The Puppeteer Parlor

Welcome to the world of Cyberpunk my friends. Some of you are new to these surroundings, while others are seasoned and shell-shocked street samurai accustomed to slumming these streets. As you may have noticed from the manner in which I have written, I love storytelling and alliteration to a fault. Having a weak spot for RPGs, tabletop or otherwise, I enjoy dabbling and taking a spin on the other side of the screen and from time-to-time enjoy conjuring up monsters for my friends just as much as I like fighting alongside them. This game engine is one that I have yet to master and will take some time for me to master fully but I enjoy an occasional challenge.

This forum post will offer you, the players, to converse with me and each other outside of character, as if posed as an aside at the table. I am happy to answer any questions you may have here, or if you would rather keep the details secret, feel free to shoot me an email, text or give me a ring.

I have enjoyed creating a world for others to play in and hope to give you a thrilling or at least entertaining journey as you assume the mantle of your very own cyberpunk character. I know that one of the many pleasures of a forum RP includes a flexibility to play and interact as you see fit and as often as you like. I hope to offer up a world where each of you can act as freely as you want as the story progresses and evolves. This being a game amongst friends I have no issue with any critique you may wish to pose, as I want to make the game enjoyable for all.

I will pose a couple notes Q&A style to get the ball rolling for this post and I will make up a couple other posts for other specific purposes other than the main story thread. So warm up those d10s, write up your shopping list for the ripperdocs and get ready for a new challenge on the streets of Cyberpunk.

Q: What is something we can expect from your game?

A: Well, first off, I can't deny that fact that I am going to offer a bunch of different references to other things. I am not trying to necessarily get a bunch of cheap laughs or eye-rolls but rather give my own little nod to some other stories/movies/intellectual properties and other places where I have enjoyed the creativity and ingenuity. I sometimes, when inventing stories and settings, like to borrow from other places, and like to imagine that considering all things in the realm of infinite possibilities and alternate dimensions that anything could happen that was once thought to merely be fiction. Perhaps time travel allowed mankind to go back to the age of the dinosaurs and live like the Flintstones! I find it very amusing to offer up the occasional homage or nod to another's creation with a new twist and a chance to see it experienced and interacted with by others. So yes, this may seem cheesy and I understand if this isn't necessarily your thing. I will try to make sure it isn't all goofy jokes parodying fantastic or enjoyable ideas created by great minds of fiction and do not plan to alter the world of the game beyond what you might expect (this isn't going to suddenly shift to Shadowrun and you can be fairly certain that my magic-missile spewing dinosaur will remain in the realm of fantasy).

Q: Are you planning on changing a lot about the game itself to make it better fit as a forum RP?

A: I certainly hope to avoid that. I had no intentions in creating a whole new world and new game mechanics that will be complicated and confusing where they fit into the currently established text. With that said, I have considered my own experience with the game engine (which is not perfect and sadly may never see a retooling and a chance to rise back into favor amongst gamers), and I have noticed some parts that cause lurches in playability and progression. First and foremost is the current state of Netrunning as a secondary environment and battlefield. For players ill-equipped for this sort of technical skill, your character might end up cooling his heels while your companion is zipping across the electronic ether, battling bots and neutralizing networks. I want to adjust this aspect of the game to offer a greater accessibility for other players.
Instead of the virtual world being almost completely the realm of a netrunner, I would like you to consider the domain as common as Facebook today. It is a setting where almost anyone can interact with anyone else, be it across the town or internationally. It is used to leisure in many cases, with some programmers becoming celebrities for their incredible virtual soirées. The most apt comparison that I can offer for you to place it as is the Holodeck from Star Trek with a dash of Tron. When it comes to jacking in, pretty much anyone can do it, but a Netrunner is going to really shine at any sort of skill checks involved. I will still offer the chance to interact with programs and other digital denizens but those who are characteristically clumsy and technologically ignorant will have limited success if approaching all obstacles with a "kick in the door attitude." Since this is an optional path for the most part, I will be sure to consider the party make-up and each character with any sorts of netrunning obstacles.