Q: How many points can we use to make PCs?
A: I decided to raise the limit to 120, considering how quickly characters died in the practice combat sessions. Note, I'm giving you room to work with, so I don't want to see blatant point optimization. The PCs I've seen so far are quite good at avoiding this.
Q: Is such-and-such weapon/armor/biomod/cybermod/etc. available at this tech level?
A: See the list at the bottom of this page.
Q: What kind of hand-to-hand attacks can I do?
A: The basic attacks that anyone can do include:
More skilled combatants may also attempt Brawling punch, Karate punch/kick, Judo throw, or one of the following special moves (as listed in GURPS Martial Arts):Grapple, grab foe's weapon/weapon arm, punch, bite, takedown, pin, choke, flying tackle or slam.
Q: What kind of vehicles are used in the campaign?
A: Wheeled ground vehicles are still the dominant form of transportation. Typically, they are electric, but flywheel and fuel-cell vehicles are around. Public transportation is more prevalent than in the 20th century, especially in the megalopoleis. All cars have "autopilots" that will do the driving for you, but getting a license to drive requires that you learn "manual" driving for emergencies. The fraction of people with licenses is about half of what it was in 1998. The specializations for driving/piloting skills are the same as what you'd expect for 20th century (e.g. auto, truck, motorcycle, etc.), but the consequences of failing a driving roll are less dangerous since the vehicles are safer.
For aircraft, the complexity has gone down slightly for small planes (computers as navaids, piloting aids, etc.) but for larger planes (anything over 8-10 passengers or anything military) the complexity has gone WAY up, due to much stricter safety regulations, etc. So if you take piloting skill, make sure to differentiate between small and larger aircraft. Of course there are still other specialties too: e.g. helicopter, unpowered flight, etc.
Q: What are appropriate PC languages in the campaign?
A: Language has not changed much in fundamental ways between 1998 and 2100. Mass communications (i.e. the Net) has contributed both to the stability and the variability of language over time. Stability because it has made older speech/text readily available, so accents and word use changes more slowly because one can hear the speech of 100+ years ago. Variability because new words and usage propagate worldwide on short timescales. The dominant languages have not evolved too much, but they have become even more dominant. The main world languages are English, Spanish and Chinese, like they are today. I'll decree that all PCs must know English to some degree, just for simplicity/playability. We will assume everyone is speaking English unless specified otherwise. Other common languages include
Q: Wealth (dis)advantages?
A: Half-cost: basically you just get the social benefits/penalties, not the material ones.
Q: What are luck points?
A: You can choose to spend a luck point before any die roll. Then, you can choose the value of one die instead of rolling it. So, for example, if you your PC is trying to jump over a 1000-meter deep chasm and needs to make a DX roll to succeed, you can spend a luck point and, instead of rolling 3d, you roll 2d and just set the third value to whatever value you want (presumably a "1" in this example). I will be giving out occasional luck points for special achievements in the course of the game.
Q: Can I get cybergear/biomods? How much does it cost?
A: First check the list below to see if the mod you want is technologically possible. Then talk to me about the legality of the mod. Depending on your character history, some mods may be more feasible than others.
I haven't made up my mind on the cost of mods yet. I might do it as 1 character point per X dollars (X = $5000 has been suggested). Of course, anything that is removable will likely be removed upon your arrest or conviction...
Q: What are the most common/legal weapons?
A: Stunning electrolasers are the most legal of the weapons you can get. Since they are the most simple, slugthrowers are the most common of the slightly-illegal weapons. Then needlers are the next most common. Lasers are pretty uncommon.
Q: How extensive is cyberspace?
A: The Net has become universal. Basically, "the Net" represents all forms of communication. All of your finances, personal communications, voice messages, information storage/retrieval, etc. happens via the web. But it's pretty much as mundane as TV or phones today. Just more powerful. At least that's what most people think...
Q: Do sentient machines exist? What's the level of AI?
A: No, there are no sentient AIs. They are good enough to fool people over the phone (speech recognition/analysis is pretty good), but not as often via video. They are usually specialized (personal assistants, watchdogs, data sifters, etc.). None are sophisticated enough to warrant a discussion of rights. Basically, the AI I discussed is an extension of 1990's AI, not sci-fi AI. Certainly, there are people in the world who believe that AIs are smarter than we think. Are they right? Who knows?
Q: Is the prison segregated in any way (e.g. gender)?
A: Not that you are aware of. Feel free to make your PC any gender, race, social class, nationality, etc. that you like.
Q: What are the weapon skill specializations?
A: The basic modern weapon skills include: Guns, Beam Weapons,
and Gunner. Each of these requires a specialization. The specializations
are:
Guns(Pistol), Guns(Rifle), Guns(Gyroc), Guns(Needler), Guns(Tangler)
Beam(Laser), Beam(Electrolaser), Beam(Blaster)
Gunner(Grenade Launcher), Gunner(Missile)
The following is a list of specifically what technology is available in this campaign. Of course, anything which exists in 1998 also exists in 2100, but it may be hard to come by something old...
Weapons
| Weapon | Damage | SS | Acc | 1/2D | Max | Wt. | RoF | Shots | ST | Rcl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sporting Pistol | 1d | 9 | 6 | 50 | 200 | 1 | 3~ | 40 | 7 | -1 |
| Machine Pistol | 3d | 10 | 8 | 180 | 2000 | 3.5 | 10 | 30 | 9 | -2 |
| Assault Carbine | 6d | 12 | 11 | 1000 | 4500 | 7 | 10 | 30/30 | 9 | -1 |
| Electrolaser | 2d+1 | 8 | 4 | 60 | 120 | 1.5 | 1 | 10/C | 0 | 0 |
| Electrolaser Rifle | 3d+1 | 9 | 12 | 100 | 300 | 5 | 1 | 5/C | 0 | 0 |
| Laser Pistol | 1d | 9 | 7 | 200 | 500 | 2 | 3~ | 10/C | -- | 0 |
| Heavy Laser Pistol | 2d | 9 | 8 | 300 | 800 | 3 | 3~ | 12/C | -- | 0 |
| Laser Rifle | 2d | 15 | 13 | 450 | 1200 | 7 | 1 | 12/C | -- | 0 |
| Mil. Laser Carbine | 1d+2 | 12 | 12 | 250 | 600 | 7 | 8 | 200/D | -- | 0 |
| Mil. Laser Rifle | 2d | 15 | 15 | 500 | 2000 | 9 | 8 | 140/D | -- | 0 |
| Needler | 1d+2 | 9 | 1 | 100 | 300 | 1 | 3~ | 100 | -- | -1 |
| Needler Rifle | 2d | 13 | 9 | 300 | 800 | 5 | 3~ | 100 | -- | -1 |
| Gauss Needler | 1d+2 | 10 | 4 | 100 | 300 | 1.5 | 12 | 100/B | -- | 0 |
| Gauss Needler Rifle | 2d+1 | 14 | 11 | 500 | 1000 | 6 | 20 | 100/B | -- | 0 |
| Gyroc Pistol | var. | 12 | 5 | 1800 | 2500 | 4 | 3~ | 3/3/3 | -- | 0 |
| Gyroc Carbine | var. | 15 | 7 | 1800 | 2500 | 9 | 10 | 10/10 | -- | 0 |
| Gyroc Auto | var. | 16 | 9 | 1800 | 2500 | 20 | 10 | 20/20/20 | 12T | 0 |
| Tangle Pistol | -- | 5 | 6 | -- | 15 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | -4 |
| Tangler | -- | 6 | 8 | -- | 20 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 8 | -4 |
| Blaster Pistol | 2d+6 | 10 | 6 | -- | 300 | 2 | 3~ | 20/C | 5 | -1 |
| Blaster Rifle | 4d+4 | 14 | 13 | 300 | 800 | 10 | 3~ | 12/C | 6 | -1 |
| Grenade Launcher | Spcl. | 10 | 8 | -- | 1000 | 10 | 1 | 5 | -- | 0 |
| Mortar | Spcl | -- | -- | -- | 6000 | 70 | 1 | 20 | 15T | 0 |
| Missile Launcher | 6dx10 | -- | -- | -- | 8000 | 15 | 1/10 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| Vibroblade | +1d to normal blade damage | |||||||||
| Stunwand | Roll vs. HT-3 or take 1d fatigue | |||||||||
Armor
| Type | PD | DR | Wt. |
| Ablative Armor | 4 | 12 | 30 |
| Combat Infantry Dress | 4 | 40 | 48 |
| Light Carbtite | 2 | 8 | 6 |
| Medium Carbtite | 2 | 16 | 10 |
| Heavy Carbtite | 2 | 24 | 14 |
| Reflective | 6 | 2 | 2 |
Biotech
Gengineering:
CyberTech
I don't own this book yet, so I'll need to get a copy to make specific
judgments.