Caracas: Hole in the Heart, Recruitment Thread Options

[Abschalten]

Caracas: Hole in the Heart

"Hole in the Heart" is a PbP game I intend to start that takes place in the dangerous urban hell known as Caracas. The game will be done in a gritty, street level, film noir style, but with a distinctive South American flair. Fans of hard-boiled fiction and those who enjoy themes of hopelessness, cynicism, and depravity will find themselves right at home.

Details on Caracas itself can be found in Runner Havens, pages 124-127; and in Ghost Cartels, pages 134 and 135. I will be using this material as a reference, since I think the setting is magnificent for the style of game I want to run. However, whatever is not laid out on the page is within my domain to invent and create as I see fit. Since Caracas is more or less a bare-bones city as of right now, this minimal description gives me great leeway to come up with a living, vibrant backdrop. Characters may leave Caracas at some point, but the game will be based there primarily.

The game will start towards the end of the Ghost Cartels arc, when Tempo is still on the streets but starting to slowly fade as distribution channels are disrupted. Political tensions are high between Aztlan and Amazonia, with Caracas as the tainted, black prize in between them. The city is already on the verge of anarchy and complete collapse. It’s a scary time to be alive in Caracas.

This campaign will be VERY roleplay-oriented. There will be dice rolls for situational resolution, but I am looking for dedicated posters who really want to explore not only my twisted version of Caracas but also plumb the inner depths of their own tortured PCs. As stated previously, this is going to be a game done in a very film noir style. Your characters should be built to survive in such a world and mesh up thematically. Caracas is very dangerous, and only the toughest and hardest runners can make it, though doing so may come at a very heavy cost.

We will be using the optional Severe Wounds rules as described on pages 120-122 of Augmentation, for that extra gritty and dangerous feel. If you take enough damage, you will feel it in the morning. While I am not out to capriciously kill off characters, I do intend to create high tension, dramatic scenarios. If you’re twisted like me, you think it’s awesome when your PC is suffering from grievous bodily injury, because it adds to the story.

Characters will be built with the standard 400 BP character generation. All of the core books (SR4A, Augmentation, Arsenal, Street Magic, Unwired, and Runners Companion) will be allowed and used. There is a twist, however. The standard limit on Qualities applies, in that you can take 35 BP worth of Positive and 35 BP worth of negative. However, there is a list of negative Qualities from which you MUST choose AT LEAST ONE for your character, though you can take as many as you’d like from the list, up to the limit. Any negative qualities from this list are worth x1.5 (round up) their standard value. So for example if you take Bad Luck (20 BP), you would instead have 30 extra BP to use for your characters. This incentivizes making flawed, imperfect, tormented characters and also makes them slightly stronger than standard 400 BP PCs, meaning you have more points to spend on skills, special attributes, spells, etc.

This list of Negative Qualities is:
Addiction (Moderate or higher), Bad Luck, Scorched, Uncouth, Uneducated, Enemy, Bad Rep, Bi-Polar, Big Regret, Borrowed Time, Lost Loved One, Hung Out To Dry, Paranoia, Poor Self Control (any), Prejudiced, Amnesia (10 BP only), and SINner (Criminal), Cyberpsychosis

Allowed: Any of the standard metatypes and the metavariants in Runners Companion.

Disallowed: Drakes, AIs, Changelings, Infected, Sapient Critters, Free Spirits.

Requirements to be in this game:
• Must be a dedicated poster (RL circumstances are understandable)
• Must be willing to play an imperfect, tormented character in a harsh world
• Must be willing to play in a game with adult themes
• Must have an affinity for film noir and hard-boiled fiction

I Will:
• Engage you all as a team
• Help you explore your individual storylines
• Work with you if foresee an extended absence
• Do my damn best to create an enjoyable gaming experience for you all

Do not apply to play if you are not willing to stick around for the long term. I am not even fucking kidding about this. I want a handful (five or six at most) of dedicated, enthusiastic posters, and I really don’t want to have to write somebody out of an engaging story and fill that spot back in. I want to get to know your characters and see into their souls. I want to challenge them, and force them to confront their personal demons.

Now that I’m done with the pitch, all I can ask is: anyone interested? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Edit:
Players:
1. Combat Mage - "Amnesiac Sam" (Street Samurai)
2. Rastus - Smiley (Rigger/Smuggler)
3. Doc Chase - Kennedy "Sonora" Rojas (Social Adept)
4. DrZaius - Stephen Jacobs (Ork Magician/Investigator)
5. Mister Juan - Dexter Pope (ex-Special Forces)
6. MDI - Esteban Moreno (Troll Pitfighter)
7. Lamhslea - Chaske Mato (Technomancer)
8. Rystefn - Raul Blanca (Athletics Adept)

That's It Folks! - Recruitment is Over!