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Trinity Universe: Game Idea


ProfPotts

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Nippon, 2120: seventeen years after the end of the Quarantine, nearly sixty years after the War – the aberrants are gone, psionics are outlawed, bio-tech is illegal. To many the sprawling hardtech arcologies which cover the entirety of the Home Islands are a futuristic wonderland: the zaibatsu maintains order, corporate employees happily embrace the drone-like cyber-mentality, satisfactory intelligence systems are an integral part of society – from interactive computer agents to autonomous simulacra ‘dolls’. Travel to and from the Islands is strictly regulated, the so-called ‘Electronic Curtain’ which separates the Nihonjin from the rest of the world keeps Nippon safe from dangerous outside influences which would threaten to destabilise the all important order which allows the Home Islands to be as near to utopia as humanity has ever achieved. Of course, not everybody is happy with order…

… Boiling under the gleaming surface of Nippon, beneath the artificial weather of the great plassteel arcologies, below the streets where polymer plastic birds sing and man-made orchids bloom, hidden from the eyes of those who embrace the utopian wonderland, the seeds of chaos germinate and grow. Mass insanity, domestic violence, random homicide, irrational terrorism – the shadow side of Nippon is a dark mirror indeed… and steadily growing worse. The zaibatsu and corporations go to great lengths to hold back this surging tide of lawlessness, supplying the police with the latest in technology – from robots, VARGS, and computers, to body armour and weaponry: the agents of order are well-equipped to fight their battles. Beyond the visible authorities the yakuza – more established than ever, and often only a few liberally-worded legal documents apart from their corporate cousins – enforce a swifter, more brutal, form of order in the streets. Yet the tides of chaos still rise.

Chief architects of chaos, according to many, are the zoku, or ‘tribes’ – disenfranchised and outcast young people running in gangs whose members have similar, anti-social, interests. Wandering the streets, seemingly at random, dressed in their alternate styles of choice, the zoku are violent and criminal, engaging in aggressive territorial disputes, running from (or fighting) the police, alternately working for or combating the yakuza, and through it all generating chaos, chipping away at the order which maintains Nihonjin society, threatening to shake the pillars of heaven and bring utopia crashing down around their ears – and laughing all the time while they do so.

Motorcycle & hovercycle gangs, combat gangs, high-tech gangs, aberrant cultist gangs: the variety of neo-tribal zoku are staggering – each tribe different from the next, their disregard for law, for order, for society, an innate part of their very existence. The question is often asked by those in power: why? Why do so many of the young people of Nippon choose to act in such a self-destructive manner? Like the zoku themselves, there is no one simple answer: insanity, many say, is the cause, others blame the stifling nature of twenty-second century Nihonjin society, some point to poverty as a key factor… but for a small minority, for a growing few, the reason is simple: they have no choice.

Their very existence illegal, their very nature branding them outcasts, those both blessed and cursed by psychic ability who are unable (or unwilling) to flee the nation for the safety of a Psi Nippon enclave are beginning to find each other, to join together in the underbellies of the great arcologies, to forge their own path in the artificial world of Nippon. The latest, and most feared, of the urban tribes are the psizoku. Supported by an expanding black market in illegal bio-tech the psizoku are increasing in number and growing in power… and those who’s goal is to maintain order at all costs shift uneasily in their virtual conference rooms, mutter at the latest statistical analysis of the problem, spin the media away from the evidence… and begin to mutter than a new, superior, agent of order is needed to deal with these harbingers of chaos…

*****

So – it had to happen: a new Trinity game idea. The Players would take on the Characters of young (late teens to early twenties) spontaneously triggered psychics who’ve joined together into a ‘zoku’ (or ‘gang’) for mutual support and protection in a effort to survive in a world which hates and fears them and what they represent.

Essentially this would be a very cyberpunk (or should that be ‘psiberpunk’) style game of street-level action with psychic powers. For inspiration look at things like Akira, Appleseed, Tank Police, Bubblegum Crisis, ADPolice, anything in the cyberpunk genre (especially William Gibson’s stuff – Burning Chrome, Neuromancer, Mona Lisa Overdrive, etc.), Judge Dredd, the Deus Ex computer games, & even things like The Matrix and A Clockwork Orange. Characters would be part of a style-over-substance, rebellious, ignore-the-rules-of-society, in-your-face, youth subculture living hard and fast, raising cash to buy black market bio-tech to amp up their psychic powers, trying to keep one step ahead of the authorities and defending themselves and their turf against the aggression of rival zoku. The setting (obviously) would be sprawling ultra-urban landscape of Nippon – specifically the NeoTokyo arcology.

So – thoughts, questions, interest?

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Oh, this sounds excellent.

As soon as I get a handle on American Revenants, and maybe see what you guys all come up with, I'll see what I can do. ::wink

Prof, out of sheer curiosity, have you ever read anything by Neal Stephenson? I picked up The Diamond Age a bit before leaving for your home continent and really enjoyed what I read of it.

Also, what kind of psi users are the PCs going to be?

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I hope this isn't whats making you eye the axe over at Nippontai... ::unsure Actually BGC (the original) is one of my favorite series.

,,

True to form I am going to inquire about the opening up of character choices. Before I had even finished reading your post where you laid out the psi-zoku I was already imagining playing a baddass cop the likes of Leon in BGC. Of course Tora is partly modeled on him (as well as Isamu Dyson from Macross Plus) so I will probably reserve some of those traits for him (if I get the chance). In traditional cyberpunk games, the players are a divers and unlikely mix...from hard boiled reporters to glamorous rockerboys. Addd in street samurai, ex or curent corporate types, cops, fixers, netrunners and yakuza and its a broad spectrum.

,,

So my question is do the psi-zoku have to be teen gangbangrs? Or could they include people from other walks of life who happen to manifest psionics?

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Also, what kind of psi users are the PCs going to be?

Psiads, as per the 'Psychomorphs in Trinity' sidebar in the APG page 61: essentially characters are either 'Cognitive' (Clairsentience & Telepathy as primary Aptitudes), 'Biological' (Biokinesis & Vitakinesis as primaries), or 'Energetic' (Electrokinesis & Psychokinesis primary), with the other four Aptitudes (as well as Teleportation) as secondary Aptitudes (Quantakinesis can't be manifested 'naturally' so isn't available at all). Characters can (eventually) manifest up to 3 dots in any of their Aptitudes (primary or secondary), or 4 dots in primary aptitudes if they reach a Psi of 9 or 10. Starting Psi is limited to 5. I'll post full chargen rules at some point if this puppy goes ahead.

So my question is do the psi-zoku have to be teen gangbangrs? Or could they include people from other walks of life who happen to manifest psionics?

As already mentioned they have to be young (late teens to early twenties), & have to have ended up in the zoku, running in the streets. Player characters will all belong to the same zoku (it's the point of the game). Back stories will need to include: life prior to triggering, the triggering event (i.e. what incident caused them to manifest as a psychic), & how the character ended up with the zoku. So yes, to a reasonable degree, the characters can come from any walk of life (within the confines of the already stated game setting - e.g. everyone will be Japanese), as long as they've ended up running with the zoku.

Full chargen rules will limit several Backgrounds to appropriate levels (e.g. no Citizenship allowed, Resources no more than 2 dots, etc.). Contacts, Influence, & the like will all be street-level: the characters, no matter their 'pre-triggering' lives, are no all outcasts, rejected by the system & society both.

So - a young ex-cop who's gone 'rogue' after developing psi powers would be okay - just don't expect his old friends & colleagues from the force to be doing anything other than trying to gun him down.

In traditional cyberpunk games, the players are...

No need to tell me, I've run many a successful Cyberpunk game over the years (the best couple ending in all the PCs dying... it's the cyberpunk way choombatta ::devil ). This, obviously, isn't a 'traditional Cyberpunk game' - it's a Trinity game, set in the Trinity game world, using the Trinity rules, which just happens to be based on the cyberpunk genre as a whole (rather than the good ol' RPG of the same name). So don't expect to have a cyberarm or a smartgun, or to go netrunning, or any of that setting specific stuff which doesn't exist in Trinity. Do expect lots of neon, SI 'bots, black market biotech, high speed hovercycle chases through dimly lit undercity streets, faceless corporate goons, & 'heroes' who are, at best, 'anti-heroes' - when the future's so dark you've gotta' wear shades you see the world in shades of grey... ::cool

By the way, just in case this happens, you guys might want to discuss a name & gang 'look' for your zoku - since you'll all be in the same one, it's best you all have a say. 'Look' could be a gang symbol (like a heraldry mon on the back of jackets), a colour they all wear, a style of dress (literal punk, for example), a specific tattoo, or anything else suitable. Just remember, style counts a lot in a setting like this - whatever you guys choose, you'll have to live with it... ::sly

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::confused

::blink

::wacko

I'd love to play, as usual this sounds awesome...to be honest I'm getting a little worried about your sanity Prof. I seriously hope you're outsourcing to a group of a qualified monkeys to be able to handle all the games! :jumping40:

Trinity has got to be my favorite RPG so I can't really pass this up (TEF and DoD were awesome)...just please let us know when it gets too hard to handle all of these...

pretty please?

With sugar on top?

::wink

Gonna be busy this weekend but I should have time to think of something on Monday.

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I concur with Ezekial...the last thing we want is a burnt out Professor! Thats what...7 games simultaneously now?!? ::ohmy .

,,

Sound fun though! ::happy My particpation as always depends on having a character idea Im stoked on. Right now my main concern is starting in Tellus, and then the revamping of my XWF submission. After that I'll see how much energy and Inspiration points I have left... ::wink

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Seven games... one a day I guess... ::wink

Yeah, I know it's a bit crazy, but I can't help it when I get concepts stuck in my head. ::biggrin

I know the feeling. How would you feel about the runaway daughter of a cop?

Shadows maybe for a gang name. Or do we want to flaunt ourselves and call ourselves the Hidden Eye, with a tat of a third eye on our foreheads? Or just leather jackets (or black leather trench coats!) with an eye on the back and breast? Each member could have their own custom eye - like a pyro would have a flaming eye, a technokinesist an eye with lighting bolts, a mentat with a small pyramid over it, stuff like that.

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Prof, you are an evil, evil shite; you know this, don't you? ::devil I am also concerned about your workload, but I have to admit this sounds mega-cool; I do have a few concerns, though:

1. Will my ongoing confusion with Japanese names prevent me from knowing what the hell is going on? ::unsure

2. Recently I've been having trouble posting in the games I'm in right now; would this spread me even thinner, like a delicious layer of marmalade on a big piece of toast? ::blink

3. Will I be tempted once again to play another hot shapeshifter chick? Like, for the tenth time? ::rolleyes

4. Wooooooooooop! Sorry, not a concern, it's just really late in the work day - I feel much better now ::smile

I must think on't, and I shall let thee know in good time...

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I'm leaning toward the Clear/Telepath option right now. A radical psi-nippon "cultural terrorist". Kind of a cross between a culturejammer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_jamming) and an independent journalist. Lots of street level contacts. Not much combat capability. I'll message the professor about maybe giving him some jury-rigged recording/broadcasting equipment as well trinity-era implements for vandalism (they've got to have come up with something more interesting then good ol' spray paint by then).

If anyone is thinking of playing a character with decent Electro-K let me know. 'specilly if you're going a hackerish route. Mayhaps our characters collaborated in the past or some such thing.

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I'm leaning toward the Clear/Telepath option right now. A radical psi-nippon "cultural terrorist". Kind of a cross between a culturejammer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_jamming) and an independent journalist. Lots of street level contacts. Not much combat capability. I'll message the professor about maybe giving him some jury-rigged recording/broadcasting equipment as well trinity-era implements for vandalism (they've got to have come up with something more interesting then good ol' spray paint by then).

If anyone is thinking of playing a character with decent Electro-K let me know. 'specilly if you're going a hackerish route. Mayhaps our characters collaborated in the past or some such thing.

Hidden microcam in the beret or bandana sending to a recording unit tucked away in your pocket? Would you be uploading the vid to your own web site or something like youtube?

-ex

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Theme and name ideas

- Polo shirts and blue jeans juxtaposed with our colored mohawks and sound-shanks. A parody of 21st-century American 'normal' youths. 'The Degenerates.'

- A black bandanna or armband. This could go well with 'the Shadows' [or the Japanese translation] as a name.

- 'Aberrant eyes' - ordinary sunglasses modified with HUD technology to constantly display distracting patterns on the outside of the lenses. 'The Aberrants.'

- Order tattoos on the outer arm, corresponding to an individuals psi abilities. An 'energetic' psiad might wear the Orgotek symbol, or maybe even Legion facial tattoos if she's particularly daring. 'The Psions.' 'The Cult.'

Expendable, I'm not sure how I feel about calling ourselves 'the Hidden Eye' if the eye is going to be plastered all over our jackets and foreheads... Even zoku gang-bangers might just judge us a little for that one. ::wink ::sly

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I'm leaning toward the Clear/Telepath option right now. A radical psi-nippon "cultural terrorist". Kind of a cross between a culturejammer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_jamming) and an independent journalist. Lots of street level contacts. Not much combat capability. I'll message the professor about maybe giving him some jury-rigged recording/broadcasting equipment as well trinity-era implements for vandalism (they've got to have come up with something more interesting then good ol' spray paint by then).

If anyone is thinking of playing a character with decent Electro-K let me know. 'specilly if you're going a hackerish route. Mayhaps our characters collaborated in the past or some such thing.

Cool concept! Maybe you could hijack local holovid systems to project 3D animated 'tags', which would be a great way to tie up tech/security types; as they attempt to fix the holo unit, the rest of the gang slips past ::wink

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Theme and name ideas

Expendable, I'm not sure how I feel about calling ourselves 'the Hidden Eye' if the eye is going to be plastered all over our jackets and foreheads... Even zoku gang-bangers might just judge us a little for that one. ::wink ::sly

It's a reference to the mystical third eye (also called the Mind's eye), often linked to psychic and mystical ability. In 3x3 Eyes, the demon-girl Pai's powerful psychic self awoke when the hidden third eye opened on her forehead.

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Themes and Names:

The theme of the story and the nature of our antagonists should probably impact on our name choice. Are we waging a gurillea war against the government and corporations? Ultra-Violent gangbangers? A pseudo-mystical vaugely cultish hive?

All of the above?

Lets hear some more character ideas and we can begin to flesh this thing out. Names and/or gimmicks are probably one of the last things we'll settle on.

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1. Will my ongoing confusion with Japanese names prevent me from knowing what the hell is going on?

Actually I kinda' imagine zoku as the sort of people who use descriptive nicknames / handles more often than real names, which should make things easier.

I've been asked about cybernetics in this game - as far as the PCs go the answer is gonna' be 'no'. The PC's psi powers are what make them special, & keep them together as a group - we'll leave other 'special effects' to other groups.

For 'pirate media' the Trinity Technology Manual has some 'vidspecs' that could prove helpful, along with other 'Intelligence Technology' & computer stuff which could be used to set up an illegal OpNet show.

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Sadly, I think I'm going to pass on this game, not because of anything goofy like the Japanese name issue, but due to lack of creative resources; at this point, working on my comic comes first, and it's making it a lot harder to split my focus between multiple games. This does not mean I'm leaving any of the games I'm in now (well, possibly one of them...::sad), but I'm instituting a strict 'no new games' policy for myself, at least for the immediate future.

You guys have fun! ::biggrin

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  • 2 weeks later...

I haven't abandoned this one, & will post chargen rules soon(ish). I would like some idea of the zoku's name & look though, so that I can incorporate it into the intro' post - have you guys settled on anything yet? If you can't find something you all like, I guess you'll be stuck with whatever I come up with... ::sly

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I'm repeating my suggestion from earlier, since there hasn't been much discussion on the topic since then:

The Shadows

Gang symbol: A solid black armband or bandanna, or both

Goals/ideals: The Shadows are anarchists who violently oppose the rule of law and the extremely high degree of power wielded by the police. This power, ostensibly used to fight gangs, and only allowed by the public because of politically encouraged fear of the Yakuza, only ends up being used as a lash on the back of the Working Man. The Shadows would have led normal, productive, happy lives - but the government struck first*.

So we walk the streets. Hurting the machine when we can, helping out the Working Man when we can - but mostly just looking after our own.

Methods: Despite their reputation as one of the more deadly zoku to mess with in urban Nippon, the Shadows are actually more like a pack of wolves or wild dogs than a band of killers. They have a tendency to be extremely trigger-happy when dealing with cops, anyone who could work closely with cops, or anyone who looks upper-class enough that they're no longer classified as a Working Man**.

*obviously, this need not actually be true, it's just gang propaganda

**violent tendencies may vary depending on the vagaries of individual members

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The Clowns

'Cause of Akira...c'mon, who doesn't remember the motorcycle showdown against the badass clown...

Also featured in Batman Beyond (Jokers)

Clowns are creepy and easy to customize (punk clowns, smiley clowns, sad clowns, etc...) Being the Trinity era, "makeup" can be holo makeup so it doesn't have to be anti-stealth...

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