preface to the digital edition - drivethrurpg.com

PREFACE TO THE DIGITAL EDITION

Thank you for purchasing this digital edition of Corporia! To make yourreading experience as easy as possible, please note the following viewingsuggestions.

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I | PREFACE

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Some men say thatKing Arthur is notdead, but in anotherplace, and he shallrise again.

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The world is slipping into chaos—and it’s all your fault. As a new Knight of the Round Table in a regimented corporate metropolis, your mission

should be clear-cut: fight for justice, bring freedom to wage-enslaved citizens and restorethe ideals of chivalry and honor. Unfortunately, the rebirth of the knights also awakenedthe old magics—the primeval forces that once ruled the ancient times but dwindled andvanished with the rise of science. Now you struggle to hold the line between the forces ofOrder and Chaos, each striving to control the other. Your benefactor, corporate CEO andreborn knight Sir Lancelot du Lac, provides the means to combat the obvious threats, butthere are other challenging dilemmas to resolve.

Will you ally with rival corporate security forces to face off against magical threats—or is getting in bed with the enemy too far down the path of corruption? Can you risk allowing a monster to live—even if an innocent human may lie beneath its horrific shape?Can you trust that your allies are not fallen knights, corrupted to throw in with the corpo-rations or forces of Chaos? Can you fully support Lancelot in his role of a corporate CEOand assist him in taking morally ambiguous actions to maintain his power base—or willyou take a stand and weaken him in the eyes of the other ruling corporations? The choicesare yours.

You can also decide what missions you want to go and what adventures you want tohave. Do you want your Knightwatch team to focus on reconnaissance and gunplay alone?Or would you prefer your characters to be department heads, balancing their time betweenbattling the extremes of Order and Chaos, and handling the all-too-real threats of corporateespionage, lawsuits from injured civilians, and other red tape entanglements? Play thegame however it works best for you and your friends.

And speaking of how things work, I’ve placed each chapter into an order that I thinkflows well for both experienced role-players and new readers. You’ll start with the basicrules, move on to character creation, then specialize your character further with assets andequipment. Next, you’ll get the history of the setting and a guide to the City, ending withthe game mastery chapter. I’ve also added section guides at the start of each chapter, section numbering for cross-referencing all digital editions, a comprehensive index, yellowhighlighting for important tidbits, and a prominent color incorporated into each section soyou can browse more effectively. After all, this book was made to be used.

Now let’s get to it—the future awaits!

MARK PLEMMONS

CHICAGO, IL

INTRODUCTION

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CREDITS

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WRITING, DEVELOPMENT, AND GRAPHIC DESIGN: Mark Plemmons

ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Jim Davenport

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Rob Burke, Stephanie Ewing, Mark Gallichio, Bret Hammitt, AndyMiller, Elizabeth Plemmons, RPGPundit, Christopher Stogdill, Ross Watson, Kira Williams

COVER: Flat-it (Bebas font), Nejron (knight), Yongnian Gui (city)

INTERIOR ART (FRONT MATTER): Elisanth, Yiu Tung Lee, Katarzyna Mazurowska, FelixMizioznikov, Peshkova, Howard Pyle, Wxin

INTERIOR ART (CHAPTER 1): Assignments (Dreamstime), Konradbak, Milan Kopcok, Nejron,Vladimirs Poplavskis

INTERIOR ART (CHAPTER 2): Alexvalant, Ammentorp, Aniram, Vyacheslav Biryukov, AndreyBurmakin, Corepics Vof, Bojan Dzodan, Flexflex, Markus Gann, Jacetan, Andrey Kiselev,Dmitri Maruta, Oleksandrslyvka, Franz Pfluegl, Photoeuphoria, Redbaron, Retrodiva88,Jose Antonio Sánchez Reyes, Watchara Rojjanasain, Solarseven, Stokkeke, Teros, LynnWoodward

INTERIOR ART (CHAPTER 3): Bertrandb, Elisanth, Paul Hakimata, Igorigorevich, Jrockar, Jesse-lee Lang

INTERIOR ART (CHAPTER 4): Alphaspirit, Barsik, Bonus7777, Creativefire, Dtopal, Fckncg, Andrey Kiselev, Konradbak, Alexandr Labetskiy, Felix Mizioznikov, Odua, Mark Plemmons,Goce Risteski, Sashkinw

INTERIOR ART (CHAPTER 5): 1911guy, Khakimullin Aleksandr, Alphaspirit, Ammentorp, Anderm, Benis Arapovic, Balefire9, Bertrandb, Bowie15, Clipart Design (Vallentin), Dnf-style, Freepik (travel icons; flaticon.com), Gradts, Hcss5, Jacetan, Joyfull, SergeyKhakimullin, Vichaya Kiatying-angsulee, Kornilovdream, Yiu Tung Lee, Jandrie Lombard,Nejron, Nerus, Nostal6ie, Peshkova, Philcold, Photo168, Mark Plemmons, Robiskip, OlegShipov, Shur23, Stokkete, Subbotina, Konstantin Sutyagin, Videodoctor

INTERIOR ART (CHAPTER 6 AND APPENDICES): A-papantoniou, Alphaspirit, Stacy Barnett, Bowie15,Boysun, Katrina Brown, Buchachon, Buurserstraat386, Cheschhh, Andrii Deviatov, Diebar,Elisanth, Ell, Flexflex, Ilya Glovatskiy, Grafvision, Johnpaulramirez, Sebastian Kaulitzki,Konradbak, Kornilovdream, Viktor Levi, Monkey Business Images, Moori, Pemotret,Philcold, Prometeus, Anatoly Repin, Isabell Schatz, Showface, Ljupco Smokovski, JohnStebbins, Pavalache Stelian, Syda Productions, Vlue, Zastavkin, Arman Zhenikeyev

MISCELLANEOUS INTERIOR CLIP ART: Used with permission from Microsoft.

BETA PLAYTESTING: Brian Bollivar, Sam Bradley, James Califf, Alex and Amanda Fux, GBE,Ryan Henthorn, Clarissa Leon, James Livingston, Jeramiah Poff, Jay Rutley, Gabe Stephan

FOR ZOË

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SPONSORS

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERJason M. GrantThe Chief Executive Officer provided his name and image for the head of mega-corporation Globex Power.

SENIOR EXECUTIVESMatthew ‘Kyu Kage’ Hunt, Ken ‘Professor’ ThronberrySenior Executives provided names for the Globex researchers mentioned on pages 85-87.

ARCHITECTSAnthony ‘Runeslinger’ Boyd (Dead Heroes; p142), Gamerstable podcast (the Monmouth Administrative Staffing Agency; p148), Jason M. Grant (Jillian’s Monster Menagerie; p147),Jason Lund (Sendosa’s Rare Virtual Entertainments; p143), Joe Reimers (the Equinox Club;p133), Boo and Maus Speer (Boom’aus; p135), Joe Stevenson, YorkusRex (Rex’s Retro GamingEmporium; p138)Architects had the opportunity to create special locations that appear in Chapter 5: The City.

RETAILERNorth Coast Role Playing (Eureka, CA)

CRUSADERSTim Aldridge (Hacker), Gary Anastasio (Zero), Chuck Boswell (Suit), Graham W. Callis(Sorcerer), Tim Czarnecki (Journo), Kurt Evans (Radical), Wesley James (Runner), JoeyKrietemeyer (Thinker), Bryan ‘Kaelten’ McLemore (Witcher), Lorne Pearce (Knight-Errant), Alice Peng and Brandon Powers (Headhunter), Jay Rutley (Lister), and David Yellope (Badge)Crusaders could submit character names for the archetypes on pages 30–57.

KNIGHTSSébastien Allard, Brian M. Allen, James Allen, Larry ‘Lyro DuBrey’ Anthony, Antoine akaIllyan, Leonard Arcilla, Peter Aronson, Alan Bahr, Jake Baker, Nat ‘woodelf’ Barmore, ronbeck, J. D. Beers, Trentin C Bergeron, Nicholas Charles Bianchi, Tom Bither, Jason Blalock,Chris Bov, Ryan Breedon, Mike Brendan, Travis Bryant, Rob Burke, Andrew J. Bush, ChrisChambers, Andrew Chang, Traci and Joe Charles, Adam M. Coleman, Duane Crago, MycroftCurtis, Jesse R. Davis, Stephen DeChellis, Stacy Dellorfano, Todd DeWitt, Roger N. Dominick,Louie Downey III, Patrick Henry Downs, Bryant Durrell, Adam Dziuk, Brett Easterbrook, Elly& Andres, Grace Fairfax, Chris Fazio, George Fields, Ken Finlayson, Kevin Flynn, Gregory D.Ford, Sir Andrew Wayne Franklin (HKODT), Eric Franklin, Franco Frare, Alex and AmandaFux, Aaron Gallagher, Mark Gallicchio, Manuel Gebhard, the Geekpreacher, Wade Geer, DJGerken, Giantcavecrab, goblinprint.com, David Gottschalk, JR Cillian Green, Jack Gulick,Jonathon Hanten, Rick Harrelson, Jeff Healy, Heimi, Greg ‘G-Money’ Hendricks, Russell WmHerschler, Lauri Hirvonen, Scott Hoepper, Brian Hoffman, Krista Hoxie, Rick Hull, Bert Isla,Thomas Johansson, Dennis Kadera, Johan Karlsson, Kiiwhiker, Ed Kowalczewski, Jim Long,Eric Lopez, Dan Luxenberg, Magus, Mark Maibroda, J.S. Majer, Ralph Mazza, Matthew McFarland, Michael Mendoza, Jade Meskill, Andy Miller, Theodore Jay Miller, Ignatius Montenegro, Matthew Moorman, Ed Moretti, Hiram Munn, Tash Neame, Adam Nelson, Christian A. Nord, Spencer Olson, Matthew Orwig, Jim ‘Wilmanric’ Pacek, Kira Parker,Michael ‘Maikeruu’ Pierno, the Plaid Mentat, Travis Primmer, SR, Suzi R, Joshua Ramsey,

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Hart Rieckhof, Jimmie L Rush Jr, Ryan the Mediocre, Mark S, Tronoth Sarum, Justin VanderSchaaf, Andrew Schubert, Brett Schuitema, Scott ‘MacLaird’ Schwartz, Mark Smylie, ChrisSnyder, Shannon Steele, Carolyn Stogdill, Matthew Swetnam, Danilo Alexandre SoaresTakano, Steven Thesken, Neil Thompson, Christopher Trapp, Hans W. Uhlig, Nik Urlaub,Phil Vecchione, vonDorffy, Hanno ‘Rince’ Wagner, Andrew Walker, Jennifer ‘Jiffy’ Ward, SimonWard, Petter Wäss, Morgan Weeks, Walter Wolenski, Micah Wolfe, Yitsushi, Ken Young, JeffZitomer

SQUIRESSvend Andersen, Baradaelin, James ‘Skellious’ Bastone, Zach Bertram, Sophia Brandt,Nicholas Cadigan, Sam Curry, A. Miles Davis, Jonathan ‘Buddha’ Davis, DocChronos, ChrisEdwards, Michael Eringsmark, Stephen Esdale, Mark James Featherston, Danny Fisher,Michael G., Pete Griffith, Dustin Gulledge, Scott ‘Blade’ Hamilton, Hendrik Härterich, S.Horne,Jeff Hosmer, D. Howard, Christopher Irvine, John D. Kennedy, Krazy Ivan’s RPG Emporium,Tom Ladegard, Shawn Lamb, Will Lamming, Michael S. Lyons, Jake Mandel, AJ Medder,Josh Medin, Grigoriy Nikiforov, Daniel B. Nissman, Peter Okeafor, Brad Osborne, Adam Rajski, Mat Segal, Ana ‘the Littlest Sorceress’ Silva, Theo, Stew Wilson

HACKERSPeter D. Adkison, Robert Bondoni, Dan Bongert, Maire Bourke, Misha Bushyager, GenevieveCogman, Jim Davenport, Morgan Ellis, Mike Elston, ‘ferret’, Matt ‘@FreeRangeGamer’ Fuller,Leif Erik Furmyr, Jessica Gallicchio, Seth Hartley, Parker D Hicks, Nathan Hill, itk, KingCrackers, Steve Lord, M3rauer, Charon MacDonald, Heather O’Malley, George Panopoulos,Thayer Rasnick, Jim Reader, RhodeKille, Drew (Andrew) South, Drew Wendorf, Charles White

CITIZENSAdam M. A., Stras ‘the Red Knight’ Acimovic, Drew Adams, Morten Andersen, FrankBlazkiewicz, Mike Bowie, David Burwell, Erik Emrys Carl, chapel, Shane Cubis, Troy E.Daniels, Luke DeVries, Adam Dray, Chris Earl, Ed, Evil Hat Productions, Jonathan Finke,Scott MoonHunter Fitzpatrick, Fred Furtado, Lou Goncey, Douglas Grecian, Ben Hale, TrentIsaacson, Stephen A. Jarjoura, Sam & Caitlin Kurnit, David Lawson, Jordan Lennard, MaGnUs, Christopher McDonough, Etienne Olieu, Oli Palmer, Paul Raasch, Raymond, JesusRodriguez, D. Rogers, John ‘johnkzin’ Rudd, Chris Short, Erik ‘Shrimpiclese’ Taylor, ChristineWerner, CZ Wright

DRONESRoss Benford, the Cloak & Blaster, the Dread Pirate of Gaming, Anthony J. Gallela, Ben-jamin Joly, Mark Kadas, Paxx Ltd, Jim Ryan (yes, that Jim Ryan), Christopher Stogdill,Michael Tree

OTHER SPONSORS AND PROMOTERSthe Artifact, Jolly R. Blackburn, Bring Your A-Game, Campaign Mastery, Chippewa ValleyGeek, Cross Planes, Dorkland!, Dragon Fisters, EpicTurn, Gaming Gang, Geek Native, GiantFire Breathing Robot, Jennifer Steen, Jessica Hansen, Hardboiled GMshoe’s Office, Hey PoorPlayer, Spike Y. Jones, Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer, Metagamers Anonymous, Misdirected Mark, Postcards from the Dungeon, Rogue Princess Squadron, Roleplayers Chronicle, RPGPundit, Phyllis Seymour, Sharon Seymour, Whitehall Para-industries, Siri Zenz

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Throughout this book, insets like this one indicate that thefollowing pages provide a first-person glimpse into the Corporia setting’s magazines, ads, classified files, touristguides, corporate reports, and more. (Appendix, single-page, and smaller items appear without this preface.)

This first document features an in-game display of a witness statement concerning the legend of King Arthur andthe Knights of the Round Table, as well as the near-futurestory of the setting. Reader discretion is discouraged.

DOCUMENT: THE STORY SO FAR

166 | NPC and Cryptid Design167 | Special Combat Rules169 | Corporate Challenges172 | City Design176 | Missions184 | NPCs190 | Cryptids200 | Relics

Appendices202 | Indexes206 | Inspirations207 | Director’s Mission Sheet208 | Cryptid Scene Investigation210 | PC Creation Guide211 | Character Record Sheet

version 1.1 (first print on demand edition)Copyright © 2015 Brabblemark PressAll rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, logos,businesses, institutions, organizations, corporations, prod-ucts, incidents, and locales either are coincidental productsof the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Pop culture references are included to help readers capture thelook and feel of Corporia. No violation of copyright or trade-mark ownership is intended.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, ortransmitted in any form or by any means, including photo-copying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods,without the prior written permission of the publisher, exceptin the case of some appendices (pages 207-210), brief quotationsembodied in critical reviews, and certain other non-commercialuses permitted by copyright law.

126City Guide

190Cryptids

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www.brabblemark.com

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Witness Statement C-SF9

Hundreds of years ago, upon the death of his father, young Arthur Pendragonstretches out his hand and draws forth the legendary sword from the stoneto officially take his place as king of a poor, leaderless Britain. His armies,with the help of his chosen Knights of the Round Table and the arcane talents of the great Merlin, soon establish an Arthurian kingdom embodyinghonor, love, and the knightly virtues. The mystical Isle of Avalon and its representative, the Lady of the Lake, validate Arthur’s kingdom by providinghim with Excalibur, a sword of ancient British sovereignty.

Though his throne is secure, Arthur’s court of Camelot is beset by troubles.His knights grow restless, fighting and wenching to sate their boredom. SirLancelot, his most revered knight, and Guinevere, the queen consort, areunable to renounce their secret love for one another. Arthur’s half-sister,Morgan le Fay, discovers the affair but is banished from the court, consumedwith revenge and a desire to expose the queen’s secret.

A vision of a holy chalice inspires the knights to labor in a glorious quest, providing exploits and adventures for all who dare seek it. In time, however,the end of the grail quest and the return of Lancelot bring trouble back to

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the kingdom of Camelot. Merlin disappears, having been imprisoned by hislover and apprentice, Nimue. The adultery is exposed, fracturing the courtand beginning the war between Arthur and Lancelot.

Arthur leaves Camelot in the care of Mordred, son of Morgan, but the vileand treacherous knight claims both throne and queen. Arthur returns andslays Mordred, but suffers a mortal blow. Excalibur is returned to the Ladyof the Lake, and Arthur’s body is borne to Avalon. Someday, the last remain-ing knight is told, the ‘once and future king’ will return to aid his people inthe hour of their greatest need. At least, that is what my books tell me.

In my time, centuries later, King Arthur is no more than a fairy tale;magic is absent from the land. Massively sprawling cities are ruled by corporations with amoral concerns, paying little heed to the weakened andprivatized governments. Chivalry, valor and honor are outdated conceptsthat no longer have a place in the corporate order.

Citizens are defined by their place in the corporate hierarchy and thepower and possessions such standing brings. Persons convicted of non-violent crimes work off their sentences for a corporate benefactor, becomingwage-slaves with no possessions, housed in cramped capsule hotels. A simple citywide virtual intelligence provides ‘net access to all, though eachcorporate district possesses its own complex VI for planning, scheduling andpredicting markets even while it monitors district traffic, corporate sabotage,and illegal freelancing over a vast network of closed-circuit vids.

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Recent news items contain footage of a naked scientist wandering thestreets, waving a kitchen knife and ranting in a dead language. Private security quickly subdues and relocates this worker but, within hours, a free-lance courier follows in a similar manner. The following day, a luxcar driversuffers a sudden onset of identity disorder and crashes his vehicle into Terminal One. His wealth keeps him in private care and out of the publiceye, as it does for the CEO of Valyant, whom shareholders claim collapsedduring a fit of religious frenzy in the midst of a virtual meeting.

More weeks pass, and the City shows little outward change. Listers’ anticsdominate the news and Zeroes toil at their jobs, while the Badges monitorsurveillance cameras and follow up on any crimes the Suits pay them to investigate. Runners carry illegal messages and sensitive items, deliveringthem to Radical citizens who long for a return to the days of old. Hackersbuild the networks, manipulating data for a mega-corporation paycheckwhile creating secret ‘back doors’ and customizations of their own. Thinkersstill work day and night in heavily secured laboratories, hoping to pursue private research while appeasing the stockholders.

Yet, change has come. Hacker footage of creatures and walking corpsesnow appears too often to be dismissed, even by the most hardheadedBadges. Victims of recent mental trauma vanish from their sickbeds, onlyto be sighted later carrying archaic weapons and speaking of honor andchivalry. In the laboratories, scientists experiment with strange new energysources, making what was formerly impossible now quite probable indeed.Hackers tentatively probe the front lines of battle against newly living ener-gies and virtual intelligences, and the men and women who once merelydabbled in the arcane arts are amazed to find that their spells actually work.

Why did it take me so long to see what was happening around me? Perhaps I was blind, too secure with my warm bed, cheap fatty foods, andfree ‘net access. Years ago, when Journos were true reporters who did morethan forward corporate-scrubbed newspeak to the public, questions might

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have been asked, facts correlated, and secrets revealed. Perhaps I wouldhave learned the truth more quickly—but perhaps not. After all, who wouldhave believed that the other-dimensional energies of Chaos (what we callmagic) have returned to the world? I still find it incredible, though I believeit is true. Magic is no mere fiction; it simply faded from the world as we humans thrived, and now returns to a world unprepared.

The scientists and their corporate masters, unwitting servants of Order,claim these manifestations are “fluctuations of energy caused by cosmicradiation particles hitting weak areas of the upper atmosphere, creatingsporadic energy displays and, in rare cases, mutations,” though most of usjust call it “the Flux.”

Sadly, even those who witness magic firsthand may be too easily persuaded (or bought) to believe in a rational explanation. How deeply did Iquestion the Flux when it brought my wife back to me, seeming whole butfor her need of frequent blood infusions? I gladly accepted the pseudo-science excuse she offered, and blinded myself to the reality until... until itwas too late.

They came last night to take her away. Surprisingly gentle, some of them,though they had the authority of the Watch. In battle, however, they betraytheir nature, wielding the Flux as easily as their swords. She fought, you see,and I thought (hoped?) she would prevail—but it was not to be. In the end,all they could do for me was tell me the truth: about the King, and the Flux,and their role in this shadow war. It was cold comfort, but at least it wassomething.

Perhaps it will be enough.

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12 | THE BASICS

1THE

BASICS

13 | WHAT IS CORPORIA?YOUR MISSION DIRECTIVE.

13 | WHAT IS ROLE-PLAYING?MAKE BELIEVE, NOT WAR.

15 | HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

NOTES ON SPECIFIC SECTIONS.

15 | WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO PLAY

MOSTLY JUST THIS BOOK AND DICE.

17 | CHARACTER ATTRIBUTES

CORE VALUES, SKILLS, & FLUX

18 | USING ABILITIES

EXPLAINING ABILITY CHECKS.

20 | COMBAT

RULES FOR FIGHTING BATTLES.

24 | SOCIAL CONFLICTS AND MISC

WARS OF WORDS; FALLING, FIRE, ETC.

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1.1 | WHAT IS CORPORIA?Corporia is a tabletop role-playing game set in ‘the City’, a future metropolis ruled by analliance of powerful mega-corporations. Players take on the roles of members of the Knight-watch, the elite supernaturally-powered special operations unit of private military and security company, the Watch, under the auspices of its mega-corporate entity Valyant andChief Executive Officer Lance Martin—the reincarnated Sir Lancelot du Lac. The Knight-watch resolve extreme incidents involving manifestations of other-dimensional energies(aka the Flux), including mutated humans, monsters from other dimensions, and corporateexperiments gone wrong.

Members of the Knightwatch have been hand-picked from individuals touched by theFlux, ironically gaining their abilities from the very force that also transforms innocentcitizens into dangerous mutants and provides fascinating new resources for the mega-corpsto exploit. Exactly how an individual’s powers manifest depends on his or her personality,social caste, and profession, among other factors.

For instance, soldiers often become stronger and faster, executives gain influence andmettle, Hackers usually discover they can transfer their minds into computers to battleFlux-infused virtual life, fantasy writers might find themselves able to cast magical spells,and so on. An individual might even awake with memories and skills (and obligations!)from a former life as a knight in King Arthur’s court. You’ll start to define this background,personality, and abilities in Chapter 2: Human Resources.

Because public knowledge of your character’s abilities could lead to him or her beinghunted down by cryptids, criminals, and rival mega-corporate research teams, the Knight-watch is usually a character’s only family. Thus, how your characters interact with eachother is as much a part of the Corporia experience as combat, if not more so. For example,not every character may agree on the correct action to take when a child insists on protect-ing her ‘imaginary friend’ or when a doctor starts stealing from the blood bank to supporthis wife’s newly-acquired vampirism. Your characters’ decisions are as equally valid a wayto provide conflict as are the threats of monsters, rogue Virtual Intelligences, and greedymega-corporate overlords. It’s all about role-playing.

1.2 | WHAT IS ROLE-PLAYING?A role-playing game is one where you and your friends take on the roles of fictional char-acters in a make-believe setting—in this game, members of the Knightwatch in ‘the City.’It’s a lot like the ‘army men’ or ‘cops and robbers’ games you may have played as a child,only now you sit at a table and don’t need to use your sofa as a fort!

1.2.1 | THE DIRECTORYou or one of your friends takes on the responsibility of being the Director. It’s his or herjob to set up the missions and play the parts of all the non-player characters (NPCs) andcryptids that your player characters (PCs) will meet. When there’s a question about a rule,the Director is the final arbiter. Naturally, this means that the Director needs to be veryfamiliar with this rulebook.

Of course, Corporia’s rules-as-written only provide the starting point for your adventures,not the end. If some parts of the game don’t work for your group’s play style or skill level, theDirector should feel free to make ‘house rules’ that are a better fit. Likewise, if there’s a ques-tion that the book doesn’t specifically answer, the Director can just make a common senseruling and move on without delaying the game.

Being the Director is a big responsibility, since he or she must not only play many partsbut also spend time away from the gaming table designing missions, creating intriguingobjectives, and providing challenges that are difficult but not impossible. However, it’s also

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very rewarding. If you’re the kind of person who likes writing stories, having the rulebookwithin arm’s reach during gameplay, and providing fun for your friends, then you’re prob-ably a good candidate for the Director.

1.2.2 | THE PLAYER CHARACTERSPlayer characters, or ‘PCs’, are the protagonists in the Director’s campaign. To create aPC, follow the steps in Chapter 2: Human Resources. These guidelines help you choose acharacter archetype and assign numbers to his or her attributes. These numbered attrib-utes show how strong your PC is, how much affinity he or she has for magic, and so on, inrelation to other characters and monsters. When the Director puts a challenge before you,these numbers—along with your choices—indicate how successful your PC will be.

1.2.3 | GAMEPLAYYour first gameplay session may involve new PCs who don’t know each other but arethrown together as larger events take shape. How well they work together (and evenwhether they like each other) depends on how you and your friends role-play your charac-ters and how their actions shape the setting.

Your Director will probably begin the first game by telling the PCs about the overallsetting, their current location, recent events, any shared background they may have, andso forth. He will introduce the non-player character (NPC) allies—Lancelot, Nimue, Percival, and M.E.R.L.I.N.—who provide the impetus for the PCs’ missions. In return forcompleting missions, the PCs receive money, goods, services, and other benefits (like theknowledge that they’ve just saved the City!).

If you want your PC to complete a task, you should describe his or her actions, perhapseven speaking ‘in character’ like an actor reading a script. The Director then describes theoutcome of those actions and takes on the roles of the NPCs.

For example, if your character enters a room, the Director may briefly describe what thePC can see from his current position (such as a desk in front of a plate glass window opposite,a sofa in the corner to the left, a bookshelf on the right wall, and framed pictures hanginghere and there). If you want more detail, you should tell the Director what you want to investigate within that room, and she’ll give you more details as your character explores theroom further.

Some situations require your character to battle foes and meet challenges that test hisabilities. Meeting this challenge usually involves rolling dice and adding the result to yourPC’s [Core Value + Skill] total, then comparing the result to a Target Number (TN) or anopponent’s scores to determine success or failure.

Most missions have multiple challenges, concluding with the most difficult. The bestmissions have challenges that can be approached in a non-linear fashion and completed inmultiple ways (e.g., brains or brawn). Once the characters have accomplished the last chal-lenge, that mission ends. Completing a mission can fill hours, days, or longer, with gamesessions occurring as often as you want to play.

1.2.4 | TYPES OF MISSIONSBefore you create your character, you might want to sit down with your Director and fellowplayers to discuss what type of missions you’re interested in.

The action/adventure scenario is most common. A ‘cry for help’ often sends your teaminto various perils where they must work together, using their disparate personalities andabilities to survive while accomplishing one or more tasks. Missions usually start with thecharacters receiving their assignment, followed by research and exploration with a seriesof minor battles culminating in a difficult battle against a powerful opponent.

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Other types might include diplomacy (keeping two groups from fights that destroyproperty and innocent lives), disaster (your lives are constant fights for survival), escape(breaking free from a mega-corporate prison or laboratory), espionage and heists (spyingand sneaking past guards and electronic systems), horror (blood-drenched crime scenesand eldritch terrors), or questing (seeking relics).

These examples are neither exclusive nor exhaustive. Your Director can mix and matchthem, or create something new. There are no limits.

1.3 | HOW TO USE THIS BOOKChapter 1: The Basics through Chapter 4: Expenses each contain rules that both the playersand Directors should read. However, if a section doesn’t seem appropriate to your character,you can probably skip it. If you’re not playing a Sorcerer or Witcher, for example, you don’tneed to study these ‘casters or their spell lists. On the other hand, if you want to learnmore about them, go for it.

Chapter 5: The City details the setting’s background, history, and locations. Playersshould skip Chapter 6: Game Mastery, which is only for the Director and contains spoilers.

The appendices (i.e., the index and beyond) are appropriate for everyone.

1.4 | WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO PLAYEveryone should have their own copy of this book—that way your friend’s not twiddlingher thumbs and waiting for you to hand her book back. You should also bring pencils andpaper, your character sheet, and some dice.

DICE. Corporia uses 6-sided and other polyhedral dice as a way of randomizing youractions. You can purchase polyhedral dice at stores that sell role-playing games, or direct from several dice manufacturers. A typi-cal set includes seven different numbered dice: one each of 4-, 6-,8-, 10-, 12- and 20-sided dice, plus a special 10-sided die num-bered 10, 20, 30 and so on up to 00. Corporia abbreviates these

dice as d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20, and d%. ROLLING THE DICE. If the rules say to roll 2d6, you roll two

6-sided dice, or one 6-sided die twice, and view the results.If the rules call for 3d8, roll three 8-sided dice. As for d10,most are numbered 1, 2, 3, and so on up to 0. If you roll 0on a d10, treat it as a 10, not a zero. If the rules ask youto roll d100, you need to roll the d% together with thestandard d10, which provides a result of 1 to 100.

For example, a d% roll of 40 plus a d10 roll of 3equals 43, while a d% roll of 00 and a 1 on the d10 meansyou got a total result of 1. If you roll 00 on the d% and 0

on the d10, you’ve rolled 100!BATTLEMATS AND MINIATURES. These aren’t

required, but you can use them to better visu-alize the characters and enemies in relation toeach other. Any token or figure can representyour character, as long as it’s not significantlybigger or smaller than everyone else’s, and you

can remember which one is yours. Battlemats, tokens, and miniatures are available in moststores where RPGs are sold.

THE BASICS | 15

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CHARACTER SHEETS. Corporia includes a step-by-step character generation guide on page210 of this book, with an accompanying record sheet on page 211. (You can also find otherhelpful guides there, all of which are available as individual downloads.) If you’re uncertainwhere to find the information that should go in each section of the character record sheet,just reference the page numbers listed on the sample below.

77

28

21

106

105

64

16 | FIGURE 1.1: SAMPLE CHARACTER SHEET

109

58

5875

73

74112

65

20 23 22 23

23

21

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1.5 | CHARACTER ATTRIBUTESAfter you have a idea of who your character will be, you’ll use numerical values to definehis abilities and what he can do in relation to other PCs, NPCs, and cryptids. These abilitiesare primarily composed of Core Values and Skills.

A character’s CORE COMPETENCY sets the number of points you can spend on your PC’sCore Values, Skill Set, and Assets. Core Competencies are listed as Touched, Gifted, andFluxed. A character who is ‘Touched’ by the Flux is unnaturally strong and fast but has nosupernatural assets, while a Fluxed character has the greatest supernatural abilities butis weaker elsewhere. A Gifted character falls in-between.

CORE VALUES include Strength (STR), Deftness (DFT), Mettle (MTL), Knowledge (KNO),Wits (WIT), and Magick (MGK). These are expressed as a number, typically from 1 to 6. A‘normal’ person has only 1 or 2 in each of the first five core values and none in MGK, whileparticularly strong, intelligent, or otherwise talented individuals (such as members of theKnightwatch) might have 3 or better in one or more values.

A character’s SKILL SET lists abilities mostly learned from life experience, such asCrime, Firearms, Instinct, and Science. These are expressed as a number, usually rangingfrom 0 (since a character need not have points in every skill) to 6. For instance, a characterwith a military background or personal interest in firearms might start with 3 points inFirearms but 0 points in Sciences (Biology). Each skill is associated with a specific corevalue, such as Fisticuffs (STR) and Sorcery (MGK).

Whenever the rules refer to FLUX DICE, it means a roll of 2d6 where you keep the highdie result and drop the lowest. This so-called ‘Flux’ is the effect of the other-dimensionalmagics now pervading the City. Fortunately, your character is more in tune with the Fluxthan most, and able to exercise a measure of control over it (i.e., being able to instinctivelychoose the most favorable result). Non-powered NPCs and average citizens roll only 1d6.

FLUX POINTS are a measure of your character’s ability to manipulate the Flux. Duringgames, you earn Flux Points (FP) by playing your traits, and can spend them to alterevents. Every time you earn or spend FP in regard to your traits, you earn one BuildingPoint that can be used on core value, skill, and asset improvements.

Your character isn’t just a faceless set of numbers.Use Chapter 2: Human Resources to create a PCwith a unique personality and set of powers.

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preface to the digital edition - drivethrurpg.com

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