I feel like I've been spiraling in towards a resolution system for a while now. If only that was direct motion towards rather than a massive spiral covering hundreds of metaphorical miles of resolution space…
This is another multi-post thread, so if you're reading it while I post, the last item will be entitled "Miscellaneous Stuff."
Some notes before we start:
The 1/2/4/8 scale is getting reset to 1/2/3/4. Though I like the feel of doubling and it gave the right impression of the power gap involved, 1/2/3/4 and addition is easier to deal with than 1/2/4/8 and multiplication.
Expertise therefore becomes:
Proficient: One profession at 3, one at 2, one at 1. Locality at 2. No Import cost.
Omnicompetence: Obtain all professions at level 2. Import cost 1.
Adept: Four professions at level 3. No need to specialize. Import cost 1.
Satori: One profession at 4. Requires CV at 4. Import cost 1.
CVs are changing too; see later on for that.
Your character has five Capabilities, each representing a particular type of technology. They describe your inherited abilities, technological implants, and generalized training.
Characters whose bodies and minds are similar to 20th-century humans have unenhanced Capabilities. However, characters in SA are often enhanced in one manner or another. The overall quality, strength, and sophistication of the enhancements can be rated as High or Low, which is fairly self-explanatory. The approach taken to the technology is rated in a different manner, as Hard or Soft.
Most civilizations develop hard-style technology first. It relies on straightforward applications of power. Hard enhancement focuses on projecting external control or avoiding the same. Soft-style technology is more subtle and more sophisticated, with less use of brute force. Soft enhancements sense the environment, make minor adjustments with far-reaching effects, and alter the user. Both hard and soft enhancements offer an improvement over the baseline. Even though their approaches are very different, their effectiveness is roughly equal when it comes to a conflict. It is possible to build both types of enhancement into a character; at the High level of enhancement this gives access to other abilities that are only possible through the combination of both approaches. Such enhancements are typically referred to as "Cutting Edge."
Rate each Capability for your character as you see fit. Not all civilizations offer all enhancements, but this should not restrict you as you create your character. Record a numerical score as follows:
Unenhanced: 0
Low/Hard or Low/Soft: 1
High/Hard or High/Soft: 2
Low, both Hard and Soft: 2
High/Hard and Low/Soft, or vice versa: 3
Cutting Edge (Both High/Hard and High/Soft): 4
Average the numerical values of your character's two strongest technologies to get your Tech rating, between 0 and 4. Only the two highest count. Round down.
For instance, a Masquerader with Cutting-Edge Metatech (4), High/Soft Cognitech (2), and Low/Soft enhancement everywhere else would have a Tech rating of 3. A Stardweller with High/Soft and Low/Hard enhancements in every Capability would also have a Tech rating of 3.
Subtract your Tech rating from your starting Import.
State your goal and which Profession you're using to attempt it. If you don't have a suitable Profession, you can't achieve that goal (but see Core Values).
Add Profession to Tech to get a total. You should end up with score between 0 and 8. You will be comparing your total to that of your opponent.
In general, the higher score wins, though if the scores are close the victory may not be total. The consequences of a conflict come in the form of Complications. These Complications do not provide Twists.
Each side should have a particular Complication in mind going into the conflict, one that can represent your character's actions and intentions accurately in game or story terms. Only one item from a particular level should be chosen - if you inflict a minor complication on your foe, you cannot choose more than one effect.
Your chosen effects should be achievable on the same timescale as your opponent's. If someone assaults you with an axe and an intent to do grievous bodily harm, responding with a carefully orchestrated psychohistorical campaign is not going to stop you from ending up in multiple pieces. If Meta's your thing, perhaps some Words of Power or a memetic virus will help you come out with only minor wounds. If your opponent in a long-term action comes back with a shorter-term goal, you can feel free to revise yours in order to match theirs. You can return to your previous efforts afterward, pending the results of the conflict.
It is vitally important to note that characters with Soft Nanotech can read Capability scores without effort, and characters with Soft Metatech can do the same for Capabilities and (given time) Core Values. It is a fairly rare circumstance that would change these values, and such things are generally known and anticipated by experts in their fields. As a result, characters are likely to know their fate before engaging in a conflict. The phrase "I don't think I can do much here" should be in every character's vocabulary, followed immediately by "Let's see where I can be more effective."
| Difference | Effect |
| +/- 4 | No contest. The loser is at the winner's mercy, taking a critical complication while the winner is unharmed. |
| +/- 3 | Crushing. The winner takes a trivial complication, and the loser suffers a critical complication. |
| +/- 2 | Decisive victory. The winner takes a minor complication, while the loser suffers a critical complication. |
| +/- 1 | Narrow victory. The winner takes a moderate complication, while the loser suffers a major complication |
| 0 | Stalemate. Both sides suffer a moderate complication. |
In some situations it may be sensible not to use your highest Capabilities to determine your Tech score, but to instead pick two particular Capabilities that relate to the matter at hand. This most often comes up in situations where it is important to "play fair" rather than win at any cost. For instance, racing against an armed gunman to reach the reactor room is a no-holds-barred event. However, in a marathon, bringing out the Voice of Peace would be considered poor form. You could base your Tech score on just Bio and String. As another example, using Stringtech during a political debate is frowned upon. Meta and Cog are more appropriate. Reducing your Tech score in this way does not change your Import, but it does mean that you are less likely to end up in a follow-up conflict (or hot water in general).
So, you know you're going to win. You will need to be cagey. You will need to concentrate, pull some tricks, use your enhancements and training to the fullest, maybe even call in some favors, but you'll win.
Alternatively, you know you're going to lose. The outcome is not in doubt, even if you do all the above, because your opponent has you outclassed. More tech, more depth of knowledge, stronger allies, the whole nine yards. All you want to do is inflict your trivial complication to make an opening for your ally, and then get driven to the hospital. Do you really have to play through it?
Yes, you have to play through it! That's the whole point! You don't need to take up a half-hour describing everything in perfect detail, but the whole group wants to know how it happens.
Go down in style! Reveal your true strength! Fall to your one weakness! (bullets?) Wipe out half an army with a daisy-cutter grav-bomb! Grit through the pain like Sergeant Rock! Mesh-hack like a pro! Show this greenhorn how it's done! As long as the fight ends up where the numbers say it should, you and your opponent can describe all sorts of things.
Universal awareness of Capabilities and Professions means that a lot of the game happens outside of conflict. There's a lot of positioning and maneuvering and sidestepping, which is key to the feel of the game. However, that doesn't mean you can't have fun when it comes to a major clash.
The number in parentheses indicates the number of Twists that are available by willingly accepting the listed complication. Players may only take one Trivial and one Critical complication per game session, but may take as many others as their aching backs can carry.
Trivial (1): Annoyed, distracted, barely taxed. Lose track of a single being among dozens during a riot. Trip but catch yourself. Suffer a moment of doubt. Brain fart. This condition fades quickly - an immediate follow-up conflict can take advantage of a trivial complication for a +1 bonus, but otherwise the moment passes.
Minor (3): Your foe escapes. Slightly delayed in your plans. Your location is revealed to a distant enemy. Minor but noticeable monetary loss. Suffer a temporary loss of either Hard or Soft technology from a single Capability. Unable to exercise a Profession due to injury, circumstance, or exhausted resources.
Moderate (5): Kidnapped. Your actions are revealed to a distant enemy. Befriended by the enemy. Significantly delayed in your plans. Material possessions destroyed. One Core Value reduced by a point. Unable to exercise a single Capability or multiple professions, due to injury, circumstance, or exhausted resources. Foe escapes unharmed. At a -1 penalty in coming conflicts.
Major (7): Deluded by the enemy. Convinced of a particular fact or falsehood. Allies turn against you. Friends lost. Your Society rejects you. Unable to exercise one Core Value. Unable to exercise two Capabilities, due to injury, circumstance, unconsciousness, or exhausted resources. Limited to a single Profession, possibly Locality. At a -2 penalty in coming conflicts.
Critical (9): Core Values changed. Dying or near death. Unable to exercise any number of Capabilities or Professions. Exiled from your beloved homeland. Brainwashed or mesh-hacked extensively. Friends turned against you. Long-term plans ruined. At a -3 penalty in coming conflicts. This condition does not fade quickly or easily. Complications at this level may bring the Rule of Force into play.
It is possible to recover from any complications, short of certain items at the Critical level. Complications created through conflict can be removed by the use of Themes, but complications willingly accepted in order to gain Twists cannot (see the Frying Pan Rule).
You have four CVs, rated 1-4 each. You may not have more than one CV rated at 4 unless your Civilization benefit allows it.
Add your CV to your effectiveness to resist being convinced against it.
Subtract your CV from your effectiveness when being convinced toward it.
In addition, each level of a CV has a particular effect:
1: You may escalate (or deescalate) conflicts you are involved in related to your CV, forcing both sides to suffer a complication one level more (or less) severe than would normally be indicated. You can only do this once per conflict.
2: You receive +1 in related conflicts.
3: You may pursue related goals without the need for an associated Profession. (This does not substitute your CV value for a Profession, you simply may operate without one.) Get one Reserve token if this is your first CV at 3 or higher.
4: Ignore the loss of a Capability or Profession.
Below is a list of personal technologies associated with each stat. These are things that can be built into a living human being (or chassis) at each level.
The High/Low rating comes into play primarily when characters are in conflict with each other, not when determining what they may have available to them.
Enhanced at all: Indefinite lifespan
Hard: Toughened skin, poison sacs, stronger muscles, enhanced reflexes, concealed claws, drug reservoirs, organ regeneration, enhanced senses
Soft: Genetic analysis, cocoons, biofeedback, pathogen analysis, extended wakefulness, cancer disposal
Both: Custom virus factories, custom drug glands, slow metamorphosis
Enhanced at all: First-stage Meshes, perfect memory
Hard: Internal simulation processors, accelerated cognition, cerebral firewalls, data bombs,
Soft: Second-stage Meshes. Most Lenses, memory recombination, group-minding
Both: Instant Response Technique, pattern recognition enhancement
Enhanced at all: Applied Semiotics
Hard: Eye-Catching Stance, memetics, WAHI, conditioning
Soft: Read Profession and CV ratings. Psychohistory, memetic analysis, JAIT
Both: Instant assimilation, Words of Power
Enhanced at all: Dermal microbots
Hard: Nanophages, weak stealth, distraction arrays, builder bots,
Soft: Read Capability ratings. Replicators, sensor array, precise touch
Both: Programmable matter
Enhanced at all: Electrical reserves
Hard: Lasers, compression beams, bulletproof, energy weapon shielding, energy type conversion
Soft: Transmutation, flight, supersymmetric weapons, antimatter generation and negation
Both: Personal wormhole generator. Vortex sink.
| Group Size | Modifier |
| Just You | +0 |
| 2 | +1 |
| 3-10 | +2 |
| 11-100 | +3 |
| 101-1000 | +4 |
| 1001 - 10,000 | +5 |
| x10 bigger | +1 more |
Use relative size of the groups. Bonuses generally cap out at +3. For massively parallel processes (e.g. economics), cap at +4 instead.
Reserves:
Everyone with at least one CV of 3 or better gets one Reserve token that they can spend once/day for a +1 bonus to themselves (or an ally?). At the end of a conflict, check out the number of Reserve tokens spent. The more there are, the worse the battle was for the surrounding territory/people/infosphere. You can forfeit your token to take one out of the pot, but you don't get the +1.
Other matters:
Even though the outcome is pre-determined, you should still play through any conflict you would actually like to proceed with. Your character is also going in knowing what's going to happen; how is it going to go down?
Use the "escape" or "escape unharmed" to evade conflict.
Take a -2 penalty to completely hide your actions from your opponent, winning secretly. You may still end up taking a complication due to exhaustion or use of resources.
It is assumed (because multiple Capabilities are involved) that you will be switching tactics and pulling all sorts of tricks during a conflict. However, there is only one Profession involved. Even if you set someone up with a few verbal quips, a punch to the gut is still thrown with Soldier, or perhaps Athlete (Boxer). Your final goal determines the Profession involved, not the means that you use to achieve that goal. Someone with a very high level in a Profession is likely to be able to use it for more purposes, such as using Police to work with a media outlet and release a missing-persons story. Overlap is inevitable and ok. Try to keep this to level 3 and 4 of a Profession; be more strict with characters at the 1 or 2 level.
Anyone can decide to inflict a lesser Complication on their opponent than the table calls for. It is also possible to agree to a less serious conflict, in which the complications are one level less severe for all involved. Sparring matches, high school debate clubs, etc. do this all the time. However, you rely on your opponent's good will in such cases.
Alright. I like that CVs make a real difference.
How about professions through meshes and eqipment?
Shouldn't the bonus for group size be one point lower? Reading the table there is +1 bonus for being alone.
Profession Lenses will give a 2, matching up with the idea that some Omnicompetent folks are compulsive Lens collectors.
I'll fix the table. It was intended as "number of additional people" (so you get +1 for one person helping you), but I might as well make it really mean "total group size".
