Cyberpunk is coming to Pathfinder!


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"n a not-so-distant future, the world has been ravaged by global warming, subjected to the horrors of nuclear war and natural disaster, witnessed the collapse of the mightiest nation in the history of the world, and the rise of other nations to take its place. In East Asia, the Bear and the Dragon battle for control of the resource-rich continent, and an emergent A.I. known only as Charon has destabilized the whole of Europe, sparking revolution and chaos not seen since the Second World War.

On the North American continent, the prospect of conflict once again rears its ugly head as terrorist bombings in Atlantica, bring the nation to the brink of war with the North American Coalition. Is this the work of Charon, as well, or are other forces moving behind the scenes? Only time will tell.

Science has hacked the genome, unlocking the secrets of DNA to facilitate the creation of new breeds of human; genetic hybrids, human 2.0, and even simulacrum— a slave race grown in amniotic vats and sold on the open market. Cybernetic technology has reached the point where those with the money and the will to do so, can become living machines. Computer science has grown by leaps and bounds as well.

Dubbed Interface Zero by those who created it, the Tendril Access Processor—or TAP—downloads the Global DataNet and Hyper Reality directly into the minds of billions of users across the solar system, bringing the world an unparalleled level of interconnectivity, and danger. Malware plagues the Deep, and hackers manipulate the Tendril Access Processor to upload malicious virii, steal secrets, and even the identities of the unwary.

This is the world in 2090, omae; let’s hope you survive it."

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Hi everyone, this is David Jarvis of Gun Metal Games.

I'm just hopping on to let ya'll know about the Pathfinder version of INterface Zero 2.0: Full metal Cyberpunk.

The project is in development now. Christina Stiles, Jeff Lee, Robert Hudson, and the guys at Dreamscarred press have been working on the setting mechanics for this gritty cyberpunk setting.

Interface Zero will have new character classes, equipment and gear that will be fully-compatible with the upcoming tech guide, rules for hacking, drones, cybernetics, and much more.

RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32

Will you be supporting "magick"? (a la Shadowrun)

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Are you planning on making use of Green Ronin's Modern Rules set for Pathfinder or making your own?

Please don't call it cyberpunk if you're going to be putting magic into the game.


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Lord Fyre wrote:
Will you be supporting "magick"? (a la Shadowrun)

Not magic like shadowrun, no.


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LazarX wrote:

Are you planning on making use of Green Ronin's Modern Rules set for Pathfinder or making your own?

Please don't call it cyberpunk if you're going to be putting magic into the game.

Where can I find Green Ronin's Modern Rules set? I want to stay nearly 100% true to the core pathfinder rules (and the supplements), but that said, I'm certainly willing to look at their rules.

As far as "magic" is concerned, there will be psionics, but our psions are inspired more by movies like scanners, fire starter, PUsh, and some of the ideas put forward in the Matrix.

If you don't think that fits with your idea of cyberpunk, I'm sorry.


Now that's a pretty roster of contributors. Dotting.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
David Jarvis 182 wrote:
LazarX wrote:

Are you planning on making use of Green Ronin's Modern Rules set for Pathfinder or making your own?

Please don't call it cyberpunk if you're going to be putting magic into the game.

Where can I find Green Ronin's Modern Rules set? I want to stay nearly 100% true to the core pathfinder rules (and the supplements), but that said, I'm certainly willing to look at their rules.

As far as "magic" is concerned, there will be psionics, but our psions are inspired more by movies like scanners, fire starter, PUsh, and some of the ideas put forward in the Matrix.

If you don't think that fits with your idea of cyberpunk, I'm sorry.

When you get like Shadowrun, with magic and dragons overshadowing guns and chrome, it isn't cyberpunk. There's probably a good name for it, but I haven't seen it yet.


LazarX wrote:
David Jarvis 182 wrote:
LazarX wrote:

Are you planning on making use of Green Ronin's Modern Rules set for Pathfinder or making your own?

Please don't call it cyberpunk if you're going to be putting magic into the game.

Where can I find Green Ronin's Modern Rules set? I want to stay nearly 100% true to the core pathfinder rules (and the supplements), but that said, I'm certainly willing to look at their rules.

As far as "magic" is concerned, there will be psionics, but our psions are inspired more by movies like scanners, fire starter, PUsh, and some of the ideas put forward in the Matrix.

If you don't think that fits with your idea of cyberpunk, I'm sorry.

When you get like Shadowrun, with magic and dragons overshadowing guns and chrome, it isn't cyberpunk. There's probably a good name for it, but I haven't seen it yet.

that's not what Interface Zero is.


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LazarX wrote:
When you get like Shadowrun, with magic and dragons overshadowing guns and chrome, it isn't cyberpunk. There's probably a good name for it, but I haven't seen it yet.

There are no dragons. There is no magic. This is Earth in the year 2090. There is artificial life, cybernetics, virtual reality, and people that have developed psychic abilities.

So yes, this is cyberpunk.


And while I'm here, thanks to the playtesters at Paizocon for running through the scenario and providing feedback. Your suggestions are helping to hammer out the kinks in the hacker class.


Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Maps Subscriber

Good I am glad that IZ is coming to Pathfinder. My group wants to play this instead of Savage Worlds. It is a setting that started in d20, went to Savage Worlds, and now Pathfinder. It has psionics but they are only in it, and how much, depending on your group. It is a good setting and I recommend it.

As for rules I am glad that it will stay Pathfinder and not go Modern on us. The Technology book for Pathfinder is coming out soon, so that might help. Some things can be done as archetypes instead of new classes.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Shadowborn wrote:
LazarX wrote:
When you get like Shadowrun, with magic and dragons overshadowing guns and chrome, it isn't cyberpunk. There's probably a good name for it, but I haven't seen it yet.

There are no dragons. There is no magic. This is Earth in the year 2090. There is artificial life, cybernetics, virtual reality, and people that have developed psychic abilities.

So yes, this is cyberpunk.

From what he's describing with psionics though, that's just heavy magic with another name. The grit of cybpepunk comes from the fact that you don't have comic book superpowers or D+D style magic mucking up the landscape.

But that's okay. No one can expect to sell to everyone.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
David Jarvis 182 wrote:
LazarX wrote:

Are you planning on making use of Green Ronin's Modern Rules set for Pathfinder or making your own?

Please don't call it cyberpunk if you're going to be putting magic into the game.

Where can I find Green Ronin's Modern Rules set? I want to stay nearly 100% true to the core pathfinder rules (and the supplements), but that said, I'm certainly willing to look at their rules.

As far as "magic" is concerned, there will be psionics, but our psions are inspired more by movies like scanners, fire starter, PUsh, and some of the ideas put forward in the Matrix.

If you don't think that fits with your idea of cyberpunk, I'm sorry.

My mistake what I was thinking about was Game Room Creations The Modern Path Heroes of the Modern World, which even has some Herolab support.


LazarX wrote:
Shadowborn wrote:
LazarX wrote:
When you get like Shadowrun, with magic and dragons overshadowing guns and chrome, it isn't cyberpunk. There's probably a good name for it, but I haven't seen it yet.

There are no dragons. There is no magic. This is Earth in the year 2090. There is artificial life, cybernetics, virtual reality, and people that have developed psychic abilities.

So yes, this is cyberpunk.

From what he's describing with psionics though, that's just heavy magic with another name. The grit of cybpepunk comes from the fact that you don't have comic book superpowers or D+D style magic mucking up the landscape.

But that's okay. No one can expect to sell to everyone.

Respectfully, sir. This isn't heavy magic. Dreamscarred press understood that I don't want "comic book superpowers or D+D style magic."

You're not going to see that in this setting, and I'm sorry I wasn't clearer


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Gritty settings aren't gritty because they don't have magic. The Midnight setting was gritty and it certainly had magic.


dotting


Why Pathfinder instead of something like D20 Modern?


Psychic powers really don't say "cyberpunk" to me... yes, I know, Akira and all that, but it still doesn't strike me as a cyberpunk staple. What it hits me as, is a dystopian staple. And the postmodern dystopian genre and the cyberpunk genre do blend well together.

How I'd most likely use psychic powers in a cyberpunk setting is for the opposition to the players. An example would be a less technologically-developed nation creating their own psychic secret police to monitor its own people. Players would run into these guys who always seem to know where they'd show up, and be able to counter some of their decisions. They might have to dig into who these guys are, and develop plans which can rapidly evolve and change.

I'd keep psychic powers mysterious and undefined. I might have defined rules for them, but the players aren't going to learn about them, because the players aren't going to obtain psychic powers. I've seen way too many situations where you give the players abilities beyond the pale (outside of a superhero game, where that's the basic idea to the setting) and they learn ways to horribly abuse them.

Especially in 3.Paizo.

But any cyberpunk setting already has "heavy magic" in it, because it's got elements in it which let humans do something outside of our base experience. The moment you allow a netrunner/decker/hacker get into the network and hack a computer-controlled device for the benefit of the player characters, you have introduced "magic" into the game. And this Tendril Access Processor (Side note: Tendril? Really?) sounds like it makes all sorts of cybernetic magic take place.

Add to this the genetic modification, which I'm guessing is for adding new races to the game. (If you're going to add new races, don't just add "Dwarf" "Elf" "Gnome" etc. Realize that genetically modified entities are, or were, consumer product at some point, and have to have some commercial viability to have been produced. Sure, dwarves sound great as heavy world miners, but there are robotic mining machines already in place for such a purpose, and they can reach smaller crevices, harvest harder-to-reach ore veins, plus if a collapse happens, you don't have weepy-eyed media and concerned consumer audiences demanding expensive rescue efforts.)

At this point I'd also wonder about nanotechnology in the game, too. Another good source of "technological heavy magic", regardless of how far you go with it -- from simple cellular surgeons to "gray goo" wonderstuff.

When I see a new Pathfinder-compatible product, I don't want to see another Pathfinder In SPAAAAAAAACE! product. Don't just transfer classes ("You're playing a barbarian, in a cyberpunk game? Really?"), come up with your own. ("I'm not a barbarian. I'm a Go-Ganger. They're different, as you can see in the book...") And if it don't make sense, toss it out. ("Sorry, this game doesn't have an equivalent to the Paladin...")


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JoeJ wrote:

Why Pathfinder instead of something like D20 Modern?

Because Pathfinder is the more commercially successful product line.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
David Jarvis 182 wrote:

Gritty settings aren't gritty because they don't have magic. The Midnight setting was gritty and it certainly had magic.

Yes, it skirted the border. Shadowrun wasn't cyberpunk it was a fusion style game and this game sounds like it is leading a lot closer to FASA's Seattle than the Midnight setting.


David, debates on what qalifies gritty and cyper-punk not withstanding, I am very exicted to hear this and will buy and/or back as soon as it rears its head!! Thanks!!!


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As the writer for the race and class portions (excepting psionics, which is Andre's baby) I can address some of these.

John-Andre wrote:


But any cyberpunk setting already has "heavy magic" in it, because it's got elements in it which let humans do something outside of our base experience. The moment you allow a netrunner/decker/hacker get into the network and hack a computer-controlled device for the benefit of the player characters, you have introduced "magic" into the game. And this Tendril Access Processor (Side note: Tendril? Really?) sounds like it makes all sorts of cybernetic magic take place.

The hacker is indeed going to be magical, as he is able to manipulate Hyper Reality and Virtual Reality in ways others cannot, so for all intents and purposes, he is a "wizard" where VR is concerned. The dangerous thing to consider is that the TAP is essentially a semi-organic computer that is integrated into your brain, wirelessly connected to the Global DataNet on some level at all times. A good enough hacker can literally get inside your head.

Quote:
Add to this the genetic modification, which I'm guessing is for adding new races to the game. (If you're going to add new races, don't just add "Dwarf" "Elf" "Gnome" etc. Realize that genetically modified entities are, or were, consumer product at some point, and have to have some commercial viability to have been produced. Sure, dwarves sound great as as heavy world miners, but there are robotic mining machines already in place for such a purpose, and they can reach smaller crevices, harvest harder-to-reach ore veins, plus if a collapse happens, you don't have weepy-eyed media and concerned consumer audiences demanding expensive rescue efforts.)

As I mentioned in a prior post, this is Earth, 2090 CE. The genome is an open book and genetic manipulation for cosmetic purposes is an out-patient procedure you can get done at a shop in the mall. However, while we're converting Interface Zero into the Pathfinder rules-set, we're not using everything available in the Pathfinder rules. You won't find dwarves and elves as races. Will there be people that look like dwarves and elves running around? No doubt. Fandom is a weird thing. One can expect all sorts of strange, purely cosmetic effects being sported by the populace. However, the base races themselves are taken from the Interface Zero line-up from Savage Worlds, as follows.

  • Android (Not the ones in the Bestiary. While they share some similarities, IZ androids are their own race.)
  • Bioroid (Get killed recently? If you're rich enough, you could have your consciousness backed up on a drive somewhere and downloaded into a brand new, vat-grown body.)
  • Cyborg (Hello, Robocop.)
  • Human (Everybody knows these guys.)
  • Human 2.0 (Why just be human when you can mix your own genetic cocktail and be something great?)
  • Hybrid (Paging Dr. Moreau...)
  • Simulacra ("I've seen things you people wouldn't believe... Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion...")


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LazarX wrote:
David Jarvis 182 wrote:

Gritty settings aren't gritty because they don't have magic. The Midnight setting was gritty and it certainly had magic.

Yes, it skirted the border. Shadowrun wasn't cyberpunk it was a fusion style game and this game sounds like it is leading a lot closer to FASA's Seattle than the Midnight setting.

I'll always get comparisons to Shadowrun and Cyberpunk 2020. That's just the nature of the beast.

Interface Zero's main "city" setting is Chicago.


Jeffrey Palmer wrote:
David, debates on what qalifies gritty and cyper-punk not withstanding, I am very exicted to hear this and will buy and/or back as soon as it rears its head!! Thanks!!!

Thank you sir.


John-Andre wrote:
JoeJ wrote:

Why Pathfinder instead of something like D20 Modern?

Because Pathfinder is the more commercially successful product line.

Well... sort of.

I won't sit here and tell you that money isn't important to me; it is, but I like Pathfinder as a D20-based system, and I've always wondered what Interface Zero might look like in this system.

D20 modern was never on the table, to be honest.


I love that this is coming out. I hope it does very well, indeed.

I am also not a fan of the level-based systems to play "gritty" settings. To me, they don't fit there. A 3rd level warrior type has little to fear from an angry ex-girlfriend, while in a cyberpunk setting, angry exes can kill you very easily, without a single ounce of combat training.

*side note: I know its cyberpunk, but "a single kilogram of combat training" just doesn't sound right.

A fight on top of a two mile high sky-bridge means less when your warrior can survive the impact at the bottom, without any kind of cybernetic/biotech upgrades.

I caution the use of the same skill system. While it is a huge step up from 3.5 (and an incalculable improvement from AD&D non-weapon proficiency), it has its flaws. I played a d20 modern game, and played a Smart hero. At level three, he had +20 in every knowledge skill he was ever going to need. He became very boring after that.

Science fiction and level-based systems is fine, but not gritty, dystopian settings.

But...I'm gonna buy it anyhow. I love Pathfinder, and I love cyberpunk. What can I say?


Gator the Unread wrote:

I love that this is coming out. I hope it does very well, indeed.

I am also not a fan of the level-based systems to play "gritty" settings. To me, they don't fit there. A 3rd level warrior type has little to fear from an angry ex-girlfriend, while in a cyberpunk setting, angry exes can kill you very easily, without a single ounce of combat training.

*side note: I know its cyberpunk, but "a single kilogram of combat training" just doesn't sound right.

A fight on top of a two mile high sky-bridge means less when your warrior can survive the impact at the bottom, without any kind of cybernetic/biotech upgrades.

I caution the use of the same skill system. While it is a huge step up from 3.5 (and an incalculable improvement from AD&D non-weapon proficiency), it has its flaws. I played a d20 modern game, and played a Smart hero. At level three, he had +20 in every knowledge skill he was ever going to need. He became very boring after that.

Science fiction and level-based systems is fine, but not gritty, dystopian settings.

But...I'm gonna buy it anyhow. I love Pathfinder, and I love cyberpunk. What can I say?

Thank you for your input sir, and I hope we prove you wrong about the grit. ;)


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Hi Guys!

Andreas from Dreamscarred Press here. Like David said, we've been working with the design team for the sliver of psionics that is in IZ2.0 and we've taken steps to ensure that the material is both loyal to the setting, the theme as well as being compatible with Pathfinder in general.

The psion that is in the base setting is a telepath, capable of "pushing" people to do what he wants, trick them into believing he is a friend of theirs, rewrite memories and on the more forceful side, invade your brain and make you do unspeakable acts. Overall, the powers are very mental and very thematic, but still ties into the setting. It uses the same, well-tested and expanded, system that we released in Psionics Unleashed, but slightly adapted.

We look forward to the release of Interface Zero 2.0 and hope everyone enjoys it! :D


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Dotting for interest. This looks great.


dot.


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I'm also happy to say that RPG Superstar Mike Welham is joining the development team!


As the writer for the technology and some associated systems on the project like firearms combat, I'm here to answer questions regarding those topics, as long as folks remember the caveats that we have not finalized some material yet and I'm going to have to speak in generalities in some cases.


And welcome aboard, Mike!


Hah, I was wondering just the other week about a sci-fi setting with pathfinder rules. This sounds really great.

When do you believe it will be for sale? 2015?


The Ragi wrote:

Hah, I was wondering just the other week about a sci-fi setting with pathfinder rules. This sounds really great.

When do you believe it will be for sale? 2015?

I expect it'll be on sale in November of this year, actually.


I should also note, that I hope to have a beta Test (free) out some time in October, once we have the core of the rules in place.

If anyone would like to be an official play tester, please email me at:

gunmetalgamespub@gmail.com

Sovereign Court Contributor

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I'm super stoked because I'm finishing up my novel set in this world!


OMG, ANOTHER BOOK WE WANTZ!!! I would be more than happy to playtest!


Red Velvet Tiger wrote:
OMG, ANOTHER BOOK WE WANTZ!!! I would be more than happy to playtest!

Send me an email (gunmetalgamespub@gmail.com) and I'll be more than happy to include you!


Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Maps Subscriber

It is kind of funny, and fortuitous, as just last week I was thinking about how much I wanted to run Interface Zero with my gaming group. Two of the players would be willing to play Savage Worlds at this time, but there are 7-1/2 of us in the group. One plays only half of the time. I was thinking to myself about how I would convert IZ to Pathfinder.

Firearms are currently Pathfinder's weak point. Granted, the Technology guide coming out might fix that, and Golarion being a fantasy setting the guns they have make sense enough. It is kind of annoying that there is a class built around their particular mechanics.

The issue with firearms is that they can really break the game. This might not be an issue with a game where everyone has firearms, but I would hope that they would be written so as to be potentially compatible with other settings. There are many threads on the forums here that bring up the concerns over the firearms mechanics. Also you want them to be as simple as possible.

One idea is to let autofire act more like an area effect weapon. I can see someone spraying lead in a line or a cone. The person saves for half damage but otherwise a hit roll is not really needed in this "burst" mode. That is how I started using it in Mutants and Masterminds. Damage is rolled, people save for half (or better if yhey have certain feats or class abilities). You could also target a specific area, kind of like in Savage Worlds. Machine guns are mean.

As for gritty, I recommend a group utilize the Laying Waste book by Total Party Kill. It is not so much damage as injuries that hamper you in other ways.


While I don't want to discuss specifics since we're in the middle of the project, SeeleyOne, I can tell you that we are not using the core Pathfinder firearms system, in part because there is no need to balance firearms in combat versus magic and melee combat. Melee is still important, but firearms are the major offensive tool for everyone.


SeeleyOne wrote:

One idea is to let autofire act more like an area effect weapon. I can see someone spraying lead in a line or a cone. The person saves for half damage but otherwise a hit roll is not really needed in this "burst" mode. That is how I started using it in Mutants and Masterminds. Damage is rolled, people save for half (or better if yhey have certain feats or class abilities). You could also target a specific area, kind of like in Savage Worlds. Machine guns are mean.

As for gritty, I recommend a group utilize the Laying Waste book by Total Party Kill. It is not so much damage as injuries that hamper you in other ways.

Without giving too much away, we have set up rules for burst and full-auto fire and are discussing other expansions and extrapolations on firearms and ammunition. As Mum-Rob said, we're not relying on current firearm rules as those aren't really suited to what we're doing. Granted, we're also awaiting the release of the Technology Guide to make sure we're not too far off base with what Paizo's doing. And since we're still codifying the rules and playtesting, things are still in flux at the moment.

Early playtests with entire groups blasting at each other with firearms were fast and fun. (Well, the guy who got to the gang leader first and got the first taste of burst rules from an automatic rifle wasn't having much fun at that point, but luckily there was a patch man in the party.) One thing I noted was a lot more people making use of cover during combat.

Silver Crusade

Definitely has my interest. Maybe looking at an opportunity to blend this with Iron Gods.


Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Maps Subscriber

I have faith in Gunmetal Games products. They are good, and I know that you will come up with something that is both fun and playable.

RPG Superstar 2011 Top 8

I just got my Kickstarter book today (for the Savage Worlds system) and it looks amazing. The art is fantastic, some of the best I've seen in a long time with some great full page art (which you don't see too often anymore). I imagine that the Pathfinder version will look as equally fantastic. I'm quite impressed.


John Benbo wrote:
I just got my Kickstarter book today (for the Savage Worlds system) and it looks amazing. The art is fantastic, some of the best I've seen in a long time with some great full page art (which you don't see too often anymore). I imagine that the Pathfinder version will look as equally fantastic. I'm quite impressed.

I'm glad you like it sir! We worked extremely hard on it.

Dark Archive

dot


I've been looking over the character classes this morning, along with the combat rules (mostly dealing with firearms), and I'm really liking them. The races are pretty much finished as well.


As someone with a vested interest and long-running involvement with Cyberpunk genre games (my contributions to the RTG line not-withstanding), I wish to throw my money at this product.

Later this year, you say? Please equip your money-catching mitt.

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