Pyromancer: Main Page

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Revision as of 11:07, 9 March 2010 by Asklepios (talk | contribs) (Credits)
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Synopsis

"The sky above the port was the colour of a television, tuned to a dead channel."

Thus opens Neuromancer, the seminal work of William Gibson that was one of the most significant fictional works that introduced us to the Cyberpunk genre, way back in 1984.

Since then, we've seen Cyberpunk themes and ideas pervasively infiltrate popular culture, with dystopian troubled futures and cyberpunk stylings found in many popular films, books, manga and other media. The concept has been advanced and developed too, with such ideas as tech-noir, biotech-punk and transhuman SF. We've seen reinventions and reinterpretations of cyberpunk, and the genre remains as fresh and relevant now as it did 25 years ago.

Roleplaying games have embraced Cyberpunk too, with some of the most recognised names in the industry wholeheartedly accepting the Cyberpunk ethos. From the chromed eighties-stylings of Cyberpunk 2020, to the ankh-wearing gothic punk of Vampire: The Masquerade, to the over the top fantasy of Shadowrun, the genre has made its mark in roleplaying.

This game, Pyromancer, offers yet another spin on the Cyberpunk genre, continuing the legacy of reinvention of the original concepts. It is proudly and unashamedly Cyberpunk, but I hope you find it offers something new and worth your time.

Pyromancer is set in the Shining Domain - a troubled realm in a fantasy world where the totalitarian rule of church and guild is a force of oppression, keeping the average Joe down. The powers that be maintain their stranglehold on society through control of fire - through mastery of the arcane dimension of the Realm of Flames and the energies of Pyros, they monopolise pyromantic magic and through doing so control the provision of heat, light and power to the general populace. The wealthy elite grow fat off the back of the debt-indentured masses.

Only a few have the will and strength to resist - these are The Burners, deemed outlaws and heretics by the powers that be, but seen as figures of near legend at street level. Many are not champions, but rather cynical anti-heroes, but they take a stand against the status quo, and that makes them our stories' protagonists and player characters. While Burners might be divided in methodologies and motivations, they are united in their enmity of the state, and in the fact that they turn the energies of Pyros against its would-be masters, whether through Flamerunning, Pyromancy or Pyrotech.

This is the world of Pyromancer, burn bright, fight the authorities and live dangerously...

Are you ready?

The World of Pyromancer

This sections describes the game setting.

  • The Shining Domain- An overview of the geography, history and technology of the world.
  • The Authorities - An examination of the Enemy - the powers that rule the Shining Domain.
  • The Burners - A description of the protagonists of the setting.


Systems

This section contains the rules you need to play the game.


Credits


This is a complete roleplaying game created on the rpg.net wiki by Asklepios.

The Pyromancer concept was initially conceived by TheLoneAmigo of rpg.net and used as the basis for an rpg.net wiki project called "Flamepunk". As a collaborative effort, I created rules systems while many others helped build the settinh. That game development has been abandoned for several years now - this game is a complete reboot, borrowing concepts and setting elements from that project but is a separate entity. The setting and game system presented here are inspired by but unrelated to the original Project.

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