CYBER-PULP FANTASY CORE
© Jerry Harris 2013
(This link will take you to the Fantasy Core Index.)
This game is, by and large, one of little thieves (the
characters) raiding bigger thieves (wealthy, powerful Corporations,
individuals, the government, and even foreign entities). The characters may be bounty hunting data,
equipment, and even individuals. The
characters are going to be a bit amoral.
The players will have their own ethics, so their motivations for taking
a job may include altruism, justice, and vengeance.
Adventures are not about making DC rolls to see if you’ve
hacked the Corporate computer and stolen the money. Rather, it’s about making contacts, gathering
info, gaining physical access, getting the right passwords, making deals with
fences to move stolen funds, bio-spoofing security, bribes, threats, and, most
importantly, a getaway plan. Every job
needs an exit strategy.
No adventure should ever come to halt because of a failed
skill roll. It should make the job
harder, but not end any chance of success.
Breaking and entering or bluffing your way into businesses, posh homes,
getting physical access to the internal network, stolen codes, bio-metric info
to login for transactions, and other actions should always be more complicated
than just a roll.
While the Jianghu setting was one set up as a game
of “Hard choices,” this Cyber-Pulp setting is one of “Unintended
Consequences.” New technologies, new
forms of government, random acts of terrorism for a cause, assassinations out
of petty vengeance, benevolent charity programs, and massive civic projects aren’t
the adventure hooks. It is the
unforeseen out-of-control events that followed that has forced the instigator
to hire your disreputable characters to clean things up quickly, before they
have to take the blame.
One thing this type of game will let you do is start in
media res, that is in the middle of the action. The characters may be getting shot at (or
someone who’s with them is), in the middle of a “milk run” job that suddenly
goes wrong, or even captured. Given the
characters’ lifestyle and status, it’s quite probable that these things happen
to them. Obviously, don’t freaking kill
anybody on the first roll of the game or stick them in an inescapable
situation. Just use some dramatic
license (my favorite Ref’ing term) to get the players’ attention. In contrast to what I just said, the sample
adventure will start in a fairly conventional matter.
Since this is an introductory adventure to the whole
setting, there will be several asides to give to the players that are common
knowledge that their characters know.
Several entities mentioned here are fairly famous, while this may be the
first time that the characters have ever heard of others. The characters are experienced, so this will
also introduce the players to some of their contacts that their characters
already have a relationship with and how to use and deal with them.
One particular game-playing note here that the players need
to be reminded of. Walking around most
civil areas wearing armor with exposed automatic weapons in broad daylight,
will bring highly unwanted (like police) attention. At night in mostly deserted areas, it’s okay,
with some discretion. In certain slum
areas, which the Ref should point out, being obviously armed is actually the
best way to avoid being harassed.
Don’t think of this like a D&D adventure. Run it like a movie or a TV show. Try to get the players into that mindset as
well. Confident, capable villains will
fight smart and hard and know when to retreat.
Toadies and thugs will run or surrender if faced with determined
opposition. Machines only basically do
what they’re programmed to do. And to
quote from the RPG Paranoia, “Put on a good show and fate will smile.” Words to play and Ref by.
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