Kiero
2008-11-22, 07:41 PM
This is a one-shot idea that I've run as a PbP game, and intend to do face to face eventually. While I've run it with my system of choice (and the pregens are for that system) it will work with just about anything. Indeed it does have a certain meta-game simplicity to it that it can be adapted to almost any setting too. Someone used it for an Old West game called "Garza Wants You Dead!".
I've got a format called "a setting in a page", which I've used here.
Title: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Golko Wants You Dead!
Genre(s): Star Wars; hard-boiled pulp. Probably a little cyberpunk in there, were I more familiar with the genre.
Inspiration(s): Star Wars; the Knights of the Old Republic games and the new comic; the grittier brand of action movie.
Outline: There's a war on, but you wouldn't know it down here. Sure there's refugees who thought things might be better here than where they came from, but they're just another mixture of opportunity and threat. In the depths of Coruscant's lower levels, life is a constant stuggle and there are more pressing concerns than galactic affairs. Like where the next paycheck is coming from, and whether your creditors catch up to you.
The Exchange runs things down here, they're the law and nothing big happens without their say-so. The Exchange boss who rules this part of the undercity is Golko. Ruthless, ambitious, paranoid, Golko epitomises all the traits essential in climbing up in the cutthroat business of organised crime.
You've got one serious problem - Golko wants you dead. He's got the wherewithal and the will to get the job done, the only thing standing in the way of that goal is that you're not going down without a fight.
What are the key tropes or conventions?:
Competent characters, but not exemplars by any means.
No good deed goes unpunished.
Protagonists are morally gray, but no outright villains.
Law is for the upper city, down here there's just a kind of order.
Who are the PCs?: The PCs are a rag-tag band of misfits thrown together by chance and a common need to survive against some of the most hard-bitten scum and villainy sent to kill them. Will they look for a way out of the undercity, or choose to go to the source of the problem and take out Golko?
Pregens are not complete; everyone needs to come up with a name, gender and species, and tell us why Golko wants them dead.
The Cop
There isn't much by way of proper law enforcement in the undercity, but that doesn't mean the authorities ignore what goes on completely. The roots of much of the upper city's crime are down here in the shadows, and that's where a select few undercover operatives come in
In Too Deep 5 - You've been at this so long you think like a criminal. You know who to ask questions of, where to get things, how to persuade people to talk.
-Word on the Street: You've got informants with an ear to the ground, and know how to shake people down for the latest gossip.
-Criminal Psychology 101: You know how criminals think, where they'd hide things, how to blend in like one of them. You don't give off the stink of cop.
-Give it Up: You know how to ask the right questions, and what buttons to push to make someone talk. You've got a reputation as someone not to mess with.
Unreasonable Force 4 - What they taught you during basic training doesn't cut it down here. Expect no quarter, give none in return, most people fight to survive.
-Beatdown: Somewhere along the way those clean restraining techniques and riot control methods you learned in the academy were tempered with back-alley streetfighting and dirty tricks. You hit first and hard.
-Packing Heat: More often than not, survival means getting the drop on the other guy, or drawing faster than they do. You're a deadly shot with a blaster.
Drive Like a Maniac 3 - You always had a natural talent for speeders and swoops, something that's served you just as well down here.
-Swoop Racer: For a brief time you raced on the swoop circuit and made a name for yourself. You know your way around a swoop engine, too.
Holds a Grudge 1 - You never forget a slight done to you, or a favour owed. You've got some enemies out there and you'll settle the score no matter what.
Trappings: Blaster, collapsible stun-baton, armoured jacket.
The Scoundrel
You're a chancer, a drifter and a grifter, living from one moment to the next without much of a plan. You make your way through short cons, gambling and a bit of trading on the side.
Living By Your Wits 5 - You've got the fastest mouth in the quadrant and could sell water to a Quarren.
-Grift Sense: You can spot a likely mark, and have a knack for knowing exactly what people want to hear. You've tried all the better-known short cons, and have even made up a few of your own.
-Pazaak Face: Your bluff is second to none, and you know many ways to cheat at cards too.
-Let's Do Business: Your talents also stretch to bargaining and haggling. If there's a deal to be made, you'll be the one coming out on top.
Only Losers Fight Fair 4 - Something you learned quickly down here, there's no such thing as a fair fight. Run when you don't have an edge and hit the other being when they're not looking.
-Sucker Punch: Normally you prefer to hit someone when they're not expecting it, or escalate the stakes with one of your hidden armaments.
-Shot in the Back: Your favourite sort of firefight is the one where they're not returning fire.
Petty Crime 3 - There's only so far brains and brawn can get you, and that's when the other things you learned come in.
-Footpad: Picking pockets, sneaking around, breaching security and generally being places you're not supposed to be.
Greedy 1 - You can't resist an opportunity to enrich yourself. If there's a score going and the price is right, you're in.
Trappings: Blaster, Pair of concealed holdout blasters in wrist-mounted spring-rigs, hidden vibroshiv.
The Jedi Padawan
Since you were a young child, you were raised in the Jedi Temple nurturing your gift with the Force. The time of apprenticeship and training is almost over, and now you face one of the final Trials for Knighthood. You've been sent to the undercity, tasked with a serious mission, the completion of which will prove your worthiness.
Uncanny Insights 5 - The Force is strong with you, and guides you to where you need to be. Often that's right in the middle of a lot of trouble.
-Go With the Flow: The Living Force moves in mysterious ways, guiding you to the right place at the right time. You tend to instinctively pick the right options and ask the right questions.
-Exceptionally Observant: You notice even the smallest details that other people tend to miss.
-Trouble Magnet: Chances are if everything's gone sideways, you're at the heart of it.
Force-enhanced Kung Fu 4 - The Order teaches it's students a variety of combat techniques both with and without the lightsaber, and you're more than capable of looking after yourself in a fight. The Force gives you talents that the uninitiated lack, but it's hardly subtle.
-Soreshu Stylist: Once you've drawn your lightsaber, few things can penetrate your defenses. You are close to mastering the Jedi's most defensive form.
-Preternatural Physicality: With the Force as your ally, you are stronger, faster, more agile and more accurate than any normal being.
Command of the Esoteric 3 - You're well-versed in all kinds of obscure topics that people down here have little time to learn about. Those things can find surprising uses even in the undercity.
-Did You Know: Who'd have thought the architectural fashions of the late Expansion period would prescribe that a sewerage channel would have to be placed just here...
Fish Out of Water 1 - You don't belong down here, and it shows. You're too clean, too wide-eyed and no one takes you seriously. You look like a mark.
Trappings: Lightsaber, utility belt, poncho "disguise".
The Techie
For as long as you can remember you tinkered with things, whether tapping the power feeds so your family could get heat and light or building little gadgets of variable usefulness. This skill proved extremely valuable in providing an income as a local boss hired you to keep his droids in working order. Eventually you got a place of your own and a lot at the junkyard, where you turn trash into cash.
Techno-wizardry 5 - There's very little you can't achieve with machines and mechanisms, be they engines, droids, computers, weapons and anything else. This talent is not only a lucrative line of business, it also means you're in demand.
-Slicing and Reprogramming: Computers and droid intelligences give up their secrets to you easily. You know how they work, how they think, and how to fool them.
-Grease Monkey: Even the simplest of mechanisms speak to you, you can strip them down and rebuild them, or cannibalise them for parts in short order.
-Jury Rig: In a pinch you can throw together all sorts of improvised devices, explosives and weapons.
Whatever's Close to Hand 4 - You're not formally trained to fight by any means, but you know what works. That tends to be something close by and heavy, and you're no stranger to a scuffle.
-Spanner to the Dome: Might not be pretty, but a tool to the head will bring down most beings.
-Spray and Pray: Your marksmanship tends to require lots of ammunition to be effective.
Gang Connected 3 - Important people know you and some of them owe you. It's in their interests to keep a valuable asset like you safe and you keep an ear to the street.
-Good Rep: People on the street trust you, your word is a respected brand. You can get hold of the things you need.
Honest to a Fault 1 - The only reason you're not a lot richer and more powerful than you are is that you're a rare creature in the undercity - one with some integrity.
Trappings: Toolkit, custom-built droid, prototype blaster rifle.
The Aristocrat
As far as anyone passes for ghetto nobility, you are it. Your family control major criminal interests and you've always had the best that money can buy as a result. One day you're expected to take a major interest in Exchange politics with a view to taking over the reigns of power. You haven't had a completely sheltered existence; it's entirely necessary that a future vigo see the dirty end of the business they'll be running.
Air of Authority 5 - You're used to giving orders and having them followed. You might back that up with good looks and seductive suggestion, or a clever wit and clear voice or just plain bloody-mindedness. Everybody knows who you are and you know everyone who matters.
-Getting Your Way: Command comes naturally to you, through tone of voice, demeanour and poise, you demand instant respect.
-Friends in the Family: Sol the Knife? The guy that even the Wookie gang thinks is fracking crazy? He's your uncle Solly, who dandled you on his knee. "Numbers" Artaz, the woman people say has a computer for a heart and will kill a man for the price of a blaster power cell? She's been to every one of your birthday parties. The worst people in the undercity are your old family friends, and they're willing to talk to you, for old times' sake.
-Acting Natural: Your audacity knows no bounds, you're very good at playing along like you're supposed to be somewhere you're not.
Noble Fighting Arts 4 - As befits one of your social status, you began your education in the fighting arts young. Shooting, fencing, martial arts, everything a young aristo needs to take a hands-on approach to command.
-Crack Shot: Your marksmanship is honed by hours on the range, and more practical experience in gunfights on the street.
-Teras Kasi Master: From as soon as you could walk, you were taught the martial arts, mastering several by your teens. That covers both unarmed and melee weapon forms.
The Finer Things 3 - You have the best equipment that money can buy.
-SoroSuub X5200: Your souped-up, tricked-out, pimp ride.
Romantic Ideals 1 - You bought the whole nobility deal hook, line and sinker. So much so that you feel you have an obligation to do the right thing for your "subjects" and behave responsibly with your power.
Trappings: High-spec blaster, expensive clothes, an antique vibrosword, a personal energy shield.
From there it's simple. Every character has an "entry scene". Player tells the GM where there character is when the killers come for them at the start. They have to escape and meet up. Then find some allies and decide what they're going to do.
I've got a format called "a setting in a page", which I've used here.
Title: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Golko Wants You Dead!
Genre(s): Star Wars; hard-boiled pulp. Probably a little cyberpunk in there, were I more familiar with the genre.
Inspiration(s): Star Wars; the Knights of the Old Republic games and the new comic; the grittier brand of action movie.
Outline: There's a war on, but you wouldn't know it down here. Sure there's refugees who thought things might be better here than where they came from, but they're just another mixture of opportunity and threat. In the depths of Coruscant's lower levels, life is a constant stuggle and there are more pressing concerns than galactic affairs. Like where the next paycheck is coming from, and whether your creditors catch up to you.
The Exchange runs things down here, they're the law and nothing big happens without their say-so. The Exchange boss who rules this part of the undercity is Golko. Ruthless, ambitious, paranoid, Golko epitomises all the traits essential in climbing up in the cutthroat business of organised crime.
You've got one serious problem - Golko wants you dead. He's got the wherewithal and the will to get the job done, the only thing standing in the way of that goal is that you're not going down without a fight.
What are the key tropes or conventions?:
Competent characters, but not exemplars by any means.
No good deed goes unpunished.
Protagonists are morally gray, but no outright villains.
Law is for the upper city, down here there's just a kind of order.
Who are the PCs?: The PCs are a rag-tag band of misfits thrown together by chance and a common need to survive against some of the most hard-bitten scum and villainy sent to kill them. Will they look for a way out of the undercity, or choose to go to the source of the problem and take out Golko?
Pregens are not complete; everyone needs to come up with a name, gender and species, and tell us why Golko wants them dead.
The Cop
There isn't much by way of proper law enforcement in the undercity, but that doesn't mean the authorities ignore what goes on completely. The roots of much of the upper city's crime are down here in the shadows, and that's where a select few undercover operatives come in
In Too Deep 5 - You've been at this so long you think like a criminal. You know who to ask questions of, where to get things, how to persuade people to talk.
-Word on the Street: You've got informants with an ear to the ground, and know how to shake people down for the latest gossip.
-Criminal Psychology 101: You know how criminals think, where they'd hide things, how to blend in like one of them. You don't give off the stink of cop.
-Give it Up: You know how to ask the right questions, and what buttons to push to make someone talk. You've got a reputation as someone not to mess with.
Unreasonable Force 4 - What they taught you during basic training doesn't cut it down here. Expect no quarter, give none in return, most people fight to survive.
-Beatdown: Somewhere along the way those clean restraining techniques and riot control methods you learned in the academy were tempered with back-alley streetfighting and dirty tricks. You hit first and hard.
-Packing Heat: More often than not, survival means getting the drop on the other guy, or drawing faster than they do. You're a deadly shot with a blaster.
Drive Like a Maniac 3 - You always had a natural talent for speeders and swoops, something that's served you just as well down here.
-Swoop Racer: For a brief time you raced on the swoop circuit and made a name for yourself. You know your way around a swoop engine, too.
Holds a Grudge 1 - You never forget a slight done to you, or a favour owed. You've got some enemies out there and you'll settle the score no matter what.
Trappings: Blaster, collapsible stun-baton, armoured jacket.
The Scoundrel
You're a chancer, a drifter and a grifter, living from one moment to the next without much of a plan. You make your way through short cons, gambling and a bit of trading on the side.
Living By Your Wits 5 - You've got the fastest mouth in the quadrant and could sell water to a Quarren.
-Grift Sense: You can spot a likely mark, and have a knack for knowing exactly what people want to hear. You've tried all the better-known short cons, and have even made up a few of your own.
-Pazaak Face: Your bluff is second to none, and you know many ways to cheat at cards too.
-Let's Do Business: Your talents also stretch to bargaining and haggling. If there's a deal to be made, you'll be the one coming out on top.
Only Losers Fight Fair 4 - Something you learned quickly down here, there's no such thing as a fair fight. Run when you don't have an edge and hit the other being when they're not looking.
-Sucker Punch: Normally you prefer to hit someone when they're not expecting it, or escalate the stakes with one of your hidden armaments.
-Shot in the Back: Your favourite sort of firefight is the one where they're not returning fire.
Petty Crime 3 - There's only so far brains and brawn can get you, and that's when the other things you learned come in.
-Footpad: Picking pockets, sneaking around, breaching security and generally being places you're not supposed to be.
Greedy 1 - You can't resist an opportunity to enrich yourself. If there's a score going and the price is right, you're in.
Trappings: Blaster, Pair of concealed holdout blasters in wrist-mounted spring-rigs, hidden vibroshiv.
The Jedi Padawan
Since you were a young child, you were raised in the Jedi Temple nurturing your gift with the Force. The time of apprenticeship and training is almost over, and now you face one of the final Trials for Knighthood. You've been sent to the undercity, tasked with a serious mission, the completion of which will prove your worthiness.
Uncanny Insights 5 - The Force is strong with you, and guides you to where you need to be. Often that's right in the middle of a lot of trouble.
-Go With the Flow: The Living Force moves in mysterious ways, guiding you to the right place at the right time. You tend to instinctively pick the right options and ask the right questions.
-Exceptionally Observant: You notice even the smallest details that other people tend to miss.
-Trouble Magnet: Chances are if everything's gone sideways, you're at the heart of it.
Force-enhanced Kung Fu 4 - The Order teaches it's students a variety of combat techniques both with and without the lightsaber, and you're more than capable of looking after yourself in a fight. The Force gives you talents that the uninitiated lack, but it's hardly subtle.
-Soreshu Stylist: Once you've drawn your lightsaber, few things can penetrate your defenses. You are close to mastering the Jedi's most defensive form.
-Preternatural Physicality: With the Force as your ally, you are stronger, faster, more agile and more accurate than any normal being.
Command of the Esoteric 3 - You're well-versed in all kinds of obscure topics that people down here have little time to learn about. Those things can find surprising uses even in the undercity.
-Did You Know: Who'd have thought the architectural fashions of the late Expansion period would prescribe that a sewerage channel would have to be placed just here...
Fish Out of Water 1 - You don't belong down here, and it shows. You're too clean, too wide-eyed and no one takes you seriously. You look like a mark.
Trappings: Lightsaber, utility belt, poncho "disguise".
The Techie
For as long as you can remember you tinkered with things, whether tapping the power feeds so your family could get heat and light or building little gadgets of variable usefulness. This skill proved extremely valuable in providing an income as a local boss hired you to keep his droids in working order. Eventually you got a place of your own and a lot at the junkyard, where you turn trash into cash.
Techno-wizardry 5 - There's very little you can't achieve with machines and mechanisms, be they engines, droids, computers, weapons and anything else. This talent is not only a lucrative line of business, it also means you're in demand.
-Slicing and Reprogramming: Computers and droid intelligences give up their secrets to you easily. You know how they work, how they think, and how to fool them.
-Grease Monkey: Even the simplest of mechanisms speak to you, you can strip them down and rebuild them, or cannibalise them for parts in short order.
-Jury Rig: In a pinch you can throw together all sorts of improvised devices, explosives and weapons.
Whatever's Close to Hand 4 - You're not formally trained to fight by any means, but you know what works. That tends to be something close by and heavy, and you're no stranger to a scuffle.
-Spanner to the Dome: Might not be pretty, but a tool to the head will bring down most beings.
-Spray and Pray: Your marksmanship tends to require lots of ammunition to be effective.
Gang Connected 3 - Important people know you and some of them owe you. It's in their interests to keep a valuable asset like you safe and you keep an ear to the street.
-Good Rep: People on the street trust you, your word is a respected brand. You can get hold of the things you need.
Honest to a Fault 1 - The only reason you're not a lot richer and more powerful than you are is that you're a rare creature in the undercity - one with some integrity.
Trappings: Toolkit, custom-built droid, prototype blaster rifle.
The Aristocrat
As far as anyone passes for ghetto nobility, you are it. Your family control major criminal interests and you've always had the best that money can buy as a result. One day you're expected to take a major interest in Exchange politics with a view to taking over the reigns of power. You haven't had a completely sheltered existence; it's entirely necessary that a future vigo see the dirty end of the business they'll be running.
Air of Authority 5 - You're used to giving orders and having them followed. You might back that up with good looks and seductive suggestion, or a clever wit and clear voice or just plain bloody-mindedness. Everybody knows who you are and you know everyone who matters.
-Getting Your Way: Command comes naturally to you, through tone of voice, demeanour and poise, you demand instant respect.
-Friends in the Family: Sol the Knife? The guy that even the Wookie gang thinks is fracking crazy? He's your uncle Solly, who dandled you on his knee. "Numbers" Artaz, the woman people say has a computer for a heart and will kill a man for the price of a blaster power cell? She's been to every one of your birthday parties. The worst people in the undercity are your old family friends, and they're willing to talk to you, for old times' sake.
-Acting Natural: Your audacity knows no bounds, you're very good at playing along like you're supposed to be somewhere you're not.
Noble Fighting Arts 4 - As befits one of your social status, you began your education in the fighting arts young. Shooting, fencing, martial arts, everything a young aristo needs to take a hands-on approach to command.
-Crack Shot: Your marksmanship is honed by hours on the range, and more practical experience in gunfights on the street.
-Teras Kasi Master: From as soon as you could walk, you were taught the martial arts, mastering several by your teens. That covers both unarmed and melee weapon forms.
The Finer Things 3 - You have the best equipment that money can buy.
-SoroSuub X5200: Your souped-up, tricked-out, pimp ride.
Romantic Ideals 1 - You bought the whole nobility deal hook, line and sinker. So much so that you feel you have an obligation to do the right thing for your "subjects" and behave responsibly with your power.
Trappings: High-spec blaster, expensive clothes, an antique vibrosword, a personal energy shield.
From there it's simple. Every character has an "entry scene". Player tells the GM where there character is when the killers come for them at the start. They have to escape and meet up. Then find some allies and decide what they're going to do.