This game is paranoid, gritty, cyberpunk...with magic. Emphasis on the paranoid, emphasis on the cyberpunk. Just about everywhere you go, you SIN will be checked and recorded- where and when you get on a bus, where and when you get off. Everytime you enter a story, how long you stay is marked. Whenever you drive through an intersection, you SIN and speed is marked. Speeding? The money comes straight out of the SIN's account- no trial. Even the public toilets keep records. Think your alone? You think no one is watching? Ha! The cameras are everywhere. Watcher Spirits are everywhere. Your only salvation is that no one gives a shit. So staying alive means staying off the radar.

If you don't play smart, expect to die. If you aren't paranoid, expect to die. Or worse. I will not be kind or forgiving, and I will throw at you every dirt trick your enemies have at their disposal. The bigger the Corp, the dirtier and deadlier the tricks. A bit heavy on the house rules, and more cyberpunk than fantasy (I admit I have never felt comfortable with the magic system). The House rules are mostly clearing up Matrix-related ambiguity, and providing tools-> ie scramble boxes for cars to confuse the SIN readers (highly illegal), skinlink gloves so you can use skinlink without leaving prints, and a few other pieces of tech and 'ware that I feel are lacking. Also, I won't be allowing characters to increase their edge with BP. Only Karma earned in game.

To compare to other works, expect plots and betrayals like that of "The Usual Suspects" or "SnowCrash," combined with "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex." For feel, think "The Stone Canal," "Fire Zone Emerald" or the original "Ghost in the Shell" graphic novel, with a splash of "Green Days in Brunei" to keep the insanity at bay. Setting? Shadowrun of course, but heavily influenced by "Transmetropolitan." and "Neuromancer."

These is one other thing I want. I want the players to be able to depend on each other. Despite the harsh, conspiratorial world out there, for the sake of sanity, I want a close knit group. This doesn't mean you have to all like each other, but it means you all work together, and trust each other- as much as that is possible. I admit I am a sucker for this kind of group dynamic, and I think in this interpretation of the Shadowrun setting, you will all need the mutual support and security. Again, everyone does not have to be friends, but you can presume you have all been running together for a few years at least, and saved each others asses a number of times. Perhaps one of the best examples of it is the crew of Serenity (from Firefly), and if you are still unsure what I mean, please consult this TV Tropes page.. Because I am trying to form this kind of group, I will be accepting players, NOT characters. Character creation will be done together as a group. Do NOT send me a character idea. DO tell me about yourself, your gaming experience, your thoughts about cyberpunk, etc. <-That is not a list. I value ingenuity. Ultimately, what you are trying to convince me of is that you are a good roleplayer, who enjoys the shadowrun/cyberpunk setting. Use any means you deem necessary. HINT: I link writing samples, or links to current games you are in.
Since people do enjoy more rigid criteria, here are a few important requirements.

1) Able to post at least once a week.
2) Able to use that gray squishy thing located inside the skull. You know, the thing that does the thinking.
3) Able to work in a team.
4) Able to realistically portray a character.
5) Able to help craft a compelling narrative.
6) Able to keep a game alive.
7) D0z nawt Sp3LL liek Th!s!1!1!!!

Required Reading:
*Shadowrun 4e Corebook.
*System's Guide to Paranoia V1.3
*Serbitar's Guide to the Matrix V1.1


A few more details. The game will be play by email. This is because, in about a 3 weeks to a month, the only internet activity I will be capable of is checking my email. Chat or forum based games will not be possible for me. Yet, I still want to run a game, so it will be a play by email, with myself only being able to post once or twice a week. Just so you are warned. This slow rate will last until September, then I SHOULD get a more regular internet connection. As for books, I have Runner's Haven, Contacts and Adventures, Street Magic, and, of course, the Core Book. I WISH I had Augmentation and Arsenal, but sadly, I do not. Anyone want to buy me a copy? I will not be giving any hints as to what the game is about, because I want to get to know the players and characters first. I have several campaign ideas, I want to see which is the best fit with the group, and not give away any surprises.

That is all for now. Any questions, please feel free to ask.

First!

I'm interested!

I started playing SR when it first came out.

I ran a 10 year SR campaign and ended it when the last original player moved away.

Yes, Yes, all the way from the 1st edition which proved if you have a cool concept and had good background material you didn't need no stinking functional combat system. Every edition since then has been a vast improvement.

I'd been following SR4 and recently took the plunge and started a new campaign.

I still haven't forgiven Fox for canceling Firefly.

I published a fanzine called Grey Worlds for Iron Crown back in college.

My favorite game systems are Hero, Runequest, Fading Suns and SR.

This sounds like a lot of fun. A team campaign sounds very good to me.

I can meet all the requirements.

If you would like a sample of my writting check out

The Candeopluma from the Fading Suns supplement Lord Erbian's Stellar Bestiary.

I'll post you a copy of that entry if you are interested!

2nd!

I´m definitly interested. Have been looking for a slow paced but high quality game for some time, since unfortunatly I don´t have enough time to play HB and DitG or LitS.

I am convinced that this will be much fun - especially since paranoia is my middle name and I listen to Billy Idol´s Cyberpunk album at least every other week

Admirable for you to try gritty cyberpunk in 4th ed. The aesthetic, compared to third, seems a little watered down, but that's a matter left to the GM.

I'm a fan of the GitS franchise, though I haven't read any of the original mangas or seen Solid State Society. I'm a big fan of Neuromancer, and read the first two volumes of Transmetropolitan, as well as Warren Ellis' other works, such as Ocean, and Global Frequency (which has some very "shadowrun" moments). Other shadowrun inspirations for me are Deus Ex, which you could call a Nanopunk political thriller, but there's definately some elements there, for a lot of the practical infiltration sequences in my games, I take a fair bit of what i've seen playing the Splinter Cell games, that sort of violent espionage, physical security type of style.

My usual playing style for shadowrun is usually stealth-focused, and often darkly violent. I enjoy hackers and B&E specialists. I also like playing characters with interesting flaws and idiosyncrasies, for example Blackie Pilger, who's a shadow photojournalist, but due to his radical left wing ideas and his neo-anarchist obsession with "the truth" (combined with working in Aztechnology controlled Panama) has found himself on the unpleasant side of the torturers tools a few too many times. He's also a young orphan who's lofty ideals have been corrupted by a youth of zero regulation and often uses psychoactive and stimulating drugs, not to mention some bioware and cyberware, to make up for his deteriorating mental state. Basically, I like characters with a background reason why they don't fit into normal sixth world society. So what you have cyberware and combat skills, why does that make you a street sam? You could be a hitter, combat troop or even sec guard for any corp or syndicate, but what is it about you that precludes acceptance into normal sixth world society and pushes you into the shadows?

SO, SO in.

I LOVE Snow Crash, Usual Suspects. (Haven't seen Firefly *wince* I know! I know!) I've been around since 1st Ed, and have a soft spot for chargen in Cyberpunk - though I never did get to play. I have a soft spot for trolls too. And for paranoia. That squishy gray thing between my ears is maybe a bit extra squishy for all the soft spots.

Valya - a blatant rip off of YT.

Grayson - A face shifting adept.

The pace sounds good for me and I *love* teams. I'd like to, if others are game, spend a couple skull sessions (with the GM) working out what jobs we pulled, on who, what the good and bad things were. Basically 'pretend' runs. Maybe each of us can 'write' a run.

Oh... right, I did a collaborative NaNoWriMo with some folks two times back - my character was a washed up Troll Combat Biker 'Fade.' She didn't make the transition to DSF games very well, but she was TOTALLY fun to write in the novella. For those of you unfamiliar with NaNoWriMo, you write 50k words in 30 days. Just freaking power through. Four of us undertook that together trading off the narrative every day. About 1500 words a day. It was a blast. We didn't really know where things were going, we just made it up as we went along.

I'll play.

I'm definately interested. I have far too much free time for posting while I'm at work, and I love just sitting and thinking through puzzles, problems, and runs. I'm a big fan of team knit groups, and I'd love to get back into a close knit paranoia game. I don't have much writing samples to give you, but I am playing in the chat-based game here on the forums.

I love snow crash, and I've only been playing SR since 3rd (well, technically 2nd but that was just one game back in high school where we ignored availability).

I'm in if there,s room.

I'm at work using my mobile for e-mail, so I'll be brief, for now.

I just finished re-reading 'Hardwired' and realised how much I miss hard Cyberpunk so I'm definitely up for this...

Interested as well, and Hardwired is a sweet book! It got me interested in Riggers lol

I would like to throw my hat in for a spot in the game.


This sounds like fun experience and I would love to see what the Paranoid side of SR can be. Especially since I just finished looking over System's Guide to Paranoia and Serb's Guide to the Matrix. I liked the ideas he had for how things would really work with the available technology.

As for me, I have been playing RPG's for close to 25 years now, having just come to SR4 a little over 2 years ago thanks to one of the guys in my RL group. I have played about half a dozen RL runs, including On The Run, I have run several of the SR Denver missions in RL and as PBP since I started. I'm also currently playing in Up From the Bottom, a PBP game here on Dumpshock being run by Adamu. We are almost to the 2 year mark in RL for the game which hass covered less than a month in game time for my character. I'm playing Rocky, a pain pill addicted ex-world champion boxer, forced to leave his career behind for a life in the shadows.

I have access to all the SR4 books and most of the 3rd ed as well if needed.

The PBEmail works for me and the posting/response requirements will not be an issue.

I like the idea of the only people you can trust is the team and think building characters together will help to bring that together much better.

I look forward to hearing if I make the cut.

Thanks

JD

“I take it you would rather not be here, Emma?� said the rather pot bellied round school counselor, eying the girl from behind round silver rimmed glasses. He had invited her to sit, but the folded arms and pouting face told him this might actually be challenging for once.

The clock, which he had gotten for a bargain at the flea market last week, loudly ticked every single second of dead silence. Her forehead wrinkled a little bit more. Not looking in any way meaner... but she had to be given some credit for trying. Maybe he should have gotten those antique chairs too... they weren't in that much of a bad shape after all... Her legs were already starting to cramp up. Well, maybe she could pout as well when sitting. No. Standing up made much more of a point. Her mother kept saying she had gotten all of her dad's stubbornness, and none of her common sense.

He took off his glasses, polishing the already crystal clear lenses in a manner that made him look like more of a scholar than he really was. He wasn't at all. His office was filled with old certificates and diplomas: framed and sealed stamped to make him look all important. One certified he was a damn good fisherman. Another one was just written in gibberish Latin. It didn't even mean anything. He'd just bought the frame and liked the little random filler piece of paper that came with it.

“So,� he started, feeling the earlier chili he had eaten build into a slight heart burn “do you know why you are here today?�


**


“I still don't get why were here today.� complained Frank, again.

Dexter sat next to Frank, smelling nothing but the awful menthol cigarette disgustingly sweet smell. It was the third since they had arrived. Nervous habit. At least, he was keeping his cool. For now. The seats weren't comfortable either. Some spring were pushing in places one should never have springs push. It was like trying to read Kant while sitting on a junkie's mattress (the kind that was on the bare floor and smelled of old vomit): you felt uneasy and confused. But Dexter was who he was, which was very much unlike most people. It meant he didn't really feel like most people. Well, part of him did feel, but he reacted with a very different attitude. He didn't care. He endured. He moved on. He had gone through the desert carrying twice his own weight, getting pummeled by hot sharp sand. He had lived weeks in the same smelly clothes, his own salty sweat making them stick like a second skin. He had spent three days waist deep in mud, living on a regular diet of fist sized beetles. This was a fuckin' cake walk.

Frank hissed through his teeth, pulling on the cigarette as he watch some woman walking her dog across the street.

“Check that out Pope! Now that's some prime quality grade A piece right there� he pushed out with the smoke. Dexter nodded absentmindedly, his attention focused on some third level window. The lights were still out. They'd have to wait a little more.


**


He flipped the tiny switch, bringing the screen to life. The blue hue danced on his face, carving the wrinkles that made up his fat face even deeper. Emma, now sitting, shrugged in a disinterested manner.

“This is the sixth time this year, Emma. The sixth time you're sent to this office for the same exact reason.� continued the counselor, his eyes narrowing as he skim through her school file.
“It's not my fault. They had it coming! She was asking for it!�

The man lifted his eyes from the display unit, eying cautiously the fifteen year old from above his shiny Mister Important glasses.

“You know very well that this is not how grown up are supposed to deal with problems. I don't think you realized that this sort of behavior isn't appropriate.�

Emma pouted some more, burrowing herself in the chair and doing her best to look mean.

“Do you what a behavior like that could cost you?�


**


“Twenty thousand.�

Dexter nodded, his metal encased cyber eyes scanning the street up and down.

“Thats fuckin' it man. Twenty thousand. The guy's been running out on us and dodging all the regular collectors like the damn plague. So the big boss man, he called me up.�

He took a long drag on his stubbed cigarette, speaking quickly through his closed teeth.

“You know how the big man is! He gets even more pissed off when it's small amounts. I don't get it man... Twenty thousand isn't even that much green.�

He gestured around the small beaten up sedan.

“But here we are! Chasing after some low life motherfucker who owes a bunch of nickel and dimes.�

Dexter looked over from the street toward the scrawny man fidgeting about next to him.

“It's not about the money Frankie. It's a question of principles.�

Flicking his cigarette out the cracked down window, Frank swung his head around toward Dexter in an exaggerated move. He looked at his own reflection in the man's cyber eyes. When he had first met the cybered up old timer, he'd found it rather creepy. It wasn't just that he was sporting outdated looking chrome.... it was that he seemed more like a machine than a person. At times, it was as if he wasn't really there. That and not being able to look someone straight into their eyes made him uneasy.

“And I take it you know a lot about that?�

Dexter nodded slowly.

“Principles are what distinguish animals from men. There's nothing nobler than holding up to an ideal in an unmoving manner.�

He looked away toward the building once more.

“Nothing a man owns should ever have more value than his own word. Thats how you can tell what a person is worth: by the value of his words.�

Frankie just sat there, staring at the hired muscle with a slight hint of disbelief.

“Shit Pope, didja smoke something on your way here?�


**


“No.� said Emma flat out.

“No, you don't think you have an anger management problem? I mean, it is common for a young woman of your background...�

Emma's face lit with red as she clenched her fists until her knuckles were white.

“And what is that supposed to mean?!� she said, now shaking as if taken by a sudden cold.


**


“Means he'll probably fold when he just sees us. The guy's a total punk. A strung out junkie. Gambles a lot. Thats how he ranked up the debt.�

“I see. You know the guy?� said Dexter, reaching for a duffel on the back seat.

“Well, sorta. Met him a few times. You know... business stuff. He'd get stuff from a guy who knows a guy and we'd unload it for him.�

“What sort of stuff? Drugs? Chips? Weapons?�


**


“That is none of your business!� gritted Emma through he teeth.

“Well, unsteady family dynamics are common occurrences Emma. It's normal to feel angry when your parents are divorced.�

He looked over at the terminal.

“It says you live with you mother, is that correct.�


**

“Yea, I'm cool with that man.� said Frank, grabbing the small machine pistol Dexter was handing him.

The old gun for hire wrapped his chromed hand around the handel, pushing the car's door slightly ajar.

“Good. You ready?�


“Never! My father is not a violent man! He would never hurt anyone. He'd certainly never hurt me or my sister!�

Dexter cocked the sawed-off pistol grip shotgun, leveling it high toward where the doors hinges would be.

He gave one last look toward Frankie... who was, as always, grinning like an idiot.

“You go ahead Pope.� he chuckled in a whisper.

Dexter flipped the cyber safety off.

“Knock Knock...� he whispered softly to himself.

In the small and shady green carpeted corridor, the shotgun roared like chopper, taking both top and bottom hinges off and blowing bits of synthwood everywhere.

Frankie's ears were still ringing when Dexter used his size 12 boot to get the door out of their way.


**


Emma jumped out of her chair.

“You see! Thats why I gave that bitch the beating she deserved!�

She waved a threatening finger toward the counselor... who didn't seemed even a bit fazed by her actions.

“My dad is a good man! He's not a drunk like my mother says! I don't care what it says in your stupid file! She divorced him because she's a money hungry whore thats why!�


**


“Wow there! Ease up will ya?� said Frankie, pointing the stubby pistol toward Benny who had started to get up from the couch he was half sprawled on. His hand was even half way to a fat six shooter that laid on the table in front of him.

In the corner of the room, some woman, most of her clothes missing, was screaming like someone had just blown the door to her apartment and came in uninvited.

Dexter's shotgun was still held at the ready, his trained body moving with a will of his own as he went about clearing the tiny 3 room apartment. He could hear the woman's shriek, but ignored it. He could see cockroaches scurrying away from the light when he entered the kitchen but he ignored it.

“Clear.� he simply said, coming back to the living room, the shotgun now pointing down.

He lock eyes with the woman, who was still hysterically screaming her head out.

“Fuck's that?� said Dexter, jerking nonchalantly a thumb toward the girl.

“Yea man� continued Frank to Benny “would you mind telling your druggie bitch to shut the hell up?�

Benny seem to unfreeze from his torpor.

“Chill out Denise.....�

It didn't do squat.

Benny got up from the couch and went over toward Denise, slapping her hard.

It didn't do squat. She was now shaking and making a whole mess.

Dexter grunted, breached the small gap that separated him from the odd couple. In an almost reticent motion, he pushed Benny aside and wrapped his chromed up right hand around Denise throat, lifting her feet off the ground.

“Don't make me kill you, Denise. Stop screaming and I won't kill you, ok?�

She fought a bit, trying to get some air into her lungs. She fought against the inhumane cold steel of Dexter's cyberhand. When she started to definitely change color, she managed to nod. Satisfied with her honesty, the old street sam released her from his death grip, turning his back on her now sprawled form to look straight at Benny.

“Tell him Frank.�

Frankie came over and got his scrawny little fingers on Benny's shoulder.

“Time to pay up man. You owe 20, and today were collecting taxes in your corner of the world.�

“I.... I don't have it Frankie... Not yet! But I will! I promise! Next week! Next week Frankie, I'll have it!�

“No no no! Thats not the right answer...� said Frank, like he was scolding a child


**


“But I don't want to!� cried Emma out.

“Anger management classes are obligatory. This is not open for discussion. You either go to them, each week, or you'll have to look for another school Emma.�

“This isn't right! You can't force me to do something I don't want to! They were the ones who started it!�


**


“Oh yes Benny, I can do many things.�

And she started screaming again. But this time around, it wasn't a scared scream. It was one of those deadly crazy shriek someone desperate launches out. She lunged the kitchen, where she had crawled to, with the craziest rusted kitchen knife you've ever seen. She threw herself wildly at Frank.

Without a second of hesitation, Dexter stepped in the way, the wicked blade burrying itself under his shoulder blade all the way to the hilt. And she froze. She froze like a deer in headlight.
Dexter made a sort of grunt; the annoyed kind. Frank was brandishing the small pistol toward the woman, and was about 2 seconds away from turning her into a pasta drainer when Dexter, calmly and collectedly, raised his hand up and gestured him to cool off. Slowly he reached around his backside and pulled the knife out in one swift motion. With a sickening popping sound, it came out, deep red blood flowing from the wound for a few seconds... before stopping.

The knife clicked on the ground.

“I hate it when people do that.� grumbled Dexter, giving the woman but a passing glance and turning his attention back Benny.

“So what's it gonna be Benny. You got Frankie's money, or do I have to throw you ass out that window?�


**


Arms folded across her chest, Emma walked out of the school counselors office. Ten sessions of anger management. It was that or another school. And mom would have throw a fit. She would have kept her from seeing her father.

“This sucks!� said Emma to herself, kicking some imaginary pebble from out of her way.


**


“This really sucks.� thought Benny, seconds before his face connected with the pavement below.

“Thats gotta hurt...� said Frankie, looking out of the window at the pieces of Benny that were still aligned how they were supposed to.

He turned back to Dexter.

“Alright, let's rip the place for cash and get the fuck out. Someone's about to come round to check things out.�

“Hurry up Frankie...� started Dexter, annoyingly checking the tear in his raincoat “I gotta pick up my girl from school.�


*****

Well, thats my writing sample for ya.
I know you said not to apply with a character concept, but I couldn't help it... this is sorta one

Can I ask a question about the Matrix rules? I'm sure I'm just misunderstanding how these houserules are meant to work but I'll ask anyway.

For Example.

1.7.2 Probing

Logic + Hacking vs System + Firewall(Firewall) would seem to be what is implied. An opposed test with a threshold of Firewall.

Hopefully I'm not misunderstanding that or about to tell you how to suck eggs in a very patronizing way...

Opposed tests don't have thresholds, it's one or the other.

"thresholds are never applied to opposed tests." SR4 p57

Now, these rules were developed by Serbitar, so I am interpreting them as well. And here is how I interpret it. You make an extended opposed test, keeping track of net hits. The defending node is trying to get net hits exceeding your firewall program, and you are trying to get net hits exceeding its Firewall rating. When you get net hits exceeding its firewall, you get in. When it get net hits exceeding your stealth, an alert is activated.

I am very, very pleased with the response I have gotten for this game. I have a short list of players right now, but I want to wait a wee bit longer. Say another 18 or so hours.

Dakka, crizh, Tarantula, and Chrysalis- Could I hear more from you guys please?

[edit]
OK just found the examples on p25 and it looks like Serbitar is just being a bit free with the term 'opposed' in the previous text. It's not an 'opposed' test but two parallel extended tests and the upside to probing is that your not driving up the 'security tally' with each attempt.

[/edit]

[ignore]
Sorry, I'm really not trying to be critical here, but I'm not sure I'm getting it still.

Essentially what you've described is RAW 'Hacking on the fly' but with the two pools opposed instead of running in parallel. That seems fair for the 'Log On' action, although it's going to take a lot longer to play that way, statistically.

However using that mechanic for 'Probing' seems a bit unfair/pointless. Probing is essentially the same thing as 'hacking on the fly' but you choose to take several thousand times longer to do it with the payoff that the targeted system only gets one chance to catch you and it has to beat your Stealth in a single pass. Serbitar's method makes probing a waste of time because there is no upside.

[/rules nitpicking...]

[/ignore]


Don't have a huge amount of time atm, I've just finished one night shift and I'm off to bed before starting another.

I've been playing SR since 1990 (I think. Is it really that long?) back when the rulebook was, properly, Blue, the only supplement we had to help us overcome the Bottled Demon was Street Sam' and Initiation and Phys Ads' were still a wet dream. I'm afraid I cannot hope to produce prose as good as Mister Juan's, I fear mine will be somewhat amateurish in comparison. I'm only playing in two games here on Dumpshock and neither has progressed far enough to get much of a handle on my play style I'm afraid.

I do have a flashback piece I did for Voodoo in Abbandon's Chaos Theory. The game permits a single piece of gear that breaks availability and I wrote this to add background to the massive Power Focus I elected to give her.



Like I said, I really enjoyed re-reading Hardwired, so much so that I'm going to dig out Vacuum Flowers which is even older and more obscure and has some amazing dystopian takes on the nature of consciousness and individuality. It's concept of wet-programming mirrors SR's persona-fixing but on a much bigger and more terrifying scale.

I was particularly amused by how Hardwired explains the paradigm shift from national governments to corporations. The Orbital Corp's use Mass Drivers to bombard cities from space with asteroids in the 24 hour 'Rock War', with no way to effectively fight back the governments of Earth surrender.

Rocks fall, everybody dies. LOL.

I really like true cyberpunk and have read the classics like Hardwired and Snow Crash. The Usual Suspects is also one of my favorites.

I love good roleplaying and haven't had the chance to really get in to a character recently. I GM often and we play after work during the weekdays. That mean by the time everyone is fully in to character, you only have an hour or so before it is time to wrap up. So I try to get the legwork and stuff done via email. We usually to to get in to the action and let everyone blow off some steam. I do have a good group. In the 10 year SR campaign, they never killed a single Lonestar cop. Liked to keep it clean, quiet, and professional (not that it didn't get noisy, bloody, and personal often enough. But they did leave the innocents out of it).

Been a while since I've been on a SR PBEM (I have been in several Superhero) so I don't have a good writing sample (at least compared to the ones put up here), but I did found my Candeopluma for Fading Suns. I will tell you that my PBEM GM never had to worry about me not posting in a timely manner or being a skinflint in the word count department.

The Candeopluma was published by Holistic in Lord Erbian's Stellar Bestiary.

I wanted to created a creature for Fadings Suns that would fit in to the world of Fading Suns and be something to the GM could use in several ways rather than just be the star attraction in another Bug Hunt.

The Candeopluma is a genetically modified Peacock that has a log history with the very religious Li Halan noble house. I was pleased with how I was able to tie the creature in to the history and legends of the Fading Suns world and have several good story hooks.



Candeopluma (Brilliant Plumes, Feathergems, Dazzlefowl)

Homeworld: Icon

Present Distribution: Kish, Midian, Rampart, Byzantium Secundus, Malignatius, Cadiz, Ungavorox, and Severus

Type: Animalia (vertebrate, ave)

Role: Omnivore

Size: 1 m (3 ft.)

Weight: 12 kg. (27 lbs.)

Habitat: Tropical to Temperate

Social Organization: Flock

Description: One of the most beautiful creatures in the known worlds. The Candeopluma name literally means Brilliant Plumes. These lordly creatures until recently were found all most exclusively in the private inner gardens and house grounds of House Li Halan. Some monasteries in Li Halan space also have flocks of them brought by members of the House joining the religious order. Many of the House find the creatures with their great grace and beauty as an aid to meditation. Perhaps half of the various branches of House Li Halan have the tradition of keeping the birds.

Both the male and female Candeopluma resembles the Holy Terra Peacock (the male of the Peaflowl) with a much more brilliant and varied plumage. The male is slightly larger and has a much larger display. Some evidence suggests that it is a genetically engineer version of the Holy Terra Peafowl. However, many dispute this. The plumes are reflective and when displayed in direct light seem almost to glow. Instead of the “eye� plumes of the Peacock, their tail plumes have gem like reflectors and a system that works like fiber optic cables to spread light across their entire plumage. Many of the plumes resemble stained glass when viewed from the right angle. A few varieties even glow in the dark.

There are several ancient variations of the breed with the most common being the Amethyst Prayer. Its plumes resemble the purple and white house colors of Li Halan and it song is soft and harmonious. The Fire Rose is the most ancient variety of the species known and is popular among Li Halan Imperial Questing Knights.

The spread of the Candeopluma across Li Halan space is due to the custom of presenting several nesting pairs from his family estate each time a Li Halan lord acquires a new fief. More distant family members would also add a pair or two for luck. This tradition also serves to keep the blood lines fresh. There are a few wild flocks in the forest of Icon, but they are rare. The Li Halan Palace on Byzantium Secundus also has a large and varied flock. After the fall of Malignatius, the Decados acquired a few flocks, which while still quite rare can be found on noble estates over much of Decados space.

The Candeopluma have many virtues. The male Candeopluma have a delightful singing voice and will greet the rise of the sun with song. They are commonly trained to sing and put on a display if someone claps loudly in front of them. It is a most impressive sight that the Li Halan usually reserve for only the closest friends of the family. They also make excellent watch guards. They eat many pests and are popular with the gardeners for this reason. They are often used as subjects of parables among the Li Halan. This has by long tradition passed down to the Li Halan peasants who have come to believe that the birds are a sign of the favor of heaven to House Li Halan.

Legends and rumors abound about the Candeopluma. It is know that the first known record of them is during the reign of Leonardo the Magnificent, the Patchwork Prince, which mentions the beautiful rose colored creatures in the Prince’s gardens. It is believed that he and later Li Halan rulers would grant flocks to favored members of the family. Certainly Cardano, the Shield of the Prophet, continued the tradition of using them as gifts. There are also a few faint legends that the Candeopluma of that time could repeat back what they had heard with the right command. It is even said that the Ustirian family of Ungavorox, a distant unrepentant branch of the Li Halan, has developed a variation of the Fire Rose with poisoned claws and a very aggressive nature.

The Candeopluma has an excellent sense of smell and good eyesight. It is also resistant to poisons, which may have something to due with their bright plumage. This of course only makes them more valued as watch guards. They will live for over twenty years and their plumage only gets brighter with age. It has been recently discovered on Malignatius that the Candeopluma tastes horrible and are slightly poisonous even if they do make a wonderful presentation during a feast.

Behavior:

The Candeopluma impress on to humans if raised in captivity. Li Halan tradition calls for family members to feed the birds. They also are very tolerant of known family members and servants and can be safely handled even after separations of several years. Usually a person unfamiliar to the birds is accompanied by one known and in a few months will be largely tolerated.

The flock can be counted on to stay in the garden area for as long as they have access to adequate food and water. They eat grain, insects, rodents, small lizards, and snakes. Individuals will rarely stray far from the flock. As a matter of fact if a bird were to become totally separated from the flock, it would most likely return to the place that it was born.

The flock is usually made of bonded pairs. The males will woo their mates each spring with song and displays of their plumage. The female will dig a nest (if there is not one already) and lay one egg during the spring. The flock raises the chicks. Usually the full plumage comes in after the first year. They will shed some of their plumes in late fall and it takes a long time for their plumage to regrow. If a bird is directly attacked, the males of the flock will rush to defend it. The females are not as aggressive unless someone attacks the chicks.

A sentry bird will keep watch from a high perch at all times. During the day intruders will usually cause the males to put on a display and sing. This is not extremely loud, but fairly noticeable if one is familiar with the birds. The flock will roost in trees during the night. If an intruder comes in to the flock’s area at night, the sentry bird will fly at the intruder raising a shrill cry. The rest of the flock will take up this cry. The sentry bird will also sound the alarm if a known human is attacked. There have been examples where the flock has rushed to defend a family member or a servant. For this reason, tradition demands that no violent outbursts be displayed near the flock.

Commodity: Plumes and feathers from the Candeopluma are currently all the fashion rage with House Decados (particularly the Emerald Fire and the newer variation the Von Koren Emerald Tiger). The plumes are worth more than their weight in gold, and are also valued because they are immune to most pests and last a very long time. There is also a great deal of trading of plumes and some wits are wondering when there will be visits from the Purgers for CCG marketing.

Several Decados nobles have made a hobby of developing different plumed variations. Variations are usually named for their colors and their breeder. However, local conditions effect the exact color compositions depending on the mixture of rare earth elements available in the environment. The newest variety is the “Tiger� with striped plumes created by Baron Ilya Von Koren Decados. New breeding stock is in great demand in Decados space, but the Li Halan are refusing to discuss the matter. In fact, there is some minor friction between the houses because there is a belief that the Decados are tampering with an animal sacred to the Pancreator.



Victory Point System Traits

Body: Str 2, Dex 8, End 5

Mind: Wits 4, Per 6, Tech 0

Natural skills: Chm 4, Dod 7, Fht 5, Imp 6, Mel 0, Obs 6, Sht 0, Snk 6, Vig 7 Fly 5

Size: Medium

Movement: Run: 10 m (30 ft.) Fly: 30 m (90 ft.)

Special: Sensitive Smell. Can recognize known creature with Per and Obs roll even at night.

Attacks: (STR bonus: 0)

ATTACK INIT GOAL DMG RNG RATE SHOTS

Claws 5 13 3 — — —

Wing Flap 5 13 1* — — —

* If any damage is rolled (and not parried – That is the victim can be blinded even if his normal armor stops all damage), victim must roll Per plus Observe or be blinded one round.

Special Attacks: None

Armor: Plumes (ARM 1d)

Vitality: -6/-3/0/0/0/0/0

d20 System Stats

Fowl

Hit Dice: 1d8 (4 hp)

Initiative: +3 (Dex)

Speed: Run: 30 ft Fly: 90F ft.

AC: 17 (+2 size, +3 Dex)

Attacks: 1 claws +4 melee Wing Flap

Damage: Claw 1d2-4,

Face/Reach: 2-1/2 ft. by 2-1/2 ft./0 ft.

Special Attacks: Wing Flap – if hit save for ? or be blinded one turn

Special Qualities: Fowl

Saves: Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +0

Abilities: Str 4, Dex 16, Con 10, Int —, Wis 14, Cha 16

Skills: Spot +7

Feats: Weapon Finesse (claw, wing flap)

Challenge Rating: 1

Treasure: None, although the plumes are valuable

Alignment: Always neutral – but loyal to family

Advancement: —

COMBAT


Skills: A Candeopluma receives a +4 racial bonus Spot checks.

Hi 'Virus,

So you want to hear about me do you? Well, my typewriter is my machine gun, the clack, clack, clacking of the keyboard directing firey explosions of cordite infused mental images in your direction. There is no smoke from cigarettes and a whiskey bottle in a bottom drawer here. The man with the Thompson lookalike kicking in the door is missing in this black and white noir image and the femme fatale who should be slinking through the door is not at the front of the desk, but behind it. I have replaced French lingerie with that of piercings, tattoos, and a keyboard that could as well be my own flesh and blood as I type with a lover's caress. Sensuality maybe dead in this age of cheap 20 dollar perversions, the sound of a blonde heiress giving a blow-job to a guy in a hotel room, her slurps matching your beating heart. Or perhaps you would care to walk on this side of the metal sky and watch the world through my eyes, a world of cheap lives, expensive drugs, and painful pleasure.

No-one is interested in personal history, not in the triumphs or losses, just those things not told in childish erotic shots and venal electronic autobiographies, of a happy childhood in the West, of a nasty childhood in the East, of forced fucking as it turns to pleasure and then to money. No killing in my life, just a healthy appetite for violence. How much reaction, abstraction, negotiation of history do you need? Are you looking for the touch, the warm body clasping against silken sheets in the dark, only to open your eyes and see frustrated moderators of a virtual realm leaning over. "No worry sir, we have it contained" they say, for after all it is not polite to express to the under-aged the fantasies that were extant in another's childhood. And you are left in bed with a public dampness and frustration unable to be spent; cold silk and a broken webcam aimed at your bed.

Fiction is a thin veneer to hide behind, where characters, almost jokers if they could but face the killing joke - themselves, laugh at action films and yet simply dabble in the wild side of life, returning to their safe and secure middle-class dwellings akin to sheep dressing up as wolves in some corporate party, where the wife gets tipsy and the husband ends up by in near homo-erotic nearness with the boys by the pool. Plastic sheep with an inflated life. Mediocrity in flashy plastic wrapping.

Nearness implies questions and questions you must ask.

Though not requested, I thought I should ad some details about me, too.

I´ve been playing SR since 1st Edition and GMed regularly since 2nd Edition came out. I experianced a few RPGs before -AD&D, Call of Cthulhu, Classic Traveller and The Black Eye being the very first- and sampled many others later on, but SR allways stayed on top. I also like Cyberpunk, Legend Of The Five Rings, 7th Sea, Rifts and Traveller very much. On DS, I participated in 3 games so far, one of which -the fabulous Hitting Bottom of the fabulous Adamu- still going on.

The first Game (410 Crash) unfortunately didn´t last long and I lacked the time, to aply for the Down In The Gutter champaign spawned by it. In this Streetlevel game, I played a young elven wujen from manchuria called Tao-Fighter.

I played a gruffy old ork phys-ad, who was a semi-retired Triade-Assassin -the kind that used to kill people by throwing a paperclip through their eye- in Dire Radiant´s Honkong game LonD, EtT.

In Hitting Bottom, I´m playing a former high-level corp-lawyer turned elven face/tech.

I like playing Faces, Mages and Hackers (my very first SR Character back in 1st Ed was a Decker), but am open to other roles in a team as well. I tend to favour elfs and norms most of the time. I love runs that involve much puzzling and crunching. Gritty is Good!

I guess my biggest drawback is that I´m no native english speaker and my writing-ability is thus a bit impaired at times, but I try to avoid to write like some WoW-junky on a MMORPG chat.

Did I mention that I loved Neuromancer, even though Gibson hated SR?

Looks like some serious competition here.


Failure is not an option.

Just a tired Cliché in a tired world filled to overflow with lies, ads, and spam. Lies told to us and told about us. Lies we tell and lies we tell ourselves so we can get through another day. I'm in the Shadows because I don't want to die before I find out who and why. I guess that is true.

In the deep of the night when the city din is at it lowest, I have to face the truths I don't want to even admit exist. What is true is that even if I find out who and why, I won't bring her back. That is one I know but have trouble facing. What is chip truth is that I can't go back because there is nothing left there for me. I'm scared I'll die before I find out. And if I don't find out out who and why, I'll never get justice for what they did to her. And I know it won't make much of a difference in the scheme of things.

True to tell, I'm scared about just how much I feel alive on a run and how much I feel like I'm only marking time when I'm not. I'm scared about what I've done to survive another day. I'm even more scared of what I'll be willing to do tomorrow to stay a live another day. Every day I'm a little more like the street monsters I run with. The ones who clawed their way to top of this heap of garbage called the Shadows. At least they are honest about who they are and what they are willing to do. They don't hide behind a perfect brilliant corporate smile while waiting to shoot you in the back. I'm even scared I'll find out who and why because it had to be someone close to us. I'm still going to find out who and why. It still makes a difference to me and that keeps me going for another day.

With so many examples of good writing in here, I fealt inspired and obligued, to give it a try as well. So here we go. No character concept, or several, if you want to see it that way:

In terms of less cryptic introductions, I started playing roleplaying games when I was five, which was 23 years ago. I have been playing Cyberpunk 2020 since 1996 when I joined rec.games.frp.cyber. For a while I used to publish Edgerunner, a cyberpunk fanzine in 1999 and again in 2002. I had some material in some pdf's, did my first proofreading of a Frenchman's cyberpunk gun webpage.

The first time I got to play SR3 ed. was in 2004. I am currently playing in ToreadorVampire's game on IRC on Sundays.

Alright everyone. I have made up my mind. I don't like public selections, so I have just PMed my new players. If there isn't a PM in your inbox, my apologies, you aren't in the game. Take care, you all seem like an awesome crew, and it was damn, damn, damn hard deciding.