The Harbinger of Ferocity

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

The beast of a man snarled as he had come too far in this endeavor to let mere scale-worshiping underlings stand in his way or the way of his unlikely allies. It was after this thought found itself seized, this need to act, that his hand freed the greatsword from its scabbard; the brutal, serrated teeth of its more ornate upper half clicking and clinking hungrily against the metal. With the other hand free, he spread his palm wide and soon laid it upon the necklace that hung around his neck, which began to shift from side to side faster as his pace built from hustle to run. A metallic taste filling his mouth, the unnatural animal hunger within him beckoning and leading the charge.

A pale, moonlit corona soon followed with him, shrouding the man in defensive abjuration as his primal faith grew stronger into a physical force. All of it was born of the thrill of the hunt, the impending kill which compelled him, and spurred him to swing with terrible force. The halfling woman, realizing it or not, had inspired a portion of this wrath and helped add conviction to the sword's blow that fell upon the man barking orders. This culmination resulted in what was perhaps one of the most terrible swings of the weapon the outlander had ever given and surely it would rend flesh and armor alike upon the elven runeblade. Though as he pivoted, turning to carry through with the momentum, a trail of glinting, dull green spirit fire followed; a sanctified strike, magic through the body into the sword itself, one that made it no mere mundane attack any more.

Brannor hadn't the faintest of just how deadly a blow he had well struck through otherworldly power, instead, in sheath of moonlight armor and chainmail, he wheeled to face the next closest foe with cloak turning to follow. Not that he could think of it either in this moment of adrenaline and battle, but if the first man was not dead outright, the cultist would be so reeling that they might opt to get well out of the danger that was proximity to the Champion of Greenest. However, there was not a fiber of mercy in the man at this point. The burning argent fire of the Pale Lady told him to kill the enemies of the light and now? Now was his chance.

Effects

Brannor moves in to attack the apparent enemy leader, casting Shield of Faith as a bonus action while doing so, raising his Armor Class to 18. He begins concentrating on that spell. He then attacks, expending Parum's Inspire Courage bonus and resulting in a staggering attack of 24. Assuming this blow hits, he deals 15 points of slashing damage from his greatsword and 8 added points of divine damage as he expends a spell slot to cast Smite for 23 total.

If an enemy provokes an opportunity attack from him, he will take it without question or mercy. He will not prioritize any one target over the other if multiple enemies provoke at once.

@Hekazu@Gordian Nought@Ryonara@Lucius Cypher@Norschtalen

Printed guns, melded metal - An experimental GM-less Cyberpunk RP

I personally am for smacking down power creep where it raises its head. Of course we are investing tremendous trust in one another already, but even trusted persons can and do prove unreliable. I believe the main issue with it is, is that when one starts to do it, many others like to follow suit. While this is only natural, you see it in most free form styled roleplays where each successive character in any sort of combat or potential player conflict game exists, it is not in our collective best interest. This is why I am saying we should utterly eschew that and leave it squarely in the realm of non-player character territory, mainly because it takes the power from one set of hands and lays all members' on it.

A player might have a collective set of non-player characters they assume and associate with for their play style, but that being their character to the point they benefit from the usual graces? It reduces that level. Call me skeptical, as my experience has taught me to trust no one in any semblance even close to that of actual trust, so dividing and eliminating potential issue is for the best. I simply do not think under any circumstances players should be anything close to mid tier importance on average and perhaps one, maybe two, edge that way.

Printed guns, melded metal - An experimental GM-less Cyberpunk RP

I would say so long as it is clear there is no one master corporation, there should not be too much issue from players introducing themes relating to them. There are surely some megacorporations of course, ones that are the real titans, but a gambit of everything vying for those upper tendrils of power and niche roles should be fine. Generally the only thing I would urge us all to stay far away from is power creep of any sort, say any of our characters being more, if involved in a corporation of course alike anything else, being mid-level at best. Not an executive, but a supervisor or manager; a boss, but not one the bosses. Likewise, a gang enforcer but not the criminal leader, a police sergeant or detective, but not the captain, so on and so forth.

Printed guns, melded metal - An experimental GM-less Cyberpunk RP

I find the proposal of one giant, stretching, ongoing city to have my vote since it covers the areas I find most of interest. So I am all for @Hekazu's Night City, namely since the idea of separate nations and states in cyberpunk have always been mostly irrelevant. That and it offers the most diverse environment in quality and content.

Printed guns, melded metal - An experimental GM-less Cyberpunk RP

@Terminal

The third element I largely see as just a component of it. Of course there are "good" people and there can be, but most of who the players are going to be dealing with, keeping with the cyberpunk theme, are morally questionable. Everyone sort of is to some extent, even philosophically. Being augmented and covered in chrome might be beautiful, even to the point of obsession, or sickening. Just as doing the "right thing" might not be the good thing in all cases. That gives it that sort of hazy cling about an already uncertain future I think. There is nothing definitive there, just saying that most everyone, players likely as well aren't much of "good" people. People trying to get by in a predatory environment, however? That is likely.

As for the doings of the lieutenant and the consequences, I see it as a sort of issue where everyone will have their hand in the jar and no one is going to get what they want. The gangs obviously want their cyberware and they want it now, meaning helping or hurting him to get it, all at the same time the actual police are trying to investigate it while the corporate overlords are doing the same thing trying to keep the other three, plus any outer parties, far away. For the group of players themselves it becomes a question of, "What's the best thing to do?" and I am fond of that.

@BangoSkank

The world of a consumerist future as with cyberpunk generally tend to be highly globalized in the major cities, as those you listed, and anyone outside of them are left in the wayside and dust; sometimes in the literal sense. Many of those locations in the stories of this genre tend to be nuclear wastelands or otherwise totally irrelevant. Governments are corrupt and defunct, mostly owned in every sense, even transparent enough for people to be jaded to it, by megacorporations who have their hands in everything. Imagine buying gas, food, and water from only one company. While being completely dominated there, there is a plethora of competing and massive heads of technology; cyberware of various sorts and models is plentiful and expensive, with every corporation out to steal the other's secrets or run them out of business. Buying them out is considered a kind way to cease to exist.

For myself I always liked the idea of tiered approaches and zones, say no-go zones which are basically the slums where only the armed and armored police go and are ruled by gangs and low-level criminals, then of course the major, ultra dense, overly saturated metropolis locations where skyscrapers cram the heart of a city. My personal preference for this is California, Los Angeles or San Francisco because of the sprawl and say, a massive buildup over it, surrounded by huge concrete barriers and walls.

As for dystopia, yes, expect plenty of low resolution cameras but few belonging to the government. The sort of assumption that if you are on corporate territory things are alarmed or watched to some extent but nothing like London today. More dysfunctional and cynical than that. Say, where getting mugged or stabbed is common place as a real threat still if you go down the wrong isle between buildings and a camera might be watching, but the corporate security shrug and "get around to it" when they can.

My general feeling is that technology varies wildly and people with money flaunt it. Headvisors to replace eyes, internal cellphones and credit devices, artificial livers and kidneys, implants for memory or knowledge circuitry, robotic hands that could be replaced and removed with false flesh ones, chrome, matte black, etc, while the poorest of people haven't even a phone at all. I really suspect a full gambit given the tone

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

That can be dealt with, it certainly is a livable issue fortunately in this edition over others where that might be more difficult to contend with. No need to feel too obligated there, Theater of Mind should do well enough even if combat spills over. This should not be too organized and orchestrated a fight if it comes to blows, but there are no assurances of that!

Printed guns, melded metal - An experimental GM-less Cyberpunk RP

Thank you for putting this forward as we go on our endeavor, @Hekazu. I would like to think that the last option regarding the lieutenant offers the most opportunity, particularly if when we all at times maneuver him about here and there, that we have a reason and an obligation to investigate further. Then where relevant, or particularly dramatic, either of the other options can play out. Of course this requires a great deal of trust between all of us, the idea would more or less be that if someone does something with a non-player character, especially something significant - say on one of the missions to help straighten out his record he dies by a sniper, who is perhaps a hitman - that the person is then responsible for making sense of it and helping the party to sort of have some direction from there. It needn't be significant, it could be as simple as getting a face scan from the killer and some of his blood, now having to run it through a corporation or the overburdened police, but we as the group are given something to fairly work with.

Our main points hold as follows:

• Not much is set in stone, but the setting is. When we say Cyberpunk, we are referring to the style of the tabletop roleplaying game Cyberpunk 2020's world. This is to avoid Cyberpunk world mismatch issues that otherwise might arise.
  • Just to be clear, we are not bringing in the game elements of Cyberpunk 2020. It is the retrofuturism style it carries with it.
  • The rulebook for said system can, for setting reference purposes, be obtained from me upon request.
• Now that what is set in stone has been iterated, I shall reiterate the earlier point: Not much else is. This means the story is free to progress where the players want to take it, but this is still a communal effort.
• OOC talk of the RP is not only encouraged. It is pretty much a must for something like this.

@Hekazu

Here are a few relevant elements I think to note and build off of to the points listed before.

• Cyberpunk Retrofuturism
  • Dark and dreary dystopian future based upon the 1980s in part, being a mixture of analog, digital, and brightly lit neon. Somewhere that the morality is a bit grey and finding "white morality" is rare because there is so much black. Not grimdark, more the technological future is frightening and strange, almost alien. Technology is a mishmash of plugging one's self into outlets and sockets to use some devices while at the same time the cyberworld is simultaneously more and less advanced and involved than in actuality.
  • A sense of underlying absurdism, as it is punk after all. Be it bright, garish colors, giant mohawks, studs and leather, or finely crafted suits and shined shoes with perfectly, immaculately kept hair for the business day. The idea either you are a part of the system or bucking it, but either way you know it terribly corrupt, ruled by corporations and consummerism gone wrong.
  • Technology did not necessarily get better and or smaller, just advanced differently to the point connecting one's brain to the net seems sane while trying to make a computer that fits in your pocket is more or less still technological sorcery. People have phones built into their bodies and can replace entire limbs, but the concept of wireless anything is metaphorical magic.
• For the world a general idea is that most of the people in it are not chromed to the nines; they might have the basics to get by, but are not optimized to being walking tanks or superhackers who could easily end up on the most wanted lists, those official and unofficial. There might be a few who are real cyborg types, but in general that is still rare. Keeping a sort of contrast between the having-nothings, or those who chose to forgo changing times, and the pristine future. Namely the freakshows and oddballs in between being a major area of interest.
• Themes of both white and blue collar crime, but where crime and corruption are rampant. There are few "good" cops, as in the ones who are not only doing the right thing for the right reasons, but are not morally questionable either. The type of world where a doctor is pretty clear he wants your wallet and is happy to give you what you ask for if the appropriate pay follows suit. A world where the "good" people might just be the gangs trying to police their own turf and even that is debatable.

Thoughts, opinions?

Post a random fact about yourself.

Even when left to my own devices I am seeking out some way to improve something, often myself. Generally this manifests as educational pursuit relative to my own interests or some sort of fitness application. Just what I am preparing myself for or even why eludes me other than the pervasive knowledge that I need better myself in every facet and capacity so that I might provide more for others. It becomes a point of obsession at times, trying to get to the reasons why just as much as those things worth doing.

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

Given we wish to generally keep to the rules where we can I would like, emphasize like, to go first. However, if @Ryonara so wishes to go first I will allow them to, @Hekazu. It is close enough that I am indifferent and see no real reason to be greedy with it. We are all part of the same cohesive unit as it is.

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

I would prefer a coin flip personally, @Hekazu, that or setting the standard of whoever has the higher Dexerity score of the two. Either way both of those are fair and should not too radically alter the approach of our hunter-knight and what he well intends to do. If these men are intent on preventing their escape and all their work, as well as having been associated and complicit with the evils of the cult we have seen so far, only one reasonable thing to do.