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[Jintor]

Hi guys.

So, I'm getting itchy and I want to run another play-by-post RPG. The problem is, I'm not quite sure what system I want to run! I know it's got to be a * World system (that's a Apocalypse World system, which is fundamentally a streamlined set of mechanics designed to facilitate player-driven semi-emergent storytelling), but I can't decide between two: Dungeon World or The Sprawl.

Dungeon World is the game we played last time, and I think we had a blast; it's a Dungeons & Dragons based fantasy world game with magic and swords and all that jazz. The best part is that the rules are free and easy to link/throw around.

The Sprawl, on the other hand, we have not engaged in and I'm not totally sure about just yet (mainly because of the hacking mechanics). But I freaking love the theme, which is cyberpunkish, shadow-runnish corporate-busting operative stuff, and I'd like to try something different than last time. The problem here though is the rules - the Sprawl isn't open source the way Dungeon World is. We can run a game on the free beta rules, or we can all resolve to buy/obtain the books ($15 for a pdf off drivethrugames) and run it that way (better balance etc).

I'm also weary about getting active players. I know, i know, time is not always on everybody's side - myself included - but for this to really work out I need players to be posting at least once per day, perhaps even more if possible.

I'd like to keep player slots down to 5 players this time.

I need to crash now, but I'm going to repost my original DungeonGAF OP below as well as a link to the old thread so prospective players can see how it worked out back then. If we end up playing the Sprawl I'll just ask a mod to change the title or something later.

If you're interested in playing something, speak up now! Say something! This could be the start of something crazy fun.
---

Currently Playing
Sproutella - Duchess (a Killer)
Bowlie - NanICo (an Infiltrator)
TiamatSword - Goro (a Fixer)
JustJim89 - Troseph (a Hunter)
Xamtheking - Crowley (a Hacker) (withdrawn from play)

Major Corporations
TOR Heavy Industries (Jijaro Electronics, Millenium Automative Solutions)
FRKLyft Shipping and Logistics
WBN
Palmar
ReNew Entertainment
Structuro Industries

Discord Server
---

Any rules relating to posting here?
We’ll probably get into that more when we actually start, but some basics.

• I trust you to roll your own dice and truthfully tell me the results. We’re all adults here. Besides, this is the kind of game where failure or semi-success is interesting.
  
• Since we’re playing by post, we need to expedite actions as much as possible. What this means is that when making narrative actions, players should be identifying by themselves what moves that triggers, roll for it, and do any other work necessary in order to speed up the process.
  
• Ensure that people can tell whether you’re talking in-character or out-of-character (OOC). I prefer to wrap OOC talk in italics (well I will when we start the game), but whatever ya’ll be up for.
  
• Be nice to each other even if your characters aren’t.

---

Okay. Since this is probably almost everybody’s first time exposure to Dungeon World, I’ll wrap with two things. First, you should listen to GiantBomb staff member Austin Walker’s podcast Friends at the Table; they have a fantastic Dungeon World campaign in their archives which will help a lot with understanding the structure of the game. Second – ask questions! Give character concepts! I’m absolutely happy to help you out!

Let’s give this a shot.

[Also check out the other GAF PbP communities that inspired me to start this up, the various Pathfinder/DnD PbP threads, as well as the absurdly active Mafia games. Love ya!]

---
That was the old OP. But what d'ya think? Want to play something?

 

[Ynnek7]

I don't think I have the time to play, unfortunately, but I just wanted to say that I followed along with your last game and that it was amazing! I really enjoyed reading the world and story that you all created.

This, and reading the mafia games, helped push me into making an account here, lol.

 

[sproutella]

If you are doing The Sprawl - I'm in. I haven't had much time for gaf since the last game, but I'd check back in for this, although I can only commit to how frequently I posted before.

For basics of the Sprawl (and probably earlier versions of the stuff) you can check out http://www.ardens.org/downloads/ which is the devs website. The playbooks and playsheets should have class backgrounds and rules. I'd buy a copy of the game if we decided to play


edit - oops just noticed you already posted his website.

If you guys decide on DW - that's cool too I'll have fun watching!

 

[Bowlie]

I don't think I have the time to play, unfortunately, but I just wanted to say that I followed along with your last game and that it was amazing! I really enjoyed reading the world and story that you all created.

This, and reading the mafia games, helped push me into making an account here, lol.

Hahaha, that's great! Shame you don't have the time.

---

As someone who recently played a Decker in Shadowrun, The Sprawl is even more interesting (I'm game either way, though); haven't bought the books, but looking at the classes and moves it's super cool.

 

[Tubobutts]

I'd be interested in playing again. My preference is always fantasy but I'd be willing to give cyberpunk a try. I'm going to go read up on The Sprawl now.

 

[justjim89]

I'll play again, for sure. That last one was a lot of fun.

 

[Jintor]

I'm gonna carve out some time to put up a big effortpost about the Sprawl the way I did for Dungeon World.

If you guys are okay getting the books than I think I'd like to play it. I was kind of contemplating hacking it to make it a bit more Shadowrun, but I think we should roll with it Vanilla first and see where that takes us.

 

[Xamtheking]

I will now have enough time to play in this.
Let's jack in.

 

[Jintor]

That sounds like 5! We seem to be mostly playing with a returning crew, so I’ll skip the general description of * World games and go straight to the specific Sprawl stuff you'll need to know. Please hold.

I grabbed the book, but take a look at the Beta rules if you please. But I'll take out the basics and put them here.

To start out discussion - what kind of cyberpunk dystopia are you guys thinking about? Shoot some ideas around. My only vague outline I had is that we were going to be playing in the city of either NeoGA-F or Neo City One and I was going to basically populate it with NPCs named after posters here, because I thought that was kind of funny.

---
Quick notes
---
The Differences
Missions
Unlike Dungeon World, The Sprawl is a game based explicitly around the concept of missions. Missions have a basic narrative structure:

• Get the job (get goals and the promise of payment)
• Legwork (get information and prep for action)
• Action (execute the plan)
• Get Paid (get paid)

I adapted some of these elements for our game of Dungeon World, but there are two special resources that come into play here: [intel] and [gear]. As in the previous game, they operate as Schrodinger’s equipment and you can spend them at any time during the Action phase to retroactively claim you were prepared all along.


Countdown Clocks
The book says clocks operate in six blocks, 1500, 1800,2100, 2200, 2300 and 0000. I find it easier to conceptualise as a bar from 0-6, where higher is worse. In any case, a lot of things use clocks in The Sprawl.

Harm Clocks exist on a per-character basis. The Sprawl is a lot, a lot deadlier than Dungeon World. Characters who have 1-3 points of harm are battered, bruised, but mostly okay; they could get patched up with first aid. At 4-5 points, they need a medic. At 6, they’re on the verge of death.

Mission Clocks track things during the mission phase; there’s two types. The Legwork Clock tracks the noise the characters are making during prep; if that reaches 6, the target knows every single thing the characters are planning. The Action Clock tracks the opposition’s alertness during the mission itself. If that hits 6, the target bugs out or deploys overwhelming force. In other words: you lose.

Corporate Clocks track the awareness the various Corporations of the world have of the players. As the Corporate Clock advances, Corporations will begin to block character actions or actively target them and their associates.


Character Advancement
Characters gain XP in two ways; by acting towards mission goals, and by acting towards their personal Directives. Choosing personal Directives tells the MC (me) that you want to see elements in the story that play on, towards, or against that Directive.

Every 10 XP you get you level up and can increase a stat or choose a new move. After 5 levels, you can also choose advanced moves for your playbook.

------
Also, to set some basic character direction, the general outline of the characters you'll play is "A group of Professionals who are currently working together to undertake jobs". So try not to create characters too far outside of that ambit.

 

[Jintor]

I'm thinking a hodge-podge mix of tech-levels that doesn't really make sense. Glowing CRT monitors, bulky and cracked next to gleaming banks of LED screens. Ultra-secure land-line phone lines criss-cross the globe and convenient but easily crackable wireless networks flood the skies. Basically, modern tech is easy to find, ubiquitous, often multifunctional, but is vulnerable and very often has obselescence planned in; old tech is rare, bulky, inconvenient to use and usually only does one thing, but it's secure as fuck and it'll keep on trucking once you get it to a certain standard.

Before we even get to character creation, though, as another part of world creation, I'd like you guys to each present me with a MegaCorp. I'll start.

TOR Heavy Industries is the world's leading resources and industrial manufacturing corporation. An AAA-tier megacorp, TOR has spent much of the 21st century shifting into the military-industrial sector, but has also put considerable effort into promoting more public-facing subsidiaries such as the consumer-electronics firm Jijaro and the innovative robotics startup Millenium Automative Solutions.

 

[Tubobutts]

FRKLyft Shipping and Logistics Born out of a merger between two early century startups, this mega-corp has risen to dominate the shipping industry in Neo City One. With its patented FRKLyft DriVR technology, consumers can experience a new level of logistical immersion.

Spoiler

You install ocular implants so that you 'get' to deliver you're own packages. That can probably be used for sinister stuff

.
--

Looking at the classes I think my Cyberpunk Goro would be a Fixer.

 

[sproutella]

WBN
Everything, Everywhere

A media conglomerate comprised of corps which offer digital services, social media, content creation, advertising, and news coverage. Every mail you send, every search you make, every social update, will end up indexed in a WBN datapool one way or another. The advertising and content creation divisions datamine these libraries to pump out everything from microtargeted adverts to the biggest blockbusters. Their newsmaking divisions all over the world push the conversations and their coverage is open to the highest bidder.

---
I've got ideas for a whole bunch of characters, but would rather get a feel for how everyone else wants to roll.
Tech-level wise, how do people feel about AIs? They're kind of a trademark of cyberpunk, but they're ubiquity or power level can range depending on what kind of world we want. I kind of like corps having limited prototype AIs and maybe some underground collectives have more advanced versions.

 

[Bowlie]

Palmar

One of the few fashion companies that managed to adapt to the growing global demand by making brilliant use of E-fabrics, fabrics that mix cloth and digital components to enhance the wearer's experience. More than citizens, Palmar is also contracted by private military companies and small industries to provide uniforms for their employees adequate for their working environment.

 

[justjim89]

ReNew Entertainment is a gaming company that's taken the world by storm. Their only title, ReNew Life, is a virtual-reality life simulator that sees players living in an idyllic utopia. Through their capital gained by the outrageous subscription prices and transactions within the game world itself, their stock has skyrocketed and allowed them to secure deals and in some cases outright acquire the rights to major entertainers, sports teams, and retail stores all within the game world. With the real world around them falling and failing them, players more often than not lose themselves in the virtual world building friendships and families that they themselves are in want of, all while their bank account and life savings dwindle from the expenses accrued.

---

I'm not well-versed in cyberpunk stuff, I must admit. Never seen Bladerunner and only played bits and pieces of cyberpunk games, so you guys will have to bear with me on this.

 

[Jintor]

I like that thought about AIs. Kind of like a Human Revolution level, or just a general Deus Ex level of AI

 

[Bowlie]

That's cool, sproutella. Drones already are ran by AIs, so maybe that tech just evolved to something more versatile.

---

With two companies related to virtual reality, I think augmented reality could also be present in this fiction. What if, when inside a social or private network, a person's cybereyes could transmit information on the real world:

Ads on buildings instead of having billboards if such network allows ads by companies (WBN?);
graffiti, statues or any kind of art bringing life to a somber neighborhood;
(secret?) textual, audio or visual messages declaring the importance of a certain spot.

 

[Jintor]

I need to go out soon but here's more food for thought. Just need one more MegaCorp from Xamtheking.

---

Let's talk classes.

• The Driver is all about operating vehicles, drones, and robots.
• The Fixer hooks people up with gear, jobs, friends and trouble.
• The Hacker glides through computer networks, getting information, pulling switches and making things happen.
• The Hunter searches the streets for their prey;
• The Infiltrator gets into places and does bad things there;
• The Killer uses bleeding edge technology to commit violence.
• The Pusher is an idealogue who wants to change the world;
• The Reporter uncovers the truth and exposes the guilty.
• The Soldier plans and executes missions in the corporate wars.
• The Tech is the master of gear; building, fixing, and breaking it.

---
Stats:
As in Dungeon World, assign +2, +1, +1, +0, +0, and -1 to each of these stats:

• Style = Charisma and impressiveness
• Edge = Threat and presence
• Cool = Ability to act under pressure
• Mind = Intelligence
• Meat = Getting into fights and getting out
• Synth = A catch-all stat that can be used, with appropriate cyberware, to substitute for another stat if fictionally appropriate.

---
Cyberware
I need to read the book closer but I think everybody has cyberware, correct me if I'm wrong. Choose from your playbook's list and answer two questions:

Why? Choose one: prosthetic, forced, loyalty, enthusiasm, necessity, junkie, genetics, career, idealogy, memory, military.

How?

• You scrimpted and saved to buy it yourself; choose a tag to apply to your cyberware: +unrealiable, +substandard, +hardware decay, +damaging
• Someone else paid for it: now you're owned. Choose who owns you.
• You fucked someone over to get it. You're hunted. Describe who you double crossed.

Starting Moves: Choose two.

Choose Gear: From your Playbook. I'm going to assume everyone has other stuff, like a commlink or smartphone equivalent, money for daily necessities etc.

In The Sprawl, instead of tedious rigorous accounting, we use a unit of currency called Cred. Cred isn't necessarily a set amount of actual money, but rather it's a measure of buying power. It could be reputation, favours, a gold brick, shares, cash or credit; what matters is that you can spend it or stake it for what you need. Everybody starts with 5 Cred.

Personal Directives: Much like Drives in Dungeon World, Directives will determine your character's goals and signal to the MC what kind of game you'd like to play. Whenever you work towards your Personal Directive, gain 1 xp.

Links: The final step of char creation is to make links between your character. For the purposes of character creation, these at the very least begin as professional links.

Each player tells everybody about a job they pulled against a Corporation that we've set up; describe your role, name the corporation. Your character was a leading role in the job in some way - they set it up or were mission critical. This will push up the Corporate Clock for the relevant Corp.

The next player will tell you how their character was involved, establishing a +1 link with the original player. This will also advance a Corporate Clock.

Continuing, each other play can choose to be involved in this op, taking +1 link with the initial player and advancing the Corporate Clock thusly.

For the purposes of this PbP, the order is: Sproutella, Bowlie, Tiamatsword, Justjim, Xamtheking.

 

[Xamtheking]

I exist, just at a hockey game and will be able to work on it in roughly 2 hours or so

 

[Bowlie]

I'm creating an Infiltrator, but because my cyberware's origin has something to do with one of the corporations I'll wait until it's my time to introduce a Link.

 

[Tubobutts]

I think I'm going to be a Fixer, I was looking at Pusher as well but I think Fixer fits better.

I'll just do the basic stuff now and edit it later.

Class:Fixer
Name:Goro
Looks: A Jerk

Cred: 5

• Style = +2
• Edge = +1
• Cool = +0
• Mind = -1
• Meat =+1
• Synth = +0

Directives: Financial and Network (Strollers&Patrollers)

Cyberware:FRKLyft DriVR NavArrow 4.916c (Cybereyes; thermographic, light amplification, encrypted.) Stolen from FRKLyft and modified for use in tracking and hijacking shipments of goods.

Moves:
Hustling: 3 crew; Protection, Deliveries, Petty Theft.
I know People
Backup: (2 harm +small +loyal +mobile 1-armor)


Gear:
-TOR Scorpion X92 (Semi auto pistol: 2 harm close/near loud quick)
-Modified Palmar "Sleek Freak" Coat(Armored Coat: 1 armor)
-Yamaha-Mishima Volcano (Racing Motorcycle: Fast, aggressive, flashy, loud; 1 armor)

 

[Xamtheking]

Structuro Industries
The leader in making nano-housing, which can be as small as a pin and then expand to the size of a house or larger in an instant, is frequently contracted by various governments to set up military bases in the blink of an eye. In addition to their nano-housing, they also sell Transma-Spray, which can turn any "ancient" construction material (like brick) into the gold standard of Structurotanium, which is virtually indestructible and is what nano-housing is made out of.

 

[Jintor]

Kinda like capsule corp? That's definitely some interesting stuff to play with... Sounds very, very expensive

 

[Xamtheking]

Kinda like capsule corp? That's definitely some interesting stuff to play with... Sounds very, very expensive

How much would you pay to guarantee your safety to the best of your ability
-----
I will get a character up by sometime tomorrow, busy weekend but I have some time

 

[sproutella]

I like that thought about AIs. Kind of like a Human Revolution level, or just a general Deus Ex level of AI

That's cool, sproutella. Drones already are ran by AIs, so maybe that tech just evolved to something more versatile.

In the original Deus Ex the AIs are pretty powerful, one of the endings involves you becoming a cybergod and taking over the world by fusing(?) with one. I don't remember HR too well, but I think it involves a sentient intelligence that is pretty unconstrained, and has its own motives separate from it's creators.

Basically I was wondering/determining if these are still kept in the lab (and unconnected to a network), if they're secretly controlling/affecting the world, if they are totally ubiquitous in a weird constrained way (like a robotics corp has a modified AI, with heavy limitations and programming), or some combinations of these - OR we find out as we play!

With two companies related to virtual reality, I think augmented reality could also be present in this fiction. What if, when inside a social or private network, a person's cybereyes could transmit information on the real world:

Ads on buildings instead of having billboards if such network allows ads by companies (WBN?);
graffiti, statues or any kind of art bringing life to a somber neighborhood;
(secret?) textual, audio or visual messages declaring the importance of a certain spot.

I like this - maybe even have some crazier where the adverts esp don't need cybereyes, they can just be projected straight onto your retina. Or the cybereyes are contact lenses or something.

 

[Bowlie]

Oh, i liked the idea of them being contact lenses! *changing cybereyes' origin*

 

[justjim89]

I'm kinda confused about character building. Do I need to obtain the gamebook first?

 

[Tubobutts]

I'm kinda confused about character building. Do I need to obtain the gamebook first?

You should be able to do the basic stuff with the playbooks Sproutella linked.

 

[justjim89]

You should be able to do the basic stuff with the playbooks Sproutella linked.

Oops, didn't see that. Thanks.

---

Class: Hunter
Name: Troseph
Looks: Unkempt hair, pale skin, and green eyes underneath a leather hooded sleeveless duster. Basically a black, less gaudy version of what Goldust is wearing here.

Cred: 5

-Style: 0
-Edge: +2
-Cool: +1
-Mind: 0
-Meat: +1
-Synth: -1

Directives:
-Vengeful towards WBN
-Compassionate

Cyberware: Skillwires with chips slotted for breaking and entering and firefight combat. Military. Received them from the government when going into the field as scout and sniper for the military.

Moves:
-Ear to the Ground
-It All Fits Together
-Sniper

Gear:
-Sniper rifle (3 harm, far/extreme loud)
-Holdout pistol (2 harm close/hand discreet quick reload loud)
-Armored coat (1 armor)

Personal Directive: Still kinda figuring out my character's story, so I'll have to get back to you on this and links.

 

[Jintor]

While we wait for a few more character sheets...

General Concepts

What we are going to do is something like this:

1. I will post a starting point, a situation.
2. After linking your name and other relevant info at the top of your post, you tell me what your character wants to do in the fiction.
3. Normally, at this point I would make some judgement calls and narrow that down to a move, but since we're doing PbP, I want you guys to look at your own move lists and see whether whatever it is you want to do triggers either a basic move or a class move. More on those later.
4. If your actions trigger a move, roll for the move and report your results.
5. At this point, your turn ends, and you wait for me to decide how your situation resolves and bring up a new situation, or offer, or whatever.

That's pretty much the basics. Obviously there will be a lot of OOC talk, asking how to resolve things and so on, but this formula will probably be alright

Moves

Aside from the moves on your own character sheets, every character has access to basic moves. Moves have two main components aside from the roll, a trigger and the effect. To put it another way, you don't select a move like you would in a MMO or tactics game - "I use Mix it Up" or "I use Play Hardball". Instead, you tell me - fictionally - what you are doing ("I'm going to run up to the scrag and try and recklessly try to stab him", "I grab the computer off the floor and dive out the window, glass cascading around me") and that action will trigger the move.

Most moves add a modifier of some kind, usually a stat (Meat, Synth etc) but occasionally other things like your Bond. As usual, 10+ is "Yes", 7-9 is "Yes, but..." and 2-6 is "Trouble".

First and foremost moves affect the fiction, but they also have a few mechanical properties:

• Deal harm
• Take 1 forward - add +1 to your next (relevant) roll
• Take 1 ongoing - add +1 to all move rolls until a condition is met
• Take 'hold' - Hold is a temporary resource you can spend to do things
• Present choices
• Let you say things

Basic Moves

Again, check the basic move list in your books, but to summarise:

• Act Under Pressure (+Cool) - When trying to do something with a threat hanging over your head.
• Apply First Aid (+Cool) - When treating someone's wounds using appropriate medical equipment
• Assess (+Edge) - When closely studying something, someone, or a situation, or quickly sizing up an opponent or charged situation. This move has an associated list of questions, so remember to choose from the list when making your move.
• Play Hardball (+Edge) - When you threaten violence and intend to make good if they don't do what you want, you're playing hardball.
• Buying the Farm (+Meat) - When you hit 6 harm. Roll to live.
• Mix it Up (+Meat) - When using violence against an armed force to sieze control of an objective. Notably, the positive outcome of Mix It Up has less to do with violence and more to do with your objective - unless your objective is violence, of course.
• Research (+Mind) - When investigating a person, place, object or service using a library, dossier or database (or combination). Like assess, this move has a list of questions attached that you should draw from at time of posting.
• Fast Talk (+Style) - When trying to convince someone to do what you want with lies, promises, or bluster. Note that threatening without intent to follow through is Fast Talk, not Hardball.

There's also slightly more specialised but still technically basic moves that are available to all:

• Hit the Street (+Style) - When you go to a Contact for help. Veteran players may find this familar.
• Declare a Contact - no roll necessary, but you can only do it once per mission. Name and describe the contact, and then say why they owe you a favour or you owe them a favour.
• Produce Equipment - If you have [Gear] to spare, you can produce what you need when you need it.
• Reveal Knowledge - If you have [Intel] to burn, you can show your hand and take +1 forward to exploit that information so long as you can justify it.
• Help or Hinder (+Links) - When trying to aid or interfere with another's rolls. Success can give either a +1 or -2, assistant's choice. On a 7-9 or a failure, the asisstant is implicated in some way in the action.
• Go Under The Knife (+Cred spent) - When installing cyberware. Stuff comes with a price...
• Get the Job (+Edge) - When negotiating the terms of a job. Success here gets stuff like intel, actionable information, gear or the promise of payment.
• Getting Paid (+Legwork) - When getting paid. Success here means safety and riches; failure, well, you know.
• Taking Harm - When you get damaged, even a little bit.

 

[Bowlie]

Two questions, Jintor, since we are talking about moves:

1. I saw that Harm calculates the damage you suffer. Does that mean that we will roll when we suffer damage, and you will when the NPCs suffer damage (we deal damage)?
2. If Harm only calculates the damage, then what triggers it? Do I roll Mix It Up to see if I *can* deal damage, and after that Harm to see how much I dealt?

---

Personal Directive: Still kinda figuring out my character's story, so I'll have to get back to you on this and links.

Jim, your personal directives are the ones you already posted (Vengeful, Compassionate)

---

Class: Infiltrator
Name: NanICo
Looks: The guy in the bag

Stats:

• Edge +2
• Cool +1
• Mind +1
• Meat +0
• Style +0
• Synth -1

Directives:
Financial, Violent

Gear:

• Shiga Wire [Monofilament whip] (4-harm +hand +messy +area +dangerous)
• TOR Blue Plate Special [Silenced SMG] (2-harm +close/near +autofire)
• TOR PlumBeta [Throwing Knives] (2-harm +close +infinite)
• Palmar Veil [Stealth Suit] (+1 ongoing to avoid being detected while alone and hidden)

Cyberware:
Cybereyes (+magnification +recording +light amplification)
Why? Enthusiasm
Cost? +hunted by ReNew Entertainment

Moves:

• Covert Entry
• Cat Burglar
• Psychological Warfare

 

[sproutella]

Two questions, Jintor, since we are talking about moves:

1. I saw that Harm calculates the damage you suffer. Does that mean that we will roll when we suffer damage, and you will when the NPCs suffer damage (we deal damage)?
2. If Harm only calculates the damage, then what triggers it? Do I roll Mix It Up to see if I *can* deal damage, and after that Harm to see how much I dealt?

I think weapons have a fixed harm value that may be able to be modified in some cases – but it generally causes the specified pre-armor damage whenever you inflict harm. However, whenever a PC (not sure about NPCs) takes harm (any amount) they roll the harm move (modified by how much harm taken in that instance) which imposes additional effects.

Basically if another roll (ex. mix it up) has a condition that leads to harm on a hit/miss, you inflict as much as the weapon you are using - armour, which moves the harm clock (hp basically) and triggers a harm roll, which causes effects.

I’ve got character concepts for pretty much any playbook save driver or reporter – so I’ll post the one that fits best those once xamtheking post theirs. With that I’ll post about the job I pulled so we can start the link creating.

I like the theme of a bunch of the megacorps we have – kind of covering up/masking the “real” world for potentially sinister yet seemingly initially innocuous/beneficial ends. The corps seem to be messing with an individual’s perceptive experience directly – I think WBN’s movies would totally more sense invasive, beyond audio-visual.

I def like the look and feel of having layers upon layers of tech and infrastructure, with older stuff being safer. It totally goes with the crusty world our characters are supposed to inhabit, where we’re using duct taped together old shit to stay off the grid whenever possible.

 

[Bowlie]

Okay, that answers the second question. It's a bit similar to Dungeon World then (there it was one roll for Hack and Slash, and another for the weapon damage); thanks, sproutella.

I still don't know who rolls Harm when we deal or suffer damage


And yeah, there's housing, clothing, media, shipping, gaming, and manufacturing. Some of these can even be related to vice, turning the society into a sinful, depraved, oblivious and consumerist one instead of a society living under fear and oppression, especially with what Jim said about ReNew.

I'm getting some Technobabylon vibes.

 

[Andrew Korenchkin]

I thought this thread would be about urban sprawl.

 

[Xamtheking]

I thought this thread would be about urban sprawl.

You should make the OT

 

[Jintor]

Okay, that answers the second question. It's a bit similar to Dungeon World then (there it was one roll for Hack and Slash, and another for the weapon damage); thanks, sproutella.

I still don't know who rolls Harm when we deal or suffer damage

Only PCs roll the harm move. NPCs just take damage as established.

 

[Xamtheking]

WIP, need to go to bed but will finalize tomorrow and edit as such
Class: Hacker
Name: Crowley
Looks: Red hair, blue eyes, pale white, tall and lanky. Generally doesn't give a damn about how he looks because he doesn't get outside much, except for jobs.

Stats:

• Edge +0
• Style +0
• Meat -1
• Cool +1
• Synth +1
• Mind +2

Cred: 5
Directives:
Deceptive: When your lies about your identity or your past put the mission at risk, mark experience
Revealing: When you discover more information about FRKLyft, mark experience

Cyberware: Neural Interface with Data Storage w/ +encrypted +high capacity
Why: Career, Owned by ReNew

Gear:
Performance deck with Hardening 1, Firewall 3, Processor 2, and Stealth 2 after programs applied
Programs:

• Defend (+2 Firewall)
• Alert (When you successfully assess in the Matrix, choose one extra option)
• Manipulate (When you successfully manipulate systems, hold +1)

Flechette pistol (3-harm, +close/near +quick)

Armoured clothing (0-armour, discreet, subtract 1 when rolling the harm move)

Microtronics workstation (you may perform field repairs on electronics and cyberware)

Moves:
Jack in
Console Cowboy
Programming on the Fly

 

[Jintor]

Lol we going for a buck's party again? Lmao

 

[Tubobutts]

Lol we going for a buck's party again? Lmao

I can change my character concept from Goro from Shenmue but Cyberpunk to Goro from Shenmue but Cyberpunk and a lady if you want.

 

[Jintor]

I mean it's up to you guys, I just find it funny since I almost always play ladies in games for whatever reason

 

[sproutella]

Nahh imma be a lady

 

[Jintor]

Cool I wanna start asking questions and talking about links soon so get to postin'

this thread is a welcome respite from putting together marketing materials and shit

 

[Bowlie]

Cool, I'll be here all day (raining outside). Thanks for the answer, btw

 

[Tubobutts]

I know this probably won't have a specific answer because of Cyberpunk vaguery, but around what year would we say this takes place?

 

[sproutella]

Playbook: Killer
Name: duchess
AKA The Duchess, Dutch, Smilin’ Dutch.
Aliases include (but are not limited to): Madonna D, Isabella Maximillian, Ophelia, Ottoline Mulwray, Eve Stephens, Valerie Thomas, Archangel, White Witch, Dylan, Thessaly Thackery

Look: Tilda Swinton - Cunning eyes, ??? Face, Lithe Body, Corp/Aristocratic Wear, Porcelain™ Skin

Edge: 0
Style: +1
Meat: -1
Mind: +1
Cool: 0
Synth: +2

Cyberware:
Neural Interface w/ Targeting Suite – w/Linked weapons inflict +synth additional harm, roll synth instead of meat for mix it up. Precisely define area of Autofire weapons
Muscle Grafts – roll synth instead of meat for mix it up in melee
Cyberarm – Implant Weaponry (see gear)

Why: Career, Ideology, prosthetic
Price: Owned by TOR, Owned by Palmar, Owned by Structuro

Moves:
Custom Weapon (see gear)
More Machine than Meat (See Cyberware)

Gear:
“Coup” An Implanted Hi-Powered Silenced Holdout firearm (3 damage close, implant, discreet, linked). Stripped down body of a Colt and Wesson 2031 Classic implanted into the palm of her right hand, the right index finger being the barrel, with the fingertip spiraling open upon arming. Accepts ammunition through slot on the pinky side of the palm.

Assault Rifle (3-harm, near/far, loud, autofire, linked)
PolyTech #12939

Automatic Shotgun (3-harm, close/near, loud, messy, autofire, linked)
OMI Oerlikon™ Cannon

Body Armour (2-Armour)
Sturcturo Personnel Protector

5 Cred

Directives:
Proselytizing – Organic life is frail and weak; the more machine we as a society and as individuals become, the better. Mark XP when persuading others to act according to my beliefs

Network - When my presence on multiple corporate rolodexes hinder the mission, mark XP

 

[sproutella]

I'm not sure if being 'owned' by three different corps is a workable idea, so definitely willing to change that based on what you think.
--


Duchess is an experienced contract killer, working as a freelance off-the-books assassin in corporate wars, internal affairs, or personal vendettas. Beyond hits, she is also contracted as muscle in a protection detail or smash and grabs. Her predilection for modification started as a career necessity, but has become a way of life. The more she mods, the better jobs and more prolific targets she gets. She sees beauty and perfection in the machinery she's obtained, the precision of the servos, the incredible power, something so lacking in her before the modifications. Though she has many friends and comrades in the shadows, she has a strong desire to climb out of the grime of the sprawl, with her favorite jobs those that take place in the bright and clean corporate districts of Neo City One.

--

A memorable job involved splattering the brains of a ReNew Entertainment Exec all over a bathroom mirror, without managing to get any blood on the dashing gown she wore for the Gala ReNew was hosting. Getting her weapon through security is the easy part, getting her name on the guest list usually requires a friend.

 

[Jintor]

I know this probably won't have a specific answer because of Cyberpunk vaguery, but around what year would we say this takes place?

The good old year of 20XX (probably the higher numbers if anything)

/edit hell let's make it 2099.

I'm not sure if being 'owned' by three different corps is a workable idea, so definitely willing to change that. I'll writeup the linking job info in a little bit.

I think it's interesting - let's just roll with it for the moment and see how that goes.

In terms of writing links, you don't actually need to 'wait' for the last person to write theres - just write your job and you can tell by the turn order who needs to be linked, and then people can pick or choose if they're on the job. It's a bit more awkward than IRL but just get the material out there and we'll sort it out.

 

[Bowlie]

A memorable job involved splattering the brains of a ReNew Entertainment Exec all over a bathroom mirror, without managing to get any blood on the dashing gown she wore for the Gala ReNew was hosting. Getting her weapon through security is the easy part, getting her name on the guest list usually requires a friend.

I ran that job Madonna D to infiltrate one of ReNew's events and steal the designs for their next project, a pair of contact lenses that could enhance the wearer's sight in any environment. But there was more to it, and that's why I was hired: they also acted as a new kind of wearable VR device, able to interface wirelessly with the brain as the simulation's processor, like the brain already processes our normal vision, through a transmitter attached to the person's skull.

From the reports I found they were at the final stages of wetware development, so the program wasn't yet built on them. By the time we were leaving, one of their executives found us, and Madonna took care of that. I helped us get in, she helped us get out. We got away with the lenses and the designs, though I kept the former to myself as it wasn't detailed in the mission directives.

Weeks later - after the dust had settled - I paid a visit to a splicer and installed them, but the damn transmitter emitted a electronic signature upon first initialization as a safety measure which scared me off. I ran away as far as possible from that shop to never return, and now I just feel comfortable having ReNew at distance.

---

I guess I now have a link with you!

 

[Jintor]

Oh, that's good.

Nanic, how bouts you tell me about that other job you ran? The one with Goro?

 

[Bowlie]

Goro's crew was in need of smarter methods of transport to deliver stolen goods and set up "shops", and he happened to learn that a side branch of Structuro is renowned for developing nano-trucks, capable of creating a fully operable vehicle in front of your eyes.

Let me tell you: this run would have been a lot easier if I could put them inside one of these nano things and exit swiftly. But, in the end, those three took care of the problems.

 

[justjim89]

It took me a solid week of staking out and watching the faceless drones walking in and out of WBN's main facility every day until I was able to ID the server technician I was after. From there, it was another week of stalking the bastard and following him around on his route until I knew it by heart. How long he idled in the transport hub trying to flirt with the receptionist. How long his call to his wife would last before he took off in his vehicle. Which jobs he half-assed and sped through and which ones he knew to take his time looking over and spit-shining. Most importantly, though, I found the location of UHNB-5A3Z.

A hacker friend of mine had a client with some rather incriminating correspondences stored on the server, and before my good buddy dared to lift a finger and put himself in the crosshairs of WBN, he wanted to know the location and the maintenance schedule. Upon learning that, I needed to watch the scene for the moment the technician walks out of the server farm and confirms functionality with WBN Central Storage. That would give my hacker friend the longest window of time possible to make their way in and delete the correspondences before the server was checked again. A simple, easy job that didn't require any shooting. Theoretically. Usually I'm not one for jobs that just help someone else look better at theirs than they are, but I owed my friend a favor and any chance to stick it to WBN is a bonus in and of itself. Plus the rent was nearly due.

On the fateful evening, I was ready an hour before the technician even pulled up to the building. I'd found an empty apartment in an old high-rise that overlooked the inconspicuous two-story industrial building that housed the server farm. From a dozen or so stories up, I watched for the technician, taking careful note of the security drones patrolling close-but-not-too-close to the building. Clever. WBN is trying to keep things under the radar and has about 30 of these farms all over the city, but anyone observant enough to see the patterns can spot them from a mile away. Or at least a few hundred feet up.

After an eternity, I saw the familiar vehicle pull up and the all-too-familiar face walking up to the building, still choking down a chicken sandwich. As I watched him scan his badge at the door through my scope, I shot a quick text to my buddy.

"He's in. He'll be out in five."

"Just let me know when you see him verify functionality and get into his damn truck," he replied a few seconds later. Good to know my professionalism is appreciated. Like clockwork, he was out in five minutes and making a few quick keystrokes on his tablet. Before his door is even shut, I texted my friend.

"He's out. Go."

"Thanks, Troseph," he responded, "you're good. The funds will be in your account by morning. Now get out of there." As I was disassembling my rifle and putting it back in the briefcase, I smiled in satisfaction. A job well done. At the end of the day, it's good to know that in spite of how advanced technology gets, those who don't will always have a need for those who do. But just when I was heading for the door, another text came in.

"EMERGENCY. WAS DETECTED. THEY CAN'T TRACE ME REMOTELY, BUT A TECHNICIAN INTERFACING WITH THE SERVER DIRECTLY CAN."

I let loose a sigh and headed back for the window, setting my rifle case down again. I know what this means.

"TAKE HIM OUT."

This was unfortunate. The technician struck me as a piece of shit, sure, but he didn't deserve to die. He had a wife to support, even if he was trying to cheat on her with any woman he could talk to. He had kids to feed, even if he bitched about them to all his co-workers. Still, a friend in prison is a friend who can't pay me, and that just won't do. So as I saw the truck pull back up and I screwed the barrel of my rifle back on and trained it out the window, I knew it was a time for those who do. I held my breath steady, took aim, and squeezed the trigger.

The shot rang out into the night air.

The technician yelped out in shock as his tablet flew right from his hands and onto the ground, now with a hole directly through the middle of the screen to the other side. Any closer and I'd have cost him a thumb. I texted my friend.

"Nailed his tablet. He'll have to return to Central to get a new one before he can interface with the server. Depending on traffic, that should buy you 45 minutes."

He wasn't happy. I knew he wouldn't be. But I'm paid to watch. I'm paid to see. And in that instance, I could see a middle ground that he couldn't. He did his job and pulled out before the tech came back, the tech's family didn't have to pay for a funeral, and I got my rent money. All around, a job well done.

---

Again, I'm still pretty new to cyberpunk stuff, so let me know if this doesn't quite work. I figured the angle of the hacker friend would give room for any would-be hackers in the party to link themselves to it.