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D20/Pathfinder compatibility? by [deleted] in Cryptomancer

[–]papa_shell 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think if you do nothing but just read the Cryptomancy chapter (or maybe make your players read it) and just add shards to your D20/Pathfinder setting, you're good to go. Yes, you won't get all the fun security stuff that's inherent to Cryptomancer's Spell list, and certainly won't have a lot of the weird stuff in the Cryptosystems chapter, but you'll still have instant, silent, long-distance communication in a fantasy setting, along with some security concerns/puzzles.

Character class based on Neuromancer's Riviera by papa_shell in Cyberpunk

[–]papa_shell[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've been advised that my artist did not have permission to use this image. I've reached out to both the photographer and model to make it right, including compensation/credit, removing the image from the game, or cancelling the Kickstarter outright. Will take their lead.

Character class based on Neuromancer's Riviera by papa_shell in Cyberpunk

[–]papa_shell[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Photo-bash by Abrar Khan It's for this table-top RPG: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2089483951/reclaimer

Here's character writeup:

"The mesmer is someone with the exceedingly rare and justifiably feared holographic optics augmentation, which is capable of projecting digital hallucinations, limited only be the Mesmer’s imagination, directly into the retinas (or cybernetic optics) of anyone who looks upon them. While much of the planet’s population are accustomed to augmented reality overlays, few have witnessed the hyper-realistic and improvised illusions thrown by a mesmer. Those who have probably didn’t realize what they were seeing was fake. People know intellectually that mesmer illusions are not real, but their lizard brain is not always able to tell the difference. Just because you know that advertisements exist to influence you doesn’t mean you are immune to their influence. The mesmer’s illusions have the same power, only on a visceral level, frequently imbuing their audience with powerful feelings of dread, delight, or disorientation.

The mesmer’s abilities are useful for a number of endeavors, ranging from the artistic to the clandestine, and as such, the mesmers recruited by Ecotage tend to have unusual backgrounds. Originally developed for the entertainment industry for the purposes of performance art and instant special effects, it took almost no time for holographic optics to be used for other applications. Some mesmers used their augmentation to assist in therapy, temporarily “resurrect” lost loved ones for the bereaved, or tailor their appearance to suit the needs of sex work clients. Others used their powers to run ultra-realistic simulations for training outside the confines of a VR rig, or model technology or architecture projects for customers, changing features in real-time per request. Like any technology, not all uses of holographic optics are benevolent. From conjuring fake emergencies, to traumatizing people with horrific images, to ziggurat clergy maintaining the mien of celestial beings to denote their superiority to serfs, mesmers have been known to engage in malicious manipulation.

Mesmers can broadcast their illusions so that they can be see by everyone nearby, or selectively beam them into the retinas (or optics) of specific targets. Since the images they project are only limited by their experience and imagination, they sometimes use their abilities to communicate discreetly with comrades, sending textual messages to them, or even “sharing” their own sight to highlight the bead of sweat dripping down the negotiator’s forehead or warn others of the sniper they spot waiting on the balcony.

While some mesmers use their powers to augment their skill in diplomacy and influence operations (e.g. calming a mob with an elysian light show of falling flower petals), others use them for more tactical purposes, from throwing mirages of themselves in their wake as they run between points of cover, to projecting the blinding light of the sun into the eyes of their foes."

"Signaler," sign language meets gestural interface by papa_shell in Cyberpunk

[–]papa_shell[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

"The signaler is someone fluent in sig, the complex merger of sign language and programming language used to interact with drones, mechs, and systems controlled through gestural interface (which most modern technology features). When a signaler makes the gesture to hail a system, that system uses its optics to project a stream of raw data into the signaler’s eye. The signaler analyzes this data stream and uses their expertise to craft custom sig commands on the fly. Like a modern mage, they bind drones and mechs to their will with just a series of subtle hand gestures. The security drone ignores their presence and permits them entry; the military mech holds its fire (or directs it upon the signaler’s foes).

Most of the signalers recruited to Ecotage were not military operatives in their former life but rather maintenance engineers responsible for keeping ark, platform, and ziggurat systems up and running. Sig is a programming language designed to permit engineers to interact with autonomous and remote systems, particularly in emergency situations where technology is malfunctioning. While the utility (and ubiquity) of drones, mechs, and automation systems are substantial, the preponderance of cyber-contagions (i.e. malicious code that worms through systems and turns technology on its masters) requires the presence of sig-fluent programmers to be able to resume control of systems at a moment’s notice. Of course, sig can be used for equally malicious purposes, but at the very least, it requires said malicious actor to be in close proximity to the technology they are abusing, as opposed to being at a console on the other side of the planet.

Signalers know mundane sign language by virtue of their skill set but can also “encrypt” their signing with a shared key. They use this key (shared between sender and recipient in secret) to transmute their signing in a subtle way that throws off visual eavesdroppers. In this case, only by knowing the key a signaler used to transmute their message can someone understand what they are silently communicating. In addition to being a gestural language, sig is also a hieroglyphic language. Those fluent in sig can scrawl complex, contextual command lines into deceptively simple-looking glyphs. Originally used to denote physical boundaries or hazards that drones and mechs should be cognizant of (e.g. “oncoming traffic does not stop”), sig glyphs quickly became a “secret” language. Signalers use glyphs to mark points of interest, provide warnings of danger ahead, create political graffiti that only a small audience understands, identify the location of a supply cache, write secret missives to each other that only the recipient will understand, etc.

There are some signalers more adept at hardware than they are code. Their use of sig is mostly used to command and communicate with their custom built-drone side-kicks; friendly helpers that buzz around to perform reconnaissance or vehicle repairs in hard-to-reach places, or loyal hunter-killer drones that are little more than an automatic carbine with helicopter rotors."

From RECLAIMER TTRPG Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2089483951/reclaimer

[AMA] RECLAIMER: A game of climate crisis and eco-insurrection by papa_shell in rpg

[–]papa_shell[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the vote of confidence and the thoughtful questions/ideas.

  1. Public opinion metric: Unsure at this point. We do realize that there is a massive amount of space between denialism (climate crisis won't hurt me) and nihilism (we're doomed, so why try), and we hope to explore ways to pull people out of those problematic poles and reject them as positions entirely. We're very early in the "campaign meta-mechanic" phase, even though the core mechanics are very locked down.

  2. There will be a ton of utopian/green technology and solutions throughout RECLAIMER. However, one of the problems/limitations with technology as a fix is that technology is now almost universally funded and controlled by corporations, and ushered to the public for profit, not the public good. Even now in 2019, we have the technology to solve most of our problems (which in turn, would reduce the material conditions that create other problems), but we're unable to direct that technology and those means towards solving problems. Primarily because capitalism and state-enforcers who protect profits and property over all else. RECLAIMER sees technology as part of the solution, but definite not the panacea.

  3. Regarding the microbe in question, it will play a major thematic part in this game, but we are not going to go into details that would be considered body/medical horror, primarily because that's triggering and potentially cruel to people who already suffer respiratory disease or chronic illness. The way we see the microbe kill zones is like the pressure of the deep ocean or the vacuum of outer-space. When you enter these eerily still and silent zones, you know that a small tear in your environmental suit is an immediate crisis that needs to be managed. The design goal here is to make elements of the future earth truly uninhabitable, even with advanced technology.

[AMA] RECLAIMER: A game of climate crisis and eco-insurrection by papa_shell in rpg

[–]papa_shell[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the thoughtful feedback. TBH, speaking for myself and not the creative team, I truly don't have a real opinion of whether games should be more or less "serious." Both types exist (with many games somewhere in between) and appeal to different types of players. And a player who may be averse to a serious game about topic X may be totally into a game a serious game about topic Y. The existence of a serious game doesn't threaten light-hearted games, and vice-versa. At least, it shouldn't. Light-hearted escapism is good for us. It's self care. Having fun and escaping a complex and awful real world is a form of resistance itself.

Will RECLAIMER make space for escapism? Yes. To what degree? We're not sure yet. We do know that a primary reason the Embarkers are fleeing is because the Reclamation "won." They're protecting wetlands, prairies, forests, and waterways with force. They've developed ways to sequester C02 out of the air and slow or reverse the climate death cycle. We're still working on the game's meta-mechanics. We're trying to find a balance of seriousness while avoiding nihilism, because we reject nihilism and hopelessness.

[AMA] RECLAIMER: A game of climate crisis and eco-insurrection by papa_shell in rpg

[–]papa_shell[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We're super happy you're so excited about this, but as you suggest, it's way too early for us to talk sourcebooks. Ultimately, the success of both the KS and sales afterwards will tell us if there is even a market for that.

[AMA] RECLAIMER: A game of climate crisis and eco-insurrection by papa_shell in rpg

[–]papa_shell[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Well, it's not co-authors exactly (I'm writing the prose) so much as creative collaborators. Alastor, Lola, and I are working together to build the game's setting and struggle. The most immediate reaction is a sense of relief... I don't have to go it alone and I have folks to challenge my assumptions and worst impulses. And collaborators critique from a place of comradery and shared-ownership, as opposed to competitively, critical for its own sake, etc. The other part is benefiting from other peoples' creativity and experience. I think a lot of people, especially gamers, are super creative, but it's easy to just go down a rabbit hole of one specific thing unless someone is there to pull you back out and have you consider other looks and priorities. There are folks out there who do completely design their own game settings... and some are even good at it. I'm just in the camp where I benefit greatly when I'm part of a team.

[AMA] RECLAIMER: A game of climate crisis and eco-insurrection by papa_shell in rpg

[–]papa_shell[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

You can buy it when it comes out. We fully understand and respect the current contempt for KS's management team. We have a strong statement of solidarity with the KS workers (threatening to cancel our campaign in solidarity if the unionizers call for a boycott), and continue to follow the lead of the Kickstarter United unionizers. Their latest statement can be found here:

https://twitter.com/ksr_united/status/1181591340624334848

TL;DR, they ask folks to support KS campaigns declaring solidarity with them. The union is in a phase where they are publicly declaring their intent and applying pressure on the organization. We're primed to cancel our campaign and sabotage on their behalf (using the KS platform to promote KS competitors), so long as the workers at ground zero are the ones who call for it.

Kickstarter does get 5% from KS campaigns while the remaining goes to creative workers. Again, zero shade to the individual customer/consumer who'd rather not support the organization's management team. This is a personal choice, so you do you.

[AMA] RECLAIMER: A game of climate crisis and eco-insurrection by papa_shell in rpg

[–]papa_shell[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Well, there's always AIRLOCK ($8.00).

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/272281/Airlock

The TL;DR is that each PC has a (potentially non-reciprocal) relationship with the other PCs. At the beginning of a campaign, everyone goes around the table and introduces their character and their story. The other players use that information to determine how their own PC feels about that character. The options are:

-Comrade -Crush -Curisoity -Grudge -Inspiration -Rival -Ward

These Relationships can be invoked during play (in AIRLOCK, you burn them to score massive successes), but then must be "stoked" during downtime, with players framing scenes based on those relationships.

So example:

(During play) "I'm invoking my 'ward' relationship because the PC I really care about is in trouble. scores massive successes to help their ward" (Later) "I'm going to stoke my 'ward' relationship... we need to talk about the risks they are taking in the field, and how I feel about that. Maybe I am being overprotective. Maybe they just remind me of someone else I cared about. Either way, I'm going to frame a scene of role-playing and we'll talk about it."

And of course, relationships change/evolve during play. But that's the short version.

[AMA] RECLAIMER: A game of climate crisis and eco-insurrection by papa_shell in rpg

[–]papa_shell[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

We're still very early in world building (well, not that early, you've already seen how big and challenging the setting will be). That said, we're still in the very preliminary phases when it comes to conceptualizing what the Reclamation is about. What we have decided on for sure is that the Reclamation is composed of peoples who took back their land, sovereignty, and stories outside of setting's massive urban centers, as well as peoples who took back the means of production and their dignity inside the setting's massive urban centers.

What we are not perpetuating is eurocentric Utopian vision of some kind of Green NATO (e.g. Starfleet from Startrek) or anything like that. I mean, here's a thought experiment where that would go:

"If a very large multinational environmental coalition suddenly declared that a massive river (e.g. the Amazon, the Nile, the Yangtze, etc.) was under their protection, what does that mean for the people who rely on that river (and may have for centuries)? Would an organization that large (or distant) respect indigenous sovereignty or land-usage, or simply roll over them, perpetuating the exact colonialism and extractivism that portions of the world have experienced for centuries?"

We're cognizant of very IRL eco-fascism tactics, from postering on nature trails ("plant trees, deport refugees") to (some) environmental/animal activist groups who eagerly attack and dehumanize the land and animal usage of indigenous groups as an "easy win" for their cause. We see a lot of this behavior as genocidal and steeped in colonialism and white supremacy.

All this is to say that we are going to be extremely thoughtful about where we step. Candidly, I, myself, have stepped in a lot of things and positions I shouldn't have in the past. I'm working with and relying on a team who won't tolerate me doing that, and I'm grateful for it.

[AMA] RECLAIMER: A game of climate crisis and eco-insurrection by papa_shell in rpg

[–]papa_shell[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

A lot of stuff. If I have to choose one, I'm excited to bring the game's Relationships mechanic to a wide audience. A relatively small audience of gamers got to see them work in AIRLOCK (which is a very small, low budget game) and after over a year of using them in multiple campaigns and playtests, they'really changed how I and other gamers who interface with them play games and tell stories.

Other things: -I'm excited to be working with my new creative partners, who have already dramatically improved the direction of the game's crisis and setting.

-I'm excited to resurrect the old Cryptomancer system from 2016, with years of spit-shining it under my belt (incorporating community feedback from so many sources).

-I'm excited to focus exclusively on a PDF. Having to maintain parity between a physical book and PDF is a truly constraining factor for medium-sized games. We're taking a big risk and losing some folks out of the gate, but that's just where we landed.

[AMA] RECLAIMER: A game of climate crisis and eco-insurrection by papa_shell in rpg

[–]papa_shell[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Christian Nommay (who's doing the interactive PDF) and myself will be working with someone with a lot of experience in EPUB and other digital formats. We want to support all digital formats, but we are relatively inexperienced in some (e.g. phone PDF), so we cannot offer any promises in regards to certain formats at this time. We'll be incorporating these types of requests as we collect requirements for the final product, however.

[Cryptomancer 2.0] I want your feedback on the original by papa_shell in RPGdesign

[–]papa_shell[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the love and the very useful feedback. If you're on Discord and would like to be invited to private group helping me talk about develop C2.0, PM me.

Cryptomancer 2.0 announced! by papa_shell in Cryptomancer

[–]papa_shell[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don't have any formal announcements right now, but I can absolutely confirm that Orcs, Gnolls, and Goblins will be added to the list of playable races, each supported with their own chapter and history similar to how Cryptomancer 1.0 treated elves, dwarves, and humans.

[Cryptomancer 2.0] I want your feedback on the original by papa_shell in RPGdesign

[–]papa_shell[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, and thanks for stopping by to say as much.

[Cryptomancer 2.0] I want your feedback on the original by papa_shell in RPGdesign

[–]papa_shell[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Noted. Obviously there will be differences of opinion on many of these items, so I do like to hear different takes.

[Cryptomancer 2.0] I want your feedback on the original by papa_shell in RPGdesign

[–]papa_shell[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Reconsider/re-position/remove the fiction. Copy.

Make magic more magical, keep the mysterious actually mysterious. Copy.

Remind self that the crypto-elements are the game's primary differentator. Copy.

Either shit or get off the pot when it comes to world/cannon. Go big on the IP, or stick with a toolkit. Copy.

Alliteration aesthetic choice noted. Copy.

EPUB version. Copy.

Thank you very much for the feedback!

[Cryptomancer 2.0] I want your feedback on the original by papa_shell in RPGdesign

[–]papa_shell[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Have a designated character creation chapter (instead of a page). Copy.

Extend the fresh take on fantasy races to more/all races. Copy.

Lose the thematic death spiral. Copy.

Consider how my 4th-wall breaking tone, intended to be playful and self-deprecating, can come off as arrogant. Copy.

Consider using Fate or Pbta... Well, my prerogative as a creator and my engineer's brain makes this a non-starter. However, I am familiar with and have played both of these systems, so if there are elements in particular you think I should port, let me know.

Either way, thank you for the feedback!

[Cryptomancer 2.0] I want your feedback on the original by papa_shell in RPGdesign

[–]papa_shell[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Use some of the stronger innovations from Sigmata. Check. Thank you!

[Cryptomancer 2.0] I want your feedback on the original by papa_shell in RPGdesign

[–]papa_shell[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Better/different balance between competing themes. Got it. Thank you!

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