Grab Bag Day!

I missed yesterday. 'Twas but a sick day for me.

But that means you get extra stuff today.

Even though I'm still sick.

First off, ideas for a sci-fi game have been percolating in my head, thanks largely to Firefly and old Dirty Pair comics. Not necessarily anything based on either, but something inspired by technology as much as the genre itself.

The general idea that sparked it is one of the essential problems in keeping balance in a sci-fi game is equipment. This is particularly true in games that use some of the "cyberpunk" bits, where lack of physical and mental capabilities can be made up for with various forms of enhancement. Typically this is made up for by making the various forms of balance either hugely expensive, socially taboo, or having an artificial game balance mechanic like "humanity" or "essence".

So most sci-fi systems get kludged down where you have your game stats built with points or rolls or whatever... but enhancements tend to cost plain old money, or a combination of money and points, or you give up points and build with money, or whatever. Why not build a system on the assumption that characters will be enhanced instead?

Overall, my idea was to build characters, to a certain extent, like desktop computers. That is, you have a given area of character attribute broken down into several different categories. The first is how much 'Power' you have - how much you can do, and how quickly you can do it. The next is your 'Flexibility' - how many enhancements you can have active in one category at a time. The final one is your 'Limit' - how many enhancements you have have before they start getting in each other's way - for example, a cyborg only has room for so many subsystems, or a human might only be able to take X amount of genetic upgrades, or a net entity might only be able to store and run X amount of programs.

Basically, there are three character types - organic, mechanical, and digital. Organic characters are those who are still largely based off of Earthly life... perhaps widely divergent or enhanced, but built with proteins, and holding a significant amount of water. Examples would include 'uplifted' animals like Seffs (sentient cephalopods) or the various models of human upgrades and breeds. Mechanical characters are those who are largely mechanical in nature, constructed using human technology. This consists of artifically intelligent robots or those who have gotten their mind transferred into a robot of one sort or another. There is some bleedover between mechanical and organic, though organic characters with cybernetic parts are still largely considered organic - the idea of having a largely mechanical body with an organic brain or other heavy organs is considered outmoded by this point in history, since brain transfers are so exact. Lastly, there are digital intelligences... those who have left any permanent connection to the physical world behind. Though they may 'possess' a body for a period of time, they are now more rooted in their net existence than their physical one.

There are basically three sets of attributes: Mind, Net, and Shell.

Mind breaks down into the following attributes: Cognition, Creativity, and Reflexes.

Net breaks down into the following attributes: Assault, Connection, and Protection.

Shell breaks down into the following attributes: Endurance, Strength, and Speed.

Stats are rated from roughly 1 to 10, with 2 being the human average.

Basically, upgrades are installed on on a given set of attributes. These come in two types - temporary and permanent. Temporary ones tend to be weaker than permanent ones, but you can swap them in and out, where permanent ones take up a slot permanently. You can use a number of upgrades at one time equal to the weakest attribute in a given set, and you can have a number installed equal to the highest attribute.

Examples of temporary upgrades: one-shot weaponry, various drugs, "burnout" hardware, programs.

Examples of permanent upgrades: cybernetic implants, genetic enhancements, OS upgrades.

More to come on that later.

I don't have anything sitting in the wings for D&D Dust-Bin, so I'll add a bit more to Naruto today.

Time to talk about advanced bloodlines. In Naruto, advanced bloodlines are families of ninja that have a specific talent, typically supernatural in nature. They are quite rare, and typically these must be bought at character creation - only under rather unusual circumstances may a bloodline attribute be gained or grow stronger in the course of a ninja's life.

Sharingan

• Cost: 6 pts./level
• Relevant Stat: Mind

The "Copy Wheel Eye" is an bloodline that allows one to analyze and copy the techniques of others. It essentially allows the user to use any technique he has witnessed previously, with some limitations. Furthermore, it enhances the ability of the user to see through and defeat genjutsu (illusions).

Basically, to use the sharingan, the character must take an action to 'witness' a technique. This can be done while chakra is being called for a genjutsu or ninjutsu technique, or during a taijutsu technique. By doing so, the character must give up his next action and any defense for a given round. The technique is then listed under the sharingan, and the character may then call it back at any time. Some abilities may not be duplicated if the sharingan does not meet the physical requirements... for example, a ninjutsu that requires one to have a colony of bugs in one's body or a demonic link to sand is much harder to duplicate. Furthermore, only genjutsu, ninjutsu, and taijutsu can be copied - and bloodline-based techniques may never be copied (unless the ability is a sharingan-based ability).

The sharingan can copy any technique, but the drawback is that the maximum level of the technique is limited to the sharingan level. The energy cost, effect, etc., all remain the same as the technique of the given level, though the technique is performed with the sharingan user's stats, skills, etc.

• Level 1: Add 1 to all Mind stat when resisting genjutsu / illusions, and all techniques copied are reduced to level 1.
• Level 2: Add 2 to all Mind stat when resisting genjutsu / illusions, and all techniques copied are reduced to level 2.
• Level 3: Add 3 to all Mind stat when resisting genjutsu / illusions, and all techniques copied are reduced to level 3.
• Level 4: Add 4 to all Mind stat when resisting genjutsu / illusions, and all techniques copied are reduced to level 4.
• Level 5: Add 5 to all Mind stat when resisting genjutsu / illusions, and all techniques copied are reduced to level 5.
• Level 6: Add 6 to all Mind stat when resisting genjutsu / illusions, and all techniques copied are reduced to level 6.

More bloodlines to come.