Netland: GURPS: III: What Has Tobe Done
(anyone who tries to correct the spelling of the subtitle is missing the point.)
Tens of thousands of years ago- well, many years in the future to us here in real life- the Earth was rendered uninhabitable by an alien force whose identity has been lost to the ages. Humanity, however, survived, primarily due to the actions of a band of intrepid computer technicans and a virtual reality control AI known as Adalf. Though the Earth's surface could not support life, its inhabitants were uploaded into an exact digital replica of the earth in the early twenty-first century, widely (and blindly, and quite possibly misinformedly) regarded as one of the most promising times in human history. Adalf was responsible for maintaining this simulation.
He got bored. After a mere fifteen simulated years, Adalf decided that the universe he presided over was simply too disinteresting to continue existing- and a significant portion of the populace agreed. "Why," they argued, "must this world be so tightly constrained to a picture of monotonous reality?"
Adalf listened. He created from himself seven God-AIs, whose purpose it was to watch over specific facets of the soon to be expanded simulated universe. He then searched through what data survived the cataclysm, taking any kind of fiction he saw and implementing it into the digital reality.
It has been over twenty thousand years since the creation of the universe as you know it, and for the first time since the original cataclysm, the world as a whole is in danger. Strange beings have been sighted all around the universe- corrupted, perverted parodies of its natural denizens. Hostile forces once destroyed have returned, led by an army of faceless humanoid creatures calling themselves the Kriegersklave (Kreeg-err-sklav-ah), and wearing the uniforms and banners of the ancient Nazi facist organization of the old universe.
The God-AIs have found their powers weakening, and for the first time in history are taking direct action. Groups of adventurers, soldiers, and simply exceptional individuals are being called upon to combat the force threatening the universe, trace its source, and destroy it.
You are members of one of these groups.
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Vital Statistics:
System: GURPS 4th Edition (+Ultra-Tech, Mass Combat, Magic, Space)
Point Level: 150 character points
TL: Any TL is possible- starting wealth should be determined by character TL (and note that your wealth may not be accessible outside your home setting)
Estimated Length: Long (Most Netland games run for about a year)
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So How Does This Whole Thing Work Anyway?
Most fictional settings are represented in the simulated universe. This presents an obvious problem- where, exactly, are we going to put all of them? The basic rule of thumb is that worlds are reached by the means they usually are- You can get to the Minecraft areas, City 17, Tokyo-3, New Vegas, Kamina City, Brittania, etc. simply by walking, driving, flying, or any other "conventional" means of transportation. Romulus, Mass Effect's Citadel, Lave, Alpha Centauri, Starton Eradani, and the like are usually reached by some means of space travel. More exotic planes can be reached by means of wardrobes, irate hippopotami, transporter malfunctions, obsidian portals, jumping backwards off of the pipe at the end of World 2-1 and taking the first Warp Zone pipe you see before the room is fully revealed, and other unusual modes of transport.
Alright, So Who Can I Be?
Character creation is limited to original characters. You cannot be a member of a very limited group either. You may not be Commander Shepard, nor may you be Gordon Freeman, and you may not be "a Soong-type android", or "one of the Elite Four", but you may be "a resistance member" or "a Jedi" or even "a Mk. VIII Bolo" if you can fit such a racial template into 150 points.
The reason for this is that Gordon Freeman and Commander Shepard are off doing their own thing somewhere else, and you may very well not be able to role-play them faithfully anyway (maybe Freeman and Shepard were bad examples...). Members of exclusive groups are also disallowed because the members of these groups are all specific characters, and there's a hint of Mary-Sue-ism in the idea of being "The secret android Soong never told anybody about and also he has sparkly skin and his eyes change color and he shoots lightning out his bum".
And Who The Hell Are You?
I'm Schilcote, GM, amateur musician, and programmer extraordinaire. I can usually be counted on for a few posts a day, and although I had a streak of fall-throughs a while back due to Real Life, I'm pretty dependable if you look at my entire history which spans at least three forums.
This Looks Neat, But I Don't Have GURPS, Oh Well...
Wait! There's still hope. One of the really neat things about GURPS is, in theory, you don't really need the Basic Set to play it- you can use the free GURPS Lite pamphlet containing the basic rules of the system. It can be found here (add it to your cart and check out as if you were buying something- the store will recognize your cart only contains free stuff and won't ask you for payment info). In practice, you usually need at least one guy with the full Basic Set to play a game, and it makes character creation even tougher than it usually is, but it's really not all that bad, especially when you've got such a helpful GM who is willing to bend over backwards to teach a newbie to play.
Wait, amateur musician? Will there be music in this game?
Yes.
Will it be any good?
... Not really.
Will this be a combat-focused game, or will it be mostly dialouge?
I'm going for a more or less fifty-fifty ratio of gunplay to wordplay, but I'll err towards the latter since combat tends to slow things down, especially in a PBP game. There'll always be a bunch of skill checks scattered around too.
How many characters?
Netland is a highly character-focused game, and having too many of them can hurt characterization and make the game harder to manage. I'm looking to start with five players at the absolute most- and in all likelyhood, only four will apply, and two of them will actually show up for the game. More PCs can be added later on, once everyone's firmly established themselves in my memory.
OH GOD SO MANY CHOICES WHAT SHOULD I BE
If you're having trouble deciding, try a TOAST Industries engineer or soldier. TOAST Industries is one of the few elements unique to Netland that we'll be coming across a lot, and familiarity with their equipment and corporate structure will likely be an asset to the party.
If that doesn't tickle your fancy, or you're going for a more morally-ambiguous feel, try a member of Anonymous. Anons in Netland are a sort of semi-hivemind, individuals, but linked. Anons can call upon the power of the group when needed, and have a ingrained familiarity with the more memetic, nastier elements of the simulated universe.
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That's all the info for now, feel free to ask questions.
