Character Creation

Mar 25, 2022 7:23 pm
The PDFs containing the Character Creation instructions --and what things mean-- for this original version are 100% off (also called 'free', by some:) on itch.io.

Let's talk about what you each want to play before we build characters or the world, and we can discuss any inevitable confusions that are bound to come up with short-form rules like this.

I will just accept any submitted character without looking at it. We can chat once the character is in the game and visible to everyone.

If you want, you can create a character using the Create Character button in the sample sheet below. It contains some example numbers, as well as two Skill Expertise examples. Let me know if you would prefer a version without the examples, or if I missed anything or you think anything should be rearranged.

The sheet uses the some of the new features, including checkboxes and dice pools (dice pools are ideal for this game:). We can look at adding other features as we need them.

The sheet makes the most sense if viewed on a device wide enough to display three columns.
Mar 25, 2022 7:23 pm
[ +- ] CBR+PNK
Mar 25, 2022 7:24 pm
player nezzeraj CESN cava nikos Bananab Dunko
character Winston D. Kami Miles Solovei Blank
type hacker bguard sabot stealth sniper chemist

Aggression 1 2 1 0 2 0 6
Smartness 2 1 1 1 1 1 7
Empathy 0 0 0 1 1 2 4
Caution 1 1 2 2 0 1 7

Close Combat 2 2
Endurance 1 1
Hacking 2 1 3
Influence 1 1 2 4
Mobility 2 1 1 4
Observation 1 2 2 1 6
Piloting 2 2
Ranged Combat 1 2 1 2 3 9
Rigging 2 2 4
Sciences 2 1 2 5
Streetwise 2 3 1 1 1 8
Survival 0
Mar 26, 2022 10:57 am
I got the rules, but I don't see any classes. Do they not exist or do you use the BitD classes and just reskin them?
Mar 26, 2022 12:01 pm
There are no classes or playbooks. You build a runner --and differentiate them from others-- by choosing your Approaches, Skills and Expertise, as well as what Cyberware you have, and what gear you carry/use.

You can call yourself one of the typical Cyberpunk sounding titles (Hacker, Infiltrator, Operator (though Operator is an NPC in the book, so maybe not, unless you really want to), Driver, Shooter, whatever) to add flavor. This can be what you are know as, or just you being pretentious, and will only have fictional effects, no mechanics.

For the four Approaches, you can assign 2, 1, 1, 0 to them as you like.

Then you have 8 points to assign to Skills, if you assign a third point to a Skill, it is considered to be an Expertise, you give it a name which tells us where and when it applies.

If an Expertise applies to a roll, you can either use as a dice (meaning you have 3 dice in that Skill); or choose to turn it into an Edge, giving you an advantage (fictional and mechanical) in the situation. You can choose which, each time you roll.

On the Sheet Template I added ^Knives as a Close Combat Expertise, and ^Chopper as a Piloting Expertise. These are just the first examples I thought of while testing the sheet functionality. We can update (or remove) the examples as you make characters and we see more of the process.

The carat ^ symbol shows both that it is related to the Skill above it, and that it is an 'upgrade'.

You get one piece of Cyberware for free (seems a bit frugal for runners on their 'last run', but you are clearly desperate to be willing to do this /run anyway:). If you want extra Cyberware each come with a drawback, we can work out the details of that drawback --and what effects it will have in the fiction and the mechanics-- when we get to it. Think of this as 'fun' rather a 'punishment' for taking more. Don't take too many, it will dilute their value, and add too many drawbacks. We can chat about amounts when everyone gets to that stage.

You don't pick Gear now, that is something you do, as and when you need something, during a mission. If you have enough space (based on what Load you picked for an excursion) you can always say: "No, GM, I don't run out of ammo, I will mark it on my sheet, it only costs 1 Load", or "Of course I have a medkit, see I am marking it now", and mark it as you need it.

If there is stuff you know you will be carrying, you can tell us (and mark it) beforehand. This is a benefit since it adds to the fiction, and may allow you do things you could not otherwise do without it. If you mark Armor partway through a mission, we might go back and adjust some consequences due to the fact you were --presumably-- wearing that armor all along.

Gear with two checkboxes before it, costs two Load, mark them both when you take it. Gear with checkboxes after it has that many uses (should they start off checked and we uncheck them? I don't think so since everything else we are marking as we use it).
Mar 26, 2022 12:10 pm
Ok sounds good. I've never played a hacker-type character so I may go for that.
Mar 26, 2022 12:15 pm
nezzeraj says:
Ok sounds good. I've never played a hacker-type character so I may go for that.
Cool. I often stipulate that Hackers be played by players who can post more frequently than others (so you are a prime candidate:), since they can often end up off on their own, playing their own mini-game while the rest of the table twiddles their thumbs. But I have been streamlining the hacking parts to mostly eliminate that classic problem and to keep them involved in the meatspace game.
Mar 26, 2022 1:53 pm
vagueGM says:
If you want, you can create a character using the Create Character button in the sample sheet below..
How does this sorcery works?!!!
(I mean, in terms of GP code to implement that)
Mar 26, 2022 2:00 pm
CESN says:
How does this sorcery works?!!!
(I mean, in terms of GP code to implement that)
You can click on the Quote link below that post and then copy the code from the text area. Remove the '[ quote] tags'

The Click-to-Create part is achieved by surrounding the sheet code with

[charsheet="sheet name"]
...
[/charsheet]


If you mean the Dice Pools and he checkboxes... then take a look at Adam's Guide to Gamers' Plane BBCode and try to work it out from there. I can help you with the bits I have used if you struggle.
Mar 26, 2022 2:03 pm
yeah it was the charsheet part. don't remember seeing it before. really cool :)

I could play a bodyguard/shooter type of character. I will need some time to read the rules to know more but just putting it out there :D
Last edited March 26, 2022 2:03 pm
Mar 26, 2022 2:13 pm
CESN says:
... could play a bodyguard/shooter type of character. I will need some time to read the rules to know more ...
Telling us what general type you want to play is fine. We can work together to see how to build them.
Mar 26, 2022 2:15 pm
We should not stress about getting the character build 'exactly right'. If we find later that that something is not working the way we thought, we can talk about swapping it for what we would preferred to have picked.
Mar 26, 2022 2:54 pm
Ok submitted my rough character. Just need to think on what kind of cybernetics a hacker would have. Any ideas are welcome! My first were the cyberhands from Ghost in the Shell where your fingers split in half and you get 20 fingers to type with lol.
Mar 26, 2022 3:03 pm
nezzeraj says:
Ok submitted my rough character. Just need to think on what kind of cybernetics a hacker would have. Any ideas are welcome! My first were the cyberhands from Ghost in the Shell where your fingers split in half and you get 20 fingers to type with lol.
Usually extra crypted storage, additional firewalls around your brains, or some built-in multitasker routine in your neural processor are the go-to implants for your standard hacker.

Anyway, greetings all, and thanks for having me! I'd like to play a saboteur / jury-rigger with a penchant for drones, if you think it's something your characters would need and like to play along with.
Mar 26, 2022 3:03 pm
nezzeraj says:
... need to think on what kind of cybernetics a hacker would have. Any ideas are welcome ...
That decision might be easier to make once we know what sort of characters you have on your team and what sort of world we are playing in.

We might even wait till we have some idea about the mission and pick something appropriate. (Though, that makes my job harder since I usually build the mission based on who the characters are. :)
Mar 26, 2022 3:04 pm
the_cava says:
Usually extra crypted storage, additional firewalls around your brains, or some built-in multitasker routine in your neural processor are the go-to implants for your standard hacker.
Those all sound quite appropriate.
Mar 26, 2022 3:06 pm
the_cava says:
... I'd like to play a saboteur / jury-rigger with a penchant for drones ...
Cool.
the_cava says:
... if you think it's something your characters would need and like to play along with.
Focus more on the 'would like to with' than the 'need' we will build the mission(s) based on what the characters are good at. There is a reason that they are the ones who were hired to do this job.
Mar 26, 2022 3:07 pm
In order for us to be able to see the contents of the sheets, you all need to mark the grey 'note' icon that says Add to Library on your character list.
https://i.imgur.com/NhDSgLT.png
Red means others can see the sheet.
Mar 26, 2022 3:11 pm
vagueGM says:
Focus more on the 'would like to with' than the 'need' we will build the mission(s) based on what the characters are good at. There is a reason that they are the ones who were hired to do this job.
I'll keep that in mind, thanks!
Mar 26, 2022 4:02 pm
Don't feel that you have to use one of the Angles listed on the sheet. Make up your own.

Either way you get to tell us what it means.
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