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Unlike most roleplaying games, Apocalyptic Space
does not use dice. Instead, the Game Master and
each
player should have a deck of cards with two jokers.
When a random factor is called for, someone will flip
up one or more cards to determine what happens.
Just to be sure, let’s be perfectly clear about that. No
dice are used in Apocalyptic Space. Standard decks of
playing cards with 52 cards and two jokers generate all
the randomness needed in the game.
Red cards are always positive. Black cards indicate a
setback or a failure of some kind—but some characters
can turn some black cards into success anyway.
Face cards (king, queen, and jack) are high, and aces
are highest of all. Whenever the rules mention a “high
card,” it means a jack, queen, king, or ace. When one
of these cards is flipped, it will have a large effect, as
interpreted by the Game Master. Low cards (5 or less)
call for little or nothing to happen. Mid-range cards (6-
10) mean that events unfolded about as you’d expect,
without great success or great failure. Remember
that this applies whether the card was red or black.
In other words, the king of
♦
typically means a great
success, while the king of
♣
means a great failure. The
2 of
♦
means a minor or narrow success, while the 2
of
♣
means a minor or narrow failure.
Except where a card's meaning is specified in the
rules, the Game Master decides a card's exact effect
using the simple guidelines that follow.
Suits Table
Suit
General
Effect
Specific Effect
(Success)
♥
Heart
Excellent
An attack scores a solid hit
♦
Diamond Good
• An attack scores a
glancing hit
• Figure out Technology
♣
Club
Poor
• A feat of dexterity
• athleticism succeeds
• Open Locks
♠
Spade Terrible
• A feat of strength or
endurance succeeds
• A defender dodges or
blocks an attack
♥
Hearts
provide excellent results except when
defending. Drawing a
♥
while attacking always means
a successful strike. When a
♥
turns up, the Game
Master knows that things are going well for the
characters. Hearts are most important during combat.
♦
Diamonds
provide good results. Drawing a
♦
while
attacking means the attack struck a glancing blow; not
as good as a solid strike but better than a miss. When a
♦
turns up, it tells the GameMaster that the characters
are having minor success or are making progress, but
slowly. Diamonds are also important when characters
try to figure out unfamiliar technology.
♣
Clubs
indicate a minor failure or a setback. When
a
♣
turns up, whatever action the character was
attempting didn't work out, but even if the
♣
is high
(a face card or an ace), the effect will be more of an
inconvenience or a small difficulty, not a catastrophe.
The one exception is when a character is trying to do
something acrobatic or that requires great dexterity
such as climbing a wall, jumping from rooftop to
rooftop, or opening a lock without the key. In those
cases,
♣
represent success.
♠
Spades
indicate that whatever the character
is trying to do, it didn’t work out. The higher the
♠
,
the worse the outcome. On a face card or an ace,
the outcome can be terrible or even life-threatening.
There are two exceptions: when attempting a feat
of exceptional strength or endurance, and when
defending yourself against an attack. A
♠
represents
success when an action is a test of strength or when
a character is trying to avoid being struck in combat.
WARD CARD SYSTEM RULES