Character Creation: Synthicide: Sharpers in the Dark

DIE ROBOTS DIE.

The Game: Synthicide: Sharpers in the Dark
The Publisher: Will Power Games
Degree of Familiarity: I ran a one-shot of the original Synthicide game some years ago, and I know Forged in the Dark pretty well
Books Required: Just the one

Synthicide was actually the last review I wrote for folks in the IGDN before I was cancelled in 2017 (I ran a session of Threadbare but never wrote the review, obviously). I miss writing reviews. Ah, well.

Anyway, Synthicide is a sci-fi/noir setting in which robots are kinda the dominant life form (so to speak) and "killing" one is punishable by death. I remember thinking when I ran it that it would work nicely in a Blades in the Dark kind of format (I was running Blades at the time), and here we are! So let's make a Sharper! 

Character creation is pretty similar to a lot of Forged in the Dark games; we start by picking a playbook. Actually, two, because in addition to the actual playbook (which speaks to your role in the story/on the ship), you also pick a bioclass. All that means is I've gotta print two sheets. Eh, actually, there's not that much of value on the bioclass one (if I were running this I'd definitely print both, but for my purposes today I don't need it).

Well, let's see. I made a bulbhead last time. I think I'll pick Street Blaster (guns and explosives experts). I get XP when I solve a problem with firearms or explosives, and well, that sounds like a pretty good way to cheese XP, based on the 40 years of gaming under my belt. As for bioclass, I'll go with Rigfiend (I am cyber'd all to hell, and this edition of the corrected the "you can't be cyber'd at chargen" issue). 

Birthplace! Let's say I was born in an edge settlement, someplace with very little food or natural resources. My guy grew up hungry and couldn't wait to swap out his organs with something that he could just dump fuel into (if that's possible).

Origin! This is how I became a Sharper. Let's go with the theme and say he Fell Into It; becoming a Sharper gave him a way to eat. 

Normally I'd choose a Crew Connection, but since that requires another PC I'll skip it. Oh, wait, no, it kinda does affect a mechanical decision later. Hmm. Well, without going into enough detail that I have to make up a whole other character, let's say one of the crew used to run with a rival family back on The Bakery (the unofficial name of the settlement I'm from, so called because a) it was fuckin' hot and b) there was no bread). We both got recruited by the same people putting together a Sharper crew, and there was probably a brief scrap until they said "either you guys get it together or we find people who can."

Mystery! This is a plot complication that might come up at some point. Let's go with Church Interest. The Tharnaxist Church heard that the famine on The Bakery got bad enough that some cannibalism happened. It's not true (as far as my guy knows), but the Church knows he's from there and wants to "talk" to him. 

OK, now we assign action dots. Four are assigned already (two Shoot, one Wreck, one Command), and then I get six more, assigned thusly:

• One dot that reflects my birthplace. Hmm. I think Prowl; in the Bakery it's good to stay low.
• One that reflects my origin. Let's make this a second dot of Wreck. My place is the crew is pretty non-subtle.
• One that reflects crew connection. Hmm. Murder? Murder. That gang war was bloody, apparently.
• One that reflects mystery. These rumors of cannibalism were intense enough that the Church got involved. Let's buck the trend and put a dot in Doctor.
• And then two go anywhere. I want one in Maneuver (running, jumping, climbing trees), and I'll put the other one in Connect (I'm not incapable of talking to folks).

Now I get a special ability from both my playbook and my bioclass. For my playbook, I'll take vicious assault; when I push myself in a firefight I get increased scale. I know that's useful and potentially makes me scary. For my bioclass one, it's a cybernetic enhancement. Ugh, there's a bunch I like. I think I gotta go with torso compartment, though. I figure he got this for two reason: one, it's not sexy so it wasn't as expensive, and two, he figured it'd make his stomach smaller so he wouldn't get hungry as much (is that true? Probably not). 

Finally, we do look, details, and name. The book says there's a list of sample names, but I sure don't see one. Well, anyway, we'll say my guy's name is Orsh Riggan, but he goes by Soup. It's not a particularly flattering nickname; one of the crew's first jobs, they kicked in a door and Orsh unloaded with a gun into a small room, killing everyone there. One of the other folks said "fuck, you turned 'em to soup" and the name stuck.

Soup is never going to be not skinny. He's got intense brown eyes and this half-smile expression that gives people the unnerving idea that he's about to either laugh or stab them. He has a habit of tapping his torso compartment because (when it's empty) it makes a neat thumping noise. 

You know, normally when I make gun-bunny characters they're very precise and methodical, and I like the idea that Soup has a more "shoot everything repeatedly until it becomes liquid" kind of attitude to him.

Character Creation: Synthicide

It's early in the morning, but I can't start doing inventory yet and I gotta take Sephi to the vet and no one else is up, so.

The Game: Synthicide
The Publisher: Will Power Games
Degree of Familiarity: Enough. I ran a session last night in preparation to write a review.
Books Required: Just the one.

 
So! Synthicide is billed as sci-fi noir, and that's not a bad description. You're playing "sharpers," mercenaries or hired help trying to survive in a universe that really doesn't give a shit what you do, as long as you don't fuck with the Church or its Synthetics.

Oh, this is sad. There's a PC generator here, but there's no way to print the sheet it creates. Boo. Guess I'll have to do this analog.

OK, so, the book has a bunch of random tables that you can roll on to generate an origin story. I enjoy such things, so I'm gonna use 'em. First roll: Birthplace. I was born on a ship. I have no home planet. Sounds OK.

Next roll: Why did I become a sharper? Restlessness. Wanderlust. Search for meaning. I can get behind that.

Next, connection to other players: Sworn to secrecy. My character and other sharper share a terrible secret. I get to roll on the mystery table to determine what we're hiding. Sounds good to me! Visions - I get visions of a terrible future...maybe past? Anyway, I start with three doses of Illuminix, which is cool, because that's the drug you need to take if you have psychic powers and I was thinking that'd be fun.

Now I choose a Motivation (there's a list). These are very broad, and help determine how I can regain Resolve in play. I'll say my guy's motivation is Don't Get Mad, Get Even, because I feel like making a character who's a little harder around the edges today. He gets Resolve if he denies an opponent mercy or settles a debt.

Step Three, I select a bioclass, which is basically whether I have or could have any cyber. You don't actually start with any cyber either way (which is kinda weaksauce). I think if I want to have psychic powers, my brain has to be organic. Yep, I can't be a scraphead or a rigfiend. I think I'll be a hardshell - got some work done in the body, but the brain is all meat. That sets my Attributes totals, but I don't fill them in yet because they'll be modified by Aspect. I also start with either Cyber Eyes or Serbs Limbs; I think I'll go with the eyes. I get +1 Awareness. I get 2 cybernetic slots for my body, but those don't matter at chargen.

Next up, Aspect. I already know I want to be a Bulbhead. I get +2 Influence but -1 to another Attribute of my choice. Hmm. I think I'll take it to Toughness; my rigged body was done on the cheap and it's prone to shorting out at bad times. Now I can fill in my Attributes. My Influence and Awareness are both pretty good, but my Toughness and Combat are sucky, so I'll need to rely on my psychic powers, which, speaking of, I get two.

Ooh, these are pretty baller. I'll take Psychic Barrier (I need a way to prevent damage), and...hmm. Do I want a movement power, or do I want a way to do damage? I think given my motivates I should take the latter. I'll take Mind Burst (there's a slot to write these on the back of the sheet, but I don't care that much, so I'll just jot 'em in on the front).

Now I pick a Natural Talent, which is the closest this system gets to skills. There are really only two types, Influence (which, perhaps ironically, let me use my highest Attribute instead of Influence to lie to or otherwise persuade certain types of people or in certain situations) or Operate, which let me use a higher Attribute than Operation to perform certain tasks. Since Influence is one of my highest Attributes, I'll take an Operate one. Since I grew up on a ship, let's make it Operate Vehicles.

And then, an equipment package. I appreciate these; you can just pick one and get stuff you might need without shopping. I'll take the Gutter Psych package; that gives me a gun and a combat vest, but more importantly, it gives me Illuminix, which I need to be all psychic. That means I have 10 doses total.

And that's all the number stuff. Now for a little backstory. Stelo (means "star" in Esperanto) was born on a colony ship bound for...parts unknown (turns out they were bound of Cruxian, which is a planet that doesn't realize that space travel exists - they're kept forcibly ignorant by the Church). Stelo was taken off the ship by his mother during an incident (she never told him about it, but he has visions of explosions and monsters), and she became crew on another transport ship. Stelo grew up in space.

He fell in with a crew of sharpers when he was 14, and on his first mission got caught between two huge cargo crates and crushed. The buyer, who was moderately wealthy, felt bad and paid for some augmentation to keep Stelo alive, but not, like top of the line. Stelo stayed with the crew for a while, though, and then met up his current crew (which would be the PCs). He revealed his occasional visions to another sharper, and they realized they both had similar visions. Stelo is curious about what he's really seeing, but up till now he figured it was just Illuminix side effects. Stelo also took to heart he lesson of the buyer fixing his body - if you wrong someone or are responsible for someone getting hurt, you balance the scales. He's toying with the notion that the reason he's seeing these visions is because something is out of balance, but that hasn't really crystalized yet.

OK, I think that does it!