User:Bill/Hyperstructure Aurora

Overview

Hyperstructure Aurora is a vast, self contained, tower complex inhabited by the wealthy and powerful of a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Surrounded on all sides by desperate refugees the dictatorial regime within uses force to subjugate the terrorized masses huddled below its nigh indestructible walls. Ravaged by disease, poverty, and the predations of monsters both human and inhuman the desperate retches of the refugee shanty town look for any opportunity to gain entrance to Aurora.

Characters

Player Characters

Dead On Arrival	A master sniper.
Nailo	A draconic alien shape-shifter capable of amazing feats of strength.
Quintus Sertorius Valens	A wolf-like humanoid alien armed with psychic abilities and grafted armor, dedicated to enforcing justice and protecting the weak.
Seth Milan	Victim of a strange mystical ritual, Seth must struggle against the demon that has been bound inside him.
Sumrip	A humaniod alien assassin armed with an array of useful items including a cybernetic arm, an energy blade, and his powerful mind.
Turgon	A deadly combat cyborg.

Non-Player Characters

Didac	Two-headed mutant crimeboss.
Mechon	Cyborg drug dealer and smuggler.
Mistress Katrina	A psychic vampire involved involved in prostitution.
Marius	A strange tattooed preacher consumed by visions of destruction.

TriStat dX

While incredibly versatile, TriStat dX is almost crippled by its own flexibility. Without clearly defined ranges of minimum and maximum players flounder and often leave some bad loop-holes in their characters. This problem is easily resolved by defining some basic setting assumptions and some systemic limits though.

Setting Assumptions

Super-Science Weapons and Armor

Hyperstructure Aurora is set in the far flung future where technology has advanced considerably.

• Ray guns can easily destroy a person in a single shot and body armor exists that can absorb or deflect that kind of punishment. Likewise these armors are completely resistant against conventional weapons.
• To reflect this I establish the damage rating for high-tech weapons to be 60 and the armor rating to be 40. This allows a successful attack that inflicts even 50% damage to cripple an unarmored human and an attack of at least 75% damage to harm an armored person or object.
• Bigger structures have a higher armor value.
• Bigger weapons inflict more damage.
• These weapons and armors should be purchased as Items of Power or Own a Big Mecha for balancing purposes.

Build a Gun

Build an Armor

Magic

Magic exists and can be used in either brief, combat effective, spells or longer more time consuming rituals. Living sacrifices increase the power of spell casters.

• TriStat dX can simulate this via individual Attributes purchased with appropriate PMVs and Defects, as a Divine Relationship, or Dynamic Powers.
• Most, if not all, Attributes intended to reflect magic should include the Burns Energy defect and Requires Skill Roll as a restriction.
• Attributes intended to reflect a "natural" magical ability may have no restrictions, but Burns Energy is still recommended.
• For balancing reasons magical abilities should not exceed the offensive or defensive guidelines laid out for Super-Science weapons and armor above.

Psychic Powers

The existence of extra-sensory perception and psychokinesis are readily accepted facts. These abilities are primarily genetic though most humans are capable of reaching deep within themselves to gain access to one power or another.

• TriStat dX simulates psychic abilities through a variety of Attributes.
• Attributes purchased as psychic powers should include the Burns Energy and Concentration defects. They may also require the Requires Stat [Spirit] Roll Restriction.
• For balancing reasons psychic abilities should not exceed the offensive or defensive guidelines laid out for Super-Science weapons and armor above.

Alien Life

Strictly speaking anything not from Earth is an alien, regardless of whether it arrived via space-craft, summoning ritual, or extra-dimensional gateway.

• Virtually anything goes as far as the appearance and powers of any given alien. However, for balancing reasons they should not exceed the offensive and defensive guidelines laid out for Super-Science weapons and armor above.