1:1 Keep In Mind
The game system for SINergy has been written with three things always in mind.
Simplicity It has to be easy to understand and easy to use with minimum impact on the players roleplaying.
True to the Genre It has to have the scope to cope with the vast array of abilities and technology that are crucial to the cyberpunk setting and style.
Suitability to the game environment It has to work for anything up to a hundred characters in a noisy nightclub.
This is essentially a collection of contradictions. The end result is a system that has made the necessary compromises in order to get an end result that works in the best number of cases. It is not perfect and never will be. It will continue to develop as some rules are revealed to be too complicated and others to simplistic. As players you need to accept this and assist the ref team ensuring you understand and abide by the rules as they are presented.
1:2 Player Guidelines
Some important notes about player conduct. Please consider them carefully.
Members Of The Public
SINergy events are largely run in the middle of busy urban areas. Although the venues are privately hired you may come in contact with members of the public around the area of the venue. It is the policy of the club to present a positive image of Live Role Playing to the public and we suggest you follow these guides during your occasional encounters with the public at large.
If they talk to you respond politely, do not provoke or become provoked. Do not act in a threatening or hostile manner (save it for the game).
Do not carry exposed weapons; do not wear weapons in holsters. Whilst outside the venue all weapons must be completely covered. A single call from a concerned passer by will have an armed response unit showing up within 5 minutes. The severity of this cannot be stressed if just one player is stupid enough not to obey these rules, players may lose their jobs, the club owner may lose his license and we WILL lose the venue.
Narcotics
Do not bring illegal drugs to any SINergy event. Do not use illegal drugs at any SINergy event. If you are offered illegal drugs at any SINergy event report it to the event organisers. Any one found carrying or using illegal drugs will be reported to the authorities. Due to the drug culture of the genre your character may come in contact with a lot of in game narcotics. Do not take any substance offered to you without definite confirmation of what the phys rep is. If in doubt say you have taken the drug and then destroy the phys rep out of character.
Alcohol
If you wish to partake of alcohol please do so, in moderation. Any one found to be acting in an abusive or unsafe manner will be removed from the game until such time the event organisers deem fit. Also all alcohol must be bought on the premises, it is a nightclub after all.
Combat
All melee weapons must be latex LRP phys reps and all blows must be pulled.
There are no head hits in system! Do not aim a melee weapon at anyone's head. The risk of serious damage to the player is to great a consideration.
Range weapons should not fire any actual projectiles.
Unarmed combat attacks must not make contact, all attacks should be mimed and should be pulled short at least 12 inches from the target.
Respect your fellow Role-players
Although the cyberpunk setting is one of violence and counter-social behaviour as players you must always keep in mind real world consideration for the other players. Do not physically manhandle people unless you are sure they are happy with it. If at any time a player says to you that they are not happy with what you are doing in character STOP any player found being mistreating others after being asked to stop will be asked to leave immediately.
Be considerate of other peoples belongings do not damage them. If in character you pick up or steal something you must report it to a ref as soon as possible. A character will no doubt be upset if their case goes missing but the player will want to know that their phys rep is accounted for.
What the ref says goes
The Refs word is final. If you do not like a decision please do not seek out another ref to ask. If you think a decision is wrong feel free to point out why, mistakes can be made, but do not argue the point. The chances are refs are acting on information your character does not have, regardless of what it says on your character sheet.
1:3 The SINergy Rule System
SINergy like many other Live Action events enforces a rules system to govern events that need 'real world' regulation. Especially in the genre of Cyberpunk combat actions like gun fire or acts of super human abilities need a method of representation exterior to the roleplay ability of the player. Below are two examples of why we cannot do everything our characters can do.
For instance: TOM discharges a live fire handgun in the club and kills DICK for eying his girlfriend up.
For instance: DICK decides to use his enhanced cybernetic legs to jump over half the club in a single bound. He bounds, trips over a table, spills three pints, a glass of wine and impales himself on a chair leg. He is declared dead 5 minutes later by reasons of his own stupidity.
As the above rather drastic cases show the game requires a 'rules system' to govern those events that cannot be acted out by the player because they are either simply too dangerous or actions his or her character would be capable of but the player might not.
The way SINergy deals with such a scenario is by allowing the player to create a character with a list of skills that can be used in game in place of the player's real attributes. To compliment these skills there are rules that must be followed allowing actions that would normally be impossible for the player to accomplish.
The essence of this is roleplay, you are effectively playing a role in a situation. The way the character reacts to the situation is dictated by the background you write and the skills they acquire.
For instance: DICK's character was beaten by Nuns as a child while attending a Catholic school thus when another player TOM enters the nightclub wearing a Nun's costume he immediately uses his Firearms skill to attack TOM. DICK was never beaten by Nuns, he merely reacted as his character would have in the given situation; this is the core of roleplaying.
1:3:1 Ref Calls
These are certain conventions in LARP that tend to go without saying and SINergy adheres to them. Because they can so often be taken for granted they are always worth a recap.
In SINergy there are five ref calls that need to be remembered and adhered to despite whatever actions you are performing or whatever the situation you or your character is in. These calls will be made by a ref and immediately players must stop what they are doing and correspond with the ref command.
As the voice of the ref making the call may not reach every player in the club it is part of the in game etiquette that the players pass on the call so that everybody is aware of the situation.
As most of the calls deal with altering the 'In Character' environment they are used sparingly and only in cases that warrant their use in order to preserve the sense of total immersion.
Time In: When this is called the real world ceases to exist and the entire nightclub becomes In Character. This means that every action you perform and every word you say is taken as being from you Character. This call is used at the very beginning of a session and also after a 'Time Stop' or 'Time Freeze' call has been made.
Time Stop: When this call is made the game pauses and you must freeze on the spot to allow the refs to describe or set up and an event that cannot be represented in the 'In Character' environment. The end of the effect will be indicated by a 'Time In' call after which you should continue with the activity you were performing prior to the call. No time has passed for your character!
Time Freeze: When this call is made the game 'pauses' and every character is frozen on the spot in mid action. This call is used to allow the refs to single out players and give them instructions and to also perform tasks that would otherwise not be noticed by the players. Players must remain where they are, close their eyes and hum monotonously in order for the ref to complete their task. The end of the effect will be indicated by a 'Time In' call after which you should continue with the activity you were performing prior to the call. No time has passed for your character!
Time Out: The real world suddenly has meaning again as when this call is made the 'In Character' environment ceases to exist and your own identity suddenly comes flooding back. This call is used at the end of the session in order to stop the game leaving you free to interact 'Out of Character'.
1:3:2 Other Calls
The only other call in the game is 'Man Down', which is made by both Players and Refs in the given situation.
Man Down: This Call is made when a player, ref or NPC has suffered a real injury and requires medical attention. If you hear the call every one immediately goes to 'Time Out'. Seek a Ref or qualified First-Aider. If you are not involved in the incident please stay where you are and stay calm until advised by a ref what to do. Qualified First-Aiders will be indicated prior to the start of the event by the refs.
Please consult the section on SAFETY for more rules and advice on the procedure in the event of an injury.
Please Note: Due to the emergency of this call it is NEVER to be used 'In Character' for any reason.
1:4 Skill Use
All characters in the SINergy system have a list of skills representing a characters strengths and talents. As there needs to be a way of rating whether a 'skill use' is successful each skill is given a numerical level. This usually from 1-5.
To perform an action that relies on a skill you must make a skill challenge, this basically equates to seeing if the level of your skill is higher than the level of the relevant opposing skill or difficulty assigned to the task (by a ref).
It's a game of numbers where if your number is HIGHER than their number then you succeed, if it's equal to or less than then you fail.
Although this may sound complex it's much simpler if you consider the following example:
For instance: TOM uses his 'Strength Skill' to push HARRY. TOM's Strength Skill is 6 and HARRY's 'Strength Skill' is 5 so he succeeds and HARRY falls over. If TOM's 'Strength Skill' had been 5 (or below) he would have failed.
For instance: If you are trying to use your Electronics Skill (level 3) to bypass an electronic lock you tell a ref what you are trying to do and the skill you are using. The ref knows that the lock is only level 2 so your character can open it. They tell you so then role-play the activity of actually picking the lock (although as a player you know it will work your character won't until they have actually tried to open it. If the lock had been level 3 the character would not have been able to open it, but you would still have to role play trying in order to find that out).
If you do not have skill then you cannot use it (your character effectively knows nothing about it). If you are being attacked and do not have the appropriate skill to resist then the attack will automatically succeed. If you are standing over a bleeding body and do not have the Paramedic skill, then you can do nothing to help them.
If you require specific equipment to perform a skill and you do not have it, you cannot use the skill. If you are a net runner and do not have a deck, you cannot net run. If you are a surgeon and you do not have your surgical tools, you cannot perform surgery.
All the common skills are listed in the Skills Appendix and tell you everything you need to know about what the skill can do, if it requires any special equipment to use (e.g. Paramedic requires a first aid kit), the amount of time it takes (if applicable) and a guide to what the skill can be used for at each level.
Skill ratings can be modified by certain circumstances or items. If they are working in the characters favour they are positive modifiers, if they are working against them they are negative. A modifier adds to the level of the characters skill assuming the character has access to the modifier.
No Skill can benefit from more than two separate modifiers at once.
For instance: TOM has a Smart Link (+1 Firearms modifier). He has it installed on this assault rifle. When he uses his assault Rifle his Firearms skill level is increased by +1. If TOM used his pistol he does not get the modifier.
For instance: DICK is using his Street Deal skill in order to get hold of a police shotgun. He has a contact in the Police. If DICK calls his contact he will get +1 to his Street Deal in his attempt. If his contact did not answer the phone then DICK could not get the modifier.
Some Items/Contacts have their own Skill levels. If a character makes use of them they can use the skill as if they had that skill themselves. If the character already has the same skill at a higher level then (unless the item/contact description notes otherwise) there is no benefit.
For Example: An armoured vest has Endurance 2. If you put on the vest you can resist getting hit or shot as if you had Endurance 2. If you already had Endurance 2 then the vests Endurance 2 would not count (however the description for the vest indicates that it adds +2 to the Endurance of anyone wearing it).
For Example: A characters contact in the army has 'Specialised Skill' of Military 5. The character can call the contact and get the contact to use that skill for him (to acquire an assault rifle for example). If the character already had Military 5 there would be no point calling the contact as the character knows just as much! However Contacts act as a +1 modifier if you already have the same skill as them, so maybe he would be worth calling after all?
This same game mechanic applies to every skill in the system in exactly the same way. Many skills have their own system quirks (particularly combat skills), but they all fall back to the same principle. Don't worry if all that hasn't sunk in yet each game term is broken down into its own segment allowing for a simple explanation of each.
Luck
To represent a random element and unpredictability in the world the Primary Skill: Luck which comes under the SOUL Stat allows the user to add points to any skill use or challenge in the game.
For Example: TOM wants to use his Primary Skill: Firearms skill to shoot DICK. However he knows his Firearms skill is only 4 and probably not good enough to take down an expert solo like DICK. His Primary Skill of Luck is 4 and he uses two of his points to add to his Firearms Skill to make it a total of 6 for one lucky shot! He now only has two Luck points left, which he saves for another time.
Luck refreshes at the end of every session so if you spend all your points early on you'll have to survive the rest of the session without them!
