calling all cyberpunks

[kumakami]

[BubbaBrown]

I've always had a love of cyberpunk (byproduct of too many 80's movies). As for what the characters do, I actually wrote a short story about an underground organization seeking to protect and save the victims of technological misuse by corporations and government agencies. They do various activities from stealing information, circumventing runtime authorization systems (imagine having a cybernetic liver that has to be within range of an authorization tower or it'd turn off... then have the corporation that built it decide where you lived wasn't profitable enough to keep the local tower going...), and sneaking people out of corp enforcer / police custody.

Would be flattered if it got a read or two:

Libertas Per Scientiam: Just Another Day
http://www.bestwithstuff.com/index.php/ ... e-projects

I played a few Cyberpunk 2020 sessions. The key thing with making a good cyberpunk game is to make sure the player knows how vulnerable they are. Cyberpunk 2020 made combat deadly. Just because you had badass cybertech, didn't mean you were the only one. There needs to be some element that'd keep the players on their toes.

[J.K.Mosher]

So "Spyders Den" appears to be centered more on the "Digital Domain" then the physical world.
As physical actions have no effect on a "Digital" target.

Ie Leveling GenTech Corp's R&D wont destroy the data. That can only be done via the "Net"
and by erasing or corrupting each individual file.

So my next obvious question . . . why worry about the physical world then?

I do know why, but just for argument's sake (will help with mechanics, maybe)
Reason I see even dealing with the "real" world is everything in the "Digital" will
still take time, and physical resources . . . so it is still possible for a great "hacker" to
EPIC Fail if someone does a "Wett works" on him/her while they're "jacked in".

Or am I totally off base . . .

[kumakami]

[J.K.Mosher]

Sounding more and more awesome each post . . .

[kumakami]

So maybe you all can help, I'm a fan of the whole choose {x}, choose {y}, the spend ____, style of character creation.

X= upbringing in this game, it give both a creation bonus and shows where your character can draw strongly on for future jobs and info.

I'm not sure what to make y...

ideas?

[Chainsaw Aardvark]

Very interesting thread.

The really weird thing about cloud computing is that its a step backwards. Go to the 50s and 60s and long term records are probably stored off-site (who has room for all those filing cabinets) and major number crunching mean going to a university/government to borrow time on their computers. In the 70's and early 80's you have individual businesses with computer mainframes somewhere, but most people are just plugging into terminals. In the 90s we get this amazing revolution of a computer for everyone! Individual employee's able to store data, search, and crunch numbers by themselves - amazing.

And now we're going back to terminals and super expensive mainframes owned by the few...

Not that it has to have draconian limits to it, or go the "Canticle for Lebiowitz"/Foundation route where people who can still maintain computers are functionally monks guarding esoterica.

I think at least one upbringing/philosophy might be a sort of libertarian "This is my data, you didn't earn it, you don't touch it" approach that emphasizes having your own computer over a mobile device.

For a moment, let us reverse the earlier question about "why should we care about the physical" and instead ask "why care about hacking?" Back-ups, copies, time on other server farms - Its probably nigh impossible to completely eliminate something, once its on the net. So focus is more on direct action, since its harder to replace skilled workers/equipment than it is to recreate R&D data. Cyberpunks would be less people with the ultimate net presence, but rather MiBs with no finger prints or net presence at all, so they can engage in questionable activities off the record.

Punk aesthetic does tend to be "self reliance and your own way to do it" over just accepting the normal way because its accepted as the normal way. So the idea that characters build their own equipment/have identifying tics and trademarks could become important. Putting signatures in your virus might lead the authorities back to you, but really - what is the point of blacking out half the world if the other half doesn't learn about it?

[kumakami]

A very good set of points there CA. the short hand is....


in this world a file is not found in one spot, most are fragmented and spread out to streamline storage. each with user based refrence, so you'd have to find and assemble the puzle to understand the data. Which is a low lvl job to do as a hacker. With nearly everthing containing a link to this web of info why send a team to kill some one if you can arange a car crash? Send a spyder to spy on a wife instead of a PI.... The world, by way of freeing access to computers and information, has disconected its self to each other. There is no "office" just a bunch of employess loging into there jobs from where ever, heads down looking at the screen not the world around them. Information is just a tool, a tool in this world as common as a basic lever........ when all you need is a device the size of a zippo to connect and every street corner a touch screen..... The character are using the tech while most people just ignor that its there, blinded by convence.

(wow that sounds very soap boxxy)

[J.K.Mosher]

Character Creation:
X= Up bringing . . . ie Family unit
(or lack there of . . .)

y= Education/Training . . . ie initial training or schooling
(private vs public. Formal vs streets)

Should have a z as well.
z= Education/Training part deux . . . ie first job, or company
(ie flipping burgers vs technical college vs military)

[kumakami]