Greetings friends!
Following on from yesterday's post I'd like to explore with you all the ideas that are stemming from the initial idea of Technomancy.
Now just in case it was misunderstood by anyone; Technomancy is not magic. It is simply a scale to reflect a person's affinity with magic. Most people have little affinity, a score of 1 or maybe 2, and to them those who are able to 'jack into' the digital network and manipulate the AI constructs within, is nothing short of magic. Hence the phrase Technomancy.
- Plus I think it's freaking cool name for a stat in a game.
Now why does anyone want a high Technomancy (Tm) score?
The answer is simple: because any interaction in the world or utilising of equipment will require use of Tm such as:
Equipment
Just like in the modern world, using many items requires a general tech know-how. Just look at a smart phone. With most of them just about anyone can send a text, but to really get the most out of it you need to be technically minded.
Because of this requirement for know-how every bit of equipment comes with a Tm requirement.
Some of them, like special ammo etc will have a Tm of 1. This means that anyone who we have as standard will be able to use these items. What this also means however is that if we decided to introduce a unit type that is brain dead (Zombies?) then we can give them a Tm stat of 0, instantly locking them out from these equipment items.
Then you have those items that have a higher requirement of 2, these are things like digi-scopes, medi kits and Level1 Auto-Hacks. These can only be used by those with a Tm score of 2+ which currently is limited to Gang Leaders and Vets (not hireable from the get-go).
After this you have more advanced items, things like Level 2-3 Auto Hacks, Decks (the tools used by Hackers to 'jack' into the AI Network) and more advanced Medi-Kits. These require a 3+ Tm to use.
Last but not least are the mythical Tm 4+ items. These are super hard to find and are expensive to buy, however they consist of items such as 'auto-docs', advanced decks and mechs.
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The Environment
Next up comes the Environment itself.
The most obvious are doors. Every door in Gang War can be locked and unlocked. Doing so on a standard door is a single interact action requiring the user to be in Base to Base contact with the door and passing a single Tm roll (rolling equal to or under their Tm stat on 1d6).
Some doors such as Security Doors require 2 rolls to do so. In order to do this twice means it needs to be split over 2 turns. High Security doors require 3 rolls and therefore 3 turns. The number of turns required is known as a 'Hack Duration' or HD.
- I should point out that once Locked, a door can only be 'relocked' once it is fully unlocked.
Of course there are ways you can make this easier. If you have a Hacking Deck (or just Deck for short) then you can perform any Tm based action within 6" of the target and does not require Line of Sight to do so. Plus if your unit has the skill 'Hacker' you can reduce any Hack Duration by 1. Luckily Hackers once hired come with this skill, so give them a Deck and they can auto-lock or unlock any non-security door from 6" without requiring a roll - they are required however to still spend at least 1 Interaction doing so.
Other environmental factors are victory objects such as Databases, Computers etc. these as standard are always held behind High Security doors and themselves require a further 3 HD to hack.
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Random Deployments
Now something that has just come out from today's Sounding Board with my game guru is Random Deployments.
The idea behind Random Deployments is that at the start of the game, after terrain is placed but before Gang deployment, each player gets a number of deployment items they can place. The number determined is by the Width of the board. If you are playing on a 2x2 board then each player gets 2. If a 3x3 board and each player gets 3. If a 2widex3long then each player gets 2 etc.
What each player gets is determined by a random roll on a Random Deployment table but they are all items that can be interacted with via Tm.
So far the items consist of the following list:
Credit Cache - Extra Credits at the end of the game.
Medi-Cache - Free Medi-Kits
Explosive Barrel - An item that when activated goes BOOM.
Discarded Hog - A single person motorcycle that provides little protection but is fast and allows for hit&run attacks by the rider.
Faulty Mech/AI - A mech that begins the game as inactive but when any unit goes within 8" of it will activate and attack with firepower. This mech can however be hacked and will fight for the hacker (and in turn can be re-hacked by the opposition).
Once you have determined which Random Deployments each player has access to they can be placed anywhere on the opposing side of the board providing it is outside of their deployment zone.
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And there we have it.
As I said in yesterday's post; knowing your own Tm and that of your opponent is an important part of the game and getting it to work in an effective way through skills and equipment can be the difference between victory or failure.
Until next time; stay safe!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
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