fwtd – TechNo Prisoners

More Blood: What Have We Learnt?

We have hit Session 51 of our Weekly Game of Fates Worse Than Death, so here is a bit of a Summary. It will be a bit rambling, but bear with me:

The State of Play

As detailed in our Game Summaries on The Mute Point forum, the PCs are now quite powerful (Level Five! The book suggests that this is better than 90% of the populace).

Although Vinnie still struggles for cash, the group as a whole have enough folding money to live comfortably, and purchase any special equipment they need (Mack and Dr Watt spent their “big score” on a cryo-chamber, so that their Blood Samples do not decay).

The group have quite few Minions at their disposal, Mack and Vinnie are carving out their own little sections of Turf, and Dr Watt has a Secret Laboratory! Grendel is building a Voodoo Temple behind her Martial Arts dojo.

Politically, the PCs have played a good game (mainly at Mack’s pushing), and are well placed to ask for favours from Masters. They are also in a position to have favours asked of them!

Voodoo-Power is building up. Mack and Vinnie are bastardising the Faith-Powers into Blood-Based powers, and Grendel is insinuating herself as Voodoo liaison.

External Relations are still a bit stilted.

Psionics/Blood-Magic

Blood Sampling skill, combined with Blood Memory, is VERY powerful.

Blood Sampling allows one to taste a person’s blood, and gain access to their higher-level skills (depending upon how good your Sampling skill is).

Normally, a Blood Sample can only be used to fuel a Psychic Power whilst it is being tasted (a round or two), but Blood Memory allows that to be boosted to an hour (Vinnie can only manage a few extra rounds, but still useful).

As the players have access to Blood Samples for most skills (either directly, through their Minions/Contacts, or buying from other Bleeders), they can be effective in any area they choose!

Belief Attacks are useful as they can implant a Belief in a subject, but only if there is an “attack vector”. What actually happens is that the subject believes what they are currently experiencing, so using during your own Preaching, or arranging for Tannoy Announcements, can be useful!

Emotion Attacks are unpredictable. Firstly, the Psycher must be experiencing the Emotion, to be able to transmit it (I have been generous with this, and Vinnie has played cautiously), and it does not determine Actions. If someone is “Very Sad”, will they attack, run away, hide, call for friends?

We have ruled that Psychic Sensory skills (Mind Reading) cannot be directly blocked. A target may notice the Psychic intrusion, but cannot “shunt them out of my head!”. But usually, only surface-thoughts can be read, so singing a popular tune, or reciting a Mantra can hide any important information. (There are other defences, such as the Math Addicts’ predilection for thinking in Equations. It can be read, but not understood, and ranking Humankalorie have learned Alien ways of thinking, rendering them immune)

Individuals

The premise of the game was “We are all individuals”. Everyone plays members of the same gang (which translates to the same Character Class in other systems), to see what would happen*.

We chose a Gang that has a Generic skill-base, not as focused as the Technophiles, or the Runners, or Roofers, allowing players to choose a few Merits in their specialised areas.

We have ended up with four VERY different characters (even though Vinnie and Mack overlap in certain key Skill areas). To be honest, I think we still would if they had all been given the same Character Sheet! My players see things in very different ways (Not so different that it makes the game untenable, thankfully).

Where Next?

Despite my natural instincts, I want the players to succeed, and they are in a position to do so.

I would like them to continue to combine Voodoo and Bleeder, and come up with the “Game-Changer” power that has been predicted.

This will, of course, lead to them being blocked, attacked, and otherwise hindered!

I would like to leave the City in a state that I could run more adventures there. If this new City is controlled by a small sect of Powerful Bleeders, who demand blood-tithes, I can work with that! There is still the matter of the Skin Borgs, though, who wear advanced armour that needles cannot pierce!

So, lots still to do!

*I would still like to see the game we considered playing: Bin Men! In a dystopian future, someone still needs to empty the trash!

D.U.B. Style – Dirty, Used and Broken – How I like My Cyberpunk!

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!

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!

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.

The Continuing Adventures of Individuals!

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: 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 (“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: 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:

Athletics: 7, BIO: 8, Combat: 7, Creative: 6, INFO 8, Intellectual: 7, Military: 8, TECH: 7, Thief: 7, Social: 8, Street: 7.
Psychic (Exotic): 14, Psychic (Manipulation): 10, Psychic (Sensory): 10,
Bleeder Special Skills (Psychic (Blood)): 10

**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”!)

Let the Blood Flow!

In response to my previous post (We’re All Individuals!), our group has decided to play members of the Bleeders street-gang.*

Vicious, violent and vengeful, the Bleeders keep control of their turf using a little-known variation on Psychic abilities: Blood Magic! By tasting a mere drop of a person’s blood, a Bleeder can gain insight into who that person is, gain some of their traits or skills, track them across the city, and even cause them physical pain!

The hierarchy of Bleeders is run by Masters, who keep samples of their students’ blood, to better keep control over them. In return, the Master teaches the secrets of Blood Magic, giving the students the power to defeat their enemies, and protect gang turf!

The way this is represented in the System is that the Bleeders’ mundane skills are averagely costed, with no particular specialisation (6-10 pts per level), but their Psychic skills are a lot cheaper than the usual extortionate prices (10 rather than 25 pts per level)! They also get access to Bleeder-specific Psychic powers at the same cost.

With no specialist areas, and their main Skills being slightly expensive (compared to mundane skills), we can expect low-level Bleeders to be a little lacking in breadth, having sent a lot of their time (XP!) on Psychic/Magic skills. Our group will be starting at Level One, and also have a skill-cap of 3 (out of 5) ranks in any skill, and only progress one rank per Level in each skill. While this may sound as though everyone becomes very broad, with over 150 skills available, and the ability to use Bonus Points to specialise in a Skill Category, the players should be able to come up with some diverse characters.

The players will all be under the control of one Master, and have created the following characters:

The Wizard: Focusing on Psychic/Blood Magic, he has Mediumship (to speak with ghosts), Clairvoyance, Psychic Invisibility, and many other Powers! Apart from learning how to defend them self, using a quarter staff), everything has been put towards learning the secrets of their Psychic Powers!

The Hacker: Shunning Psychic abilities (for the most part), computer skills are their forte. Covering the wide range of talents needed to successfully attack a target system has left little room for much else. Their Master demands that they learn a little of The Art, and they are a practised knife-fighter, but beyond that, another Specialist.

The Doctor: Corporate-trained, but left on the streets. (Not much detail yet)

The Vampire: Genuinely believes that they are a vampire. Psychosomatic revulsion to garlic and crosses. Dislikes entering Holy Ground. Eloquent and charming, they are the group’s diplomat/negotiator.

Wizard, Cleric, Thief/Tech, Bard(?). All with a secondary in Fighting (as would be expected for a Violent Street Gang), and at least a minor in Blood Magic (as demanded by their Master). They have a range of skills to bring, and hopefully will be up to the challenge of surviving the mean streets of Manhattan 2080!

*Fates Worse Than Death RPG is set on Manhattan Island in 2080. The streets are all run by Gangs, of many varieties. Some have access to Psychic Powers. Others, nano-technology. Some are rich. Some have to rely on their wits alone!

We’re All Individuals!

Fates Worse Than Death, one of my favourite RPG settings, is based around the gangs of near-future Manhattan. Each player chooses which gang their PC is in, and usually this leads to a group containing several gangs. As it is meant to be a very socio-political game, gang relations are important, and having players from gangs that are actively hostile, or even non-allied, will at the very least produce problems for the players. This concept is not limited to FWTD. Vampire (and other White Wolf settings) had a similar issue, with the player-base usually being a cross-Clan group.

Our latest idea for a game is to have all players be part of the same gang. While this will alleviate the multi-gang issue, it does have its own problems. In FWTD, a PC’s character class is their Gang, and this defines their Skill Costs (similar to how in V:TM your Clan defines what skills and Disciplines you have access to). By having all PCs from the same gang, they will all have the same Skill Costs (e.g. All Crackers have access to INFO Skills at 5xp/rank, compared to most other Gangs paying 10xp/rank. Sexologists pay 13xp/rank for TECH skills, while Boarders pay only 6!). While this helps to enforce niche-protection between gangs, and reflects the lifestyle of gang-members focusing on skills relevant to their gang, it can lead to players all buying the same, or similar skills. The skills are in categories, so one Cracker might buy Cryptography, and another choose Information Smuggling, but neither are likely to pick up much BIO (costing 9xp/rank, compared to a Needle Punk paying just 4!).

Part of the idea for a single-gang game was to get away from the finely-tuned adventuring party that can cover all bases (known as “Who’s Playing The Cleric?”) and focus on a group of people who happen to come together, and must use what skills they bring. If the players are Crackers, their BIO skills will be relatively low, unless someone decides to dedicate a lot of XP towards it (lowering their other areas significantly). A Sexologist group will be poor at TECH, and even their specialist will struggle to match a mediocre Boarder without giving up a lot of other skills! This does sound interesting (at least to me, as the GM!), but persuading my players that they are not the bestest-at-everything may be quite an undertaking.

One thing that FWTD does have is Disciplines. Areas of training that any Ganger may take. While learning a Discipline, a PC pays the Discipline costs for skills, rather than Gang costs. e.g. a Cracker may choose to train as an EMT. During this time, they will only pay 5xp/rank for BIO skills, but must pay 10xp/rank for INFO skills (as they are no longer at the heart of the information network, or as closely associated with their comrades). Some Disciplines have a specific list of skills that receive lower costs, and some have requirements for advancing (To begin EMT training a PC must have Driving 1, Emergency Medicine 1, and to gain Level 2 must have at least Emergency Medicine 3, Surgery 2).

So, to allow my players to broaden, and cover some extra skill areas, I am thinking of starting them at Level 3 (notably experienced), with the option to take one of those levels in a Discipline.

Next is to decide which gang to be! With over 50 different options, from homeless street-kids to inked’n’pierced carny-folk to idle-rich extreme sports enthusiasts, what will my players go for? One would like to be a Sat-Jumper; blue-collar workers who are jetted to low-orbit to work on the innumerable satellites that keep the world running. Another likes the idea of Technophiles, each specialising in a different technology. Whichever we end up with, I’ll report on how the game progresses!

What Gang would you want to play? Or how would you deal with the issues of running a single-gang game? Have you played/run a game like this? Why not let me know!