Setting:Nutopia/Rules

Gettin' kinda crunchy

An orderly society.. or an almost anarchistic future needs Some kinds of rules. Presenting, in its somewhat crunchy glory, Nutopia.

Character Generation

Soldiers

Ghosts

Requires at least DX 14

Ghosts are soldiers with superhuman agility and stealth, and they are possessed of a swift, efficient brutality. When you want something killed or destroyed but with discretion and precision, you need a Ghost.

Basic implants: bionic eyes, ears, filter implant. (UT, p.209, 211) Required skills (minimum total of 14, preferably higher) (GURPS Basic Set; Characters): brawling, camouflage, Guns (rifle, pistol, shotgun, submachinegun), jumping, karate, Melee (Knife), running, soldier, stealth, jumping, running.

Recommended advantages: Daredevil, Enhanced defences (Dodge), extra attack, fit, fearlessness, silence. Recommended disadvantages: bully, callous, code of honour, duty, fanaticism, loner, sense of duty, vow. Recommended additional implants: Reinforced skeleton, Boosted reflexes, Accelerated reflexes, Two bionic arms, Two bionic legs, Bionic organ transplants, Boosted heart, Cyber claws, Gyrobalance, Neural Jack and Computer implant.

Reavers

Requires at least ST 14

Reavers are the grunts of soldier types. They do the hard work of beating down and breaking an enemy in open combat, going to where hulks cannot and bringing heavy firepower to wherever its needed.

Basic implants: bionic eyes, ears, filter implant, Neural Jack and Computer implant, reinforced skeleton, subdermal armour. (UT, p.209, 211) Required skills (minimum total of 14, preferably higher) (GURPS Basic Set; Characters): Artillery (guided missile) brawling, camouflage, Guns (grenade launcher, rifle, pistol, shotgun, submachinegun, light machinegun, LAW), Gunner (machine gun, rockets) karate, soldier, throwing. Recommended advantages: Daredevil, Enhanced defences, combat reflexes, extra attack, fit, fearlessness, gunslinger. Recommended disadvantages: Addiction (combat drugs of various types), bully, callous, code of honour, duty, fanaticism, hidebound, impulsiveness, loner, sense of duty, vow Recommended additional implants: Boosted reflexes, Accelerated reflexes, Two bionic arms, Two bionic legs, Bionic organ transplants, Boosted heart, Cyber claws, biomonitor implant, nanoweave subdermal armour. Recommended additional skills: Leadership, Tactics.

Hulks

The largest of the soldiers, Hulks are massive war machines. The core of the Hulk is the Human 'brain in a jar', though far more accurately described as in an armoured case, linked into every part of the machine body that it inhabits with artificial replacements for nearly all bodily functions and organs. When only the most withering firepower and the heaviest armor can get the job done, it's time to bring in these metal monsters.

Requirements: Size modifier +1 (9') Strength 20 and up (and up and up...). No fine manipulators on many tanklike models. HP 20+, Machine meta-trait (GURPS Basic set Characters p. 263) Basic advantages: Damage resistance 100+ (can't wear armour), Protected senses (all of them), Extra Attack, Enhanced Tracking (1), Combat reflexes, Doesn't Breath, nictating membrane(2), night vision(4), telescopic vision, Hard to kill(2). Basic Disadvantages: Electrical, Maintenance (1 basic, increasing with size), Numb, Noisy. Basic implants: Neural Jack and Computer implant. Required skills: Innate attack (projectile) gunner (machinegun, rockets), guns (rifles, light machineguns, grenade launchers, LAW), brawling, Artillery (guided missile), mechanics (robotics), computer operation, Soldier. Recommended Advantages: fearlessness, vibration sense, ultra hearing, telecommunication, sealed, scanning sense, payload, 360 degree vision. Recommended Disadvantages: bully, callous, code of honour, duty, fanaticism, hidebound, impulsiveness, loner, sense of duty, vow, no fine manipulators, social stigma, restricted diet, overconfidence.

Equipment Lists

Equipment Ideas in Need of Crunch

Railguns- These use pairs of rails (go figure) made from room temperature superconducting magnets to fling small darts at incredible speeds. They have superior armor penetration characteristics but can be loaded to deal with soft targets.

Pistols, Rifles, Long Rifles, Railcannons

Coilguns- Uses a series of electromagnetic coils (go figure, again) to heft large projectiles that would normally require a much longer barrel.

Coil Launchers (Grenade), Coil Launchers (Artillery)

Superposed Load Weapons- Uses ammunition blocks stacked nose to tail inside a barrel (See the Metal Storm family of weapons). Firing is electronic, allowing the user to decide the number of rounds fired and even from which barrels. Characterized by a potentially incredible rate of fire. Ammunition Cassestes are bulky, being comprised of multiple disposable barrels and the blocks inside of them.

Pistols, SMGs, Assault Rifles, Machine Guns, Grenade Launchers

Caseless Weapons- Uses a simple improvement on modern cased ammunition, each round is made from a bulet enclosed in propellant (See the Heckler and Koch G11 Rifle). Since there is no need to eject spent casings the rate of fire is commensurately higher than a cased weapon, though still no where near as great as that of a Superposed load gun. The firing mechanism is also somewhat more complex than most other weapons.

Pistols, SMGs, Assault Rifles, Machine Guns, Shotguns

Cased Weapons- More or less any conventional modern firearm. A firing pin strikes a percussion cap in a metal cartridge, igniting the encased powder and propelling a bullet out of the barrel.

(In addition to most actual modern weapons) Rotary Shotguns, Rotary Cannons, Auto Cannons, Shotgun Pistols

Other Stuff- Anything that doesn't fit above.

Flamethrowers (compressed gas & jellied fuel), Sound Based Riot Guns, Automatic Hypo-Dart Gun, LoSAT/LoSAA Missiles (Line of Sight Anti-Tank/Air Missiles)

Hiver Mechanics Discussion

Hiver Operation Mechanics This is discussed generally, without a specific system in mind, but one can see how it might be adapted to any system that rolls for success against a set difficulty.

A Hiver wishing to perform an action with his Implants in the world needs to worry about two things on his character sheet. Firstly, what programs relevant to the task at hand he has slotted into his implants at the moment, and what skills he might have that would allow him to better know how to achieve his task.

Programs are general instructions that help gear a Hiver’s (dis)assemblers towards a specific task, and assist their utility fog reach optimum density and power distribution for a given type of task. Programs come in many varieties, perhaps broadly split into construction and deconstruction, or some other method of categorization. They can be as broad as a simple “Deconstruct” program, or as specific as “Deconstruct: Organic Tissue” or even “Deconstruct: Aluminum”. The more specific the program, the greater a bonus it provides to its niche and a Hiver should be able to work with computer literate team mates to write new software, and work out the bonuses and purview of that software with their Signal Man.

Skills are anything in the Hiver’s repertoire that the SM considers relevant to the task at hand. General skills like “Hiver Implant Use” that come with the character package would be the base part of every test, and others might be added on depending on the situation. Again, like with programs, Hivers who find themselves doing a lot of the same thing or want to specialize in a specific task might be given leeway to create their own niche skills that give them higher rates of success within their narrow purview. Also, skills not directly associated to Hiving but related to the task might also be included. For instance, a Hiver attempting to weaken the supports of a decaying suspension bridge to halt an advancing horde of shelljacked husks would be best off specializing in deconstruction of metals, or perhaps something even more specific. However, a Hiver who did not have such a specialization, but who had knowledge of structural engineering, should be able to substitute speed and power with accuracy, picking out the weakest supports and accomplishing the job in a comparable amount of time. If he had both, then it’d be over all the quicker.

The net effect of these two factors governs both what a Hiver can do and with what speed/efficiency/effectiveness he might do it. Still needed for clarification is the precise way in which skills interact. The two ideas that I have are thus: Either skills provide a bonus directly to a single check governed by how high the skill is and its relevance, or more skills equals more chances. That is to say, factor in the relevant program, and then roll against a DC with the highest, most relevant skill. If that fails, move on to the next highest and so forth, effectively giving the Hiver another shot albeit at a lesser chance of success. The second option prevents having to cap bonuses in order to prevent automatic successes in percentile systems (like DH or EP). Critical successes increase speed or effectiveness depending on the situation or even have unintended bonuses at SM discretion, while critical failures vary similarly.

Anyway, that’s the way I’ve got it arranged in my head, I await your input eagerly. Tell me what you think works, what doesn’t etc. This is just the best way I’ve seen yet that allows a Hiver to be creative whilst still operating within realistic constraints.

Skill List

Academics: [Field] COG Knowledge Animal Handling SAV Active, Social Art: [Field] INT Knowledge Beam Weapons COO Active, Combat Blades SOM Active, Combat Climbing SOM Active, Physical Clubs SOM Active, Combat Control WIL (no defaulting) Active, Mental, Psi Deception SAV Active, Social Demolitions COG (no defaulting) Active, Technical Disguise INT Active, Physical Exotic Melee Weapon: [Field] SOM Active, Combat Exotic Ranged Weapon: [Field] COO Active, Combat Flight SOM Active, Physical Fray REF Active, Combat Free Fall REF Active, Physical Freerunning SOM Active, Physical Gunnery INT Active, Combat Hardware: [Field] COG Active, Technical Impersonation SAV Active, Social Infi ltration COO Active, Physical Infosec COG (no defaulting) Active, Technical Interest: [Field] COG Knowledge Interfacing COG Active, Technical Intimidation SAV Active, Social Investigation INT Active, Mental Kinesics SAV Active, Social Kinetic Weapons COO Active, Combat Language: [Field] INT Knowledge Medicine: [Field] COG Active, Technical Navigation INT Active, Mental Networking: [Field] SAV Active, Social Palming COO Active, Physical Perception INT Active, Mental Persuasion SAV Active, Social Pilot: [Field] REF Active, Vehicle Profession: [Field] COG Knowledge Programming COG (no defaulting) Active, Technical Protocol SAV Active, Social Psi Assault WIL (no defaulting) Active, Mental, Psi Psychosurgery INT Active, Technical Research COG Active, Technical Scrounging INT Active, Mental Seeker Weapons COO Active, Combat Sense INT (no defaulting) Active, Mental, Psi Spray Weapons COO Active, Combat Swimming SOM Active, Physical Throwing Weapons COO Active, Combat Unarmed Combat SOM Active, Combat