Trophy draws a small cylinder from her purse, removes a silver cap and twists the case to reveal a colored nub. She presses the nub to her bottom lip, applying a thick layer of some kind of paste or cream, before pressing her lips together. She checks her reflection in a nearby piece of chrome, running a long nail across the edge of the dark pigment.
The guard stands, smiles directly at the camera and responds. Of course, Ms. Kosto. I will escort Mr. Gimble directly to the Abattoir. She curtsies and exits through the rear of her security station.
To be clear, you were interacting with her through a pane of security glass. There is a door to the left of the receptionist window that is locked.
Afraid, my dear? Hardly. I only wish to see to your every desire, as I always have. He interacts with a minority report style interface and the elevator doors open.
Apologies for the wait. I wanted to give you the proper welcome.
The door opens and you are greeted by six security bots, not unlike the units that accidentally killed a few innocents in the previous assault on your company.
His voice continues in your ear. You really did not need to bring these sacrifices, but no matter, they will not be harmed. My servants here will guide you to my office . . . assuming you still wish to meet in . . . person.
Assuming you follow::
The security bots march three in front of your group and three behind.
Some questions for you to answer:
1. What about this level suggests that it was not designed by a human mind?
2. What atmosphere is the company trying to create?
3. Do you have any pictures that would evoke this level?
After about fifteen minutes you are led into a large conference room. Lew is waiting alone, and smiles warmly as you enter. Four of the bots go outside to guard the door, while two sit down, one on either side of Lew.
You really didn't need to send your prototype all this way for a chat. It is a bit of wasted effort, as I can't imagine you would waste such a useful gift by installing it in your telepresence unit. We can send a tech to your offices for a personal install at your convenience.
Human (augmented, class 4 cybernetics) A: 1 Harm:(L○M○○C○○) M±0○○○○○ ~ P±0○○○○○ ~ Sa+1○○○○○ ~ J+1○○○○○ ~ Sc+2○○○○○ ~ Po-1○○○○○
Okay she's gone. Na-zo says, interfacing with the retinal scanner that blocks the way past the security booth... a quick scan reveals that it can't be hacked, to primitive to be vulnerable.
Their quick fingers get the case off it, exposing the lens and wires, moving quickly, heart pounding, knowing the attendant could return at any moment, they try to hard-switch it to read that a matching retina has been input... it was almost like being back a few years, throwing Joywires together from anything. except now, there was a time crunch.
Na-Zo, the door pops open, but in your rush you manage to reveal something to Rache that you would have preferred to keep hidden? What is it?
The door opens into a long hallway and you quickly find Umi's door. Listening at the door reveals soft sounds of some sort of machinery, but no signs of life. This door is also locked by a retinal scan.
1. What about this level suggests that it was not designed by a human mind?
Try as we might to escape it, humans are monkeys, and they understand tunnels, the ground, trees, canopies, and the sky. From level to level, this architectural paradigm is pretty evident in the towers sandwiched between floor and ceiling. This level looks like it was designed by someone with a loose grasp of gravity or perpendicular lines. Buildings are constructed from a central point outward in chambers like a honeycomb or seashell. Each chamber, or corridor, or module has an exterior entrance, and is otherwise wrapped around the building seemingly arbitrarily. Transports traverse the exterior of buildings, and are magnet-based to cling to the irregular surfaces.
2. What atmosphere is the company trying to create?
Lachessa would call it enginerial navel-gazing. The MK-what-have-you is a ground-up re-invention of the data jack, just like the one before it, but with very little in the way of discernible improvement. They scoff at words like standardization, or compatibility. This is why no one really credits the conspiracy theorists who think aliens (or inhuman intelligence) might be involved. It's all taken as a motif, like everything else.
3. Do you have any pictures that would evoke this level?
A picture of a city built by an inhuman mind? Like this? Or this? But honestly more like this.
At this point in the episode, LaChessa will have edited in one of the Dead Ringer's confessionals.
The guy looks thin, and uncomfortable, and not at all what one might classify as muscle. He probably has some skill to make up for it. "Quinoa. Like the grain. -look, I'm just here cuz my moms is sick, and there ain't no other way to order her s$&% but through a datajack. If I live through this, the money's going toward a new one. Mine got back-doored by some corporate redhat, so I got blacklisted by the supplier."
Trophy laughs, gently. "You're not installing that thing in me. No. I'm having you install the jack into Quinoa here. -for battery-testing!" Her eyes shine enthusiastically. "I can't go gallivanting around in industry-changing technology if a basement-dweller with new tech can hotwire it. As I'm sure you wouldn't want your name behind a jack which a veteran could hack into through a satellite proxy."
She pauses for effect. "I mean, I'm doing it either way. I just thought you might want to install it yourself. You know... do it right."
Human (augmented, class 4 cybernetics) A: 1 Harm:(L○M○○C○○) M±0○○○○○ ~ P±0○○○○○ ~ Sa+1○○○○○ ~ J+1○○○○○ ~ Sc+2○○○○○ ~ Po-1○○○○○
As Na-Zo retracts their eternal interface, Rache would have a good view of the readout, including the gate-locations in her house (and LaChessa's, and a few others), and their open line with Coil
Rushing away, they reach Umi's room. Their knuckles rap on the door thrice, and they call through the door Umi?
After a few embarrassing attempts the door remains closed. It finally relents when both Rache and Na-Zo kick it down in unison (hopefully some clever editing can still make this look badass.)
Inside, it is apparent that someone has just left here in a hurry. Warm, half eaten fast food sits on a desk next to a drink that still has ice floating in it. On the desk sits an older model physical interface system, which appears to have been modified with some sort of IA branded adaptor that you haven't seen before. The window is wide open.
On the street below the window, you can see that the pavement has been cracked as if something heavy has been dropped from a height. The depressions vaguely look like two footprints.
First floor wasn't too bad. Rache trained on rolling from falls worse than that. Her record was 16 feet without injury and this didn't much worse than that.
She leaps with full confidence in her training and the protection that comes with her higher purpose.
risk/peaceful:2d6 + 2 ⇒ (6, 3) + 2 = 11
And safely lands on the ground, rolling with her impact and leaping to her feet. Was she fast enough to catch a glimpse of their target before she takes off?
Human (augmented, class 4 cybernetics) A: 1 Harm:(L○M○○C○○) M±0○○○○○ ~ P±0○○○○○ ~ Sa+1○○○○○ ~ J+1○○○○○ ~ Sc+2○○○○○ ~ Po-1○○○○○
Na-Zo looks over the apartment, fuming slightly. So close! they though, no realizing until now how much they wanted this reunion. but something wasn't right... they pick over the appartemnt, trying to figure out what.
Na-Zo looks over the apartment, fuming slightly. So close! they though, no realizing until now how much they wanted this reunion. but something wasn't right... they pick over the appartemnt, trying to figure out what.
[dice=analyze + mad]2d6
What, if anything, appears out of place?
What is Umidiz's true position
Is this going to get worse before it gets better?
You remember Umi as an extraordinarily neat and organized person. These living quarters are a disgraceful mess. Umi has let this place go.
Searching through the apartment you do uncover a series of schematics for the enormous cable that runs through each level of the scrape.
You may not know exactly where she is, but you do know where she is headed, and it is about to get much worse.
First floor wasn't too bad. Rache trained on rolling from falls worse than that. Her record was 16 feet without injury and this didn't much worse than that.
She leaps with full confidence in her training and the protection that comes with her higher purpose.
[dice=risk/peaceful]2d6+2
And safely lands on the ground, rolling with her impact and leaping to her feet. Was she fast enough to catch a glimpse of their target before she takes off?
Rache,
You land without injury, but there is no sight of her. You do hear shouting in the general direction of the central cable spire.
The hardest part in this game is usually deciding how best to move forward.
"See, this is why me and Lews would never work. He doesn't get how his question makes no sense at all. Assassination attempts are pleasure calls. -and this show wouldn't have a following at all if I just ran up to every mark and stabbed them in the face. No. Lews, if you're watching, honey, I'll have you watch your empire crumble before I even touch you, and your little jack will be the first fruit to rot on the vine. You've proven a well-placed elevator can't snuff you out, so I have no choice but to break you until you're scavenging dross in the basement."
Flicking off the recorder, LaChessa shifts in her seat. In a few hours, maybe even a few minutes, she would be spinning up old routines again. She honestly hadn't tried hacking over satellite relay, at least not intentionally, and certainly not with so much on the line. "ChLover, pull MatroskaController.cs out of the archives and make sure the MVC framework is building cleanly. I forget what the dependencies it uses. Also, pull back the last few minutes of Trophy's recording RAW. I don't like how Lews is acting. It's... unsettling."
Trophy's sensory suite kicks into deep-processing mode, chewing through biometric and deep audio data to try and peel away the layers of the Veil without alerting the level security of the breach. Maybe it was paranoia, but there was something unsettling about Lews' statuesque demeanor.
Short answer: I could work with it either way. I don't have any live broadcast tags to lean on, and I pictured LaChessa as the record-edit-distribute sort. I can see where making these comments without an oportunity for rebuttal is a little odd, but I'm still trying for the reality TV feel, and to that end to comments are intended for the audience, and mostly meant to help give her actions context. Like writing out thoughts.
The broadcast through the uber was live though. I pictured LaChessa's episodes as a through-blood-tinted-lenses between-session-summary at first.
Short answer: I could work with it either way. I don't have any live broadcast tags to lean on, and I pictured LaChessa as the record-edit-distribute sort. I can see where making these comments without an oportunity for rebuttal is a little odd, but I'm still trying for the reality TV feel, and to that end to comments are intended for the audience, and mostly meant to help give her actions context. Like writing out thoughts.
The broadcast through the uber was live though. I pictured LaChessa's episodes as a through-blood-tinted-lenses between-session-summary at first.
I just needed to know if Lew should be responding directly, as he would be simultaneously watching any feed you had running.
Human (augmented, class 4 cybernetics) A: 1 Harm:(L○M○○C○○) M±0○○○○○ ~ P±0○○○○○ ~ Sa+1○○○○○ ~ J+1○○○○○ ~ Sc+2○○○○○ ~ Po-1○○○○○
Crap Crap, Crap Na-Zo moves quickly, gathering up all the schematics and anything that looks valuable and is easily pocketed and rushes for the door. Umi had gone mad... or someone was pressuring her enough that she was acting it. either way, what she planned was insane.
is it though? a small voice in the back of their head asks. She's being hunted, she's cornered... trying to make her own safehold.
But I can't let her, not like this, now when it would strand Rache and I, and everyone on this half-damned level
They get up on the roof, making more noise than is advisable, and start going from rooftop to rooftop, marginally safer than running in the streets, as they head for the cable.
You race towards the central cable spire and you arrive only seconds behind Umi. To be clear, this spire houses the load bearing cable that connects the very top of the space elevator, far above you, to the ground far below.
Umi stops for only a moment at the high security door before it opens and she slips inside. You enter only a few seconds after her.
She has her hand on a deadman switch and looks at you with a wild look in her eyes. Back! Stay back! She continues to scream threateningly at you while she tosses sticky packages onto the cable itself.
While closely watching Lew, you notice that his movements are, for fleeting moments, almost perfectly synched with the movements of the robots at his sides. He also seems entirely too comfortable with the situation given that he does not appear to have any weapons.
Hmm, I always did enjoy our awkward silences. Tell me, why did you try to kill me anyway? I truly thought there was something more between us.
Rache began transmitting directly to her studio. If she didn’t make it, they should still have the footage.
She carefully spread her fingers to show she wasn’t packing anything under her skin, but stayed silent. She’d need Na-Zo to defuse the situation a bit before trying anything.
Human (augmented, class 4 cybernetics) A: 1 Harm:(L○M○○C○○) M±0○○○○○ ~ P±0○○○○○ ~ Sa+1○○○○○ ~ J+1○○○○○ ~ Sc+2○○○○○ ~ Po-1○○○○○
Umi, please, calm down. Na-Zo says, holding out their hands Rache won't hurt you. I wouldn't hurt you. they approach quietly, hands raised.
You're not well. You're scared, and you're hurting, and you're so desperate for it to stop that you're about to do something really bad. please, don't. I can help you, we can help you. you don't have to do this. Na-Zo watches Umi for tells, for sudden movements.
Something wasn't right about any of this...it didn't track with what Rache had learned. As tense as the situation was, Rache had an advantage. She knew so much about Umi and Umi knew nothing about her. She tried to analyze all the information she had about Umi to take advantage of her superior position.
THE ART OF THE PURSUIT + powerful:2d6 + 1 ⇒ (1, 6) + 1 = 8
1 hold: Discern what makes them feel safe or secure, and what makes them feel afraid.
"I had thought so too." This was awkward, and a little risky--surely Lews had cameras here--but she did feel he deserved some explanation. At least, something more than she would generally include in her show. "You and I are just too different. We don't understand business the same way. You're not wrong- neither am I, we're still in business, obviously, but you're just so... straightforward and concrete. You didn't understand publicity stunts, or heel/face dynamics, or really any of the meaty plot mechanisms that keep me afloat. As much as I think I liked you, and in another time, maybe would have loved you, we're just not in a position to tie ourselves together fiscally. As a dance partner, you're all left feet, and I can't afford to trip."
No Na-Zo. You don't see it! You've never seen it! You can dance among the levels, but have you ever been to the tens?! I'm not scared, my eyes are open! She is ranting and raving at this point. The scrape is misery, Na-Zo. All lives are misery.
She continues to throw sticky packages on the cable. Her bag looks like it is almost empty.
I'm not sure how to give Rache the information from Art of the Pursuit in fiction. So I'll do it outside of the fiction. Umi is comforted by voices in her head and the knowledge that she will soon bring an end to countless future generations of misery in the lower levels. She is terrified because the voices will not let her turn back from this course.
I see. Well, I suppose it doesn't matter now does it. He glances at a chronometer on the wall, and leans back in his chair. The robots lean back in sync with him.
At this point Quinoa enters the room and returns to your side. He looks none the worse for wear.
Rache shook her head. No...Umidiz...no. There's suffering but also joy. Hope. All of that goes away if you kill everyone. The suffering would be...immeasurable.
divert+powerful:2d6 + 1 ⇒ (3, 6) + 1 = 10 I want an opportunity, to determine her weakness and to fluster her
A brief moment of pain against a thousand generations of hopelessness.
She stops throwing packages onto the cable and points at Rache with the deadman switch. You notice that it is a cybernetic hand of some sort, an older model. She yells, Heiress of an empire! What do you know of suffering?
She steps towards Rache and holds her off hand to her head as if she is in intense pain. Tell me!
Later, Rache would look back and realize that it was the elevator that saved them. Elevator brakes use power to open, not to close. When an elevator brake fails it closes tight. Many older cybernetic limbs work under the same process, so that in an emergency they'll maintain grip.
That realization came later. In the moment there was just action, the confident slice of someone perfectly in tune with her purpose. She was going to save everyone.
Her sword (when did she draw it? She didn't remember, even when she reviewed the tapes later she couldn't tell when the transition happened between splayed fingers and fully armed. Her sword was an extension of her and she needed it in that moment) her sword sliced cleanly through the servo tendons that allowed Umi's hand to open, the deadman's switch still clutched tightly.
neutralize + peaceful:2d6 + 2 ⇒ (5, 6) + 2 = 13
Taking away an advantage and taking little harm in the process. I'm also emotion spiked now for Peaceful
Human (augmented, class 4 cybernetics) A: 1 Harm:(L○M○○C○○) M±0○○○○○ ~ P±0○○○○○ ~ Sa+1○○○○○ ~ J+1○○○○○ ~ Sc+2○○○○○ ~ Po-1○○○○○
G!%~!!it Umi!, Na-Zo yells, rushing in front of Rache, before she can hurt the girl any more. They take the bag from her and carefully pushes it toward Rache I don't know how to help you. I don't know what's wrong... but I will.
There was supposed to be an earth-shattering twang!
Back to her plan, her motif, and her mission. She hadn't had much luck prying information out of Lews, but that was her longest game.
"Welcome back, Quinoa. You're probably wondering why I've dropped a piece of hardware into your head. A piece of hardware you very much need, and presumably know how to use. Up until now, you have been trudging through the detritus of a lower level life, stealing to eat, eating to live, and living to support your mother. -because where would any of us be without family? I'll tell you where you might be now: you might be in the room that you die in. The device in your head is a very unique neurochip. You may be familiar with the corded models: safe, secure, reliable, cheap, but we who have the luxury of dialing up floors with four digits have moved on from such quaint, modular tech. Data jacks these days are wireless, and fully immersive. The Veil becomes less of a blanket to shroud the nightly misdeeds that lead to your jack getting blacklisted, and more like the transition between air and water... and you, an amphibian. Can your mind keep track of what's real? I see a man before me who is uncertain. Quinoa, I want to play a game..."
I'd like to use my advancement to take an Architect move. Do I just get the move, do I need to describe the cyber-brain and subconscious as well? Can I just take Subconcious?
Re: the Architect move, here is the answer from the author:
"Whatever makes sense for the fiction. It’s fiction first... so you’d take moves you could actually do in the fiction. Can they get a cyberbrain? If so, yeah they could take some advances. If not, wouldn’t make sense."
I don't see any reason why you couldn't get a cyberbrain. I liken it to the DW rule where you get any necessary underlying moves if you multiclass. Like Ron took the Wizard's Cast a Spell, and by necessity also got prepare spells and spellbook. I think if you take an Architect advancement that requires a cyberbrain, then you get Subconscious and Cyberbrain.
Here's the plan: I'd like to use Construct to create a (hopefully) private digital room to bring Quinoa into, see if he's got IA software that needs to be broken, then hack the real room with Quinoa, hit Lews with a jamming knife to disable his guards, gloat a lot, then figure out an escape plan after one or more parts of that plan inevitably fail.
I don't mind missing out on the +1 Cyberbrain, but I would choose the dedicated server option. LaChessa is an oldschool programmer, and has not only stored all her old whitehat code on the server, but has offloaded a lot of her memories to the server to combat the onset of alzheimer's. For the subconscious features I would start with LaChessa’s deep memories. ChLover’s stacks are part old-school hacker database (like a “13 Ghosts”/”Cabin in the Woods” prison for supposed dead viruses) and part alzheimer-compensatorial sensory backup. Somewhere deep in those stacks is ChLover’s True Self: a self-aware AI process which may act against LaChessa’s best intentions. Lastly, I’d like to make a custom feature: features of the old earth landscape data-mined and stitched together. ChLover’s grove is a lush garden bathed in yellow sunlight, broken occasionally by glimpses of the horror that is earth today.
Here's the plan: I'd like to use Construct to create a (hopefully) private digital room to bring Quinoa into, see if he's got IA software that needs to be broken, then hack the real room with Quinoa, hit Lews with a jamming knife to disable his guards, gloat a lot, then figure out an escape plan after one or more parts of that plan inevitably fail.
I don't mind missing out on the +1 Cyberbrain, but I would choose the dedicated server option. LaChessa is an oldschool programmer, and has not only stored all her old whitehat code on the server, but has offloaded a lot of her memories to the server to combat the onset of alzheimer's. For the subconscious features I would start with LaChessa’s deep memories. ChLover’s stacks are part old-school hacker database (like a “13 Ghosts”/”Cabin in the Woods” prison for supposed dead viruses) and part alzheimer-compensatorial sensory backup. Somewhere deep in those stacks is ChLover’s True Self: a self-aware AI process which may act against LaChessa’s best intentions. Lastly, I’d like to make a custom feature: features of the old earth landscape data-mined and stitched together. ChLover’s grove is a lush garden bathed in yellow sunlight, broken occasionally by glimpses of the horror that is earth today.
Take the cyberbrain. All of this sounds fantastic. I look forward to seeing how this plan fails spectacularly plays out.
Not remotely. I know (ish) what's going on in MY storyline. Those...things...that are harassing Na-zo may have something to do with corrupting Umi's neural jack?
Lews is being held against his will by IA, whose personification avatar is seemingly omniscient. The jacks might be able to mind-slave people.
IC-ish Question for Rache: If a person's actions are controlled, and they give a gift, to whom is the resulting Giri owed? (Lews gave LaChessa a jack, but he's controlled by something that isn't human. Does she owe Lews, or IA?)
Human (augmented, class 4 cybernetics) A: 1 Harm:(L○M○○C○○) M±0○○○○○ ~ P±0○○○○○ ~ Sa+1○○○○○ ~ J+1○○○○○ ~ Sc+2○○○○○ ~ Po-1○○○○○
Na-Zo wrote:
The Veil, my Safehold had ways ino everyone's spaces, even if they've taken pains to secure them, can I use it to get into Nosrettap'sIA's place, and if so, what do I have to roll to do it?
Depends: if you are controlled and give something away that belongs to you, Giri is owed to you by both the controller and receiver. If you’re controlled and you give away something the controller gave you to give away, Giri is only owed to the controller.
Deeper question: how are AI treated in society? Do they have rights? Are they citizens? That will determine if they can hold and give Giri.
Human (augmented, class 4 cybernetics) A: 1 Harm:(L○M○○C○○) M±0○○○○○ ~ P±0○○○○○ ~ Sa+1○○○○○ ~ J+1○○○○○ ~ Sc+2○○○○○ ~ Po-1○○○○○
The Veil wrote:
How advanced is Ai? Is android civil rights "over"?
All the great promises of, and warnings about, AI in the first few decades of the 2000's proved to be massively overhyped. True thinking machines have not been achieved (other then the apparatus if we have one), and most corps have decided that the technological hurdles are insurmountable, much like faster than light travel. Some corps are still trying.
I think AI might be supposedly fictitious. this might be an Onomastic thing, like Coil, or she is secret. we'll find out soon!
The Veil, my Safehold had ways ino everyone's spaces, even if they've taken pains to secure them, can I use it to get into Nosrettap'sIA's place, and if so, what do I have to roll to do it?
The Veil. this question is still hanging.
Yes. No rolls. Can you travel anywhere, or just residences?
Human (augmented, class 4 cybernetics) A: 1 Harm:(L○M○○C○○) M±0○○○○○ ~ P±0○○○○○ ~ Sa+1○○○○○ ~ J+1○○○○○ ~ Sc+2○○○○○ ~ Po-1○○○○○
The Veil wrote:
Na-Zo wrote:
Na-Zo wrote:
The Veil, my Safehold had ways ino everyone's spaces, even if they've taken pains to secure them, can I use it to get into Nosrettap'sIA's place, and if so, what do I have to roll to do it?
The Veil. this question is still hanging.
Yes. No rolls. Can you travel anywhere, or just residences?
Not quite anywhere. It has to be unobserved by consciousness. you see, the observer effects the nature of the world, via quantum entanglements and uncertainty and... okay, look, it's magic, and one of the rules of this magic is no one can be looking where you appear.
The Fates see through a single eye.
Explored but not tested or resolved. This one will be the hardest to pick up on, but I still really like what it represents. We'll get to something they'll disagree on soon I think.
Telepresence is a safer alternative to Cyberwear.
There was a moment I think when Na-Zo popped into her cubical while she was in her chair, but nothing serious. If anything this was confirmed. Cyberware leaves your meaty goodies vulnerable to hackers.
Suffering is the source of all evil.
Lews has been through hell, but he's a victim here. This one was tested.
1 xp total?
As for moves...
QUARTERLIES: At the beginning of the session, or whenever you have completed your mandatory contracts from the board, roll+capital. On a 10+, the board assigns 3 mandatory contracts, all of your choosing. On a 7–9, the board assigns 2 mandatory contracts, 1 of your choosing.
On a miss, the board assigns 3 contracts that the MC will choose. The board then gives you funds for every contract up front and expects that it be done in the amount of time described by the MC.
TPS REPORTS: When you do not complete
a contract by the deadline given by the board, roll+capital. On a 10+, the board is displeased but you describe the circumstances and they allow you clemency. On a 7–9, the MC crosses out one of the agendas of the board for next game of their choosing. On miss, you cross out one agenda on top of whatever the MC tells you.
Human-ish Level i^64 game master l Team (H): 3, Team(P):2
No Start of sesh moves.
Hey, guys, I'm doing GoD at Pax East this year. I have to pick two games I'm willing to run one-shots of, and I'm trying to pick a second game. here's my list:
Inverse World: we're right next to the pathfinder section, and a few people are playing DW, so strait DW didn't seem a good choice, but airships and mechsuits and all that is probably still fresh and fun. (This is the sure one)
Apocalypse World: This is probably my best game, and I have been taught to one-shot it by the best, but someone is already running it, it's fairly well known, and i think others might be doing it.
Psi-Run: designed for one-shots, obscure-ish, very different feel to IW, low prep-time, but little opportunity for prep
The King is Dead: intrigue, romance, swordplay, war, all for the sake of claiming the crown. not technically out yet, but the designer told me it should be ready for a con-run or three at least by Pax.
KPFS: hilarious, simple, fun, likely to get me kicked out of the con or something
Burning wheel: it's nice enough, another type of "different fantasy. I kinda know how to run it, and no one would be nuts enough to try it, so I'd be unique! and my phone has a calculator function.
M<3, Masks, BitD, Uncharted Worlds, The Veil, the Sprawl, Urban shadows: considered and rejected for varoius reasons.
BOUND: Whenever you begin a session without
a task involving the enforcement of Giri that’s been
broken, choose one from the following and the MC
will work this task into the fiction as appropriate:
Infiltration or assassination
Retrieve or deliver
Lobby or sabotage
Safeguard or endanger
I think that Lobby or Sabotage sounds interesting to me for this go-round...
I like both Lobby and Sabotage. I'll think about that. Can you talk a bit more about how you learn about a Giri debt? Can you decide on your own that a debt exists. For example, can you decide, based on information given to you by Trophy, that Allison Inverness owes Giri related to her treatment of Lews?
Short version. Is there a legitimate way to tie your giri obligations into the larger story about IA? Or should it be something completely unrelated?
I also forgot that this game doesn't require you to physically be together at any point in time. So the next session will start whereever. Looks like Na-Zo is going in after Lews.
From a writer's room perspective, what is your next general goal? Free Lews?
Bastian, I think you may have satisfied the Mandatory Contract "Seeking Answers." Do you agree?
I think that it's very possible I've fulfilled "Maintaining Appearances" by upholding business as usual, as well as by placing Trophy in danger without getting her totaled.
"Seeking Answers" seemed to ask why IA targeted OH, which I don't know the answer to. Unless it was just because Lews had a grudge. I may just be being dense though.
Typically someone comes to Kosto Corp. with an issue they need resolved. However, IA is in CLEAR violation of their giri responsibilities to Lews. Even if Alison can't owe Giri herself, the company has an obligation to protect their employees and not enslave them. The consequence for violation is exile or punitive violence, which would certainly qualify the destruction of the rogue AI.
If IA has any human leadership, they've either violated Giri accidentally with a mistake that harmed another (Lews) or purposefully unleashed a rogue AI and visited an injustice on society. It honestly doesn't matter, since the consequence for either is disfigurement or death.
It doesn't PAY like a private giri restitution, but it's still a vital service provided by Kosto Corp.
So yes. Rache can fold in to the current plot line.
While we wait for this game to start up again, if anyone is interested in exploring some similar themes (haves vs. have nots, responsibility to society vs. responsibility to the individual, very tall structures containing multiple cities) I invite you to check out my game of Spire. Drow freedom fighters liberate their mile-high city from the hands of their High Elf oppressors.
So, I've been learning Blades in the Dark for a live game, and I want to suggest that we adopt a Blades mechanic (not specific to blades), for the Executive's mandatory contracts.
Progress clocks. So, I'm kind of thinking as follows:
1. The more complex the contract, the larger the clock, and the more cred.
2. I'm leaning towards racing clocks ... so there would be two clocks for each contract. One is a timing clock ... when it is full then your time has run out. The other is your progress clock, when it is full then you've satisfied the contract. So you can fictionally justify increases in the progress clock, while I would then have the option to use 7-9 or 6- moves to increase the timing clock.
I think this might be a good way to track the contracts. What do you think?
Human-ish Level i^64 game master l Team (H): 3, Team(P):2
1. I like it (though, it probably won't effect me)
2. This is a mechanic way older than BitD. it's straight up OG PbtA. or in other words, the PbtA system is absolutely able to handle this with 0 problems.
2. This is a mechanic way older than BitD. it's straight up OG PbtA. or in other words, the PbtA system is absolutely able to handle this with 0 problems.
Very true. But with Blades John Harper went ... "Clocks for all the things!" and finally defined it for me in a way that clicked.
So Bastian, in recognition of the fact that at my core I am the laziest GM you've ever met, and that I'm dropping clocks on you mid run, I'd like to offer you the opportunity to set the current state of your clocks for each of your contracts (progress and deadline).
You tell me how far along you are on progress, and on deadline. It looks like the URL links on my stat line are long enough that I can't fit anything else. You can keep the clocks on your char sheet if you like.
I'll also put it on you to suggest when a tick should be added to a progress clock. And we'll discuss whenever I think to add a tick to a deadline clock.
Open to other ideas as well.
EDIT: Also just realized that I should ask if anyone is actually using the Google Sheet linked in my stat line.
I haven't checked the sheet in a bit, but that may just be since things have slowed down. It's just as accessible as the paizo profiles, and I prefer using them as a GM. I think I would prefer to update one or the other though.
How do we want to increment clocks? By 1-2-3 steps, or by single steps? I like the flexibility of 1-2-3 steps, because it allows you to increment the deadline clock by 1 or 2 on an appropriate 9-6 roll, and 2 or 3 on a 6-. I also believe in prescriptive as well as descriptive progress, if time happens to pass, or progress is made without a roll, we might elect to mark a tick. Eight is probably a healthy standard length of a clock...
For finding info re: IA attacks, the clocks are likely a step longer than standard, and we've probably got two ticks on progress and two in deadline. The rolls I made there weren't great.
Lux is probably a step shorter, and empty.
Revenge is a standard clock, and I think it's just got two ticks in the deadline side.
To save space, we could always use these characters: ▀▄█░ possibly -
Lux: ░░░░░░
Revenge: ▄▄░░░░░░ or [▄▄------]
Intel: ██░░░░░░░░
Or fill in cells on a spreadsheet... Just throwing out ideas.
I live. You know that feeling when you put off something for so long that you are too embarrassed to functionally address it. Then the feeling snowballs?
That’s me. Apologies.
How was everyone feeling about this game. I fear I lost the thread a bit.
