Showing posts with label City Kit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label City Kit. Show all posts

Thursday, 25 April 2024

SG:U - The Flow Deluxe A3 Map Pack

I've been meaning to get this one released for a while now. Glad to announce it has finally gone live!

So, what do you get for your bityuan?

A set of large A3 300dpi colour map files of the city known as The Flow, the default setting from the SG:U Carbon Edition.

It includes 20 high-res jpeg images, showing 38 street gangs and their zones of influence, the subway network linking to Core Transit, locations of the beleaguered FPD precincts and the reach of the contaminated Containment Zone 9, and combinations thereof.

Also included in the pack is a high-res, print-ready PDF, so you can toggle data on and off, depending on what you need to focus on!

And its stat-free, so will work as a setting for any cyberpunk RPG. Requires the use of The Flow sourcebook, also from Geist Hack Games, but if you are rocking the Carbon Edition, you already have all the data you need to fully make use of the map pack.


And, as is my want, the map pack is available on both itch and drivethru.

LINK TO THE PACK ON ITCH     LINK TO THE PACK ON DTRPG

Thanks for looking!

 

Monday, 24 January 2022

>>Neural Update Initiated

Jesus, it’s 2022 already?

What have I been up to, you ask? Gaming-wise we were stress-testing the shit out of Sprawl Goons via Skype (I need to do some more session write-ups…), then moved back to our group’s long running CP2020 campaign set in the Cape. Just handed the reins to our other GM for the final time as he starts us down the path to the campaign’s climax. Frees me up to finish off some goodies for you guys. And it’s good to be playing again.

As for Geist Hack output, there are a couple of new products in the pipeline, with Metal Express being the most likely to cross the finish line first, hopefully in the next month or so. Then, the long awaited physical Sprawl Goons omnibus. Puttering away in the background is the second volume of Augmented Reality, which, truth be told, needs a lot of work, but it is happening. There may also be a Sprawl Goons adventure or two in the works, so watch this space.

I just want to take this opportunity to say thank you for your patience and support! I’ll try not to leave it so long next time.

Thursday, 25 October 2018

That's Entertainment | The Drug of the Nation [D10]



Here's another D10 table, detailing and expanding upon the vid show list from page 38 of the Augmented Reality city kit. I've fleshed out these 10 contemporary vid shows, and added associated plot hooks, for your viewing pleasure. Don't change that dial.


Roll a D10:

1. Implant Fixers - a popular and irreverently amusing reality show, where, each week, three kooky cybertechnicians attempt to fix or replace embarrassing failing implants for members of the public, from their pop-up clinic equipped throughout with cameras.

Hook: Someone the PCs are hunting down (heavily augmented) has signed up for a day at the Implant Fixer clinic. So, your target is now surrounded by cameras for the next 24 hours or so. The good news is they will, at some point, be anaesthetised and be very vulnerable. Have they put a contingency in place? And who knew THAT was a problem on the early Mr Studd® models?

2. Simsense & Sensibility - respected drama about love and virtue, staged in both the modern world and a lovingly-crafted virtual of the mid-19th century. The show is also reactive, with viewer-subscribers making plot proposals in realtime.

Hook: The PCs are hired by the production team who are having issues with a particularly mendacious troll, who keeps shitting-up the plot lines; ratings are tanking fast. They need you to trace the culprit and deal with them - trash their computer, destroy their television, kneecap them, whatever, but it cannot be known that the PCs are working for the show crew; it would be a PR nightmare the execs would never forgive. Turns out, the troll is someone dangerous and connected that the PCs already know.

3. Zone Runner Xtreme - contenders, on foot, battle to complete a course which snakes through some of the worst parts of the combat zone. Eye-in-the-sky camera drones follow the action, as competitors are picked off, one by one. Celebrity pundits provide commentary from the safety of a far-away studio.

Hook: A powerful corporate's eldest son has signed up for Zone Runner Xtreme. Obviously, said corporate is non too happy that his son and heir is putting this life at risk like this, for money he doesn't even need. Yet, the old man admires his drive. He wants the PCs to protect his son and help him to win (without him knowing), or, if things go badly, extract him from the zone. Alive. 

The trouble is, the corporate's rival knows the son is entering the competition (it's all over social media), and plans to send a team to grab him, for leverage.

4. Crash & Burn - promising and talented console jocks go head-to-head through a series of hacking challenges, cooked up by the production team, for big cash prizes. Filmed in front of a live studio audience, pop-up windows and big screen backdrops show the action, with an over stimulating layer of rapid-fire graphics and stats.

Hook: One of the latest Crash & Burn contestants recently turned over a corporate mainframe, and has been doxxed by the company IT team. The PCs are contracted to assassinate the hacker, before they win the cash and buy their way to a new identity. 

The studio has very tight security, as has the hotel the participants are staying in. Unknown to the PCs, contestants are shadowed by network security contractors and production crew, and are encouraged to keep a video diary for the duration, with sections being edited and inserted into the show; could be bad news if the hacker is doing a piece-to-camera when the team decide to strike.




5. My Two Clones - long-running sitcom, following the trials and tribulations of poorly-paid Zoom Corporation retail exec, Poppy Langmore, as she navigates a plethora of zany relationships (and shoots for a pay rise), whilst managing the unwelcome assistance of the two illegal clones her deceased father made of her. 

Hook: The actress who plays Ms. Langmore, Crystal Green, is a train wreck, and has a very expensive drug habit which the studio has enabled for far too long. Fortunately, her onscreen clones are ACTUAL non-consensual clones, and not actresses cut to look like her, as Crystal believes. 

The network want the PCs to smuggle a compliant and vat-fresh third clone into her secure penthouse apartment and eliminate Green - but the team must dispose of the body 'cleanly' (NB: a bodybank won't touch her ruined junkie ass). Problem is, the new clone is having a crisis of conscience, and has her heart set on getting Crystal the help she needs, or she won't play ball. And the real Crystal's narco-paranoia has led her to hire some of the best private security money can buy.

6. Atomic Geisha Dojo - body-perfect competitors face the challenges of the fearsome Dojo obstacle course, while fending off the stealth attacks of the cute-but-deadly Atomic Geishas; a string of brutal, demeaning endurance trials, disrupted by random acts of violence, played for laughs. 

Hook: The titular Atomic Geishas are unregistered synthetics manufactured by Ashoka Robotics in India, illegally brought into the country by a network of fixers, paid by the studio. Three of the units have violently escaped the studio during a routine maintenance cycle, and are at large in the city. The show's lead tech contracts the PCs to find them and bring them back, before it makes the news. She doesn't know if they planned to travel together or separately, but can give the PCs the frequency of their implanted RFID tags. The tech also warns the group that the Atomic Geisha's are hard-coded for cruelty.

7. Personality Adjustment - moving reality show which follows the difficult lives of six people undergoing chemical, psychological and virtual reconditioning, to mend a range of past traumas. Follow their stories, as they each embark on their own journey to a healthier self.

Hook: One of the lead psychologists working on the show is testing illegal personality chips on the participants. Legality and ethics aside, EBM would very much like to get their hands on those chips, and will pay the PCs handsomely for the doctor's bespoke suite of persona-altering chipware. Unfortunately, due to the sensitive nature of the show, and the importance the psych team have to the production, they are guarded by teams of close protection specialists contracted from Arasaka at all times (probably with extraction protocols written in to their deal). And EBM don't know which of the six psychologists is the one dicking with their patients.

8. The Clade - surreal CGI soap opera, focussing on the interwoven lives of the inhabitants of a downtown closed socio-economic franchise-state. Scripted and plotted by a specially-coded expert system, the show is renowned for it's sometimes amusing algorithmic glitches.

Hook: The PCs are asked to find Miles Davy, the original creator of The Clade series, by his estranged and very wealthy ex-wife, along with a cabal of production execs who believe only Davy's talent can turn the show into something great again. Miles, in a creative malaise, has been on a two week bar-crawling, whore-hopping, sofa-surfing odyssey around the city.

In reality, while the execs are genuine (!), the ex-wife is being blackmailed (she likes atrocity porn) by the show's now self-aware expert system into finding Miles so that he can be 'written out' permanently.

9. Fracture Point - classic buddy cop show, following two Organic Damage detectives, Jake Siegel and Rachel Wolffe, as they attempt to investigate the homicide-of-the-week, despite pervasive corporate interference and complex personal relationships. Popular reoccurring characters include Valentina-3, the wisest and most understanding of Seigel's sexbot harem, and Gunnar Wolffe, Rachel's full 'borg and veteran cop dad.

Hook: Fracture Point merchandising is a very lucrative business for the network, with everything from mugs and t-shirts, to v-games and even branded sexbots. The production team hire the PCs to track down the source of Valentina-3 counterfeits that have started showing up in the city, and to halt the operation. They're coming in from a factory in Venezuela, but the shipments are being intercepted by the triads in Florida. The 14K syndicate aren't keen to cease selling their sleazy knock-offs, and they laugh in the faces of your puny gweilo IP lawyers...

10. Alt Cult Zero - slightly judgey and slow moving documentary series following the ups and downs of a number of alternative subcultures, revealing their sometimes difficult interactions with a wider, but still fragmentary, society. Most of the footage is shot via cameras worn by those taking part, shining a realistic, but gonzo, spotlight on hypercurrent alternative lifestyles. Voiceover provided by a neural net encoded with the dulcet tones of Kelsey Grammer.

Hook: Peterson-15, a founding member of a misogynist bro-borg franchise involved in the show, was witness to a mafia shooting at a restaurant a few nights ago. The Family hit man that did the job remembers that the metal-head was loaded with body cams, and that there's probably incriminating footage. The local Don, brings in the PCs as an expendable neutral party and tasks them with taking out Peterson-15 and anyone he's with, and retrieving any footage from the night in question. Sadly, for the PCs, the bro-borgs' compound is well defended, as is Peterson, and the footage was uploaded to the production team's servers automatically.  



Thursday, 21 June 2018

2 Maps 4 U | Cape Point & Tokyo-Chiba

Here's a couple of city maps from my Cyberpunk 2020 campaign (circa 2026), which some of you may find useful. They would be equally useful for any near-future game really, and can be pulled out for short runs abroad, or for longer city-based campaigns. Click the images for the jpeg version, or click on the captions below the maps to download the larger PDF file.
Cape Town, cyberpunk style
BTW, the pale circles on the map above indicate Fuller/geodesic domes…

Tokyo-Chiba, 2026
Hopefully, the locations in the sidebar will give you enough to work with. Expand and embellish them as you please. Maybe even dig out your Augmented Reality City Kit (PDF/hardcopy) to flesh out one, or both, of these locations. 

Let me know how you use the maps in the comments, as I'm always interested in hearing about other gamers' dark futures.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, 28 March 2018

Réalité Augmentée En Français? Mais Oui!



Thanks to the efforts of the very excellent French indie game designer, Khelren, the Augmented Reality city kit is now available in French via DriveThru.

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/238270/Realite-augmentee

Khelren will also be releasing his version of Réalité augmentée for his French translation of The Sprawl he recently crowd funded. The Sprawl version of the city kit is available as both a PDF and print, via Lulu. Check them out here…

PDF

Paperback


So, for those of you who prefer your blurbs in French, here's the low down…


Le kit urbain holistique pour tout jeu de rôle cyberpunk.

Améliorez l’ambiance futuriste et sombre de vos jeux, avec ce kit de ville cyberpunk facile à utiliser. À l’intérieur, vous trouverez plus de 50 listes aléatoires conçues pour aider les meneurs de jeu qui ont besoin d’improviser des détails futuristes concernant leur ville, ou qui se rendent compte qu’ils ne sont pas préparés pour l’endroit où leurs joueurs se dirigent.

Avec ce livre, vous pouvez ajouter des détails à n’importe quel paysage urbain cyberpunk et utiliser plus de 250 PNJ, y compris des fixers, des samouraïs de rue, des cadres corpos et des hackers cinglés, ainsi que des chauffeurs de taxi, des flics, des membres de gangs et des combattants de rue faciles à créer.
Des missions, des motivations et des méthodes peuvent être générées, en plus du décor urbain environnants les personnages, le tout décrit de manière suffisamment générale pour permettre aux meneurs de jeu d’ajouter les détails issus de leur propre imagination, tout cela sans ralentir l’action de la partie.

Vos joueurs peuvent utiliser le monde réel comme référence, mais vous pouvez utiliser ces listes pour décrire le tableau d’un avenir cyberpunk.

Connectez-vous et plongez dans cette réalité augmentée !

Ce livre peut servir d’aide de jeu pour tout jeu de rôle cyberpunk : les informations présentées dans ses pages ne sont liées à aucun système de jeu. Il sera utile pour tout jeu d’anticipation doté d’une ambiance noire, tels que Cyberpunk 2020, Shadowrun, GURPS : Transhuman Space, Interface Zero, Judge Dredd, The Black Hack : Cyber-hacked, SLA Industries, Stars without Number : Polychrome, Nanochrome, TechNoir, Headspace et The Sprawl. (Les entreprises possédant les droits de ces jeux ne sont aucunement liées à ce livre.)


The English language versions are still available in PDF and Lulu paperback. And don't forget to drop down your copy of the Augmented Reality PLUS PDF, featuring ramblings from this very blog.

Amicalement!

Thursday, 25 January 2018

Wired Neon Cities

I seem to have fallen unexpectedly in love with Wired Neon Cities by +Scott Malthouse of The Trollish Delver fame… 

It's just the right kind of minimalist game which the Augmented Reality city kit was designed to compliment. So few words, yet so much potential for expansion. This game, like Scott's other offerings, is hyper efficient. Like, 1d6 efficient!


The crunch-lover in me felt a few things could be worked up to add some extra detail; more drones, firearms, more augments etc., but that's the appeal to me, rather than a criticism; I love inventing shit. And this game makes me want to invent a ton of stuff for it, so much.


In short, Wired Neon Cities gets a Geisty cybernetic thumbs-up! 

Go and get it.


http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/210919/Wired-Neon-Cities--Minimalist-Cyberpunk-Roleplaying?src=also_purchased

Tuesday, 23 May 2017

Augmented Reality Review From The Questing Beast

There I was, scratching my head wondering why there's been an overnight spike in Augmented Reality city kit downloads… And then I discover this extremely positive video review by Ben Milton, presenter of the Questing Beast. This guy totally gets it!

So, thanks Beast!

You can check out the review here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag9izYGiZ8E


And while you're there, take a look at Ben's other reviews; there's a great selection of OSR classics and hot small press covered. The Beast is obviously a man of good taste. ;)

The Neural Archive recommends.

Friday, 10 March 2017

Augmented Reality, En Francais

The very cool indie game designer, Tiburce Guyard, will be creating a French translation of Augmented Reality, and is offering it as a stretch goal for his translation of Hamish Cameron's excellent The Sprawl game.

Check it out!

https://fr.ulule.com/the-sprawl-jdr-cyberpunk/






English language editions are still available in PDF here and Print On Demand here.

Wednesday, 15 February 2017

Proxies and Go-Betweens

After your PCs have received a cloak and dagger contact, their mysterious and paranoid patron may still feel it's too dangerous, or too early, to deal with them directly. So they utilise a proxy.


50 Covert Go-Betweens

D100

01-02  Cold and aloof, an AI calling itself Brief Moment Of Agony instructs the PCs to attend ‘an interview’ later today, at a half-finished habstack an hour’s drive away

03-04  Notorious fixer, Sonny De Silva, contracted by client, goes through the motions of vetting the PCs before agreeing to meet them at the Below Zero nightclub to discuss the potential job

05-06  Arriving at the specified meet, the players must disable their AR filters to discuss the operation with a creepy anachronistic house boy who suddenly appears in the room (a net avatar of the client)

07-08  Out of work sim actor, Aiden Odel, is blackmailed into playing the role of deceased fixer Harrison Fulwood, to discuss the operation and record everything on outmoded implants, for insurance

09-10  Dr Vijay Ravinder Hazari, the client's personal physician, has been instructed to invite the PCs to his secure private clinic to discuss a potential job, the client monitoring dealings from a security suite on-site

11-12  The PCs will initially meet with a gender-reversed clone of their potential client, who happens to be their fiercely protective and loyal bio-incestious lover, loaded with cutting edge weapon implants

13-14  The client has promised to erase the misdemeanours of corrupt cop Sam LaTorra, providing he leans on the PCs hard enough to get them to take the client's job, no questions asked

15-16  Fixer and talent scout, Francis Dormandy, sought out the PCs for the client, based on specific requirements, PC reputations and known skill set, plus he has information on some of their more unsavoury activities, which would conveniently 'disappear' should they agree to come onboard

17-18  Concerned colleague JJ Parrus has decided to take action and hire the PCs secretly to help deal with his co-worker's problem, but, while well meaning, JJ has just made things way more complicated

19-20  goon_feeder, an obnoxious online troll/stalker, has selected the PCs deliberately to make the supposed 'client's' life much more difficult and a lot more dangerous

21-22  Voice 2.0 ®, an off-the-shelf software assistant, is tasked with convincing the PCs that working for the client would be both ethical and rewarding, as well as a unique opportunity for personal development, fame and fortune

23-24  Jackson DeWalt, the client’s BFF, college roommate and on-off lover, has been co-opted by the client to deal with the PCs on the client's behalf, hoping that Jackson will get caught in the crossfire

25-26  A semi-intelligent and complex algorithm chose the PCs for the client from parameters provided, and considers the briefing stage as part of the selection process

27-28  Transpinay hacker collective, headed by sleazy fixer Monty Schwab, is tasked with hosting a meeting with the PCs in a Filipino gaming virtual, behind one of Monty's ubiquitous paywalls

29-30  An extremely attractive individual, tweaked with artificial pheromones, is sent to discuss the details, self-identifiying as the client's closest ally and long term fuck buddy

31-32  Ruthless lifestyle coach Charlotte Mills hires the PCs to perform certain tasks that will reduce the client's stress and anxiety, dealing with the PCs on the client's behalf as part of her remit, all of which should lead to a measurable increase in her client's well being

33-34  The wealthy client's psychotic drug dealer, Ninja Euros, has been pressurised into dealing with the PCs as "he knows those sorts of people" and is decidedly unhappy about it

35-36  Dominic Teeth, an uplifted and cyber-enhanced mandrill with anger management issues, hosts the PCs in an office at the back of an ultimate fighting dojo, discussing the job for his 'handler' in a surprisingly professional manner

37-38  Khun Kom Sa (Thai for 'Mr. Handsome'), greasy Thaiwanese club owner and pimp in his early fifties, arranges to discuss the job in a rooftop pocket park in an affluent suburb, at a time of their choosing, where he takes a shine to the most alpha PC in the group

39-40  Apparently, the client had a dream about the PCs, did some digging and wants to hire them, according to the android barista the PCs have come to see at the airport's Hyperlife™ concession café

41-42  Blackmailed and RFID tagged call girl, Candy Vision, pressured into meeting and convincing the PCs to take on the job, any way she can, no matter what

43-44  Bhin Xuyen syndicate foot soldier, Kha Cong Thu, happily brings the PCs onboard, telling them everything he knows about the job, knowing he is now owed a BIG favour by the client

45-46  The actual client will meet them in a pink polymer room at GoGeisha!™, a utilitarian brothel franchise above a backstreet augshop, but employs holoprojection, appearing only as a vague fractal blur

47-48  The client has dispatched a cloned double of themselves to make contact with the PCs, failing to realise that the clone is controlled by the corporation, and it is setting a larger company plan in motion

49-50  The client has Hygge-1, their smart-home AI programmed for enhanced conversational skills,  contact the PCs for them, hoping it's cosy, reassuring tones and gentle wit will win them over

51-52  Terrified of being compromised in meat-space, the client uploads a temporary fragment of their consciousness to the net, and relies on this digital ghost to negotiate with the PCs

53-54  Geoff Skinner, muddled geriatric, paid to pass operational detail to the PCs, will meet wherever, providing they pay his bus fare; accompanied by Catalina, his hot, but indifferent, meds manager

55-56  Well briefed but irrational junky called Scurv, paid to tell the PCs where to meet the client regarding the job, takes an inconvenient accidental overdose before he can pass on all the necessary info, which the PCs may have to deal with

57-58  The client's no-nonsense war veteran buddy, Oscar Weiss, put himself forward to talk to the "street scum" PCs to ensure they understand the client "is most certainly not fucking about"

59-60  The PCs are rapidly briefed by the client’s self-aware defence net, as the client lies injured and bleeding out, in need of immediate assistance or evacuation

61-62  The client's estranged ex-partner and desperate drug addict, Christine Avery, manipulated into meeting the PCs, exaggerates the threat level, bad mouths the client and agrees to pay the PCs whatever they want

63-64  The Vent 3 Cerebral Commonwealth, a self-aware nano swarm hiding in an overpopulated social housing complex, have chosen to hire the PCs on behalf of the client, for their own inscrutable reasons

65-66  The client has contracted Reputelligent Inc., a gig economy employment agency, to gauge the PCs’ interest, and to lay down a few ground rules once the legally watertight online contract is completed

67-68  Paranoid hacker, Domino State, a long term associate of the prospective client, has agreed to deal with the PCs on the client's behalf, but doesn't trust any of them and will constantly monitor their progress, infiltrating their neural processors

69-70  The PCs are contacted by IdSecure™, a memory insurance company, as the policy has been triggered by the client being in a coma, clear instructions stipulating that the PCs in particular be given a secure brief in the event of this happening

71-72  The client's professional agent, Zen Warner, will facilitate the hiring of, and subsequent dealings with, the PCs, and will secure the services of another team should the PCs be perceived as working against the best interests of his client

73-74  With a fat buddha-faced, fixed smile, Mao Tse-Tungsten, the client’s cold, cyborg security consultant and bodyguard, will pass on the details of the job to the PCs, but would rather be performing the task himself

75-76  The client's gruff and syndicate-connected Ukrainian driver, Antin Shevchenko, begrudgingly deals with the PCs for his employer, making it abundantly clear that he neither likes, nor trusts, them

77-78  Unbeknown to the PCs, and depending on the contact method, the client will deal with the PCs directly, utilising voice modulation (phone), an obfuscating avatar (VR) or a misleading disposable v-mail

79-80  Hannah Black, the client’s long suffering PA, is sent to put forward an offer to the PCs with no regard for her safety, but still maintains her employers anonymity, despite being deathly afraid

81-82  Eminent lawyer, Blanche Portillo, requires the PCs to attend her offices in the Corporate District to discuss a matter of importance with regards to her client, who will also be present

83-84  The PCs are summoned to meet with the client’s full cyborg 'mindstream transference' guru, who calls himself Quiet Mountain, finding him in the lotus position in the middle of an empty warehouse, where he will brief the PCs in hushed tones, following an hour or more of silence

85-86  The client’s so-called ‘business partner’, the confrontation averse Felix Dixon, volunteered to meet with the PCs, and is hoping to con them into sorting out a problem of his own as part of the operation

87-88  Able3, one of the client's loyal synthetics, is sent to discuss the job proposal for his owner, and appears polite, placid and timid, unless the PCs refuse the offer, at which point Able3 will attempt to kill them all using his incredible strength, to hide his master's plans

89-90  The client’s lover, entrusted with finding a deniable team, has been compromised by the client's enemies, and has selected the PCs in the hope that they will screw it all up, and is deliberately failing to pass on crucial information

91-92  Arriving by aerocab, Dr Paula Wozniak, the client's augmentation councillor, has agreed to speak to the PCs for the client, but is concerned that the client is suffering from some sort of implant triggered delusion and tries to negotiate a cut of the money for the 'phantom' job

93-94  Emil Santiago, private detective to the rich and powerful, is contracted to vet, brief and pay the PCs on his client's behalf; Emil is both self-serving and corrupt and may well sell them all out

95-96  Close friend of the client, Akira Churchyard, will pass on information for the job to the PCs, but is working as a freelance investigative reporter, and hopes to turn this job into his big break

97-98  The client’s extremely wealthy and powerful father will communicate with the PCs on his offspring's behalf, as he just doesn't trust his child's judgement, nor their financial acumen

99-100  Having been previously messaged with a single, obscure word, the PCs are met in a hotel room by Lorelei Jones, a mnemonic courier who asks them to "Just say the word", which triggers her savant mode

Monday, 13 February 2017

Augmented Reality | A Review

Top chap Carl Clare has submitted a rather positive review of Augmented Reality to RPGGeek:

"At first glance Augmented Reality is a city kit resource for the lazy GM. Spend some time with it though and you realise that's actually an unfair image - it’s a resource that could be your best friend in a tight corner. For example the tables could be used to pre-generate a city block/Johnson/encounter for later use or used to quickly improvise an area/job/encounter if the game is going in unexpected directions or beginning to flag." 

https://rpggeek.com/thread/1722568/great-resource-harrassed-cyberpunk-gm

Many thanks Carl!

And in case you're missing out…

Augmented Reality PWYW PDF

Augmented Reality POD Hardcopy


But Carl does makes a very good point in regard to the Drop Grid pages:

"… I can’t see them being as useful in the book unless you are willing to weigh them down flat. As the printed version doesn’t come with a pdf file as well then you are left with photocopying pages or buying the pdf. This seems a bit mean but as there are only three of these grids I’m okay with photocopying them."

So, I have decided to make the grids available for FREE on DriveThruRPG for those that want them - both variants are included, as well as a little bonus content in the form of this blog's Cloak and Dagger (tidied up and presented in Augmented Reality table style) and the expanded Gig Economy article, which relates directly to the original book.

The free Augmented Reality PLUS PDF is available here:

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/10957/Geist-Hack-Games


Go grab yours now.

Did I mention it's free?

Thursday, 9 February 2017

Augmented Reality Print Books Shipping Offer


If you're STILL on the fence about grabbing yourself a printed copy of Augmented Reality: The Holistic City Kit For Cyberpunk Roleplaying Games from Lulu, here's a free shipping / 50% off ground shipping code, good for the next 3 days. Go grab the kit and see what other goodies they have available.

Code: SHIPFEB17 

Cannot be combined with other offers. Does not apply to eBooks or services. Ends February 12th at 23:59 (UK time).

Monday, 6 February 2017

Cloak and Dagger

Sometimes you don't want your PCs approached by yet another fixer in yet another dive bar. 

Sometimes you want to add a little mystery, along with a soupçon of paranoia, to that first approach by the people with the money and the need.

The following weird contact methods make your PCs ask important questions, such as:

> Why are potential clients reaching out in such obscure ways?

> Why is Ms Johnson going to such lengths to cover up her contact with us?

> What's with all this cloak and dagger shit?
[fast loads H&K shredder and downloads updates for aware targeting system…]


50 Mysterious First Contacts

D100

01-02  Hacker drops a .txt file on a PC’s device entitled ‘READ_M3’ containing a v-mail address and a cell phone number; the file is tagged with a clever read-receipt script

03-04  PC receives a call from a low grade AI automated dialling system, that only gives a phone number and a time at which to call it - repeatedly

05-06  Vidfile arrives on PC’s device via courier software, an indistinct, grainy request to log on to the dubious Ebony Ziggurat VRotica netsite, at a specific time

07-08  PC’s sensory implant (either optical or audio) receives repetitive message to call a cell phone number (either a scrolling message or a nagging synthetic voice)

09-10  Sonny De Silva, an infamous fixer, approaches the group via hacked AR projection to ask for their contact details regarding an employment opportunity they may be interested in

11-12  Each PC receives a call at exactly the same time (conference call) informing them they will be contacted again shortly (GM’s discretion as to when that happens)

13-14  Leather-clad biker screeches to a halt and offers a cell phone to the PCs without getting off her parabolic curve of a bike, saying “Its for you”, and she’ll definitely want the phone back

15-16  Obviously augmented German Shepherd trots over, calmly states the PC should contact
a particular v-mail address, which he will spell out s-l-o-w-l-y, before casually walking away

17-18  PCs find a brand new, wafer-thin, very expensive laptop set up where they are living, ready for a single video call (it contains no other data)

19-20  Client calls PC directly to ascertain availability, background noise suggesting they are somewhere public, will ask PC to call them back in an hour or so to talk business

21-22  Young, bubblegum chewing Somali girl, in an oversized, fur-hooded coat, hands over a scrap of paper with GPS coordinates on it, which lead to a specific parking lot bay

23-24  Insidious subliminal advertising compells one or more PCs to be at a Sumo Food synthiburger joint, next to a busy monorail hub, at 3am tonight

25-26  Handed an exquisite hand-made paper envelope, containing a slip of paper which carries a beautifully written instruction to be on a specific roof at midnight

27-28  Harassed and armoured bicycle courier, in primary coloured livery and sports wear, hands PC a laminate box containing high denomination bill with a v-mail address written on it

29-30  Television picture breaks down into a pixelated mess, a long net link briefly forming from the fragmented chaos, just long enough to note it down or take a photograph of it

31-32  Filthy, shuddering android with blistered synthskin, in a tatty coverall, limps out of a nearby alleyway towards one PC, whispering a phone number over and over…

33-34  Basic print-out with the words ‘CONTACT ME’ and a v-mail address in a large serif font slides under the door where the PCs are staying

35-36  PCs are visited by a well groomed, pleasant man called Nathaniel Sheen, who has been sent to get one of them to jack in to his neural link to meet a potential client securely online

37-38  For several nights, a PC has the same lucid dream of a string of specific numbers, which turn out to be a net address for a minimalist, black-mirrored VR environment

39-40  Omniversal Parcel Service (OPS) commercial courier drone delivers a small packet containing a datachip with a URL for the Arteology VR site, with an exact log-in time

41-42  Handed a brushed-aluminium business card, etched only with a contact number, by shabbily dressed, emaciated youth who grunts through cracked lips, “They want to talk to you.”

43-44  PC’s cell phone begins autodialling unknown number, until the PC decides to see who it is that their phone is calling, at which point it will stop

45-46  Gravely injured member of the Reject Parade street gang clutching a blue plastic datachip in his bloodied hand, stumbles up to PC, before expiring messily, the chip containing net coordinates

47-48  Message flashes up on a PC’s device, simply stating a time and date, along with an exclusive restaurant’s address, and a table number

49-50  PC’s equipment displays start showing only binary code, when translated, it appears to be a cell phone number

51-52  Hacker jacks a PC’s phone, replacing all their contacts with only one number, but it auto-corrects and re-ups their contacts once the number has been called

53-54  Row of public pay phones ring as a PC passes, and will keep happening until a PC answers one of them

55-56  Healthy looking human thumb in a glass vial is delivered to a PC, complete with label showing an address for a secure storage module; the module contains nothing but a lone laptop

57-58  PC receives a message via v-mail that simply states a time; a sleek, black aero-limo will arrive for them at the time stated

59-60  All food packaging jingles they come into contact with repeat the same net address in an irritatingly catchy sing-song manner

61-62  Uniformed police officer approaches PC, referring to them by name, and hands over a printed acetate with a phone number on it

63-64  One of the PCs finds a plain grey plastic business card with a v-mail address and phone number on it, under their vehicle’s windshield wiper

65-66  Watching the news, a PC perceives a glitch, the anchor then asks the PC by name to phone a number (shown on screen), there’s another glitch, the broadcast then returning to normal

67-68  PC finds an empty Lunglife™ cigarette packet, with a v-mail address scrawled on it in biro, in their jacket pocket

69-70  Small, beaten up orange cleaning bot approaches a PC, repeating a phone number in it’s tinny little Disney voice, whilst colliding with their foot repeatedly

71-72  A string of v-mails through a Cambodian datahaven, enquiring about the availability and skill set of the PCs’ team, followed by a v-mail contact address routed through Prague

73-74  PC takes delivery of a parcel containing a pen drive that contains a number of URLs and log on details that need accessing in order, to arrive at the client’s offshore net domain

75-76  PC is v-mailed the map reference to an area of ocean off the nearest coast, along with a date and time that they need to be there, should they want to discuss a job (there's a yacht there)

77-78  The expected pizza delivery contains one extra box (yay!) that holds a mid-range tablet device (what?), set up to enable a vid chat via a secure, darknet distributed server web

79-80  Six heavily armed, but smartly dressed, professionals burst in while the PCs are chillaxing, their leader carrying an attache case that holds a satellite phone he insists they use RIGHT NOW!

81-82  A silvered limo window descends slightly to reveal a soft gloved hand holding a lawyer’s (Portillo, Emerson & Associates) business card marked ‘URGENT’

83-84  High end Svetlana-9 sex-synthetics are sent to the PCs, along with liquor and drugs but, before the fun starts, the PCs must call a number provided (and the synthetics are wired to record it all…)

85-86  Bloodied body armour vest dumped outside the PCs’ door, a v-mail address sprayed on to it in bright, yellow paint; recognise the armour as belonging to a contact or ally

87-88  PCs are unaware that they have been directed by compromised traffic AI to the Neoshima Atomic Rose motel, where there's a message in reception for PCs to wait in Capsule 17

89-90  Approached by a creepy, twitchy, geisharoid synthetic, remotely operated via the net by the client, to make their initial contact safely and to arrange the meeting proper

91-92  PMed via Union Transmetropolitan hotel's message system, stating there's an item in room 2155 they need to collect (it’s the client and they need protection, just to leave the room)

93-94  A sobbing, hollow-eyed junkie gives one of the PCs a cell phone number and, trembling, suddenly shoots himself under the chin with a cheap, red polymer automatic

95-96  Frightened and emotional middle-aged cleaner, Ginetta Coleman, has been surgically fitted with a cortical bomb, which will explode if the PCs don’t call the number she provides

97-98  The client has Grade-A dirt on an already trusted contact of the PCs, and uses them to pass on the clients v-mail address; the contact seems deeply uncomfortable with this and is insistent

99-100  Harmony Jade, a 10 year old girl in a red vinyl coat, chainsmoking Chinese cigarettes, delivers a portable hard drive, with downloaded maps to a cell phone in an abandoned warehouse

Wednesday, 1 February 2017

Augmented Reality 25% Off



If you've been on the fence about grabbing yourself a printed copy of Augmented Reality: The Holistic City Kit For Cyberpunk Roleplaying Games from Lulu, here's a 25% discount code for the next 24 hours or so (UK time, I guess). Go grab the kit and see what other goodies they have.

Code: KICKOFF25 

Cannot be combined with other offers. Does not apply to eBooks or services. Ends February 2nd at 23:59

Thursday, 26 January 2017

Augmented Reality City Kit Now Available In Print

With a cheeky red to celebrate (not included).
Yesterday, I received my second (and correct) proof copy of the Augmented Reality city kit, and I'm really happy with it. The cover is nice and glossy, the interior pages, crammed with holistic cyberpunk awesome, are super crisp and clean.

So, I am pleased to announce that I can finally make the book available to purchase via the good folks at Lulu.com.

Get yours here:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/paul-d-gallagher/augmented-reality/paperback/product-23032774.html


Now, those of you who have downloaded the PDF will notice the page numbering is slightly different in the print version (page 4 is now page 3 for example, at Lulu's insistence), but the contents page and other page number references have all been changed to account for that. The print copy is just as easy to follow and use as the PDF.

Obligatory piss-poor cyberoptic shot.
Also, the 2D10 optional grid pages aren't included in the print version, but they are still available for download for free on the blog at this link, should you want them.

And for those who still prefer their content made of pixels, the PDF is still freely available in the side bar, and on DriveThruRPG should you want to toss me a few beer tokens.

Finally, those of you making use of the city kit at your gaming tables, let me know how it's working out for you in the comments, as I'm genuinely curious to know if you guys are finding it a helpful resource.

Right. Back to working on Mission Creep

Thanks for looking.

Friday, 20 January 2017

Augmented Reality Update


Just another little update to let you all know that I am currently awaiting a new Augmented Reality print-on-demand proof, which should arrive next week. Once I am satisfied that all is well with the book, I shall release it to the world at large. So stay tuned.

Also, here's a little taster of a companion volume I'm hard at work on:



No release date as of yet (obvs), but keep an optic on the Archive for the occasional teaser.

Thursday, 12 January 2017

Further Adventures in POD

Sez my 8-bit brain.
[An Augmented Reality print update for those who are waiting to buy hard copies.]

Well, I received my POD proof copy of Augmented Reality yesterday and I was very surprised to find the pages in the wrong order. It seems my book has been printed with the second half of the book at the front, and the first half of the book at the back! Yet the PDF proof was fine!

Also, the stylish black thumb spaces are in the crease and not the outer edges of the pages. Unacceptable!

Most of my time since it arrived has been spent cursing.

I've contacted the printer and I'm waiting to see how they will resolve the issue. Once they have, I'll be sure to post the news up here to let you guys know that they are available.

On the up side, the cover looks very nice.

Thursday, 5 January 2017

City Kit Now On DriveThruRPG

For those who requested it, Augmented Reality is now available as a Pay What You Want PDF over on DriveThru. The file also includes the optional variant 2D10 grids at the back.

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/202175/Augmented-Reality-The-Holistic-City-Kit-For-Cyberpunk-Games

If you already have your PDF, no problem. Just pop over and leave me some positive comments in the discussion field, if you can.

Much obliged.


Wednesday, 4 January 2017

Grid Variants

Ishmadrad makes a good point in the comments section of yesterday's Augment Your Reality post. They wrote:

take the Downtown Drop Down Grid. I roll a d10, getting a "6", so sixth row. There, I see 6 "squares" of different sizes. Let's say that those squares have those numbers inside: Vehicle Showroom (1-2), Fashion Boutique (3-4), Commercial Cybernetics (5-7), Mall (8), VRcade (9), Gym (10).
So, if I roll another d10, and I get a 10, I obtain a Gym.

This system retains the different weights of each "building", so it's rarer to get a Bank, in comparison to an Office Block.


So, I did some thinkifying and pixel bothering, and created numbered variants for each of the three drop down grids from Augmented Reality (see link to the right, or click here). So, rather than drop dice on the grid (which you can still do), you can roll 2D10 instead - one you read down, the other across. The three new pages are included in one PDF document, and can be downloaded for free here.

The Downtown Grid given the Ishmadrad Treatment™

Tuesday, 3 January 2017

It's Time To Augment Your Reality

It's January, it's here and it's yours for free.

(and the file sharing glitch is fixed…) 

The back cover blurbage:

Enhance your games of the dark future, with the easy to use Augmented Reality cyberpunk city kit. Inside, you’ll find over 50 tables designed to assist gamesmasters who need to improvise futuristic city details, or who have found that they are unprepared for where their players are heading. 

With this book, you can add layers of detail to any cyberpunk cityscape, and make use of over 250 NPCs, including fixers, street samurai, corporate players and insane hackers, along with easy to roll cabbies, cops, gang members and street fighters. Missions, motivations and methods can be generated, along with the immediate urban environment, all painted with a broad brush, to enable gamesmasters to let their twisted imaginations shine through, without slowing down the action.

Your players may use the real world as a reference, but YOU can use these tables to bring them the bleeding-edge future. So, jack in now and augment your reality…

Click the download link here or on the right.

UPDATE: NOW AVAILABLE ON DRIVETHRURPG AS A PAY WHAT YOU WANT PDF FILE:
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/202175/Augmented-Reality-The-Holistic-City-Kit-For-Cyberpunk-Games

I hope you enjoy it cyberpeople. Let me know how you use it.

Friday, 9 December 2016

Subcult Miscreants

She'll cut you up real good.
Work on the city kit continues apace, so I thought I would preview another spread, this time it's the quintessential gang generator. Simply read across the columns to quickly bring a street gang in to play, or roll several times to get a more unusual, mixed result.

There are complimentary tables (now complete) that show you what the gang is up to, that help you generate important or associated gang NPCs, and a table that gives you some rumours or hooks to use with your freshly minted subcult miscreants.

Other generators recently completed, and with a similar layout to the gangs table, we have 50 insane corporate aristocrats along with 50 dubious fixers and facemen, with associated tables to give you even more details, but more on those at a later date.

Also nearing completion, we have the oft requested Mr Johnson tables; one with people as targets, one with desired 'things'. Again, more to be revealed later.

For now, feast your eyes on these Urban Tribes.

Click to embiggen.