Funky roleplaying goodness.

[Threadbare]

Well, it's me again, Bobbin Threadbare. I'm less active on this board, but it's because I'm splitting my attention between this one and another rp board, Head on a Stick. It's a tight group, and I like it. We play a variety of games, from Hunter to Spycraft to Transformers, to post-apocalyptic setting, to a unique, half "Usual Suspects", half comic-book world (called "Heroes?"). With all these games running, things can slow down, and we often do side projects. Anyway, one of the guys is looking for some players for his "Unknown Armies" game. He told me about it. It sounded interesting, and I told him some of the best players I'd known come from Bulldrek. Anyway, you guys know me, and hopefully I'm not too notorious in a bad way. So, without further ado, Heeeeere's Punkey:

I recently aquired the books for a system called Unknown Armies. More of the whole paranormal thing that you know I'm fond of, but minus all that angst crap. I mean, rallying your psyche against the slings and arrows of supernatural responability makes a great game, but there are some times when you just want to cut loose, fuck the rules, and just have some fun in a paranormal, magickal way.

(Note: Yes, magick with a k. I didn't choose it, don't hurt me.)

Anyway, Unknown Armies has a unique setting to say the least. The end of the world is nigh, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it. What you can do, however, is decide to join the upper ranks of the universe (The Invisible Clergy) and have a hand in shaping the next world. If it's full of good people, you get a Paradise. If it's full of bad people...you get the idea. There's 333 spots to be filled, so space is limited, and it's an all-out war to see who's gonna be able to determine the next iteration of reality. In order to be one of the Big People (who keep themselves busy waiting for the end by playing God/Goddess), you have to be the embodiment of a certain Archtype of humanity, like the Mother, the Savage, the Flying Woman (Amelia Earhart, anyone?), or the Executioner. The requirements for acceptance aren't much more definate than fate, and that has lead to some rather interesting people joining their ranks over the millenia, like a recent addition, a porn starlet who ascended right in front of the cameras, who's bootleg tapes of various generations have sparked off new interest in the occult, and an entire new school of magick (Pornomancy).

Speaking of magick, there's plenty of different schools of magick, like an infinite amount, since you can make one up. Some of the given examples are Dipsomancy, which literally is the Drunken Style of magick, Entropomancy, which is based off of chaos, Plutomancy, which derives it's power from money itself, Iconomancy, powered from worship/stalking of celebreties, Annihilomancy, think Tyler Durden's philosophy as a magick type, Urbanomancy, where you can derive power from the living entities known as cities, and more.

Enter you, a magick adept/bruiser/hooker/burger flipper/clockwork automaton/whatever. You don't necessarily have to use magick to get ahead, so you can just as easily be a gun-toting hood. Besides, it takes a lot of magick to stop a bullet. You don't have to want to join the Invisible Clergy, in fact, many characters have no interest in it whatsoever.

There's quite a few organizations out there, and all of them may have some interest in you (one way or another), like The New Inquisition, a bunch of toughs, thugs, and crazies hired by multi-billionare Alex Abel to help him do who-knows-what, and the Sleepers, kinda the MiB/Keyser Soze-esque group of the occult underground, killing off those who get a little too close to letting the public know about what's really going on behind the scenes.

All in all, the attitude of the game is very loose, pulp-fictiony, paranormal, conspiriatorial, fun stuff. The game is VERY loose on mechanics (33 pages out of 224 to be precise), you can and are encouraged to make up your own spells, skills, schools of magick, and archtypes as we go along, and it's all very free-form. If you want, we could do a custom campaign or a one-shot I have.

So, what do you think?

If you're interested, email (preferrably) Punkey at punkey@evilemail.com, or me at generalflynny@yahoo.com

[punkey]

Hey hey.

Yeah, looking for some people to join up, do a little RP, maybe change the world, stuff like that.

A few things I neglected to tell Threadbare:

1. I am flexible on the location for the RP. IRC or BB, I don't care.
2. Preferably, setup would be in the forums and until summer, when it all starts up, 'cause I'll have even more free time. If not, it's still good.

If you're kinda interested, but would like to know more about what I have planned, here's a overview of the independent campaign and the one-shot.

Independent: The characters are members of The New Inquisition, working for Alex Abel running errands, picking stuff up and other miscelanious things. More info if this is chosen.

One Shot: The characters are on a commercial flight when the plane is hijacked by a adept who plans on using the plane and the resulting carnage from his act to ascend to the Invisible Clergy as the Terrorist.

[Threadbare]

Youse guys should start showing interest, or else I'll considers gutting youse wit' a rusty meathook.

[Cazmonster]

The cyberfreak janders in to get a sharp look at the game.

Woah! Porn magic, cool.

I wonder if there can be cybermagic...

Cazmonster goes to kick it, cyborg style, in Chicago.

[punkey]

Well, that all depends on your definition of "cyber".

Mechanomancy is all about technology. Not recent technology, but tech none the less. In fact, the school's taboo, the thingy that basically takes away all of your magic charges you've built up (don't worry, you can get them back), is the usage of anything in common use in the 1890's or later in a creation. It just doesn't work. Guns and other stuff like that are okay, but forget about using a computer. Of course, you can make some really neat stuff, like little robotic attack frogs, a machine that translates any language, a servant that looks like a human, or even an accurate simulation of human life itself.

But if that's not what you're looking for...

I'm sure we can work something out.

[punkey]

Just as a little taste of what I've got cooking on the back burners, here's a snippit from a school of magick I'm working on developing. (Translation: I really need 1 or 2 people, because one of the persons I planned on participating is incapable of playing in any form of a structured setting, so here's something cool to stare at.)

Cantomancy

There are two universal languages, at least if you believe science; mathematics, and music. Music is something that pretty much everyone can relate to, genres not withstanding. Everyone can think of one moment where music touched them or inspired them in some way. Cantomancers can tap into that energy and use it for their own purposes.

Cantomancers tend to be pretty open when it comes to musical preferences. Genres don't matter, as long as you respect music for what it is: something with the power to move thousands. If you don't believe me, look at all the charity concerts and how much money they bring in, or the stars themselves for that matter.

There is one fundemental difference between the average cantomancer and the average rock god: the cantomancer cares not about wealth and fame, but only for the music. Even the most unselfish performer cares at some level about fame and fortune, but cantomancers will turn down even the sweetest deal simply because they don't believe in it, that it will somehow cheapen their music and their lives along with it. However, they still believe that music is something to be shared, not hoarded, so they have a tendancy to be somewhat well-known in their local area, but not famous. For this reason, cantomancers tend to be inner-city people, where they can perform for people without becoming too well-known. They also have to have some talent in performing music, so a minimum rating of 20% in a musical skill is required.

Cantomancy blast style: Anyone can make a bad noise, but it takes talent to really make it hurt. The Cantomancy blast is a horrible screeching, feedback-like noise issuing from any nearby sound source. Speakers, car horns, window panes, chalkboards, glass panes, even the caster's voice are all fair game, as long as it can resonate. It also stuns those it injures, causing a -10% effect on all rolls for 4 turns, similar to the Dazed hand-to-hand cherry. However, the downside is that it effects everyone within a certain radius of the source, friend or foe, so be careful if you've got partners around.

Stats:

Generate a Minor Charge: Perform for 15 minutes so that at least one other person can hear it. The person in question does not have to hear the whole piece, but someone has to be hearing the music at all times. (Note: Charges are cummulative, but not with people, only time. So if you played for 30 minutes and 1 person, you would get 2 charges, but only 1 if you performed for 15 minutes and 2 people.)

Generate a Significant Charge: Perform for 1 hour for at least 50 people. Once again, the people in the audiance can change, but the number cannot dip below 50. The charges are still cummulative with time. Also, turn down a record deal or something else like it.

Generate a Major Charge: Perform for thousands and never be recognized, before or after. Also, have your music become a national or international hit and never be recognized. (Note: You might be able to accumulate charges from each country you're a hit in.)

Taboo: Become famous or recognized in any way larger than slight noteriaty in your city or local area. Also, accept any form of payment for your music.

Random Magick Domain: The cantomancer is a master of sound as it is, this just expands on it a bit. Creating phantom sounds or voices, throwing your voice, creating the auditory illusion of a gunfight outside your annoying neighbor's front door, and other such sound-related tricks come naturally to the cantomancer.

[Threadbare]

That's pretty interesting. And they don't have to be strictly inner-city, as it looks like to me. The banjo wizard and high-lonesome tenor from Appalachia seems just as viable as the underground peace 'n' rhymes mastah from the street.

[punkey]

Yeah, but getting significant charges would be difficult if you live in the boonies and your nearest neighbors live 2 miles away.

[Threadbare]

See, that's why you sit on the porch of a high-traffic area, or go to bluegrass jamborees.

[Salvation122]

Or play in a bar, or a square dance, or a party, or anything else, really. Just because you live further away from people doesn't mean that you can't play for them; you just have to try harder.

I also don't think that accepting any form of payment should be taboo. I see nothing wrong with Cantomancers busking, for example, or getting gigs at a bar and getting paid for them because someone likes their music. While changing your style to make some money - selling out - Or, perhaps, expecting reimbursement, should be taboo, I don't think that getting money off their music in and of itself is a bad thing.

[Cazmonster]

Too bad Eliahad is busy. A mathmetician/musician/sorcerer would be right up his alley.

[punkey]

Yeah, that makes sense. How about anything above $50?

[Cazmonster]

Well, that all depends on your definition of "cyber".

Punkey - I'd be far more interested in someone who has found a way to generate 'charge' by splicing artificial parts into his body or his mind with computers.

Cazmonster, the cyberfreak, is a large conglomeration of all of the best and worst in cyborg fiction. There are times when he's very close to the 'full borgs' of Ghost in the Shell and there are other times where he's a lot closer to a Cyberpunk or Shadowrun Street Samurai. He's got anywhere from dozens to hundreds of individual cybernetic and bionic enhancements.

The Mechanical Man could be one of the archetypal figures in Unknown Armies.

[punkey]

Sure. You'd probably get charges doing things that more closely relate you to technology. Using the computer for an extended period of time would probably count as a minor charge, making some form of technological device or aquiring some form of personal technological system (one of those jackets with integrated keyboards, for instance) would be a significant charge, and integrating a technological device directly into your body would be a major charge.

I know it's not to the extent you would like, but this isn't cyberpunk, nor is it Star Trek. This is supposed to be around 1999-2001 tech level, and that kind of stuff just isn't around.

[Threadbare]

Ah, but there's the twist. If you can make robotic attack frogs, what keeps some sort of inspiration-driven fella from creating cyberware? We already have microchips that border on nanite size. We already have people who work a computer mouse with a direct neural interlink. We already have more and more sophisiticated replacement limbs. All it would take would be some big jumps. That could be achieved by someone whose power deals with invention and inspiration in the first place.

[punkey]

Would these be available to the average person who tried? Because otherwise, you're gonna have a hard time getting the parts to make it work. I mean, if you worked for TNI, you MIGHT be able to get it, but, as you can see, that's a pretty big might.

[Cazmonster]

The 'average' person (read - ascending adept) knows a great deal about computers, enough that he starts thinking like one. He develops charge to a point where his conceptual plan for a worn computer works. All too soon, he's altering reality to a point where high-end concepts (like cyber-interface neural-nets, bionic implants and nanomachines) function. He's now got the power and the knowledge to become a cyborg.

[Threadbare]

Might this be to your liking? Or perhaps you might create your own.

[Cazmonster]

Very cool. A little more dystopian than I was looking for, but an excellent start.

[punkey]

Yeah, I forgot about that one. You know, if you're all about that one, it's cool. At least it's not Thanatomancy, or Death-based magick. Never been a big fan of that school, it's really hard to get charges for it, because the death has to be in a ritualized format lasting at least one hour, and that's for a minor charge.

[Threadbare]

Any way we could hacksaw that school a little to make it more towards Caz's liking?

[Cazmonster]

I'm doing some thinking about it and my basic concept is someone who wants everything to be free. Ideas, imagination, power, people. His primary tool is the computer...

[punkey]

One problem: Paradox. All schools of magick have a central paradox or absolute trueism. Pornomancers only can have sex for the purposes of getting closer to the Naked Goddess, anyone who's ever gotten smashed can argue that being drunk definatly makes you feel more powerful, what if it really does, as in Dipsomancy? Also, this paradox is also spelled out in the school's taboo, like with Entrepomancy, where making anyone take a risk you wouldn't is taboo, or with Plutomancy, where money really is power, spending over a certain amount is taboo, since if you spend it, you don't have it anymore, and Plutomancy is all about having it.

[Cazmonster]

Okay, well how does this sound for the Great Emancipator...

He can never force others to do anything. Purging databases, disrupting computers, frying hard copy, sure... all of that is within his purview. But he can never tell another soul what they should do, even if he knows the true value that his words may have.

[punkey]

That's more of an archtype than anything else. An archtype is basically a path that a person takes that isn't really directly magickal in nature, but more of something that embodies a basic subset of humanity. For example, the Mother, the Executioner, the Believer, the Dreamer, the Actor, things like that. An archtype that has a member of the Invisible Clergy tied to it gives those who follow it certain abilities that fit with the archtype, like how the Pilgrim gains increased abilties to travel long distances (like walking as fast as cars go), or in the case of the Masterless Man, being the combative wanderers and preserers of justice they tend to be, gain combat related abilities or attributes (like gaining temporary wound points that last until you lose them through damage).

One of the best parts of an archtype is that you don't have to get charges to use the abilities. Some of them can only be used so often, and most of them can only be used in certain situations, but still, if you got them, you can use them anytime. Downside, your "skill" in your archtype can go down if you don't follow it. For your case, if you tell someone what to do or dictate their actions in any way, your "skill" would decrease slightly, since you didn't follow your archtype.

We could make that into an archtype if you really want to, though. I like the idea.