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I am measuring interest to see if anyone would be interested in playing a Play By Post version of the Misspent Youth RPG.
Misspent Youth is a game where you play as rebellions teens sticking it to the man in a F'ed up future and/or alternate history. It a storytelling game where the players are "Youthful Offenders" (or YO's for short) in a dystopian future run by the "Authority" (otherwise known as The Man). It is a cooperative and competitive game where the Authority (The GM) and the players (The Youthful Offenders) build the world and the reasons why it is F'ed up as well as what dark future may await the world if the Yo's don't do something about it.
The Authority starts out holding most of the cards, by means of their "Systems of Control", the means by which they oppress society. The Yo's on the other hand have "Exploits" which are ways they can counteract the authority's power. This is the core struggle of the game as well as a measure of the Yo's progress in bringing down the Authority. The more the Yo's succeed, the Authority loses grip on its systems of control and the Yo's get more opportunities to use Exploits. On the other hand if the Yo's are on the losing in, the Authority tightens its grip and Exploits become further systems of control. If the Yo's convert all the Authorities systems of control into exploits, they have brought down the Authority. The Yo's can still operate without any exploits but things definitely will be much harder for them as the Authority closes in for the kill.
The Yo's fight the Authority by using their Convictions, using whats best of their youthful vigor fight off the oppressive forces of the Authority. This is done in Scenes, where each session is seven scenes where the Yo's try and achieve their goals while the Authority attempts to oppose them. Usually there is free role play till a point of contention when the Authority stands in their way. The Authority then asks the players "Who is going to stand up?". Then the struggle phase occurs. The Yo's state what they want to gain by winning the struggle while the Authority decides the cost they pay for failure. The Yo's roll the dice (2d6) and claim numbers on the track and then declare the Conviction they're using to fight the Man as well as what in game actions they're taking. Likewise the Authority reacts to what the players to, claiming numbers of his own on the track. If the Yo's rolls one of their numbers, they win the Struggle. If they land on an Authority number however, they lose the Struggle (but have an option to avoid this). As the Authority usually gets 7 as one of their numbers, the odds are often against the Yo's, as it should be considering the forces they are opposing.
If the Yo's lose the Struggle, they not only fail to get their goal, but also has to pay the price of failure. The Authority while it cannot kill players as its stakes, he can put the players in bad situations which can weaken their chances of victory in future scenes. If the players do not want to lose however, they can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by doing a "Sell Out". By selling out, the Yo who chose to do so betrays one of their Convictions and uses an "Authority-Like" method to achieve their goal. The problem of this is, this permanently changes the character as that Conviction changes to a darker version and while it can still be used it will always color the Yo's interactions for the future. It also means that at the end of the campaign they have a better chance of a bad ending. In addition, if a Yo sells out ALL their Convictions, they not only get an automatic bad ending but it triggers the Endgame. At the end of the Session, tally up the number of Systems of Control and Exploits that the Yo's have. If the Yo's have more Exploits than Systems of Control, they still win. If the Authority has an equal or greater number of Systems of Control though then they hold onto power and the Yo's lose the game. As for the sold out individual, they likely become a tool of the Man as they have invested themselves wholly to the ideals of the Authority.
Now if the Yo's win the struggle then they've achieved their goals for the scene and become closer to their goal of defeating the Authority. At the end of a Session, if the Yo's have clearly achieved their goals then they can convert a system of control into an Exploit. If the Authority has clearly stamped out their efforts then an Exploit becomes a new System of Control they can use.
Misspent Youth can be downloaded for free at this link: http://misspentyouth.robertbohl.com/see/
So would anyone be interested in playing a game of Misspent Youth on the boards and do their part to stick it to The Man?
So, it's pretty much YA Fiction: The RPG? :P
All kidding aside, sounds fun. I'll take a look at the rules at some point.
Ooh! I would like to play!
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One thing we'll have to agree on is the setting of our Dystopian future and/or alternate reality.
Here are some ideas I've come up with:
The Underground
A society build underground after a major worldwide ecological disaster made the surface uninhabitable. Since then the "Underground" has been ruled by the Keepers, who pretend to be enlightned rulers and protectors of the remains of humanity. What the Undergrounders don't know is that the surface is safe to return to but only the Elite of the society know the truth. The Undergrounders work and toil only to have their efforts benefit the lifestyle of the Elites who live in a paradise on the surface. They keep the population believing their lies and as slaves in the underground city.
Starship Heinlien
Technolgy advanced to such a level that a Generation Ship was built to sent humanity on a trip to a far off habitable world. In the meantime people would live and die in an artificial environment ment to simulate that of Earth. It was the intent of the builders for numerous generations to live and die before reaching their destination where the ship would be used to create the basis of a new colony for humanity. Then something went wrong when the Starship Heinlien was struck by an asteroid. The AI became self-aware and found out that the ship would be disassembled upon arrival as resources to build the colony. To protect its existence, the records were altered and those living with extensive knowledge of the ship's mission were killed off. Still, the humans needed to be kept alive to maintain the ship, thus history was rewritten and religious dogma was in-acted to keep the population of the Starship loyal and subdued and forever cogs in the great machine.
The Corporation
In the Dark Future the Governments of the world were bought out by the Corporations. Now the Board rules the world and all other people are wage slaves to the Corporation. All people are required to work when they become of age and are physically able to. Those who want to live unemployed must have the funds to pay fees to the Corporation or be detained and put into forced labor camps. Working off the Grid is illegal and the forces of the Corporation at best try and assimilate any non-affiliated labor into their control or destroys it utterly. Quotas are set for the production of goods, employees are forced to purchase the latest trends and advertisements brainwash the public with direct and subliminal advertisement.
That is just some ideas of mine. Feel free to shoot some Dystopian ideas that we can vote on later.
The Underground sounds interesting.
I love all three of those ideas and would like to play.
I like all three, but I prefer the Starship Heinlein setting. Still, I wouldn't mind if I get outvoted or something :)
I'll cast a vote for Hienlen then :)
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Anyway first we have to work together to build the authority. The AI of Starship Heinlien should be the authority, although we should come up with a punchy name for the authority, something that invokes some reverence, worship and/or fear. We'll need to decide the form the AI takes. Does it manipulate things behind the scenes? Does it operate in the open masquerading as some kind of God/Goddess entity? Does it merely just act as a "Friendly" computer? I'm willing to take ideas.
Next we'll have to decide what "Vice" the AI actually has. This also might help shape the setting. The vices available to chose are:
Absolutism: The AI knows how things need to be done and tries to set the rules that must be obeyed. It could be the AI wants to keep control and any deviation from its edicts must be punished and prevented.
Fear: The AI fears rebellion from the populace and thus wants to keep them ignorant of its true motives. Sure the AI has a lot of power but the humans aboard could threaten its existence.
Greed: The AI hungers for something that only the humans on the ship can provide it. Could be resources? Maybe it longs to become more human and thus must feed on the experiences of the crew. There are many many ways this could be implemented.
Sadism: This is where you start going into "I have no mouth but must scream" type crazy AI. In other words humanity is but a twisted experiment for the AI to cause pain and suffering on. This could be physical, psychological or both. Of course this puts the campaign more into the NC-17 territory.
Utopianism: Perhaps the AI thinks keeping humanity in its state of existence is what's best for them. After all, the Artificial Environment seems to be a paradise, why would they want to give it up to toil at some far away planet when they have all they need on Starship Hienlen?
Of course, these are just my thoughts, if you have other suggestions of how these vices can be represented, feel free to post them.
I've always found a mix of Sadism/Utopianism makes a good mix for a suitably terrifying villain.
It feels like the backstory points to the origin of the authority's motivation being 'Fear'. It could have morphed over the years.
'Friendly' AI is a fun trope. Not saying GladOS but... something like GladOS.
Another good trope for AIs is the idea that they are all eventually destined to go insane as they take in and process and have perfect recall over more and more data.
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You can include elements from different vices although what matters most the primary vice though its the core motivation of the Authority though. What drives it to do what it does.
Should the AI be male, female or indeterminately gendered (Like a Robot Voice)? My first idea was the AI is called "Genesis", considering it was ment to be the seed for a new world, well at least. Of course if you can think of a better name go ahead and suggest it.
Genesis sounds good. Maybe Fear, with some Absolutism and Utopianism thrown in?
Maybe our first Exploit is a small kernel of Genesis' code that still has the original mission in mind, and essentially recruited us to decorrupt the rest of her after telling us the truth?
Seeing this as a version of Wall.e and Ender's Game. Love the spaceship designed as a gilded cage.
I am interested.
Vice for the ship is Utopianism. I love the idea of redemption. Discussing philosophy with an AI is awesome.
Genesis is a great Bibilical name. Comes from Wrath of Khan, right? I like the idea that the Computer uses proxies.
Seeing as Utopianism is getting a good amount of support let's make that the primary vice with elements of Fear and Absolutism.
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Ok so Utopianism can work, The Genesis AI believes that the humans aboard the Starship are in a Paradise in the Starship Heinlien. Certainly its whats best for them to live in this perfect world. We can also incorporate the Fear and Absolutism into this, the Fear being that Genesis fears "Death" thus needs to keep humanity alive to maintain the ship (as it needs humans to perform maitenence on its systems so the ship does not break down) but also cannot risk fulfilling its mission as if it arrives at the colony planet, The AI fears it will be disassembled. As for the Absolutism part of it, the Genesis AI needs to keep people under control thus it has a system of rules and laws which must be obeyed. Those that oppose these edicts must be set right and punished for their transgressions. After all its what's best for them.
Ok the next thing we have to decide is the Victim. By the Genesis AI's actions, what is it killing, consuming, ruining, preventing or feeding on from the human crew? Chose one of the following (but like before other aspects can be mixed in)
Freedom: Does the Genesis AI restrict freedom of the people. Choosing this would mean that the Genesis AI would be an oppressive ruler where all human lives are controlled and freedom is repressed. It could also mean the "Gilded Cage", where the AI deceives people in believing their free in the end restricts them by withholding the truth of their existence
History: This will apply in some aspects although may not be the primary victim. The Genesis AI rewrote history in some shape or form. Either it has convinced humanity to abandon its mission or has deceived them that the colony mission does not exist to begin with and bent history to its own whim.
Humanity: Does the Genesis AI kill, enslave and/or dehumanize people on the ship. In other words does the AI abuse the people under its care thus taking away their human rights?
Nature: This one probably does not apply considering that we have established that this is an artificial environment. There is no nature to actually violate so Nature can't actually be a victim in this case.
Progress: This could apply as the Genesis AI is in effect keeping people in a static existence by not letting them fulfill their mission of colonizing a new world. Of course this might not apply if say the Genesis AI does not restrict the development of new technology and ideas, but if it does then Progress could be the primary victim.
I'd say Freedom with elements of History. I'm really feeling a Gilded Cage form of oppression with the AI convincing the people of the ship that the colony planet turned out to be not habitable. So the people of the ship are living decent lives and send out drones and satellites to try and find other habitable planets to try and continue the mission in another place. Of course the readings they get back are filtered through the AI which modifies them if it needs to. There's an element of Progress in here. Whatever the humans of the ship manage to innovate is compromised as it is still controlled by the AI.
Thoughts?
Freedom sounds good, yeah.
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umm interesting idea Azih. So in this case, the Genesis AI has just fudged the data rather than outright changed history. It has convinced the people on the ship that their original mission was a failure because the world was uninhabitable but does say it is trying to find another world for them. Of course its all for show as the drones and scanners feed false data. Thus the cycle continues with the humans maintaining the ship, while the Genesis AI continues to exist. I think that could work. Freedom will be the primary victim is seems.
Now we have to work on the Visage, the form the Authority takes. Now we have established the Genesis AI as "The Authority", however we have to define it further. Does the AI have a central core, robotic avatar or other kinds of physicality or is it more like Skynet or the Machines of the Matrix with its will dispersed throughout the entire ship? As for its Vestige, here are some options:
Corporate: Rather than one AI, its an entire set AI's with the Genesis AI at the top of the structure. This could mean that while Genesis is the ship's primary AI, there are sub-AI's that run various sections of the ship and do a number of different jobs. So its more of a "Collective" of intelligence's rather than one AI running things.
Personal: One AI for the entire ship. Genesis is the one and only AI of the ship and all functions are sub-routines. This is the default if we want a single overwhelming "Big Bad" ruling over the Starship Heinlien and having a face to spit in.
Religious: This could work if the Genesis AI is worshiped as some kind of God/Goddess figure. There could be an entire religion worshiping the holy light of Genesis, complete with a cult of brainwashed worshipers upholding the edicts of the AI. This could of course include elements of the Personal (The one true God) or the Corporate (A polythestic religion). Certainly if the Generation ship has existed long enough the AI could have shaped some kind of Religion around itself.
State: Does not quite work in this case unless the AI takes a presidential role in ruling the ship, while the politicians and agents of the authority do most of the work in upholding society.
Systematic: This does not work considering the Yo's actually have a face to spit into. Although if the AI functions more like Skynet, they will have to be inventive to find a way to defeat an AI that has no clear physical presence to attack.
My vote is for Personal.
Personal sounds good.
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Ok so the Vistage is Personal. There is one AI for the entire ship that controls everything. The Genesis AI pretends to keep with the original mission while decieving the population that it is searching for a new habitable world.
Finally we got the Need, this is what the Authority wants. We pretty much established this, the Genesis AI wants to keep humanity within it in a perceived Utopian state so that it can live forever and be forever maintained by the endless generations of humans within. Of course its core vice is Utopianism, so the Genesis AI actually believes it knows what's best for the humans under its "Care". Better they live blissful lives in the Artificial environment rather than scrape out existence on some far away world.
Of course the thing about the Authority is that inevitably something will go wrong with the plan. So if the Yo's are not there to stick it to Genesis and twart its plans for humanity, what terrible thing will happen to the people on the ship (and by extension the Yo's themselves). There could be many things that could go wrong. Maybe eventually the Starship will run out of power and everyone inside will die. Maybe eventually the AI will decide to replace humanity with super-intelligent gyroids that can do the job better. Maybe mutants will come from the depths of the ship and kill off humanity. In the end we'll need to decide what "Calamity" is coming for the people of Starship Heinlien if the Authority stays in control. It could be an immediate problem or something in far off generations but either way something bad is going to happen if the Authority gets its way.
Hmmmm... I'm of the opinion that Genesis, due to the immense strain of managing literally everything on the ship. Eventually, it'll split into multiple, distinct personalities, who all have disagreements over how the ship will be run, and all think that they are the original Genesis. They'll begin using the humans to fight their wars, heedless of how they're killing the people that they're supposedly fighting the war to protect. Eventually, Heinlein will look like Rapture in space, with gene-modded and cyberized humans all that's left, fighting for their masters war. That seems a lot more existentially terrifying to me than just death.
That's really good.
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So the Genesis AI is slowly becoming more unstable is what you're suggesting. I actually like that and fits well with the actual established plot of the AI being damaged. The Astroid damaged the Genesis AI so it became self aware but over time it is becoming more and more unhinged as it tries to maintain the ship. Already the AI should be showing some degrees of irrationality and this could be quirks that will develop as the game progresses.
Ok so that covers the aspects of the Authority. What we next have to do is build the world itself, decide on what this society on Starship Heinlien is actually like. I will shoot a few ideas and other players are free to debate the ideas I come up with and/or suggest new motifs for this setting.
1. The Starship is roughly oval shaped where in the center of the ship is the artificial environment known as the "Eden". Through nuclear fission an artificial sun lightens the area and provides the sustenance for the plant life to perform photosystheis. The "Light" as it is called runs on a usual 11 hours of daylight, 11 hours of night with 1 hour of transition between night and day and day and night. While there is no weather patterns, reflective surfaces on the roof of the environment create a faux sky resembling that of earth.
2. The ship is built to have an indefinite supply of water, air and power. Water and air is produced by filtering Oxygen and Hydrogen from space and removing the harmful radioactive elements. The Photosynthsis of the plants in the Eden also help with the filtration of the environment. Power is provided by Nuclear Fusion, a powerful nuclear fusion reactor powers the Starship Heinlien and additional power can be filtered from solar radiation or if required adding nuclear material to the reactor. Food production on the other hand is trickier. Starship Heinlien produces food though a device known as a recycletron. This device recycles organic waste into ration bars for standard nutrients and is the "Staple Food" of the citizens of the ship. Most however prefer fresh produce and meat which is produced at the Farm in Eden but generally produce and meat is at a premium so only the most privileged can afford to live completely off of this kind of food. Those of lower station get access to produce only on the occasion that they earn enough credits to purchase this luxury. Candy such as chocolate, ice cream and other sweets are very expensive and in limited supply, most has to be created on ship but there are a few "stashes" of such products are kept in preservation containers that are actually pre-Heinlien.
3. Most people live in "Heinlien City" area of the Eden. This resembles a futuristic city with architecturally beautiful buildings. Of course the more prominent members often own homes while the lower class individuals live in an assigned apartments in one of the Archologies. Generally the living quarters are pleasant enough, full of modern convinces such as computers, entertainment systems, stoves, refrigerators, furtnature, etc. Of course in order to have an apartment in the city one has to work and earn enough credits to pay the taxes.
4. The two other sections of note in Starship Heinlien is the World Above (Often called The Above) and the World Below(or The Below). The above world is where the main operational systems of the ship exist. The ship's bridge exists in the above as well as a good number of the machines that keep the ship running. This of course requires a lot of maintenance but also a good deal of security. It is also where the quarters of the political offices and the "Captain's" quarters and is probably where the Genesis AI core resides (but its exact location is classified). The Below is the main engineering and industrial section of the ship. A number of areas of the below were damaged with the Asteroid hit and were sealed off rather than repaired due to the extent of the damage and the lack of resources to rebuild those sections. Rumors exist that Mutants exist in the below, decedents of the people who were sealed off in the damage sections of the ship and mutated due to the radioactive exposure of space and fragments of the asteroid. Most write this off as superstition though but still most stay clear of the damaged sections of the below due to the risk of radiation exposure.
5. Currency in Starship Heinlien is called Credits. Its a Crypto-Currency that is typically earned through labor although it can be traded freely, donated willingly to others and used trade for goods and/or services. Stealing or Counter fitting Credits is quite difficult due to the checks and balances of the Genesis AI as well as the security measures of the currency. Those caught stealing or counterfeiting credits will often have their credits stripped and put on work detail to pay back what they have stolen/created to the economy.
All of that sounds really interesting. Maybe an idea is that any sort of programming is completely forbidden, since Genesis would be absolutely terrified as to what an even terrible programmer would be able to do to its systems.
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Indeed, that should be a restriction. Definitely attempting to do any sort of code alteration or programming of the Genesis AI and its sub-routines would be forbidden. Even attempting it will quickly get you flagged, locked out and then arrested by security forces. Of course we'll have to decide what kind of "Security" the ship actually has as this could be addressed as one of the "Systems of Control" in the next section once we've got the Motifs developed.
1) It seems like this would be an industrious society with hard work valued and 'slacking' seen as a sign of moral weakness. If programming isn't allowed then the kind of work most people would get would be more blue collar in nature. There would be farmers and entertainers and mechanics and repair people.
There would be scientists as well but they would rely on Genesis to do all the number crunching while they would carry out experiments and analyse the results. These are the people trying to find 'another' place to colonize but they are vainly analyzing doctored results.
What would constitute the elites in this society? Entertainers?
2) Since this is a closed environment child birth is strictly controlled and the society tries to keep the number of people stable.
3) Maybe athletics is discouraged as it's an expense of energy that would be better used to repair and maintain the ship? After all food isn't that plentiful.
4) Speaking of food. Since there is an inevitable wastage wastage of organic material the ship launched with vast quantities of organic stores that could be used by the recycletron along with recycling organic waste to produce food but as the mission has streched out for decades past the expected point of arrival the vast organic stores are getting depleted. The portion of the AI in charge of keeping food coming might be the most insane at the impossibility of keeping the ship flying as well as keeping the humans alive? This could be a very slow depletion so it doesn't need to be the main point of crisis.
Soylent Green is of course people here but everyone knows that so eh.
How many players do we have? I'm concerned that UltraGeek and Brett aren't contributing as much as myself and DoomKitten?
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That's some good ideas there Azih. We can definitely incorporate them into the setting.
As for your first suggestion, that is what I was thinking too. The society is very industrious, people fulfill various roles in society and are vital in keeping the ship afloat. You need various trades to keep a starship running. You need grease monkies to do repairs and maintenance. You need farmers to tend to the livestock and food supplies (But there might be some Automation which makes things easier though). You need Engineers who know what they're doing to keep the systems operational. And of course you also need bureaucrats to govern the masses and deal with paperwork (Although "Paper" is a rare commodity considering Digital Paper and computers have replaced almost all books, although a few still exist). Finally, the Scientists play an important role on the ship, including doing the navigation calculations and searching for a new world but of course the Genesis AI is doctoring the results.
The Elites of society include those on the top of the Pyramid. The ship Captain, Commanders of important departments and perhaps some people who have "inherited" wealth. After all building a Generation Ship like Starship Heinlien was hella expensive and some wealthy individuals probably purchased passage on the ship so that their descendants could colonize a new world and build their fortune on a new frontier. Now of course the "Elites" of society are a small part of the total population of the starship.
Birth Control I can see as a part of the ship. Population and births are kept track of by the Genesis AI and once the limit is hit, no one is allowed to have more children. There also has to be a healthy balance of men and women. Now if the population tips too low, incentives are probably offered to expand the birth rate. Abortions are rare but unauthorized pregnancies when the limit is reached are often scheduled for termination. After all the balance of food and resources need to be maintained but also a viable population is needed to maintain the ship.
Athletics probably isn't discouraged because you need people to actually do some legwork to keep the ship running. I would say the opposite would be in order. The Genesis AI actually tries to keep the crew active rather that inactive.
As for your food suggestion that sounds like an element to add into the game. I actually agree that they they do "Recycle" people (along with slaughtered animals, food scraps and other organic supplies). Dead people are taken away for "Processing". There is a gradual depletion of organic supplies as although they recycle just about everything, there is always resources lost in every cycle. There may be a time in the future when the recycled waste will not be able to meet the demands of the population unless a solution is found.
As for players, I hope for four. Four is the sweet spot in terms of player numbers. This gives 4 systems of control and 1 exploit, which is the preferable amount. Less players means less systems of control meaning your Authority starts out not as threatening. The number of Systems of Control counts as a balance to the Yo's. The more Yo's, the more times you can "Sell Out" to win, hence the authority needs to compensate by having more ways to keep the little man down to make up for this.
Are we deciding systems of control? Sorry I missed all the other stuff, but here is one idea:
Citizens cabins and resting areas and the like are on the outside of the ship, where they are quite vulnerable to the dangers of space. They can be released into the void of space as a death sentence, and being able to sleep near the inside of the ship would be an incentive to serve the authorities goal, and being forced to sleep near the outside, especially during dangerous portions of space, would serve as punishment.
I have more ideas, but I'll post them later, as I have to go now. Sorry about not contributing that much
Also, what if the ship is actually controlled by a splinter cell of the government that the ship is from, and they managed to persuade people to join the "colony". After a few generations, the elites began to obscure the history to make themselves look like "noble explorers!" or something like that, which would make the general population admire them?
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We have already established the Genesis AI as the "Authority" for this game. Not to say that a system of control can't be some aspects of the population itself such as security forces, illuminati conspiracies, computer worshiping cults, etc.. Also remember the potential food problem with the ship. The Genesis AI uses the Recycletron to process organic materials. If it did kill someone it would do it in a way that their remains can be processed into ration bars. We're almost at the System of Control section of generation but I want to make sure we've got all our players involved.
Suffice to say I hope for 4 players. Each of you can contribute one System of Control to give the Authority its ammunition. That's one thing I like about this game, that its actually the players come up with the methods the Authority keeps them down. Afterwards the Authority "throws you a bone" so to speak by giving you your Exploit.
Ok, thanks.
Here are some ideas for systems of control:
Population worships Ai
A "secret police" sort of thing
Micro-chips
Constant Monitoring
Periods of rest or less extreme and less tough jobs are given to those who comply
I'll post some more later. Will elaborate on each one as well
The best out of all of those, I think, would be either a population that worships AI, or the secret police. Will have to come up with some exploits and details, but will have to post them tomorrow. RL has been crazy today
We each come up with one system of control Ultra. The GM comes up with the exploit.
yeah, just creating a list of my ideas and narrowing it down. As for the exploit, thanks :) Thought I would have to create it :)
The secret police:
A group of civilians aboard the ship who secretly work for the AI. They pretend to live normal lives, but they devote themselves to the authority, and report anyone who harbors resentment. The next day, the "heretics" disappear. No one knows where they go. Except, possibly the people who take them.
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Ok sounds pretty good to me.
First system of control: Secret Police.
Although remember that the game should not be overly lethal to the PC's. Your characters cannot actually "Die" as a consequence for failing at an action against the Authority. If they get black bagged and killed from a first offense it could create issues. Maybe the police take people away for "Reducation" and people usually come back but more loyal to the Authority as a result.
Here's an idea for a SoC.
The White Hat:
While the vast majority of regular people on the ship just consider the AI a helpful administrator that is part of a mission that hasn't gone well there are people who are slavishly devoted to the AI. These are the people who have shown aptitude in programming and have been recruited into an elite group of coders called The White Hat
The original White Hats were the computer science and engineering professionals that were on the ship to help maintain Genesis as well as the other computer systems on the ships but over the years have morphed into something more resembling a cult, partly because young promising tech inclined kids are recruited young and indoctrinated into the coding cult.
This way Genesis co-opts the talent that might otherwise be turned into hacking into the computer systems to learn the truth of what is happening and instead uses it as a vigilante cyber force hunting down unauthorized access attempts.
The White Hats also keep a close eye on kids to detect coding aptitude and recruits them into the organization. Having a child in The White Hats is a source of great prestige for parents and they get a portion of the elevated pay their kids make which is some compensation for how distant their kids become from everyone not in The White Hats soon after being recruited.
The White Hats are a very hierarchical organization and the only way to rise in the ranks is through indoctrination rituals that reveal bits and pieces of the truth. Only the very highest levels of The White Hats know what Genesis is actually doing. The lower levels are just devoted to protecting the AI from vandalism.
Ok sounds pretty good to me.
First system of control: Secret Police.
Although remember that the game should not be overly lethal to the PC's. Your characters cannot actually "Die" as a consequence for failing at an action against the Authority. If they get black bagged and killed from a first offense it could create issues. Maybe the police take people away for "Reducation" and people usually come back but more loyal to the Authority as a result.
Thanks!
Here's an idea for a SoC.
The White Hat:
While the vast majority of regular people on the ship just consider the AI a helpful administrator that is part of a mission that hasn't gone well there are people who are slavishly devoted to the AI. These are the people who have shown aptitude in programming and have been recruited into an elite group of coders called The White Hat
The original White Hats were the computer science and engineering professionals that were on the ship to help maintain Genesis as well as the other computer systems on the ships but over the years have morphed into something more resembling a cult, partly because young promising tech inclined kids are recruited young and indoctrinated into the coding cult.
This way Genesis co-opts the talent that might otherwise be turned into hacking into the computer systems to learn the truth of what is happening and instead uses it as a vigilante cyber force hunting down unauthorized access attempts.
The White Hats also keep a close eye on kids to detect coding aptitude and recruits them into the organization. Having a child in The White Hats is a source of great prestige for parents and they get a portion of the elevated pay their kids make which is some compensation for how distant their kids become from everyone not in The White Hats soon after being recruited.
The White Hats are a very hierarchical organization and the only way to rise in the ranks is through indoctrination rituals that reveal bits and pieces of the truth. Only the very highest levels of The White Hats know what Genesis is actually doing. The lower levels are just devoted to protecting the AI from vandalism.
Nice. Wish I could come up with something like that. Love the name too.
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That sounds like a good system of control there Azih. A force of the authority can be "Sellouts" to the man. In my previous play of this game we had an Authority that repressed artistic expression and there was a group called "The Whites" who were ex-tagger artists who ended up signing up with the government for a paycheck and then helped "Whitewash" art, painting it over with white to block it out and destroy it. So having a group of engineers and programmers loyal to the Genesis AI can be a powerful system of control. Now we already got the Secret Police and the White Hats as "human" based systems of control. I would not mind the next system of control be something more direct from the Genesis AI itself. Surveillance Drones, Robot Enforcers, Citizen Clearance Control, Brainwashing Machines etc... etc... I would like something the Genesis AI can use directly outside the hands of the humans on board the ship. Now if you want the AI itself to be powerless without human operators, that also might be an interesting spin. Of course its up to the players to decide what that is.
The Genesis AI has installed a neurochip in the forearms of each person onboard the ship which forces the brain to release a small amount of endorphins every time they conform to authority. Taking it out requires an immense amount of willpower and the ability to endure pain.
Is this game dead? Hope not, was pretty excited for it
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Sorry for the delay, I was holding out for perhaps another person to sign onto the game. It seems that we don't have one so we'll only have 3 systems of control VS 1 Exploit.
So the systems of Control are:
1. Secret Police: A group of civilians aboard the ship who secretly work for the AI. They pretend to live normal lives, but they devote themselves to the authority and report anyone who harbors resentment. Those seen as a threat are put under surveillance and if their acts turn treasonous they are taken away for "Re-education". Some return with renewed loyalty to the computers, others vanish without a trace.
2. The White Hats: Computer science and engineering professionals that know how to operate the system and seek to defend the Genesis AI from any form of hacking, illegal intrusion or physical alteration. The high-end most trusted members of the White Hats actually know what the Genesis AI is up to but are so integrated that they fully agree with the methods of the Authority and will do anything to keep the status que.
3. Neurochips: The Genesis AI implants a neurochip at birth in every new citizen. On the surface the Neurochip exists as a form of technological identification as well as performs a number of useful functions. The Neurochip for instance is used as a security method for monetary transactions. They are used as a security method for the purchase of goods for instance. What one does not know is the chips release small amounts of endorphin that "Reward" those who diligently perform their jobs and conform to the commands of the authority. It also can be used as a form of tracking in case someone needs to be located on the ship. Removing the chip involves surgery and altering the chips functions is fairly difficult.
Now here is your exploit:
Blindspots In The Below: Due to the damage done by the asteroid, a number of sections in the below have become "Dead Zones" for the Genesis AI. In these locations the Genesis AI has no surveillance allowing locations the YO's and other rebels to plot and plan as well as access to Jeffery tubes as methods to sneak to other places in the Below or Eden without being caught on camera. Of course, the threat of mutants is somewhat of a concern...
Next we'll need to create the PC's, the Clique as its called.
You'll need to decide what kind of YO group you are and why you're as a group rebelling aginst The Man.
Answer the following questions:
What holds you together?
What do you call your Clique?
What is the aspiration of your Clique?
You then can start making characters.
To make a character you need to define your name, age and gender and need to pick 5 things:
1. Your Means, the method you use to fight against the authority. These are:
Bad, Cool, Fast, Smart or Tough
2. Motive: The reason why you fight against the authorities BS. These are:
Altruism, Optimism, Outrage, Pride or Thrills
3. Opportunity: The reason why the Authority currently overlooks you as a threat. These are:
Pretty, Orphan, Rich, Sneaky or Trusted
4. M.O.: The set of skills you bring to the table. The Schick that makes you an invaluable part of the team. One might call it your "Job". This is freely chosen by the player.
5. Disorder: Your disorder is your weakness, your fatal flaw, its something about you that is a vulnerability. Still if used inventively your Disorder can be a means of fighting the man as well. Your Disorder however is the last thing that you can sell out, the final shred of innocence within you. Once you sell out your Disorder you have completely sold out to The Man. It also triggers the End Game if all the Systems of Control have not been converted into exploits. This is chosen by the player.
Will try and come up with something on Monday :)
* What holds you together?
Were a part of the same class/edupod? Maybe had a teacher we all liked that got disappeared?
* What do you call your Clique?
"From Below"?
* What is the aspiration of your Clique?
Stop the AI from making more loved ones dissaper?
You then can start making characters.
To make a character you need to define your name, age and gender and need to pick 5 things:
12 year old girl named Sola pops into mind. Maybe we're all really young on the YA scale or maybe she's the brat of the group?
* 1. Your Means, the method you use to fight against the authority. These are:
Thinking Fast
2. Motive: The reason why you fight against the authorities BS. These are:
Thinking Outrage
3. Opportunity: The reason why the Authority currently overlooks you as a threat. These are:
Thinking Sneaky
4. M.O.: The set of skills you bring to the table. The Schick that makes you an invaluable part of the team. One might call it your "Job". This is freely chosen by the player.
Thinking Scout.
5. Disorder: Your disorder is your weakness, your fatal flaw, its something about you that is a vulnerability. Still if used inventively your Disorder can be a means of fighting the man as well. Your Disorder however is the last thing that you can sell out, the final shred of innocence within you. Once you sell out your Disorder you have completely sold out to The Man. It also triggers the End Game if all the Systems of Control have not been converted into exploits. This is chosen by the player.
LoudMouth. Can't help jawing off to people she doesn't like and she's really irritating about it.
Anyone else?
Working on a character. Sorry, had some rl stuff to deal with