Welcome to the Warfront, Choom! [🏳️‍⚧️LGBTQ+Friendly🏳️‍🌈]

Creating your character

Characters will be created during the first session/session 0. They will be done using the "complete package" system from the Cyberpunk RED Corebook with a few changes thrown into the process by yours truly (Don't worry, I'll have a little cheat sheet for newer players too). Players may also opt to follow the "Fast and Dirty" build or use pre-generated PCs if they aren't very experienced in Cyberpunk Red. I encourage players to have a solid idea of what or who they want to make, but want to emphasize that we will be doing the bulk of it during session 0. Please do not try to "get ahead of yourself" and start building the entire character from top to bottom before session 0 even rolls around. Being a Merc Level story and beginning, the character creation will be very specific and tailored to our story/campaign! For backstory elements (yep! still important even in a Mercenary Level Campaign) I will expect all players to fill out a short form for details/outline of their character before session 0. This is to help me and you formulate the best possible character we can and gives you something to do if you're starting to get overexcited and wanting to build out the whole character ahead of time. Meta builds are going to be just as welcomed as thematic builds, I'm not here to yuck anyone's yum, but I do expect players to maintain the same decency. Just because you "wouldn't do that" for your character doesn't mean that it is a bad idea for someone else's! That being said, this is going to be a combat-intensive setting, so make sure you've got a certain baseline of survivability. Players that don't finish their characters completely in session zero will be abled to do their finishing touches in the week between session zero and session 1. We'll be abled to stay in touch and coordinate through the discord "one-on-ones." All official content books (Core, Black Chrome, Interface 1-5, and other DLC) are welcome! Inter-player backstories and connected backstories are encouraged as the crew will all start as troopers of the same squad, but you can also just be casual co-workers new to the team too. As always, feel free to reach out and work with me when building both the mechanics and backstory of your character. I love when anyone that wants to be written into one of my world and will enjoy helping the process. Character creation is a collaboration, so don't be afraid to treat it as such! There are a handful of house rules that I will go over during session 0 as well. Come with an open attitude and ready to immerse yourself in the deadly world of Cyberpunk.

Preparing for the session

We will be using Discord and Roll20 for our sessions, so you will need an account on both sites/programs to play. Players will be abled to get access to the Discord server before and during session 0. Prospective mercs should be ready to fill out a simple character outline to help me better describe how your character moves, acts, etc. This is the same outline/form mentioned in the Character Creation guidelines. I expect all players to have a stable internet connection and working mic for playing.

What Bailey Hunton brings to the table

I like to set a casual tone as a baseline for the game session that hearkens back to playing a fun TTRPG with old friends late into the night, but when the time comes, be ready to laugh and cry. Things can and will suddenly be liable to be funny (in the absurd sense of Cyber tragedy being funny) or deadly intense depending on the scene and moment. Fully in-character roleplay and inter-crew chatting is welcomed and encouraged. Meta chatter should be kept to a minimum when speaking as your character, but feel free to strategize and work with your crew above table as we play and to use the "above table" space as needed. We're looking to have fun at the end of the day, so don't sweat the small stuff. For voices, I will always try to do my best to fit the character and moment, but I am a professional author, not voice-actor, at the end of the day, so don't expect me to start suddenly sounding like a Warhammer 40k Primarch. I love to utilize ambient music and may even make character inspired playlists if I am feeling it. I will be using my "Pro" Roll20 account that has loads of maps, visual aids, and source connections for easy "drag-and-drop" character sheet assistance. I will always have a well thought out map (actually a little obsessed about having just the right maps) for intense tactical combat moments, but I will also usually feature maps for especially important roleplay moments and scenes. I love players being abled to interact with the world as well as see it as they play. Some quick scenes will be theatre of the mind, but generally expect to be "seeing something" when playing. The discord you will be invited too will be loaded with all the possible resources you might need for playing and expanding Cyberpunk Red and each player will have a dedicated "One-on-One" text channel where we can hash out character specifics, ideas, backstory stuff, and even secrets you don't want the crew to know just yet. I am also a full time author and novelist in my spare time (fantasy, sci-fi, and steampunk genre's) and love to get into the nitty gritty of character design/story with my players. I will do my best to bring the story of your character to life in our world and play off of it to create character specific hooks, plotlines, and more. But you get out of it what you put into it, so if you want lots of character moments, you'll be proactive in forming your character arc both with me and on your own as your character takes shape and comes to life. This also means that roleplay and story will be just as important to your character's success as their effectiveness in combat. Their story may well get them killed if it isn't navigated just right. I don't use the "Rule of Cool" per se, but I do love the "Rule of Plausible" (doesn't roll off the tongue as well.) Generally, if there is an awesome thing you want to try to do, you can pitch it to me and if it makes sense, even if it isn't facilitated by RAW, we'll find a way to try and make it happen.

Homebrew rules

For Cyberpunk Red, I do have a few specific homebrew rules that I like to use. Some of them are what I would consider to be just quality of life rules, while others are tailored to help the world be a little more dangerous and exciting (for both the players and the npcs!) These will be gone over during session zero but a few examples of them include: -"Grazing Hits" that still ablate armor and a different take on DVs that leads to conditional failures/successes when a player rolls a "Tie" on the DV of a Non-Combat check. -A simple crawling rule that lets players move just a bit when they're knocked prone. Comes with a little modifier to getting shot at that is beneficial to the crawler when the shooter is further away but beneficial to the shooter when very near. (Dodge this!) -There will be a system for duel wielding (for both players and enemies) that allows players to effectively duel wield in the combat system (though, it is done with terrible accuracy if you don't have just the right stats.) -Several new firing modes that bring out the best of Machineguns and add some extra utility/changes the utility of Autofire and Heavy Weapons. (Also a modified Autofire DV range chart.) -There are also a few adjustments to the character creation process that I have changed for further customization. These small details will be gone over during session 0. Some of these rules will be optional and the crew will be allowed to decide on whether or not they want to abide by them or not. Generally, I am open to players bringing up a complaint to a game ruling or decision I have made. If it would be disruptive to hash out rules ideas in that moment though, we will shelve the topic and use the discord to discuss further. I tend to/enjoy allowing the table decide how they want certain specific rulings to proceed in the future when there is grey areas and interpretations. As long as it is agreed upon and not disruptive to the core game/experience, I welcome player's opinion's and am always open to work with the table to find out what is most fun for all. Every table has its own needs and therefore its own homebrew.

How Bailey Hunton creates a safe table

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, the safety and comfort of my players is of paramount importance. Hate speech, slurs, malicious misgendering, etc. when speaking player to player/player to NPC will not be tolerated in any way shape or form. This is non-negotiable. During session 0, we will discuss some themes, limits, and topics that may arrive in the campaign and how we will deal with them. Besides that discussion, players will always have access to "X" cards that they can either use through the roll20 or simply message to me (using roll20 or discord) about. As long as they inform me that a scene, topic, or moment is causing them distress, it will seamlessly (as much as I can) and instantly be skipped or sidestepped. I will check in on how the player is doing to ensure they are alright, potentially putting the player or game on a temporary pause as needed.