... I ... dammit ...

I haven't looked too closely at the Humanity rules; I figured they're mostly there to keep players from building full terminator cyborg type PCs. A character with beaucoup cybernetic enhancements would be pretty OP, no? In other words, I assumed the mechanic was mostly munchkin-proofing.

Rescuing a kidnapping victim sounds fun. Cyberpunk seems like it lends itself well to caper and heist scenarios too, for future consideration. I'm down for whatever.

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This message was last edited by the player at 04:54, Mon 23 Nov 2020.

Still plugging through and collecting notes.

A few more thoughts:

Due to the constraints of PbP and pacing, I’m considering starting the PCs a bit more powerful.  Maybe allowing role abilities at 5 instead of 4 and a few more attribute/skill points.  Nothing drastic, just a bit more equipment and character capabilities.  The idea being that the PCs haven’t just arrived on the edge, but have spent a little time working there.  A few more pieces of cyberware, etc...

It’s looking like the PCs are going to be members of a team put together to deal with a kidnapping.  Would you guys prefer knowing each other with history or the getting to know you approach?

What kind of characters are you interested in?  Not just role, but decent humans in a bad situation, or morally flexible individuals getting paid for work that they excel at?

Are there aspects of the world you’d really like to touch on?

That's cool with me. I'm totally new to this system, so I'll be learning as I go. Which degree of customization would you like us to use during chargen?



I prefer the getting to know you approach because it will probably help me get a better handle on my own PC. I also think that the IC relationships we develop will be more genuine.



I don't think I'd enjoy playing a full on bad guy. My PCs are always essentially heroic, even if they occasionally slip up.

Can we play two PCs? Either way, I'd like to call dibs on med-tech (see msg #2).

link to a message in another game



I want it all! ;)

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This message was last edited by the player at 21:47, Tue 24 Nov 2020.

I’m gonna say one character initially.  The idea of trying to navigate combat with up to 8 PCs sounds a bit daunting.

I’m fine with starting at something higher than entry level (like Rae, I’ll be finding my way around the system as I go).

Generally speaking I prefer the getting to know you approach. It feels more natural, lets the PC’s get to know each other in a realistic way rather than having to think ‘would my PC know this about X’s PC?’ That said, if we can work out details I’m not against some sort of shared background (it has worked well for me in the past) if anyone wants to do it (although to be fair at this point I don’t have anything firm in mind for a PC yet, so difficult for me to thrash out any sort of detail.

I tend to prefer PC’s who fall more within the morally flexible spectrum, particularly in this genre (or at least as I understand this genre). As noted, I don’t have anything set in stone yet. Some back of the envelope stuff

1. Solo, Aged 30’s. German national (I haven’t read the background fully but I think Germany is still a thing?). Veteran of various corporate black ops style shenanigans in Europe. Currently earning a (meagre) living as a cage fighter in one of the less salubrious parts of the City.

2. Former Law Enforcement (could now be Lawman or Solo). Aged 30’s. Got kicked off the force for some as yet undetermined misdemeanour which they may or may not have actually committed. Now making a living in the private sector. May or may not have been a former member of the Psycho Squad (I have some concerns that this concept may be a little cliched)

3. Fixer, aged late 20’s. Russian national. Former SovOil Corporate type (might have been an Exec?) Got found out skimming from the Company accounts and bailed out of Moscow before the Oligarchs could demonstrate their displeasure. Now makes a living as a Fixer in Night City. Has a price on their head (in roubles)

Right now I’m leaning towards 3 as I tend to prefer playing Face characters and my attempts to stray out of that particular comfort zone have not always ended well. But as I said, I’m not set in stone (although I can categorically rule out playing a Rockerboy or Tech. If I knew the genre a bit better I might think about a Nomad but for now I think that might be stretching my comfort zone).

Disclaimers about PbP burnout still apply, but:



I'd be fine with this.  I will suggest that, rather than increasing cyber, increase the starting cash allocation and let people buy what makes sense for their characters - cyber, kit, lifestyle, whatever.  Because this game shares continuity with CP2020, most of the gear from the Chromebooks should still be around in some form or another.



I'm good either way.  Having history does require more work up front, but the payoff is a reason for the group to stay together after the first arc.



I don't do well playing absolute amoral murderhobos, but for a setting like this, paladins are rare.



Surprise us.  :)

Understood. With only four PCs- and given the mission- I assume combat skills are going to be taking on an added importance.

Hey, the PDF version came with an editable char-sheet PDF but I can't get it to save it once it's filled out. Google is no help. Do any of y'all know if/how it's possible to save after completion?

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This message was last edited by the player at 00:53, Wed 25 Nov 2020.

Cash seems like a good option.  I’ll allow therapy to be purchased as well, for those so inclined, along with the assumption it works.  I’ll try and get some creation guidelines up tomorrow.

As far as build methods go, the figure the Complete method with cash for gear, etc... but if you would prefer to roll, that’s fine with.  I’ll let you know how many attribute and skill points will be available with the guidelines.

Weird.  I'm seeing the same issue on my Mac.  Must be a bad setting in the PDF.  I have the full version of Acrobat on my work machine and will try to find a fix over the holiday break.

I like morally flexible types, perhaps driven to that through circumstance.

Abilities at 5 is nice.  I think if the goal is not to have massive firefights, some of the roles should consider how they might use their Role Abilities without adding to that burden (Exec's should steer clear of body guards and operatives and just have supporting types, perhaps?  Lawmen shouldn't call for backup?).  Anyway, moving on...

For what we're trying to do and looking at everyone's interest so far, I like Tech, Solo, or Nomad, in roughly that order.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:23, Wed 25 Nov 2020.

It should surprise no one that I have a couple of concepts stuck in my head.

The first is a Nomad from a pack with Highrider ties.  They used to fly deltas out of an old USAF base in the Rockies, but something went wrong a few years ago.  Now the survivors are earthbound and trying to rebuild.  The PC is one of the younger generation.  He grew up on stories of spaceflight and his personal dream is to become one of the Deltajocks who takes the family out into the black again.  To make that happen, though, they'll need not just a fat stack of eurodollars, but a fat list of people who owe them favors.  So he's in the City to do his part to help that effort.  Mechanically, Nomad role, primarily focused as a driver/pilot with secondary combat and social/business capabilities.

The second is a Solo.  He's an older guy, probably pushing fifty, staving off the effects of age and a hard-lived life with whatever medicine the street can offer.  He was a corporate operative back during the Fourth Corporate War and eventually reached his breaking point with the amount of collateral damage he was being asked to dish out.  He's avoided major cyber replacement as much as possible, preferring to stick with low-impact modifications that are less detectable and less alienating - he's lost too many comrades to cyberpsychosis and doesn't want to go down that road himself.  Where too many younger Solos go for ostentatious chrome and cryo max fashion, his style is more subdued.  It makes him less optimized for mass murder, but it broadens the array of social environments in which he can operate.  Mechanically, a gunman with a secondary social focus (possibly a wingman and close protection for Dave's Face).

Back when I was contemplating trying to run a CP-style PbP or write some fiction, I came up with a similar PC concept, except mine quit the homicide unit because he got sick of the brass allowing guilty prominent corpos to literally get away with murder. His new career was private investigator.

Is there a way to create a detective Lawman in the CPR rules? I assume one could do so simply by tweaking skills but I'm kind of surprised it's not already a template. IMHO PI would be a perfect role for the noir setting of CP.

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This message was lightly edited by the player at 15:43, Wed 25 Nov 2020.

A fixer role could easily be an undercover detective, IMHO.  You aren't so much calling for backup, as you are working the street.

Good call.

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Campaign info thread updated with a character gen framework.  Let me know your thoughts.

Now I kind of want to try to make a Fixer/(former Lawman) Private Dick PC build work. But Dave's got dibs, so not if he decides to run with his former law enforcement PC concept. And I still like my Medtech PC concept too, but it's dropping into second place. Drat.

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This message was last edited by the player at 17:16, Wed 25 Nov 2020.

I recommend a medic be part of the group.  Bullets hurt in this system.

OK. There're like 4x as many skills that would apply to a PI than there are for a medic, so for a first ever CP PC, it's probably best that I keep it simple and gen up a Medtech. That's the plan.

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You could always multi-class that 5th Ability point into Fixer.  That wouldn't complicate anything at all... ;)

So, if I want to buy cyberware that adds up to 60HL, I'll need at least 7 EMP to avoid cyberpsychosis right off the bat?

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Yup.  Or buy therapy

In reply to Data Source (msg # 36):

Thanks. I just found non-cyberware gear that'll do the same jobs for less EB and HP loss, so that gives me some more wiggle room.

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Do characters still get the separate 800eb stipend for fashion/fashionware (p. 105)?

Sure.  Characters should have nice things.