Hoi,
Chombatta! Welcome to Cyberia, also know as "The-Land-Of-Do-As-You-Please."
Although, Cyberia has a "core" world, Telos, the essence
of the Cyberia campaign is freedom. With no Elders to
watch over you, this is an Amber youth free-for-all.
The Players will be the movers and shakers, battling
to transform this Primal Plane into their own image.
But with freedom comes responsibility and, of course,
risk. And in Cyberia, the risks are as high as the rewards
are valuable. Because freedom is so important in this
world, we’ll be using the free-form rules as our guide.
What
is a free-form game? Rather than being saddled by
the restrictions of the Amber DRPG point system, a free-form
game is based on descriptive qualifiers. Essentially
your character is as you portray them; if they are strong,
intelligent, or masterful at computers, these traits
will be reflected in his or her description. Although
there are boundaries to the type of character you can
design, the free-form system allows you to create that
‘prefect’ character you’ve always been dying to play.
With
all this freedom comes maturity; the maturity of a storyteller.
Like a novel or movie, the ending doesn’t always come
out in the character’s favor. Less-than-desirable outcomes
should be accepted as part of the story, rather than
an opportunity to sulk or stomp your feet. While you’ll
never be treated unfairly, there are consequences for
each and every action. Some of them can be quite grave.
This is Cyberia, where life is cheap and brutal. Don’t
be surprised if someone dies along the way. With some
luck and smarts, it won’t be you.
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NAME: Your name. Pick one you
like.
HANDLE: On the streets, few people use their
real names. This nickname should reflect your character’s
street image.
AGE: You have to be at least 16.
BIRTHPLACE: All Cyberia characters come from
one of the core worlds. These are Prime, the Tombs,
the Tatters, and Nocturne. You can find a description
of each in the Telos section.
SEX: Male/female/hermaphrodite/neuter. Your
choice
HEIGHT: Within reason.
WEIGHT: Within reason.
HAIR: Color and style, please.
EYES: Color and, if you want to comment on it,
shape and size.
APPEARANCE: What your character looks like -
attractive, or with a limp, a scar on the left cheek
etc. You might also want to describe the clothes your
characters wears if they further a certain style. The
more vivid the better. We could also add, the more extravagant,
the better. In Cyberia, image is more important than
actual skill.
BACKGROUND/HISTORY/ETC: Anything you'd like
to tell us about your character and where he/she came
from. It's nice if you start by stating a keyword for
your PC - like "hacker", "pimp" or "dancer", for instance.
Remember, the GM might, in discussion, ask you to change
some of this. Please be prepared to be flexible.
CHARACTER CONCEPT: Just a general archetype
for your character. In the Land-of-Do-As-You-Please,
anything is possible. Here are some suggestions (which
are in no ways the only choices): Artist, Assassin,
Banker, Bartender, Bounty hunter, Casanova, Cop, Corporate
executive, Cyber-junkie, Dancer, Drug addict, EtherNaut,
Fringe scientist (of ALL kinds), Lawyer, Musician, Pilot,
Pimp/Hooker, Programmer, Orbital, Rebel, Street thug,
Slave, Taxi driver, Teacher, Writer.
SKILLS: You get to pick three skills that you
are much better than average at. This is mainly so that
the moderators can see what your PC is aiming at. The
primary skill is what you are awesomely good
at [and generally defines the character]; the secondary
is what you're very good at; the tertiary is
something that you just do a lot better than average.
Good skills can (but doesn't have to) be: Navigation,
Computers, Engineering, Diplomacy, Gunplay, Quickdraw,
Swordplay, Martial Arts, Sniper, Acrobatics, Multilingual,
Playing Cards, Archaeology, Psychology, Driving, Cooking,
Business Economy...and just about anything else. Powers
can fall under this heading as well, such as Psionics.
By focusing on your powers, you are a step above even
other Amberites. Of course, it is at the cost of everyday
skills. You can read more about the powers and how they
work under Augmentation, Interface, and Psionics.
POWERS: Cyberia characters automatically begin
with Augmentations at a "tertiary" level. This is to
reflect the character's access to the "everyday" bio-
and cyberware; i.e. Infolink (which allows access to
the Ether). This, and the other Powers, can be bought
up at the expense of skills.
DISADVANTAGE: We want to encourage PCs that
aren't altogether perfect. Therefore, please pick a
disadvantage. If you like, your PC can of course have
more than one (after all, most real people have) but
you only need to pick one here. Disadvantages can be
things like: Drug addict, short temper, drinks too much,
limps, has back pains, can't read and write, morose,
absent-minded, coward, can't trust people, is terribly
ugly, or just about anything else you can think of.
EQUIPMENT: What does your character own?
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Hey,
this is a free-form, rules-free game [sorta]! You'll
get no levels, no points to pay for new attributes or
powers....what you gain, you gain from gameplay and
storytelling. However, we do have methods of awarding
players for great storytelling and participation:
Progression points.
This
will be awarded periodically (probably every six months)
for various reasons. Staying with the game will gain
a basic level, but regular posting will gain a higher
level - as long as the posting is of a good quality.
Inventiveness, consistency of character, interaction
with other players, general good demeanor (such as a
willingness to work with new players and support them
etc).
Progression
points can be spent on improving existing skills and
purchasing new ones (their cost will be determined by
the GM - a new Shadow language might cost one point,
a very complex language two, or alternatively, the ability
to learn languages swiftly and easily might cost five
(with a little requisite role playing being done whenever
you want to acquire a new language). You can also use
points to improve your powers or buy new ones.
They
can also be spent on acquiring new elements within the
area you are playing in. These elements will vary from
area to area - so you will need to study what is available
in each. You can expect no more than five progression
points over a year - perhaps up to 7 for outstanding
play.
Fortune points.
Players
will be rewarded for making the game entertaining, for
outstandingly good one-off posts, and for periodically
reminding everyone of the style to which they should
aspire. There will also be a possibility of gaining
fortune points for tag-lines. These can be as short
as a single line of witty, pithy dialogue. We've all
read posts that have made us gasp with their audacity,
or laugh aloud at a put-down.
Fortune
points can be spent one-for-one, to help your character.
In a tight spot? Spend a fortune point and the GM and
you can write in a way to get out of it. Need to handily
defeat that irritating opponent in a fight? Spend a
fortune point and the battle will tip your way for a
moment, allowing you to topple a bookcase on him or
disarm his cycle chain. Trapped in a dark cave? A fortune
point will give you a quick burst of light from an unexpected
shaft or a flint you can scrape on a wall (or a old
spell you suddenly remember). Made a serious breach
of etiquette at the CEO's business dinner? Spend a fortune
point and the CEO will think you were being humorous
instead. They can also have financial value - a character
might use a fortune point as a bag of gold, to purchase
a new horse, a rather fine weapon, a jewel to wear (or
to impress a Lady).
However,
the advantage of fortune points is that you can use
them to 'buy' out of your own character (a weakling
could have a sudden burst of strength - or other effects,
depending on your game area, and what you and the GM
agree. The other advantage is that you can 'buy' at
point of need - you don't have to have it racked in
advance. You do need to have the agreement of the GM,
though - who might permit a fortune point to be spent
on a brilliant burst of light that dazzles and confounds
your enemies, but who draws the line at your using a
single fortune point to send out a fireball that destroys
an entire army.
Fortune
points can't be used to bend reality (i.e., a child
defeats Benedict with a twig) or annoy other players
purposely (that's not allowed)...they are allowed to
give your PC a chance to avoid or alter untimely or
undesirable incidents - they will never become deus
ex machinae or absurd. If you roleplay and post consistently,
and are a model of cooperation with the GM and fellow
players, you can expect to earn about 2 to 4 fortune
points per year.
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