Preperations

[thranduilsson]

Hi!

I'll have more in here sometime tomorrow, but for now you all can post in here and talk about the kind of game you'd like to play.

You should also ask any questions you have. Try and read the whole player's guide (shouldn't take you longer than 15m) before you start asking questions, just to keep things easy on me.

Talk to you lot soon!

[Mercutio]

I'll have more to say later, but I wanted to pop in and bookmark the thread and all.

Cyberpunk and noir go together like cotton and candy. I think I'd like to focus a little more on the noir side of the equation, but that's just a first thought, unfiltered, as it were.

[Darius]

Just given the title of Technoir, I was thinking a setting more akin to Blade Runner, than say Ghost in the Shell.
I'm hoping for a gritty, street level game, though I could stretch myself to a more cyberpunk boardroom setting.

[Mercutio]

“

Originally Posted by Darius # Just given the title of Technoir, I was thinking a setting more akin to Blade Runner, than say Ghost in the Shell. I'm hoping for a gritty, street level game, though I could stretch myself to a more cyberpunk boardroom setting.

”

Yes. This.

[Marcus316]

I was also more drawn to a street-level game.

I'm flexible, though. Let's see what we end up with.

[thranduilsson]

Don't worry. The game is set up for street level. In both cyberpunk and hard-boiled/noir fiction, you see the little guys throwing themselves against monolithic enemies.

In Technoir, that's exactly what your character is built for. You will get beaten and bloodied, and you'll become stronger for it. It's definitely more Blade Runner than Ghost in the Shell. The cyberpunk half of the equation is all Gibson and Stephenson, which themselves take many elements from classic noir fiction. TL;DR: The game is two parts noir to one part cyberpunk, if I may talk out of my ass for a moment.

The game is also highly customizable (the author suggests a new verb, Cast, to throw in that man-meets-magic-and-machine vibe some of us hold dear), but we'll worry about that some other day.

Sorry I haven't posted anything yet; work was an absolute nightmare and right now I just want to nap for an hour or two before I do anything else.

[Mercutio]

Darius and I talked a bit this morning. I know it's too early to really talk character ideas in depth, but I was thinking mostly investigator -- more Deckard than street samurai.

Incidentally, I'm just now reading Stephenson for the first time (Snowcrash). I'm not sure how I missed it.

[zachol]

Hmm... for a starting point, "a corp hires the PCs for a job, things don't go smooth," maybe? Easy excuse for the PCs to get together and have some direction at the start, but things could really branch out depending on what "not going smooth" involves and how they react to it.

[thranduilsson]

zachol--Don't worry about the plot. We'll create it organically as part of the character creation process. Have you read the Player's Guide? It's good stuff. I should probably put a link to it up in the top post there, huh?

Technoir has two systems that are intertwined--the content (characters and plot) creation system, and the contention system. The former takes a bunch of random input (choices made during character creation), chews it all up, and spits out a cool situation to explore. The latter lets you shoot people in the face, trace wireless signals, and sweet-talk Mr. Johnsons (and so on and so forth).

Mercutio--That's totally fine. Get as invested as you'd like, but be opened minded about things. Once we start talking and making choices, you might change your mind. Of course we're all adults here--I don't need to tell you any of this. Consider it baggage from prior experiences with gaming groups. You can smile and nod and I'll go away.

Also, re: Stephenson: shoot me a PM.

[thranduilsson]

Double post, fuck it:

Can everyone read the Player's Guide and then post here letting me know you're ready for character generation? We're going to try and make it as real-time as possible in a forum environment (which is to say, I'm going to make sure we're all on the same page before we start discussing and generating).

Man, I really like parenthetical statements. Freed from the confines of an academic environment, my writing begins to go to shit.

[zachol]

Aw, narrativist systems always confuse me. :(
I've got the players guide right here. I've read it but I've got the feeling I missed something that's more between the lines.

e: Maybe I'll just step back for now. I think it'll make a lot more sense when I see it in action.

[thranduilsson]

Don't worry! It's more straightforward than it looks, and the Player's Guide doesn't quite tell you everything that's going on in the game (some of it isn't relevant to players, though none of it is secret).

I will tell you this: there are packets of information called Transmissions, which are basically descriptions of cities along with a table full of plot elements. The GM picks three plot elements via whatever method pleases them most. These three elements are called the Seed, and the Seed forms the starting point for the plot.

That Seed will grow and change based on decisions you make during character generation.

Then, during play, you will explore the situation we've created together.

[Darius]

I'm fine to go with character creation.

[Mercutio]

I'll read the book one more time this morning and then I'll be good to go by noon or so.

[Mercutio]

Okay. I'm good to go.

[Marcus316]

I'm good to go for char creation.

[thranduilsson]

Okay! I will put up the information you need in the thread "Transmission: Los Angeles".

[thranduilsson]

Okay, we're good to go! Follow the Player's Guide (the available Connections are available in the Transmission thread), ask any questions you have, discuss your characters with each other, and let's get this show on the road!

edit: Oops, forgot to mention: Make sure your character is connected to at least one other character in some way. You get three Connections, and you may also list one or more other protagonist characters as Connections. Do that! You should also talk a little bit about how your character know the other characters, even the ones s/he doesn't have a Connection with. Have you met? Have you heard the name? Have you worked together before?

This step may be a little bit bumpy, but we'll work everything out to perfection before the game gets going, worry not!

[thranduilsson]

Relationship Adjectives

affectionate
dependent
loyal
lustful
obsessive
protective
respectful
sympathetic
trusting

Once your Protagonists are posted and your Connections are made, we'll go around in order picking adjectives for your Connections. These adjectives describe how your Protagonist feels about their Connection; it doesn't say anything about how the Connection feels about the Protagonist. When you act in the interest of your Connection, the relationship adjective is positive. When you act against your Connection, the relationship adjective is negative. Not all of your connections will have adjectives; only two of them will (your choice).

We'll go around choosing from the list twice, so you'll each have two unique relationship adjectives. You can assign them to any of your connections, one adjective each. Once a player has chosen a relationship adjective, it is unavailable for other players, unless you go last. Since there are only nine unique adjective and five players, the last player to pick gets to choose any adjective on the list.

Does that make sense?

[Mercutio]

Yes. Do you want us to post characters in this thread?

[thranduilsson]

Yeah go ahead and post them here. Once we finalize them we'll post them in the Character subforum.

edit: Oh, and I forgot to mention: the dots after an adjective on a Protagonist/Connection sheet indicate how severe it is:
-No dots: fleeting
-One dot: sticky
-Two dots: locked

If you don't know what those terms mean, they're in they Player's Guide. If you need further explanation, please ask!

[Darius]

Name: Langston Cornelius Hughes
Handle: Brutus

Programs: Soldier, Criminal, Bodyguard

Verbs
Coax: **
Detect: *
Fight: ***
Hack: **
Move:**
Operate:*
Prowl:**
Shoot:***
Treat:**

Adjectives:
tough++
brutal++
threatening++

Connections:
Syd Martini: deal, fix (guns, weapons), ride
Pi Larson: splice
Killia Nine: date, deal
Jimmy Eff
Linn
Handsome Stan

Gear
Reflex Stimulators: nerve-linked, quick, reflexive Cost: 3 (implant cost covered by splice favor)
Kevlar Vest: ballistic armor Cost: 1
ARX-21: burst fire, large, long-range, loud, stock, scope, stolen Cost: 4
Barker: loud, powerful, explosive rounds, laser sight stolen Cost: 2
Knife: small, sharp, stolen Cost: 0

Kreds
0

Favors used
Splice from Pi
Fix from Syd

Short version of background

Former corporate security muscle who was discharged unfairly. Forced to take to the streets to eke out a living as hired muscle/leg breaker, has more recently branched out into bodyguard work.

[Mercutio]

James Fletcher
aka Jimmy Eff, Letch, or F

Former combat pilot turned private investigator when his wife left for a real space ace jock.

Pilot 1, Investigator 2

Coax     *
Detect   ****
Fight    *
Hack     ***
Move     *
Operate  **
Prowl    ***
Shoot    **
Treat    *

+Intuitive ••
+Observant ••
+Dogged •• (as in tenacity and grim persistence)

Objects:
stinger pistol - small (1 Kred)
kevlar vest - ballistic armor (1 Kred)
specks - encrypted, firewall, cam, mic (8 Kreds)
SkyRabbit - stolen, cam, linked, rotor-fans, thrusters, burst fire, gun, long-range (9 Kreds) [borrowed Kreds from Loren (shark) and spent them with Trisko (chop)]
1 Kred left over

Debt:
10 Kreds owed to Loren Truba

Connections:
Loren Truba: ride, shark
Killia Nine: date, deal
Trisko Valdez: chop, fix (drones), ride
Brutus:
The Russian:
Linn:

[Mercutio]

Darius - I figure Jimmy Eff and Brutus must have met at least once, probably through Killia Nine.

[Darius]

Makes sense to me Merc.