[1:03 PM]Paul: Greetings, I’m Paul Barnstein (from Germany) an engineer by trade and the developer of „Destiny of Celtara“. I have been developing DoC in some capacity over the last 20 years. What started as a bunch of ideas grew over time into a full blown universe and I finally decided to put my thoughts to virtual paper and make it into a game. Many years later I have now finally released DoC, free for everybody to play. Destiny of Celtara, in short, is a cyberpunk/scifi/mystery TTRPG that plays on the planet Celtara and tells the story of a different humanity. They have their own history, culture and problems. The game is set 150 years after a great catastrophe that nearly wiped out humanity. Today, a changed humanity has recovered a great deal and technology is at least a few decades ahead of Earth (mostly).
[1:04 PM]Paul: Players can experience a whole lot of different stories and settings. From mercenaries to corpo cleaner to freedom fighter or criminal syndicate member or what ever else you are interested in. It is a whole world, from giant cities to dense jungles and the high seas.
[1:04 PM]Paul: Besides the expected gunfights, implants and corpo schemes some more exotic things wait for players in DoC. The Fabric of Fate that rules the lives of most, the Fated who manipulate Fate, Freak Events like gravity fluctuations and something called U-Matter that is slowly changing the face of the planet. And we have not even started with the 150+ year old Super AI that sits at the heart of the most powerful nation of the world…
[1:04 PM]Paul: Some quick fire facts:
[1:06 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): Thanks, @Paul! The floor is open to questions!
[1:07 PM]MoonHunter: waves1
[1:07 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): Is there a well-known movie or TV series setting to which you’d compare DoC in some way?
[1:09 PM]Paul: It is its own thing but I was surely influenced by scifi and cyberpunk settings of my time. Deus Ex or even Metal Gear Solid have their place for sure.
[1:10 PM]Paul: In general scifi stories, technology and questions about society and humanity are a driver for the creation of DoC.
[1:11 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): Can you give us some idea of the cutting edge of technology in various areas?
[1:15 PM]Paul: These are examples…general weapon and armor tech is more advanced by a few decades. DoC has combat ready laser weapons, rail guns (large scale), artificial muscles, advanced drone tech, the Immortals which are fully robotic bodies with a human mind nested in it, advanced bio tech especially gene manipulation. BUT one thing to note is that tech in DoC is also restricted. Because of the Great War and the Sundering humanity made some hard decisions and various technolgies are outlawed. For example planes, stuff with rocket motors, all types of weapons of mass destruction, AI are heavily regulated and not allowed to control weapons… you get the picture.(edited)
[1:17 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): In what sense are planes heavily regulated?
[1:18 PM]Paul: No planes at all. Helicopters are allowed but are restricted to 300 kph max speed. A lot was forbidden to avoid first strike weapons and massive destruction as seen in the Great War.(edited)
[1:18 PM]Paul: Ohh and War itself is also outlawed, should have mentioned that, sry.
[1:19 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): How is the law against war enforced without war?
[1:22 PM]MoonHunter: ..
[1:22 PM]Paul: It is a social contract formed after the horrors of the GW. The World Peace Council over watches the rules and has long reaching rights. Imagine a UN but far more powerful. Of course just because there is no “war” it does not mean that there are no conflicts. Humans are very good in re-defining things. Territorial conflicts, local unrest, government transitions…(edited)
[1:22 PM]MoonHunter: wifi issues Are the people on your world Humans/ Terrans or Others? Offworld origin or is this their homeworld? >>If they are off worlder origin do they know that is true?
[1:23 PM]MoonHunter: (I also take it that spacecraft launches and tech are forbidden.)
[1:23 PM]Paul: They are humans from Celtara.
[1:24 PM]MoonHunter: How did the humans get there or did they evolve there?
@PaulIt is a social contract formed after the horrors of the GW. The World Peace Council over watches the rules and has long reaching rights. Imagine a UN but far more powerful. Of course just because there is no “war” it does not mean that there are no conflicts. Humans are very good in re-defining things. Territorial conflicts, local unrest, government transitions…(edited)[1:24 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): Well, let me rephrase: If someone were to start a war, how would the World Peace Council stop it?
[1:25 PM]Paul: About the space craft this is one of the few exceptions, there is one heavily controlled space center and a certain set of rockets that are allowed to bring satellites into space.
@Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe)Well, let me rephrase: If someone were to start a war, how would the World Peace Council stop it?[1:28 PM]Paul: WAR is… even the word is not used in public. Any attempt to wage a large scale war is countered by heavy sanctions and most likely precise and direct interventions by the great powers. Until this point non of the great nations has even tried something like that especially because the public would see them as the ultimate villian breaking the social contract and forcing humanity back into the path of selfdestruction.
[1:31 PM]MoonHunter: Okay, with my follow up… humans from Celtara did they arrive there or did they evolve there? If they are off worlder origin do they know that is true?
@MoonHunterOkay, with my follow up… humans from Celtara did they arrive there or did they evolve there? If they are off worlder origin do they know that is true?[1:33 PM]Paul: They evolved there. Celtara is very simliar to Earth in size and other parameters.(edited)
[1:35 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): Can you say a bit more about the Fabric of Fate? Is that an actual aspect of the setting, or is it strictly a game mechanic?
[1:38 PM]Paul: It is a very important part of the setting. The name and understanding comes historically from one of the largest religions in Celtara. For most people the FoF is a spiritual thing, the idea that some people are “fated” to do something or to achieve a certain goal. To walk a path and to overcome any obstacle. Comparably few know the truth that the FoF is a very real thing and that there are some people, the Fated, who can use the FoF to manipulate events around them to a certain degree. All but one of the archetypes are Fated.(edited)
[1:40 PM]Paul: The community of the Fated puts in a lot of effort to keep the majority of the population in the dark. Generally Fated don’t even know what they are until somebody explains them what is going on (to a certain degree).
[1:41 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): Do you consider this to be a supernatural aspect to the setting?
[1:43 PM]Paul: Good question. It looks supernatural but DoC is build on science even so it is not always obvious. For the humans of Celtara “Fate” is a reality and they have no reason to expect it to be different anywhere else in the universe. Of course science in Celtara has tried quiet hard to understand what is actually going on but until now a final answer eludes the scientists.
[1:45 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): So would you characterize it as something akin to Lovecraftian “science”?
@Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe)So would you characterize it as something akin to Lovecraftian “science”?[1:45 PM]Paul: Sry, don’t know what that means.
[1:46 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): Well, one of the conceits of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos is that “magic” is really just the “science” of the true nature of the universe, which humanity doesn’t comprehend.
[1:47 PM]MoonHunter: (or is there centuries of mythical or social gobblygook obscuring things?)1
[1:49 PM]Paul: That would not be too far off from the perspective of many in Celtara who know about the Fabric of Fate. Most people who are in the know do understand that something is wrong with the world. There are many signs that things behave unnatural in a sense, but they do not know what the cause is or all events fit together.
[1:49 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): Is the Fabric of Fate related to the Freak Events you mentioned?
[1:52 PM]Paul: Yes, Freak Events are actually caused by the meddling of Fated in the Fabric of Fate. Once Fated grow strong enough they can cause stronger and stronger reactions in the FoF which can “discharge” into the physical space in form of various horribly things. Of course the public can never learn that actually singular humans can be the cause of massive destruction, the pure panic alone would cause even worse things to happen.(edited)
[1:53 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): What sorts of abilities do the Fated have?
@MoonHunter(or is there centuries of mythical or social gobblygook obscuring things?)[1:54 PM]Paul: Yes you are right, long before science some people picked up that there is something special going on and a religion was built around it (and they used it to their advantage too)
[1:56 PM]Paul: The main ability of the Fated is Fate Weaving which allows them to manipulate physical events near them. In game terms players can change the DC of physical tests they are aware of. The stronger the Fated the more often and more powerful of a change can be caused. As Fated grow stronger they gain more powers, like identifying Fated from range, changing base parameters of the game mechancis, reading the FoF.
[1:57 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): Is Fate Weaving obvious, or does it just look like random chance at work?
[1:58 PM]Paul: Also Fated gain Fate Traits which represent their unique character and interaction with the FoF. For every level of Fate Power a Fated has they gain one Fate Trait. These are very powerful and can influence heavily how you play.
@Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe)Is Fate Weaving obvious, or does it just look like random chance at work?[1:59 PM]Paul: It depends heavily on the power level. Light FW can be just changing the course of a bullet while very high levels can look outright supernatural like walking through a rain of bullets unharmed or making impossible athletic feats.
[2:02 PM]Paul: FW is also a resource that is used for very powerful abilities. For example.
[2:03 PM]MoonHunter: Automatic, must make an “activation save”, or do you have to turn it on?
[2:04 PM]Paul: automatic, in this case.(edited)
[2:06 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): Aside from being Fated (mostly), what, if anything, do the PCs have in common? What do they do in the setting?
[2:08 PM]Paul: DoC is built as a complete world and not just a specific scenario. Meaning you can play what ever story line you are interested in. A group of mercs is the most “vanilla” path as it allows you to go to many places and have a lot of crazy adventures. But it is up to the GM and the party what kind of story they want to play.
[2:11 PM]Paul: How about a group of pirate slaves who overthrow their masters and flee only to eventually be picked up by a corporation and start to work for them. Later they find out the corpo has been doing deals with the Outlaws and now they have to decide what to do…
[2:12 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): How would you describe the flora and fauna on the planet?
[2:13 PM]Paul: In general like Earth. I’m also working on bringing in more “alien” animals and plants but that is work for the future. In addition U-Matter has started to change life and those “changed” life forms can be wonderful and deadly.
[2:14 PM]Paul: There is lot of space for players to edit in their own animals for sure.
[2:14 PM]MoonHunter: How “culturally” alien are these folks and how many cultures do you have?
[2:15 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): Speaking of which, what effects does U-Matter have, and how (if at all) does it relate to the Fabric of Fate?
@MoonHunterHow “culturally” alien are these folks and how many cultures do you have?[2:17 PM]Paul: There are 4 current, large cultures and mixed stuff in between. In general the cultures will be atc least familiar to somebody from earth as the followed comparable paths to power. There are also two “lost” societies which play currently less of a role.
[2:18 PM]MoonHunter: (so I have a cyberpunk japan to play in?)
@Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe)Speaking of which, what effects does U-Matter have, and how (if at all) does it relate to the Fabric of Fate?[2:21 PM]Paul: U-Matter is one of the greatest mysteries on Celtara. It started to show up shortly after the Sundering and has started to spread, slowly. Unnormal Matter behaves on a fundamental level abnormal, like having far to high mass or electro-negativity and so on. A link to the Fabric of Fate is expected but not proven mostly as with the Sundering the amount and strength of Fated in the world has sky rocketed.(edited)
[2:22 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): What was the Sundering?
@MoonHunter(so I have a cyberpunk japan to play in?)[2:22 PM]Paul: Japan directly not no. The closest thing to it would be Lho Mang I guess or even Pelos. As I said before the world has their own cultures but you will find democracies, tribal structures, dictatorships etc.
@Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe)What was the Sundering?[2:26 PM]Paul: After 12 years of war (150 years ago) humanity was at its and end a last push of the coalition army towards Kharak (see map) was going to bring the end. And then something exploded or broke. The planet quaked, a shockwave knocked out most people, killed a lot of them, tech bursted into flames, flood waves, lightning storms for days, volcanoes….the end of the world basically. Kharak as a civilization was anihilated and only 2% of humanity was left.(edited)
[2:28 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): To what degree has the population recovered?
[2:28 PM]Paul: Currently we are sitting at about 1 billion humans.
[2:29 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): What percentage is that of the pre-Sundering population?
[2:29 PM]Paul: Before the war the population was about 8 billion.
[2:30 PM]MoonHunter: 12%
[2:30 PM]Paul: Ohh, right about 12%.
[2:31 PM]MoonHunter: You might want to buff that 2% number, that is massive pop growth in 150 years without clone tanks
[2:32 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): Fair point.
[2:33 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): Do you have a character sheet that we can see?
@MoonHunterYou might want to buff that 2% number, that is massive pop growth in 150 years without clone tanks[2:34 PM]Paul: If you look at historic population growth this is actually not so far off the mark.
[2:38 PM]MoonHunter: Hit location used?
[2:39 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): Am I correct that this is some sort of Attribute + Skill system?
[2:39 PM]Paul: Generally not unless it is for special type of wound which then needs a location.
@Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe)Am I correct that this is some sort of Attribute + Skill system?[2:40 PM]Paul: Yes you take your skill level and the two corresponding attributes to determine your dice amount of the test.
[2:40 PM]Paul: + potential bonuses from abilities etc.
[2:41 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): Do the two attributes add together, or is it their average?
[2:41 PM]Paul: They ad up.
[2:41 PM]Paul: Attributes are very powerful in DoC.
[2:42 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): What kind of dice are used?
[2:43 PM]Paul: For general tests D10. Wound tests have a D20, and a D6 is used here and there from time to time. But 99% of your tests are D10, some times a lot of them.
[2:44 PM]MoonHunter: clatter clatter
[2:44 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): How does combat work?
[2:46 PM]Paul: Turn based, Action Points (standard 3) and Reactive Actions, Group Initiative. You spent your AP on various actions. Action can cause reactive actions for example shooting somebody allows them to use dodge as reactive action (if they still have some this turn).
[2:47 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): How is damage determined, and how does armor work?
[2:50 PM]Paul: Success dice from your hit test (after DC and potential success dice from soemthing like dodge) are added up with the damage dice of your weapon. This is reduced by the appropriate armor value. The left over dice are thrown and on 7+ cause damage each. If you deal very high damage with one hit you can also cause a wound test which is very dangerous.(edited)
[2:51 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): How do Fate powers work?
[2:53 PM]Paul: There are no Fate Powers per se, there is Fate Weaving and some Fate abilities. FW you can just anounce before the test is made and change the DC up or down. Fate abilities are often conditional or passive to reduce extra clutter. For example:
[2:54 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): What limits are there on Fate Weaving?
[2:55 PM]Paul: You normally start out, as a beginner char, with one per combat turn and can change the DC by one. This grows in numbers and power as your Fate Power grows and can also be improved by various Fate Traits. Outside of combat you can of course also use FW.(edited)1
[2:57 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): In the time remaining, is there anything we haven’t covered that you’d like to bring up?
[2:57 PM]Paul: It is a big game with many interesting sytsems in and outside of combat. Maybe a short word about karma cards and Disturbance.
[2:58 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): Sure!
[2:59 PM]Paul: In battle Fated draw Karma cards every second turn which can give them a leg up but also cause events which the GM has to take care of. This is not only a great source of power (you can buff that with Fate Traits) but also an interesting way to throw the story in different directions (if you like that).
[3:01 PM]Paul: Disturbance is what happens when Fated start to battle each other and the stronger they are the more powerful it grows. For starter chars it is not important at all but as your power grows you need to take into account what your actions can cause and think about strategies to avoid massive destruction. Generally the people in power do not take kindly to people who make a mess.
[3:02 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): (brb)
[3:04 PM]MoonHunter: keep going my friend. Anything else?
[3:04 PM]Paul: what interests you?
[3:05 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): (back)
[3:05 PM]Paul: Well, of course not everybody follows the new world order but all who oppose the system are branded Outlaws. That means they are against humanity and killing them is not even a crime.
[3:06 PM]Paul: The most notoric and powerful ones are the pirates (clans).
[3:06 PM]MoonHunter: Aquatic things, you have a lot of ocean there.
Airships? slow air travel and no rails. Rail travel a big thing?
[3:07 PM]Paul: Airships yes but not very useful overall. If you have money you can use helicopters but most travel is by ship. On the continents rails is of course very strong. In Manangra more than anywhere else.(edited)
[3:09 PM]Paul: The oceans are also infected by the Growing Frontier (the change from U-Matter) and sailors do tell tales of giant monsters or deadly fish.(edited)
[3:10 PM]MoonHunter: I was thinking about your U-ecology, hence why airships would be a good thing to miss most of it on the ground or ocean.
[3:10 PM]MoonHunter: U-ecology could mess with rails….
@MoonHunterU-ecology could mess with rails….[3:12 PM]Paul: The Frontier is watched and kept in check (to a point) by the Rangers. Currently hot spots are controlled and kept away from civilization. This will not stay that way forever as many know but not enough is done to stop it, there is money to be made…(edited)
[3:13 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): You’re welcome to continue the conversation, but do you mind if we pause so that I can wrap up the “official” discussion/chat log?
[3:13 PM]Paul: Sure.
[3:13 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): Cool. Thanks very much for joining us, @Paul!
[3:13 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): Usual reminder: If you’ve enjoyed this Q&A and would like to treat me to a coffee or two, you can do so at https://www.ko-fi.com/gmshoe. Anything’s appreciated! Ko-fiBuy Dan Davenport a Coffee. ko-fi.com/gmshoeBecome a supporter of Dan Davenport today! ❤️ Ko-fi lets you support the creators you love with no fees on donations.
[3:13 PM]Paul: Thank you for having me.
[3:13 PM]Dan (Hardboiled GMshoe): If you’ll give me a minute, I’ll get the log posted and link you!