Alpha State
This game system, and the setting in which it takes place, are both in active development. Everything on this site is subject to change. Please hard refresh pages when you visit to ensure you're viewing the latest versions.One of the primary joys of working with corponations, corporations, or occasionally governments (as laughable as those are), is an enormous amount of red tape. Most COOs want to know exactly what resources the company has at all times, and where those resources are; CFOs want to know precisely how much the comany has, how much money has been spent, on what, and why. Sometimes you can't do anything without filling out seventeen digital forms and making a VR report to a council of mid-level execs who can veto your entire operation just because they disliked your VR avatar. There's a lot to know, and there's a lot you can get wrong.
Interacting With Bureaucracy
When dealing with any bureaucracy, knowledge of how all bureaucracies generally tend to work is incredibly valuable. It helps to understand what corporate structures look like and how the day-to-day interactions of employees affect the functions of that business structure.
Navigating Bureaucracy
Clever + Education + Bureaucracy
Sometimes it becomes necessary to interact with the corporate world. It's just life. When that happens—whether you're trying to get information, acquire something legally, start some legal procedures, or legally purchase something outside the normal sales channels—you gotta know how to work the system. Additionally, this Check can simply determine whether you know how bureaucracies work in general, or how a specific bureaucracy works.
((LYNN ADD SOME STUFF ABOUT NON-CORPO BUREAUCRACIES))
DN 8 Freely available information that anyone can find; how much you personally owe a company for vehicle payments.
DN 11 Available to most people; how many vehicles the company has in stock for sale.
DN 14 Available to anyone with clearance; lists of vehicles bought and sold within the last quarter.
DN 17 Restricted information; how much someone else owes a company for vehicle payments, or how to legally get your vehicle out of impound.
DN 20 Highly restricted information; who you might bribe to illegally get your vehicle out of impound, or getting permission to use corporate facilities you're not authorized for.
Difficulty Modifiers
At the Narrator's discretion, they might modify the DN based on special factors:
DN +2 Request is a bit unusual.
DN +6 Request is very unusual.
DN -2 The bureaucracy in question is well-funded, has good morale, or is highly dedicated.
DN +2 The bureaucracy in question is poorly funded or has low morale.
DN +4 The bureaucracy in question is very corrupt and doesn't care about providing services.
+2 to character's STK Check The character making the request is well known and liked within the bureaucracy in question.
STK Check Results
The results of your STK Check determine what happens:
Minor Effect means you acquire only partial information, or the information you acquire is compromised in some way. If you're attempting to accomplish some type of action, you gain only partial benefits or there is some type of complication that makes your story more difficult moving forward.
Strong Effect means you acquire the information you were seeking, or you accomplish the action you wanted to take.
Critical Effect means you acquire the information sought or accomplish the action you wanted to take, but you also gain a contact, or someone in that bureaucracy owes you a favor.