[Q&A] Scott Uhls (Beta Red)

[18-Feb-21 07:32 PM] heero2020#8387
Hey everyone. I’m Scott Uhls, creator of the Maximum Apocalypse RPG, and CEO of Heeroic Studios Gaming LLC (newly incorporated as of September 2020). I founded the LLC after working with Rock Manor Games on Maximum Apocalypse and thought it seemed like the best option if I wanted to continue to work on my own projects in the gaming world.

Today, I’m here to talk about my new game Beta Red. It’s a cyberpunk-genre RPG and my attempt to create a game the simplifies the cyberpunk genre and tries to walk the line between Cyber-fantasy (see Shadowrun) and Cyber-reality (see Cyberpunk 2020/Red). Something that was simply and not tied to the overcomplicated methods from the 90’s era of games, but that had enough crunch to create a framework for people who enjoy having a structure. I also wanted to include the Japanese style of cyberpunk, things you find in anime like Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Armitage III, and Parasite Dolls.

[18-Feb-21 07:34 PM] saintnexan#6715
Thanks, @heero2020! The floor is open to questions!

[18-Feb-21 07:34 PM] saintnexan#6715
How would you describe the setting?

[18-Feb-21 07:37 PM] heero2020#8387
Beta Red is a setting where Robots are full citizens of society and humans are the scrappy underdogs who need augmentations to remain competitive and “viable.” In order to develop competitive Augmentation technology, cloning tech and pharmaceuticals were developed to stop organ rejection. The side effect of Cloning technology was the creation of clones: hyper-designed people based on the specifications of the Ultra Rich, usually so they can have a blood bank, a fall guy for their crimes, or someone to live vicariously through. The side effect of pharmaceutical technology was not just the dozens of designer drugs the flood the streets, but the creation of Psychics: humans who have been adversely affected by the drug Beta Red and have had the networks of their brain opened to higher mental abilities, such as reading other people’s thoughts or transmitting their astral body to other places.

In short, it’s as if Ghost in the Shell and Akira met Judge Dredd in the Megacity of 5th Element covered in the depressive rains of Blade Runner. There is the Megacities, the clusters of Megacities that recognize each other and formed Federations, and then the post-war, post-economic collapsed wasteland zones in between manned by machine slaves that are still living better lives than their human counterparts. I do, however, leave most of the setting to the Moderators and the Players to develop as part of their game, which is one of the key elements of the system. I didn’t want to crush the players and moderators with extensive, unchangeable world lore that makes it difficult for them to create their own Megacorporations and stories of the little fish fighting the giant whales.

[18-Feb-21 07:37 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 07:39 PM] saintnexan#6715
Are the Megacorporations run by robots?

[18-Feb-21 07:41 PM] heero2020#8387
They most certainly can be. The setting information is not dogmatic lore. In fact, as a lite system, I’ve left all that up to the Moderator. However, the basic world lore suggests that there are Robots that have risen to the highest levels of politics and business. So, sure

[18-Feb-21 07:41 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 07:42 PM] saintnexan#6715
It sounds like the tech level is a bit more advanced than “standard” cyberpunk. Would that be accurate?

[18-Feb-21 07:45 PM] heero2020#8387
Yeah, that would be fairly safe to say. It’s a world of Flying cars, developed A.I.’s, smart devices that are only a watch, cryptocurrency as the only acceptable form of cash, robots, and experimental laser tech.

The main reason that it isn’t a super duper laser tech and deep space travel is because the Robots were able to prove they could think and live like people, which created an economic upset as the megacorporations replaced their human workforce with robotic ones, changing innovation. Humans have caught back up after the invention of Beta Red, the drug that stops organ rejection, but there have been some recessions in tech, while other areas have improved.

But to be fair, there were flying cars in Blade Runner, but I sorta stepped them up to the 5th Element level.

[18-Feb-21 07:45 PM] heero2020#8387
I think it would be safe to say it’s similar tech to Altered Carbon book 1/Season 1

[18-Feb-21 07:45 PM] heero2020#8387
(Done)

[18-Feb-21 07:46 PM] saintnexan#6715
Does that mean that humans can be “resleeved”?

[18-Feb-21 07:47 PM] heero2020#8387
Resleeving Tech is not something that has been developed in Beta Red. However, there are human-looking robots, so those guys MIGHT be able to transfer their AI’s into different machines. There are also clones, but they are basically a separate person with the same genetic tech

[18-Feb-21 07:47 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 07:48 PM] saintnexan#6715
Are Augmentations cyberwear, bioware, or something else altogether?

[18-Feb-21 07:49 PM] heero2020#8387
Yeah basically. The Augmentations are pretty narrative, but Minor Augmentations are basically just a skill bonus while Major Augmentations are a Stat Bonus + some kind of special effect like reflecting damage back at the enemy, making you able to see in the dark, turning invisible, etc. The Augmentations allow all kinds of narrative control from the player with the approval of the Moderator.

[18-Feb-21 07:51 PM] heero2020#8387
To clarify Augmentations in Beta Red, just like weapons modifications, are just a mechanical description (ie Stat +1, Skill +1, etc.) so the players get to customize what the Augmentation is and work with the Moderator to determine if it has a secondary effect. Major Augmentations (Stat +1) have an “Enhancements” which is essentially something else that it does, like allowing the character to wall run, granting a TN-1 to a certain action, or allowing them to gain 1 Automatic Hit with a certain skill. This makes it fun for both the Moderator and the Player to create a unique, tangible piece of the game world.

*Example: Crash Cart Kelly has defibrillator hands, which mechanically gives him a Strength +1 because be can grip better, BUT also allows him an Automatic Hit whenever he does a Repair roll because he can jump start fleshy and mechanical hearts.*

[18-Feb-21 07:51 PM] saintnexan#6715
So are these more like genetic mutations?

[18-Feb-21 07:54 PM] heero2020#8387
No No. They are actual cybernetic devices. The lore is the that the drug Beta Red not only stops organ rejection but makes humans receptive to these bio/cyber technical implants, so they just blend right into the human’s life

[18-Feb-21 07:54 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 07:54 PM] saintnexan#6715
Ah, I see. Cool.

[18-Feb-21 07:55 PM] saintnexan#6715
Are the PCs all human?

[18-Feb-21 07:56 PM] heero2020#8387
Nope. There are 4 playable species in Beta Red:

Human – Your average run of the mill people who need augmentations to remain competitive in the world, so they generally consume Beta Red (as well as other drugs) fairly regularly.

Robot – Machines with implanted AI-tech so that they are their own people with their own personalities. While they are literally “made” for tasks, they can be whatever the players want them to be, from Major Kusanagi and Armitage to Bender or Chappie

Psychic – Born human but when they encountered Beta Red, latent psychic genes sprung into action and now they can use their mind to change things around them… but with a cost.

Clone – Made in a lab based on genes from their “parent” that have been modified or selected for specific development, Clones are perfect at doing their predesigned tasks, but have no life unless their Ultra-Rich “parent.”

[18-Feb-21 07:56 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 07:58 PM] saintnexan#6715
Are there any assumptions regarding what the PCs do in the setting?

[18-Feb-21 08:01 PM] heero2020#8387
Like that they are criminals or whatnot? The only assumption is that players do semi-legal (read probably illegal) jobs for money. Standard Merc stuff, but there are 6 different backgrounds in this core book for the characters, and not all of them are criminal.

Actually, let me just list them: Backroom Project (think Eleven from Stranger Things), Corporate Zombie (think Wage Slave), Criminal (think Yakuza), Mean Streets (think Street Punk), Military (think Battle Angel Alita or Major Kusanagi), and Picture Perfect (think College, white picket fence, etc.).

[18-Feb-21 08:01 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 08:02 PM] saintnexan#6715
How powerful can Psychics get, and what is the cost that you mentioned?

[18-Feb-21 08:06 PM] heero2020#8387
Pretty Darn powerful, but every psychic action they take, they put pressure on themselves. Psychics can use their Psy Stat to do Psychic actions, like moving objects with their mind, astrally projecting, creating and throwing fire, or reading people’s thoughts. But come with a “Backlash” of mental pressure that the Psychic must mitigate with a Mind Save regardless of whether they were successful at the action or not. Any Backlash that is not absorbed by the Mind Save becomes Health Point Damage that can’t be healed by any other means than slow, natural healing.

Also, if a Psychic takes 3 or more Damage from this unmitigated Backlash, the Moderator can ask for them to roll on a d66 table to determine what other effects occur as the psychic lashes out with this damage. These can range from the psychic suffering from a profuse nose bleed to ALL characters in near range taking 2d6+PSY damage that they cannot soak (basically a TPK). Only the strongest, well designed Psychic characters can pull off the heavier psychic things.

It should also be noted that WHENEVER a psychic tries to do one of the actions, there is an obvious, physical presence to it, such as swirling wind, strange lights, odd glows, bizarre noises, etc. This is the anime element showing up, tossing in those strange moments where the psychic’s eyes suddenly light up and they channel some dead person to deliver a message from beyond or something. No matter what it is, it’s pretty clear that the psychic has used their powers, which triggers a whole lot of fear responses from most Normies (see Humans).

[18-Feb-21 08:06 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 08:08 PM] saintnexan#6715
So, for example, how much could the most powerful telekinetic Psychic lift?

[18-Feb-21 08:11 PM] heero2020#8387
Actually, it could be pretty high because RAW it’s Total Hits (see successes) x 10kg. And since there’s an exploding dice system in Beta Red, that could get pretty high. But actually Telekinesis isn’t one of the “biggest” psychic actions. Telepathy, reading minds, and also twisting them is, as well as Astral Projection and Psychokinesis

[18-Feb-21 08:11 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 08:12 PM] saintnexan#6715
How common are Psychics?

[18-Feb-21 08:13 PM] heero2020#8387
1% of the *human* population. However, since it’s one of the playable species, alot more common in the player groups

[18-Feb-21 08:13 PM] saintnexan#6715
_nods_

[18-Feb-21 08:13 PM] saintnexan#6715
Do governments exist, or is it all Megacorps?

[18-Feb-21 08:17 PM] heero2020#8387
There are 3 kinds of governments: City-States (typical), Federations (clusters of city-states that recognize and partner together), and disorganized, anarchist territories

[18-Feb-21 08:17 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 08:17 PM] saintnexan#6715
And what is the relationship between the governments and the Megacorps?

[18-Feb-21 08:19 PM] heero2020#8387
I guess it depends the story that the moderators and players want to play. I didn’t want to create Shadowrun-levels of deep lore to make it nearly impossible to create your own megacorps and whatnot

[18-Feb-21 08:19 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 08:20 PM] saintnexan#6715
Do you have a character sheet we can see?

[18-Feb-21 08:20 PM] heero2020#8387
Sure. Character Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ez4tYWUw7Q9KV3Ir35MTkF1IKwtg4IzY/view?usp=sharing

Plus there’s a whole Quickstart you can download for free here: http://drivethrurpg.com/product/342799/Beta-Red-Quickstart

{Embed}
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ez4tYWUw7Q9KV3Ir35MTkF1IKwtg4IzY/view?usp=sharing
Beta Red Character Sheet 3.5.pdf
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/wrCC0sKBz6S_kQjH9gTv6VFWZtdlBBWsFoXA-vT6xCf-_YK3R1jUQHlCgUEtBrTH2w8=w1200-h630-p

{Embed}
http://drivethrurpg.com/product/342799/Beta-Red-Quickstart
Beta Red Quickstart – Heeroic Studios Gaming | DriveThruRPG.com
BETA RED is rules-lite cyberpunk Roleplaying Game that aims for high risk, high reward by using a unique d6 dice pool sy

[18-Feb-21 08:21 PM] heero2020#8387
(FYI @knuckles and @von the fallen the floor is open for questions)

[18-Feb-21 08:21 PM] saintnexan#6715
(Indeed!)

[18-Feb-21 08:22 PM] saintnexan#6715
Hmm. Looks like a stat + skill system. Is that correct?

[18-Feb-21 08:22 PM] heero2020#8387
Incorrect 😛 I shall explain, but strap in, it’s a long one!

[18-Feb-21 08:23 PM] saintnexan#6715
Okay!

[18-Feb-21 08:24 PM] heero2020#8387
The system of action and resolution in Beta Red is based on d6 dice pools created by the character’s Stats, which are called their SCRITE(p) Stats: (S)trength, (C)ompassion, (R)eaction, (I)ntelligence, (T)oughness, (E)xpression, and (P)sy. All of the skills are connected to these skills and whenever a player attempts to take an action, they must match the “Target Number” of their desired actions with “Hits” from their dice rolls.

The Stats are the Pool (number of dice rolled), and the skills are the number on the die OR BELOW that constitute a “Hit” or success. This is called the “Hit Limit” because it is the limit on the dice that determines a Hit or a Failure. Since this is a roll under system, 1’s are the best possible number and EXPLODE, meaning that they are a HIT and then I get to roll it again.

*Example: I am trying to Fly my hovercar between two buildings to escape pursuing Police Officers. The Moderator determines that this the Target Number for this action is 3 (as in I need 3 Hits to succeed) or I crash into the wall. My Reaction is 5, so I take 5d6 to make my roll. My Fly skill is 3, so I roll the 5d6 and get 1,2,4,6,6. The 1 and 2 count as Hits, but the 4 and 6’s do not count. I reroll the 1 and get a 3. I have gained the 3 Hits needed to pull off this Action.*

Characters are created by making a couple of choices: Species, Background, Role, and then Augmentation.

[18-Feb-21 08:25 PM] heero2020#8387
These affect the Stats and the Skill points

[18-Feb-21 08:25 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 08:26 PM] heero2020#8387
(It really wasn’t that long, I just wanted to play it off like it was. That’s literally 90% of Beta Red with additional crunch with things like weapon mods and cover rules, but basically… that’s it)

[18-Feb-21 08:26 PM] saintnexan#6715
What the the unAugmented Human Stat scale?

[18-Feb-21 08:29 PM] heero2020#8387
Human and Psychic Stats max at 6, Clones Max at 7, Robots have No max. But the way that stats are determined is literally 1+Species+Background+Major Augmentation and Skills are 1+Background+Role+Minor Augmentation

[18-Feb-21 08:29 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 08:29 PM] saintnexan#6715
What are the Roles?

[18-Feb-21 08:31 PM] heero2020#8387
The Characters’ Roles are as follows:

*Cracker:* The coder of the group. You handle the technical security and breaking into systems to steal information, or just listening in to phone calls.
*Driver:* You get the group from point A to point B. But don’t think this is going to be easy, there’s lots of ways that a group can be taken down while in transit.
*Face:* You thrive on social interactions and it’ll be your job to interface with the Patron, physical security, and maybe even a police officer or two along the way.
*Mechanic:* Stuff breaks and without people like you to put it back together, the rest of the team would be dead in the water. But you’re also pretty good at finding things, too.
*Muscle:* Does that door need breaking in? Does that window need breaking in? Does that guy’s face need breaking in? Well, if yes to any of these, that’s your job.
*Reader:* Not everything can be found by looking at it and not everything people say is true. It’s your job to draw upon your psychic abilities and assist the group.
*Sneak:* Sometimes things need to be… procured. You get passed security and walk away with the prized gemerald or whatever needs being taken.

[18-Feb-21 08:31 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 08:33 PM] saintnexan#6715
So is Reader the only Role for a Psychic?

[18-Feb-21 08:34 PM] heero2020#8387
No. Readers MUST be psychic. But like in the actual play with Tony+1 on his twitch channel, he was a psychic Sneak. And in the current actual plan I’m doing for the Kickstarter, @von the fallen is playing a Psychic Cracker

[18-Feb-21 08:34 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 08:35 PM] von the fallen#9532
And it’s been very fun playing that.

[18-Feb-21 08:35 PM] von the fallen#9532
(done)

[18-Feb-21 08:35 PM] heero2020#8387
(lolz. You don’t have to say done. I have to say done so everyone knows I’m finished answering the question)

[18-Feb-21 08:36 PM] von the fallen#9532
Oops sorry))

[18-Feb-21 08:36 PM] saintnexan#6715
Can you describe how combat works?

[18-Feb-21 08:38 PM] heero2020#8387
It’s a very simple process. First Initiative is a d6. EVERYONE rolls a d6 at the beginning of the combat and then the Moderator goes from lowest to highest each round.

On their Turn, the character takes 1 Complex Action (Attack Action, Cracking Action, Fly Action, Social Action, Psychic Action, etc.), 1 Movement, and up to 2 Bonus Actions (Say something, reload, change targets, etc.). To Attack a target, the player chooses the appropriate Attack Action (Most are based in the Brawl and Shoot skills, but some are based in other skills to give them tech/social characters a fighting chance), and then tries to meet the Target Number with their skill roll.

If the character succeeds in meeting the Target Number, they damage their Target with their weapons damage. The Target them makes a Soak roll (based on their Species Base + Armor + Cover) to lower the damage by 1 per Hit. Whatever is left drops the Target’s HP and then we move on.

HP is pretty low in this game as it’s 10+Toughness. That’s it. A moderator may let you use some Augmentations to work with that number, but I found that a lot of people thought the “Reverb Skin” suggested augmentation that returns Soaked damage to the attacker was cool enough of an option.

[18-Feb-21 08:38 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 08:41 PM] saintnexan#6715
Is damage a flat number?

[18-Feb-21 08:44 PM] heero2020#8387
Unarmed damage is USUALLY a flat number, but weapon and cyberarm type stuff is a #d6 roll. For example, a pocket knife is 1d6 whereas a Katana is 3d6+STR.

[18-Feb-21 08:46 PM] heero2020#8387
You can image that if a human had the max Toughness of 6, then they’d only have 16 HP, so a Katana could potentially flat kill them. Technically, when a character has less than 0 HP, they are not dead but dying

[18-Feb-21 08:46 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 08:46 PM] saintnexan#6715
Is there a virtual reality cyberspace?

[18-Feb-21 08:49 PM] heero2020#8387
Currently, everything is done in sortof a real-timey Augmented Reality. I wanted to keep it to the action speed the same to have Crackers and Muscles act in the same Round. BUT I planned on adding VR as a Stretch goal because it will change some of how Cracking (see Hacking works). Right now, we’re working toward the $2500 Stretch Goal, and I sent out a survey to find out what the backers preferred for the Stretch Goal. As of today, the PDF of the 3-part series I’m running on my Twitch is winning, but Rules for Virtual Reality are a close close second.

What I think will happen with Virtual Realities, besides being able to have worlds within worlds and do crazy Time Dilation stuff, But for combat, it will do something like Initiative -1 or Cracking Target Numbers -1 while using VR or some such.

[18-Feb-21 08:49 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 08:49 PM] heero2020#8387
(I can go more into Cracking/Hacking if you’d like)

[18-Feb-21 08:50 PM] saintnexan#6715
Sure, please do!

[18-Feb-21 08:51 PM] heero2020#8387
Hacking in Beta Red is called “Cracking” mostly just because I wanted to make sure the players realize that it’s a different feel than most games. In Beta Red, Cracking works like any other action and is just a matter of trying to meet the Target Number of the Cracking Action (ie Crack Augmentation, Manipulate File, etc.) in a single skill roll. And like Combat, there is a chance of conflict with either security AI called NET A.I.S. or other crackers who are working as security technicians in a system. Either way, it’s all single action stuff, so it can occur at the same time as Attack Actions, Fly Actions, etc., which really streamlines the whole process of Rounds and Turns.

There are essentially 4 kinds of things a Cracker can Crack: Devices, Drones, Robots, and Systems. Devices are basically all the stuff people have, like their smartphone, their modified gun, etc. Drones are…drones. Robots are machines implanted with AI’s that have personalities and can be player characters, etc. Systems are networks and servers that hold data and do things like transfer money, etc. It is easier to crack a device or drone, it’s harder to crack a system, and cracking a robot is the hardest of them all but can still be done (It’s a matter of beating the Robot’s Mind Save).

[18-Feb-21 08:51 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 08:52 PM] von the fallen#9532
How do drones work for the cracker?

[18-Feb-21 08:55 PM] heero2020#8387
Drones are basically tools. A Driver or A Cracker can pilot them (well, actually… anyone can pilot them, but the stat they use is either Reaction or Intelligence and the FLY skill) and then can send them in to spy on stuff, use weapons if any are attached, or allow a Cracker to connect in AR with the gear/systems the camera can spy.

This reminds me, I may have to double check that I add the phrase “Line of Sight OR Digital network connection” to when a cracker can crack

[18-Feb-21 08:55 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 08:56 PM] heero2020#8387
(or maybe I wont and leave that up to the moderator)

[18-Feb-21 08:56 PM] saintnexan#6715
How big is the book?

[18-Feb-21 08:56 PM] saintnexan#6715
Or… it’s a zine, right?

[18-Feb-21 08:57 PM] heero2020#8387
Currently 64 x A5 Pages. It is a zine

[18-Feb-21 08:57 PM] heero2020#8387
In the words of Tony Vasinda “Its the Chunkiest Zine of Zine Quest”

[18-Feb-21 08:57 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 08:58 PM] saintnexan#6715
Do you have any aspirations of making this a full-sized rulebook some day?

[18-Feb-21 08:59 PM] heero2020#8387
I joked that if I do make enough money on it to do that, I’m going to go hardback, full color, and calling it the “Corporate Sell-out Edition”… along with some appropriate Punk cover art.

[18-Feb-21 08:59 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 08:59 PM] von the fallen#9532
That would be awesome to have.

[18-Feb-21 09:00 PM] Eric_E#3204
So I shouldn’t have just backed it? 🙂

[18-Feb-21 09:01 PM] heero2020#8387
No you definitely should. Because that will be what fund the print production to get it to retailers to make the money to grow the company to print more copies until I have the money to MAKE the corporate sell-out edition

[18-Feb-21 09:01 PM] heero2020#8387
Or get bought up by Modiphius and then be the REAL corporate sell-out edition

[18-Feb-21 09:01 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 09:02 PM] Eric_E#3204
So it’s a zine. in print. I came in late, what are we talking about with my Squakbox pledge?

[18-Feb-21 09:02 PM] Eric_E#3204
Is this letter page folded in half and stapled?

[18-Feb-21 09:03 PM] heero2020#8387
The Squawkbox pledge is the top pledge. It’s the Core Rulebook in Print and PDF + the GM Screen. This will also include the Pamphlet that was just unlocked and any other physical Stretch goals.

Yes. A5 is basically 5.5×8.5, so typical letter paper folded “hamburger style”

[18-Feb-21 09:03 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 09:04 PM] heero2020#8387
(it’s currently 64 of those puppies together)

[18-Feb-21 09:05 PM] saintnexan#6715
Can you see applying this system to other genres or settings?

[18-Feb-21 09:06 PM] heero2020#8387
By good friend Jeremy Childrey has already began experimenting with the system using d10s for a ghost horror small RPG, so yeah

[18-Feb-21 09:06 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 09:06 PM] heero2020#8387
(FYI, Jeremy Childrey is the brain behind the Mothership Setting Gordinaak also in Zine Quest)

[18-Feb-21 09:07 PM] saintnexan#6715
Very nice.

[18-Feb-21 09:07 PM] saintnexan#6715
On a scale of 1-10, how cinematic is the action in this game?

[18-Feb-21 09:10 PM] heero2020#8387
Hmm… well, I guess that’s partly on how descriptive the players and moderator are. I intended for the system to be smooth and light, but have enough structure for people coming from games like D&D or Shadowrun have something work with and don’t feel like they’ve been dropped into an improv acting workshop, but light enough for them improv-y people to be able to do whatever they want….

I’d say that it’s a safe Beverly Hills Cops 6, but probably not a John Wick 9.

[18-Feb-21 09:10 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 09:10 PM] saintnexan#6715
Gotcha.

[18-Feb-21 09:13 PM] heero2020#8387
I mean, I guess it could be a John Wick 9 if that’s how the people play it up. Like, say @von the fallen says, “Okay, I’m gonna dive over the car and toss my grenade so that it flies hack over the car and land next to that guy that just came up behind me, but doesn’t go off until I land on the other side” that is perfectly within reason. Then I’d say something like “Cool. That’ll be a 4 Target Number on Athletics because you’re 1) sliding over a car while 2) throwing a grenade” and then we’d see if he can pull it off

[18-Feb-21 09:13 PM] heero2020#8387
That’s where the Feedback come in as they are a tool that players can use to gain Automatic Hits so they can pull off cool stunts like that.

[18-Feb-21 09:13 PM] heero2020#8387
(done even though it wasn’t really a question, I just wanted to elaborate)

[18-Feb-21 09:14 PM] saintnexan#6715
(phone, sorry)

[18-Feb-21 09:14 PM] heero2020#8387
(all good, I kept talking anyway :P)

[18-Feb-21 09:15 PM] heero2020#8387
(plus it was a way to poke @von the fallen )

[18-Feb-21 09:17 PM] heero2020#8387
(do you want me to fill space with some random stuff, like why I chose cyberpunk? I have some random, eruditic things to say on the topic…)

[18-Feb-21 09:17 PM] heero2020#8387
😆

[18-Feb-21 09:17 PM] heero2020#8387
(anyone else have questions?)

[18-Feb-21 09:18 PM] Eric_E#3204
Yes, any option for adding fantasy or such to replace Shadowrun?

[18-Feb-21 09:18 PM] Eric_E#3204
my group, one guy flat out prefers shadowrun over cyberpunk because of the fantasy and magic

[18-Feb-21 09:22 PM] heero2020#8387
I see. Well, in this case, I wanted to walk the line between the two. Not so much cybermage (Shadowrun) nor quite so Cyber-Real (cyberpunk) and blend in a little bit of the Japanese style, which hits on the pains of a changing society that is increasingly in love with technology but also increasingly controlled by it.

My first ever RPG came about two years AFTER I discovered the cyberpunk genre *(sorry I cut a paragraph I wrote)* and was Shadowrun, the cyberpunkian cybermage universe that led me to connect Cyberpunk with RPGs forever in my mind. But as we all know, Shadowrun is not a simple system, and sometimes it feels like they made some of the rules complex just because they wanted to rather than because it needs to be. I started getting into Cyberpunk with the hype from Cyberpunk 2077, but I found that Cyberpunk 2020 was also overly complex and based on the idea that the GM has to do this super complex math equation to determine what the difficulty of an action is, taking away the time that could be spent on creating story to determine difficulties. I wanted to do away with all the complexity and get back to creating the neo-noir, tech-based stories of the cyberpunk genre.

At its core, cyberpunk is a literary genre of class struggle, transhumanism, post-humanism, digital aesthetics, and regular, everyday protagonists in a tech-noir style story method. I wanted to focus on that, so… I’m not sure if I will add some of those tolkien/fantasy elements to the game, BUT that doesn’t mean that you couldn’t use the VR aspect to create immersive “Game Realities” or something that are basically things like WOW VR or some such to add those elements to the game

[18-Feb-21 09:23 PM] heero2020#8387
I mean, in the end, I wanted to focus on that and let the players/moderators fill in the setting specifics, similar to the tools I laid out in Maximum Apocalyse RPG. I wanted to let you control what the story is, so if you want to add more Species, like say elves, go for it. Or maybe you want to reskin robots to be Trolls, sure (they’d just be really really smart ones)

[18-Feb-21 09:23 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 09:25 PM] von the fallen#9532
So I question I have. With weapon and ammo mods, would there be like a tracker round that could fallow a target? Or maybe a cracker round a drone could fire onto a target to help out the cracker some?

[18-Feb-21 09:26 PM] saintnexan#6715
(Okay, back! Sorry about that.)

[18-Feb-21 09:26 PM] heero2020#8387
Tracker Rounds yes. That is one of the ammo mods.

Cracker round… not so much. I wouldn’t really know how that would work because if the Cracker can see the target… they can try to crack them. And the cracker has a few techniques to help themselves already, like spoofing, using gear, etc.

[18-Feb-21 09:26 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 09:28 PM] Eric_E#3204
good deal (just finished reading up above). i was thinking it sounded like adding fantasy races would be simple

[18-Feb-21 09:28 PM] saintnexan#6715
Okay, @heero2020, I’m sure you knew this was coming… What is your _least_ favorite aspect of Beta Red?

[18-Feb-21 09:30 PM] heero2020#8387
I believe it would be. Basically, every Species is adding +6 to various stats, so supposing I wanted to create Elves as a species right here… I’d probably go with something like “Elf: +2 to Reaction, +2 to Express, +1 to 2 other Stats” and that’s it. BAM! we have elves

[18-Feb-21 09:31 PM] heero2020#8387
I did. I’ve been on both sides of this Q+A a few times now. I’m just sad @danhunsaker isn’t asking the question…

[18-Feb-21 09:31 PM] saintnexan#6715
Yeah, he can be hard to come by these days…

[18-Feb-21 09:33 PM] heero2020#8387
I think it was mentioned during the Neon Blood Q+A and I hinted at it then, but I do dislike the Taint that CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 has placed on the term “Cyberpunk,” but also have a love hate with this same game. I love the game, and I think it’s a solid entry into the cyberpunk genre, but its failure on consoles has put many console gamers off anything with the name “cyberpunk” which is a problem because it is an entire Genre and not just 1 game.

On the same note, I’ve encountered several people on Social Media who believe that the entire Cyberpunk Genre stems from the R. Talsorian Games rpg rather than the opposite, which is that Cyberpunk the RPG and Video game are actually products made as a homage to the SCIFI subgenre it is named after. It’s weird that I have to explain to people some people that Akira (Manga and Movie) and Blade Runner (Book and Film) were all made BEFORE the first Edition of Cyberpunk. In fact, the list of “befores” includes Neuromancer, Appleseed, Escape from New York, Tron, Terminator, Robocop, Running Man, Black Magic M-66, and Bubblegum Crisis. It is not a small list of major BEFORE stories, but since a large portion of the public believe that these stemmed from the game and not the other way around, I’ve had some very strange discussions on placed like Reddit and Instagram with people who see my ads for Beta Red and say something like “A cyberpunk rpg? You know cyberpunk IS an RPG right? Before it was a video game, it was an RPG.”

[18-Feb-21 09:33 PM] heero2020#8387
—
But aside from that rant, I guess to contain my answer to Beta Red, I’d have to say that my least favorite aspect of Beta Red is the lack of art assets. I really didn’t have a huge budget, in fact, I used as much personal money as I could part with to get the art for this game, but I see some of the art coming out for some of the other cyberpunk games and I’m super jealous. Like Neon Blood and Gaia Complex… So cool. I love the art that I have, but I also really wish I could have gotten more. Fortunately, I decided to try to make this a Zine, so I have a small page count.

[18-Feb-21 09:33 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 09:34 PM] saintnexan#6715
Good answer!

[18-Feb-21 09:34 PM] saintnexan#6715
Before we wrap up, is there anything we haven’t covered that you’d like to mention?

[18-Feb-21 09:36 PM] heero2020#8387
I did get a chance to throw in my eruditic commentary on the cyberpunk genre earlier, so thanks @Eric_E for letting me shove that in 😛

So I guess there might be 2 things to say…. 1)So there’s a middle ground between Narrative systems like PBTA and Fates and crunchy systems like Shadowrun, Gurps, and Rolemasters. Some people argue that this middle ground is D&D 5e, but I disagree. I think that D&D 5e is actually much crunchier that people suppose, especially if you add in all the rules that people tend to ignore, houserule, or handwave, and its especially difficult, in my opinion, GMs to draft balanced encounters and make Homebrew campaigns that either don’t challenge the party or TPK. It’s a lot harder to be a DM without premade adventures and/or a monster manual in front of you.

So I went and created something that has enough crunchy bits for those players who are not capable or interested in doing tabletop improv and smooth enough to let Moderators flow with the story and players to intervene without causing a stop to review the rules and see if that needs to be lawyered. Narrative Games can be fun, but some people quite enjoy building out a character to get all the little random +1’s and extra whatevers so that they can do the super cool epic thing like “Kill a building” or “arm wrestle a giant” without it just being a handwavy story element.

Think of it like Crunchy Peanut Butter, somewhere between a jar of roasted nuts and a jar of creamy peanut better.
—

{Reactions}
👍

[18-Feb-21 09:38 PM] heero2020#8387
And 2) we should probably mention the leveling/character progression system.

There is no Leveling, only Zuul. Just kidding about the Zuul. Characters in Beta Red can only change their stats by gaining augmentations, which cost money. So, Creds € are XP in terms that they represent the potential for character progression. However, they are also used for purchasing weapons, ammo, vehicles, etc. AND used for weapon modifications. Spending money unwisely in Beta Red hurts character progression in the sense of Stat and Skill development, but does allow a character to be decked out in cool gear. However, each ‘cover charge’ or ‘additional fee’ hurts the characters much more deeply than just losing some money.

[18-Feb-21 09:38 PM] heero2020#8387
(done. That’s all I have to say :P)

[18-Feb-21 09:38 PM] saintnexan#6715
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! 🙂

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[18-Feb-21 09:38 PM] Eric_E#3204
Up above, you mentioned there are 64 put together, so is Nov 2021 realistic, or are you padding the date to allow for all that could happen?

[18-Feb-21 09:41 PM] heero2020#8387
Padding the date. It’s actually pretty together as @von the fallen can attest. I need to find an editor and I need to make sure that I have enough time in case something comes up in the production process.

I’m going to be fulfilling the PDFs through Drivethrurpg, but the books I’m going to send as Media Mail in the US and First Class International to the rest of the world. So far, I only have 137 Backers at the moment, so basically, if it’s less than 500, I shouldn’t have a problem getting them out to people. I also already made connections with the Distro people at Exalted Funeral, so I’ll be sending “retail copies” to them.

There will be a Backer Version of the PDF through DTRPG LOOOONG before November to crowdsource some edits if possible before final print run.

[18-Feb-21 09:41 PM] heero2020#8387
(done)

[18-Feb-21 09:41 PM] heero2020#8387
(Sorry Dan)

[18-Feb-21 09:41 PM] saintnexan#6715
(No worries!)

[18-Feb-21 09:42 PM] saintnexan#6715
Thanks very much for joining us once again, @heero2020!

[18-Feb-21 09:42 PM] heero2020#8387
Of course. I’ve asked my fair share of “hard questions” to people in the hot seat, it was time we turned the camera on the heckler 😛

[18-Feb-21 09:42 PM] saintnexan#6715
_chuckles_

[18-Feb-21 09:43 PM] saintnexan#6715
Give me just a minute here, and I’ll get the log posted!