If you copy from one book, that’s plagiarism; if you copy from many books, that’s research.
(Professor Wallace Notestein, 1929. Much re-quoted)
I’m often asked about sources of inspiration, and while my previous article mentioned some forms that I use, it still leaves out a lot of the details.
When I am hoping for a particular theme, I will research other literature and media from that theme. For example my previous Fates Worse Than Death game had a dark, gothic feel to it, and so I included characters named Patricia and Dr Avalanche.
Other names come from mangling themes. In this game, we had a Gang named the “Tea Drinkers” (after their predilection for Soma tea, that supposedly improved their Psychic Powers). Major Players included Cam(from chamomile), Tets (from Tetley), and Ty (from Typhoo).
In Mathematics, an “abelian group” is defined as “a group for which the elements commute“. So my group of Math Addicts, who lived outside of Gang Turf, took the name “The Abelians”. A subtle in-joke that only I got, but I used nonetheless 🙂
Foreign Languages:
The first port of call here is Latin. I was recently asked about a name for a character that was a Butterfly. I instantly brought up a page of Biological Latin Names to choose from, and/or alter to suit.
In D&D, there are creatures called Illithids (or Mind Flayers) that have tentacled faces, making them look like an octopus or squid (similar to the Ood from Dr Who). My natural tendency when I got to play one of these monstrosities was to call him “Ceph“.
Lists of foreign names are plentiful across t’interwebs, so browsing for one with a particular meaning is quite fruitful. My “Spanish” ex-noble in a fantasy-based New World game was called Sancho (“sainted. holy”), to clash with his obviously-tainted appearance (albino).
Others:
Some of my favourite names have included:
Brian’s Little Brother. (We never knew who Brian was)
Hexametric Ice (a group of Math Addicts. Considered to be “special snowflakes” by their peers)
Place Names
Several of my games are set in Urban areas, with large housing blocks. Often, I name these after politicians. A previous Cyberpunk game centred around Tebbit Block, with Lawson Towers, Lamont Park, Hurd Housing and Howe Block all playing their parts.
Pub names are usually randomly generated, but occasionally I manage to mangle something well enough for my needs. The latest is “The Happy Greeter”, where a gang of Bikers hang out. A mix of “Happy Eater” motorway services chain, and “The Salutation” (a biker bar in Nottingham, UK).
Summary
Overall, I take inspiration for any and every place I can get it! Mix it up, mangle it, twist it until it fits!
Take a favourite TV show, poem, song, and change it just enough that it is not instantly recognisable, but still traceable. Draw on your own hometown, or places you have visited (when I re-ran B2 – Keep on the Borderlands, I cribbed all the names from a local street-map!).
Do not be afraid of your players finding out where you got the ideas! It can be good to watch them look out for other references!
Where do you get your names from? What have you been pleased with?
I’m not going to publish my whole Code here, but I will present a short explanation of how my App is structured.
Main Files:
activity_main.xml – this displays a set of labelled Buttons, one for each Category of List.
Main Activity – this contains the control-code for the Buttons, chooses which Activity to launch, and what message to send to it.
Several Activities, for different types of List.
Several Adaptor (or “Helper”) files, for processing the Lists, and binding them to the Recycler view.
A “Class” file for each Category. These define an Object-Type, and show how each Object holds Data*.
activity_(category).xml files, with data about how to display each List type
(category)_list_row.xml files for showing how each Row of the List should display.
Why Multiple Category Files?
As this was my first real foray into Android Coding, I chose to split the Categories into two main types. Type The First were ones that could be express as “Names”. i.e. two pieces of Data. (Forename and Surname). This applied to Treasures (Type and Amount/Quality), Items (Alchemical, Mundane, Furniture all have Type and Material). Type The Second were ones that did not fit this structure, and each got it’s own set of Files/Classes/Activities/Helpers (Adaptors). e.g. Quests and Locations.
I could have piled up a single set of files with “IF <quest> then <do something different> else IF <Location> do <location code>”, but chose to separate them out for my ease of reading/maintaining.
What Objects Did You Use?
Each “category” was given it’s own Class (type of Object*).
<Deep breath …> Each time an item from a category was needed (each item on a list), I Instantiated a new Object of that Class:
To instantiate a new “Treasure” object:
Treasure thisTreasure = new Treasure();
This calls the Constructor of the Class, to create that instance of the Class (i.e. make that Object.)
e.g. Treasures are randomly chosen from “Coin”, “Art”, “Jewellery” and “Gem”. Each of these has a List of Types (Coins may be gold, silver or copper, Art may be a painting, a sculpture or a vase), and an Amount/Quality (Coins have a number, e.g. 20 Gold Crowns. A painting might be Elaborate or Exquisite, a Gem has a Cut).
Once instantiated, the Object has its set of Values, that can be called (e.g. by the Recycler Helper), to do something with (e.g. Display in a Recycler View).
Are you keeping up?
For the “Name”-type Objects (2 pieces of data each), they are all sent to the Name Adaptor to Display in the Name List (even if they are not names. It’s just what I called the 2-data section).
Quests and Locations got a little more complicated.
Each Quest Object holds several pieces of Data:
A Quest!
As you can see, each Quest is structured:
“You must <activity> the <descriptor> <item> before <time>. If you succeed, you will be rewarded with <reward>”
Each of these is called randomly from its String-Array. The Quest Adaptor must bind each part of this to the appropriate Recycler View.
As a complication, the Reward is called as a Treasure Object!
Locations were built in a similar manner.
Enough!
OK, that will do for today!
Let me know how much of that you understood, or if you would like some more explanations.
————-
*Java is an “Object Oriented Programming” (or “OOP”) language. Most things are “Objects”, that have “Methods” associated with them.
(Or: How I Learnt to Stop Worrying and Love the Code)
How I Learnt to Write Apps (A Summary)
As my regular readers will know, I have been writing Apps for Android Smart Phones. Here is where I share some of my experiences, and technical details. Partly to bring my audience an informative, entertaining insight into my brain-space, and partly to clarify in my own head what is going on!
The Set-up
The first thing I need is an Environment in which to write Code. This can be done with a simple text-editor (such as Notepad, or its big brother Notepad++), but more useful is the Official IDE (Integrated Development Environment) Android Studio. A simple task to download and install.
Simple, but time-consuming. A 758MB download, which, on install, will update itself, and fetch a variety of libraries, the Java SDK, and other assorted extras.
I will also need some way of testing my code. Luckily I have a variety of old Android Phones, and a Tablet. I chose most recent phone that I am no longer using (Samsung J5). This needs drivers finding and installing, and setting some developer Options to allow me to write Apps directly to it, rather than downloading from the Google Play Store.
I could have relied up on the built-in Android Emulator, but even on Lucretia‘s Power-House Gaming Rig, it is painfully slow to use (an hour to build and transfer a small app, rather than a couple of minutes to a real phone!)
The Inevitable “Hello World” App
Android Studio presents a default App: the ubiquitous “Hello World”. This gives me an opportunity to learn the very basics of what an Android App looks like:
A Main Activity file, that stores the main code (Java)
A Layout file, telling the App what to display on the screen (XML)
A set of Resource files (Pictures – known as “Drawables”, Values – constants for use in the app, codes for Colours and Styles, and many other options)
The IDE files – Manifest, Gradle, etc (Do not worry about these yet. Most are automatically created by the IDE)
There are a whole bunch of options when creating an App, such as which version of Android you wish to target, and what is the lowest you will be writing for, how much code you would like the IDE to start with (depending on which Template you choose), and names for your Project, App, and Files. These soon become second-nature.
To test that everything in installed and connected correctly, I hit the “Run” button, and wait for the “Gradle Build Running” message to clear …
The Initial Bug-Hunting
Obviously, things did not go as smoothly as they should.
The IDE could not detect my phone, so I had to hunt down and install the correct drivers. I had failed to set the Developer Options correctly on my phone. The App was set to a newer version of Android than my phone used …
This was all relatively painless to fix, but put me in the mindset that I was to keep: There WILL be bugs!
But eventually, I had my App!
Hello World!
Writing My Own App
First, I fiddled about with some basics, to get my head around how the IDE worked, and learn the very simplest Java code.
Changing the text from “Hello World!” to “Hello Mad Dwarf!”. Using different colours. Adding a picture. Randomly choosing a Name to say “Hello” to. Inputting a name to be displayed.
None of this was without problems, but Google and Stack Overflow provided some solutions, and soon I was ready to build an actual, functional App!
Idea: an Inspirational App, providing a set of Randomly Generated Lists for use in Role-Playing Games.
Several choices needed to be made: What lists do I include? How complex? What data-structure do I use?
Reading up on data-structures, I chose to store all of my data in XML Arrays in my Resources/Strings file. This uses a very simple syntax:
<string-array name=”clothes”>
<item>Shirt</item>
<item>Trousers</item>
</string-array>
A little experimentation with layouts, and I could display a Button labelled Clothes, and have it react to being pressed.
Technical Notes
When defining the Text Label for the Button, the IDE complains if you enter the text directly. The preferred manner is to define a String, and then call that String as needed.
<string name =”clothes_button”>Clothes</string>
android:text=”@string/clothes_button”
Next, I need to “Start a new activity”, and pass it the chosen List title. To check this actually works, I make sure I have a couple more lists, and label them, and the Buttons need @ID codes, and an OnClickListener that will call the @ID of the pressed Button. So, new File. I already have “Main Activity”, so I create “Display List Activity” … and this is where the “fun” begins …
New Activities
These are launched by defining an Intent, which tells the App which activity you want to launch, and you can add “Extras” to this, which the new Activity can read. I add a “Message” that is the @ID of the button (“clothes”, “alchemy”, “monsters”, etc). This new Activity will need its own XML Layout File (Advanced: You can define this in the Activity. For now, I don’t).
This new Activity can retrieve the “message” (“Extra”), and call the associated List (I made them the exact same name, for simplicity).
Recycling for Beginners
When I last took a foray into Java/Android, the recommended way of showing a List was to use “List View”. While checking online to remind myself how to build a List View, I found that it has been replaced by “Recycler View”, a way of “recycling” a view, to show lists … It is actually very similar to use, but more flexible (it can display in List, Grid, or Card format!)
I also need the screen to be able to Scroll, if the List goes off the bottom of the screen. Very simple. Define a Scroll View to contain the Recycler View.
I also need to use (according to Stack Overflow!) a Recycler Helper; a secondary file that does the heavy lifting of being sent a list of data. creating holders, binding the list of data to the holder and sending it back to the Activity to display.
Overall, quite a pain to learn, but very useful once done.
In Summary
Create several lists (String-Arrays) in Strings file.
Display Labelled Buttons
“Listen” for a button being pressed, and launch the next activity, telling it which button.
New Activity calls the appropriate List, and sends it to the Helper to process.
Display the processed List in a Scrolling Recycler View.
Loot!Places!
With a few added features (like randomising which random list to use: Cash, Jewellery, Gems or Art), I have an APP!
If you feel you’d like to write apps, but are put off by how complicated it looks, why not have a go! Yes, you will hear me screaming into the void about bugs, typos, stupid decisions (by me, the IDE developers, and Google/Android!), and generally pulling all of my hair out, but it is very rewarding!
So say the Beatles, and who am I to say they are wrong.
We all need a little help now and then, and GMs writing story-lines are no exception. From the names of antagonists to the location of their lair, from Quests to Completion-Rewards, sometimes our creative juices run dry.
So where do we turn?
Dice.
One Standard Set of Dice
Our go-to source of randomness. Mostly our “Standard Set” of d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20 and d100. Very useful for creating numerical values. But what if you need something else?
The more resourceful of you may already own some Other Dice. Amongst my easily-to-hand collection, I found Emoji, Rock/Paper/Scissors,
Other Dice
Body Location, Dungeon Maps and more! There are a large range of dice, featuring Weather, Mood, Grammar, and much more!
But what about when you don’t have the right dice to hand? You need to check for Random Weather, but the only dice you have are Body Location and Who-Takes-First-Turn! This is where we turn to:
Tables!
Table of Magical Rings
Lists of possible outcomes, Tables can hold a huge amount more information than simple dice, and can be chained together to produce complex results. They can also shift the probabilities of results occurring. Usually they are designed to roll dice, and compare the result against the entries, or you can just choose an appropriate one.
The Internet is full of these tables, designed for each different Game System/Setting, and lots of Generic ones.
To make life simpler, and avoid having to hunt around for either dice or sheets of paper, or the right page of the Rule Book, we also have
Apps
A Random City
Loaded on to a mobile phone, or tablet, these tend be be combinations of dice and tables. Tell the App what Feature you are wanting, and it will generate a random result, according to how it is programmed.
My current favourite App is (unsurprisingly) the one I wrote!
Combining Lists of Names, Places, Treasures, Quests and others Features, along with a Personality Generator, and lists of Features of a Fantasy City, The Mad Dwarf Inspirational Apps also allow you to add your own entries to the Lists, and save the results for use in later games.
There are Apps designed around most of the popular Games Systems, providing access to as much inspiration as you can handle!
Summary
Other ways of finding inspiration include reaching for a nearby book, and turning to a random page, loading a random Wikipedia page, or asking your Players to make a decision!
Most people will use a combination of methods to produce some interesting results, and the best way is often to interpret them in a way that fits your game.
When do you tend to run out of steam? What methods do you have for recharging your Creative Juices?
The free version is finalised, and will only be receiving security/stability updates.
EDIT: The Pro version is now available for UNDER ONE POUND! A mere 99 pence will get you access to expanded lists, and extra categories!
What it does:
Available Categories
The opening screen shows the different Categories available. This will hopefully grow as more data becomes available, and feedback is received.
I may choose use coloured Icons, but the basic format should be fine.
Currently the data-sets are based around Fantasy/Medieval styles. Treasures include Ornate Goblets and Lifelike Animal Statuettes, but not Smart-Phones, or Alien Artefacts! Quests involve Rescuing the Fairy-Queen, but not flying to other planets or destroying the Moon-Sized Space-Station!
Treasures Abound!
Treasures are pulled from four separate lists:
Gems Will have a Type (Diamond, Emerald etc), and a Cut-Style.
Jewellery/Clothing will have a Type (Ring, Earring, Belt), and a Style (Gem-Encrusted, Silver-Plated).
Art has a Type (Painting, Sculpture, etc) and a Style (Plain, Gaudy, Cubist, Baroque).
Coins have a Type (Gold, Silver) and a value (randomly generated between 1 and 1,000).
The app is clever enough to notice which Category the Treasure is in, and use the appropriate Icon.
Personality Traits
Furniture is split into four categories: Bedroom, Bathroom, Kitchen and Lounge. Items will all have a Material (Stone, Wood, Tin), and are displayed the same as Treasures.
The new Alchemy section also follows this format, and includes Retorts, Flasks and Crucibles.
Personality takes a slightly more complex route, and calls three World Views and three Personal Ideals. One of each are Prime traits, and the others Secondary.
The (descriptor) (place) of (fate)
The Location section adds a little more, again, with each location having a descriptor, as well as guardians!
The long list of Guardians have various ways in which they protect the Location, either guarding, watching over, surrounding or holding sacred!
And now we come to the penultimate section: Quests! Different types of Quest are available, Find, Recover, Destroy, Document or even Authenticate! And Maguffins of all varieties! Flying Carpets, Dragon Shields, Saint’s Bones! Kittens! All need Hiding, Exposing, or even Protecting! Each Quest also has a Reward (taken from the Treasures list) associated with it, so our brave adventurers can assess the risk!
Greta Vernon, Adventurer, at your service!
The last section begins quite simple, but then opens up a whole new area! Names are picked from an ever-growing list, with a 50/50 chance of Male/Female. This is simple enough. But click on any name, and you will be shown their Personality Traits, Prized Possession (Treasure), several Mundane possessions, and what Location they are seeking!
This section is currently unfinished, but should not take too much neatening up to make it Publishable, and I can add to it in later Editions! The Mundane Possessions list is already growing significantly!
From the Dessert Trolley
EDIT: I have also added a section for Desserts! All of your favourite fruit (plus a few you may not have heard of!) in pies, cobblers, crumbles and fools! Infused, sprinkled, drizzled and layers with your favourite (mostly cream-based) toppings!
So, if you are ever stuck for inspiration, why not download the Random Lists app from the Play Store! Who knows what Wonders await you?
OK, it’s not published yet, but I’ve been busy writing an App for Android Mobile Phones/Tablets.
EDIT: Now available FREE on Google Play: CLICK HERE
All Players (GMs included) run out of inspiration at times. GMs throw us a curve-ball. Players run off in unexpected directions. And someone asks a question:
Which Random List Do You Require, Traveller?
What is their name?
What kind of person are they?
What is in the room?
Is there any loot?
Do they have anything for me to do?
… and you don’t have an answer …
Random Loot!
Fret no longer! For I have collated a collection of Random Lists! Calling upon my extensive experience on both sides of the GM’s Screen, and my n0v1c3 h4x0r 5k1ll5, I have thrown together an App!
Choose your Category, and it will provide an eclectic list of possibilities!
“Liam Islington“. We can already imagine who he is! “Louise Henrick” could be just the NPC you need!
Raw Garnets may form part of your Treasure Haul, along with Rhinestone-Studded Boots and a Gem-Encrusted Torc!
Maybe these items are hidden behind the Brass Fridge, or under the Wooden Mixing Bowl!
You may have to Destroy the Magical Sword before you can claim your prize! Or Protect the Ivory Tower! Complete these tasks and you may claim Rewards beyond your dreams! (or at least a Radiant Emerald, or Silver-Plated Top Hat!)
Soon to be available on the Google Play Store, this Random List App will inspire you to higher and better things than you could possibly imagine!
I’m sat here listening to Aliens (again), and am reminded of just how much unstated backstory the Characters have.
Obviously Ripley was seen in the previous movie, so we know her story. But it is also made clear that this is not the Marines’ first rodeo.
There are many references to previous missions, that leaves us with unanswered questions:
Why is there a new Lieutenant? Why is he so inexperienced? What happened to the last one?
What exactly happened on Arcturus, and why doesn’t it matter?
What happened when the dispersal wasn’t nice and clean?
What is it with Drake and Vasquez?
and many, many more …
Am I the only one who doesn’t actually want these questions answered?
They make for a very characterful movie. The Marines are Individuals, with History. But that does not mean I want a whole series of prequels and prologues, just to explain why those snippets were included!
And I often feel the same way in RPGs.
PLOT This Way!
As a GM I have learned the hard way that making any random, off-the-cuff comment about an NPC will be taken as an invitation to investigate to the utmost (and probably expect a reward for “solving” the situation). (On the other hand, subtly hinting at Quests the NPC may be offering is ignored. I now use these signs, highlighted in neon: )
As a player, I often take these things too far the other way. I will brush off obvious Plot-lines as “flavour” and ignore the GM’s finely-crafted introduction of new adventures based upon my back-story as “colour”.
I hope we all recognise these behaviours. Players who listen to your (GM) monologue, seemingly intent on jumping on anything they see as a CLUE and jumping in:
“He’s wearing RED shoes? Like the incidental guy we met 6 sessions ago? AND he has a hat on?!? C’MON guys! We have to follow this up!”
And also:
He has the same name as my estranged father. I’m sure several people do. I need to buy some reloads, can we move on? He also has an accent and dialect that can only be from our small provincial town? Interesting, but I really need those reloads!
In one way, this does cause me to lament the move from Pen’n’Paper to Digital. As a player, when asking the name of an NPC, does the GM roll their eyes, and say “Oh, … erm … let’s say ‘Brian'” or do they reach for their copious stack of notes: “One moment, It’s here somewhere!”. Clicking on a hidden screen could just as easily be locating the correct Evernote page, or a random-name-app. While this obviously has its advantages, it also removes some of the subtle clues that we used to take for granted.
Do you prefer a wide-open sandbox, free to explore any direction, as the whim takes you? Or do you present your players with a few limited options, and say the rest is Side-Action? How do you feel about players taking 2-3 sessions to dig into the reason that the Blacksmith can afford THREE apprentices? New, interesting development, or tedious sidetracking?
Me? I am quite split on the matter. As GM, I like to be able to make interesting NPCs, with quirks and foibles. This does not mean I want players delving deeply into their situations, when there is ADVENTURE to be had! As a player (especially in our last Exalted game), I like to get involved in the plight of the “little people”: the blacksmiths, the shoe-shine boys, the servants and lackeys.
Does this make me a bad person? Probably not. Does it make me a bad Player/GM? maybe …
So, the group has decided upon a Game. The setting has been chosen, and tailored to the player’s whims. The system has been house-ruled beyond recognition. Character sheets are produced, dice are procured. Everyone is in high spirits, looking forward to the game. And then someone has to spoil it by asking “So, Friday then?”.
Everyone stops. A hush drops over the room. A draught whips up as if from nowhere, the piano player pauses mid-refrain, and a distant door creaks. Eventually someone breaks the silence: “I can’t do Friday. I have to see my family”. It is as if a dam has broken, and everyone is now able to rush forth!
“Tuesday is good for me”
“I can do this Tuesday, but next week I’m away on business”
“I can only do every other Thursday”
“Most Thursdays, but I might be late – Work, y’know”
“Our band meets on Mondays, but if they cancel, I can come”
Herding Cats
And so it begins …
Group One
I am in the extremely privileged position of being in a regular group, with regular players. We meet once a week, every week. We have scheduled our other commitments around Games Night. Even if we are missing players, if we have quorum, we will play our usual RPG. If not, the few who do attend will break out Small World (or occasionally, with much protesting, some other game).
Group Two
I can do Friday?
The other group I am in, on the other hand, is irregular to the point of collapse.
I don’t think I’ve seen a session where all of the players have attended. We meet every couple of months (at best), and only after a flurry of emails and Facebook posts trying to find a date that enough people can make.
This group has at least three games on the go, and I am only in one of them. One would have thought that they could find a date that at least some players can make, and decide which game from there. But alas, dear reader, it is not so. Some players only want to play certain games. Some want to GM, and some do not. Sometimes, despite the wait, a game is not ready. Another may be drawing to a climax, and need as many players as possible, or be at a crux point that needs a certain player(s) involvement.
And the months do pass …
(There is a small amount of Email Play, where the GM effectively runs a mini Play-by-Post game to fill in some gaps, and prepare for the next session. But this is an aside, rather than a major point)
Group Three
(Yes, I am in THREE rpg groups!)
This group was specifically built to accommodate players not making every session. An old-school D&D game where we take the part of Adventurers, plundering a local cave-system that houses kobolds, goblins, and worse!
At the end of each session, we make it back to the local town to sell our loot, resupply, and see what other brave souls may be interested in joining our merry band!
So far, this has worked well. The DM has every 2nd Sunday of the month free, and will run the game for whom so ever may turn up at the pub. (This month, being Just-after-Xmas, we have postponed until later in the month, due to a lot of potential players having other commitments).
This is still quite a new group (5 sessions?), and we are yet to see how people’s endurance holds up.
Other Groups
One of our players has a mid-week game. I think. And some of our friends run intermittent twice-yearly full-day games.
There is the Demon Games Club (or whatever the Polytechnic Games Soc is calling itself these days), and the yearly Student National Championships. But I have little involvement these days (on account of not having been a student for <cough> years).
Solutions (or otherwise)
One would have thought that Instant Global Communication, the Information Superhighway, videophones, flying cars and all of the other Golden Future sci-fi technology we now posses (ok, I lied about the flying cars) would make arranging games easier.
I (or whoever happens to be GMing the current game) send out an SMS each week, confirming the date for the next game, and once enough players have RSVPed, another to finalise it. My last game, we used our Forum. Groups Two and Three have Facebook pages where dates and attendance are discussed.
And yet Players have turned up on the wrong day, or not arrived on Games Night. We SMS one of our players EVERY week, checking that he is awake, has remembered it is The Game, and is wearing trousers (true story).
Some people think of RPGs as a social meeting, free-form and informal. Others find it a Way Of Life (I hesitate to say Obsession …). When all of your group are on the same page, it can work well, but in a mixed group, it is likely that someone will be disappointed.
Do you have any techniques for rounding up your players?
Or as a player, how do you feel about Regular Attendance?
I’ve been running/playing cyberpunk RPGs, in many variations, since their inception (R. Talsorian’s “Cyberpunk 2013”). Over the years, I have experienced a lot of different ways of playing, from ad-hoc Edge-Runner teams through to Corporate Hit Squads. The part that particularly interests me is the low-end struggle-for-survival in a world of infinite possibilities!
Fates Worse Than Death
My current go-to game is Fates Worse Than Death, by Vajra Enterprises, set on Manhattan, 2080AD. Underpopulated, and run by various street-gangs, The City is home to all manner of low-lifes, high-rollers, oddballs and primitive screwheads. Players take the part of Gang Members and, depending on the gang, may get access to Psychic Powers, Enhanced Technology, Experimental Pharmaceuticals, or little-known poisons!
Most of the USA is housed in Corporate Arcologies, Gated Estates and other luxurious accommodation. Manhattan residents live in run-down tower-blocks, ancient brownstone apartments and jerry-rigged shanty towns. The Corporations are taxed on their AI use, and that money is used to fund Welfare for the disenfranchised. Cheap Virtual Reality systems are install in all but the lowliest of homes, and a huge proportion of City residents do little other than immerse themselves in the Corporate Feed. This leaves the Mean Streets at the mercy of the Gangers.
The main theme I try to run with is that everything in The City is old, scavenged, recycled and re-purposed. New items are generally cheap knock-offs of the real thing, and soon customised (“The Street finds it’s own uses for things” – William Gibson, Burning Chrome). The phrase that seems to encapsulate this is “Dirty, Used and Broken”, often shortened to D.U.B. Everything in the City, including the People, is some combination of D. U. B.
As a theme for a game, this gives me, as the Game Master, to have a lot of leeway on what I allow into the game, without letting it get out of hand. You want a monomolecular blade, capable of cutting through steel bars? OK. But it is DUB! The blade is notched and sometimes catches on things. The handle worn and frayed. And it used to be someone else’s … maybe they want it back. Maybe they customised it, making it awkward to wield. maybe it was used in a crime, and people are hunting it’s owner. You want an ICE-Breaker, to hack corporate databases? Sure thing. But it might leave traces. It has glitches and needs constant attention. There might be back-doors and unknown commands. It could be broadcasting it’s every use back to it’s creator!
It is Dirty, Used, and Broken!
While this does give a GM a lot of opportunities to screw over the Players, how it is done will set the tone of the campaign. Remember that the NPCs, and their equipment is also DUB! People have Problems. They have irrational fears and desires, and are prepared to go to extreme lengths to satisfy them!
If the players can buy-in to the idea, then you can have lots of fun. Give them access to a high-tech device, and the Adventure becomes finding out how Dirty it is, who Used it previously, and if the Broken bits can be fixed! An NPC Quest-Giver is DUB. They have their Dirty hands in many pies, and some of those may give the PCs pause for thought. They are being Used by another, for nefarious ends. And they are Broken. This could make them unreliable, or more susceptible to being Used, or just interesting to play! It can give he PCs leverage, or get in their way!
We all have our demons.
And remember that the PCs are DUB! Unless they happen to be a Utopia Child (born and raised in a suburban paradise), they have had to grow up on the streets of the City. They have done things they are not proud of (and would probably get them sent to jail, if there was a functioning Justice system). They have taken and given favours. They have developed bad habits, and particular ways of viewing the World. (in our current game, 2 of the PCs are drug-addicts, one believes they are a Vampire, and craves blood, and the other is an escaped Experimental Super-Soldier! They are all beholden to a Blood Mage, who uses their blood to ensure compliance.) Depending on your players, you may like a system that enforces Personality Traits. make sure they have some negatives!
I like to run a game where the PCs are sparks of Hope amongst the Darkness. But it is not a Pure Light. And it casts long Shadows!
I hope this has given you some insight into our Games, and inspiration for your own!
Why not let me know how you have used similar concepts, or if you prefer a more defined Black/White, Good/Bad setting.
As you may have read (here and here), I am running a FWTD campaign, based upon all players being in the same Gang (effectively, the same Character Class).
Due to the way the character creation system works, and the Bleeder Gang in particular, they start off with an average set of skill-costings*. Each Player has spent some Bonus Points (of which you start with Zero, but gain some for taking Flaws) on having some cheaper areas. This gives them an area to specialise in, distinguishing them from others of the same Gang.
Some Gangs are a lot harder to do this, as they start with a much more diverse set of costings. e.g. Technophiles have some cheaper costs (Creative: 4, INFO: 5, TECH: 4) but almost prohibitive access to Psychic skills (Exotic: 20, Manipulation and Sensory: 15). With their Combat: 8, Social: 8 it is twice the effort (XP!) to buy a Combat or Social skill than a Tech skill, so choosing to play a Combat Techno, or “Face” character rather than “pure” is a difficult choice. With the Bleeders, it is actually cheaper to buy “mundane” skills rather than their Specialist Psychic skills, leading to some players bemoaning the fact that I am enforcing an in-game expectation that they buy at least 1 Blood Psychic Rank per Level (They are Bleeders, after all!)
The characters we have in our group are:
Dr Orlando Watt
Dr Orlando Watt: Corporate Trained, Licensed Doctor. Due to their Amphetamine Addiction, they have never been accepted into a decent job, and have found refuge with The Bleeders. Twitchy and prone to violent outbursts (and knowing exactly which veins will bleed at what speed!), they spend a lot of time researching, looking for analytical answers to problems. Currently trying to understand just how Bleeder Psychic Powers work (even though it has evaded the best minds to have investigated it).
Vinnie
Vinnie (“the Vampire”): Small-time crook who’s attempt at a “Big Score” went wrong. Now on parole, with the debts from his lawyers fees taking most of his income, he uses his silver tongue (and Psychic Manipulation) to talk his way out of trouble, and gain favours along the way. He genuinely believes himself to be a Vampire, being repelled by crosses and garlic, avoiding sunlight and sacred ground, and drinking blood. He also has contracted a virus that gives him increased attributes in exchange for a massively increased metabolism (must consume huge quantities of sugar or equivalent). The only PC to have invested in “Fashion and Beauty” skill.
Mack Geller: Psychic Investigator. Ghost-Whisperer. Licensed to sell his Psychic abilities, he runs a small (just Mack and a secretary!) P.I. agency, mainly finding run-away children and solving(?) marital disputes. Ex-military, the constant pain from his wounded leg has led him to abuse opiates. A recent use of his Psychic Powers has left himself, the rest of the Party, a few other Bleeders and a bunch of Corner-Punks believing that Mack is “A Powerful Bleeder”**.
Grendel
Grendel: Bio-Engineered Super-Soldier. Escaped from the para-militaries who built her to join The Bleeders. Completely Institutionalised (“what is this Money you speak of?”, “Who are ‘Police’? Another gang?”, “Why hasn’t anyone brought me food today? Have I been bad?”)***, she only has sporadic, confused memories of her former life. She does have sub-dermal armour, enhanced senses, Military Training, and a genetically programmed stealth abilities though! Also, a preoccupation with Sculptures, which she believes is “Control”‘s way of communicating with her.
We are now 10 session in, and just about to finish the First Adventure (“Blood on the Snow”). The characters have turned out to be very different, with distinct personalities and skill-sets. Dr W is reclusive and nervous, unless he is intensely over-talkative. Mack is controlled and calm. Grendel is mainly confused, but always assessing Tactical Options. Vinnie is looking out for #1. All are combat-capable (partly at my nudging). The easy option of Knife-Fighting was taken by Dr Watt and Vinne (although Vinnie is not as good) while Mack uses a quarter-staff (a good walking-stick, and keeps enemies at bay so he can Psych! them without getting stabbed) and Grendel has Tae Kwon Do and Archery.
More details are available here. I have been pleased, if not surprised, at how diverse the group is. I know the players quite well, and know that if I gave them all the same character sheet, they would bring four very different characters to the table! I have also given multiple groups the same sets of pre-generated characters before (e.g. convention games) and seen them played in a whole slew of ways!
Have you ever run a “All The Same Class” game? How did it go? What would stop you from running this type of setup in your favourite setting/system?
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*You get 100 points to spend on skills, with Cost-per-Category defined by Gang. The Bleeder cost-line looks as follows:
**While this got the party an easy victory in the encounter, the Corner-punks are planning revenge, but need Excessive Force to take on such a powerful character, and the other Bleeders are building their defences against him!
***Cue much humour while Vinnie, with his below-average Intelligence and rudimentary knowledge of National Politics, tries to explain who “the damn Feds” are, while all Grendel hears is that they attacked her Makers (well, it wasn’t the FBI who Nuked Manhattan, but they sound like parts of the same “gang”!)
