MODES

An Object Quality System

Compatible with the Cepheus Engine Game

VERDIGRIS PRESS
CONTENT
This is a set of rules that give objects more “character” by giving them stats of their own: Maintainability,
Operation, Design, Extensibility, and Security.

Copyright © 2018, Adam Dray. All Rights Reserved.

Version 1.1. May 7, 2018.

Product Identity: The business name “Verdigris Press,” the art, and the layout are Product Identity.
Open Game Content: All rules in this document are Open Game Content, except those things designated
above as Product Identity.

CREDITS
MODES is built with the Cepheus Engine rules.
Cepheus Engine System Reference Document, Copyright © 2016 Samardan Press.
Cepheus Engine and Samardan Press are the trademarks of Jason “Flynn” Kemp.
Neither VERDIGRIS PRESS nor Adam Dray are affiliated with Jason “Flynn” Kemp or Samardan Press™.

Inspiration: MODES borrows the QREBS idea from T5, without borrowing any of the text or specific
mechanics. The idea has been rebuilt from the ground up.

Art: Cover design by Adam Dray using licensed stock art by chuyu (circuit board) and 1971yes (robot).

Fonts: Neuropolitical font for titles, by Ray Larabie of typodermiconts.com, free for commercial use in non-
editable PDFs and books. Lato font for headers. Avenir Next for body text.

VERDIGRIS PRESS
Verdigris Press is a small, independent publisher of role-playing games and RPG supplements.
Find our products exclusively on DrivethruRPG.com at
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/11192/Verdigris-Press

MODES
Every object has five qualities, collectively known as
“MODES” for the first letter of each quality:
Maintainability, Operation, Design, Extensibility,
and Security. Each quality is rated −5 to +5 (the
default is +0).
MODES are optional. You never need to roll scores
for an object. You can always just assume that the
character is interacting with a perfectly average
Maintainability
Maintainability indicates how easy it is to keep the
object in tip-top shape. An object with a low score
might require frequent maintenance schedules,
complicated cleaning routines, hard-to-find parts,
or difficult-to-reach components.
Once per week, test Maintainability. A success
means that it does not require maintenance now. A
failure means that maintenance is required; if it is
skipped, then test Design to see if the object
degrades (see below).

specimen, with 0-scores for all five qualities. Add Maintainability to Mechanics skill checks on
However, these rules let you quickly generate this object.
MODES for an object, thereby injecting some

“character” into it. The pistol he just picked up is

Operation
easy to use, but hard to maintain. The starship they
Operation is a measure of the object’s ergonomic
just bought is hard to operate, but very easy to
factors. If the object is not well designed for
modify or extend.
operation, it can be uncomfortable or difficult to

use. If its ergonomic factors are very well designed,

Generating Scores it can make it easier to use.
For each score, roll d6−d6. That is, roll a die twice,

subtracting the first number minus the second Arguably, Operation is the most important MODES

number. This generates a number from −5 to +5. score. Modify all checks with the Operation score
when using the object in its intended way. For
The referee can apply modifiers to these before example, your starship has Operation +2.
rolling, based on age or usage. An old starship Whenever you make a Piloting check, you can add
might get a −1 to all rolls. A brand new vacc suit +2 to the check.
from a popular manufacturer might get a +1 to
Operation and Design.

Modifiers should never generate numbers below

−5 or above +5. Adjust out-of-range scores back
within the acceptable range.
Design
Design reflects how well an object is made, from
conception to craftsmanship. The object’s quality
can deteriorate over time.
When the object takes damage or if needed
maintenance is skipped, test Design. Success
means the object does not degrade. Failure
requires a roll on this table:
1d6 Degrade
1 Operation
2 Operation
3 Security
4 Security
5 Maintainability
6 Extensibility
Add Design to Engineering skill checks on this
object.
Extensibility
Extensibility quantifies how difficult or easy it is to
change the object, generally by adding stuff to it. A
rifle with a high score allows a wide range of
accessories -- scopes, sites, grips, handles,
magazines, and so on. A rifle with a low score
probably only takes one particular kind of ammo,
and it’s very difficult to add any features to it.
Check Extensibility when you need to determine if
there are add-ons for the object. For example, you
want to buy a laser for your starship
(Extensibility=−2). You roll 2d6−2 and get a 6. You
can’t find a laser that fits your turret.
Add Extensibility to skill checks when attempting to
make the object do something it normally does
not, or to add or connect other components to it.
For example, you want to plug in your computer
(Extensibility=+2) to the city’s mainframe, which
has a very unusual data port. You roll 2d6+2 and
get a 9. You connect without a problem.
Security
Security measures the overall safety and protective
measures for the object. An object with a high
Security has fail-safes and overrides that kick in
when something goes wrong, or when someone
tampers with it. An object with low Security does
unexpected and undesirable things in failure
modes.
When an object is used in a roll that results in an
Exceptional Failure (-6 or lower effect range), check
the object’s Security. A success indicates no
problem. A failure indicates that the object does
something bad.
For example, while firing a pistol (Security=−3), a
character rolls a modified 1 to hit! 1-8 is an effect
range of -7, so a Security check is made on the
pistol. The player rolls 2d6 - 3 and gets a 4. The
referee decides that the pistol overheats and goes
into a lockdown mode for 1d6 rounds.
If you are attempting to bypass an object’s security
countermeasures, its Security modifies the DM of
all skill checks as a negative modifier (flip the sign).
For example, you want to break into a grav truck
(Security −1). You have Knowledge 9 (+1) and drive has +1+1+2+0+0, you don’t get a +3 on jump-
Electronics +2. You roll 2d6+3 with a DM of +1 (the drive engineering skill checks (you get a +2).
negative of −1 Security).
Applying MODES to different subsystems gives a

Applying MODES to larger system a lot of character. That old free trader

Large Systems starship has its issues: an unreliable M-drive and an

ancient power plant that needs tons of mainten-
As the examples above show, it’s tempting to
ance, but its weapon systems are sleek and very
assign a general MODES score to a large object,
extensible, and the ship has great security fail-
like a starship. However, a starship has many
overs. It’s also really easy to fly.
subsystems, each replaceable or interchangeable.
You might lose your jump drive and have to have it TL9 Frontier Trader
Starship (overall): −1+0+0+1+2
refitted with a new one, for example.
J-drive: +0+0+0−1+0
M-drive: −1+0−3+0−3
It is better to assign a MODES score to each Power Plant: −4+0+0−1−1
component of a larger system of components. Computer: +0+0+0+0+3
Turrets: +0+1+0+3+0
Often the rules suggest natural divisions of sys-
tems, based on skills or technology. In the case of
vehicles and ships, the rules used to construct
these suggest how to divide the systems (power
plant, j-drive, m-drive, life support, computers, MODES and Price
etc.). Look up the cost multiplier for each of the five
MODE scores. Multiply them together. That’s the
A good way to determine if an object is too
price modifier for the object.
complex to summarize with a single MODES score
Score Cost Multiplier
is to ask yourself, “What skill checks would get a
−5 1/10
Design modifier?” If it’s more than one or two, you −4 1/5
−3 1/3
probably should assign MODES scores to the
−2 1/2
object’s subsystems. −1 2/3
+0 1
It’s fine to roll a MODES score for the overall system +1 3/2
+2 2
and use this as a default for all of its subcom-
+3 3
ponents, and then roll separate MODES to override +4 5
the default. Never stack MODES, though. If your +5 10

starship has MODES +0+0+1−1−1 but the jump

 Component Usual Cost (MCr) MODES Multiplier Adjusted Cost (MCr)
J-drive B 20.0 +0+0+0−1+0 2/3 13.3
M-drive C 12.0 −1+0−3+0−3 1/6 2.0
Power Plant C 24.0 −4+0+0−1−1 4/45 2.13
Computer Model−2 0.16 +0+0+0+0+3 3 0.48
3 Triple Turrets 3.0 +0+1+0+3+0 9/2 13.5
TOTAL 59.16 31.41

Base ship (+0+0+0+0+0+0) 82.314 MCr

Usual Cost of mods above −59.16
Base minus usual cost of above =23.154
That number is the part of the ship that is multiplied by the ship’s overall modifier (−1+0+0+1+2), which is ×2.

Mods for −1+0+0+1+2 (×2) 46.308

Adj. Cost of mods above +31.41
Modified ship =77.718 MCr

For example, a run-of-the-mill Auto Pistol usually

costs 10 Cr. A particularly desirable model of Auto
Pistol (+1+2+0+2+1) costs 3/2 × 2 × 1 × 2 × 3/2 =

9 times more, or 90 Cr.

The way the table is constructed, a +1 will cancel a

−1, a +2 will cancel a −2, and so on, and you can

ignore +0 scores (because the multiplier is 1). For

example, if you have something with MODES
+1−1−3+3+3+0, then you can cancel a pair of +1/−1,
Discovering MODES
Players will want to assess the objects they’ve
a pair of +3/−3, ignore the +0, and be left with a
purchased or found and determine the MODES.
single +3, which is cost multiplier ×3.
You don’t have to share the numerical scores, if you
For larger objects with a main MODES score and prefer to restrict their knowledge to what their

several subcomponents with their own scores, you
can compute the total cost for the entire object
minus the detailed subcomponents, adjust for its
MODES, then add back in the subsystems with their
costs adjusted by their own MODES.
For example, for the Frontier Trader described
characters understand. It’s fine to use normal words
to describe the object.
Use the template system above to find a close
approximation to your object’s MODES and use
one or two of those template names. “You dust off
the medical scanner you found in the sand. It’s old

above, normally 82.314 MCr, can be recomputed and beat-up.” (You know that its MODES are
as in the chart and analysis (above). −2−1+0−1−2, which is close enough.)
In many cases, you can just tell the players without
making them roll something. However, if you feel
that an object’s MODES are not apparent, ask for a
skill check. Any skill required to use, maintain,
repair, design, improve, or analyze the object
should be sufficient for a skill check.
(Also, it should cost 2 × 2 × 2 × 5 × 1.5 = 60 times
more than normal! A normal laser rifle costs 300 Cr.
This one would cost 18,000 Cr!)
You cannot multiply cost multipliers together if you
apply more than one template; recompute the

TEMPLATE MODES COST ×

• If they succeed, give them all of the MODES.
Well-made +0+1+1+0+0 2.25
• For exceptional failure, give them none. Poorly-made +0−1−1+0+0 0.44
Well-designed +1+0+2+1+1 6.75
• For normal failure, remove one of the MODES Badly-designed −1+0−1−1+0 0.30
for each degree of success. Old −1−1+0−1−1 0.20
Well-maintained +1+0+0+0+0 1.50
Old-but-loved −1+0+0+0+0 0.67
The skill they checked should suggest which of the Dilapidated +0−1−1+0−1 0.20
MODES you tell them first, on a failure. If they Worn-out −2−1+0+0−1 0.22
Beat-up −1−1+0+0−1 0.30
tested their Gun Combat assessing a laser rifle, Reliable +2+0+1+0+2 6.00
Unreliable −1+0−2+0−2 0.17
they should definitely understand the Operation
Ergonomic +1+2+0+0+0 3.00
score first, but are less likely to understand the Unwieldy +0−2+0+0+0 0.50
Modular +1+0+0+3+0 4.50
Design of it.
Custom −2+2+1−3+0 0.50
Safe +0+0+1+0+2 3.00

MODES Templates
Unsafe +0+0+0+0−3 0.33
Overclocked −1+3−3+0−4 0.13
Tuned-up +1+1−2+0+0 1.13
Here are a number of templates that you can use to
High-Tech +1+1+1+1+1 7.60
set the MODES for objects based on their descrip- Low-Tech −1+0−1−1−1 0.20
Street* −2+1−3−2−2 0.06
tion. For example, if you tell the players that the gun
* If illegal, probably 10-60 times more expensive!
looks a bit beat-up, you can apply the “beat-up”
template to get −1−1+0+0−1.
multipliers from the summed MODES.

You can apply multiple templates, but you prob-

ably shouldn’t use more than two at a time——three,

tops. In general, these stack, but don’t go below −5
or above +5.

For example, a Well-made, High-Tech, Modular

Laser Rifle gets +0+1+1+0+0, +1+1+1+1+1+1, and
+1+0+0+3+0, resulting in MODES +2+2+2+4+1.
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