Not officially of course.
Asset Pack II is out right now!
But fun, nonetheless.
Hack & Slash
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Home of the Quantum Ogre, Agency, Theory, and Fun
On Double Helix and Quill Quaz
Not officially of course.
On The Cyberpunk path
You aren't qualified to answer that question. Neither am I. I'm a pretty good at the things I do. I have opinions about things. But they aren't informed, right? I don't work at the border or an abortion clinic. I am not a city planner or a member of government.
I think the first thing we should do is only listen to people about what they are actually good at, without assuming they know shit about anything else.
It's hard though. It's trivial to say terrible things pleasantly.
It is the certainness of ignorance that is so terrifying. And that's what is so wrong with corporations, is that the clearness of their mandate. It makes them wonderful opponents and bad guys. Profit is extracted from inequality, by definition.
It just needs to be rethought.
I see some good examples, like software design. It also relies on money, but the modular seasonal implementation of code is heavily driven by users, with clear consequences (financially) for not meeting the needs of their userbase.
And if they are bad enough at it, someone else can come in and replace them. (Simcity, sitting in the corner, glaring at Cities:Skylines).
This is also the model I have for Sinless. I'm playing this game. People are playing this game, and the things that are made for it, and given to the people playing, and their feedback drives the gameplay changes.
It's a great model, and part of—well, when I say Path; Global media (not 'the media' but globalized media) is agendaized. AI slop is flooding everywhere, making data impossible to locate. Walled, private, moderated communities are the answer.
So, you know, I'm building one of those too—although you are almost certainly part of several already. It's just something I've always wanted and everyone is so focused on 'the current hot trend' that no one is doing it. Well, I'm doing it.
Hack & Slash
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On the Ghost Incentive
My favorite part of tactical infinity is the idea that you can douse a fire elemental with a decanter of endless water. You're supposed to swing off the furniture and play the game.
But what for the Murderhobo!?
Well, the OSR has had that problem for a long time and has great solutions. Consequences. That's it. Players can do anything they want, as long as they are willing to pay the consequences. I never have to say "You're not supposed to do that."
I can just say "Go ahead, enjoy camping and random monster checks."
So I didn't want to say "You can't do that" in Sinless. I want players to say, "I'm going to solve that problem by blowing up the building."
But that isn't sustainable for long-term campaigns (which Sinless is designed for). It rapidly leads to the structure of the game disintegrating (in a very similar way to rampant Murder-hoboism!) It's a good solution, but best not to overdo it.
Because an Agonarch has no desire for any one result or another, we look to an impartial metric.
Blowing up a building brings attention.
No one could deny this! Behold! The building is gone?
Where is it?
People will want to know.
Instead of some invisible wall you can just say, Ok, if that happens, everyone's ghost rating is going to drop by 1d6.
A simple solution to a complex social problem that creates great emergent gameplay and player motivation! I play this game regularly, I'm not trying to do extra work over here. Emergent gameplay is key, cause I don't have time to plot anything.
Hack & Slash
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On Flash Moresloth
The solution? Synthetics, Ersatz clones, and uplifted animals.
Meet Flash Moresloth. I think it's clear this is a parody of Flash Slothmore from Zootopia, and just, look at him in his little suit!
We broke some rules here. Generally in Sinless there's not things you're required to track across rounds or phases. It's because Sinless is developed from play, and in actual play, those things get forgotten. But Sinless is has an exception-based design framework, and that's an awful lot of influence and it fits with-well, look at him. He's a sloth.
And, just like his counterpart, he has his fast animal ability (FST NML, his license plate) providing an escape vehicle for groups that don't have access to a rigger.
After all, he's the fastest sloth they have working there!
Hack & Slash
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On Dogs & Technomancers II
Origins of the Technomancer
The BCI (Brain-Computer Interfaces (precursor to DNI (direct neural interface) nerve-rig tech) first came online in early 2042, leading to the wirehead generation, reaching adulthood in ~2060. Their ideals centered around separation from the real world. To a true wirehead only information is real, many of them spending nearly their entire lives in biocaskets their brain digitally connected to the internet—Pre-Plunge.
Can you imagine? All of human history available? 10 billion people making art and worlds and stories and content? More primitive positronic AI numbering nearly 100 billion by 2045 constructing anything wireheads requested in virtual playworlds. Wireheads rejected the constant push towards corporatization, and they idealized old ways focused around freedom of speech, freedom of information, and elimination of societal restrictions and regulations.
Examples of the way this manifested were the Shéntech Greenlimb incident, and massive support from the living wireheads in 2084-5 for the Dignity International Rights Enjoined Act, each thinking that if they didn’t like their current corporate land, they could freely move to whichever one they preferred. This did not work out well for them, vast numbers of them becoming dependent on the very corporations they despised.
Another, and more crucial development for our discussion was “the hackfiring”. In May of 2071 the most advanced wirehead biocasket deckers stole a huge amount of data from Orpheus, AE, Shen, and unsurprisingly braintech and information heavyweight, Neuronetics. A massive bay of the largest collection of linked Positronic cores christened “The Positronic Authority” analyses all the data and autonomously and algorithmically distributed it based on an unknown metric, along with all of the data becoming public. Many many people lost their jobs and it was viewed as a great victory for wireheads. However, the rise of Vilkater, Michael Ivanov and Darkstone, and Wyn Fowler, filled the power vacuum and created the manufactured consent necessary for the DIRE Act.
So the genetic triggers for creating the data mutation were spread worldwide. Ten years later, the first rumors of mutated people with powers over technology spread. They are spoken of in a whisper, these techno-mancers, biological mutant tanks with the ability to control machinery exist! It is not just a rumor and as a Sinless agent, you must be prepared against this new threat.
Research has given us the first inklings into technomancers. They are raised almost exclusively by corporations or autocreche. Most people who grew one of these mutants were sorely unprepared for what happened when they hit puberty. They have incredible control over technology, but their body itself is mutable, highly subject to intense mutation.
Another unforseen side effect were the sheer numbers of them who became nuncios of Archduke AI’s. By the time most of the children reached the age of twelve, their constant interaction and control of the internet made them very present to the archdukes, Metatron, Grendel, and “Tenshi” [CENSORED]
It is difficult to understand if they worship the AI, or perhaps have integrated with it but it is clear that every contact with a techno-mancer has involved the overwhelming presence and trace of an archduke AI.
Technomancer playtest available on the discord today!
https://discord.com/invite/UYzGqN8egQ
On Dogs and Technomancers: Part I
The first legitimate record of a Data dog was in February 12 of 2049 when Albert Mild filmed the now well known dog, Tracker, flagging down and using a Waymo.
Mr. Mild, in shock, shared the video on-line and it was widely considered to be a Hoax.
But coordinated investigation between Orpheus and AE (Alphabet Enterprises) showed that Tracker, along with most of his extended relatives, had been using Waymos and erasing the evidence of that use.
Now, we are just talking about street dogs here. No uplifts; the data dog is a natural (some say unnatural) rapid manonic expression. Initial evidence is uncertain.
Tracker’s genetic line has a specific brain mutation that emits focused electromagnetic radiation—like light or heat or dozen different ways organic species emit/interpert EM radiation (Bioluminescence, electrical fields created by bees and eels, pigeons and radical-pair navigation, the Frey effect.). But unlike those other ways, the dogs could in a short space of about two meters emit low energy bursts of radiowaves, mircowaves, and infrared waves. Since the entire grid runs on wireless, bluetooth, and infrared communication methods, the data dogs can communicate with machines.
How does this work? We don’t know.
I know you’re likely saying, “Well, why don’t we just uplift a Data Dog and ask?”
First, there aren’t that many data dogs, and if you have one the breeding rights can make you rich. No one is eager to risk uplifting their data dogs.
Second, of course that’s the exact first thing they did.
Any uplifted dogs that survived the procedure, lost the ability. Something about the cybertechtronics screwing everything up. The information they can recall before the memory enhancement during the uplift is unclear at best. Our best understanding is that without it, it’s a blindness and muteness. Like most dog uplifts, they compared it to scent.
Mr. Mild was able to film Tracker, because he was standing across the street, out of tracker’s range. Many of Trackers relatives were caught, and now there is a market for breeding data dogs; but tracker was a street dog and may not even be the original dog that developed the ability.
Our understanding of the particular mechanism of action in the mutation is unclear. Soon after Mr. Mild’s video, many data dogs were caught and studied. The genetic triggers for its formation were located and mapped by the 2070’s.
And because of Mr. Mild and Tracker’s surreptitious ability, today, in 2090 we have the villenage of the Technomancer.
Hack & Slash
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On Play Reviews
Hi. I'm a game designer.
I get play reports.
Here's a play report from people I don't personally know and have never met (I've communicated with the GM in discord I guess).
Background
3 players
Session took place over 3 hours, covered getting an operation, recon, prep, sabotage, and running the op
Characters were a Green Face with maybe too broad of a focus (more on that later), a Synthetic Bruiser, and an Uplifted Octopus mage
What my players loved
- Gameplay felt pretty easy and straightforward, one remarked that once you were into the flow it just made sense
- One player described the game as definitely being easier than Shadowrun, but admitted that that is grading on a curve
- Players really liked the structure of mission prep, compared it to games like Blades in the Dark
- Really felt like they were in control of the story, high degree of agency
- One player compared character creation to making a custom race in Master of Orion, felt like they had a ton of meaningful choices and it was fun to think through
What my players were less enthusiastic about
- My face player went too broad and ended up with some pretty mediocre hacking and a bad innate spell as part of his Green heritage that was hard to use. Felt certain things required a lot of investment and almost weren't worth taking as a result
- Some felt the somewhat structured nature made it maybe harder to roleplay or get in character much
GM Thoughts
- I used the in progress random mission generator and it mostly worked great! Shoutout to you and bacchist for making that possible
- There were definitely some gaps in the mission generator content, or maybe they're just assumptions the system makes? - For example the alert track talked about drones coming out to patrol, but didn't say what kind of drones or give stats for them. I could've also used more information on NANs and electronic defenses. It feels like the current mission generator is great at providing "what is unique" about an operation but more of the baseline stuff would be helpful to me.
Note that the operation generator on https://sinlessrpg.com has been updated since then several times.
- The core dice mechanic just works and makes it really easy to adjudicate what is happening and why. I definitely felt like I had a long way to go w/ system understanding but it was easy to make reasonable rulings that everyone thought were fair in the moment
- Every once in a while you run into a little gap here or there; our run in this session was the gun cyber-limbs; none of the guns listed have effective ranges, so I just improvised off of what stats regular firearms had. Not a big deal, but mildly annoying to turn to a page in the book only to figure out it doesn't quite have what you need in the moment
I dunno guys. That's a raw play report. I've read some of them in my time, and, uh, they aren't usually this positive.
You should read into it yourself.
Hack & Slash
Follow, Twitch, Support, Donate to end Cancer (5 Star Rating) sinlessrpg.com
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