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Campaign Background

Starting Year: 2272

Campaign's base city, nation, empire, or planet: Neo-Tokyo.

Society/government type: Corporatocratia. Megacorporations have a Board of Directors that decide on national matters. Every former government branch is also now a corporation or several corporations (railways, army, police, ...). Even the taxes are collected by a corporation! Liberal dream come true? Well, somehow it works. Not very well, but it does. Corruption is rampant.

One of the few remnants of the past is the Imperial Household Ministry which takes care of the imperial family and their estates. Money to run it comes from the emperor's private lands, stocks and investments. They employ only a few hundred people compared to the over 1,000 in the old times.

Control Rating: CR1. Exceptions to general CR: Megacorporations have CR0 as long as the Board of Directors doesn't intervene (and they usually don't).

Tech level: 9. Exceptions to general TL: Computers, Cybernetics, and Bio-Tech at TL 10. No ^Superscience.

Brief description of important neighboring powers, political/economic situation, etc.: TODO

Suggested or required reading for players: TODO

Information for PCs

Starting point value allowed for PCs: 200. Attribute Limits: Max. 15, and only one attribute can be 15.

Disadvantage limit: 60. Quirks: 5.

Especially useful character types: Bodyguard, Broker, Celebrity, Drifter, Ex-Cop, Ex-Corporate, Ex-Military, Hacker/Netrunner, Reporter, Splicer (Doctor), Spy (see below), Technician, Thief.

Especially useless character types: Those that can't do anything in combat.

Especially appropriate professions: TODO

Especially inappropriate professions: You can't be a Corporate but you might be a Megacorporation spy. If you are, the other players must not know about it.

PC races allowed: Human, gengineered human (listed below), cyborg. NO androids or bioroids.

Starting Wealth: Average.

Starting Wealth levels allowed: from Poor to Very Wealthy.

Starting Status levels allowed: 2.

Starting TLs allowed: Campaign TL.

Languages available: Any Earth language.

Cultural Familiarities available: Any, as long as the character has lived there at least a couple of years at some point of his/her life.

Required advantages, disadvantages, and skills: TODO

Especially appropriate or inappropriate advantages, disadvantages, and skills: TODO

Prohibited Advantages: Gadgeteer, High TL, Legal Immunity, Rapier Wit

Prohibited Disadvantages: Amnesia (Total), Blindness (except as a mitigator), Cannot Learn, Cannot Speak, Low TL, Pacifism (Total nonviolence), Sadism (Callous is ok), Slave Mentality, Split Personality, Terminally Ill, Trickster (take a quirk instead if you must), Quadriplegic. If you got Dependent(s), you have to come up with the details.

Appropriate Patrons (and base value): Up to 15 points.

Appropriate Enemies (and base value): Down to -20 points.

Special Abilities Allowed for PCs

Exotic/supernatural traits: Only those that can be achieved with cybernetics or bio-tech. (And still no Magic or Psionics)

Cinematic skills: Yes, but check each with GM!

Are PC mages allowed? No. General mana level: None. Do areas of higher/lower mana exist? Unknown!

Are PC psis allowed? No.

Are PC gadgeteers allowed? No.

Unusual Background cost(s) for these abilities: -

Legal or social restrictions on these abilities: -

Other Notes

Book 1 optional rules or variants (advantages, disadvantages, skills, etc.): TODO

Book 2 optional rules or variants (success rolls, combat, injury, etc.): TODO

Gengineered humans

Avatar (TL10)

42 points

The Avatar design is motivated by concern over gender roles. Rather than try to redefine what it meant to be masculine or feminine, this design reinforces typical gender stereotypes. As such, it is an exercise in sexual dimorphism, in which the physical and psychological differences between males and females of the subspecies are exaggerated. Male Avatars are strong, robust, stoic in the face of pain, and somewhat egoistic. Female Avatars are dextrous, soft-voiced, and demure. Both sexes are engineered for great physical attractiveness, and have extreme secondary sexual characteristics which make their masculinity or femininity almost fiercely obvious.

Male Avatars tend to gravitate toward high-risk occupations such as the military, while female Avatars (especially those who overcome their natural Shyness) are often successful as diplomats, negotiators or entertainers.

Attribute Modifiers: HT+2 [20].

Advantages: Appearance (Handsome) [12]; Resistant to Disease (+8) [5].

Skills: Racial Skill Bonus (Sex Appeal +3) [6].

Quirks: Distinctive Features [-1].

Features: Taboo Traits (Genetic Defects, Mental Instability). Females also have Taboo Trait (Aggressiveness). Both sexes have exaggerated sexual characteristics: Males are blatantly muscular with abundant body and facial hair, while females are very curvaceous and have soft, delicate facial features.

Availability:: $116,000, LC3.

Sub-Races

Select one of these lenses:

Female Avatar (+24 points): DX+1 [20]; Voice [10]; Responsive [-1]; Shyness (Mild) [-5].

Male Avatar (+24 points): ST+2 [20]; High Pain Threshold [10]; Overconfidence (12) [-5]; Proud [-1].

Gilgamesh Template (TL10)

65 points

Gilgamesh parahumans are a Homo superior design intended for high intelligence and lengthened lifespan. The Gilgamesh looks human, but features extensive eugenic and species modifications, including redesigned heart, arteries, spleen and gastrointestinal tract, plus alterations to the cell structure itself to reduce cumulative copying errors.

Attribute Modifiers: DX+1 [20]; IQ+1 [20]; HT+1 [10].

Advantages: Appearance (Attractive) [4]; Extended Lifespan 1 [2]; Longevity [2]; Resistant to Disease (+8) [5].

Perks: Reproductive Control [1]; Sanitized Metabolism [1].

Features: No Appendix; Taboo Traits (Genetic Defects, Mental Instability).

Legality Class 3, cost $115,000.

Pandora (TL10)

66 points

Instead of just gengineering a smarter human, the goal of the Pandora's designers was to create a faster-thinking one. The resulting Pandora genetic upgrades look identical to normal humans, but their brains have been neurologically modified to improve information flow between neurons, permitting faster thought.

Unfortunately, the interface with the speech centers of the brain was not as smooth as intended: they don't actually stutter, but they do find it hard to slow their words down when talking to normal people, so the effect is about the same. The Pandoras were also not as robust as hoped.

Attribute Modifiers: IQ+2 [40]; HT-1 [-10].

Advantages: Enhanced Time Sense [45].

Disadvantages: Stuttering (Accessibility, no penalty if talking to someone else with Enhanced Time Sense, -10%) [-9].

Features: Taboo Traits (Genetic Defects).

Availability:: $116,000, LC3.

Sub-Races

Prometheus (+19 points): Upgraded Pandora model; delete -1 HT and Stuttering. $185,000. LC3.

Tiresia (TL10)

47 points

These parahumans are designed to transcend the limits of gender itself. Tiresian parahumans are functional sequential hermaphrodites, able to switch between male and female sex roles. They can both bear and sire children, although they cannot switch sex when pregnant. They have also been modified for enhanced intelligence and physical attractiveness, although they tend to possess a somewhat androgynous beauty.

Attribute Modifiers: IQ+1 [20]; HT+1 [10].

Advantages: Appearance (Handsome, Adrogynous) [12]; Hermaphromorph (Accessibility, not while pregnant, -20%) [4].

Perks: Reproductive Control [1].

Features: Light Menses; No Appendix; Taboo Traits (Genetic Defects, Mental Instability).

Availability:: $97,000, LC3.