TillForPie
First Post
ALL THE BRICKS
[title]The Game[/title]
ALL THE BRICKS is a cyberpunk action adventure play-by-post RPG set in the dystopian near-future of our own world. It uses the 5th Edition Shadowrun rules by Catalyst Game Labs. The campaign is set primarily in New York, beginning in 2078. In the future everything is owned by megacorporations, super powerful private entities pitted against one another in an eternal shadow war. The player characters are shadowrunner mercenaries working for and against the megacorporations. I, TillForPie, am the Game Master and our current cast of players consists of GlassEye, Mosier, Rubberneck, and Shayuri. This thread is for the game's OOC chatter. If you're not a current cast member this is where you should be posting.
ALL THE BRICKS Table of Contents
OOC Thread
Game Thread
Prologue: What Rough Beast
[title]Expectations[/title]
Everyone's enjoyment will be maximized if there's a certain amount of buy-in with regards to both the setting and the expectations of the game itself. My job as GM is to be the PCs' biggest fan and to portray the world in a serious way. The players' job is to take the world seriously and to portray their characters as if they were real. It's the job of the entire group to help everyone have fun.
The game will work best if players with priority (priority refers to the player whose turn it is in combat, or to all players when not in combat) try to post an average of once per day. Let me know if you're expecting an absence. When posting try to make it obvious which character you're playing and which text represents actions, thoughts, or speech. When possible specify which game actions you're taking and refer to rulebook page numbers if reasonable - this makes it all a lot easier on me. You can use whichever fonts and colors you like but I may ask you to make changes if your submissions are difficult to read. Try to keep OOC chatter in this thread to a minimum.
[title]Gameplay Notes[/title]
- I handle dice rolling for ALL THE BRICKS. Players are more than welcome to suggest dice pools for their actions (in fact, it's encouraged) but I'll take care of the rest.
- Edge can only be burned (which is permanent) or spent to use Push the Limit (which must be declared prior to rolling the dice) and Dead Man's Trigger. When Pushing the Limit you receive an additional die to roll (so if you have a base pool of 10 and an Edge of 5 you'll be rolling 16 exploding dice when Pushing the Limit). See pages 56-57 of the SR5 rulebook for information on using Edge.
- Karma is awarded at the end of runs as described on page 376 of the SR5 rulebook. An additional d6 karma is awarded when someone turns it up to 11 - this karma goes to everyone in the group. Being awesome makes everyone around you awesome, too. Karma can be turned into cash: 1 karma is worth 2,000 nuyen, just like in character creation.
[title]The New York Sprawl[/title]
New York is a sprawl, a modern mega-city with over 50 million inhabitants. It's officially a part of the UCAS (United Canadian and American States) and many of its residents are Canadian-American citizens, but the real powers in New York are the megacorporations. All of the largest corporations in the world have a significant presence in the city. The corporations pay lip service to the ideals of cooperation through Manhattan, Inc., a council with little actual authority. The truth is that New York is a battleground.
The megacorporations are in a constant state of war with one another. This one wants to steal trade secrets from that one. Megacorp A is trying to weasel in on Megacorp B's business. One here is going to sabotage one there. This means New York is rarely quiet and there's always something happening somewhere. When the megacorporations aren't threatening the stability of New York the gangs pick up the slack. The Triads (Chinese), Yakuza (Japanese), Vory (Russian), Mafia (formerly Italian - now something of a melting pot), and countless smaller street gangs (populated primarily by the SINless) stir up constant chaos in the city.
That's all you really need to know. What follows is a primer on the specifics - it's not really written with entertainment or style in mind. It's more for keeping everything straight. You might want to read the description for the part of the city your character lives in, or where your character is currently running, but whether you read the whole thing is up to you.
[sblock=A Tour of New York]ALL THE BRICKS takes place primarily in NYS and its surrounding areas, though there is the potential for runs to occur anywhere in the world. New York has eight boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Yonkers, Jersey City, and Newark.
North of New York is the Poughkeepsie Contamination Zone - a large region walled off on all sides and populated by desperate SINless. It's the unfortunate result of nuclear experimentation gone wrong and its perimeter is patrolled by Knight Errant in order to keep people from coming in or out. To the northwest (just southeast of the PCZ) is the Clifton Barren. Clifton's residents are all SINless and though unapproved traffic is illegal, smuggling (of people as well as goods) both in and out is common.
To the east of New York, in western Long Island, is the Hempstead Arcology (an arcology is a self-contained mini-city). It's run by Aztechnology. Beyond Hempstead's residential compounds and production fields is the Long Island Barren. The people of Long Island are cut off from New York and SINless Long Islanders are arrested regularly while trying to make their way across the water to the mainland.
The nearest cities are Morristown and Edison City, to the west and southwest of New York respectively. Both have strong cultural ties with New York and commuting between them is common.
For the most part locations occupy similar borders in 2078 as they did in 2016. But you shouldn't assume - many things have changed, particularly when it comes to specific neighborhoods. When in doubt, check with the GM.
[sblock=Manhattan]Manhattan
Lifestyle Cost: +50%
The island of Manhattan is the jewel of New York. It's heavily fortified, constantly patrolled by Knight Errant officers, and totally off-limits, omae. Oh, I know what you're thinking: You're a badass and if you want to run in Manhattan you'll damn sure do it. Runners ten times as talented as you have died trying.
Six of the ten largest megacorporations in New York have their headquarters on the island. Five million people live here, most of them wageslaves. But some of them are among the wealthiest in the world, the executive elite of the most powerful organizations to ever exist. Manhattan is overwhelmingly populated by humans, with a good number of elves and dwarves. Orks and trolls are both extremely rare in the borough.
Uptown Manhattan
The poorest part of Manhattan - though that isn't saying much. The majority of those wageslaves living in Manhattan are here, many of them valuable specialists or low and mid-level management.
Central Park, at the heart of the borough, is a massive commercial center (the park itself no longer exists). The upper east side and the upper west side transition into Midtown. Harlem in the north is the residential core of Uptown. Ares Macrotechnology has its New York headquarters in the upper west side.
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown is the wealthiest region of Manhattan and thus the wealthiest region of New York. Every street here has at least three levels and the sky is choked with delivery drones and Knight Errant patrol craft.
Times Square, Rockefeller Center, and Broadway form a cluster of commercial centers in Midtown. Roosevelt Island, in the East River, is home to Neonet's New York headquarters - it's known as the Roosevelt Arcology. Horizon, Renraku Computer Systems, and Shiawase Corporation also have their New York headquarters in Midtown.
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is wealthier and busier than Uptown and many of the city's wealthy residents keep apartments here. There is a disproportionate number of elves here.
Greenwich Village in the north is often what people really mean when they refer to Lower Manhattan and contains a great deal of residential complexes. Union Square, in northern Greenwich Village, is the region's largest commercial center. Chinatown in the south is under the complete control of Wuxing, Inc. - the Triad is rumored to have a presence here.
[/sblock][sblock=The Bronx]The Bronx
Lifestyle Cost: +25% in the South Bronx
The Bronx is a diverse borough where the middle and lower classes rub shoulders. The majority of wageslaves who commute to Manhattan island to the south live somewhere in the Bronx. A significant number of Japanese and metahumans live in various neighborhoods throughout the Bronx.
The West Bronx
Occupying the northwest quarter of the borough, the West Bronx is one of the poorest and most ethnically-diverse areas of New York. Riots are a regular occurrence in certain neighborhoods and travelling through some areas can be dangerous for commuters of the wrong race, nationality, or gang affiliation.
Morris Heights, thought of as the most dangerous place in the borough, is a goblin ghetto on the border of the South Bronx. Morris Heights is famous for its gang activity and shootouts on the streets aren't uncommon. East Tremont, on the border of the East Bronx, is a working-class neighborhood with a significant Spanish-speaking population.
The East Bronx
The East Bronx is a middle-class region home to the largest dwarven enclave in all of New York (though humans remain the majority). Lone Star and NYPD, Inc. work to keep the area safe from the gang activity found in the west.
Trogg's Neck is a dwarven enclave in the southeastern corner of the East Bronx. Bronx Park, near the West Bronx's East Tremont, is a large commercial center. The megacorporation Saeder-Krupp runs an arcology (as well as its New York headquarters) on City Island, just offshore.
The South Bronx
When people from other boroughs visit the Bronx they typically come here. The South Bronx occupies the lower half of the borough and is largely populated by middle-class wageslaves. A significant number of Manhattan workers commute from the South Bronx. Lone Star, NYPD, Inc., and Knight Errant all have contracts here and the competition between the three of them can become quite fierce.
In the north, on the edge of the West Bronx's Morris Heights, is Little Tokyo. Centered on Yankee Stadium, Little Tokyo is a major Japanese (and Yakuza) enclave and home to Mitsuhama's New York headquarters. Lone Star patrols the neighborhood's northern border. Hunts Point in the east is a notorious red-light district and the poorest neighborhood in the South Bronx.[/sblock][sblock=Brooklyn]Brooklyn
Lifestyle Cost: +25% in Sunset Park
Brooklyn is one of New York's most densely-populated boroughs, behind Manhattan and Jersey City. Most of the Russian-speaking residents of New York live and work in Brooklyn and the Vory has a strong presence here. There's a large number of metahumans of all kinds in the borough, though of course humans remain the majority in most places.
Crown Heights
The northeast quarter of Brooklyn is known as Crown Heights. Crown Heights is generally lower-class, with a great deal of ethnic diversity. It has the greatest density of orks and trolls on Long Island.
Bushwick is a working-class neighborhood in northern Crown Heights with a high Spanish-speaking population. The Brownsville Barren, in the east, is populated almost entirely by orks and trolls. Violence in the Barren is commonplace and its walled border is patrolled by NYPD, Inc. forces. Flatbush, in the south, is another ork/troll enclave, but much safer than Brownsville.
Sunset Park
Occupying a central-western slice of Brooklyn is Sunset Park, a diverse middle-income region with a notable population of elves and dwarves (as always, humans are the majority). A significant population of Modern Orthodox and Hasidic Jews exists in Sunset Park, as does a large number of Irish and Italians. Russian remains the most spoken non-English language. NYPD, Inc. holds the majority of contracts in Sunset Park.
In north Sunset Park is St. Michael's, a lower-class neighborhood with a notable Mafia presence. Conflict between the Mafia and the Vory in St. Michael's is not unheard of. Bath Beach, in the southwest, is a large Hasidic Jewish enclave. On Sunset Park's eastern border is Prospect Park, Brooklyn's largest commercial center.
Sheepshead
Making up the southern third of Brooklyn is Sheepshead. Sheepshead is home to a huge number of eastern Europeans and it is known as the Vory capital of New York.
Brighton Beach is a neighborhood in south Sheepshead - the Vory presence here is so strong that the neighborhood has no need for private security firms. The gang polices its own territory. King's Plaza in the east is second-largest commercial center in Brooklyn (behind Prospect Park) and home to Evo Corporation's New York headquarters.[/sblock][sblock=Queens]Queens
Lifestyle Cost: +50% in Astoria
Queens is perhaps the most economically-diverse borough in New York. Nearly all Chinese New Yorkers not in Manhattan's Chinatown live in Queens and the Triad has a death grip on the poorer neighborhoods.
Astoria
Astoria makes up the westernmost quarter of the borough and is often seen as an extension of Manhattan. Astoria is an extremely busy area famous for its shopping centers, concert halls, theaters, art galleries, and skyline amusement parks. Astoria is the most expensive place to live in New York outside of Manhattan itself.
Steinway, in central Astoria, is the area's primary residential neighborhood. Ravenswood, on the west shore, is the busiest commercial center in Queens (and one of the busiest in all of New York). Long Island City in south Astoria is a mixed residential-commercial neighborhood that blends into Brooklyn. LaGuardia Airport, in the north, is the primary point of entry for visiting executives arriving in New York.
Falasheng
The northeastern third of Queens is known as Falasheng. Falasheng is a massive Chinese enclave, the largest in North America, and is utterly dominated by the Triad.
College Point Peninsula in west Falasheng is both an industrial and lower-class residential area where factory wageslaves sleep in the shadows of their smoke-belching workplaces. In the southeast is Murray, the only neighborhood in Falasheng not dominated by the Chinese. The Mafia have a significant presence here and conflict between them and the Triad has been common in the past. In the north is Whitestone, where the wealthiest of Falasheng live and work. Meadow Park in the southwest is a dazzling commercial center catering to Chinese-speaking consumers.
Jamaica
The southern third of the borough is Jamaica, peopled by the poorest of Queens. Smog from the factories of Falasheng to the north and the Hempstead Arcology to the east makes Jamaica one of the most polluted regions of New York. Jamaica is ethnically diverse but overwhelmingly human.
Briarwood, in the west, contains the majority of Jamaica's middle-class residents. Elmont, on the border of Aztechnology's Hempstead Arcology, is the poorest region in Jamaica and home to a large number of orks and trolls. JFK International Airport, in south Jamaica, is a large commercial center and the primary point of entry for immigrants.[/sblock][sblock=Yonkers]Yonkers
Lifestyle Cost: No modifier
Yonkers is quite suburban as far as the boroughs go. It's occupied by a mix of middle and lower-class residents, with the population tending to grow poorer the further north one goes. The Poughkeepsie Contamination Zone to the north keeps Lone Star and Knight Errant on their toes.
West Yonkers
The west half of Yonkers (occupying the entirety what Yonkers was known as earlier in the century) is the most densely-populated part of the borough. There is a decently-sized population of Native Americans throughout West Yonkers - the highest concentration of them in the sprawl.
Hastings-on-Hudson, in the northwest, is a poor but highly-fortified region thanks to the presence of the nearby PCZ. In the northeast is Crestwood, a small dwarven enclave. In the south is Getty Square, the borough's busiest commercial center.
East Yonkers
Far less densely-populated than the west half, East Yonkers (occupying what was formerly known as New Rochelle) is a place of contrasts. Neighborhoods alternate between opulence and poverty. Knight Errant is the primary security provider of East Yonkers, patrolling the border of the PCZ.
Mount Vernon is a field of gated communities and middle-class housing complexes in the west. New Rochelle, on the northeast shore, is the poorest neighborhood in the borough. In the central-north is Bayberry, a heavily-militarized area and the primary entrance to the Poughkeepsie Contamination Zone to those with proper clearance.[/sblock][sblock=Staten Island]Staten Island
Lifestyle Cost: No modifier
The most suburban and least populated of all the New York boroughs, Staten Island is one of the few places for miles where one can find traditional housing. The island is almost entirely human and overwhelmingly English-speaking. The Mafia is the dominant criminal organization in Staten Island, though Vory activity here is not unheard of.
North Shore
The northern quarter of the borough is known as North Shore and it is the most densely-populated region of Staten Island. All metahumans living in the borough are here and North Shore is where the Mafia holds most sway.
Port Richmond, the northernmost neighborhood of North Shore, is the busiest commercial center in Staten Island. St. George in the northeast is deep Mafia territory and visitors are advised to avoid offending the local crime bosses. Castleton, in the south, is North Shore's most suburban neighborhood.
Midland
Midland makes up the southeastern half of Staten Island and its suburban population is made up entirely of humans, nearly all of them English-speaking. The Mafia is powerful here, as it is everywhere on Staten Island. The Humanis Policlub, a human supremacist organization with chapters throughout North America, has a strong presence here.
Dongan Hills is a neighborhood in the northwest. It's home to the headquarters of the Humanis Policlub's New York Chapter. Eltingville in south Midland is a middle-class residential neighborhood. Blue Heron, in Eltingville, is Midland's only significant commercial center. Tottenville in the southwest is a poor mixed use residential-industrial neighborhood.
Freshkills
The west edge of Staten Island is called Freshkills. It's only lightly-populated, with a large number of research and industrial facilities, most of them patrolled by Lone Star forces.
Freshkills Nuclear Plant, on the northwest shore, provides a portion of New York's energy needs. Fort Freshkills, in the south, is Lone Star's New York headquarters.[/sblock][sblock=Newark]Newark
Lifestyle Cost: +25% in East Ward
Newark is the smallest of New York's boroughs, though not its least-populated (that honor goes to Staten Island). It's populated primarily by lower-middle class wageslaves. Compared to boroughs like Brooklyn and Queens, Newark is home to relatively few immigrants. The borough is the latest battleground in the private security war and Knight Errant, Lone Star, and NYPD Inc. all have substantial Newark contracts. The Mafia is the dominant criminal organization in Newark.
North Ward
Newark's North Ward is home to the borough's poorest residents as well as its largest populations of orks, trolls, and immigrants. Lone Star maintains a heavy presence along the neighborhood's border with the Clifton Barren to the north and smuggling between the two areas is commonplace. North Ward was at the center of an insect spirit scare a few years ago, though Lone Star maintains the situation has been contained.
Forest Hill, in the northwestern corner of the Ward, is often considered a sub-Barren due to the level of violence that often goes ignored by the authorities. Harrison, in the southeast, is a busy mixed-use district known as the home of the Wheels And Rage go-gang. Violence between WAR and the Mafia is a daily occurrence.
East Ward
East Ward is the busiest neighborhood in Newark and its megahighways are eternally choked with traffic to and from Jersey City. The neighborhood has a population density nearly as great as in Brooklyn. NYPD Inc. has claim to most of East Ward's security contracts and is rumored to have a working relationship with the Mafia crews known to operate in the region.
Downtown Newark, in central East Ward, is the largest commercial center in the borough. In the west is Four Corners, the second-largest. The strip of real estate between these two economic centers is some of the busiest and most expensive in North America, outside the traditional five boroughs of New York. Elizabeth, on the southern edge of East Ward, is the wealthiest neighborhood in the borough and is known for its art and music scene. International Airport is located in the east.[/sblock][/sblock]
[title]Paydata[/title]
Our current regular features are Hear-O-Vision and Ancient History. Hear-O-Vision presents the ALL THE BRICKS Official Soundtrack, packed tight with tunes to get you in the mood. Ancient History is an ongoing history lesson providing valuable (or not) insights into the world of tomorrow.
Our Run Hard paydata includes Completed Runs and Turned It Up. Completed Runs speaks for itself. Turned It Up is a collection of the most badass player moments in the story - every time a player turns it up to 11 the entire group gets a karma reward.
[sblock=Regular Features][sblock=Hear-O-Vision]Buy your ALL THE BRICKS Official Soundtrack at fine retailers everywhere!
Side ASide B[/sblock][sblock=Ancient History]Evo Corporation[/sblock][/sblock][sblock=Run Hard][sblock=Completed Runs]None - yet.[/sblock][sblock=Turned It Up]None - yet.[/sblock][/sblock]
[sblock=Original Setup Post]
ALL THE BRICKS
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?
ALL THE BRICKS is a game of hard tension, loud violence, and style. Life is cheap in 2078 and an unceremonious death in an alley is the best most in your line of work can hope for. Your line of work is shadowrunning. You're a non-person. You're a deniable, disposable asset. You work both for and against the megacorporations who run everything in the modern world.
The game alternates between runs and downtime. During runs you will collect information, prepare, and plan. You'll infiltrate, execute the mission, and retreat into the night like a common burglar. And hopefully you'll get paid. During downtime you'll make sure your tracks are covered and then, if you're anything like most runners, you'll blow your money as you enjoy the fruits of your labors. When the credstick is empty you'll start it all over again with the next run. This is your life. Take your pleasures where you can, chummer, because it never lasts.
Ancient History
The specifics aren't important. By the 1990s the first of the megacorporations were on the rise. When VITAS (virally-induced toxic allergy syndrome) swept the globe at the dawn of the new century, billions died. The Awakening hit in 2011 and the first dragons emerged from the ground. Millions of women started giving birth to metahumans - elves and dwarves. Millions started developing gifts. Before long goblinization was the word of the day and orks and trolls were on the scene.
Billions dead. Millions of metahumans. Magic everywhere. Everything shook apart and the great wars began. The timeline is murky but when the smoke cleared extraterritoriality was the prize. Megacorporations were the new nations and they were beholden to nobody but themselves. The world had passed the event horizon.
Life in 2078
Let go of your misconceptions as to what it means to be alive in the 21st century. Most people are wageslaves: They're corporate property with 70-hour work weeks, short life expectancies, few rights, and almost no comprehension as to what it means to be free.
The corporations keep the populace cowed with unimaginative entertainment, cheap drugs, and nutritionless food. Everyone is tracked by their SINs: System Identification Numbers. SINners don't need wallets, credit cards, or photo ID. Everything a person needs is attached to their SIN and broadcast wirelessly by their commlinks - the super smartphones of the future. Convenience comes at a price: SINs are needed to legally access public transportation, work jobs, pay rent, receive medical attention, to live at all in the modern world.
There exists a large underclass of SINless non-persons. Lacking a SIN is a crime but there isn't enough space, enough money, or enough care to imprison the SINless. So they live in squalor. They pay their slumlords what cash they can scrape together or else they sleep in the gutters or worse - in the barrens. They shrink under the pain of easily preventable and curable diseases. They suffer the exploitation of the wealthy and the powerful and when they die nobody cares.
The New York Sprawl (NYS)
New York is a sprawl, a modern mega-city with over 50 million inhabitants. It's officially a part of the United Canadian and American States but the real powers in New York are the megacorporations. All of the largest corporations in the world have a significant presence in the city. They pay lip service to the ideals of cooperation through Manhattan, Inc., a council with little actual authority. The truth is that New York is a battleground.
The megacorporations are in a constant state of war with one another. This one wants to steal trade secrets from that one. One here is going to sabotage one there. Megacorp A tries to assassinate an executive of Megacorp B. This means New York is rarely quiet and there's always something happening somewhere. When the megacorporations aren't threatening the stability of New York the gangs pick up the slack. The Triads (Chinese), Yakuza (Japanese), Vory (Russian), Mafia (formerly Italian - now quite the melting pot), and countless smaller street gangs (populated primarily by the SINless) stir up constant chaos in the city.
There's a city bible in the works with specifics about New York in 2078 - enough is finished that I can provide any necessary information.
You in the Shadows: Hard Tension - Loud Violence - Style
ALL THE BRICKS can be summarized by the following: Hard tension, loud violence, and style. You never know when you're safe. Life is short and bloody. Nothing is mundane.
When you're making a character try to think about the style you want to express. Are you bright pink leather and a mohawk? Are you a 5,000 nuyen suit with killer shades? Are you pistons firing inside an oily cyberarm? Even nondescript can be made stylish if you work it up to 11.
You're best off if you make a character with complications. Maybe you're terminal and you're chasing cash for meds that can buy you more time on this rock. Or what if you have an alcoholic spouse and a pair of brats to support? You could be a zealot doing it all for some higher, noble (or not-so-noble!) purpose. Mr. Professional Mercenary With No Life can be great but you won't be maximizing your fun if you don't have things to deal with during downtime. Simple and safe is boring.
There are some other notes I'll have once we get into the meat of character creation but for now let's worry about concepts. I've found it's better not to think about your character's class (street sam, adept, decker, whatever), but rather the team roles they'll fulfill. There are primary and secondary roles. The primary roles are Face, Physical Overwatch, Matrix Overwatch, Astral Overwatch, and Infiltration (which itself comes in four flavors - social, physical, matrix, and magic). The secondary roles are things like Driving, Information Gathering, First Aid, Repair, and so on. As long as your character can solidly contribute to one or more of the primary roles you're assured regular relevance.
A runner with style, meaningful character, and relevant skills to contribute to the group is one likely to succeed. There isn't a need to hammer down all the mechanical specifics until we've got a clear idea of what the team will look like. So let's all use this thread to introduce ourselves and spitball character ideas. I'm available to those who need or would like a hand, both here and over PMs.
All interest is appreciated, but participation in this game is by invitation only for the time being.[/sblock]
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