Cyberpunk 2020 Play by Post Databook- Title Subject to Change

[eraser7278]

You might consider one of the more "tactical" divisions like the gang unit, robbery, or crime task force (they try to put carrier criminals right back in jail). When I was around cops a lot in the 90s those guys had more toys than the swat team (civil forfeiture FTW). They were rocking hk53's for raids, which was high dollar kit at the time. Units like that become swat team light for raids, but also gather their own Intel so they know which doors to kick and which skulls to crack... food for thought.

 

[Sardukhar]

Since I'm underskilled for it, do you think I should not be a Max-Tac rookie and instead just be a cop trying to work her way up to that?

Up to you. Starting Max-Tac is fine and kind of amusing. People will see the badge and assume you're a badass. Comedy gold. Your reflexes and cool are hyper-good, so that explains how you got there. Your Attractiveness is equally excellent, so assume a -lot- of sexual harassment in your career. You're actually much better looking than your picture. ATTR 10 is the top for 99% of the unmodified population. Same for Cool, Empathy, etc.


Edit: I noticed you dropped Combat Sense. I would nooooot do that, for an NCPD Cop. 5 is the limit for any Special Ability, but that's not total points - that's upper level. If anyone starts to use more than 2 Special Abilities, I'll explain Wisdom's IU rules on that to them.

Anyway, Combat Sense. Pretty essential for anyone in a combat role. As a Secondary SA, it'll be more expensive to raise, of course, but still a really good idea to have.

Oh, while I'm at it, you have ATT and EMP 10, but your character description suggests very much the opposite. I assume this means she's super-hot and very understanding of others' emotions and feelings, but suppresses hell out of those assets? If so, I expect you to role-play that, of course, and I look forward to inlfiicting the inevitable disruption of your psyche on you.

Also a point to anyone else: your Stats are more than just a handy tactical asset. They represent your character. So if you're going to be a skinny little guy, don't pick Body 8. If you're going to be cold and aloof, you better have Empathy no higher than 5, or be seriously conflicted and going a little crazy. Or more than a little.

 

[andrewmeythaler]

You kiddos might also consider investing in some armor piercing ammo.

 

[eraser7278]

Attr 10 is on the level of a supermodel... and Attr 12 (possible through plastic surgery) would be a super model after airbrushing... but in real life.
it can be a double edged sword though, i recall an incident where a character had been cut to 12, then had "bodycure" treatment done for a negotiation (added another 2)... later that night we found ourselves in a streetfight and a ganger tackled her. he was intent on stabbing her with a knife, until he rolled her over and got a better look at ATTR 14... then his plan changed to stabbing her with something else :lol:

not to worry though, that banger got a shotgun blast to the head before he got his rape on

 

[andrewmeythaler]

Wallace is not above selling humans with ATT of 14, as it would earn him a fortune.

 

[eraser7278]

I'm thinking i might want to be a sneaky son of a bitch, is prowler/shadow an allowed SA?
also, are sneak and hide/evade combined as in IU or separate as in the core book?

 

[andrewmeythaler]

I feel like they should be separate. I always interpreted it as stealth being the classic Metal Gear prowling, and hide/evade is Assassin's Creed esque urban evasion.

 

[eraser7278]

meh, never made much sense to me. they're both about avoiding notice, splitting them into pro-active and reactive seems silly considering there are plenty of other skills that go both ways. just another needless bloat skill in my opinion.

 

[andrewmeythaler]

I have no strong feelings one way or the other

 

[kanonite]

Cool description/intro, although miiight be better if you checked the char creation rules first, at least if you're going to stat stuff out. I.e No Special Abilities higher than 5.

I'm putting off deciding about FCB and ACPA for now, so we'll assume your character is using a faceplate and skull plate, along with what looks like a cyberarm(s).

Also, we'll put this in the Play Thread when play begins.

Ah, I thought we were going a bit higher level since you were allowing Max-Tac.

Actually, Faceplate/Skullplate, Skinweave and some cosmetic enhancements underneath. The cyberarm is only in the illustration, due to the difficulty of finding artwork that matches my vision.

 

[eraser7278]

yeah, finding the perfect character pic is so tough. i recall having the hardest time finding a headshot of an Asian woman wearing a hoodie... that did not have cat ears sewn onto it.

 

[kanonite]

Holy shit, mine has an ATTR of 3 if one doesnt count cosmetic implants. The only compliment one could give a look like that is "Well, you're not dead."

Which means having its head excavated and replaced with metal is actually an improvement.

 

[Sardukhar]

Yeah, SA 4 and Max-Tac is a bit early, but under IU, you can have both CS and Auth, so...it's fresh meat! Also, she's hot, so she has a much higher chance of getting what she wants...despite being also cold and aloof..I guess.

@eraser7278, ah, you ask all the hard questions. I'm trying to avoid all non-Core Roles and the attendant confusion/complications. I know, you're thinking, "But, Sard, &*$^%@ Combat Sense means stealth is now stupidly underpowered!" and you're right. The solution is to have a base difficulty boost to stealth, depending on environment.

So, for example, hiding behind a chair in clear light is pretty much no modifier. No chair/cover and the enemy gets a bonus to spot you.
Other than that, darkness would be +5 to your stealth check, darkness and rain would be +8 or so, darkness, rain and wind might be +12 or more...like that. Still need something to defeat thermals, of course.

Hide/Evade is mostly about Evade, the ability to dump a tail or follower. This includes in a vehicle or in a crowd..without necessarily sneaking and attracting notice from passersby as you crouch behind a bin or creep into an alcove. Not to mention Stealth doesn't work with vehicles.

The Hide part of Hide/Evade is pretty much interchangeable with Stealth. As a GM, if you are sneaking up on someone or hiding from someone actively, I don't care which skill you use.

On the subject of doubled up or redundant skills, I usually allow whichever skill you have to work. Dodge/Escape or Martial Arts Dodge both work to dodge a car flying at you. Rifle and SMG are interchangeable for automatic-firing carbine scale or somewhat larger. Not Heavy Weapons or Bolt-action, obviously. Machine-pistols work on either Pistol or SMG. That sort of thing.

Skills are really just representative of your character's learning and experience. If you can make a case that a skill lets you do something, great.

@kanonite, you obviously know the system. You might want to actually stat up a character. I do allow rebuilding characters for the first few sessions (weeks in PbP) as people get used to the setting and system.

In terms of system, my rough plan right now is to use IU to replace all the "stupid" parts of the Corebook, while still keeping things as simple as possible for newcomers.

 

[kanonite]

Working on a sheet right now using a copy from the .pdf and MS paints letter and eraser tools.

 

[eraser7278]

So I'm wondering. .. if we're not using the alternate SA's, modified skill list and initiative based combat actions from iu... which parts ARE we using? I know for me the change in how SA'S were dealt with was the big selling point of IU over core, as it gave concrete effects as opposed to more abstract ones (Jonny can add 5 to 2 of his performance skills as opposed to Jonny can convince x number of fans to trash the venue).

 

[Maligna]

If I want to redistribute some points into Combat Sense, would it come from my career skill points or my pick up skill points?

 

[kanonite]

Okay, here's what I got so far. Have yet to add gear, chrome and lifepath.

 

[Sardukhar]

So I'm wondering. .. if we're not using the alternate SA's, modified skill list and initiative based combat actions from iu... which parts ARE we using? I know for me the change in how SA'S were dealt with was the big selling point of IU over core, as it gave concrete effects as opposed to more abstract ones (Jonny can add 5 to 2 of his performance skills as opposed to Jonny can convince x number of fans to trash the venue).

Oh, we're using the IU Special Abilities rules, including Networking. I'm keeping the Roles to the Nine core ones is all. We're also using the Martial Arts rules, the ranged combat modifiers, wounds, (although 10 to cripple and 12 to destroy is always offputting for me to remember, also we used to do double damage before BTM, but this works well enough), I'll allow either BOD or COOL vs stun/shock.

Only things I'll probably drop are the Combat Actions, ( in favour of the Core -3 cumulative to additional actions, how many you get before the next guy depends on how many points of init higher you are, in blocks of three, of course. Because symmetry), additional Roles and skills not on the Core sheet, except obvious inclusions like Networking for Corporates and Fixers.

Netrunning I'll go over if we get a Runner. When.

So yeah, using nearly all IU, actually.

If I want to redistribute some points into Combat Sense, would it come from my career skill points or my pick up skill points?

Either/or. I don't worry too much about that particular artificial limitation.

Okay, here's what I got so far. Have yet to add gear, chrome and lifepath.

Awareness 11? Urr? No higher than 10, max, before gear. Which you track separately.

 

[kanonite]

The level 11 awareness is from having it at 6 by point distribution, and +5 from the combat sense, but I can lower.

 

[Sardukhar]

The level 11 awareness is from having it 6 by default, and +5 from the combat sense, but I can lower.

Write it as 6 on the sheet. Then you add it to CS in-game, same as you add Cyberaudio or whatever. You increase CS and Awareness separately with IP.

Your total can be well over 10, but the skill Awareness, like all skills, is 10 max.