} Or maybe he's none of those things! Or, even more confusingly, [[Mind Screw|maybe he's ALL of those things]]. The game's creator has basically given a [[Shrug of God]] on the issue, having advocated all of the aforementioned possibilities at one time or another and constantly changing his mind on which one (if any) is correct, and at one point suggesting that even he didn't know the true answer for sure!
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** Frequently a serious and/or intense situation will be working itself out when a character who has no reason to be there or player who has no idea what's going on will stumble in and say something to ruin the mood.
** Player quirks tend to bleed-over into character traits in Narmy ways.
* [[Our Angels Are Different]]: Prise are divine [[Energy Being|energy beings]] that claim to be biblical angels and physically manifest as radiant, winged, blue or golden skinned humanoids, often wreathed in flames. {{spoiler|In actuality, they're [[Magitek|Aetherial artificial intelligences]] [[
** {{spoiler|Of course, given that said [[Master Computer]] may have been created by God Himself- and served as His only link to the physical universe- the Prise calling themselves angels isn't quite that far off the mark.}}
** There are also the Celestials, humans who were altered by [[
** Finally, there are the Nephilim, who are supposedly the offspring of humans and Prise. {{spoiler|They were actually created by [[Messianic Archetype|Lady Mariah]] and her church, who infused humans with the essence of the Prise in the hopes of creating true angels loyal to them. It didn't work; the subjects didn't become divine beings (gaining blue or golden skin and a few minor light-based powers, but otherwise remaining human), and most of them didn't hold any particular loyalty to the church either.}} These beings were briefly available as a playable race as well.
* [[Our Demons Are Different]]: Pulsarians are [[Eldritch Abomination
** Partailly averted in the Qliphoth/Lucifuge, who are just Satans ([[Oh Crap|yes, plural]]).
* [[Our Liches Are Different]]: Averted. For all the [[Our Monsters Are Different|unique takes]] Systems Malfunction has on other fantasy creatures, Liches are pretty much [[Exactly What It Says
* [[Our Vampires Are Different]]: First of all, they're called Verkulaks, not vampires, of which there are several types:
** Prime Verkulaks are the most similar to the vampires of myth: They're essentially immortal and they do all that nosferatu-esque stuff like turning into bats, wolves, or fog, hypnotizing with a stare, burning when exposed to sunlight, and so on. The big difference between them and traditional vampires is that they're not undead humans, but rather an entirely separate species of humanity (albeit one infused with mystical power on a genetic level).
** Sub-Dominant Verkulaks are created when a Prime "sires" a human (or, more rarely, a Celestial) by infecting that person with his own vampiric blood. They are massively strong, they don't share their progenerator's weakness to sunlight, and they [[Mega Manning|get new abilities depending on who they feed on]].
** [[Horny Devils|Incubi/Succubi]] were a briefly playable sub-species of Verkulak. They were more monstrous in appearance, with horns and claws and tails, and they fed off of emotional energy rather than blood. Despite their name, they were more like a serious version of [[Darkstalkers
** [[Dhampyr]] were also briefly playable. They had psychic sensitivity to other Verkulaks which made them the perfect vampire-hunters. Much like real-life hybrids between two species of the same genus, they were unable to reproduce. Strangely, clones of a Dhampyr were always human, retaining none of their vampiric traits. (For contrast, Primes and Sub-Doms could both be cloned normally, while Incubi and Succubi couldn't be cloned at all due to their unstable DNA.)
** Several other monstrous, non-playable sub-strains of Verkulak have shown up as [[Mook
*** At a certain point in year three, one of the Nightfathers turned into a giant spider demon to fight a [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|shadow lamprey-dragon demon]]. [[Moment of Awesome|It was awesome]].
* [[Playing
* [[Psychic Powers]]: The Psionicist base class is basically a [[Squishy Wizard]] with these.
* [[Science Fantasy]]: The setting is a plethora of Hard and Soft Sci-Fi elements combined with Aether, Magic, [[Our Angels Are Different|Angels]], [[Our Demons Are Different|Demons]], [[Our Vampires Are Different|Vampires]], [[Our Dragons Are Different|Dragons]], and [[Elemental Embodiment|Elementals]].
* [[Shock and Awe]]: The Magnikinesis skill is basically this. Also shocker grenades.
* [[Shout
** Even the name of the game, "Systems Malfunction" is a [[Shout
** A fair number of events were inspired [[The Mars Volta]] and [[At The Drive In]] as well.
** Since the end of year three, the plot has been slowly moving away from it's Coheed-centric tendencies, in the creator's effort to, y'know, not be sued.
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* [[Spirit World]]: The Aether is basically this.
* [[Street Samurai]]: Was one of the five original character classes. Characters of that class invoke the trope to varying degrees depending on their skill selection, installed cyberware, etc.
* [[Stupid Evil]]: [[Ax Crazy|Jack Phantom]], [[Sinister Minister|Reverend Langston]], [[Punch Clock Villain|Morton]], [[Vigilante Man|Martin]] [[Nightmare Fuel
** The RIA's mass-produced Replicant agents, the Midnight Sons' Sub-Dominant slave guards, and the Collective Automata's exterminators are all [[Informed Flaw|supposedly unintelligent]] [[Gameplay and Story Segregation|according to their game stats]], but they almost never say or do anything stupid.
* [[Too Dumb to Live]]: The two best examples: One character trying to start a wildfire (for legitimate tactical reasons) decided to do so by [[Playing
** One early character was a vampire who decided to drink the blood of a [[Physical God|GOD]] of ICE AND LIGHT. He immediately froze, shattered, and exploded.
*** Subverted when another, much smarter vampire later on tried the same thing- and on [[Kill It
** Several characters have died solely because of their inability to use or understand subtlety, for instance a bounty hunter who decided to announce "I'm here for the reward on your head" to his target, or a [[Informed Ability|stealth assassin]] who [[So Much for Stealth|loudly yelled]] [[Captain Obvious|"I'm a STEALTH ASSASSIN here to kill you all"]] [[What an Idiot!|to a room full of intended victims who outnumbered him by about seven-to-one]].
** This more fits into [[Death
* [[TV Tropes Will Ruin Your Life]]: In an ironic turn, [https://web.archive.org/web/20111006100837/http://systemsmalfunction.webs.com/ the very last blog entry] on the game's defunct web site (as recorded by the [[Wayback Machine]]) was a report of the creation of a page for the game at TVT. We here at ATT are sure there is no causal relationship here. Really.
* [[World of Badass]]: The character creation system ensures that, even if a given character is not a robot, vampire, cyber-angel, cyborg, psionicist, or magician, they are at the very least a [[Badass Normal]].
** This applies in-universe as well, the Citizens of the Confederated Colonial Republics have to face so many different varieties of hardship/death that you basacally need to be a [[Badass]] just to survive.
* [[Technically Living Zombie]]: Slow Mutants are humans who thawed out of cryosleep prematurely, resulting in a loss of higher brain functions, and Shambling Husks are living people infected with an Ebola-like virus that causes their skin to rot while also making them uncontrollably agressive. Ghouls, on the other hand, are actually undead, being corpses brought to life through necromantic magic.
* [[Thirteen Is Unlucky]]: Star 13 and the surrounding solar system, aka the Frontier Sector. Just two years after the sector's colonization, a nearby Gamma Burst flooded the system with radiation, resulting in millions of deaths and forcing the surviving settlers to evacuate. Over fifty years later, after the radiation had dispersed, the colonies were finally rebuilt... Only for it to be the first target of the [[Alien Invasion|Praxar invasion]].
* [[Took a Level
** Don't forget Tim, the Republic Armada mechanic who ended up destroying the avatar of a godlike A.I. on his first field mission. Yes, he was already a military officer, but he'd been serving in a purely non-combat role up until then. Later on, he became a full-fledged combat engineer... Guess killing a god tends to improve your confidence.
** Subverted with Arnold, a run-of-the-mill computer repairman who somehow survived for months on a hostile space station, all without ever becoming even the slightest bit more badass. He was eventually killed for use in a magical ritual as a [[Virgin Sacrifice]].
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[[Category:LARP]]
[[Category:Systems Malfunction]]
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