User:Bill/Hyperstructure Aurora

Status

Terminated

Setting

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.

While these notes were intended to support my Hyperstructure Aurora game I think they could be applied to virtually any cross-genre TriStat dX game where the players are empowered to create their own equipment and powers.

Government

Aurora is presided over by an oligarchy composed of 13 appointed ministers called the civil governance council. These 13 men and women represent broad divisions, such as the military and public health, in the society of Aurora. It is intended to be a meritocracy, however many of these seats are gained at least as often through political maneuvering as they are by skill in the area that the minister is supposed to represent and manage. Ministers are appointed for life by a two-thirds majority vote of the other 12 ministers. By tradition, members of the civil governance council of Aurora step aside after a term of 20 years. The prime minister, who is empowered to act without council approval in emergencies and who's vote breaks ties in council decisions, is elected by simple majority every five years.

The civil governance council has been extremely conservative since the global disaster that caused the enormous loss of life on earth and the collapse of most governments. For the last 13 years it has been led by Prime Minister Konrad Brewer, a former general in Aurora's armed forces. Brewer is nearing the end of his 20 year term on the civil governance council. It's rumored that he's planning to break tradition and continue to holding his seat. Other members of the council are jockeying for support in their bid for his seat while simultaneously grooming candidates among the military to take Brewer's seat as minister of defense. This has some interesting consequences as high ranking officers in the military attempt to distinguish themselves by backing new hardware projects, engaging in sweeping counter terrorist operations, and otherwise pushing the boundaries of what would be considered normal and acceptable behavior.

Society

Within the hyperstructure one's status may be determined by his or her address. The more wealthy and powerful a person is the higher and more towards the center of the structure they live. The poor and recently admitted live in the lower, subterranean areas, close to the garrison and central power core. While that could represent a potential security risk, the waiting list for permission to enter Aurora is several years long and only those able to endure tremendous scrutiny make it through the process. Most of the workers of Aurora live at ground level and up to the first fifteen stories, along side the factories and hydroponic systems that sustain the population. Administrators and managers reside between levels sixteen and twenty-four while levels twenty-five to thirty are taken up by recreational facilities. Above level thirty are the living quarters of the highest managers and the ministers. At the very top of the titanic hyperstructure are the council chambers.

The existence of psychic abilities and the manipulation of arcane forces came to be accepted long after Aurora was constructed. The ministers have long upheld the conservative traditions of their forbears and thus the practice of magic remains outlawed within the hyperstructure itself. In the shanty-town that sprung up around Aurora over the last half century there is no such restriction. Similarly the use of psychic abilities is frowned upon in polite society though there is no law prohibiting psychics from living and working in Aurora. Psychics seldom rise above middle management or the rank of captain in the armed forces in this climate. Aliens are never permitted to reside in the hyperstructure, though they may apply for and receive work passes or enter with a special visitors pass.

The Shanty Town

Aurora is surrounded on all sides by the hungry and desperate refugees of the outside world. Most of the shanty town is constructed of recycled materials procured from the city that formerly surrounded the hyperstructure including entire buildings that survived the cataclysm, the tallest of which are up to six stories. A mile wide no-mans-land between Aurora and the shanty town is kept clear by squads of soldiers that patrol it. The soldiers are none too gentle about evacuating squatters either. Numerous complaints of brutality fall on the civil governance council's deaf ears every month. The shanty town extends for several miles in all directions and continues to slowly expand. Some members of the civil governance council have suggested that it would be better to restrict the growth of the shanty town fearing that too large a refugee population could result in an attempt to seize the city. Others have suggested that the shanty town provides a valuable first line of defense and that those living there are expendable. This position is not publicly known, though even if it were few would see it as more than uptown arrogance.

For most the hyperstructure represents hope and a dream of a better life. Gaining entry is the only reason why they are there and the only reason that they stay. For others though the shade of Aurora is exactly where they want to be. These individuals and clandestine organizations see the huddled throng as an opportunity for wealth and power that is simply unattainable for those who are admitted to the sterile halls of the hyperstructure. These men and women trade in all manner of goods and services both legal and illegal. For those seeking refuge in Aurora dealing with the black market and gangsters is an unpleasant necessity. There is no unified criminal syndicate though. The civil governance council maintains a hands off policy regarding all but the most dangerous of criminal activities in the shanty town, but has stepped in to break up gangs that get too large or influential. It's rumored that they have spies everywhere and that the civil governance council also targets people that speak out against their policies too loudly. Disappearances are so common in the shanty town though that these accusations are usually dismissed as conspiracy theory.

The gangs of Aurora's shanty town are without question dangerous and many people are killed in the clashes between them. They are however not the worst thing that the Shanty town has to offer. Such a large mass of humanity has attracted many demonic entities and rapacious aliens. Most appear human or are shape-shifters but others have human allies that conceal their existence. The few military patrols of Aurora within the shanty town are generally seeking these monsters. Destroying these kinds of monsters and the cults that worship them has been made a priority by the civil governance council, but they do not wish to commit too many resources to save people that are most likely going to die from disease or hunger anyway. As a result the patrols are mostly for show and only when there is a major disturbance are armored assault troops deployed.

Non-Player Characters

Integral to the setting are the characters that the players interact with. These are some of the people that came up in the game that I ran.

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 base damage rating for high-tech weapons to be 60 and the base rating of armor 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 [Mind] 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.

Characters

Character Creation

Player characters for Hyperstructure Aurora were permitted to have any imaginable background story as long as they could be created using 115 points plus 5 mandatory points of character defects. Players were allowed to have as many as an additional 3 points of defects, for an effective total maximum of 123 points.

Most stats are expected to fall within the normal range for human beings; with 4 being average and 12 being the maximum capacity normally attainable by humans.

At this point value characters also begin play with 30 skill points. Additional skill points are available by using the Highly Skilled Attribute. Skill ratings should not exceed 4 except in special cases.

Humans

The vast majority of beings living in the shanty town of Aurora are human or indistinguishable from humanity. This is the result of a strong xenophobia propagated by the civil governance council. Regular ad campaigns are conducted to promote fear of aliens, highlighting common differences such as language, appearance, and diet. The typical resident of the shanty town is absolutely convinced that anyone who doesn't look human is morally degenerate or worse a ravening killer. Those who have had extensive cybernetic reconstruction are also subject to this sort of prejudice.

Taking this into account most player characters should at least appear human.

Non-Humans

Those who are obviously not human will need to take the Ism Defect at a level commensurate with how far from normal their appearance deviates. As a rough guideline:

• Ism 1 indicates that the character has one major difference in his or her appearance from normal humans such as oddly colored eyes, a forked tongue, or some other feature that may be concealed. He or she will experience some discrimination, usually in the form of poor service and being more closely scrutinized than normal humans.
• Ism 2 indicates that the character has several major differences in his or her appearance from normal humans, but can still pass for human with a lot of effort. Heavily modified cybernetic organisms often fall into this category as well. Characters that vary this much from normal will experience substantial discrimination including denial of services and people crossing the street to avoid being in his or her path. Hate groups may specifically target the character if he or she complains about this treatment.
• Ism 3 indicates that there is no way that the character can be mistaken for a human being. Cybernetically enhanced men and women who have installed additional arms, tentacles, or who have otherwise modified their appearance to the point that their human origins are questionable also fall into this category. Characters that deviate this far from normal will be denied entry to many establishments, risk random assault on the street, and may be targeted by hate groups.

Regardless of where a character falls on this continuum they can expect to receive very little support or aid from law enforcement due to the unofficial anti-alien policies of the civil governance council.

Skills

Tri-Stat applies a variable cost for each skill based upon the utility of the skill in the setting. The more useful it is the more skill points it costs. Hyperstructure Aurora is a hybrid genre game featuring elements of post-apocalyptic stories and horror stories; featuring advanced technology, mutant powers, magic, and psionics. Use the following cost for each skill.

Skill	Cost	Skill	Cost
Acrobatics	4	Performing Arts	1
Animal Training	2	Physical Sciences	2
Architecture	2	Piloting	2
Area Knowledge	3	Poisons	2
Artisan	2	Police Sciences	2
Biological Sciences	2	Power Usage	5
Boating	2	Powerlifting	4
Burglary	3	Riding	2
Climbing	2	Seduction	2
Computers	3	Sleight of Hand	2
Controlled Breathing	1	Social Sciences	2
Cultural Arts	1	Sports	1
Demolitions	3	Stealth	3
Disguise	3	Street Sense	3
Domestic Arts	2	Swimming	2
Driving	2	Urban Tracking	3
Electronics	2	Visual Arts	1
Etiquette	2	Wilderness Survival	3
Foreign Culture	1	Wilderness Tracking	3
Forgery	2	Writing	1
Gaming	1	Combat Skills
Interrogation	3	Archery	2
Intimidation	3	Gun Combat	5
Languages	1	Heavy Weapons	4
Law	1	Melee Attack	5
Management/Admin	2	Melee Defence	5
Mechanics	2	Ranged Defence	6
Medical	3	Special Ranged Attack	5
Military Sciences	3	Thrown Weapons	4
Navigation	3	Unarmed Attack	5
Occult	3	Unarmed Defence	5

Player Characters

These characters appeared in the original Hyperstructure Aurora experiment.

Larry "DOA" Lebowitz	A master marksman and tracker armed with an almost endless array and variety of weapons.
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.