SLIP SHIELDS
  Slip shields are basically the simple concept of the electromagnetic force field taken one step further. If two parallel force fields are angled slightly, the point where they intercept is potentially an electromagnetic edge. Once this electromagnetically generated edge is refined (literally electronically sharpened), it becomes what is known as a slip shield. Slip shields are E.M.F.'s (electro-magnetic fields) which are capable of cutting at the molecular level. Slip shield technology developed as a result of light speed travel; it was quickly appreciated that even the most minuscule meteoroid encountered at light speed had the potential for hull penetration. By angling the the deflector shields, any stray meteoroids would be smoothly redirected by the ship's passing. Any object directly in the ship's path would be "slipped" or split by the shield and instantly deflected, thus avoiding impact, hull penetration and instant death.

Since the invention of slip shields, their uses have been adapted to many applications, the most common of which is weaponry. Swords, daggers, axes, lightning spikes... all rely on slip shield technology on a small scale application. It is only through slip shield technology that blades are able to penetrate blast armor with ease and, likewise, it is this technology that allows a common utility knife to cut steel like butter.

Stasis fields differ from force fields in that they are designed to immobilize whatever is in them, while force fields are employed to keep objects in or out.

Will a being caught in a stasis field die? It depends on how the field is programmed. If it is programmed only to hold the extremities, allow air to penetrate and allow the internal organs and systems to function, then no. You will not die, you will be immobilized until the field is shut off. This type of stasis field is called a "Live Trap generator". These generators are always robots, and that programming allows the generator to modify the field instantly to conform to the lifeform that is contained. This type of non-lethal field is commonly found in security and safety applications (see below).

If a lifeform is caught in a stasis field other than a live trap field, death will be nearly instantaneous. The field will freeze all life systems and internal organs immediately, and most likely, permanently. A moment in a stasis field is long enough to stop everything and cardiopulmonary resuscitation would be immediately necessary if there was any chance of survival without magical intervention (I would allow less than 20% chance of survival or at least a saving throw versus Willpower and Endurance) . Any lifeform in a stasis field longer than thirty seconds is dead, period. The damage to the body is so severe that only

extreme means, either technological or magical, could possibly revive him or her. Stasis is also used in much the same way that we use seat belts and air bags. Many craft have live trap stasis systems installed that activate on impact. Once impact occurs, the field is activated in the cockpit (or the entire ship, depending on the owners wish and the generator's price)

STASIS FIELDS
  Stasis fields fall under the heading of "containment fields". Being contained in a stasis field would be similar to being instantly encased in concrete. Stasis fields were designed for the transport of valuable, volatile or fragile cargo. Stasis crates were the first application used to carry explosives, rare items, live animals, etc. Stasis crates come in all sizes and are often custom designed to suit individual needs. Stasis crates operate on self-contained battery systems, with external power meters.

Anything, living or otherwise, caught in a stasis field is completely incapable of movement while contained (obviously the object will go where the container goes...). Also, anything not in the stasis field when it is activated will be unable to physically pass through the field until it is

until the vehicle stops moving. This protects pilots from being thrown around or out, protects them from loose objects in the cockpit and deters exterior objects from becoming interior objects. Other uses include home security systems, live animal traps, medical aids, bomb containment fields, military applications, etc.

POWER PAKS and GENERATORS
  Stored energy technology in the world of LAZER is so advanced that our concept of batteries is laughable. Over ten centuries ago Tamaran scientists mastered the techniques of Magneto-hydrodynamics and they were able to safely harness plasma inside protective magnetic fields. Once this was achieved, it was only a small step to nearly limitless power. Basically power paks and generators utilize minuscule series of "plasma nanocells"

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contained in electromagnetic fields to produce extremely small, extremely powerful sources of power. What all this jargon boils down to is that power sources aren't a big problem for characters in LAZER. As an example, a power pak roughly the size of a television remote (standard size for most power weapons) could power an entire house for more than 0ne year without recharging. With compact power sources of this magnitude, the application and implications are nearly limitless.

RECHARGING
  There are two types of power sources that characters need to be concerned with; Generators and power paks. Generators are constant power sources and power paks are receptacles that require eventual recharging. Both come in various sizes and shapes, depending on their function, but the basics are the same for them all. Recharging is nearly instantaneous from one source to another and all that is required is an interchangeable 'charging collar'. All Tamaran made paks and generators have standard charging collars which greatly simplifies the process. Just take a dead power pak and snap it onto a live generators collar and it's charged and ready to go. If a robot is depleted all it has to do is find a generator, hook up and recharge. You get the idea...

CURRENCY
  There are three denominations of currency on the planet Tamara; Tarots, Falon and Shaw. Ten shaw equals one falon and ten falon equals one tarot. Simple enough.

The vast majority of commerce is conducted electronically through personal currency terminals. These terminals are very small, portable units which characters carry on their person and use when they need them. In order to place a transaction, the parties involved enter the amount of the deposit or withdraw in their P.C.T. and the transaction instantly takes place via satellite (Personal Currency Terminal, see Equipment section for details).

Hard currency is still relatively common on Tamara and comes in the form of small, flexible plastic markers (essentially our bills) and is accepted as universally as P.C.T. transactions, at least on Tamara.

NUL-GRAV
  Nul-grav, or n.g. for short, is essentially anti-gravity technology and is commonly employed in LAZER.Gravity nullification techniques are based on repulsor systems, or to say it another way, mechanical systems that are designed to repulse objects from one another through the use of electromagnetic fields

(E.M.F.'s). We all know how two magnets of the same polarity repel each other and n.g. technology works in much the same way. Repulsor systems cause objects to repel themselves from other objects by projecting E.M.F.s.

Nul-grav technology is commonly used for lift, propulsion, weaponry, etc.; the list goes on and on. Machines, craft, stasis crates and lift sleds all use n.g. technology to 'float' or levitate on an electromagnetic field generated by stock repulsion systems. Other common uses include n.g. belts for personal levitation, n.g. tripods (tripods being a left over term from the old mechanical days) used to stabilize weapons, as well as many, many industrial applications...

GRAVITY ENHANCEMENT
  Another application of electromagnetic fields is the G.E.S. or Gravity Enhancement System. Gravity enhancement systems are the flip side of the coin to nul-grav. It was quickly discovered that an object's attraction to another object can also be increased through the use of E.M.F.s, and the military recognized the implications of this very quickly. As a result, it is very common for military surface vehicles (especially tracked vehicles) to employ G.E.S.s to render them less vulnerable to attack. By artificially increasing the weight of a vehicle it becomes far more stable when firing weapons and when on uncertain terrain. It also becomes possible to render vehicles virtually immovable in order to resist flipping and enemy tractor beams (which, by the way, are also high powered G.E.S.s).

G.E.S.s also allow objects to be bonded to each other until the field is turned off. This application allows items to be attached to each other, regardless of size, until the field is stopped. For instance, weapons with G.E.S.s can be carried on the person without a strap or holster. Just sling it over your back and the G.E.S. attraction plate on the weapon will attach to whatever it touches, your armor or back or whatever. As another example; packet bombs are attached to surfaces in exactly the same way. Virtually anything can be attached to anything else through the use of this technology. The vast majority of equipment that is meant to be carried will come with stock attraction plates installed and included in the price.

What types of systems do they protect? Virtually anything. Weapons and computers are the most common. When you buy a weapon the print plate is blank. The first time the weapon is activated the print plate will read the signature of the holder and will allow no one other than that being to operate it. It essentially locks out all other energy signatures. The owner of the weapon can program the weapon to accept other signatures, up to one hundred, but this must be done intentionally. The weapons programming accepts only one signature unless otherwise ordered. Incidentally, weapons with robot capabilities or artificial intelligence can make their own decisions on who can or cannot use them.

Print plates work basically the same on all other applications. If the signature isn't recognized, the lifeform isn't allowed access. That reminds me, undead do not have the same energy signature as they did when they were living and as a result, their own plates will reject them unless reprogrammed (like the undead don't have enough problems).

Reprogramming print plates is an extremely easy task for a weaponsmith or an electrician, provided they have the time and materials. It is virtually impossible for a layman to do so. What happens if a print plate is destroyed while operating (like what might happen if a Dalith was denied access and became angry...)? Not only will access be denied but the system will shut down instantly and must be repaired by a qualified technician before it will operate

the cloning of severed body parts. It is very common for characters to suffer dismemberment in the game of LAZER (especially if you take a critical hit in blade combat). As a result limb cloning for survivors is a booming industry! There are faster alternatives for limb replacement, namely magical regeneration, but not cheaper. The average magician charges an arm and a leg to grow a replacement (hee,hee, couldn't resist).

For those characters that are either too poor or too cheap to pay for magical regeneration, cloning becomes their best option for a replacement limb(s). The process is relatively quick; the limb is grown in about a week, attached in an hour long operation and completely healed in about three more days. The average price of a “limb job" is about 10,000 tarots (you can imagine what the Mages charge). The replacement limb will be slightly atrophied upon attachment (half strength) but will become strong in about a week. After that time it will operate normally.

PSYCHO CONDUCTIVE CELLS
  Psy cells, slang for psycho conductive cells, work in much the same way as photoelectric cells do. As light strikes a standard photoelectric cell an electrical current is generated. That current can be used as stored energy or to trigger any number of electrical devices. Psycho conductive cells operate in exactly the same way with one notable exception; it is not light, but thought, that generates the electrical current. What this means to

again.

Can a print plate be bypassed? Yes, but only by either mechanical or magical means. An electronic lock pick, in the hands of someone who knows how to use it, will make short work of an average print plate. Likewise, a Purify System spell would blank the system and allow it to receive new programming. Those are the

only two ways that leap to mind, but you might think of others. Remember, print plates are not the last line of defense in an items security. They are intended only to make it hard for dishonest individuals to gain access to things; they aren't perfect.

CLONING
  The possible applications of cloning are so immense that I won't even try to cover all of them. I only wish to touch on one of the common uses in this game;

characters is that much of the equipment that they will either own or encounter may be programmed to obey their telepathic commands or at least be thought activated...

Although this technology is fairly commonplace it is very expensive and as a result it usually is not used unless absolutely necessary. What I mean is that mechanical means are generally cheaper and just as effective. As an example, the technology exists to create mentally

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triggered, hand held laser weapons. But why would you? Unless you had a very specific use in mind, a mechanical trigger would work every bit as well and would be far less expensive... still, if you got the cash, why not?

The average psy cell is pretty small; approximately 1 inch x 1 inch. Their size often varies depending on the intended application, and occasionally, the user's intellect. A lifeform must have at least standard intelligence ratings to use psycho conductive technology. Psy cells are always linked to print plates... otherwise anyone thinking at the cell could operate it. Potential chaos. As a result, if the print plate doesn't recognize you, the psy cell won't work.

LAW ENFORCEMENT  The scenario I'm about to describe applies to Tamaran cities only. Law enforcement, as well as laws in general, vary greatly from system to system. On the planet of Tamara there are two basic types of law enforcement personnel; Enforcement officers and Enforcers. Don't confuse the two as they are very different. The average enforcement officer (or E.O.) carries standard issue weapons and armor and uses standard equipment. They have authority over most civilians but answer to the establishment. They can arrest, search, etc... basically like our cops.

And then you have Enforcers... Enforcers are few and far between, maybe one per every fifty thousand people in a city, and that's plenty. Enforcers have jurisdiction over the entire city that they are assigned to. They answer to no authority other than their own conscience. They are required to submit yearly reports, but as a whole they are left alone to do their jobs and are essentially above the law.

The reason people consider Enforcers so menacing is because they are. The are not evil, they simply do their job efficiently and without emotion. Enforcers can be any of the character races but must be at least sixth level before applying for the job. You can see by this that they are not to be trifled with, and when you take into consideration the arsenal provided to them, they are lethal figures indeed.

The standard issue weapon of the Enforcers is the government issue spray rifle. These rifles are permanently imprinted on their Enforcer and possess AI technology. These rifles are programmed to be completely loyal to their owners and will operate only for that individual. They are also telepathically linked to their owners. These rifles are feared because they inflict 201-300 (200 +1d100) points of damage per shot. Not much can survive a hit of that magnitude and as a result Enforcers are obeyed. Incidentally, spray rifles are plasma based blasters and cannot be deflected as lasers can. If the Enforcer is killed, the weapon recognizes the fact and immediately overloads itself, fusing all systems and rendering itself useless and beyond repair; an electronic suicide pact at the death of its master.

A second standard issue item for Enforcers is a 400 S.D.P. personal shield generator, which makes them all but invulnerable to most lower level characters. Many Enforcers have theirs magically protected against power dampening, but that is up to individual choice. Other than these two special issue items, Enforcers employ basically the same stuff as everybody else.