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