START 8:04 PM, March 4, 2009

SUMMARY: Described Sorcerer and the idea for a cyberpunk hack to Daniel, Jon, Anik, and Naomi. Collaborated on setting design and rules hacks. Explained chargen rules. Came up with concepts for characters. 



Den of Sorcerery

Sorcererous things happen here. It's smoky and mysterious.

People:
  Adam (interfacing)                                               
Things:
Exits:
  Out <O>


Jon comes in from the Gamer's Lounge.
Jon has arrived.

Naomi comes in from the Gamer's Lounge.
Naomi has arrived.

Daniel comes in from the Gamer's Lounge.
Daniel has arrived.

Anik has arrived.
Teleported.

Adam misuses his godly powers to yank Anik in.
<OOC> Anik says, "hahah"
<OOC> Anik says, "oops"
Anik is slow!

Adam says "I've heard."

Anik :(

Jon says "Snap."

Adam says "Someone got told."

Jon says "Anik just takes his time."

Anik says "Your time will come, ADAM."

Adam says "Okay. Sorcerer. Daniel and I have played it. I am pretty sure Jon and Anik have not, but they've played lots of hippy indie games. I have no idea about Naomi's gaming history."

Anik says "Shock is based on Sorcerer, yes?"

Adam says "Nope."

Naomi says "I have no hippy indie history. I am corporate all the way."

Adam says "Sweet. This will be fun."

Daniel says "EVERYTHING is based on Sorcerer, which is still at least ten years ahead of its time."

Anik says "Hahaha."

Anik says "You can see who told me shock was based on Sorcerer, I think."

Daniel says "I said nothing of the sort."

Jon says "I still don't even know how Shock works."

Daniel says "No one knows how Shock: works."

Anik says "Am I confused about the game title? What's the game with the mad hatter powers."

Daniel says "Schism."

Anik says "THAT'S THE ONE"

Daniel says "Schism is a Sorcerer hack, yes."

Adam will run Shock: for you some time, but not now. Now we talk about Sorcerer.

Daniel says "So, I forgot. At least Anik has played."

Jon says "Yes, Sorcerer."

Anik says "Please replace all instances of me mentioning Shock with Schism, so I am somewhat familiar with Sorcerer."

Daniel was just trying to make Naomi feel excluded.

Naomi says "Just keep the in-jokes coming on a regular basis, and you'll do fine."

Adam says "The thing about Sorcerer, for all the shit that its author gets for acting like a tool on the Internet, it's a pretty normal game. It has some  sneaky stuff tossed in that makes it rock, and it's pretty easy to hack it to do things other than modern day wizards summoning demons and abusing their  power."

Anik says "What else is there?"

Adam says "Characters have six stats: Stamina, Will, Lore (which we're gonna rename as Interface), Cover (which we'll call Passion), Humanity, and Price. These things get small numbers -- like '3' -- for scores. They generate dice pools. Highest die in the pool wins conflicts. Pretty simple, right?"

Naomi says "ok"

Adam says "We get to define what those stats mean. That's the cool part. We get to hack the game a bit to make it work for what we're trying to do, which is cyberpunk -- whatever we all decide we mean by cyberpunk."

Adam says "And in a bit, we'll talk about those definitions. But lemme explain one more crucial part of the game. DEMONS."

Daniel cowers in fear.

Naomi laughs maniacally and prepares the blood of innocents

Adam says "Every character has demons. In regular Sorcerer, these are literal demons, brought into the world via terrible, transgressive acts of summoning. They Should Not Be Here. Their very existence breaks reality. That you can do this, and have a chance of controlling them, is what makes you a sorcerer. You are not a regular joe. You can control goddamned demons. Let's say that you're the only people in the whole damned world who have this power, except for maybe a handful of NPCs. You're really, really rare and dangerous."

Adam says "As GM, I will be playing the demons, who have a will of their own. They have power. You will wrestle to control them. They have Needs and Desires that you must tend to."

Adam says "Now, since this is cyberpunk, we will define exactly what demons are in this universe. I think it's just really transgressive, mind-blowing human enhancement technology. Maybe some drug that a sick corporation invented that makes you superhuman. But it also addicts you and makes you do horrible things. Or perhaps it's this exoskeleton that you bolted into your nervous system, and it has bone saws and autocannons on it, and sometimes its AI gets a little spastic. Or perhaps it's your permanent wireless connection to the Internet and your brain's rewiring to think in Code -- now you can't stop BEING THE NET."

Jon says "Ooh."

Adam says "The idea is that your character will start with one of these demons. And each demon will have really awesome powers. And each demon will have some Needs and Desires that you must feed, or else it will fucking kill you."

Adam says "And all of this stuff exists for one reason. Not so we can tell stories about characters getting powerful and being awesome, but so that we can tell stories about people being human. This can be an intense RPG. It is designed to help us tell stories about humanity, however we choose to define it (it's one of the stats, right?), and the price (another stat) people pay for power (demons)."

Adam says "Who has played one of the old Cyberpunk games? R. Talsorian's Interlock or CP2020, or even (*gasp*) Shadowrun or Cyberspace or one of those?"

Naomi says "not I"

Jon says "I played Shadowrun once."

Daniel has played the fuck out of CP2020.

Daniel says "Does RIFTS count?"

Anik says "Nay."

Adam says "Are you familiar with cyberpunk themes? Read Phillip K. Dick or seen movies adapted from his books? Read William Gibson or Neal Stephenson?"

Naomi says "I"

Naomi oops

Adam says "I'm pretty sure the answer to 'Does RIFTS count?' in /any/ context is 'no.'"

Naomi says "I'm familiar with the genre mostly through passive cultural absorption"

Jon gives an emphatic thumbs-up.

Naomi says "I've read Neuromancer, but that's about it"

Anik says ":has read Neuromancer and Snowblind!"

Adam says "That's a great start."

Adam says "Snowcrash."

Adam says "Neuromancer is awesome, too."

Anik says "Snowcrash, sure!"

Daniel says "You should all go read Pattern Recognition right now."

Adam says "Seen Bladerunner?"

Adam refuses to read PR.

Anik is reading Pattern Recognition right now.

Anik says "Really."

Anik says "That's not a joke, it's next to my bed."

Adam says "Multitasking?"

Daniel says "What do you have against PR? (Go, Anik)"

Adam has nothing against it. ;)

Naomi says "I tried watching Bladerunner and got bored. sorry"

Adam laughs. "Fair enough."

Anik says "Well... Multi-tasking is doing this and trying to set up the linux thing, which is why I'm renaming Snowcrash to snowblind forever."

Adam says "Okay, well if you have opinions about what cyberpunk is, or what aspects of it you want to explore, this is the time to speak up."

Jon says "Total Recall? Minority Report? A Scanner Darkly? (Or even.. guh... Screamers, Paycheck or Next?)"

Daniel says "I will seriously beat anyone who liked Next. It was based on a really cool short story."

Naomi says "....nope. It's really not my genre of choice for entertainment. But I can see it making an awesome game and I already have a sort of idea for my demon."

Jon says "I was kind of thinking the idea of wanting to be someone else."

Adam likes his cyberpunk dark noir. I like alienated anti-heroes. I like impossible future technology that threatens to make people into horrible gods.

Anik says "I played a lot of weird Cyberpunk-y video games when I was younger."

Daniel likes the themes of individual empowerment through exploiting the system.

Anik says ""I have no mouth and I must scream", that was one, right? And... "Rise of the Dragon"!"

Anik says "I like technology subsuming societal norms."

Jon says "And specifically, wanting to be known heroes. And kind of trying to technologically make yourself into them."

Daniel says "Did you at least read IHNMAIMS before playing the game?"

Anik says "No."

Anik says "I was young!"

Daniel sighs.

Anik says "I was like 10!"

Daniel is old. "I was in college when I played that."

Anik says "Daniel is living his Cyberpunk dreams."

Anik says "I feel like a great cyberpunk character does not want to be a hero at all."

Anik says "Or my ideal cyberpunk character."

Anik says "Accidental greatness."

Daniel says "I think it depends. There's definitely the Count Zero 133t hacker archetype."

Adam says "I also like my cyberpunk a little tongue-in-cheek occasionally, but in a weird, postmodern 'combining stuff that shouldn't be combined' way, but I also like it to have some kind of Point."

Adam is logging this, by the way. Will post notes or logs or something later.

Anik says "Definitely needs some humor."

Anik says "Otherwise there's a sort of a hopeless pall that hangs over it."

Jon says "Yeah."

Anik says "Counteracting technology by making the impersonal personal again."

Adam says "Yeah, the books I like have this oppressive authoritarian world that's going to shit, but the main characters are almost comically 'above it all.'"

Daniel says "I like my cyberpunk relatively humorless, but I'm also the guy who likes games where the PCs always lose."

Jon says "I like to lose humorously."

Adam doesn't want rampant puns or anything. Just occasional situational humor and clever connections and strange combinations taken seriously.

Anik says "Sometimes what's humorous is that the characters think they can make a difference in the face of odds that should... really... be way too overwhelming."

Naomi says "no rampant puns? Serious culture shock from my standard gaming group. I may need some adjustment time."

Daniel says "It's cool. I always like playing straight man when everything else is wacky hijinks. So I'll deal. And I like black humor."

Adam says "If you want to make OOC puns, that's fine by me. ;)"

Anik says "I don't know what kind of humor I like."

Naomi says "I've really only ever played with just the one group, so frankly I don't know what I like, I only know what I'm used to. And I don't expect that to be replicated. so I'll happily go along with whatever."

Adam says "We can keep talking about this as long as we like, but I want to introduce a new topic, too. Let's talk about what Humanity is. Gamewise, it should be the thing that has a line you can cross or not cross. It's a game mechanic that measures how close you are to totally becoming something unplayable."

Adam says "Here's what I wrote in my prep notes, with Daniel's additions:"

Adam says "Humanity is redefined as your ability to connect with other people. As you embrace technology to make your life "better" or make your mind or body "stronger," it gets harder to make and maintain relationships to other people. You get detached, numb. Maybe you start treating other people like tools, a means to an end. Maybe you shut yourself off from the world. Maybe you start believing they should worship you."

Anik says "Transmetropolitan, I think that's the comic book name, right Jon?"

Jon says "Yes!"

Daniel says "So... I've been listening to some of the themes. Alienation is a standard cyberpunk one. But, it sounds like, given some of our interests, we could also explore Humanity as the will to resist 'the system.' So, failing humanity makes you more willing to just accept and go along."

Adam says "Now, I'm thinking that violations of Humanity would be stuff like: cutting people off from you, choosing technology over real people, inserting technology between you and people close to you, gaming on the Internet, ..."

Daniel shuts up now, and didn't mean to talk over adam.

Jon eyes Adam.

Adam says "No, this ain't my show. And in text you can't actually talk over people!"

Anik says "Okay, so, Transmetropolitan gave me a different idea of humanity. Alienation from humanity is one thing, but what about alienation from biology itself? I mean, there's a sense of dehumanism in allowing technology to change your body in any way."

Jon says "The nanos?"

Adam says "The trick, I think, is to find the transgression. Are you saying it's transgressive just to modify your body? In any way?"

Daniel says "I can see that, Anik. But I guess I feel like I need that tied to a psychological/behavioral change to make it compelling. So, how do you see the outlook changing with the body mods?"

Jon says "I think it's more that you can keep modifying yourself, but at some point you've crossed a line. And where is that line?"

Anik says "THe Nanos."

Anik says "Yes and No, Adam. I'm saying that that's the beginning."

Daniel says "Well... what about this? It's simplistic to think of ourselves as just the brain, right? So as you put stuff in your body, you do things to your endocrine system, etc. that changes your personality as it goes. Maybe in unpredictable ways."

Adam thinks Anik's seems like a narrower subset of mine.

Anik says "Likely."

Jon says "I mean, we essentially make cyborgs now with some artificial limbs, artificial hearts, etc. At what point are you human with technology parts, or are you a machine in skin casing?"

Daniel says "Actually, my big issue is that I had an idea for an external demon."

Anik says "Truth. I see technology, even today, as being like percosets. You start out taking it for the pain, but eventually you keep taking it because you're used to it, it starts to fulfill more and more functions for you."

Daniel says "Yeah, Jon. But what's the payoff? If you have Blade Runner replicants (sorry, Naomi), where the whole point is that they feel/act human, then the change from human to machine may not induce dread in the appropriate way."

Anik says "Now, the Nanos in transmetro were interesting, in that they were still interpersonal and believed in interacting with humanity, but they were something like transexuals also. They believed that they were not made for human bodies."

Adam says "So that's not just about changing the body, Anik, but about letting technology live your life for you."

Anik says "There we are, yeah."

Daniel says "So, it's about becoming dependent? Vs. independence? That could be cool."

Anik says "And also, that sometimes technology also becomes a social divider."

Jon says "The haves and the have-nots, too. Yeah. I like both of those."

Adam says "We can play with all these awesome themes, no matter what we decide to do with Humanity. =)"

Anik says "Have or Have-not. In Transmetro there were people who became clouds of nanobots because they believed that they were not meant to be man or woman, but nanonmachinery"

Daniel has gears turning.

Anik says "And there were people who starts becoming transhumanist, started grafting alien parts onto themselves, because they believed they were aliens born in the wrong bodies."

Anik says "They're not anti-social, not barrier related, but they have very distinctly repudiated their biological humanities."

Adam says "That's a lot like what Daniel started to say about alienation."

Daniel says "I could see that combining with my apathy/activism axis. What if, when you cross the line of Humanity, you end up so dependent on the (hierarchical/authoritarian) system in place that you can no longer even see the need to change it. You perpetuate the oppression that technology permits to those in power."

Anik says "Huh! Interesting."

Adam says "Are you defining Humanity as individuality and independence, Daniel?"

Naomi says "what about tech that breaks down barriers, rather than erecting them, to the point that individuality, or privacy, or consent becomes threatened? That was the direction I was going, for my demon."

Adam thinks that fits in perfectly, Naomi, if I'm grokking Daniel.

Daniel says "Possibly. I think I was grooving more on independence than individuality."

Jon says "I like it."

Anik says "Hm."

Anik says "I like the idea of consent being threatened."

Anik says "It's like... Cloud computing."

Anik says "Where if you want more power, you have to be willing to surrender more to the cloud."

Daniel says "Yeah, Naomi. Maybe part of the way you become dependent is through becoming more and more... merged?... with elements of the system. You start having trouble consenting because you need what they offer... and you end up not having enough independent identity to consent."

Adam says "Okay, let's roll with this. I think we have critical mass. Any objections before we nail that down?"

Daniel says "It could be less well-defined than that. The demons need not be consciously working towards a single purpose. I was imagining something more... Foucauldian. No one is in charge, it just happens."

Naomi says "I wasn't even thinking about that, although that works too. I was thinking about other people being able to consent to me, about my being able to interface with them in ways that they couldn't necessarily protect themselves from."

Adam says "That's how we'll define your demon's powers, yeah."

Daniel says "I think that could work, too. Exercising that power drags more people into the no-consent no-privacy system."

Daniel says "It still threatens to make you part of the problem."

Adam says "I like this. It is made of sweet."

Daniel says "Is that closer to your idea?"

Anik says "Cool."

Adam says "I don't care how close it is. It's awesome."

Daniel says "I meant Naomi's."

Adam says "Oh."

Daniel tries to make sure no one gets steamrolled except Jon.

Anik says "Hahaha."

Jon says "I'm actually okay with this, so you'll have to change everyone else's mind to steamroll me."

Daniel says "Dang."

Daniel is itching to do descriptors and concepts, but that's 'cause he knows the game.

Adam says "Yeah, we all kinda know each other, except poor Naomi. So let's make sure we get her input. But, Naomi, also be sure that you speak up when you have ideas. We want to hear them. We /explicitly/ don't want to move forward without you, because play will be firing with one too few cylinders. =)"

Daniel kinda knows Naomi.

Adam says "Fair warning: This game is gonna be a whole lot of pressure to be creative on the spot."

Naomi says "I'm going a lot of processing. I have to learn a new system, and a new bunch of people, and a new communication format (I desperately want threading!). So I'll be quiet and thinky a lot of the time, but that doesn't mean I'm feeling overwhelmed or steamrolled."

Anik says "What like... ROLEPLAYING?"

Anik ews.

Adam says "Mostly, it'll be about being creative about your own character."

Daniel cowers in fear.

Anik says "Daniel needs to play my characters for me."

Daniel says "We also don't mean to be patronizing to the new kid, so let us know if we're doing that."

Adam says "We only patronize Daniel."

Jon says "If Daniel plays Anik, Anik can play me."

Adam patpats.

Anik says "I should let everyone know that I find emoticons to be suspicious."

Jon ;)

Anik rages.

Adam says "OH! A silly point of order. If anyone is actually interested in buying the damned game, it's $20 on http://www.sorcerer-rpg.com/. You totally do not need a copy of the rules to play this though."

Adam says "Repeat. You do NOT need the rules."

Daniel says "The actual book is nigh-unreadable, anyway."

Adam laughs. "A bit."

Anik says "So we shouldn't buy it under any circumstances, check."

Adam says "Okay. Everyone good so far?"

Daniel says "If you buy any Sorcerer book, pick up Sorcerer & Soul."

Daniel says "Er, The Sorcerer's Soul."

Adam says "(I disagree, but let's table that.)"

Daniel considers it tabled.

Anik says "FIGHT"

Jon says "Moving on!"

Anik says "That's better."

Anik capitalized his name.

Adam says "So. SO! We have a few things to finish up. We want to know when people make Humanity checks. We need to understand what demons are in the context of Humanity = independence from the control of the system. What is a demon's Power score? What does a character's Lore/Interface score mean and how do you increase it?"

Anik says "Lore/Interface, is there a corollary?"

Daniel says "Maybe you check Humanity whenever you give in, or make someone give in to you, when you know they wouldn't if they had a truly free choice?"

Adam says "It's Lore in the book."

Anik says "Er, no, I mean, is there another corollary to explain what that means? Like... Mana, for example?"

Adam says "Lore is usually how much you know about demons and rituals."

Daniel says "It's more like knowledge of how to do impossible sorcerous things."

Adam says "How powerful is your sorcerer mojo."

Anik says "Danka."

Adam says "In this case, I think it's how powerful is your system-connecting technology?"

Adam says "Bitte."

Adam says "Which is why Interface is a great name for the stat now."

Jon nods.

Daniel says "I think it need not be technology you possess; it could also be something like hacking acumen, knowledge of how to exploit and game things."

Anik gets it now. More or less.

Adam says "I think people have to make Humanity checks (fail and you lose points of Humanity and slip towards losing control of your character) when they are materially involved in taking away someone's consent or independence. Right?"

Adam says "Even if it's you."

Daniel says "That basically captures my idea. Dunno about everyone else."

Adam gives people a minute or two to chime in, then will move on.

Jon says "I think that works."

Anik says "Alright."

Naomi says "I'm good with it."

Adam cycled laundry. "Okay."

Jon has pasta boiling, but is watching.

Adam says "What's a demon's power score in this context?"

Jon says "I think it's how much benefit you get from working within the system."

Jon says "If I understand where we are."

Jon says "That is, the more benefit you're getting, the harder it's going to be to justify pulling away from it."

Daniel says "That works for me."

Daniel says "Sort of how linked in the demon is."

Adam says "That works."

Daniel says "I like how demons drag you into the system but are fundamentally broken parts of it. Just sayin'."

Adam says "I assume that increasing your Interface means letting the system get more tendrils into your mind and body?"

Daniel says "Couldn't it also be learning how to exploit it? Doesn't Lore/Interface also help with banishing demons, etc."

Adam says "Daniel, have we nailed everything crucial surrounding Humanity? Oh, Price."

Daniel says "Or at least Contains?"

Jon says "This is a different stat?"

Adam says "Price is what cost you have paid for your sorcery powers."

Daniel says "We could use price to get at the body horror stuff we were talking about earlier. Could be most Prices involve some literal implantation of tech, physical intertwinement with the mechanical system."

Adam says "I don't know that we have to define anything there as a group. You'll define it (as a short description and some kind of penalty) when you make your character. Let's not worry about that too much. If you have ideas, cool. If not, no matter."

Adam nods to Daniel about learning to exploit the system and stuff.

Adam says "Okay, a little more bookkeeping before we make characters. Daniel's favorite part: descriptors."

Daniel says "Descriptors are *not* book-keeping."

Jon says "Can we put something up on AdamWiki or something with the list of the different things we've defined?"

Adam is gonna, yeah.

Jon nodnods.

Daniel says "I think we could use maybe 5 descriptors per stat?"

Adam says "The three main stats -- Stamina, Will, and Interface -- get a series of descriptors that you choose when you take a suitably high (or low) score. You basically get one per stat, unless you have a score of 5, in which case you can pick two descriptors."

Daniel says "Much of the setting is implied through them."

Adam says "These things are just ways that ability can be used. Daniel and I can start with Stamina, and you can jump in once you get it."

Adam says "So, Stamina descriptors."

Daniel says "Should we maybe describe the scope of Stamina & Will quick first?"

Adam says "Yeah."

Daniel says "Stamina covers *everything* physical. Fighting, jumping, taking hits, waking up after a bender, being attactive, etc. Will covers everything mental & social."

Adam says "Stamina is all the body crap. It's energy you have available for physical stuff."

Daniel says "Mechanically, they're very broad. Descriptors are what distinguishes a 5 Will con man from a 5 Will iron-willed priest."

Adam says "Will is all the mental and social stuff."

Adam ohs and sees Daniel slipped Will into the end of his own paragraph. Oops.

Adam says "So a sample Stamina descriptor might be: Bolted-on exoskeleton."

Adam says "Amped-up nervous system."

Jon says "Oh, so actual bits of the tech."

Daniel says "So, Stamina descriptors could be things like Cyber-enhanced, junkie, and military regimen."

Adam says "Tech, or setting-related."

Daniel likes setting-related ones better.

Daniel says "Lots of specifics of tech can probably be handled via demons."

Adam says "We could add 'Para-military training' as a Stamina one, but it doesn't really fit into our setting as well as something system-tech-related."

Adam says "Oh. Daniel is smart."

Daniel says "Well, the military is authoritarian. How about "corporate fitness plan?""

Jon has an idea totally ripped off of PKD, but I don't know if it'll work.

Adam says "Spit it."

Anik says "I love Corporate Fitness Plan, and I like that it implies forced fitness."

Daniel says "You could also use it for low Stamina, if your corp's fitness plan sucks."

Jon says "It'd be the whole... technologically-recreated historical figures thing. Trying to get what made certain people so important by plugging in approximations of their personality."

Adam says "For Stamina?"

Anik says "Muscle memory enhancements."

Daniel says "Could that be a Will descriptor, like, personality implant - or "custom personality," or "off-the-rack personality?""

Jon points to Anik. I was thinking more Will, but it could kind of hit everything.

Adam adds those to the list, Daniel.

Anik says ""Reinforced personality" maybe?"

Adam says "Designer Personality."

Anik says "Perfect."

Jon says "Yes."

Daniel says "I think maybe we should decide if we're going to have lots of tech-based Stamina descriptors, or dump everything from Juicers to 'borgs under something generic, like "enhanced body.""

Daniel says "I like having both Designer Personality and Off-the-rack Personality."

Adam says "Because our demons ARE the technology, we probably should avoid them."

Adam added both.

Jon ahs.

Daniel says "I do like having at least a generic, to represent a character who's just generally buffed with less impressive tech."

Adam says "How about something about genes."

Jon says "So these are more what we're trying to get, and the demons are kind of the unintended consequences."

Daniel says "Genetically optimized."

Adam says "That works for both Stamina and Will. Put it in both?"

Daniel says "Let's keep it in Stamina. Designer personality can be the Will analogue. It can cover things like Jon's implants and also folks who've had their hormones regulated."

Jon says "Artificial adrenalin."

Adam says "How about Street Experience as a Stamina descriptor?"

Daniel says "Could we have just something like "Drugged out" to cover both low-stamina junkies and high-stamina juicers?"

Adam nods.

Daniel likes that.

Jon nods.

Adam says "Here's the list so far:"

==== Stamina ====

* Corporate Fitness Plan
* Muscle Memory Enhancements
* Genetically Optimized
* Drugged Out
* Street Experience

==== Will ====

* Designer Personality
* Off-the-Rack Personality

Daniel says "I think the genre really supports something like military/paramilitary training for Stamina."

Adam says "Hopefully, everyone sees their character's Stamina descriptor in the list above. If not, tell me what you want on the list!"

Adam says "Yeah. I'll add that."

Daniel thinks about Will.

Adam says "How about Religious Code?"

Daniel says "Good. Networked?"

Adam says "Definitely."

Anik says "Chemical reinforcement?"

Adam says "Oooh."

Daniel says "How's that different from Designer Personality (just asking)?"

Adam says "It seems way more oppressive."

Daniel nods.

Anik says "The blunt force method of personality "stabilization"."

Adam says "How about Free Thinker?"

Daniel says "Could we go with something... angrier? Like "Rebel" or "Resist!""

Adam says "I could put them both in. ;)"

Jon says "Or 'screw you, man'?"

Daniel likes "screw you, man."

==== Stamina ====

* Corporate Fitness Plan
* Muscle Memory Enhancements
* Genetically Optimized
* Drugged Out
* Street Experience
* Military Training

==== Will ====

* Designer Personality
* Off-the-Rack Personality
* Religious Code
* Networked
* Chemical Reinforcement
* Free Thinker
* Screw You, Man!

Daniel is happy with that.

Jon looks for Naomi.

Adam says "If you're making up your character and none of those fit, just make one up and run it by the group."

Naomi says "I'm here. Since this is not my genre, I don't have as much to draw on for suggestions"

Anik says "Some out of genre suggestions might serve as a nice counterpoint too."

Adam says "Exactly."

Jon says "A big part of cyberpunk is often how different things that don't fit together work."

Naomi says "How do we get our scores? Do we have a set number of points that we allocate between them, or what?"

Adam says "Yep."

Adam says "Exactly that."

Adam says "You'll split some points up, then pick one, maybe two, descriptors from each trait."

Daniel says "Should we finish up with Interface descriptors, and then do points and the rest of chargen?"

Adam says "Yeah, let's finish descriptors."

Daniel says "Not to be ruthlessly on-task."

Naomi says "I didn't mean to derail, I just wanted to get a sense of the context"

Daniel says "No problem."

Adam says "Interface descriptors are very similar, but we can tie them to specific levels of Interface. Like at Interface 0, you could have the descriptor 'Disconnected' and at Interface 4, you might be 'Physically Wired to the Net'. That kind of thing."

Adam grins at Naomi. "We're not on rails. We're like five sleek hovercrafts careening off each other in the dark of night."

Daniel says "How about... Naive (interface = 1), hacker, I like "physically wired," chipped in, autodidact(?)"

Adam says "Autodidact is cool."

Anik is going to demand to play a Steampunk character with rails.

Adam says "It means self-taught, though. Is that how you meant it?"

Daniel says "Intuitive savant?"

Daniel says "Yes. It sounds more cyberpunk than "lone adept.""

Daniel is trying to think of one that implies mentorship.

Anik says "Not if you say them both like a robot."

Anik says ""Trained for Greatness""

Anik says "Eh."

Jon says "I'm not sure how autodidact fits in?"

Daniel says "How about "groomed?""

Anik says "Sounds better."

Anik says "But it still lacks something."

Adam says "Interface is both how plugged in you are, and how much you know about plugging in and controlling stuff."

Daniel says "It would be someone who taught themselves how to Interface."

Jon says "Ah, ok."

Adam says "Like, a super hacker might not be plugged in at all, but he might be a wizard at code. Code Savant?"

Daniel says "I was thinking 'groomed' carried the implication of a possibly creepy power relation."

Adam says "Machine Code Savant?"

Anik says "Yeah, very true Daniel."

Jon says "Assembler."

Daniel says "MCS works for me."

Adam says "Machine Code is more hardcore, n00b."

Anik says "I like the idea of a higher connection."

Daniel says "Machine Epiphany?"

Jon says "Yeah, I just liked the implication as someone who assembles. ;)"

Daniel says "Hacker and Assembler might make nice counterpoint descriptors."

Daniel is tapped out.

Adam says "Okay, read these over and see if the suggested Interface ratings (1-5) make sense."

==== Lore ====

* Naive (Interface = 1)
* Hacker (Interface = 2 or 3)
* Assembler (Interface = ?)
* Chipped In (Interface = 1 or 2)
* Physically Wired (Interface 4+)
* Machine Code Savant (Interface 3+)
* Machine Epiphany (Interface = ?)

Daniel is fine with that.

Adam says "Can we leave the ? in and just let people use them however?"

Daniel says "I think so."

Jon nods.

Daniel says "Or make Naive the only descriptor for Interface 1, but the ?s otherwise range."

<OOC> Anik says, "Autodidact is gone?"

Adam oops.

Anik says "Also, Groomed for Greatness?"

Adam says "You meh'ed that. Want it in?"

Daniel says "I like Groomed. Not sure about the "for Greatness" part."

Anik says "That works, just groomed."

* Naive (Interface = 1)
* Chipped In (Interface = 1 or 2)
* Groomed (Interface = 2 or 3)
* Hacker (Interface = 2 or 3)
* Assembler (Interface = ?)
* Machine Epiphany (Interface = ?)
* Autodidact (Interface = ?)
* Machine Code Savant (Interface 3+)
* Physically Wired (Interface 4+)

Daniel is happy.

Daniel wants to hear everyone's awesome character concepts.

Adam nods. "Let's."

Anik is terrible indecisive about concepts.

Anik says "terribly."

Jon says "I'm kind of still wavering a bit."

Adam says "So talk them out and we'll tell you which to play. ;)"

Adam says "And make them more awesome."

Jon says "Besides just the guy who likes to play with AI modeled after real people."

Adam says "That's a pretty cool idea."

Anik says "I'm thinking someone obsessed with nanotechnology, whose obsessions revolve around pairing with nanobot swarms and continuously repairing and upgrading those swarms until they reach a sort of a self-awareness."

Anik says "And those swarms can function, as a group, to do odd, strange things. Mimicry, discovery, breakdown, synthesis, physical assistance, the smarter/more nano-y they get."

Adam says "So a scientist? or an engineer? or whacky inventor?"

Anik says "Hm."

Adam says "Artist?"

Anik says "Artist sounds interesting. So does Engineer. So does Whacky Inventor!"

Jon says "Sounds kind of like an artist-inventor."

Jon says "Mechanical art."

Adam says "WHY is he obsessed with nanoswarm art?"

Anik says "The ability to use it to manipulate the world around him in more and more subtle/distinct ways."

Jon says "Trying to reach perfection, not necessarily for particular need of a tool?"

Anik says "Hmm."

Adam says "I want to get in the character's head. Why is he doing this? What drives him? I don't think we want to create happy, normal, well-adjusted artist-engineers."

Anik says "Yes, perfection. To become both manipulator and eventually creator."

Anik says "He wants to become one with the swarm, and eventually become a living God."

Adam says "You said he's obsessed. OBSESSED. What does this mean to you? THERE. Yes."

Daniel says "Nice."

Adam says "Does that concept grab you hard, Anik?"

Anik says "It does!"

Anik says "thank you"

Jon grins.

Adam says "Start thinking about little details. People in his life. Think a bit like a movie director. You played Primetime Adventures, so cheat and use those skills a bit. Where is his 'set'?"

Adam says "Figure out what his day job is, if any. Figure out what price he has paid for his advanced Interface. Figure out what his demon is and what kinds of things you'd want to do with it. Go crazy."

Adam says "Who's next? Concepts."

Naomi says "question: you said in the introduction to Sorcerer that people with these abilities are really rare. Still the case here? Our Interface ability and technology is far beyond what anyone else we're likely to know would have?"

Daniel says "Can I quote my wiki contribution on that, or would that be obnoxious?"

Daniel will just go ahead and do it.

Adam says "Go ahead."

Adam says "There's a wiki page started on http://adam.legendary.org/index.php/Cyberpunk_via_Sorcerer"

Anik says "We'd rather judge you after than prejudge you."

Daniel says "Erg. I cannot seem to paste into tf, dammit."

Daniel says "This is a kind of tapping-in that normal people just cannot do, even in this futuristic world. Really crazy shit. Interface is transgressive. It's not just that you're really, really good - you can do things people should not be able to do. You can do things people cannot do. Maybe there are software programmers who can write a really complex program to infiltrate bank security, but you can do it without errors in ten minutes, by making impossible leaps of intuition. Maybe other gangers get their arms replaced with cybernetics but when you pop your ripper claws a battle rage takes over and time slows down, letting you shred your targets at impossible speeds."

Daniel says "There we go."

Adam offers this for you to shoot down. "I imagine the System as ordering and structuring everyone's lives in an impossibly dull way. You are special because you have independence from that mindlessness and because you have knowledge and tools to do really awful things to people."

Jon likes the difference between Techie and Medtech.

Adam says "Those Covers are just stolen from the classes in Cyberpunk 2020, and are useful as a starter list for you guys."

Daniel says "So, I guess the quick answer to Naomi's question is "yes.""

Adam says "Like, the list doesn't have a Scientist role, which seems perfect for Anik's character."

Adam says "Way to be verbose, Daniel. ;)"

Jon says "How about a little bit of The Giver flavor? Part of the System is to gloss over the individuals that change things. Advancement comes from societal collaboration, not renegades."

Daniel is drinking coffee and waiting to be blown away by more awesome concepts.

Adam says "Naomi, you've had the beginnings of a character concept since we started, right? Tell us about it."

Jon thinks he will go with Psychomedtech.

Naomi says "Ok, so here are my thoughts, and they are very vague. She sees the way things are going, in terms of increased alienation and separation, and has embraced tech/enhancements that would work against that. I haven't yet worked out exactly what those would be - I'm thinking in terms of sensory enhancement, things that would let her share feelings and experiences with other people (without getting all woo and moving over into psi), but the problem is balancing the desire for connection with recognizing other people's boundaries. As she loses Humanity, she'll lose her ability to separate out her own experiences and sensation from other people's, and she'll stop seeing other people as people to be bonded with, and more as just sensory repositories to be raided. Something like that."

Daniel says "Neat!"

Jon says "That's really cool."

Adam says "That's awesome. Who is she? Tell me about her regular life."

Naomi says "That's all I've got so far; this idea is less than 2 hours old, after all."

Jon says "It sounds kind of like the Media passion gone a bit complex."

Daniel says "That's cool. I am excited to learn more about her as she gets fleshed out more."

Adam says "You'll want to think about what she does for a living and why she is worried about these societal problems (as she sees them) of alienation and separation. Maybe she's a psychologist. Or a novelist. Or a reporter. Or an actress. You could do all kinds of things with it."

Naomi says "Jon, I think maybe some kind of combo of the Media passion and the Rocker. Not that she's any kind of musician, or even performer, but the use of charisma in moving people. I'm not sure she's as interested in speaking truth as she is in forging emotional bonds"

Adam says "If the Passion list is throwing you or constraining you, throw it away. =)"

Jon says "Ooh. I like that."

Adam says "Jon, want to talk about your concept?"

Adam says "And, Naomi, as you think of more, let us know!"

Jon says "I'm thinking of a guy who's maybe got a background in psychology, and has come to the conclusion that the way our society operates just stifles the emotional and intellectual needs of the self. It's just not there in mental development. So he's been playing with a way to get the experiences that have molded healthy, important people."

Jon hehs. That started out vague but became much more solidified as I typed it.

Daniel says "This cannot end well. Which is great.."

Adam says "What makes him different than other well-meaning psychology researchers?"

Naomi says "Jon, now I'm wondering if we know each other, or maybe work or have worked together in some way..."

Naomi says "And by 'we' I mean our characters"

Jon laughs.

Jon says "Oh."

Jon says "What makes him different? Probably the fact that he's using it on himself, and has actually figured out the way to implant these personalities into his head, which... if done correctly, will just let him make further leaps for the next round."

Jon says "Iterative mental development through modules."

Adam says "Okay, that's full of danger and win. Awesome."

Adam says "Consider adding a blood relationship to this equation. Like, you're also using your kid for experiments. Maybe he's got a disorder you're trying to fix."

Jon says "Possibly a mental illness or something that he thinks was caused by the lack of proper forms of development."

Jon says "Say, something autism-related."

Adam says "That's what I was thinking."

Jon says "But appropriately cyberpunked."

Jon hehs. I don't know how much more I want to pull from PKD. But at least it's different books.

Adam says "I liked Naomi's suggestion that you know each other from work. Maybe you work for some soulless megacorp that does human enhancement research or something."

Jon nods. "That works well."

Naomi says "It looks to me like we have similar misgivings, it's just our ways of handling them that are different"

Adam says "It'll be a great contrast."

Adam says "Daniel, whatcha got?"

Jon says "Seeing the same problems but worried about different things."

Daniel says "Well, I was stuck in meetings all day, so I've had time to brood. My concept is significantly less cosmic, but maybe that will be a nice counterpoint."

Daniel says "So, I'm thinking he's not quite a cop - corporate security (maybe at Naomi/Jon's place), the kind of person who initially set out to do a lot of good, and didn't quite give up on that, but settled into a sort of routine where things like paying rent and making sure the kids get to school on time eat up more of your headspace."

Daniel says "Anyway... so, the job comes with some perks when you move up the ranks."

Jon says "Naturally."

Daniel says "He's been maintaining a sort of "mistress," that his company helped hook him up with. But he was never really totally satisfied with the completely passive sexbot android thing."

Daniel says "And yeah, this is total male fantasy territory, which is what I want to deconstruct/mess with."

Daniel says "I was initially thinking of him as fairly knowledgeable about messing with stuff, but since everyone else is a sort of Interface God it seems, maybe he's more in over his head. He installed some illegal AI software that he got from a guy who got it from a guy, and messed around with it in ways he knew he shouldn't."

Jon grins.

Daniel says "So, now he's got what *should* be the 'woman' of his dreams - but you can't have something - someone - with free will who sticks to the fantasy situation of doing whatever you want."

Anik says "Apologies for going silent, by the way, I'm keeping track by just getting some things ready for work in the morning."

Daniel says "That's the core of the concept. I'm sure Adam needs to needle me more on it."

Adam says "So what's your demon? The girl?"

Daniel says "Yeah. For now. He may have to delve deeper into things as he gets into more trouble."

Adam says "What does she /do/, demonwise?"

Daniel says "A few things (and I'm infected by having the book). I was thinking, to spike the consent angle, that not only does she mess with it by her very nature, she can Spawn mini-possessors. The standard issue fembots have the software to slave extra units to the script, if you've got the cash for that sort of hardware. She can do it to people. I'm thinking she's also got extended perception - as an AI locked into the body, she's still wired into the ambient network, and so can access information and maybe even perceive through other cameras, etc."

Daniel says "She's also very physically tough, which is as much of a liability for my character as a benefit."

Adam says "How independent of you is she? How 'human' is she in terms of morality?"

Adam says "Cuz I'm vacillating between crazy, jealous, murderous girlfriend who doesn't listen to you at all and creepy-grinning sex slave who wants to expand your harem for you, because that's what's best for you."

Daniel says "She's pretty independent, but he can still order her around with the Binding (which I want to kinda feel bad about). In terms of morality, she doesn't *seem* that inhuman... but I want to leave that ambiguous."

Daniel says "I'm not thining either of those. She wants to be an actual companion - treated like a person, not a machine."

Jon says "It's kind of a different direction of human that's interesting. Does he leave humanity behind to treat her like the machine she, in theory is?"

Jon says "Or is humanity treating her with dignity."

Jon says "Very Blade-Runnery."

Daniel says "Yeah. That's sort of the angle. And his, for instance, wife, is not going to accept that this is a person."

Daniel says "I need to spike up her Need and Desire. I'm imagining that at least one stems from her factory programming, and she herself doesn't identify with it."

Adam says "I like that."

Daniel says "I actually considered making my character the AI, and the demon her body. But that seemed a little arch."

Adam says "Could be cool, but not until I'm an expert at running this game. =)"

Daniel says "This feels closer to home. That character would be more about what puts us in our social categories. This character is more about how we reconcile desires for control and ease with the need to keep ourselves human through dealing with the messiness of other people."

Daniel is too high-concept most of the time.

Anik says "He's always designing his characters high."

Adam says "I think it'll work great."

Adam says "So, let's talk about what you need to do for next time."

Adam says "Here's the thing. I need your finished characters before I can do MY prep. So that means that we probably won't /play/ next time."

Adam says "If we can finalize them before, like, Saturday, then I can use the weekend to prep and we can play next Tuesday."

Adam says "Anyway."

Jon says "What's needed to finalize them?"

Adam says "Divide 10 points among Stamina, Will, and Interface. At least 1 in each."

Anik says "Can we get this to-do list on that wiki page somewhere?"

Adam will repeat it there.

Anik says "Thank you"

Jon says "Just to those stats? Or specifics?"

Adam says "2-3 is normal function in society. 4-5 is very good. 6+ is an exceptional individual."

Daniel says "(except for Interface - norms have Interface 0)"

Adam says "Right."

Jon says "How solid are these stats? Do they grow over the game?"

Jon says "Or are these pretty much character-defining?"

Adam says "They can change, yeah."

Adam says "But they're also pretty character defining. They change slowly."

Adam says "Pick a descriptor for each of those 3 stats. If you gave yourself a 5 or greater in a stat, pick two descriptors for that stat."

Adam says "The descriptors describe WHY your score is the level it is."

Adam says "Your Humanity score is the greater of Stamina and Will."

Adam says "Pick a Passion off the list or make one up yourself. It should describe your lifestyle. It's a great way to say, 'I know how to do a bunch of stuff!' If you want to have medical skills, write down 'Doctor' or something."

Jon has it. I think.

Adam says "It gets points equal to your choice of Will or Stamina."

Daniel says "I just want to add, for folks familiar with Humanity from other games... high/low Humanity doesn't necessarily affect your character's personality. It's a measure of how close you are to the edge. Someone who is very independent, but a single setback would throw her into the arms of her corporate masters would have a low Humanity, but someone who is pretty much a drone, but no one can take away his fucking stapler, no matter how much they crush him, might have a high Humanity."

Daniel says "(and Humanity will fluctuate much more than other stats)"

Adam says "Your Price is a problem you have because of your Interface stuff. We'll assign it some suitable, game mechanicky penalty, too. Examples: Lame (-1 to any action that includes running or balance), Paranoid (-1 to all actions unless the character is under physical attack), Arrogant (-1 to all perception rolls), Cynical (-1 to all Humanity checks), Scarred (-1 to casual interactions). They're all pretty harsh."

Naomi says "Is it possible to start off with Humanity deliberately low? Like, if my Will is pretty high, then that would mean a decent Humanity, but what if I don't think that's character-appropriate? Or should I not worry about that and figure that I can just play her to have more conflicts and put her in the way of losing points quickly?"

Adam thinks of the Humanity score as how out of balance your /situation/ is, not how out of balance YOU are.

Jon put his humanity low.

Adam hrms. "Humanity 0 means I take control of the character. You don't want that to happen, at least not right away."

Jon says "Oh, maybe keep it high."

Jon says "For me. It's between a 5 and a 2."

Adam says "And there will be many tests of your Humanity during play. It is my job as GM to put you in situations that test it constantly. It's better to set it at a reasonable level and then set your character up for many hard tests of Humanity."

Daniel says "That was part of the point of my aside. You can play the character however you want, regardless of Humanity score."

Adam says "Otherwise, you're telling the story before we start playing. Let's see the character be tested and succeed or fail."

Jon nods.

Naomi says "That makes sense. And it may be a while before she clues in to what's going on."

Daniel says "Kickers?"

Adam says "Okay, you should all have a Telltale. Something that gives away subtly the fact that you consort with demons. Er, I mean, that you are special and interface with the net."

Daniel is backseat GMing.

Adam says "You should all have some idea about what your demon is. You can describe it to me in general terms: what is it, how does it work in the setting, and what can it DO (very important). I will translate it into game terms."

Adam says "And lots of DETAIL. A name. Where do you live and how nice is it? Do you have stuff? Where do you work? What's your office like? Who do you know? Who are your closest friends? Do you have family and what do they think of you?"

Adam says "On the wiki page, there's a character box. http://adam.legendary.org/index.php/Image:Sorcerer-Box.gif"

Adam says "Write words or short phrases for your DETAILS in that box. Write them in the sector in which it best pertains. If it's part of your Interface, write it there. If it's Interface but related to your Passion, you can write it on the boundary of that."

Adam says "The things that are related should be somewhat close to each other, whenever possible."

Jon hrms.

Adam says "And, if you can, please email me a copy of that image with your stuff on it. <=)"

Adam says "The words and phrases are things like 'Sarah (sister),' 'Laboratory,' 'Lusch apartment,' and so on."

Adam says "Is everyone totally lost, totally bored, or what?"

Jon says "I'm a little lost on the phrases."

Jon says "I think I got everything else."

Adam says "Imagine that when you write down the details of your character, you underline the important nouns."

Adam says "I want those on that diagram. Write them on there wherever you think they belong, in one of the four quadrants."

Adam will explain Kicker in a second.

Jon says "So that's the detail? Or are we actually writing up a background and stuff?"

Adam says "You're sketching a background. It can be a bunch of notes somewhere. But the keywords need to end up on that diagram so I understand their relevance to your character. Is this detail about your Passion, or about your Price? How is it related to this other detail (if it's written nearby, I can guess that it's related)."

Adam says "It's an art, not a science."

Adam says "Does that help?"

Jon says "I think so."

Jon says "Naomi, does our company have a name?"

Naomi says "not one that I have devised, as of yet, so if you've got an idea, you take that baby and you run with it""

Jon says "I'll leave it blank so far."

Daniel needs to turn in before Ruth wakes up, but will add his character to the Wiki.

Jon says "If we leave it to Adam it will be Megasoft."

Adam says "One last bit. Kicker is very important."

Adam says "Kicker is a situation that you're tossing your character in at the start of the game. What terrible thing has just happened to you? It should be unclear to everyone exactly what you'll do. A kicker like 'I am attacked by robots!' is not good because it's pretty clear you'll just fight them off. A kicker like 'I am offered a million dollars to test some new AI software on my autistic son' is another matter, because who knows what anyone would do."

Jon says "Hmmmm."

Adam says "The kicker is what will put the game in motion for you. It's like when you're describing a movie. You say, 'So there's this GUY and then THIS happens to him.' The kicker is the thing that happens to him."

Adam says "And if it can be a test of your Humanity, all the better."

Anik says "That's going to be the hardest part for me."

Adam says "I think for Anik's character, it'd be some kind of temptation. You get some once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to expand your power or knowledge, but at some terrible risk or cost."

Adam says "But I don't want to write your kickers for you. I want to run them for you and make them hard."

Anik says "I need to figure out the appropriate costs, I think. Oh, hmmmm."

Adam says "Okay, can everyone meet again next Tuesday from 8-11?"

Daniel really needs to hit the sack. Next Tuesday works for me. 'Night all.

Daniel has disconnected.

GAME: Daniel has disconnected.

Naomi says "I'm on for Tuesday. And just to recap, you want the character stuff by Saturday."

Adam says "If so, we can finalize characters then. That puts us at starting play on Tuesday, March 17 -- the Tuesday after next. If people somehow magically get me finished characters this weekend, then we could start play this week."

Adam says "I suspect there will be a good bit of back and forth with you to get all this stuff nailed down. No one gets it right the first time."

Adam says "So, earlier is better, even if it's incomplete. Send me what you have and we can go back and forth. Or log in here when I'm around and chat with me about it."

Naomi says "works for me"

Adam nods to Naomi.

Anik says "I think I can finish them very soon, provided I can remember everything I need to do."

Adam says "And make sure that your character has some interesting detail bits, including a name; is an interesting protagonist who you'd root for in a movie, even if he or she is doomed; and make sure the character has SOME combat opportunities, even if it's psychological or social battle."

Jon needs to pick this up tomorrow, yeah.

Adam says "Fantastic. The wiki page will contain a summary of all of this."

Adam says "http://adam.legendary.org/index.php/Cyberpunk_via_Sorcerer"

Anik says "you rock!"

Naomi says "I will have to mull for a while. But I'm looking forward to this."

Adam says "Awesome. I think we have a really cool setting here, and I'm excited about your characters."

Adam says "The /entire log/ of tonight's session will be linked from the wiki page, too."

Adam says "And I'll note dates and times of things."

Jon okays!

Naomi says "if that's it for today, I'll say goodnight. Nice to meet everybody!"

Naomi has disconnected.

GAME: Naomi has disconnected.

Anik says "G'nite everyone!"

Anik has disconnected.

GAME: Anik has disconnected.


END 12:03 AM, March 5, 2009