SnowDog

Has any of you read Grendel series? The latter part of the comic series makes a "nice" post apocalypse setting where various Grendel clans have their own fiefs and form a sort of military elite. Grendels are supposed to have quite strict code of honor but it seems that more and more of the Grendels are no longer acting it up any longer causing more chaos where they were actually suppose to bring some order to the world. I just loaned one comic (or graphic novel) from my library and got hooked. There is even one novel set in that world and it was fun to read.

SnowDog

Thanks for the answers! I think the idea needs some refinement

Yes, I could get rid of all the bonuses but then it would not be "compatible" with the original system at all. But Archangel is right this could be too complicated but I have to think about it.

Anyway, if I still keep the bonus system I have to restrict how large the bonus can get.

And psychophipps, thanks for the advice I have to keep it in mind in future

SnowDog

First of all I would set up surveillance of the place for some time. One of the characters at the front second to the back of the house. Is this just one house for the runner or a larger building for multiple apartments? It is kind of hard to make an effective surveillance with just 2 characters for extended time, but I suppose you can get by for some time.

Depending on the outcome of the surveillance (i.e. is the runner alone or not) I would get inside while he is out. One of characters inside and the other should stay outside to warn the one inside when the target is getting home. When the mark enters his home the one inside should just persuade him with a gun to let the other character in as well and tell them where the hard drives are. Get the hard drives and the target and be off. That is if the characters have electronic security skill and can open the locks.

Other possibility would be if the characters would know when the runner is in the net oblivious of the real world. I suppose he has turned most of the security off when he is at home and if he is alone and in the net he is quite easy prey.

If he has company it gets totally different. Then it all depends on what kind of person/persons are in his company and what kind of resources those two characters have.

SnowDog

Actually I don't have to make any arguments about your opinion Agamemnon. I really don't know why I almost always end up defending d20 system (more or less) even though I have never played it and doesn't much care for it anyway  

Actually I agree that even combat proficiency should be modelled with skills instead of the way it is done in d20 (with levels). On the other hand you can really see the origins of d20 system (war game) as levels really reflect the combat abilities of the character. Incidentally it's not that far fetched for many CP games. I think many, if not most of the CP campaigns have quite a lot of combat and as characters get experience (let's not get to that at the moment) it also reflects their experience in combat situations.

SnowDog

That approach can remedy the problem of invulnerable characters quite nicely, I suppose. If this game is published by Mongoose then it will probably use their rules where armor reduces damage instead of making it harder to hit.

Anyway I will see what kind of book it will be and I might even buy it to read it through...

SnowDog

Me, I'm 31 and was born in 1972. How many of you remember VIC-20?  

SnowDog

Hello Kitten!

Happy mid-summer from Finland to all! No, there are no such a deragotary term for Finns Wilphe  

SnowDog

The distinction is that you can play other games (like epic fantasy) using d20 but not cyberpunk. Every game has it's own mechanics that tend to work better with certain play styles than others. For example d20 with all the levels, classes, feats, and especially ever growing hit points works fairly well with fantasy and especially with epic fantasy. It doesn't work well for games like cyberpunk where people no matter how experienced will get killed just as easily as total rookies if they happen to get shot. For the same reason I would not use Interlock for epic fantasy but it could work for a little grittier fantasy. Of course you could run epic cyberpunk games and I suppose d20 works for that kind of games perfectly well but that is not something that I (or most of the other people, I think) want from cyberpunk.

I have never tried d20 but I own Player's and DM books and some 3rd party d20 products. I have played AD&D (1st edition) for some time in the past so I know something about the system. Therefore I have analysed the rise of levels and their effect on the campaign. While the characters are low level the campaign seem to be comparatively realistic as PCs tend to die rather easily and they have to outthink their opponents rather than just kill them off (if the opponents are tough). When characters progress to medium level the reality level of the campaign is changed from realistic to cinematic where PCs seem to take only flesh wounds even from rifles. Finally at high level the reality level is just Hong Kong or anime level where they can take even direct hits from RPGs (no, I don't mean roleplaying games).

I can live with this kind of change in reality level with certain type of fantasy games. In those games off the farm boys (and girls) become powerfull warriors and mages that ultimately save the world but before that they have to survive encounters with bandits etc. that would not be a threat at later time. But I can't sell this kind of reality level change in less fantastic games thus I wouldn't play d20 cyberpunk game.

Did it clear things up?  

SnowDog

Some time ago there was this thread about brawling and martial arts. After reading the thread I got an opinion that there should be no separate martial arts and brawling skills because after all the effects are quite similar. My problem was how to combine those two skills into one (hand-to-hand skill). Here's how I would do it.

I would make h-t-h skill as the base skill (cost 1). When skill ranks are raised, you would be able to use IP to buy specializations (i.e. bonuses to certain moves like in the normal rules with some kind of limits). As this is only in idea level I have not yet thought how much IP I would charge for getting new (or raising) bonuses or at what rank new bonus can be bought.

So, what do you think? Could it work?

SnowDog

Yeah, congrats to both of you!

SnowDog

As Thumper already said the CP2020 (and Mekton) use Interlock as a game engine in the same way as D&D 3e uses d20 system. There are some differences between Mekton and CP2020 versions of Interlock but basically they work the same way.

Fuzion is intended to be a sort of universal system that can handle everything from gutterpunk up to (and including) superhero settings. I think that in the basic level there are no great differences between Interlock and Fuzion but the differences may seem quite large at first. First of all it is designed to be used with 3d6 instead of 1d10. Another major thing is that it has advantage/disadvantage system instead of roles. Otherwise if you know Interlock you already know pretty well Fuzion.

I hope this helps,

SnowDog

Yes, it had Steven Seagal and I suppose Kurt Russel in it.

SnowDog

Ouch! I'm sorry to hear that. I hope she get's better...

SnowDog

I don't think that I have ever seen Hackers or then I just remember the possible Finnish name for it. But anyway I suppose it's a matter of taste  

SnowDog

The funny thing is that I couldn't remember who was the actress in the movie. Thank Grud I don't have to wonder it any longer

Anyway I don't understand what's so special in Uma anyway, I think that Angie is SOOO much better looking  

SnowDog

I have to say that the idea is cool and I would go with it if I ran my games that way. I still think that speed of an aeroplane is too high for ordinary people. It might work for FBCs and even they would need extra oxygen and something to keep them warm while not preventing them from working. I don't know much about aeroplanes but I suppose that making a hole to bulkhead in high altitude and with high speed would be quite fatal to the whole plane. If the sky pirates manage to get aboard of the plane I don't think that the skymarshal is much of a problem to them.

One way to do this might be to use some sort of tube that get's attached to the hull of the target and then the pirates just cut through the hull without having to worry about the windpeed etc. of course the target ship would still be in trouble when the tube is removed but then the pirates would be already in safe. I admit that this is not as dashing as Malek's proposition and that I think I saw it in one move years ago.

SnowDog

I used to run a home made post apocalypse game about 15 years ago called Mad Men (I admit that the cheesy name was a total rip off of Mad Max). I used a modified and extended Star Frontiers game engine.

Interestingly enough there were no firearms in that game but instead we had magnetic accelerated pistols and rifles etc. that fired super-sonic bullets. Boy, was I surprised when after the years I read about that kind of weapons from other sources.

I think it would be quite simple to use Interlock in post apocalyptic setting as it already has rules for quite a lot of different kinds of environmental hazards (like radiation). The only problem is animals as their stats are extremely scarce in any source books.

SnowDog

It all depends on the situation and my blood sugar level    Usually I make some kind of reality checks if players get really lost. Then I try to inform them about the details that their characters would know. If they still want to do something stupid, then who am I to stop them?    If players seem to know realities of the game I will let them go with their plan and face the consequences. Anyway I try to be flexible when designing scenarios and especially when executing the scenarios thus giving a good possibility of failure but at the same time not allowing the success only if they guess what I want them to do...

I hope you understood what I mean  

SnowDog

Damn! And I didn't know about it until now. Well, it's better now than never...

SnowDog

Actually I still believe that we will see V3 some day. I also think that it will be a nice game, just not cyberpunk but more like Transhuman Space (sort of post-cyberpunk game). Unfortunately Mike has been quite siltent about it for a while now (again)...

I still use Interlock (more or less modified) with my cyberpunk games. I have tried Fuzion in one game (fantasy genre) and it worked OK. The difference between Fuzion and Interlock is quite small so I think that the basics of Fuzion won't cause any problems but I would be happy if the damage would be handled more like in CP.

SnowDog

Good to hear that you're okay. Keep safe!

SnowDog

I like to keep my games quite realistic. I try to get as much realism especially to combat as possible by reading various manuals and other books as possible and getting some "simulations" by playing paintball (yes, I know it is quite different from real combat but I suppose it is good enough for game purpose). I suppose I aim for the Roning and Heat level of realism where action is quite high but combat has the consequences (sp?).

Just for the record I use armor penetration rules from an old Challenge magazine that expands the armor rules from Hardwired sb. That makes assault rifles really powerfull as they just shoot through light armor <evil grin>

SnowDog

I suppose it's the same everywhere. My friend did just that a few years ago (left the mother of his child). I think he should have taken the responsibility of his actions but then again I don't know all the details as we never were very close friends.

Anyway if I were in the same situation it would have been a very hard decision (it was a few years ago) for me too and I would probably have suggested the abortion to my gf. If she wouldn't have agreed to it, I don't know what I would have done. Fortunately I didn't have to made that kind of decision. Today it is not an issue as I am getting married this fall and if my fiance get's pregnant then we will get the baby, no problem.

Now I am rambling but I am saying that you're not getting your head bitten off. I really well understand what you are saying and I agree with you...

SnowDog

LOL, I didn't much like Turkey's song either I think the Belgium should have won  

SnowDog