I’m finding this game has the easiest setup for a GM/MC.

I’m finding this game has the easiest setup for a GM/MC.

I’m finding this game has the easiest setup for a GM/MC. It’s just a case of picking a mission, adding a few names and letting the players do the heavy lifting. Just about every MC move is just reacting to the players ideas and throwing the odd wrench into their plans. 

The toughest part of building the setting is asking the players what sort of style they are looking for and picking up on the names of Corporations that they throw up. Making sure you get their Directives noted so that you can use those to work the game into various twists is only slightly harder. The game nearly runs itself with the MC mostly responding to the players and upping the stakes by moving clocks. 

It probably wouldn’t suit a GM that isn’t very comfortable with generating things on the fly though. Anyone not comfortable without a full and detailed scenario listing covering every possibility might have issues.

I’d like to get one of Clive Sinclair’s Black Watches to do the countdown clock thing as The Sprawl clocks remind me…

I’d like to get one of Clive Sinclair’s Black Watches to do the countdown clock thing as The Sprawl clocks remind me…

I’d like to get one of Clive Sinclair’s Black Watches to do the countdown clock thing as The Sprawl clocks remind me of Sir Clive’s failed experiment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Watch_%28wristwatch%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Watch_%28wristwatch%29

I’m posting this here rather than directly to Hamish as I thought it deserves some extra discussion.

I’m posting this here rather than directly to Hamish as I thought it deserves some extra discussion.

I’m posting this here rather than directly to Hamish as I thought it deserves some extra discussion.

When adding Control Systems as a piece of cyberware (either using Chromed or for an Expert Splicer or Pusher) the text says (p104 p99 p85) you can take Second Skin as an advance. Second skin options (p58) seem to apply only to a vehicle whereas Control System (p104) mentions weapon, recording device, or hacked electronic system. Those devices need something to replace a vehicles Power, Looks or Weakness or SS needs a rewrite.

So a rewrite or some alternative for using SS with things other than a vehicle. What would your suggestions be?

Having a good look through the rules concerning Hacking and ICE before I decide how to proceed once I get enough Exp…

Having a good look through the rules concerning Hacking and ICE before I decide how to proceed once I get enough Exp…

Having a good look through the rules concerning Hacking and ICE before I decide how to proceed once I get enough Exp for an advance and to help my Hacker buddy with game information..

Both Red and Black ICE have an option to cause Harm 2 by damaging a ‘decks Processor and Black ICE has a tag of AP against an outcome marked as physical response. 

Presuming that a jacked in intruder is wearing armour I could follow how Harm 1 +AP might be helpful in incapacitating them so that’s straightforward enough but the other instances of Harm 2 occurring in damaging the Processor seems to be at odds with the outcomes listed under Harm in the Moves section. It occurs to me that the +AP tag might relate to the Hardened Rating of a Cyberdeck allowing the MC to blow through Hardened decks without allowing the use of a Harden point spend.

Now Jack Out states that you use it when you or your equipment is about to be damaged, so I guess when an ICE outcome of Harm 2 by damaging the Processor occurs the cyber jockey can use Jack Out to avoid that Harm. Does the Harm occur to the cyber jockey or the Processor. The Processor has no Harm clock so if that takes damage presumably the Processor Rating is reduced by the Harm amount.

The +encrypted tag on an S&I D implant forces the MC to subvert the encryption before hacking the device so I guess the MC needs to use Compromise Security before using the ICE move Corrupt Program to ‘break’ the interface.

The game last night started with a mission that was a cross between and heist and a data substitution.

The game last night started with a mission that was a cross between and heist and a data substitution.

The game last night started with a mission that was a cross between and heist and a data substitution. It involved a plot to covertly install a data device in a shipment of sex dolls (in the Ghost in the Shell definition of doll) and ‘fail’ to hijack the shipment as a cover. The shipment was going from Japan to China via ferry although we didn’t find that out right away.

So the employer approached the one guy who had previous employment with the corporation doing the shipping and offered him the job for 2 creds a head. He checked Get the Job and got job pays well, identifiable employer and +intel. The Infiltrator used Declare Contact to bring a transport section employee from his old corporation (the one doing the shipping) into play. Meeting him in a karaoke bar the Medi-tech (whose cover was a fast food truck 

salesman) offered him some ‘special’ sauce in exchange for the information about the route the truck was taking and the actual date of travel. Rolling Hit the Streets the Medi-Tech got a result of takes some time, unwanted attention and costs extra making it 2 cred for the information. This is when we found out that the truck was travelling by ferry to China.

We then did some checking for extra equipment and the Breadboarder checked his Storage unit and found 3 +gear (electronics) that he thought would come in handy. One of these was 

determined to be a close range EMP device that would cause the shipping truck’s engine to fail via radio command. The Medi-Tech didn’t get anything useful from his Storage unit.

Boarding the ferry we found out that the shipment was the transport truck, a command car and a some sort of armed and armoured ‘protection’. We too had three vehicles and brought them along, an ambulance/fast food truck (Medi-Tech), a sedan and a armed vehicle owned by the Driver.

Using Assess we worked out the guard routine which involved at least three guards with the vehicles on the vehicle deck all the time. The truck had a hand print device securing the rear door so we needed a guard’s hand to open it and gain access to the cargo. The Medi-Tech 

and his fast food franchise was our way in and he dosed some food with laxatives and sold it to some of the guards. While waiting for this to take effect the Driver decided to make a distraction for the guards in the cafeteria. Approaching their table he tried to stumble in to it and cause some problems. He failed his Act Under Pressure roll and got tasered for his pains leaving him immobilised (lousy Harm roll).

Back on the vehicle deck our Infiltrator was sliding along under the three vehicles trying to damage each a little bit to slow them down or stop them travelling too far once they got off the ferry. Failing his Under Pressure roll he was spotted by one of the poisoned guards who was standing by the truck hopping up and down needing the bathroom. The Medi-Tech tried to jab the guard with a fast-acting sedative but missed his Under Pressure roll leaving him vulnerable. Two other poisoned guards were at the foot of the stairs with a fourth one ascending to the cafeteria deck. The Breadboarder Tech used Under Pressure to toss a gas grenade to take out the two at the bottom of the stairs (one unconscious and one choking (lose track). The one on the stairs got hit by the Killer and the one by the truck tasered by the Infiltrator.

At this point we had to halt as we were out of time at the club.

Some comments: most of the players had not done any more than skim their individual Playbooks at chargen, one had played Dungeon World before and most were experienced role players. As far as I could tell only myself and the MC had read any cyberpunk material 

although the majority had at least seen Bladerunner or another relevant film. That much was obvious when setting up the world and corporations at character generation. The mission format could have been better stressed by the MC as most people didn’t understand the

mission format (Get the Job, Legwork, Action, Get Paid) as they had not bothered to read the rules and got confused about how to proceed so some heavy handed direction was needed to get on track. Once we got going the concept of use a Move and test for a result was easy although one player, a notorious min-maxer, kept trying to use class moves he hadn’t actually chosen, not sure if it was deliberate or not though. The Countdown clocks function wasn’t brought out by the MC so I don’t know if the other players were mechanically aware of the problems that were going to arise by the clocks being incremented or indeed why they were there. There wasn’t, as far as I could see, any suggestion of an amount of Cred to offer or ask for for a mission and as yet no example mission to provide clues so that is something to consider.

Summing up: The game plays well and has a good foundation but needs buy-in from the players and our format of 4 GMs pitching something and players voting to join particular games may 

not work well for players who couldn’t see past the Cyberpunk label and were thinking that 

The Sprawl is something it isn’t. Some of our players were trying to play it like a Spycraft v1 game as they didn’t understand the stuff about clocks or have an in-depth understanding of the Cyberpunk background.

Put together a quick character sheet for our game that is starting tonight as I couldn’t find one on-line.

Put together a quick character sheet for our game that is starting tonight as I couldn’t find one on-line.

Put together a quick character sheet for our game that is starting tonight as I couldn’t find one on-line.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mxTnVq1SYotrqL4ipZIGHExf17KlE-ygcW4Aw_ycBUc/edit?usp=sharing

It’s got space for just about everything. I wrote my background and Directives in the Look section but I might have toalter that as he Directives can change over time. Might put them where I have the Experience and Cred data. I might also need more space for Moves and Gear but we’ll see once the game starts.

OK I’m about to start playing in a game run by one of the KS backers and have some questions.

OK I’m about to start playing in a game run by one of the KS backers and have some questions.

OK I’m about to start playing in a game run by one of the KS backers and have some questions.

Gas grenades – Hand area in Tech Playbook, Near area in Gear. Which is  it? I guess Near but…

Does the +2 to Processor from Efficiency Routines do anything other than allow two extra programs to be run. Does the value of Efficiency Routines allow you to switch points into other Ratings i.e. can you make Processor rating 1 and use Tech: Expert Breadboarder to get two programs and run one as Efficiency Routines to get another two programs running (total 3) on effectively a Rating 1 processor.

Can cyberdecks have a value of 0 for some ratings i.e. can Hardening or Firewall be zero and points allocated to other ratings not to exceed the max (2 normally)

Does the ‘You may take the Hacker move Jack in as an advance’ in Tech Playbook p99 override the list in Advancing p137 where other Playbook is advance option 4 and 5 i.e does Jack In only get picked after three previous advances for a Tech?