Appendix G

Appendix G
Click on Appendix G to reach the Dreaming Gynoid store

Monday, January 6, 2020

Who is the Man in White?


Today is 006/11,020 Third Empire                                                                         1061r/I/6
General action notice all agents - junior Agent & SigInt Liaison Hoilden Juric
Agent Juric was abducted two progressions ago believed 345/11,019
Held and interrogated for at least 10 days.  Perpetrator known to SecFor; no listed biometrics.

General Dispatch Issued – Warrant for Identification, Observation, and Capture

Description-
Unidentified apparent unclassed biped/organic Humanoid, 2m
c. 73 kg
pale skin, short trimmed flaxen head hair, no other visible facial or bodily hair
Two eyes, external ears, visible manipulators (four fingers, thumb)
Affectation – Unmarred white suit of unusual cut and unknown origin, gloves, running shoes.   Subject is barefaced but retains use of brimmed hat and glasses. 

statistical projections
          male
          Humanoid (mongrel)
          Training in the Parasciences and Advanced Unarmed Combat techniques
          No biometrics or identifying data of any kind.  
Possibilities (grouped by greater statistical likelihood)
          Subject is Ghost, Spectral Entity, or other Sub-etheric form
          Subject is custom grown life form designed to leave no traces
          Subject is rogue hologram, likely Pratamathic.   Inquires in progress
Notes: Sky City and Umbra City Security Forces found to have record of multiple contacts with believed same individual in the last 36 days.  (Records enclosed)

Clearance only – Agent Juric was interrogated by an unequipped professional.  Partial debrief suggests a foreign element, perhaps from a far Splinter, other Temporal reference point, or Extra-Imperial polity.
Location and observation of possible rogue element priority, apprehension of possible rogue element priority.   



Mysterious Man in White (1): Init +1; Atk weapon +1 fist (1d3) and/or weapon;
AC 13; HD 1d10; hp 11  MV 30; Act 1d20?; SP Electronic Warfare Value; SV Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +3; AL C.
EWV 3
What is the Man in White?   And why doesn’t this stat block represent what Imperial Security has encountered?
Is he a sorcerer?  Scientist? What threat does he represent to the people of Noir?



SECFOR RECORDS
Sky City SecFor Blotter logged 0330 hours/326/11,019
Intense winds and electrical storm overcome environmental controls
-SecFor deployed haphazardly and threadbare across Sky City

Logged 0723 hours/326/11,019
Individual Lurker in Sky City Entertainment District.
-SecFor squad deployed, all down with injury within 30 seconds of contact.
-SecFor general scramble; 5/6 units in vicinity responded & engaged
-ITEM all units disabled with injury within 72 seconds of contact, responding units interrogated and searched

0800 hours/326/11,019 General Alert; All Deployments Notice
ADN perpetrator sought in connection with disturbance of the peace, failure to provide biometrics, resisting arrest, and 10 counts unarmed assault on Security Forces. 
Perpetrator designated Dangerous, Potentially Hostile. No biometrics on file.
Perpetrator untyped Humanoid, archaic white suit, partially barefaced.

0900 Logged 0847 disruption at Chodak Municipal Sphere, perp sighted, multiple witnesses, perp believed attempted to access public computer

Logged 0913 hours/326/11,019
Electronic Security and Access break in, municipal tube station nexus Alpha


Umbra city SecFor Blotter Logged 0946 hours/326/11,019 
individual SecFor patrol officer found in sabotaged Tubestation capsule, stripped of gear and clothing.

Logged 1011 hours/326/11,019
Unauthorized computer access Chodak Central Communication Cone – a pay for use public terminal was physically hacked and information security was compromised.
Believed related to

Logged 1312 hours/326/11,019
SecFor assault; three SecFor officers found and treated for multiple trauma, all had been individually assaulted by perpetrator while attempting computer access. 
Believed related to
 Logged 1339 hours/326/11,019
Five computer terminals Chodak Central Communications Core found sabotaged.





Sub-ether no 1 and what’s to come


Sub-ether no 1 and what’s to come

USER ALERT
(((Imperial Frequencies Found))) 


So, the first issue of Sub-ether is out and seems to be doing well.  Let’s talk about Future issues.  I talked about outlining what’s going in the rest of them a few posts back. Where here that is.

So that’s seven in total.  I have bits and bobs for more here and there (the Space Alphabet column for example – while no I don’t have 26 entries written, I do know what 23 of those 26 are and have written more than I have issues for Sub-ether.   Possibly at that time I may see how Goodman feels about a SPACE ALPHABET book.
If anyone has any ideas or dare, I say it, suggestions for such a thing. LMK. If anyone is already doing such a thing, also, please LMK  I have no desire to punk anyone’s existing projects. I know how that burns. 
Anyway, back to Sub-ether. 
Each issue will be as long as it needs.
I am happy to take submissions if anyone is interested, at least in theory.  Perhaps I should scribble down a post about that too?

Sub-ether 2- Aloft on Phlogiston Winds  is the Raid on Planetoid issue; a full funnel for Galaxy Black and DCC.  Includes articles about the Maenad Space Pirates (including a full class and generation), Space lore and society, Also  the ICSS Serendipity as a ship for PC voyaging.   Jam Packed of weird space adventure.

Sub-ether  3  the spice pirates issue; adventure for 0-1 levels on the world of Saxus II, free the slaves and smash the Clan of the White Sun.  Make a fortune on all that seized Boosterspice. 
Details the core world of Saxus, the machinations of the Spice Control Commission, the shapeshifting menace of the Clan of the White Sun.  Should also have the Imperial Tarot, and another Starships of the Galaxy article.

Sub-ether 4  - Special Splinters issue; travel through the Sub-ether on voyages across Possibility and Probability.  Travel across the anywhen and neverwhere and sail or warp into billions of possible Splinters of reality.  Includes new options for your Splintershifter, and maybe a version of the Neon Pacific 9mm stuff I did a few years ago.  (That last part is iffy)   Also features Egg Drop Soup, detailing an imperial science station in close orbit of a black hole.

Sub ether 5 Will be the legion issue; time to get your military SF on  all of the mil spec stuff pulled from Galaxy Black gets it’s time to shine here as well as mission generators, squad games where everyone’s playing a fireteam of 3, and more.  Jam packed full of stuff.
Related -  has anyone ever tried to render the DCC rule down into something that could be used in a hex and counter style simulation game?  Asking for a future version of myself.

Sub-ether 6 Secrets of the Navigators  - blowing the doors off what has already come before.   Possibly an extra class, but definitely all manner of Navi secrets and psy powers; how to run a Navigator game.  Options options options. All about the Navi houses and more. 
If I decide I hate myself and hate ya’ll more, I will clean up this timeline thing that has emerged from all this writing. Likely I don’t hate anyone that much, but we’ll see. 😊

Sub-ether 7  Galaxy White – This is the End; this issue will be themed around a variant where the Empire has fallen and space itself is unraveling.   

If we’re still going after that we’ll see. I have one or two other notions, but this is what’s in the hopper so far.   Sub-ether 2 should drop just before, as, or shortly after Galaxy Black drops, later in the year. At that time, I should have a better idea when 3 and 4 will be coming.  

Welcome to Noir, land of entertainment, spies, crime and a case of good old fashioned 667th century dystopian urban renewal blues


Welcome to Noir, land of entertainment, spies, crime and a case of good old fashioned 667th century dystopian urban renewal blues


Only the hollow, ones for steel,
go first and first
They know not but to die and die
            Tnq1181, thumpah poet

Not that I’m trying to sell this as some kind of “Multimedia experience” bullshit, just …this is how I role. Now you can benefit.


Soundtracks
In the Imperial Shadow – sounds of the Underworld crawl



This supplements the shorter and more essential list on pp 20-21
In some cases, especially a work like this, I find it helpful and insightful to share one’s influences and provide some additional light into where certain concepts came from and the like. Also, in general. I like to show my work. 😊   So that said,

Some additional sources for Maleth Noir, inspirational and otherwise

Taking it back to the people.
I won’t lie, a lot of Maleth Noir comes from long conversations with people who only know cyberpunk from RPGs and so have this warped idea that it’s all about hardware and guns for some reason. It isn’t about those things at all.   It’s about oppression and classism and society and a few rare individuals rising up and getting the hell out of that – something any DCC Zero would understand immediately.
Cyberpunk isn’t about flashy corporate killers with infinite expensive accounts. Those are the Bad Guys.   Cyberpunk is about having none of those things and opposing that guy anyway, knowing you’re probably going to die, because it’s the right thing to do or because you can’t abide the thought of a person like that coming out ahead….or just because you have been given no choice.
Or, you know, the old ultraviolence – kill them and take their stuff. Though on Noir you’re doing it up close with your bare hands or a blade.  Like traditional DCC characters. 😊
Alright, screed concluded[1]. 

So as stated, here’s some more idea-stuff to get the juices going.  I love Noir, I love urban crime movies. And I do love me some dark future stylings. This list could go on and on AND ON, but these are the most important, the cream of the crop, or my personal go-tos for the kind of mayhem and shenanigans that I expect most will get up to.  It is by NO means exhaustive.

NO REALLY JUDGE DREDD I can’t stress this enough. Go read early progs of 2000 AD or the Cursed Earth collection, maybe the Judge Cal storyline, the Apocalypse War, etc. Any of it. IT’s all good and very germane.   (Though Megacity 1 is pro’lly a bit closer to Dome City or one of the other ConUrbs in that it has vehicle traffic and a lot of it.)
Hardware 1990 also based on a tale originally from……….2000AD  (it’s the gold standard around here okay?)
Since I keep harping on how good 2000AD is, other relevant fictions (however marginally)
Robo Hunter                                       Ro-Busters and ABC Warriors
Strontium Dog                                   Nemesis  the Warlock
Rogue Trooper                                   the Ballad of Halo Jones
And of course, all the Judge Dredd secondary stuff, esp. as pertains Judge Anderson. And the Death Judges. 

And (esp. where pertains Sky City) – Classic/modern crime/Noir films set in Los Angeles
Chinatown[2] & the Two Jakes 1990
Devil in a Blue Dress 1995(wonderful adaptation of the Easy Rawlins novel by Walter Mosley)
To Live and Die in L.A. 1985 – so. 80s.
The Salton Sea 2002
Wonderland 2003
Blade Runner 1982
The Last Boy Scout 1991
The Big Lebowski 1998

And no few random films about the entertainment industry and Hollywood
Looker 1981 Albert Finney – v. dated but important to how this turned out
Wild Palms 1993 event tv cyberpunk;  dated but interesting; definitely gets the hallucinatory nature of a world full of holography down just right even if it’s not trying to do that.  Also, don’t forget your briefcase dear.
LA Confidential 1997
Who Framed Roger Rabbit 1989 – Yes, I’m serious.  Swap Toontown for the City of Lights.   Little changes.
The Long Goodbye specifically the 1973; Leigh Bracket did the screenplay
Mulholland Drive 2001  David Lynch. Peak Lynch.  So, this may attract or repulse you

And of course, good clean fun. Crime movies. Modern noir to simple violence.  Those that are not festooned with firearms heave far closer to the Noir aesthetic, in both senses.
Hardboiled
The Killer
Layer Cake
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Snatch
B.U.S.T.E.D.
Formula 51

Obvious but there is also the Godfather movies. (Both of them).  Congratulations, you’ve taken control of the Slumstack. Now,  the residents are coming to you, respectfully, with their problems. What do you do?   Start a generational crime saga obviously!

Pure Noir films – just a few essentials
The Third Man – this movie is why Noir exists.  Exemplar of the genre.
D.O.A. – both versions though one of them is painfully late 80s
Kiss me Deadly
The Long Goodbye specifically the 1973; Leigh Bracket did the screenplay
The Grifters
Sunset Boulevard 1950
Key Largo, the Maltese Falcon, etc.
The Thin Man – when you need a break from all the mindless suspense these are timeless escapist films.

Oh, and books too!  A lot of it non-genre fiction but that’s okay.  Diversify your interest!
-          Silver, Ira Levin
-          When Gravity Fails, The Slaver’s Kiss – George Alec Effinger
-          Caves of Steel, the Naked Sun, Foundation – Isaac Asimov
-          Sunfall – C.J. Cherryh
-          Friday – Robert Heinlein
Noir and it’s antecedent the hard boiled crime novel,  started in the pulps.  Don’t forget the Continental Op.  Don’t forget that Sam Spade started in the writing of Dashiell Hammett first.



A couple of things were more directly influential Noir and the Sky City sprawl in particular –
Megacity-1  Really do ‘I have to point this out?
Sunfall C.J. Cherryh  the way the various cities each have grown away from each other into their own realm almost strongly influenced the basic make up of each of the larger City-states on Noir
Battle Angel Alita – the anime adaptation in particular as I’m not familiar with either the source manga or the recent film.   A few things but the big one being the basic divide between Umbra ns Sky City came from this.
The basic premise of the first ep of Silent Möbius comes to mind as well.   Pro’lly what some city’s V-Squads are like.

And finally, of course gaming influences
Cyberpunk, R. Talsorian Games, 1989
No, NOT Cyberpunk 2020, the one that came before.  It was printed on a Mac FFS, that’s cyberpunk as hell, especially in 1988.    HUGE old School DIY props there.  
Cybergeneration, R. Talsorian Games, 1993
A million times more cyberpunk than anything else they put out. This game if released today and marketed right would set the world on fire[3].   (Just call it OK Boomer….)
SLA Industries Yes, I know the Secret. Yes, this recommendation stands.  Are you nuts? This game is brilliant as hell.  

“The police don’t enforce laws; they don’t even get busy until after the laws are broken. They solve crimes at a pitifully low rate of success. What the police are, to be honest, is a kind of secretarial pool that records the names of the victims”
Marîd Audran[4], When Gravity Fails









[1] R Talsorian’s Cybergeneration was WAY more cyberpunk than Cybperunk 2020 ever was. Fight me.
[2] Fuck Roman Polanski, pirate the damn movie.

[3] For 2020, Just call it “Okay Boomer”

[4] A total bastard but a quotable one


Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Sub-ether number one is LIVE

As it is only appropriate to release my cyberpunk themed issue in January of 2020…
The first issue of Sub-ether is LIVE
Are you foolhardy, brave, or stupid enough to save the Underworld?

MALETH NOIR
A Pit of CHROME AND FLESH
By the DREAMING GYNOID


















Monday, December 30, 2019

SNEAKING THROUGH THE TOTALITARIAN FILTER - a Retrospective of 2019 and looking forward to 2020


“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”


Ya’ll remember the Nature – Demeanor divide from crusty old white wolf?   Well mid-November my archtetypes were talking.

Demeanor:  “Hey asshole, I may be starving but I’m starving with a clear conscience.”
Self-righteously gives everyone the finger
Nature:  “OOOOH we’re starving with a clear conscience  I feel better already….”

No I’m not walking back anything.  😊  But I am charging a buck and some change for the first issue of Sub-ether. If I do another Blasphemy Leak it will also likely be expecting you to cough up some credits.   I like paying rent. (Not true, paying rent is capitalism but I don’t have much of a choice in the matter; the alternatives are undesirable)

So what’d we accomplish?   -  The butcher’s bill for 2019
One book, two “zines”  (air quotes because the second of the two is almost twice the length of the ‘book’ – down with needless symmetry!  In seriousness though this does get something across Every work will be as long (or as short) as it needs to be.

Don’t know what I’m talking about? Haven’t seen them?  GET THEM HERE https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/15028/Dreaming-Gynoid

Also a mention, while it isn’t out yet, Galaxy Black is in fukkin layout.  The work[1] of nearly two years is almost over.  Am taking the holiday week to tweak the psychic disciplines and some of the Maker sequences but otherwise the text is set ya’ll.  
How long will final layout take? I have no actual idea.   I am going to be moving the chapters around so until I have that part done any ballpark figure I could give would be useless. Spring earliest. But that would be the ideal.
I’m in negotiations with an artist for a really cool piece for the cover so there is also that :D 
Book will be hardcover, black and white (other than the outside) and it will comparable to a textbook in that you will likely be able to do serious damage to someone if used as a melee weapon.
It may be optimistic but I’d like Sub-ether no. 2 to drop with or shortly after Galaxy Black goes live. The funnel in it was designed as an intro adventure and has lots of basic concept walk throughts (which – I don’t say this to be an arse – will be necessary for some tables.  This book is DENSE folks.   There is so much in Galaxy Black.  Don’t worry it’s modular as hell but you certainly can use it all at once!) – also will likely be the only other issue to have any ‘preview’ content – though I do maintain that the duplication of data is quite minimal.   I err on the side of not needing additional materials beyond the DCC core for Sub-ether regardless).

I have Sub-ether two and much of three already done;  I have stuff for about three – five more after that depending but they are well past anything I’m worried about right now.   After Sub-ether goes live (January folks) I may do a post outlining what the other five issues will be about.  (Yes I already know)

Other things we managed to do that improved on 2018 and before
Well hey no heart attacks.  In fact my blood pressure hasn’t been this low in like 20 years. Mind you, the meds I take to achieve this feat give me the perpetual hacking cough of someone who *didn’t * quit smoking in 2007 (which I *DID* thanks) which you gotta know IM TOTALLY INTO.
Hail Pharmacopeia. I’ll take +5 on my next save v. drugs or toxins.   :P 
That last will make a little more sense when GB is out…..

Run  some games that were not just playtests
Or. Oh yeah. FUN.
At one point for about five seconds I had three games going at once.   Regular meetings though even on the internet are just not a thing for adults in this day and age, as it has been since Uni for most of us.  Bleargh.

Start getting serious about my photography.  This is a separate post and maybe not for here but I think I leveled up my visual media or something this year.   Across the board even.  Happy – VERY  HAPPY with this actually. Did not think I *could* get better at those things.   And I have. And I like it.  (Meanwhile in some lower plane I demonstrably have  a graphic designer trapped that is wanting to get out or maybe just design more stuff..  Who knew?) 
There’s a secret unannounced project I am working with a collaborator on (two books actually but…see already I’ve said too much) that I am increasingly thinking will look good with photographs for art.   Near recent historical.  Can’t say much more. Wanting to do the book as an Artifact like that is…ambitious to put it mildly.   I’m not sure I can do it. (I have not in fact mentioned this to my co-conspirator yet.  Too late just did.)
But like the song says

Cuz I like high chances that I might lose,
I like it all on the edge just like you, ayy
I like tall buildings so I can leap off of 'em
I go hard wit' it no matter how dark it is[2]

Everything I have ever accomplished was done with persistence and pure fucking will.   This should be no different.   
On that relatively WAY optimistic note I will leave you with an uplifting note from a wholly DIFFERENT song.
The thought for 2020 comes from the soundtrack to the movie, er TREMENDOUS 80s ROLLER DISCO LASER BEAM DRUGS?NAH- MYTHOLOGY!  EXPEIRENCE
…Xanadu. 


You have to believe we are magic
Nothing can stand in our way
You have to believe we are magic
Don't let your aim ever stray
And if all your hopes survive
Destiny will arrive



Enough retrospective. A new year, a new decade, a new future awaits.  Let’s take that hill together. 


[1] Work, Revision, Playtesting, Revision, Work, revision, Playtesting, Work, Work, Work, Playtesting, Revision, Revision, Revision, Revision, Revision, Work, Learning curve, Revision, Computer failure, Doing the Work over again, and again , and a third time.  Revision, Playtesting, playtesting, playtesting, work, work, work, existential crisis, existential crisis x 5000, existential crisis OVER 9,000, work, revision, revision, revision, revision, hints of satisfaction, revision, work, work, playtesting, work, work, work, Revision, Playtesting like a Boss, playtesting, playtesting, being hungry, playtesting, playtesting, blood, playtesting, PLAYTESTING, revision, revision, revision, revision, work, revision, playtesting.
Or something very much like that.  
[2] What’s up Danger – from Into the Spiderverse. I am a big fan of the Holland MCU Spiderman but Into the Spiderverse is the BEST Spider-man movie, hands down. Fight me.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Practical Wizardry - a DCC variant


note: This is not related to anything else I'm working on, it's just a thought that came to me while tinkering with my computer over the weekend.

For Practical Wizardry to work you must do away completely with the Wizard or Elf class. Sorry.  This set up probably works best for a Warrior, Thief, or Cleric, Warrior, Thief game IMO, but throwing halfings and dwarves (as classes) in the mix changes nothing really.

In this variant there is no wizardry class and such a thing is not represented in the setting either.   Instead, anyone can take the patron bond spell if they go through the motions and succeed. And thus anyone can use invoke magic and, theoretically, the other spells granted by the patron as they gain levels and so on.   This allows for warriors to be able to call upon a wide variety of patron specific magic in a very Glorantha/Runequest sort of way.  
If one desired you could certainly then break the patrons available down into a list available by class; both to keep things manageable and derive some interesting world building.
I would think that the characters continue to function otherwise in all ways as their class normally does in DCC.   Where it is necessary to call upon some magic attribute specific to the wizard class assume the character has a comparable level in wizardry.

For an even more Gloranthan take on things, you remove the cleric class, render all the gods in setting as patrons also, and then hand wave everyone an equal level, functionally, in the wizard class, but only in so far as if they find some full actual spell in the wild (which should be a rare but possible event) then one of them can learn it.  No one would ever likely max out their spell slots, EVER in this variant.  Also they don’t get the Wizard’s will saves, or other things that don’t involve magic (their hd or proficiencies, etc.)   This adds an interesting statistical oddity to the game world as now no one exists that is especially *good* with their magic. High level spells, even patron ones, would be even rarer simply as most magic is (as rolled) a bit lower end.

If you want suggestions for how to break the patrons down by class (and implied race) that’s up to the Judge and their individual campaign flavor but in a relatively euro bog standard medieval set up I might suggest that (from the core) halflings would favor the king of elfland, dwarves would favor Yddgrrl the world root (poss. As an ancestor) – an equal case could be made in flipping those for slightly different flavors to the two race as classes.
Men would favor the Three Fates, Sezrekan, or the prince of wind as their needs dictated.
Bobug, Azi Dakha, and Obit-que as demons should be available to EVERYONE, likely with the assumption that culturally, demon magic is bad