Chromatic Shadows: Barrier Rules Revised

As I contine to playtest the existing core-rules of Chromatic Shadows, I occasionally find certain mechanics to be more cumbersome than intended when they hit the table. The rules for Barriers is one such instance. Having chugged through them as written several times, I'm left with a sense that I can do better.

Barriers are a core mechanic to the game, and appear in standard combat, vehicle combat, and hacking (in the form of ICE). I've gone and revised the whole system to make things play faster and more smoothly. I'm trying to keep the existing values intact as best as I can. Where I've substantially changed the numbers it's for the sake of balancing the mechanic. I hope you find these new rules easier to understand and considerably more user friendly. If they stand up to playtesting they might migrate into Chromatic Shadows Revised Edition. Let me now what you think, or if this revision works for you!

Photo by Bro Takes Photos on Unsplash

BARRIER RULES REVISED

• These rules are to be used in place of all previous standard Barrier Rules, Rules for ICE, and Vehicle Barrier Rules.
• With standard Barrier attacks, a weapon's DV must be equal to or greater than the BR that the attacker is trying to penetrate.
• Barriers have a rating from 1-6. 1 being the weakest (reinforced particle board) to 6 being the strongest (solid steel door, or wall)
• The Barrier Rating is always subtracted from the attacker’s dicepool.
• If any 6s show, the Barrier is structurally damaged. Its BR is reduced by the amount of total 6s rolled.
• Vehicle Barrier Rating is equal to Body +1. The Vehicles BR is subtracted from the attacking vehicle’s dicepool and resolved.
•  Any rolled 6s reduce a vehicles Barrier Rating, or suppresses a point of ICE. 
• Armor piercing attacks (bullets, blades, etc) ignores a number of Barrier points up to the armor piercing value.
  
  

Type	Barrier Rating (BR)
Reinforced cardboard, thick fabric	1
Sheet rock wall, light wood	2
Standard wooden door or wall, light vehicle	3
Heavy wooden door, aluminum wall, medium vehicle	4
Steel fire door, brick wall, heavy vehicle	5
Heavy steel plating, solid stone, armored military vehicle	6
ICE ratings when hacking	Unchanged (as per CS Companion)

Changes with ICE and Hacking

• The following rules change the way ICE is handled during a hacking session.
• ICE ratings when Hacking are unchanged and remain as listed (see CS Companion).
  
• ICE reduces a hacker’s Program Action dicepool as it applies to a Program Action (see CS Basic).
• A hacker who fails a Program Action test and whose dicepool is also subject to ICE takes stun damage equal to the current ICE Value. Damage from ICE is subject to a deck’s Hardening rating (see CS Basic).
• Any 6s rolled for the hacking test reduce the ICE rating by an equal amount.
• At the end of each round a character spends in a node, the GM rolls a d6. If the result is a 6, the ICE respawns 1 point.
• The ICE Breaker Daemon ignores 1 point of ICE. Multiple ICE Breaker daemons can be slotted at once and its effects stack. This also applies to damage from ICE.
  
• The ICE Jammer Daemon causes the node to roll to respawn every 5 rounds.

LASTING INJURY -- FOR CHROMATIC SHADOWS

 

A core part of cyberpunk gaming is the play loop where a character incrementally replaces their "flesh and blood" body parts with mechanical cyberware, The cyber-upgrade usually comes at the cost of longer term "stress" and downsteam negative effects on the human meat-body (in the case of Chromatic Shadows, "cyberstrain"). As such, I've always felt that there should be mechanics in place reinforcing the need for this specific sort of thing as a result of injury, or critical damage. A "cyber-spiral" so to speak. So here's my first pass at "Lasting Injury" rules for Chromatic Shadows. Not much has changed from the existing rules structure -- the main difference is that now instead of just simple attribute damage, "Shock Overflow" triggers a broader narrative effect that could result in the need for cybersurgery and implants. Please take a look!

 

 LASTING INJURY

• A Lasting Injury is a debilitating wound, or trauma that carries ongoing negative consequences.
• Lasting Injuries are always keyed to a single Attribute in the form of Attribute damage.
•  A Lasting Injury is always permanent and ongoing unless it is treated by extraordinary measures such as cyberware.

SYSTEM

• When a character’s Shock Track reaches 3 points, and they gain an additional point, the Shock track resets to 0 and that character suffers a Lasting Injury.
• As a result of a terrible bodily or psychological trauma, an attribute takes permanent damage, and is reduced by 1 point. The attribute can no longer be raised with XP. Choose or roll randomly to determine the exact nature of the injury.
  
• If a specific attribute isn’t logically associated with the cause of Shock, roll 1d6 to determine an attribute randomly. See below.

1. Strength (arms, shoulders, legs, feet, back, torso)
2. Body (torso, pelvis, neck, spine, internal organs, shoulders)
3. Agility (legs, feet, arms, hands, spine, eyes)
4. Intelligence (brain injury, skull fracture, concussion)
5. Willpower (brain injury, skull fracture, concussion)
6. Charisma (voice, skin, facial features)

REPAIRING LASTING INJURIES WITH CYBERWARE

• In order to “repair” the injury so that a character can once again raise their damaged attribute with XP, the bodily feature needs to be replaced or fundamentally repaired with cybertech.
• Limbs, hands and feet can be replaced with cyber-limbs and appendages.
• Full Limb Replacement: Base cyberlimbs [cost 5000 c., cyberstrain 2]
• Partial Limb Replacements: Shoulders, hands, feet, etc. [ cost 2000 c., cyberstrain 1].
• Internal Organs Replacement: Bio-synthetic implants. [5000 c., cyberstrain 1]
• Brain Injury Augmentation: Processor implants, and intracranial modules. [5000 credits, cyberstrain 2].
• Facial Reconstruction: Features (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, skull structure, etc.] can be replaced and bio-sculpted with standard cosmetic augments. [2000 c, 1 cyberstrain]

DAMAGING CYBERWARE

• If a “Lasting Injury” targets a bodily feature where there is currently cyberware installed, the character takes 1 point of permanent Ability score damage as usual.
• SYSTEM: Roll 1d6. If a success, the cyberware in question is substantially damaged, and rendered unusable until repaired (50% of base cost). If the die results is a failure, the cyberware is totally destroyed and must be replaced.
• After the cyberware is repaired or replaced, the damaged Ability score can be raised again with XP.

 

 

 

SPRAWL ZONE: THE ARCOLOGIES

This is another entry in my ongoing "cyberpunk city" series, where I zoom in on one of the various Sprawl Zones from Chromatic Shadows and expand it into a full fledged "city-site generator tool". The following is written with Chromatic Shadows' particular flavor of cyberdystopia in mind, but can be easily slotted into any other cyberpunk or urban fantasy RPG. Enjoy!

 

THE ARCOLOGIES

• At the boundary of Metroplex we find miles of colossal Arcology projects. These 100 story hulks take up the footprint of four city blocks, housing tens of thousands.
•  The result of government and corporate city planning directed toward the problem of the unemployed poor, displaced at the Collapse. These souls spend their lives within stacked microhab living-cubes, subsisting on UBI.
•   Each Arcology complex is its own self contained micro-city. At the center of each Arcology is a vertical “civic-hub" containing the essential  services of community life. Civic Hub contains  markets, recreation centers, education centers, and medical clinics. The bare necessities and basic needs of life are met.
• The social strata of arcology life is determined by one's "social credit rating" (SoCred). Certain "community-building" activities such as civic programs, athleticism, health hygiene, volunteer work, regular blood donation, and ratting out your "individualistic" neighbors can earn one an increased  SoCred Rating. Get it high enough and you might earn yourself a state-of-the-art MicroHab, and extra time in the Interface. 
• Citizens whose SoCred Rating has dropped too low or reached zero, are considered "untouchable", and shunned from society. They are forcibly removed from communal life and made to live in the lower level arcology "ghettos" sharing sub-par MicroHabs, and laboring in the waste reclamation centers. They are not allowed to mix with normal citzens, and their negative SoCred rating is always visible in AR as a stigma.
  
• Because life in the arcologies can be grim, the social planners have created "The Interface", a large open room of private cubicles where citizens  communally "jack" into immersive VR "construct-simulations" for long hours. A citizens ongoing good SoCred Rating is rewarded with longer amounts of time in VR. The higher your rating, the more daily hours you can log. 
  
•  Many people actually spend their "interface" time doing “virtual-work” to earn "simcreds" that can be used to purchase VR upgrades, skins, mods and various other digital assets.
•  Those born in the arcologies have little to no concept of life outside. Few leave. But populations are in decline. Infertility seems to be an emerging concern. Whole wings are emptying out. Some Arcs have gone completely dark with no explanation, and are now permanently sealed off from the outside world.
• Traveling from an arcology is a difficult bureaucratic process. Applications must be made in advance and approved by the managerial board, who may issue a temporary passport. Violating the terms of the application, or being caught committing a crime is grounds for the revocation of UBI, and arc citizenship.. Furthermore, travel outside is discouraged via arc propaganda directed toward health and safety issues. Arcology citizens are taught that the outside world is filled with contagious pathogens, and dangerous toxic agents.
• Arcology "education centers" indoctrinate the young in propaganda and teach the skills necessary to maintain the social order. General education is transmitted via SimStim and AI. At 16, students are algorithmically selected for a specific area of labor-specialization. 
• Most students simply slip into basic labor jobs, where their aptitudes are lined with the needs of the collective -- horticulture, plumbing, electric, solar cell assembly, construction, etc. More advanced students are trained in specialized careers such as electrical engineering or medicine. Wages are typically flat regardless of position. There is little variation in on UBI dole from one "job" to the next.
• Arcology schools also screen select candidates  to elevate into the ranks of "arc management". Top students are placed into preparatory programs, where they can be groomed for  bureaucratic positions among the elite class.
  
• The managerial elite are rewarded with an upper middle-class lifestyle in their own separate "luxury villages". They have spacious high-end apartments, servants, high quality food, quality entertainment, and the freedom to come and go as they wish. Management are tasked to reinforce the status quo at every level. The arcologies must run like an efficient machine. Anything that would compromise this process must be swiftly and decisively dealt with.

 

 

Locations

1. Pipe-works: Massive sublevel dominated by a network of interconnected pipes and ductworks. Multi level catwalks run beside them for maintenance access. Massive pumps draw fresh water from aquifers far below. Fresh water pipes feed municipal plumbing. Waste water is collected and recycled for crops and coolant.
   
2. Algae pools: vast complex of algae pools grown and harvested for nutrition. It is dried and milled as green "vegetable"-flakes. A primary dietary staple.
3. Weevil farms: long trenches of liquid spawning media filled with wriggling grubs. Used as a high yield, high protein food source.
   
4. Catwalks: complicated latticework of balconies, ladders, walkways and bridges connecting MicroHab village levels.
   
5. MicroHab villages: endless honeycomb living cells perforate the concrete walls , running up hundreds of stories. Grouped into "village" clusters. Each has its own massive wraparound balcony, and multiple access elevators.
   
6. Elevators: high speed glass and steel pods inset into shafts cut along the concrete walls. Connects to main catwalks levels and MicroHab villages.
   
7. Labor pavillion. large district of  warehouses subdivided into various job-specific production facilities. Citizens work here during the day at labs, workshops, robot assisted factories, and assembly lines.
   
8. Fitness centers: multileveled atrium of fitness machines and strength training devices to maximize health ,and physical well being. Overhead holo-screens and hidden speakers pipie inspirational pop music. Personal devices monitor vitals and broadcast them directly to a communal database. A healthy citizen makes for a happy and healthy community!
   
9. Med wards: hospitals, surgery, and various health clinics. Biotech services are underfunded with long wait times for specialist visits and surgery. Priority given to citizens with the highest SoCred rating. 
10. Crematorium/ mausoleum: when the health care system fails, the next stop is the crematorium. Bodies are incinerated in high temperature blast ovens, and the remains are mixed into solid concrete cylinders. These are placed into a "remembrance slot" in one of the public mausoleums. Mourning is discouraged, but the dead are collectively remembered in an annual civic ceremony.
    
11. Prisons: in the deepest sublevels there are rumored black cells where the worst criminals and social deviants are locked away forever. 
    
12. SoCred Ghettoes: In the lower levels,  SoCred pariahs forced to live in bleak, squalid conditions, sealed away from the wider community. Their MicroHabs are cell-like with old and unmaintained amenities, living double normal occupancy. There is no CivicHub in the ghetto, just a hardscrabble life of labor and hardship. Riots regularly erupt, but armed drones and security officers keep things from spiraling out of control.
    
13. The Sewer: runs beneath the arcology collecting, waste in a series of interconnected ducts and tunnels. Solids are collected and chemically treated in silos and waste water facilities, cooked in great steel hoppers, and processed into fertilizer.
14. The Interface:a vast warehouse filled with row after row of white "VR ready" kiosks. Each cubicle has a nerocowl hadwired to a jackpoint in the center of a plastic desk. Arc citizens are here at all hours jacked into VR, slouched in catatonia, experiencing some far-flung digital fantasy world.
    
15. Education Centers: circular multi-tiered lecture hall, AI powered interactive holoprojectors over central floor. Hardwired neurocowls for VR immersion and data slates at every student work-station.
    
16. Tube tram station: numerous small bubble structures and shelters at key stops along the tram line
    
17. Markets: spartan concrete buildings with the most basic amenities, and personal products.
    
18. Recreation centers: public areas for social games, children's playgrounds, and parks.
    
19. Enrichment centers: what passes for art galleries, concert halls, and the cinema n the arcologies. Media is carefully curated by arc management so as to not engender any anti-social thoughts, or private yearnings for the outside world.
    
20. The Loop: a network of gated freight transport roads leading beneath the arcology. Outside trucks and materials are regularly driven through a series of underground streets connecting to cargo lifts, warehouse loading docks and construction sites.
    

 

 

Textures

1. Water dripping from some overhead pipe like rain.
   
2. Billowing steam from ventilation grates.
   
3. Rust scabbed steel slabs.
4. Looming concrete angles overhead.
   
5. Tiny inset windows, beams of sunlight cutting through to floor.
   
6. Concealed steel security stairwell leading to another level.
   
7. Throbbing hum of massive shielded machinery vibrating floor.
8. Enormous rotating ventilation fans.
9. Vast opening into an empty concrete atrium. Birds nesting along the walls burst into flight
   
10. Network of cables, pipes and ductwork running up the walls.
11. Steel cage service elevator.
12. Tube tram, electric tracks inset into concrete walkway.
    
13. Abandoned construction, unfinished microhabs perforate walls, cranes looming overhead. 
14. Bright orange security scaffolding covering nearby wall.
15. Crawler delivery drones with parcel.
16. Small fleet of drone operated auto-rickshaws.
17. Concrete walkway bridge over fog filled crevasse
18. Narrow maze like corridors lit with red security lights.
19. Large managerial entourage with armed security detail.
20. Vast open tunnels pour water into a deep drainage cistern. The tunnels lead into deep darkness. 

Earn SoCred for the Interface!

1. Through athleticism and participation in team sports!
2. Working overtime at the labor centers!
   
3. Clean living, healthy diet, scoring high on annual physical exam!
   
4. Participating in good citizenship programs and volunteer work!
5. Voluntary sterilization!
6. Organ donation, giving blood!
   
7. Informing on your suspicious neighbor!
   
8. Conversion therapy for those antisocial thoughts!
   
9.  Never exceeding your daily recommended caloric intake!
10. Convincing an elderly to euthanize!

 

RESURRECTION CITY is LIVE!

Greetings Friends! It's been a very busy few weeks of releases at Matrix Ghost Games, with lots to catch up on here on the blog. Lets go with the promo!

 

It's my pleasure to announce the release of RESURRECTION CITY, a full length adventure for CHROMATIC SHADOWS: OCCULT CYBERPUNK RPG. It's up for sale on DriveThru, itch and my site. Please check it out!

Deep in the Sprawl, something is bringing the dead back to life. Is it a miracle, or has some new occult power revealed itself? A team of Glitch operators is tasked with finding out. You must chart a course through the most dangerous parts of Edge City, negotiating strange sects and otherworldly entities. Any occult threat must be confronted and contained. But you aren’t the only ones seeking this mystery. Elite outside-agents are relentlessly pursuing this asset for themselves. Can a team of ragtag Glitch operators stand against an immortality obsessed madman, possessed with an Outside power? Play to find out!






RESURRECTION CITY features:

• 47 pages, full color art, artistic graphic design.
• "Control panel" layout, easy to reference pages, bookmarked PDF.
• A unique setting: Edge City. Complete map and district descriptions.
• A detailed look at the Paladin neotribe, its politics, leadership, and street-level organization.
• A modular story told in three parts. Detailed set pieces and adventure sites to play "as is" or customize.
• An original "Occult Asset", it's history and full game statistics.
• full-color original site maps, with location keys.
• Easy to reference appendix of antagonist stat blocks.
• Requires CHROMATIC SHADOWS BASIC RULES

 

CHROMATIC SHADOWS COMPANION is LIVE!

 

After over a year of development, I am very happy to finally present the CHROMATIC SHADOWS COMPANION. A full length supplement for Chromatic Shadows: Occult Cyberpunk RPG. It's for sale on DriveThru, itch and my site. Please take a look!

 

 

CHROMATIC SHADOWS COMPANION is 113 pages of new mechanics, character options, and detailed lore to expand your occult-cyberpunk campaigns.

CHROMATIC SHADOWS COMPANION expands upon the original, near-future RPG where classic cyberpunk play meets eldritch horror and high strangeness!

CHROMATIC SHADOWS COMPANION is the sequel volume to CHROMATIC SHADOWS BASIC and an evolved vision of the game. In it you will find a wealth of new character options, new mechanics, and a deep dive into the darkest secrets of the Occult World!

CHROMATIC SHADOWS COMPANION contains:

• New cyberpunk archetypes (Origins, Professions and a new Role: "The Generalist").
• Lifestyle "upkeep" mechanics.
• Ready to-play Neotribal options: Angels, Nils, and Proteans.
• All new "Strange Attractor" background options.
• Massive chapter of vehicle rules. Includes: pursuit, vehicle stunts, vehicle combat, and full vehicle upgrades.
• All new drone rules. Customize your robot minions with a wealth of modular options.
• Powerful new weapons, explosives, boosted cyberware, and hard armor.
• Rules for playing on a “battle grid” or VTT with tokens or miniatures.
• Full chapter on "Running Missions": negotiation tests, payout charts, "mission phases", heat, and blowback.
• NPC creation rules, and pages of all new, ready-to-use antagonist stat blocks.
• A full chapter of Occult Adversaries: Rampant AI, The Void Cult and Eldritch Horrors; their subtypes and occult powers.
• Deep exploration of the shadowy Factions: The Hand of Moloch, Hegemon Group, Sentinel and The Society of Kether.
• Huge chapter on Occult Assets. Detailed rules for their use and how to design your own. Numerous detailed and ready-to-use Occult Asset examples ready to drop straight into a campaign.
• Much much more!
• Requires CHROMATIC SHADOWS BASIC RULES to use

 

Interview on the Monastery Podcast

 

Earlier this week, I had the good pleasure of interviewing on the Monastery Podcast with Mildra the Monk about Chromatic Shadows. We covered a lot of ground with topics ranging from the origins of the game, cyberpunk class design, "hacking theory", and plans for the future. If you can hang with my occasionally long, reaching discursions, we get into some interesting territory. Many thanks to Mildra for having me on his show!

Announcing the EMERALD AURORA: A Chromatic Shadows Adventure

 

I'm very happy to announce THE EMERALD AURORA, a full length adventure for CHROMATIC SHADOWS: OCCULT CYBERPUNK ROLEPLAYING.

Grab a PDF from DriveThruRPG  or from Itch!

Inspired by The Color Out of Space, The Wicker Man and Station Eleven.

It's a site based mini sandbox that takes your characters deep into the industrial no-man's land of the Slags. Explore a repurposed airport! Help a neotribe in distress! Venture into an abandoned shipping yard haunted by an eldritch green glow!

 

Full color, artistic graphic design, "control panel" layout, 35 pages, 8 original maps. Introduces new mechanics like negotiation tests, and basic vehicle rules.

Ten years ago, a Shadow War probe was launched into the dark beyond our solar system in order to perform an occult ritual in space. Now the probe has returned, crash landing deep within the industrial wasteland of the Slags. The entire area lies behind a slowly expanding veil of eldritch green light that is threatening a nearby Neotribal settlement. A team of hardcore street operators must venture beyond this emerald aurora, penetrate its eldritch mysteries, and confront its otherworldly dangers.  

Announcing the Release of CHROMATIC SHADOWS BASIC!

 I am VERY pleased to announce the release of CHROMATIC SHADOWS BASIC, Occult Cyberpunk Roleplaying. Download the PDF now for FREE from DriveThru RPG and itch.io!

CHROMATIC SHADOWS is an original weird cyberpunk tabletop roleplaying game. The Basic Rules contain everything you need to jump straight into a strange new world of cyberpunk action and occult intrigue!

It's been ten years since the Collapse. As the world's three largest megacorps burned down, a highly secretive Shadow War ground to an abrupt halt. Now hundreds of black sites have been left to rot out in the Sprawl. Powerful, hidden Occult Assets lie abandoned, and eldritch threats are breaking into reality. You’re a street operator driven by an occult obsession. What will you do in the face of these incursions? Hold the line for humanity? Or blow open the gates to the howling darkness? 

CHROMATIC SHADOWS BASIC RULES introduces an original near-future setting where classic cyberpunk gameplay meets themes of eldritch horror and high strangeness.

• 94 pages, full color, artistic and easy to reference layout

• Operator archetypes and character creation rules

• Options for playing a fringe Neotribal character type

• Strange Attractors and Occult Sympathies

• Complete hacking and drone rigging rules

• Expansive list of weapons, gear and cyberware

• A roster of Sprawl NPCs and eldritch enemies to slot straight into your campaign

• Sample Occult Assets with ready to use story hooks
  

What is the game like?

• Classic cyberpunk play, emphasizing character driven narrative

• A unique urban sandbox, a Sprawl haunted by strange factions, and occult artifacts

• Fast & fluid d6 dicepool engine

• Streamlined and intuitive mechanics

• Deep character building & tactical options

• Niche protected character archetypes

• Unique, setting specific mechanics like Occult Milestones, Synchronicity, and Resonance

• Pays homage to classic RPGs like Shadowrun, Vampire the Masquerade & Call of Cthulhu

• Inspired by the writings of William Gibson, H.P. Lovecraft and Mark Fisher

Chromatic Shadows Announcements and Beta Previews

 

Greetings operators! We are so close to the official release of Chromatic Shadows Basic, and I can't be more excited! 

Three important announcements.

First: I'm opening the Chromatic Shadows Discord server to new members. Please consider joining our small but growing community of playtesters and cyberpunk gamers. All members receive full access to the latest 90 page Chromatic Shadows Basic Rules beta. Jack in and let's talk about game design and playtesting! discord.gg/K635HxF4

Second: I'll be sending out the first email blast next week with the latest announcements and release schedule. Another way to preview the beta ahead of it's official release is to sign up to the official mailing list. Anyone on the list will also receive a copy of the latest beta as a "thank you" for your support. Please consider signing up if you haven't already! https://www.chromaticshadows.com/

Third: The CHROMATIC SHADOWS Basic Rules will be 100% FREE on DriveThru and Itch. That's a full color, fully playable 90+ page PDF to download and share! 

 Onward cyberpunks!

 

Two Critical Transmissions

Its been a busy few months decoding strange and cryptic data sets, but I am pleased to bring forth two important transmissions from the digital aether!

First, the Chromatic Shadows website has been redesigned and updated. Visit www.chromaticshadows.com to see what's new. If you you are interested in this project, please consider enrolling in the mailing list, for important updates, release dates, and new project announcements. I promise to keep any email blasts to a necessary minimum.

Second, I am thrilled to announce the upcoming release of the CHROMATIC SHADOWS BASIC RULES to Drive-Thru RPG in April 2023.

This volume is essentially a very beefy "quick-start", intended to introduce players to the mechanics and overall feel of the game. Chromatic Basic contains most of the character creation and the player facing rules. It is a very playable, accessible, lightweight version of the final product, and should offer lots of opportunity for play until the much longer, CORE RULES are complete.

 

 

What can you expect in the BASIC RULES?

CHROMATIC SHADOWS BASIC RULES covers 92 pages of essential mechanics, so you can jump straight into the world of occult-cyberpunk action!

• Full operator archetype and character creation rules.
• Options for playing a fringe Neotribal character.
• Strange Attractors and occult Sympathies.
• Complete hacking and drone rigging rules.
• Expansive list of weapons, gear and cyberware.
• Sprawl NPCs and eldritch enemies to slot straight into your campaign.
• Sample Occult Assets with ready to use story hook

What is the system like?

• Classic cyberpunk play, emphasizing character driven narrative.
• Fast & fluid d6 dicepool engine.
• Streamlined and intuitive mechanics. Easy to adjudicate and make rulings on the fly.
  
• Deep character building & tactical options.Rewards clever character design.
  
• Niche protected character archetypes. Each Role does something special.
• Unique, setting specific mechanics like Occult Milestones, Synchronicity, and Resonance.
• Pays homage to classic RPGs like Shadowrun, Vampire the Masquerade & Call of Cthulhu.
• Inspired by the writings of William Gibson, H.P. Lovecraft and Mark Fisher.

 

 
 

12 Strange Attractors for CHROMATIC SHADOWS

 

Art by Lumi

Here are 12 Strange Attractors that will appear in an expanded form in the final version of Chromatic Shadows. Attractors are uncanny events that have occurred in a character's history, and have radically awakened them to the reality of the Occult World. Strange Attractors alienate the characters from the conventions of "normal" society. Down in the underground, Attractors become the bonds that draws these characters together as a team, and the obsession that drive them to pursue occult mysteries. In the finished game, each Attractor will be paired with several "glitches", which are  subtle uncanny abilities that can be purchased with Occult Milestones (among other things). Occult Milestones are a special kind of XP that is awarded for uncovering mysteries, and overcoming occult threats. Stay tuned for more details!

 

STRANGE ATTRACTORS

Dimensional Slip

You were sucked through a portal into the nightmarish Outside Realms. When you came back, a part of the Outside stayed inside of you. You were in for only a short while, but to you, it seemed like you wandered those bleak, twilight realms for days, weeks. The experience haunts your waking dreams, but a part of you wants to go back.

Close Encounter with an Eldritch Horror

You had a close experience with an alien horror. Maybe you were attacked, or mentally dominated by the creature. You may have been nearly killed and drawn back from the brink. You survived with an uncanny sympathy with these horrors, a lingering dread and an obsession to to confront them again.

Captured by the Void Cult

You were the victim of the dreaded Void Cult, and suffered cruelly within their sanctums. Before you were given up as a sacrifice to their gibbering god you somehow escaped with your life. Your memories are spotty, but eldritch dreams and visions continue to haunt you, often when you're wide awake.

Moon Presence

On the night of a full moon you experienced a shocking vision. The moon appeared to you as something entirely Other. A great bleeding eye, with horrifying winged shapes playing before it in the night, or a great occult sign in the sky. Its glare it fills you with dread and you can no longer abide its presence. You are convinced that it is somehow cursed. Its presence calls to the darkest aspect of yourself promising Outside wisdom in exchange for your sanity. You find it harder and harder to resist the call.

Shadow War Experiment

During the Shadow War you were coerced into being part of a black-site research project. You were subjected to terrible experiments in service to some dark hyper-technology. People you knew were harmed or lost their mind, but you narrowly escaped due to The Collapse. You’ve tried to put it behind you, but uncanny effects and weird powers have begun to manifest that are impossible to ignore.

Attacked by Occult Asset

Whether it was intentional or not you were the target of an attack by an Occult Asset. Maybe you were the victim of a cult, or were caught in the crossfire between rival factions. You may have been mentally coerced or physically harmed, but you’ve moved past the fear. Now you’re angry. You’ve got a burning desire to rid the Sprawl of Occult Assets wherever they may be found. Nothing will stand in your way.

Ensnared by a Rampant AI

You met an entity out in the deep parts of the Grid that spoke with the voice of a god. You couldn’t help but cower before it. It leveraged you to do something terrible, and rewarded you in ways that you still won’t admit to. It released you from its service, but you know it's still out there watching, and waiting to make another devil’s bargain.

Visions in the Grid

You experienced an episode in the Grid and nearly flatlined. It was hours until your friends were able to pull you out, and get you help. During that time you had a profound vision that changed your life. A glimpse of something more real than real: a beatific vision written in virtual code, calling you home. Memories of this experience echo back to you from the digital aether. When you jack in and take the time to look, you can still find traces of the golden path.

Identity Theft

You were accosted by a strange being. It had the shape of a man, but its face and its body were a blur. Although it didn’t harm you, you felt as if something undefinable had been taken from you. Ever since your identity has been unstable. It started with the glitches in your digital records, and the weird static and blurs in the photos and videos of you. Lately people have been forgetting your name and who you are. You feel your identity sipping away like a snake’s skin. There is a sense of an imminent transformation and a growing exhilaration as to what this might mean.

Neurodrift Accident

You were a participant in a “neurodrift” experiment that went tragically wrong. Your brain was in a profound neuro-network with six other minds when a freak electrical surge flatlined the other participants. You were the only survivor. Years later, those other minds are still with you. Their voices and personalities echo inside your head, whispering knowledge and memories you wouldn’t have otherwise known.

Escaped from the Labs

The scientists that smuggled you out of the lab wouldn’t tell you anything, she just handed you a memory chip before you slipped away down the service tunnels. The files told it all. You were one of many, grown in a vat--the genetic duplicate of some billionaire who was prepared to harvest your organs. But something strange happened in the vats, you turned out different. You developed abilities that far exceeded what was expected. You’re ready to use these abilities to find others like yourself and set them free.

Device Savant

A drone deck malfunctioned, and you found yourself trapped inside a device for hours unable to escape. As your frozen digital awareness gazed out of its sensors, a machine-like presence entered into you. Now you possess an uncanny sympathy for electronics. Devices and drones bend to your will.