Clandestine Societies is on DrivethruRPG

 

Okay so I tried something a bit different with this release. I put it up on my Kofi page first, then I put it on my itch io page a week later. This has resulted in, checks notes, zero sales. So now it's time to put it up on DrivethruRPG and see what happens. 

So head on over there and check out Clandestine Societies Issue Two. It's a small collection of supernatural, horror and occult articles. Mostly system agnostic, but when mechanics are supplied it's done using the WaRP OGL from Atlas Games.  Hey it's only a buck so check it out if you don't mind.

Hopefully I'll have issue three ready to go here in a two to three months. I know I've got plenty of material to dig through to fill it up with. 

Cyberpunk - Club Zero

                               

Club Zero

This is a club set up for a very specialized sort of clientele and not one for those who stray out of that narrow focus. It is designed from the ground up for Netrunners and only Netrunners. Thus in the end the look of the location in meatspace is nothing like that of a regular club that you would find in a major city.

Physical Location

The building was originally designed for an up and coming weapons design company called 'InLine Design' that went belly up when it's product designs were sniped and copied by several other major corporations. They had built their own onsite firing range and weapons testing facilities. This mean lots of heavy reinforced concrete walls, running through with re-bar, metal plates and even more concrete.

The entire parking lot is open and one can see various drones passing over head and those with a more keen eye can see automated weapons mounts in various places along the walls of the building. Any unwelcome visitors will be taken care of without question. The single entrance has a small led display above reading 'Club Zero'.

Upon entry you are greeted by two armed security personnel asking for your membership. If you do not have one you will be directed to a room with a sole laptop and card printer on a table. Membership costs 500 euro payable yearly and your card is printed off on site. If you aren't interested in a membership you are asked to leave.

Once your membership is verified you will be led down a series of hallway and through various scanners. All weapons, equipment and cyberdecks will have to be removed in placed in a steel lockbox before being allowed to continue on. Throughout this there are very visible cameras monitoring the area and several very obvious automated small arms weapon mounts. After you are deemed clean you are then led to what used to be the main firing range.

Inside are rows of recliners circling a massive rack of data terminals. Various other runners are jacked into cyberdecks built as part of the chairs. This is all connected to the single completely self contained network called 'ZeroSpace'. Only hard line log ins are available and the shielding of the room insures that any built in hardware inside a runner cannot send or receive an outside signal.

Some recliners are designated as long term units. So the runner can be fixed with a nutrient feed and be taken care of for a few days instead of just a few hours.

Inside ZeroSpace

First the runner enters their own personal ‘wardrobe’ area. Here they pick out an appearance for themselves. It’s all standard human fair with lots of 80’s and 90’s club fashions to pick from. Complete with an AI assistant who acts as an old school tailor making sure everything fits just right.

Then you step through a door into the club itself. Huge and sprawling with multiple levels. Each with it’s own style and music selection. Lots of private booths, arcade style games, video screens and holographic style displays. Filled with lots of people milling about, waitresses, bartenders, various dancers, and club goers. Most of these are AI constructs meant to give the feeling of a bustling busy club.

The runners themselves show up just a little bit clearer and brighter than the fake folks. So they can spot each other in the crowds. When privacy is needed the booths will seal off the outside environment and only those inside can see or hear what is going on. This is usually when information, data, programs, etc are often exchanged. Including a business card program that lets you exchange information into each other virtual Rolodex.

If the busy club scene gets to be a bit much there are also side rooms like private libraries, swimming pools and saunas, even bedrooms for those who like their romance to be virtual as well. Some runners can spend days in the club without leaving. Rumor has it the owner is a complete ‘Live In’ who never leaves the club, his body somewhere in the physical structure, hooked into machines to live.

Adventure Seeds

The most obvious use of the club in game is as a place for the netrunner of the group to meet contacts and friends. Exchanging information or getting that bit of code they need.

The club needs a problematic person taken care of. They have caused to much trouble inside the club and outside of it as well with regulars and patrons. So an example needs to be set. Your team is to eliminate the person in the most spectacular and painful way as possible.

A corporate feels the club is becoming a problem. They have a solution using nanobots. But they can only get so much in at a time. So they wish to hire the runner to enter the club various times each week while wearing a dusting of the special nanobots. Each time they are to choose a different recliner when they log in. Thus spreading the nano’s like an infection until there are enough inside to be activated.

If you like what you see here please check out my material from Truly Rural Productions over on DrivethruRPG, Itch and Kofi. 

Working on Clandestine Societies Issue 2

 

A few years back I had started work on what I intended to be a series of releases for Supernatural - Horror - Occult gaming. Just a small release with some different articles inside all falling into that vibe. I called this Clandestine Societies, referencing the secret societies and groups that would be created by the existence of such things in our world. 

I managed to get issue one completed and ready to go and was working on issue two. The idea was to get three done before I released the first. A planned release schedule. But then I caught Covid, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Ended up in Barnes Hospital in St. Louis on a ventilator, it got bad, up to the point where they told my wife she may want to start thinking about making 'arrangements' because my outlook was bleak. But right after that call my body started turning around and I survived. 

Went through in facility physical therapy to recover from both muscle atrophy and lung damage. When I finally got home that brain fog people talk about was all to real and really rough. But I recovered enough that sat down and went ahead and released Issue One on 6/12/21. But it would be a while before I could focus enough on writing and creating anything.

Now it's been a few years. While I still fight with some mental and memory issues I am back to where I feel I can start making material again. I attribute a lot of my recovery to doing face to face gaming again and getting a job where I exercise my brain a bit. 

So two years ago I released a new Squad Names, but it was something I had partially written and didn't require to much work. Then recently I released Cyberpunk Random Charts. Now I'm working on Clandestine Societies Issue Two. 

It's all written and done. I've got the cover image figured out and I'm looking for other pieces of stock art for the articles inside. While I'm doing all that I'm rereading everything for the fifth or sixth time. Layout is going to be done on LibreOffice cause I just don't feel like relearning how to use Scribus again after all this. I'm going to be using the words "Not professional, not slick, but cheap" quite often from now on. 

I'm thinking of making the release date January to start the new year off with something. I'll probably keep the regular price I charge of a dollar since it looks to end up around eleven or twelve pages. Got a few other things I'm slowly working on and hopefully I'll get them rolled out as well as 2026 progresses. 

This went on for a bit longer than I anticipated. Thanks for those who read through it all. 

New Product - Cyberpunk Random Tables

 

Over on my Ko-Fi shop I have a new product up for folks. It's a collection of various cyberpunk themed random charts that have appeared on this blog over they years. While it's not slick, nor is it professional, it is only a buck. So go on over and check it out if you would! 

Well it's also over on DrivethruRPG for those who prefer purchasing from that platform. So here is a link for you to find it over there. 

Inner Voice Vol 1 Issue 6 (incomplete)

 

While digging through an old external looking for issue four of the old ezine "Inner Voice" that I used to do I found something else. A very incomplete beginnings of issue six. Not much there it was all in Word format and just had three articles put in so far. Plus placeholders for stuff. So I switched it over in pdf format as it was and put it up on the shop portion of my Ko-Fi page. It's free for anyone who drops me a bit of support over there. Along with all the other previous issues (except issue four which I seem to have lost forever) and a few other things like my old FreeForm rules I was once working on. 

Really thinking of trying to start Inner Voice back up again. But I don't know if I really want to. If I do it will simple layout via Libra Office and put straight into pdf. Nothing fancy at all. The first few issues would probably just be a collection of various stuff I have up on my blog.

If I do this I will, of course, make a blog post about it. 

Six Pack - Netrunner and Techie shops

 

Been a while since I've cracked open a new six pack. So today I'm giving you one out of the Cyberpunk vein of things. So here are six tailored for a couple of specific class/role types.  

Six shops of interest for Techies and Netrunners

1 –The Glitch Shop. Sellers of overstock and returned high tech items. Malfunctioning cyberdecks, tech scanners with bad ports, last years IR goggles that were massively over produced. All sorts of stuff like that. A parts persons dream location.

2 – The Scrapyard Circuit. Resellers of trashed out, repossessed or out of date cyberware. There is no warranty or guarantee for anything here. Buyer beware. But damn you can find that new arm to fix your busted up one if you dig enough.

3 – Bucket of Bytes. Nothing but wall to wall cabinets full of drawers filled with chips. Sometimes the owner knows what he has, sometimes not. But just digging through all the files you may find some gold buried under all the probably junk and malware.

4 – Obsolete and Obscure Tech Exchange (usually just abbreviated OOTE). This is a chain that buys and sells outdated and obscure technology. Much of it has actually gone through a decent virus scan. But when it comes to finding old screens, out of production interface cables and anything else that’s hard to find, this is the place to look.

5 – The New Edge. This is basically a glorified mall store. But they do stock all the latest tools and technology on the commercial market. Even has a decent clearance bin when things sit on the shelves to long. If it’s brand new chances are they have it. Techies shop here often.

6 – Synaptic Drift. The latest in netrunning programs and gear. They also offer a repair service that is 24/7 but at a pretty steep cost. You will not be let down by what they stock, there are no beginner decks in this place.

WttC - The Immunity Stat

 

Immunity

The world of ‘Welcome to the City’ is one rife with pollution, toxins and other nasty stuff that’s all around. This can take a toll on a human body, and it does. Especially for the Work Crews who have to venture into some of the worst areas of the city to take of their jobs.

The Immunity stat is how we keep track of how well their body is holding up… or not holding up as the case may be. Whenever the character is exposed to something highly toxic, gets splattered with waste or goes to long without their filter mask then a roll could be called for.

Rolling for an Immunity check is done by rolling a number of dice equal to your Immunity stat. Normally only one success is necessary although if there exposure is something drastically bad then a higher number may be required. This roll cannot be pushed. Success means you are fine but a failure results in your Immunity stat being reduced by one.

Every PC starts out with a six rating.

Now let’s talk about what happens as that level drops. For every point below six it increases the necessary XP to increase a skill or buy a specialty by two points. Example: If you are at a three Immunity then it will cost four extra XP. At a four you are at one negative die for all physical activities. At a two you are at two negative die for all physical activities and one negative die for all mental activities. At a zero they fall into a toxic shock and are broken and will die if not treated at a medical facility within a day.

Recovering Immunity.

If you reach zero and are treated at a medical facility they can stabilize the PC. The character then wakes up with an Immunity level of one.

You can receive a cleansing treatment at a hospital. This requires a substantial amount of money and a week stay in that facility. When finished you will gain back one point of Immunity and will make an Immunity roll. If you fail, nothing happens this time, but for every success you will an additional point back as well.

Also spending XP is another way. For every ten XP spent you will gain back one point.

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WttC - Year Zero Engine starting point

 

Reworking the game to use the Year Zero Engine from Free League Publishing. I'm really liking my experiences with that system so far and it's available for free to use. Going to try and push this one to actually make it to the playtest level, unlike before. 

What I've decided on so far. 

The four stats and twelve skills. Some modifications here to fit the setting but not much. 

Force (Strength)

Close Combat (Strength)

Stamina (Strength)

Marksmanship (Agility)

Mobility (Agility)

Piloting (Agility)

Machinery (Wits)

Observation (Wits)

Survival (Wits)

Medical Aid (Empathy)

Manipulation (Empathy)

Persuasion (Empathy)

Stealth will be a specialization instead of a skill. Computer Operation will be a specialization that works with Machinery since people who actually know how to do anything beyond the very basics with a computer are not that common. 

Stress Dice will be used. 

A health bar, similar to the one in Alien, will also be used.

Need to add in some sort of Toxic measure in there. To show how badly the toxic environment has affect the well being of the characters. Thinking of something similar to the Immunity Check that was in the old game Kromosome from the Amazing Engine line. Not sure how I'm going to do that yet.

That and the basics of Psionic abilities as well. 

Welcome to the City - PMCS

 

Much of the hardware that new Operators get assigned to use in Welcome to the City isn't of the best quality. It's all made by the lowest bidder, out of date, some of it already well used and prone to breakdowns and failure if not maintained. 

So I'm going to work in PMCS (Preventive Maintenance Checks and Services, something the US Military does all the time) for the characters to do. When the players have their PCs do weapon breakdowns and cleaning, vehicle maintenance and general clean up duties while working. Basically setting up a sheet for the GM to keep track of when it's done, or more importantly, when it's not done. After so many missed times on gear that is used then there is a chance of breakdown, malfunction or outright failure. 

Of course gear that you don't use isn't going to be a focus. So if you go a week without pulling PMCS on your handgun but also haven't used it during that time I'm not going to make it an issue. 

All Work Crew vehicles will have a manual inside of them. The manual will have the name of the vehicle with a dash ten (- 10) after it. All gear comes with their own dash ten manuals as well, usually pocket sized and sometimes pretty worn out from the previous owner. Whether or not the PC carries this around with them is another issue altogether. I will add a minimum skill level needed to have before the character doesn't need the manual anymore to pull it's maintenance checks. 

In a Work Crew vehicle all necessary basic maintenance equipment is stowed inside. Anything major like a complete motor overhaul will need to be done in a garage or turned in for replacement Also inside the vehicles are basic kits for communication gear and hand held equipment. For firearms each Operator is issued a cleaning kit as part of their standard Basic Blue package. 

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Welcome to the City - Firearms

 

Guns are a part of Welcome to the City. You play the part of Operators for the City Works Division going out and solving problems. Some of them are bottom of the barrel clean ups others are go in an remove threats. But there always the possibility, and sometime unavoidable, violence. So a bit about how firearms work in this setting where there is high tech and low tech mixed in needs to happen. 

First off bullets are caseless. Each bullet is a cylindrical chunk where the accelerant is formed behind and around the bottom part of the slug. When the round is fired the accelerant is burned off forcing the round out of the chamber. But, most bullets are made cheaply and in mass quantity, therefore not held to many standards at all. What most Operators have access to are rounds that produce a lot of smoke and dirty up the weapons very quickly thus requiring a lot of cleaning. 

Ignition of the accelerant is done via electronic spark. Thus eliminating the need for a firing cap making it easier to produce caseless ammo. Most weapons have the battery packs necessary for this located underneath the barrel in the case of handguns and in the grip for rifles and larger weapons that are magazine fed from a source not located in the handle. All City Works Division vehicles have charging ports built into every seat for this. Now whether or not that all work depends on how well the vehicle has been maintained. 

Now with no brass being ejected or firing pin being driven forward this reduced the need for a slide. The next round is instead moved into place with a motorized action or a spring powered magazine. So firearms have become more boxed in with less moving external parts. Disassembly also becomes more simple with just a couple of screws being removed. The round cycling motor usually being the most complex part now but are easily replaced if they stop working. 

The firearm will still fire when wet or submerged. However prolonged exposure to water will cause some of the accelerant to soften leading to less power behind the bullet, more dirt and residue afterwards and maybe even failure to fire. If failure to fire occurs there is no slide to work so you can eject the round quickly. Instead you will have to remove the top cover and physical pull the bullet out.

Most beginning Operators are given two firearms. Both pistols. One is their standard carry sidearm the CWF-19, a small pistol that is magazine fed and fires a round slightly larger than that of a .22 with a bit more punch behind it. The other is a much heavier pistol called the CWF-25 it has two side by side barrels and is of a break open design. You have an switch on the back as to which barrel you are firing (you cannot fire them at the same time) and another button to break open the weapon to reload. It fires rounds equivalent to that of a 12 gauge shotgun, basically it fires like a sawed off short barreled shotgun including how hard it recoils on the user. 

The further up you climb the ranks as an Operator the better firearms you have access to. Some jobs also allow you to check out better firearms from your local City Armory. 

If you like the material I present on this blog please consider show some support via KoFi or by clicking on some of the other links along the side (at least in the desktop view, not so much in the mobile view). 

Masters Workshop - Story Cards

 

Working on my own game world, yet again. It has a lot of background details, yet again. But I don't want to force my players to have to read through all of it when a good chunk my never have any affect on what they do. Most of it is just there to explain how the world got to where it is. But I also have players who love details like that. So that got me thinking. 

I'm going to make story cards and rate what level of world lore you need to know what's on a specific card. 

Then those who want the details can read them as they want as long as they are within their characters lore rating. Those who don't but suddenly find themselves asking a question or something does have to do with what's going on then you could just hand them the need-to-know cards for a quick read. Again, as long as they within their lore rating. 

Example: In my scifi setting there was what's called the 'Big Crash' in computer data that happened around forty years earlier. Since all the currency at the time had gone digital this caused a lot of devastation and huge problems. As a result the government went back to solely physical currency known as 'chips'. Now most players just know that physical currency is a thing and digital is not and don't care about the back story. 

Now let's say they find a box full of old Cred Sticks while searching through some old building. I tell them they are pre Big Crash. If they ask what it is I check the card for the Big Crash and it's a Lore Rating 1 so I hand it over so they can read it if they want. Some may not even care and that's fine. 

This helps me introduce history and lore as it is necessary or wanted. No handing over a thirty page world bible and telling them to absorb all that in. But it's also there for those who want that explosion of data to read through. 

Sort of a physical wiki. Now I guess I'll be picking up some more index cards and a new card holder while at the thrift shops. 

If you like these blog posts then consider tossing me a dollar or so over on Ko-Fi.

Roll a D10 Companies of Quality

 

The big corporations have the corner on the mass market. But their stuff is cranked out by the millions and everything looks the same. Plus the quality can sometimes take a hit as well. But there is always room for smaller companies to come in with highly specific areas of expertise. When you walk around with work by these folks you get notices for your style and for using the best.

Remember is you like the posts you see here you can always buy the blogger a Coffee to show your support. 

Here we go. Ten companies that are of high quality. 

1 – Urban Rapture. Makers of specialized, high quality firearms. Most are custom ordered for the buyers very specific demands.

2 – Flesh Grinder. They make very deadly melee weapons with all sorts of features. From things that spray blood when they hit to poison injectors.

3 – Hardshell. Body armor that is custom fitted to the buyer. Measurements are taken and every thing from load bearing points to flexibility is figured in.

4 – Power Projects. Makers of experimental powered armor and load reducing worn robotics.

5 – Shogun. Street bikes and riding gear with a kick. You want to go fast and look the top of the line at the same time? These are the folks.

6 – Inner Voice. The go too experts for personal communications technology. Producing the most reliable and malleable squad level communication equipment available.

7 – Lancer Tools. When a Techie needs to tools for his job, these are the people they can trust.

8 – New Atlantis. Premier makers of cyberspace technology and software. Also hosting on the most stable and popular virtual locations in the net.

9 – Hardwire. When your custom cyberware specifications go way beyond the normal these are the folks to hire for the job. Doing the most outrageous cyber mods in the world today.

10 – Nu U. If you need to change your appearance these are the sculptors you want. From simple nips and tucks to full on height adjustment and even full gender change. They are the best.

Members of the Guard webpage

 

Well I've started work on trying to get one of my old homebrew ideas up and fully running into a stand alone game. So to do so I've decided to go with a route that brings me joy and nostalgia and sat up an old fashioned webpage over on NeoCities. Learning HTML again was actually kind of fun surprisingly. 

I'm taking my old 'Question of Faith' setting and morphing it into a more defining title of "Members of the Guard". Then slowly pulling bits and pieces I have scattered all over into that one central location. You can find that webpage RIGHT HERE if you are interested. 

Also threw a Ko-Fi link at the bottom and a link to my Truly Rural Productions facebook page on there as well. Hopefully this will gain a little bit of momentum once I get to set down with my group and do some actual playtesting. 

Any questions feel free to drop them into the comments here. 

Cyberpunk vs Steampunk

 This is from twelve years ago. It's still how I feel about the two to this day. 

Little Fears: Sanitarium

 

Woke up this morning with an idea for a new Little Fears campaign. Haven't thought about that game for a long while. Just been busy doing other things and taking a break from running horror. However the idea I have is a bit different than what I usually do. So I bounced it off my wife to see what she thought and she really liked it. 

So as I continue to flesh this out I will be making a few posts on the details. Well not to much into the details as I want to keep some things secret. 

The setting will take place in a large old style orphanage which is connected, via old school steam tunnels, to a very large abandoned sanatirium. Will be using the original first edition Little Fears rules (which you can find here) and will need a few props. Mainly a good large sized map of the sanitorium, a notebook that will be used by the 'kids' to keep track of information and a set of old keys. 

Also the player group will be limited to six at a time. If, or should I say when, your character dies or is removed from the setting in someway that player leaves the room for the night. There will be a waiting list of people who want to play so when your character is gone you go to the bottom of the list. The next person in line gets called up for the next game. Last time I ran Little Fears I had almost twenty people wanting to play and I ran three different campaigns at the same time. Hoping this outing turns out as popular.

Hoping to maybe get this going in two to three months from now. 

Squad Names Three

 

After a two and a half year complete stop I have finally managed to get something new up over on DrivethruRPG. It's been a while yeah, after catching Covid and going on a ventilator for a bit my brain got real fuzzy. Took me several months before I could really talk without having to stop every sentence or two just to remember what word I was wanting to use. But with my job and finally gaming on a very regular basis the brain fog cleared up. Then it was just getting down and actually doing it. So starting off the New Year with new stuff. 

Another installment of 100 various squad names for military, cyberpunk or scifi games. Works really good for Sla Industries as well. Best thing is that it's really cheap, only 75 cents. 

You can PICK IT UP HERE if you want.

Or get it bundled with all three volumes OVER ON ITCH. 

Hopefully this will be a slow start to me getting more stuff up there. Got a lot of ideas but it's kind of hard to get it down in a way that I like. 

Modern Day Supernatural - Stone Castle Syndicate

Name: Stone Castle Syndicate

Description: The Stone Castle Syndicate is a clandestine organization that operates in the shadows, shrouded in mystery and hidden from public knowledge. It is an enigmatic group known for its involvement in the occult, supernatural, and paranormal activities. The organization takes its name from an ancient and foreboding castle, rumored to be their headquarters, which acts as a focal point for their activities.

Goals and Objectives: The Stone Castle Syndicate is driven by a combination of ambition, thirst for power, and a desire to explore the forbidden and hidden aspects of the world. Their objectives include:

-Acquisition of Arcane Knowledge: The Syndicate seeks to gather and safeguard forbidden knowledge, occult artifacts, and ancient texts. They believe that these artifacts hold the keys to unlocking great power and unraveling the mysteries of the universe.

-Manipulation of the Supernatural: The organization aims to control and manipulate supernatural entities, forces, and occurrences for their own ends. They believe that by mastering these forces, they can shape the world according to their desires.

-Pursuit of Immortality: The Syndicate seeks to attain immortality or prolonged life by exploring rituals, elixirs, and forbidden practices. They are willing to go to extreme lengths to achieve eternal life and transcend the limitations of mortality.

Structure and Members: The Stone Castle Syndicate operates with a hierarchical structure. The highest-ranking members are referred to as "Lords" or "Ladies" and are secretive and influential figures within the organization. They are known to be highly knowledgeable in occult practices and possess considerable power.

Below the Lords and Ladies, there are various ranks and divisions within the Syndicate, such as researchers, agents, occultists, and enforcers. Each member has specific skills and expertise that contribute to the organization's goals.

Interactions with Player Characters: Player characters may encounter the Stone Castle Syndicate in several ways:

-Adversaries: The Syndicate could be a primary antagonist, with the player characters working to thwart their nefarious plans and protect the world from their dark machinations.

-Ambiguous Allies: The organization may present itself as a potential ally or resource to the player characters, offering knowledge, resources, or protection. However, their true motives and methods could be questionable, leading to potential moral dilemmas and conflicts.

-Sources of Information: The Syndicate's occult knowledge and artifacts can be sought after by the player characters, providing crucial information or tools to combat other supernatural threats.

Hidden Agendas and Secrets: The Stone Castle Syndicate is rife with hidden agendas and secrets. They may have rival factions within the organization, conflicting goals, or power struggles. Unraveling these mysteries can lead to unexpected alliances or open new avenues for the player characters' investigations.

Remember, this concept for the "Stone Castle Syndicate" is a starting point, and you can further develop and customize it to suit the specific themes, tone, and storyline of your modern-day horror tabletop roleplaying game.

Cyberpunk 2020 - New Netrunning Rules 0.1

 

This is a very, VERY, rough draft for some simplified Netrunning rules that I'm working on for Cyberpunk 2020. Getting rid of the "game within a game" style with the Datafort maps and so on. Hopefully taking it down to just a few rolls along with some game play involving getting info in the real world to help with those rolls. Anyways, here is that super rough draft that will be updated over time.

Simplified Cyberpunk 2020 Netrunner rules.

Roles necessary to the Netrunner.

Navigation – How to find your way to someplace

Intrusion – How to get into someplace

Data Access – How to find the info you want

Operation – How to operate machines via the net

Combat – How to fight another runner if necessary

Rolls are done by rolling a D10 and adding in your Interface skill and beating a target number or opposed roll if there is another runner your going up against (or a sufficiently advanced AI). Now there are programs and gear that can drop the target number or give some other affect. Some may completely negate the need for a roll altogether.

NAVIGATION

This is probably the easiest roll to negate. All you need is the path to the target destination on hand. Either from a map app or maybe purchased from another runner. Most Map Apps will give you quick ways to public locations on the net. Now those locations hidden on the net that are private may require a bit more work to get. There are some modified Map Apps passed around by runners that have some. But there is also a market for folks to locate and sell the pathway to the location for whoever wants to offer the most money.

If you have a map to the location there is no need for a roll. But if you’re out looking around in an area where a Datafort is supposed to be it will take a roll, probably a difficult one, to find it.

Another way is get a location is breaking into the location via hardlink at the server site or via a line that runs direct. But that usually involves some breaking and entering of the physical kind.

INTRUSION

Now the easiest way to lower the target number for your Intrusion roll is of course by running some software that breaks through the code gates, walls and ICE. Software you buy today may also be useless a few months later when corporations upgrade their own software to counter it.

Another way is to have the proper passcodes and identification to get through. With those you could even negate the roll completely. However getting that information is really tricky. Again physical breaking and entering may work if they have that data handy. Or even some good old fashioned kidnapping of a runner or executive and ‘coercing’ them to tell you what you need to know.

Failed Intrusion rolls can result in damage to your software, hardware or in the most extreme cases there can be damage done to the runners brain.

DATA ACCESS

Once in finding exactly what you are looking for may take a miracle. The needle of data in the haystack of files and drives. Again Apps can help with the search and lower the target number. Or having the actual information on where it’s at can negate the need for a roll. For example, if you know the data is on on the laptop in the executive corner office under the folder called “Family Pics” then you got a clear shot to get what you need.

OPERATION

This is hooking into equipment and systems that are ran from the datafort. Anything from robots on an assembly line to security cameras monitoring the sublevels of a corporate safe house. Depending on how secure they are sometimes an App is all you need to get access without a roll. Others will require either much better Apps and a roll or passwords for operation.

COMBAT

Fighting it out with another runner or an AI who is advanced enough to think and act like one. This is where things can get tricky. There is no straight target number to beat, instead you have to roll better than the opponent. Various Apps can give you special tricks up your sleeve but slugging it out is not a preferred by most runners who are deep in someplace they aren’t supposed to be.

Cyberpunk Sunday a dark adventure

 

Want to write a cyberpunk adventure where the player are tracking down a hacker. The main thing the hacker is wanted for is going to a secret fetish club for those into extreme femdom. Then hacking into all the super high tech chastity cages for men and causing them to either explode, catastrophically overheat or constrict so tight the wearer is castrated. All of the men in the club, all at the same time.

Maybe even work this into a 'Rogue Television' story for my Max Headroom inspired cyber setting that's been bouncing in my head for a couple of decades.

Anyways I just want to see the looks on the players faces when they discover the crimes he has committed. Yeah sometimes I'm that kind of GM. 

Or... maybe have him do that. Then start blackmailing others who are now locked into those chastity devices because he changed the passwords. Getting money, making them do insane things, extortion. All sorts of males in positions of power suddenly trying to stop the group because they are being threatened with losing their nuts.

Sla Industries - The Truth about Dark Night

 

More of my personal take of the Sla Industries setting. Let's look at Dark Night this time around.

Pick up Sla Industries 1st edition over on DrivethruRPG. 

The terrorist group/soft company known as Dark Night isn't quite what most would believe. They definitely aren't what Sla Industries wants you to believe. Let's start off with one thing, there are two Dark Night groups existing at the same time. 

First is the fake Dark Night. This is ran by Sla Agents working undercover as subversive terrorist agents. From the outside they look like they want to cause as much destruction and death as possible. The upper echelon is Sla loyalists who recruit those from downtown who are desperate to survive. They let them think they are in an actual subversive group when they are not. Carrying out specific missions whose actual end goals are to actually cover something up via destruction and mayhem along with some straight up assassination missions against those that get in the way of the bigger picture or are digging to deep into things they should not. 

Basically they do the dirty work that Sla Industries would rather not have their fingers on. Along with smearing the actual Dark Night organization with their heavy handed and high collateral damage activities. 

The actual Dark Night is a full on subversive/soft company organization. Their entire goal is to undermine the Company and shift the power balance so that others may gain footholds and pry the power from one single person into the hands of many. While they also do assignations, thefts and cause some collateral damage they are much more laser focused. Going after very specific targets while doing as little harms to any innocents who may be in the area. They also spread literature and information throughout downtown in an effort to sway the masses to their way of thinking. 

Also they offer a high reward for anyone that can deliver members of the fake Dark Night to them alive. Especially if they turn out to be any of the Sla Agents running that group. 

Now within the actual Dark Night organization is another group that is only known the higher ranking members. It's called Daylight and it's made entirely of undercover Dark Night agents that have infiltrated the company, people within the company who have decided to switch sides and their handlers. It's all kept very compartmentalized so many of them don't now of the others in case somebody is discovered. Even the handlers know the two or three they are assigned to. This group leaks out information, equipment, anything they can in order to aid the movement to take down Sla Industries. Most Dark Night members are completely unaware of the existence of Daylight.