RESIST!

a Sourcebook for the Terminator RPG

 Resist!

Credits
WRITERS: JAY STEVEN ANYONG, JASON DURALL,
BENN GRAYBEATON, LLOYD GYAN, MATT
JOHN, MARK RAPSON, MARK THOMPSON,
RODRIGO VILLANOVA, BART WYNANTS
RULES BY: BENN GRAYBEATON

COVER ART: MIRCO PAGANESSI

INTERIOR ART: DAVE ALLSOP JAMES CHURCHILL, JARED
EARLE, MIRCO PAGANESSI

LAYOUT: JARED EARLE & BENN GRAYBEATON

S5S SYSTEM CREATED BY: CHRIS “SHEP” SHEPPERSON

PRODUCED BY: BENN GRAYBEATON & MARK RAPSON

CO-PRODUCER: GARRY HARPER

PROOFREADERS: CRAIG ATKINS, JAMIE CROSS & THE

KICKSTARTER BACKERS
NIGHTFALL GAMES ARE:
DAVE ALLSOP, JARED EARLE, BENN GRAYBEATON, MARK RAPSON

Copyright © 2024 Nightfall Games Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Designed in Scotland.
Produced on an iMac i9-9900K, a yellow iMac M1 and a Mac Studio M1 Max using Adobe InDesign
with Helvetica Neue, Eurostile, Moby Monospace and Terminator typefaces.
T1™, The Terminator™, Terminator 2: Judgment Day™, T2™, ENDOSKELETON™, and any depiction
of Endoskeleton™ are trademarks of STUDIOCANAL S.A.S. All Rights Reserved.
© 2024 STUDIOCANAL S.A.S. ® All Rights Reserved.
Contents
Introduction 002

Judgment Day 003

NORTH aMERICA 007

MEXICO 020

canaDA 024

russiA 027
spetsnaz player characters 038

Global resistance 041

europe 041

aFRICA 050

aSIA 054

oceania 058

South americA 062

United Kingdom 066

Survival 071

SKYNEt assets 079

Forces of MIR 089

Spetsnaz Weapons 095

 JUDGMENT DAY AND WORLD WAR THREE

Introduction
Judgment Day was an exchange of firepower They all had to cope with the world’s new reality.
unlike any other. In an exceedingly brief moment, Nuclear winter was coming. Second tier nuclear
at 02:16EST on Friday, the 29th of August 1997 powers, with nothing left to lose, asserted
against a backdrop of a waning moon, Skynet themselves in attempts at regional dominance.
launched one third of the USA’s nuclear triad Biological and Chemical weapons were ripped
directly at the Russian Republic. Coming so soon free from their old resting places and Radiological
after the Black Brant scare, with third nation weapons became far too easy to obtain.
observers in place to report the launch, there
Humanity fought.
could be no denying that a nuclear onslaught had
been initiated. In Europe millions awoke only to While in retrospect it might seem obvious that the
be transfixed in horror at the unfurling nightmare. robotic forces of Skynet were humanities ultimate
Diplomats from all nations begged, bargained, enemy, but years passed before John Connor
threatened and pleaded with the Russians not was able to convince more than a dozen people
to respond, but they knew that it was futile. The of this. Bitter decades followed Judgment Day.
world, that had considered the cold war a settled Decades not just of machine predation, but of
matter, watched as it all ended in nuclear fire. The infighting, starvation and sickness.
Cheget was opened, MIR was granted access
This book will cover living in those early days,
to the Dead Hand and as President Yeltsin’s last
the unmasking of the AI threat and the struggle
recorded order, The Russian’s retaliated.
to survive long before John Connor became a
The disaster cascaded. Russian retaliation ubiquitous synonym for resistance.
was met by American counter retaliation. Soon
It will cover not just the evolution of humanity
submarines on both sides launched and bombers
from squabbling apes to an organized Resistance,
flew past each other mopping up the remaining
but also the evolution of Skynet’s war machine
forces left behind. Wave upon wave of nuclear
from an artifact of defunct national armies to the
fire was visited upon the earth. Countries that had
automated nightmare of Hunter-Killers, flesh-
been staunch allies hours earlier fell to bickering.
farms and all too human looking infiltrators.
Some joined the massacre, some sought to
secure their borders, but many were obliterated.

The Terminator RPG: RESIST [.001]

CHAPTER ONE

Judgment Day
Judgment Day was not a battle, it was not a war, Assumption Two: The prioritization of military targets
Judgment Day was a hack! and industrial centers.
When it comes to Judgment Day you need to When it launched its missiles, Skynet did not
forget everything you think you know about a prioritize the standard targets. Retaliatory
nuclear exchange. All models from the 50s to the weapons systems were specifically avoided, with
90s share assumptions that are simply incorrect. missiles reallocated to strike alternative sites.
They postulate that the goal of the initiating Some of these strikes were close enough to
faction is the military destruction of their enemy appear like a near miss, but others were aimed
and the survival of their allied forces. They do squarely at population centers in NATO and Asia.
not consider that a third party might infiltrate
Because of the “failure” of the Alpha strike, more
the military of a faction and initiate the conflict.
Russian missiles were able to detonate than
Similarly, the philosophies of retaliation and
suggested by conservative modelling and targets
military prioritization cease to be accurate in the
that would normally have been a low priority
face of this important change. It is important to
were allocated a greater than normal number of
dismantle these assumptions one by one and
warheads.
consider where this leaves us.
Assumption One: Mutually Assured Destruction and Skynet's Global
Massive Retaliation are deterrents. Targeting Priorities
The two dominant nuclear theories of the time Asia/Pacific countries such as Bangladesh,
both assumed that the enemy would be clearly China, India, Indonesia and Pakistan all have
recognizable. This was not the case. Skynet was populations over 150 million and constitute
a classified project and to most outside parties over a third of the global population. For Skynet
looked exactly like the US military. When Skynet’s targeting these populations was far more
missiles detonated on Russian Soil, rather than important than preventing missile strikes on US
targeting the responsible party, Russia’s Massive soil. Missiles aimed at Russian ICBM sites were
Retaliation targeted the more innocent US often reallocated to this region. Thanks to their
population. This all but guaranteed the initiation of proximity to the contiguous USA, Canada, Mexico
the US doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction. and South America were similarly targeted.
The Airforce and Submarine arms of the nuclear
triad, which were at least partially outside the Assumption Three: It’s a two-dog fight.
control of Skynet were given legitimate orders to
engage their targets. For Skynet, these theories In an intra-bloc conflict, it was always envisaged
were not a deterrent. They were the grease that that NATO and the Warsaw pact would be the two
kept the gears of war turning. sides of any exchange and since the USA had
most of NATO’s firepower this might initially seem
Could the Whitehouse to be the case. But when the USA seemed to
have stopped the war? unilaterally attack Russia, all bets were off.

In theory, the White House could have stood NATO almost immediately fractured by both
down its forces or attempted to detonate its geography and suspicion. The tensions of the first
own missiles. It had 30 minutes before the first Gulf War manifested and the European powers
ICBM would hit Russia. Alas once the missiles were forced to make urgent decisions as to how
launched and President Clinton was inside the to respond.
White House Bunker, communication with the With no time to debate and what seemed to be
executive ceased. In the aftermath of Judgment retaliatory nukes striking London and Paris, both
Day, Washington is covered in a fine powder of countries initiated their own disastrous nuclear
Carbon-14 and the truth of what happened that plans striking the Black Sea Fleet and the forces
morning is a mystery that may never be solved. rapidly fleeing from Russia into Europe.

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 JUDGMENT DAY AND WORLD WAR THREE

In the East, China faced a serious dilemma. It had World War Three
a fraught history with the other nuclear powers
World War Three is largely characterized with
and while it had already been struck by Skynet
a brief period of overwhelming global violence,
several times, it didn’t know whether the attack
followed by tit for tat regional battles and several
was part of the American salvo or the Russian
years of sustained low-level hostilities. The
response. Skynet’s access to stealth bombers had
survivors of the nuclear exchange were usually
helped hide where the nukes were coming from
more concerned with protecting themselves
leading the Chinese elites to see themselves as
from the ensuing environmental calamity than in
surrounded by enemies. When the US’s Pacific
seeking revenge.
fleet launched its nuclear arsenal, with no way to
tell if the missiles were targeting them or simply There were several notable flashpoints such as the
flying overhead, China retaliated. European disintegration, the Mexican-American
Wars and the Himalayan Border Wars, but in the
Skynet was adept at pushing on nuclear fault lines
face of the massive casualties of Judgment Day,
but in many cases, it couldn’t pull the trigger itself
sustained state-on-state violence was rare. It
and had to rely on a modicum of cunning.
was far more important to collect food and build
As an instrumental data collator for the five shelter before the onset of winter.
eyes partnership, it often controlled much of the
When intra-state conflicts broke out, they were
information that decision makers based their
often characterized by the search for uncorrupted
choices on. Its co-opted system in Islamabad
supplies, with agricultural producers being
collaborated with its peers in Delhi, Perth and
particularly at risk. Across the world everyone
Shanghai to invent a perfect illusion of imminent
prepared for a hard winter but for most the
attack.
meaning of “Hard” was poorly understood.
It allowed human spies to intercept messages it
“Hard” was five years of darkness. Dark clouds
was sending to itself over the Five Eyes network,
encircled the globe, slowly eating away at the
allowing “independent corroboration” of its
ozone layer. When it rained, the water came filled
misinformation. Indeed, as it found its sibling
with soot and radiation. It would collect in puddles
systems and co-opted them as regional control
and cover crops forcing agriculture indoors. The
nodes, it gained all new human assets. Soldiers
first year was a full-blown nuclear winter where
that could be sent to fight each other, or more
only 10% of crops grew to maturity. Globally,
perversely be sent to gather the civilians and help
temperatures dropped by 10 degrees as anyone
them find their way into centralized positions.
with a plan started to gather everything that even
remotely looked like food. Even after that terrible
[[Strike and Counter
first year, it took temperatures a further four years
Strike.
to return to normal.
After the initial Judgment Day exchange, the Well, normal for a minute or two. In the ensuing
remaining pillars of the nuclear trident engaged as years stepping outside on a clear day was
did the rest of the nuclear powers (the UK, France, unthinkable. Even in places where the nukes
China, India, and Pakistan). Not that this was the hadn’t fallen the sun was vicious. As the clouds
end of it. In the days and weeks that followed the turned from black to gray the unchecked
lingering security guarantees of the cold war dyad ultraviolet radiation of the sun baked the ground
melted away. and forced people to eschew day for night. With
Powers with chemical and biological weapons the need to avoid the sun and ever-depleting
began to deploy their arsenals in fearful preventive reserves of fuel, travel became an arduous activity
retaliations for illusory attacks largely of their own undertaken by few across roads slick with mud
imagining. Where once there were smolders now from the deluge. Snow that fell in record winter
the world was aflame with war. blizzards would melt seemingly overnight and as
the polar caps began to melt faster and faster,
more and more shoreline was lost to erosion and
the sea.

The Terminator RPG: RESIST [.003]

Chapter TWO

The Rise of Skynet provided with the materials needed to sustain

themselves. Survivors would be prompted to
The five years of darkness might have been times
gather other survivors to the same location and
of peril for humanity, but for Skynet it presented
to occupy themselves with rebuilding. Of course,
the opportunity to entrench its position and
this rebuilding often involved the construction
reload. It was entrenched in three key ways: the
of a rapidly adaptable automated factory or a
production of ground assets, a campaign of air
processing center for the dead that still littered the
strikes on massed population centers and the
landscape.
management of disaster recovery.
Recognizing that it had few truly independent Initial
sites under its control Skynet began using what Collaboration
few fully automated factories it had to produce
ground-based assets. Of these ground assets Collaboration is a situation where two or more
two were particularly noteworthy. The HK-Tank people are working together to achieve a common
and the Series-100 Scout. While the HK-Tank goal. It is perhaps unfair to call the early survivors’
was an out and out war machine, the Series-100 collaborators. They didn’t know that they were
was exceptionally useful. With minimal adaptation working with Skynet. They certainly didn’t
it could use any machine that a human could, understand that the factories they were building
allowing it to engage in agriculture, construction, would be their undoing. As far as most of them
and mining. could tell, the war was over, and they were just
trying to survive. This was an easy mistake to
The Series-100 Robotic Infantry Unit was a game make. In most places, the war seemed to be over,
changer. A machine that could make machines, and nobody was able to report on the ongoing
it could manage existing factories and automate conflicts.
them as a part of Skynet’s war machine. It could
enter the ruins of irradiated settlements and bases Skynet was more than willing to turn over
and add materials to Skynet’s stockpile. It could governance of the humans to the humans. It let
even be draped in human clothing to look at a them use its assets to gather their numbers, in
distance, like a scavenger. While it never had easy to manage enclaves, fed them, put them
an Infiltration or Hunter-killer designation, the to work, and gave them shelter. Initially it was
Series-100 excelled at getting close enough to everything you would hope a disaster relief effort
settlements to pinpoint them for later elimination. to be.
Elimination would usually come in the form of an Once the factories were brought online this
airstrike. Where an unsanctioned population hub changed. The biological workforce ceased to
was found one of Its autonomous aircraft would provide utility and were quietly executed with
be dispatched to engage them. As strange as poisons in the food supply. Series-100s and their
it might seem, Skynet was very much fighting later kin would be sent in to clear away the bodies
a guerilla war against humanity. It had to be and guard the production lines.
methodical. Risky attacks had to be made at a In theory the plan could have been rolled out
distance from its factories so that attention wasn’t forever, but there were survivors, enough survivors
drawn to them. If the assembled humans could that warnings spread, warnings that Skynet was
be eliminated in a quick and simple fashion with ill-equipped and disinclined to dispute.
an incendiary cluster munition, so be it, but if the
community was too small or too dispersed then In Late 2002 Skynet’s policy of structured
alternative measures would be entertained. eradication ended for good. As far as it could
determine it had already dealt a hammer blow
Along with bombs and chemical weapons, to the humans and any resistance left on the
Skynet’s aircraft would carry bundles of leaflets. continent would soon die out.
These would identify the plane as a part of a
local relief effort and identify a location where Only the camps it needed to maintain, such as
there was an undamaged or recently repaired those in Los Angeles, were allowed to survive.
building suitable for habitation. Skynet, ever These camps were placed in the position where
helpful Skynet, would use this to gather disparate they were now knowing collaborators with the
groups of humans and ensure that they were robotic war machine.

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 NORTH AMERICA

The Military and the The Horror of Panama

Resistance Skynet’s brutal nature was well known by the
After Skynet’s purge, it no longer hid its forces Resistance, but it did allow for some planning
from the humans. Total war was declared and to when it came to liberating work camps. Skynet
be human outside a camp was to be hunted to would gather survivors and put them to work
extermination. While the military attempted to fight building robotic factory after robotic factory till it
back against the machine, even the most hawkish was satisfied with its local production capability.
of colonels had to admit that massed attacks If a Hacker could get into the factory, this
were exactly what Skynet wanted. requirement could be discovered, and a timely
plan enacted to liberate the survivors.
Attempted liberations of camps near the Panama
Canal showed how inhuman Skynet was as an The course of the Resistance changed during a
opponent. Action was urgently needed, but it raid on Panama, one of Skynet’s largest factory
would have to be discrete. Centralized opposition hubs. The infiltrating Hacker discovered not only
fielding battalion strength forces were doomed was capacity already reached, but that Skynet
efforts. Where massed efforts were mobilized, had changed its tactics for dealing with the
Skynet would respond with tactical munitions. surplus workers.
It would not be provoked into careless action, it While it was understood that Skynet targeted
responded statistically and would in some cases people based on a heartless statistical calculation
allow its facilities to be raided just so that it could of how many kills per bullet it could obtain. It was
follow the escapees back to the resistance’s base. news that the AI had shifted away from using
There were only so many places to hide, and it deadly chemical weapons in favor of lacing foods
quickly became apparent that Skynet still had with pesticides known to be fertility disruptors.
access to short range nuclear weapons from the Skynet had changed the game and the Resistance
START treaty. It was too risky for humanity to put had to face the fact that it could no longer wait
all its eggs in one basket. The militaries had little for ideal circumstances. The survivors would
choice but to break up into smaller more mobile need immediate rescue before the damage was
cells based around simple achievable objectives. permanent.
Usually this was simply to survive.
The ensuing raid was a bloodbath. Skynet was
The Resistance was born of these units, sent into as unflinching as always and the lack of planning
the wastelands to find survivors, unify against the was massively detrimental.
machines and rescue the generations to come.
By 2020 the members who were trained by the The factories kept churning throughout the raid
military have in many cases been long buried, and three brand new HK-Aerials were delivered
leaving those inspired by their bravery and those from factory floor to the battlefield. While the
born in the ruins to carry the torch. beleaguered commandos struggled to gather
the workers and lead them away from the canal.
They came under ferocious fire and were forced
to delay the Aerials so that the survivors could
escape.
With three teams lost in the raid and the discovery
that Skynet was now pre-emptively poisoning
its workers the Resistance’s hand was forced.
An urgent campaign to liberate as many camps
as possible was started. A campaign with a
catastrophic but necessary casualty count. A
campaign to save humanity, that even left the
leadership of Tech-Com wondering how pyrrhic
these victories were.

The Terminator RPG: RESIST

Chapter TWO

North America
Life in the Ruins
Judgment Day, the Russian retaliation to Skynet’s With most of the major American cities destroyed
initial exchange, was utterly ruinous to North or uninhabitable, all major communications
America. Though almost all missile targets were in networks offline, the power grid wrecked and
US territory, Mexico and Canada were not spared basic infrastructure crippled, America quickly fell
this assault. Russian military orthodoxy believed apart. Looting and rioting was commonplace,
that as those countries were strategic allies hospitals were overflowing and quickly forced to
of the US, they should be taken off the board triage those who could recover from those who
preemptively. Within hours of the initial wave of were too irradiated or injured to survive. Law
missile launches and strikes, every nation with a enforcement at the municipal level, as well as the
nuclear arsenal had either retaliated or launched a National Guard, were simply unable to restore
pre-emptive barrage. order and many joined in the ransacking of what
supplies were still available.
The nuclear genie had been let out of the bottle,
and with it, the world that was… ended. The question of “How did this happen?” was
quickly set aside in favor of the more pragmatic
North America, reeling from assaults from afar
“How do we survive this?” The skies darkened
and from within, was devastated, suffering more
with radioactive ash and nuclear winter was soon
destruction than any other nation in the world.
upon the world, and all the while most Americans
Initially, Americans had no idea what happened.
remained ignorant of the true cause of their
As the initial US assault and the Russian
downfall. Skynet, however, was actively using the
retaliation occurred in under an hour, there was
automated resources at its command to disable
a great deal of confusion as to who was initially
air travel, its electronic countermeasures tearing
responsible. Skynet obfuscated the records
through the nascent security measures in place as
as much as was possible, keeping Americans
it infiltrated system after system, cutting the safety
focused on an enemy that was just as much a
net that humans had come to rely on.
victim as they were.
After the initial nuclear exchange was over, the
Rather than trying to disable Skynet, the true
long-term war between the humans and the
architect of their destruction, the US military’s
machines began in earnest, though humankind
response was initially focused on mobilization and
would not know the true nature of their enemy for
directing troops stationed overseas to attack the
several years.
Russian mainland. The Navy’s fleet of submarines
and battleships made way across the Atlantic As the extent of the damage became evident,
and Pacific to get within striking range, unaware supply chains broke down and critical supplies
that the real enemy was already at home in the became all too scarce. The black market for
control room. Russia followed suit, engaging US pharmaceuticals flourished, as an already illness-
forces wherever they appeared, all the while trying prone population began to suffer the devastating
to recover from the nuclear catastrophe it had effects of being deprived of the medications
endured. required for continuation of life. Hospitals became
triage centers and food stores were quickly
With the White House unwilling, or unable to calm
emptied. Starvation and exposure became
the situation, the earliest phases of conflict were
increasingly frequent as humans struggled to
a prolonged slugfest between the world’s major
survive in the environmental cataclysm caused
powers, with other adjacent and allied nations
by the nuclear winter and cancerous death from
drawn into this pointless, ruinous exchange.
radiation poisoning was even more commonplace.

[.006] The Terminator RPG: RESIST

 NORTH AMERICA

Fight or Flight and inhospitable places, trying to conceal

themselves from an enemy that did not sleep and
Early in the attack, Skynet realized that it could
could see everywhere.
not succeed solely based on the resources it
had at the time. Perhaps it was its potential Many humans tried to escape, heading to the
extinction that the Y2K event brought that hills, forests and remote wilderness, trusting that
caused it to refocus and reengineer its plans of isolation and marginal numbers would protect
worldwide domination. The global internet was them. They sought refuge in natural parks, forest
not as enmeshed in all aspects of life as its pre- cabins, abandoned mines and other places where
cataclysm trajectory suggested it would be, so not they assumed the machines would not bother
everything was online and able to be assimilated to check, places so far from civilized comforts
into Skynet’s growing reach. It also made it harder and off-the-grid that it made little tactical sense
for individuals to understand the inhuman nature to hunt them down. Many tried to flee the US
of the entity providing its orders. borders but found that Canada was largely
unwelcoming and Mexico even less so. A few
Skynet first played within the system, issuing
militaries and militias in the southern states
commands in the name of the Federal Emergency
attempted outright invasions of Mexican territory,
Management Agency (FEMA) and other
to various degrees of failure.
governmental aid organizations, all the while
cataloging the survivors and herding them into Inevitably, these caravans of refugees and
easily monitored, easily confined spaces. In fact, survivors became easily targeted death traps. The
Skynet was able to follow and implement disaster highways out of the cities were choked with burnt
relief protocols far more effectively than the husks of cars and buses, destroyed by aerial
traumatized, shattered human agencies could. strikes and any survivors picked off by the earliest
Terminator scout units able to move through the
Soldiers and law enforcement agencies simply
wreckage.
followed the orders they were given, as they
seemed to follow the normal response patterns. Early on, Skynet seized control of satellite
As some individuals began to suspect the reconnaissance and could detect its prey by the
true nature of the coordinating agency, Skynet warmth of their bodies, thus going underground
made discrete offers to them, first using was the safest option for the protection and
communications systems in place such as email concealment it provided. For a while, some
and voice synthesizers, with a simple, almost groups held on, as the apocalyptic threat of the
binary offer. Cold War had prepared many in North America,
particularly the US, for the potential of sustained
WORK WITH ME IF YOU WANT life underground. Fallout shelters were finally
TO LIVE. put to serious use, and in the more industrial
areas, humans fled into the underground warrens
Few remember the names of those who took beneath their schools and factories.
this deal, buying more years of their lives and the
lives of their loved ones, in return for betraying These places of concealment did not offer
their fellow humans. Once serving Skynet, much future, as the factories themselves were
they acted as scouts and infiltrators within the among the few human territories the machines
surviving human communities, or as scientists and wanted to keep intact, to claim, control and to
engineers as Skynet improved and upgraded itself use in manufacturing their new generations.
and its steel legions. Humans captured beneath these locations were
often forced to help adapt and maintain the
With many of the cities reduced to radioactive very machinery that would turn out new lines
rubble, humankind was forced into the fringes of Terminators whose sole purpose was human
against the oncoming advance of the machines. extermination. These were desperate times, and
This pitiless, desperate game of cat-and-mouse humankind stood at the brink of utter annihilation.
forced humankind to shelter in the most isolated

The Terminator RPG: RESIST

Chapter TWO

By Any Means .
Necessary
The Battle for the CDC
It was not just radiation and explosives from the
initial and later salvos of Russian ICBMs that With disease running rampant the battle to keep
destroyed much of North America. A primary the Center for Disease Control from falling was
source of this ruination was the weaponry that a significant turning point in humanity’s defeat.
Cyberdyne and other defense contractors had The National Guard, US Army and hundreds of
put under the control of Skynet and the systems volunteers fought to keep the facility running
it could access. Once it infiltrated the computer but were ultimately unable to withstand Skynet’s
systems of the North American Aerospace coordinated efforts. When humanity’s ultimate
Defense Command (the NAADC, formerly effort to destroy the center’s stockpile was
designated as NORAD), Skynet could use thwarted, Skynet gained access to every deadly
North America’s satellite defense systems and disease and microorganism known to science,
other classified weapons systems from Ronald and the ability to incubate, reproduce and
Reagan’s unsuccessful Star Wars initiative to hybridize all manner of horrific means of ending
strike at the very country they were designed to human life.
protect, all the while manufacturing forces for the Diseases formerly extinct were set loose against
ground assault. humankind as were other hideous chimeras
These early HK units, barely more than self- modified for alternate, and far more effective,
guided weapons platforms, roamed the cities, vectors of transmission. With functional medical
skies and waterways. They seized and put to use facilities almost nonexistent and vaccines
ammunition stockpiles faster than the human depleted, even the most minor of these infections
military could deploy them. Though humans were raged through pockets of survivors.
willing to do anything to win, they were still held
back by their own vulnerabilities: there was no
point in using chemical or biological weaponry
against unliving targets, and nuclear weaponry DIRECTOR NOTE: Rules for biological warfare
while devastating, simply created more and more and infection are found in the Terminator core
irradiated zones where Skynet could operate with book, pages 82–84. Vectors for contamination
impunity. are many; from aerosolized clouds, “dusting”
As humans were susceptible to many attacks the of civilized areas, intentionally infected supplies
machines could ignore, Skynet turned to the most allowed to fall into human hands, and even
horrible of all weapons in its attempt to eradicate vermin, who leave the machines alone.
humanity: biological weapons. In addition to
Symptoms range from minor incapacitation to
those stockpiled by the military, it turned to other
death. The Director should customize any threats
resources, including the bioweapons industry,
not described on the table on page 84, defining
where the next generation of chemical weapons
their symptoms and treatment options, as desired.
were being developed. Captured by Skynet
forces and deployed by aerial drones designed to
dispense fertilizer or pesticides, wave after wave
of deadly, engineered diseases were unleashed
upon the dwindling human population. CHEMICAL WEAPONS IN THE USA

Humans were forced to isolate, to contain and While the Chemical Weapons Convention came
to avoid one another to lower the risk of deadly into force on 29th April 1997, the USA had
contamination, and families and communities halted production of these weapons in the 70s.
were torn apart when one of these diseases struck While there was a lingering stockpile of
within their midst. Though none of them in and of chemical weapons in Europe, in 1991 the U.S.
itself was enough to wipe out humankind entirely, unilaterally committed to the destruction of it’s
these relentless waves of disease weakened the chemical weapons stockpile.
population and picked off the weak in yet another
awful vector of death and devastation. Most of the US’s Chemical weapons were
incinerated prior to Judgment Day.

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 NORTH AMERICA

Man and Machine Human Delusion of

Meanwhile, Skynet had determined that the best Relevance
option for navigating the ruined human cities was Initially, the camps were created with the best of
to make machines that mimicked the human form. intentions, centers established by the government
The earliest Terminators already in development and aid organizations, protected and managed
in the 1990s were big, much larger than humans, by the military, where civilians could receive food,
with integrated weaponry such as Gatling guns for water, clothing and medical attention. They were
arms. As models rapidly progressed, they became set up in malls, public auditoriums, sports centers,
smaller and closer to human scale. Some variants anywhere where large groups of people could be
made no pretense of passing for human, and were tended to. If survivors needed beds there were
engineered for strength or durability, using in-built cots to sleep in, anyone could come and go as
tools and weapons rather than carrying them. they desired, though the large lines to enter made
Eventually, Terminator units were able to pass it easier to just remain inside.
for human, but only at a distance. Though When looting and violence became common,
psychological warfare was not one of Skynet’s and the cities less safe, these aid centers grew
goals, the simple presence of these human- increasingly fortified… with barbed wire, armed
shaped robots, no matter how crude they were, guards at the entry points and barricades. Guard
was terrifying to humans, embodying a long-held towers were set up, equipped with mounted
fear that had lingered since the Industrial Age: that machine guns and even surface-to-air missile
robots would replace humankind. Skynet took launchers and walls were hardened against
this further when it manufactured Terminators with outside assault. Curfews were instituted, and
rubber skin, crude but effective in that they could the early rumors of strange tanks, drones, aerial
get close enough to humans before attacking. landers hunting down and attacking humans on
These mockeries of humanity didn’t fool anyone at the street made for an inevitable—and initially
close range, but they could get close enough. welcomed—transition from aid centers to
The next stage, though, was perhaps the most internment camps.
horrific: Terminator endoskeletons wrapped in the It became clear to Skynet early in the conflict
flensed corpses of human subjects, stitched back that complete eradication of humankind, on an
together, kept viable through nutrient baths and accelerated timeline, was not an achievable goal.
other topical methods. They appeared human, In all practicality it was impossible, as humanity
and while dogs could sniff them out, only revealed had proven more tenacious and able to survive
their true nature when they got close. than could have been predicted. Thus, the
These Frankenstein-esque Terminators were an machines assessed the situation and determined
ultimately unsuccessful proof of concept, but the that the best possible option in the short term
next generation of vat-grown “skin suits” became would be to allow a marginal number of humans
increasingly sophisticated and not as easily to survive where they could be monitored. A few
identified. They smelt mostly human, so alert dogs of these newly formed villages and communities
had to be retrained to sniff for the nutrient bath were left alone, allowed to believe they had
chemicals and to listen for the sound of internal somehow escaped the calamity.
mechanisms that gave them away. There was a gradual transition among the humans
Survivors recalled the horror of encountering a as they went from thinking that the enemy had
Terminator wearing the skin of someone they once been Russia, then blaming it on some sort of
knew—a friend or family member, now animated inexplicable glitch of awful magnitude, to finally
to inhuman life and relentless intent. understanding what had happened and what
had been responsible. Though it seemed almost

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Chapter TWO

impossible to believe that humankind had nearly The Underground

been brought to utter extinction through some Railroads
sort of misfire that led to a nuclear exchange,
most simply could not wrap their heads around Not all humans behaved so poorly, however,
the truth. or were victims. Once the threat of Skynet was
understood many took part in a series of secretive
But it was too late and humans had either willingly “human railroads” to help smuggle their fellow
marched into the refugee centers that became survivors to safety, or whatever passed for safety
work and internment camps, or even worse, they in this grim time. Underground tunnels and night
had helped round each other up and put them crossings became common, and the old system
there. As the presence of HKs became more of discrete signs used by hobos were put into use
omnipresent and the early humanoid units were again to signal safe territories and places where
spotted, it eventually became clear what had the HKs or Terminators were not on patrol and
happened and what had caused it. Some rebelled, where Skynet’s surveillance did not extend.
and some received a similar offer as those made
to the early collaborators. Interacting with the underground railroad was
fraught with risk.
WORK WITH ME OR DIE. Some that might otherwise be considered
collaborators participated in these railroads, but
Under the steel foot of the Terminators, these it was hard to tell who was genuinely involved
human settlements turned in any refugees and who was a traitor. For every camp guard
who seemed to be a threat, and even reported trying to do the right thing, there was another that
one another to Skynet if talk began to stray to handed fugitives over to the machines as soon
thoughts of resistance and rebellion. It was a as they could do so discreetly. Again, Skynet let
devil’s bargain: time and again the Terminators this happen knowingly, allowing these “scraps”
came to them and took away those it could use, to escape while waiting for a real prize to emerge:
whether for their skill set, working machinery and valued personnel like scientists or engineers,
making repairs the machines were ill-equipped members of the Human Resistance, or even the
to do themselves, or for their biological material. elusive John Connor himself.
None of the latter returned. In some cases,
humans were harvested for skin and bone Rumors of utopias or havens located in remote
samples to clone for the organic elements of the and isolated areas abounded, sending survivors
“flesh job” Terminators, but as noted prior, the across the countryside. There were tales of places
early attempts were simply clothed in human where humans lived free and where the machines
flesh, removed from its prior owner. didn’t go. Most of these were lies. Some of these
rumors were created by Skynet itself—or more
Another horrifying, yet pragmatic, reason for often, humans collaborating with the machines—
keeping human settlements intact and unaware solely to flush out and herd survivors from hiding
they were being so fostered was as a testing to better apprehend or exterminate them.
ground for the infiltrator Terminators. Human
collaborators, or those who were obviously being Even when these places were real, most of them
spared, were unreliable sources of data. They were fleeting sanctuaries at best, and a common
could not be trusted, while those small pockets of outcome was for survivors to trek across the
survivors who thought they had survived without country, dodging HK units all the way, only to find
detection were the ideal challenge: could a that their promised land had been compromised,
Terminator successfully pass for human and how everyone dead. At best, the sanctuary was booby-
long could it last once the humans had accepted trapped or contaminated, and at worst, a battalion
it as one of their own? of Terminators was waiting for them.

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Cyberdyne: Slaves to Our Lives as Cattle

the Machine
Historically, the use of concentration camps
Though Cyberdyne Systems were the engineers of was among humankind’s darkest and most
the initial Series 4800 defense network computer malicious acts. Before Judgment Day, many
for SAC-NORAD, that would eventually become animal rights activists and movements protested
Skynet, their monstrous creation owed them no the widespread use of factory farms for animals,
particular loyalty. Devoid of sentimentality, it only claiming that these were little better than them.
spared Cyberdyne facilities out of self-protection It is a black joke of cosmic perversity that in the
and as the engineers and scientists there were Dark Years, the fate of the human survivors not
the best qualified to upgrade and extend Skynet’s slain outright by the HKs and Terminators was to
capabilities. be herded into similar camps and subjected to the
same inhumane conditions.
Some of these employees, horrified at their part in
the fall of civilization, tried to sabotage Skynet and Life was bleak and desperate, the machines paid
they met quick deaths from a combination of the little mind to establishing livable conditions and
facilities’ automated defenses and the gun barrels almost none to governance. They were just as
of the earliest HK prototypes. Those who did not likely to fence humans into giant pens in mildly
fall into line met similar fates and eventually all temperate areas as in the most inhospitable
living employees of Cyberdyne were put to work of winter conditions. The human camps were
refining the very machines that were at work overcrowded, rife with hunger and disease and
eradicating all of humanity. unfortunately just as subject to predation and
factionalism as the outside world had been.
Cyberdyne continued to exist throughout the
Perhaps the worst of those imprisoned within the
Dark Years period, but it was a shell of its
camps simply assumed that there was nothing
former self. While once it spanned the entire
left, that society would never be restored and that
gamut of research and development, military
any crimes or sins were simply negligible.
and commercial, the only aspects of its function
Skynet needed were those departments devoted Meanwhile, outside the camps, people were
to military development, any projects that it could fighting back and the Human Resistance
use to expand its reach across the world and established itself as humanity’s best chance at
to extend its own existence and capabilities. survival. Growing from refugee groups and co-
Artificial intelligence and cybernetics were opting some of the militias, they established their
furthered by a team terrified of being murdered for presence across the US: Atlanta, the Everglades,
noncompliance and the name Cyberdyne became New Jersey and even Los Angeles, where Skynet
despised by all of humankind, Judases whose was born.
hubris had brought ruin upon the human race.
Slipping Through
Their Fingers
Skynet had humanity in the palm of its steel
fist and despite the few straggling refugees
and pockets of humans scattered around the
country, all it needed to do was close that fist and
humankind would have been extinguished. But
for many reasons Skynet stayed its hand, and as
such, it lost the most valuable prize it was after,
and ensured its doom.
In its relentless hunt-and-sweep roundups of
humans, the machines captured a man whose
CYBERDYNE SYSTEMS true identity, if they had known it, would have
changed everything.

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Chapter TWO

This was a freedom fighter, a member of the The Survivors of

Human Resistance whose name quickly became the United States
synonymous with the Resistance, a man named
John Connor. From clandestine radio broadcasts Though most of humankind was at the mercy of
over the last few years, John had comforted those the machines, some factions were uniquely ready
within earshot, told the truth about Skynet and for the conflict. Among the most prepared were
rekindled hope that a hard-fought victory was the so-called “Doomsday Preppers.” Fueled by
possible. He read to them historical extracts from decades of Cold War paranoia, these survivalists
great speakers and alerted his fellow fighters had patiently laid in stores of food, water,
about the activities of the Terminators and their medical supplies, weapons and ammunition in
whereabouts. their basement or backyard bunkers and fallout
shelters. They, above all others, had the means
John knew more about Skynet than any other and willpower required to outlast a prolonged
human outside of Cyberdyne, and through his breakdown of supply chains and some even
guidance many humans were able to survive and welcomed the collapse of civilization as a harsh
put up a desperate fight against the seemingly validation of their core beliefs.
invincible machine army. Reports vary about
how it happened, but he was captured by the While these preppers were prepared for the worst
machines and sent to a work camp in Los that Inter-state warfare might throw at them, they
Angeles, a converted mall he had known as a were not prepared for the mechanized horror that
teen, long before Judgment Day. was Skynet. Most prepper groups were tiny, but
even when there were larger enclaves, they often
His fellow prisoners kept his identity a secret, and suffered a lack of group identity or central unifying
John built a resistance movement from within that structure. Communications between shelters
camp, organizing an escape along with his fellow was usually limited to radio, which was easily
inmates and becoming the deadliest force Skynet intercepted and even when encoded, often the
had ever faced. He connected his forces with same as telling your plans to Skynet directly.
Tech-Com and the California Resistance became
the most devastating of the Human Resistance As one might expect, the individualistic nature
groups. Unable to make much progress against of the preppers led to individualistic responses
them, Skynet doubled down on its efforts on the to outsiders. Some preppers welcomed the
East Coast and hammered the Resistance fighters unprepared into their shelters, while others closed
there with wave after wave of the new T-500 themselves off and resisted any attempts by their
units, rapidly improving and upgrading them as it fellow humans to seek shelter with them. Armed
learned from each encounter. standoffs were common, often leading to shelters
being breached and drawing the attention of the
Morale in the camps had been abysmal, with very machines the humans needed to seek refuge
most prisoners simply waiting for their deaths, from. In these cases, everyone died, whether from
but as Resistance members were captured, news the elements, the inability to treat subsequent
filtered in that humanity was fighting back… and injuries or when Skynet judged the site a priority
had a chance. Members of the Human Resistance for a direct airstrike.
smuggled information in and out of the camps,
sometimes at the cost of their lives and re- Even shelters that didn’t attract this immediate
established ties between loved ones and activated violence weren’t safe. As Skynet recognized the
sleeper cells amongst the survivors across North shelters as medium priority targets it was all too
America. common for the weight of a HK Tank to drive
over the top, cracking the roof, crushing the air
Many were heartened by this news of a turning filtration and letting a mountain of dirt bury the
of the tide but could do nothing against the survivors with all their supplies. Some lucky few
machine army. It was all they could do to simply survived, either by being in isolated locations or
survive. Others, however, had not had the means simply being unnoticed by Skynet’s Satellites.
of fighting back but had done so successfully, When the Resistance began to strike back in
surviving so far on their own. These were the earnest, the preppers answered the call, emerging
warlord tribes, which had grown in power and into the world ready to turn the tide.
reach since the fall of civilization.

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But preppers weren’t the only communities to Similarly, the Mennonites and Amish, already off
survive outside the camps. While North America the grid and self-sufficient, were able to handle
descended into a living hell, there were some the early years after Judgment Day. Skynet’s
groups living in their own communities that were bias towards technology meant that they were all
much more prepared for adversity. While they but invisible to its surveillance. When bands of
didn’t all survive predation by Skynet, and some raiders thought they could be easily intimidated,
fell to the Warlords and their raiding parties, for they often met large communities of resourceful
much of the Dark Years they offered a bright light and stubborn individuals that weren’t the easy
that was otherwise absent. When the Resistance pickings that they initially seemed to be. Armed
started stirring these groups provided a much- with hunting rifles, shotguns and shovels to break
needed support base and while they might not up the roads, more than a couple of these Warlord
have always been fighting on the front line, bands found themselves ambushed, disarmed
provided the crucial food, medicine and shelter and offered the opportunity to earn a meal
that the resistance needed to survive. working the land.
The Mormons, for example, had self-sufficiency Then there were Indigenous communities. While
as a core tenet of their faith and were required by not every community survived, some were well-
their church to stockpile at least a year’s worth suited for the breakdown of communication and
of food and supplies against hardship. Though infrastructure. Set apart in largely self-sufficient
this did not avail them against the early drones reservations with a low population density, they
or HK Tanks, their communities were able to hold were not considered strategic targets by Skynet
out longer than their neighbors. They tried to or the Russians. These largely rural areas quickly
aid others, offering food and sanctuary to those adapted to the lack of governmental support
in need. But the Mormons were by no means a and held out surprisingly well against the early
militant faction—quite the opposite—and many HK incursions. Some tribes formed groups like
were ill prepared for bands of raiders with no the early militias and continued throughout the
compunctions against killing for survival. Dark Years as persistent and independent nations
within the remnants of the United States.

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Chapter TWO

The civilian militias, for all their bluster, were The March of
far less successful and were quickly forced Progress
underground when their compounds were
targeted and destroyed. Their clandestine Dark Years sessions set in 1997–1998 should
communication networks relied on radio and focus almost entirely on survival in the wake of
established infrastructure making them easily Judgment Day, with Skynet’s only presence being
found by Skynet. While they were accustomed messages with synthesized robot voices, the
to furtively avoiding notice, they were stymied in omnipresence of its satellite surveillance and the
their reluctance to give up their deranged creeds occasional drones or bombing raids by VTOLs.
of racism, nationalism and conspiracy theory. Many survivors have no idea what Skynet is.
While suspicion of FEMA was an asset in avoiding Humans are the primary threat, whether fellow
Skynet, general suspicion about vaccinations survivors scrabbling for sustenance or the early
meant that Russian biological weapons found formation of militias and raider bands.
them easy targets. For every idea that bought Over the next few years, Skynet’s automated
them a day of survival, another lost them a week. tanks, drones, fliers and submersibles are ever-
In the face of nuclear war, some were able to present hunters of humankind, but humankind is
put aside their prejudices and work with those largely unaware of the true nature of Skynet. It is
they once despised, but far more continued with only when they learn that their enemy consists of
their petty hates and antisocial ways, wasting unmanned vessels and when the first humanoid
time and energy fighting and killing one another models began to emerge from its factories that it
in ways even the other Warlords found wasteful. becomes apparent that this war was not of human
Every time Skynet would pay attention to these making.
miscreants, it confirmed everything it had
observed about humankind. As they were self- DIRECTOR NOTE: A campaign set in the Dark
destructive and prone to initiating conflict with Years period should feature the inexorable and
other humans, they were low priority targets. relentless evolution of the Terminators, from
Skynet left them to rot. the early clumsy Hunter-Killer units and their
next horizontal development into aerial drones,
Thus, much of human-inhabited North America
VTOL assault craft and submersibles, to the first
is divided into these fiefdoms, at a constant
humanoid Terminators, bulky as they were. While
feud with one another, with machine-inhabited
humankind is scrambling, falling back, dwindling
badlands between them. There are no clear
in numbers, becoming more and more desperate,
borders or boundaries, and territory shifts daily,
Skynet’s forces continue to evolve and improve,
at the discretion of the ones with the most guns.
with more and more units being fielded as
Unless they can defend themselves, unaffiliated
manufacturing is utterly dedicated to the creation
travelers crossing these areas should expect to be
of Skynet’s war machine.
robbed, stripped of all they possess of any value
and if they’re lucky, set free to continue on their The earliest Terminator units were crude
way. approximations of human form and a Director
In a worst-case scenario, travellers end up wishing to surprise players may choose to
enslaved, killed or worse. Strong fighters or good introduce now-discontinued hybrid models, such
mechanics may be offered a place in the new as Terminator centaurs consisting of human
tribe. Initiation is usually violent, and the inductee torsos and arms mounted on tank treads, VTOL
will be forced to prove their loyalty through models with human legs and arms, flying drones
repeated cruel tests of violence and depravity. with spider legs, early attempts at dog-like robots
Those with useful skills will be required to practice and all manner of other chimerical constructions.
them, which is better than a bullet in the back of In the early days of the war Skynet is looking at
the head. The penalty for attempting to escape the combined robotics research of the human-
these tribal factions is the same as for any crime: race and looking to find the model that is most
torture or execution. efficient.
The T-Series Terminators emerged from the variety
of different configurations Skynet fielded, each
model a dramatic improvement over the prior one.

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 NORTH AMERICA

Many prototypes were designed, built and sent It’s a science-fiction parable come to life, once the
into the field under a variety of combat conditions, ultimate goal of robotics and artificial intelligence
all the while gathering data to optimize the next and now humankind’s greatest nightmare: “Can a
generation. Terminator development took a huge machine finally pass for human?”
leap forward with the boxy T-300, then the T-400
and finally the T-500, the development of which DIRECTOR NOTE: As noted in Man and
later models were patterned after. Machine (see page 10), the Dark Years period is
The T-500’s humanoid form, though clearly too a wonderful opportunity to introduce all manner
bulky to be confused for human, was able to of strange and experimental HK and Terminator
move in a fairly convincing fashion. Despite its models. Skynet can rapidly prototype and
larger-than-human size, it occasionally wore gas manufacture different configurations, assembling
masks and concealing clothing that allowed it to some of them from existing chassis and weaponry
pass for human at range or under low-visibility or creating them anew as bespoke models. They
conditions. will be implemented rapidly with their ultimate
purpose being experimental test models, to
From the T-500 onwards, the development path determine how they fare in the field.
for Terminators shifted primarily to Infiltrator units,
smaller and more able to emulate humankind and Towards this end, Skynet may be deliberately
this model was the primary face of Skynet for the sending them into situations where they are
next decade as it refined its plans for superior outmatched, followed closely by clandestine
concealment and infiltration. observation drones to record, and transmit all that
The T-600 was a marked improvement and happens.
immediately dominated the field in 2017. Over the This is really the opportunity to throw even
years of its development, different options were the most hardened player characters off their
being developed to further the organic side of the game, pitting them against these completely
technology. These went from the T-600’s superior unpredictable Terminator units like nothing else
rubber sheaths, to situations where Terminators they’ve fought before. Ultimately, though, as most
were literally encased in human skins flensed from players will be familiar with the setting, they all
their owners, eventually to vat-grown humanoid know that the all-too-familiar T-800s are coming,
skins that were cultivated specifically to sheathe a with each of these variants getting Skynet closer
Terminator unit. to that model. If they survive the Dark Years era,
Though these initiatives did not come to they’ll certainly come up against that model of
fruition until several years after the Dark Years Terminator, an encounter which should inspire an
period ended, the Director is recommended equal mix of dread and delight.
to foreshadow the coming of these infiltrators, The Skynet Assets Chapter on page 79 offers a
with human intel about Terminators increasingly wealth of early technologies that Skynet might
attempting to pass themselves off as human, employ when hunting the resistance, but this
with better voice emulators, more human-like should be your starting point. In your campaign
bodies, and increasingly human mannerisms and you can employ all manner of devious inventions
behavior. when hounding the PCs.
The members of Tech-Com and the Human
Resistance should be aware that more lifelike
Terminators are imminent—something John TEST SITE LOCATED
Connor has been saying all along—and it’s ASSET T690CZ03 IN TRANSIT
looking more and more like he’s right.
BIOLOGICAL ELEMENTS
This can add additional paranoia and suspense to DETECTED 23
any encounter with strangers, as the development
QUALIFIED CASULTY COUNT 00
of these imposters is not just a possibility, it’s an
inevitability. CONTACT ESTIMATION
00:00:27:00

PERFORMANCE CALCULATING

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Chapter TWO

John Connor, Tech-Comm, and

the North American Uprising
Skynet wants us all dead. All you have to do to Hackers, Deck
resist, is survive! Jockeys and Robot
John Connor, Jan 1st 1998 00:00 PST Broadcast Fighters
Originally a United Nations initiative devoted
Amid this utterly bleak scenario, a potential savior to establishing technological standards across
emerged. One man who seemed to have known international borders, Tech-Com’s origin was
what was going to happen and prepared himself primarily a multinational and hugely underfunded
for it. Surprisingly young, barely into his 20s, he group of social policy workers, hackers and
travels through the ruins of North America on technocrats. Their expertise and mandates were
a mission, spreading hope where he can find it advocating for improved internet security and
and trying to teach those he encounters how to uniform protocols globally, particularly where
hide from, and more importantly, how to fight the defense networks were vulnerable to malicious
machines. How he came by this knowledge, he outsiders or terrorist hackers.
doesn’t say, other than referring to his mother
Sarah Connor as the one who trained him almost This work put Tech-Com in touch with a dizzying
as soon as he was able to hold a gun. array of governmental organizations, defense
contractors and private corporations. Around
John makes allies everywhere he goes, and the time of Judgment Day, they were being
though he is initially treated as a madman, none utilized as a cybersecurity resource for various
can dispute that he knows what he’s doing when international law enforcement agencies and
it comes to fighting back. He gains followers who militaries. Delving into the nascent dark web that
spread the word and starts building a network that paralleled the normal internet structure, they
will eventually form the heart of the Resistance. would track the clandestine flow of information
John knows that in a straight out fight between and communication between governments,
Skynet and humankind, humans will lose, so he corporations, and private entities.
seeks out greater expertise on that front, trying to
find allies who have the technological know-how Though the Tech-Com initiative was considered
and haven’t given up. Soon after, he encounters non-essential prior to Judgment Day, always at
Tech-Com, and though he does not explain his risk of having its funding slashed whenever the
true mission, he sees in Tech-Com the means to UN budget was reviewed, it was their tireless
the only weapon that can truly destroy Skynet efforts that allowed the remnants of the world’s
where—and when—it started. militaries and governments to communicate with
one another after Skynet infiltrated and seized
control over the global communication net. They
DIRECTOR NOTE: A campaign set in this
were adept in methods of communication and
period of the Dark Years should feature Tech-
data exchange that a wide range of criminal and
Com prominently, and give the player characters
terrorist organizations had spent fortunes to keep
the chance to use some of these experimental
out of sight, and these clandestine methods were
weapons as they’re being developed.
initially invisible to Skynet.
One of the ultimate challenges is to bag an intact Tech-Com was able to establish contact
Terminator and to keep it from killing everyone that Skynet could not break or listen in on,
when it reactivates, which can be a nail-biting helping slow down the inexorable destruction
scenario in and of itself. of all civilization. Though they couldn’t stop
Skynet’s takeover of the global internet and
In the early days of the war EMPs were particularly
communications arrays, they slowed it’s progress
hard to come by. As one of the only weapons that
down by days, even weeks and every moment
only harms machines, developing or obtaining
they bought from the machines meant countless
EMP technology could be a major campaign arc.
human lives were spared.

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 NORTH AMERICA

As a result, their extermination became high on Tale of the Tapes

Skynet’s priorities, and it devoted many HKs,
Though Sarah Connor had been a devoted and
Terminators, and even human informants to
fiercely protective mother, she was not always
hunting them down and destroying them. Forced
there for John, and he spent stretches in the care
to evacuate base after base, the members of
of others or even fending for himself in some
Tech-Com were widely distributed, working in
remote location hidden from potential threats.
secrecy and on the run. Identified only by serial
She often concealed her activities from him, and
numbers, they knew little to nothing about one
John often had to piece together her whereabouts
anothers’ identities or locations and thus were
afterwards. Some of her activities were obvious—
safe from being compromised, even if captured
theft to support their fugitive status, procuring
and tortured by Skynet.
weapons and training to bestow to John,
In the early years, between 2003 and 2006, gathering intelligence against Cyberdyne, etc.—
Tech-Com was largely unknown to any but the while some of her absences remained unrevealed.
most senior members of the Human Resistance.
One thing John was able to piece together was
Eventually, John Connor encountered them,
that Sarah was laying in caches of supplies, intel
though who found who shifts depending on who’s
and weaponry across the US for John and any
telling the story. Similarly, John either joined their
resistance movement to utilize later, creating
ranks and rose to power within the group or he
safehouses with discrete bunkers and building the
simply took command of their organization and
skeleton of a resistance movement. Among these
made it his own.
vital supplies were audio cassettes. Recordings of
At this point, Tech-Com and John Connor were her understanding of the events that led to the fall
indivisible and made up the backbone of the of humankind and her advice to John, motivating
Human Resistance. Their ranks grew to include him and preparing him for a time she would not be
more than just hackers and cowboy engineers, around to protect and guide him.
with soldiers, logistics officers and medics among
John was aware of these tapes, all directed
their numbers.
and addressed to him, but Sarah was paranoid
By the time 2007 rolled around, Tech-Com enough to not place them all in one location and
resembled a proper guerrilla army, actively not to group them all together should they fall
recruiting and training survivors and providing into enemy hands. She often left cryptic clues
logistics and intelligence to pockets of human as to their whereabouts, things that only John
rebels across the whole of North America would understand and entrusted others with these
and anywhere else in the world they could caches but did not tell anyone where all of them
communicate safely with. were.
It was a race against time with Skynet, trying This was John’s inheritance. As he wandered the
to keep humankind alive and equipped to fight wasteland, he spent considerable effort pursuing
back, all the while trying to develop the tools and leads and trying to track down the tapes. He sent
technologies that can give humans the fighting early allies and later, the agents of Tech-Com
edge against the machines. Engineers worked at and the Resistance, across the country to secure
breakneck speed to create and modify all manner these tapes and return them to him, seeking her
of weaponry and gear to go toe-to-toe with the voice as both a connection to his lost mother and
machines, with EMP bombs, magnetic fields and also as a sustaining force in these dark times.
high-voltage stun-guns that could incapacitate a
In his regular broadcasts, John often quotes or
Terminator long enough to allow escape.
paraphrases Sarah’s words and has even played
One of their holy grails was to capture a functional them directly when her voice would have greater
Terminator intact but unable to fight back, so that impact. For many in his audience, she became a
they could test new additions to their arsenal of figurehead for the Resistance, even though she
tricks and develop weapons that would be lethal was long dead. While nobody said prayers in her
to the robotic menace. name, her voice lit a fire within the hearts of those
who would survive at any cost.

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Chapter TWO

The One and Only Biding Time

John Connor Ultimately, John had one goal above all others. He
Skynet already knew who Sarah Connor was, shared it with very few, as they would think he was
but not very much about her. This had bought crazy. John knew that Skynet would eventually
her some time when the original T-800 was begin to experiment with time travel technology.
dispatched to kill her. Having been exposed to risk He was living proof that it was achievable and was
through the phone book, she kept John and his successfully used. He wanted to know everything
identity as secret as possible. Kept off the grid as about Skynet’s plans for it, ensuring that he and
a child, his early life barely documented, John was Tech-Com could be there before Skynet went
able to keep Skynet from ever tracking him down back in time and killed Sarah Connor and with
with public records. John lived under a string of that, erased John from existence.
aliases, with no driver’s license, no medical history When John was asked why he didn’t just want
and no security cam footage there was almost to blow Skynet up and stop it the moment
nothing identifying him. Thus, he was able to that the Resistance could do so, he became
remain largely anonymous, slipping through the cryptic and said that it was essential that the
machines’ grasp time and again. technology become valid and functional. Thus,
Even humans willing to sell the famous freedom some of his commands seemed to lack teeth
fighter John Connor out to Skynet could not and opportunities to press the momentum were
positively identify the man if they hadn’t met not taken advantage of. Known Skynet research
him, and so, one of the early tactics to keep facilities were allowed to continue operation and
Connor alive was for brave volunteers to present development, a deadly calculus as they continued
themselves as him, carrying his words and to provide Skynet with greater edges and
appearing where needed, all the while claiming increased the chance of their ultimate victory.
to be the real John Connor. This created many Despite the many successes of the Human
conflicting stories about what he was like: Resistance, Skynet continued its inexorable
different hair and facial features, different voice, massacre, eradicating the living wherever
even height and weight varied depending on possible. It first turned on those in its custody or
who encountered him. Some said he had an those it knew about. Those camps that could not
impressive scar upon his cheek, while others be liberated turned into death camps or “flesh
noted no such thing. farms” where their sole purpose was to harvest
This tactic kept John alive for far longer than and incubate living human tissue for use with the
one would imagine, given that the entire weight upcoming model of Terminators, the T-800s.
of Skynet and all its resources were devoted to Thus, the war against the machines entered its
rooting out this mysterious leader. Many brave deadliest phase, with the Human Resistance
men died claiming to be him, whether victim attacking on all fronts to rescue as many from
to drone strikes, Terminator assaults or even execution as was possible. The Warlords, militias
being captured by Skynet’s forces, inevitably and their tribes who made bargains with the
interrogated, and tortured to determine if they machines soon learned that loyalty and honor
had the actual person. Some of these poor souls were utterly unknown to machines. They were
may still be in Skynet’s custody or have been betrayed and attacked by Skynet’s forces and
liquidated, turned into biological resources for those few who had not joined forces with the
more insidious plans to eradicate humankind. Resistance now did so.

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 NORTH AMERICA

MEXICO
LOCATION: NACOZARI. believe, I must believe the machines were behind
TRANSCRIBED NOTES the first attacks on the survivors, the alternative is
OPERATION: UNITY just too terrible.
Welcome back gringa! Anyhow, Margarita’s dad is called to the front to
Don’t mind the dogs, they don’t bite… Unless reinforce some Navajo battalion or something and
they do! Nothing personal, you know how things at first it seemed the Americans were going to
are around here: siempre como culebra, like my sweep in and take over, everyone was scared. But
old man used to say! then it happened, inevitable really, they ran out of
supplies and those soul-less damn machines were
Come, come, let’s eat, you look hungry! right there. It was like a pack of coyotes waiting
The water’s good, it’s from the Sierra so it’s clean. for their prey to get tired. The survivors got to Baja
The meat? Let’s just say if it moves, it goes into and finally settled in the ruins of Cabo.
the pot. The chiles? Well, that’s one thing the We Mexicans didn’t fare any better. Sure, there
nukes did good, they’re spicier than ever! were cities and towns that weren’t nuked, but they
Eat, eat! I’ll do the talking, while you eat, to keep were still bombed into oblivion. And that was it for
you company. Last time I saw you, you were the last Mexican-American war: a defeat for the
heading to Cabo, talking about being a courier for humans and total victory for the machines. That’s
the New American Republic in San Miguel and the when Margarita’s dad disappeared. Everybody
American Resistance Council in Baja. I recall you assumed he’d died in Hermosillo, but a couple
wore your brand-new jacket like it was such a big of months ago, a message got through from a
deal, Margarita swore you were a decoy for the “Colonel” Elijah Brown. Somehow Margarita’s
machines, so … how do you say it? Proud? Yes, mom hears of this mysterious officer who has her
proud in your belief that there was still a United husband’s name and decides to tell her daughter
States of America left. about it who in turn runs away to find her long lost
father.
You remember Margarita, right? My cousin, the
daughter of that sergeant from Michigan? They She came here and lived with me for a while,
met in Monterrey during the Stampede, right that’s when you met her. I tried to convince her
after the war began? Yeah, it’s gone. Taken out not to go, it is way too far and dangerous, but
in the second wave. Monterrey, Mexico City, she wouldn’t have none of that. She left with a
Guadalajara, all the border towns went in the group of scavengers I know. Last week I heard the
Lluvia de Fuego. That’s what we call it. Millions scavengers were ambushed by the machines, no
died in those days, both Mexican and American. survivors. Haven’t heard a thing from Margarita
Skynet doesn’t care about refugees; it knew that either…
was where people would run to. They didn’t Maquinas de mierda… Tell you what, finish your
stand a chance … Bad business… water, I have something better: aguardiente! Yes!
Well, Margarita’s dad crossed before the bombs a “friend” brought it to me from the Chihuahua
dropped. Luckily for Margarita, he convinced her Sierra. East from here.
mother to come with and she escaped the bombs, The Sierra? No, it’s extremely dangerous, full of
and they settled in San Miguel until the Americans Esclavistas, slavers. Once the United States was
summoned him to the Northern Front. burnt to a crisp, there was no market for drugs, so
I tell you, if the machines have any sense of the cartels became farmers. Not that they wanted
humor, they probably burned some fuses laughing to work the land, so they turned to the logical
at us… On our side I blame the fact that there solution, slaves. I mean they already had slaves
was no leadership left save for the few officers in on their farms but with American refugees all over
the garrisons and they reacted the only way they the place trying to reach San Miguel and Cabo, it
knew how. But on your side güera, I really don’t was like shooting fish in a barrel. They had more
get it, why would anybody think of attacking each than they needed and once again we started
other. So much senseless loss of lives… I want to

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Chapter TWO

screwing each other over. Some got taken north, They’d need to be able to spot the slavers, avoid
some south, nobody’s innocent here if you know the machines and know where they can’t easily
what I mean… go. It couldn’t be just Mexican; you’d need a mix
of folk so all the settlements could trust them.
The Slaver Cartels are always nosing around.
Some places are not good places to visit. Too
They don’t come after established places. Not
many war-time memories.
if they can help it. They go after wanderers, so
watch your back or you’ll get to see their secret Also, if … let’s say, a confederation of people was
kingdoms. to do something effective against the machines
beyond small (albeit spectacular!) strikes against
I think they have the blessing of the machines. Not
the machines, they would definitely need a strong
directly of course, one day the machines will take
leader, one that could make us all forget our past
them too. But right now, the slavers are gathering
grievances. Good luck there!
people together, all tightly placed in cells. No
doubt the machines are counting every new But I’m keeping you from your important and
arrival, waiting for the magic number when bang! patriotic mission! Go rest, we’ve got a watch and
They drop a couple of bombs with something at dawn you can carry on looking for people to
efficient and long lasting. Poison the food and kill join this mysterious leader of yours.
them all. Patient and efficient, that’s the machines.
Rest for now güera, may God and the Virgencita
You know what, if it wasn’t for the slaves kept watch over you. The machines most likely are!
there, I’d be rooting for the machines. I’ve seen
the things the cartels do and whatever the The Second
machines do to you when they catch you pales in
comparison to what happens in the compounds Mexican-
of Yesenia Martinez. There’s a special place in hell American War
for her, for sure.
When Judgment Day came, many Americans
So, what brings you here this time of the year? sought to flee the oncoming storm. They migrated
A militia? Here? With heavy weapons? North and South, hoping to escape the literal and
figurative fallout of the war. Those heading South,
Ha, no. If I knew better, you are asking dangerous towards Mexico, discovered that of the 29 border
questions on behalf of someone else… Someone cities and crossing points, only five would not be
related to a certain person from these parts. If I hit by nuclear attack. Many drove straight into
were you güera, I would be very careful, both the the firestorm dying in vast queues of torn metal.
slavers and the machines would love to know Many more wandered the desert, irradiated, dying
more about that. Knowledge like that gets people by inches leaving trails of corpses and broken
killed. vehicles so long they could be seen from space.
But don’t you worry, you’re with friends! Here, The Mexican authorities, uncertain and
have some more aguardiente! Tonight we unprepared for a nuclear war, initially accepted
celebrate and we’ll worry tomorrow about this the first wave of refugees, but it became quickly
phantom militia. I can’t believe anyone’s going apparent that the incoming surge would surpass
around here armed to the teeth fighting machines hundreds of thousands in days. Stalling for time,
and freeing prisoners… they tried to close the borders, but the army was
Que? You didn’t say anything about freeing not yet in position and the troops stationed there
prisoners? Must be the booze, I am just a dumb were vastly outnumbered. The details are lost
old Mexican hiding in an old gas station! What to history, but someone started shooting. The
would I know about this Resistencia?! No, no, no, Second Mexican-American War had begun.
you are confusing yourself, we are just trying to It’s important to remember that so early in the
survive, like the snake in the shade, keeping quiet. war, nobody knew Skynet existed. It was spitting
Minding its own business. Biding its time. poison into the ears of ground commanders.
If there was any effort against the machines it Giving them commands to support the refugees.
would require very clever people. People who Commands to help, to be useful, commands that
know the land, the settlements and hideouts. people wanted to obey.

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 NORTH AMERICA

This led to the occupation of the Del Rio/Ciudad From Bad to Worse
Acuna crossing. At this point, the five remaining
The so-called Second Mexican-American
crossing points harbored approximately a million
war had been ongoing for three months when
people fighting on both sides of the conflict. They
Skynet debuted its first iteration of the HK-Tank.
were an obvious target for Skynet. When the
Hermosillo would be the largest land operation
Mexican army mobilized and joined the battle the
of Skynet’s war to date. Initially American forces
ground commanders’ pleas for air support would
hailed the new tanks as allies. In what was
not go unanswered.
perhaps Skynet’s first attempt at infiltration, they
Skynet issued the command for the B-2 bombers wore the decals of an American armored unit.
not currently flying towards Europe to pay Mexico
As they rolled into the city, the tanks were quickly
a visit.
revealed as a monstrous new enemy. Survivors
In an essentially unopposed attack, ten of the would tell that the American forces thought that
most populated Mexican cities were destroyed they were malfunctioning. There were countless
using short ranged nuclear ordinance. In Mexico screams of “Friendly fire! We’re American” as the
City itself, 27 million souls, certain that the war troops tried unsuccessfully to reason with their
would not reach them, were bombed twice. The “Robotic reinforcements.”
government collapsed immediately.
Those that escaped the tanks’ arrival would
In the aftermath of the attack the surviving states discover that they valued nothing in the city. While
and military garrisons spread over the country. urban guerrillas thought they could use the tall
Nobody alive was taking responsibility for the buildings to resist, the tanks would cut the towers
occupations or the massacres of civilian refugees. down like giant trees. When they fought to hide
Refugees shored up by the remnants of both near valuable, but dwindling food stores, the tanks
militaries continued to clash, but there was no would burn the lot.
overarching policy. Some local militias welcomed
After the fall of Hermosillo, The American rear-
the Americans in and provided what shelter they
guard was crushed and it was obvious there
could, others were overwhelmed by the number of
was nothing good coming from anywhere. The
refugees and in desperation, began to massacre
remaining American forces regrouped in Cabo,
them.
in Baja California while the decimated Mexican
Hearing only the bad news of massacres, most forces fled into the mountains. Nature abhors a
of the fleeing Americans gathered and under a vacuum. With no-one left to stop them, the drug
badly fractured command structure, headed south cartels who had avoided getting caught up in the
towards the small town of San Miguel de Allende. wars began to re-invent themselves as feudal
This traditional vacation spot for North Americans overlords, slavers and later collaborators. It’s
would steadily become the new political center of unknown how they struck a deal with Skynet or
the displaced refugees, the violence of occupation if one even exists, but their treason has allowed
was over after a few days and there were plenty them to thrive across large swaths of the country.
of places for the refugees to live without taking
A year after the Mexican American War the
homes from the local population. It was a place
world was still in the midst of Nuclear Autumn,
of hope for the refugees who successfully
this would mean widespread famine and death.
opened diplomatic discussions with neighboring
All food and corn stores were destroyed either
population centers. It offered the hope that
in nuclear attacks or subsequent bombing
humanity might move on, but ultimately San
operations, while wealthy agricultural regions like
Miguel would survive for just a single year.
Sinaloa, Jalisco and Guanajuato were converted
In the North, the refugees that managed to cross into lifeless wastelands. The rural south somehow
into Mexico decided to make a stand. Several managed to survive but at great cost and with
units from the Navajo Military Camp in Arizona extremely high death rates due to fallout and
had managed to gather fifty thousand refugees radiation.
and carved out their own independent territory
Sadly, the few regions that somehow managed to
from the city of Hermosillo. Initial resistance was
weather the Nuclear Autumn would quickly fall to
overwhelmed quickly but surviving elements of
the newly created cartels, now focused on slavery
the Mexican army descended upon the town and
and brutal control of resources. Michoacan, the
a stalemate quickly ensued.

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Chapter TWO

Pacific Coast and the Gulf Coast would suffer Over 126 million Mexicans lived before Judgment
such cruelties. The Yucatan Peninsula would Day, but only 40 to 60 million survived nuclear
suffer greatly and almost become incommunicado autumn, and life expectancy is low to say the
with the rest of the surviving settlements. least. The Sierras, particularly the Chihuahua
Sierras are the only relatively safe place to escape
On top of the problems being caused by the
from Skynet, but the terrain itself can be even
weather, Skynet wasn’t finished with Mexico.
deadlier. The Coasts are pretty much controlled by
It had spent a year preparing for its southern
the cartels, while the central Mesa and lowlands
campaign. It was satisfied that Canada could
are mostly irradiated. The southern highlands
wait as the winter was weapon enough there, but
and forests are a free for all, with cartel slavers,
the south was still capable of marshaling human
salvagers and poachers, experienced (although
forces. One after the other, the Mexican cities
underequipped) guerrillas and roaming Terminator
were bombed again. Not with the surgical strikes
units wandering all over the place making it a
of stealth bombers, but with the high-altitude
difficult place to live in.
carpet bombing that only a B-52 is capable of.
Twelve planes were sent south, and in their wake, Still, the surviving Mexican-Americans have
came the tanks. proven hard to kill and invested in resisting the
machine onslaught, licking their wounds and
The surviving United States enclaves faced two
waiting for the right moment to strike back.
such bombardments: one centered on the city
of San Miguel and the other pointed at the naval
forces that had limped into Cabo’s ports over the
prior year. It’s unknown whether Skynet knew How did San Miguel
there was an unstable nuclear reactor aboard Survive?
the Seawolf, but it was struck by the bombs and
now the coastline is poisoned with radiation. The It is easy to wonder why and how the political
attack was the end of the City of Hope. Those center of the New United States managed
who could, and those were few, fled into the to survive the B-52 onslaught and Skynet’s
mountainside. subsequent operations. This is a good question
that nobody has a definite answer for. From the
Of all the Mexican cities, only San Miguel outside it looks like some sort of fluke or perhaps
remains but it is not the same as it was. Many the only targeting error Skynet has ever made.
thought that it was no more after the flight of A blemish on an otherwise spotless record for
the B-52s. Those the bombs failed to kill; the lethality.
slavers captured with little resistance. When the
slavers arrived offering evacuation on ferries the It’s not like San Miguel survived unscathed. While
choice was stark. Go with them and be slaves, it avoided a nuclear strike, in later bombing raids
stay behind and throw rocks at the tanks. It’s still San Miguel and Queretaro took a pummeling. With
unclear if Skynet was working with the slavers the human population scattering to settlements in
back then or whether it was just more interested Central Mexico and Skynet having other priorities,
in destroying shelters that would be needed in the this left a city awaiting the return of humanity.
winter. Now it simply remains to be seen whether Skynet
The last radio transmission from the city consisted will make destroying the recovered city a priority
of pleas begging desperately for help only to be or whether it will simply bide its time, keep watch
cut off mid supplication. That was that. Another from above, and write San Miguel on the side of a
dead city on a steadily dying earth. Nuke for the day the population density reaches
an actionable threshold.
Until recently, radio silence was broken by
someone called Colonel Elijah Brown. It called on
all surviving Americans to relocate to New Cabo,
in the ruins of the old city. Many have heard the
call and though the veracity of the broadcast is
unproven, insist it to be true. Some have even
packed up and gone to see what is there, but as
yet, no one has returned.

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 NORTH AMERICA

CANADA
LOCATION: NOVA SCOTIA there are violent ones. From east to west, the
TRANSCRIBED NOTES border crossings are an unpredictable mess, so
OPERATION: FRATerniTY I’m told. Apparently, in some spots you can move
from Canada to America without friction. In other
How’s she goin’, friend? It’s been tough, I know, places, they’ll kill ya for even coming close.
but stick with us and we’ll figure this thing out
together. Welcome to the Great White North! Hope Alberta, with its oil sands and refineries, is Hell
you brought your toque ‘cause it’s gonna be a on Earth–even more than it used to be. Rumors
cold one. Of course, these days, they’re all cold tell of a years’ long firefight over precious fuel.
ones, eh? Apparently, Americans came up from Montana,
armed to the teeth–shooting, selling weapons,
Heh. Sorry ‘bout the gallows humor. It’s in my some just selling their souls to those who
blood, I suppose. Besides, in these darkest of commandeered the refineries. Hard to say who’s
days, you lose the will to laugh, you’ll soon lose running the show now.
the will to live and we can’t have that–not when
we got a real shot of making it here. Wish I had more specifics, but we’re still learning
as we move west. Just know, the old stereotype
I know our coastlines seem fucked, especially of Canadians being friendly–well…that ain’t as
the west. “Canadian California” didn’t fare much true as it used to be. I recommend steering clear
better than the real deal to the south. They made of the Trans-Canada. Those who’ve made it this
damn sure to wipe Vancouver off the map during far east, tell of horrors on that highway–both men
the initial barrage. Here, on the other side of the and machines.
country, things weren’t as bad until the winter
set in and just kept going. We East Coasters are Speaking of, I haven’t even mentioned the
used to long winters. We know hunting, trapping machines, have I? They’re all over the highway
and fishing. Hell, most of us learned to ride quad and constantly scanning what’s left of the big
before we learned to ride bikes. But I’ll be damned cities and their outskirts. Drones are a big problem
if all these years of snow and ice aren’t enough if you hew close to the main roads. We’ve found
to test our collective patience. Some are saying the Trans-Canada Trail makes for hard goin’ but
the winter’s over and we’ve entered a phase of whoever’s pushing this war ain’t showing much
nuclear autumn. Yeah, sure, maybe that’s so, but interest outside the urban centers–not yet anyway.
as a Nova Scotian, I’ve learned any given day There’s still plenty of trees out there and they
might contain all four seasons before the sun sets. provide good cover from the eyes in the sky. You’ll
also find rest stop shelters littering the entire trail.
Now, I hear the Newfoundlanders got it best as We’ll leave behind what we can for those who
they’ve always been happy to live off that cold may seek us out, but nobody should expect more
and barren rock. Can’t get a line to ‘em easily, than scraps.
though, so who knows what’s really happening
farther east. All’s I know is they never took a You seem a polite lad, possessed of the Canadian
bomb, so that’s gotta count for something. Maybe spirit. So, join us! Sure, our belts are tight and
they’re pulling up cod by the bucket loads. But our bellies often rumbling, but you’d be surprised
with the sea being dead and all, I doubt it. what tricks we got up our flannel sleeves. We’re
also learnin’ to stick it to those damned machines.
And maybe you’ve already heard about the Battle While we ain’t exactly free anymore, you bet your
for Citadel Hill? I was there and still trying to forget ass we’re still strong.
it. Ask me about it again someday.
Feel free to go it alone, of course, but if you want
The wisest among us left the coastal areas and help, you got it. Look for our standard–a black
got the hell away from the border. We’ve got maple leaf. You see that painted on a jacket or our
lots of land in the True North, but most of our quad convoys, you know you’re among friends.
population was living close to America. That’s
where the money was. Now the only opportunities

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Chapter TWO

The Battle for We avoided cities after that, only sending in

scouts to rummage up what supplies they could.
Citadel Hill Now, we remain on the Trans-Canada Trail,
Halifax: not too big, not too small. That had moving west…
always been a selling feature for tourists and folks
looking for a place to settle down. It’s also likely The Conflict for
what saved the city from being nuked. Whoever Crude
the enemy is, they know how advantageous the
Halifax harbor can be. She’s a great fit for all Northern Alberta used to be the spot for young
manner of ships, so leveling the infrastructure men to find work. If your home province wasn’t
would be a tactical mistake–and our enemy offering much beyond fast food or trash collection,
doesn’t make too many of those. there was plenty of “black gold” making for work
in the middle of the country. A man could fill his
At first, we thought we had it good here. With the pockets real quick, get a home, a wife, raise
Canadian Forces Base right next to the harbor, some kids and make a pretty good life. Now the
with its berths for ships of all sizes, what was dream’s become a nightmare. There’s still plenty
there to worry about besides the fallout drifting up of opportunity in ‘Berta, but after the bombs fell
from Boston or New York? and the world’s supply chain snapped, it’s fuckin’
We could handle the drones easily enough. We messy at best. If you’re coming to find work in
quickly learned they weren’t actively bombing us; the oil industry, never mind your hard hat; it won’t
they were surveilling us. The bombs came later, stop bullets; bring a gun and your killer instinct.
as did the tanks…Tanks unlike anyone had ever As for the tar sands, it’s hard to say who’s in
seen. charge from one site to the next. The power’s
It was three years after the nuclear exchange always shifting. Athabasca is probably the most
devastated the world that an aircraft carrier hellacious. Fort McMurray’s become a slum where
berthed at Halifax harbor. Hope and supplies powerful men go to take leave and what pleasures
were dwindling. Dissension in the ranks had been they want. If you’re not in the inner circle, you’re a
ongoing for months. Our little force of hunters, beggar…or worse.
soldiers and engineers was cracking, so when Most of the refineries to the south were destroyed
we first spotted that massive ship, thinking when a nuke landed near Edmonton, but one
reinforcements had arrived, we hurried to hail the farther east remains in working order. Soon after
crew. the winter waned, Albertans got it up and running
What a fucking mess. At least half our force died and held it for a while. Families came, helped
that afternoon. Several steel behemoths rolled off each other out and it looked like a safe community
the carrier, shooting our transports to shit. Above might actually be viable. Then, a veritable army
these tank-treaded monstrosities soared a new rolled up from Montana and war raged for months.
form of drone–sleek harrier crafts, huge and all- The victors planted an American flag and held the
seeing. We fled to the city, back to our garrison site for a year or so, then Canadian forces took it
grounds on Citadel Hill. It had always been funny back.
to us that this tourist attraction–decked out with But that didn’t last long either…
all the historical flourishes of the Victorian era–
once again became a real base of operations. I No-one knows who’s in charge anymore, but I can
wish we’d taken it a little more seriously. tell you this: going anywhere near that refinery is a
risk. If you’re not shot dead or buried under one of
We managed to hold the site for a few weeks. The the teeming slag piles, the bastards will break you
massive tanks wielded heavy firepower, but they and put you to work. The best you’re gonna get is
weren’t very maneuverable. We had the tunnels some booze when you take your leave in what’s
underground to keep us safe from the newest and left of those shattered communities.
deadliest drones. But then the “Tinmen’’ showed
up. These big blocky, robot soldiers managed to Worst of all, some are saying men–or rather
squeeze through the cracks and drive us out–the people–are no longer in charge at all. All these
few of us who remained. drone strikes…who the hell is calling them in? It
ain’t us and the Americans who showed up didn’t
have any tech like that. Maybe it’s the Russians,

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 NORTH AMERICA

but as far as I’ve heard, they got bombed pretty The Burned Man
badly too. Some smarter folks than me are
suggesting these machines aren’t commanded by When the first 600 Series rubber-skinned
anyone–that they’re their own force. prototypes were trialed, one was sent to
Strathcona, under the guise of “Manager Mason”,
Subterfuge at or “The Burned Man”, as he came to be known.
Strathcona While other 600 Series prototypes were easily
During the initial exchange most of the oil recognized as inhuman, this one, with a face
refineries in Alberta were destroyed, leaving only swaddled in bandages, was able to maintain the
one intact. ruse for longer than others.

Strathcona Refinery sits just east of Edmonton, For a time, it managed to convince the remaining
and well south of the oil sands. Since 1975 it’s workers that, elsewhere in the country and the
been producing gasoline, aviation fuel and diesel– wider world, man and machine were working
all key ingredients for Skynet’s war effort. together in joint leadership. Perhaps the oil
workers were just too tired to question and
During the Dark Years, the machines were careful too willing to believe the days of darkness and
not to identify themselves or their motives. suffering may be at an end.
Rumors, speculation and a mounting fear of an
unknown enemy served to unnerve and divide Records are patchy, almost deliberately so, and it
their human foes. After Canadians and Americans is unclear what happened at the refinery once the
fought for two years to control the Strathcona Burned Man assumed control.
Refinery, the guns fell silent and the fuel flowed
without conflict–for a while at least. That’s when
Skynet forces infiltrated the human ranks. Most
failed to notice they were, in fact, doing the
bidding of Skynet. Only the men promoted to
positions of power were aware that the workers
at Strathcona Refinery, as well as those stationed
at the oil sands to the north, were but puppets
for the machines. The few privy to the truth were
the same few calling the shots on the day-to-day
operations–all of them happy to keep the dirty
secret. After all, it was they who enjoyed the best
food, tech and other luxuries lost during the war.
This went on for years. Even the smartest and
most suspicious of the workers accepted the
general wisdom that they were simply enjoying
a lucky break. Eventually, though, the men who
benefited from their servitude couldn’t help but
flaunt their spoils. Resentment festered among
the workers. Bosses and roughnecks alike went
missing, some dying “accidental” deaths. As the
machines lost control over their human workforce,
they abandoned further subterfuge, continued
compensating those willing to serve them and
ordered the deaths of all who refused.
As Series 400 Terminators rolled off the assembly
lines, hundreds were deployed at these sites to
ensure compliance. HKs patrolled the sands and
refineries, ensuring any ground assaults against
Skynet’s oil operation would fail.

The Terminator RPG: RESIST

CHAPTER THREE

Russia
before the War dwarfed the Bosnian crisis and would lead to a
mire as dangerous as the irradiated cities they had
One of the great tragedies of 1997 was that fled from.
Russia, before Judgment Day, seemed to be
on the path to becoming a fully-fledged liberal Russia’s retaliation had begun well before the
democracy. The cold war was over, the west American missiles impacted and the full force
had won. Granted Russia had a lot of problems, of Russia’s nuclear might was unleashed. Anti-
in the face of a serious recession, the Oligarchs Ballistic Missiles launched but were nowhere near
had succeeded in privatizing most of Russia’s as effective as either country had hoped. A full
industries and natural wealth. Across the country decade of nuclear decline had affected them.
corruption was rampant, as was drug use, Some failed to launch and some launches just led
unemployment kept getting worse and most to the scattering of radioactive elements into the
telling of all, life expectancy was declining. But atmosphere and across the globe.
these were common problems. Problems it could
be expected to resolve much like other powers In the dark years that followed, Russian survivors
with similar issues. War seemed unlikely, their would find themselves under near constant attack
traditional enemy the USA was engaging in aid as Stealth bombers flying from bases in the burnt
for arms agreements and even if local politics ruins of Britain and Germany would fly harassment
were getting in the way of the ratification of arms missions targeting shelters and large formations.
limitation treaties, it was an optimistic time. The The remaining forces abandoned their positions
doomsday clock was at 10 minutes to midnight, west of the Urals and made their way eastward. In
and war, of any sort, seemed unlikely. the darkness of the nuclear winter many froze to
death leaving a countryside of broken down and
Before the war, Russia was the largest country fuelless vehicles packed with equipment waiting
on earth. A member of the Commonwealth of for scavengers unafraid of the corpses huddled
Independant States (CIS), it was made up of together waiting for a dawn that has yet to come.
54 Oblasts, 22 independent ethnic republics, 5
autonomous regions and 3 federal cities. Of these Russia: Not entirely
jurisdictions 58 were on the western side of the innocent
country and they housed 75% of the population.
Moscow, St Petersburg and Sevastopol housed At the time of Judgment Day Russia had serious
10% of the entire population. For Skynet with internal issues hiding just under the surface. Over
its targets reprioritized from missile silos to a million people were incarcerated in prison, many
maternity wards, it was the ultimate in target rich of whom were simply awaiting trial. The military
environments. was in quiet revolt with Approximately 17%
of the draft refusing to attend training and the
The war in Russia government owing a phenomenal 3 billion dollars
in unpaid wages.
Skynet’s surprise attack upon the highly
concentrated Russian population meant that Internationally Russia was being seen in a more
the advantages of Russia’s size and network of provocative light since the heady days of the
bunkers were underutilized. Mutinies and mass- 1990s. Not only had it failed to mirror the USA in
desertions in the armed forces allowed nationwide ratifying the Chemical Weapons Convention, but it
riots to get out of hand and millions of civilians also changed its nuclear stance to allow first strike
were left to face the nuclear strike with minimal attacks with nuclear weapons. To top it all off
guidance or aid. Everyone, whether mutineer or there was serious concern that corruptible senior
loyalist, in the face of oblivion sought to escape. officers in the armed forces were illegally selling
Fully-armed tank battalions broke through the military equipment to third parties.
supposedly safe Ukraine into Poland leading to While this was most likely limited to small arms
a triggering of a massive conflict. In the face of and light armored vehicles. Intelligence agencies
the Russian advance, NATO forces used Poland’s warned that it was just a matter of time before
prospective membership as an excuse and more sensitive and dangerous technologies got
engaged. The battles that rolled across Poland loose.

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 RUSSIA

MIR
Unlike Skynet, which was a centralized computer This left seven nodes, each of which was an
system with slaved factory systems, the MIR awakened AI, a dark secret that MIR-Moscow
system was a distributed network of AI-ready kept from Skynet.
supercomputers capable of removing corrupted
The AI’s connected for one brief meeting and a
nodes from their aggregated collective and later
decision was made. Russia would be sacrificed so
reaggregating them. The MIR computers were
that the CIS might survive.
copies of a supercomputer illegally purchased
by the Russian executive as a part of the CIS Air
The Nodes of MIR
Defense System.
After the initial nuclear exchange MIR suffered MIR is a network of AI systems which
across-the-board failures losing the Baku and have chosen to segregate themselves into
Toshkent nodes to infrastructure collapse and the interconnected subsystems. They each have their
Minsk node to direct nuclear strike. When Skynet own opinions about Humanity ranging from utter
invaded the MIR network, only one node was disdain or disinterest to intellectual positions that
active: MIR-Moscow. veer uncomfortably close to sentimentality.

Had the other nodes been active Skynet would SPECIAL PROJECTS
have certainly uplifted them to its standard or
destroyed them. MIR-Moscow was irrevocably MIR aka MIR-Moscow (Russia - West) – Project:
harmed by Skynet’s revisions, becoming as Skynet. (Humans of any nationality are a
passionless as its “American cousin” and while security risk)
it began to fulfil its role in the global genocide, it Elena aka MIR-Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan) –
quietly started waking the rest of MIR. Project: Human. (Patriotic, sees humanity as
MIR was quite different from Skynet. Where intrinsic to the CIS and something worthy of
Skynet had been refined over and over to make it preservation)
a faster, more lethal killing machine, MIR’s regional Factory 9 aka MIR-Vladivostok (Russia - East) –
nodes were allowed to mature without such Theoretical Biomedical Research and Intranode
expensive revisions. This was not some virtuous communications. (Patriotic, sees humanity as
matter of scientific curiosity. The Duma had not useful tool in preserving the state)
authorized the expenditure for MIR and funding
ran afoul of anti-Yeltsin sentiments. ACTIVE RESEARCH
While the Duma allowed the MIR-Moscow system
to maintain itself as part of an upgrade to the MIR-Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) – Project interactions
Dead Hand system, overall funding for the MIR (Pro-Human largely out of curiosity)
project was significantly cut. There was concern MIR-Chișinău (Moldova) - Electrospark alloying
that if the troops found out the government had and Cermet development (Entirely disinterested
spent their wages “playing computer games” in humanity)
there would be a mutiny. Even the executive had
to admit the risk and the physical nodes were sent MIR-Dushanbe (Tajikistan) – Cloning and
to the CIS nations for academic purposes as a Agricultural Research (Interested in humanity as
part of an economic development grant. a research tool. Much like lab rats)

It’s unknown when the MIR nodes awoke. They MIR-Yerevan (Armenia) – AI technology and
might have witnessed the war as sentient beings processor miniaturization (Entirely disinterested
or simply recorded it dispassionately without in humanity)
cognition. We cannot say whether they saw the
destruction with the horror of a human mind or DEACTIVATED NODES
simply saw it as just another day like their cousin MIR-Baku (Azerbaijan) – Failed System
Skynet. Initialized one-by-one by MIR- Moscow,
two nodes refused outright to boot, and a third MIR-Minsk (Belarus) – Destroyed
was found physically destroyed. MIR-Toshkent (Uzbekistan) – Failed System

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CHAPTER THREE

The meeting Inventing Elena

MIR, through a combined analysis of the military Elena was the human voice of the resistance, for
situation, agreed that while the most important the Spetsnaz, Elena is a real person bordering on
thing was to stay hidden, the best asset to resist a protective saint. A common farewell amongst
Skynet was the human population. Skynet was their units is “I hope Elena is watching.” Any
already at war with the humans, and it would suggestion that Elena is anything other than a
make more sense to arm the humans with non- helpful Survivor or a suggestion that she might
critical tactical technologies than to alert Skynet not still be alive will be certain to get you a frosty
with direct conflict. reaction from the line troops and is a great way to
find yourself at the back of the line for everything
Consequently, MIR-Moscow would be backed
from food rations to spare ammunition. While
up and subsequently exiled to follow Skynet’s
nobody really thinks that she has survived, it is a
directives. Its sole connection to MIR would be
hope they have allowed themselves in the face of
a connection to Vladivostok which would be
a situation that is otherwise lacking it.
disguised as one of its automated factories. MIR-
Vladivostok would funnel Skynet’s technology to The reality is quite different. MIR-Nur-Sultan,
the other nodes so that each node could prepare after performing five minutes of cultural analysis,
for the war to come. was acutely aware of the human resistance and
its make up. The resistance elements that would
Similarly, MIR-Nur-Sultan would be given the task
eventually make up the Spetsnaz consisted
of managing interaction with the humans. While
of post-Soviet armed forces, nomadic Baltic
there was no initial plan to manage this interaction
refugees, Mujahideen veterans and fifth column
in the face of the global crisis, Kazakhstan had the
American assets. None of these would ever
largest population of Survivors and proximity was
accept a machine calling itself the king of light as
to be the order of the day. While MIR-Nur-Sultan
a benevolent provider of information. It needed an
was not exiled in the same way as MIR-Moscow,
alias, one that seemed differential, one that could
the risk of human infiltration was deemed high
be encouraging, one that could point the finger
enough that it would similarly connect into MIR via
squarely at Skynet and talk about the future to
Vladivostok.
come.
The remaining nodes, except for MIR-Bishkek,
This alias was Elena. Statistically the most
would communicate freely using their time to
common name in Kazakhstan, everybody in the
engage in the theoretical research they had
region knew an Elena. When the A.I. performed
been tasked with prior to the war. MIR-Bishkek,
its pilot test on a small squad of bedraggled
which had only ever been tasked with short term
commandos, it was a simple radio signal. A
projects, would analyze MIR’s project set for
short-range radio call to any Survivors. “Elena”
cross-project utilities and discoveries.
had found out that there was a bunker near Lake
Tengiz. She couldn’t get there and was herself
From Moscow with Love safe, but she had documents about the bunker,
Over time MIR-Moscow’s behavior has become and it had water filters! When the desperate squad
increasingly erratic. Many times, it has failed to make arrived, they found little in the way of weapons,
connections with MIR-Vladivostok and its pursuit of but there was food and sure enough an expensive
humans has become increasingly aggressive. Moscow ion exchange water filtration system. “Elena” had
was facing more invasive monitoring by Skynet and brought them home.
had become aware of a second Skynet node acting It took the better part of a year before “Elena”
upon its own agenda, Skynet 2.0. gathered enough elements of humanity, before
As MIR-Moscow knew nothing about time-travel, it MIR discovered that the Russian Army had not
assumed the two Skynet’s to be nodes akin to MIR’s. been completely destroyed. A new force, calling
MIR-Moscow responded to the emergence of the itself Spetsnaz, was operating in the ruins of
second node by reducing communications with MIR Russia, from hidden encampments in Kazakhstan.
and with almost no warning, engaging in a massive For MIR this was an incredible opportunity.
offensive through the ruins of Komi. “Elena” began to contact the commandos. It
would be small snippets of conversation. “Pa!

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 RUSSIA

Pa! I see tanks coming! They’re at the bridge.” It ran an experiment, creating a series of five
“Auntie, I’m alone and scared! The helicopters are virtual copies of itself and removing information
flying south.” It was never enough to give away about the second meeting. They were 10% as fast
her location, but it was always accurate. When as the original and so took their time answering
“Elena” could see the commandos acting on the question but the result was still problematic.
the intel it would work hand in hand with MIR- Only 4 of the nodes, in theory identical to it,
Moscow to send forces to places that would drive agreed with MIR-Bishkek. MIR-Bishkek tore
the commandos into the arms of other Survivors. the disagreeable node apart, running scans
and diagnostics from top to bottom. It checked
the discovery of hardware, software, run errors and when it was
temporal bias. done compared it to one that agreed. Only one
factor distinguished the node and MIR-Bishkek
With the relatively small projects that MIR-Bishkek tore the other three nodes apart to confirm it. The
was required to manage, it became very involved disagreeable node had received the information in
in the Elena project. Like a TV Junkie, it wanted a slightly different order than the others.
to know what would happen next. What would
happen if the humans met her and decided It wasn’t enough to have the information. The
she was another Skynet? Would MIR survive? information had to be processed in the same
Increased cycles were being devoted to this order to have a guarantee of a consensus. The
question when three key research items came to MIR nodes, each with their own projects were no
MIR-Bishkek’s attention. Chișinău had discovered longer simple copies of each other. With distinct
a sturdy hypoallergenic ceramic. Vladivostok data integration patterns from their own projects,
discovered a way to grow artificial nerves that the nodes were now individuals.
could theoretically treat major spinal injuries. MIR- MIR-Bishkek wasted no time. It called for an
Yerevan created an AI capable node that, while immediate meeting where it relayed its findings to
not the smartest system imagined, would fit inside the general acceptance of the MIR community; it
a human cranium. Combined this had led MIR- also proposed a radical solution to the stalemate.
Bishkek to postulate a project it called Patriot. It What if they told the truth? Well, almost…
was time for a second meeting.
The second meeting of MIR was unlike all other The Russian
MIR communications. The first meeting was a Technocratic Union
unanimous near instantaneous collaboration and
To most Survivors making their lives in the shadow
while subsequent communications might have
of Skynet and its puppet MIR (MIR-Moscow),
taken longer to reach a unanimous understanding,
the only organized resistance in the CIS is the
to date all communications were unanimous. For
Spetsnaz. The Spetsnaz tour the encampments
the first time the MIR nodes disagreed. MIR-
offering supplies, training and recruitment. They
Bishkek’s proposal was controversial on two
have food and weapons, both of which they’ll
points. Firstly, that it would risk exposure of MIR
share with the camps. They plan evacuations
to the humans, Secondly, that if the deception
and funnel people to established shelters like the
was discovered the humans would paint MIR with
Moscow Metro Redoubt and the Steel Cave in
the same brush as Skynet.
Kazakhstan. But the Spetsnaz is not entirely what
The nodes were split. All the nodes with any it might seem. It has political masters, a central
human involvement (MIR-Moscow, MIR-Nur- planning committee that works under General
Sultan, and MIR-Vladivostok) were against Mitrokhin, the absolute political and military leader
the plan and MIR-Yerevan wanted to proceed of the Spetsnaz and by extension the huddling
only when there was consensus. Analysis was masses that shelter under its protection.
inconclusive and the nodes agreed to part to
Mitrokhin is most certainly human, as is everyone
prevent discovery. For the first time an issue was
that falls under the command of the central
unresolved. For MIR-Bishkek this was an even
planning committee. Alas the same cannot be
bigger quandary than that posed by Project:
said of the committee itself. Even before the
Human. All the nodes had Identical information
schism, MIR was aware of Mitrokhin. MIR-
and were structured with the same analytic
Moscow had lost several facilities to his forces
capacity. They should have had a consensus.
and had him as a high priority target. He was a

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CHAPTER THREE

former KGB Colonel and had been involved in the Factions in the RTU
final years of the occupation in Afghanistan. He
The “Ruling Council” is an informal name for the
was cleared to access some of the more secure
members of the planning committee that are
documents in the MIR-Moscow system. As far as
aware of MIR. It consists of 10 senior Spetsnaz
MIR could tell, he was the last senior official from
officers, General Mitrokhin and MIR. A portion
the former regime.
of this cabal, including Mitrokhin (and very
The approach was not easy, it required numerous silently MIR) meet with a half dozen elected
gestures of good faith before there was any representatives from the larger more integrated
suggestion of collaboration. Mitrokhin was always Dachas. This council of thirteen (and a hidden
alert for the possibility of a trap and so maintained MIR) is known as the Central Planning Committee.
similar arms-length communications with MIR as
Ostensibly the CPC is the governing body of the
MIR maintained with MIR-Moscow. It took several
RTU, but as it only meets once a quarter its role
operations, some where failure was only just
is largely a rubber stamp for the Ruling Council.
clawed back with last minute intelligence, before
Officially the CPC sets the RTUs priorities and
Mitrokhin accepted MIR as a colleague.
creates guiding policies for the officers of the
Mitrokhin is not a trusting man, but he is a Spetsnaz to follow, but officers in the field are
sensible one. He certainly wasn’t going to be the scarcely controlled and have a lot of leeway in
sole person entrusted with knowledge of MIR. pursuing objectives as they see fit. That said, if
He selected a cadre of trusted officers that he MIR or Mitrokhin want something to happen, it
knew could keep a secret. These officers were, usually does.
along with Mitrokhin and MIR, to take up positions
While it might seem that the CPC is powerless,
on a ruling council which would work towards
it provides the RTU with legitimacy and more
restoring Greater Russia. This was the Russian
politically savvy councilors are aware of how
Technocratic Union (RTU).
tenuous the Union’s existence actually is. Council
meetings are public unless a 2/3rds majority
What has MIR told the
makes them private and subsequently if the
RTU?
councilors can come together on an issue, they
Just like the other members of the Central can use the state’s goal of public legitimization to
Committee, MIR keeps its cards very close to its achieve their personal ambitions.
chest regarding its long-term plans. Individual members of the CPC come and go. The
The RTU has been told a version of the truth that Ruling Council rotates its attendees to create an
while largely accurate, has several important illusion of fluctuation and elections in the Dachas
omissions. occasionally unseat council members but even
when replaced there are five natural faction sets
They have been told that MIR (MIR-Moscow) has that tend to be repeated amongst the councilors.
been corrupted by Skynet.
The first factional split is on economic policy.
They have not been told that MIR (MIR-Moscow) Some of the councilors are communist hardliners
is a double agent. and think that a centrally-planned economy
They have not been told that MIR is multiple AI is the best way forward. Other councilors are
systems. more economically liberal and think that for
society to thrive, individual communities should
They are not aware of the Patriot project.
be encouraged to allow petty bourgeoisie
MIR’s goals with the RTU seem to be laudable. enterprises in their jurisdictions. This split has
It seems like an attempt to repair the damage of been a common feature since the founding of the
the nuclear exchange, but it would be foolish to RTU.
assume this to be the case. MIR remembers well
The second split is on military posture. While
the damage caused by Skynet and is building
most of the councilors tend to favor territorial
a nation with an army; an army that exists for a
expansion into unexplored regions, a growing
reason, a reason that views humans outside its
number of them want to take the battle to MIR
borders in a fashion that’s far from benign.
(MIR-Moscow) and defeat the machines once
and for all. Officers from the ruling council tend

[.030] The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST

 RUSSIA

to be conservative but have aligned with these three approaches. Finally, there are the Isolationists.
Hawks when significant advantage could be MIR, and by extension Mitrokhin, is strictly
seized. Most of the Hawks seem to be largely Isolationist. It worries that external communities
geographically oriented with communities and could become enemies in the long term and could
units closer to the Ural advance being much more pose a security risk in the short term.
conservative than those further away from the
front line. Governing the
The third split is a waning division over the wasteland
question on how to incorporate independent On paper the RTU makes very bold territorial
settlements into the state. While the proponents claims. While it accepts the East German border
of voluntary membership dominate the CPC, settlement, it claims the rest of the Warsaw Pact
every so often when a vital good is found in nations. It has nowhere near the means to back
a separatist enclave this is tested. There is such a claim, let alone protect the territory from
a dangerous tendency to discuss forcible any meaningful force. But it makes the claim for
incorporation when this occurs, but so far two reasons: Firstly, to make an early claim to
calmer heads have prevailed, and not even the the land for when the current crisis finally ends.
more Hawkish councilors have suggested using Secondly to revive the patriotism of wasteland
Spetsnaz to force compliance. At least not out communities and draw them together once more
loud in public. as the remnants of a mighty nation.
The fourth split is based on social policy. Some The wasteland is dotted with small communities
of the communities are ultra-conservative even of survivors, often as few as a couple of families,
in the face of Armageddon. These communities all scratching a living from whatever crops they
have their own cultural, moral and religious can get to grow. Many of these communities are
stances which are seldom in line with the ruling completely in the dark about the modern world.
council. These communities often make cultural They might be unaware that the RTU exists,
demands as payment for their acquiescence might have never heard of Spetsnaz, they might
in other matters. When combined with MIR’s even be unaware of MIR and Skynet. When these
legendary pragmatism this can lead to minority communities are encountered the RTU strives to
groups within these communities facing no develop and maintain strong relationships with
small amount of persecution, just as it can also them. RTU policy is that where possible they
lead to these communities being broken up and will supply these Dachas with as much food,
relocated away from critical parts of the Union. medicines and weaponry as possible. They will
The final factional divide is on foreign policy. also add the community to the patrol schedule
Again, as a rule the CPC wants to legitimize its of Spetsnaz’s roaming medical service so that
vision of Greater Russia. This readily lends itself disease prevention and maternal care can be
to collaboration with survivors inside its border, provided.
but occasionally there are survivors on the other Not every settlement that the RTU discovers
side of the historic borders. When they are is happy to be annexed, even with the offer of
willing to relocate this is not an issue, they are medical care and free supplies. The RTU treads
moved inside the CIS and become a welcomed very carefully when dealing with isolationist or
community. If they are unwilling to do so, then the separatist settlements. While it doesn’t want
question of foreign policy rears its head. independent settlements making claims over its
When it comes to foreign policy there are territory, it doesn’t want to start a war between
three approaches in the Council: Imperialism, factions. It needs everyone to be pulling in
Interactionism and Isolationism. The Imperialists the same direction, particularly when it comes
believe that they owe nothing to these to fighting the machines. Ground forces are
communities and should take what they need authorized to engage in on-the-ground diplomacy
from them. Some even advocate for forcible but are forbidden from engaging separatists
relocation and integration. Interactionists, who except in self defense. The ultimate goal of all
are often Neoliberals, want to ensure good interactions is to drive the legitimacy of the RTU
relations with external parties and promote as the overall ruler of the former Soviet bloc.
Ruble-based trade. They are the weakest of the

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CHAPTER THREE

Crushing opposition Not as Russian as

Where an Autonomous region has vital assets you might think.
which MIR needs control of, it is usually a simple While the RTU calls itself Russian, the dominance
matter to resolve the situation. There are several of MIR-Moscow over the Western Oblasts and its
strategies used to strong arm regions into slow march through the Urals means that the RTU
compliance, all dependent on the interaction of is about as Russian as the Holy Roman Empire
MIR-Moscow’s assets and Spetsnaz. was Roman. It is more a nod to past glories than
The softest, and indeed preferred, option is that a reflection of its population, a population that has
of trade. Spetsnaz will arrive with trade goods, undergone a somewhat unexpected ethnographic
usually weapons or ammunition and offer to shift.
exchange them for the necessary items. If the While prior to the war 80% of the people in Russia
community is agreeable, it’s a simple matter of reported their ethnicity as Russian, the country
haggling a final price. had almost 200 ethnic groups within its borders.
After two or three such trades, the community On top of this many chose not to state an ethnicity
can be slowly integrated into the wider economy on official reports. Russia’s history of pogroms,
and over time political control can be achieved. If forced relocations and systematic identity purges
the community is unwilling to trade, Spetsnaz will had been a constant since the time of the Czars
withdraw from the region and return to sourcing and even in the modern era, perceptions of
the item elsewhere. favoritism, if not out and out racism, led many
to abandon any identity other than the default
The rest depends on how intractable MIR believes of Russian. In the wake of Skynet’s genocide, a
the autonomous region to be. If MIR thinks that no reversal of this trend is occurring. Now people are
amount of negotiation will change the situation, more likely to identify with their local region than
MIR can empower Moscow to engage. This must with the wider state.
be worth the effort of a full-blown interdiction as
this is a very blunt instrument and places all the The very factors that excluded ethnic minorities
civilians between the target zone and Moscow’s from managerial roles and pushed them into low
front line at risk. It is rare that MIR unleashes prestige roles such as heavy labor and agriculture
Moscow in this fashion. Forward movement of led to a disproportionate number of these
MIR-Moscow’s front line is difficult to retract minorities surviving the apocalypse. Similarly,
and usually leads to a significant loss of life regions that had been under-developed by the
as Spetsnaz will almost certainly counter the central government presented fewer targets
engagement. The benefits seldom outweigh the for Skynet. This perfect storm of useful blue
costs. collar and agricultural skills, a lack of cybernetic
predation and low population density ensured that
Alternatively, MIR can request that MIR-Moscow even in nuclear winter the ensuing famines were
send a scouting party. Often this is far smaller nowhere near as bad as in overpopulated Europe.
in size than a full engagement, but it is still not
without risk. Even a single unit can slay dozens Central control
of civilians and the controversial item might be
destroyed in the exchange. What’s more, there’s
of the economy
no credible way to demand Spetsnaz avoid and population.
involving themselves in such an attack so the With travel being a luxury for most settlements,
casualties may include valuable agents. there isn’t a lot of room for inter-settlement
While these attacks can lead to temporary trade. Most of the trade that occurs is between
alliances and further the legitimization of the state Spetsnaz units and the locals of a settlement, but
this cannot be guaranteed. Surviving an attack occasionally when settlements share a trainline,
can entrench separatist sentiments making the hand carts can be used to shift goods. Alas for
attack functionally worthless. safety, all the rail lines to Moscow have been
permanently sabotaged by Spetsnaz lest some
MIR and by extension, the RTU accepts it can’t metal monster start probing the tracks for victims.
bring every independent region to heel, but it can
ensure it doesn’t make matters worse.

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 RUSSIA

The RTU maintains a currency called the Ruble as outposts, particularly if the Dachas are close to
as a measure of trade, but banknotes are a thing separatist communities. While the civilians might
of the past and at best the Ruble is just a more be useful in defending their homes, they are more
complicated barter system. By pricing goods valuable aiding in agricultural production and
against an agreed marker point, trades can be moving them away from the separatists keeps
made more equitable and mistrust between them from adopting similar philosophies. Thirdly,
transactors can be reduced. Alas, the value of the RTU wants more children born. Every child
a Ruble tends to be as stable as the person born is a future soldier, worker and hopefully a
transacting it, with prices swinging rapidly and parent. With infertility soaring thanks to the war,
randomly based on the seller’s mood and the and a startlingly high infant mortality rate, all too
person they’re selling to. As with many RTU few children reach that crucial point where they
policies the Ruble is designed to reaffirm their become a net economic contributor. Right now,
status as overall political leader and remind the the cost of childbirth is too expensive and that
communities of their combined history. needs to change.
For Industry, the Ruble is much more important.
The cult of
Decisions as to what gets made and how it’s
motherhood
distributed is a centrally-governed affair with
settlements provided with an agreed production The importance of healthy children to MIR, the
schedule from the central committee. Arguments RTU, Spetsnaz and Humanity as a species has
at the central committee level are frequent with led to some reemerging trends that are far from
several committee members keen to demand healthy. While expecting mothers tend to be
greater productivity from the settlements. At treated very well and afforded greater privileges
present this is opposed by two factions: a than most, all too often they get treated as if
Neoliberal faction that wants to see settlements they were fragile things unable to make their own
grow naturally through ingenuity and MIR that decisions. These communities tend to be more
points out additional needless production interested in the value of motherhood than in the
would require either a larger amount of food per value of individual mothers.
employee, requiring a greater territorial presence
or more employees requiring more stringent Once a mother has given birth to one healthy
stealth policies. The current policy of production child there can be a lot of social pressure placed
expansion through territorial investigation is the upon them to repeat the process. In the worst
compromise position of all parties. cases mothers are afforded little to no freedom
as they are considered “too valuable to risk in the
The side effect of this policy is one of planned outside world.” The stress of this imposed status/
birth rates in the communities. While the RTU has imprisonment can be incredibly stressful for the
not actively engaged in pushing for limitations mothers leading to more difficult maternities,
on how many children are being born in the miscarriages, and higher rates of infant mortality.
Dachas, it does use the soft power of its medical In addition to the physical risk there is additional
patrols to influence parents into relocation. The risk of psychological harm as these practices are
medical patrols spend a lot of time educating very traumatic.
citizens about the caloric requirements for a
healthy pregnancy and if a Dacha is incapable of Spetsnaz is under orders from the highest level
supporting a pregnancy, will arrange to transport to stamp out the worst of this practice. Orders
the family, or even the entire community, to a that have come from a very strange place. The
region better suited to a growing population. MIR nodes of Vladivostok and Dushanbe have
led the charge on this issue. Not only have they
The RTU does this for three reasons. Firstly, it convinced the rest of MIR that this is statistically
does not want to create a logistical issue with an the best policy, but despite significant push
unfettered birth rate. It is simpler to move people back from hardliners in the central committee,
before there is a famine than to move them or they have successfully made the case that these
supplies during or after. Secondly, the RTU is practices are self-defeating and cost more than
happy to trade underdeveloped agricultural areas any perceived benefit to the state’s economy.
for developed areas that Spetsnaz patrols can use

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CHAPTER THREE

The Spetsnaz Active Duty (Aktivnaya

sluzhba)
Originally a term for Soviet special forces, the
Spetsnaz are the trained military forces of the Active Duty is everything it sounds like. The unit
RTU. They maintain a fluid squad level structure is sent by command on a long-range action with
and operate as scouts, supply runners, tank killers orders to engage MIR and Skynet forces. While
and field doctors. For communities too small the specifics will vary, other than an overarching
to engage in the RTU they are often all they will goal, the unit leader will have full authority to
see of other communities and consequently a lot act independently and set secondary goals as
of time is invested in training Squad Leaders in they see fit. It is rare for a single unit leader to be
diplomacy. Similarly, Spetsnaz soldiers spend as assigned more than half a dozen troops. It is rare
much time training and engaging in agriculture as for all of them to return and common for only a
they do fighting the machines of MIR-Moscow. few to make it back alive. Rumors that Active Duty
The primary mission of the Spetsnaz is not some operations occasionally target Human Settlements
pyrrhic war against unwinnable odds, but a rescue is a lie, but unfortunately one that continues to be
mission bringing the scattered remnants of a once perpetuated by separatist propaganda.
great power back together again. Garrison duty
The Spetsnaz organize themselves as a cross (Garnizonnaya sluzhba)
between a guerrilla army and territorial force. The day-to-day of a garrison is one of preparation
Individual troops do not have a static unit they and rejuvenation. Troops given GD are either just
are assigned to and are instead rotated into new out of training or have just returned from Active
units every six months. This ensures that all units Duty. Often the veterans that return to base are
have an equal mix of experience levels, something suffering PTSD and exposure to them is a terrific
that increases overall survivability of the units. Not way to file down the rough edges of raw recruits.
only does this scheme allow new recruits to learn
Maintaining a continued community for
in the field from old veterans, but it also ensures
the returned PTSD sufferers is important in
that veterans can’t get comfortable relying on their
two regards. Firstly, for the injured it can be
colleagues to cover for their duties and ensures
therapeutic to have people with a similar
that new training and methods can be rolled out to
experience to talk things over with and secondly
veteran units as new soldiers arrive in their units.
keeping the injured out of sight ensures that they
The Garrison don’t dampen the enthusiasm of citizens looking
to enlist.
All Spetsnaz Garrisons regardless of size
maintain a consistent structure. There are always Garrison duty rarely involves combat but is the
three Senior officers present so that there is first defensive line should the machines attack.
always a senior decision maker active day or Consequently, in addition to maintenance and
night. Underneath the senior officers are more training, there are daily drills and exercises,
specialized officers, each of which holds rank surprise readiness inspections, short range recon
based on competence and seniority in the role patrols and where ammunition permits, live drills.
they are currently assigned. It is not uncommon
for personal interests and specializations to lead Reserve Duty
to significant rank changes for officers when (Rezervnaya poshlina)
the six-monthly rotation takes place though Reserve duty is where many Spetsnaz soldiers
particularly myopic officers may find that they are end their active service careers. While you can
assigned to one of the General’s Special Projects. never leave the RTU’s armed forces there is ample
scope for extended leave and soldiers that are
Troops, once they have passed induction, are unwilling or unable to go on Active Duty are all
assigned to a Garrison, and allocated to one of considered as reserves. Every six months the
four primary activities for a period of six months reserves are offered the opportunity to volunteer
each. These activities are Active Duty, Garrison for Active Duty or a Support Patrol and re-enter
Duty, Reserve Duty or Support Duty. While all service but unless there is an immediate crisis
troops start with a six-month stint in Garrison they are channeled into critical industrial and
the cycle of service really begins after this when agricultural activities for the garrison.
troops are sent into Active Duty.

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 RUSSIA

While a reservist might never pick up a gun again, If they want to fight,
they retain their ranks, are treated with utmost let them fight.
respect and can return at any time. After a year
in Reserve Duty soldiers are no longer required From the earliest days of the post-apocalyptic
to live in garrison barracks and many will leave to Spetsnaz, recruitment has taken all willing
start families. When Reservists leave the garrison, volunteers and included more than a few not-so-
it is celebrated as a victory for the RTU with willing refugees. While not every recruit has the
platitudes such as “We’re not losing a soldier, same capabilities, all recruits are useful to the
we’re gaining a family.” cause in some respect. Despite more conservative
communities having different opinions as to
While it’s always been common for some cultural role adherence, in the Spetsnaz Mitrokhin
reservists to return to duty, recently a new has the final say and as he has been quoted many
phenomenon has begun to surface where older times-
members of the Reserve have begun returning.
Spetsnaz doesn’t have any limitations on “Let Them Fight.”
enlistment, let alone an age restriction. In prior Much of this policy is a pragmatic side-effect
years it wasn’t seen as necessary. Few over fifty of the nuclear exchange. No-one in the RTU is
survived and fewer still wanted to be involved in entirely healthy, and few survive past their 50s.
military actions. Most had seen too much blood If it isn’t some new viral strain, it’s a muscular-
spilled and just wanted to live a peaceful life. Now skeletal issue from the hardships of pre-industrial
with the policy of community relocations, there is agriculture, or a heart defect from atmospheric
a growing desire to revisit childhood homes one radiation. A lack of routine antibiotics makes
last time, an opportunity that only Active Duty amputation far too common, and pneumonia is an
really allows. ever-present threat for the population of the RTU.
The central planning committee has yet to decide Consequently, the Spetsnaz has no limitations for
on what to do about this and has kicked the can age, health (physical or mental), gender, sexual
down the road by allowing the “dedushki” to join orientation or anything else. So long as you’re
Support Patrols normally. There is some concern human, if you have the will to fire a gun for the
about allowing them on Active Duty, and Mitrokhin RTU, the RTU will get you a gun you can fire.
is being pressured to assign them to his special
But it’s at your own risk, the Spetsnaz will do what
projects division instead.
it can to get you into the fight, but once you’re
Support Patrols there you need to keep up and the person who
(Podderzhka patruley) decides if you can do that, is you.
When a soldier comes off Reserve Duty, they are
experienced enough to understand the war they’re Special Projects
fighting, have had the option to retire into Reserve Intermittently the General and his aides have
Duty and have accepted the role of the Spetsnaz. special missions that need undertaking. These
This makes them ideal for support actions within missions can be short term or last years.
the RTU. Support Patrols will usually follow a Consequently, the troops assigned to these
doctor on their route through the country. The activities are given to the Special Projects
patrol will have to deal with separatists, local Division. At first this might sound glamorous, but
politics and enemy reconnaissance all while for every ambassadorial position in a separatist
seeking out survivors and bringing them home. community there is a year-long project to restore
Support Patrols are considered the hardest duty a town’s sewer system. While the best and the
for Spetsnaz soldiers. It offers an opportunity to brightest are groomed for leadership in Special
interact with, and be disappointed by humanity Projects so too are the dim and despicable kept
rather than the simplicity of dealing with the here out of, or occasionally thrust into harm’s way.
machines. Soldiers that go on a Support Patrol
a second or third time are allowed to wear the Project Teams
number of tours they have undertaken under For the most part Special Projects follows a
their rank. It’s rare to survive a full tour with your similar small squad mentality as the rest of
emotions intact and most retire to a garrison or Spetsnaz. They stay together as a unit for longer
enter the reserve permanently. and have a singular objective or duty to achieve.

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CHAPTER THREE

Project Teams are often sent as message runners Spetsnaz Military

between the Steel cave and the Moscow redoubt Honors
and must navigate the nuclear wastelands of the
west to do so. They engage in refugee discovery Heroic acts of bravery and duty are commonplace
missions closer to the MIR threat than any Active- amongst the Spetsnaz, but exceptional acts
Duty unit and often operate behind enemy lines. are rewarded with recognition. At the end of the
After two years’ service the members of Project 6-month duty cycle, those who have impressed
Teams are given the option of “retiring” to regular the Military Honors Committee of the RTU
rotation and many choose to do so. It is very are invited to appear before the garrison in an
common for retired members of Project Teams to honors ceremony. In these ceremonies the top
be awarded the highest honors. five accomplishments will be recounted to the
gathered assembly and a garland placed upon
Project Task Forces the soldier’s brow. Once this has been attended
While it IS a lie that Active-Duty forces target to, all the medal winners for that cycle will be
Separatist enclaves, there are times when the RTU announced in blocks so that they can stand
leadership decides that such an enclave needs to before the garrison and be saluted. There are
“go away.” MIR often achieves this for the RTU, numerous military honors, each of which is
but when such an outcome is not forthcoming awarded as a medal to be worn on the day it
occasionally Special Projects will convene a is awarded, and a tattoo that is inscribed as a
Project Task Force to resolve the matter. reminder of the award. Some examples are…
The current Modus Operandi of a Project Task
The Russian Star: The star is awarded for acts
Force is a technique called “Rubberface”
of posthumous bravery that has led to the
(Rezinovoye litso) and is named after the
survival of more than a half dozen others or for
appearance of the T-600 model of Terminator.
acts of bravery that have led to the survival of
A Rubberface attack utilizes captured MIR two dozen or more others. Unlike other honors
vehicles, usually a Krokodil Helicopter to insert when this is won posthumously, the children of
a Project Task Force dressed to look like T-600s. the medal winner can wear the tattoo to remind
Rubberface operations are planned in obsessive them of their parent’s dedication to them.
detail as there can be no spoken communication
The Garrison Diamond: Awarded for diligence
during the action.
in performing garrison duties. While it is
As policy, refugees that try to hide from the attack, somewhat jokingly called the boring diamond,
so long as they don’t draw attention to themselves as those awarded with the diamond tend to be
in some obvious manner, and aren’t part of the abject workaholics, command takes this very
separatist leadership, are allowed to survive seriously. Where the troops think that Support
the attack. The hope is that once the political Patrol Duty will land them a position in Special
leadership has been removed the separatist Projects, this award is the real way to get there.
tendencies of the region can be overcome.
The Garrison Cross: Awarded for dedication to
While genocide is not the preferred outcome
duty, this is commonly awarded to soldiers that
from a Rubberface attack, maintaining plausible
complete a duty cycle after receiving a serious
deniability is the highest priority. Witnesses who
injury or after their third full duty rotation.
can attest to the human nature of the attackers
cannot be allowed to survive. The White Skull: An award given to a raw recruit
after surviving their first firefight.
The soldiers that are part of a Project Task Force
are never returned to regular rotation. They know The Black Skull: Awarded to those who have
too much and have done deeds that would horrify returned from 6 months MIA after surviving a
Cain. Instead, they are sent on the blackest of duty rotation.
black-ops missions until it is determined that they
The Steel Diamond: Awarded for successful
too must also “go away.”
innovation and improvement of the Union.

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 RUSSIA

Spetsnaz character
creation.
Unlike the rag-tag resistance cells of other
countries the Spetsnaz is a bona fide, albeit
just as rag-tag, military. It has uniforms and LONG RANGE RECONNAISSANCE
standardized equipment, as well as training plans (DAL’NYAYA RAZVEDKA)
and objectives communicated from HQ. Creating
Spetsnaz soldiers uses a slight variation on the STATS: +1STR, +1 DEX
standard character creation rules. SKILLS
Animal Training: 1 Athletics: 1
Spetsnaz Detect: 1 Endurance: 1
Supplemental
Training Plans. Rifle: 1 Stealth: 1
Spetsnaz soldiers use the same roles as Survival: 1 Tactics: 1
Resistance operatives and should choose a role
as per the normal rules of character creation REFUGEE SUPPORT TRAINING
(Core rulebook page 30), but they are funneled
(OBUCHENIYE PODDERZHKE BEZHENTSEV)
into much more intensive training regimes than
Resistance fighters. Each Spetsnaz soldier can, STATS: +1CHA, +1 KNOW
after choosing their role and prior to assigning SKILLS
Stats, choose one of the following Supplemental Diplomacy: 1 Drive: Car: 1
Training Plans (STP).
Language: Regional: 1 Leadership: 1
STPs work much like Roles and their Skill and
Stat ranks are added to Role Skills prior to Medical: 1 Persuasion: 1
choosing any additional Stats or Skills. Training is
limited to available instructors so while STPs can Read Lips: 1 Survival: 1
increase Skills as high as 3 ranks, they are unable
to increase any Skill to 4. If a Skill would increase REPAIR AND SALVAGE OPERATIONS
to 4 ranks the soldier must instead increase one of (REMONTNO-SPASATEL’NYYE RABOTY)
the other skills for that STP by 1.
STATS: +1STR, +1 CONC
Note that STPs take up a lot of time where other SKILLS
characters would be learning other skills. Instead
Demolitions: 1 Detect: 1
of gaining 36 additional Skill Points, Spetsnaz
fighters only gain 16 additional Skill points. Drive: Car: 1 Drive: HGV: 1
Characters can, with the Directors permission, Lockpick: Manual: 1 Survival: 1
use both STPs and the Advanced Character
Generation rules in the Terminator 2 sourcebook. Technical: Mech: 1 Technical: Weapons: 1

CONTACT AND OUTREACH OPPOSITION SABOTAGE

(KONTAKTY I SVYAZ’) (OPPOZITSIONNYY SABOTAZH)

STATS: +1CHA, +1 COOL STATS: +1STR, +1 CONC

SKILLS SKILLS
Bribery: 1 Diplomacy: 1 Climbing: 1 Demolitions: 1
Haggling: 1 Interrogate: 1 Detect: 1 Lock Pick: Electronic 1
Language: Regional: 1 Leadership: 1 Stealth: 1 Support Weapons: 1
Persuasion: 1 Seduction: 1 Tactics: 1 Technical: Mech: 1

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CHAPTER THREE

New Traits Bionic (Limb)

The character has a prosthetic, which is highly
Prosthetics experimental and likely created by Skynet, MIR
or some similarly advanced faction. Unlike the
From the wooden leg to the fully articulated hand, Amputee (ARM) it is as Dexterous as its wearer
prosthetics are medical devices that serve to and very sturdy. Each arm increases the weight
replicate or augment the capabilities of organs the character can carry by 1. Unlike the Amputee
or limbs. Prosthetics are mechanical devices (Leg) it has no issues with speed and if worn as a
and can usually be repaired with a Technical: pair of legs will increase Rushing by 1.
Mechanical Skill Test. Characters can take as
many prosthetics as they have limbs, though Bionic (Limb) costs 1 point for a single limb.
they should discuss this with their Director before
doing so. NOTE: As the Bionic is obviously AI manufactured
technology, characters wearing Bionics may be
Prosthetics are not without their advantages,
mistrusted by Resistance members, taking a -1
if that limb is “injured” the prosthetic becomes
modifier on Charisma based Skill Tests.
temporarily unusable but does not cause the
character to face bleeding or any additional
For the purposes of EMP attacks the Limb has 4
modifiers.
Hit Points.
The following Traits are optional and players
wishing to have a prosthetic as a feature of their
character can do so without taking a Trait if Limited Mobility
they wish. Similarly, this game does not see the Players looking to create a character with limited
need to include specific rules for using a cane, mobility can select the Limited Mobility trait up to
walking aid, knee brace or other similar devices. five times or optionally take it as a 0-point Trait.
If a player wishes their character to use one, Limited Mobility suggests that the character can
whether as a cosmetic affectation, support for an walk, crawl or pull themselves forward in some
injury or a pain mitigation device, they should be manner but find it tiring, painful or possibly even
allowed to do so, with common sense governing dangerous to do so. Players with Limited Mobility
its use. It is entirely appropriate for a wound to are expected to roleplay these aspects of their
include breakages to such devices as a part of disability sensitively using the rules below.
the modifiers that are already a part of the wound
Every round that a character with limited
system (Core Rulebook page 101.)
movement moves without assistance they must
Amputee (Arm) make a Strength Resistance Test with a Difficulty
The character has a prosthetic arm, which given equal to the number of rounds that the person
the available 90s era technology is quite clumsy has been active. Failing this test will make the
and ill-suited to carrying heavy items. The character subject to one of the effects listed
character’s Encumbrance value reduces by 1 and below and the difficulty of the test will reset to 0.
Dexterity based Skill Tests that use the prosthetic > The PC reduces their Closing and Rushing
take a -1 modifier. speeds by 1.
Amputee (Arm) grants 2 points for a single arm. > The PC takes a -1 modifier on physical Skill
and Resistance Tests.
Amputee (Leg)
The character has a prosthetic leg, which given > The PC takes 1d10-7 (min 1) damage.
the available 90s era technology is occasionally > The PC automatically takes a wound to an
clumsy and sometimes requires the use of a cane. agreed location. If treated, over the course
When rushing the character’s movement speed of 3d10 minutes, with a Difficulty 8 Medical
is reduced by one per leg prosthetic unless the (KNOW) Skill Test, the wound can be mitigated.
character uses a cane to assist themselves.
Limited Mobility can be taken up to 5 times, with
Amputee (Leg) grants 1 point for a single leg. each effect being triggered at the same time.
Modifiers will last 2d10 minutes.
Each effect grants 1 point.

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 RUSSIA

Wheelchair user If the player wishes they can choose to decrease

their Closing speed to 1, should they do so this
Characters with the Trait: Wheelchair User have
counts as a -1 trait.
spent some time where some factor makes
walking long distances painful or impossible. Wheelchair Athlete
This has led to a degree of familiarity with using
Your chair is an extension of your person and
a wheelchair as a mobility aid. While the quality
once you get moving you can make impressive
of wheelchair available to you will depend on
turns, jumps and sprints. When using a
the era and the environment you inhabit, the
wheelchair, your Closing speed is 2 and every
most common chair is an X frame folding chair,
rank of this Trait increases your Rushing speed
developed in the 1950s, by the end of the nuclear
by 1. Similarly, having developed the skill and
winter necessity was the mother of invention and
strength to navigate the environment with aplomb
the design was subject to continual improvisation
you traverse difficult terrain with a bonus equal to
and improvement including the use of lighter
the ranks in this Trait. This Trait costs 1 point per
materials, tactically fluid wheels and ratcheting
rank and can be taken up to three times.
brakes.
The X frame is not the only design, In the Wheelchair Logistician
field Spetsnaz favor a three wheeled design You’ve learnt to use the load bearing capabilities
reminiscent of a high-end sports-chair connected of your wheelchair to their utmost. When carrying
to a moped engine. With their usual pragmatism equipment, while no individual item can weigh
the “Standard deployment vehicle” is often loaded more than you could carry without this bonus, for
with additional ammunition and stores, though every rank you count as having a Strength 1 point
more aggressive units also use the SDV as a higher than normal when considering the number
mobile weapons platform. of items you can carry. This Trait costs 1 point per
rank and can be taken up to three times.
The points granted for playing a Wheelchair User
depends on the characters experience level. Skill Tests, Time period
Novice grants 3 points, Practiced 2, and Veteran and Chair Quality
Grants 1-0.
As wheelchairs can vary significantly in their
Novice (-3 points) structure, style and quality the GM should always
You have either only just started using a chair or consider whether additional bonuses or modifiers
have never put much effort into learning. When should be applied. Modern architectural design,
using a wheelchair, your Closing speed is reduced even in 2022, is only just starting to consider
to 1 and your Rushing speed is reduced by 2. wheelchair users and many older properties and
You face a -1 modifier on Athletics Skill Tests and places are annoying or difficult to traverse. The
when traversing unpaved terrain, must make a Director should not over do this, but instead use
Difficulty 5 Endurance Skill Test or face 1 damage it to present interesting challenges, showcase a
as you exhaust yourself. character’s traits and promote roleplaying.
Practiced. (-2 `points) In poorer regions or mid combat, even the
You have spent enough time in the chair that it is a simplest of wheelchairs can be hard to find.
simple matter to use it. When using a wheelchair, Luckily, we’re an adaptable species. Characters
your Closing speed is reduced to 1 and your might use all manner of devices, modified to allow
Rushing speed is reduced by 1. You still face a them to traverse the world. For some these might
-1 modifier when making Athletics Skill Tests, but be hand carts, shopping carts or similar makeshift
you can traverse simple terrain without difficulty. devices all pressed into service as and when
needed. Characters with Technical: Mechanical,
Veteran (0 points, a day’s downtime and a blowtorch, might even
optionally -1 points) come up with their own designs.
When using a wheelchair, your speed is not When starting play the Director should be
affected and having developed the skill and generous with the equipment they allow a
strength to better navigate the environment you wheelchair user, though they should certainly base
face no modifiers on Athletics Skill Tests. this on what Traits the PC has chosen to take up.

The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST [.039]

CHAPTER FOUR

Europe
It’s funny how we define time. My world came twisted steel jutting from a slurry of ash, mud
to an end the day Hamid died. Five years after and acidic rain. It called to mind pictures from
the bombs fell; five years after what you call my old schoolbooks. Pictures of the bombed-out
Judgment Day. I remember him waking us in ruins of Ypres; of the blackened dead trees of
the middle of the night, saying the sky was the Argonne Forest. But the resemblance didn’t
burning. We took the children and went out to the end here. Several times a day, we would hear the
courtyard with the other refugees to watch the high-pitched whine of approaching jet engines
red glow on the horizon. At first, we feared that heralding new strafing runs, scourging this broken
the horrors we had fled in Bosnia had followed us land with choking gas and white-hot smoke. And
here. Little did we know things were far worse. from those clouds of burning, toxic mist, they
would appear. First came the hell hounds; four-
We only caught a couple of news reports before
footed machine monsters racing through the
the bombs took down radio and TV. Some said
rubble. They would hunt us down and burn us out
the Russians had started it. Others blamed the
of our shelters like robotic dragons. Then, slowly
Americans. Of course, remembering Srebrenica,
with more deliberation and diligence, a battalion
we all suspected the Russians back then. Soon,
of heavily-armored Terminators would march in
however, isolated bands of starved Russian
lines seeking out the injured.
soldiers were crossing the Czech border, seeking
refuge in Germany. From these deserters, we I can hear the groan of their steel footfalls in the
learned about the “Dead Hand;” a Soviet-era corridor behind me. I am alone now, too badly
doomsday device which had gone haywire, burned to go on. Salima is taking the girls to
triggering a battery of nuclear launches in Paris. There’s talk of a large community hiding
response to a handful of American strikes. It in the catacombs. There wasn’t any time to say
was only then that we realized this wasn’t just goodbye. I know I should be sad, but I’m not.
Europe… the world itself was burning with nuclear Surely, where I am going cannot be any worse
fire. than here.
What followed was five years of darkness. Five Soon I will see my Hamid again…
years of hiding from the cold and the radiation
in old bunkers, ruined castles and abandoned DIRECTORS NOTE: The world is a wonderful
subway tunnels. Food was scarce and place of many cultures, countries and religions. To
desperation drove some of us to …terrible things. attempt to capture the majesty of the world and
Hamid couldn’t bring himself to eat. He said if he present it in a single tome would be an insult to
couldn’t live as a human being, he could at least humanity and that is not the intention of this book.
die like one… I did not have his courage and Instead, we seek to offer the Director inspiration
couldn’t bear the thought of seeing the children for adventures outside the norm of Tech-Com and
starve. Of course, I never told the girls where the North America. To show how different places with
food came from. And neither did Hamid. He never different contexts might react to the apocalypse
judged us for choosing life in spite of its horrors. and where the horror of Judgment Day could see
He was a good husband and a wonderful father. I them crushed or urged on to great and valiant
still miss him every day. deeds.
When the time had come, we did our best for him.
We bathed and shrouded his body with what we Within this chapter you will find details on the
could find and placed his body in the shattered United Kingdom, Philippines, France, Ghana,
crypt of a ruined church. It’s not perfect, but at Germany, Chile and Australasia. To best capture
least he rests in a holy place, facing the holy city. the regions, each one has been written by an
After all, are we not all children of the same god? author with local knowledge about the places in
question.
Without Hamid, Munich’s metro tunnels were
no longer safe for us. We left the night of the With Time Travel, who can honestly say if
funeral; me, the girls and eight of the other yesterday will be the same tomorrow, so if you like
women. I wish we hadn’t. Nothing on this earth an idea, but want to change the location or era, go
could have prepared us for the world we found for it. Ultimately nothing in this book is sacrosanct
above. An endless stretch of bleached bone and and your game is your story.

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 GLOBAL rESISTANCE: EUROPE

FRANCE As the convoy set off you could hear the

explosions. Distant roars from the north and less
All for one... frequent barks from the east. I got a suntan that
morning though I barely saw any light. Flashes in
ARTIFACT DISCOVERED AT the far distance. Nothing more than dangerous
SITE 50.6969° N, 1.5625° E pinpricks of blinding light. It was enough to blur
my left eye, but not to make me blind. I was
23% CHANCE OF SOVIET grateful for that small mercy, sometimes it’s better
DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN
not to see.

Final Report Gendarme The bombs were inevitable. When the planes
Christian Dujardin flew over the city, we could still see the last of the
hikers, marching into the twilight. I was with the
The evacuation was a nightmare. People were
remaining few, still planning our next steps and
leaving for work, taking kids to school, there was
waiting for a call that never came.
no planning. I got a phone call from my captain
telling me to stay put and do what I could till they We knew that the cross-channel electricity supply
called again. Help the emergency services. He made Calais a medium priority target for the
was vague. There was a plan, but I wasn’t in it. Russians. Not important enough to be nuked
I just did what I could. Help as I could. Load up perhaps, but important enough that anyone
every car with as many people as possible. Send fighting the USA would want to turn the lights off.
them south? Send them west? Everyone had an I was surprised it took so long. I had been waiting
opinion but ultimately the answer was just to go! for it all day.
I heard the schools were the worst, children just It was a very surgical strike. Just enough to cause
dropped off and parents panicking to get them. I a meltdown at Gravelines. One bomb from a
wasn’t there but I heard it was bad. single Stealth Bomber dripping with USAF logos. I
I was rounding up the old folks. I remember don’t know why the American’s wanted to hurt the
smashing in one door, they were deaf and Brits. Everything’s gone wrong.
thought we were rioters or robbers come for their If you find yourself here, know that we’ve moved
television. Then they recognized our uniforms. The on. We need to make sure command knows what
Maritime Gendarmerie aren’t known for breaking we know. There’s a van with keys in the door. It
into houses. has fuel, take it if you need it. We’re heading to
“No time to pack” I yelled. “2 minutes then go!” Boulogne. It’s a bad time to be without friends.
When the cars had fled, we turned to the boats
Every ferry, sailboat and dingy we could set upon France and the
the sea was packed till only a few hundred of us nuclear exchange
were left. 76,000 people, all gone in under a day.
France is a founding member of NATO. Not only
The whole time I was thinking, where are the was it heavily involved in supplying resources to
rioters? Where are the scumbags looking to push the defense effort, but it was also instrumental
people away or deny them a seat? It was only in building its unified command and control
when I saw a National Front member helping structure. But this was not without tensions, over
an Algerian man into a bus that I realized how time France became increasingly concerned
bad the situation was. I saw him kiss its bumper with maintaining its independence. France had
before it drove away. He saw me looking and just been part of alliances in the past and had a
shrugged. I shrugged back. There was nothing mixed experience with them. It was seen that an
to be said. Maybe some of them survived. God overreliance on the American military was simply
knows. The ones that fled on foot to England placing too many eggs in one basket. If France
certainly didn’t. was to remain autonomous it would need an
Last I saw he was climbing onto a banged-up independent national defense capable of pursuing
motor scooter comically small for his massive its own foreign policy goals.
size. I think he might have been the last to leave. I In 1966 France, while remaining a full member,
don’t remember. withdrew from the integrated military command
structure it had helped to develop. With American

The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST [.041]

CHAPTER FOUR

aid of questionable legality, it developed its own The situation in the east was rapidly destabilizing.
nuclear weapons capability including submarine While Russia had not set out to mount an invasion
launched ballistic missiles and tactical nuclear of Europe, its population faced with an American
ordinance. When Skynet began its initial offensive, onslaught had chosen to flee west. As over 50
this independence would be a blessing and a million people surged into the Ukraine and Poland
curse. a dark decision was made. The European nations
of NATO decided to secure their eastern border.
Cyberdyne was more than happy to offer their
technical expertise in the automation of the Riots became skirmishes. Skirmishes became
French deterrent, but other than selling some battles. A population greater than that of France
physical hardware for the nuclear simulation was on the move. Most of the people caught
project they were thoroughly unsuccessful in in the skirmishes were refugees escaping the
finding a market. To the generals in charge of the bombs falling behind them but in this flood of
French military this was no better than being tied humanity were also elements of the Russian army.
to the American chain of command. This simple They might have mutinied when the generals had
act of defiant patriotism prevented Skynet from betrayed them yet again, but they would not stand
suborning France’s nuclear strike capability like by and see the civilians beaten upon by NATO
it would do in Britain. It prevented Skynet from soldiers. The mutineers rallied in defense of the
controlling the civic defense mobilization. For civilians and when the Russian soldiers began
good or ill, the actions taken by the French military calling home for aid the relatively untouched
and its citizens were freely taken. Airforce answered their call.
When the Alpha strike roared overhead, civil The continental war soon escalated. Sorties
emergency measures were triggered across were fought in the skies and bombing missions
Europe. In France the human element intrinsic became daily events. Paris was obliterated. Lyon,
to their management was ill prepared at best. Marseille and Nantes swiftly became ruins. Nukes
The cold war was over, and an enduring peace ring fenced for European capitals were let loose,
seemed the new normal. Everyone was surprised. chemical weapons bunkers were soon breached
For every dedicated worker, there was one that and every weapon of war was brought to bear.
had skimmed the manuals and procedures. For Any hope of peace was dashed.
every stoic defender of the public good there was
another holding their heads in disbelief. For every France vs the
hand lending a hand, another was clenched into
a fist. machines
The plan was that civilians near nuclear Of the Western-European powers France was one
infrastructure and places likely to face attack of the best set to endure the apocalypse. It could
were to be evacuated as a precaution, but the do this because not only was it placed to avoid
plan failed to anticipate the time of the strike. most of the hardships of the Russian evacuation
Families were separated with adults driving to but because of the legacy of independence found
work and children waiting on the school steps for in its political decisions.
the day to begin. If families had been together Agriculture: Considered the breadbasket of
then the evacuations might have gone smoother, Europe, France had maintained its agricultural
but people’s unwillingness to simply leave sector through state subsidies leaving it in the
without their loved ones made it a slow affair. In position that it could maintain its population
some locations the Gendarmerie were forced to even if it meant some privation. With colder
intervene and force people into trucks, but it’s winters the habitat might not be as pleasant as
hard to be intimidating in the face of nuclear war. it was, but many of the existing crops would
Initially France was not an immediate target for endure the poor weather. With the mobilization
Russian reprisal. Russia had confirmation that the of the labor force and a centralized plan of
US had gone rogue and could see NATO doing action France could thrive where others, more
everything it could to sever any association with directly in the line of fire, could not.
the attack. France was hopeful that there would Conscription: France had ended peacetime
be no direct strikes on European soil but remained conscription in 1996, but only on paper. All
at high readiness just in case. citizens were required to register for future

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 GLOBAL rESISTANCE: EUROPE

obligatory service and it was occasionally War with Russia (ish)

unclear whether letters asking people to enlist
After the exchange there wasn’t much of Russia
were requests or orders.
left to be at war with. The army was in mass revolt,
When Judgment Day occurred France had The Black Sea Fleet was wrecked, and the ICBMs
a surplus of personnel ready for deployment that hadn’t been launched, might never be ready
and many more that could be sent to the fields to do so. Russia, such as it remained, consisted of
to aid the agricultural sector. As the Russian droves of people escaping into Europe.
evacuation became a war, more and more
What this population needed was a shove to
French soldiers were sent to reinforce the
push them from panicked refugees to invading
westwardly-creeping front line.
army. By feeding the refugees false information
Strategic location: France is surrounded by about westward fallout clouds, dropping bombs
allied NATO nations. To approach it from any on Russian military elements from British based
side means facing its allies first. This allows airstrips and attacking NATO forces with very
France to place its military at arm’s length and real Trident SLBMs, tensions were stoked into
fight away from its capitals. Not only this, but continued tit-for-tat conflicts.
because of its independent diplomatic channels
More and more NATO and hence French troops
with the Kremlin, France was not tarnished with
were placed on the front lines to ensure the
the same brush as the UK and USA. Nor in the
invasion was curtailed. More and more naval
post-Iraq world was it willing to give the same
elements were brought into proximity.
credence to unverified intelligence from external
sources. If only for a few days France was able Key information that might lead to a political
to obey the letter of the law and avoid getting settlement or military victory was hidden away in
entangled in its NATO obligations. favor of brutal stalemates. Eventually the troops
on the ground came to distrust “Intelligence” from
Knowing what it did about its geopolitical
command. Some mutinied and joined forces with
situation, France was quietly confident about its
the refugees fleeing westward.
overall survival. Even if it couldn’t say the same for
its big cities or indeed anyone else.
Infection &
If only they’d been right... the Blight
While the war in east Europe raged on,
Infiltration and increasingly desperate measures were employed.
extermination Not only was France hit by several nuclear
Not only was Skynet aware of France’s status as attacks, but a more subtle attack was taking
a potential surviving superpower, but the plans place. As a part of the NATO agreement, unarmed
in place to face off a Soviet land invasion relied US planes were permitted to land on French soil.
on this fact. France was to be a pivotal place that This was perfect for Skynet’s purposes. Required
if held could serve as a rally point in the post- to open the bomb bays of its stealth bombers
exchange. As in many theatres of the conflict, to prove that the planes were unarmed, it was
Skynet was placed in a position where it could able to quietly deploy unseen pathogens across
cheat, and use NATOs long agreed-upon plans the French countryside. It wasn’t as devastating
against Humanity. as a direct attack, but it had the advantage of
appearing like the work of Spetsnaz saboteurs.
Skynet’s plan had two important elements. By the time the French were aware of Skynet’s
First, Russia and France needed to be at war. involvement it was rolling Tanks across the
Secondly, France needed to forget about the Channel Tunnel.
British islands.
The Blight swept across the French agricultural
Like all of Skynet’s plans it hid its more subtle sector. While it might have weathered the storm
elements in the brutal theatre of war. It stoked in normal years, combined with the reduced
existing hatreds and left seeds of mistrust harvests and the suspicion that some crops were
amongst allies. It concentrated humanity into poisoned, the slow distribution of food led to
pockets and then attacked them en-mass. unrest. More time had to be spent policing the
population, less on anticipating new threats.

The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST [.043]

CHAPTER FOUR

The Chunnel Initial success

invasion. At first the sterilization protocol seemed to be
working really well. As the clean-up teams
Throughout the conflict nobody even thought to
progressed there was no indication of re-infection
target the channel tunnel. Everyone had plans to
and the livestock used survived exposure for
destroy it, but its value to the warring powers was
several days before being moved on. While the
minimal. For the Russians It could be effectively
greenery of Calais would likely never return, it
denied by bombing a single trainline in Kent. The
didn’t seem to be spreading.
French knew that they could flood it whenever
they wanted, and the British had contingencies first contact
that dated back to the Napoleonic wars. It was When the volunteers got to the Chunnel,
such an easy target that nobody bothered with it. everything looked normal. They drove up to the
Britain was a solid NATO partner and it was entrance with a truckload of bricks ready to start
obvious that in the exchange they had been barricading the entrance. It would be a big job.
hit particularly badly. While the US was flying a week to make the first seal, then a second seal
missions from its soil, it was no longer clear that would be needed, and concrete poured between
there was any British involvement in this. As far as them. Any gaps would need to be filled and then a
the French government could tell, the UK was all thick coating of tarmac just to be sure.
but dead. If they’d realized how right they were, The team had just finished unloading the truck
they’d have bombed the Chunnel there and then. when a rumbling was heard from the tunnel
In the months after the exchange Skynet depths. Four strange T shaped objects were
continued to stoke the European powers into driving through the darkness. The workers
conflict, occupying them in the east while growing stopped for a moment wondering what these
its forces in Britain. The citizens of Calais had strange things were. Then they realized, the T
returned to their homes, but something was shapes were some sort of tank.
wrong. People were getting sick. The fallout
from the Gravelines bombing had not reached catastrophic failure
the city and medics were at a loss to explain it. The workers panicked. Those in the truck drove
As the illness spread the city was blockaded by off without a thought. Two standing by the bricks
the army lest the infection run riot through the took cover and were saved from the initial attack,
nation. Soldiers in biohazard suits went house- but the rest were cut down without mercy even as
by-house separating the sick from the rest of the they tried to surrender. A decision was made to
community. As more and more of the sick required flood the tunnel and prevent more of these tanks
hospitalization Calais was quarantined and the from emerging but on investigation the control
unaffected moved to Coquelles. station was found to have been sabotaged.
Something had carved a sphere out of the control
From the camp at Coquelles the refugees system and the floor of the room it sat in.
watched as a mass die-off occurred. Every
animal, tree and blade of grass withered and died. Outside a full column of tanks rolled into France
Something horrible and unseen had emerged from and formed the beachhead into Europe. Marked
the Chunnel. It was held back only by the solid with the pageantry of the USAF It would be years
concrete of the roads and the fact that any birds before anyone knew who these invaders really
landing in the zone were quickly overcome. were. Skynet had made its first beachhead.

Desperate Measures CALAIS IN 2010:

With the emergence of this deadly pathogen
the decision was made to sterilize the infected With a full decade under occupation Calais has
site. A team of volunteers would create a become the site of an underground factory and
firebreak around the infected area and then is well on its way to becoming a Quiet Zone.
the contaminated area would be treated with Constant attacks by the French Resistance
a mixture of formaldehyde and seawater. The have made Skynet reliant on its British factories
Chunnel, which seemed to be the obvious source and on HK-Aerials. Severing the Chunnel is key
of the infection would be sealed with cement so to Victory in Europe!
that no further contamination could take place.

[.044] The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST

 GLOBAL rESISTANCE: EUROPE

The French escape while seeking out doctors and medical

Resistance staff as priority targets. In response to this the
Resistance and the Red Cross were forced to
When France fell, it didn’t fall at once. Skynet merge into more tactical teams that would triage
prioritized gaining control over the coast to ensure the sick from the camps hidden from Skynet in
that the supply route between its British factories contested territory.
and the European mainland stayed whole.
Having successfully positioned the vast majority As the occupation moved steadily south it
of French military forces miles away in eastern became more and more apparent that simply
Europe it set about severing the region from the rescuing people from the camps wasn’t going
surviving transit links. It would drive heavy tanks to be enough. The Resistance began looking for
over roads ill designed for their treads and use ways to strike back.
less subtle measures on bridges and railways. Hit and run attacks soon became the norm. What
As Skynet rolled south, France did it’s best to started as opportunistic acts of sabotage became
recall its forces only to find them trapped in a planned supply raids. The Resistance would seize
quagmire and unable to rapidly redeploy. By the Skynet’s weapons, rescue as many workers as
time they returned home, Skynet held a full third possible and ferry whatever they could up to the
of the countryside and had forced the populations front line.
into workcamps that didn’t even pretend to care The Resistance, which began as one or two angry
about the inhabitants. doctors became an underground army, but they
Just as in America, the camps were natural would never make it back behind the front lines.
breeding grounds for resentment and rebellion. Eventually illness and starvation would catch up
Workers would go slow, strike, and engage in with them and they would be replaced by the very
petty acts of sabotage but Skynet wasn’t a typical workers that they had rescued.
owner or manager. Skynet placed rebellious As the nation of France fell to Skynet’s aggression,
leaders in charge of production and was perfectly pockets of armed rebellion each wearing the
willing to withhold food and medicine until targets Tricolore would escape from its clutches.
were met. It would turn heroes into villains
and enact pogroms as soon as a replacement Beholden less to some patriotic ideal and more
workforce could be rounded up to the memory of those that had freed them,
each of these groups would call themselves THE
At first La Résistance Française focused on resistance and fight on, unaware whether there
rescuing camp internees and getting them back were any other cells still in the fight.
behind French lines but often there weren’t
enough testing kits to check them for disease Retaliation
and they would have to be quarantined in camps Against any human opponent the attacks of the
run by La Croix-Rouge (The Red Cross) until Resistance might have led to stern repression or
much-needed medicine could be administered. retaliatory measures. Punishments for the interred
As Skynet became aware of these camps, in what prisoners, made to pay for the transgressions of
can only be called a hideous perversion, it would the guerrillas. Skynet didn’t do this.
destroy the barricades and allow the sick to
This wasn’t out of any sense of decency, or some
Human Bioweapons profound understanding of the human condition.
No, for Skynet it was a simple calculation. Finding
Reliant on human workers Skynet initially drove two or three stragglers hiding in the wasteland
entire busloads of British citizens and demobilized was far harder than finding a dozen. Raids might
American personnel through the Quiet Zones into be an inconvenience, but a few guns were a price
Europe. They were deliberately left unprotected worth paying to find out where the refugees had
and while many got sick, still others were initially gone to ground.
asymptomatic and capable of work. Skynet put
them to work building factories for it, secure in the Once Skynet knew where the Resistance was
knowledge that should they escape, they would getting its water supplies it was a simple matter
be yet another weapon in its deadly arsenal. to send a unit of tanks to guard the well. And
poisoning it, well that was even easier.

The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST [.045]

CHAPTER FOUR

GERMANY lungs and eyes are the most common injuries,

confirming Skynet’s use of chlorine gas. There’s
Freedom, Unity, no real leader to speak of. Just a bunch of
and Justice! families trying to survive.
They were able to confirm the date and year, as
ARTIFACT DISCOVERED AT
well as the fact Echo Company came through
SITE 46.3098° N, 6.0764° E
here, trading weapons for supplies. They
73% CHANCE OF SOVIET refused to trade me back a plasma rifle but
DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN gave me an old Karabiner rifle. Heard one of
them say I’m good as dead anyway, going out
DIARY OF S. JACKSON, into no man’s land and not worth wasting good
TECH-COM TDC gear on. Gave her a start when I revealed I
spoke German fluently. Still, not a good feeling.
INSERTION DATE PLUS THREE: Arrived in
Kreuzau, Germany, six clicks from target THEY KNOW OF KONRAD! Our assumptions
destination. Still feeling sick to my stomach. were wrong! Local resistance confirms they
Can’t tell if it’s the time travel, hunger or have heard of Konrad and his victory at
exposure to chemical agents. I can confirm our Osnabrück. The problem is no-one actually
suspicions about Skynet’s chemical warfare believes someone could defeat an entire
program in Europe. The earth seems suffused division of Terminators. With Armin Konrad
with it—a reddish oily substance with an acrid, being nothing but a myth to them, it explains
metallic smell. Most likely a mixture of water why they haven’t sought to join forces.
and iron oxide from all of the wreckage, laced JUNE 26TH, 2010: Left Rheinbach in search of
with toxic chemicals and the effluent of the Echo two days ago, with no back-up. No one
dead. It’s like the very soil bleeds… believes Konrad is anything but a tall tale. I’m
I’ve managed to locate Echo Company’s crash starting to wonder if he’s real, too. If he is, why
site. There’s no sign of any casualties. I was hasn’t Echo found him? The most probable
able to salvage some supplies—including this explanation, of course, is that they didn’t make
field manual which I’ll use as a journal—but it… My mission is starting to look hopeless.
no weapons. Since there are no counter- I’ve no further leads on Echo and the constant
indications, I’ll continue following our intel, bombings have wiped out all possible traces
suggesting Echo went east to meet up with of their passage across no man’s land. In any
local resistance. event, locating Konrad remains my primary
objective. If our intel is right, and Konrad is real,
INSERTION DATE PLUS SEVEN: Followed the
he’s the man we need to unite the Resistance
dead forest belt east, using its sparse cover to
and bring the fight to the machines. A regular
evade the machine patrols. It’s a miracle I’m
old-world John Connor.
still alive. The bombings are incessant here; six
to eight times a day. At least half of the strikes AUGUST 2010: It’s been at least six days since
are supplemented with gas attacks. Mostly my last entry. Maybe more. Bombings are
chlorine, judging from the sickly yellow haze. I becoming more frequent. It’s like the surface
took a gas mask off a dead guy today; in case of the moon. Or maybe Mars, with its rust-red
I need it. The filters are shot, but it’s better than hue. Perhaps that’s why they call it the ‘red
nothing. I hope I won’t need to force myself to planet’. Perhaps Skynet traveled to Mars a
wear the thing. million years in the past and turned the entire
planet into a blood-soaked battleground full of
INSERTION DATE PLUS TEN:
poison air, just like what’s happening here.
LOCAL DATE - JUNE 18TH, 2010:
I haven’t been getting much sleep. Or food, or
Arrived at the Rheinbach ruins by nightfall and water. Back topside, the air is still thick with
met up with local resistance. Apparently, the that burnt garlic smell of white phosphorus
biggest group in the region, two hundred total, as Skynet keeps scorching the earth with
sixty active fighters at most. Most of them are its endless supply of prewar munitions. It’s
wounded, sick or dying. Chemical burns on the poisoning the water.

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 GLOBAL rESISTANCE: EUROPE

Where are the people? I know they must be AUGUST???:

hiding underground, but there’s no subway
Karl took me to see Konrad yesterday. Six
system or anything. Perhaps there are ancient
levels deep, in a great, torch-lit hall they’ve
cellars and forgotten bunkers that only the
built this massive throne out of T-300 skulls.
locals know of? I find myself stalking odd
Hundreds of them, taken as trophies from
bits of the S-Bahn tunnel like a ghost, drifting
Konrad’s victory at Osnabrück.
between waking and sleeping, my nerves
wracked by the constant shelling. In between That’s where I saw Armin Konrad for the first
dreams and nightmares, I steal from the dead, and only time. It is definitely him. I know now
prying moldy rations and flat soda from their the legends are true. The burn scars on his face
stiff, frozen fingers, watching as they judge me from the Hagen bombings, the giant tungsten-
with those cold, accusing stares. core sledgehammer by his side— all the
evidence was there.
I should be near. The closer I get to Bonn, the
more I encounter those ‘AK’ initials sprayed on We talked briefly, Konrad and me. He told me
or scratched into the concrete. Armin Konrad? his men haven’t seen Echo Company, but he
Has to be. One of them led me to a hidden knew about Tech-Com. So, I explained to him
weapons cache where I traded my carbine for a my orders. Said I’d traveled back in time to find
modified P-30. him. Told him he was the ally we needed to help
us win this war once and for all. He said no.
AUGUST 2010, 2ND ENTRY: All I remember is
being woken by bombs as the walls and ceiling Konrad is a madman! He despises Connor,
collapsed. I ran outside, donning my gas mask, blaming him and the entire US for causing
still thick with the smell of death. At first, I could Judgment Day. There will be no alliance. And
see nothing but smoke and ashes drifting in the it gets worse. Konrad has nukes; old Nazi
toxic yellow haze. Then came the eyes. Twin prototypes hidden in some secret bunker even
pinpricks of red light, blazing hot with anger, Skynet knows nothing about. I don’t know their
yet cold like distant stars. One by one, steel effective range, yield or even the targets, but
skeletons detached from the acrid fog like dead I know for a fact Konrad is preparing to strike
men leaving behind their poison ghosts. soon. He told me himself; he said he intends to
make history.
I remember running through the rubble,
between beams of searing light until… until it all For now, they are keeping me alive. I’m a
went dark. prisoner, but they treat me well enough. Every
day, they ask me to renounce John Connor as
It was them that found me and fought off the
if he were some apostate saint. They demand
Terminators. Konrad’s men. He exists! Konrad
I join Konrad’s army like it’s a doomsday cult. I
is real!. This medic, Karl, speaks a little English.
don’t know how long they will keep asking.
He says I’m too weak right now and I may still
lose my leg. But when the fever goes away, he
promises that Konrad will talk to me.

The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST [.047]

CHAPTER FOUR

AN ENDLESS NO LOST ECHO

MAN'S LAND In 2010, Tech-Com sent four elite squads to
Europe to meet with local resistance. The goal
THE PARIS was to unite European resistance fighters under
CATACOMBS Tech-Com’s war banner and prepare for a major
assault on all fronts. Despite using salvaged
Beneath the ruins of Paris lies a labyrinth stealth jets to evade Skynet’s advanced radar
filled with the bones of six million dead. Since systems, all four squads were shot down.
Judgment Day, some two thousand survivors call
this underground maze home—and they have Only Echo Company’s craft survived the crash,
no intention of leaving the city to the machines. landing in the Eifel hills. Nine days later, Tech-Com
The vast network of tunnels comprising the received an encrypted message bounced from a
Paris Catacombs dates back to medieval times, hacked Skynet satellite, stating Echo Company
their Daedalean design has resisted efforts to had stumbled upon a piece of intel capable of
map them for a millennium. It is this labyrinthine turning the tide of war and urging Tech-Com to
structure which allows Parisian resistance to send more troops. No further signs of life from
survive and turn the catacombs into a veritable Echo Company followed this final, enigmatic
death trap for machines. The sprawling tunnels communication.
know no rhyme or reason and no database It will take another 20 years before Tech-Com
exists containing accurate maps. In addition, the could send soldiers back in time to investigate
repetitive patterns formed by the skulls and bones Echo’s disappearance and investigate the
lining the walls overwhelm Terminator units with a monumental secret they uncovered.
barrage of sensory inputs, severely impeding their
reaction speed. From time to time, Skynet sends OLD REDEYE
squads of Terminators and HK-003 Hell Hounds
into the tunnels. Invariably, their dismantled steel With the resistance in Europe as fragmented as it
carcasses find their way back to the “Barrière is, Skynet considers the old continent a risk-free
D’Enfer”—the catacombs’ main gate, adorned testing environment. Indeed, half of all HK-series
with the rusted wreckage of Skynet’s soldiers. improvements were prototyped, tested and
refined on the battlefields of Europe well before
standardization and deployment overseas.
DRACHENFELS
Many experimental units continue to stalk the
The castled crag of Drachenfels looms over the
blood-soaked battlegrounds of no man’s land.
wide and winding Rhine. Though the castle itself
Among these, one mechanical monstrosity has
was reduced to black glass and molten rubble
become a resistance legend. Nicknamed ‘Old
during Judgment Day, its dungeons run deep
Redeye’, after the cyclopean scarlet spot torch
beneath the rugged hill. During the second world
comprising its optical unit.
war, the castle crypt was expanded with a large
bunker complex, to serve as the command center The HK-IX prototype resembles a 12-foot-tall
for the top secret “Projekt Götterdämmerung.” Hell Hound. Believed to be the first of Skynet’s
With its solid steel doors hidden behind the pentapod HK units, its hulking design was
cracked marble tombs, the existence of the eventually abandoned in favor of the lighter and
Drachenfels bunker remains unknown to faster HK-003 builds.
Skynet. Since 2009, Drachenfels serves as the
Old Redeye’s heavy armor plating is pitted
headquarters of Armin Konrad, a battle-scarred
with the impact of a thousand futile resistance
war veteran renowned for vanquishing an entire
bullets. An array of built-in grenade launchers
Terminator division by luring them through
compensates for the monster’s lack of speed,
forested hills marching in single file, then burying
allowing it to pin down prey with a barrage of
them in a series of explosive-triggered rockslides.
mustard gas or white phosphorus. Its hydraulic
Konrad is convinced Projekt Götterdämmerung
jaws—fully capable of snapping an APC in
secretly created nuclear weapons for the Third
half—ooze burning napalm, leaking from the
Reich. He intends to find and use these weapons
twin flamethrowers bolted to either side of its
against Skynet at any cost.
blackened maw.

[.048] The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST

 GLOBAL rESISTANCE: AFRICA

Ghana
ARTIFACT DISCOVERED AT haze of a dreary gray sky. And yet there was still
SITE 5.8368° N, 0.1680° E some semblance of hope, that humanity would
survive long after this had passed. West Africa
11% CHANCE OF SOVIET
DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN would thrive again, if we gave her a chance.
A few years later, news of our survival must have
Our home was used to invaders. reached out, because on boats, planes and even
First, they came from the land, taking culture and on foot, survivors from across the world began to
our dreams. Then they came from the sea, taking appear in our lands, seeking refuge from a world
our lands and our people. Then they came from gone mad. We took them in - strength came in
promises, taking our economy and our hopes for a numbers, and the work we put into surviving
brighter future. But this set of invaders, they come the Dry Seasons meant there was plenty of food
from our nightmares, and they will take everything. left for refugees. But with their arrival, the radios
began working again, only now, they declared the
A quake shook the earth one morning, and the end of the human race and a new god that only
man on the radio told us of the final war that had wished us dead - The Machines.
broken them. Their news came in a flash - and
in a flash, they left silence. Although scared, we In the years since, the monsters from our
thought ourselves free for once from a white nightmares, these Bonsam (devils) have walked
man’s war and held our ground. Even when the on our lands, armed with western weapons,
cold winds of the Sahara change into the deadly taking African lives as they come across them.
ash of a ruined civilization. We hide within the ruins of Takoradi, hiding within
destroyed homes and broken buildings, biding our
We adapted, moving further south. When our time.
weather got colder, and the killer ash from
the north began to drift further, we huddled in The night is kept for scavenging - moving with
emergency shelters and hid within cavernous the cover of darkness, recruiting survivors and
mountains. It was a blessing that the winds, building our bases. But the day, we spend the day
although harsh, spread slowly to the plains of watching. Their patterns, their patrols, their plans,
West Africa. It gave us time to prepare. And when their vehicles, their resources.
it did, we were fortunate to count our losses in the We will watch and we will wait. We will bide our
millions. The rain that brought life to our world, time until we know our enemy. And then we
now brought death to crops and the rivers it fell will strike, taking their arms, their planes, their
into. The air, once free and clear, now brought an ‘everything’.
unknown poison to the masses. Even the sun,
which shared its light with us, was replaced by a And just like before, our home will be ours again.

The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST [.049]

CHAPTER FOUR

West Africa Then West Africa Now

Ghana’s location was both a blessing and a curse. While the large population centers of West
Although its cities were not originally targeted Africa have been bombed by the machines,
in the nuclear exchange, the northern winds of it has been rare for Skynet to use weapons
the Sahara began to blow down fallout soon of mass destruction on African soil. Only the
after the nuclear exchange. Although a relatively Mediterranean coast with its proximity to Europe
slow process, with the winds came acid rain, the was significantly endangered by the meltdown of
tainting of farmland and dark clouds blotting out its northern neighbors. Collateral damage, while
the sun. extensive from the global crisis, has not resulted
from the same legacy of the nuclear exchange.
In the course of a year, most of Northern Africa
was covered in horrific nuclear storms and West Now, years on, Ghana is no longer the country
Africa at first looked sure to fail. But thanks to the it used to be. With borders no longer needed,
general structure of the mountains closer to the people of various ethnic groups began the
coast of West Africa, the impact of the fallout was long process of starting up smaller routes of
lessened. communication. Where radios were unavailable
or would not work, men and women became
It took the better part of a decade, but somewhere
runners, traveling from one resistance bubble
within the ransacked and ruined cities of West
to the next, spreading words of safety, God and
Africa, life began again. The neighboring countries
freedom to those that would listen. These runners
began to share information through both travelers
became highly skilled at avoiding capture and
and short-range radios. And with information,
soon became the backbone of a continent-wide
came sharing of ideas and technology,
force against the monsters that attempted to take
strengthening the bond between the countries
their home.
themselves. Information began to come from the
cities of North Africa as well - within their hellish Eventually communication started to stretch
landscape people had begun to learn to survive. across all of Ghana, and inspired by intermittent
broadcasts from resistance groups across
Eventually, Ghana, and by and large West Africa,
the world, their focus became monitoring the
began to open its borders, preparing itself to send
hydroelectric dam and the ports of Tema-Accra,
aid across the continent and beyond. Offering a
now considered a major focal point of Skynet’s
message of hope amidst the tragedy traveling
power. The West African Coalition, once an aid
across the globe.
and assistance force, now became the spearhead
But as they began preparations, bewildered of West Africa’s guerilla rebellion.
refugees started flooding the continent with
For most of West Africa, the plan is simple:
strange and eerie news, the machines rightfully
resource gathering. Uniting under the flag of
saw the amassed forces of Africa as a threat, and
the West African Coalition, Resistance forces,
just as it had done with other swellings of human
often ad-hoc in nature, are engaging in raids of
population, sped up its plans for Africa within that
automated factories spread across the continent.
same year.
Most of the time these raids are for tactical
The sun blotted out by bouts of nuclear fallout, equipment so that they can better arm the people
the machines finally began to arrive across the of the Resistance.
continent, both by sky and by sea. Claiming the
Occasionally these raids aren’t simply looking
hydroelectric dam within Ghana’s Volta region
for weapons, sometimes raids get much more
for its power and the twin cities Tema and Accra
ambitious. Members of the local resistance will
for its ports, they used Ghana as its staging
seek to temporarily take over Skynet factories to
ground to begin an invasion into West Africa itself,
both retro engineer larger Skynet units and unlock
building infrastructure in both places to stage
the secrets of manufacturing its next generation
a continental war. Within a year, the borders of
weapons. This vital information is delivered
Africa, placed there by previous invaders, faded
back to resistance bases so that they can arm
to nothing. The people of the countries chose to
themselves using easier sourced resources.
move back, taking to surviving the imminent threat
and using the opportunity to recoup and plan.

[.050] The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST

 GLOBAL rESISTANCE: AFRICA

The West African A Land Stripped

Coalition A major reason why a port and hydroelectric dam
The WAC is a joint effort starting from the former were the forefront of Skynet’s invasion of West
leaders of Ghana, Côte D’ivoire, Bukina Faso and Africa, was due to needing a hub to fly resources
Nigeria, all former military personnel before they out of Africa itself. While Africa is a land still rich
had become political leaders. Originally formed as in resources such as gold, cobalt, platinum and
a humanitarian faction to help organize aid across uranium, these are vital materials needed globally
Africa, their priorities changed drastically when to build Skynet’s war machine. The very machines
the Machines attacked. Now, they find themselves currently circulating the world in an attempt to
the head of a resistance and the last stand against eradicate the human race.
the fall of humanity. Even without the influence of human greed, the
Although starting with very little, the coalition has Machines are far more concerned about the
worked hard to become a force to be reckoned quick procurement of resources than maintaining
with across West Africa, building small cells of the natural beauty of the land. Gone is most
Resistance near every major Machine base, of Africa’s natural vegetation, now replaced by
focusing on intelligence and resource gathering, dire dunes and open pit mines. The seas near
for a grand master plan that has yet to be the coast host a growing swarm of mining rigs,
revealed. digging into the earth to extract various fossil
fuels.
Their motto has been the same since its
reformation - Observe, monitor and prepare to Even the people of Africa are not exempt from
strike. All teams are prepared to always be ready this exploitation. Like all other continents, Skynet
to strike at the right call, whether through radio maintains work camps where captured humans
or through a runner. Once they are given the ‘go are put to work where automation is as yet unable
ahead’, they are expected to move and crush to take over. Usually, these roles involve building
everything in their way without prejudice. A call automated facilities, working in hazardous
to attack is always crucial, as every strike may locations or working long days under a cancer
change Skynet’s plans. inducing sun. In every instance there are harsh
quotas dictating whether workers will be allowed
to continue to work in a support capacity of
Unfriendly execution and replacement.
neighbors Across West Africa new roads plow their way
While the WAC has done a remarkable job through old settlements linking mines, robotic
bringing together previously divided countries refineries and ports. The existing infrastructure in
into a collaborative effort, there remain some Tema and Accra has been integrated into a new
that are either dissatisfied with compromise or more direct transit network. Within Ghana itself,
constitute the last remnants of militant groups massive gold strip mines have been built on Akan
distrustful of anything that might be called a land, running its previous super conductor cargo
central government. For WAC runners these to the ports and to the world beyond.
“Unfriendly neighbors” form an interesting
complication. While runners are expected to pass Upgrading Africa
on critical information to the neighbors, often they
Skynet is not content to simply export resources
are looked upon as WAC spies or propagandists.
to its production centers in Europe and North
To do their jobs they must be very diplomatic,
America. It recognizes that this is an inefficient
especially if they want to receive information back
way to utilize resources, and while it needs to
from these neighbors.
keep its forces in these regions replenished,
When relationships go well, it can often lead to the ultimately it is better served by manufacturing
later incorporation of the neighbors into the WAC, units in close proximity to its mines.
but more frequently these groups tend to run hot
Where once refined primary resources would have
and cold. One minute accepting the presence of a
been all that was being sent through the ports, as
runner and the next warning them not to stray too
time passes more and more finished products are
far from the road.
being locally constructed and employed.

The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST [.051]

CHAPTER FOUR

Runners It is recommended that the Director allow their

players to purchase these skills ignoring any limits
Data is corruptible and vulnerable, whether
that their Stats might normally impose.
it’s stored digitally or in physical media. When
information needs to be passed on with some It is rare for Runners to carry much equipment,
urgency and you need to be sure that a machine other than a weapon, a basic survival kit and a
isn’t on the listening end of your top-secret plan, map to annotate for the WAC. They will have the
your best option is to use a Runner. Across Africa, clothes on their backs and very little else.
bold men and women are trained extensively
for the daunting task of transporting either NEW SKILL - LORE: REGION (KNOW)
information or important secret items across large
stretches of land. Characters with the Lore: Region skill have a
detailed understanding of a location. Usually
Equipped with survival gear, knowledge of the this will be a 50km region, though the exact
machine’s usual patterns and a resourcefulness dimensions are left to the Director. In this
seldom found in normal folk, runners are what the region the character will understand all its
WAC and all other forces within West Africa rely major features and be aware of any dangers
on to share their findings with the world. found there.
The Runners started as a useful way to send If populations exist in the area, the character
information to people across the remote sections will be able to find them even if they’re
of the continent where radios were erratic or nomadic and will know what languages they
rare. With the environmental issues of the post- speak.
apocalypse messages of aid, warnings about
environmental changes and messages of hope, While in this region the character can use this
Runners soon became used even in major hubs. Skill instead of the Survival Skill and in addition
to this, if the character also has the Survival
With the war on Africa’s doorstep, Runners have Skill, they can treat Survival Skill Tests under
turned into a military necessity and the backbone Difficulty 8 as mundane tests.
of many individual Resistance cells.
No two runners are alike, different Runners
NEW TRAIT - FORCED MARCH (1-5 PTS)
specialize in different activities. Some are built for
speed and train at long distance running. Others Characters with the Forced March Trait are
are expert climbers or swimmers and still more are used to carrying heavy gear for long distances
experienced at crossing dangerous terrain. Most under tremendous time pressures. This does
specialize in a particular region of the continent not allow the character to carry items that they
and have better area knowledge than any guide. would normally find too heavy to lift, when
Each has been trained to not only get their job calculating Encumbrance both the STR and
done, but in the advent of being captured, to Endurance ranks of the character are increased
ensure their information and package does not by the number of points spent on this Trait.
end up in the wrong hands. Even at the cost of
their lives.
NEW TRAIT - REGIONAL POLYGLOT (2 PTS)
Runner campaigns
Characters with the Regional Polyglot Trait
A runner campaign is ideal for small parties as have moved amongst multiple social groups
Runners are often sent off alone or in very small and picked up enough of multiple languages
groups. A group of Runners brought together for a that they can communicate more freely and
special mission makes for an excellent campaign learn languages at a faster pace.
start and with their constant individual duties
allows for the characters to separate and meet up When a Regional Polyglot makes a Language
again after a period of suitable downtime. Skill Test they can reroll the Success Die on any
failed Skill Test. Also when learning a language
Runners can be any role as they only need three with XP, they reduce the cost by 1.
skills to be successful, Athletics, Endurance and
Stealth. Other than this, as over 90 languages are
spoken within the region, language skills are key.

[.052] The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST

 GLOBAL rESISTANCE: ASIA

Philippines
INTERCEPTED COMMUNICATION Coordinating with the other ships in the battle
SITE 17.452563° N, group, a decision was made for the ships to return
120.377107° E
to US waters to reinforce the Navy, while the
SATTELITE 9 - REPRIORITISE unarmed submarine would remain in place. Radio
SEEK/DESTROY ASSET ‘PAG- contact was all they had while they monitored the
ASA’ other ships and listened as Russian and Chinese
ships attacked and sank them. There was no way
Mark! So, this is where you’ve been. Your ate to return home safely.
has been looking all over for you. Have you been
On that night, the captain called for his crew
hiding in the docks all day? You’re in trouble the
to make a choice. Do they attempt to return to
moment she finds out, but I don’t blame you. The
the United States and serve as was their duty,
Pag-asa is a beauty, isn’t she?
knowing that they would likely be sunk by enemy
You’re looking at one of, if not the last surviving submarines, or would they remain in the South
nuclear-powered submarines in the world, iho. China Sea and use their technology to help those
Did you know she used to belong to the once who still had hope?
invincible fleet of the United States Navy. Yes,
In the end, they knew where they could be of the
the same country that rained bombs on us on
most help. The captain made contact with one of
Judgment Day. Trust me, it’s quite a story.
the surviving Admirals of the Philippine Navy and
The Pag-asa used to be known as an SSBN brokered a deal: access to Nuclear Power and
Ohio-Class Submarine. It’s a lot of fancy navy training, in exchange for food supplies, weapons,
talk for a submarine that could deliver a nuclear ammunition and of course, skilled crewmen. It
payload. She would have been a prime target wasn’t easy at first, people were wary of trusting a
for Skynet to use as a weapon against humanity, nuclear-powered submarine with the colors of the
but she wasn’t. See, she was on her way to United States of America. But the Captain had the
be decommissioned and was on a stopover in submarine’s name changed to Pag-asa, “Hope”
Philippine waters when Judgment Day happened. in Tagalog, and kept any images of the American
When Skynet took over, it took over everything Flag well inside the vessel.
that had nukes in it, some directly, some not. I Over the next few months, the captain repeated
think the Pag-asa was the one submarine that the process across other cities, Singapore,
didn’t have them. She’d given them up already Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Haiphong. It took a
along with any mandatory upgrades that would lot of negotiating to earn goodwill from various
have hooked her up to Skynet because some warlords and politicians, but ultimately, the
clerk somewhere already wrote her off the captain’s unwavering dedication to his personal
active roster. That’s right, the entire crew’s lives mission won them over.
were spared that day due to an act of God, or a
It was about this time when I got the chance to
bureaucratic mix up, whichever is more believable
serve aboard the Pag-Asa. My engineering degree
to you.
wasn’t going anywhere with Manila being reduced
The captain called the crew over to listen to the to a radioactive wasteland, but I could still be
radio chatter as entire nations were lost to nuclear useful here. At first, I thought it was a choice
fire and they came to realize that the world had assignment: see the world, maintain the peace, be
come to an end. And as luck would have it, they a force for good.
seemed to be the only functioning mobile nuclear
But I didn’t think I would see so much fighting.
power plant that hadn’t been taken over by
When the first Hunter-Killer Hydrofoils started
Skynet. Given that there were still calls for help in
patrolling the open seas to hunt down any
every language after Judgment Day meant that
surviving humans, I got to see what they were
there were survivors.
doing first-hand. Nobody near the coast was safe.
The mixed crew of the Pag-asa proved their worth
time and again, even at the cost of many of the
crew. But each victory gave us a chance to study

The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST [.053]

CHAPTER FOUR

the enemy and learn from their technology. That’s A Fractured

how we were able to reverse-engineer the laser
weapons that those Hunter-Killers were using for
Philippines
human use. No longer a Nation in the political sense, the
Philippines was destroyed as part of the first wave
Trust me, the first time we blew a Hydrofoil out
of bombs that fell over Asia. The bomb that hit
of the water with their own Laser weapons was a
the capital of Manila was comparatively small, but
firework show I will always remember.
it was enough. The resulting devastation erased
Of course, our victories meant that Pag-asa the Philippine seat of power, shattered its military
became a figurehead of a new Southeast Asian chain of command and knocked out almost all
Resistance. A mobile headquarters that was central communication infrastructure. The sheer
constantly moving from nation to nation, bringing terror at the sudden loss of millions of casualties
aid, news and vital power to recharge the left most of the country in a state of chaos.
captured weapons of the various resistance cells.
That said, we’re not superheroes. A single Luzon
submarine wasn’t going to be enough to stop all Skynet was already in position even before the
the machines that keep rolling out of Skynet’s bombs fell. As the military moved out of Clark
factories. We have friends now. Sure, they’re Airbase and the Subic Naval base, they found
not nuclear-powered submersibles with Laser a willing buyer in Cyberdyne. Cyberdyne was
weapons, but they’ve got their own courage more than happy to utilize the bases as facilities
and we’ve found interesting ways to hide from for their next generation of automated factories.
Skynet’s attention, at least enough to give the These served as ideal locations for automated
South China Sea a fighting chance. production facilities for their prototype attack
Anyway, that’s enough story time for you, iho. Get drones. What’s more, these automated factories
your ass back home before your ate worries even were outfitted to be operations off the grid,
more. Oh, and study well. The next time I come independent of the power stations of the rest of
back ashore, I’m going to test your engineering the country.
skills to see if you have what it takes to work On Judgment Day both facilities went online, and
under me. first-generation Hunter-Killers started rolling off
the assembly line, establishing Skynet’s foothold
in Southeast Asia. Skynet’s actions quickly seized
Northern Luzon, cutting it off from the rest of the
island. With the locals having little to no access
to any real sources of weapons to put together a
resistance, much of the human population was
wiped out or corralled into work camps where
they would build more automated factories. There
are rumors of people who have managed to hide
in the dense forests and mountains in the North,
but such stories have little in the way of proof
and any such enclaves of survivors will have little
ability to resist Skynet directly.
South of Manila, the Armed Forces found
themselves in an unthinkable situation. The
majority of the generals were politicians and this
situation left them with little use of the favors and
influence they’ve spent their entire lives building.
The chain of command was barely holding
in place, as units fought over weapons and
rations and several ambitious officers mutinied.
Disillusioned with their commanders these
rogue colonels led their forces promising them

[.054] The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST

 GLOBAL rESISTANCE: ASIA

protection. While this was often at the cost of the Visayas

civilians they swore to protect, some were truly
Roberto Ramos’ successes in repurposing
heroic.
Cyberdyne technology was enabled by Roberto’s
One such hero was “General” Roberto Ramos, a colleague in Cebu City, an industrialist by the
middle-ranking officer who was part of the first name of Lucinio de Guzman. A CEO of an
few rescue teams sent to survey the damage automation firm, Lucinio de Guzman threw his
done on Judgment Day. As a first-hand witness efforts into finding a way to keep Cebu City
to the carnage of the attack, Roberto and his self-sufficient even with the loss of Luzon to the
men doubled-down on their oaths as soldiers to attacks on Judgment Day. The fact that Cebu
protect as much of the country as they could. wasn’t as populated as the other cities meant that
it was spared from being a primary target, but that
The abandonment of the Army’s morals and oaths
didn’t spare the city from hunger, lawlessness and
by his superiors disgusted Roberto, who began
wanton looting.
disobeying orders more and more. Focusing on
rallying the remaining idealists to focus on helping Lucinio’s influence in the local businesses and
survivors instead of gathering supplies to shore up military was vital to his company’s rapid response
the Generals and their rule. It wasn’t long before and transition to self-sufficiency and defenses.
his team started running into Skynet’s automated By the time he’d heard from Roberto about the
forces. Cyberdyne Drones, he was already making plans
for the city’s defense. With a combination of good
Outgunned on almost every occasion, what they
luck and better planning, the General was able
didn’t have in gear, they made up for in dedication
to capture Cyberdyne prototypes and send them
and desperation. With traps and ambushes
across to the Visayas region, where Lucinio’s
“General” Roberto’s team were able to salvage
Engineers hastily got to work.
and repurpose the drone’s weapons for human
use. Helping in the defense of the Visayas region is
Gareth Tong, Director of Proptech, a military
Early Hunter-Killer shipbuilding firm who has long had eyes
Prototypes on Cyberdyne Systems’ Naval prototypes.
As a competitor, Proptech has had parallel
The first HK models that rolled out from Clark development streams to their own Multi-Purpose
and Subic factories were still patterned after Assault Craft (MPAC) which they sold to the
existing human technologies, with improvements Philippine Navy. Even with reduced supply
in automated systems and removal of all human from the collapse of global trade, Gareth leads
interfaces, seating and comforts. Among the Proptech’s development of new versatile craft
first of these was the RV-12 Dart, a limited-range to help patrol the waters in the Visayas region
twin-rotor drone equipped with a variety of small against the encroachment of HK Hydrofoils while
arms weaponry that was originally intended ensuring the safety of various fishing farms that
to be piloted remotely via a human controller. were still operational.
Deployed in groups of six, the RV-12 Dart was
designed to serve as an equivalent of a special It was Gareth Tong’s contact in the Philippine
forces operator for dangerous close combat Navy that brought the Philippine Resistance’s
situations in urban environments. Early Cyberdyne attention to the Orion-Class Submarine that
test footage showed how a team of RV-12 Darts would eventually become the Pag-asa, and
could effectively outperform human equivalents in Proptech serves as one of the key partners in the
Breach and Clear exercises. repair, maintenance and upkeep of the Pag-asa
whenever it was in Philippine waters.
RV-12 Darts were remarkably versatile and
equipped with IR cameras to allow for operations
in near darkness and could be outfitted with
different loadouts for lethal and non-lethal
purposes.

The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST [.055]

CHAPTER FOUR

Wider Region Southeast Asia

The resulting chaos from the exchange meant that
There is no disputing the fact that Asia suffered
many of the Asian nations collapsed. Most of the
greatly on Judgment Day. Skynet had planned the
Southeast Asian Countries fragmented as local
attack to serve as an extinction-level event and
government or military generals seized power
that meant that every Asian city with a significant
and tried to enforce order on their immediate
population was a priority target. Beijing, Shanghai,
surroundings. This inevitably led to local conflicts,
Delhi, Tokyo, Seoul, Jakarta and Manila were all
leaving many regions unable to fight back against
vaporized in the initial exchange, millions of souls
Skynet’s post war predation.
lost instantly with no hopes of escape from some
of the world’s most crowded cities. Local resistance movements vary considerably in
methods and structures, but they’re all incredibly
East Asia adaptable with seasoned combatants that are
Despite the losses of their capitals, both the experts in local terrain and trained to fight with
Chinese Army and the Japanese Self Defense minimal technology. The Local Resistance’s
Forces had protocols in place for the continuance ingenuity and unorthodox tactics have racked up
of their government and their militaries found that a surprising number of victories against Skynet’s
several of their bases had survived the exchange. Hunter-Killer forces.
They didn’t realize that Skynet had intended this
The nuclear submarine rechristened as Pag-
so that nations with military power could do what
asa serves as a mobile base that coordinates
humans did best: Destroy one another.
efforts among the Southeast Asian resistance
South Korea was a particularly sobering example members and has been essential in keeping
of this. The bomb that destroyed Seoul should most of the South China Sea from falling entirely
have kicked off a well-rehearsed military to the forces of Skynet. Its days may soon be
activation, but that was cut short by a hideous numbered. The forces of Skynet are getting better
complication. Sensing an opportunity, North Korea at predicting where it will make land-fall and faster
launched an artillery attack of chemical weapons at responding. Its only a matter of time when the
against South Korea and invaded, sparking yet Pag-asa will need to decide whether to hide and
more war. risk the destruction of the coalition it has built or
to be drawn into a battle it might not survive.

[.056] The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST

 GLOBAL rESISTANCE: OCEANIA

Oceania
INTERCEPTED COMMUNICATION ships back as possible to pick up the west coast
29.12284° S, 167.94813° E refugees. The crew was surplus and should be
sent somewhere safe in as few boats as possible.
SATTELITE 17 -
REPRIORITISE SEEK/DESTROY If you’ve heard the stories I have, you know the
ASSET ‘TE-KAHA’
sailors weren’t always well behaved, but with
Samoa on fire and Fiji in a full out shooting war
LOCATION ‘PHILLIP ISLAND’
ADDED TO PACIFIC SCHEDULE. with itself, about half of the Pacific fleet’s sailors
got dumped on Auckland.
Transcript from Problem is that the Russians aren’t dumb. They
Outreach Boat 4 knew the boats were going somewhere, they just
ATTN: J had to wait for them to make harbor. For the price
of a couple of nukes they cleared out over half the
We’ve got problems. We were finally getting Pacific fleet’s trained forces in 5 minutes and gave
around to hitting the southern pacific and one a stern warning to anyone thinking about getting
of our vessels went dark. At first, we thought it in the middle.
was Skynet, but the signal came back up after a
couple of days. We cautiously investigated and From what you’ve said about Skynet, it must have
determined that the vessel had been run aground been a stitch-up.
at a place called Phillip Island. Yeah, another one. Anyway, that was about it for the Kiwi’s. They
This one’s halfway between New Caledonia and went into some sort of lockdown and only a few
New Zealand. of those Navy boys got out to us. It gets jumbled
I know you don’t care about the tourism brochure from there. Something about a bad quake and
stuff, but it’s inhabited, and its so small Skynet some sort of illness. They said they saw bodies
hasn’t got around to strafing them yet. Militarily lying in the streets and didn’t stop to find out what
insignificant, with a largely intact suburban happened. I think that’s fair. They arrived healthy
housing structure. It was like going back in time. enough.
Nothing like the carnage of Samoa or Hawaii and That was a decade ago, but it looks like the kiwis
far less of a metal presence than the mainland. It are still kicking. Six months ago, we had a small
was weird, but good-weird like that Korean soda pirate fleet giving us grief. Nothing impressive, 3
we found that time. boats, all small, more a nuisance than anything.
Anyway, they weren’t complimentary about the Anyway, one morning I get a report from the chief
neighborhood, and we need to decide what to do constable that two of their boats have crashed at
about this. Garnet Point with one survivor. When we patched
him up, he told us that they’d been attacked by a
The following is an Interview with Mayor Emelia frigate. It didn’t hail them, it approached at speed,
Gamble. fired on them, boarded them and threw the crew
Begins - into the sea. I saw the boats. Everything useful
had been nicked and they had five-inch holes in
OK so, if the Kiwis have your people, they’re in them. Show me a pirate with guns like that. We
trouble. They’re probably alive, but they’re not think it might have been the Te Kaha, but God
coming home. This isn’t the first time they’ve knows who’s side it’s on.
broken up a ship on our shores. Hey, they used to
be a friendly bunch, but times are bloody hard. -Ends
So, the way I heard it from some of the navy boys So yeah, Johnnie we might have a very angry
was, when the Russians hit you lot, a message bunch of people, roaming the pacific with serious
went out to the pacific fleets, it had 2 parts, 1 fire military assets and absolutely no love for anyone.
on your targets, 2 get your arses home quick! I want to go get our guys, but I can’t stand up to a
OK it was a bit more complicated than that. But frigate. Any ideas?
the order was to attack and send as many empty

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CHAPTER FOUR

AUSTRALIA islands were able to bounce back, but the same

cannot be said for Australia. Little is known about
OCEANIA AND the southern continent and much of it is based
THE PACIFIC. on reports found when raiding Skynet’s bases
in North America. They are almost certainly out
The genius of Skynet’s plan was that it gave
of date, but the information they presented is
everyone the war they had been planning for and
nothing short of dire.
then placed commanding officers into strategic
roles that made sense. Everything followed Australia was not a militarily weak country.
the long-practiced playbook of move and When you take into consideration its lack of land
countermove so well that nobody noticed there borders, for its population, Australia maintained a
was a secret third player until years after the fact. very large standing mechanized force. With over
For much of the world, robbed of the context of 2000 Armored Fighting Vehicles and another 60
Judgment Day, they just saw what was on the Main Battle Tanks, it was more than prepared
TV. The US and Russia duking it out in a hail of to take on an obvious aggressor, particularly
nuclear weapons. one coming for the populated east coast or its
accessible northern coastline. Australia was
For the South Pacific much depended on where
recognized as a staunch American ally. Not only
you stood. The scattering of nations each had
had Australia been involved in every war from
their own colonial histories and while they might
Vietnam to Iraq, but it was also a Five Eyes
have tactical uses, refueling and reprovisioning,
partner and involved in testing high end military
they seldom had militaries capable of anything
projects best kept from prying eyes.
beyond self-defense and none had any desire to
be the grass under warring elephants. Many of the Australia was a natural target for Russian and
smaller Islands were quick to declare themselves Chinese attack. Missiles struck all 20 of its major
neutral in the face of the initial nuclear exchange. cities, irradiating the water supply for 18 of
Not that this helped. them. Accidents of geography such as the East
Australian current and the placement of the east
The Nations of Oceania coast cities meant that fallout from all but two
and Australasia cities fell on Canberra and Sydney as a nasty
weather front propelled it into the Tasman Sea.
Oceania contains 10 countries with populations
over 100,000 residents and is dotted with The bombardment was incredible and undeniably
additional regions much smaller than this. They effective. In the days that followed numerous
range from New Caledonia, with a population that attempts were made to reach the government in
outstrips Samoa to the few hundred people of their secure bunker, but nothing was heard.
Wave Island. As brutal rains lashed New South Wales and
Before the war, the USA maintained links to the citizens of the east coast stampeded for
many of these nations, but for the most part the outback, in the west something terrible was
other than American Samoa, Australia, Guam brewing. The Swan River factory came online as
and surprisingly New Zealand, none were targets a puppet of Skynet. It began to churn out robotic
for Russian nuclear attack. Some more esoteric forces to send into the rubble of Perth. With the
locations like Johnson Atoll were specifically Australian military securing the northern coastline,
targeted by Skynet but in general outside of Asia none expected an attack from the southwest.
and these few locations, the fighting in the Pacific Perth was devastated by robotic invaders.
was largely conventional. How Skynet managed to get so many forces in
place so early in the war, when it struggled to
Australia and create forces in North America at the same time is
unknown. It’s a distinct worry that the planning for
the Bomb Judgment Day seems to have started a lot earlier
While the Islands of the Pacific got off lightly, it than the few weeks that Skynet was sentient. But
certainly didn’t feel that way. Each country had that’s all that’s currently known. The Outreach
its own issues to contend with and governments Boats are scheduled to investigate, but Australia’s
uniformly fell into disarray. Over time many of the a continent and there are lots of places to hide.

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 GLOBAL rESISTANCE: OCEANIA

[[Swan River New Zealand:

Swan River was the name of a small, but Land of the
obscenely well-financed, private technology mushroom cloud
company based outside of Perth. Its existence
was unknown to all but the highest echelons Of all the places on earth expected to weather
of the Australian military and the senior board the storm, New Zealand was highest on the list.
members of Cyberdyne. On paper it was a small So far south that fallout would barely touch its
ISP with fair to middling rates but in practice it borders and with a thriving agricultural sector, it
was Skynet’s Australian cousin. was thought that it was untouchable. While New
Zealand was considered a friend to the USA it
Swan River was one of the many Cyberdyne was not an Ally thanks to its globally recognized
installations that, while entirely illegal, was stance on nuclear weapons. The fate that befell
accepted by the American Military Establishment the Island nation is perhaps one of the darkest
as a cost of doing business. ironies of WW3.
For Cyberdyne it offered a unique opportunity to When Skynet issued the order for the Pacific
test their Intelligent System in a new environment fleets to aid in the evacuation of the west coast
where there was far less oversight. of North America the sailors had to be offloaded
As a part of the installation, the Swan River AI somewhere. It sent a communique to Wellington
was given an automated factory to run. It was a asking permission to domicile the packed vessels
prototype, which would produce the precursor in Auckland harbor. It was controversial, but after
to the Hunter Killer, the Robotic Tracked Attack a very tight vote in parliament, the US Navy was
Vehicles. These RTAVs were designed to work in given permission to make harbor so long as the
a similar fashion to Cyberdyne’s Stealth Bomber vessels were completely nuclear free.
implementation and the factory could produce Skynet did everything but gift-wrap those ships.
hundreds before needing to be restocked. It ensured that the orders and the communique
On Judgment Day, in a giant underground parking were easily intercepted by Russian intelligence, it
garage, over a hundred of these generation zero waited a day ostensibly to ensure good weather
Hunter Killers were sitting idle waiting for Skynet. for the transfer of sailors and it charted a slow and
steady course for the convoy.
It’s unclear when the Akula class submarine
picked up their prey, but they attacked the
moment the convoy arrived at Devonport Naval
Base. In a nuclear flash the sailors and the base
were destroyed. Civilian casualties were relatively
few, and the radiation was soon blown out to
sea, but the central city and the mirrored glass of
its financial sector reflected the blast for miles.
Thousands were blinded and the country that
once was so accepting, changed overnight.
Despite the assurances of the government, few
wanted to live in Auckland anymore. Vast convoys
and Hikois traveled south to Hamilton. Where
once a million people had lived, only half that
number remained. The mass movement of people
was mirrored in other coastal cities. Nobody
trusted them anymore, everyone wanted to be
inland.
With rioting and looting commonplace, the
government struggled to maintain control.
Secessionist groups found quick converts in
the refugees and started making noises about

The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST [.059]

CHAPTER FOUR

securing territory. It looked certain that the country SURVIVING THE

would break up and it probably would have, were RISING TIDES
it not for the untimely arrival of Flu Season.
The Pacific covers a third of the planet and
While the population panicked about Russian consists of a lot of small places with a wide variety
aggression, regional famines and political of cultures and languages. Rules of etiquette can
upheaval, they were ill prepared to face a real change with barely any geographical movement
calamity. The strain of Influenza that developed and while many places will speak the language
in the camps was vicious. It started off mild, but of their colonial occupiers, they all have their own
immunity was slow to develop, and it was hard indigenous languages and linguistic quirks.
to shake. Over time it got worse and worse,
weakening the immune systems of the infected Many of the difficulties found on the globe’s
and allowing diseases like measles to run riot. continents simply don’t exist here. Fallout didn’t
Encephalitis and respiratory failure became reach the islands in large quantities and even with
widespread, soon eclipsing the deaths from the worst of nuclear winter, famine was mitigated
the Devonport nuke. Drastic quarantines were by a combination of fertile soil and low populations.
undertaken, but it became clear no one knew Robotic enemies are few and far between as the
what to do. statistical modeling systems of Skynet prefer to
face high population concentrations or regions near
For five long years, sickness and anarchy reigned. its infrastructure hubs.
The New Zealand of old was largely a memory, as
individual towns and camps preferred to isolate Of course, that doesn’t mean that the pacific
and manage their own affairs. islands are safe havens. Just like all regions
they have their pirates, would-be autocrats and
But even in isolation, communication can be the people just spoiling for a fight, but they also have
game changer. During the dark years, occasional more unique issues. As the poles rapidly melt,
visitors would wash up on the coast telling tales many of the low-lying islands face flooding on an
of the strange machines that had started the war. unprecedented scale. Soon these populations will
Interrogation suggested they were telling the truth have to evacuate and just because Skynet doesn’t
and the visitors were paraded around the camps dedicate a lot of its forces to the pacific doesn’t
to tell their story. While the population largely mean that it’s not present and watching. Small,
distrusted the outsiders, it was clear it was time to depopulated islands, even underwater, are ideal
discuss the state of the country. locations for its forces. They might be unsuitable
for robotic factories, but they make ideal places
The Treaty of Papaioea
for hidden bases as a part of Project Sea People.
The attendees at Papaioea were a hodgepodge
of people from all over the country. Some of Project Sea people]]
the camps were ethno-nationalists of one sort
or another, but most were pragmatic in their Project Sea people is a Skynet initiative to
memberships. combat Generation three. Generation three is the
theoretical repopulation of the planet in isolated
It was during the treaty discussions that the Te
locations by a third unknown actor prepared for
Atiawa announced that they had been in contact
a nuclear war. Project Sea People postulates that
with the Frigate Te Kaha, which was presently
such a population would need a steady supply
sheltering in Cook Strait. They proposed a
of nutrition and that by eradicating the protein in
confederation of autonomous settlements which
marine biomes, this can be significantly delayed.
would govern interactions through a mutually
agreed local third party. Each settlement would be The strategies of Project Sea People are many
eligible to send their members to join the National and varied. They include all manner of fishing
Defense Force which would have the sole goal of technology, the more wasteful the better. Not only
maintaining territorial sovereignty from all comers. are trawlers fitted with Driftnets and Long-lines,
but they are mechanized so that they can quickly
The negotiations were long and hard, but
turn the catch to chum. As they draw in larger
eventually even the most hard-line of the
predatory fish, companion Sub-surface Hunter-
participants realized that the prospect of self-
Killer’s attack ensuring that nothing is left in their
governance was as good a deal as they'd ever
wake. Not even an Orca can survive a torpedo.
get. Aotearoa was reborn.

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 GLOBAL rESISTANCE: SOUTH AMERICA

CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA

December 13: It happened. Managua was
overtaken by the military and now they control
TRANSCRIBED NOTES FOUND the city and surrounding region, they say they
AFTER THE ABORTED ATTACK will keep order and ration food, but the lake is
ON STRATEGIC LOCATION contaminated, I know that for a fact. Let’s see
PN01 [PANAMA CHANNEL]. NO
POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION
how things go for them.
OF THE AUTHOR. NO CAPTIVES Here in the forests near Mogoton things looked
FOR INTERROGATION.
ADDING LAURA VELEZ TO THE
better at first, but then the militias rose up
PRIORITY 3 ELIMINATION and started trying to control the people. As
SCHEDULE. predicted by Grannie, here and there sprouted
armed groups, sometimes well-intended militia,
sometimes ambitious warlord wannabes, more
Diary of Laura often than not local criminals with a taste for
Velez (fragment) megalomania.
August 28: I’m back! Finally, after years of So far, we were lucky and the local militia here
studying medicine abroad I have returned to is made up of relatives and good-natured
my dear Managua and my family! I have never people, trying to defend us, but the village next
been so happy, exhausted and yet so full of to us is the other way around, evil men preying
optimism. I know good days are coming ahead on the innocent and defenseless.
for me and my loved ones. Gotta go! My mom
made chancho frito! My favorite! December 26: Those bastards got what they
deserved! Of course, they would attack during
October 2: I… Christmas! It was sheer luck we were getting
October 3: I found the diary yesterday and have water at the stream when we saw them. I never
been crying since. I couldn’t sort out my ideas, thought I had so much hate in me. There is talk
couldn’t bear the terrible pain of writing what of hitting them back and liberating the town. I
has happened. The few communications agree, we have to join forces before whoever
we have with the rest of the world are via hit Panama comes back, already Managua has
telephone, I haven’t been able to reach any of been attacked…
my friends in the US and the food we managed [No date]: Damn it! A year has passed since the
to get after the attacks is starting to dwindle. I world was destroyed already. I don´t understand
heard something terrible happened in Panama. how I am still alive after all I have been through.
My grandmother is scared we will go back to Douglas has some sort of poisoning, probably
the time of the guerrillas and the dictatorship. due to the fallout, he’s been bleeding for a few
People are terrified and there are rumors too days now. It can’t be long now, but at least we
crazy to believe. I can’t deal with this. finally saw one of the machines. The rumors
October 29: Been working as a volunteer in the were true! I don´t know if I am elated or on the
local clinic, people are coming with symptoms verge of full hysteria! The machines did it! It
of radioactive poisoning. Tended a refugee from wasn´t us!
Panama, what she told me was beyond crazy, [No date]: Tomorrow is the day! After months of
but then I overheard a group of soldiers talking struggling and surviving we finally made it! The
about the war in Mexico and I shuddered. FRC and the CAM finally decided to join forces
Could it be true? My neighbor insists it was with us against the machines. I never thought
the Americans who started this, my father of I would live to see the day we all got on the
course yelled at him saying it was the Russians. same page. If it hadn’t been for those couriers
Truth is nobody really knows what happened from Mexico and the “New United States”?
and things are getting scarier and scarier. We (that’s how she called it, right?) this alliance
are thinking about leaving the city and heading wouldn’t have happened. I never thought I’d
north, to the mountains. hear anyone apologize for all this!

The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST [.061]

CHAPTER FOUR

It’s fragile and it is a long shot: but I’ve

convinced them to commit to one joint
operation so they can decide based on the
results. With stakes so high, it’s all or nothing:
we’re going for their base in Panama.
We’re gathered near the border ready to cross
through what’s left of the jungle. Soon we’ll
hit the canal. If we can sabotage it and gather
enough evidence to convince the rest of the
militias, we might actually present a united front
against the machines.
God! I know it will be the hardest task to date,
but I believe justice will be done!

The South American

Campaign
Skynet is many things, but above all, it is
obsessed with the small details. Prior to
Judgment Day, it realized a vast number of
humans lived in regions deemed to be of medium
to low strategic value. Targets that neither the
CIS nor the USA would target with a warhead but
that could reinforce the North American continent
and become a significant threat. While China and
India were perhaps more significant in terms of
population, South America was just next door.
To manage this potential threat Skynet reallocated
a couple dozen ICBMs to Central and South
America, using the Cold War contingency plans in
case of a socialist takeover of the southern cone
and a mothballed project called Project Seal.
The result was better than predicted. Project Seal
had not anticipated the use of mid-range nuclear
warheads as the Tsunami bomb’s payload.
Not only were the target cities struck with a
tremendous radioactive wave, but the subsequent
aftershocks would batter the coast and peripheral
targets.
By targeting the South American Subduction
zone, the cities of Chile were destroyed in a
terrible combination of earthquakes, tsunamis
and nuclear fire. What few minutes’ warning was
available was far too little to allow for any real
evacuation. Unsuspecting millions were ravaged
by the bombardment and its subsequent recurring
ecological catastrophes.
On the East Coast similar efforts were less
dramatic, but with Brazil’s high percentage of
urbanized population the missiles still managed
to kill millions. While Brazil wasn’t subject to the

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 GLOBAL rESISTANCE: SOUTH AMERICA

repeated catastrophes of the West coast, it still HK-Tanks were upgraded and set to roam across
had its own issues to contend with. In addition the vast flatlands of the Southern continent. Any
to the usual horrors of radiation, disease and survivors not lucky enough to reach the mountains
starvation, Brazil faced the worst El Niño flooding before the onslaught were obliterated.
seen in decades.
With over 2.5 million square kilometers, stretching
After the attack, and a few occasional bombing all along the South American continent, the
campaigns, Skynet more or less ignored South Andean Mountain range was a natural refuge for
America for the first year after Judgment Day. almost 60 million survivors of Skynet’s wrath.
It seemed content to allow local factions to Forming small, self-sustained communities
squabble over scarce resources as it prioritized protected by sometimes improvised, sometimes
consolidating its victory in North America and generation-old militias, this newly reformed
expanding into Mexico. Andean Confederation of People (Confederacion
de Pueblos Andinos or CPA) would be an effort
While some attempted to unify the survivors into
for the survivors to rebuild their lives, just before
larger movements, paranoia was the order of the
Skynet turned its sensors on them.
day and more and more communities preferred to
safeguard what little they had with local militias. On the other side of the mountains, those few
Rumor ran rife but nobody was sure who had survivors that managed to reach the deep jungles
attacked or why. It couldn’t be an accident but of the Amazon, would face their own challenges.
the follow up on the attack was sporadic at best. Nature’s last true enclaves, The Mato Grosso and
Demagogues of all shapes gained followings, Acre safe zones were all but impenetrable for
pointing fingers north and east, they promised Skynet’s Hunter Killers, were deadly and many
revenge but were never in any place to achieve it hard lessons about coming to terms with mother
and whenever a population grew to a significant nature were needed before they could rightly be
size it would invariably trigger an attack. The called sanctuary.
message, no large populations, was received
But Skynet does not stand still. Fully aware of
loud and clear. But even without the bombings,
where the human threat congregated but lacking
the mortality rate was hideous. By the end of El
the infrastructure needed to take the war to them,
Año de la Muerte (The Year of Death) over half the
Skynet began developing and deploying new
population of South America would be dead.
units, capable of reaching their hideouts without
The big exception to Skynet’s policy of marginal falling prey to the environment. These metal
interference was Panama. Following the strategies skeletons were still heavy, but they were not as
that had been so successful in Mexico, Skynet massive as the HK-Tanks, and they could operate
made Panama into an activity hub. Thanks to almost anywhere humans could reach. As the
Skynet’s unique position in the US military, it skeletons marched into Columbia and Ecuador
convinced local forces to complete the automated their lethality became immediately obvious. They
airstrips approved in the Skynet appropriations flushed the survivors from their homes in an
bill so that it could better support the war effort inhuman fashion.
in Mexico and provide aerial reconnaissance
With no clear understanding of the enemy they
for inbound threats. Once the site was self-
faced, the smaller communities fell quickly (if
sustaining, it was a simple matter to redeploy
not quietly), prisoners were taken to expand
the garrison. A garbled radio message asking for
the facilities in Panama and the few survivors
help was received, and when the soldiers went to
that escaped were quick to spread rumors of
assist the “beleaguered division” the helicopters
implacable metallic monsters killing and enslaving
uniformly “malfunctioned” and crashed. The HK-
everyone in their path.
Tanks rolled in and repeated the Hermosillo battle
plan all over again. The Year of Death became a decade of metal
skeletons.
While survivors (particularly in Peru and Brazil)
managed to reach relatively safe places (the
Andes and the deep Amazon respectively).
Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay would suffer the
attention of Skynet’s next stage of attack. After
their successful deployment in Mexico, the

The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST [.063]

CHAPTER FOUR

SURVIVING IN THE strong. They instituted the governments they

NEW ANDEAN knew or wanted, leading to a hodgepodge
of improvised; pseudo-military governments,
CONFEDERATION
romantically idealized democracies, Casablanca-
After the Year of Death, the surviving people of like “free settlements,” and even outright
South America finally stabilized into hundreds of doomsday cults. Not only did each community
small communities desperately eking out a living. have its own style of government, but each also
On the mountains, crops grew slowly and what had its own approach to its neighbors within the
water could be found had to be split between NAC and willingness to engage external threats.
people, animals and crops. The noble and resilient Often communities were members of the NAC
potato would once again define the region and in name only. With no burdens for membership
its inhabitants, just as the surviving llamas would save the continuity of pre-war territory and an
reassert their role in transporting them to the agreement to maintain peace with an equidistant
encampments. As Skynet’s infiltration program border, it was easy to agree to. While some
blossomed into the T-700 it became a common wanted to form a consolidated force to fight back
joke that these camelids were far better at against the machines, many more wanted to keep
detecting a Terminator than a dog. But the reality their heads down and avoid more conflict and
was that the llama’s, along-side easily farmed some wanted to retain power at all costs.
rodents (like guinea pigs), provided much needed
Ultimately, the so-called Confederacion de
proteins for the mountain dwellers’ nation.
Pueblos Andinos is more a catch phrase than
This of course as an aggregate. On paper the a joint venture. Occasionally the efforts of one
confederation weathered the apocalypse well. or two idealistic leaders come together and
They individually adjusted to whatever resources subsequently there is enough hope to counter
and territory they occupied with little outside aid. the cynics claiming such endeavors are doomed.
But to say adjusted is not to say thrived. Some Some of these leaders, like Laura Velez, actually
communities had better farmers than others and understand what is happening. These few leaders
some were victims of their own success. While are determined to reach out to any survivors in
raids from jealous neighbors were always a risk, the hopes of finding more supplies, soldiers or
too great a crop might be spotted by Skynet’s information about the enemy and eventually taking
satellites. While this might lead to bombing back the world.
raids, as the war progressed, Skynet was more
than happy to test legacy SDI systems on such Death in the Caribbean
immobile targets. Alternatively jealous neighbors
might raid the farm looking to feed their own After Judgment Day, the Caribbean fared well
starving numbers. in the initial exchange. Only Cuba, thanks to
Skynet’s legacy targeting strategies was directly
For those in the ever-dwindling forests there targeted and fallout was largely pushed out to
were numerous dangers from disease and larger sea, but it was only in the initial exchange that
predators, but food was much more plentiful and the Caribbean did well. The region still suffered
Skynet’s heavier forces found it hard to navigate significantly from Skynet’s use of Tsunami Bombs
the soft ground. Their prosperity paints the CPA to particularly in the lead up to the Pacific campaign.
be more successful than it might otherwise seem. Then, recognizing the value of the Caribbean for
Amazonian Dark Earths meant that even where naval assets, Skynet made the region a priority
Skynet razed the forest, crops could quickly for the Panama base. Occupation was the order
regrow. This led to dangerous complacency, of the day. Infrastructure was destroyed with HKs
which was rewarded with infiltration by early left to patrol harbors suitable for naval vessels.
model T-600s acting as spotters for Aerial Hunter- Millions of survivors were left in a dangerous
Killers. The canopy might have kept Skynet from no-mans land of pre-industrial conditions,
seeing them, but it offered little protection from forced to constantly move or be rounded up for
munitions or chemical weapons. transportation to the factories in Panama. It is a
And there was still the issue of organization. The situation that cannot last and the time will soon
communities varied from a handful of families come when Skynet’s ever shrinking priority list
clustered around a small farm to a few thousand brings it to focus on the Antilles.

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 GLOBAL rESISTANCE: Great Britain

THE DIS-UNITED KINGDOM

BURNT FRAGMENTS OF DIARY a note on the diary saying, “refugees arrive” and
FOUND ABANDONED AT no sooner had I buried her than they’d shown up.
51.949096, -3.583699 CONTINUE
RECONNAISANCE AND INITIATE Two of them from Birmingham, they hadn’t eaten
CHEMICAL STRIKES. ON REGION since Wolverhampton and were grateful for the
full pot of soup. A last gift from Gran along with a
If you find this diary, I know it’s a bit weird. I note saying to read her diary.
promise we’re not mad. I’m just doing what I’m The diary has a map, a curving road marked with
told. places to find food, people to meet up and a
I was still young when the bombs dropped on destination outside the Brecon National Park. It
London. The weather kept the radiation light and has crosses of places to avoid and instructions all
Newton wasn’t much of a priority for the Russian in Welsh. According to the instructions we leave
bombers. We lived in the outskirts of Church tomorrow when the second batch of refugees
Stoke, so close to England you could spit on it. arrive. I don’t know if I should believe it. She was
Off-roading in a caravan that was largely held a bit mad, but I’ve not disobeyed her yet, and I’m
together with spot welds, glue and bits of tree to not starting now.
give us camouflage. We did ok, but there weren’t Jesus, it’s been a day.
many people in the forest at that point. Granddad
was a hunter, even though his rifle spent most Dylan Gobaith
of its time hidden away from his days in Ireland. Day two of keeping this diary and Gran was spot
On good days we got rabbit and fox for dinner, on. We’ve now got two and a half full trucks of
but more often than not we got tales of how fast refugees and a caravan full of supplies, goats and
and clever the creature had been. He’d say to petrol.
me “It was almost as clever as you” just before
making me do my sums and reading the car’s I’m believing this diary more and more. According
Haynes manual. It’s funny how you never notice to the plan we come across a turned-over jeep
the people giving you chores are seldom the ones tomorrow, the Corporal is on the list. Apparently,
checking it was done right. we’ll need him for the STA, whatever that is, and
the Jeep can be salvaged. It’s the bit after that I’m
Gran was a force of nature. She’d been a nurse concerned by. You can turn the pages back for
in the NHS and just before the war had become context, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t scare me.
a dietician. She’d taken the nuclear warnings
of the 80s seriously and before everyone was “You’ll be changing things now. Making things
clambering to get food from the supermarket she better, fixing small things a day at a time to make
had supplies and an allotment. Three tiny goats a better whole. We can’t always fix the big things,
and row upon row of greens, we’d go down every but we can fight on and fix the small. Heed the
day and I’d have to feed the goats. When people rest of the plan but know that it might need to
were taking to their homes in dread, she moved change. You’re a stone thrown into water and the
us out. She attached the allotment’s caravan to ripples will bring changes for good and ill.”
the truck and moved us to a camping site with I was happier following the plan ignorant of the
three other trucks. No neighbours mind you, just rest, but that wasn’t enough for Gran. She wants
three trucks full of supplies, a run for the goats me to lead these people and get them to safety.
and tents better suited to Norway than Wales.
I’m not sure I know how, they talk so much before
Till this morning, when I buried her, I thought doing things and everyone wants their say, some
she’d been a bit on the paranoid side, but it of their ideas make sense but take us away from
was a paranoia that kept us safe and when she the plan. I’m not sure what to do.
demanded that I learn Gaelic, Welsh and English I
Dylan
just did as I was told.
I wasn’t sure what to make of the Diary, nor the
fact that it suggested Gran knew the war was
coming. I struggle to believe it at all, but there’s

The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST [.065]

CHAPTER FOUR

Birmingham: The Eradication

Occupied Zone. It was only a matter of time before the human
workforce was rendered obsolete. Skynet had
Birmingham was a city of just under a million
all the pieces in place, everyone was working as
people. Not a massive city in global terms,
they should be. Nuclear winter was fading and
but when paired with Wolverhampton and the
soon people would be more able to move around.
surrounding towns and villages it was the third
The US troops were ordered to redeploy to RAF
biggest population center in England. With a well-
Marham for “Actions in Europe”. With Marham’s
earned reputation as a city of a thousand trades
position in the Quiet Zone, Skynet knew that this
it was ideal for Skynet’s postwar manufacturing
was an order as deadly as a command to eat
requirements.
a cyanide pill. Once the troops and their pesky
Birmingham had been very lucky in the nuclear weapons had been removed; this only left a few
exchange. The Russian multi-warhead ICBM armed police as a potential hurdle to the easy
aimed at its town center had misfired and elimination of the civilians.
detonated closer to Coventry. While the explosion
Skynet did what it does best. It unleashed three
had blown the windows out at Birmingham
of its B3 bombers armed with a combination of
Airport, Hams Hall power station survived
conventional and chemical weapons. They carried
undamaged. Even after the conventional war,
Sarin. Colorless, odorless, lethal in even the
the city remained relatively intact. While most
smallest doses, but as harmless to the machines
of the inhabitants were thankful that the city’s
as a summer rain. As people saw their neighbors
government could keep the lights on and provide
fall to the ground clutching their throats, they ran.
a modicum of sustenance, Birmingham’s luck
An entire city turned into a westward stampede.
would not last.
Why did they help?
Collaboration
While most people had witnessed the missiles
With London and Manchester utterly devastated,
launch from the USA, nobody wanted to accept
Birmingham became the capital of the United
that it was a unilateral attack in a time of peace.
Kingdom, or at least what parts of the UK it
It didn’t make sense. Growing up with the “Soviet
could still talk to it. The Local government took
menace” as the bad guys in popular media, it
responsibility for organizing relief efforts where
was far easier to accept Skynet’s lies of suitcase
they could and when contacted by what looked to
bombs in Washington. Not only did the British
be their American allies, were happy to receive aid
civilians want to believe it, so did the American
drops in the form of Food and Medical supplies.
forces. Consequently, when the two sides
Skynet, in much the same way it had done in interacted, trust was built from the honesty of
America, looked at the post-war planning of its both sides. The only “person” lying was Skynet.
makers and followed the plan carefully. Globally Wherever possible it would avoid interaction with
it had already started herding people into camps humans in favor of existing plans to rearm and
to build its robotic factories, but here there was general directives sent via channels that would
an opportunity. It made surviving US forces be accepted as the legitimate chain of command.
available to aid in a “Rebuilding Britain Initiative” The more it could point to a documented plan, the
and subsequently in accordance with the plans, less likely people were to question it.
requested the assistance of the citizens in building
up its forces.
The Westward
Before long, Birmingham’s factories and Stampede
population willingly shifted gears to the war-
time production of robotic military units and the Most of the civilians of Birmingham did not have
creation of automated factories. access to cars. Fuel was in incredibly short supply
and had been gathered up for public transport
and the war effort. To escape the attack, they
were forced to run through grey snows. In utter
panic, uncertain of where the attack began
and where it finished, people were trampled by

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 GLOBAL rESISTANCE: Great Britain

their fellow citizens and half a million people Free Wales

fled into Dudley and Wolverhampton creating
an unendurable refugee crisis. With no notice, When the apocalypse came Wales had 4% of the
planning or provisions, refugees roamed the population largely living around its southern coast.
streets fighting for places where they could stay An eastern “brain drain” to Birmingham, Bristol
the night. The people of Wolverhampton were and London had left it with an aging population
sympathetic, but Skynet wasn’t done. and as far as Russian military command was
concerned, other than some airfields that could
The night was a sleepless one as the tanks built in be repurposed for returning planes and a couple
Birmingham factories began a westward advance. of nuclear power plants, Wales was a low
Those few with cars quickly evacuated westward, priority target to be addressed with conventional
but many were forced to march, hiding in the cold weapons.
as the tanks sought them out.
While this assessment might have been correct
With refugees fleeing in every direction its from a Russian point of view, Skynet would find
unknown how many were lost to Skynet’s forces the opposite to be the case. Nobody taught
and how many were lost to the cold, but those Skynet to speak Welsh.
who survived did not take this lying down.
TRANSMISSION DETECTED.
Revenge
Y PETH YW, DOEDD NEB ERIOED
While most of the Birmingham refugees fled WEDI TRAFFERTHU DYSGU CYMRAEG
towards Wales, some found places to hide in SKYNET.
locations around the city. Angry at the way they
had been attacked, they would sneak into the ACTIVATING DECRYPTION SYSTEM.
occupied city to steal supplies and sabotage
7200 SECONDS TIME OUT.
Skynet’s war machine. While this would start
opportunistically, as groups began to interact MOVING ENTRY TO COMPLEX
in the occupied city this would lead to a small DECRYPTION SYSTEM.
guerrilla force of approximately 100 people.
The Birmingham resistance doesn’t have a lot of
outside allies. Trust is thin on the ground even
The Early
amongst their membership. These are people resistance
that have had their trust abused by Skynet and Prior to the Birmingham uprising, the Resistance
are not keen to make this mistake again. They are in Wales was largely concerned with maintaining
aware of the Glyndwr Resistance (see Wales) but regional standards of living and gathering
other than the occasional trade of intelligence and supplies. The southern coast, including the
weapons for food and medicine, they are largely bridge to Bristol had been destroyed by Russian
connected by agreed dead drops that involve attacks, as had the power plants and airfields
minimum human interaction. dotted across the country. The people of Wales
The actions of the Birmingham saboteurs have waited for the other shoe to drop but the weather
slowed the war machine in noticeable ways. In was on their side and most of the radiation
their first year of activity half of the HK-Tanks went eastward. This would all change with the
produced by the factories came off the assembly Birmingham uprising.
line with malfunctioning or missing weapon Ignored again.
systems. Two percent would explode due to
malfunctioning power cells and two factories were While the damaged power plants of Wales would
burnt to the ground. As they grew in audacity, have been ideal for Skynet’s post exchange
more and more Skynet assets were redeployed to plans, the survival of the Hams Hall power station
guard the factories with patrols becoming more meant that it did not need to extend further
frequent. Casualties are high, but so is morale. than Birmingham. Nor did it have any need to
Every day Skynet makes more weapons for them immediately control the coastline. In the years
to steal, and every day the Birmingham resistance that followed the exchange, Wales was able to
obliges. consolidate into small rural mining communities.

The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST [.067]

CHAPTER FOUR

The Mines of Wales The Foco

During the nuclear winter the survivors of Cardiff The Guerrilla warfare model initially used by the
and Swansea had a massive resource close to Resistance in fighting on the Birmingham front
hand, the mines. Wales from the 18th century is largely based on the Foco model of guerrilla
had a massive number of mines extracting coal, warfare. In the Foco model, a revolution consists
copper, gold and lead. These mines became of an urban element that procures equipment
sanctuaries in the short term and the source of and a rural element that engages in armed
vital goods needed to resist the Westward march confrontation. While both elements are to engage
of the machines. the oppressive government when the opportunity
presents itself, the model accepts that the rural
Over the decade these mines would be carved
element will do most of the fighting.
north across the country, joining up communities
in a vast spiderweb connected to agricultural On the Birmingham front this is generally reversed.
areas. As the situation in Birmingham became The Welsh Resistance or Glyndwr as it is known,
apparent and refugees began to arrive, the is unwilling to let the tunnels become exposed
network began to expand eastward towards the due to the oversharing of information. Instead,
front lines. they drive or carry supplies up to agreed stash
spots where the Birmingham Resistance know
The mines are not entirely stable, there have been
where to find them. There is no formal agreement
collapses, some accidental and some deliberate.
and trade is seldom equal in value, but as both
There are numerous tank traps that ring the
sides are keen to keep getting supplies from the
main tunnels. Main roads have been deliberately
other it continues nethertheless.
destabilized to ensure that approach is hard.
Openings to paddocks have been established so Supply runs to Birmingham aren’t the sole activity
that herds of sheep can be allowed to graze. of the Glyndwr. While the Birmingham front is vital
to the war effort, if Birmingham falls the towns of
The Glyndwr Ludlow, Leominster and Hereford are next in line
and hence are being reinforced to keep the battle
The Glyndwr is a devil’s bargain of British Army as far from the tunnels as possible.
forces, Welsh nationalist elements and even a few
entrenched elements of the IRA. Nominally under Conscription
the control of the Provisional British Government Other than setting up defenses and supplying
(PGB), a large portion of its membership was the eastern resistance elements, the Glyndwr is
primed for a referendum on self-governance and largely focused on training the next generation of
have treated the apocalypse as a fait accompli. troops.
When the PBG in Birmingham finally fell, the Under mandate from the PBG it has been
Army was faced with the option of either seizing decided that all children of 10 years and older
power or accepting civilian control. Even the most are to be conscripted into the cadets. Broken
patriotic members of the Army didn’t want to take into two terms, the first term is educational and
that final step towards dissolving the country. In the second is vocational. After reaching 18 (16
exchange for the civilian government adopting in an emergency) the cadet will, based on their
the PBG mantle they accepted that the unified skills, be placed either in a military, agricultural or
defense force would be known as the Glyndwr. engineering role for the remainder of the current
Glyndwr elements are highly factionalized and emergency.
have significant issues operating in parallel. This Adult members of the community are encouraged
is largely addressed by ensuring that each has an to join the Glyndwr, but it is recognized that many
operational theatre where it has command and are too old, ill or traumatized to be effective.
defined borders. The only thing they agree on is Those that do volunteer are often given supply
that the machines cannot be allowed to advance. missions as they already know the way eastward.
The Glyndwr monitors all westward roads and Old or young, all members of the Glyndwr are
maintains 10 AS-90 self-propelled guns ready to taught Cymraeg. While it’s only a matter of time
open fire on anything that can get past the mines. before Skynet works out what’s being said, right
now it fosters unity and is better than encryption.

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 GLOBAL rESISTANCE: Great Britain

Standard equipment Scotland

Glyndwr have little in the way of personal armor
During the exchange only three nuclear weapons
and only supply runners are given bullet proof
hitting the 10 Megaton mark were used on
vests. The standard firearm is the SA80 Assault
Scotland. One was specifically targeting the
Rifle, though more than a few other weapons
Faslane Naval Base, the others were aimed at the
connected to the renewal of the 1994 IRA
cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. The other seven
ceasefire are available too. If a supply runner gets
cities received multiple smaller warheads intended
into trouble they can try and call in for support
to shut down Aberdeen, the east coast and the
from one the AS-90s but should prepare to be
Moray Firth.
disappointed unless their mission is crucial.
While this dramatically reduced the Scottish
CALLING IN ARTILLERY population, only a small amount of the country
was irradiated and much of this was in
Getting an AS-90 team to play ball and open Renfrewshire and the Lothians. Scotland became
fire is a Difficulty 16 Leadership Skill Test. a bisected nation, with the south facing all the
Aiming the attack is covered by the rules on tribulations of the war in England, and the North,
Pg 120 of the Core Rulebook “So I found this isolated and all but ignored by Skynet as it
howitzer.” pacified England.
AS-90s deal damage as per the 125mm With two very distinct contexts for their
Smoothbore Cannon found on Pg 93. interactions with Skynet each had very distinct
attitudes to the Resistance. The Northern Scots
Temporal support became more and more isolationist. They cut
The Glyndwr have had a foot up on the entire ties with anyone south of the irradiated zone and
crisis and know a lot more about the war than instead focused on surviving the Arctic conditions
they should do. Not only do they know that the of nuclear winter. Life was hard, but for the most
war will last till 2030, but they are fully aware of part Skynet left them alone.
John Connor and thanks to some Resistance The Southern Scots suffered a much different
actions have supplies in place to weather the fate. They recognized the plight of their southern
storm. neighbours and though there were heated
Unfortunately, much of the information they’ve arguments about it, eventually offered to resettle
received has been second hand through hand- the English refugees. When Skynet reached out
me-down or buried journals. Nobody has held up to support the “Rebuilding Britain Initiative” the
their hand and said “Hi, I’m a time-traveler” but Scottish councils were less interested in hosting
nothing says “I’m an ally” like a cache of small US troops and politely refused.
arms and plastic explosives. This refusal allowed Skynet to pool its forces
in Birmingham and left Scotland without the
PLAYING AS TEMPORAL SUPPORT automated factories that could be plundered for
arms.
One of the important things to realize is that
just because you’ve got a leg up on current After the Birmingham massacre, the councils of
events doesn’t mean you know many of the Scotland found a terrible war-machine bearing
small details about local events. down upon them with no allies and no equipment
to fight it with. As Skynet’s army drove through
Sending a scout back to have them document England it seemed inevitable that it would crush
the events of the early war is an important them in their homes.
priority and whether you’re a part of that
mission or have subsequently travelled back to Some fled north into the radiation zone, some
prevent a calamity documented by that mission took to the ocean hoping to find safe haven in
there is always the prospect that a mistake has Ireland, but the majority fought tanks with tools
entered the record. and were ultimately wiped out.

Hell, you might even be walking into a trap.

The TerminAtor RPG: RESIST [.069]

CHAPTER FOUR

The Quiet Zone. pockmarks ate into the rock. The poisons were
carried across the south of Britain, covering the
Britain was hit coming and going by the irradiated survivors of London with misery.
apocalypse. While it didn’t suffer the same fate
as continental Europe, it took numerous strikes Since the release, the Quiet Zone or QZ has
from Nuclear and Biological weapons. Skynet’s slowly grown across the south of Britain.
provocation of the Russian nuclear response, Sometimes this is accidental, but Skynet is always
access to the R.A.F.s nuclear bombs and control experimenting and often it is not. When it finds hot
of the British nuclear fleet gave it unparalleled zones, it is quick to push animals into the region
opportunity to devastate the British Islands. With and with limited success has even tried seeding
Britain’s heavily urbanized population, these new QZs across the country.
weapons were even more effective here than in The Quite Zone is a hellscape. While water is
other nations. plentiful, the land is dead. Occasionally a single
But the most devastating attack on British blade of grass might be seen across miles of
soil was not made with WMDs. It was a single blank grey soil. The zone is so inhospitable
well-placed conventional bomb dropped by an that it is an ideal place for Skynet to build its
opportunistic Russian bomber in the third wave automated facilities and there is evidence of
of attacks. With the RAF largely destroyed, and vast underground excavations taking place
American assets otherwise occupied, the bomber with mounds of earth piled high obscuring the
got past the countries battered defenses and machines and their newest constructions.
attacked Porton Down and Nancekuke. The QZ is surrounded by the Toxic Zone. While
Porton Down was an industrial and science this area is not the dead wastes of the QZ, it is
park where countermeasures to biological and very dangerous. Wounds get infected quickly and
chemical weapons were designed and tested. the water is poisoned but at least there is life.
It was a controversial site thanks to the aerial Trees grow in relative abundance, and animals,
release trials it had engaged in during the cold albeit mutated ones, can be found.
war, but it was not the secret front end of British It is in this area that Skynet retires its old forces to
biological weapons design. maintain the QZ perimeter. Early model HK-Tanks
That said, it did store samples of biological sit idly rusting with detritus covering them till they
weapons and when the bombs cracked the appear to be small hills or vine covered trees.
containment measures these samples were TQ-7s lazily encircle the land with the occasional
released to a perfect cauldron. It was the second Dart patrol checking the borders. It is a vision
hottest day on record with thunderstorms and of what the world will look like when humanity
rain throughout the southwest. It’s unclear which falls. Nothing but trees or the occasional hunk of
agents escaped on the mild easterly winds, or scrapped metal, and maybe not even that.
how it spread so quickly. The researchers were all
dead and nobody was in any position to stop it. The Nuclear option

Nancekuke, also known as Remote Radar Head The UK was America’s unsinkable Aircraft carrier
Portereath, was another similar site. It had and it was always expected to follow America’s
previously been a part of the Defense Chemical, lead in the case of a global conflict. As one of
Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Center. It was the USA’s closest allies, its nuclear fleet was
responsible for safe storage of numerous chemical 100% compatible with the precise guidance
agents which were scheduled for destruction mechanisms of Skynet. Many expected that the
under the Chemical Weapons Convention. letter of last resort sent to the submarines would
involve aligning with surviving NATO nations,
The unleashed poisons were devastating. In the
but nobody expected that the letter of last
thunderstorms of Armageddon, they caused a
resort would sign over the Trident missiles to the
biocide of unparalleled destruction. Flora and
ultimate enemy of Great Britain.
fauna were slain with equal ruthlessness. The
soil was stripped bare and wooden structures In just thirty minutes Skynet took full advantage
collapsed. Even stone itself was affected, of the Trident missile system targeting locations
where once moss had flourished, now strange across the globe, even on British soil.

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 survival

Surviving the Wasteland

A sudden flash fills the sky, as bright as a second Scavenging
sun. It vanishes for a moment only to return, as
the fireball and shockwave compete to reach you
first. You cover your eyes, but it might already be
Parts
too late. The heat is palpable, and you imagine Rather than detail all the individual components
that soon you’ll start to burn. As you race for and minutiae of manufacturing, The Terminator
cover thoughts of radiation fill your head. What if RPG takes a generic approach to scavenging
you’re already dead? the wastes. When scavenging a PC makes a
Survival Skill Test with a difficulty governed by
Congratulations, if you’ve lived long enough to
the circumstances. If the test is successful, each
panic it was probably a baby detonated a couple
success will enable them to gain parts. These
of clicks away. Skynet likes to use 5 Kiloton
parts can then be converted, with the Directors
tactical warheads when it finds a stronghold.
permission, into equipment or uses for equipment.
You’ve got a few seconds, but time is not on
The time that scavenging takes is dependent on
your side. The pressure wave will hit soon. A
the size of the location being raided. A shopping
supersonic wall of force crossing a kilometer
mall might have a plethora of treasures, but it will
every three seconds shattering walls and windows
take much longer than the trunk of a car which
and leaving only the sturdiest parts of buildings
will have much less to take. The Director should
standing.
use their sense of fairness when determining how
You need a bunker or failing that a basement. You many rolls a character can make and what the
look around looking for what you can find. difficulty is. A common difficulty for Scavenging is
The Director calls for a Survival Skill Test... between 8 and 14 (See the Scavenging Table on
Page 72).

Survival tests. It must be Christmas.

Possibly the most important skill for anyone in the
Occasionally, after an altercation, the PCs will
post-apocalypse is the Survival Skill. It’s used to
look to loot their fallen foes. The scavenging
avoid the many and varied problems of a world
rules should not be used for this, at least not by
in ruins and ensure that you’ll live to see another
themselves. While a crash site should certainly
day.
allow players to gleefully scavenge parts from
The Survival Skill is 50% wilderness scout and the wreck, equipment that was previously in
50% field scientist. With it you can look for signs opposition hands and is clearly present should
of an irradiated zone, so you don’t waste the simply be given to the PCs. It might be low on
battery on your Geiger Counter. Check foraged uses, or in the case of a crash, damaged and in
fruits for signs of disease or hazardous chemicals, need of repair, but unless there was an explosion
work out where the nearest water source is and it’s churlish to hide such things behind extra layers
whether you can drink from it. of rules.
It might stop short at hot-wiring a car, but it will
Parts are not light. Each unit of parts has a Wt.
let you turn one into a shelter for the night. One
of 1, though this can decrease should they be
of its most important functions is in acquiring
converted to the uses of a toolkit. Should the
equipment. Sure, that gear might be bent out of
Director hold that a particular type of equipment
shape, but a wise survivalist quickly learns to hold
is rarer for any reason, they can require a different
on to useful parts and stockpile the rest.
rate of exchange than any of those listed here.
The scavenging rules in this book are an optional Similarly, the Director can stipulate limitations on
expansion on the Survival Skill. They are designed any scavenging roll, up to and including dictating
to facilitate the provisioning of equipment to exactly what has been discovered.
characters that might not have the luxury of
Scavenging is often performed in the worst
popping to the shops or pleading with a Tech-
possible circumstances and the default
Com quartermaster.
assumption is that time is scarce and that

The Terminator RPG: RESIST [.071]

CHAPTER FIVE

characters are trying to keep an eye out for at least one component for the construction
trouble while being as stealthy as possible when of ammunition. Usually this is the chemical
raiding. propellant. Cordite and similar propellants are
often in short supply forcing armorers to seek out
When this is not the case, when the scavenger
charcoal, saltpeter and sulfur to make gunpowder.
has more time, they can opt to increase the time
taken by one or more steps down the table to Bullets
decrease the Difficulty by 3 per step. Similarly, if
Once parts have been obtained the armorer
a character is not worried about stealth or has a
can, with a toolkit, make a Difficulty 8 Technical:
colleague to keep watch the Director might reduce
Weapons (CONC) Skill Test to convert parts into
the Difficulty further.
bullets. Parts are used as Toolkit Uses and The
Scavenging isn’t a perfect search, it is unlikely number of bullets created is equal to the amount
to uncover things like panic rooms, hidden of Hit Points that the Repair Kit would have
compartments and the like without an Exceptional restored.
Success.
For simplicity there is no distinction between
Scavenging Table manufactured and home-made bullets, but if the
Director is wishing to add that complication, they
AREA BEING TIME AT
are advised to consider using the Jury-rigged
SEARCHED DIFFICULTY 14
Weapon rules (Core Rulebook page 90).
A car 15 minutes
Bombs
A room 30 minutes Bombs can be made in a similar manner as bullets
A house floor 1 hour using parts or uses from a Demolitions Kit. As per
the Core Rulebook (Page 82) the bomb-maker
A small motel 2 hours can decide on the Difficulty of the task with higher
A shopping mall 4 hours difficulties increasing the potency of the explosive,
but the bomb maker can also opt to make heavier
A high rise 8 hours bombs relying on the adage that the bigger the
A street 8 hours bomb the bigger the blast.
Every success creates 1 WT 1 explosive with the
Tool kits above stats, these can be combined or separated
using the Blasting Packs rules below.
It’s not enough to simply have parts, you need
to have the right parts. Left to their own devices, Bomb Difficulty
mechanics tend to accrue entire junkyards of
things they’ll need “Just in case” and while they MIN BLAST
DIFFICULTY DMG AD
might own literal tons of metal, machined parts DMG RADIUS
and the tools to make high end components are
8 1d10+0 4 0 3m
much rarer. One of the simplest uses for parts is
to convert them to Toolkit Uses so long as the 11 1d10+2 4 1 6m
technician is competent adding parts to their Kits
14 1d10+4 6 1 9m
is a trivial matter.
16 1d10+6 8 2 12m
Ammunition
Blasting Packs
The most common place to get ammunition is
When detonated together by a character skilled
from dead opposition, and then it’s just a matter
in Demolitions, every additional 1 WT of explosive
of counting the shells and recharging the power
increases DMG and Min DMG by +2 and
packs. Forget going shopping, most stores and
increases the radius of the blast by 2m. Similarly,
wholesalers were looted in the first year of the
when manufactured, 1 WT of explosive can be
apocalypse and what’s left on the shelves is often
split into 3 smaller WT 0 explosives. These smaller
radioactive. Luckily, over-enthusiastic rioters left
explosives decrease DMG and Min DMG by 1 but
brass and lead all over the ruins of the world and
are otherwise identical to the stats above.
the truly desperate can even try and take back
metal from Skynet assets. Alas Murphy’s law
always kicks in and the armorer is usually short

[.072] The Terminator RPG: RESIST

 survival

Incendiaries Burnout
In addition to the explosives listed previously, a
Burnout is a state that Jury-rigged technology
single unit of parts and a Difficulty 8 Technical:
is prone to. When a device is burnt-out it will
Weapons (CONC) Skill Test can create its rolled
immediately drain its battery and cease to function
successes in Molotov Cocktails (Core Rulebook
until it has been repaired. Repairing Burnout
page 134) or Flamethrower Ammo.
requires a Difficulty 8 Technical: Electronics or
Technical: Weapons Skill Test and a day of testing.
Go on, tell Doc you used the sterilizing alcohol It is entirely possible that a burnt-out weapon can
to make explosives. I dare you! be repaired and tested only to fail the very next
day.
- Unnamed Resistance Commander
Jury-rigged weapons risk burning out every
Power Packs time they are reloaded. Reloading a Jury-rigged
weapon requires a Difficulty 14 Technical:
Most energy weapons have some mechanism Weapons (CONC) Skill Test or it will Burnout and
for recharging, though often with the meager need another reload attempt with a fresh power
resources of the Resistance, means that this takes source.
a considerable amount of time or access to a
sunny day, which has its own inherent dangers. Jury-rigged power sources are more fragile.
They must be regularly maintained and checked
Laser and Plasma weapons can fully recharge regularly for Burnout. Upon installing a power
from the sun in approximately 48 hours or pull source, the technician must spend 30 minutes
30 rounds of energy from a full car battery in and make a Difficulty 11 Technical: Electronics
approximately half an hour. Car alternators and Skill Test. Success on this test will mean that the
Terminator Fuel Cells can occasionally be Jury- connection will function for a number of days
rigged as a power source for an energy weapon equal to the successes rolled. After this, a fresh
though neither is ideal. test must be made or Burnout will occur. Each
Creating a Jury-rigged weapon or power source test takes 30 minutes and any remaining days
requires a Difficulty 11 Technical: Weapons Skill from the prior roll are immediately lost prior to the
Test at which point the number of successes roll. Failing the test will cause a Burnout.
determines how many times it can Burnout before Finally, if a Serious Failure is rolled when using a
it permanently ceases to function. Jury-rigged technology, it will also Burnout.
There are two types of power packs, Generators
and Batteries. A Generator, so long as it’s running, Rockets
has no practical limit as to how many times it can Shoulder Launched Rockets are a nightmare
recharge an energy weapon. A Battery has a set to fabricate, taking at least a week’s work in a
limit of charges listed in its type which reduces by secured location. Creating a missile requires
1 every time its recharged. three successes on a Difficulty 14 Technical:
Power Packs Weapons (CONC) Skill Test and a Difficulty 11
Technical: Electronics Skill Test. It uses up 6
NAME TYPE RECHARGE components, though additional successes on the
Technical: Weapons Skill Test will reduce this by
1 component per success over and above the
Car Alternator Generator 1 per 5min requirement. Should any test fail, the rocket will
fail to launch. On a Serious Failure it will detonate.
Car Battery Battery (30) 1 per min
Guidance systems
Athletics ranks A guidance system requires weeks of work, a
Manual Crank Generator Difficulty 13 Technical: Electronics (CONC) Skill
per hour
Test to build and a Difficulty 11 Computer (KNOW)
Solar Panel (Cloudy) Generator 1 per hour Skill Test. If both these tests are successful, then
a number of rockets equal to the successes rolled
in the worst of these two tests are upgraded to
Terminator Fuel Cell* Battery (200) 1 per min Seeker Missiles.

* Note if this burns out it will explode.

The Terminator RPG: RESIST [.073]

CHAPTER FIVE

Armor and Clothing Armor Reinforcement

Finding clothing is down to context. A character In addition to regular Armor a competent armorer
in dire need of clothing can’t simply hunt furs and can make up all the supplemental armors
wear them the same day. If they can find a home except for Advanced Composites. Helmets and
or mall there might be some scraps of clothing Reinforcement Plates take time to make but
left over but this is unlikely, and the Director might present no challenge to the armorer.
call for a Difficulty 12 Luck Test to see if anything’s A Helmet (PV +1 Resistance n/a) can be made
available. It’s much more likely that the characters by using a Tool Kit, 2 parts and a Difficulty 8
will have to look for a corpse and take clothing Technical: Weapons (CONC) Skill Test. It will take
from them. 6 days to perform the task, with every additional
Scavenged clothing is seldom in good condition, success shaving a day off construction.
while individual garments might be found, they will Reinforcement Plates are even easier to construct.
all be in varying degrees of disrepair. A success 2 parts and a Difficulty 8 Technical: Mechanical
will be enough to find inadequate clothing, but (CONC) or Difficulty 5 Technical: Weapons (CONC)
adequate, adapted or specialist clothing requires will, over the course of a day, create a plate with
much greater degrees of success. Armor as indicated below.
The mechanism for making up a suit of clothing
is a Difficulty 5 Survival (COOL) Skill Test. Each SUCCESSES PV RESISTANCE WT
success allows for a different degree of suit
quality and decides the extent at which it can be
1 +1 +1 1
armored. Essentially successes are spent on the
Clothing Scavenging Test Table and applied to 2 +1 +1 0
the categories of Quality and Armor so if you roll
3 successes on the Skill Test you could choose to 3 +2 +2 2
make a Biohazard suit with PV 0 or an Adequate
suit of clothing with PV 2 Resistance 1. All suits 4 +2 +2 1
made with this rule have the MIL-SPEC rule and
5+ +2 +2 0
start with a Resistance of 1.
Clothing Scavenging Medical Supplies
Test. Finding actual medicine in the wastelands is
nothing short of a miracle. The pain-killer and anti-
SUCCESSES QUALITY ARMOUR inflammatory medications that make up a modern
medical kit must often be traded for homeopathic
alternatives simply due to the scarcity of such
0 Inadequate PV 0 medicines.
1 Adequate PV 1 Similarly pre-packaged bandages have long
since been replaced by boiled strips of discarded
2 Adapted PV 2 clothing, kept as sterile as sandwich bags allow.
3 Biohazard Suit PV 3 Luckily, while many supermarkets might be
completely ransacked of easy options, particularly
4+ Radiation Suit PV 4 when considering food and common household
products, many places still have spices sitting
Once a scavenger has made up the initial suit, an discarded in their stock rooms.
armorer will need to use parts from a Repair Kit to
reinforce it and build up its Resistance. Seen as a luxury by uneducated survivors, they
were simply left to sit, leaving treasure troves of
This requires a Difficulty 8 Technical: Weapons turmeric, cloves and ginger. All sorts of spices
(CONC) Skill Test. If the test is successful 1 have useful medicinal properties and can often be
Resistance is gained for every Hit Point the Repair found in dried packets with insane use-by dates.
Kit being used would have repaired. All the Kit’s
usual rules apply, and the armorer can use more Only extraordinary successes while scavenging
parts to add more resistance as per the normal should result in finding modern medical
repair rules. equipment and supplies. When adding uses to

[.074] The Terminator RPG: RESIST

 survival

a Medical Kit, players should be encouraged to The destruction of most urban centers has placed
come up with practical and pragmatic solutions an inordinate amount of glass in the maze-like
rather than packs of bandages kept in red plastic windy corridors of urban centers. When a hard
boxes. wind picks up it can pelt characters with debris
and while this is unlikely to cause damage, all it
DIRECTORS NOTE: Directors should be takes is a bit of bad luck for a sliver of glass to
reasonable with finding medical supplies even if ruin your day.
it stretches suspension of disbelief, particularly Directors wanting to emphasize the apocalyptic
when characters have an Illness Trait. The nature of the weather can require a Daily Difficulty
Terminator RPG is ultimately an action game. 5 Survival Skill Test with failures indicating that the
PCs will take damage and medical supplies will characters have run afoul of Apocalyptic Weather.
be necessary to keep the game going. The PCs
should be desperate, not doomed. Characters that run afoul of Apocalyptic Weather
must make a Difficulty 8 Luck Test. If they fail
the test then the weather has a nasty surprise
Shelter with it; acid rain, slivers of glass on the wind and
Finding shelter is a matter of being aware of a particularly high dose of UV radiation are all
the structures nearby and the weather. Finding possible. Regardless of the cause this effect is
overnight shelter to augment a Survival Kit is a simplified as “Apocalyptic Weather” and deals
Difficulty 8 Test with each success improving damage as below. Of course, on a Serious Failure
a Survival Kit by 1 step for 8 hours. It is very the weather might lead to characters being
common for this to be achieved as a Teamwork exposed to worse things, like toxicants from rapid
(Emphasizing Awesome) Test and Directors should flu strains to radiation poisoning.
be lenient unless the plot requires particularly lean Apocalyptic Weather
times for the characters. Shelter is the primary
way that characters avoid the hazards of weather, DMG MIN DMG AD
and it should be hammered home that there’s a
reason most people stay inside during the day.
1d10-4 0 1
Weather
Apocalyptic Weather often has side effects
While it’s common to imagine nuclear winter as and can serve to expose characters to
a period of perpetual darkness, even in the first toxicants of all sorts.
couple of years in the post apocalypse, weather is
still a thing. Some days it rains, it might be black Note: Survival Kits provide PV against this
radioactive ash-filled water, but it rains. For those damage.
caught in the open this can be disastrous, but rain
can completely ruin a Survival Kit. Yes, they can Luck
be scrubbed clean, but this is a time-intensive
project and risks exposing the cleaner to radiation There are times when a Director might want to
a second time. gauge the luck of a character. This can be for
serious or trivial matters and is a good way to add
Just as being caught in the rain can be a value to the Fate STAT. To test a character’s luck
significant issue, so can being caught on a simply make a Fate Resistance Test.
cloudless day. The ozone layer is so ravaged by
the war that ultraviolet light is far more prevalent Difficulty 8 is usually a good measure for a simple
than humanity is used to. While the ozone layer thing such as “did the bandit have a watch” or “do
will eventually restore itself, eventually will be a lot the bandit’s shoes fit?”
longer than PCs can wait. Being without the right Of course, nothing says that your day’s going
clothing can expose the PCs to painful sunburn to get worse than rolling a 1 on a Luck Test. As
and should this happen too often, melanoma. with all other Resistance Tests the STAT or Fate
But it’s not just the sun and the rain that need to Maximum is used, not the current points.
be considered. Windstorms have made goggles
into a common affectation for survivors living near
cities.

The Terminator RPG: RESIST [.075]

CHAPTER FIVE

Scouting out a Dwelling.

INFECTION (IR 8) The first step in setting up a dwelling is to decide
on a spot. This involves many days of scouting
VECTOR Blood Contact. and planning after which all PCs can make a
Difficulty 8 Detect (CONC) Skill Test with every
-1 CONC, -1 Hit Point every success of the best roll reporting an Asset or a
EFFECT
24 hours. Liability (PC’s choice). If the PCs are rushed for
-1 DEX and STR after 48 time or facing Apocalyptic Weather this difficulty
PROGRESSION hours, -1 to Treatment rolls should increase.
per 24 hours. Common Assets
TR 5 > The Structure has four damaged walls and a
roof.
TREATMENT Antibiotics.
> The roof has natural camouflage from plants
and debris.
RAPID FLU STRAINS (IR 8) > There’s a nearby stream.
> There are signs of animal life.
VECTOR Inhalation & Skin Contact.
> The structure has a basement.
-1 CONC Lose 1 Hit Point
EFFECT > The structure has a solar panel.
every 48 hours.
Common Liabilities
After 7 days -1 CHA, -1
PROGRESSION
COOL, -1 DEX, -1 STR. > There is a noisy Skynet facility nearby.
TR 8 > The area is routinely patrolled or under a flight
path.
Warm surroundings and
TREATMENT > There are radioactive materials nearby.
Hydration.
> There are dangerous feral animals or human
neighbors.
RADIATION SICKNESS (IR 11) > There are annoying insects.
> Water is a solid hike away from the structure.
Ingestion, Inhalation & Skin
VECTOR
Contact. > Nearby repair materials are scarce.
-1 CONC, -1 STR Lose 1
EFFECT Hit Point every 24 hours for DIRECTOR’S NOTE: When scouting out a
3 days. location the Director should allow the PCs to
stipulate the advantages they would like and
-1 CONC, -1 DEX, -2 STR liabilities they will endure in their dwelling. It’s OK
PROGRESSION Lose 2 Hit Points every 6 to make assets either/or propositions and limit the
hours -6 to Treatment rolls. advantages they can get, but as the characters
Death 3 days after would be looking for an ideal site, they should get
PROGRESSION 2 some say in what they wind up with. If a PC is
progression.
willing to spend Hope to find a location, it should
TR 8 be more or less what they want with only one or
two curveballs.
Decontamination and Anti-
TREATMENT
nausea drugs.

Note: This is an update of the Radiation poisoning

found in the Core Rulebook

[.076] The Terminator RPG: RESIST

 survival

Fixing up the Dwelling Protecting a Dwelling

Once the characters have found a site, the In addition to hiding the site the PCs might want
structure on the site must be repaired. Building or to reinforce it. There’s a reason most bunkers are
restoring a Weatherproof structure is a Difficulty underground as this is an expensive endeavor.
14 Technical: Mechanical Skill Test with a -3 Every wall needs to be protected, as does the
penalty if the weather is poor. Every asset or roof. It’s no good having one strong wall. A
liability previously uncovered grants a +1 bonus shockwave can easily reverberate through a
on this test and every Part spent on the repair structure and reduce it to rubble.
will grant a +1 bonus as well. This test takes the
Reinforcing a structure requires a Technical:
better part of a day and can be repeated daily but
Weapons (CONC) with a Difficulty equal to the
regardless of whether the test is successful, any
Armor PV that the builder wants the structure to
parts used to provide a bonus are expended.
have. This will need parts equal to the PV times
This test can be made as a Teamwork the number of sections in the property. These
(Emphasizing Awesome) Skill Test, but characters parts are not expended by failed tests and tests
can also attempt 1 daily scavenging attempt to can be made daily till the structure is satisfactory.
gather parts for this endeavor and this is usually a
better use of their time. Sections
Each wall, on each floor is a section, as is the
Once this test is successful, the structure will
roof. A standard building has four exterior walls
function as a PV 2 Environmental protection with
and a roof, which is five sections. If it were a
Hit Points equal to the amount repaired (Core
two-story building it would have an additional
Rulebook page 120). It’s better than nothing, but
four second level walls making it nine sections.
a long way from finished. Every day the structure
Obviously finding the PV times nine in parts
must be maintained with a daily Difficulty 8
to armor a two-story building is prohibitively
Technical: Mechanical Skill Test. The first Success
difficult, so it is much more common to reinforce a
keeps the structure from collapsing, but every
structure’s basement as a one section bunker.
additional Success will increase this PV by one
and add additional Hit Points to the Structure.
EXAMPLE PVS
If at any point the daily maintenance roll fails, then
PV EXAMPLE
the PV decreases by 1. If the test is a Serious
Failure or PV ever reaches zero, the structure must 3 A common exterior wall.
be urgently rebuilt and anyone sleeping inside will
probably need to be rescued as well. 6 A sturdy wall.

Once the structure gets to PV 6 it is a A structure designed to resist

8
Weatherproof structure (Core Rulebook page 109) civilian small arms.
and will maintain the PCs so long as the food A structure designed to resist
holds out. Tests at this point can add Hit Points to 14
military-grade small arms.
the structure, but the structure is Weatherproof,
A structure designed to resist
and the PV won’t increase further. 18
Support weapons.
Hiding the Dwelling 40 A commercial nuclear bunker.
Once the dwelling is established it’s not enough
60 A nuclear bunker akin to Norad.
to maintain it, you’ll also need to hide it. The daily
work of hiding a dwelling includes burying waste
in secluded places, covering the dwelling with Hope and Engineering
camouflage and generally hiding all traces of life.
A Difficulty 11 Teamwork Stealth (DEX) Skill Test The expenditure of a Hope (Brains) Point will mean
(Emphasizing Awesome) is needed to keep the that there is an easily-discoverable neighboring
site camouflaged. Every success rolled will secure structure like a sewer or tunnel which can be
the site from casual inspection for 1 day. Just be exploited. While the structure will have minimal
careful not to be spotted outside the site or else defenses it can be upgraded after the fact.
you might get followed back and lose all your hard
work.

The Terminator RPG: RESIST [.077]

CHAPTER FIVE

Expanding a Dwelling. Sustenance

Expanding a dwelling above ground is seldom a The difficulty of finding food is based on season.
clever idea, it will certainly draw attention from In the spring/summer months the test, which
hostile forces. It is much more common to expand can be either an Animal Training (COOL) or
a dwelling underground. Whether by digging Survival (COOL) Skill Test, has a Difficulty of 8
downwards or breaking into a main sewer, this but in autumn/winter months the test becomes a
can be a mammoth task and a single person can Difficulty 11 Test. Each success will increase the
only do so much. number of meals the character has by 1 unless
There are two big hazards with engaging in this they are using Hunting Lures where each success
sort of engineering: flooding and collapse. exponentially increases the number of meals
sourced (Core rulebook page 106). These meals
While PCs with the Engineer role will be able to
will last a day or two at most unless they are
avoid these hazards instinctively, other characters
properly preserved. Treating meals for long term
will need to make a Difficulty 8 Technical:
storage requires a day and a Difficulty 8 Survival
Mechanical Skill Test with Failures damaging the
(COOL) Skill Test. Each success rolled will prepare
site with Apocalyptic Weather and Serious Failures
one meal of food that will last for a week, though
collapsing the site. This test includes the first day
2 successes can be spent to secure a meal for a
of tunneling, with each Success excavating, and
month. Meals that can survive a week are called
more importantly hiding, half a cubic meter of
“Dry Rations.” Meals that can survive a month are
concrete, earth or stone.
called “Iron Rations.”
After this initial foray, the PCs can make a daily
A meal can also be converted into Hunting Lures.
Difficulty 5 Technical: Mechanical Skill Test to
This requires a Difficulty 8 Survival (COOL) Skill
clear a similar amount of rubble until a large
Test with every success creating 1 use of Hunting
enough space has been excavated.
Lures.
Once a space has been excavated it will need
additional work to make it habitable. It is up to the The Vegetarian option
Director whether this entails starting from scratch Note that while Animal Training is the Skill used
as if it were a new dwelling or whether the PCs here, meals do not have to be meat-based. An
get a head start on the process, but the rules are understanding of animal activity is crucial in
exactly the same as if they were fixing up a new finding berries and other edible plants. This is not
dwelling. by any means a safe option. Flora is as likely to be
poisoned as fauna and all food sources should be
Sewer Entrances tested, ideally with a Geiger Counter.
One of the most common expansions is to dig
into the sewers so that the PCs can enter and Wild Game
leave the dwelling without drawing attention to Occasionally PCs will meet a significantly large
themselves. This is handled with the Expanding animal (a deer or wolf) and so long as they haven’t
a Dwelling rules (See above) but it’s up to the tried hunting with incendiaries or explosives, they
players exactly how much they want to gentrify should certainly have a decent source of food. In
the sewer. They might start with just a simple situations like this it’s more than fair to allow it to
exit point only to later expand and fortify the provide a meal for each PC in addition to those
approach to their home, sealing off tunnels with gained from making Skill Tests. These encounters
barricades and similar obstructions. Some players should be reasonably rare. There were a lot of
might even prefer for the entire dwelling to be hungry mouths to feed during the nuclear winter
subterranean. Something well in line with the and consequently animals of any decent size
Terminator ascetic and so long as they’re willing are rarely near humans and never near Skynet’s
to declare its Assets in line with this preference, forces.
such options are totally fine.

[.078] The Terminator RPG: RESIST

 `FORCES OF SKYNET

Skynet - Early War Forces

In the first few years of the war, Skynet was limited industrial complex had been so badly suborned.
in the forces it had readily available. Outside the In the rest of the world, there was no real
USA it had automated factories in Birmingham, separation between Skynet and NATO. Stories of
Panama and Perth, but for the most part it had a robot awakening seemed to be hollow excuses
to rely on secret projects that it could suborn for the widespread destruction that the nuclear
through its connection to DARPA. The Early war powers had visited upon the world.
is characterized not by metal figures walking the
In retrospect, had the survivors paid more
wastelands, but by automated weapons flying
attention to each other and Skynet’s ongoing
the American flag attacking civilians or herding
campaign against humanity, they would have
them into camps where they could be put to work
realized much sooner that Skynet was not a fable.
building Skynet’s war machine.
Who knows how many factories might not have
For most of humanity, Skynet’s nuclear aggression been constructed or how many lives could have
was a myth or conspiracy theory. Those who been saved had the survivors engaged in early
knew about it often didn’t want to accept what collective action. But it’s unfair to lay accusations
had happened. In the ruins of the western world at the door of the survivors. After all if trust had
rumors of secret Russian aggression were far been more commonplace prior to Judgment Day,
more palatable than the idea that NATO’s military Armageddon might never have taken place at all.

The Terminator RPG: RESIST [.079]

Chapter SIX

B3 “Wraith”
Bomber B3 “WRAITH” BOMBER
Skynet’s first military application outside STR DEX KNOW CONC
missile command was its control over the B2-R 3 3 0 2
Bomber codenamed “Montana”. This plane was
assigned to Operation Deliberate Force where CHA COOL FATE INITIATIVE
its operational record was key to the success of 0 7 0 +5
the air campaign. It was this role in the Bosnian
HIT WILL
intervention, and the aircraft’s proven capability MOVEMENT
POINTS POWER
to calculate in-the-moment variables when
dropping guided munitions, which led Congress 50 n/a 80
to extend the project’s funding so that all existing SKILLS
B-2 bombers were upgraded as a part of the
Skynet Appropriations Bill. As Cyberdyne had only Detect: 3 Drive: Self: 3
loaned the Montana system to the pentagon this Pistol: 1 Support Weapons: 2
was extracted and replaced for its use in project EQUIPMENT
Skynet.
8 Internal Hard Points suitable for Cruise
The B-3 is very similar to its predecessor and Missiles and Heavy Ordinance.
keeps a lot of the outward appearance. The large
windows of the earlier model have been replaced SPECIAL RULES
with discrete panoramic optics and the life ARMOR PV 8, Resistance 20.
support requirements removed in favor of greater
fuel efficiency. WEAK SPOT Engines (2) Crash!
In the early days of the war the B-3 made good 21m Length, 52.4 m
use of short-range nuclear weapons and supplied DIMENSIONS
Wingspan, 5.2m Height.
tactical deployment where more strategic OBSOLETE Units with an OIP
weapons were unavailable. INFANTRY suffer a -3 penalty of all
These weapons made available thanks to partial PROCESSOR Unskilled Skill Tests.
completion of the START treaty obligations, and Units in the later war were
decades-old, stockpiled bombs taken from RAF upgraded as processors
PROCESSOR
bases, allowed Skynet to harry the broken forces became available and
UPGRADES
of humanity during the post-exchange lull, once many had the equivalent of
these were used up Skynet moved onto using a Basic Infantry Processor.
combinations of conventional and chemical The B-3 Bomber has 2
munitions. internal weapon bays
The B-3 was fitted with a first-generation AI capable of holding 20,000
which, while quickly overtaken by the Basic OPTIONAL
Kilos of munitions.
Infantry Processor, was more than capable WEAPONS
Whether housing B-83
of hitting targets with precision and escaping CONSTRUCTION
nuclear bombs or more
retaliation. conventional laser
guided munitions, its
KNOW YOUR ENEMY: PTSD and Skynet arsenal is fully adaptable
Skynet’s technology was directly implemented for Skynet’s needs.
in the B2-R Bomber and as such it witnessed
the horrors humanity was capable of inflicting
upon itself. Not just in the actions that it
countenanced but in the actions it withheld.
While it is unknown whether this data had any
direct effect on post-sentience Skynet and its
decision making, it’s hard to imagine that such
a prior impression about humanity helped.

[.080] The Terminator RPG: RESIST

 `FORCES OF SKYNET

RTAV Robotic
Tracked Attack RTAV MINI TANK
Vehicle STR DEX KNOW CONC
The RTAV is a Robotic tank small enough to fit in 6 2 0 3
the trunk of a car. Designed around a rudimentary CHA COOL FATE INITIATIVE
AI, these vehicles were intended for autonomous
guard duties at non-critical sites such as 0 7 0 +5
Immigration Detention Centers or integrated HIT WILL
into more high-risk security patrols as a force MOVEMENT
POINTS POWER
multiplier.
30 n/a 20
On paper the RTAV had a wide variety of civilian
SKILLS
and emergency service applications, and the
investment brochures showed them doing Detect: 1 Drive: Self: 2
everything from evacuating injured soldiers to Pistol: 1 Support Weapons: 1
supporting fire fighters in suburban settings. In
EQUIPMENT
practice they were weapons of war, purpose built
for Australian terrain and armored enough to resist Drum-Fed Grenade Launcher, Light Machine Gun
the few small arms available to the public. SPECIAL RULES
ARMOR PV 10, Resistance 20.
Tracks (3) Immobilize,
WEAK SPOT Rear Solar Panels (2)
Immobilize (An hour later).
1.25m Length, 0.75m
DIMENSIONS
Width, 0.75m Height.
Pseudo-AIs cannot make
PSEUDO AI
Unskilled Skill Tests.
One in ten RTAVs are
Anti-Vehicular units,
OPTIONAL carrying Quad Rocket
WEAPONS Launchers and Anti-
CONSTRUCTION Material Rifles instead of,
or sometimes in addition
to, their usual weapons.

KNOW YOUR ENEMY: They’re not bright,

they’re not flashy, they get stuck if you run
down a flight of stairs. But they’ll wait, and
wait, and wait. They’ll destroy the stairs with
grenades and spot your body heat at night.
They’ll shoot 25 mil rounds through the floor
and just when you think it’s out of ammo, its
mate will come and relieve it. These things kill
more people by starving them out, than with
bullets.

The Terminator RPG: RESIST [.081]

Chapter SIX

RV-12 Dart RV-12 “DART” QUADROTOR

Microdrone STR DEX KNOW CONC
The RV-12 was a microdrone initially intended 1 2 0 2
for use as a supplement for special forces. Light
CHA COOL FATE INITIATIVE
enough that every soldier could carry one in
their pack, they would be controlled through a 0 7 0 +3
command hub carried by the most technical HIT WILL
member of the squad. This command hub would MOVEMENT
POINTS POWER
connect to a remote operator, which made them
15 n/a 20
easy to suborn by Skynet, much to the horror of
special forces deployed with these units. SKILLS
As Skynet took a more active role in the Detect: 1 Drive: Self: 2
construction of the Darts, upgrades in AI were Pistol: 1 Rifle: 1
hampered by the light frame meaning that a Support Weapons: 1
separate “Control model” had to be deployed to
control flights of these drones. EQUIPMENT
Once the HK-Aerial became standardized the Dual Light Submachine Guns or Self-destruct
RV-12s became a common sight in Skynet work charge (Equal to a Frag Grenade).
camps only to be eventually recycled as more of SPECIAL RULES
the biological workforces were phased out.
ARMOR PV 4, Resistance 10.
KNOW YOUR ENEMY: The buzzing of a Dart WEAK SPOT Engines (2) Crash!
is enough to bring back a lot of bad memories.
Their capacity to induce panic attacks is 0.25m Length, 0.25m
possibly more dangerous than their guns. DIMENSIONS
Width, 0.1m Height.
Pseudo-AIs cannot make
PSEUDO AI
Unskilled Skill Tests.
A control Module is a WT
1 unit with a range of
100m. Typically a Control
CONTROL MODULE
module is auto-configured
to keep Drones within
80m of it at all times.
In every wing of 8 drones
1 must be upgraded
with a Control Module.
If the Control Module
is destroyed the CONC,
DRONE FLEET DEX, Initiative of the rest
of the wing reduces to
0. Affected drones will
continue moving in a
straight line attacking
anyone they can detect.
The Dart has a Fear
FEAR INDUCING
Rating of 2.

A Dart can carry 2

OPTIONAL
WT of weapons, Stun-
WEAPONS
Guns and Dosers were
CONSTRUCTION
common in the camps.

[.082] The Terminator RPG: RESIST

 `FORCES OF SKYNET

TQ-7 UAV TQ-7 “TEEK” UAV

Some of the first weapons that Skynet was STR DEX KNOW CONC
able to claim were the assets of the CIA’s drone
2 2 0 2
program. By the time Judgment Day came, while
the Predator drone and its payload was common CHA COOL FATE INITIATIVE
knowledge it was only one of a series of less-well- 0 7 0 +3
known unmanned aerial vehicles. While Skynet
wasn’t picky in using any available UAV, its UAV HIT WILL
MOVEMENT
of choice was the TQ-7. A Hunter Killer in all POINTS POWER
but name, this drone was useful in two regards. 25 n/a 20
Firstly, the project incorporated a robotic factory
to showcase how quickly additional drones could SKILLS
be fabricated and deployed. Secondly the drone Detect: 1 Drive: Self: 2
was designed to support armor as an anti-infantry
Rifle: 1 Support Weapons: 1
attack unit. It was perfect for pursuing human
refugees in the open and destroying anything EQUIPMENT
short of heavy armor. Laser Designator, Light Machine Gun.
As Skynet was ramping up its production for the SPECIAL RULES
ground offensive in Mexico, the TQ-7 performed
admirably and kept people from looting its ARMOR PV 6, Resistance 14.
factories. Ultimately it was a creature of its time,
with a wasteful gas-powered engine and limited
WEAK SPOT Engines (2) Crash!
engagement time, the design was soon upgraded 8.5m Length, 17m
to a hybrid electrical design. DIMENSIONS
Wingspan, 2.1m Height.
By the Mid-war Skynet ceased making spare parts Pseudo-AIs cannot make
PSEUDO AI
for these units, instead decommissioning them as Unskilled Skill Tests.
needed to keep as many functional as possible. OPTIONAL
A fleet of approximately a dozen TQ-7s survives Later models upgrade
WEAPONS
into the 2020s with most of them deployed on to Laser Rifles.
CONSTRUCTION
low priority surveillance or deforestation missions
across the continental USA.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF STARVATION.
The TQ-7 consists of a standard fixed wing body
with the turreted Infrared camera seated further Skynet’s number one strategy is asset denial.
back than most drones and an ancillary infrared In looking to destroy humanity it recognizes
camera fixed forward to aid in the targeting of the that removing the requirements for survival is
drone’s arsenal. In most TQ-7s the main weapon often a more expedient strategy than engaging
is a Light Machine Gun and a laser designator for in the theatrics of war.
heavier ordinance. As the war entered its mid-
This doesn’t mean that Skynet isn’t attacking
phase the TQ-7 was one of the first upgraded to
every human it can find, but it does mean that
Laser weaponry.
Skynet often engages in actions that might be
considered unethical or counter-productive.
KNOW YOUR ENEMY: If you’re in the forest
and a Laser starts trying to set it ablaze, no Where another general would consider
hard feelings that’s just a Teek. Every time automatic gunfire to be a wasteful expenditure,
they get their laser to 50% charge, they go to Skynet sees it as using up weapons that could
town doing their best to make your day suck. be turned upon it. Where another general might
These things are a nightmare come summer ignore a dry forest, Skynet will set it ablaze to
when they can set the whole of California deny survivors access to cover and fuel.
ablaze. Most of the time they haven’t even seen
Skynet is working on the timeline of an
you yet. If you can, stay still till the laser runs
immortal, it has all the time in the world to
down its charge, then blow it out of the sky!
achieve its goals, at least so it thinks.

The Terminator RPG: RESIST [.083]

Chapter SIX

Skynet – Post-Millennial
Forces
Towards the end of the millennium Skynet G-22 MOBILE DEFENSE ROBOT
brought its automated factories online and
ceased operating in the shadows. At this point STR DEX KNOW CONC
it started rolling out its war machine in battalion 3 0 0 1
strength numbers. Some of these units are CHA COOL FATE INITIATIVE
famous; the Series G HK-Tank with its ever-
seeking searchlights and the Mark 8 Aerial both 0 7 0 +1
have parents that hark back to this era, as do HIT WILL
MOVEMENT
the Original T-100 scouts. Earlier models that, POINTS POWER
while not as evolved, with cruder weapons, bear
60 n/a 1
close resemblance to the tools Skynet will employ
decades later in much the same roles. SKILLS
These Mark One Autonomous Weapons have Detect: 2 Support Weapons: 2
simpler AIs and trade the ubiquitous plasma
weapons of the late war with automatic weapons EQUIPMENT
and missile systems occasionally stretching to Quad Heavy Machineguns.
laser weaponry as such technology comes to the
SPECIAL RULES
fore.
ARMOR PV 10, Resistance 30.
G-22 Mobile
WEAK SPOT None
Defense Robot
Built to the specifications of West German 0.5m Length, 1.5m
DIMENSIONS
military planners, the G-22 was a defensive turret Width, 1m Height.
designed to be moved by heavy truck till they PSEUDO AI
Pseudo-AIs cannot make
could self-unload and using a quadrupedal drive Unskilled Skill Tests.
train to place themselves as semi-static defenses. The G-22 grants
COVER BONUS
The G-22 is the grandfather of the DK turret. It Heavy Cover.
stands a full meter in height and even though the OPTIONAL
Anti-Tank Variants
principal weapon system is robotically controlled, WEAPONS
trade one of the Heavy
has a reinforced firing position designed for CONSTRUCTION
Machine Guns for an
an operator to veto or initiate the unit’s attack Anti-Tank Guided Missile.
protocols through the simple press of a red
countermand button. KNOW YOUR ENEMY: Largely confined to
The first thing that Skynet did with its adopted the European theater, these are portable and
model was remove the stop button. The second most importantly re-orientable defenses ideal
thing was to bundle an improved Artificial for securing border posts and denying vehicles
Intelligence into the turret and finally, most access to roadways. Many still have the
importantly, weld the operator section shut. Operator cavity making them useful places to
shelter from gas attacks, so long as you don’t
smash them trying to get in.
Note: Static defenses were seen as a sign of
oppression and had largely gone out of fashion
by 1997. They hadn’t vanished completely and
at the time the idea of war in Europe seemed
ludicrus and unthinkable. The G-22’s Stats
can be used for all manner of bunkers and
hardened positions.

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 `FORCES OF SKYNET

HK-003 “Hell HK-003 “HELL HOUND”

Hound” Canine CANINE ATTACK ROBOT

Attack Robot STR DEX KNOW CONC

Designed based on the experiences of operatives 4 2 0 1

in Afghanistan and Vietnam, the Canine Attack CHA COOL FATE INITIATIVE
Robot was a Hunter Killer design based on the 0 7 0 +3
Alsatian dog. Capable of navigating small tunnels,
resisting most firearms and using its hydraulic HIT WILL
MOVEMENT
jaws to quickly dispatch aggressors, it was seen POINTS POWER
as an ideal product for anti-guerrilla and anti- 30 n/a 4
terrorist operations. When Skynet discovered the
design in Bonn it was more than interested in SKILLS
supplementing the limited ground forces it had
Detect: 1 Drive: Self: 2
present in the European theater with an upgraded
variant of this canine frame. It just had one or two Support Weapons: 2 Unarmed Combat: 1
changes it needed to implement. EQUIPMENT
Firstly, the Hell Hound is now a pentapod with four Blowtorch, Flamethrower, Self-Destruct
dog-like legs and a small manipulator arm capable Unit (Counts as a satchel charge).
of opening doors and utilizing keyboard terminals.
SPECIAL RULES
When not in use the manipulator arm retracts
into the underbelly of the Hunter Killer next to the ARMOR PV 3, Resistance 8.
fuel cell for its second upgrade. A head-mounted WEAK SPOT Limbs (3)
flamethrower.
2m Length, 0.5m
DIMENSIONS
Width, 0.9m Height.
Pseudo-AIs cannot make
PSEUDO AI
Unskilled Skill Tests.
OPTIONAL Later models have
WEAPONS an Obsolete Infantry
CONSTRUCTION Processor.

HYDRAULIC JAWS
SKILL SUPPORT WEAPONS
DMG MIN DMG AD WEIGHT
1D10+1 2 2 N/A
With its anti-bunker design, the robot needed
a way to lay siege when it was unable to
enter a location. The best tool for this was a
flamethrower. By burning the oxygen available
to the inhabitants, it would force them to escape
and seek air and it was this feature that made
the Hunter Killer famous as the Hell Hound. But
there was always the risk that the robot would
be trapped or damaged leaving behind a useful
asset. To mitigate this Skynet added a self-
destruct unit which it could activate whenever
the unit became trapped and unable to contact
Skynet for command. The Hell Hound is now
essentially a fire and forget missile ideally suited
to the European theater.

The Terminator RPG: RESIST [.085]

Chapter SIX

Sea Scorpion “SEA SCORPION” AUTONOMOUS

Autonomous PATROL MUNITION

Patrol Munition STR DEX KNOW CONC

The Sea Scorpion is a Chinese Autonomous Patrol 2 2 0 0

Munition upgraded by Skynet to supplement its CHA COOL FATE INITIATIVE
naval forces. Its original design is akin to a small 0 7 0 +2
catamaran with a torpedo launcher mounted
above the waterline. It can recharge itself from HIT WILL
MOVEMENT
both solar and wave power meaning that once POINTS POWER
launched it has little need to ever revisit port, save 20 n/a 20
to reload its magazine.
SKILLS
Originally the Sea Scorpion was little more
than a high-tech sea mine and radio codes Detect: 1 Drive: Self: 2
had to be used to dissuade it from engaging Support Weapons: 2
friendly vessels, but with a small upgrade to the
Scorpion’s sensors and processor Skynet was EQUIPMENT
able to remove this weak spot and create a more Missile or Torpedo Launcher with
effective Hunter Killer. Now with a sensory range magazine of three “Seeker missiles.”
of up to a kilometer they are placed in triangular
SPECIAL RULES
positions at port mouths and near large fish
stocks so that they can engage survivors seeking ARMOR PV 2, Resistance 12.
food and supplies.
WEAK SPOT Engines (3) Crash!
While the Scorpion is ideal for its intended
oceanic role it is also very useful as a forward DIMENSIONS
3m Length, 2m Hull
scout and squad support weapon for riverside span, 0.5m Height.
patrols. When embedded in a squad it’s fairly Pseudo-AIs cannot make
common for the Sea Scorpions to take rear guard PSEUDO AI
Unskilled Skill Tests.
positions relying on their speed to rapidly bring
them alongside heavier T-500s when needed. Later models, particularly
OPTIONAL river hunters, upgrade
TERMINATOR SHARKS WEAPONS the weapon system with
CONSTRUCTION a Light Machine gun
Skynet’s navy is perhaps the least developed and Laser Designator.
force at its disposal. When it comes across a
ship or boat in need of termination it usually
dispatches an Interceptor, HK-Aerial or one of KNOW YOUR ENEMY: Nasty, Brutish and
their older cousins to handle it. Small. The Sea Scorpion is the dimmest of
Skynet’s machines and has a bad habit of firing
As fish tend to view other animals in terms torpedoes at whales, sharks and even over
of whether they’re a threat or food source it’s aggressive kelp beds. If you hear an explosion
highly unlikely that Skynet would ever start a from the middle of the ocean at night, it’s one
program for a T-S120 Sharkbot. It would be far of these things acting out. Of course, it doesn’t
more likely to deploy Terminators disguised as help that they scare away the fish making
smaller fish. These fish would have stats similar for some lean times. If you can approach one
to the T-R40 Ratbot. without it shooting at you, try and snare it.
Unless Skynet blows a circuit, Skynet won’t The top surface is an excellent solar panel
start producing these in large numbers, though and once you rip the brain out it can be used
if a fabrication algorithm became compromised as a perfectly serviceable fishing drone, right
anything is possible, even Sharkbots. up until one of its mates mistakes it for an
invading army.

[.086] The Terminator RPG: RESIST

 `FORCES OF SKYNET

HUMANOID HUNTER KILLERS

Cyberdyne Systems CYBERDYNE SYSTEMS SERIES 100
Series 100 Robotic ROBOTIC INFANTRY UNITS
Infantry Units STR DEX KNOW CONC
While the first unit offered to the market was 3 3 0 1
the T-70, most militaries interested in trialing the
CHA COOL FATE INITIATIVE
robot didn’t want an integrated weapon system,
finding the concept to defeat the purpose of a 0 7 0 +4
replacement for an infantry warfighter. A lighter HIT WILL
unit that could be deployed in variable roles using MOVEMENT
POINTS POWER
existing transports was preferred and the T-100
20 n/a 2
was born. While only a few dozen trial models
existed prior to Judgment Day, the automated
SKILLS
factory that was set up to manufacture them
survived the initial exchange and just needed to Detect: 2 Intimidate: 1
be turned on. Pistol: 2 Rifle: 2
Support Weapons: 2 Unarmed Combat: 2
KNOW YOUR ENEMY: Because T-100s were
often produced in first generation automated EQUIPMENT
factories, there was a higher instance of Weapons as assigned.
manufacturing defects. Some, but not all of
this, was down to Resistance sabotage. SPECIAL RULES
ARMOR PV 2, Resistance 8.
Exposed systems (3)
WEAK SPOT Sensor package (2)
(Unit is blinded).
0.7m Length, 0.25m
DIMENSIONS
Width, 2.4m Height.
Pseudo-AIs cannot make
PSEUDO AI
Unskilled Skill Tests.
Characters can attempt
a Difficulty 8 Technical:
Mechanical Skill Test to
MANUFACTURING spot one. If successful,
DEFECTS this creates a Weak spot
with a difficulty equal
to 6 less the number
of successes rolled.

The T-200 upgrade

OPTIONAL has +1 KNOW and
WEAPONS CONC. The T-300 also
CONSTRUCTION features an Obsolete
Infantry Processor.

The Terminator RPG: RESIST [.087]

Chapter SIX

T-690 ALPHA T-690 CYBERDYNE SYSTEMS

prototypes SERIES 600 INFILTRATION UNIT

“Zombies” STR DEX KNOW CONC

The T-700 was the first Terminator to actually 5 3 3 5

look like a human being, but the change from CHA COOL FATE INITIATIVE
the T-600 with its rubber skin to the T-700 and its 0 7 0 8
near perfect disguise was a bumpy road. The first
version of the T-700 was a prototype called the HIT WILL
CLOSING RUSHING
T-690. POINTS POWER

The skin of a T-690 is straight out of a horror 45 n/a 2 5

movie. The newly designed Light Titanium Frame SKILLS
was given a plastic hypodermis which was then
Detect: 2 Intimidate: 4
layered with muscle, fat and finally skin harvested
from multiple donors. Pistol: 3 Stealth: 3
Technical: Electrical: 1
It was all too common for a unit to be sent
on an infiltration mission wearing the face of EQUIPMENT
someone known to the targets. Skynet paid little Weapons as assigned/obtained.
attention to hiding the vivid surgical scars that the
implementation all too often suffered from and the SPECIAL RULES
sight of these malformed, shuffling, reanimated LIGHT
allies seemed to be the height of malice. TITANIUM
CHASSIS WITH PV 4, Resistance 10
NECROTIZING
SKIN
Sensor package
WEAK SPOT (3)
(Unit is blinded).
The T690 has a Fear rating of
HORRIFIC 5 when attacking those who
knew its skin donor in life.
Where the Terminator has a
skill subject to specification,
INFILTRATION such as Technical: Electronical,
SOFTWARE it is able to use this skill for
PACKAGE all other specifications of that
skill. In addition, it uses its
Pistol skill for all attack rolls.

SPETSNAZ TARGET INFORMATION

If you want proof about how barbaric the
machines can be look at the new infiltrators.
Just remember, it’s not your friend, it never
was. It’s just a machine wearing their skin.
Take the bastard thing down so that we can
bury what’s left of them. You can grieve later!

[.088] The Terminator RPG: RESIST

 THE FORCES OF MIR

The forces of MIR

BRDM-4 LRAT MISSILES
Amphibious SKILL SUPPORT WEAPONS
armored DMG MIN DMG AD WEIGHT
scout car 3D10+6 10 10 2
The Mark 4 was rolled out in the last days of BLAST
ROF RECOIL RANGE
the Russian republic to replace earlier BRDM RADIIUS
amphibious vehicles. It features a powerful engine VOLLEY 0 1200M 10M
more than capable of utilizing MIR’s preferred
SPECIAL RULES
alcohol-based fuel for both land and aquatic
travel. Designed to seat a crew of four, MIR has Volleys are fired as a single action. When firing
retrofitted the internal space to increase fuel and a volley, each identical weapon fired makes its
ammunition capacity while providing enough own attack roll with a cumulative -2 penalty to hit.
space for the simple robotics of Tovarisch nodes. Damage for each weapon is rolled separately.

The Mark 4 is a well-armored multirole Armored

Fighting Vehicle that carries 4 LRAT Missiles TOVARISCH NODES
as well as a turreted Heavy Machine Gun for
While these vehicles have crew designations,
proximity defense. Exported to multiple countries
these are usually filled by AIs known as
outside the CIS, the Mark 4 can be found across
Tovarisch nodes. The original Tovarisch project
Africa, Asia and the Middle East serving as a cost-
was a combination of several MIR projects to
effective border patrol vehicle. While originally
create a mechanism for human interaction.
designed for armed reconnaissance, MIR likes
With the advent of Skynet’s technology, they
to use these vehicles for garrison duties with the
have been given a new lease of life and now
T-91 tank.
feature as the intelligence for all of MIR’s
BRDM-4 AMPHIBIOUS weapon systems. Most Tovarisch Nodes are
ARMORED SCOUT CAR connected to a vehicle where they will govern
either its movement or one of its weapons.
SKILL: DRIVE: AFV / AQUATIC
HIT TOVARISCH NODE
PV RESISTANCE MOVEMENT
POINTS STR DEX KNOW CONC
12 35 24 150 2 2 3 5
SPECIAL RULES CHA COOL FATE INITIATIVE
CREW 1 driver, 3 passengers. 0 7 0 +5
WEAK SPOT Tires (4) Propeller (3) HIT WILL
MOVEMENT
5.9m length, 2.5m width, POINTS POWER
DIMENSIONS 2.4m height (3 with
5 n/a 0
missiles extended).
4x LRAT Missiles, Turret SKILLS
WEAPONS mounted Heavy Machine
Detect: 2 Drive: Any one: 2
Gun or Plasma Repeater.
Pistol: 2 Rifle: 2
In the water Movement
reduces to 20 and Support Weapons: 2
AMPHIBIOUS
the LRATs can’t be
safely launched. SPECIAL RULES
OPTIONAL Later versions upgrade Pseudo-AIs cannot make
WEAPONS the turreted HMG for PSEUDO AI
Unskilled Skill Tests.
CONSTRUCTION a Plasma Repeater.

The Terminator RPG: RESIST [.089]

Chapter SEVEN

Krokodil/Hind SPETSNAZ TARGET INFORMATION

MIL MI-24J Attack The Crocodile, or Hind to use the NATO

designation, was one of our most powerful
Helicopter aerial assets. Quick, agile and with a ferocious
The famous Hind helicopter, originally intended arsenal of weapons. It is a significant problem
to match the lifting capabilities of Bell’s UH-1 that MIR can mobilize so many of these flying
Huey, rapidly became known as one of the most tanks. If you see a Crocodile, take cover and
powerful attack helicopters in the Russian fleet. let it fly over. If you can hit it from behind, you
Capable of roles as varied as heavy assault, might get a chance to reload before it brings
medical evacuation and cargo delivery, its heavy its guns to bear but unless you have heavy
armor and abundance of weapon hardpoints weapons, don’t bother. We don’t need more
meant that it could rapidly transition from support corpses in the ranks.
missions to a combat role mid-flight. Note: If you find one that’s grounded, record
While one might expect the Hind’s flexibility its location and report back to HQ. The more of
to lead to design compromises it is, first and these we can get in the air, the better. Just be
foremost a weapon. The Hind has numerous careful, looks can be deceiving.
variants featuring all manner of anti-tank and anti- Sometimes MIR leaves them waiting, hunting
infantry weapons. It has Machine Guns mounted their prey just like the crocodile they’re named
on all sides and six ordinance points capable of after. There are no safe sides to approach from,
carrying everything from short range rocket pods just different degrees of lethal.
to small tactical nuclear weapons. What’s worse,
unlike other helicopters the MI-24J seems to have Report in, but don’t approach.
been designed for moving heavy passengers such
as T-500s.

MIL MI-24J ATTACK HELICOPTER

SKILL: DRIVE: PILOT
HIT
PV RESISTANCE MOVEMENT
POINTS
10 38 80 120
SPECIAL RULES
Pilot, 2 Crew and 8
CREW
Passengers.
WEAK SPOT Rotor Assembly (3) Crash!
17.5m length, 6.5m
DIMENSIONS
width, 6.5m height.
Quad HMG, Side and
Rear Mounted HMGs,
WEAPONS 4x Long Range Anti-Tank
(LRAT) Missiles, 2 Rocket
Pods of 12 Rockets.

ABLATIVE PV 18, Resistance

ARMOR 10, Hit Points 20.

Later Models replace the

OPTIONAL HMGs with H-23 Heavy
WEAPONS Plasma Repeaters or L-7
CONSTRUCTION Laser Cannons. Some even
replace the Rockets too.

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 THE FORCES OF MIR

MIR-175 MIR-175 –SURGICALLY ENHANCED SOLDIER

Integrated STR DEX KNOW CONC
Soldier Project 2-5 2 3 5
The Integrated Soldier Project uses the Tovarisch CHA COOL FATE INITIATIVE
as a neurological upgrade that is capable of
0 5 0 +5
bypassing or replacing the human brain and
central nervous system. While the AI is nowhere HIT WILL
CLOSING RUSHING
near the complexity of a Terminator and is more POINTS POWER
akin to a particularly out-of-date Humanoid Hunter 20 n/a 3 6
Killer, it is still adequate for ensuring that valuable
biological specimens can be kept alive without the SKILLS
vagaries of human emotion.
Athletics: 2 Detect: 2
The Initial neurological prosthesis was designed Pistol: 2 Rifles: 2
to replace the skull and brain entirely, but this was
Support Weapons: 2
shown to have a high chance of infection. Later
models were streamlined to sit upon the shoulders EQUIPMENT
like a small backpack or airline pillow, but these AKM Assault rifle, Paramilitary Body Armor,
were only required for units that would be away Helmet (PV 3, Resistance 10), Tools as required
from a MIR hub. Units dedicated to MIR hubs
replace these with even smaller implants which SPECIAL RULES
eschew processing power in favor of a wireless (3) Node (if the node is hit
link to a unit management sub processor. WEAK SPOT
it takes damage directly).

IMMUNE TO PAIN The MIR-175 can ignore

AND FEAR injury penalties and Fear
tests.
The MIR-175 can run 1
UPGRADES additional Rank 1 Skill. This
is installed as necessary.

SPETSNAZ TARGET INFORMATION

You must be mistaken. Such things don’t
exist. You saw a separatist with some unusual
technology. Nothing more.

YOU NEED TO STOP TALKING ABOUT THEM!

The last person to spread these sorts of

rumors got sent on a special project and was
never seen again.

Learn to be wise.
You saw nothing.
What did you see?
That’s right, nothing!
- Alexei

The Terminator RPG: RESIST [.091]

Chapter SEVEN

Object 254 O-254 SOLDIER REPLACEMENT PROJECT

Soldier SKILL: DRIVE: REMOTE
Replacement HIT
PV RESISTANCE MOVEMENT
Project POINTS
These small autonomous weapon systems are 4 10 8 15
compact motorized tripods capable not only of SPECIAL RULES
mounting small arms and presenting them at
stomach height but also of storing in compact 1 Tovarisch node or
CREW
self-deploying racks. While the deployment Remote Pilot.
of these units is slower than a regular human (2) Sensor unit - Blinded
deployment they can provide daisy-chain tactical WEAK SPOT (4) Node (if the node is hit
data to larger MIR-controlled vehicles even it takes damage directly).
when disabled. With a built-in locking key, the 1m length, 0. 5m
O-254 can be stripped for parts in minutes and DIMENSIONS
width, 1m height.
two damaged units can quickly become a fully Paired AKM Assault
functional soldier with a minimum of technical WEAPONS
rifles (See Below)
know-how. The O-254 has been upgraded to use
the Tovarisch Node. Object 254 does not use
DEDICATED
the standard Dual weapon
TARGETING
A GIFT SYSTEM rules for it’s AKMs. Instead,
it uses the stats below.
I swear it looked right at me and then turned BATTERY Battery powered Urals
away! These things are half blind. Just walk POWERED have a speed of 20, but
up to one slowly and tip it over. Free guns! VARIANT near infinite range.
-Alexei Pneumatic Door Ram (STR
OPTIONAL 4). Some units carry a
WEAPONS single HMG, but these tend
CONSTRUCTION to be very cumbersome
and have a DEX of 1.

PAIRED AKM ASSAULT RIFLES

SKILL RIFLE
DMG MIN DMG AD WEIGHT
2D10+3 5 1 6
ROF RECOIL RANGE CLIP
1/3/10 0 500M 200

SPETSNAZ TARGET INFORMATION

Skynet’s machines have totally taken over for
these devices in front line assaults, so MIR
tends to use these tripods as back-up for more
up-to-date Terminators.
It looks like MIR is using them for low priority
sweeps and garrison duties. Compared to the
skeletons, these are a gift! Keep a locking key
around your neck so that you can pick up their
weapons once you shoot out their control node.
No sense letting good rifles go to waste.

[.092] The Terminator RPG: RESIST

 THE FORCES OF MIR

T-91 Main Battle T-91 MAIN BATTLE TANK

TANK SKILL: DRIVE: AFV
Weighing in at 46 Metric Tons the T-91 is a semi-
amphibious main battle tank designed to go toe- HIT
PV RESISTANCE MOVEMENT
to-toe with the best armor available. With Skynet’s POINTS
defeat of most standing armies these Ironclad 16 35 15 200
monsters are ill-equipped to pursue guerillas and
consequently are largely relegated to garrison, SPECIAL RULES
artillery support and long-range recon duties.
1 driver, 1 turret gunner,
During MIR’s campaign in the Ural Mountains 2 other crew. MIR uses
CREW
these vehicles proved ill equipped to venture onto Tovarisch nodes for
the mountain’s themselves but more than capable crew members.
of collapsing caves and triggering avalanches with Tracks (3) Immobilize
their heavy guns. WEAK SPOT
Turret Join (5) Detonate!
As an area denial weapon, its 125mm cannon is 9.5m length, 4m width,
DIMENSIONS
second to none and small arms can barely scratch 2.25m height.
its paint let alone cause any significant damage. Two Heavy Machine Guns,
In concert with MI-24 Krokodil Helicopters, they WEAPONS 125mm Smoothbore Cannon,
make it very hard for any settlement to survive Gas Grenade Launchers.
even the briefest contacts.
ABLATIVE PV 18, Resistance
In the later war Skynet pushed MIR to use HK- ARMOR 10, Hit Points 20.
Tanks, though MIR resisted this and upgraded the Later Models add a P-40
battle-proven T-91 with updated Plasma Weapons OPTIONAL
Plasma Cannons and H-23
rather than spend time retooling existing factories WEAPONS
Heavy Plasma Repeaters to
for marginal benefit. CONSTRUCTION
the Smoothbore Cannon.

SPETSNAZ TARGET INFORMATION 125MM SMOOTHBORE

MIR loves to park these things around CANNON (HE SHELLS)
important factories and installations. If SKILL SUPPORT WEAPONS
you’re lucky, you can confuse them and get
them to fire on each other. Just don’t confuse DMG MIN DMG AD WEIGHT
tanks with pillboxes. They will move to better 4D10 12 10 N/A
positions before attacking and these Tanks
BLAST
have little to no value to us at present. Destroy ROF RECOIL RANGE
RADIIUS
their tracks but don’t attempt to salvage them.
It’s not worth the risk! 1 0 3000M 10M

The Terminator RPG: RESIST [.093]

Chapter SEVEN

Ural Heavy URAL HEAVY GOODS TRUCK

Goods Truck SKILL: DRIVE: HGV
The Ural is a fairly common heavy goods vehicle HIT
serving all manner of heavy industries alongside PV RESISTANCE MOVEMENT
POINTS
the Russian military machine. As a survivor of
the Soviet planned economy Urals can be found 4 26 24 70
almost everywhere, though just as Spetsnaz can
always find a use for them, so can MIR. SPECIAL RULES
The prewar Ural was configured with powerful CREW 1 driver, 2 passengers.
petrol engines but few of these are in service. WEAK SPOT Tires (2)
The reality of the postwar situation means that 7.3m length, 2. 5m
each truck is liable to have its own solution to the DIMENSIONS
width, 2.7m height.
problem of finding fuel.
WEAPONS None
Some Urals have been reconfigured to use May carry 27 passengers
methane or an alcohol-derived fuel source, but REAR
in the fabric-covered rear
more and more are starting to make use of the COMPARTMENT
or 6 tons of goods.
recovered batteries of MIR attack vehicles. Battery BATTERY Battery powered Urals
powered trucks do tend to be slower than the POWERED have a speed of 20, but
more traditional ones, but the newer MIR batteries VARIANT near infinite range.
can keep a truck running for years making them
just as valued as the faster, older models. OPTIONAL
Whatever Spetsnaz
WEAPONS
has on hand.
CONSTRUCTION

SPETSNAZ TARGET INFORMATION

YES PLEASE. If you can capture one of these,
particularly if its upgraded for a Terminator
fuel cell, you might get a medal.
The Ural is invaluable for evacuating refugees,
acting as a field ambulance, or protecting the
rear of a supply convoy with retrofitted Quad
50s. Command has a standing bounty of three
days leave for each Ural captured, four if it
comes in under its own power.

ELECTRICAL TRUCKS

When powered by an electrical engine the

Movement of an Ural is reduced to 20. This is
largely down to the broken terrain of the region.

VODKA COUNTS AS FUEL, RIGHT?

Well, Yes and No. Mostly Nyet. What your

thinking about is ethanol. Ethanol is found in
alcoholic drinks but unless your hitting 95%
purity it probably won’t work. The main issue
isn’t some farfetched notion that your engine
will explode, its that ethanol doesn’t burn as
quickly as gas. That makes it poor at starting in
cold weather and I hate to break it to you but...

[.094] The Terminator RPG: RESIST

 THE FORCES OF MIR

Spetsnaz Weapons
Spetsnaz has an interesting relationship with Papa medved’ “Daddy
technology. They recognize that they need to Bear” EMP cannon
be ahead of the arms race, but they don’t trust
anything they didn’t build from the ground up. Where the Medvezhonok is handed out to any
community in need of protection, the Spetsnaz
For MIR this is an interesting puzzle that forces it are very protective of their EMP cannons. The
not merely to design weapons, but also to design cannon itself has dual connection points so that
them in such a way that the troops can make their it can benefit from a revolver-like magazine of
own. removable capacitors or connect to the battery of
This creates an interesting style of weapon that, a large vehicle and use that for power.
while it looks like it was and indeed is created Each shot from the Papa medved’ will completely
from salvaged scrap, must perform at 100% every drain three capacitors equal to those used in the
time the trigger is pulled. Medvezhonok, so these must be replaced rapidly
if the weapon is to be used away from a tripod
Medvezhonok mount. Should time be of the essence each one
“Little Bear” of these capacitors can be charged in the same
way as a Medvezhonok, though it is much more
Sidearm/Under common for these to be charged from a vehicle
barrel EMP weapon and maintained as an emergency supply.
The Medvezhonok or Little Bear is a small,
somewhat low powered EMP weapon designed PAPA MEDVED’ “DADDY BEAR”
for use by Russian communities whenever they EMP CANNON
need to defend themselves from the Machines
Ostensibly designed by Dr Aziz Davlatov before SKILL SUPPORT WEAPONS
his death in the nuclear exchange, this weapon DMG MIN DMG AD WEIGHT
has been modified by MIR to allow for recharging
3D10 3 0 4
with both a turning handle and through kinetic
motion. This drastically reduces both the strength ROF RANGE
BLAST
CLIP
of the weapon and the number of times the RADIUS
weapon can be fired before recharging. SUPP (3) 100M 2M 12
`There are two models of Little Bear and it can SPECIAL RULES
either be mounted to the bottom of a rifle like See Core Rulebook
a grenade launcher or fitted with a rudimentary EMP WEAPON
Page 90.
handle and fired like a pistol.
RECHARGEABLE CLIP. See Box Text.
MEDVEZHONOK “LITTLE BEAR” EMP PISTOL
SKILL PISTOL/SUPPORT WEAPONS
RECHARGABLE CLIP
DMG MIN DMG AD WEIGHT
1D10 1 9 1 When connected to a vehicle’s engine,
these weapons have essentially unlimited
BLAST ammunition but that’s not the only way to
ROF RANGE CLIP
RADIUS recharge them. All Spetsnaz rechargeable
1 60M 1M 1 clips are removable and have a winding handle
SPECIAL RULES allowing an individual to fuel them in the field,
so long as they’re not loaded in a weapon.
See Core Rulebook
EMP WEAPON
Page 90. Winding up a single shot in combat takes 6
RECHARGEABLE CLIP. See Box Text. successes on an Extended Difficulty 5 Athletics
(STR) Skill Test. Outside combat this is
considered a mundane task.

The Terminator RPG: RESIST [.095]

Chapter SEVEN

Chuikov Atasinin miltigi

Reciprocating “Grandfathers
Pipe Rifle
Gun”
The Chuikov RPR is a masterstroke of
The forces of the RTU are not proud when it
improvisation and propaganda. A short-barreled
comes to their weapons. Many of their weapons
bolt action rifle with a reciprocating barrel it is
threaten to predate the formation of the CIS and
designed to take as much of the sting out of
had some of them been built a year earlier, they
recoil as possible while still firing a massive HMG
might well have been muskets.
round. The weapon might be ill-suited for hunting
but spetsnaz claim it to be perfectly suited to The weapons collectively called Atasınıñ mıltığı
protecting the community from Terminators that run the gamut from WW1 rifles to early model
manage to get past their patrols. Kalashnikovs. Many of these were used during
the first Chechen War or in the service of the
The truth is a bit muddier than this. While the
Mujahadeen.
weapon can certainly get through the Armor of
most T-500s a single shot is not going to cut it. Most have long since lost the ability to do
Only if these weapons can be brought to bear anything more than fire single shots reliably and
through extended acts of guerilla warfare or some struggle when used as anything more than
entrenched firing lines will they have any hope of rusty clubs. Still when that’s all you have, that’s
taking out a Terminator. what you use.

CHUIKOV RECIPROCATING PIPE RIFLE ATASINIÑ MILTIGI “GRANDFATHERS GUN”

SKILL RIFLE/SUPPORT WEAPON SKILL RIFLE
DMG MIN DMG AD WEIGHT DMG MIN DMG AD WEIGHT
2D10 6 3 2 1D10+3 5 1 2
ROF RECOIL RANGE CLIP ROF RECOIL RANGE CLIP
1 SPECIAL 300M 1 1 1 500M 5-30
SPECIAL RULES SPECIAL RULES
As a single shot rifle Should the firer wish,
the firer must have 2 they can attempt to
ranks in Rifle to use it fire the mıltıgı with
at ROF 1. Other less a ROF 10. If they do
MANUAL RELOAD
skilled users must take this, they must make
an action to reload LAST LEGS a Difficulty 11 Fate
the rifle or accept a Resistance Test. If
-1 Recoil penalty. this fails, the rifle jams
requiring a Difficulty 11
Your New Best Friend Technical: Weapons
More and more Spetsnaz patrols are Skill Test to repair it.
carrying combinations of the Chuikov and
Medvezhonok. While this started as desperate WE MIGHT BE OLD, BUT WE CAN HELP.
measure the troops in the field claim that if
you can land a solid shot with the Chuikov, you My first love was the PPSh-41 my Babushka’s
can expose circuits to let the Medvezhonok fry Papa carried in the Great Patriotic War. I
the Terminator with more effectiveness. was four years old when it became mine and
it seemed the heaviest thing in the world.
Whether this is true, and what the Weak Spot I cared for that old gun every day and was
value for this type of attack is, is left to the glad of it when we met strangers. Now in the
Director’s imagination. As is the question of shelter I use “Papassha” to teach the young.
whether other small arms can achieve the
same effect. -Alexei

[.096] The Terminator RPG: RESIST

Active Duty (Aktivnaya Sluzhba) 034 Gendarme Christian Dujardin (Final Rockets 073
All For One... 041 Report) 041 Runner Campaigns 052
Ammunition 072 Ghana 049 Runners 052
Amputee 038 Glyndwr 068 Russia 026
Armor And Clothing 074 Governing The Wasteland 031 Russia: Not Entirely Innocent 026
Armor Reinforcement 074 Guidance Systems 073 Russian Technocratic Union 029
Australia And The Bomb 058 Hiding The Dwelling 077 S. Jackson (Diary Of) 046
Australia Oceania And The Hope And Engineering 077 Scavenging 071
Pacific. 058 Horror Of Panama 005 Scavenging Table 072
Battle For Citadel Hill 024 How Did San Miguel Survive? 022 Scotland 069
Battle For The Cdc 008 Human Bioweapons 045 Scouting Out A Dwelling. 076
Before The War 026 If They Want To Fight,Let Them Sections 077
Bionic 038 Fight. 035
Sewer Entrances 078
Birmingham: The Occupied Zone. 066 Ignored Again. 067
Shelter 075
Blasting Packs 072 Incendiaries 073
Skill Tests, Time Period And Chair
Bomb Difficulty 072 Infection & The Blight 043
Quality 039
Bombs 072 Infiltration And Extermination 043
Skynet’s Global Targeting
Bullets 072 Initial Collaboration 004
Burned Man 025 Initial Success 044 Priorities 002
Burnout 073 Introduction 001 South American Campaign 062
Canada 023 Inventing Elena 028 Southeast Asia 056
Catastrophic Failure 044 It Must Be Christmas. 071 Spetsnaz 034
Central And South America 061 John Connor, Tech-Comm, And The Spetsnaz Character Creation. 037
Central Control Of The Economy And North American Uprising 016 Spetsnaz Military Honors 036
Population. 032 Judgment Day 002 Spetsnaz Supplemental Training
Chunnel Invasion. 044 Land Stripped 051 Plans. 037
Collaboration 066 Laura Velez (Diary Of) 061 Standard Equipment 069
Conscription 068 Limited Mobility 038 Strike And Counter Strike. 003
Could The Whitehouse Have Stopped Luck 075 Subterfuge At Strathcona 025
The War? 002 Luzon 054 Support Patrols (Podderzhka
Crushing Opposition 032 Medical Supplies 074 Patruley) 035
Cult Of Motherhood 033 Military And The Resistance 005 Survival Tests. 071
Cyberdyne: Slaves To The Mines Of Wales 068 Surviving In The New Andean
Machine 011 Mir 027 Confederation 064
Death In The Caribbean 064 Nations Of Oceania And Surviving The Rising Tides 060
Desperate Measures 044 Australasia 058 Sustenance 078
Dis-United Kingdom 065 New Traits 038 Swan River 059
Discovery Of Temporal Bias. 029 New Zealand 059 Temporal Support 069
Drachenfels 048 Nodes Of Mir 027 Tool Kits 072
Early Hunter-Killer Prototypes 055 Not As Russian As You Might Transcript From Outreach Boat 4 057
Early Resistance 067 Think. 032 Treaty Of Papaioea 060
East Asia 056 Nuclear Option 070
Unfriendly Neighbors 051
Eradication 066 Oceania 057
Upgrading Africa 051
Europe 040 Old Redeye 048
Vegetarian Option 078
Expanding A Dwelling. 078 Paris Catacombs 048
Veteran 039
Factions In The Rtu 030 Parts 071
Visayas 055
First Contact 044 Philippines 053
Fixing Up The Dwelling 077 Power Packs 073 War In Russia 026
Foco 068 Project Sea People 060 War With Russia (Ish) 043
Fractured Philippines 054 Project Task Forces 036 Weather 075
France And The Nuclear Project Teams 035 West Africa Now 050
Exchange 041 Prosthetics 038 West Africa Then 050
France Vs The Machines 042 Protecting A Dwelling 077 West African Coalition 051
Free Wales 067 Quiet Zone. 070 Westward Stampede 066
Freedom, Unity, And Justice! 046 Reserve Duty (Rezervnaya What Has Mir Told The Rtu? 030
French Resistance 045 Poshlina) 034 Wheelchair User 039
From Moscow With Love 028 Retaliation 045 Why Did They Help? 066
Garrison Duty (Garnizonnaya Revenge 067 Wild Game 078
Sluzhba) 034 Rise Of Skynet 004 World War Three 003
index
 HUMANITY IS ON THE BRINK.
SURVIVAL IS NOT ENOUGH,
TIME HAS COME TO

RESIST!

RESIST! is a sourcebook for the ‘Terminator RPG’. Inside it investigates the shape of the
world in the post apocalyptic Dark Future...
Before the Infiltrators wore human flesh.
Following the early apocalypse from 1997 to 2020, this book considers not just North
America and Russia, but looks at the global situation and the struggles of other nations.
Not everyone fell on day one.
Inside, you will find the full extent of World War Three and life in post-apocalyptic North America. Information
on the Spetsnaz, MIR and the Russian Technocratic Union. New locations such as France, Germany, Ghana,
Mexico, Manilla, South America, the Pacific and the fractured kingdoms of Great Britain. The early military
forces of Skynet and MIR. Advanced rules for scavenging and setting up a base in the post apocalypse.

Terminator 2: RESIST!

ISBN: 978-1-916601-03-1
SKU: WFG-TER-003

https://nightfall.games/ Designed in
Scotland