CPR Project Entry: Squatters & Sleepers

[Spacemouse]

[madunkieg]

[Spacemouse]

[misterecho]

turns out Mr Orwell was a prophet; in the UK anyway, especially London.

[Spacemouse]

I've decided to write my own mechanics to go with the setting in S&S (the name is going to change when published, but I'll leave that until then to avoid confusion here). I'll try to keep them light, because the meat of the text is supposed to be the setting, but I think I can interweave some of the mechanics with elements of the setting.

Character creation is point-based. Characters have some 8-10 "abilities" (defined as areas of activity - more like broad skills than natural characteristics), and under each ability one or more "traits" (specialisations of the basic skill, or physical attributes like agile or good-looking) which give bonuses to applicable tasks (not just ones using the controlling ability). Traits are limited in number (I'm thinking one-half or one-third of the ability level) and bought with points, but may be negative for a small saving in points (as well as providing depth to the character, of course).

Rolls are on 2d10 vs ability level or under. Traits modify the effective ability level (I wrote a more general cry for help about this part of the rules ). Doubles are criticals, whether success or failure; thus, criticals have a margin of success too. I have a fairly good idea of how injury and armour work, but it's very much WiP so far, so I won't go into that yet.

Here's the innovative part (well, more or less). For general action resolution, I nicked from what they called Skill Challenges. Basically, any action scene (fight, car chase, hacking a computer, sneaking into a building) is resolved with a series of rolls; failures carry negative consequences and you want to get enough successful rolls before too many failed ones. Generally, rolls can be made by any character, and more importantly, using (theoretically) any ability at all. If a player comes up with a plausible reason how the Omelette Cooking skill can be used for an advantage in a chase scene, great! (This also means that while combat is resolved round by round, as usual, actions aren't limited to "I fire my gun again", but rather "I shoot one in the head, leap over the counter, ram another into the shelf, all the while shouting like a madman to scare the others away!")

Oh, and Misterecho, the correct phrasing is "Orwell Was an Optimist". ^__^ (At least his surveillance devices entertained you while spying on you.)

[Logan Howard]

[Spacemouse]

[Logan Howard]

Cyberpunk is a great genre for exploring these themes. Wealth, poverty, the value of work and the value of technology always play key roles in the great CP stories. I always think about the beginning of Neuromancer. Case is willing to do almost anything to be able to do the kind of work he once did.

I think the value of "honest work" is paid a lot of lip service in America but the Donald Trump types far overshadow any real appreciation of those who work with their hands. Service work gets a low position in both cultures it seems. That's too bad because I think there is something noble in serving others. I'm looking forward to seeing how the ideology of the Squatters is constructed. What motivates them to resist the deep sleep of the masses?

[Spacemouse]

Thanks to everyone for their encouragement. S&S won't be finished for the deadline, but I'm hanging on to my ideas and, hopefully, turning out a working Finnish cyberpunk RPG at a later date. Unless I'm shut off the Net first for clearly having advance knowledge of the government's plans for the future... 8P