I’m seriously considering a sprawl-compatible hack focused on community not missions. So the world where your contacts live, where your sprawl characters crawl home to sleep in. Not mission based, more episodic drama than heist film.
Mechanically, it’d be AW gangs and holdings, Urban Shadow Debts and Sprawl Stats and Cyber/synth. Play would center around community storytelling, from the favela to the spires. It’s only a vertical klick after all 🙂
Is this something there’d be interest in?
To be blunt, it sounds so far removed from what The Sprawl is about that I don’t think trying to keep it compatible would be a helpful goal to set. I think you’d be better off starting from a blank slate and building the rules that best tell the types of stories you want to tell.
It’s a cool idea. Living in a high tech, low society world as opposed to just seeing the occasional bit of violence that takes place there.
So are you thinking of making it about the heist character’s regular everyday goings on?
The heist-like nature of most cyberpunk games is what I find disinteresting about them despite loving the worlds so I would be curious about this whether it is “compatible” or not.
you should have a look @ technoir, based on Noir Tropes and Relationships ! I’m considering a mix between technoir scenario’s construction, and dice rolling in the Blades style (its purest version)
As James Etheridge said, keeping it compatible with The Sprawl might be more of a hinderance than a help. That said, if compatibility is a core design goal for you, then the restrictions that puts on your design might make for an interesting space for creative thinking about how to make it work.
I’d certain be interested to see it.
As it stands, if I wanted to run this game tomorrow, I would use The Veil if I wanted to lean into the transhuman futurism and Apocalypse World reskinned if I wanted the gritty gangland slums atmosphere.
Compatible isn’t too bad – I thinking it needs to use the same stats and handle item/cyberwear the same way. Even the basic moves would be different. The questions Mega3 the infiltrator asks when looking at a target are very different to the questions they ask when doing their groceries…
Patrick Barry totally! I could see lots of interesting ways to work the compatibility angle so that you could play a mission one week and grocery shopping the next!
Like mirror playbooks that have the same move names, but the moves do different things in daily life.
ooof, that’s perhaps further than I’d go. I was thinking almost all Sprawl characters would fit inside a single archetype playbook in the hack – “the Professional”. No stat assignment because you bring it over. ‘Moves’ focusing on the nature of your safehouse, garage, dependents ect…This would be in addition to straightforward slumlord characters who in turn are the people who turn up in the Sprawl when you Hit the Streets.
If the table is approaching it the same world from a different viewpoint, “Dangerous neighbour” might be the move to establish your Sprawl character’s presence nearby, equivalent to “Declare Contacts” in the sprawl does the reverse.
Nice!
Sounds super neat. I really loved the SR crpg games stuff that took place in Heoi and the Kreuzbasar
Maybe i din’t get it right: What is it what you additionally need? I mean for me you start off with some heists and then there is a story unfolding which is beyond heist. This happens naturally. Even if its called “missionbased” you can start to play The Sprawl without missions. Just like Shadowrun. Yes its called Shadowrun, but the life of a runner is not only about runs. So what mechanism you want to add? Clocks (or projects like in Blades in the dark)? Relationship networks?
Hi all:
Basic moves and the first playbook for your delectation.
https://github.com/cromlyngames/Cyber_Peripherals/blob/master/cyber_peripherals_text.pdf