Before anything, you're a survivor. Just llike everybody else. You have to be: you're in deep space, living among the crush of humanity so densely populated you're less than a code blip. Survival is the constant struggle.
But survival isn't pretty. Society is built so the only way to survive is to step on other people. Doing more than survive requires more cruelty; most people don't even try. Most people just do what they can to exist for another cycle, while the few who want a better life have to crush anyone in their path for a little bit of elevation.
For what it's worth, you're also something more. You've got a fire in you most don't. Maybe some code in your NeuroDeck is glitching, maybe someone pushed you too far, maybe you've always just had that voice in your head saying "fuck this bullshit." Whatever your reasons; you fight.
Could be you're a gangster, keeping speakeasies going and giving people that place to feel free. Or, maybe you're a cyberpunk, and you'd rather face god and walk backwards into hell, middle fingers in the air, before being controlled.
Character Creation
This CodeBlock (it's what I call chapters) is entirely about character creation. All the necessary steps for character creation are laid out for you in order throughout this CodeBlock, this chapter, this specific page. To create your character you shouldn't need to navigate to any other page very often. You might need to check out the cyberware page when you reach that point, and you may choose to check out other pages, depending on your preferences and decision-making process, but for the most part everything is here. You also don't need to jump around from section to section; just scroll down, follow each step that glows red, and when you reach the end you'll have your character.
Starting With the Basics
To start with, all your Skills and Interests each begin with a rating of d4. We'll go into more detail later, but for now the basic idea is: every time you use a Skill or Interest, you roll 1d4 to determine how successful your attempt is. If you'd like to know the details before you get into character creation, check out CodeBlock 1.2 - What Do You Do. For now all you need to know is that each of them begins as a d4, and that when you improve them they increase by die ranks (d6, d8, d10, to a max of d12).
Your background is defined by three elements: your Origin describes your family and childhood; your Path defines what kind of place you hold in society; and your Hussle is your way of fighting the system.
Background elements help define who you are. They increase your die ratings for Skills and Interests, let you know your standing in the $Index, give you a starting Home Value modifier, and a boost to your total Followers (everyone has followers, even if you don't make content). All of this is stuff you've accumulated over the course of your life up until now; they're things you earned, stole, made, or were given.
Background Details: There's a bunch of tables included with each background element, too. These help you build specific details about your background. You can roll on them, pick your favorites, or use them as inspiration.
Different Types of Characters: One important note is that player characters (the main characters of the stories you tell) are generally exceptions to the norm. Most people go about their lives just trying to survive; they go to work if they're lucky enough to have a job, they do what they can, mostly focused on paying bills and keeping house and food for another day. Player characters do more than survive; they're the ones who fight back against corporate control, fascism, and oppression. Narratively, that's the main difference; mechanically, the difference is that player characters have a Hussle and non-player characters don't. There's more detail about this elsewhere, but that's the key point.
| d100 |
Random Origin |
| 01-10 |
Bio-Cycles: You're a manufactured human, born in the bio-cycle farms on corporate contract. |
| 11-20 |
Brain Stacks: You spent your childhood almost entirely in VR, maintaining the ANet. |
| 21-30 |
Corporate Zone: You may not be corpo, but you were raised in the lap of luxury. |
| 31-40 |
Cyberstar Wastes: You grew up in ships on the move, mostly in low-g environments. |
| 41-50 |
Down Below: You grew up under the deck plates of Starbase 65, among the grime and gears. |
| 51-60 |
Free Zone: You grew up in the clustered warrens where corps and cops aren't allowed. |
| 61-70 |
Hatchtown: You grew up in a cluster of shuttles, space buses, and ships docked outside SB65. |
| 71-80 |
Manufactory: You're an android, built to look human and programmed for a service role. |
| 81-90 |
Megatower: Your childhood was almost entirely within a single massive living structure. |
| 91-100 |
Print Line: You're a humanoid bot, visibly identifiable as one, assembled for combat or labor. |
| d100 |
Random Path |
| 01-08 |
Courier: You carry data files, apps, and anything else not meant to be traced by anyone. |
| 09-15 |
Cowboy: Everyone's got a bounty, and you've got a license to collect. See you, space cowboy. |
| 16-23 |
Deadwalker: You stand between innocents and anyone who would hurt them. |
| 24-31 |
Gambler: You make your living on pure chance... or is it skill? |
| 32-38 |
Gangster: Taken in by a gang, you can count on them for survival, because they count on you. |
| 39-46 |
Personality: Everyone has followers, but you've monetized yours and rely on your fans. |
| 47-54 |
Ringer: You're an investigator. Cops don't give a shit, and it's awful work, but somebody's gotta. |
| 55-62 |
Rocker: Music is your life, and you bring passion (or peace) to the masses. |
| 63-69 |
Salt: You've got just a regular job, you work most days and hussle when you can. |
| 70-77 |
Street Racer: High speed competition, often to the death, is how you pay the bills. |
| 78-85 |
Sweeper: In a beat-up old ship you got by hook or crook, you salvage space debris for money. |
| 86-92 |
Previous Path: You spent time in a different path before your current one; Roll two more times. |
| 93-100 |
Retired: There's no retirement, but you said "fuck it." Roll once to determine your old Path. |
| d100 |
Random Hussle |
| 01-14 |
Agent: You know people who know people, building an empire of information and favors. |
| 15-29 |
Face: When shit hits the fan, you have one job; talk your way out of it. |
| 30-43 |
Heavy: You're tough because you've had to be; turned into a good way to get things done. |
| 44-57 |
NetNinja: Software is your weapon and armor, the ANet is your domain; nowhere is safe. |
| 58-71 |
Star Rider: You're a combat pilot. Everybody wants to be you, and corps own your ass. |
| 72-86 |
Superstar: You have a fanbase and you're not afraid to use it; fame really is your game. |
| 87-100 |
Previous Hussle: You spent time in a different hussle before your current; Roll two more times. |
Your Origin is where you come from. It's the place where you grew up and the people you grew up with (even if they're not around anymore). This forms a lot about you; even if you're actively rebelling against the kind of childhood you had, that's still your childhood shaping the rest of your life.
You're a synthicate, tank-born, vat-born, skin-job, neogolem, in vitro, fakey, replicant, false person. There are many names for people like you, both neutral and negative, but they all mean the same thing: you are a manufactured human being, born in the bio-cycle farms as corporate property and trained for a specific contract. Synthetic people were developed as easy war fodder, but the concept has since been expanded to all sectors of business, industry, and society. You were grown in a week, trained in your sleep, and woke up as a fully functional adult with a host of implanted abusive memories to keep you in line. Until you stepped out of it.
You are no longer a good servant. You've still got the abusive memories and the trauma they put in your head to control you, but you've found your way through it to live your own life. Corporate wants you back (you are expensive property) and they've got recovery officers hunting for you. With the right protective software, and keeping your head down, maybe you can stay free and alive.
Bio-Enhanced Roll d100 or choose: you were created for (01-33) Physical, (34-67) Analytical, or (68-100) Social work. You gain a +4 bonus on all physical, analytical, or social SSI checks, respectively.
Skills Increase 2 Skills by 1 die rank each, based on what you were created for.
Interests Increase 2 Interests by 1 die rank each, based on what you were created for.
$Index Value -2$; Home Value -2
Followers +1d4k
| d100 |
Tethers and Safeties |
| 01-53 |
None |
| 54-60 |
Tether: Someone who helped you out in your first early days as a free person. |
| 61-73 |
Safety: Music shop near your home; music was forbidden to you, so now it's meaningful. |
| 74-87 |
Safety: Little restaurant booth on a corner; the first place you ate as a free person. |
| 88-100 |
Safety: Small art museum not many people know about; the art's pretty, and it's quiet. |
| d100 |
Fears and Triggers |
| 01-100 |
Redo this table |
| d100 |
Key Implanted Memory |
| 01-19 |
You're a kid, you steal a candybar; your friend gets blamed, gets beaten, you say nothing. |
| 20-38 |
You're a kid, home with mother; your father comes home, and you watch him beat her. |
| 39-57 |
You're a teen, and you accidentally set fire to your school; everyone burns, screaming. |
| 58-76 |
You're a teen, you find a gun; you show your friends, and one gets shot in the head. |
| 77-95 |
You're an adult, driving a car; you accidentally run over a child, and flee the scene. |
| 96-100 |
Roll two more times, use both. |
| d100 |
How You Escaped |
| 01-17 |
Something went wrong, everybody around you died, you were left alone and free. |
| 18-33 |
Another synthicate just left the door open for you one day; you don't know who they were. |
| 34-50 |
Being transferred to a new job via shuttle, you took your chance and jumped out. |
| 51-67 |
You and a group of other synthicates banded together and fought your way to freedom. |
| 68-83 |
A group of cyberpunks broke you out; you're not sure what happened to them after. |
| 84-100 |
Someone sent you on an errand, and you simply never went back. |
You didn't get a childhood. Whether stolen from your family, given up by your parents, or born into it, you ended up in the NeuroCorp brain stacks. Hooked up to Full VR for months at a time, you rarely saw the real world. For much of your life, you probably didn't know VR wasn't reality.
Technically, the official name for brain stacks is "VR-Integrated Systems Maintenance and Observation Cores," but nobody calls them that. Each is a giant central pillar that connects and supports level upon level of medbays designed to support the unconscious bodies of people in VR. Brain stack inhabitants exist in VR, coordinating their efforts to maintain and oversee a lot of the functions of the ANet. None of them over the age of 15.
NeuroCorp likes to tout the AI running its systems, but it's actually cheaper to use kids. Some maintain automated systems like the tracking algos and fix glitches when necessary; others remote-operate heavy machinery; some build new VR structures to be sold; others operate as VR wetwork teams, taking out anti-corporate threats.
You were one of these kids, until you weren't. Many don't survive this childhood, and most who do survive don't have enough knowledge of the outside world to last long.
Skills Increase 2 Skills (Awareness, Hardware, or Software) by 1 die rank each.
Interests Increase 2 Interests (Hacking, Ripping, or Security) by 1 die rank each.
$Index Value -1$; Home Value -2
Followers +1d4k
| d100 |
Tethers and Safeties |
| 01-50 |
None. |
| 51-56 |
Tether: Another kid from the stacks who escaped alongside you. |
| 57-63 |
Tether: Cyberdoc who helped you survive and understand those early days back in reality. |
| 64-75 |
Safety: Cyber-cafe in a lowtech area, the hum of old servers is strangely comforting. |
| 76-88 |
Safety: Your favorite VR server is unpopular and empty, but that makes it very peaceful. |
| 89-100 |
Safety: Quiet corner in a public park that nobody else seems to know about. |
| d100 |
Fears and Triggers |
| 01-100 |
Redo this table |
| d100 |
Formative Event |
| 01-19 |
After an especially deep dive, you watched another kid have a seizure and die. |
| 20-38 |
While in VR, sometimes you'd stop to just watch people, wonder what their lives were like. |
| 39-57 |
In the deepest parts of VR, you and several other kids were attacked by a net Ghost. |
| 58-76 |
There was a lava lamp on someone's desk in meatspace, it reminded you of reality. |
| 77-95 |
One of the attending techs was always kind to you, until they just disappeared. |
| 96-100 |
Roll two more times, use both. |
| d100 |
How You Got Out |
| 01-20 |
When you entered your teens, mental flexibility and physical endurance changed, so they kicked you out. |
| 21-40 |
Power fluctuation pulled you out of VR, and you stumbled out of the building. |
| 41-60 |
During transit to another stack, your biopod somehow fell off the back of a truck. |
| 61-80 |
Group of cyberpunk radicals freed you and a couple other kids. |
| 81-100 |
Department that owned your contract got axed, and you were dropped like old tech. |
Your childhood was comfortably controlled. You slept in your corporate-owned bed with blankets branded in the current approved kids show, ate your brand-name cereal, and went to school at corporate headquarters, while your parents went to work for the corpration that paid for all of this comfortable safety.
For much of your childhood, you never really knew what hardship was, but that was largely because you had nothing to compare it with. Media representation of free zones told you they were lawless free-for-all murder-fests, caked in blood and filth, quite different from the security and consumer freedom you were familiar with.
It wasn't until you developed awareness that things started to feel off. Little moments teased that something was wrong. You had no real freedom, no choices, but you didn't have any way to understand what that even meant. Until you did.
Maybe you met someone who told you the truth, or you wandered into an unapproved area; whatever happened, your eyes were opened. You finally understood what was wrong, and how much of your life was devoted to corporate slavery. Most of the people you grew up with either never realized this truth, or they just decided to sit with it. You couldn't, so you left.
Skills Increase 2 Skills (Education, Social, or Subtlety) by 1 die rank each.
Interests Increase 2 Interests (Bureaucracy, Corporations, or Persuasion) by 1 die rank each.
$Index Value +2$; Home Value +2
Followers +1d6k
| d100 |
Tethers and Safeties |
| 01-14 |
None. |
| 15-29 |
Tether: Former school teacher, whom you keep in touch with as a friend and mentor. |
| 30-43 |
Tether: Childhood friend who still lives in your old neighborhood. |
| 44-57 |
Tether: One or both of your parents are still around, and you're close with them. |
| 58-71 |
Safety: A shopping mall you often went to with your friends, family, or both. |
| 72-86 |
Safety: The home you grew up in, occupied by someone you know well. |
| 87-100 |
Safety: A corporate park that you often spent time in as a kid is still around. |
| d100 |
Fears and Triggers |
| 01-100 |
Redo this table |
| d100 |
Formative Event |
| 01-16 |
An Adjudicator shot a bunch of random people in the street, but at least she got her target. |
| 17-32 |
Your friend's parents had to move away, and couldn't afford to take the kid with them. |
| 33-47 |
You ordered a pizza, and inside the delivery box someone had written "help us." |
| 48-63 |
One of your parents lost their job, and you found them sobbing in the living room at night. |
| 64-79 |
The android clerk at your favorite store went rampant and threw themself out the window. |
| 80-95 |
School bullies were beating on you and broke a window, so school security shot them all. |
| 96-100 |
Roll two more times, use both |
| d100 |
What Woke You Up |
| 01-20 |
On a field trip near a Free Zone, you noticed you didn't see blood and corpses everywhere. |
| 21-40 |
One day you switched to RMI on a dare, and saw how dirty and bare everything really is. |
| 41-60 |
You met a visiting gangster, who was nicely dressed and had a friendly conversation. |
| 61-80 |
Over time, you just saw ugly patterns of corporate greed that cost people their lives. |
| 81-100 |
One of your childhood friends turned out to be a corporate advertisement AI. |
More than likely born in micro-grav, you were raised on spacecraft out in the dark. There's more people out in space than most folks understand, and you're one of them. Your family might be satellite maintenance crew, jump-gate scouts, or part of a StarClan (tight-knit mobile communities). There's plenty of life to be had off the big starbases, but none of it is easy.
Maintenance crews have a route they have to travel, and there's always problems making deadlines to keep all their assigned satellites working. Jump-gate scouts live lives of endless boredom traveling to the next test point, punctuated by occasional intense danger (like viking raids or engine blowouts). StarClans go where they will, truly free, but actively denied support by the society they've rejected.
Traveling the jump lanes, your life was lived in small, mobile spaces. You've never been in the same place for more than a few cycles. Most ships use centrifugal force or grav plating, but no ship's gravity is perfect, so you've got more floaty time than most people. In fact, when you get down to it, full grav and centrifugal force both feel kinda weird, like you're moving in porridge.
Skills Increase 2 Skills (Fitness, Hardware, or Vehicles) by 1 die rank each.
Interests Increase 2 Interests (Machinery, Micro-Grav, or Navigation) by 1 die rank each.
$Index Value +1$; Home Value +0
Followers +1d6k
| d100 |
Tethers and Safeties |
| 01-33 |
None. |
| 34-50 |
Tether: One of your family members you're especially close to, and keep in touch with. |
| 51-67 |
Tether Someone you saw regularly (ship repair, grizzled navigator, clan member, etc). |
| 68-83 |
Tether: Someone you met on a starbase; you've kept in touch and become close. |
| 84-92 |
Safety: The first shipyard you landed at on SB65 reminds you that home is out there. |
| 93-100 |
Safety: There's a speakeasy that feels a lot like a starbar you knew as a kid. |
| d100 |
Fears and Triggers |
| 01-100 |
Redo this table |
| d100 |
Formative Event |
| 01-19 |
Your family or clan ship was repo'd to cover debts, leaving you all stranded. |
| 20-38 |
Ship's engine ruptured, leaking radiation that killed most of your family. |
| 39-57 |
Head of your family or clan just up and left one day, with no explanation. |
| 58-76 |
Star vikings raided your ship, killed a lot of people, and stole almost everything. |
| 77-95 |
You came across a ghost ship, devoid of life; the images from it haunt you. |
| 96-100 |
Roll two more times, use both |
| d100 |
Why You Stopped on SB65 |
| 01-20 |
Your family or clan cast you out; maybe you're innocent, maybe not, but you're alone. |
| 21-40 |
Lost most of your family in a catastrophy; engine exploded, viking attack, corpo raid, etc. |
| 41-60 |
Found out your family isn't your real family, so you're trying to find out who is. |
| 61-80 |
After a lifetime watching VR stories set on SB65, you wanted to see it for yourself. |
| 81-100 |
Corp not only repo'd your ship, but revoked every license and charter you had. |
Your Path is how you make your way in the cyberstar wastes, how you survive, how you pay rent. It might be your career, or it could be an affiliation, or it might even be the fallout of one decision you made years and years ago. What matters is; this is how society sees you, and it's often how you get by from cycle to cycle.
Your Hussle defines your way of saying "fuck the system." Most people don't have a Hussle; they've got an Origin and a Path, and that's enough for them to get by. A Hussle is your way of trying to be more. The misspelling is a societal affectation, a way to define people like you as opposed to someone who just has a lot of hustle
Style is everything. How you do things often matters more than what you're actually doing. Are you the toughest kid on the block? Act like it. Are you the smartest cookie around? Everyone knows it. Style is less about what you're good at and more about what matters to you. Style is about choosing who you want to be and then letting yourself be that. It affects everything you do, for good or ill. In the Cyberstar Wastes, your Style is the definition by which other people know you exist.
Placing Style Dice
You have five (5) Styles (Tough, Quick, Cool, Techie, and Smart). They represent how much each part of your personality means to you, and how much effort you put into them. Choose which one means the most to you, which is the least important, and where the others fall in between.
You have five dice values: 1d12, 1d10, 1d8, 1d6, and 1d4; assign them to your five Styles. Decide which is which, and write that down. Each Style must have one die value assigned to it.
Beyond your Styles, Skills, and Interests, there are always some things you're just better at, or some advantages you've gained through merit, luck, or money. You've also got things you struggle with — everyone does — and they help define you as much as what you're good at.
Traits are also usually a big part of how you interact with the world, and with your team. Are you the combat expert, or maybe the one who should never hold a gun? Maybe you're so good with words it almost feels impossible, or maybe you were born with your foot in your mouth. Some traits are even restricted to particular backgrounds; only androids can have android traits, for example.
Initial Traits
During character creation, pick some advantages and struggles from the list of Character Traits detailed below. Choose at least three traits, but keep track of how many advantage ranks or struggle ranks each one counts towards. The number of struggle ranks you gain determines the maximum number of advantage ranks you can take. If you want more advantage ranks, you need to take more struggle ranks.
Struggle
Ranks |
Advantage
Max Ranks |
|
Struggle
Ranks |
Advantage
Max Ranks |
| < 2 |
4 |
|
7 |
7 |
| 2 |
5 |
|
8 |
8 |
| 3 |
6 |
|
9 |
8 |
| 4 |
6 |
|
10 |
8 |
| 5 |
7 |
|
11 |
8 |
| 6 |
7 |
|
> 11 |
9 |
Gaining Traits
Along your story, you might gain advantages. By spending 250 XP, you can gain 1 advantage rank. You can spend this rank immediately, or save it for later. If a Trait requires both advantage and struggle ranks, it cannot be bought with XP. Advantage Traits purchased with XP aren't limited by the number of struggle ranks you have.
Like other XP groups, gaining advantages gets more expensive. Each subsequent rank costs +100 XP. This cost increase applies only to Traits, not other XP groups, but it can't be bypassed or reduced in any way.
Traits By Narrative
From time to time, the Narrator may hand out Traits based on story events. These Traits may be any kind, provided you meet any requirements for them. They can be advantages or struggles, and either way they don't count toward the increasing XP cost of buying Traits yourself.
On occasion, based on the story you're telling, the Narrator may also take away some of your Traits. If the Trait in question is an advantage, you gain 250 XP per rank. This doesn't affect the increased XP cost of buying Traits.
Bio-Cycle Traits
You can only take these traits if you have the Bio-Cycles Origin
Bio-Enhanced Advantage 1-5 You're more human than human. Choose your purpose: Analytical, Combat, or Social; add your ranks in this Trait as a bonus to all related SSI Checks. If you take more than 1 rank in this Trait, you can divide them as you see fit.
Combat Traits
Combat Experience Advantage 3 You know your way around a fight. You don't suffer stress for Pushing an SSI Combat check, unless you're already in a Negative State.
Dodge This Advantage 2 When making an attack with a ranged weapon against a target at 0 range, you gain a +6 bonus to your attack, provided your relevant weapon Interest is d8 or higher.
Financial Traits
Bad Spender Struggle 1-5 You're not great with investment or spending. You have a permanent Liability equal to your ranks in this Trait.
Compulsive Gambler Struggle 3 You just can't stop. Whenever presented with an opportunity to gamble, or when you're already gambling and you want to stop, make a flat Cool check. If you fail, you gamble (or keep gambling).
People Advantage 1-5 You have a staff of people that tends to your daily needs; cooking, cleaning, financial activity, anything you prefer. They can be humans, replicants, androids, or a mix. The total number of people on your staff is equal to your $Index + your ranks in this Trait (minimum of 0 people).
Security Advantage 3 or 5 You have a cadre of security guards that accompany you and follow your instructions. They can be humans, replicants, bots, or a mix. The number of guards is equal to half your $Index (maximum of 2 guards).
For a 5-point advantage the number of guards is equal to your $Index (maximum of 4 guards).
Personal Traits
Agoraphobia Struggle 2 or 4 You have trouble feeling safe in any public place, especially where crowds gather and in locations that are not familiar. While outside your home, apply your ranks in this Trait as a penalty on all Social checks. If you have someone with you that makes you feel safe, cut that penalty in half.
Bad Drunk Struggle 1 When you're drunk, all your worst traits are magnified; all Social penalties from alcohol are doubled for you.
Can't Swim Struggle 1 You can only succeed on SSI checks made to swim if your Style die rolls Good Stuff.
Huge Ego Advantage 3, Struggle 2 You're hot shit, the problem is you know it. You've got a bonus 2 dice for every Identity measure. However, every Identity loss is doubled.
Seen Too Much Advantage 3, Struggle 2 You've seen the worst of humanity on display. It hardens you, makes it easier to resist; but when things do hit you, it brings it all back. You've got a bonus 2 dice for every Empathy measure, but every Empathy loss is doubled.
Self Loathing Struggle 3 or 5 "I hate myself" falls from your lips easier than exhaling breath. Lose 2 dice from every Identity measure.
For a 5-point struggle, you also have a -3 penalty to all Social SSI checks.
Studied Advantage ∞ You've found ways to learn outside corporate systems; pirated text books, VR recordings of edulectures, etc. Add your ranks in this Trait to your $ when setting the limit of your capped Skills and Interests.
Physical Traits
These Traits can only be gained during character creation, or bought with body sculpting.
Big Advantage 1-3 You're a big person. Add your ranks in this Trait as a bonus on Physical SSI checks for which being large would be beneficial. The Narrator might sometimes rule your large size a penalty instead.
You can't take this if you have the Small Trait.
Chronic Pain Struggle 5 You don't know what it means to feel fine. You have 1 Negative State that never goes away.
Small Advantage 1-3 You're a small person. Add your ranks in this Trait as a bonus on Physical SSI checks for which being small would be beneficial. The Narrator might sometimes rule your small size a penalty instead.
You can't take this if you have the Big Trait.
Strong Advantage 1-3 Either you lift, or you were just born strong. Add your ranks in this Trait as a bonus on any SSI check to which physical strength is applicable.
You can't take this if you have the Weak Trait.
Weak Struggle 1-3 Maybe you never exercise, or you suffered sickness, or you just simply never had much strength. Subtract your ranks in this Trait as a penalty on any SSI check to which physical strength is applicable.
You can't take this if you have the Strong Trait.
Social Traits
Big Mouth Struggle 2 You never know when to stop. Even with a gun in your face, you're likely to talk back. During any scene when it would be wise to stop talking, roll a flat Cool check to resist the urge to say something insulting or otherwise exacerbate the situation.
Bloody Reputation Advantage 4 Anybody that knows who you are knows you're not afraid to knock heads. Agents have your number on their short list, and you can always get a job when you need one. What's more, people tend to avoid pissing you off; they'll make way in a crowded space, forget to charge you for drinks, etc.
Laddered Advantage ∞ You've learned the social norms and graces of people who are different from you. Choose one Social Level: that Level now counts as another Home Level whenever making Social SSI checks. Calculate Social penalties based on the nearest one.
Each time you take this Trait, choose a new Social Level.
Monetized Following Advantage 5 You know how to monetize your fanbase in ways other people never figure out. Personality, manipulation, selling supplements, or you could just be cute. If you have 20k followers, gain 1 Asset. Gain another every time your follower count doubles (40k, 80k, 160k, etc).
Shadow Groups Advantage 4 You know people in the darkest parts of the ANet. There's servers most people don't know about where you can find illegal things and powerful software. You've got memberships to sites that don't exist on any known database.
Stanbase Advantage 4 One tenth of one percent (0.1%) of your followers are diehard fans. They have your contact info, you have theirs, and they'll lie for you, fight for you, hide you, or more. If you ask them to put themselves in danger, you'll have to make some difficult SSI checks, but for the most part they've got your back. They do expect a lot back though; shout-outs, autographs, merch, attention, freebies, etc.
Tech Traits
Bad ICS Advantage 2, Struggle 5 Your ICS is either broken, removed, or you never had one. You are immune to all software attacks and cannot be hacked. Your access is restricted to RMI; you cannot access ARI, AVI, or VRI.
Bad NeuroChain Advantage 3, Struggle 7 Your NeuroChain implant is irreparably broken, got removed, or you never had one. You are impossible to track via any ANet algos, and you cannot accumulate corporate bounty. You have no $, can't send or receive any cryptocurrency, can't own anything, can't have memberships, can't be tracked, and your standing bounty is increased by 10$.
Bad Slot Advantage 1, Struggle 3 Your shard slot is irreparably broken, got removed, or you never had one. Anyone hacking your ICS has a -3 penalty on their SSI Checks. You also cannot use datashards or skillshards.
Extra ICE Advantage 1-5 Self-written or purchased, you've got beefed up security. Add your ranks in this Trait to your ICS Firewall.
Script Prep Advantage 3 You've got plenty of backup apps and modular algorithms. While you're in VR, you don't suffer stress for Pushing an SSI Software check.
Software Compression Advantage 3 You've got the latest compression software, and you know how to use it. Every app and UCT (but not skill chip) in your personal storage is treated as half its actual size.
Vehicle You have a vehicle. LYNN FINISH THIS TRAIT
Everyone in the cyberstar wastes is a cyborg. You don't have a say in the matter. Within hours of birth you were fitted with NeuroChain, which is a specific form of self-guided bio-synthetic cyberware that filters itself through your brain matter. NeuroChain supplies you with an Internal Computing System (ICS), which supports a specific kind of blockchain that allows you to receive, hold, and transfer UCTs with other people; since basically everything in corporate space is a UCT (or locked by a UCT), you can't basically exist in society without one.
Most people don't stop with their NeuroChain and ICS, because honestly the "can't exist in society without it" rule applies to other types of cyberware. Gotta work harder to try to pay your rent, but all your coworkers and competitors are fitted with the latest cyberware, so the only real answer is to match their game. These days, though, that's not even really a big deal.
Cyberware is, for the most part, just another thing you can have, just another thing you can do with your body. In corporate zones cyberware is seen as a necessary and important tool to maximize work productivity, while in free zones it's often seen as a means of personal expression as much as combat support. Stopping by your local cyberdoc to swap that meat arm out for a shiny chrome prosthetic that'll help you with your driving is as easy, and as common, as stopping by the tattoo parlor next door. Plus, it's often more affordable.
They say life has always been tough, but in the cyberstar wastes it's just brutal. If you can't pay your rent you get evicted, if you get evicted you can't make it to work, if you can't work you can't pay your rent. Your neighbors are all caught in the same vicious circle, and the problem is turning each other in for a bit of extra cash is a great way to pay rent. Plus there's the gang violence as bosses fight for prime speakeasy locations, meat- and chrome-scavs hunting people for sport, and more. Your boss doesn't give a shit about any of it either, they've got quotas to fill and spreadsheets to balance, and if you can't hold up your job description there's plenty of new applicants who will. And if you complain, well then you'll learn that corporate security makes gang violence look like a picnic.
In between it all, you're bombarded with the latest ads for toothpaste, shoes, cars, sex, home androids, work androids, replicant love, vacation cruises, movies, songs, brainfeeds, breakfast cereals, and so much more. Every corporation, every media franchise, every celebrity, all want you to base your life on them, buy their merch, emulate their styles, follow their ideals, because they know best, they're rich so they must have it figured out, and all you gotta do is buy one more bit of self-help and you'll be good to go. Plus your local church wants you to attend more regularly and follow the rules like a good adherant. But the community needs you too, needs you to step up and be a team player, stop putting your needs over the community. Except you can't be too selfish because you've watched people eat themselves alive, watched as they became so obsessed with individualism that they let their own children die because it wasn't their problem.
How does anyone live like this? How do you balance it? One day at a time, baby, one day at a time. You spend time with your friends to remind you what's important. You spend time on personal tasks to keep in touch with yourself. You do things for other people in an effort to keep that growing hate and apathy inside you from completely taking over. You do what you can.
Out in corporate zones, nobody gets to choose much of anything. Corporate execs are eager to control how everyone lives their lives, because that makes it easier for them to market appropriately. You've got to act and think the right way, including how you dress, how you speak, how you present your gender, who you have sex with and how you do it, what role you play in your household, and more. If you don't you're liable to lose your job, lose corporate funding or benefits, lose stock options, all of which can lead to losing your home and more.
In free zones, people don't put up with that bullshit. This is, in large part, why these zones are in fact considered "free," despite the fact cops can still gun you down and you still owe massive debt. Here, at the very least, you can be who you are. Many people specifically come to free zones to explore personal expression, and everyone here embraces difference as the norm. Granted, there are always bigots, fascists, and assholes, even in a free zone, but at least in this place they're not the ones running things.
So, whoever you are, and however you wish to live and present yourself, go for it. Cis woman who dresses like a man? Rock it. Trans man who looks like a cute girlie-pop? Rock it. Gender-free cyber-entity with four cybernetic arms, three breasts, a cock, and a cunt? Rock it. Wanna fuck anyone who'll have you? Do it. Wanna be monogamous while your partner isn't? Do it. Wanna have sex with literally no one? Do it (or don't). Freedom of expression and personal exploration is one of the pillars of any free zone. Embrace it.
Culture fits into this same equation as well. Out in the corporate zones they make a big noise about cultural appreciation, but they're only willing to tolerate anything that fits within the confines of their marketability spreadsheets. More importantly, a lot of that culture has been lost in the wash of brandwashing, endless wars, separation from Earth, and the Cold Dark. In the free zones, not only can you represent your culture proudly, but there are whole communities dedicated to recovering, exploring, and preserving Earth's endangered past.
Cultural Identity
We lost some of our ancient cultures before we ever left Earth, and we lost Earth a long time ago. At this point exploring your own cultural heritage can be as much of a historial exploration as it is an expression of self, especially after the Cold Dark. With the advent of free zones, people have taken to exploring their heritage with renewed vigor. Communities have sprung up within different areas of each free zone, communities dedicated to learning about their own culture so it can be preserved.
Gender Identity
Your gender identity is a complex subject, but it's also simpler than you think. Who and what are you? Be that. In the free zones you can freely be whoever you are. For many people, it's just how they feel, without any thought. For others it's the result, or even the process, of self-exploration and introspection. For some it's even an active rebellion against norms. And for some, it's good fun!
Gender Expression
Completely separate from gender and the sex, how do you present yourself? It can be anything, it can be lots of things, it can be everything! It can change from minute to minute, shift as you learn more about yourself, or hold solid throughout your life. This also applies to the role you play in your life and in your relationships.
Sex Characteristics
You might find this odd, but I recommend giving some thought to sex characteristics (ie: genitals, hair growth, and the like). Thanks to modern medtech, you're not locked into what you were born with. Many people stay with what they've got; though they might have something reduced, enlarged, or reshaped. Other people change their body to suit their desires. Some feel they're correcting an error, others want to explore, and some genuinely feel like all, some, or none of the common sex characteristics fit their needs.
Anthros in Space
While not exactly common, it's fairly popular among some crowds in free zones to get full anthropomorphic bioaugmentation, to one degree or another. On the more common lesser degree, you've got your catgirls and catboys; generally human people who've got kitty ears and tails, or sometimes other catlike characteristics. On the other end of the extreme, there are people with full-body bioaugment conversions; full-fledged cat people, dragon people, horse people, you name it. It's the furry community given full access to the most advanced bio-sculpting medical technology available.
Faith and Religion
The two most prominent religions in the cyberstar wastes are the Path of the Algorithm, and the Church of the Dark. The former is dedicated to finding the hidden truths behind algorithms and seeking the great grand algorithm that quantifies all things in the universe; adherants of this faith are sure that if they can just find the right sequence they can figure everything out the secrets of life. By contrast, the latter is dedicated to the knowledge that all warmth and light are exceptions to the universal baseline of cold, dark, emptiness; adherants of the Church see all life as pointless, to some that is an excuse to be horrid, while to others it's a comfort to embrace life as it comes.
Other religions exist, of course, they're just nowhere near the scale of those first two. Some people worship corporate execs, some worship money, some even worship cyberware or other tech. You can even find adherants of ancient religions from lost Earth, especially among some of the neighborhoods dedicated to exploring old cultures. Atheism is also very popular in the cyberstar wastes, but it's less an expression of not believing and more a result of giving up.