3 Prologue

Content Warning

5 Gameplay Basics

6 Character Setup
Cores
Skills and Learnings
Items, Gear and Equipment
Companions

10 Gameplay Specifics
Crits & Traumas
Assisted Actions
Preparation and Reactions
Combat
Multiple Attacks
Area of Effect Attacks
Friendly Fire
Point-Blank Range Effects
Cover Bonus/Penalty
Status Effects and Damage Over Time
Danger Moves
Healing and Temporary Bonuses
0hp

19 Game-Runner Advice
Safe Play
Character Creation
Ability Rolls
Brute Forcing
Searching
Critical Rolls
Progression
NPCs
Creating Scenarios
Scenario Creation Checklist

28 Appendix
Template Characters

31 Credits

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 Prologue
The year is 2055 and the last 3 decades have seen a dramatic shift in fortunes for Earth and the
human race - thanks to the incredible innovations of Amazing Corps. Once simply an online
marketplace, it transformed into a tech supergiant and used its wealth and power to develop
and distribute climate saving devices around the world. It didn’t take long for the corporation to
grow larger than even the most powerful governments and public sentiment swelled behind
them for achieving what global bodies could not.

Amazing now control vasts swathes of global infrastructure and have involvement in every
aspect of society, largely with the happy blessing of the populace. I say largely because there is
always going to be some opposition, whether from competing corporations or unsatisfied
citizens, no matter how much good a business brings to the world. In order to protect
themselves from such threats Amazing Corps set up a secretive agency dubbed Tabula Rasa.
Players take on the form of these agents with various enhancements and high-tech gear taking
on clandestine missions to shore up corporate interests and defend them from potential
reputational damage.

3
 Content Warning
The world of Cybertopia is full of morally grey situations. Although some narratives may be
presented very matter-of-factly as black and white, most aspects have multiple sides to them
and nothing is ever simple. Corporations may squabble over power and control and conduct
clandestine takeovers or corporate espionage (and worse!) but even actions taken out of greed
can be beneficial to the greater good. Conversely resistance to those with power may have
noble intentions overall but result in reckless execution, collateral damage and even themselves
be led by people with less than pure motivations. Players are encouraged to approach this game
with open minds - feel free to question the premises presented and shape the narrative how they
feel most comfortable but also to accept that sometimes the differences between getting a job
done and doing the right thing are neither clear nor simple.

4
 Gameplay Basics
At its most simple Cybertopia is a game of the imagination where players’ narrative choices are
paramount and their actions are only limited by what they can get the game-runner to agree is
reasonable. Whilst this rulebook may seem quite thorough, it is intended more as guidelines and
decisions around circumstances and possibilities should be based upon mutual collaboration
between the players and game runner. Some actions require rolling a 20 sided dice (D20) to
determine their success (or failure!) and players get to modify these rolls with whatever
expertise, skills or items they can justify being relevant. Low roll results are worse and higher
rolls better, with a 1 being an absolute failure and a 20 (or higher with modifiers) a resounding
success.

It is up to the game-runner which actions require rolls but generally anything that would require
more effort or skill than normal everyday activity; so walking down a street would just be
narrative but chasing someone through a crowd would require a roll with any bonuses from
skills or items relevant to movement and tracking. Depending on how difficult the game-runner
decides the activity should be, the required result to achieve any success is:

Roll results at either extreme end of the scale have special lasting effects but these are
generally rarer and are detailed in the Gameplay Specifics sections.

5
 Character Setup
Players choose their setups at the start of each mission and the game-runner works with them
to define the effectiveness and balance of their choices. As long as the characters have access
to the Amazing Corps facility they start each mission from, they are able to swap any of their
character features, so can experiment with entirely different setups every mission. Players are
encouraged (but it is not mandated) to describe their own appearances beyond any items
specified but it is not necessary to create elaborate backgrounds or personalities (although this
is also not to be discouraged if players wish to do so).

Cores
Every character has a central aspect to them that describes their primary specialism or
expertise - this is neither a skill nor item but contributes +3 bonus to all related rolls. For
instance, if a player wants to be a character focused on sneakiness and infiltration, their core
could be “stealth”; or a more physical fighting base character might have a core of “brawler”.
This could be considered similar to “classes” in other games but there are no rigid definitions or
exhaustive lists of options.

6
 Skills and Learnings
Skills and abilities are imprinted onto characters via download direct to the brain or
enhancements applied to the body. Players choose their skill sets from their own imaginations
within the realms of reasonable near-future possibilities and should be discussed and agreed
with the game-runner. For example mind-hacking would be a potential skill but walking through
walls would be a step too far. Since some players may be more imaginative/experienced than
others, there is a preset list of some base suggestions to give ideas to work from in the
appendix section.

Character abilities/skills/equipment can modify roll scores depending on how general, specific
or specialised they are. These modifiers can be combined to stack endlessly but players must
be able to justify any they wish to apply to a roll.

Skills can build on but shouldn’t exactly replicate the

character’s core, although having a set of specifically
related skills is not at all mandatory. Starting skills can only
be general (+1) or specific (+2) up to a total of 5 points - a specific skill necessitates the relevant
general skill, so equates to 3 points total (1 for the general + 2 for the specific); specialised skills
(+3) can only be attained through extensive use of a specific skill in a particular way or using a
single piece of equipment.

Characters can gain permanent new skills through play by

rolling natural 20s (a 20 on the dice excluding modifiers).
When a 20 is rolled, the players and game runner
collaborate to decide on a new general skill that the
character could be starting to learn related to the roll just
made. For each natural 20 on rolls that can be justified to
be related to a new skill, the character gains a learning point
towards that skill. In order to fully learn a new skill, the
player must gain 3 learning points. A learning can be an
extension of an existing general or specific skill, allowing
players to gain higher modifier skills through extended play.

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Skills gained via learnings are considered permanent and do not count against skill points in
subsequent re-skillings.

Items, Gear and Equipment

Items function similarly to skills in that they grant roll bonuses based on the specificity of their
use. However, unlike skills, items can be found or rewarded or even traded or passed around a
group. Starting items are chosen by players much like skills are, limited to +1 or +2 bonuses
only, up to a value of 5 item points that can be used on any object, weapon or gear of the
players’ choice (at the GM’s discretion). Items with a bonus of more than 1 are generally
considered to be items with more than a single effect, for
instance a throwing star would be a +1 but an EMP throwing
star would be a +2.

Items can take the form of any object but will only affect
relevant rolls and bonuses from special effects will only be
applicable if the item is being used for the specific nature of
that bonus.

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For example:
● Military Uniform (+1 to social interactions with soldiers)
● Officer Uniform (+2 to influencing military figures)

● Pistol (+1 to ranged attack rolls)

● Silenced Pistol (+2 to stealth ranged attack rolls, +1 to non-stealth ranged attack rolls)

● Body Armour (+1 to defending non-armour-piercing melee or ranged body attacks)

● Bomb suit (+2 to explosive/concussive defense, +1 to other defense)

The range of objects available is limited

only by the players’ imaginations. As the
setting is relatively near-future, it would
be advisable to try to maintain realistic
scenarios based on iterations of current
technology - hover cars: sure;
teleportation: probably not!

Some examples of item categories that

might be of interest are available in the
appendix section.

Companions
During setup a character can take on one
or more living or AI companions (e.g. a
pet,robot or drone). A simple
general-purpose companion acts as a +1 item, whilst a companion with a special skillset is a +2
(e.g. dog or drone = +1; sniffer dog or surveillance drone = +2). Companions have their own
health, which is determined at creation with a single roll - if a companion reaches 0hp, they can
be repaired/healed similarly to a character (see Healing).

The important thing to keep in mind when a player has a companion is that it does not function
as an extra character in terms of combat turns and the character must spend some of their turn
to direct their companion’s actions, with more complex directions taking up more of the turn.

9
 10 Gameplay Specifics
Crits & Traumas
Natural 20s (rolling a 20 on the dice excluding modifiers) are complete successes, earning a
point towards a relevant learning (and on an attack incur an extra temporary status effect to the
target regardless of their defense roll) but a natural 1 causes a permanent trauma relevant to the
roll, incurring weaknesses upon future related rolls. Reaching 0hp also incurs a trauma in this
way.

An example trauma could be rolling 1 on a terminal bypass, which would then fail, causing
electrical feedback, damaging your hacking abilities making them -1 in future. This could also
make you vulnerable to protecting against hacking attacks from “bad guys”. Traumas can be
added to if the player continues to roll crit fails on the relevant skill.

Players can “overcome” traumas by

continuing to try rolls against them and
succeeding 3 times or on a single natural
20. This is intended to discourage players
from overly avoiding certain rolls. If the
player overcomes a trauma by rolling a
natural 20, they become stronger from the
experience and gain a new related skill,
which is determined in collaboration with
the game-runner and proportionate to the
trauma (i.e. a -2 trauma becomes a +2 skill).
As with learnt skills, skills gained from
critting traumas are permanent and do not
count against skill points when reskilling
each session.

10
 Assisted Actions
Characters can help each other with certain activities when relevant and appropriate - there is no
limit to how many characters may assist or how many times, as long as the action is justifiable
within the scenario. In order to help, the assisting player(s) must roll (with any associated
bonuses) with results having the following impact:

Preparation and Reactions

Any character can spend some time setting themselves up to perform better in following turns
or in reaction to events that occur during other characters’ turns. As long as it is justifiable, a
preparation can occur at any time before the planned effect (e.g. setting a trap or scheduling in
a distraction) or can be done as late as the combat round before (e.g. laying prone and setting
up a sniper tripod) although not during the same turn. These effects operate essentially to

11
assist the character themself, so a roll with relevant bonuses is made and can add up to +3 to
the next relevant roll that character makes. The effects gained from preparatory actions only
last as long justifiably relevant, so if a character braces themself for incoming attacks, that
effect will be lost once the character moves again.

Preparations can also allow characters to react to events during others’ turns in much the same
manner (e.g. lining up a position to shoot if an enemy attacks a teammate). In this context the
character will take their reaction turn(s) as soon as the condition is met, rather than having to
wait until their next turn - this performs as a free activity and has no effect on either character’s
turns. If characters’ narratively simultaneous actions and reactions come into conflict or
interfere with each other, it is up to the players to discuss and resolve what they want the overall
outcomes to be.

Combat
Upon entering pitched combat, all players roll a D20 + relevant modifiers to determine the order
in which they declare their actions. Surprise attacks/offensive actions outside of combat do not
require ordering rolls but if more than one character is attacking, the players must decide the
sequence of events between themselves (this has no impact on order rolling in any follow-on
combat). If targeted characters survive the surprise round, they roll to establish their place in the
order before the next round of combat begins and take their actions as appropriate.

These rolls are mostly to ensure that every player gets a specified chance to act each turn but
does not necessarily determine the order of events during play. Rather than each character
taking 5 seconds to act and the last of 6 having to wait 25 seconds in-game to do anything,
instead play for all occurs simultaneously and any
player can jump in to declare an action at any point or
otherwise hold back to hear what others want to do.
Initiative however does determine when enemies act
and which players are able to preempt or follow-up on
their activities.

A round of combat lasts roughly 5 seconds in-game

and each player in turn declares their intended actions -
there is no limit to the number of actions that can be

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taken, so long as they can be justified to occur within that 5 seconds. Combat rolls add bonuses
from all relevant equipment and skills where they can be justified for attack or defense.

If a player has a skill/item that would allow them to speed up actions, this could justify them
doing significantly more during their turn; if they choose to use this extra speed, they must roll
with their speed modifiers to determine how many extra activities they can include:

13
Any (non-surprise) attack can be defended against using any relevant skills and items - even if
no defense is attempted, armor or resistances are still taken into account. Damage done is
determined as the difference between the attacking roll and defending roll (if any). If the roll
results are the same, no damage is done. If the attacking roll is a natural 20, a relevant
temporary status effect (see examples in the appendix) is applied to the target.

Multiple Attacks
During the 5 seconds of a turn characters may be capable of making multiple attacks,
depending on the weapon(s) used and other actions taken. Each attack has a separate roll and
is calculated against a single defense roll from the target. All attacks must be physically capable
of being made within the 5 seconds of the turn,
including time to aim and charge/reload/recock or
move if necessary - it is up to the players and the
game-runner (who has final say) to agree on what is
reasonable in each circumstance.

Character stability and stamina may be affected by

making multiple attacks and so all attacks suffer a
cumulative -1 penalty per extra attack taken; if the character has relevant abilities, items or has
taken steps to reduce destabilisation, these can negate some of the destabilizing effects. It is
possible to attain weapons that negate some or all of these effects but these are rare and have
such qualities specified on a case-by-case basis.

Area of Effect Attacks

Some items and actions can impact larger areas than a specific target, potentially affecting
multiple characters and objects. Such events include (but are not limited to) explosions, hails of
bullets, bursts of flames, clouds of gas, splashes of acid, etc. The radius of the effect is specific
to each cause but any character caught within that radius, they will have to make a defense roll

14
to avoid it. The attack roll for area effects is consistent across the full coverage of the attack, so
all characters defend against the same number.

Friendly Fire
In similar circumstances, if another character is at
close range to the target of a failed attack, they will
have to roll to defend the attack, even if from an ally.
The roll the character has to beat is the inverse of the
missed attack roll to avoid the missed attack.

Point-Blank Range Effects

Distance to targets can have a dramatic impact on the
ability to hit and/or cause damage. Certain weapons or attacks will be stronger up close, for
instance a shotgun, and some may be more accurate at point blank range; however long
distance weapons like sniper rifles would lose their aiming advantage when used up close and
explosive weapons incur a risk of splash damage to the character. Bonuses work as follows:

Cover Bonus/Penalty
When attempting to attack an enemy the target may not always be fully visible/reachable due to
blocking from items, the environment or other characters. When this is the case an attack may
still be able to be attempted (given applicable skills/items/knowledge) but with the following
effects:

15
 Status Effects and Damage Over Time
Some weapons and items may induce special effects on characters (both players and
non-players) and natural 20s on attack rolls do so regardless of the method of attack. The
extent of these is unlimited but some examples are listed in the appendix section.

At the point of applying a status effect the character must roll (separately from any attack roll)
and the impact is as follows:

Some status effects like poison or disease can cause damage every turn until the character
successfully rolls to remove it; other effects apply the negative modifier to relevant rolls -
damaging status effects should not also cause a detriment to any rolls.

The first turn after incurring a status effect the impact can not be avoided; each subsequent
turn, a character must make a 50/50 roll that can be modified by relevant skills or items such as
resistance or medicine. Failing rolls against damaging effects incur damage calculated as the
amount the success (10) is missed by + the magnitude of the effect (1, 2 or 3): i.e. a recovery
roll of 6 against a -3 effect would cause 7 damage that turn ((10 - 6) + 3); this would occur with
the relevant additions/subtractions each turn the status roll is failed.

16
 Danger Moves
In extreme circumstances a character may take
drastic actions to perform one-off feats, such as
moving a huge distance or throwing a massive
object. This gives no extra bonuses to the rolls
but simply allows an attempt at something that
would not normally be possible; however in
order to do so, the character runs a risk of
something going horribly wrong and the base roll (excluding modifiers) has a 50/50 chance to
either succeed or fail and cause a detrimental outcome.

Healing and Temporary Bonuses

All player characters start at a maximum of 30 health (generally human non-player characters
have 20 health, small non-human characters 10 health and special characters can have any
other amount). Some items and skills allow characters to repair damage to themselves, others,
items or objects. When attempting to perform healing/repairing actions in this way players must
roll (with relevant modifiers) and the result is the total amount that is healed.

Other special items can apply bonus effects to characters’ rolls or capabilities for a limited time.
When applying a temporary bonus, the effect applied is calculated similarly to Status Effects:

The effect is automatic on the first roll (outside of combat) or until the end of the character’s
next turn (during combat) after application and bonuses are added to all relevant rolls.
Subsequent rolls or turns require a successful 50/50 sustaining roll to determine whether the
effect continues or dissipates - once dissipated, the effects can only be regained by
reapplication.

17
 0hp
Upon reaching 0hp, a character falls unconscious. Unconscious characters can not take any
turns or moves but can be moved by other characters and their equipment remains with them
unless otherwise removed.

Other characters can attempt to revive them with a healing roll even if they have no relevant
skills or items (i.e. basic first aid recovery). Revival can be attempted during battle but the
reviving player can not take an offensive action the same round as their attempt. If revived
during combat, the revived player must wait until their next turn before being able to take any
actions.

A natural 1 (rolling a 1 on a d20 dice excluding modifiers) is the only situation in which a revival
attempt completely fails and the character stays unconscious - in this situation another
character may attempt revival; if no character is able to revive successfully, further attempts can
be made upon entering a new area/completing an encounter if the unconscious character is
carried with the party.

If all player characters fall unconscious, the current mission is failed and the characters awaken
back at their base of operations, having been recovered by a secondary team sent to clean up
their mess. As consolation, characters recovered in this manner retain any skill learnings and
items collected before falling unconscious.

18
 Game-Runner Advice
Cybertopia is designed to be heavily narrative led and flexible to accommodate any player’s
ideas and imaginings. It should always be expected that players wish to explore unforeseen
areas or approach characters that haven’t been fully fleshed out - such gameplay should not be
discouraged but enabling players’ imaginations requires some quick thinking and improvisation.

Safe Play
In any roleplaying game it is important for all the players and game runners to understand and
respect each other, especially if playing with new friends or people who haven’t played together
before. Before starting a first session with a new group it is advisable to check if any players
have any subjects or topics they would be uncomfortable with and definitely don’t want to be
part of the game (known as lines) and anything that they’d be happy to be part of the game but
don’t want described in any detail (veils - narratively this would be akin to a film fading to black
over a scene, so viewers know what happens but don’t have to experience it).

It would be a good idea to note down any lines and veils for the group, so that everyone can
have a reminder of what to avoid during play. It would also be a good idea to give players an
option to at any point stop play, no questions asked, if they become uncomfortable with what is
happening. Using an X-Card is a good option for this purpose (full description of use here:
http://tinyurl.com/x-card-rpg).

Use of any of these need not necessarily end play entirely - they are simply used to give people
the tools to make sure they are in control of their comfort with the experience of playing the
game. Once any issues have been resolved and necessary adjustments made, play can continue
if everyone is happy to go on as agreed.

These considerations may be particularly important when it comes to “traumas”, so be mindful

of your players personal experiences with disability or sensitivities around real-life traumatic
events. Always try to collaborate with the players on what might be appropriate reactions and
effects and make sure to keep lines and veils in mind

Character Creation
A good approach to character creation is to present the templated characters and discuss
which skills and items appeal, then help the players understand what might work together or

19
build towards a particular archetype they seem to vibe well with. When combat is a particular
consideration, it may be advisable to suggest having both a ranged and close-quarters capacity
to attack. If players struggle to think of how to fill out remaining skill or item points, common
things to be forgotten include items of armor or defense and skills in crafting or medicine/repair.

Ability Rolls
Players should not be made to continually roll, interrupting their flow; rolls should be reserved
for specific obstacles or interactions that are intended to produce a particular result. Rolls
should also not be repeated for the same activity following a failed roll unless the player tries a
different approach - repeated approaches can utilize the same skills and items if the new
approach still justifies them.

Roll targets depend on the difficulty of the task being attempted and may be modified depending
on any changes to the surrounding circumstances/situation.

20
Failed rolls can have varying results depending on how far below the target the roll is. A roll of
10 or more below the target incurs an additional related temporary status effect. Furthermore,
the extent of the failure is proportional to the skill and item modifiers applied, particularly if the
roll is a natural 1.

Brute Forcing
Sometimes players may resort to (or specifically set themselves up for) using physical strength
to bypass obstacles intended to be navigated using other methods (common examples would
be locked doors). Average obstacles can be forced open with a relevant single roll of 15+ or two
rolls of 10+; stronger or specifically security related obstacles require a single roll of 18+, two
rolls of 15+ or three rolls of 10+. Depending on the situation, repeated rolls may result in setting
off alarms or otherwise alerting other nearby characters. Importantly time should be said to
have to pass between attempts, so a player can’t simply keep rolling 3 or 4 times in a few
seconds to eventually get enough successes - narratively this could mean taking 20-30 minutes
in which time any number of other things may occur.

Should players seem to have gotten stuck on a particular obstacle, it may become pertinent for
the game-runner to offer suggestions or maybe improvise an alternative with a particularly low
difficulty rating in order to keep the game flowing. Some level of discretion may also be
appropriate when considering rolls borderline to the stated difficulty rating.

Searching
In any location players can attempt to find something specific or just generally have a look
around using any relevant searching skills or items on the roll. What can be found depends on
the success level of the roll, although some specific locations have particularly easy or hard
items listed that can be found. Some locations simply have no items of interest and in such a
situation successful rolls can simply identify that the area is definitely devoid of interest or if
applicable, relevant information can be revealed about the location instead.

21
If the player makes a successful search roll, they should describe what it is they’re looking for
and depending on the roll this should be anything between completely ignored or embellished
upon.

Items found during missions become the permanent property of the character and remain
available in future missions at no item point cost; however players must be able to justify being
physically capable of carrying any and all taken inventory and do not necessarily need to take all
items they have gathered on all missions. It should also be noted that any item can be lost or
broken at any time (given extreme rolls and circumstances), so nothing is necessarily forever.

Critical Rolls
On any roll if a 1 is the result (excluding modifiers), the player character incurs a related trauma
as well as the total failure of the roll, however it may not always be easy to come up with a
reasonable detriment that could be associated with the failed action. Sometimes players may
have ideas or suggestions as to what their trauma could be but try not to be too specific with
them - too specific a trauma risks becoming very rare to be applied to future rolls and also then
takes longer to roll successes against to recover from.

22
Some easier to justify traumas in many situations include disorientation, specific fear, cramp or
winding but generally traumas should not be injuries that would incur damage or irrevocable
effects such as loss of limbs. It is also advisable to apply traumas that are not the direct
opposite of an existing skill for the character in question; e.g. hacking trauma vs a character
with a hacking skill - in this situation the trauma should take a more specific form, such as “fear
of robots” or “security tripping”.

The result of a critical failure is narratively proportional to the modifier applied; e.g. rolling a 1 on
an attempt to safely restrain an opponent using a +10 modifier could result in the character
incurring a trauma of “lack of self-control” and accidentally butchering the target opponent.

Rolls of 20 (excluding modifiers) are always a complete success, allowing the player to describe
exactly what they want to happen (within reason to the game runner’s discretion) but also
increment the learning points towards a new related skill.

Progression
Cybertopia is designed to allow players to try lots of different character setups, so there is less
emphasis on character progression in general. It would not be unexpected for a player to go
through multiple sessions without gaining any learnings at all, as natural 20s can be randomly
rare occurrences. If players are getting frustrated by things they have one or two learnings in but
are struggling to progress/complete, discretion can be used to allow learnings on lower dice
rolls but if this is changed, keep it consistent throughout play. Players can also be encouraged to
roll more frequently on related abilities or leniency given to tenuously relate successful natural
20s to an ability with learnings already earned.

NPCs
Non-Player Characters take on many forms in Cybertopia but generally fit into 2 categories:
general or special.

General characters are very common and make up the vast majority of characters in the game.
They usually have 20 health and a limited (if any) set of skills and/or items - at most they can be
set up similarly to the template characters in the Appendix, just without any character core. The
intention of such characters is that they could potentially be killed in one attack - they are weak
and not tuned specifically for combat.

23
Special characters are much rarer NPCs to encounter, akin to a level boss in a videogame, and
generally reserved for special scenarios such as campaign finales. They are built similarly to full
player characters (30 health, 5 item and 5 skill points) except that they don’t have character
cores and may have special items such as +3 or +4 weapons or gear.

When performing actions or abilities on an NPC, the outcome is decided based on the same
principles as combat - contested rolls including any relevant modifiers on either side. This only
applies for rolls made directly against the character like intimidating them or bargaining - rolls
made against a character’s items, such as attempting to hack a comms device or sabotaging
their equipment are target based upon the difficulty of the item in question.

24
 Creating Scenarios
The Cybertopia system is designed specifically to be adaptable to any setting, location, quest or
scenario and improvising is strongly encouraged. However, less experienced Game Runners
may find it useful to follow the below formula for planning out sessions:

Start the player characters in a safe location, like the Amazing Corps HQ, where they can be
briefed on the situation/objective, select their character setups and plan their approach. The
main play of the scenario can be nicely structured in three stages:

1. Exterior location: scouting, approach, entrance, easy/simple interactions/obstacles

2. Interior location: puzzles, traps, investigation, harder interactions/obstacles, potential
light combat
3. Objective: major encounter, significant interactions/obstacles, moderate-heavy potential
combat

Whatever the outcome of the scenario, it always helps to bring things to a close with a short
debriefing and/or some overview report of what occurred and how well the team performed.

The system is designed with one-shots in mind (i.e. a mission should aim to be completed in a
single session), allowing players to reconfigure their characters every time they play but
multi-session missions are not out of the question.

Mission types can vary wildly but some suggestions that fit the setting particularly well include:
● Heist ● Investigate
● Assault ● Deliver
● Rescue ● Collect
● Escort ● Capture
● Assassinate ● Track & Trace
● Destroy ● Evade
● Defend ● Hide
● Infiltrate ● Escape

25
 Scenario Creation Checklist

⃣ Who/What is the target of this mission?

⃞ Friendly, enemy, neutral, other?
⃞ Is it a person, object, information, something else?
⃞ Is the target part of or belonging to another group or an individual? Rival
corporation, terrorist faction, civilian group, etc.?
⃣ What has to be done with/to the target?
⃞ Retrieved/captured, destroyed/killed, altered/replaced, protected, observed, etc.?
⃣ Where is the target located?
⃞ Which sector of the city? Commercial, industrial, residential?
⃞ What kind of location? Warehouse, office, laboratory, street, park, etc.?
⃞ What’s the status of the location? Friendly, enemy, neutral? Contested, unaware,
alert, unoccupied?
⃣ What interesting items or NPCs could be found/interacted with?
⃞ In each distinct area, what would search attempts turn up?
⃞ Are there people, robots, animals, etc. present and are they friendly or hostile?
⃞ Are there any key items or NPCs that could significantly change the situation?
⃣ What could cause complications?
⃞ Automated security, guards, traps, inanimate hazards, etc.?
⃞ Is the location stable? Crumbling house, sinking ship, tense occupants, etc.?
⃞ Is anyone actively or coincidentally interfering? Police, protestors, spies, etc.?
⃣ What restrictions/limitations are there?
⃞ Is it important to not be seen/identified?
⃞ Does the target/location have to be maintained? Intact, operational, alive?
⃣ How is the target location structured?
⃞ Assume each room/area can take roughly 30-45 minutes to progress through
(depending on complexity/complications)
⃞ Does the situation evolve dramatically in some/all areas and do complications
continue between them?
⃞ How open is each area? Are there multiple routes that can be taken to the target?
⃞ Once the target is reached, are there other options for reaching an extraction
point or retracing previous steps?

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It’s important to consider with each of these steps, how players might be able to break the
layout - if they enter through the roof, will they bypass all the obstacles? Can they simply blow
the entire location up to achieve the intended result? How easy would it be to brute force all the
way through the scenario or use just one method to get past every obstacle?

Depending on the game runner’s comfort and capability with improvising, feel free to allow the
players to assist with worldbuilding around the scenario. They may have cool ideas about NPCs,
items or even areas of the location that could be useful in developing the situation.

The final part of creating a scenario is to develop a summary that can be provided by the
characters’ commanding officer during the player introduction. This should be a few vague
sentences and not go into any great detail or answer questions from the players, which can be
handled by the drone assisting with gear and skill provision afterwards:

⃣ A short and simple synopsis of the mission objective

⃞ What is the problem that needs solving?
⃞ Where do the team have to go?
⃞ What specific restrictions need to be emphasised?

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 Appendix
Template Characters
(Core ✦, 3/5 Skill ■ and 3/5 Item □ points used

● Space Ninja ● Semi-Cyborg

✦ Martial arts (+3) ✦ Robotics (+3)
■ Stealth (+1) ■ Computer integration (+1)
■ Movement speed (+1) ■ Precision aim (+1)
■ Swordsmanship (+1) ■ Language processing (+1)
□ Plasma sword (+2) □ Titanium skin (+1)
□ Grappling hook (+1) □ High power brain (+1)
□ Power assisted limbs (+1)
● Combat Mechanic
✦ Engineering (+3) ● Proto-Biochemist
■ Crafting (+1) ✦ Chemistry (+3)
■ Weapon modification (+2) ■ Pharmacology (+1)
□ Tool-kit (+1) ■ Hormonal drugs (+2)
□ Arc welder (+1) □ Chem-kit (+1)
□ Gauss pistol (+1) □ Hazmat suit (+1)
□ Chemical sprayer (+1)
● Field Medic
✦ Medicine (+3) ● Suave-Psychic
■ First aid (+1) ✦ Mind reading (+3)
■ Wound sealing (+2) ■ Empath (+1)
□ Med-kit (+1) ■ Suggestion (+2)
□ Cauterising torch (+1) □ Moldable facemask (+1)
□ Dart gun (+1) □ Voice modulator (+1)
□ Sharpened eyesight (+1)
● Cyber-Security Expert
✦ Computers (+3) ● Trickster
■ Hacking (+1) ✦ Deception(+3)
■ Security breaking (+2) ■ Fast hands (+1)
□ Drone (+1) ■ Distraction (+1)
□ Computerised helmet (+2) ■ Observation (+1)
□ Flip Knife (+1)
● Mutant Reptile □ Smoke bomb (+1)
✦ Reptilian nature (+3) □ Holo-projector (+1)
■ Chameleon (+1)
■ Climbing (+1) ● Animal Whisperer
■ Deflection (+1) ✦ Animal handling (+3)
□ Lizard limbs (+1) ■ Empathy (+1)
□ Acid spit gland (+2) ■ Animal communication (+2)
□ Taser whip (+2)
□ Dart gun (+1)

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Skill Examples
+1 Skills +2 Skills
● Fighting ● Close Quarters Combat
● Shooting ● Quickdraw
● Hacking ● Robotics
● Stealth ● Body Language
● Engineering ● Crafting
● Chemistry ● Dodging
● Persuasion ● Dismemberment
● Strength ● Grip
● Repair ● Precognition
● Medicine ● Mind reading

Item Examples
● Drone ● Plasma Torch
● Binoculars ● Nightvision Goggles
● Tools ● Grapple Rope
● Comms Device ● Repair Kit
● Micro-computer ● Gas mask
● Drugs ● Rebreather
● Handcuffs ● Med Kit
● Body Enhancements ● Genetic Alterations (e.g. reptilian,
● Arc Welder amphibian, insectoid, etc

Weapon Examples
● Gun ● Tomahawk
● Grenade ● Spear
● Knife ● Dart Gun
● Taser ● Throwing Stars
● RPG ● Powerglove
● Laser ● Claws
● Sonic Cannon ● Tentacle
● Whip ● Pincers
● Knuckle Dusters ● Stinger
● Sword ● EMP
● Crossbow ● Flamethrower

Gear Examples
● Body Armour ● Hat
● Helmet ● Glasses
● Boots ● Hardened Body Paint
● Goggles ● Disguise
● Gloves ● Hazmat suit

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Temporary Effect Examples
Negative Status Effects Positive Status Effects

○ Smoke inhalation ○ Adrenalin

○ Fatigue ○ Focus
○ Concussion ○ Resilience
○ Phobia ○ Steroids
○ PTSD ○ Reflexes
○ Muscle spasms ○ Pheromones
○ Madness ○ Telepathy
○ Rage ○ Technopathy
○ Compromised tech ○ Flexibility
○ Numbness ○ Fearless

Damage Over Time Effects

○ Poison
○ Fire
○ Bleeding
○ Migraine
○ Disease
○ Asphyxiation
○ Exhaustion

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 Credits

Special Thanks
Sylvia Newbon : Wife/Playtester/accepter and encourager of all my nonsense
C’tri Goudie : Editor/Consultant
Ana Paie : Cover Artist
Phil Harris : Consultant
Dave Cook : Inspiration

Playtesters
Andrew Peters Marc Richards
Sam Westwood Sarah Ford
Ali Legge Sophie Green
Andrei Zamisnicu Gary Kings
Jonothan Watts Joe Neeves
Michael Forrest Natalie Winter
Luke Stevens Ahmed El-Badawi
Hazel Bothwell Bertine van Hövell
Joe Hughes Kat Welsford
Craig Wilkinson Matt Boothman
Patrick Esson Richard Stratton
Franco Spina Emma Chee
Martin McNickle Felicity Rogers
Yghor Kerscher Harry Edsor
Eric Johnstone Leigh Jones
Charles Ross Chris Downey
Bill Mackellar Angela Jones

Additional Contributors
Ali Trotta David Blandy
Stefaan Doomen Angela Jones

Attribution
Background and frontpage art created using vector images from freepik and pikisuperstar
www.freepik.com/vectors/background

Placeholder illustrations modified from Pexels.com and Unsplash.com

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