This is based on a thread over at RPG.net where we were discussing using Spirit of the Century Aspects with the new D&D 4th instead of action points (well actulally using Action points with Aspects).

So my thoughts

Action Points

You begin each adventure with 1 action point equal to your beginning aspects, and you can get another one for every milestone in the adventure (2 encounters, The DM compels an aspect placed on you, or special circumstance defined by the DM).

You can spend none or all action point(s) per encounter to invoke aspects or take one extra action on your turn or, It can be spent on a standard, move, or minor action (for this only one Action point per encounter can be spent).

When you take an extended rest, your action points reset.

And

 

Character Generation

Part 1: Background

This part covers the character’s youth, from birth to age 14, but in a more abstract sense also covers the core concept for the character as a “normal person”. While youth may be a time of adventure and excitement, it is also the time when we are most shaped by our family and environs. This phase is an opportunity to reflect the character’s family and upbringing. When describing events in this phase, consider answers to the following questions:

• What were the family’s circumstances like? Rich? Poor? Scholarly? Isolated? Pious? Political?
• How big is the family?
• How well does the character get along with his family?
• What nation is the character from? What region?
• How was the character educated?
• What were the character’s friends like? Did the character get into much trouble?

Player Rules

1. Write down a brief summary of the events of the phase.
2. Write down one aspect that is in some way tied into the events of the phase, or the character’s national, familial, or cultural upbringing.

Part 2: First Adventure

Part two is your character’s first adventure, or run in with danger. Because we’re talking about heroes here, while they may have spent some time in the fields working, or spending time in town, it’s more likely that they spent most of their time on top secret missions for elite soldiers, spies, researchers or squires. Alternatively, they may have spent their time in other parts of the world, dealing with the fall of a kingdom, or exploring the mysterious ancient cities of a past age.

This is the time when the characters start coming into their own, and begin realizing their true potential.

Some questions to consider during this period:

• Did your character fight in a war or serve as a soldier? For whom? Where? In what capacity?
• Were you a member of any secret units? Did you meet any of the other characters there?
• Who was your patron? What happened to him or her?

Player Rules

1. Write down a brief summary of the events of the phase. Include the name and fate of your mentor.
2. Write down an aspect that is in some way tied into the events of the phase.

Part 3: First Campaign

Part three is the character’s first campaign (series of adventures tied to a common goal), involving him or her! Each player needs to come up with a title for the adventure(s) starring his character, in a fashion reminiscent of the pulp fantasy novels. The general pattern is:

Character Name (vs./in.../and) Adventurous Thing!

Examples: "The Phoenix on the Sword", "The Scarlet Citadel", "The Tower of the Elephant", "Black Colossus", "Iron Shadows in the Moon"

Then, each player needs to think up a story to go with his title. The story doesn’t need to have a lot of detail – in fact, it should be no more detailed than a blurb.

Player Rules

1. Write down the title and blurb (a couple sentences at most) for your character’s adventures. Don’t nail down all of the details of it yet (you’ll find out why below).
2. Write down an aspect that is in some way tied into the events of the adventure(s). (You can delay doing this, wait to see how the next couple of phases play out, and then choose your aspects at the end).

Part 4: Adventuring Party

At the beginning of this part, the GM writes down all the adventure titles on separate sheets of paper or a set of index cards, shuffles the stack, and hands them out. If a player gets his own adventure, he should trade index cards with the person to his right until everyone has a title that isn’t theirs. The title of the adventure a player is now holding is a adventure that his character had a supporting role in. For each index card, the involved players – the player whose campaign it is, and the player who has just received that character’s index card – should discuss the story, and add one or two sentences to the description of the adventure to reflect the supporting character’s role.

Player Rules

1. Add a sentence or two to the description of the adventure you’re supporting cast in.
2. Write down an aspect that is in some way tied into the events of the adventure. (Again, you can delay doing this .)

Part 5: Adventuring Party

Part five is identical to part four, with the sole caveat that no character can costar in the same adventure twice.

Player Rules

1. Add a sentence or two to the description of the adventure you’re supporting cast in.
2. Write down an aspect that is in some way tied into the events of the campaign.

Tags: Fate D&D 4th Edition

 Because I have nothing better to do...

 

Rude Awakenings

scenario for Cyberpunk 3X

 

The Mission: Six Edgerunners on a mission for a private firm (Lee, Sims, and Savage) to recover and destroy a portion main frame for Arasaka’s Alpha Secure Db.  This mission was executed on March 24^th 2022, but the Edgerunners were captured and instead of executed, Saburo Arasaka wanted these Edgerunners Cryo-Frozen in order to interrogate them at a later time. With the 4^th Corporate war in full swing Arasaka forgot about them. They were stored underground in the Arasaka building in one of Saburo’s many “Fallout Shelters” and once the Nuke was set off during the Raid on Arasaka Towers, all knowledge of their existence died with who ever was there. The actual piece of equipment to be destroyed did not perish in the devastation , but was taken by the Full Conversion Borg Samantha Wilder and hidden in the New Mexico Desert near the El Moro national monument (A cliff face that has Pueblo Indian paintings and Spanish inscriptions dating back from the 1500’s). It is currently guarded by Cee-Metal sentries and a few hired soldiers to keep this piece of history, and possibly a bargaining chip safe from any who would want to use it or destroy it.

 

Part One: Rude Awakenings

The Scene: This opens in the now violated fallout shelter with a gang of “Ghouls” trying to break open the Cryo-Tubes and robbing the bodies. One of their companions is already dead in the tube from the violent opening, but this has triggered the rest of the parties’ chambers and now they are being brought back. The party will be a -4 to all roll for the scene because of the atrophy of being put into cryosleep for the past 10+ years. Their gear has been stored in the room in metal tubes (also put aside for investigation) so as they awaken they will need to take on the scavengers with what ever they can get their hands on. The threat should be easily taken care of, although the shock of the situation should leave them disorientated.

 

The Payoff: The characters should try and get all their gear back after the fight so they can move on. If they keep any of the gang members alive they can also glean a bit about what is going on topside.

The Set Up: The characters are in a small lab with 8 Cryo-tanks and shelves with small canisters (containing the PC’s gear) sitting on various lab tables. There is a good number of life monitoring equipment around, as well as some minor medical supplies and a small fridge with food that has been aged 10+ years. There are 4 drugged up scavengers who are rummaging through their dead comrades tube, and trying to break open the containers with the PC’s gear. When the Cryo-tubes open the scavengers will attack before the characters even stumble out. The fight should be easy, but not without its trials.

The Twist: The characters have all been installed with a “loyalty” chip that was installed to assure that the mission was a success. As long as the Alpha Secure Db is semi functional the chip will emit a painful high pitch sound that will cause the PC’s to double over (Successful Body roll/ DV 16 to keep control) or be at a -5 penalty for 2 rounds. This will happen every ½ hour of game time until the device is destroyed and the character is dead.

 

Part Two: Datakrash Blues

 

The Scene: Having felt the initial pain of the “Loyalty” chip the players need to locate the Db and pretty quickly. Once they crawl up through the rubble of the old Arasaka building, and hit the street, the shock of the new Night City should be over whelming. The Netrunner will not be able to find a working terminal, and without an agent to access any of the Datapools the location of the Db will feel lost.

Adam Simms can try to make contact with Gina Digitalis an old acquaintance who can lead them to a working terminal (which she will suggest the players don’t attempt it, and try to explain the Datakrash), or help them gather the information at a cost (hey its Cyberpunk).

The Payoff: The location of the Db, and some possible aid to reach part three

The Set Up: This part has two possible outcomes. If the PC’s attempt to go to the terminal alone they will find it hidden in one of “The Chosen’s” Church of the Open Door outreach centers. They will be welcomed in, and when they least expect it the preachers will try and kill them. With the preachers out of the way, the players will have to sort through corrupted information, and finally the RABIDS that will attack the Netrunner.

If they contact Gina, she will direct them to a meeting place and leave them with an agent and some brief instruction how to use it to get the information from a Intranet computer located in one of the local Broadcast stations that would have some older news files floating around in their Datapool. In this case the Netrunner will be at a -5 penalty (Unfamiliar tools -4 and Has never done this before -1) and it will trigger a Watchdog construct if the players are in the pool for more than 30 seconds.

The Twist: The Object they seek is being held about 900 miles away in a old bunker in New Mexico. The object is to find transportation. If they choose to steal a vehicle there is a 1-5 chance (on a D6) that the local authorities will be alerted and the PC will have a chase and firefight on their hands. If they take public transport they will most likely be noticed due to the chip setting off crippling pain every so often and someone will call the local authorities. Also if they survive the net or data pool encounter they might be labeled by security and have APB spread out or, if they entered the Net it may attract others who might want the Netrunner’s Cyber Deck.

 

 

Part Three: Mission Impossible

 

The Scene: The characters will finally be lead to the “El Moro” national monument in New Mexico where the component main frame of the Arasaka Alpha Secure Db is located. The prize is located in an underground bunker about 1 mile from the actual site in an area that was set up by the US military in the 1950’s as a safe house in case there was an atomic exchange.  The bunker is fairly small with 6 chambers off of the sides of a long hallway that was made wide enough to house jeeps and other equipment needed if important military and or civilian needed to be housed there for awhile. The Bunker is guarded by 3 Cee-Metal operatives (2 Neo Gamma models and 1 Wingman II model to fly out and bring reinforcements if needed) who will fight to the death to keep this item under wraps. If the PC’s are detected the Wingman will fly off to bring others back, or will attempt to break free from combat to fly off. Even if the party takes out the 3 guards, it will not be long before more Cee-Metal soldiers return. The Guards will be inside the bunker unless drawn out to fight and will use the fortified metal walls and doors (SP 30: 20 for the steel and 10 for the concrete covering the walls) to their advantage… again to buy time. The only design flaw is that the only way out is through the doors in the front, so for the Wingman II to make it out the doors will have to be swung wide open for at least 1-2 rounds before it can take off. Once combat begins the players will have about 20 rounds before Calvary comes charging over the hills to help defend the bunker. Once inside the players will have to go past all the doors to reach the last room to the left and once there blow past the SP20 locked metal door before reaching the component.

The Payoff: The Alpha Secure component and some post WWII supplies and weapons (C-Rations, cartons of lucky strikes, cooking gear, M1 Garands, ammo (7.62 mm), and some stock military uniforms) as well as whatever the Cee-Metal guards were carrying. Also once the component has been destroyed the chips can no longer harm the PCs.

The Set Up: The characters should try and land as far away from the bunker as possible in order to duck under the radar of the guards. The top portion of the bunker is above ground, but the rooms are down the hallway/ramp going about 25 feet underground. Two of the guards will be in the first room while the other sits in the hallway during his shift (ready to fly out if needed). They have been here for a few months (the guards are rotated) and quite bored not really expecting a fight (or anything for that matter). If the players use stealth they can possibly gain the upper hand on the guards and take them by surprise by blowing the doors to the bunker and come in fighting. If they make their presence known before hand then the Cee-Metal guards will fortify their position and wait for any who come down the ramp (if the PCs can get through). The guards will not radio for help unless they are losing the fight or if the Wingman can not get off the ground.

The Twist:  None… this is the end of the story Choomba!

Tags: Cyberpunk RPG Adventures

As I was sitting in traffic on the way to work this morning I was thinking about the monthly article I wrote for the old Silven Trumpeter a few year back, and remembered how much I loved to get out my thoughts, reviews, and gripes about the industry that I am very much a part of, and one that confuses the hell out of me.
Lights, Camera, Action! was a monthly feature where I reviewed "Cinematic" style RPGs and gave hints on how to run a more action movie style game with the mechanics of the system. Although I did this for free, it was something I enjoyed doing and when I was in between projects it was a great way to keep my hand in.

Vicious Cabaret is going to be my mini project that I promise I will try and up-date from time to time with goodies, game ideas, and reviews. Hopefully I can write again for another publication, but until that time I can at least continue my thoughts and ideas in this forum.