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.

Top

     Creating a character is very simple. You need to fill in the character sheet below and send it to me at [email protected]. However, if I think the character you’ve created will be happier in another area, then the GMs might talk to you and suggest other alternatives.

     Here’s the submission rules:

  1. Submit characters in .txt or .rtf file format. No .doc, .xls or .html folders. Send as attachments to the GM's email, unless otherwise instructed.
  2. Players will all have Blood of Amber. No Chaosians. No non-Amberites either.
  3. You cannot choose your parent/progenitor. You can choose your hair color ... but in this game, that will be no guarantee of who your parent is. Besides, bio-ware can alter not only your hair color but facial features and even gender, so take nothing for granted.
  4. At the start, it is quite likely that you won’t know any of the other characters. You will, however, meet them fairly soon. This will be a game that will allow for considerable interaction between players. There will be enough side-plots to keep you happy, though.
  5. In the creation process, you may be asked to make considerable changes to your character's background. Be prepared for this - in the long run it will:
    1. make sense
    2. be worthwhile
  6. Many characters will start fairly powerless. Be prepared for that. It's intended that characters in this game should learn and grow over time. And it is intended that there will be plenty of time to learn and grow.

Top

NAME:

HANDLE:

AGE:

SHADOW OF ORIGIN:

SEX:

HEIGHT:

WEIGHT:

HAIR:

EYES:

APPEARANCE:

BACKGROUND/HISTORY/ETC:

CHARACTER CONCEPT:

SKILLS:

Primary:

Secondary:

Tertiary:

POWERS:

DISADVANTAGE:

EQUIPMENT:

Top

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?

Top

 

     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.

Top