Top Banner
CREDITS WARNING! MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY! Interface Zero 2.0 is a c yberpunk game with adult themes. We’re going to use language some people might not be comfor table with. We’re going to talk politic s, and we’re going to talk religion. We use the races and cultures in Interface Zero as an abs traction of the evils of racial intolerance in the real world. We don’t apologize for this. The Cyberpunk genre isn’t politically correct. It doesn’t care if you like the word “fuck ” or not. It doesn’t concern itself with your belief sys tem, or your slant on politic s. To water this book down is to do a great disserv ice to the genre as a whole. We hope you keep on reading, but will understand i f you don’t. Interface Zero 2.0 is created by Peter J. Wacks, David Jarvis, Hal Maclean, Matt Conklin Jr., and Patrick Smith Development Team: David Jarvis, C urtis and Sarah Lyons, Thomas Shook, David Viars, Peter J. Wacks Art Coordinator: David Jarvis Graphic Design: Alida Saxon, David Jarvis, Keith Curtis Layout: David Jarvis, Thomas Shook Cartography:  Alida Saxon, Keith Curtis Project Manager: David Jarvis Cover Art: Aaron Acevedo Interior Art: Sam Manley, Robert Shields, Jason Rainville, Adam Kuczek, Tomek Tworek, Jason Walton, Alex Drummond, Nick Greenwood, Eduardo Brolo, Carlos Herrera, Paul Bourne, Savage Mojo Line Editor: Peter J. Wacks Editing and Proofreading: Ron Blessing, T.R. Knight , Ed Wetterman, Tommy Brownell, Lee F. Szczepanik Jr., Jimmy Grosseba , Thomas Shook, Jordan Peacock, Keri Ann Drader, Piotr Korys Writing: Andreas Rönnqvist, Andy Klosky, Guy Anthony De Marco, Benn Williams, Charles Green, Cur tis and Sarah Lyon, Darrin Drader, David Chadderton, David Jar vis, David Viars, Don Whitney, Hal Maclean, Josh Vogt, Michelle Lyons McFarland, Peter J Wacks, Uri Kirlianchik, Rob Wieland, Ronald Tilton SPECIAL THANKS TO Everyone who backed this kickst arter, both before and after. Seriously, thanks. This book wouldn’t be possible without you. I love you all. Nick Nundahl for your work on Hacking 2.0. Your ideas and conc epts formed the basis of the Vir tual Reality r ules in this book. I couldn’t have done it without you. David Viars, for your incredible passion and love for this genre, and this game. I wish t hings could have been dierent. Much love and respect to you my friend. Rone Barton, the voice of the kickstarter. Thanks for everything. Thomas Shook, for all your help. The book’s 100% better because of you. The facebook crew for your help designing the Black Knight Limited! Double-barreled pain is coming your way, amigos! Curtis, Sarah, Peter J. Wacks, Jordan Peacock, and the rest of the development team. Your hard work and diligence has brought this reboot of IZ to life. I can’t thank you all enough. Finally, Suzette, the love of my life. Thank you for believing in me and s tanding by me. LEGAL INFORMATION This game references the Savage Worlds game system, available from Pinnacle Entertainment Group at www.peginc. com. Savage Worlds and all associated logos and trademark s are copyrights of Pinnacle Entert ainment Group. Used with permission. Pinnacle makes no representation or warranty as to t he quality, viability, or suitability for purposes of this product. Savage Worlds, Deadlands  and all related marks and logos are trademarks of Pinnacle Entertainment Group. ©2009 . Some material used with Permission. ©2013 Gun Metal Games. Interface Zero and all related mark s and logos are trademarks of Gun Metal Games. Unless otherwise stated, all interior artwork , graphics, character names, and ction are Product Identity of Gun Metal Games. This edition is printed and distributed, under license, by Chronicle City of 58 Woodville Road, New Barnet, Herts, EN5 5NG, UK. For further information about other Chronicle City games please check out our website and forums at http://www. chroniclecity.com Print Publisher: Angus Abranson Print Production Manager: Gobion Rowlands 1 CREDITS IN WHICH I TELL YOU WHO DID WHAT  a m p l e  f i l e
29

IZ-sample

Feb 14, 2018

Download

Documents

Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Page 1: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 129

CREDITSWARNING MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY

Interface Zero 20 is a cyberpunk game with adult themes Wersquore going to use language some people might not be comfortablewith Wersquore going to talk politics and wersquore going to talk religion We use the races and cultures in Interface Zero as an abstractionof the evils of racial intolerance in the real world We donrsquot apologize for this The Cyberpunk genre isnrsquot politically correct It doesnrsquot

care if you like the word ldquofuckrdquo or not It doesnrsquot concern itself with your belief system or your slant on politics To water this bookdown is to do a great disserv ice to the genre as a whole We hope you keep on reading but will understand i f you donrsquot

Interface Zero 20 is created by Peter J Wacks David Jarvis Hal Maclean Matt Conklin Jr and Patrick Smith

Development Team David Jarvis Curtis and Sarah Lyons Thomas Shook David Viars Peter J Wacks

Art Coordinator David Jarvis

Graphic Design Alida Saxon David Jarvis Keith Curtis

Layout David Jarvis Thomas Shook

Cartography Alida Saxon Keith Curtis

Project Manager David Jarvis

Cover Art Aaron Acevedo

Interior Art Sam Manley Robert Shields Jason Rainville Adam Kuczek Tomek Tworek Jason Walton Alex Drummond Nick

Greenwood Eduardo Brolo Carlos Herrera Paul Bourne Savage Mojo

Line Editor Peter J Wacks

Editing and Proofreading Ron Blessing TR Knight Ed Wetterman Tommy Brownell Lee F Szczepanik Jr Jimmy Grossebaff

Thomas Shook Jordan Peacock Keri Ann Drader Piotr Korys

Writing Andreas Roumlnnqvist Andy Klosky Guy Anthony De Marco Benn Williams Charles Green Curtis and Sarah Lyon DarrinDrader David Chadderton David Jarvis David Viars Don Whitney Hal Maclean Josh Vogt Michelle Lyons McFarland Peter J

Wacks Uri Kirlianchik Rob Wieland Ronald Tilton

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Everyone who backed this kickstarter both before and after Seriously thanks This book wouldnrsquot be possible without you

I love you all

Nick Nundahl for your work on Hacking 20 Your ideas and concepts formed the basis of the Virtual Reality rules in this book

I couldnrsquot have done it without youDavid Viars for your incredible passion and love for this genre and this game I wish things could have been different Much

love and respect to you my friend

Rone Barton the voice of the kickstarter Thanks for everything

Thomas Shook for all your help The bookrsquos 100 better because of you

The facebook crew for your help designing the Black Knight Limited Double-barreled pain is coming your way amigos

Curtis Sarah Peter J Wacks Jordan Peacock and the rest of the development team Your hard work and diligence hasbrought this reboot of IZ to life I canrsquot thank you all enough

Finally Suzette the love of my life Thank you for believing in me and standing by me

LEGAL INFORMATION

This game references the Savage Worlds game system available from Pinnacle Entertainment Group at wwwpeginc com

Savage Worlds and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle Entertainment Group Used with permission

Pinnacle makes no representation or warranty as to the quality viability or suitability for purposes of this product

Savage Worlds Deadlands and all related marks and logos are trademarks of Pinnacle Entertainment Group copy2009 Some

material used with Permission

copy2013 Gun Metal Games Interface Zero and all related marks and logos are trademarks of Gun Metal Games Unless otherwisestated all interior artwork graphics character names and fiction are Product Identity of Gun Metal Games

This edition is printed and distributed under license by Chronicle City of 58 Woodville Road New Barnet Herts EN5 5NGUK For further information about other Chronicle City games please check out our website and forums at httpwww

chroniclecitycom

Print Publisher Angus Abranson

Print Production Manager Gobion Rowlands

1

CREDITSIN WHICH I TELL YOU WHO DID WHAT

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 229

CREDITS 1

INTRODUCTION 10The Road to 2090 10Life in General 13

CHAPTER TWO CHARACTER CREATION 16Step 1 Concept 16

Step 2 Race 16Step 3 Traits 16Attributes 16

Skills 16

Derived Statistics 18New Derived Stats 18

Contacts 18Step 4 Occupations 18

Step 5 Edges and Hindrances 19

Step 6 Equipment 19Step 7 Background 19

ARCHETYPES 19Agent 20

Bounty Hunter 20

Cybermonk 21Drone Jockey 21

Ganger 22Grifter 22

Hacker 23Idol 23

Investigative Journalist 24

Patch Man 24Ronin 25

Sector Cop 25Smuggler 26

Ex-Soldier 26

Street Rat 27Zeek 27

RACES 28Android 28

Bioroid 28Cyborg 29

Human 29

Human 20 29Hybrid 30

Simulacra 31OCCUPATIONS 32

HINDRANCES 37

Prohibited Hindrances 37Modified Hindrances 37

New Hindrances 37EDGES 40

Prohibited Edges 40Modified Edges 40New Edges 40

Background Edges 40Combat Edges 40

Hacker Edges 41Power Edges 41

Professional Edges 42

Social Edges 43Weird Edges 43

CHAPTER THREE MALMART 2090 CATALOG 48CORPORATIONS 48

Act of God Armaments 48Black Knight Industries 48

Hosti le Merger 48Executive Decision 48

Urban Punk 48Bombs on Broadwaytrade 48

Ravenlocke Securities 48

Marsworks Engineering 49

Cherry Automotive 49Shogun Outfitters 49Wasteland Traders 49

Private Dick Future Noir Wear 49

Misawa Meyers and MorganResearch and Development 49

Sentinel Rock Corporation 49SynthSystems 49

Combat Engineering Systems 49

ARMOR 50Exoarmor 53

COMMUNICATIONS 54CYBERWARE 55

Augmentation Packages 55

Master Augment List 55Augment Costs 55

Cyberlimbs and Cyber Eyes 55DRONES AND ROBOTS 61

Drones 61Robots 63

DRUGS 64

ENTERTAINMENT 66Entertainment 66

Delivery Subscriptions 67Other Services 67

EXPLOSIVES 68

Explosive Devices 68Grenades 68

Mines 69GOLEMMECHS AND POWERED ARMOR 70

Scout Power Armor 70Combat Power Armor 70

Golemmechs 73

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT 77Biometers 77

Patches 77TAP APPLICATIONS 78

TOOLS 79

WEAPONS 80Melee 80

Pistols 82Submachine Guns 84

Shotguns 84Rifles 85Heavy Weapons 86

Special Weapons 87Missile Launchers 88

Flamethrowers 88Energy Weapons 89

Improvised Weapons 90

VEHICLES 91Cycles 91

Cars 92Aircraft 94

VTOL Craft 94

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 329

Water Craf t 95Buses and Trucks 96

Heavy Vehicles 96Spacecraft 98

CHAPTER FOUR THE WORLD 100The Elite 100The Megacorps 101

The Rest of Us 102The Black Market 102

Gang Life 103

Civilians 103Becoming a Ganger 104

Turf 105Authority 105

Law Enforcement 106

Transhumanism 106Technology 108

Zeeks 109Previous Studies 109

Origins of My Species 109Project Waking Mind 110

Summation 112The World According to Zeeks 112Misconceptions 112

My Story 112Religion and Zeeks 113

Hiding in Plain Sight 113

Zeek Culture 114Zeeks in the Media 114

The Art of the Spin 1 14Xenophobic Movements 115

Activist Movements 116

Zeek Havens 117Zeeks in the Workplace 118

Summary 119

Religion and other ldquoIsmsrdquo 120The Global DataNet 121

EASTERN HEMISPHERE 122

AFRICA 122

Emergence 122A New Africa 122

New Industries 122Biotechnology amp Gene-splicing 122

Secure Banking 122

Data Havens 122Southern Eurasian Union 123

Major Cities amp Points of Interest 123Military amp Defenses 123

Industries 123

Central African Union 123The Ivory Curtain 123

Major Cities amp Points of Interest 124Dakumbe Death Squads 124

Somalia 124Piracy 124

Major Cities amp Points of Interest 124

Military amp Defenses 125Industries 125

South Africa 125Major Cities amp Points of Interest 125

Military amp Defenses 125

Industries 125

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND 126The Coast 126

How We Got Here 126How Things Work 127

The Outback 128How Things Work There 128

Australian Augmentation amp Health Care Union 128

New Zealand 131

How We Got Here 131How Things Work 131

CHINA AND THE MANDARINATE 133

Place 133

The New Mandarins Rise 133The Thawed Lands 134

Perfection and Preservation 135Understanding the Ministries 135

Mandarinate Allies 136

Taiwan 136Thailand 136

Singapore 136Vietnam 136

War and the Charon Virus 139

The Forlorn 139Indonesia 139

The Philippines 139THE INDIA LEAGUE 140

Death and Fractions 140Pact and Renaissance 141

India in 2090 141

Mumbai City of Dreams 142Mumbai in 2090 142

Living in Mumbai 143JAPAN 144

History 144

Culture 145Government 146

The Yakuza 146Major Cities 146

Tokyo 146Chiba 147

Nagasaki 148

RUSSIAN FEDERATION 149Imperial Dreams 149

The New Russians 149Defenders of the Motherland 149

Shadow Communities 150

Occupied Russian Territories 150Iron Fists in Velvet Gloves 151

North Caucasian Alliance 151Holy Mountains 151

A Company of Wolves 151THE EURASIAN UNION 152The New Eurasian Union 152

Rebel South 152Greece 152

Italy 153Spain 153

Eastern Conflict 154

The Core 154Germany 154

France 154The Nordic Pact 156

Type of Government 156

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 429

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 529

Vegas in 2090 218Sin City The Illusion of Hope 218

Gangland Politics 218Power Play 219

CREAM 219Locations of Interest 219

Chinatown Las Vegas 221

The Strip 221

Salt Lake amp the LDS Zions 221Zion 222The Sands (Slums) 222

Salt Lake 222

Dugway Military Base 223Zion Proper 223

Zion Medical The Healing L ight 224The Hill 224

Ogden 224

Jordan 224Phoenix 225

SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA 226Central America 226

South America 226

Panama 227THE CHICAGO SPRAWL 228

CHICAGOLAND 230A Free City 230

Life In Chicagoland 230The Powers That Be 231

The Wolves 231

The Unaligned 233Chicago Laws 233

Geography 233North Chicago 234

South Chicago 239

West Chicago 240Central Chicago 243

Ports of Entry 246

CHAPTER FIVE THE SOLAR SYSTEM 251History of Space Exploration 252

Life in the Solar System 253The Law 253

Organizations 254Corporate Presence 255

Major Set tlement Areas 255

Venus 255Luna 256

Mars 256Ceres 257

The Inner Belt 258

Jupiter 258Saturn 259

Colony Technologies 259Orbital Technologies 260

Ship Technologies 260

CHAPTER SIX SETTING RULES 262Augments 262

Drugs 263Fatigue 263

Gritty Damage 263

Street Cred 264COST OF LIVING 265

DRONES 267DUBBING 269

GOLEMMECHS 270Golemmech Combat 270

Golemmech Creation 270Stock Frames 270

HACKING 274

Tendril Access Processor 274

Stats 274Engrams 275How to Hack 278

The Core Mechanic 278

Network Statistics 278SysOp Countermeasures 279

Hyper Combat 279Hyper Reality 280

Virtual Reality 281

Avatars 281Hacking Virtual Reality 283

POWERS 284Arcane Background (Cybermonk) 284

Arcane Background (Psionics) 284

CHAPTER SEVEN GAME MASTERING 286City Trappings 286

Trapping Descriptions 286Freelancing 289

Job Consequences 290

Payouts 291Gang Generator 292

Types Of Gangs 292Gang Sizes 293

Gang Activities 293

Gang Names 294Adventure Generator 295

Contractors 295

The Mission 296The Location 297The MacGuffin 299

Innocents 300

The Antagonist 300Henchmen 301

Twists and Complications 301Dramatic Conflict 302

Adventure Creation Example 303

Bio-Horror Generator 304Mutant Type 304

THREATS 307Bio-Horrors 307

Sprawl Denizens 308

Courier 308Criminals 308

The Elite 309Military 310

Sprawl Soldiers 310Wage Slaves 311

Robots 312

Intrusion Countermeasures 314

INDEX 315

BACKERS 319

5

TABLE OF CONTENTS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 629

TABLE LISTTable 21 Campaign Power Levels 19Table 22 Hindrances 4 4

Table 23 Edges 45

Table 24 Occupations 46Table 31 Armor 51

Table 32 Communication Equipment 54

Table 33 Augment Grades and Costs 55Table 34 Augment List 56

Table 35 Drones 61Table 36 Robots 63

Table 37 Drugs 65Table 38 Other Services 67

Table 39 Explosives 69

Table 310 Grenades and Mines 69Table 311 Powered Armor 72

Table 312 Golemmechs 76Table 313 Medical Equipment 77

Table 314 Tap Applications 79Table 315 Accessories amp Electronics 79

Table 316 Melee Weapons 81

Table 317 Pistols 83Table 318 Submachine Guns and Shotguns 84

Table 319 Rifles 85Table 320 heavy Weapons 86

Table 321 Special Weapons 87

Table 322 Missile Launchers and Flame Throwers 88Table 323 Energy Weapons 89

Table 324 Improvised Weapons 90Table 325 Improvised Ranged Weapons 90

Table 326 Cycles and Cars 92

Table 327 Aircraft and VTOLs 95Table 328 Watercraft Trucks and Heavy Vehicles 97

Table 329 Spacecraft 98Table 51 Average Distance (AN) 258

Table 52 Average Travel Times (Days) 259Table 61 Street Cred Rewards and Penalties 265

Table 62 Favors 265

Table 63 Character L ifestyles 265Table 64 Psychotherapy Costs 266

Table 65 Medical Treatment Cost 266Table 66 Vehicle Control Interface 267

Table 67 Golemmech Weapons 271

Table 68 Golemmech Upgrades 272Table 69 Standard TAP Readout 274

Table 610 Active Memory Sector Cost 274Table 611 TAP Firewall Upgrades 274

Table 612 TAP Range Upgrades 275

Table 613 Engram Qualities 275Table 614 Sample Hyper Objects 281

Table 615 Avatar Attack Programs 282Table 616 Avatar Upgrades 282

Table 71 Baseline Payouts 292Table 72 Gang Type 293

Table 73 Gang Size 293

Table 74 Gang Activities 293Table 75 Gang Name Generator 295

Table 76 Contractors 295Table 77 The Mission 296

Table 78 Urban Location 297

Table 79 Non-Urban Location 297Table 710 The Macguffin 299

Table 711 Innocents 300Table 712 Antagonists 300

Table 713 Twists And Complications 301Table 714 Dramatic Conflic t 302

Table 715 Mutant Types 304Table 716 Xenomorph Smarts 305

Table 717 Xenomorph Other Attributes 305

Table 718 Xenomorph Skills 305

Table 719 Xenomorph Skill Dice 305Table 720 Xenomorph Size 305Table 721 Xenomorph Locomotion 305

Table 722 Xenomorph Dermis 305

Table 723 Xenomorph Base Attack 306Table 724 Xenomorph Senses 306

Table 725 Mutations 306Table 726 Drawbacks 306

6

TABLE OF CONTENTS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 729

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 829

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 929

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1029

INTRODUCTION

INFOSOURCE

VIDTAGROADTO2090

LOCAL JACOBSPLAYGROUNDNET

FQDN JACOBSPLAYGROUNDNETCHITOWN06TNTPNSWWGNET

DATA SOURCE MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMESINFODUMP

THE ROAD TO 2090

Posted By Billy_Black_Eyes

So here we are in January 2090 Itrsquos been a couple of yearssince I dropped the last INFODUMP on the world and Irsquom here

to rectify that This massive documentrsquos gonna give you all theinformation you need to get up to speed on the state of the

world along with oodles and oodles of statistical data about

a bunch of subjects including the Global DataNet golem-mechs drones and other emerging technologies Yoursquoll read

about the strange and wonderful people who inhabit thisworld the solar system zeeks and much more Irsquove gath-

ered info from sources all over the world and vetted it to

the best of my ability That said you never know whatrsquos trueand what isnrsquot in this age of main stream media lies govern-

ment propaganda and do-it-yourself journalism so take theinformation (especially in the data dumps about the world)

with a grain of salt

Simba So what are you sayinrsquo Bi lly We canrsquot trust you

Billy_Black_Eyes Thatrsquos not what I said You know fullwell that information especially editorialized info alwayshas a certain slant to it It rsquos also fluid What was true at thetime I acquired it may not necessarily be accurate now

The past two years have seen a number of major eventstake place in the world If just one or two things would have

happened I might think they werenrsquot connected Yet itrsquos as ifsomeone walked up to a house of cards and pulled one card

out The house hasnrsquot completely crashed yet itrsquos in a slow-

motion free fall and the worst part is only a few of us seemto be watching What follows is a br ief overview of the major

events that have shaped the world in which we currently live

Neon_Bright Oh Billy looking at the world with thosedark lenses again are we

Magpie Neon I think he needs a hug )

Billy_Black_Eyes What I need is a ticket to Mars Thingsare about to get crazy and I want off this rock

GROWING TENSIONS IN NORTH AMERICA

The year 2088 was marked by a number of disturbing mdash somesay portentous mdash events involving the North American Coali-

tion the Great Lakes Union and Atlantica

Sane_Prophet ldquoPortentousrdquo Could the scales be fallingoff your black eyes my friend Are you finally coming tounderstand the truth

Billy_Black_Eyes Seriously You again I told you nomystic bull shit

Sane_Prophet Just because you refuse to acknowledgeomens for what they are doesnrsquot make them any less valid

THE HEGEMONY GROWS

The crackdown on zeeks hybrids and synthetic humans in the

NAC reached a boiling point when Congress and the Senateratified the infamous Racial Purity Act a draconic piece of

legislation banning the practice of hybrid and simulacrumcreation All genetic modification parlors and simulacrum

production facilities were ordered to shut down The Racial

Purity Act also outlawed the use of psychic powers within theborders of the nation with hefty fines and even imprisonment

for those caught using them Various watchdog organiza-tions were created the most visible of which is Psi-division

a branch of Stopwatch tasked with monitoring and in some

cases even ldquoneutralizingrdquo psychic threats

Psychopope And by ldquoneutralizingrdquo he means murder

Denver_Must_Burn And forced relocationhellipIrsquom not talkingabout VR prisons ei ther Irsquom talking about the internmentcamps up in Montana and the Dakotas

Simba It was just as bad for hybrids like myself Whenthose genetic modification parlors shut down the pr ivateinformation about their customers was confiscatedunder the auspices of ldquonational securit yrdquo This means theDepartment of National Security (DNS) has the namesand addresses of every hybrid and free sim in the NorthAmerican Coalition If you have a TAP the DNS can trackyour IP too

Luciferion Simba Dude thatrsquos happening with everycitizen regardless of whether or not yoursquore zeek hybridor ldquoPlain Janerdquo human

Denver_Must_Burn All I can say is TRICilicit_behavior Yes DMB The Revolution IS Coming

Instances of racial violence erupted across the North Ameri-

can Coalition as law enforcement officials began arrestingzeeks Some of the more obvious hybrids mdash particularly the

bull bear and rhino variants mdash were also incarcerated Gov-ernments across the continent decried the draconian tactics

and called for UN intervention to no effect The Great Lakes

Union and Atlantica closed their embassies in Denver and sentthe NAC delegates in their cities packing Then on Novem-

ber 13th 2088 a number of terrorist attacks rocked BostonBaltimore and Portland Maine An estimated 2451 people

died and thousands more were injured from the bombings

THE ATLANTICA BOMBINGSWithin hours of the attacks the Global DataNet was flooded

with conspiracy theories the most viral of which speculated

they were carried out by a terrorist group known as Agenda68Some speculated a Canadian black ops unit known as Task-

force Harfang did the deed Others went on to claim the NACwas behind the attacks and still others claimed New Brasilia

or maybe the Chinese Mandarinate were somehow involvedSo-called ldquoconspiracy theorist expertsrdquo such as Sam_Jones

and NERCOTIXX speculated that China long believed to bein bed with the North American Coalition used simulacra to

perform the bombings

10

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1129

NECROTIXX China did carry out the bombings Do theresearch Look into Project Doppelganger and yoursquoll seeThe NAC is just a patsy

Sam_Jones The Mandarinate is becoming an imperialpower Just look at what they are doing with Russia nowand what they have done with all of Southeast Asia Askthe Russian refugees flooding into Seattle if they thinkChina is content to stay within their borders The writingrsquos

on the wall folksSimba It might have been orchestrated by agents workingfor Charon

Luciferion What a load of crap Charon is an AI It doesnrsquothave any contact with humans

Neon_Bright Prove it Simba

As the days stretched into weeks there was still no official

statement from the Atlantica Government about the iden-tity of the perpetrators of the attacks Then on December

15th 2088 a MEDIAfile was uploaded into the Global DataNetbearing the Hyper Tag of a popular underground media-pirate

known as MAXX_footage

The dronersquos feed showed three large muscular men in regular

clothing exit a hover van adjacent to one of the targets of theattacks just moments before it exploded Facial recognitionsoftware identified one of the men as First Sergeant John

Moore a member of the North American Coalition regular army

The MEDIAfile went on to follow the three men as they jumpedinto an unmarked hover car that took off and shot over the

Boston sea wall to land on a freighter bearing Chinese mark-ings The vessel promptly sailed east into international waters

Sorry_U_Asked Isnrsquot it odd how often people retreat tothe water in the wake of disasters How much of the oceanremains unmapped How much is hiding under the wavesthat we havenrsquot even begun to fathom

BatRastard Puns intended Wersquove already got enoughconspiracy theories Can you not add another useless one

to the stinking heap

Sane_Prophet Actually hersquos closer to reality than youmight be comfortable understanding Too much truth canbreak a manrsquos mind

BatRastard Irsquom guessing yours is already fried from afew too many stims man Want to share what yoursquove beendoping

As the situation evolved it became clear that MAXX_footagewent through what can only be described as a nightmarish journey to bring the MEDIAfile into the light of day In what

would be his only interview MAXX_footage appeared via

a secure video-feed on ldquoBoston Tonightrdquomdasha popular showin the nation of Atlantica Millions across the world tuned in

to listen to what he had to say MAXX_footage a tall lanky

young man recounted the events of that day telling how hewas hanging out at his favorite coffee shop when this black

hover van landed right in front of the Emperor Pharmaceuti-cals Arcology about a half a block away

When Penny Pearl mdash the host of the show mdash asked MAXX_

footage how during all the chaos he could have possiblyremembered those details MAXX_footage said he remem-

bered it because the hover van double parked and someonestarted yelling at the three guys who got out Thinking it was

going to result in violence MAXX_footage says he poppedout his Fly on the Wall micro drone and sent i t over to record

the incident Thatrsquos when all hell broke loose

BEGIN THREAD JACK

NECROTIXX Herersquos a transcript of the short interviewPenny couldnrsquot get MAXX back on

BEGIN TRANSCRIPThellip

ldquoOne of the three men shot the guy right in the facerdquo MAXX_

footage says his long thin hands shaking ldquoThey just walked

away and got into a red hover car I sent Judy mdash thatrsquos thename of my drone mdash after them and thatrsquos when the Black

hover van explodedrdquo MAXX_footage goes quiet for a fewseconds and after a couple of probing questions from the

hostess he finishes his story

ldquoAnyhow I get my bearings shake the dust outta my hairand suddenly realize I just captured the perps on Digifilm I

follow the red hover car all the way out past the Sea Wallwhere it lands on this Chinese freighter Judyrsquos pushinrsquo her

range limits at this point so I call her backrdquo He grabs a glassof water his hands shaking

ldquoTell us what happened nextrdquo Penny prompts

ldquoWellrdquo he begins ldquoI get back to my flat mdash it took a while mdash what

with all the chaos goinrsquo on in the lsquoplex and everything mdash andthe place is busted up I mean BIG-TIME amirdquo MAXX_footage

stops again then shakes his head and says ldquoListen I canrsquot sayanything else about that I think theyrsquore still watching mehellip

In fact this interview is done MAXX OUTrdquo The video feed

cuts to white noise

END TRANSCRIPT

END THREAD JACK

The interview and the footage of the event sparked outrage

throughout Atlantica Predictably the NAC government fiercelydenied any involvement in the bombings even going so far

as to demand the arrest and extradition of MAXX_footagefor questioning about the origins of the video

Martin Hughes mdash the president of Atlantica mdash flatly refusedthe NACrsquos demands even going so far as to say that thisMAXX_footage person was a ldquohero of the people of

Atlanticardquo The bookies in the free city of Las Vegas startedgiving even odds that hostilities would break out on the East

Coast within a year

Simba I lost a ton of money on that bet

Luciferion MAXX_footage has gone dark BTW Nobodyhas seen or heard from him since that interview

THE FLARE

On January 26 2089 a massive Earth-directed Y-class solar

flare sparked a Coronal Mass Ejection that bombarded our

planet temporarily shutting down the genie network thatmonitors and updates the TAPrsquos spam and reality filters Withthe genie down every man woman and child with a Tendril

Access Processor was exposed to raw unfiltered Hyper Reality

As you all know this sparked a week of world-wide chaosSprawlers mdash exposed to a storm of spam malware and layer

upon layer of augmented reality advertisements and simu-lated environments mdash went temporarily insane

Sane_Prophet Insanity is a weak word for the weak-minded What may appear as insane to you might simplybe someone having achieved enlightenment and livingaccording to a higher truth

11

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1229

Sorry_U_Asked Irsquom all about questioning the circumstancesbut Irsquom pretty sure all the folks who were murdered duringthese events wouldrsquove labeled them as insane down to a one

Billy_Black_Eyes Whatever dictionary program yoursquorerunning needs a fresh data-dump Prophet

Sane_Prophet Dictionaries are also for the weak-minded

Billy_Black_Eyes Of course they are

The world burned for about a week until programmers couldfix the problem with firmware updates and hot patches to

get the filters up and running and an off switch installedbut the damage was done Itrsquos not known how many people

died in the rioting and madness but cautious estimates oftotal casualties put the number at around 750 million people

and nobody has even tried to calculate the monetary cost

of the riots Strangely however the Flare itself didnrsquot havea widespread impact on various infrastructures like electric

and other powers transportation systems etc In fact manybelieve the Flare wasnrsquot even a solar flare at all but the first

sign of Charonrsquos emergence as a threat to humanity

Luciferion Nobodyrsquos ever proven that Billy

Billy_Black_Eyes Nobody has ever debunked it eitherStatistical data can be hacked Numbers can be fudgedto make things seem more dramatic than they really areEarthquakes register at a certain scale and get downgradedall the time The truth is this is the first time in history thata solar flare has caused such wide-spread chaos It rsquos fishy

Luciferion Irsquoll believe it when I see some hard data

Billy_Black_Eyes Fair enough But the emergence ofCharon around this time isnrsquot even open for debate Itrsquosa fact

THE EURASIAN UNION IMPLODES

On March 15th 2089 the Eurasian Union Central Bank in

Bonn Germany was crashed by a previously unheard-of virusnamed Charon Over forty-five trillion dollars vanished without

a trace All attempts to rebuild the original databases failedSome programmers (and freelance hackers) hired to go in andpurge Charon from the databases lost their lives in the process

Further attempts to rebuild the system on different serverswith backups also failed when programmers realized that

Charon mdash now suspected by many to be an AI mdash had copieditself into the cloud networks containing those backup files

Luciferion Therersquos nothing to suspect Charon is anemergent AI The only question now is whether or not itsparks a singularity event

Nothing_to_see_here Stopwatch will halt it in its tracksThey always catch these things

Luciferion Who do you think died trying to get it out ofthe D-bases in Bonn

Over the next few months an estimated 200 million people

across the Eurasian Union the United Kingdom and Ireland losttheir jobs their homes and their life savings when it became

clear that Charon had found its way into the personal bankaccounts of citizenry across the Eurasian Union

Instances of mob violence skyrocketed as the number of

gangs in the rapidly fracturing Eurasian Union had risen tolevels not seen since the Death mdash the three-year ldquoNuclear

Autumnrdquo following the India-Pakistan war when nuclearweapons were used on a massive scale In the London-Read-

ing Megaplex protests exploded into full-scale violence after

police brutally cracked down on a peaceful protest at the

British parliament building More instances of violent protests

followed in Bristol Swindon and the Manchester-Liverpoolsprawl

On June 27th 2089 the French government was over-

thrown by a fringe political extremist group known as theNew Pirate Party Led by a charismatic young zeek named

Angeacutele Bonheur the New Pirate Party seized power after awild chaotic campaign against representatives of the NationalFront and the Popular Republican Union The elections were

rife with scandal and many of the French didnrsquot (and still donrsquot)like the idea of a French leader being psychic So while Angeacutele

emerged as the clear victor the French military refused toacknowledge her legitimacy President Bonheur responded

by disbanding the armed forces of France at the same time

announcing the privatization of the nationrsquos military throughan agreement with Ravenlocke Securities

Downtrodden Yep itrsquos a sign of things to come ladiesand gents a world-wide corporate coup of governmentsIf you donrsquot think the CEO of Ravenlocke mdash thatrsquos MarkusRaven mdash has a say in the direction this new governmenttakes think again

Luciferion Itrsquos awesome to see France led by a psychicbut letrsquos get real this is going to get much worse beforeit gets better

Magpie I wouldnrsquot be surprised i f she gets wacked

Former Lieutenant-Colonel Adrien Boucher also known as

ldquoAdrien the Butcherrdquo for his brutal suppression of an upris-ing in Marseilles in 2087 took charge of the remnants of

the disbanded French army promising to remove PresidentBonheur from power Within days of Adrienrsquos announcement

Fort Richepance mdash now the Northeastern headquarters for

Ravenlocke Industriesrsquo Storm Crow Golemmech brigade mdash wasattacked The president responded by declaring martial law

throughout France until the renegade movement could be

put down Thus far that hasnrsquot happened though there arereports of clashes between Ravenlocke regulars and sepa-

ratist forces outside of St Etienne and in the French Alps

Warpig This has caused numerous issues If PresidentAngeacutele thinks her countrymen are going to accept theprivatization of the military shersquos sorely mistaken As Billymentions Adrien the Butcher is causing problems buttherersquos more to it Militias are forming They have advancedweaponry and while I wonrsquot speculate as to whorsquos providingthem with those weapons I do know the vast majority ofthe weapons are made by Act of God Armaments

Battle_Mind I know one thing itrsquos a great time to be amercenary

Full_Metal_Cyborg Amen brother Irsquoll see you on the

battlefieldPayne_Man Lock and Load U mushrooms I splatter youn00bs with my AK

Magpie ldquoSighrdquo Stop playing Matrix of War Payne Yousound like a fool This ainrsquot a game

Payne_Man I thought we were talkinrsquo about MOW Ushould C the zones Theyrsquore eggsaklee like the content ofthis INFOdump Have been for a whyle now Evar since thelast expansion dropped in spring 2088

Luciferion hellipOk thatrsquos odd

Payne_Man The CoalitionAtlantica War expansion izzcumin out next month 2 I Kant W8

12

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1329

On June 30th 2089 Germany wracked with political in-

fighting riots in the streets and a general state of chaos

closed its borders Officially the stated reason was for secu-rity reasons stemming from conflict along the border with

France but most people donrsquot believe it Chancellor KonradGerste authorized a financial bailout of the three largest

manufacturers of weapons and military equipment for

the German army The move has frightened many of the

Eastern European nations mdash especially the good people ofPoland mdash who know well what happens when Germans

begin preparing for war and make no mistake Germany ismoving to a war footing

Payne_Man Watch out Zee Germans are cumming LOL

Klaus What Canrsquot my brethren move to protectthemselves from the chaos in France And why the veiledreference to WWII Itrsquos been nearly 150 years since Hitlerrsquosmadness yet nobody allows us to forget it

THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON

As the situation in Europe grew worse China took advantageof the weakened Eurasian Union grabbing up huge swathes

of territory in Russia its armies advancing as far west as the

Ural Mountain range where Russian forces managed to haltthe dragonrsquos advance Still the damage was done By August2089 the Mandarinate had established itself as an occupy-

ing power in every city town and village east of the Ural

Mountains That hasnrsquot stopped the Russians from retaliatinghowever Russian patriots have begun an insurgency attack-

ing Chinese forces wherever they can be found Mandarinatemouthpieces paint the insurgents as terrorists to little effect

as the insurgency swells in number every day

Neon_Bright This isnrsquot just a struggle against Chineseaggression Vast resources have been found ever sinceSiberia began to thaw Irsquom talking about precious mineralsoil even the land is useful for development especiallywhen you consider billions of people live in eastern Asia

Luciferion Agreed Neon

LIFE IN GENERAL

So how have the above events impacted life as we stumbleinto 2090 In numerous ways omae There isnrsquot enough time

to go into great detail about how war the Flare and espe-

cially the rise of Charon have affected the life of the averagesprawler across the world but Irsquo ll go over some of the more

important details Pay attention peeps some of this mightkeep you alive

SURVIVING HYPER REALITY

As I mentioned above when the Flare knocked out the GENIEnetwork it caused widespread chaos And while GENIE is back

up and running there are still glitches in the system Sure

firmware updates to the Tendril Access Processor mdash TAP as itrsquosmore commonly known mdash allow you to turn off that modem

in your brain but wellhelliplet me put it like this Hyper Realityhas become smarter even deadly if you donrsquot have the right

software installed in your TAP

Sane_Prophet Why bother putting up more and morefilters It is senseless A futile fight against powers fargreater than yourself Open your eyes open your mindand set yourself free from this prison of so-called reality

BatRastard Right and then with the first meme to fry myneurons Irsquoll be spending my life savings on the Fat Sallyrsquosdown the block Brilliant

Sane_Prophet Fat Sally rsquos secret sauce is an interdimen-sional gateway into the heights of ecstasy

BatRastard Actually thatrsquos the first thing you and I haveever agreed on

Irsquove discussed this phenomena with numerous program-mers across the world and they all agree virii spam and allmanner of malware that [prior to the Flare] would have been

easy to purge from your head are now behaving much dif-

ferently Itrsquos almost as if the things evolved into somethingnot-quite-sentient but damned close to it

So what does this mean for you

If you choose to experience Hyper Reality (and if you have aTAP in your brain you have) itrsquos only a matter of time before

one of these virii hacks into your brain Therersquos nothing youcan really do about it itrsquos just one of the many fun facts of

life in 2090 I do find it ironic that af ter decades of enjoying

the connectivity and convenience the TAP has provided thistechnology seems to be actively trying to kill us and there

isnrsquot much we can do about it without going back to medi-eval times You know the 1980rsquos Of course some of you out

there will want to turn your TAPs off for good and avoid the

risk entirely Hell some of you might be considering gettingthe damned thing removed

You can do that sure Of course that means yoursquore also

not connected to the grid that makes your life so unbeliev-ably convenient This causes a mult itude of problems Donrsquot

believe me Try walking out of your house Oh right you canrsquotbecause most doors donrsquot have handles anymore Theyrsquore

automated and respond to the signals coming from your TAPI know some are activated by motion sensors and donrsquot rely

on the TAP But no door which is designed with security in

mind will open so easilyThis also means you have almost zero access to vehicles or

places where you can buy things like grocery stores Yeah

sure you can just follow someone else into said store butthe security cameras will spot you and not having a digital

record of your presence (which they get from your TAP) willflag you and dispatch a security team to find out who you

are So there you are in your local Malmart looking for some

cloned steaks to fire up on your grill later on when securitycomes with their big guns and ldquowhat the hell are you doing

here scumbagrdquo looks on their faces to boot you back out intothe streets where you came from

Oh how did you plan on paying for them BTW now that

your TAP is offline and the clerk canrsquot sync her cash register

with your payment software And NO they donrsquot take cashThe point is this omae All that convenience you were usedto goes out the window when you unplug Itrsquos much easier

to get strong firewalls than it is to live outside the system

So think about what I said before you scratch that itch at thebase of your skull with a scalpel

SURVIVING THE STREETS

The streets have always been dangerous thatrsquos a givenWhen you cram millions of people into a concrete and steel

petri dish then forget about 999 of them you create abreeding ground for violence hate and societal devolution

13

INTRODUCTIONLIFE IN GENERAL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1429

on such a scale that social Darwinists like Herbert Spencer and

Thomas Malthus would roll over in their graves

Again that in itself is nothing new The streets have alwaysbeen violent but ever since the events I previously described

came to pass mdash especially the Flare and the implosion of theEurasian Union mdash the number of homeless people across the

world has sky-rocketed The petri dish is frothing and over-

flowing as new gangs emerge mdash and Irsquom talking globally not just in North America mdash and carve out their own terri tory

This upsets the balance ami and makes it harder to survivewhen yoursquore just a blooper looking to make it through the

day because now you have new predators to deal with n00bbangers making up their own rules as they go And the cop-

suckers donrsquot help

Protect and serve What a load of crap

Sure yoursquol l get Triple-A service if you live in one of the moneybubbles but try getting help in say the Aurora Barrens or

the Gary Hell Zone and yoursquore basically fucked Yeah thereare token patrols and the ever-present drones but drones

get shot down and the copsuckers are so outnumbered

most are either so scared to get into an altercation with thepredators or theyrsquore on the take I canrsquot say I blame them

either The streets are a war zone and if you wear the badgeyoursquore marked for death omae So take my advice and get

strapped The only person you can count on in the concrete jungle is you

Sorry_U_Asked Think twice before trying to claim a badgebounty though Sure plenty of honchos love to pay topcredit for proof that yoursquove kept the law from poking aroundtheir territory But just because you see someone wearingone doesnrsquot mean they got it legit Lots of gangers wearthem as trophies So if you drop a shot on a copsuckerthinking yoursquove hit payday you might end up with a wholeband of bangers snarling on your heels

SURVIVING THE GAME

Therersquos an old saying The Game is the Game mdash you eitherplay it or you get played I donrsquot care if you contract free-

lance fight fix hack patch or scam yoursquore in it omae andthat puts you at odds with every other player out there Most

people approach the game as a means to an end thinking

that one shiny day theyrsquoll earn enough creds to go someplacewarm and dry and live out their lives in style These clowns

donrsquot last Theyrsquore so busy dreaming about the good timesthat they lose focus on whatrsquos right in front of their face (or

creeping up behind them) Dreamers get sloppy take short

cuts betray their team and torch their street cred like gutterpunks burn trash in a garbage can to keep warm

If you want to survive the game you need to take a lesson

from these dreamers keep your mind on the job Therersquos nosandy beach waiting for you The megacorps bought them

all and turned lsquoem into parking lots The only fruity drinksyoursquoll ever drink are sold in the local watering hole by some

burned-out ronin The best you can hope for is a litt le bit of

comfort mdash usually behind a small fortress if yoursquore smart mdash andthe respect of the streets But thatrsquos a double-edged sword

another facet of the game Therersquos always someone faster

than you some hungry up-and-comer with the latest aug-ments wanting to prove herself by dealing you out Sucksto be a victim of your own success but thatrsquos the truth of it

My advice Find a way to deal yourself out clean Put some

creds away never burn your contacts and donrsquot ever everbecome a legend

Legends die

14

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1529

CHARACTER

CREATION

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1629

CHAPTER TWOCHARACTER CREATION

Characters are the lifersquos blood of any role-playing game the

focal point of every story Characters represent the best mdash orthe worst mdash ideals of a given game setting their actions either

bringing a small measure of hope to the downtrodden massesor serving to strengthen the status quo In the grim gritty

world of Interface Zero 20 the characters you play walk amonofilament edge between traditional mdash some would say

outdated or just plain irrelevant mdash concepts of good and evilas they make their way in the world

Indeed itrsquos hard to be a moral individual in a world where

most of the animals prowling the concrete jungle believe prin-ciples are character flaws mdash weaknesses to exploit for their

own ends Your morality marks you as prey no doubt aboutit omae But if you can keep your moral code if you can get

your job done without selling your soul yoursquoll get something

most sprawlers never have respect

Evil on the other hand is the same as it always has been

therersquos just more of it The wicked always thrive in a world

where violence fear and control are tools used for self-serv-ing ends but herersquos the thing Acting like an ass can get you

green-lit just as quickly as playing the role of the goody-two-shoes marks you as a sucker amigo

Nobody likes a dickhead even if they donrsquot say it to your

face Sooner or later yoursquoll get a rep for being a hard-assand someone who is stronger meaner or a bigger asshole

than you is going to come along and knock you back to thegutter you crawled out of Thatrsquos why most people keep their

heads down and their mouths shut Donrsquot make eye contact

itrsquos a challenge to the predators and if you donrsquot have thestones to back up the challenge yoursquore nothing but meat

But if you can stay strong and defeat all comers that com-mands respect too

This chapter provides you with the tools you need to make

a character for Interface Zero 20 The process is the same ascreating a character for any Savage Worlds game with a few

additions Interface Zero 20 introduces Street Cred Contactsand Strain to the game

STEP 1 CONCEPT

The first thing you need to do is decide on a concept for your

character Will you play a hacker Perhaps a mercenary orbounty hunter is more your speed Are mercs and hunters toocutthroat for your style of play If so you might think about

playing a ronin an urban warrior who follows his own code

of honor Maybe you want to be the guy (or gal) who backsthe team up with drones capable of laying down covering

fire or scouting ahead to see where the bad guys are hiding

You donrsquot need to have your concept locked in right now butat least have a basic idea of the type of character you want

to play Take a few minutes and skip ahead to the archetypessection in this chapter to see a variety of options available

to you

STEP 2 RACEThe next thing you need to do is choose a race In 2090

humanity has reached the point where the word ldquohumanrdquo is

almost irrelevant Human DNA is no longer a mystery Itrsquos amathematical code technomancers hack re-write and copy

at will producing genetically superior beings the Human 20

Others snip and paste animal DNA and splice it with humanDNA to create genetic hybrids a fusion of man and animal

Science has even advanced to such an extent that we can

create entirely new life forms mdash living beings known as simula-cra mdash in amniotic vats growing them until they have matured

filling their synthetic brains with memories and skills theyrsquollneed to do the jobs for which they were created

STEP 3 TRAITS

Traits are the building blocks of any Savage Worlds character

They define how strong or fast your character is and what

she knows Traits determine how much cyberware she canput into her body how much damage she can take before

dying her standing with others and a variety of other thingsall of which are essential to the game

ATTRIBUTES

Five attributes are used to define your characterrsquos physi-cal characteristics These are Agility Smarts Spirit Strength

and Vigor Each attribute starts at d4 You have 5 points withwhich to raise these attr ibutes and one point equals a risein a die type (d4 to d6 d6 to d8 etc) No attribute may rise

higher than d12 during character creation unless stated undera racial ability For more information on attributes refer to

the Savage Worlds core rules

SKILLS

You have 15 points to spend on your characterrsquos skills Your

character doesnrsquot start with any skills and must spend 1 pointto get a skill at a d4 He spends 1 point to raise a skill to a

higher die type as long as the skill level is equal to or less

than the linked attribute Raising any skill above the linkedattribute costs 2 points per step No skill may rise above d12

during character creation

Note If you are using the skill specializations rules you get 20points for skills and each new specialization costs 1 skill point

during character creation When your character advances shemay purchase 2 skill specializations for an advance or a new

skill and a single specialization

NEW SKILLS

The following are new skills introduced in Interface Zero 20

For information on all other skills see Skills in the Savage

Worlds core rules

16

CHARACTER CREATIONCONCEPT RACE TRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1729

Hacking (Smarts) The Hacking skill is used whenever a

character wants to hack a computer network Characters in

Interface Zero 20 no longer start with an automatic d4 inHacking Additionally characters who wish to use the Global

DataNet for everyday purposes such as research or findingnews pertaining to the Deep do so with their existing Inves-

tigation and Streetwise skills

Knowledge (Demolitions) Successful use of demolitions canmean the difference between destruction of the target as

planned and unplanned loss of life and property The skill also

lets the character have an understanding of what the besttype of explosive is for the obstacle and how much they will

need to remove such an obstacle In addition a raise on theresult will let them know the exact distance they need to be

from the explosion based upon the size of the charge the con-

fines and damage created by said explosion This skill is usedany time a character wants to put a satchel charge together

or set explosives A Critical Failure will result in immediatedetonation Simple failure will result in premature detonation

or no detonation at all

Knowledge (Programming) Characters use this skill when

attempting to make any kind of change to a network theyhave hacked This skill allows a character to undo damagedone as a result of a hack With it a character can do things

like undo an edit to a data file or video reconstruct a deleted

file repair an AMS (see Active Memory Sectors on page 274in the Sett ing Rules chapter) recover a deleted skill Engram

or reconnect a TAP that has gone offline

OPTIONAL RULE SKILL SPECIALIZATIONS

Interface Zero 20 is an advanced setting where knowing

how to do one thing doesnrsquot necessarily mean you can dosomething which under the regular skill rules would techni-

cally be possible with the same skill Take the various DrivingBoating and Piloting skills for example

Using the regular skill rules a character with Driving couldtheoretically drive anything from a motorcycle to a semi-truckor a tank Similarly Piloting assumes a character has the skills

to pilot all types of aircraft including fighter jets and space-

craft Pinnacle Entertainment addressed this issue by addingthe Skill Specialization setting rule in the Savage Worlds core

rules and it is highly recommended that those rules are usedfor Interface Zero 20

The following list of skill specializations are provided to get

you started This isnrsquot intended to be a comprehensive listof appropriate skill specializations but rather a broad cross

section of specializations we feel are appropriate If some-thing doesnrsquot appear on the list make it up if it seems right

But remember the GM always has the final say on what is or

isnrsquot appropriate for her campaign

SUGGESTED SPECIALIZATIONS

bull Boating Powered Sailed Submersible

bull Climbing Mountaineering Rappelling Rope

bull Driving Car (4 wheels) Hovercraft JUMP Bike MotorcycleTruck (6+ wheels) Tracked

bull Fighting Axe Blades Blunt Cyberweapon Long Blade

Martial arts (by style judo karate etc) Pole Arm

bull Gambling By game

bull Hacking Hyper Combat Firewall Penetration Intrusion

Detection Object Control Object Editing Run ProgramTrace

bull Healing Cyber Surgery First Aid Surgery

bull Intimidation Interrogation Mental Physical

bull Investigation Archives Global DataNet Libraries

Newspapers

bull Knowledge Each Knowledge skill is technically a special-

ization of Knowledge so it isnrsquot broken down into furtherspecializations

Suggested Knowledge Skills AIs Battle Corporations

Cybernetics Demolitions Global DataNet Local Area (spe-cific) Politics Programing

bull Lockpicking Disarm Trap Electronic Manual

bull Notice Audio Body Language Searching Visual

bull Persuasion Bluffing Diplomacy Fast-Talking Seduction

bull Piloting Golemmech Helicopter Plane Spacecraft VTOL

bull Psionics Freek Peek Tweek

bull Repair Armor Cybernetics Electronics Mechanical Struc-tures Weapons

bull Riding By animal

TO SPECIALIZE OR NOT TO SPECIALIZE

17

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1829

bull Shooting Bow Pistol Rifle Shotgun Submachine GunVehicle Weapon or by weapon category

bull Stealth Disguise Hiding Sleight of Hand Sneaking

bull Streetwise AreaRegion (Corporate Zone Gang Turf etc)

bull Survival Aquatic Arctic Desert Forest Jungle MountainSpace urban or any specific environment

bull Swimming Lake Ocean SCUBA Divingbull Taunt Verbal Visual

bull Throwing Darts Grenades Knives Spears

bull Tracking Animals Global DataNet Humans Urban

Vehicles

OPTIONAL SKILL ATHLETICS

Rather than breaking up basic things like Climbing and Swim-ming it is recommended to combine them into a single skill

which would allow for specialization

Athletics (Vigor) Athletics as a catch-all for a number ofphysical endeavors ranging from climbing to swimming to

moving around effectively in a no mdash or low-gravity environ-

ment Athletics should be used instead of Agility in foot chasesand effectively replaces both the Climbing and Swimming skills

Specializations Climbing Leaping Running Sport (specific)

Swimming Zero-G Maneuvers

LANGUAGES

All characters speak their native language plus a number ofadditional languages equaling one-half their Smarts die The

major trade languages used in Interface Zero 20 are Chinese

English Hindi Portuguese and Swahili Additional languagescan be learned by using an advancement opportunity

DERIVED STATISTICS

There are a few statistics which are important in any SavageWorlds game Charisma Pace Parry and Toughness

CHARISMA

Charisma is an abstract measure of your characterrsquos appear-ance how she deals with others socially and generally how

likeable she is Charisma starts at 0 but can be modified byEdges and Hindrances Charisma is also added to Streetwise

and Persuasion rolls The Game Master uses Charisma to figure

out how NPCrsquos react to your character For more informationon Charisma see the Savage Worlds core rules

PACE

Pace is a measure of how far your character can walk in a

standard combat round Human characters have a base Paceof 6 and can run at an additional 1d6rdquo Other races in Interface

Zero 20 can have different starting Pace scores based on the

racial template you choose For more information on Pacesee the Savage Worlds core rules

PARRY

Parry is equal to 2 plus half your characterrsquos Fighting skillplus modifiers gained from use of shields or certain weapons

If your character does not have the Fighting skill base Parry

starts at 2 For more information on Parry see the SavageWorlds core rules

TOUGHNESS

Toughness is a measure of how much damage your character

can take before becoming Shaken or wounded Toughness is2 plus half your characterrsquos Vigor plus any armor she might

be wearing For more information on Toughness see the

Savage Worlds core rules

NEW DERIVED STATSInterface Zero 20 introduces three new derived statis-

tics mdash Firewall Strain and Street Cred

FIREWALL

Unless your character has the Unplugged Hindrance she hasa Tendril Access Processor (TAP) and therefore has a built-

in firewall The firewall protects against attempts to hack a

characterrsquos TAP A characterrsquos Firewall rating star ts at 4 but

can be modified by Edges Hindrances or software

STRAIN

Strain measures the amount of stress cyberware and biowareputs on your body when you install it Strain starts at zero

and each piece of cyberware adds to your Strain stat Highlevels of Strain can lead to death More details on Strain are

located at Augments on page 262

STREET CRED

Street Cred is a measure of your character rsquos reputation on

the streets All characters begin play with 2 points of StreetCred modified by Edges or Hindrances and gain another 2

points every time they gain a new Rank The maximum StreetCred a character can normally achieve is 10 (some Edges and

Occupations can increase this number)

Unlike Charisma which measures your ability to persuadesomeone Street Cred is a point pool that can be spent to

obtain services temporary contacts information and a variety

of other benefits during the course of an adventure This poolrefreshes each adventure unless circumstances in the prior

adventure (like not getting the job done failing to protectsomeone killing an innocent etc) cause the characterrsquos Street

Cred score to drop

Characters can also pick up Minor or Major Hindrances thathave a lasting effect on their Street Cred score during the

course of an adventure These Hindrances can be removedby spending an Advance with the GMrsquos permission For more

information see Street Cred on page 264

CONTACTS

Each character can choose two contacts people the character

knows who he can call upon for aid or information during thecourse of an adventure These contacts can be anyone froma bartender or a hacker to a corporate executive or military

commander as long as it makes sense that your characterwould know the person(s)

STEP 4 OCCUPATIONS

Occupations are integral to your character concept providinga basic framework to enhance your characterrsquos background in

a very organic way helping you create a more well-rounded

18

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1929

character concept Each occupation has a requirement that thecharacter must meet to take it the characterrsquos bonus credits

gained each Advance and a special perk (like gear or specialabilities) the character gets for being part of that profession

STEP 5 EDGES AND HINDRANCES

Edges are special qualities that separate characters from theaverage sprawler Hindrances are physical and mental flaws

that add more depth to the character albeit in a negativeway See the Savage Worlds core rules for more information

on purchasing Edges and Hindrances New Edges and Hin-drances are provided later in this chapter

STEP 6 EQUIPMENT

In Interface Zero 20 characters select equipment cybernet-ics weapons and armor based on the power level the Game

Master sets for the campaign

Power Level This is the starting Power Level of the Cam-

paign as determined by the Game Master If the GM wants totell a story of gang members barely scraping by shersquoll mostlikely choose Gutter Punk as the Power Level If she envi-

sions a campaign where the players are a special governmenttask force dedicated to hunting down super terrorists the

Hyperchrome Warriors or Elite Operatives levels might be

more appropriate The Street Soldier Power Level (designedfor ronin-style games) is considered the default Power Level

for Interface Zero 20

Starting Credits This is the amount of money characters

start with at the beginning of the campaign These credits

may be spent on anything the player wishes and the GM hasnot barred from the campaign including augments drones

weapons and armor

Augments Every Power Level above Gutter Punk allows theplayers to start with at least one augment from the core book

equal to or below the monetary amount listed Unspent Creditsfrom this pool do not carry over when the game starts These

augments must be chosen from the master list of augments

not augment packages

STEP 7 BACKGROUND

They say the devil is in the details and here is where you

decide how devilish yoursquore going to be You donrsquot need towrite a novel and frankly this step isnrsquot mandatory That said

itrsquos a good idea to jot down a few notes on your characterrsquosbackground any major events in her life any friends the

names of contacts or even enemies she might have Share

these ideas with your Game Master GMs are always lookingfor good plot hooks and little tidbits they can use to person-

alize your experience at the table The more detailed yourbackground is the better

ARCHETYPESSometimes you may want to quickly create a character for

a one-shot or convention adventure For those occasions anArchetype is a good choice

All are built for a human character with two Edges If you wish

to play a race other than human simply plug in the statisticaldata If yoursquore playing a human you

can choose another Edge Thenchoose your gear based on the

Power Level your group haschosen give the character

a name and yoursquore ready

to go

19

ARCHETYPES

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2029

AGENT

BOUNTY HUNTER

20

AGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

20

ARCHETYPESAGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2129

CYBERMONK

DRONE JOCKEY

21

CYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

21

ARCHETYPESCYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 2: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 229

CREDITS 1

INTRODUCTION 10The Road to 2090 10Life in General 13

CHAPTER TWO CHARACTER CREATION 16Step 1 Concept 16

Step 2 Race 16Step 3 Traits 16Attributes 16

Skills 16

Derived Statistics 18New Derived Stats 18

Contacts 18Step 4 Occupations 18

Step 5 Edges and Hindrances 19

Step 6 Equipment 19Step 7 Background 19

ARCHETYPES 19Agent 20

Bounty Hunter 20

Cybermonk 21Drone Jockey 21

Ganger 22Grifter 22

Hacker 23Idol 23

Investigative Journalist 24

Patch Man 24Ronin 25

Sector Cop 25Smuggler 26

Ex-Soldier 26

Street Rat 27Zeek 27

RACES 28Android 28

Bioroid 28Cyborg 29

Human 29

Human 20 29Hybrid 30

Simulacra 31OCCUPATIONS 32

HINDRANCES 37

Prohibited Hindrances 37Modified Hindrances 37

New Hindrances 37EDGES 40

Prohibited Edges 40Modified Edges 40New Edges 40

Background Edges 40Combat Edges 40

Hacker Edges 41Power Edges 41

Professional Edges 42

Social Edges 43Weird Edges 43

CHAPTER THREE MALMART 2090 CATALOG 48CORPORATIONS 48

Act of God Armaments 48Black Knight Industries 48

Hosti le Merger 48Executive Decision 48

Urban Punk 48Bombs on Broadwaytrade 48

Ravenlocke Securities 48

Marsworks Engineering 49

Cherry Automotive 49Shogun Outfitters 49Wasteland Traders 49

Private Dick Future Noir Wear 49

Misawa Meyers and MorganResearch and Development 49

Sentinel Rock Corporation 49SynthSystems 49

Combat Engineering Systems 49

ARMOR 50Exoarmor 53

COMMUNICATIONS 54CYBERWARE 55

Augmentation Packages 55

Master Augment List 55Augment Costs 55

Cyberlimbs and Cyber Eyes 55DRONES AND ROBOTS 61

Drones 61Robots 63

DRUGS 64

ENTERTAINMENT 66Entertainment 66

Delivery Subscriptions 67Other Services 67

EXPLOSIVES 68

Explosive Devices 68Grenades 68

Mines 69GOLEMMECHS AND POWERED ARMOR 70

Scout Power Armor 70Combat Power Armor 70

Golemmechs 73

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT 77Biometers 77

Patches 77TAP APPLICATIONS 78

TOOLS 79

WEAPONS 80Melee 80

Pistols 82Submachine Guns 84

Shotguns 84Rifles 85Heavy Weapons 86

Special Weapons 87Missile Launchers 88

Flamethrowers 88Energy Weapons 89

Improvised Weapons 90

VEHICLES 91Cycles 91

Cars 92Aircraft 94

VTOL Craft 94

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 329

Water Craf t 95Buses and Trucks 96

Heavy Vehicles 96Spacecraft 98

CHAPTER FOUR THE WORLD 100The Elite 100The Megacorps 101

The Rest of Us 102The Black Market 102

Gang Life 103

Civilians 103Becoming a Ganger 104

Turf 105Authority 105

Law Enforcement 106

Transhumanism 106Technology 108

Zeeks 109Previous Studies 109

Origins of My Species 109Project Waking Mind 110

Summation 112The World According to Zeeks 112Misconceptions 112

My Story 112Religion and Zeeks 113

Hiding in Plain Sight 113

Zeek Culture 114Zeeks in the Media 114

The Art of the Spin 1 14Xenophobic Movements 115

Activist Movements 116

Zeek Havens 117Zeeks in the Workplace 118

Summary 119

Religion and other ldquoIsmsrdquo 120The Global DataNet 121

EASTERN HEMISPHERE 122

AFRICA 122

Emergence 122A New Africa 122

New Industries 122Biotechnology amp Gene-splicing 122

Secure Banking 122

Data Havens 122Southern Eurasian Union 123

Major Cities amp Points of Interest 123Military amp Defenses 123

Industries 123

Central African Union 123The Ivory Curtain 123

Major Cities amp Points of Interest 124Dakumbe Death Squads 124

Somalia 124Piracy 124

Major Cities amp Points of Interest 124

Military amp Defenses 125Industries 125

South Africa 125Major Cities amp Points of Interest 125

Military amp Defenses 125

Industries 125

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND 126The Coast 126

How We Got Here 126How Things Work 127

The Outback 128How Things Work There 128

Australian Augmentation amp Health Care Union 128

New Zealand 131

How We Got Here 131How Things Work 131

CHINA AND THE MANDARINATE 133

Place 133

The New Mandarins Rise 133The Thawed Lands 134

Perfection and Preservation 135Understanding the Ministries 135

Mandarinate Allies 136

Taiwan 136Thailand 136

Singapore 136Vietnam 136

War and the Charon Virus 139

The Forlorn 139Indonesia 139

The Philippines 139THE INDIA LEAGUE 140

Death and Fractions 140Pact and Renaissance 141

India in 2090 141

Mumbai City of Dreams 142Mumbai in 2090 142

Living in Mumbai 143JAPAN 144

History 144

Culture 145Government 146

The Yakuza 146Major Cities 146

Tokyo 146Chiba 147

Nagasaki 148

RUSSIAN FEDERATION 149Imperial Dreams 149

The New Russians 149Defenders of the Motherland 149

Shadow Communities 150

Occupied Russian Territories 150Iron Fists in Velvet Gloves 151

North Caucasian Alliance 151Holy Mountains 151

A Company of Wolves 151THE EURASIAN UNION 152The New Eurasian Union 152

Rebel South 152Greece 152

Italy 153Spain 153

Eastern Conflict 154

The Core 154Germany 154

France 154The Nordic Pact 156

Type of Government 156

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 429

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 529

Vegas in 2090 218Sin City The Illusion of Hope 218

Gangland Politics 218Power Play 219

CREAM 219Locations of Interest 219

Chinatown Las Vegas 221

The Strip 221

Salt Lake amp the LDS Zions 221Zion 222The Sands (Slums) 222

Salt Lake 222

Dugway Military Base 223Zion Proper 223

Zion Medical The Healing L ight 224The Hill 224

Ogden 224

Jordan 224Phoenix 225

SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA 226Central America 226

South America 226

Panama 227THE CHICAGO SPRAWL 228

CHICAGOLAND 230A Free City 230

Life In Chicagoland 230The Powers That Be 231

The Wolves 231

The Unaligned 233Chicago Laws 233

Geography 233North Chicago 234

South Chicago 239

West Chicago 240Central Chicago 243

Ports of Entry 246

CHAPTER FIVE THE SOLAR SYSTEM 251History of Space Exploration 252

Life in the Solar System 253The Law 253

Organizations 254Corporate Presence 255

Major Set tlement Areas 255

Venus 255Luna 256

Mars 256Ceres 257

The Inner Belt 258

Jupiter 258Saturn 259

Colony Technologies 259Orbital Technologies 260

Ship Technologies 260

CHAPTER SIX SETTING RULES 262Augments 262

Drugs 263Fatigue 263

Gritty Damage 263

Street Cred 264COST OF LIVING 265

DRONES 267DUBBING 269

GOLEMMECHS 270Golemmech Combat 270

Golemmech Creation 270Stock Frames 270

HACKING 274

Tendril Access Processor 274

Stats 274Engrams 275How to Hack 278

The Core Mechanic 278

Network Statistics 278SysOp Countermeasures 279

Hyper Combat 279Hyper Reality 280

Virtual Reality 281

Avatars 281Hacking Virtual Reality 283

POWERS 284Arcane Background (Cybermonk) 284

Arcane Background (Psionics) 284

CHAPTER SEVEN GAME MASTERING 286City Trappings 286

Trapping Descriptions 286Freelancing 289

Job Consequences 290

Payouts 291Gang Generator 292

Types Of Gangs 292Gang Sizes 293

Gang Activities 293

Gang Names 294Adventure Generator 295

Contractors 295

The Mission 296The Location 297The MacGuffin 299

Innocents 300

The Antagonist 300Henchmen 301

Twists and Complications 301Dramatic Conflict 302

Adventure Creation Example 303

Bio-Horror Generator 304Mutant Type 304

THREATS 307Bio-Horrors 307

Sprawl Denizens 308

Courier 308Criminals 308

The Elite 309Military 310

Sprawl Soldiers 310Wage Slaves 311

Robots 312

Intrusion Countermeasures 314

INDEX 315

BACKERS 319

5

TABLE OF CONTENTS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 629

TABLE LISTTable 21 Campaign Power Levels 19Table 22 Hindrances 4 4

Table 23 Edges 45

Table 24 Occupations 46Table 31 Armor 51

Table 32 Communication Equipment 54

Table 33 Augment Grades and Costs 55Table 34 Augment List 56

Table 35 Drones 61Table 36 Robots 63

Table 37 Drugs 65Table 38 Other Services 67

Table 39 Explosives 69

Table 310 Grenades and Mines 69Table 311 Powered Armor 72

Table 312 Golemmechs 76Table 313 Medical Equipment 77

Table 314 Tap Applications 79Table 315 Accessories amp Electronics 79

Table 316 Melee Weapons 81

Table 317 Pistols 83Table 318 Submachine Guns and Shotguns 84

Table 319 Rifles 85Table 320 heavy Weapons 86

Table 321 Special Weapons 87

Table 322 Missile Launchers and Flame Throwers 88Table 323 Energy Weapons 89

Table 324 Improvised Weapons 90Table 325 Improvised Ranged Weapons 90

Table 326 Cycles and Cars 92

Table 327 Aircraft and VTOLs 95Table 328 Watercraft Trucks and Heavy Vehicles 97

Table 329 Spacecraft 98Table 51 Average Distance (AN) 258

Table 52 Average Travel Times (Days) 259Table 61 Street Cred Rewards and Penalties 265

Table 62 Favors 265

Table 63 Character L ifestyles 265Table 64 Psychotherapy Costs 266

Table 65 Medical Treatment Cost 266Table 66 Vehicle Control Interface 267

Table 67 Golemmech Weapons 271

Table 68 Golemmech Upgrades 272Table 69 Standard TAP Readout 274

Table 610 Active Memory Sector Cost 274Table 611 TAP Firewall Upgrades 274

Table 612 TAP Range Upgrades 275

Table 613 Engram Qualities 275Table 614 Sample Hyper Objects 281

Table 615 Avatar Attack Programs 282Table 616 Avatar Upgrades 282

Table 71 Baseline Payouts 292Table 72 Gang Type 293

Table 73 Gang Size 293

Table 74 Gang Activities 293Table 75 Gang Name Generator 295

Table 76 Contractors 295Table 77 The Mission 296

Table 78 Urban Location 297

Table 79 Non-Urban Location 297Table 710 The Macguffin 299

Table 711 Innocents 300Table 712 Antagonists 300

Table 713 Twists And Complications 301Table 714 Dramatic Conflic t 302

Table 715 Mutant Types 304Table 716 Xenomorph Smarts 305

Table 717 Xenomorph Other Attributes 305

Table 718 Xenomorph Skills 305

Table 719 Xenomorph Skill Dice 305Table 720 Xenomorph Size 305Table 721 Xenomorph Locomotion 305

Table 722 Xenomorph Dermis 305

Table 723 Xenomorph Base Attack 306Table 724 Xenomorph Senses 306

Table 725 Mutations 306Table 726 Drawbacks 306

6

TABLE OF CONTENTS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 729

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 829

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 929

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1029

INTRODUCTION

INFOSOURCE

VIDTAGROADTO2090

LOCAL JACOBSPLAYGROUNDNET

FQDN JACOBSPLAYGROUNDNETCHITOWN06TNTPNSWWGNET

DATA SOURCE MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMESINFODUMP

THE ROAD TO 2090

Posted By Billy_Black_Eyes

So here we are in January 2090 Itrsquos been a couple of yearssince I dropped the last INFODUMP on the world and Irsquom here

to rectify that This massive documentrsquos gonna give you all theinformation you need to get up to speed on the state of the

world along with oodles and oodles of statistical data about

a bunch of subjects including the Global DataNet golem-mechs drones and other emerging technologies Yoursquoll read

about the strange and wonderful people who inhabit thisworld the solar system zeeks and much more Irsquove gath-

ered info from sources all over the world and vetted it to

the best of my ability That said you never know whatrsquos trueand what isnrsquot in this age of main stream media lies govern-

ment propaganda and do-it-yourself journalism so take theinformation (especially in the data dumps about the world)

with a grain of salt

Simba So what are you sayinrsquo Bi lly We canrsquot trust you

Billy_Black_Eyes Thatrsquos not what I said You know fullwell that information especially editorialized info alwayshas a certain slant to it It rsquos also fluid What was true at thetime I acquired it may not necessarily be accurate now

The past two years have seen a number of major eventstake place in the world If just one or two things would have

happened I might think they werenrsquot connected Yet itrsquos as ifsomeone walked up to a house of cards and pulled one card

out The house hasnrsquot completely crashed yet itrsquos in a slow-

motion free fall and the worst part is only a few of us seemto be watching What follows is a br ief overview of the major

events that have shaped the world in which we currently live

Neon_Bright Oh Billy looking at the world with thosedark lenses again are we

Magpie Neon I think he needs a hug )

Billy_Black_Eyes What I need is a ticket to Mars Thingsare about to get crazy and I want off this rock

GROWING TENSIONS IN NORTH AMERICA

The year 2088 was marked by a number of disturbing mdash somesay portentous mdash events involving the North American Coali-

tion the Great Lakes Union and Atlantica

Sane_Prophet ldquoPortentousrdquo Could the scales be fallingoff your black eyes my friend Are you finally coming tounderstand the truth

Billy_Black_Eyes Seriously You again I told you nomystic bull shit

Sane_Prophet Just because you refuse to acknowledgeomens for what they are doesnrsquot make them any less valid

THE HEGEMONY GROWS

The crackdown on zeeks hybrids and synthetic humans in the

NAC reached a boiling point when Congress and the Senateratified the infamous Racial Purity Act a draconic piece of

legislation banning the practice of hybrid and simulacrumcreation All genetic modification parlors and simulacrum

production facilities were ordered to shut down The Racial

Purity Act also outlawed the use of psychic powers within theborders of the nation with hefty fines and even imprisonment

for those caught using them Various watchdog organiza-tions were created the most visible of which is Psi-division

a branch of Stopwatch tasked with monitoring and in some

cases even ldquoneutralizingrdquo psychic threats

Psychopope And by ldquoneutralizingrdquo he means murder

Denver_Must_Burn And forced relocationhellipIrsquom not talkingabout VR prisons ei ther Irsquom talking about the internmentcamps up in Montana and the Dakotas

Simba It was just as bad for hybrids like myself Whenthose genetic modification parlors shut down the pr ivateinformation about their customers was confiscatedunder the auspices of ldquonational securit yrdquo This means theDepartment of National Security (DNS) has the namesand addresses of every hybrid and free sim in the NorthAmerican Coalition If you have a TAP the DNS can trackyour IP too

Luciferion Simba Dude thatrsquos happening with everycitizen regardless of whether or not yoursquore zeek hybridor ldquoPlain Janerdquo human

Denver_Must_Burn All I can say is TRICilicit_behavior Yes DMB The Revolution IS Coming

Instances of racial violence erupted across the North Ameri-

can Coalition as law enforcement officials began arrestingzeeks Some of the more obvious hybrids mdash particularly the

bull bear and rhino variants mdash were also incarcerated Gov-ernments across the continent decried the draconian tactics

and called for UN intervention to no effect The Great Lakes

Union and Atlantica closed their embassies in Denver and sentthe NAC delegates in their cities packing Then on Novem-

ber 13th 2088 a number of terrorist attacks rocked BostonBaltimore and Portland Maine An estimated 2451 people

died and thousands more were injured from the bombings

THE ATLANTICA BOMBINGSWithin hours of the attacks the Global DataNet was flooded

with conspiracy theories the most viral of which speculated

they were carried out by a terrorist group known as Agenda68Some speculated a Canadian black ops unit known as Task-

force Harfang did the deed Others went on to claim the NACwas behind the attacks and still others claimed New Brasilia

or maybe the Chinese Mandarinate were somehow involvedSo-called ldquoconspiracy theorist expertsrdquo such as Sam_Jones

and NERCOTIXX speculated that China long believed to bein bed with the North American Coalition used simulacra to

perform the bombings

10

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1129

NECROTIXX China did carry out the bombings Do theresearch Look into Project Doppelganger and yoursquoll seeThe NAC is just a patsy

Sam_Jones The Mandarinate is becoming an imperialpower Just look at what they are doing with Russia nowand what they have done with all of Southeast Asia Askthe Russian refugees flooding into Seattle if they thinkChina is content to stay within their borders The writingrsquos

on the wall folksSimba It might have been orchestrated by agents workingfor Charon

Luciferion What a load of crap Charon is an AI It doesnrsquothave any contact with humans

Neon_Bright Prove it Simba

As the days stretched into weeks there was still no official

statement from the Atlantica Government about the iden-tity of the perpetrators of the attacks Then on December

15th 2088 a MEDIAfile was uploaded into the Global DataNetbearing the Hyper Tag of a popular underground media-pirate

known as MAXX_footage

The dronersquos feed showed three large muscular men in regular

clothing exit a hover van adjacent to one of the targets of theattacks just moments before it exploded Facial recognitionsoftware identified one of the men as First Sergeant John

Moore a member of the North American Coalition regular army

The MEDIAfile went on to follow the three men as they jumpedinto an unmarked hover car that took off and shot over the

Boston sea wall to land on a freighter bearing Chinese mark-ings The vessel promptly sailed east into international waters

Sorry_U_Asked Isnrsquot it odd how often people retreat tothe water in the wake of disasters How much of the oceanremains unmapped How much is hiding under the wavesthat we havenrsquot even begun to fathom

BatRastard Puns intended Wersquove already got enoughconspiracy theories Can you not add another useless one

to the stinking heap

Sane_Prophet Actually hersquos closer to reality than youmight be comfortable understanding Too much truth canbreak a manrsquos mind

BatRastard Irsquom guessing yours is already fried from afew too many stims man Want to share what yoursquove beendoping

As the situation evolved it became clear that MAXX_footagewent through what can only be described as a nightmarish journey to bring the MEDIAfile into the light of day In what

would be his only interview MAXX_footage appeared via

a secure video-feed on ldquoBoston Tonightrdquomdasha popular showin the nation of Atlantica Millions across the world tuned in

to listen to what he had to say MAXX_footage a tall lanky

young man recounted the events of that day telling how hewas hanging out at his favorite coffee shop when this black

hover van landed right in front of the Emperor Pharmaceuti-cals Arcology about a half a block away

When Penny Pearl mdash the host of the show mdash asked MAXX_

footage how during all the chaos he could have possiblyremembered those details MAXX_footage said he remem-

bered it because the hover van double parked and someonestarted yelling at the three guys who got out Thinking it was

going to result in violence MAXX_footage says he poppedout his Fly on the Wall micro drone and sent i t over to record

the incident Thatrsquos when all hell broke loose

BEGIN THREAD JACK

NECROTIXX Herersquos a transcript of the short interviewPenny couldnrsquot get MAXX back on

BEGIN TRANSCRIPThellip

ldquoOne of the three men shot the guy right in the facerdquo MAXX_

footage says his long thin hands shaking ldquoThey just walked

away and got into a red hover car I sent Judy mdash thatrsquos thename of my drone mdash after them and thatrsquos when the Black

hover van explodedrdquo MAXX_footage goes quiet for a fewseconds and after a couple of probing questions from the

hostess he finishes his story

ldquoAnyhow I get my bearings shake the dust outta my hairand suddenly realize I just captured the perps on Digifilm I

follow the red hover car all the way out past the Sea Wallwhere it lands on this Chinese freighter Judyrsquos pushinrsquo her

range limits at this point so I call her backrdquo He grabs a glassof water his hands shaking

ldquoTell us what happened nextrdquo Penny prompts

ldquoWellrdquo he begins ldquoI get back to my flat mdash it took a while mdash what

with all the chaos goinrsquo on in the lsquoplex and everything mdash andthe place is busted up I mean BIG-TIME amirdquo MAXX_footage

stops again then shakes his head and says ldquoListen I canrsquot sayanything else about that I think theyrsquore still watching mehellip

In fact this interview is done MAXX OUTrdquo The video feed

cuts to white noise

END TRANSCRIPT

END THREAD JACK

The interview and the footage of the event sparked outrage

throughout Atlantica Predictably the NAC government fiercelydenied any involvement in the bombings even going so far

as to demand the arrest and extradition of MAXX_footagefor questioning about the origins of the video

Martin Hughes mdash the president of Atlantica mdash flatly refusedthe NACrsquos demands even going so far as to say that thisMAXX_footage person was a ldquohero of the people of

Atlanticardquo The bookies in the free city of Las Vegas startedgiving even odds that hostilities would break out on the East

Coast within a year

Simba I lost a ton of money on that bet

Luciferion MAXX_footage has gone dark BTW Nobodyhas seen or heard from him since that interview

THE FLARE

On January 26 2089 a massive Earth-directed Y-class solar

flare sparked a Coronal Mass Ejection that bombarded our

planet temporarily shutting down the genie network thatmonitors and updates the TAPrsquos spam and reality filters Withthe genie down every man woman and child with a Tendril

Access Processor was exposed to raw unfiltered Hyper Reality

As you all know this sparked a week of world-wide chaosSprawlers mdash exposed to a storm of spam malware and layer

upon layer of augmented reality advertisements and simu-lated environments mdash went temporarily insane

Sane_Prophet Insanity is a weak word for the weak-minded What may appear as insane to you might simplybe someone having achieved enlightenment and livingaccording to a higher truth

11

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1229

Sorry_U_Asked Irsquom all about questioning the circumstancesbut Irsquom pretty sure all the folks who were murdered duringthese events wouldrsquove labeled them as insane down to a one

Billy_Black_Eyes Whatever dictionary program yoursquorerunning needs a fresh data-dump Prophet

Sane_Prophet Dictionaries are also for the weak-minded

Billy_Black_Eyes Of course they are

The world burned for about a week until programmers couldfix the problem with firmware updates and hot patches to

get the filters up and running and an off switch installedbut the damage was done Itrsquos not known how many people

died in the rioting and madness but cautious estimates oftotal casualties put the number at around 750 million people

and nobody has even tried to calculate the monetary cost

of the riots Strangely however the Flare itself didnrsquot havea widespread impact on various infrastructures like electric

and other powers transportation systems etc In fact manybelieve the Flare wasnrsquot even a solar flare at all but the first

sign of Charonrsquos emergence as a threat to humanity

Luciferion Nobodyrsquos ever proven that Billy

Billy_Black_Eyes Nobody has ever debunked it eitherStatistical data can be hacked Numbers can be fudgedto make things seem more dramatic than they really areEarthquakes register at a certain scale and get downgradedall the time The truth is this is the first time in history thata solar flare has caused such wide-spread chaos It rsquos fishy

Luciferion Irsquoll believe it when I see some hard data

Billy_Black_Eyes Fair enough But the emergence ofCharon around this time isnrsquot even open for debate Itrsquosa fact

THE EURASIAN UNION IMPLODES

On March 15th 2089 the Eurasian Union Central Bank in

Bonn Germany was crashed by a previously unheard-of virusnamed Charon Over forty-five trillion dollars vanished without

a trace All attempts to rebuild the original databases failedSome programmers (and freelance hackers) hired to go in andpurge Charon from the databases lost their lives in the process

Further attempts to rebuild the system on different serverswith backups also failed when programmers realized that

Charon mdash now suspected by many to be an AI mdash had copieditself into the cloud networks containing those backup files

Luciferion Therersquos nothing to suspect Charon is anemergent AI The only question now is whether or not itsparks a singularity event

Nothing_to_see_here Stopwatch will halt it in its tracksThey always catch these things

Luciferion Who do you think died trying to get it out ofthe D-bases in Bonn

Over the next few months an estimated 200 million people

across the Eurasian Union the United Kingdom and Ireland losttheir jobs their homes and their life savings when it became

clear that Charon had found its way into the personal bankaccounts of citizenry across the Eurasian Union

Instances of mob violence skyrocketed as the number of

gangs in the rapidly fracturing Eurasian Union had risen tolevels not seen since the Death mdash the three-year ldquoNuclear

Autumnrdquo following the India-Pakistan war when nuclearweapons were used on a massive scale In the London-Read-

ing Megaplex protests exploded into full-scale violence after

police brutally cracked down on a peaceful protest at the

British parliament building More instances of violent protests

followed in Bristol Swindon and the Manchester-Liverpoolsprawl

On June 27th 2089 the French government was over-

thrown by a fringe political extremist group known as theNew Pirate Party Led by a charismatic young zeek named

Angeacutele Bonheur the New Pirate Party seized power after awild chaotic campaign against representatives of the NationalFront and the Popular Republican Union The elections were

rife with scandal and many of the French didnrsquot (and still donrsquot)like the idea of a French leader being psychic So while Angeacutele

emerged as the clear victor the French military refused toacknowledge her legitimacy President Bonheur responded

by disbanding the armed forces of France at the same time

announcing the privatization of the nationrsquos military throughan agreement with Ravenlocke Securities

Downtrodden Yep itrsquos a sign of things to come ladiesand gents a world-wide corporate coup of governmentsIf you donrsquot think the CEO of Ravenlocke mdash thatrsquos MarkusRaven mdash has a say in the direction this new governmenttakes think again

Luciferion Itrsquos awesome to see France led by a psychicbut letrsquos get real this is going to get much worse beforeit gets better

Magpie I wouldnrsquot be surprised i f she gets wacked

Former Lieutenant-Colonel Adrien Boucher also known as

ldquoAdrien the Butcherrdquo for his brutal suppression of an upris-ing in Marseilles in 2087 took charge of the remnants of

the disbanded French army promising to remove PresidentBonheur from power Within days of Adrienrsquos announcement

Fort Richepance mdash now the Northeastern headquarters for

Ravenlocke Industriesrsquo Storm Crow Golemmech brigade mdash wasattacked The president responded by declaring martial law

throughout France until the renegade movement could be

put down Thus far that hasnrsquot happened though there arereports of clashes between Ravenlocke regulars and sepa-

ratist forces outside of St Etienne and in the French Alps

Warpig This has caused numerous issues If PresidentAngeacutele thinks her countrymen are going to accept theprivatization of the military shersquos sorely mistaken As Billymentions Adrien the Butcher is causing problems buttherersquos more to it Militias are forming They have advancedweaponry and while I wonrsquot speculate as to whorsquos providingthem with those weapons I do know the vast majority ofthe weapons are made by Act of God Armaments

Battle_Mind I know one thing itrsquos a great time to be amercenary

Full_Metal_Cyborg Amen brother Irsquoll see you on the

battlefieldPayne_Man Lock and Load U mushrooms I splatter youn00bs with my AK

Magpie ldquoSighrdquo Stop playing Matrix of War Payne Yousound like a fool This ainrsquot a game

Payne_Man I thought we were talkinrsquo about MOW Ushould C the zones Theyrsquore eggsaklee like the content ofthis INFOdump Have been for a whyle now Evar since thelast expansion dropped in spring 2088

Luciferion hellipOk thatrsquos odd

Payne_Man The CoalitionAtlantica War expansion izzcumin out next month 2 I Kant W8

12

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1329

On June 30th 2089 Germany wracked with political in-

fighting riots in the streets and a general state of chaos

closed its borders Officially the stated reason was for secu-rity reasons stemming from conflict along the border with

France but most people donrsquot believe it Chancellor KonradGerste authorized a financial bailout of the three largest

manufacturers of weapons and military equipment for

the German army The move has frightened many of the

Eastern European nations mdash especially the good people ofPoland mdash who know well what happens when Germans

begin preparing for war and make no mistake Germany ismoving to a war footing

Payne_Man Watch out Zee Germans are cumming LOL

Klaus What Canrsquot my brethren move to protectthemselves from the chaos in France And why the veiledreference to WWII Itrsquos been nearly 150 years since Hitlerrsquosmadness yet nobody allows us to forget it

THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON

As the situation in Europe grew worse China took advantageof the weakened Eurasian Union grabbing up huge swathes

of territory in Russia its armies advancing as far west as the

Ural Mountain range where Russian forces managed to haltthe dragonrsquos advance Still the damage was done By August2089 the Mandarinate had established itself as an occupy-

ing power in every city town and village east of the Ural

Mountains That hasnrsquot stopped the Russians from retaliatinghowever Russian patriots have begun an insurgency attack-

ing Chinese forces wherever they can be found Mandarinatemouthpieces paint the insurgents as terrorists to little effect

as the insurgency swells in number every day

Neon_Bright This isnrsquot just a struggle against Chineseaggression Vast resources have been found ever sinceSiberia began to thaw Irsquom talking about precious mineralsoil even the land is useful for development especiallywhen you consider billions of people live in eastern Asia

Luciferion Agreed Neon

LIFE IN GENERAL

So how have the above events impacted life as we stumbleinto 2090 In numerous ways omae There isnrsquot enough time

to go into great detail about how war the Flare and espe-

cially the rise of Charon have affected the life of the averagesprawler across the world but Irsquo ll go over some of the more

important details Pay attention peeps some of this mightkeep you alive

SURVIVING HYPER REALITY

As I mentioned above when the Flare knocked out the GENIEnetwork it caused widespread chaos And while GENIE is back

up and running there are still glitches in the system Sure

firmware updates to the Tendril Access Processor mdash TAP as itrsquosmore commonly known mdash allow you to turn off that modem

in your brain but wellhelliplet me put it like this Hyper Realityhas become smarter even deadly if you donrsquot have the right

software installed in your TAP

Sane_Prophet Why bother putting up more and morefilters It is senseless A futile fight against powers fargreater than yourself Open your eyes open your mindand set yourself free from this prison of so-called reality

BatRastard Right and then with the first meme to fry myneurons Irsquoll be spending my life savings on the Fat Sallyrsquosdown the block Brilliant

Sane_Prophet Fat Sally rsquos secret sauce is an interdimen-sional gateway into the heights of ecstasy

BatRastard Actually thatrsquos the first thing you and I haveever agreed on

Irsquove discussed this phenomena with numerous program-mers across the world and they all agree virii spam and allmanner of malware that [prior to the Flare] would have been

easy to purge from your head are now behaving much dif-

ferently Itrsquos almost as if the things evolved into somethingnot-quite-sentient but damned close to it

So what does this mean for you

If you choose to experience Hyper Reality (and if you have aTAP in your brain you have) itrsquos only a matter of time before

one of these virii hacks into your brain Therersquos nothing youcan really do about it itrsquos just one of the many fun facts of

life in 2090 I do find it ironic that af ter decades of enjoying

the connectivity and convenience the TAP has provided thistechnology seems to be actively trying to kill us and there

isnrsquot much we can do about it without going back to medi-eval times You know the 1980rsquos Of course some of you out

there will want to turn your TAPs off for good and avoid the

risk entirely Hell some of you might be considering gettingthe damned thing removed

You can do that sure Of course that means yoursquore also

not connected to the grid that makes your life so unbeliev-ably convenient This causes a mult itude of problems Donrsquot

believe me Try walking out of your house Oh right you canrsquotbecause most doors donrsquot have handles anymore Theyrsquore

automated and respond to the signals coming from your TAPI know some are activated by motion sensors and donrsquot rely

on the TAP But no door which is designed with security in

mind will open so easilyThis also means you have almost zero access to vehicles or

places where you can buy things like grocery stores Yeah

sure you can just follow someone else into said store butthe security cameras will spot you and not having a digital

record of your presence (which they get from your TAP) willflag you and dispatch a security team to find out who you

are So there you are in your local Malmart looking for some

cloned steaks to fire up on your grill later on when securitycomes with their big guns and ldquowhat the hell are you doing

here scumbagrdquo looks on their faces to boot you back out intothe streets where you came from

Oh how did you plan on paying for them BTW now that

your TAP is offline and the clerk canrsquot sync her cash register

with your payment software And NO they donrsquot take cashThe point is this omae All that convenience you were usedto goes out the window when you unplug Itrsquos much easier

to get strong firewalls than it is to live outside the system

So think about what I said before you scratch that itch at thebase of your skull with a scalpel

SURVIVING THE STREETS

The streets have always been dangerous thatrsquos a givenWhen you cram millions of people into a concrete and steel

petri dish then forget about 999 of them you create abreeding ground for violence hate and societal devolution

13

INTRODUCTIONLIFE IN GENERAL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1429

on such a scale that social Darwinists like Herbert Spencer and

Thomas Malthus would roll over in their graves

Again that in itself is nothing new The streets have alwaysbeen violent but ever since the events I previously described

came to pass mdash especially the Flare and the implosion of theEurasian Union mdash the number of homeless people across the

world has sky-rocketed The petri dish is frothing and over-

flowing as new gangs emerge mdash and Irsquom talking globally not just in North America mdash and carve out their own terri tory

This upsets the balance ami and makes it harder to survivewhen yoursquore just a blooper looking to make it through the

day because now you have new predators to deal with n00bbangers making up their own rules as they go And the cop-

suckers donrsquot help

Protect and serve What a load of crap

Sure yoursquol l get Triple-A service if you live in one of the moneybubbles but try getting help in say the Aurora Barrens or

the Gary Hell Zone and yoursquore basically fucked Yeah thereare token patrols and the ever-present drones but drones

get shot down and the copsuckers are so outnumbered

most are either so scared to get into an altercation with thepredators or theyrsquore on the take I canrsquot say I blame them

either The streets are a war zone and if you wear the badgeyoursquore marked for death omae So take my advice and get

strapped The only person you can count on in the concrete jungle is you

Sorry_U_Asked Think twice before trying to claim a badgebounty though Sure plenty of honchos love to pay topcredit for proof that yoursquove kept the law from poking aroundtheir territory But just because you see someone wearingone doesnrsquot mean they got it legit Lots of gangers wearthem as trophies So if you drop a shot on a copsuckerthinking yoursquove hit payday you might end up with a wholeband of bangers snarling on your heels

SURVIVING THE GAME

Therersquos an old saying The Game is the Game mdash you eitherplay it or you get played I donrsquot care if you contract free-

lance fight fix hack patch or scam yoursquore in it omae andthat puts you at odds with every other player out there Most

people approach the game as a means to an end thinking

that one shiny day theyrsquoll earn enough creds to go someplacewarm and dry and live out their lives in style These clowns

donrsquot last Theyrsquore so busy dreaming about the good timesthat they lose focus on whatrsquos right in front of their face (or

creeping up behind them) Dreamers get sloppy take short

cuts betray their team and torch their street cred like gutterpunks burn trash in a garbage can to keep warm

If you want to survive the game you need to take a lesson

from these dreamers keep your mind on the job Therersquos nosandy beach waiting for you The megacorps bought them

all and turned lsquoem into parking lots The only fruity drinksyoursquoll ever drink are sold in the local watering hole by some

burned-out ronin The best you can hope for is a litt le bit of

comfort mdash usually behind a small fortress if yoursquore smart mdash andthe respect of the streets But thatrsquos a double-edged sword

another facet of the game Therersquos always someone faster

than you some hungry up-and-comer with the latest aug-ments wanting to prove herself by dealing you out Sucksto be a victim of your own success but thatrsquos the truth of it

My advice Find a way to deal yourself out clean Put some

creds away never burn your contacts and donrsquot ever everbecome a legend

Legends die

14

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1529

CHARACTER

CREATION

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1629

CHAPTER TWOCHARACTER CREATION

Characters are the lifersquos blood of any role-playing game the

focal point of every story Characters represent the best mdash orthe worst mdash ideals of a given game setting their actions either

bringing a small measure of hope to the downtrodden massesor serving to strengthen the status quo In the grim gritty

world of Interface Zero 20 the characters you play walk amonofilament edge between traditional mdash some would say

outdated or just plain irrelevant mdash concepts of good and evilas they make their way in the world

Indeed itrsquos hard to be a moral individual in a world where

most of the animals prowling the concrete jungle believe prin-ciples are character flaws mdash weaknesses to exploit for their

own ends Your morality marks you as prey no doubt aboutit omae But if you can keep your moral code if you can get

your job done without selling your soul yoursquoll get something

most sprawlers never have respect

Evil on the other hand is the same as it always has been

therersquos just more of it The wicked always thrive in a world

where violence fear and control are tools used for self-serv-ing ends but herersquos the thing Acting like an ass can get you

green-lit just as quickly as playing the role of the goody-two-shoes marks you as a sucker amigo

Nobody likes a dickhead even if they donrsquot say it to your

face Sooner or later yoursquoll get a rep for being a hard-assand someone who is stronger meaner or a bigger asshole

than you is going to come along and knock you back to thegutter you crawled out of Thatrsquos why most people keep their

heads down and their mouths shut Donrsquot make eye contact

itrsquos a challenge to the predators and if you donrsquot have thestones to back up the challenge yoursquore nothing but meat

But if you can stay strong and defeat all comers that com-mands respect too

This chapter provides you with the tools you need to make

a character for Interface Zero 20 The process is the same ascreating a character for any Savage Worlds game with a few

additions Interface Zero 20 introduces Street Cred Contactsand Strain to the game

STEP 1 CONCEPT

The first thing you need to do is decide on a concept for your

character Will you play a hacker Perhaps a mercenary orbounty hunter is more your speed Are mercs and hunters toocutthroat for your style of play If so you might think about

playing a ronin an urban warrior who follows his own code

of honor Maybe you want to be the guy (or gal) who backsthe team up with drones capable of laying down covering

fire or scouting ahead to see where the bad guys are hiding

You donrsquot need to have your concept locked in right now butat least have a basic idea of the type of character you want

to play Take a few minutes and skip ahead to the archetypessection in this chapter to see a variety of options available

to you

STEP 2 RACEThe next thing you need to do is choose a race In 2090

humanity has reached the point where the word ldquohumanrdquo is

almost irrelevant Human DNA is no longer a mystery Itrsquos amathematical code technomancers hack re-write and copy

at will producing genetically superior beings the Human 20

Others snip and paste animal DNA and splice it with humanDNA to create genetic hybrids a fusion of man and animal

Science has even advanced to such an extent that we can

create entirely new life forms mdash living beings known as simula-cra mdash in amniotic vats growing them until they have matured

filling their synthetic brains with memories and skills theyrsquollneed to do the jobs for which they were created

STEP 3 TRAITS

Traits are the building blocks of any Savage Worlds character

They define how strong or fast your character is and what

she knows Traits determine how much cyberware she canput into her body how much damage she can take before

dying her standing with others and a variety of other thingsall of which are essential to the game

ATTRIBUTES

Five attributes are used to define your characterrsquos physi-cal characteristics These are Agility Smarts Spirit Strength

and Vigor Each attribute starts at d4 You have 5 points withwhich to raise these attr ibutes and one point equals a risein a die type (d4 to d6 d6 to d8 etc) No attribute may rise

higher than d12 during character creation unless stated undera racial ability For more information on attributes refer to

the Savage Worlds core rules

SKILLS

You have 15 points to spend on your characterrsquos skills Your

character doesnrsquot start with any skills and must spend 1 pointto get a skill at a d4 He spends 1 point to raise a skill to a

higher die type as long as the skill level is equal to or less

than the linked attribute Raising any skill above the linkedattribute costs 2 points per step No skill may rise above d12

during character creation

Note If you are using the skill specializations rules you get 20points for skills and each new specialization costs 1 skill point

during character creation When your character advances shemay purchase 2 skill specializations for an advance or a new

skill and a single specialization

NEW SKILLS

The following are new skills introduced in Interface Zero 20

For information on all other skills see Skills in the Savage

Worlds core rules

16

CHARACTER CREATIONCONCEPT RACE TRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1729

Hacking (Smarts) The Hacking skill is used whenever a

character wants to hack a computer network Characters in

Interface Zero 20 no longer start with an automatic d4 inHacking Additionally characters who wish to use the Global

DataNet for everyday purposes such as research or findingnews pertaining to the Deep do so with their existing Inves-

tigation and Streetwise skills

Knowledge (Demolitions) Successful use of demolitions canmean the difference between destruction of the target as

planned and unplanned loss of life and property The skill also

lets the character have an understanding of what the besttype of explosive is for the obstacle and how much they will

need to remove such an obstacle In addition a raise on theresult will let them know the exact distance they need to be

from the explosion based upon the size of the charge the con-

fines and damage created by said explosion This skill is usedany time a character wants to put a satchel charge together

or set explosives A Critical Failure will result in immediatedetonation Simple failure will result in premature detonation

or no detonation at all

Knowledge (Programming) Characters use this skill when

attempting to make any kind of change to a network theyhave hacked This skill allows a character to undo damagedone as a result of a hack With it a character can do things

like undo an edit to a data file or video reconstruct a deleted

file repair an AMS (see Active Memory Sectors on page 274in the Sett ing Rules chapter) recover a deleted skill Engram

or reconnect a TAP that has gone offline

OPTIONAL RULE SKILL SPECIALIZATIONS

Interface Zero 20 is an advanced setting where knowing

how to do one thing doesnrsquot necessarily mean you can dosomething which under the regular skill rules would techni-

cally be possible with the same skill Take the various DrivingBoating and Piloting skills for example

Using the regular skill rules a character with Driving couldtheoretically drive anything from a motorcycle to a semi-truckor a tank Similarly Piloting assumes a character has the skills

to pilot all types of aircraft including fighter jets and space-

craft Pinnacle Entertainment addressed this issue by addingthe Skill Specialization setting rule in the Savage Worlds core

rules and it is highly recommended that those rules are usedfor Interface Zero 20

The following list of skill specializations are provided to get

you started This isnrsquot intended to be a comprehensive listof appropriate skill specializations but rather a broad cross

section of specializations we feel are appropriate If some-thing doesnrsquot appear on the list make it up if it seems right

But remember the GM always has the final say on what is or

isnrsquot appropriate for her campaign

SUGGESTED SPECIALIZATIONS

bull Boating Powered Sailed Submersible

bull Climbing Mountaineering Rappelling Rope

bull Driving Car (4 wheels) Hovercraft JUMP Bike MotorcycleTruck (6+ wheels) Tracked

bull Fighting Axe Blades Blunt Cyberweapon Long Blade

Martial arts (by style judo karate etc) Pole Arm

bull Gambling By game

bull Hacking Hyper Combat Firewall Penetration Intrusion

Detection Object Control Object Editing Run ProgramTrace

bull Healing Cyber Surgery First Aid Surgery

bull Intimidation Interrogation Mental Physical

bull Investigation Archives Global DataNet Libraries

Newspapers

bull Knowledge Each Knowledge skill is technically a special-

ization of Knowledge so it isnrsquot broken down into furtherspecializations

Suggested Knowledge Skills AIs Battle Corporations

Cybernetics Demolitions Global DataNet Local Area (spe-cific) Politics Programing

bull Lockpicking Disarm Trap Electronic Manual

bull Notice Audio Body Language Searching Visual

bull Persuasion Bluffing Diplomacy Fast-Talking Seduction

bull Piloting Golemmech Helicopter Plane Spacecraft VTOL

bull Psionics Freek Peek Tweek

bull Repair Armor Cybernetics Electronics Mechanical Struc-tures Weapons

bull Riding By animal

TO SPECIALIZE OR NOT TO SPECIALIZE

17

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1829

bull Shooting Bow Pistol Rifle Shotgun Submachine GunVehicle Weapon or by weapon category

bull Stealth Disguise Hiding Sleight of Hand Sneaking

bull Streetwise AreaRegion (Corporate Zone Gang Turf etc)

bull Survival Aquatic Arctic Desert Forest Jungle MountainSpace urban or any specific environment

bull Swimming Lake Ocean SCUBA Divingbull Taunt Verbal Visual

bull Throwing Darts Grenades Knives Spears

bull Tracking Animals Global DataNet Humans Urban

Vehicles

OPTIONAL SKILL ATHLETICS

Rather than breaking up basic things like Climbing and Swim-ming it is recommended to combine them into a single skill

which would allow for specialization

Athletics (Vigor) Athletics as a catch-all for a number ofphysical endeavors ranging from climbing to swimming to

moving around effectively in a no mdash or low-gravity environ-

ment Athletics should be used instead of Agility in foot chasesand effectively replaces both the Climbing and Swimming skills

Specializations Climbing Leaping Running Sport (specific)

Swimming Zero-G Maneuvers

LANGUAGES

All characters speak their native language plus a number ofadditional languages equaling one-half their Smarts die The

major trade languages used in Interface Zero 20 are Chinese

English Hindi Portuguese and Swahili Additional languagescan be learned by using an advancement opportunity

DERIVED STATISTICS

There are a few statistics which are important in any SavageWorlds game Charisma Pace Parry and Toughness

CHARISMA

Charisma is an abstract measure of your characterrsquos appear-ance how she deals with others socially and generally how

likeable she is Charisma starts at 0 but can be modified byEdges and Hindrances Charisma is also added to Streetwise

and Persuasion rolls The Game Master uses Charisma to figure

out how NPCrsquos react to your character For more informationon Charisma see the Savage Worlds core rules

PACE

Pace is a measure of how far your character can walk in a

standard combat round Human characters have a base Paceof 6 and can run at an additional 1d6rdquo Other races in Interface

Zero 20 can have different starting Pace scores based on the

racial template you choose For more information on Pacesee the Savage Worlds core rules

PARRY

Parry is equal to 2 plus half your characterrsquos Fighting skillplus modifiers gained from use of shields or certain weapons

If your character does not have the Fighting skill base Parry

starts at 2 For more information on Parry see the SavageWorlds core rules

TOUGHNESS

Toughness is a measure of how much damage your character

can take before becoming Shaken or wounded Toughness is2 plus half your characterrsquos Vigor plus any armor she might

be wearing For more information on Toughness see the

Savage Worlds core rules

NEW DERIVED STATSInterface Zero 20 introduces three new derived statis-

tics mdash Firewall Strain and Street Cred

FIREWALL

Unless your character has the Unplugged Hindrance she hasa Tendril Access Processor (TAP) and therefore has a built-

in firewall The firewall protects against attempts to hack a

characterrsquos TAP A characterrsquos Firewall rating star ts at 4 but

can be modified by Edges Hindrances or software

STRAIN

Strain measures the amount of stress cyberware and biowareputs on your body when you install it Strain starts at zero

and each piece of cyberware adds to your Strain stat Highlevels of Strain can lead to death More details on Strain are

located at Augments on page 262

STREET CRED

Street Cred is a measure of your character rsquos reputation on

the streets All characters begin play with 2 points of StreetCred modified by Edges or Hindrances and gain another 2

points every time they gain a new Rank The maximum StreetCred a character can normally achieve is 10 (some Edges and

Occupations can increase this number)

Unlike Charisma which measures your ability to persuadesomeone Street Cred is a point pool that can be spent to

obtain services temporary contacts information and a variety

of other benefits during the course of an adventure This poolrefreshes each adventure unless circumstances in the prior

adventure (like not getting the job done failing to protectsomeone killing an innocent etc) cause the characterrsquos Street

Cred score to drop

Characters can also pick up Minor or Major Hindrances thathave a lasting effect on their Street Cred score during the

course of an adventure These Hindrances can be removedby spending an Advance with the GMrsquos permission For more

information see Street Cred on page 264

CONTACTS

Each character can choose two contacts people the character

knows who he can call upon for aid or information during thecourse of an adventure These contacts can be anyone froma bartender or a hacker to a corporate executive or military

commander as long as it makes sense that your characterwould know the person(s)

STEP 4 OCCUPATIONS

Occupations are integral to your character concept providinga basic framework to enhance your characterrsquos background in

a very organic way helping you create a more well-rounded

18

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1929

character concept Each occupation has a requirement that thecharacter must meet to take it the characterrsquos bonus credits

gained each Advance and a special perk (like gear or specialabilities) the character gets for being part of that profession

STEP 5 EDGES AND HINDRANCES

Edges are special qualities that separate characters from theaverage sprawler Hindrances are physical and mental flaws

that add more depth to the character albeit in a negativeway See the Savage Worlds core rules for more information

on purchasing Edges and Hindrances New Edges and Hin-drances are provided later in this chapter

STEP 6 EQUIPMENT

In Interface Zero 20 characters select equipment cybernet-ics weapons and armor based on the power level the Game

Master sets for the campaign

Power Level This is the starting Power Level of the Cam-

paign as determined by the Game Master If the GM wants totell a story of gang members barely scraping by shersquoll mostlikely choose Gutter Punk as the Power Level If she envi-

sions a campaign where the players are a special governmenttask force dedicated to hunting down super terrorists the

Hyperchrome Warriors or Elite Operatives levels might be

more appropriate The Street Soldier Power Level (designedfor ronin-style games) is considered the default Power Level

for Interface Zero 20

Starting Credits This is the amount of money characters

start with at the beginning of the campaign These credits

may be spent on anything the player wishes and the GM hasnot barred from the campaign including augments drones

weapons and armor

Augments Every Power Level above Gutter Punk allows theplayers to start with at least one augment from the core book

equal to or below the monetary amount listed Unspent Creditsfrom this pool do not carry over when the game starts These

augments must be chosen from the master list of augments

not augment packages

STEP 7 BACKGROUND

They say the devil is in the details and here is where you

decide how devilish yoursquore going to be You donrsquot need towrite a novel and frankly this step isnrsquot mandatory That said

itrsquos a good idea to jot down a few notes on your characterrsquosbackground any major events in her life any friends the

names of contacts or even enemies she might have Share

these ideas with your Game Master GMs are always lookingfor good plot hooks and little tidbits they can use to person-

alize your experience at the table The more detailed yourbackground is the better

ARCHETYPESSometimes you may want to quickly create a character for

a one-shot or convention adventure For those occasions anArchetype is a good choice

All are built for a human character with two Edges If you wish

to play a race other than human simply plug in the statisticaldata If yoursquore playing a human you

can choose another Edge Thenchoose your gear based on the

Power Level your group haschosen give the character

a name and yoursquore ready

to go

19

ARCHETYPES

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2029

AGENT

BOUNTY HUNTER

20

AGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

20

ARCHETYPESAGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2129

CYBERMONK

DRONE JOCKEY

21

CYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

21

ARCHETYPESCYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 3: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 329

Water Craf t 95Buses and Trucks 96

Heavy Vehicles 96Spacecraft 98

CHAPTER FOUR THE WORLD 100The Elite 100The Megacorps 101

The Rest of Us 102The Black Market 102

Gang Life 103

Civilians 103Becoming a Ganger 104

Turf 105Authority 105

Law Enforcement 106

Transhumanism 106Technology 108

Zeeks 109Previous Studies 109

Origins of My Species 109Project Waking Mind 110

Summation 112The World According to Zeeks 112Misconceptions 112

My Story 112Religion and Zeeks 113

Hiding in Plain Sight 113

Zeek Culture 114Zeeks in the Media 114

The Art of the Spin 1 14Xenophobic Movements 115

Activist Movements 116

Zeek Havens 117Zeeks in the Workplace 118

Summary 119

Religion and other ldquoIsmsrdquo 120The Global DataNet 121

EASTERN HEMISPHERE 122

AFRICA 122

Emergence 122A New Africa 122

New Industries 122Biotechnology amp Gene-splicing 122

Secure Banking 122

Data Havens 122Southern Eurasian Union 123

Major Cities amp Points of Interest 123Military amp Defenses 123

Industries 123

Central African Union 123The Ivory Curtain 123

Major Cities amp Points of Interest 124Dakumbe Death Squads 124

Somalia 124Piracy 124

Major Cities amp Points of Interest 124

Military amp Defenses 125Industries 125

South Africa 125Major Cities amp Points of Interest 125

Military amp Defenses 125

Industries 125

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND 126The Coast 126

How We Got Here 126How Things Work 127

The Outback 128How Things Work There 128

Australian Augmentation amp Health Care Union 128

New Zealand 131

How We Got Here 131How Things Work 131

CHINA AND THE MANDARINATE 133

Place 133

The New Mandarins Rise 133The Thawed Lands 134

Perfection and Preservation 135Understanding the Ministries 135

Mandarinate Allies 136

Taiwan 136Thailand 136

Singapore 136Vietnam 136

War and the Charon Virus 139

The Forlorn 139Indonesia 139

The Philippines 139THE INDIA LEAGUE 140

Death and Fractions 140Pact and Renaissance 141

India in 2090 141

Mumbai City of Dreams 142Mumbai in 2090 142

Living in Mumbai 143JAPAN 144

History 144

Culture 145Government 146

The Yakuza 146Major Cities 146

Tokyo 146Chiba 147

Nagasaki 148

RUSSIAN FEDERATION 149Imperial Dreams 149

The New Russians 149Defenders of the Motherland 149

Shadow Communities 150

Occupied Russian Territories 150Iron Fists in Velvet Gloves 151

North Caucasian Alliance 151Holy Mountains 151

A Company of Wolves 151THE EURASIAN UNION 152The New Eurasian Union 152

Rebel South 152Greece 152

Italy 153Spain 153

Eastern Conflict 154

The Core 154Germany 154

France 154The Nordic Pact 156

Type of Government 156

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 429

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 529

Vegas in 2090 218Sin City The Illusion of Hope 218

Gangland Politics 218Power Play 219

CREAM 219Locations of Interest 219

Chinatown Las Vegas 221

The Strip 221

Salt Lake amp the LDS Zions 221Zion 222The Sands (Slums) 222

Salt Lake 222

Dugway Military Base 223Zion Proper 223

Zion Medical The Healing L ight 224The Hill 224

Ogden 224

Jordan 224Phoenix 225

SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA 226Central America 226

South America 226

Panama 227THE CHICAGO SPRAWL 228

CHICAGOLAND 230A Free City 230

Life In Chicagoland 230The Powers That Be 231

The Wolves 231

The Unaligned 233Chicago Laws 233

Geography 233North Chicago 234

South Chicago 239

West Chicago 240Central Chicago 243

Ports of Entry 246

CHAPTER FIVE THE SOLAR SYSTEM 251History of Space Exploration 252

Life in the Solar System 253The Law 253

Organizations 254Corporate Presence 255

Major Set tlement Areas 255

Venus 255Luna 256

Mars 256Ceres 257

The Inner Belt 258

Jupiter 258Saturn 259

Colony Technologies 259Orbital Technologies 260

Ship Technologies 260

CHAPTER SIX SETTING RULES 262Augments 262

Drugs 263Fatigue 263

Gritty Damage 263

Street Cred 264COST OF LIVING 265

DRONES 267DUBBING 269

GOLEMMECHS 270Golemmech Combat 270

Golemmech Creation 270Stock Frames 270

HACKING 274

Tendril Access Processor 274

Stats 274Engrams 275How to Hack 278

The Core Mechanic 278

Network Statistics 278SysOp Countermeasures 279

Hyper Combat 279Hyper Reality 280

Virtual Reality 281

Avatars 281Hacking Virtual Reality 283

POWERS 284Arcane Background (Cybermonk) 284

Arcane Background (Psionics) 284

CHAPTER SEVEN GAME MASTERING 286City Trappings 286

Trapping Descriptions 286Freelancing 289

Job Consequences 290

Payouts 291Gang Generator 292

Types Of Gangs 292Gang Sizes 293

Gang Activities 293

Gang Names 294Adventure Generator 295

Contractors 295

The Mission 296The Location 297The MacGuffin 299

Innocents 300

The Antagonist 300Henchmen 301

Twists and Complications 301Dramatic Conflict 302

Adventure Creation Example 303

Bio-Horror Generator 304Mutant Type 304

THREATS 307Bio-Horrors 307

Sprawl Denizens 308

Courier 308Criminals 308

The Elite 309Military 310

Sprawl Soldiers 310Wage Slaves 311

Robots 312

Intrusion Countermeasures 314

INDEX 315

BACKERS 319

5

TABLE OF CONTENTS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 629

TABLE LISTTable 21 Campaign Power Levels 19Table 22 Hindrances 4 4

Table 23 Edges 45

Table 24 Occupations 46Table 31 Armor 51

Table 32 Communication Equipment 54

Table 33 Augment Grades and Costs 55Table 34 Augment List 56

Table 35 Drones 61Table 36 Robots 63

Table 37 Drugs 65Table 38 Other Services 67

Table 39 Explosives 69

Table 310 Grenades and Mines 69Table 311 Powered Armor 72

Table 312 Golemmechs 76Table 313 Medical Equipment 77

Table 314 Tap Applications 79Table 315 Accessories amp Electronics 79

Table 316 Melee Weapons 81

Table 317 Pistols 83Table 318 Submachine Guns and Shotguns 84

Table 319 Rifles 85Table 320 heavy Weapons 86

Table 321 Special Weapons 87

Table 322 Missile Launchers and Flame Throwers 88Table 323 Energy Weapons 89

Table 324 Improvised Weapons 90Table 325 Improvised Ranged Weapons 90

Table 326 Cycles and Cars 92

Table 327 Aircraft and VTOLs 95Table 328 Watercraft Trucks and Heavy Vehicles 97

Table 329 Spacecraft 98Table 51 Average Distance (AN) 258

Table 52 Average Travel Times (Days) 259Table 61 Street Cred Rewards and Penalties 265

Table 62 Favors 265

Table 63 Character L ifestyles 265Table 64 Psychotherapy Costs 266

Table 65 Medical Treatment Cost 266Table 66 Vehicle Control Interface 267

Table 67 Golemmech Weapons 271

Table 68 Golemmech Upgrades 272Table 69 Standard TAP Readout 274

Table 610 Active Memory Sector Cost 274Table 611 TAP Firewall Upgrades 274

Table 612 TAP Range Upgrades 275

Table 613 Engram Qualities 275Table 614 Sample Hyper Objects 281

Table 615 Avatar Attack Programs 282Table 616 Avatar Upgrades 282

Table 71 Baseline Payouts 292Table 72 Gang Type 293

Table 73 Gang Size 293

Table 74 Gang Activities 293Table 75 Gang Name Generator 295

Table 76 Contractors 295Table 77 The Mission 296

Table 78 Urban Location 297

Table 79 Non-Urban Location 297Table 710 The Macguffin 299

Table 711 Innocents 300Table 712 Antagonists 300

Table 713 Twists And Complications 301Table 714 Dramatic Conflic t 302

Table 715 Mutant Types 304Table 716 Xenomorph Smarts 305

Table 717 Xenomorph Other Attributes 305

Table 718 Xenomorph Skills 305

Table 719 Xenomorph Skill Dice 305Table 720 Xenomorph Size 305Table 721 Xenomorph Locomotion 305

Table 722 Xenomorph Dermis 305

Table 723 Xenomorph Base Attack 306Table 724 Xenomorph Senses 306

Table 725 Mutations 306Table 726 Drawbacks 306

6

TABLE OF CONTENTS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 729

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 829

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 929

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1029

INTRODUCTION

INFOSOURCE

VIDTAGROADTO2090

LOCAL JACOBSPLAYGROUNDNET

FQDN JACOBSPLAYGROUNDNETCHITOWN06TNTPNSWWGNET

DATA SOURCE MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMESINFODUMP

THE ROAD TO 2090

Posted By Billy_Black_Eyes

So here we are in January 2090 Itrsquos been a couple of yearssince I dropped the last INFODUMP on the world and Irsquom here

to rectify that This massive documentrsquos gonna give you all theinformation you need to get up to speed on the state of the

world along with oodles and oodles of statistical data about

a bunch of subjects including the Global DataNet golem-mechs drones and other emerging technologies Yoursquoll read

about the strange and wonderful people who inhabit thisworld the solar system zeeks and much more Irsquove gath-

ered info from sources all over the world and vetted it to

the best of my ability That said you never know whatrsquos trueand what isnrsquot in this age of main stream media lies govern-

ment propaganda and do-it-yourself journalism so take theinformation (especially in the data dumps about the world)

with a grain of salt

Simba So what are you sayinrsquo Bi lly We canrsquot trust you

Billy_Black_Eyes Thatrsquos not what I said You know fullwell that information especially editorialized info alwayshas a certain slant to it It rsquos also fluid What was true at thetime I acquired it may not necessarily be accurate now

The past two years have seen a number of major eventstake place in the world If just one or two things would have

happened I might think they werenrsquot connected Yet itrsquos as ifsomeone walked up to a house of cards and pulled one card

out The house hasnrsquot completely crashed yet itrsquos in a slow-

motion free fall and the worst part is only a few of us seemto be watching What follows is a br ief overview of the major

events that have shaped the world in which we currently live

Neon_Bright Oh Billy looking at the world with thosedark lenses again are we

Magpie Neon I think he needs a hug )

Billy_Black_Eyes What I need is a ticket to Mars Thingsare about to get crazy and I want off this rock

GROWING TENSIONS IN NORTH AMERICA

The year 2088 was marked by a number of disturbing mdash somesay portentous mdash events involving the North American Coali-

tion the Great Lakes Union and Atlantica

Sane_Prophet ldquoPortentousrdquo Could the scales be fallingoff your black eyes my friend Are you finally coming tounderstand the truth

Billy_Black_Eyes Seriously You again I told you nomystic bull shit

Sane_Prophet Just because you refuse to acknowledgeomens for what they are doesnrsquot make them any less valid

THE HEGEMONY GROWS

The crackdown on zeeks hybrids and synthetic humans in the

NAC reached a boiling point when Congress and the Senateratified the infamous Racial Purity Act a draconic piece of

legislation banning the practice of hybrid and simulacrumcreation All genetic modification parlors and simulacrum

production facilities were ordered to shut down The Racial

Purity Act also outlawed the use of psychic powers within theborders of the nation with hefty fines and even imprisonment

for those caught using them Various watchdog organiza-tions were created the most visible of which is Psi-division

a branch of Stopwatch tasked with monitoring and in some

cases even ldquoneutralizingrdquo psychic threats

Psychopope And by ldquoneutralizingrdquo he means murder

Denver_Must_Burn And forced relocationhellipIrsquom not talkingabout VR prisons ei ther Irsquom talking about the internmentcamps up in Montana and the Dakotas

Simba It was just as bad for hybrids like myself Whenthose genetic modification parlors shut down the pr ivateinformation about their customers was confiscatedunder the auspices of ldquonational securit yrdquo This means theDepartment of National Security (DNS) has the namesand addresses of every hybrid and free sim in the NorthAmerican Coalition If you have a TAP the DNS can trackyour IP too

Luciferion Simba Dude thatrsquos happening with everycitizen regardless of whether or not yoursquore zeek hybridor ldquoPlain Janerdquo human

Denver_Must_Burn All I can say is TRICilicit_behavior Yes DMB The Revolution IS Coming

Instances of racial violence erupted across the North Ameri-

can Coalition as law enforcement officials began arrestingzeeks Some of the more obvious hybrids mdash particularly the

bull bear and rhino variants mdash were also incarcerated Gov-ernments across the continent decried the draconian tactics

and called for UN intervention to no effect The Great Lakes

Union and Atlantica closed their embassies in Denver and sentthe NAC delegates in their cities packing Then on Novem-

ber 13th 2088 a number of terrorist attacks rocked BostonBaltimore and Portland Maine An estimated 2451 people

died and thousands more were injured from the bombings

THE ATLANTICA BOMBINGSWithin hours of the attacks the Global DataNet was flooded

with conspiracy theories the most viral of which speculated

they were carried out by a terrorist group known as Agenda68Some speculated a Canadian black ops unit known as Task-

force Harfang did the deed Others went on to claim the NACwas behind the attacks and still others claimed New Brasilia

or maybe the Chinese Mandarinate were somehow involvedSo-called ldquoconspiracy theorist expertsrdquo such as Sam_Jones

and NERCOTIXX speculated that China long believed to bein bed with the North American Coalition used simulacra to

perform the bombings

10

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1129

NECROTIXX China did carry out the bombings Do theresearch Look into Project Doppelganger and yoursquoll seeThe NAC is just a patsy

Sam_Jones The Mandarinate is becoming an imperialpower Just look at what they are doing with Russia nowand what they have done with all of Southeast Asia Askthe Russian refugees flooding into Seattle if they thinkChina is content to stay within their borders The writingrsquos

on the wall folksSimba It might have been orchestrated by agents workingfor Charon

Luciferion What a load of crap Charon is an AI It doesnrsquothave any contact with humans

Neon_Bright Prove it Simba

As the days stretched into weeks there was still no official

statement from the Atlantica Government about the iden-tity of the perpetrators of the attacks Then on December

15th 2088 a MEDIAfile was uploaded into the Global DataNetbearing the Hyper Tag of a popular underground media-pirate

known as MAXX_footage

The dronersquos feed showed three large muscular men in regular

clothing exit a hover van adjacent to one of the targets of theattacks just moments before it exploded Facial recognitionsoftware identified one of the men as First Sergeant John

Moore a member of the North American Coalition regular army

The MEDIAfile went on to follow the three men as they jumpedinto an unmarked hover car that took off and shot over the

Boston sea wall to land on a freighter bearing Chinese mark-ings The vessel promptly sailed east into international waters

Sorry_U_Asked Isnrsquot it odd how often people retreat tothe water in the wake of disasters How much of the oceanremains unmapped How much is hiding under the wavesthat we havenrsquot even begun to fathom

BatRastard Puns intended Wersquove already got enoughconspiracy theories Can you not add another useless one

to the stinking heap

Sane_Prophet Actually hersquos closer to reality than youmight be comfortable understanding Too much truth canbreak a manrsquos mind

BatRastard Irsquom guessing yours is already fried from afew too many stims man Want to share what yoursquove beendoping

As the situation evolved it became clear that MAXX_footagewent through what can only be described as a nightmarish journey to bring the MEDIAfile into the light of day In what

would be his only interview MAXX_footage appeared via

a secure video-feed on ldquoBoston Tonightrdquomdasha popular showin the nation of Atlantica Millions across the world tuned in

to listen to what he had to say MAXX_footage a tall lanky

young man recounted the events of that day telling how hewas hanging out at his favorite coffee shop when this black

hover van landed right in front of the Emperor Pharmaceuti-cals Arcology about a half a block away

When Penny Pearl mdash the host of the show mdash asked MAXX_

footage how during all the chaos he could have possiblyremembered those details MAXX_footage said he remem-

bered it because the hover van double parked and someonestarted yelling at the three guys who got out Thinking it was

going to result in violence MAXX_footage says he poppedout his Fly on the Wall micro drone and sent i t over to record

the incident Thatrsquos when all hell broke loose

BEGIN THREAD JACK

NECROTIXX Herersquos a transcript of the short interviewPenny couldnrsquot get MAXX back on

BEGIN TRANSCRIPThellip

ldquoOne of the three men shot the guy right in the facerdquo MAXX_

footage says his long thin hands shaking ldquoThey just walked

away and got into a red hover car I sent Judy mdash thatrsquos thename of my drone mdash after them and thatrsquos when the Black

hover van explodedrdquo MAXX_footage goes quiet for a fewseconds and after a couple of probing questions from the

hostess he finishes his story

ldquoAnyhow I get my bearings shake the dust outta my hairand suddenly realize I just captured the perps on Digifilm I

follow the red hover car all the way out past the Sea Wallwhere it lands on this Chinese freighter Judyrsquos pushinrsquo her

range limits at this point so I call her backrdquo He grabs a glassof water his hands shaking

ldquoTell us what happened nextrdquo Penny prompts

ldquoWellrdquo he begins ldquoI get back to my flat mdash it took a while mdash what

with all the chaos goinrsquo on in the lsquoplex and everything mdash andthe place is busted up I mean BIG-TIME amirdquo MAXX_footage

stops again then shakes his head and says ldquoListen I canrsquot sayanything else about that I think theyrsquore still watching mehellip

In fact this interview is done MAXX OUTrdquo The video feed

cuts to white noise

END TRANSCRIPT

END THREAD JACK

The interview and the footage of the event sparked outrage

throughout Atlantica Predictably the NAC government fiercelydenied any involvement in the bombings even going so far

as to demand the arrest and extradition of MAXX_footagefor questioning about the origins of the video

Martin Hughes mdash the president of Atlantica mdash flatly refusedthe NACrsquos demands even going so far as to say that thisMAXX_footage person was a ldquohero of the people of

Atlanticardquo The bookies in the free city of Las Vegas startedgiving even odds that hostilities would break out on the East

Coast within a year

Simba I lost a ton of money on that bet

Luciferion MAXX_footage has gone dark BTW Nobodyhas seen or heard from him since that interview

THE FLARE

On January 26 2089 a massive Earth-directed Y-class solar

flare sparked a Coronal Mass Ejection that bombarded our

planet temporarily shutting down the genie network thatmonitors and updates the TAPrsquos spam and reality filters Withthe genie down every man woman and child with a Tendril

Access Processor was exposed to raw unfiltered Hyper Reality

As you all know this sparked a week of world-wide chaosSprawlers mdash exposed to a storm of spam malware and layer

upon layer of augmented reality advertisements and simu-lated environments mdash went temporarily insane

Sane_Prophet Insanity is a weak word for the weak-minded What may appear as insane to you might simplybe someone having achieved enlightenment and livingaccording to a higher truth

11

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1229

Sorry_U_Asked Irsquom all about questioning the circumstancesbut Irsquom pretty sure all the folks who were murdered duringthese events wouldrsquove labeled them as insane down to a one

Billy_Black_Eyes Whatever dictionary program yoursquorerunning needs a fresh data-dump Prophet

Sane_Prophet Dictionaries are also for the weak-minded

Billy_Black_Eyes Of course they are

The world burned for about a week until programmers couldfix the problem with firmware updates and hot patches to

get the filters up and running and an off switch installedbut the damage was done Itrsquos not known how many people

died in the rioting and madness but cautious estimates oftotal casualties put the number at around 750 million people

and nobody has even tried to calculate the monetary cost

of the riots Strangely however the Flare itself didnrsquot havea widespread impact on various infrastructures like electric

and other powers transportation systems etc In fact manybelieve the Flare wasnrsquot even a solar flare at all but the first

sign of Charonrsquos emergence as a threat to humanity

Luciferion Nobodyrsquos ever proven that Billy

Billy_Black_Eyes Nobody has ever debunked it eitherStatistical data can be hacked Numbers can be fudgedto make things seem more dramatic than they really areEarthquakes register at a certain scale and get downgradedall the time The truth is this is the first time in history thata solar flare has caused such wide-spread chaos It rsquos fishy

Luciferion Irsquoll believe it when I see some hard data

Billy_Black_Eyes Fair enough But the emergence ofCharon around this time isnrsquot even open for debate Itrsquosa fact

THE EURASIAN UNION IMPLODES

On March 15th 2089 the Eurasian Union Central Bank in

Bonn Germany was crashed by a previously unheard-of virusnamed Charon Over forty-five trillion dollars vanished without

a trace All attempts to rebuild the original databases failedSome programmers (and freelance hackers) hired to go in andpurge Charon from the databases lost their lives in the process

Further attempts to rebuild the system on different serverswith backups also failed when programmers realized that

Charon mdash now suspected by many to be an AI mdash had copieditself into the cloud networks containing those backup files

Luciferion Therersquos nothing to suspect Charon is anemergent AI The only question now is whether or not itsparks a singularity event

Nothing_to_see_here Stopwatch will halt it in its tracksThey always catch these things

Luciferion Who do you think died trying to get it out ofthe D-bases in Bonn

Over the next few months an estimated 200 million people

across the Eurasian Union the United Kingdom and Ireland losttheir jobs their homes and their life savings when it became

clear that Charon had found its way into the personal bankaccounts of citizenry across the Eurasian Union

Instances of mob violence skyrocketed as the number of

gangs in the rapidly fracturing Eurasian Union had risen tolevels not seen since the Death mdash the three-year ldquoNuclear

Autumnrdquo following the India-Pakistan war when nuclearweapons were used on a massive scale In the London-Read-

ing Megaplex protests exploded into full-scale violence after

police brutally cracked down on a peaceful protest at the

British parliament building More instances of violent protests

followed in Bristol Swindon and the Manchester-Liverpoolsprawl

On June 27th 2089 the French government was over-

thrown by a fringe political extremist group known as theNew Pirate Party Led by a charismatic young zeek named

Angeacutele Bonheur the New Pirate Party seized power after awild chaotic campaign against representatives of the NationalFront and the Popular Republican Union The elections were

rife with scandal and many of the French didnrsquot (and still donrsquot)like the idea of a French leader being psychic So while Angeacutele

emerged as the clear victor the French military refused toacknowledge her legitimacy President Bonheur responded

by disbanding the armed forces of France at the same time

announcing the privatization of the nationrsquos military throughan agreement with Ravenlocke Securities

Downtrodden Yep itrsquos a sign of things to come ladiesand gents a world-wide corporate coup of governmentsIf you donrsquot think the CEO of Ravenlocke mdash thatrsquos MarkusRaven mdash has a say in the direction this new governmenttakes think again

Luciferion Itrsquos awesome to see France led by a psychicbut letrsquos get real this is going to get much worse beforeit gets better

Magpie I wouldnrsquot be surprised i f she gets wacked

Former Lieutenant-Colonel Adrien Boucher also known as

ldquoAdrien the Butcherrdquo for his brutal suppression of an upris-ing in Marseilles in 2087 took charge of the remnants of

the disbanded French army promising to remove PresidentBonheur from power Within days of Adrienrsquos announcement

Fort Richepance mdash now the Northeastern headquarters for

Ravenlocke Industriesrsquo Storm Crow Golemmech brigade mdash wasattacked The president responded by declaring martial law

throughout France until the renegade movement could be

put down Thus far that hasnrsquot happened though there arereports of clashes between Ravenlocke regulars and sepa-

ratist forces outside of St Etienne and in the French Alps

Warpig This has caused numerous issues If PresidentAngeacutele thinks her countrymen are going to accept theprivatization of the military shersquos sorely mistaken As Billymentions Adrien the Butcher is causing problems buttherersquos more to it Militias are forming They have advancedweaponry and while I wonrsquot speculate as to whorsquos providingthem with those weapons I do know the vast majority ofthe weapons are made by Act of God Armaments

Battle_Mind I know one thing itrsquos a great time to be amercenary

Full_Metal_Cyborg Amen brother Irsquoll see you on the

battlefieldPayne_Man Lock and Load U mushrooms I splatter youn00bs with my AK

Magpie ldquoSighrdquo Stop playing Matrix of War Payne Yousound like a fool This ainrsquot a game

Payne_Man I thought we were talkinrsquo about MOW Ushould C the zones Theyrsquore eggsaklee like the content ofthis INFOdump Have been for a whyle now Evar since thelast expansion dropped in spring 2088

Luciferion hellipOk thatrsquos odd

Payne_Man The CoalitionAtlantica War expansion izzcumin out next month 2 I Kant W8

12

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1329

On June 30th 2089 Germany wracked with political in-

fighting riots in the streets and a general state of chaos

closed its borders Officially the stated reason was for secu-rity reasons stemming from conflict along the border with

France but most people donrsquot believe it Chancellor KonradGerste authorized a financial bailout of the three largest

manufacturers of weapons and military equipment for

the German army The move has frightened many of the

Eastern European nations mdash especially the good people ofPoland mdash who know well what happens when Germans

begin preparing for war and make no mistake Germany ismoving to a war footing

Payne_Man Watch out Zee Germans are cumming LOL

Klaus What Canrsquot my brethren move to protectthemselves from the chaos in France And why the veiledreference to WWII Itrsquos been nearly 150 years since Hitlerrsquosmadness yet nobody allows us to forget it

THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON

As the situation in Europe grew worse China took advantageof the weakened Eurasian Union grabbing up huge swathes

of territory in Russia its armies advancing as far west as the

Ural Mountain range where Russian forces managed to haltthe dragonrsquos advance Still the damage was done By August2089 the Mandarinate had established itself as an occupy-

ing power in every city town and village east of the Ural

Mountains That hasnrsquot stopped the Russians from retaliatinghowever Russian patriots have begun an insurgency attack-

ing Chinese forces wherever they can be found Mandarinatemouthpieces paint the insurgents as terrorists to little effect

as the insurgency swells in number every day

Neon_Bright This isnrsquot just a struggle against Chineseaggression Vast resources have been found ever sinceSiberia began to thaw Irsquom talking about precious mineralsoil even the land is useful for development especiallywhen you consider billions of people live in eastern Asia

Luciferion Agreed Neon

LIFE IN GENERAL

So how have the above events impacted life as we stumbleinto 2090 In numerous ways omae There isnrsquot enough time

to go into great detail about how war the Flare and espe-

cially the rise of Charon have affected the life of the averagesprawler across the world but Irsquo ll go over some of the more

important details Pay attention peeps some of this mightkeep you alive

SURVIVING HYPER REALITY

As I mentioned above when the Flare knocked out the GENIEnetwork it caused widespread chaos And while GENIE is back

up and running there are still glitches in the system Sure

firmware updates to the Tendril Access Processor mdash TAP as itrsquosmore commonly known mdash allow you to turn off that modem

in your brain but wellhelliplet me put it like this Hyper Realityhas become smarter even deadly if you donrsquot have the right

software installed in your TAP

Sane_Prophet Why bother putting up more and morefilters It is senseless A futile fight against powers fargreater than yourself Open your eyes open your mindand set yourself free from this prison of so-called reality

BatRastard Right and then with the first meme to fry myneurons Irsquoll be spending my life savings on the Fat Sallyrsquosdown the block Brilliant

Sane_Prophet Fat Sally rsquos secret sauce is an interdimen-sional gateway into the heights of ecstasy

BatRastard Actually thatrsquos the first thing you and I haveever agreed on

Irsquove discussed this phenomena with numerous program-mers across the world and they all agree virii spam and allmanner of malware that [prior to the Flare] would have been

easy to purge from your head are now behaving much dif-

ferently Itrsquos almost as if the things evolved into somethingnot-quite-sentient but damned close to it

So what does this mean for you

If you choose to experience Hyper Reality (and if you have aTAP in your brain you have) itrsquos only a matter of time before

one of these virii hacks into your brain Therersquos nothing youcan really do about it itrsquos just one of the many fun facts of

life in 2090 I do find it ironic that af ter decades of enjoying

the connectivity and convenience the TAP has provided thistechnology seems to be actively trying to kill us and there

isnrsquot much we can do about it without going back to medi-eval times You know the 1980rsquos Of course some of you out

there will want to turn your TAPs off for good and avoid the

risk entirely Hell some of you might be considering gettingthe damned thing removed

You can do that sure Of course that means yoursquore also

not connected to the grid that makes your life so unbeliev-ably convenient This causes a mult itude of problems Donrsquot

believe me Try walking out of your house Oh right you canrsquotbecause most doors donrsquot have handles anymore Theyrsquore

automated and respond to the signals coming from your TAPI know some are activated by motion sensors and donrsquot rely

on the TAP But no door which is designed with security in

mind will open so easilyThis also means you have almost zero access to vehicles or

places where you can buy things like grocery stores Yeah

sure you can just follow someone else into said store butthe security cameras will spot you and not having a digital

record of your presence (which they get from your TAP) willflag you and dispatch a security team to find out who you

are So there you are in your local Malmart looking for some

cloned steaks to fire up on your grill later on when securitycomes with their big guns and ldquowhat the hell are you doing

here scumbagrdquo looks on their faces to boot you back out intothe streets where you came from

Oh how did you plan on paying for them BTW now that

your TAP is offline and the clerk canrsquot sync her cash register

with your payment software And NO they donrsquot take cashThe point is this omae All that convenience you were usedto goes out the window when you unplug Itrsquos much easier

to get strong firewalls than it is to live outside the system

So think about what I said before you scratch that itch at thebase of your skull with a scalpel

SURVIVING THE STREETS

The streets have always been dangerous thatrsquos a givenWhen you cram millions of people into a concrete and steel

petri dish then forget about 999 of them you create abreeding ground for violence hate and societal devolution

13

INTRODUCTIONLIFE IN GENERAL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1429

on such a scale that social Darwinists like Herbert Spencer and

Thomas Malthus would roll over in their graves

Again that in itself is nothing new The streets have alwaysbeen violent but ever since the events I previously described

came to pass mdash especially the Flare and the implosion of theEurasian Union mdash the number of homeless people across the

world has sky-rocketed The petri dish is frothing and over-

flowing as new gangs emerge mdash and Irsquom talking globally not just in North America mdash and carve out their own terri tory

This upsets the balance ami and makes it harder to survivewhen yoursquore just a blooper looking to make it through the

day because now you have new predators to deal with n00bbangers making up their own rules as they go And the cop-

suckers donrsquot help

Protect and serve What a load of crap

Sure yoursquol l get Triple-A service if you live in one of the moneybubbles but try getting help in say the Aurora Barrens or

the Gary Hell Zone and yoursquore basically fucked Yeah thereare token patrols and the ever-present drones but drones

get shot down and the copsuckers are so outnumbered

most are either so scared to get into an altercation with thepredators or theyrsquore on the take I canrsquot say I blame them

either The streets are a war zone and if you wear the badgeyoursquore marked for death omae So take my advice and get

strapped The only person you can count on in the concrete jungle is you

Sorry_U_Asked Think twice before trying to claim a badgebounty though Sure plenty of honchos love to pay topcredit for proof that yoursquove kept the law from poking aroundtheir territory But just because you see someone wearingone doesnrsquot mean they got it legit Lots of gangers wearthem as trophies So if you drop a shot on a copsuckerthinking yoursquove hit payday you might end up with a wholeband of bangers snarling on your heels

SURVIVING THE GAME

Therersquos an old saying The Game is the Game mdash you eitherplay it or you get played I donrsquot care if you contract free-

lance fight fix hack patch or scam yoursquore in it omae andthat puts you at odds with every other player out there Most

people approach the game as a means to an end thinking

that one shiny day theyrsquoll earn enough creds to go someplacewarm and dry and live out their lives in style These clowns

donrsquot last Theyrsquore so busy dreaming about the good timesthat they lose focus on whatrsquos right in front of their face (or

creeping up behind them) Dreamers get sloppy take short

cuts betray their team and torch their street cred like gutterpunks burn trash in a garbage can to keep warm

If you want to survive the game you need to take a lesson

from these dreamers keep your mind on the job Therersquos nosandy beach waiting for you The megacorps bought them

all and turned lsquoem into parking lots The only fruity drinksyoursquoll ever drink are sold in the local watering hole by some

burned-out ronin The best you can hope for is a litt le bit of

comfort mdash usually behind a small fortress if yoursquore smart mdash andthe respect of the streets But thatrsquos a double-edged sword

another facet of the game Therersquos always someone faster

than you some hungry up-and-comer with the latest aug-ments wanting to prove herself by dealing you out Sucksto be a victim of your own success but thatrsquos the truth of it

My advice Find a way to deal yourself out clean Put some

creds away never burn your contacts and donrsquot ever everbecome a legend

Legends die

14

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1529

CHARACTER

CREATION

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1629

CHAPTER TWOCHARACTER CREATION

Characters are the lifersquos blood of any role-playing game the

focal point of every story Characters represent the best mdash orthe worst mdash ideals of a given game setting their actions either

bringing a small measure of hope to the downtrodden massesor serving to strengthen the status quo In the grim gritty

world of Interface Zero 20 the characters you play walk amonofilament edge between traditional mdash some would say

outdated or just plain irrelevant mdash concepts of good and evilas they make their way in the world

Indeed itrsquos hard to be a moral individual in a world where

most of the animals prowling the concrete jungle believe prin-ciples are character flaws mdash weaknesses to exploit for their

own ends Your morality marks you as prey no doubt aboutit omae But if you can keep your moral code if you can get

your job done without selling your soul yoursquoll get something

most sprawlers never have respect

Evil on the other hand is the same as it always has been

therersquos just more of it The wicked always thrive in a world

where violence fear and control are tools used for self-serv-ing ends but herersquos the thing Acting like an ass can get you

green-lit just as quickly as playing the role of the goody-two-shoes marks you as a sucker amigo

Nobody likes a dickhead even if they donrsquot say it to your

face Sooner or later yoursquoll get a rep for being a hard-assand someone who is stronger meaner or a bigger asshole

than you is going to come along and knock you back to thegutter you crawled out of Thatrsquos why most people keep their

heads down and their mouths shut Donrsquot make eye contact

itrsquos a challenge to the predators and if you donrsquot have thestones to back up the challenge yoursquore nothing but meat

But if you can stay strong and defeat all comers that com-mands respect too

This chapter provides you with the tools you need to make

a character for Interface Zero 20 The process is the same ascreating a character for any Savage Worlds game with a few

additions Interface Zero 20 introduces Street Cred Contactsand Strain to the game

STEP 1 CONCEPT

The first thing you need to do is decide on a concept for your

character Will you play a hacker Perhaps a mercenary orbounty hunter is more your speed Are mercs and hunters toocutthroat for your style of play If so you might think about

playing a ronin an urban warrior who follows his own code

of honor Maybe you want to be the guy (or gal) who backsthe team up with drones capable of laying down covering

fire or scouting ahead to see where the bad guys are hiding

You donrsquot need to have your concept locked in right now butat least have a basic idea of the type of character you want

to play Take a few minutes and skip ahead to the archetypessection in this chapter to see a variety of options available

to you

STEP 2 RACEThe next thing you need to do is choose a race In 2090

humanity has reached the point where the word ldquohumanrdquo is

almost irrelevant Human DNA is no longer a mystery Itrsquos amathematical code technomancers hack re-write and copy

at will producing genetically superior beings the Human 20

Others snip and paste animal DNA and splice it with humanDNA to create genetic hybrids a fusion of man and animal

Science has even advanced to such an extent that we can

create entirely new life forms mdash living beings known as simula-cra mdash in amniotic vats growing them until they have matured

filling their synthetic brains with memories and skills theyrsquollneed to do the jobs for which they were created

STEP 3 TRAITS

Traits are the building blocks of any Savage Worlds character

They define how strong or fast your character is and what

she knows Traits determine how much cyberware she canput into her body how much damage she can take before

dying her standing with others and a variety of other thingsall of which are essential to the game

ATTRIBUTES

Five attributes are used to define your characterrsquos physi-cal characteristics These are Agility Smarts Spirit Strength

and Vigor Each attribute starts at d4 You have 5 points withwhich to raise these attr ibutes and one point equals a risein a die type (d4 to d6 d6 to d8 etc) No attribute may rise

higher than d12 during character creation unless stated undera racial ability For more information on attributes refer to

the Savage Worlds core rules

SKILLS

You have 15 points to spend on your characterrsquos skills Your

character doesnrsquot start with any skills and must spend 1 pointto get a skill at a d4 He spends 1 point to raise a skill to a

higher die type as long as the skill level is equal to or less

than the linked attribute Raising any skill above the linkedattribute costs 2 points per step No skill may rise above d12

during character creation

Note If you are using the skill specializations rules you get 20points for skills and each new specialization costs 1 skill point

during character creation When your character advances shemay purchase 2 skill specializations for an advance or a new

skill and a single specialization

NEW SKILLS

The following are new skills introduced in Interface Zero 20

For information on all other skills see Skills in the Savage

Worlds core rules

16

CHARACTER CREATIONCONCEPT RACE TRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1729

Hacking (Smarts) The Hacking skill is used whenever a

character wants to hack a computer network Characters in

Interface Zero 20 no longer start with an automatic d4 inHacking Additionally characters who wish to use the Global

DataNet for everyday purposes such as research or findingnews pertaining to the Deep do so with their existing Inves-

tigation and Streetwise skills

Knowledge (Demolitions) Successful use of demolitions canmean the difference between destruction of the target as

planned and unplanned loss of life and property The skill also

lets the character have an understanding of what the besttype of explosive is for the obstacle and how much they will

need to remove such an obstacle In addition a raise on theresult will let them know the exact distance they need to be

from the explosion based upon the size of the charge the con-

fines and damage created by said explosion This skill is usedany time a character wants to put a satchel charge together

or set explosives A Critical Failure will result in immediatedetonation Simple failure will result in premature detonation

or no detonation at all

Knowledge (Programming) Characters use this skill when

attempting to make any kind of change to a network theyhave hacked This skill allows a character to undo damagedone as a result of a hack With it a character can do things

like undo an edit to a data file or video reconstruct a deleted

file repair an AMS (see Active Memory Sectors on page 274in the Sett ing Rules chapter) recover a deleted skill Engram

or reconnect a TAP that has gone offline

OPTIONAL RULE SKILL SPECIALIZATIONS

Interface Zero 20 is an advanced setting where knowing

how to do one thing doesnrsquot necessarily mean you can dosomething which under the regular skill rules would techni-

cally be possible with the same skill Take the various DrivingBoating and Piloting skills for example

Using the regular skill rules a character with Driving couldtheoretically drive anything from a motorcycle to a semi-truckor a tank Similarly Piloting assumes a character has the skills

to pilot all types of aircraft including fighter jets and space-

craft Pinnacle Entertainment addressed this issue by addingthe Skill Specialization setting rule in the Savage Worlds core

rules and it is highly recommended that those rules are usedfor Interface Zero 20

The following list of skill specializations are provided to get

you started This isnrsquot intended to be a comprehensive listof appropriate skill specializations but rather a broad cross

section of specializations we feel are appropriate If some-thing doesnrsquot appear on the list make it up if it seems right

But remember the GM always has the final say on what is or

isnrsquot appropriate for her campaign

SUGGESTED SPECIALIZATIONS

bull Boating Powered Sailed Submersible

bull Climbing Mountaineering Rappelling Rope

bull Driving Car (4 wheels) Hovercraft JUMP Bike MotorcycleTruck (6+ wheels) Tracked

bull Fighting Axe Blades Blunt Cyberweapon Long Blade

Martial arts (by style judo karate etc) Pole Arm

bull Gambling By game

bull Hacking Hyper Combat Firewall Penetration Intrusion

Detection Object Control Object Editing Run ProgramTrace

bull Healing Cyber Surgery First Aid Surgery

bull Intimidation Interrogation Mental Physical

bull Investigation Archives Global DataNet Libraries

Newspapers

bull Knowledge Each Knowledge skill is technically a special-

ization of Knowledge so it isnrsquot broken down into furtherspecializations

Suggested Knowledge Skills AIs Battle Corporations

Cybernetics Demolitions Global DataNet Local Area (spe-cific) Politics Programing

bull Lockpicking Disarm Trap Electronic Manual

bull Notice Audio Body Language Searching Visual

bull Persuasion Bluffing Diplomacy Fast-Talking Seduction

bull Piloting Golemmech Helicopter Plane Spacecraft VTOL

bull Psionics Freek Peek Tweek

bull Repair Armor Cybernetics Electronics Mechanical Struc-tures Weapons

bull Riding By animal

TO SPECIALIZE OR NOT TO SPECIALIZE

17

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1829

bull Shooting Bow Pistol Rifle Shotgun Submachine GunVehicle Weapon or by weapon category

bull Stealth Disguise Hiding Sleight of Hand Sneaking

bull Streetwise AreaRegion (Corporate Zone Gang Turf etc)

bull Survival Aquatic Arctic Desert Forest Jungle MountainSpace urban or any specific environment

bull Swimming Lake Ocean SCUBA Divingbull Taunt Verbal Visual

bull Throwing Darts Grenades Knives Spears

bull Tracking Animals Global DataNet Humans Urban

Vehicles

OPTIONAL SKILL ATHLETICS

Rather than breaking up basic things like Climbing and Swim-ming it is recommended to combine them into a single skill

which would allow for specialization

Athletics (Vigor) Athletics as a catch-all for a number ofphysical endeavors ranging from climbing to swimming to

moving around effectively in a no mdash or low-gravity environ-

ment Athletics should be used instead of Agility in foot chasesand effectively replaces both the Climbing and Swimming skills

Specializations Climbing Leaping Running Sport (specific)

Swimming Zero-G Maneuvers

LANGUAGES

All characters speak their native language plus a number ofadditional languages equaling one-half their Smarts die The

major trade languages used in Interface Zero 20 are Chinese

English Hindi Portuguese and Swahili Additional languagescan be learned by using an advancement opportunity

DERIVED STATISTICS

There are a few statistics which are important in any SavageWorlds game Charisma Pace Parry and Toughness

CHARISMA

Charisma is an abstract measure of your characterrsquos appear-ance how she deals with others socially and generally how

likeable she is Charisma starts at 0 but can be modified byEdges and Hindrances Charisma is also added to Streetwise

and Persuasion rolls The Game Master uses Charisma to figure

out how NPCrsquos react to your character For more informationon Charisma see the Savage Worlds core rules

PACE

Pace is a measure of how far your character can walk in a

standard combat round Human characters have a base Paceof 6 and can run at an additional 1d6rdquo Other races in Interface

Zero 20 can have different starting Pace scores based on the

racial template you choose For more information on Pacesee the Savage Worlds core rules

PARRY

Parry is equal to 2 plus half your characterrsquos Fighting skillplus modifiers gained from use of shields or certain weapons

If your character does not have the Fighting skill base Parry

starts at 2 For more information on Parry see the SavageWorlds core rules

TOUGHNESS

Toughness is a measure of how much damage your character

can take before becoming Shaken or wounded Toughness is2 plus half your characterrsquos Vigor plus any armor she might

be wearing For more information on Toughness see the

Savage Worlds core rules

NEW DERIVED STATSInterface Zero 20 introduces three new derived statis-

tics mdash Firewall Strain and Street Cred

FIREWALL

Unless your character has the Unplugged Hindrance she hasa Tendril Access Processor (TAP) and therefore has a built-

in firewall The firewall protects against attempts to hack a

characterrsquos TAP A characterrsquos Firewall rating star ts at 4 but

can be modified by Edges Hindrances or software

STRAIN

Strain measures the amount of stress cyberware and biowareputs on your body when you install it Strain starts at zero

and each piece of cyberware adds to your Strain stat Highlevels of Strain can lead to death More details on Strain are

located at Augments on page 262

STREET CRED

Street Cred is a measure of your character rsquos reputation on

the streets All characters begin play with 2 points of StreetCred modified by Edges or Hindrances and gain another 2

points every time they gain a new Rank The maximum StreetCred a character can normally achieve is 10 (some Edges and

Occupations can increase this number)

Unlike Charisma which measures your ability to persuadesomeone Street Cred is a point pool that can be spent to

obtain services temporary contacts information and a variety

of other benefits during the course of an adventure This poolrefreshes each adventure unless circumstances in the prior

adventure (like not getting the job done failing to protectsomeone killing an innocent etc) cause the characterrsquos Street

Cred score to drop

Characters can also pick up Minor or Major Hindrances thathave a lasting effect on their Street Cred score during the

course of an adventure These Hindrances can be removedby spending an Advance with the GMrsquos permission For more

information see Street Cred on page 264

CONTACTS

Each character can choose two contacts people the character

knows who he can call upon for aid or information during thecourse of an adventure These contacts can be anyone froma bartender or a hacker to a corporate executive or military

commander as long as it makes sense that your characterwould know the person(s)

STEP 4 OCCUPATIONS

Occupations are integral to your character concept providinga basic framework to enhance your characterrsquos background in

a very organic way helping you create a more well-rounded

18

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1929

character concept Each occupation has a requirement that thecharacter must meet to take it the characterrsquos bonus credits

gained each Advance and a special perk (like gear or specialabilities) the character gets for being part of that profession

STEP 5 EDGES AND HINDRANCES

Edges are special qualities that separate characters from theaverage sprawler Hindrances are physical and mental flaws

that add more depth to the character albeit in a negativeway See the Savage Worlds core rules for more information

on purchasing Edges and Hindrances New Edges and Hin-drances are provided later in this chapter

STEP 6 EQUIPMENT

In Interface Zero 20 characters select equipment cybernet-ics weapons and armor based on the power level the Game

Master sets for the campaign

Power Level This is the starting Power Level of the Cam-

paign as determined by the Game Master If the GM wants totell a story of gang members barely scraping by shersquoll mostlikely choose Gutter Punk as the Power Level If she envi-

sions a campaign where the players are a special governmenttask force dedicated to hunting down super terrorists the

Hyperchrome Warriors or Elite Operatives levels might be

more appropriate The Street Soldier Power Level (designedfor ronin-style games) is considered the default Power Level

for Interface Zero 20

Starting Credits This is the amount of money characters

start with at the beginning of the campaign These credits

may be spent on anything the player wishes and the GM hasnot barred from the campaign including augments drones

weapons and armor

Augments Every Power Level above Gutter Punk allows theplayers to start with at least one augment from the core book

equal to or below the monetary amount listed Unspent Creditsfrom this pool do not carry over when the game starts These

augments must be chosen from the master list of augments

not augment packages

STEP 7 BACKGROUND

They say the devil is in the details and here is where you

decide how devilish yoursquore going to be You donrsquot need towrite a novel and frankly this step isnrsquot mandatory That said

itrsquos a good idea to jot down a few notes on your characterrsquosbackground any major events in her life any friends the

names of contacts or even enemies she might have Share

these ideas with your Game Master GMs are always lookingfor good plot hooks and little tidbits they can use to person-

alize your experience at the table The more detailed yourbackground is the better

ARCHETYPESSometimes you may want to quickly create a character for

a one-shot or convention adventure For those occasions anArchetype is a good choice

All are built for a human character with two Edges If you wish

to play a race other than human simply plug in the statisticaldata If yoursquore playing a human you

can choose another Edge Thenchoose your gear based on the

Power Level your group haschosen give the character

a name and yoursquore ready

to go

19

ARCHETYPES

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2029

AGENT

BOUNTY HUNTER

20

AGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

20

ARCHETYPESAGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2129

CYBERMONK

DRONE JOCKEY

21

CYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

21

ARCHETYPESCYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 4: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 429

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 529

Vegas in 2090 218Sin City The Illusion of Hope 218

Gangland Politics 218Power Play 219

CREAM 219Locations of Interest 219

Chinatown Las Vegas 221

The Strip 221

Salt Lake amp the LDS Zions 221Zion 222The Sands (Slums) 222

Salt Lake 222

Dugway Military Base 223Zion Proper 223

Zion Medical The Healing L ight 224The Hill 224

Ogden 224

Jordan 224Phoenix 225

SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA 226Central America 226

South America 226

Panama 227THE CHICAGO SPRAWL 228

CHICAGOLAND 230A Free City 230

Life In Chicagoland 230The Powers That Be 231

The Wolves 231

The Unaligned 233Chicago Laws 233

Geography 233North Chicago 234

South Chicago 239

West Chicago 240Central Chicago 243

Ports of Entry 246

CHAPTER FIVE THE SOLAR SYSTEM 251History of Space Exploration 252

Life in the Solar System 253The Law 253

Organizations 254Corporate Presence 255

Major Set tlement Areas 255

Venus 255Luna 256

Mars 256Ceres 257

The Inner Belt 258

Jupiter 258Saturn 259

Colony Technologies 259Orbital Technologies 260

Ship Technologies 260

CHAPTER SIX SETTING RULES 262Augments 262

Drugs 263Fatigue 263

Gritty Damage 263

Street Cred 264COST OF LIVING 265

DRONES 267DUBBING 269

GOLEMMECHS 270Golemmech Combat 270

Golemmech Creation 270Stock Frames 270

HACKING 274

Tendril Access Processor 274

Stats 274Engrams 275How to Hack 278

The Core Mechanic 278

Network Statistics 278SysOp Countermeasures 279

Hyper Combat 279Hyper Reality 280

Virtual Reality 281

Avatars 281Hacking Virtual Reality 283

POWERS 284Arcane Background (Cybermonk) 284

Arcane Background (Psionics) 284

CHAPTER SEVEN GAME MASTERING 286City Trappings 286

Trapping Descriptions 286Freelancing 289

Job Consequences 290

Payouts 291Gang Generator 292

Types Of Gangs 292Gang Sizes 293

Gang Activities 293

Gang Names 294Adventure Generator 295

Contractors 295

The Mission 296The Location 297The MacGuffin 299

Innocents 300

The Antagonist 300Henchmen 301

Twists and Complications 301Dramatic Conflict 302

Adventure Creation Example 303

Bio-Horror Generator 304Mutant Type 304

THREATS 307Bio-Horrors 307

Sprawl Denizens 308

Courier 308Criminals 308

The Elite 309Military 310

Sprawl Soldiers 310Wage Slaves 311

Robots 312

Intrusion Countermeasures 314

INDEX 315

BACKERS 319

5

TABLE OF CONTENTS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 629

TABLE LISTTable 21 Campaign Power Levels 19Table 22 Hindrances 4 4

Table 23 Edges 45

Table 24 Occupations 46Table 31 Armor 51

Table 32 Communication Equipment 54

Table 33 Augment Grades and Costs 55Table 34 Augment List 56

Table 35 Drones 61Table 36 Robots 63

Table 37 Drugs 65Table 38 Other Services 67

Table 39 Explosives 69

Table 310 Grenades and Mines 69Table 311 Powered Armor 72

Table 312 Golemmechs 76Table 313 Medical Equipment 77

Table 314 Tap Applications 79Table 315 Accessories amp Electronics 79

Table 316 Melee Weapons 81

Table 317 Pistols 83Table 318 Submachine Guns and Shotguns 84

Table 319 Rifles 85Table 320 heavy Weapons 86

Table 321 Special Weapons 87

Table 322 Missile Launchers and Flame Throwers 88Table 323 Energy Weapons 89

Table 324 Improvised Weapons 90Table 325 Improvised Ranged Weapons 90

Table 326 Cycles and Cars 92

Table 327 Aircraft and VTOLs 95Table 328 Watercraft Trucks and Heavy Vehicles 97

Table 329 Spacecraft 98Table 51 Average Distance (AN) 258

Table 52 Average Travel Times (Days) 259Table 61 Street Cred Rewards and Penalties 265

Table 62 Favors 265

Table 63 Character L ifestyles 265Table 64 Psychotherapy Costs 266

Table 65 Medical Treatment Cost 266Table 66 Vehicle Control Interface 267

Table 67 Golemmech Weapons 271

Table 68 Golemmech Upgrades 272Table 69 Standard TAP Readout 274

Table 610 Active Memory Sector Cost 274Table 611 TAP Firewall Upgrades 274

Table 612 TAP Range Upgrades 275

Table 613 Engram Qualities 275Table 614 Sample Hyper Objects 281

Table 615 Avatar Attack Programs 282Table 616 Avatar Upgrades 282

Table 71 Baseline Payouts 292Table 72 Gang Type 293

Table 73 Gang Size 293

Table 74 Gang Activities 293Table 75 Gang Name Generator 295

Table 76 Contractors 295Table 77 The Mission 296

Table 78 Urban Location 297

Table 79 Non-Urban Location 297Table 710 The Macguffin 299

Table 711 Innocents 300Table 712 Antagonists 300

Table 713 Twists And Complications 301Table 714 Dramatic Conflic t 302

Table 715 Mutant Types 304Table 716 Xenomorph Smarts 305

Table 717 Xenomorph Other Attributes 305

Table 718 Xenomorph Skills 305

Table 719 Xenomorph Skill Dice 305Table 720 Xenomorph Size 305Table 721 Xenomorph Locomotion 305

Table 722 Xenomorph Dermis 305

Table 723 Xenomorph Base Attack 306Table 724 Xenomorph Senses 306

Table 725 Mutations 306Table 726 Drawbacks 306

6

TABLE OF CONTENTS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 729

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 829

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 929

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1029

INTRODUCTION

INFOSOURCE

VIDTAGROADTO2090

LOCAL JACOBSPLAYGROUNDNET

FQDN JACOBSPLAYGROUNDNETCHITOWN06TNTPNSWWGNET

DATA SOURCE MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMESINFODUMP

THE ROAD TO 2090

Posted By Billy_Black_Eyes

So here we are in January 2090 Itrsquos been a couple of yearssince I dropped the last INFODUMP on the world and Irsquom here

to rectify that This massive documentrsquos gonna give you all theinformation you need to get up to speed on the state of the

world along with oodles and oodles of statistical data about

a bunch of subjects including the Global DataNet golem-mechs drones and other emerging technologies Yoursquoll read

about the strange and wonderful people who inhabit thisworld the solar system zeeks and much more Irsquove gath-

ered info from sources all over the world and vetted it to

the best of my ability That said you never know whatrsquos trueand what isnrsquot in this age of main stream media lies govern-

ment propaganda and do-it-yourself journalism so take theinformation (especially in the data dumps about the world)

with a grain of salt

Simba So what are you sayinrsquo Bi lly We canrsquot trust you

Billy_Black_Eyes Thatrsquos not what I said You know fullwell that information especially editorialized info alwayshas a certain slant to it It rsquos also fluid What was true at thetime I acquired it may not necessarily be accurate now

The past two years have seen a number of major eventstake place in the world If just one or two things would have

happened I might think they werenrsquot connected Yet itrsquos as ifsomeone walked up to a house of cards and pulled one card

out The house hasnrsquot completely crashed yet itrsquos in a slow-

motion free fall and the worst part is only a few of us seemto be watching What follows is a br ief overview of the major

events that have shaped the world in which we currently live

Neon_Bright Oh Billy looking at the world with thosedark lenses again are we

Magpie Neon I think he needs a hug )

Billy_Black_Eyes What I need is a ticket to Mars Thingsare about to get crazy and I want off this rock

GROWING TENSIONS IN NORTH AMERICA

The year 2088 was marked by a number of disturbing mdash somesay portentous mdash events involving the North American Coali-

tion the Great Lakes Union and Atlantica

Sane_Prophet ldquoPortentousrdquo Could the scales be fallingoff your black eyes my friend Are you finally coming tounderstand the truth

Billy_Black_Eyes Seriously You again I told you nomystic bull shit

Sane_Prophet Just because you refuse to acknowledgeomens for what they are doesnrsquot make them any less valid

THE HEGEMONY GROWS

The crackdown on zeeks hybrids and synthetic humans in the

NAC reached a boiling point when Congress and the Senateratified the infamous Racial Purity Act a draconic piece of

legislation banning the practice of hybrid and simulacrumcreation All genetic modification parlors and simulacrum

production facilities were ordered to shut down The Racial

Purity Act also outlawed the use of psychic powers within theborders of the nation with hefty fines and even imprisonment

for those caught using them Various watchdog organiza-tions were created the most visible of which is Psi-division

a branch of Stopwatch tasked with monitoring and in some

cases even ldquoneutralizingrdquo psychic threats

Psychopope And by ldquoneutralizingrdquo he means murder

Denver_Must_Burn And forced relocationhellipIrsquom not talkingabout VR prisons ei ther Irsquom talking about the internmentcamps up in Montana and the Dakotas

Simba It was just as bad for hybrids like myself Whenthose genetic modification parlors shut down the pr ivateinformation about their customers was confiscatedunder the auspices of ldquonational securit yrdquo This means theDepartment of National Security (DNS) has the namesand addresses of every hybrid and free sim in the NorthAmerican Coalition If you have a TAP the DNS can trackyour IP too

Luciferion Simba Dude thatrsquos happening with everycitizen regardless of whether or not yoursquore zeek hybridor ldquoPlain Janerdquo human

Denver_Must_Burn All I can say is TRICilicit_behavior Yes DMB The Revolution IS Coming

Instances of racial violence erupted across the North Ameri-

can Coalition as law enforcement officials began arrestingzeeks Some of the more obvious hybrids mdash particularly the

bull bear and rhino variants mdash were also incarcerated Gov-ernments across the continent decried the draconian tactics

and called for UN intervention to no effect The Great Lakes

Union and Atlantica closed their embassies in Denver and sentthe NAC delegates in their cities packing Then on Novem-

ber 13th 2088 a number of terrorist attacks rocked BostonBaltimore and Portland Maine An estimated 2451 people

died and thousands more were injured from the bombings

THE ATLANTICA BOMBINGSWithin hours of the attacks the Global DataNet was flooded

with conspiracy theories the most viral of which speculated

they were carried out by a terrorist group known as Agenda68Some speculated a Canadian black ops unit known as Task-

force Harfang did the deed Others went on to claim the NACwas behind the attacks and still others claimed New Brasilia

or maybe the Chinese Mandarinate were somehow involvedSo-called ldquoconspiracy theorist expertsrdquo such as Sam_Jones

and NERCOTIXX speculated that China long believed to bein bed with the North American Coalition used simulacra to

perform the bombings

10

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1129

NECROTIXX China did carry out the bombings Do theresearch Look into Project Doppelganger and yoursquoll seeThe NAC is just a patsy

Sam_Jones The Mandarinate is becoming an imperialpower Just look at what they are doing with Russia nowand what they have done with all of Southeast Asia Askthe Russian refugees flooding into Seattle if they thinkChina is content to stay within their borders The writingrsquos

on the wall folksSimba It might have been orchestrated by agents workingfor Charon

Luciferion What a load of crap Charon is an AI It doesnrsquothave any contact with humans

Neon_Bright Prove it Simba

As the days stretched into weeks there was still no official

statement from the Atlantica Government about the iden-tity of the perpetrators of the attacks Then on December

15th 2088 a MEDIAfile was uploaded into the Global DataNetbearing the Hyper Tag of a popular underground media-pirate

known as MAXX_footage

The dronersquos feed showed three large muscular men in regular

clothing exit a hover van adjacent to one of the targets of theattacks just moments before it exploded Facial recognitionsoftware identified one of the men as First Sergeant John

Moore a member of the North American Coalition regular army

The MEDIAfile went on to follow the three men as they jumpedinto an unmarked hover car that took off and shot over the

Boston sea wall to land on a freighter bearing Chinese mark-ings The vessel promptly sailed east into international waters

Sorry_U_Asked Isnrsquot it odd how often people retreat tothe water in the wake of disasters How much of the oceanremains unmapped How much is hiding under the wavesthat we havenrsquot even begun to fathom

BatRastard Puns intended Wersquove already got enoughconspiracy theories Can you not add another useless one

to the stinking heap

Sane_Prophet Actually hersquos closer to reality than youmight be comfortable understanding Too much truth canbreak a manrsquos mind

BatRastard Irsquom guessing yours is already fried from afew too many stims man Want to share what yoursquove beendoping

As the situation evolved it became clear that MAXX_footagewent through what can only be described as a nightmarish journey to bring the MEDIAfile into the light of day In what

would be his only interview MAXX_footage appeared via

a secure video-feed on ldquoBoston Tonightrdquomdasha popular showin the nation of Atlantica Millions across the world tuned in

to listen to what he had to say MAXX_footage a tall lanky

young man recounted the events of that day telling how hewas hanging out at his favorite coffee shop when this black

hover van landed right in front of the Emperor Pharmaceuti-cals Arcology about a half a block away

When Penny Pearl mdash the host of the show mdash asked MAXX_

footage how during all the chaos he could have possiblyremembered those details MAXX_footage said he remem-

bered it because the hover van double parked and someonestarted yelling at the three guys who got out Thinking it was

going to result in violence MAXX_footage says he poppedout his Fly on the Wall micro drone and sent i t over to record

the incident Thatrsquos when all hell broke loose

BEGIN THREAD JACK

NECROTIXX Herersquos a transcript of the short interviewPenny couldnrsquot get MAXX back on

BEGIN TRANSCRIPThellip

ldquoOne of the three men shot the guy right in the facerdquo MAXX_

footage says his long thin hands shaking ldquoThey just walked

away and got into a red hover car I sent Judy mdash thatrsquos thename of my drone mdash after them and thatrsquos when the Black

hover van explodedrdquo MAXX_footage goes quiet for a fewseconds and after a couple of probing questions from the

hostess he finishes his story

ldquoAnyhow I get my bearings shake the dust outta my hairand suddenly realize I just captured the perps on Digifilm I

follow the red hover car all the way out past the Sea Wallwhere it lands on this Chinese freighter Judyrsquos pushinrsquo her

range limits at this point so I call her backrdquo He grabs a glassof water his hands shaking

ldquoTell us what happened nextrdquo Penny prompts

ldquoWellrdquo he begins ldquoI get back to my flat mdash it took a while mdash what

with all the chaos goinrsquo on in the lsquoplex and everything mdash andthe place is busted up I mean BIG-TIME amirdquo MAXX_footage

stops again then shakes his head and says ldquoListen I canrsquot sayanything else about that I think theyrsquore still watching mehellip

In fact this interview is done MAXX OUTrdquo The video feed

cuts to white noise

END TRANSCRIPT

END THREAD JACK

The interview and the footage of the event sparked outrage

throughout Atlantica Predictably the NAC government fiercelydenied any involvement in the bombings even going so far

as to demand the arrest and extradition of MAXX_footagefor questioning about the origins of the video

Martin Hughes mdash the president of Atlantica mdash flatly refusedthe NACrsquos demands even going so far as to say that thisMAXX_footage person was a ldquohero of the people of

Atlanticardquo The bookies in the free city of Las Vegas startedgiving even odds that hostilities would break out on the East

Coast within a year

Simba I lost a ton of money on that bet

Luciferion MAXX_footage has gone dark BTW Nobodyhas seen or heard from him since that interview

THE FLARE

On January 26 2089 a massive Earth-directed Y-class solar

flare sparked a Coronal Mass Ejection that bombarded our

planet temporarily shutting down the genie network thatmonitors and updates the TAPrsquos spam and reality filters Withthe genie down every man woman and child with a Tendril

Access Processor was exposed to raw unfiltered Hyper Reality

As you all know this sparked a week of world-wide chaosSprawlers mdash exposed to a storm of spam malware and layer

upon layer of augmented reality advertisements and simu-lated environments mdash went temporarily insane

Sane_Prophet Insanity is a weak word for the weak-minded What may appear as insane to you might simplybe someone having achieved enlightenment and livingaccording to a higher truth

11

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1229

Sorry_U_Asked Irsquom all about questioning the circumstancesbut Irsquom pretty sure all the folks who were murdered duringthese events wouldrsquove labeled them as insane down to a one

Billy_Black_Eyes Whatever dictionary program yoursquorerunning needs a fresh data-dump Prophet

Sane_Prophet Dictionaries are also for the weak-minded

Billy_Black_Eyes Of course they are

The world burned for about a week until programmers couldfix the problem with firmware updates and hot patches to

get the filters up and running and an off switch installedbut the damage was done Itrsquos not known how many people

died in the rioting and madness but cautious estimates oftotal casualties put the number at around 750 million people

and nobody has even tried to calculate the monetary cost

of the riots Strangely however the Flare itself didnrsquot havea widespread impact on various infrastructures like electric

and other powers transportation systems etc In fact manybelieve the Flare wasnrsquot even a solar flare at all but the first

sign of Charonrsquos emergence as a threat to humanity

Luciferion Nobodyrsquos ever proven that Billy

Billy_Black_Eyes Nobody has ever debunked it eitherStatistical data can be hacked Numbers can be fudgedto make things seem more dramatic than they really areEarthquakes register at a certain scale and get downgradedall the time The truth is this is the first time in history thata solar flare has caused such wide-spread chaos It rsquos fishy

Luciferion Irsquoll believe it when I see some hard data

Billy_Black_Eyes Fair enough But the emergence ofCharon around this time isnrsquot even open for debate Itrsquosa fact

THE EURASIAN UNION IMPLODES

On March 15th 2089 the Eurasian Union Central Bank in

Bonn Germany was crashed by a previously unheard-of virusnamed Charon Over forty-five trillion dollars vanished without

a trace All attempts to rebuild the original databases failedSome programmers (and freelance hackers) hired to go in andpurge Charon from the databases lost their lives in the process

Further attempts to rebuild the system on different serverswith backups also failed when programmers realized that

Charon mdash now suspected by many to be an AI mdash had copieditself into the cloud networks containing those backup files

Luciferion Therersquos nothing to suspect Charon is anemergent AI The only question now is whether or not itsparks a singularity event

Nothing_to_see_here Stopwatch will halt it in its tracksThey always catch these things

Luciferion Who do you think died trying to get it out ofthe D-bases in Bonn

Over the next few months an estimated 200 million people

across the Eurasian Union the United Kingdom and Ireland losttheir jobs their homes and their life savings when it became

clear that Charon had found its way into the personal bankaccounts of citizenry across the Eurasian Union

Instances of mob violence skyrocketed as the number of

gangs in the rapidly fracturing Eurasian Union had risen tolevels not seen since the Death mdash the three-year ldquoNuclear

Autumnrdquo following the India-Pakistan war when nuclearweapons were used on a massive scale In the London-Read-

ing Megaplex protests exploded into full-scale violence after

police brutally cracked down on a peaceful protest at the

British parliament building More instances of violent protests

followed in Bristol Swindon and the Manchester-Liverpoolsprawl

On June 27th 2089 the French government was over-

thrown by a fringe political extremist group known as theNew Pirate Party Led by a charismatic young zeek named

Angeacutele Bonheur the New Pirate Party seized power after awild chaotic campaign against representatives of the NationalFront and the Popular Republican Union The elections were

rife with scandal and many of the French didnrsquot (and still donrsquot)like the idea of a French leader being psychic So while Angeacutele

emerged as the clear victor the French military refused toacknowledge her legitimacy President Bonheur responded

by disbanding the armed forces of France at the same time

announcing the privatization of the nationrsquos military throughan agreement with Ravenlocke Securities

Downtrodden Yep itrsquos a sign of things to come ladiesand gents a world-wide corporate coup of governmentsIf you donrsquot think the CEO of Ravenlocke mdash thatrsquos MarkusRaven mdash has a say in the direction this new governmenttakes think again

Luciferion Itrsquos awesome to see France led by a psychicbut letrsquos get real this is going to get much worse beforeit gets better

Magpie I wouldnrsquot be surprised i f she gets wacked

Former Lieutenant-Colonel Adrien Boucher also known as

ldquoAdrien the Butcherrdquo for his brutal suppression of an upris-ing in Marseilles in 2087 took charge of the remnants of

the disbanded French army promising to remove PresidentBonheur from power Within days of Adrienrsquos announcement

Fort Richepance mdash now the Northeastern headquarters for

Ravenlocke Industriesrsquo Storm Crow Golemmech brigade mdash wasattacked The president responded by declaring martial law

throughout France until the renegade movement could be

put down Thus far that hasnrsquot happened though there arereports of clashes between Ravenlocke regulars and sepa-

ratist forces outside of St Etienne and in the French Alps

Warpig This has caused numerous issues If PresidentAngeacutele thinks her countrymen are going to accept theprivatization of the military shersquos sorely mistaken As Billymentions Adrien the Butcher is causing problems buttherersquos more to it Militias are forming They have advancedweaponry and while I wonrsquot speculate as to whorsquos providingthem with those weapons I do know the vast majority ofthe weapons are made by Act of God Armaments

Battle_Mind I know one thing itrsquos a great time to be amercenary

Full_Metal_Cyborg Amen brother Irsquoll see you on the

battlefieldPayne_Man Lock and Load U mushrooms I splatter youn00bs with my AK

Magpie ldquoSighrdquo Stop playing Matrix of War Payne Yousound like a fool This ainrsquot a game

Payne_Man I thought we were talkinrsquo about MOW Ushould C the zones Theyrsquore eggsaklee like the content ofthis INFOdump Have been for a whyle now Evar since thelast expansion dropped in spring 2088

Luciferion hellipOk thatrsquos odd

Payne_Man The CoalitionAtlantica War expansion izzcumin out next month 2 I Kant W8

12

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1329

On June 30th 2089 Germany wracked with political in-

fighting riots in the streets and a general state of chaos

closed its borders Officially the stated reason was for secu-rity reasons stemming from conflict along the border with

France but most people donrsquot believe it Chancellor KonradGerste authorized a financial bailout of the three largest

manufacturers of weapons and military equipment for

the German army The move has frightened many of the

Eastern European nations mdash especially the good people ofPoland mdash who know well what happens when Germans

begin preparing for war and make no mistake Germany ismoving to a war footing

Payne_Man Watch out Zee Germans are cumming LOL

Klaus What Canrsquot my brethren move to protectthemselves from the chaos in France And why the veiledreference to WWII Itrsquos been nearly 150 years since Hitlerrsquosmadness yet nobody allows us to forget it

THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON

As the situation in Europe grew worse China took advantageof the weakened Eurasian Union grabbing up huge swathes

of territory in Russia its armies advancing as far west as the

Ural Mountain range where Russian forces managed to haltthe dragonrsquos advance Still the damage was done By August2089 the Mandarinate had established itself as an occupy-

ing power in every city town and village east of the Ural

Mountains That hasnrsquot stopped the Russians from retaliatinghowever Russian patriots have begun an insurgency attack-

ing Chinese forces wherever they can be found Mandarinatemouthpieces paint the insurgents as terrorists to little effect

as the insurgency swells in number every day

Neon_Bright This isnrsquot just a struggle against Chineseaggression Vast resources have been found ever sinceSiberia began to thaw Irsquom talking about precious mineralsoil even the land is useful for development especiallywhen you consider billions of people live in eastern Asia

Luciferion Agreed Neon

LIFE IN GENERAL

So how have the above events impacted life as we stumbleinto 2090 In numerous ways omae There isnrsquot enough time

to go into great detail about how war the Flare and espe-

cially the rise of Charon have affected the life of the averagesprawler across the world but Irsquo ll go over some of the more

important details Pay attention peeps some of this mightkeep you alive

SURVIVING HYPER REALITY

As I mentioned above when the Flare knocked out the GENIEnetwork it caused widespread chaos And while GENIE is back

up and running there are still glitches in the system Sure

firmware updates to the Tendril Access Processor mdash TAP as itrsquosmore commonly known mdash allow you to turn off that modem

in your brain but wellhelliplet me put it like this Hyper Realityhas become smarter even deadly if you donrsquot have the right

software installed in your TAP

Sane_Prophet Why bother putting up more and morefilters It is senseless A futile fight against powers fargreater than yourself Open your eyes open your mindand set yourself free from this prison of so-called reality

BatRastard Right and then with the first meme to fry myneurons Irsquoll be spending my life savings on the Fat Sallyrsquosdown the block Brilliant

Sane_Prophet Fat Sally rsquos secret sauce is an interdimen-sional gateway into the heights of ecstasy

BatRastard Actually thatrsquos the first thing you and I haveever agreed on

Irsquove discussed this phenomena with numerous program-mers across the world and they all agree virii spam and allmanner of malware that [prior to the Flare] would have been

easy to purge from your head are now behaving much dif-

ferently Itrsquos almost as if the things evolved into somethingnot-quite-sentient but damned close to it

So what does this mean for you

If you choose to experience Hyper Reality (and if you have aTAP in your brain you have) itrsquos only a matter of time before

one of these virii hacks into your brain Therersquos nothing youcan really do about it itrsquos just one of the many fun facts of

life in 2090 I do find it ironic that af ter decades of enjoying

the connectivity and convenience the TAP has provided thistechnology seems to be actively trying to kill us and there

isnrsquot much we can do about it without going back to medi-eval times You know the 1980rsquos Of course some of you out

there will want to turn your TAPs off for good and avoid the

risk entirely Hell some of you might be considering gettingthe damned thing removed

You can do that sure Of course that means yoursquore also

not connected to the grid that makes your life so unbeliev-ably convenient This causes a mult itude of problems Donrsquot

believe me Try walking out of your house Oh right you canrsquotbecause most doors donrsquot have handles anymore Theyrsquore

automated and respond to the signals coming from your TAPI know some are activated by motion sensors and donrsquot rely

on the TAP But no door which is designed with security in

mind will open so easilyThis also means you have almost zero access to vehicles or

places where you can buy things like grocery stores Yeah

sure you can just follow someone else into said store butthe security cameras will spot you and not having a digital

record of your presence (which they get from your TAP) willflag you and dispatch a security team to find out who you

are So there you are in your local Malmart looking for some

cloned steaks to fire up on your grill later on when securitycomes with their big guns and ldquowhat the hell are you doing

here scumbagrdquo looks on their faces to boot you back out intothe streets where you came from

Oh how did you plan on paying for them BTW now that

your TAP is offline and the clerk canrsquot sync her cash register

with your payment software And NO they donrsquot take cashThe point is this omae All that convenience you were usedto goes out the window when you unplug Itrsquos much easier

to get strong firewalls than it is to live outside the system

So think about what I said before you scratch that itch at thebase of your skull with a scalpel

SURVIVING THE STREETS

The streets have always been dangerous thatrsquos a givenWhen you cram millions of people into a concrete and steel

petri dish then forget about 999 of them you create abreeding ground for violence hate and societal devolution

13

INTRODUCTIONLIFE IN GENERAL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1429

on such a scale that social Darwinists like Herbert Spencer and

Thomas Malthus would roll over in their graves

Again that in itself is nothing new The streets have alwaysbeen violent but ever since the events I previously described

came to pass mdash especially the Flare and the implosion of theEurasian Union mdash the number of homeless people across the

world has sky-rocketed The petri dish is frothing and over-

flowing as new gangs emerge mdash and Irsquom talking globally not just in North America mdash and carve out their own terri tory

This upsets the balance ami and makes it harder to survivewhen yoursquore just a blooper looking to make it through the

day because now you have new predators to deal with n00bbangers making up their own rules as they go And the cop-

suckers donrsquot help

Protect and serve What a load of crap

Sure yoursquol l get Triple-A service if you live in one of the moneybubbles but try getting help in say the Aurora Barrens or

the Gary Hell Zone and yoursquore basically fucked Yeah thereare token patrols and the ever-present drones but drones

get shot down and the copsuckers are so outnumbered

most are either so scared to get into an altercation with thepredators or theyrsquore on the take I canrsquot say I blame them

either The streets are a war zone and if you wear the badgeyoursquore marked for death omae So take my advice and get

strapped The only person you can count on in the concrete jungle is you

Sorry_U_Asked Think twice before trying to claim a badgebounty though Sure plenty of honchos love to pay topcredit for proof that yoursquove kept the law from poking aroundtheir territory But just because you see someone wearingone doesnrsquot mean they got it legit Lots of gangers wearthem as trophies So if you drop a shot on a copsuckerthinking yoursquove hit payday you might end up with a wholeband of bangers snarling on your heels

SURVIVING THE GAME

Therersquos an old saying The Game is the Game mdash you eitherplay it or you get played I donrsquot care if you contract free-

lance fight fix hack patch or scam yoursquore in it omae andthat puts you at odds with every other player out there Most

people approach the game as a means to an end thinking

that one shiny day theyrsquoll earn enough creds to go someplacewarm and dry and live out their lives in style These clowns

donrsquot last Theyrsquore so busy dreaming about the good timesthat they lose focus on whatrsquos right in front of their face (or

creeping up behind them) Dreamers get sloppy take short

cuts betray their team and torch their street cred like gutterpunks burn trash in a garbage can to keep warm

If you want to survive the game you need to take a lesson

from these dreamers keep your mind on the job Therersquos nosandy beach waiting for you The megacorps bought them

all and turned lsquoem into parking lots The only fruity drinksyoursquoll ever drink are sold in the local watering hole by some

burned-out ronin The best you can hope for is a litt le bit of

comfort mdash usually behind a small fortress if yoursquore smart mdash andthe respect of the streets But thatrsquos a double-edged sword

another facet of the game Therersquos always someone faster

than you some hungry up-and-comer with the latest aug-ments wanting to prove herself by dealing you out Sucksto be a victim of your own success but thatrsquos the truth of it

My advice Find a way to deal yourself out clean Put some

creds away never burn your contacts and donrsquot ever everbecome a legend

Legends die

14

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1529

CHARACTER

CREATION

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1629

CHAPTER TWOCHARACTER CREATION

Characters are the lifersquos blood of any role-playing game the

focal point of every story Characters represent the best mdash orthe worst mdash ideals of a given game setting their actions either

bringing a small measure of hope to the downtrodden massesor serving to strengthen the status quo In the grim gritty

world of Interface Zero 20 the characters you play walk amonofilament edge between traditional mdash some would say

outdated or just plain irrelevant mdash concepts of good and evilas they make their way in the world

Indeed itrsquos hard to be a moral individual in a world where

most of the animals prowling the concrete jungle believe prin-ciples are character flaws mdash weaknesses to exploit for their

own ends Your morality marks you as prey no doubt aboutit omae But if you can keep your moral code if you can get

your job done without selling your soul yoursquoll get something

most sprawlers never have respect

Evil on the other hand is the same as it always has been

therersquos just more of it The wicked always thrive in a world

where violence fear and control are tools used for self-serv-ing ends but herersquos the thing Acting like an ass can get you

green-lit just as quickly as playing the role of the goody-two-shoes marks you as a sucker amigo

Nobody likes a dickhead even if they donrsquot say it to your

face Sooner or later yoursquoll get a rep for being a hard-assand someone who is stronger meaner or a bigger asshole

than you is going to come along and knock you back to thegutter you crawled out of Thatrsquos why most people keep their

heads down and their mouths shut Donrsquot make eye contact

itrsquos a challenge to the predators and if you donrsquot have thestones to back up the challenge yoursquore nothing but meat

But if you can stay strong and defeat all comers that com-mands respect too

This chapter provides you with the tools you need to make

a character for Interface Zero 20 The process is the same ascreating a character for any Savage Worlds game with a few

additions Interface Zero 20 introduces Street Cred Contactsand Strain to the game

STEP 1 CONCEPT

The first thing you need to do is decide on a concept for your

character Will you play a hacker Perhaps a mercenary orbounty hunter is more your speed Are mercs and hunters toocutthroat for your style of play If so you might think about

playing a ronin an urban warrior who follows his own code

of honor Maybe you want to be the guy (or gal) who backsthe team up with drones capable of laying down covering

fire or scouting ahead to see where the bad guys are hiding

You donrsquot need to have your concept locked in right now butat least have a basic idea of the type of character you want

to play Take a few minutes and skip ahead to the archetypessection in this chapter to see a variety of options available

to you

STEP 2 RACEThe next thing you need to do is choose a race In 2090

humanity has reached the point where the word ldquohumanrdquo is

almost irrelevant Human DNA is no longer a mystery Itrsquos amathematical code technomancers hack re-write and copy

at will producing genetically superior beings the Human 20

Others snip and paste animal DNA and splice it with humanDNA to create genetic hybrids a fusion of man and animal

Science has even advanced to such an extent that we can

create entirely new life forms mdash living beings known as simula-cra mdash in amniotic vats growing them until they have matured

filling their synthetic brains with memories and skills theyrsquollneed to do the jobs for which they were created

STEP 3 TRAITS

Traits are the building blocks of any Savage Worlds character

They define how strong or fast your character is and what

she knows Traits determine how much cyberware she canput into her body how much damage she can take before

dying her standing with others and a variety of other thingsall of which are essential to the game

ATTRIBUTES

Five attributes are used to define your characterrsquos physi-cal characteristics These are Agility Smarts Spirit Strength

and Vigor Each attribute starts at d4 You have 5 points withwhich to raise these attr ibutes and one point equals a risein a die type (d4 to d6 d6 to d8 etc) No attribute may rise

higher than d12 during character creation unless stated undera racial ability For more information on attributes refer to

the Savage Worlds core rules

SKILLS

You have 15 points to spend on your characterrsquos skills Your

character doesnrsquot start with any skills and must spend 1 pointto get a skill at a d4 He spends 1 point to raise a skill to a

higher die type as long as the skill level is equal to or less

than the linked attribute Raising any skill above the linkedattribute costs 2 points per step No skill may rise above d12

during character creation

Note If you are using the skill specializations rules you get 20points for skills and each new specialization costs 1 skill point

during character creation When your character advances shemay purchase 2 skill specializations for an advance or a new

skill and a single specialization

NEW SKILLS

The following are new skills introduced in Interface Zero 20

For information on all other skills see Skills in the Savage

Worlds core rules

16

CHARACTER CREATIONCONCEPT RACE TRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1729

Hacking (Smarts) The Hacking skill is used whenever a

character wants to hack a computer network Characters in

Interface Zero 20 no longer start with an automatic d4 inHacking Additionally characters who wish to use the Global

DataNet for everyday purposes such as research or findingnews pertaining to the Deep do so with their existing Inves-

tigation and Streetwise skills

Knowledge (Demolitions) Successful use of demolitions canmean the difference between destruction of the target as

planned and unplanned loss of life and property The skill also

lets the character have an understanding of what the besttype of explosive is for the obstacle and how much they will

need to remove such an obstacle In addition a raise on theresult will let them know the exact distance they need to be

from the explosion based upon the size of the charge the con-

fines and damage created by said explosion This skill is usedany time a character wants to put a satchel charge together

or set explosives A Critical Failure will result in immediatedetonation Simple failure will result in premature detonation

or no detonation at all

Knowledge (Programming) Characters use this skill when

attempting to make any kind of change to a network theyhave hacked This skill allows a character to undo damagedone as a result of a hack With it a character can do things

like undo an edit to a data file or video reconstruct a deleted

file repair an AMS (see Active Memory Sectors on page 274in the Sett ing Rules chapter) recover a deleted skill Engram

or reconnect a TAP that has gone offline

OPTIONAL RULE SKILL SPECIALIZATIONS

Interface Zero 20 is an advanced setting where knowing

how to do one thing doesnrsquot necessarily mean you can dosomething which under the regular skill rules would techni-

cally be possible with the same skill Take the various DrivingBoating and Piloting skills for example

Using the regular skill rules a character with Driving couldtheoretically drive anything from a motorcycle to a semi-truckor a tank Similarly Piloting assumes a character has the skills

to pilot all types of aircraft including fighter jets and space-

craft Pinnacle Entertainment addressed this issue by addingthe Skill Specialization setting rule in the Savage Worlds core

rules and it is highly recommended that those rules are usedfor Interface Zero 20

The following list of skill specializations are provided to get

you started This isnrsquot intended to be a comprehensive listof appropriate skill specializations but rather a broad cross

section of specializations we feel are appropriate If some-thing doesnrsquot appear on the list make it up if it seems right

But remember the GM always has the final say on what is or

isnrsquot appropriate for her campaign

SUGGESTED SPECIALIZATIONS

bull Boating Powered Sailed Submersible

bull Climbing Mountaineering Rappelling Rope

bull Driving Car (4 wheels) Hovercraft JUMP Bike MotorcycleTruck (6+ wheels) Tracked

bull Fighting Axe Blades Blunt Cyberweapon Long Blade

Martial arts (by style judo karate etc) Pole Arm

bull Gambling By game

bull Hacking Hyper Combat Firewall Penetration Intrusion

Detection Object Control Object Editing Run ProgramTrace

bull Healing Cyber Surgery First Aid Surgery

bull Intimidation Interrogation Mental Physical

bull Investigation Archives Global DataNet Libraries

Newspapers

bull Knowledge Each Knowledge skill is technically a special-

ization of Knowledge so it isnrsquot broken down into furtherspecializations

Suggested Knowledge Skills AIs Battle Corporations

Cybernetics Demolitions Global DataNet Local Area (spe-cific) Politics Programing

bull Lockpicking Disarm Trap Electronic Manual

bull Notice Audio Body Language Searching Visual

bull Persuasion Bluffing Diplomacy Fast-Talking Seduction

bull Piloting Golemmech Helicopter Plane Spacecraft VTOL

bull Psionics Freek Peek Tweek

bull Repair Armor Cybernetics Electronics Mechanical Struc-tures Weapons

bull Riding By animal

TO SPECIALIZE OR NOT TO SPECIALIZE

17

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1829

bull Shooting Bow Pistol Rifle Shotgun Submachine GunVehicle Weapon or by weapon category

bull Stealth Disguise Hiding Sleight of Hand Sneaking

bull Streetwise AreaRegion (Corporate Zone Gang Turf etc)

bull Survival Aquatic Arctic Desert Forest Jungle MountainSpace urban or any specific environment

bull Swimming Lake Ocean SCUBA Divingbull Taunt Verbal Visual

bull Throwing Darts Grenades Knives Spears

bull Tracking Animals Global DataNet Humans Urban

Vehicles

OPTIONAL SKILL ATHLETICS

Rather than breaking up basic things like Climbing and Swim-ming it is recommended to combine them into a single skill

which would allow for specialization

Athletics (Vigor) Athletics as a catch-all for a number ofphysical endeavors ranging from climbing to swimming to

moving around effectively in a no mdash or low-gravity environ-

ment Athletics should be used instead of Agility in foot chasesand effectively replaces both the Climbing and Swimming skills

Specializations Climbing Leaping Running Sport (specific)

Swimming Zero-G Maneuvers

LANGUAGES

All characters speak their native language plus a number ofadditional languages equaling one-half their Smarts die The

major trade languages used in Interface Zero 20 are Chinese

English Hindi Portuguese and Swahili Additional languagescan be learned by using an advancement opportunity

DERIVED STATISTICS

There are a few statistics which are important in any SavageWorlds game Charisma Pace Parry and Toughness

CHARISMA

Charisma is an abstract measure of your characterrsquos appear-ance how she deals with others socially and generally how

likeable she is Charisma starts at 0 but can be modified byEdges and Hindrances Charisma is also added to Streetwise

and Persuasion rolls The Game Master uses Charisma to figure

out how NPCrsquos react to your character For more informationon Charisma see the Savage Worlds core rules

PACE

Pace is a measure of how far your character can walk in a

standard combat round Human characters have a base Paceof 6 and can run at an additional 1d6rdquo Other races in Interface

Zero 20 can have different starting Pace scores based on the

racial template you choose For more information on Pacesee the Savage Worlds core rules

PARRY

Parry is equal to 2 plus half your characterrsquos Fighting skillplus modifiers gained from use of shields or certain weapons

If your character does not have the Fighting skill base Parry

starts at 2 For more information on Parry see the SavageWorlds core rules

TOUGHNESS

Toughness is a measure of how much damage your character

can take before becoming Shaken or wounded Toughness is2 plus half your characterrsquos Vigor plus any armor she might

be wearing For more information on Toughness see the

Savage Worlds core rules

NEW DERIVED STATSInterface Zero 20 introduces three new derived statis-

tics mdash Firewall Strain and Street Cred

FIREWALL

Unless your character has the Unplugged Hindrance she hasa Tendril Access Processor (TAP) and therefore has a built-

in firewall The firewall protects against attempts to hack a

characterrsquos TAP A characterrsquos Firewall rating star ts at 4 but

can be modified by Edges Hindrances or software

STRAIN

Strain measures the amount of stress cyberware and biowareputs on your body when you install it Strain starts at zero

and each piece of cyberware adds to your Strain stat Highlevels of Strain can lead to death More details on Strain are

located at Augments on page 262

STREET CRED

Street Cred is a measure of your character rsquos reputation on

the streets All characters begin play with 2 points of StreetCred modified by Edges or Hindrances and gain another 2

points every time they gain a new Rank The maximum StreetCred a character can normally achieve is 10 (some Edges and

Occupations can increase this number)

Unlike Charisma which measures your ability to persuadesomeone Street Cred is a point pool that can be spent to

obtain services temporary contacts information and a variety

of other benefits during the course of an adventure This poolrefreshes each adventure unless circumstances in the prior

adventure (like not getting the job done failing to protectsomeone killing an innocent etc) cause the characterrsquos Street

Cred score to drop

Characters can also pick up Minor or Major Hindrances thathave a lasting effect on their Street Cred score during the

course of an adventure These Hindrances can be removedby spending an Advance with the GMrsquos permission For more

information see Street Cred on page 264

CONTACTS

Each character can choose two contacts people the character

knows who he can call upon for aid or information during thecourse of an adventure These contacts can be anyone froma bartender or a hacker to a corporate executive or military

commander as long as it makes sense that your characterwould know the person(s)

STEP 4 OCCUPATIONS

Occupations are integral to your character concept providinga basic framework to enhance your characterrsquos background in

a very organic way helping you create a more well-rounded

18

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1929

character concept Each occupation has a requirement that thecharacter must meet to take it the characterrsquos bonus credits

gained each Advance and a special perk (like gear or specialabilities) the character gets for being part of that profession

STEP 5 EDGES AND HINDRANCES

Edges are special qualities that separate characters from theaverage sprawler Hindrances are physical and mental flaws

that add more depth to the character albeit in a negativeway See the Savage Worlds core rules for more information

on purchasing Edges and Hindrances New Edges and Hin-drances are provided later in this chapter

STEP 6 EQUIPMENT

In Interface Zero 20 characters select equipment cybernet-ics weapons and armor based on the power level the Game

Master sets for the campaign

Power Level This is the starting Power Level of the Cam-

paign as determined by the Game Master If the GM wants totell a story of gang members barely scraping by shersquoll mostlikely choose Gutter Punk as the Power Level If she envi-

sions a campaign where the players are a special governmenttask force dedicated to hunting down super terrorists the

Hyperchrome Warriors or Elite Operatives levels might be

more appropriate The Street Soldier Power Level (designedfor ronin-style games) is considered the default Power Level

for Interface Zero 20

Starting Credits This is the amount of money characters

start with at the beginning of the campaign These credits

may be spent on anything the player wishes and the GM hasnot barred from the campaign including augments drones

weapons and armor

Augments Every Power Level above Gutter Punk allows theplayers to start with at least one augment from the core book

equal to or below the monetary amount listed Unspent Creditsfrom this pool do not carry over when the game starts These

augments must be chosen from the master list of augments

not augment packages

STEP 7 BACKGROUND

They say the devil is in the details and here is where you

decide how devilish yoursquore going to be You donrsquot need towrite a novel and frankly this step isnrsquot mandatory That said

itrsquos a good idea to jot down a few notes on your characterrsquosbackground any major events in her life any friends the

names of contacts or even enemies she might have Share

these ideas with your Game Master GMs are always lookingfor good plot hooks and little tidbits they can use to person-

alize your experience at the table The more detailed yourbackground is the better

ARCHETYPESSometimes you may want to quickly create a character for

a one-shot or convention adventure For those occasions anArchetype is a good choice

All are built for a human character with two Edges If you wish

to play a race other than human simply plug in the statisticaldata If yoursquore playing a human you

can choose another Edge Thenchoose your gear based on the

Power Level your group haschosen give the character

a name and yoursquore ready

to go

19

ARCHETYPES

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2029

AGENT

BOUNTY HUNTER

20

AGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

20

ARCHETYPESAGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2129

CYBERMONK

DRONE JOCKEY

21

CYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

21

ARCHETYPESCYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 5: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 529

Vegas in 2090 218Sin City The Illusion of Hope 218

Gangland Politics 218Power Play 219

CREAM 219Locations of Interest 219

Chinatown Las Vegas 221

The Strip 221

Salt Lake amp the LDS Zions 221Zion 222The Sands (Slums) 222

Salt Lake 222

Dugway Military Base 223Zion Proper 223

Zion Medical The Healing L ight 224The Hill 224

Ogden 224

Jordan 224Phoenix 225

SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA 226Central America 226

South America 226

Panama 227THE CHICAGO SPRAWL 228

CHICAGOLAND 230A Free City 230

Life In Chicagoland 230The Powers That Be 231

The Wolves 231

The Unaligned 233Chicago Laws 233

Geography 233North Chicago 234

South Chicago 239

West Chicago 240Central Chicago 243

Ports of Entry 246

CHAPTER FIVE THE SOLAR SYSTEM 251History of Space Exploration 252

Life in the Solar System 253The Law 253

Organizations 254Corporate Presence 255

Major Set tlement Areas 255

Venus 255Luna 256

Mars 256Ceres 257

The Inner Belt 258

Jupiter 258Saturn 259

Colony Technologies 259Orbital Technologies 260

Ship Technologies 260

CHAPTER SIX SETTING RULES 262Augments 262

Drugs 263Fatigue 263

Gritty Damage 263

Street Cred 264COST OF LIVING 265

DRONES 267DUBBING 269

GOLEMMECHS 270Golemmech Combat 270

Golemmech Creation 270Stock Frames 270

HACKING 274

Tendril Access Processor 274

Stats 274Engrams 275How to Hack 278

The Core Mechanic 278

Network Statistics 278SysOp Countermeasures 279

Hyper Combat 279Hyper Reality 280

Virtual Reality 281

Avatars 281Hacking Virtual Reality 283

POWERS 284Arcane Background (Cybermonk) 284

Arcane Background (Psionics) 284

CHAPTER SEVEN GAME MASTERING 286City Trappings 286

Trapping Descriptions 286Freelancing 289

Job Consequences 290

Payouts 291Gang Generator 292

Types Of Gangs 292Gang Sizes 293

Gang Activities 293

Gang Names 294Adventure Generator 295

Contractors 295

The Mission 296The Location 297The MacGuffin 299

Innocents 300

The Antagonist 300Henchmen 301

Twists and Complications 301Dramatic Conflict 302

Adventure Creation Example 303

Bio-Horror Generator 304Mutant Type 304

THREATS 307Bio-Horrors 307

Sprawl Denizens 308

Courier 308Criminals 308

The Elite 309Military 310

Sprawl Soldiers 310Wage Slaves 311

Robots 312

Intrusion Countermeasures 314

INDEX 315

BACKERS 319

5

TABLE OF CONTENTS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 629

TABLE LISTTable 21 Campaign Power Levels 19Table 22 Hindrances 4 4

Table 23 Edges 45

Table 24 Occupations 46Table 31 Armor 51

Table 32 Communication Equipment 54

Table 33 Augment Grades and Costs 55Table 34 Augment List 56

Table 35 Drones 61Table 36 Robots 63

Table 37 Drugs 65Table 38 Other Services 67

Table 39 Explosives 69

Table 310 Grenades and Mines 69Table 311 Powered Armor 72

Table 312 Golemmechs 76Table 313 Medical Equipment 77

Table 314 Tap Applications 79Table 315 Accessories amp Electronics 79

Table 316 Melee Weapons 81

Table 317 Pistols 83Table 318 Submachine Guns and Shotguns 84

Table 319 Rifles 85Table 320 heavy Weapons 86

Table 321 Special Weapons 87

Table 322 Missile Launchers and Flame Throwers 88Table 323 Energy Weapons 89

Table 324 Improvised Weapons 90Table 325 Improvised Ranged Weapons 90

Table 326 Cycles and Cars 92

Table 327 Aircraft and VTOLs 95Table 328 Watercraft Trucks and Heavy Vehicles 97

Table 329 Spacecraft 98Table 51 Average Distance (AN) 258

Table 52 Average Travel Times (Days) 259Table 61 Street Cred Rewards and Penalties 265

Table 62 Favors 265

Table 63 Character L ifestyles 265Table 64 Psychotherapy Costs 266

Table 65 Medical Treatment Cost 266Table 66 Vehicle Control Interface 267

Table 67 Golemmech Weapons 271

Table 68 Golemmech Upgrades 272Table 69 Standard TAP Readout 274

Table 610 Active Memory Sector Cost 274Table 611 TAP Firewall Upgrades 274

Table 612 TAP Range Upgrades 275

Table 613 Engram Qualities 275Table 614 Sample Hyper Objects 281

Table 615 Avatar Attack Programs 282Table 616 Avatar Upgrades 282

Table 71 Baseline Payouts 292Table 72 Gang Type 293

Table 73 Gang Size 293

Table 74 Gang Activities 293Table 75 Gang Name Generator 295

Table 76 Contractors 295Table 77 The Mission 296

Table 78 Urban Location 297

Table 79 Non-Urban Location 297Table 710 The Macguffin 299

Table 711 Innocents 300Table 712 Antagonists 300

Table 713 Twists And Complications 301Table 714 Dramatic Conflic t 302

Table 715 Mutant Types 304Table 716 Xenomorph Smarts 305

Table 717 Xenomorph Other Attributes 305

Table 718 Xenomorph Skills 305

Table 719 Xenomorph Skill Dice 305Table 720 Xenomorph Size 305Table 721 Xenomorph Locomotion 305

Table 722 Xenomorph Dermis 305

Table 723 Xenomorph Base Attack 306Table 724 Xenomorph Senses 306

Table 725 Mutations 306Table 726 Drawbacks 306

6

TABLE OF CONTENTS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 729

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 829

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 929

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1029

INTRODUCTION

INFOSOURCE

VIDTAGROADTO2090

LOCAL JACOBSPLAYGROUNDNET

FQDN JACOBSPLAYGROUNDNETCHITOWN06TNTPNSWWGNET

DATA SOURCE MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMESINFODUMP

THE ROAD TO 2090

Posted By Billy_Black_Eyes

So here we are in January 2090 Itrsquos been a couple of yearssince I dropped the last INFODUMP on the world and Irsquom here

to rectify that This massive documentrsquos gonna give you all theinformation you need to get up to speed on the state of the

world along with oodles and oodles of statistical data about

a bunch of subjects including the Global DataNet golem-mechs drones and other emerging technologies Yoursquoll read

about the strange and wonderful people who inhabit thisworld the solar system zeeks and much more Irsquove gath-

ered info from sources all over the world and vetted it to

the best of my ability That said you never know whatrsquos trueand what isnrsquot in this age of main stream media lies govern-

ment propaganda and do-it-yourself journalism so take theinformation (especially in the data dumps about the world)

with a grain of salt

Simba So what are you sayinrsquo Bi lly We canrsquot trust you

Billy_Black_Eyes Thatrsquos not what I said You know fullwell that information especially editorialized info alwayshas a certain slant to it It rsquos also fluid What was true at thetime I acquired it may not necessarily be accurate now

The past two years have seen a number of major eventstake place in the world If just one or two things would have

happened I might think they werenrsquot connected Yet itrsquos as ifsomeone walked up to a house of cards and pulled one card

out The house hasnrsquot completely crashed yet itrsquos in a slow-

motion free fall and the worst part is only a few of us seemto be watching What follows is a br ief overview of the major

events that have shaped the world in which we currently live

Neon_Bright Oh Billy looking at the world with thosedark lenses again are we

Magpie Neon I think he needs a hug )

Billy_Black_Eyes What I need is a ticket to Mars Thingsare about to get crazy and I want off this rock

GROWING TENSIONS IN NORTH AMERICA

The year 2088 was marked by a number of disturbing mdash somesay portentous mdash events involving the North American Coali-

tion the Great Lakes Union and Atlantica

Sane_Prophet ldquoPortentousrdquo Could the scales be fallingoff your black eyes my friend Are you finally coming tounderstand the truth

Billy_Black_Eyes Seriously You again I told you nomystic bull shit

Sane_Prophet Just because you refuse to acknowledgeomens for what they are doesnrsquot make them any less valid

THE HEGEMONY GROWS

The crackdown on zeeks hybrids and synthetic humans in the

NAC reached a boiling point when Congress and the Senateratified the infamous Racial Purity Act a draconic piece of

legislation banning the practice of hybrid and simulacrumcreation All genetic modification parlors and simulacrum

production facilities were ordered to shut down The Racial

Purity Act also outlawed the use of psychic powers within theborders of the nation with hefty fines and even imprisonment

for those caught using them Various watchdog organiza-tions were created the most visible of which is Psi-division

a branch of Stopwatch tasked with monitoring and in some

cases even ldquoneutralizingrdquo psychic threats

Psychopope And by ldquoneutralizingrdquo he means murder

Denver_Must_Burn And forced relocationhellipIrsquom not talkingabout VR prisons ei ther Irsquom talking about the internmentcamps up in Montana and the Dakotas

Simba It was just as bad for hybrids like myself Whenthose genetic modification parlors shut down the pr ivateinformation about their customers was confiscatedunder the auspices of ldquonational securit yrdquo This means theDepartment of National Security (DNS) has the namesand addresses of every hybrid and free sim in the NorthAmerican Coalition If you have a TAP the DNS can trackyour IP too

Luciferion Simba Dude thatrsquos happening with everycitizen regardless of whether or not yoursquore zeek hybridor ldquoPlain Janerdquo human

Denver_Must_Burn All I can say is TRICilicit_behavior Yes DMB The Revolution IS Coming

Instances of racial violence erupted across the North Ameri-

can Coalition as law enforcement officials began arrestingzeeks Some of the more obvious hybrids mdash particularly the

bull bear and rhino variants mdash were also incarcerated Gov-ernments across the continent decried the draconian tactics

and called for UN intervention to no effect The Great Lakes

Union and Atlantica closed their embassies in Denver and sentthe NAC delegates in their cities packing Then on Novem-

ber 13th 2088 a number of terrorist attacks rocked BostonBaltimore and Portland Maine An estimated 2451 people

died and thousands more were injured from the bombings

THE ATLANTICA BOMBINGSWithin hours of the attacks the Global DataNet was flooded

with conspiracy theories the most viral of which speculated

they were carried out by a terrorist group known as Agenda68Some speculated a Canadian black ops unit known as Task-

force Harfang did the deed Others went on to claim the NACwas behind the attacks and still others claimed New Brasilia

or maybe the Chinese Mandarinate were somehow involvedSo-called ldquoconspiracy theorist expertsrdquo such as Sam_Jones

and NERCOTIXX speculated that China long believed to bein bed with the North American Coalition used simulacra to

perform the bombings

10

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1129

NECROTIXX China did carry out the bombings Do theresearch Look into Project Doppelganger and yoursquoll seeThe NAC is just a patsy

Sam_Jones The Mandarinate is becoming an imperialpower Just look at what they are doing with Russia nowand what they have done with all of Southeast Asia Askthe Russian refugees flooding into Seattle if they thinkChina is content to stay within their borders The writingrsquos

on the wall folksSimba It might have been orchestrated by agents workingfor Charon

Luciferion What a load of crap Charon is an AI It doesnrsquothave any contact with humans

Neon_Bright Prove it Simba

As the days stretched into weeks there was still no official

statement from the Atlantica Government about the iden-tity of the perpetrators of the attacks Then on December

15th 2088 a MEDIAfile was uploaded into the Global DataNetbearing the Hyper Tag of a popular underground media-pirate

known as MAXX_footage

The dronersquos feed showed three large muscular men in regular

clothing exit a hover van adjacent to one of the targets of theattacks just moments before it exploded Facial recognitionsoftware identified one of the men as First Sergeant John

Moore a member of the North American Coalition regular army

The MEDIAfile went on to follow the three men as they jumpedinto an unmarked hover car that took off and shot over the

Boston sea wall to land on a freighter bearing Chinese mark-ings The vessel promptly sailed east into international waters

Sorry_U_Asked Isnrsquot it odd how often people retreat tothe water in the wake of disasters How much of the oceanremains unmapped How much is hiding under the wavesthat we havenrsquot even begun to fathom

BatRastard Puns intended Wersquove already got enoughconspiracy theories Can you not add another useless one

to the stinking heap

Sane_Prophet Actually hersquos closer to reality than youmight be comfortable understanding Too much truth canbreak a manrsquos mind

BatRastard Irsquom guessing yours is already fried from afew too many stims man Want to share what yoursquove beendoping

As the situation evolved it became clear that MAXX_footagewent through what can only be described as a nightmarish journey to bring the MEDIAfile into the light of day In what

would be his only interview MAXX_footage appeared via

a secure video-feed on ldquoBoston Tonightrdquomdasha popular showin the nation of Atlantica Millions across the world tuned in

to listen to what he had to say MAXX_footage a tall lanky

young man recounted the events of that day telling how hewas hanging out at his favorite coffee shop when this black

hover van landed right in front of the Emperor Pharmaceuti-cals Arcology about a half a block away

When Penny Pearl mdash the host of the show mdash asked MAXX_

footage how during all the chaos he could have possiblyremembered those details MAXX_footage said he remem-

bered it because the hover van double parked and someonestarted yelling at the three guys who got out Thinking it was

going to result in violence MAXX_footage says he poppedout his Fly on the Wall micro drone and sent i t over to record

the incident Thatrsquos when all hell broke loose

BEGIN THREAD JACK

NECROTIXX Herersquos a transcript of the short interviewPenny couldnrsquot get MAXX back on

BEGIN TRANSCRIPThellip

ldquoOne of the three men shot the guy right in the facerdquo MAXX_

footage says his long thin hands shaking ldquoThey just walked

away and got into a red hover car I sent Judy mdash thatrsquos thename of my drone mdash after them and thatrsquos when the Black

hover van explodedrdquo MAXX_footage goes quiet for a fewseconds and after a couple of probing questions from the

hostess he finishes his story

ldquoAnyhow I get my bearings shake the dust outta my hairand suddenly realize I just captured the perps on Digifilm I

follow the red hover car all the way out past the Sea Wallwhere it lands on this Chinese freighter Judyrsquos pushinrsquo her

range limits at this point so I call her backrdquo He grabs a glassof water his hands shaking

ldquoTell us what happened nextrdquo Penny prompts

ldquoWellrdquo he begins ldquoI get back to my flat mdash it took a while mdash what

with all the chaos goinrsquo on in the lsquoplex and everything mdash andthe place is busted up I mean BIG-TIME amirdquo MAXX_footage

stops again then shakes his head and says ldquoListen I canrsquot sayanything else about that I think theyrsquore still watching mehellip

In fact this interview is done MAXX OUTrdquo The video feed

cuts to white noise

END TRANSCRIPT

END THREAD JACK

The interview and the footage of the event sparked outrage

throughout Atlantica Predictably the NAC government fiercelydenied any involvement in the bombings even going so far

as to demand the arrest and extradition of MAXX_footagefor questioning about the origins of the video

Martin Hughes mdash the president of Atlantica mdash flatly refusedthe NACrsquos demands even going so far as to say that thisMAXX_footage person was a ldquohero of the people of

Atlanticardquo The bookies in the free city of Las Vegas startedgiving even odds that hostilities would break out on the East

Coast within a year

Simba I lost a ton of money on that bet

Luciferion MAXX_footage has gone dark BTW Nobodyhas seen or heard from him since that interview

THE FLARE

On January 26 2089 a massive Earth-directed Y-class solar

flare sparked a Coronal Mass Ejection that bombarded our

planet temporarily shutting down the genie network thatmonitors and updates the TAPrsquos spam and reality filters Withthe genie down every man woman and child with a Tendril

Access Processor was exposed to raw unfiltered Hyper Reality

As you all know this sparked a week of world-wide chaosSprawlers mdash exposed to a storm of spam malware and layer

upon layer of augmented reality advertisements and simu-lated environments mdash went temporarily insane

Sane_Prophet Insanity is a weak word for the weak-minded What may appear as insane to you might simplybe someone having achieved enlightenment and livingaccording to a higher truth

11

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1229

Sorry_U_Asked Irsquom all about questioning the circumstancesbut Irsquom pretty sure all the folks who were murdered duringthese events wouldrsquove labeled them as insane down to a one

Billy_Black_Eyes Whatever dictionary program yoursquorerunning needs a fresh data-dump Prophet

Sane_Prophet Dictionaries are also for the weak-minded

Billy_Black_Eyes Of course they are

The world burned for about a week until programmers couldfix the problem with firmware updates and hot patches to

get the filters up and running and an off switch installedbut the damage was done Itrsquos not known how many people

died in the rioting and madness but cautious estimates oftotal casualties put the number at around 750 million people

and nobody has even tried to calculate the monetary cost

of the riots Strangely however the Flare itself didnrsquot havea widespread impact on various infrastructures like electric

and other powers transportation systems etc In fact manybelieve the Flare wasnrsquot even a solar flare at all but the first

sign of Charonrsquos emergence as a threat to humanity

Luciferion Nobodyrsquos ever proven that Billy

Billy_Black_Eyes Nobody has ever debunked it eitherStatistical data can be hacked Numbers can be fudgedto make things seem more dramatic than they really areEarthquakes register at a certain scale and get downgradedall the time The truth is this is the first time in history thata solar flare has caused such wide-spread chaos It rsquos fishy

Luciferion Irsquoll believe it when I see some hard data

Billy_Black_Eyes Fair enough But the emergence ofCharon around this time isnrsquot even open for debate Itrsquosa fact

THE EURASIAN UNION IMPLODES

On March 15th 2089 the Eurasian Union Central Bank in

Bonn Germany was crashed by a previously unheard-of virusnamed Charon Over forty-five trillion dollars vanished without

a trace All attempts to rebuild the original databases failedSome programmers (and freelance hackers) hired to go in andpurge Charon from the databases lost their lives in the process

Further attempts to rebuild the system on different serverswith backups also failed when programmers realized that

Charon mdash now suspected by many to be an AI mdash had copieditself into the cloud networks containing those backup files

Luciferion Therersquos nothing to suspect Charon is anemergent AI The only question now is whether or not itsparks a singularity event

Nothing_to_see_here Stopwatch will halt it in its tracksThey always catch these things

Luciferion Who do you think died trying to get it out ofthe D-bases in Bonn

Over the next few months an estimated 200 million people

across the Eurasian Union the United Kingdom and Ireland losttheir jobs their homes and their life savings when it became

clear that Charon had found its way into the personal bankaccounts of citizenry across the Eurasian Union

Instances of mob violence skyrocketed as the number of

gangs in the rapidly fracturing Eurasian Union had risen tolevels not seen since the Death mdash the three-year ldquoNuclear

Autumnrdquo following the India-Pakistan war when nuclearweapons were used on a massive scale In the London-Read-

ing Megaplex protests exploded into full-scale violence after

police brutally cracked down on a peaceful protest at the

British parliament building More instances of violent protests

followed in Bristol Swindon and the Manchester-Liverpoolsprawl

On June 27th 2089 the French government was over-

thrown by a fringe political extremist group known as theNew Pirate Party Led by a charismatic young zeek named

Angeacutele Bonheur the New Pirate Party seized power after awild chaotic campaign against representatives of the NationalFront and the Popular Republican Union The elections were

rife with scandal and many of the French didnrsquot (and still donrsquot)like the idea of a French leader being psychic So while Angeacutele

emerged as the clear victor the French military refused toacknowledge her legitimacy President Bonheur responded

by disbanding the armed forces of France at the same time

announcing the privatization of the nationrsquos military throughan agreement with Ravenlocke Securities

Downtrodden Yep itrsquos a sign of things to come ladiesand gents a world-wide corporate coup of governmentsIf you donrsquot think the CEO of Ravenlocke mdash thatrsquos MarkusRaven mdash has a say in the direction this new governmenttakes think again

Luciferion Itrsquos awesome to see France led by a psychicbut letrsquos get real this is going to get much worse beforeit gets better

Magpie I wouldnrsquot be surprised i f she gets wacked

Former Lieutenant-Colonel Adrien Boucher also known as

ldquoAdrien the Butcherrdquo for his brutal suppression of an upris-ing in Marseilles in 2087 took charge of the remnants of

the disbanded French army promising to remove PresidentBonheur from power Within days of Adrienrsquos announcement

Fort Richepance mdash now the Northeastern headquarters for

Ravenlocke Industriesrsquo Storm Crow Golemmech brigade mdash wasattacked The president responded by declaring martial law

throughout France until the renegade movement could be

put down Thus far that hasnrsquot happened though there arereports of clashes between Ravenlocke regulars and sepa-

ratist forces outside of St Etienne and in the French Alps

Warpig This has caused numerous issues If PresidentAngeacutele thinks her countrymen are going to accept theprivatization of the military shersquos sorely mistaken As Billymentions Adrien the Butcher is causing problems buttherersquos more to it Militias are forming They have advancedweaponry and while I wonrsquot speculate as to whorsquos providingthem with those weapons I do know the vast majority ofthe weapons are made by Act of God Armaments

Battle_Mind I know one thing itrsquos a great time to be amercenary

Full_Metal_Cyborg Amen brother Irsquoll see you on the

battlefieldPayne_Man Lock and Load U mushrooms I splatter youn00bs with my AK

Magpie ldquoSighrdquo Stop playing Matrix of War Payne Yousound like a fool This ainrsquot a game

Payne_Man I thought we were talkinrsquo about MOW Ushould C the zones Theyrsquore eggsaklee like the content ofthis INFOdump Have been for a whyle now Evar since thelast expansion dropped in spring 2088

Luciferion hellipOk thatrsquos odd

Payne_Man The CoalitionAtlantica War expansion izzcumin out next month 2 I Kant W8

12

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1329

On June 30th 2089 Germany wracked with political in-

fighting riots in the streets and a general state of chaos

closed its borders Officially the stated reason was for secu-rity reasons stemming from conflict along the border with

France but most people donrsquot believe it Chancellor KonradGerste authorized a financial bailout of the three largest

manufacturers of weapons and military equipment for

the German army The move has frightened many of the

Eastern European nations mdash especially the good people ofPoland mdash who know well what happens when Germans

begin preparing for war and make no mistake Germany ismoving to a war footing

Payne_Man Watch out Zee Germans are cumming LOL

Klaus What Canrsquot my brethren move to protectthemselves from the chaos in France And why the veiledreference to WWII Itrsquos been nearly 150 years since Hitlerrsquosmadness yet nobody allows us to forget it

THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON

As the situation in Europe grew worse China took advantageof the weakened Eurasian Union grabbing up huge swathes

of territory in Russia its armies advancing as far west as the

Ural Mountain range where Russian forces managed to haltthe dragonrsquos advance Still the damage was done By August2089 the Mandarinate had established itself as an occupy-

ing power in every city town and village east of the Ural

Mountains That hasnrsquot stopped the Russians from retaliatinghowever Russian patriots have begun an insurgency attack-

ing Chinese forces wherever they can be found Mandarinatemouthpieces paint the insurgents as terrorists to little effect

as the insurgency swells in number every day

Neon_Bright This isnrsquot just a struggle against Chineseaggression Vast resources have been found ever sinceSiberia began to thaw Irsquom talking about precious mineralsoil even the land is useful for development especiallywhen you consider billions of people live in eastern Asia

Luciferion Agreed Neon

LIFE IN GENERAL

So how have the above events impacted life as we stumbleinto 2090 In numerous ways omae There isnrsquot enough time

to go into great detail about how war the Flare and espe-

cially the rise of Charon have affected the life of the averagesprawler across the world but Irsquo ll go over some of the more

important details Pay attention peeps some of this mightkeep you alive

SURVIVING HYPER REALITY

As I mentioned above when the Flare knocked out the GENIEnetwork it caused widespread chaos And while GENIE is back

up and running there are still glitches in the system Sure

firmware updates to the Tendril Access Processor mdash TAP as itrsquosmore commonly known mdash allow you to turn off that modem

in your brain but wellhelliplet me put it like this Hyper Realityhas become smarter even deadly if you donrsquot have the right

software installed in your TAP

Sane_Prophet Why bother putting up more and morefilters It is senseless A futile fight against powers fargreater than yourself Open your eyes open your mindand set yourself free from this prison of so-called reality

BatRastard Right and then with the first meme to fry myneurons Irsquoll be spending my life savings on the Fat Sallyrsquosdown the block Brilliant

Sane_Prophet Fat Sally rsquos secret sauce is an interdimen-sional gateway into the heights of ecstasy

BatRastard Actually thatrsquos the first thing you and I haveever agreed on

Irsquove discussed this phenomena with numerous program-mers across the world and they all agree virii spam and allmanner of malware that [prior to the Flare] would have been

easy to purge from your head are now behaving much dif-

ferently Itrsquos almost as if the things evolved into somethingnot-quite-sentient but damned close to it

So what does this mean for you

If you choose to experience Hyper Reality (and if you have aTAP in your brain you have) itrsquos only a matter of time before

one of these virii hacks into your brain Therersquos nothing youcan really do about it itrsquos just one of the many fun facts of

life in 2090 I do find it ironic that af ter decades of enjoying

the connectivity and convenience the TAP has provided thistechnology seems to be actively trying to kill us and there

isnrsquot much we can do about it without going back to medi-eval times You know the 1980rsquos Of course some of you out

there will want to turn your TAPs off for good and avoid the

risk entirely Hell some of you might be considering gettingthe damned thing removed

You can do that sure Of course that means yoursquore also

not connected to the grid that makes your life so unbeliev-ably convenient This causes a mult itude of problems Donrsquot

believe me Try walking out of your house Oh right you canrsquotbecause most doors donrsquot have handles anymore Theyrsquore

automated and respond to the signals coming from your TAPI know some are activated by motion sensors and donrsquot rely

on the TAP But no door which is designed with security in

mind will open so easilyThis also means you have almost zero access to vehicles or

places where you can buy things like grocery stores Yeah

sure you can just follow someone else into said store butthe security cameras will spot you and not having a digital

record of your presence (which they get from your TAP) willflag you and dispatch a security team to find out who you

are So there you are in your local Malmart looking for some

cloned steaks to fire up on your grill later on when securitycomes with their big guns and ldquowhat the hell are you doing

here scumbagrdquo looks on their faces to boot you back out intothe streets where you came from

Oh how did you plan on paying for them BTW now that

your TAP is offline and the clerk canrsquot sync her cash register

with your payment software And NO they donrsquot take cashThe point is this omae All that convenience you were usedto goes out the window when you unplug Itrsquos much easier

to get strong firewalls than it is to live outside the system

So think about what I said before you scratch that itch at thebase of your skull with a scalpel

SURVIVING THE STREETS

The streets have always been dangerous thatrsquos a givenWhen you cram millions of people into a concrete and steel

petri dish then forget about 999 of them you create abreeding ground for violence hate and societal devolution

13

INTRODUCTIONLIFE IN GENERAL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1429

on such a scale that social Darwinists like Herbert Spencer and

Thomas Malthus would roll over in their graves

Again that in itself is nothing new The streets have alwaysbeen violent but ever since the events I previously described

came to pass mdash especially the Flare and the implosion of theEurasian Union mdash the number of homeless people across the

world has sky-rocketed The petri dish is frothing and over-

flowing as new gangs emerge mdash and Irsquom talking globally not just in North America mdash and carve out their own terri tory

This upsets the balance ami and makes it harder to survivewhen yoursquore just a blooper looking to make it through the

day because now you have new predators to deal with n00bbangers making up their own rules as they go And the cop-

suckers donrsquot help

Protect and serve What a load of crap

Sure yoursquol l get Triple-A service if you live in one of the moneybubbles but try getting help in say the Aurora Barrens or

the Gary Hell Zone and yoursquore basically fucked Yeah thereare token patrols and the ever-present drones but drones

get shot down and the copsuckers are so outnumbered

most are either so scared to get into an altercation with thepredators or theyrsquore on the take I canrsquot say I blame them

either The streets are a war zone and if you wear the badgeyoursquore marked for death omae So take my advice and get

strapped The only person you can count on in the concrete jungle is you

Sorry_U_Asked Think twice before trying to claim a badgebounty though Sure plenty of honchos love to pay topcredit for proof that yoursquove kept the law from poking aroundtheir territory But just because you see someone wearingone doesnrsquot mean they got it legit Lots of gangers wearthem as trophies So if you drop a shot on a copsuckerthinking yoursquove hit payday you might end up with a wholeband of bangers snarling on your heels

SURVIVING THE GAME

Therersquos an old saying The Game is the Game mdash you eitherplay it or you get played I donrsquot care if you contract free-

lance fight fix hack patch or scam yoursquore in it omae andthat puts you at odds with every other player out there Most

people approach the game as a means to an end thinking

that one shiny day theyrsquoll earn enough creds to go someplacewarm and dry and live out their lives in style These clowns

donrsquot last Theyrsquore so busy dreaming about the good timesthat they lose focus on whatrsquos right in front of their face (or

creeping up behind them) Dreamers get sloppy take short

cuts betray their team and torch their street cred like gutterpunks burn trash in a garbage can to keep warm

If you want to survive the game you need to take a lesson

from these dreamers keep your mind on the job Therersquos nosandy beach waiting for you The megacorps bought them

all and turned lsquoem into parking lots The only fruity drinksyoursquoll ever drink are sold in the local watering hole by some

burned-out ronin The best you can hope for is a litt le bit of

comfort mdash usually behind a small fortress if yoursquore smart mdash andthe respect of the streets But thatrsquos a double-edged sword

another facet of the game Therersquos always someone faster

than you some hungry up-and-comer with the latest aug-ments wanting to prove herself by dealing you out Sucksto be a victim of your own success but thatrsquos the truth of it

My advice Find a way to deal yourself out clean Put some

creds away never burn your contacts and donrsquot ever everbecome a legend

Legends die

14

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1529

CHARACTER

CREATION

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1629

CHAPTER TWOCHARACTER CREATION

Characters are the lifersquos blood of any role-playing game the

focal point of every story Characters represent the best mdash orthe worst mdash ideals of a given game setting their actions either

bringing a small measure of hope to the downtrodden massesor serving to strengthen the status quo In the grim gritty

world of Interface Zero 20 the characters you play walk amonofilament edge between traditional mdash some would say

outdated or just plain irrelevant mdash concepts of good and evilas they make their way in the world

Indeed itrsquos hard to be a moral individual in a world where

most of the animals prowling the concrete jungle believe prin-ciples are character flaws mdash weaknesses to exploit for their

own ends Your morality marks you as prey no doubt aboutit omae But if you can keep your moral code if you can get

your job done without selling your soul yoursquoll get something

most sprawlers never have respect

Evil on the other hand is the same as it always has been

therersquos just more of it The wicked always thrive in a world

where violence fear and control are tools used for self-serv-ing ends but herersquos the thing Acting like an ass can get you

green-lit just as quickly as playing the role of the goody-two-shoes marks you as a sucker amigo

Nobody likes a dickhead even if they donrsquot say it to your

face Sooner or later yoursquoll get a rep for being a hard-assand someone who is stronger meaner or a bigger asshole

than you is going to come along and knock you back to thegutter you crawled out of Thatrsquos why most people keep their

heads down and their mouths shut Donrsquot make eye contact

itrsquos a challenge to the predators and if you donrsquot have thestones to back up the challenge yoursquore nothing but meat

But if you can stay strong and defeat all comers that com-mands respect too

This chapter provides you with the tools you need to make

a character for Interface Zero 20 The process is the same ascreating a character for any Savage Worlds game with a few

additions Interface Zero 20 introduces Street Cred Contactsand Strain to the game

STEP 1 CONCEPT

The first thing you need to do is decide on a concept for your

character Will you play a hacker Perhaps a mercenary orbounty hunter is more your speed Are mercs and hunters toocutthroat for your style of play If so you might think about

playing a ronin an urban warrior who follows his own code

of honor Maybe you want to be the guy (or gal) who backsthe team up with drones capable of laying down covering

fire or scouting ahead to see where the bad guys are hiding

You donrsquot need to have your concept locked in right now butat least have a basic idea of the type of character you want

to play Take a few minutes and skip ahead to the archetypessection in this chapter to see a variety of options available

to you

STEP 2 RACEThe next thing you need to do is choose a race In 2090

humanity has reached the point where the word ldquohumanrdquo is

almost irrelevant Human DNA is no longer a mystery Itrsquos amathematical code technomancers hack re-write and copy

at will producing genetically superior beings the Human 20

Others snip and paste animal DNA and splice it with humanDNA to create genetic hybrids a fusion of man and animal

Science has even advanced to such an extent that we can

create entirely new life forms mdash living beings known as simula-cra mdash in amniotic vats growing them until they have matured

filling their synthetic brains with memories and skills theyrsquollneed to do the jobs for which they were created

STEP 3 TRAITS

Traits are the building blocks of any Savage Worlds character

They define how strong or fast your character is and what

she knows Traits determine how much cyberware she canput into her body how much damage she can take before

dying her standing with others and a variety of other thingsall of which are essential to the game

ATTRIBUTES

Five attributes are used to define your characterrsquos physi-cal characteristics These are Agility Smarts Spirit Strength

and Vigor Each attribute starts at d4 You have 5 points withwhich to raise these attr ibutes and one point equals a risein a die type (d4 to d6 d6 to d8 etc) No attribute may rise

higher than d12 during character creation unless stated undera racial ability For more information on attributes refer to

the Savage Worlds core rules

SKILLS

You have 15 points to spend on your characterrsquos skills Your

character doesnrsquot start with any skills and must spend 1 pointto get a skill at a d4 He spends 1 point to raise a skill to a

higher die type as long as the skill level is equal to or less

than the linked attribute Raising any skill above the linkedattribute costs 2 points per step No skill may rise above d12

during character creation

Note If you are using the skill specializations rules you get 20points for skills and each new specialization costs 1 skill point

during character creation When your character advances shemay purchase 2 skill specializations for an advance or a new

skill and a single specialization

NEW SKILLS

The following are new skills introduced in Interface Zero 20

For information on all other skills see Skills in the Savage

Worlds core rules

16

CHARACTER CREATIONCONCEPT RACE TRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1729

Hacking (Smarts) The Hacking skill is used whenever a

character wants to hack a computer network Characters in

Interface Zero 20 no longer start with an automatic d4 inHacking Additionally characters who wish to use the Global

DataNet for everyday purposes such as research or findingnews pertaining to the Deep do so with their existing Inves-

tigation and Streetwise skills

Knowledge (Demolitions) Successful use of demolitions canmean the difference between destruction of the target as

planned and unplanned loss of life and property The skill also

lets the character have an understanding of what the besttype of explosive is for the obstacle and how much they will

need to remove such an obstacle In addition a raise on theresult will let them know the exact distance they need to be

from the explosion based upon the size of the charge the con-

fines and damage created by said explosion This skill is usedany time a character wants to put a satchel charge together

or set explosives A Critical Failure will result in immediatedetonation Simple failure will result in premature detonation

or no detonation at all

Knowledge (Programming) Characters use this skill when

attempting to make any kind of change to a network theyhave hacked This skill allows a character to undo damagedone as a result of a hack With it a character can do things

like undo an edit to a data file or video reconstruct a deleted

file repair an AMS (see Active Memory Sectors on page 274in the Sett ing Rules chapter) recover a deleted skill Engram

or reconnect a TAP that has gone offline

OPTIONAL RULE SKILL SPECIALIZATIONS

Interface Zero 20 is an advanced setting where knowing

how to do one thing doesnrsquot necessarily mean you can dosomething which under the regular skill rules would techni-

cally be possible with the same skill Take the various DrivingBoating and Piloting skills for example

Using the regular skill rules a character with Driving couldtheoretically drive anything from a motorcycle to a semi-truckor a tank Similarly Piloting assumes a character has the skills

to pilot all types of aircraft including fighter jets and space-

craft Pinnacle Entertainment addressed this issue by addingthe Skill Specialization setting rule in the Savage Worlds core

rules and it is highly recommended that those rules are usedfor Interface Zero 20

The following list of skill specializations are provided to get

you started This isnrsquot intended to be a comprehensive listof appropriate skill specializations but rather a broad cross

section of specializations we feel are appropriate If some-thing doesnrsquot appear on the list make it up if it seems right

But remember the GM always has the final say on what is or

isnrsquot appropriate for her campaign

SUGGESTED SPECIALIZATIONS

bull Boating Powered Sailed Submersible

bull Climbing Mountaineering Rappelling Rope

bull Driving Car (4 wheels) Hovercraft JUMP Bike MotorcycleTruck (6+ wheels) Tracked

bull Fighting Axe Blades Blunt Cyberweapon Long Blade

Martial arts (by style judo karate etc) Pole Arm

bull Gambling By game

bull Hacking Hyper Combat Firewall Penetration Intrusion

Detection Object Control Object Editing Run ProgramTrace

bull Healing Cyber Surgery First Aid Surgery

bull Intimidation Interrogation Mental Physical

bull Investigation Archives Global DataNet Libraries

Newspapers

bull Knowledge Each Knowledge skill is technically a special-

ization of Knowledge so it isnrsquot broken down into furtherspecializations

Suggested Knowledge Skills AIs Battle Corporations

Cybernetics Demolitions Global DataNet Local Area (spe-cific) Politics Programing

bull Lockpicking Disarm Trap Electronic Manual

bull Notice Audio Body Language Searching Visual

bull Persuasion Bluffing Diplomacy Fast-Talking Seduction

bull Piloting Golemmech Helicopter Plane Spacecraft VTOL

bull Psionics Freek Peek Tweek

bull Repair Armor Cybernetics Electronics Mechanical Struc-tures Weapons

bull Riding By animal

TO SPECIALIZE OR NOT TO SPECIALIZE

17

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1829

bull Shooting Bow Pistol Rifle Shotgun Submachine GunVehicle Weapon or by weapon category

bull Stealth Disguise Hiding Sleight of Hand Sneaking

bull Streetwise AreaRegion (Corporate Zone Gang Turf etc)

bull Survival Aquatic Arctic Desert Forest Jungle MountainSpace urban or any specific environment

bull Swimming Lake Ocean SCUBA Divingbull Taunt Verbal Visual

bull Throwing Darts Grenades Knives Spears

bull Tracking Animals Global DataNet Humans Urban

Vehicles

OPTIONAL SKILL ATHLETICS

Rather than breaking up basic things like Climbing and Swim-ming it is recommended to combine them into a single skill

which would allow for specialization

Athletics (Vigor) Athletics as a catch-all for a number ofphysical endeavors ranging from climbing to swimming to

moving around effectively in a no mdash or low-gravity environ-

ment Athletics should be used instead of Agility in foot chasesand effectively replaces both the Climbing and Swimming skills

Specializations Climbing Leaping Running Sport (specific)

Swimming Zero-G Maneuvers

LANGUAGES

All characters speak their native language plus a number ofadditional languages equaling one-half their Smarts die The

major trade languages used in Interface Zero 20 are Chinese

English Hindi Portuguese and Swahili Additional languagescan be learned by using an advancement opportunity

DERIVED STATISTICS

There are a few statistics which are important in any SavageWorlds game Charisma Pace Parry and Toughness

CHARISMA

Charisma is an abstract measure of your characterrsquos appear-ance how she deals with others socially and generally how

likeable she is Charisma starts at 0 but can be modified byEdges and Hindrances Charisma is also added to Streetwise

and Persuasion rolls The Game Master uses Charisma to figure

out how NPCrsquos react to your character For more informationon Charisma see the Savage Worlds core rules

PACE

Pace is a measure of how far your character can walk in a

standard combat round Human characters have a base Paceof 6 and can run at an additional 1d6rdquo Other races in Interface

Zero 20 can have different starting Pace scores based on the

racial template you choose For more information on Pacesee the Savage Worlds core rules

PARRY

Parry is equal to 2 plus half your characterrsquos Fighting skillplus modifiers gained from use of shields or certain weapons

If your character does not have the Fighting skill base Parry

starts at 2 For more information on Parry see the SavageWorlds core rules

TOUGHNESS

Toughness is a measure of how much damage your character

can take before becoming Shaken or wounded Toughness is2 plus half your characterrsquos Vigor plus any armor she might

be wearing For more information on Toughness see the

Savage Worlds core rules

NEW DERIVED STATSInterface Zero 20 introduces three new derived statis-

tics mdash Firewall Strain and Street Cred

FIREWALL

Unless your character has the Unplugged Hindrance she hasa Tendril Access Processor (TAP) and therefore has a built-

in firewall The firewall protects against attempts to hack a

characterrsquos TAP A characterrsquos Firewall rating star ts at 4 but

can be modified by Edges Hindrances or software

STRAIN

Strain measures the amount of stress cyberware and biowareputs on your body when you install it Strain starts at zero

and each piece of cyberware adds to your Strain stat Highlevels of Strain can lead to death More details on Strain are

located at Augments on page 262

STREET CRED

Street Cred is a measure of your character rsquos reputation on

the streets All characters begin play with 2 points of StreetCred modified by Edges or Hindrances and gain another 2

points every time they gain a new Rank The maximum StreetCred a character can normally achieve is 10 (some Edges and

Occupations can increase this number)

Unlike Charisma which measures your ability to persuadesomeone Street Cred is a point pool that can be spent to

obtain services temporary contacts information and a variety

of other benefits during the course of an adventure This poolrefreshes each adventure unless circumstances in the prior

adventure (like not getting the job done failing to protectsomeone killing an innocent etc) cause the characterrsquos Street

Cred score to drop

Characters can also pick up Minor or Major Hindrances thathave a lasting effect on their Street Cred score during the

course of an adventure These Hindrances can be removedby spending an Advance with the GMrsquos permission For more

information see Street Cred on page 264

CONTACTS

Each character can choose two contacts people the character

knows who he can call upon for aid or information during thecourse of an adventure These contacts can be anyone froma bartender or a hacker to a corporate executive or military

commander as long as it makes sense that your characterwould know the person(s)

STEP 4 OCCUPATIONS

Occupations are integral to your character concept providinga basic framework to enhance your characterrsquos background in

a very organic way helping you create a more well-rounded

18

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1929

character concept Each occupation has a requirement that thecharacter must meet to take it the characterrsquos bonus credits

gained each Advance and a special perk (like gear or specialabilities) the character gets for being part of that profession

STEP 5 EDGES AND HINDRANCES

Edges are special qualities that separate characters from theaverage sprawler Hindrances are physical and mental flaws

that add more depth to the character albeit in a negativeway See the Savage Worlds core rules for more information

on purchasing Edges and Hindrances New Edges and Hin-drances are provided later in this chapter

STEP 6 EQUIPMENT

In Interface Zero 20 characters select equipment cybernet-ics weapons and armor based on the power level the Game

Master sets for the campaign

Power Level This is the starting Power Level of the Cam-

paign as determined by the Game Master If the GM wants totell a story of gang members barely scraping by shersquoll mostlikely choose Gutter Punk as the Power Level If she envi-

sions a campaign where the players are a special governmenttask force dedicated to hunting down super terrorists the

Hyperchrome Warriors or Elite Operatives levels might be

more appropriate The Street Soldier Power Level (designedfor ronin-style games) is considered the default Power Level

for Interface Zero 20

Starting Credits This is the amount of money characters

start with at the beginning of the campaign These credits

may be spent on anything the player wishes and the GM hasnot barred from the campaign including augments drones

weapons and armor

Augments Every Power Level above Gutter Punk allows theplayers to start with at least one augment from the core book

equal to or below the monetary amount listed Unspent Creditsfrom this pool do not carry over when the game starts These

augments must be chosen from the master list of augments

not augment packages

STEP 7 BACKGROUND

They say the devil is in the details and here is where you

decide how devilish yoursquore going to be You donrsquot need towrite a novel and frankly this step isnrsquot mandatory That said

itrsquos a good idea to jot down a few notes on your characterrsquosbackground any major events in her life any friends the

names of contacts or even enemies she might have Share

these ideas with your Game Master GMs are always lookingfor good plot hooks and little tidbits they can use to person-

alize your experience at the table The more detailed yourbackground is the better

ARCHETYPESSometimes you may want to quickly create a character for

a one-shot or convention adventure For those occasions anArchetype is a good choice

All are built for a human character with two Edges If you wish

to play a race other than human simply plug in the statisticaldata If yoursquore playing a human you

can choose another Edge Thenchoose your gear based on the

Power Level your group haschosen give the character

a name and yoursquore ready

to go

19

ARCHETYPES

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2029

AGENT

BOUNTY HUNTER

20

AGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

20

ARCHETYPESAGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2129

CYBERMONK

DRONE JOCKEY

21

CYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

21

ARCHETYPESCYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 6: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 629

TABLE LISTTable 21 Campaign Power Levels 19Table 22 Hindrances 4 4

Table 23 Edges 45

Table 24 Occupations 46Table 31 Armor 51

Table 32 Communication Equipment 54

Table 33 Augment Grades and Costs 55Table 34 Augment List 56

Table 35 Drones 61Table 36 Robots 63

Table 37 Drugs 65Table 38 Other Services 67

Table 39 Explosives 69

Table 310 Grenades and Mines 69Table 311 Powered Armor 72

Table 312 Golemmechs 76Table 313 Medical Equipment 77

Table 314 Tap Applications 79Table 315 Accessories amp Electronics 79

Table 316 Melee Weapons 81

Table 317 Pistols 83Table 318 Submachine Guns and Shotguns 84

Table 319 Rifles 85Table 320 heavy Weapons 86

Table 321 Special Weapons 87

Table 322 Missile Launchers and Flame Throwers 88Table 323 Energy Weapons 89

Table 324 Improvised Weapons 90Table 325 Improvised Ranged Weapons 90

Table 326 Cycles and Cars 92

Table 327 Aircraft and VTOLs 95Table 328 Watercraft Trucks and Heavy Vehicles 97

Table 329 Spacecraft 98Table 51 Average Distance (AN) 258

Table 52 Average Travel Times (Days) 259Table 61 Street Cred Rewards and Penalties 265

Table 62 Favors 265

Table 63 Character L ifestyles 265Table 64 Psychotherapy Costs 266

Table 65 Medical Treatment Cost 266Table 66 Vehicle Control Interface 267

Table 67 Golemmech Weapons 271

Table 68 Golemmech Upgrades 272Table 69 Standard TAP Readout 274

Table 610 Active Memory Sector Cost 274Table 611 TAP Firewall Upgrades 274

Table 612 TAP Range Upgrades 275

Table 613 Engram Qualities 275Table 614 Sample Hyper Objects 281

Table 615 Avatar Attack Programs 282Table 616 Avatar Upgrades 282

Table 71 Baseline Payouts 292Table 72 Gang Type 293

Table 73 Gang Size 293

Table 74 Gang Activities 293Table 75 Gang Name Generator 295

Table 76 Contractors 295Table 77 The Mission 296

Table 78 Urban Location 297

Table 79 Non-Urban Location 297Table 710 The Macguffin 299

Table 711 Innocents 300Table 712 Antagonists 300

Table 713 Twists And Complications 301Table 714 Dramatic Conflic t 302

Table 715 Mutant Types 304Table 716 Xenomorph Smarts 305

Table 717 Xenomorph Other Attributes 305

Table 718 Xenomorph Skills 305

Table 719 Xenomorph Skill Dice 305Table 720 Xenomorph Size 305Table 721 Xenomorph Locomotion 305

Table 722 Xenomorph Dermis 305

Table 723 Xenomorph Base Attack 306Table 724 Xenomorph Senses 306

Table 725 Mutations 306Table 726 Drawbacks 306

6

TABLE OF CONTENTS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 729

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 829

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 929

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1029

INTRODUCTION

INFOSOURCE

VIDTAGROADTO2090

LOCAL JACOBSPLAYGROUNDNET

FQDN JACOBSPLAYGROUNDNETCHITOWN06TNTPNSWWGNET

DATA SOURCE MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMESINFODUMP

THE ROAD TO 2090

Posted By Billy_Black_Eyes

So here we are in January 2090 Itrsquos been a couple of yearssince I dropped the last INFODUMP on the world and Irsquom here

to rectify that This massive documentrsquos gonna give you all theinformation you need to get up to speed on the state of the

world along with oodles and oodles of statistical data about

a bunch of subjects including the Global DataNet golem-mechs drones and other emerging technologies Yoursquoll read

about the strange and wonderful people who inhabit thisworld the solar system zeeks and much more Irsquove gath-

ered info from sources all over the world and vetted it to

the best of my ability That said you never know whatrsquos trueand what isnrsquot in this age of main stream media lies govern-

ment propaganda and do-it-yourself journalism so take theinformation (especially in the data dumps about the world)

with a grain of salt

Simba So what are you sayinrsquo Bi lly We canrsquot trust you

Billy_Black_Eyes Thatrsquos not what I said You know fullwell that information especially editorialized info alwayshas a certain slant to it It rsquos also fluid What was true at thetime I acquired it may not necessarily be accurate now

The past two years have seen a number of major eventstake place in the world If just one or two things would have

happened I might think they werenrsquot connected Yet itrsquos as ifsomeone walked up to a house of cards and pulled one card

out The house hasnrsquot completely crashed yet itrsquos in a slow-

motion free fall and the worst part is only a few of us seemto be watching What follows is a br ief overview of the major

events that have shaped the world in which we currently live

Neon_Bright Oh Billy looking at the world with thosedark lenses again are we

Magpie Neon I think he needs a hug )

Billy_Black_Eyes What I need is a ticket to Mars Thingsare about to get crazy and I want off this rock

GROWING TENSIONS IN NORTH AMERICA

The year 2088 was marked by a number of disturbing mdash somesay portentous mdash events involving the North American Coali-

tion the Great Lakes Union and Atlantica

Sane_Prophet ldquoPortentousrdquo Could the scales be fallingoff your black eyes my friend Are you finally coming tounderstand the truth

Billy_Black_Eyes Seriously You again I told you nomystic bull shit

Sane_Prophet Just because you refuse to acknowledgeomens for what they are doesnrsquot make them any less valid

THE HEGEMONY GROWS

The crackdown on zeeks hybrids and synthetic humans in the

NAC reached a boiling point when Congress and the Senateratified the infamous Racial Purity Act a draconic piece of

legislation banning the practice of hybrid and simulacrumcreation All genetic modification parlors and simulacrum

production facilities were ordered to shut down The Racial

Purity Act also outlawed the use of psychic powers within theborders of the nation with hefty fines and even imprisonment

for those caught using them Various watchdog organiza-tions were created the most visible of which is Psi-division

a branch of Stopwatch tasked with monitoring and in some

cases even ldquoneutralizingrdquo psychic threats

Psychopope And by ldquoneutralizingrdquo he means murder

Denver_Must_Burn And forced relocationhellipIrsquom not talkingabout VR prisons ei ther Irsquom talking about the internmentcamps up in Montana and the Dakotas

Simba It was just as bad for hybrids like myself Whenthose genetic modification parlors shut down the pr ivateinformation about their customers was confiscatedunder the auspices of ldquonational securit yrdquo This means theDepartment of National Security (DNS) has the namesand addresses of every hybrid and free sim in the NorthAmerican Coalition If you have a TAP the DNS can trackyour IP too

Luciferion Simba Dude thatrsquos happening with everycitizen regardless of whether or not yoursquore zeek hybridor ldquoPlain Janerdquo human

Denver_Must_Burn All I can say is TRICilicit_behavior Yes DMB The Revolution IS Coming

Instances of racial violence erupted across the North Ameri-

can Coalition as law enforcement officials began arrestingzeeks Some of the more obvious hybrids mdash particularly the

bull bear and rhino variants mdash were also incarcerated Gov-ernments across the continent decried the draconian tactics

and called for UN intervention to no effect The Great Lakes

Union and Atlantica closed their embassies in Denver and sentthe NAC delegates in their cities packing Then on Novem-

ber 13th 2088 a number of terrorist attacks rocked BostonBaltimore and Portland Maine An estimated 2451 people

died and thousands more were injured from the bombings

THE ATLANTICA BOMBINGSWithin hours of the attacks the Global DataNet was flooded

with conspiracy theories the most viral of which speculated

they were carried out by a terrorist group known as Agenda68Some speculated a Canadian black ops unit known as Task-

force Harfang did the deed Others went on to claim the NACwas behind the attacks and still others claimed New Brasilia

or maybe the Chinese Mandarinate were somehow involvedSo-called ldquoconspiracy theorist expertsrdquo such as Sam_Jones

and NERCOTIXX speculated that China long believed to bein bed with the North American Coalition used simulacra to

perform the bombings

10

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1129

NECROTIXX China did carry out the bombings Do theresearch Look into Project Doppelganger and yoursquoll seeThe NAC is just a patsy

Sam_Jones The Mandarinate is becoming an imperialpower Just look at what they are doing with Russia nowand what they have done with all of Southeast Asia Askthe Russian refugees flooding into Seattle if they thinkChina is content to stay within their borders The writingrsquos

on the wall folksSimba It might have been orchestrated by agents workingfor Charon

Luciferion What a load of crap Charon is an AI It doesnrsquothave any contact with humans

Neon_Bright Prove it Simba

As the days stretched into weeks there was still no official

statement from the Atlantica Government about the iden-tity of the perpetrators of the attacks Then on December

15th 2088 a MEDIAfile was uploaded into the Global DataNetbearing the Hyper Tag of a popular underground media-pirate

known as MAXX_footage

The dronersquos feed showed three large muscular men in regular

clothing exit a hover van adjacent to one of the targets of theattacks just moments before it exploded Facial recognitionsoftware identified one of the men as First Sergeant John

Moore a member of the North American Coalition regular army

The MEDIAfile went on to follow the three men as they jumpedinto an unmarked hover car that took off and shot over the

Boston sea wall to land on a freighter bearing Chinese mark-ings The vessel promptly sailed east into international waters

Sorry_U_Asked Isnrsquot it odd how often people retreat tothe water in the wake of disasters How much of the oceanremains unmapped How much is hiding under the wavesthat we havenrsquot even begun to fathom

BatRastard Puns intended Wersquove already got enoughconspiracy theories Can you not add another useless one

to the stinking heap

Sane_Prophet Actually hersquos closer to reality than youmight be comfortable understanding Too much truth canbreak a manrsquos mind

BatRastard Irsquom guessing yours is already fried from afew too many stims man Want to share what yoursquove beendoping

As the situation evolved it became clear that MAXX_footagewent through what can only be described as a nightmarish journey to bring the MEDIAfile into the light of day In what

would be his only interview MAXX_footage appeared via

a secure video-feed on ldquoBoston Tonightrdquomdasha popular showin the nation of Atlantica Millions across the world tuned in

to listen to what he had to say MAXX_footage a tall lanky

young man recounted the events of that day telling how hewas hanging out at his favorite coffee shop when this black

hover van landed right in front of the Emperor Pharmaceuti-cals Arcology about a half a block away

When Penny Pearl mdash the host of the show mdash asked MAXX_

footage how during all the chaos he could have possiblyremembered those details MAXX_footage said he remem-

bered it because the hover van double parked and someonestarted yelling at the three guys who got out Thinking it was

going to result in violence MAXX_footage says he poppedout his Fly on the Wall micro drone and sent i t over to record

the incident Thatrsquos when all hell broke loose

BEGIN THREAD JACK

NECROTIXX Herersquos a transcript of the short interviewPenny couldnrsquot get MAXX back on

BEGIN TRANSCRIPThellip

ldquoOne of the three men shot the guy right in the facerdquo MAXX_

footage says his long thin hands shaking ldquoThey just walked

away and got into a red hover car I sent Judy mdash thatrsquos thename of my drone mdash after them and thatrsquos when the Black

hover van explodedrdquo MAXX_footage goes quiet for a fewseconds and after a couple of probing questions from the

hostess he finishes his story

ldquoAnyhow I get my bearings shake the dust outta my hairand suddenly realize I just captured the perps on Digifilm I

follow the red hover car all the way out past the Sea Wallwhere it lands on this Chinese freighter Judyrsquos pushinrsquo her

range limits at this point so I call her backrdquo He grabs a glassof water his hands shaking

ldquoTell us what happened nextrdquo Penny prompts

ldquoWellrdquo he begins ldquoI get back to my flat mdash it took a while mdash what

with all the chaos goinrsquo on in the lsquoplex and everything mdash andthe place is busted up I mean BIG-TIME amirdquo MAXX_footage

stops again then shakes his head and says ldquoListen I canrsquot sayanything else about that I think theyrsquore still watching mehellip

In fact this interview is done MAXX OUTrdquo The video feed

cuts to white noise

END TRANSCRIPT

END THREAD JACK

The interview and the footage of the event sparked outrage

throughout Atlantica Predictably the NAC government fiercelydenied any involvement in the bombings even going so far

as to demand the arrest and extradition of MAXX_footagefor questioning about the origins of the video

Martin Hughes mdash the president of Atlantica mdash flatly refusedthe NACrsquos demands even going so far as to say that thisMAXX_footage person was a ldquohero of the people of

Atlanticardquo The bookies in the free city of Las Vegas startedgiving even odds that hostilities would break out on the East

Coast within a year

Simba I lost a ton of money on that bet

Luciferion MAXX_footage has gone dark BTW Nobodyhas seen or heard from him since that interview

THE FLARE

On January 26 2089 a massive Earth-directed Y-class solar

flare sparked a Coronal Mass Ejection that bombarded our

planet temporarily shutting down the genie network thatmonitors and updates the TAPrsquos spam and reality filters Withthe genie down every man woman and child with a Tendril

Access Processor was exposed to raw unfiltered Hyper Reality

As you all know this sparked a week of world-wide chaosSprawlers mdash exposed to a storm of spam malware and layer

upon layer of augmented reality advertisements and simu-lated environments mdash went temporarily insane

Sane_Prophet Insanity is a weak word for the weak-minded What may appear as insane to you might simplybe someone having achieved enlightenment and livingaccording to a higher truth

11

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1229

Sorry_U_Asked Irsquom all about questioning the circumstancesbut Irsquom pretty sure all the folks who were murdered duringthese events wouldrsquove labeled them as insane down to a one

Billy_Black_Eyes Whatever dictionary program yoursquorerunning needs a fresh data-dump Prophet

Sane_Prophet Dictionaries are also for the weak-minded

Billy_Black_Eyes Of course they are

The world burned for about a week until programmers couldfix the problem with firmware updates and hot patches to

get the filters up and running and an off switch installedbut the damage was done Itrsquos not known how many people

died in the rioting and madness but cautious estimates oftotal casualties put the number at around 750 million people

and nobody has even tried to calculate the monetary cost

of the riots Strangely however the Flare itself didnrsquot havea widespread impact on various infrastructures like electric

and other powers transportation systems etc In fact manybelieve the Flare wasnrsquot even a solar flare at all but the first

sign of Charonrsquos emergence as a threat to humanity

Luciferion Nobodyrsquos ever proven that Billy

Billy_Black_Eyes Nobody has ever debunked it eitherStatistical data can be hacked Numbers can be fudgedto make things seem more dramatic than they really areEarthquakes register at a certain scale and get downgradedall the time The truth is this is the first time in history thata solar flare has caused such wide-spread chaos It rsquos fishy

Luciferion Irsquoll believe it when I see some hard data

Billy_Black_Eyes Fair enough But the emergence ofCharon around this time isnrsquot even open for debate Itrsquosa fact

THE EURASIAN UNION IMPLODES

On March 15th 2089 the Eurasian Union Central Bank in

Bonn Germany was crashed by a previously unheard-of virusnamed Charon Over forty-five trillion dollars vanished without

a trace All attempts to rebuild the original databases failedSome programmers (and freelance hackers) hired to go in andpurge Charon from the databases lost their lives in the process

Further attempts to rebuild the system on different serverswith backups also failed when programmers realized that

Charon mdash now suspected by many to be an AI mdash had copieditself into the cloud networks containing those backup files

Luciferion Therersquos nothing to suspect Charon is anemergent AI The only question now is whether or not itsparks a singularity event

Nothing_to_see_here Stopwatch will halt it in its tracksThey always catch these things

Luciferion Who do you think died trying to get it out ofthe D-bases in Bonn

Over the next few months an estimated 200 million people

across the Eurasian Union the United Kingdom and Ireland losttheir jobs their homes and their life savings when it became

clear that Charon had found its way into the personal bankaccounts of citizenry across the Eurasian Union

Instances of mob violence skyrocketed as the number of

gangs in the rapidly fracturing Eurasian Union had risen tolevels not seen since the Death mdash the three-year ldquoNuclear

Autumnrdquo following the India-Pakistan war when nuclearweapons were used on a massive scale In the London-Read-

ing Megaplex protests exploded into full-scale violence after

police brutally cracked down on a peaceful protest at the

British parliament building More instances of violent protests

followed in Bristol Swindon and the Manchester-Liverpoolsprawl

On June 27th 2089 the French government was over-

thrown by a fringe political extremist group known as theNew Pirate Party Led by a charismatic young zeek named

Angeacutele Bonheur the New Pirate Party seized power after awild chaotic campaign against representatives of the NationalFront and the Popular Republican Union The elections were

rife with scandal and many of the French didnrsquot (and still donrsquot)like the idea of a French leader being psychic So while Angeacutele

emerged as the clear victor the French military refused toacknowledge her legitimacy President Bonheur responded

by disbanding the armed forces of France at the same time

announcing the privatization of the nationrsquos military throughan agreement with Ravenlocke Securities

Downtrodden Yep itrsquos a sign of things to come ladiesand gents a world-wide corporate coup of governmentsIf you donrsquot think the CEO of Ravenlocke mdash thatrsquos MarkusRaven mdash has a say in the direction this new governmenttakes think again

Luciferion Itrsquos awesome to see France led by a psychicbut letrsquos get real this is going to get much worse beforeit gets better

Magpie I wouldnrsquot be surprised i f she gets wacked

Former Lieutenant-Colonel Adrien Boucher also known as

ldquoAdrien the Butcherrdquo for his brutal suppression of an upris-ing in Marseilles in 2087 took charge of the remnants of

the disbanded French army promising to remove PresidentBonheur from power Within days of Adrienrsquos announcement

Fort Richepance mdash now the Northeastern headquarters for

Ravenlocke Industriesrsquo Storm Crow Golemmech brigade mdash wasattacked The president responded by declaring martial law

throughout France until the renegade movement could be

put down Thus far that hasnrsquot happened though there arereports of clashes between Ravenlocke regulars and sepa-

ratist forces outside of St Etienne and in the French Alps

Warpig This has caused numerous issues If PresidentAngeacutele thinks her countrymen are going to accept theprivatization of the military shersquos sorely mistaken As Billymentions Adrien the Butcher is causing problems buttherersquos more to it Militias are forming They have advancedweaponry and while I wonrsquot speculate as to whorsquos providingthem with those weapons I do know the vast majority ofthe weapons are made by Act of God Armaments

Battle_Mind I know one thing itrsquos a great time to be amercenary

Full_Metal_Cyborg Amen brother Irsquoll see you on the

battlefieldPayne_Man Lock and Load U mushrooms I splatter youn00bs with my AK

Magpie ldquoSighrdquo Stop playing Matrix of War Payne Yousound like a fool This ainrsquot a game

Payne_Man I thought we were talkinrsquo about MOW Ushould C the zones Theyrsquore eggsaklee like the content ofthis INFOdump Have been for a whyle now Evar since thelast expansion dropped in spring 2088

Luciferion hellipOk thatrsquos odd

Payne_Man The CoalitionAtlantica War expansion izzcumin out next month 2 I Kant W8

12

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1329

On June 30th 2089 Germany wracked with political in-

fighting riots in the streets and a general state of chaos

closed its borders Officially the stated reason was for secu-rity reasons stemming from conflict along the border with

France but most people donrsquot believe it Chancellor KonradGerste authorized a financial bailout of the three largest

manufacturers of weapons and military equipment for

the German army The move has frightened many of the

Eastern European nations mdash especially the good people ofPoland mdash who know well what happens when Germans

begin preparing for war and make no mistake Germany ismoving to a war footing

Payne_Man Watch out Zee Germans are cumming LOL

Klaus What Canrsquot my brethren move to protectthemselves from the chaos in France And why the veiledreference to WWII Itrsquos been nearly 150 years since Hitlerrsquosmadness yet nobody allows us to forget it

THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON

As the situation in Europe grew worse China took advantageof the weakened Eurasian Union grabbing up huge swathes

of territory in Russia its armies advancing as far west as the

Ural Mountain range where Russian forces managed to haltthe dragonrsquos advance Still the damage was done By August2089 the Mandarinate had established itself as an occupy-

ing power in every city town and village east of the Ural

Mountains That hasnrsquot stopped the Russians from retaliatinghowever Russian patriots have begun an insurgency attack-

ing Chinese forces wherever they can be found Mandarinatemouthpieces paint the insurgents as terrorists to little effect

as the insurgency swells in number every day

Neon_Bright This isnrsquot just a struggle against Chineseaggression Vast resources have been found ever sinceSiberia began to thaw Irsquom talking about precious mineralsoil even the land is useful for development especiallywhen you consider billions of people live in eastern Asia

Luciferion Agreed Neon

LIFE IN GENERAL

So how have the above events impacted life as we stumbleinto 2090 In numerous ways omae There isnrsquot enough time

to go into great detail about how war the Flare and espe-

cially the rise of Charon have affected the life of the averagesprawler across the world but Irsquo ll go over some of the more

important details Pay attention peeps some of this mightkeep you alive

SURVIVING HYPER REALITY

As I mentioned above when the Flare knocked out the GENIEnetwork it caused widespread chaos And while GENIE is back

up and running there are still glitches in the system Sure

firmware updates to the Tendril Access Processor mdash TAP as itrsquosmore commonly known mdash allow you to turn off that modem

in your brain but wellhelliplet me put it like this Hyper Realityhas become smarter even deadly if you donrsquot have the right

software installed in your TAP

Sane_Prophet Why bother putting up more and morefilters It is senseless A futile fight against powers fargreater than yourself Open your eyes open your mindand set yourself free from this prison of so-called reality

BatRastard Right and then with the first meme to fry myneurons Irsquoll be spending my life savings on the Fat Sallyrsquosdown the block Brilliant

Sane_Prophet Fat Sally rsquos secret sauce is an interdimen-sional gateway into the heights of ecstasy

BatRastard Actually thatrsquos the first thing you and I haveever agreed on

Irsquove discussed this phenomena with numerous program-mers across the world and they all agree virii spam and allmanner of malware that [prior to the Flare] would have been

easy to purge from your head are now behaving much dif-

ferently Itrsquos almost as if the things evolved into somethingnot-quite-sentient but damned close to it

So what does this mean for you

If you choose to experience Hyper Reality (and if you have aTAP in your brain you have) itrsquos only a matter of time before

one of these virii hacks into your brain Therersquos nothing youcan really do about it itrsquos just one of the many fun facts of

life in 2090 I do find it ironic that af ter decades of enjoying

the connectivity and convenience the TAP has provided thistechnology seems to be actively trying to kill us and there

isnrsquot much we can do about it without going back to medi-eval times You know the 1980rsquos Of course some of you out

there will want to turn your TAPs off for good and avoid the

risk entirely Hell some of you might be considering gettingthe damned thing removed

You can do that sure Of course that means yoursquore also

not connected to the grid that makes your life so unbeliev-ably convenient This causes a mult itude of problems Donrsquot

believe me Try walking out of your house Oh right you canrsquotbecause most doors donrsquot have handles anymore Theyrsquore

automated and respond to the signals coming from your TAPI know some are activated by motion sensors and donrsquot rely

on the TAP But no door which is designed with security in

mind will open so easilyThis also means you have almost zero access to vehicles or

places where you can buy things like grocery stores Yeah

sure you can just follow someone else into said store butthe security cameras will spot you and not having a digital

record of your presence (which they get from your TAP) willflag you and dispatch a security team to find out who you

are So there you are in your local Malmart looking for some

cloned steaks to fire up on your grill later on when securitycomes with their big guns and ldquowhat the hell are you doing

here scumbagrdquo looks on their faces to boot you back out intothe streets where you came from

Oh how did you plan on paying for them BTW now that

your TAP is offline and the clerk canrsquot sync her cash register

with your payment software And NO they donrsquot take cashThe point is this omae All that convenience you were usedto goes out the window when you unplug Itrsquos much easier

to get strong firewalls than it is to live outside the system

So think about what I said before you scratch that itch at thebase of your skull with a scalpel

SURVIVING THE STREETS

The streets have always been dangerous thatrsquos a givenWhen you cram millions of people into a concrete and steel

petri dish then forget about 999 of them you create abreeding ground for violence hate and societal devolution

13

INTRODUCTIONLIFE IN GENERAL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1429

on such a scale that social Darwinists like Herbert Spencer and

Thomas Malthus would roll over in their graves

Again that in itself is nothing new The streets have alwaysbeen violent but ever since the events I previously described

came to pass mdash especially the Flare and the implosion of theEurasian Union mdash the number of homeless people across the

world has sky-rocketed The petri dish is frothing and over-

flowing as new gangs emerge mdash and Irsquom talking globally not just in North America mdash and carve out their own terri tory

This upsets the balance ami and makes it harder to survivewhen yoursquore just a blooper looking to make it through the

day because now you have new predators to deal with n00bbangers making up their own rules as they go And the cop-

suckers donrsquot help

Protect and serve What a load of crap

Sure yoursquol l get Triple-A service if you live in one of the moneybubbles but try getting help in say the Aurora Barrens or

the Gary Hell Zone and yoursquore basically fucked Yeah thereare token patrols and the ever-present drones but drones

get shot down and the copsuckers are so outnumbered

most are either so scared to get into an altercation with thepredators or theyrsquore on the take I canrsquot say I blame them

either The streets are a war zone and if you wear the badgeyoursquore marked for death omae So take my advice and get

strapped The only person you can count on in the concrete jungle is you

Sorry_U_Asked Think twice before trying to claim a badgebounty though Sure plenty of honchos love to pay topcredit for proof that yoursquove kept the law from poking aroundtheir territory But just because you see someone wearingone doesnrsquot mean they got it legit Lots of gangers wearthem as trophies So if you drop a shot on a copsuckerthinking yoursquove hit payday you might end up with a wholeband of bangers snarling on your heels

SURVIVING THE GAME

Therersquos an old saying The Game is the Game mdash you eitherplay it or you get played I donrsquot care if you contract free-

lance fight fix hack patch or scam yoursquore in it omae andthat puts you at odds with every other player out there Most

people approach the game as a means to an end thinking

that one shiny day theyrsquoll earn enough creds to go someplacewarm and dry and live out their lives in style These clowns

donrsquot last Theyrsquore so busy dreaming about the good timesthat they lose focus on whatrsquos right in front of their face (or

creeping up behind them) Dreamers get sloppy take short

cuts betray their team and torch their street cred like gutterpunks burn trash in a garbage can to keep warm

If you want to survive the game you need to take a lesson

from these dreamers keep your mind on the job Therersquos nosandy beach waiting for you The megacorps bought them

all and turned lsquoem into parking lots The only fruity drinksyoursquoll ever drink are sold in the local watering hole by some

burned-out ronin The best you can hope for is a litt le bit of

comfort mdash usually behind a small fortress if yoursquore smart mdash andthe respect of the streets But thatrsquos a double-edged sword

another facet of the game Therersquos always someone faster

than you some hungry up-and-comer with the latest aug-ments wanting to prove herself by dealing you out Sucksto be a victim of your own success but thatrsquos the truth of it

My advice Find a way to deal yourself out clean Put some

creds away never burn your contacts and donrsquot ever everbecome a legend

Legends die

14

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1529

CHARACTER

CREATION

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1629

CHAPTER TWOCHARACTER CREATION

Characters are the lifersquos blood of any role-playing game the

focal point of every story Characters represent the best mdash orthe worst mdash ideals of a given game setting their actions either

bringing a small measure of hope to the downtrodden massesor serving to strengthen the status quo In the grim gritty

world of Interface Zero 20 the characters you play walk amonofilament edge between traditional mdash some would say

outdated or just plain irrelevant mdash concepts of good and evilas they make their way in the world

Indeed itrsquos hard to be a moral individual in a world where

most of the animals prowling the concrete jungle believe prin-ciples are character flaws mdash weaknesses to exploit for their

own ends Your morality marks you as prey no doubt aboutit omae But if you can keep your moral code if you can get

your job done without selling your soul yoursquoll get something

most sprawlers never have respect

Evil on the other hand is the same as it always has been

therersquos just more of it The wicked always thrive in a world

where violence fear and control are tools used for self-serv-ing ends but herersquos the thing Acting like an ass can get you

green-lit just as quickly as playing the role of the goody-two-shoes marks you as a sucker amigo

Nobody likes a dickhead even if they donrsquot say it to your

face Sooner or later yoursquoll get a rep for being a hard-assand someone who is stronger meaner or a bigger asshole

than you is going to come along and knock you back to thegutter you crawled out of Thatrsquos why most people keep their

heads down and their mouths shut Donrsquot make eye contact

itrsquos a challenge to the predators and if you donrsquot have thestones to back up the challenge yoursquore nothing but meat

But if you can stay strong and defeat all comers that com-mands respect too

This chapter provides you with the tools you need to make

a character for Interface Zero 20 The process is the same ascreating a character for any Savage Worlds game with a few

additions Interface Zero 20 introduces Street Cred Contactsand Strain to the game

STEP 1 CONCEPT

The first thing you need to do is decide on a concept for your

character Will you play a hacker Perhaps a mercenary orbounty hunter is more your speed Are mercs and hunters toocutthroat for your style of play If so you might think about

playing a ronin an urban warrior who follows his own code

of honor Maybe you want to be the guy (or gal) who backsthe team up with drones capable of laying down covering

fire or scouting ahead to see where the bad guys are hiding

You donrsquot need to have your concept locked in right now butat least have a basic idea of the type of character you want

to play Take a few minutes and skip ahead to the archetypessection in this chapter to see a variety of options available

to you

STEP 2 RACEThe next thing you need to do is choose a race In 2090

humanity has reached the point where the word ldquohumanrdquo is

almost irrelevant Human DNA is no longer a mystery Itrsquos amathematical code technomancers hack re-write and copy

at will producing genetically superior beings the Human 20

Others snip and paste animal DNA and splice it with humanDNA to create genetic hybrids a fusion of man and animal

Science has even advanced to such an extent that we can

create entirely new life forms mdash living beings known as simula-cra mdash in amniotic vats growing them until they have matured

filling their synthetic brains with memories and skills theyrsquollneed to do the jobs for which they were created

STEP 3 TRAITS

Traits are the building blocks of any Savage Worlds character

They define how strong or fast your character is and what

she knows Traits determine how much cyberware she canput into her body how much damage she can take before

dying her standing with others and a variety of other thingsall of which are essential to the game

ATTRIBUTES

Five attributes are used to define your characterrsquos physi-cal characteristics These are Agility Smarts Spirit Strength

and Vigor Each attribute starts at d4 You have 5 points withwhich to raise these attr ibutes and one point equals a risein a die type (d4 to d6 d6 to d8 etc) No attribute may rise

higher than d12 during character creation unless stated undera racial ability For more information on attributes refer to

the Savage Worlds core rules

SKILLS

You have 15 points to spend on your characterrsquos skills Your

character doesnrsquot start with any skills and must spend 1 pointto get a skill at a d4 He spends 1 point to raise a skill to a

higher die type as long as the skill level is equal to or less

than the linked attribute Raising any skill above the linkedattribute costs 2 points per step No skill may rise above d12

during character creation

Note If you are using the skill specializations rules you get 20points for skills and each new specialization costs 1 skill point

during character creation When your character advances shemay purchase 2 skill specializations for an advance or a new

skill and a single specialization

NEW SKILLS

The following are new skills introduced in Interface Zero 20

For information on all other skills see Skills in the Savage

Worlds core rules

16

CHARACTER CREATIONCONCEPT RACE TRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1729

Hacking (Smarts) The Hacking skill is used whenever a

character wants to hack a computer network Characters in

Interface Zero 20 no longer start with an automatic d4 inHacking Additionally characters who wish to use the Global

DataNet for everyday purposes such as research or findingnews pertaining to the Deep do so with their existing Inves-

tigation and Streetwise skills

Knowledge (Demolitions) Successful use of demolitions canmean the difference between destruction of the target as

planned and unplanned loss of life and property The skill also

lets the character have an understanding of what the besttype of explosive is for the obstacle and how much they will

need to remove such an obstacle In addition a raise on theresult will let them know the exact distance they need to be

from the explosion based upon the size of the charge the con-

fines and damage created by said explosion This skill is usedany time a character wants to put a satchel charge together

or set explosives A Critical Failure will result in immediatedetonation Simple failure will result in premature detonation

or no detonation at all

Knowledge (Programming) Characters use this skill when

attempting to make any kind of change to a network theyhave hacked This skill allows a character to undo damagedone as a result of a hack With it a character can do things

like undo an edit to a data file or video reconstruct a deleted

file repair an AMS (see Active Memory Sectors on page 274in the Sett ing Rules chapter) recover a deleted skill Engram

or reconnect a TAP that has gone offline

OPTIONAL RULE SKILL SPECIALIZATIONS

Interface Zero 20 is an advanced setting where knowing

how to do one thing doesnrsquot necessarily mean you can dosomething which under the regular skill rules would techni-

cally be possible with the same skill Take the various DrivingBoating and Piloting skills for example

Using the regular skill rules a character with Driving couldtheoretically drive anything from a motorcycle to a semi-truckor a tank Similarly Piloting assumes a character has the skills

to pilot all types of aircraft including fighter jets and space-

craft Pinnacle Entertainment addressed this issue by addingthe Skill Specialization setting rule in the Savage Worlds core

rules and it is highly recommended that those rules are usedfor Interface Zero 20

The following list of skill specializations are provided to get

you started This isnrsquot intended to be a comprehensive listof appropriate skill specializations but rather a broad cross

section of specializations we feel are appropriate If some-thing doesnrsquot appear on the list make it up if it seems right

But remember the GM always has the final say on what is or

isnrsquot appropriate for her campaign

SUGGESTED SPECIALIZATIONS

bull Boating Powered Sailed Submersible

bull Climbing Mountaineering Rappelling Rope

bull Driving Car (4 wheels) Hovercraft JUMP Bike MotorcycleTruck (6+ wheels) Tracked

bull Fighting Axe Blades Blunt Cyberweapon Long Blade

Martial arts (by style judo karate etc) Pole Arm

bull Gambling By game

bull Hacking Hyper Combat Firewall Penetration Intrusion

Detection Object Control Object Editing Run ProgramTrace

bull Healing Cyber Surgery First Aid Surgery

bull Intimidation Interrogation Mental Physical

bull Investigation Archives Global DataNet Libraries

Newspapers

bull Knowledge Each Knowledge skill is technically a special-

ization of Knowledge so it isnrsquot broken down into furtherspecializations

Suggested Knowledge Skills AIs Battle Corporations

Cybernetics Demolitions Global DataNet Local Area (spe-cific) Politics Programing

bull Lockpicking Disarm Trap Electronic Manual

bull Notice Audio Body Language Searching Visual

bull Persuasion Bluffing Diplomacy Fast-Talking Seduction

bull Piloting Golemmech Helicopter Plane Spacecraft VTOL

bull Psionics Freek Peek Tweek

bull Repair Armor Cybernetics Electronics Mechanical Struc-tures Weapons

bull Riding By animal

TO SPECIALIZE OR NOT TO SPECIALIZE

17

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1829

bull Shooting Bow Pistol Rifle Shotgun Submachine GunVehicle Weapon or by weapon category

bull Stealth Disguise Hiding Sleight of Hand Sneaking

bull Streetwise AreaRegion (Corporate Zone Gang Turf etc)

bull Survival Aquatic Arctic Desert Forest Jungle MountainSpace urban or any specific environment

bull Swimming Lake Ocean SCUBA Divingbull Taunt Verbal Visual

bull Throwing Darts Grenades Knives Spears

bull Tracking Animals Global DataNet Humans Urban

Vehicles

OPTIONAL SKILL ATHLETICS

Rather than breaking up basic things like Climbing and Swim-ming it is recommended to combine them into a single skill

which would allow for specialization

Athletics (Vigor) Athletics as a catch-all for a number ofphysical endeavors ranging from climbing to swimming to

moving around effectively in a no mdash or low-gravity environ-

ment Athletics should be used instead of Agility in foot chasesand effectively replaces both the Climbing and Swimming skills

Specializations Climbing Leaping Running Sport (specific)

Swimming Zero-G Maneuvers

LANGUAGES

All characters speak their native language plus a number ofadditional languages equaling one-half their Smarts die The

major trade languages used in Interface Zero 20 are Chinese

English Hindi Portuguese and Swahili Additional languagescan be learned by using an advancement opportunity

DERIVED STATISTICS

There are a few statistics which are important in any SavageWorlds game Charisma Pace Parry and Toughness

CHARISMA

Charisma is an abstract measure of your characterrsquos appear-ance how she deals with others socially and generally how

likeable she is Charisma starts at 0 but can be modified byEdges and Hindrances Charisma is also added to Streetwise

and Persuasion rolls The Game Master uses Charisma to figure

out how NPCrsquos react to your character For more informationon Charisma see the Savage Worlds core rules

PACE

Pace is a measure of how far your character can walk in a

standard combat round Human characters have a base Paceof 6 and can run at an additional 1d6rdquo Other races in Interface

Zero 20 can have different starting Pace scores based on the

racial template you choose For more information on Pacesee the Savage Worlds core rules

PARRY

Parry is equal to 2 plus half your characterrsquos Fighting skillplus modifiers gained from use of shields or certain weapons

If your character does not have the Fighting skill base Parry

starts at 2 For more information on Parry see the SavageWorlds core rules

TOUGHNESS

Toughness is a measure of how much damage your character

can take before becoming Shaken or wounded Toughness is2 plus half your characterrsquos Vigor plus any armor she might

be wearing For more information on Toughness see the

Savage Worlds core rules

NEW DERIVED STATSInterface Zero 20 introduces three new derived statis-

tics mdash Firewall Strain and Street Cred

FIREWALL

Unless your character has the Unplugged Hindrance she hasa Tendril Access Processor (TAP) and therefore has a built-

in firewall The firewall protects against attempts to hack a

characterrsquos TAP A characterrsquos Firewall rating star ts at 4 but

can be modified by Edges Hindrances or software

STRAIN

Strain measures the amount of stress cyberware and biowareputs on your body when you install it Strain starts at zero

and each piece of cyberware adds to your Strain stat Highlevels of Strain can lead to death More details on Strain are

located at Augments on page 262

STREET CRED

Street Cred is a measure of your character rsquos reputation on

the streets All characters begin play with 2 points of StreetCred modified by Edges or Hindrances and gain another 2

points every time they gain a new Rank The maximum StreetCred a character can normally achieve is 10 (some Edges and

Occupations can increase this number)

Unlike Charisma which measures your ability to persuadesomeone Street Cred is a point pool that can be spent to

obtain services temporary contacts information and a variety

of other benefits during the course of an adventure This poolrefreshes each adventure unless circumstances in the prior

adventure (like not getting the job done failing to protectsomeone killing an innocent etc) cause the characterrsquos Street

Cred score to drop

Characters can also pick up Minor or Major Hindrances thathave a lasting effect on their Street Cred score during the

course of an adventure These Hindrances can be removedby spending an Advance with the GMrsquos permission For more

information see Street Cred on page 264

CONTACTS

Each character can choose two contacts people the character

knows who he can call upon for aid or information during thecourse of an adventure These contacts can be anyone froma bartender or a hacker to a corporate executive or military

commander as long as it makes sense that your characterwould know the person(s)

STEP 4 OCCUPATIONS

Occupations are integral to your character concept providinga basic framework to enhance your characterrsquos background in

a very organic way helping you create a more well-rounded

18

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1929

character concept Each occupation has a requirement that thecharacter must meet to take it the characterrsquos bonus credits

gained each Advance and a special perk (like gear or specialabilities) the character gets for being part of that profession

STEP 5 EDGES AND HINDRANCES

Edges are special qualities that separate characters from theaverage sprawler Hindrances are physical and mental flaws

that add more depth to the character albeit in a negativeway See the Savage Worlds core rules for more information

on purchasing Edges and Hindrances New Edges and Hin-drances are provided later in this chapter

STEP 6 EQUIPMENT

In Interface Zero 20 characters select equipment cybernet-ics weapons and armor based on the power level the Game

Master sets for the campaign

Power Level This is the starting Power Level of the Cam-

paign as determined by the Game Master If the GM wants totell a story of gang members barely scraping by shersquoll mostlikely choose Gutter Punk as the Power Level If she envi-

sions a campaign where the players are a special governmenttask force dedicated to hunting down super terrorists the

Hyperchrome Warriors or Elite Operatives levels might be

more appropriate The Street Soldier Power Level (designedfor ronin-style games) is considered the default Power Level

for Interface Zero 20

Starting Credits This is the amount of money characters

start with at the beginning of the campaign These credits

may be spent on anything the player wishes and the GM hasnot barred from the campaign including augments drones

weapons and armor

Augments Every Power Level above Gutter Punk allows theplayers to start with at least one augment from the core book

equal to or below the monetary amount listed Unspent Creditsfrom this pool do not carry over when the game starts These

augments must be chosen from the master list of augments

not augment packages

STEP 7 BACKGROUND

They say the devil is in the details and here is where you

decide how devilish yoursquore going to be You donrsquot need towrite a novel and frankly this step isnrsquot mandatory That said

itrsquos a good idea to jot down a few notes on your characterrsquosbackground any major events in her life any friends the

names of contacts or even enemies she might have Share

these ideas with your Game Master GMs are always lookingfor good plot hooks and little tidbits they can use to person-

alize your experience at the table The more detailed yourbackground is the better

ARCHETYPESSometimes you may want to quickly create a character for

a one-shot or convention adventure For those occasions anArchetype is a good choice

All are built for a human character with two Edges If you wish

to play a race other than human simply plug in the statisticaldata If yoursquore playing a human you

can choose another Edge Thenchoose your gear based on the

Power Level your group haschosen give the character

a name and yoursquore ready

to go

19

ARCHETYPES

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2029

AGENT

BOUNTY HUNTER

20

AGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

20

ARCHETYPESAGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2129

CYBERMONK

DRONE JOCKEY

21

CYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

21

ARCHETYPESCYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 7: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 729

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 829

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 929

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1029

INTRODUCTION

INFOSOURCE

VIDTAGROADTO2090

LOCAL JACOBSPLAYGROUNDNET

FQDN JACOBSPLAYGROUNDNETCHITOWN06TNTPNSWWGNET

DATA SOURCE MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMESINFODUMP

THE ROAD TO 2090

Posted By Billy_Black_Eyes

So here we are in January 2090 Itrsquos been a couple of yearssince I dropped the last INFODUMP on the world and Irsquom here

to rectify that This massive documentrsquos gonna give you all theinformation you need to get up to speed on the state of the

world along with oodles and oodles of statistical data about

a bunch of subjects including the Global DataNet golem-mechs drones and other emerging technologies Yoursquoll read

about the strange and wonderful people who inhabit thisworld the solar system zeeks and much more Irsquove gath-

ered info from sources all over the world and vetted it to

the best of my ability That said you never know whatrsquos trueand what isnrsquot in this age of main stream media lies govern-

ment propaganda and do-it-yourself journalism so take theinformation (especially in the data dumps about the world)

with a grain of salt

Simba So what are you sayinrsquo Bi lly We canrsquot trust you

Billy_Black_Eyes Thatrsquos not what I said You know fullwell that information especially editorialized info alwayshas a certain slant to it It rsquos also fluid What was true at thetime I acquired it may not necessarily be accurate now

The past two years have seen a number of major eventstake place in the world If just one or two things would have

happened I might think they werenrsquot connected Yet itrsquos as ifsomeone walked up to a house of cards and pulled one card

out The house hasnrsquot completely crashed yet itrsquos in a slow-

motion free fall and the worst part is only a few of us seemto be watching What follows is a br ief overview of the major

events that have shaped the world in which we currently live

Neon_Bright Oh Billy looking at the world with thosedark lenses again are we

Magpie Neon I think he needs a hug )

Billy_Black_Eyes What I need is a ticket to Mars Thingsare about to get crazy and I want off this rock

GROWING TENSIONS IN NORTH AMERICA

The year 2088 was marked by a number of disturbing mdash somesay portentous mdash events involving the North American Coali-

tion the Great Lakes Union and Atlantica

Sane_Prophet ldquoPortentousrdquo Could the scales be fallingoff your black eyes my friend Are you finally coming tounderstand the truth

Billy_Black_Eyes Seriously You again I told you nomystic bull shit

Sane_Prophet Just because you refuse to acknowledgeomens for what they are doesnrsquot make them any less valid

THE HEGEMONY GROWS

The crackdown on zeeks hybrids and synthetic humans in the

NAC reached a boiling point when Congress and the Senateratified the infamous Racial Purity Act a draconic piece of

legislation banning the practice of hybrid and simulacrumcreation All genetic modification parlors and simulacrum

production facilities were ordered to shut down The Racial

Purity Act also outlawed the use of psychic powers within theborders of the nation with hefty fines and even imprisonment

for those caught using them Various watchdog organiza-tions were created the most visible of which is Psi-division

a branch of Stopwatch tasked with monitoring and in some

cases even ldquoneutralizingrdquo psychic threats

Psychopope And by ldquoneutralizingrdquo he means murder

Denver_Must_Burn And forced relocationhellipIrsquom not talkingabout VR prisons ei ther Irsquom talking about the internmentcamps up in Montana and the Dakotas

Simba It was just as bad for hybrids like myself Whenthose genetic modification parlors shut down the pr ivateinformation about their customers was confiscatedunder the auspices of ldquonational securit yrdquo This means theDepartment of National Security (DNS) has the namesand addresses of every hybrid and free sim in the NorthAmerican Coalition If you have a TAP the DNS can trackyour IP too

Luciferion Simba Dude thatrsquos happening with everycitizen regardless of whether or not yoursquore zeek hybridor ldquoPlain Janerdquo human

Denver_Must_Burn All I can say is TRICilicit_behavior Yes DMB The Revolution IS Coming

Instances of racial violence erupted across the North Ameri-

can Coalition as law enforcement officials began arrestingzeeks Some of the more obvious hybrids mdash particularly the

bull bear and rhino variants mdash were also incarcerated Gov-ernments across the continent decried the draconian tactics

and called for UN intervention to no effect The Great Lakes

Union and Atlantica closed their embassies in Denver and sentthe NAC delegates in their cities packing Then on Novem-

ber 13th 2088 a number of terrorist attacks rocked BostonBaltimore and Portland Maine An estimated 2451 people

died and thousands more were injured from the bombings

THE ATLANTICA BOMBINGSWithin hours of the attacks the Global DataNet was flooded

with conspiracy theories the most viral of which speculated

they were carried out by a terrorist group known as Agenda68Some speculated a Canadian black ops unit known as Task-

force Harfang did the deed Others went on to claim the NACwas behind the attacks and still others claimed New Brasilia

or maybe the Chinese Mandarinate were somehow involvedSo-called ldquoconspiracy theorist expertsrdquo such as Sam_Jones

and NERCOTIXX speculated that China long believed to bein bed with the North American Coalition used simulacra to

perform the bombings

10

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1129

NECROTIXX China did carry out the bombings Do theresearch Look into Project Doppelganger and yoursquoll seeThe NAC is just a patsy

Sam_Jones The Mandarinate is becoming an imperialpower Just look at what they are doing with Russia nowand what they have done with all of Southeast Asia Askthe Russian refugees flooding into Seattle if they thinkChina is content to stay within their borders The writingrsquos

on the wall folksSimba It might have been orchestrated by agents workingfor Charon

Luciferion What a load of crap Charon is an AI It doesnrsquothave any contact with humans

Neon_Bright Prove it Simba

As the days stretched into weeks there was still no official

statement from the Atlantica Government about the iden-tity of the perpetrators of the attacks Then on December

15th 2088 a MEDIAfile was uploaded into the Global DataNetbearing the Hyper Tag of a popular underground media-pirate

known as MAXX_footage

The dronersquos feed showed three large muscular men in regular

clothing exit a hover van adjacent to one of the targets of theattacks just moments before it exploded Facial recognitionsoftware identified one of the men as First Sergeant John

Moore a member of the North American Coalition regular army

The MEDIAfile went on to follow the three men as they jumpedinto an unmarked hover car that took off and shot over the

Boston sea wall to land on a freighter bearing Chinese mark-ings The vessel promptly sailed east into international waters

Sorry_U_Asked Isnrsquot it odd how often people retreat tothe water in the wake of disasters How much of the oceanremains unmapped How much is hiding under the wavesthat we havenrsquot even begun to fathom

BatRastard Puns intended Wersquove already got enoughconspiracy theories Can you not add another useless one

to the stinking heap

Sane_Prophet Actually hersquos closer to reality than youmight be comfortable understanding Too much truth canbreak a manrsquos mind

BatRastard Irsquom guessing yours is already fried from afew too many stims man Want to share what yoursquove beendoping

As the situation evolved it became clear that MAXX_footagewent through what can only be described as a nightmarish journey to bring the MEDIAfile into the light of day In what

would be his only interview MAXX_footage appeared via

a secure video-feed on ldquoBoston Tonightrdquomdasha popular showin the nation of Atlantica Millions across the world tuned in

to listen to what he had to say MAXX_footage a tall lanky

young man recounted the events of that day telling how hewas hanging out at his favorite coffee shop when this black

hover van landed right in front of the Emperor Pharmaceuti-cals Arcology about a half a block away

When Penny Pearl mdash the host of the show mdash asked MAXX_

footage how during all the chaos he could have possiblyremembered those details MAXX_footage said he remem-

bered it because the hover van double parked and someonestarted yelling at the three guys who got out Thinking it was

going to result in violence MAXX_footage says he poppedout his Fly on the Wall micro drone and sent i t over to record

the incident Thatrsquos when all hell broke loose

BEGIN THREAD JACK

NECROTIXX Herersquos a transcript of the short interviewPenny couldnrsquot get MAXX back on

BEGIN TRANSCRIPThellip

ldquoOne of the three men shot the guy right in the facerdquo MAXX_

footage says his long thin hands shaking ldquoThey just walked

away and got into a red hover car I sent Judy mdash thatrsquos thename of my drone mdash after them and thatrsquos when the Black

hover van explodedrdquo MAXX_footage goes quiet for a fewseconds and after a couple of probing questions from the

hostess he finishes his story

ldquoAnyhow I get my bearings shake the dust outta my hairand suddenly realize I just captured the perps on Digifilm I

follow the red hover car all the way out past the Sea Wallwhere it lands on this Chinese freighter Judyrsquos pushinrsquo her

range limits at this point so I call her backrdquo He grabs a glassof water his hands shaking

ldquoTell us what happened nextrdquo Penny prompts

ldquoWellrdquo he begins ldquoI get back to my flat mdash it took a while mdash what

with all the chaos goinrsquo on in the lsquoplex and everything mdash andthe place is busted up I mean BIG-TIME amirdquo MAXX_footage

stops again then shakes his head and says ldquoListen I canrsquot sayanything else about that I think theyrsquore still watching mehellip

In fact this interview is done MAXX OUTrdquo The video feed

cuts to white noise

END TRANSCRIPT

END THREAD JACK

The interview and the footage of the event sparked outrage

throughout Atlantica Predictably the NAC government fiercelydenied any involvement in the bombings even going so far

as to demand the arrest and extradition of MAXX_footagefor questioning about the origins of the video

Martin Hughes mdash the president of Atlantica mdash flatly refusedthe NACrsquos demands even going so far as to say that thisMAXX_footage person was a ldquohero of the people of

Atlanticardquo The bookies in the free city of Las Vegas startedgiving even odds that hostilities would break out on the East

Coast within a year

Simba I lost a ton of money on that bet

Luciferion MAXX_footage has gone dark BTW Nobodyhas seen or heard from him since that interview

THE FLARE

On January 26 2089 a massive Earth-directed Y-class solar

flare sparked a Coronal Mass Ejection that bombarded our

planet temporarily shutting down the genie network thatmonitors and updates the TAPrsquos spam and reality filters Withthe genie down every man woman and child with a Tendril

Access Processor was exposed to raw unfiltered Hyper Reality

As you all know this sparked a week of world-wide chaosSprawlers mdash exposed to a storm of spam malware and layer

upon layer of augmented reality advertisements and simu-lated environments mdash went temporarily insane

Sane_Prophet Insanity is a weak word for the weak-minded What may appear as insane to you might simplybe someone having achieved enlightenment and livingaccording to a higher truth

11

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1229

Sorry_U_Asked Irsquom all about questioning the circumstancesbut Irsquom pretty sure all the folks who were murdered duringthese events wouldrsquove labeled them as insane down to a one

Billy_Black_Eyes Whatever dictionary program yoursquorerunning needs a fresh data-dump Prophet

Sane_Prophet Dictionaries are also for the weak-minded

Billy_Black_Eyes Of course they are

The world burned for about a week until programmers couldfix the problem with firmware updates and hot patches to

get the filters up and running and an off switch installedbut the damage was done Itrsquos not known how many people

died in the rioting and madness but cautious estimates oftotal casualties put the number at around 750 million people

and nobody has even tried to calculate the monetary cost

of the riots Strangely however the Flare itself didnrsquot havea widespread impact on various infrastructures like electric

and other powers transportation systems etc In fact manybelieve the Flare wasnrsquot even a solar flare at all but the first

sign of Charonrsquos emergence as a threat to humanity

Luciferion Nobodyrsquos ever proven that Billy

Billy_Black_Eyes Nobody has ever debunked it eitherStatistical data can be hacked Numbers can be fudgedto make things seem more dramatic than they really areEarthquakes register at a certain scale and get downgradedall the time The truth is this is the first time in history thata solar flare has caused such wide-spread chaos It rsquos fishy

Luciferion Irsquoll believe it when I see some hard data

Billy_Black_Eyes Fair enough But the emergence ofCharon around this time isnrsquot even open for debate Itrsquosa fact

THE EURASIAN UNION IMPLODES

On March 15th 2089 the Eurasian Union Central Bank in

Bonn Germany was crashed by a previously unheard-of virusnamed Charon Over forty-five trillion dollars vanished without

a trace All attempts to rebuild the original databases failedSome programmers (and freelance hackers) hired to go in andpurge Charon from the databases lost their lives in the process

Further attempts to rebuild the system on different serverswith backups also failed when programmers realized that

Charon mdash now suspected by many to be an AI mdash had copieditself into the cloud networks containing those backup files

Luciferion Therersquos nothing to suspect Charon is anemergent AI The only question now is whether or not itsparks a singularity event

Nothing_to_see_here Stopwatch will halt it in its tracksThey always catch these things

Luciferion Who do you think died trying to get it out ofthe D-bases in Bonn

Over the next few months an estimated 200 million people

across the Eurasian Union the United Kingdom and Ireland losttheir jobs their homes and their life savings when it became

clear that Charon had found its way into the personal bankaccounts of citizenry across the Eurasian Union

Instances of mob violence skyrocketed as the number of

gangs in the rapidly fracturing Eurasian Union had risen tolevels not seen since the Death mdash the three-year ldquoNuclear

Autumnrdquo following the India-Pakistan war when nuclearweapons were used on a massive scale In the London-Read-

ing Megaplex protests exploded into full-scale violence after

police brutally cracked down on a peaceful protest at the

British parliament building More instances of violent protests

followed in Bristol Swindon and the Manchester-Liverpoolsprawl

On June 27th 2089 the French government was over-

thrown by a fringe political extremist group known as theNew Pirate Party Led by a charismatic young zeek named

Angeacutele Bonheur the New Pirate Party seized power after awild chaotic campaign against representatives of the NationalFront and the Popular Republican Union The elections were

rife with scandal and many of the French didnrsquot (and still donrsquot)like the idea of a French leader being psychic So while Angeacutele

emerged as the clear victor the French military refused toacknowledge her legitimacy President Bonheur responded

by disbanding the armed forces of France at the same time

announcing the privatization of the nationrsquos military throughan agreement with Ravenlocke Securities

Downtrodden Yep itrsquos a sign of things to come ladiesand gents a world-wide corporate coup of governmentsIf you donrsquot think the CEO of Ravenlocke mdash thatrsquos MarkusRaven mdash has a say in the direction this new governmenttakes think again

Luciferion Itrsquos awesome to see France led by a psychicbut letrsquos get real this is going to get much worse beforeit gets better

Magpie I wouldnrsquot be surprised i f she gets wacked

Former Lieutenant-Colonel Adrien Boucher also known as

ldquoAdrien the Butcherrdquo for his brutal suppression of an upris-ing in Marseilles in 2087 took charge of the remnants of

the disbanded French army promising to remove PresidentBonheur from power Within days of Adrienrsquos announcement

Fort Richepance mdash now the Northeastern headquarters for

Ravenlocke Industriesrsquo Storm Crow Golemmech brigade mdash wasattacked The president responded by declaring martial law

throughout France until the renegade movement could be

put down Thus far that hasnrsquot happened though there arereports of clashes between Ravenlocke regulars and sepa-

ratist forces outside of St Etienne and in the French Alps

Warpig This has caused numerous issues If PresidentAngeacutele thinks her countrymen are going to accept theprivatization of the military shersquos sorely mistaken As Billymentions Adrien the Butcher is causing problems buttherersquos more to it Militias are forming They have advancedweaponry and while I wonrsquot speculate as to whorsquos providingthem with those weapons I do know the vast majority ofthe weapons are made by Act of God Armaments

Battle_Mind I know one thing itrsquos a great time to be amercenary

Full_Metal_Cyborg Amen brother Irsquoll see you on the

battlefieldPayne_Man Lock and Load U mushrooms I splatter youn00bs with my AK

Magpie ldquoSighrdquo Stop playing Matrix of War Payne Yousound like a fool This ainrsquot a game

Payne_Man I thought we were talkinrsquo about MOW Ushould C the zones Theyrsquore eggsaklee like the content ofthis INFOdump Have been for a whyle now Evar since thelast expansion dropped in spring 2088

Luciferion hellipOk thatrsquos odd

Payne_Man The CoalitionAtlantica War expansion izzcumin out next month 2 I Kant W8

12

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1329

On June 30th 2089 Germany wracked with political in-

fighting riots in the streets and a general state of chaos

closed its borders Officially the stated reason was for secu-rity reasons stemming from conflict along the border with

France but most people donrsquot believe it Chancellor KonradGerste authorized a financial bailout of the three largest

manufacturers of weapons and military equipment for

the German army The move has frightened many of the

Eastern European nations mdash especially the good people ofPoland mdash who know well what happens when Germans

begin preparing for war and make no mistake Germany ismoving to a war footing

Payne_Man Watch out Zee Germans are cumming LOL

Klaus What Canrsquot my brethren move to protectthemselves from the chaos in France And why the veiledreference to WWII Itrsquos been nearly 150 years since Hitlerrsquosmadness yet nobody allows us to forget it

THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON

As the situation in Europe grew worse China took advantageof the weakened Eurasian Union grabbing up huge swathes

of territory in Russia its armies advancing as far west as the

Ural Mountain range where Russian forces managed to haltthe dragonrsquos advance Still the damage was done By August2089 the Mandarinate had established itself as an occupy-

ing power in every city town and village east of the Ural

Mountains That hasnrsquot stopped the Russians from retaliatinghowever Russian patriots have begun an insurgency attack-

ing Chinese forces wherever they can be found Mandarinatemouthpieces paint the insurgents as terrorists to little effect

as the insurgency swells in number every day

Neon_Bright This isnrsquot just a struggle against Chineseaggression Vast resources have been found ever sinceSiberia began to thaw Irsquom talking about precious mineralsoil even the land is useful for development especiallywhen you consider billions of people live in eastern Asia

Luciferion Agreed Neon

LIFE IN GENERAL

So how have the above events impacted life as we stumbleinto 2090 In numerous ways omae There isnrsquot enough time

to go into great detail about how war the Flare and espe-

cially the rise of Charon have affected the life of the averagesprawler across the world but Irsquo ll go over some of the more

important details Pay attention peeps some of this mightkeep you alive

SURVIVING HYPER REALITY

As I mentioned above when the Flare knocked out the GENIEnetwork it caused widespread chaos And while GENIE is back

up and running there are still glitches in the system Sure

firmware updates to the Tendril Access Processor mdash TAP as itrsquosmore commonly known mdash allow you to turn off that modem

in your brain but wellhelliplet me put it like this Hyper Realityhas become smarter even deadly if you donrsquot have the right

software installed in your TAP

Sane_Prophet Why bother putting up more and morefilters It is senseless A futile fight against powers fargreater than yourself Open your eyes open your mindand set yourself free from this prison of so-called reality

BatRastard Right and then with the first meme to fry myneurons Irsquoll be spending my life savings on the Fat Sallyrsquosdown the block Brilliant

Sane_Prophet Fat Sally rsquos secret sauce is an interdimen-sional gateway into the heights of ecstasy

BatRastard Actually thatrsquos the first thing you and I haveever agreed on

Irsquove discussed this phenomena with numerous program-mers across the world and they all agree virii spam and allmanner of malware that [prior to the Flare] would have been

easy to purge from your head are now behaving much dif-

ferently Itrsquos almost as if the things evolved into somethingnot-quite-sentient but damned close to it

So what does this mean for you

If you choose to experience Hyper Reality (and if you have aTAP in your brain you have) itrsquos only a matter of time before

one of these virii hacks into your brain Therersquos nothing youcan really do about it itrsquos just one of the many fun facts of

life in 2090 I do find it ironic that af ter decades of enjoying

the connectivity and convenience the TAP has provided thistechnology seems to be actively trying to kill us and there

isnrsquot much we can do about it without going back to medi-eval times You know the 1980rsquos Of course some of you out

there will want to turn your TAPs off for good and avoid the

risk entirely Hell some of you might be considering gettingthe damned thing removed

You can do that sure Of course that means yoursquore also

not connected to the grid that makes your life so unbeliev-ably convenient This causes a mult itude of problems Donrsquot

believe me Try walking out of your house Oh right you canrsquotbecause most doors donrsquot have handles anymore Theyrsquore

automated and respond to the signals coming from your TAPI know some are activated by motion sensors and donrsquot rely

on the TAP But no door which is designed with security in

mind will open so easilyThis also means you have almost zero access to vehicles or

places where you can buy things like grocery stores Yeah

sure you can just follow someone else into said store butthe security cameras will spot you and not having a digital

record of your presence (which they get from your TAP) willflag you and dispatch a security team to find out who you

are So there you are in your local Malmart looking for some

cloned steaks to fire up on your grill later on when securitycomes with their big guns and ldquowhat the hell are you doing

here scumbagrdquo looks on their faces to boot you back out intothe streets where you came from

Oh how did you plan on paying for them BTW now that

your TAP is offline and the clerk canrsquot sync her cash register

with your payment software And NO they donrsquot take cashThe point is this omae All that convenience you were usedto goes out the window when you unplug Itrsquos much easier

to get strong firewalls than it is to live outside the system

So think about what I said before you scratch that itch at thebase of your skull with a scalpel

SURVIVING THE STREETS

The streets have always been dangerous thatrsquos a givenWhen you cram millions of people into a concrete and steel

petri dish then forget about 999 of them you create abreeding ground for violence hate and societal devolution

13

INTRODUCTIONLIFE IN GENERAL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1429

on such a scale that social Darwinists like Herbert Spencer and

Thomas Malthus would roll over in their graves

Again that in itself is nothing new The streets have alwaysbeen violent but ever since the events I previously described

came to pass mdash especially the Flare and the implosion of theEurasian Union mdash the number of homeless people across the

world has sky-rocketed The petri dish is frothing and over-

flowing as new gangs emerge mdash and Irsquom talking globally not just in North America mdash and carve out their own terri tory

This upsets the balance ami and makes it harder to survivewhen yoursquore just a blooper looking to make it through the

day because now you have new predators to deal with n00bbangers making up their own rules as they go And the cop-

suckers donrsquot help

Protect and serve What a load of crap

Sure yoursquol l get Triple-A service if you live in one of the moneybubbles but try getting help in say the Aurora Barrens or

the Gary Hell Zone and yoursquore basically fucked Yeah thereare token patrols and the ever-present drones but drones

get shot down and the copsuckers are so outnumbered

most are either so scared to get into an altercation with thepredators or theyrsquore on the take I canrsquot say I blame them

either The streets are a war zone and if you wear the badgeyoursquore marked for death omae So take my advice and get

strapped The only person you can count on in the concrete jungle is you

Sorry_U_Asked Think twice before trying to claim a badgebounty though Sure plenty of honchos love to pay topcredit for proof that yoursquove kept the law from poking aroundtheir territory But just because you see someone wearingone doesnrsquot mean they got it legit Lots of gangers wearthem as trophies So if you drop a shot on a copsuckerthinking yoursquove hit payday you might end up with a wholeband of bangers snarling on your heels

SURVIVING THE GAME

Therersquos an old saying The Game is the Game mdash you eitherplay it or you get played I donrsquot care if you contract free-

lance fight fix hack patch or scam yoursquore in it omae andthat puts you at odds with every other player out there Most

people approach the game as a means to an end thinking

that one shiny day theyrsquoll earn enough creds to go someplacewarm and dry and live out their lives in style These clowns

donrsquot last Theyrsquore so busy dreaming about the good timesthat they lose focus on whatrsquos right in front of their face (or

creeping up behind them) Dreamers get sloppy take short

cuts betray their team and torch their street cred like gutterpunks burn trash in a garbage can to keep warm

If you want to survive the game you need to take a lesson

from these dreamers keep your mind on the job Therersquos nosandy beach waiting for you The megacorps bought them

all and turned lsquoem into parking lots The only fruity drinksyoursquoll ever drink are sold in the local watering hole by some

burned-out ronin The best you can hope for is a litt le bit of

comfort mdash usually behind a small fortress if yoursquore smart mdash andthe respect of the streets But thatrsquos a double-edged sword

another facet of the game Therersquos always someone faster

than you some hungry up-and-comer with the latest aug-ments wanting to prove herself by dealing you out Sucksto be a victim of your own success but thatrsquos the truth of it

My advice Find a way to deal yourself out clean Put some

creds away never burn your contacts and donrsquot ever everbecome a legend

Legends die

14

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1529

CHARACTER

CREATION

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1629

CHAPTER TWOCHARACTER CREATION

Characters are the lifersquos blood of any role-playing game the

focal point of every story Characters represent the best mdash orthe worst mdash ideals of a given game setting their actions either

bringing a small measure of hope to the downtrodden massesor serving to strengthen the status quo In the grim gritty

world of Interface Zero 20 the characters you play walk amonofilament edge between traditional mdash some would say

outdated or just plain irrelevant mdash concepts of good and evilas they make their way in the world

Indeed itrsquos hard to be a moral individual in a world where

most of the animals prowling the concrete jungle believe prin-ciples are character flaws mdash weaknesses to exploit for their

own ends Your morality marks you as prey no doubt aboutit omae But if you can keep your moral code if you can get

your job done without selling your soul yoursquoll get something

most sprawlers never have respect

Evil on the other hand is the same as it always has been

therersquos just more of it The wicked always thrive in a world

where violence fear and control are tools used for self-serv-ing ends but herersquos the thing Acting like an ass can get you

green-lit just as quickly as playing the role of the goody-two-shoes marks you as a sucker amigo

Nobody likes a dickhead even if they donrsquot say it to your

face Sooner or later yoursquoll get a rep for being a hard-assand someone who is stronger meaner or a bigger asshole

than you is going to come along and knock you back to thegutter you crawled out of Thatrsquos why most people keep their

heads down and their mouths shut Donrsquot make eye contact

itrsquos a challenge to the predators and if you donrsquot have thestones to back up the challenge yoursquore nothing but meat

But if you can stay strong and defeat all comers that com-mands respect too

This chapter provides you with the tools you need to make

a character for Interface Zero 20 The process is the same ascreating a character for any Savage Worlds game with a few

additions Interface Zero 20 introduces Street Cred Contactsand Strain to the game

STEP 1 CONCEPT

The first thing you need to do is decide on a concept for your

character Will you play a hacker Perhaps a mercenary orbounty hunter is more your speed Are mercs and hunters toocutthroat for your style of play If so you might think about

playing a ronin an urban warrior who follows his own code

of honor Maybe you want to be the guy (or gal) who backsthe team up with drones capable of laying down covering

fire or scouting ahead to see where the bad guys are hiding

You donrsquot need to have your concept locked in right now butat least have a basic idea of the type of character you want

to play Take a few minutes and skip ahead to the archetypessection in this chapter to see a variety of options available

to you

STEP 2 RACEThe next thing you need to do is choose a race In 2090

humanity has reached the point where the word ldquohumanrdquo is

almost irrelevant Human DNA is no longer a mystery Itrsquos amathematical code technomancers hack re-write and copy

at will producing genetically superior beings the Human 20

Others snip and paste animal DNA and splice it with humanDNA to create genetic hybrids a fusion of man and animal

Science has even advanced to such an extent that we can

create entirely new life forms mdash living beings known as simula-cra mdash in amniotic vats growing them until they have matured

filling their synthetic brains with memories and skills theyrsquollneed to do the jobs for which they were created

STEP 3 TRAITS

Traits are the building blocks of any Savage Worlds character

They define how strong or fast your character is and what

she knows Traits determine how much cyberware she canput into her body how much damage she can take before

dying her standing with others and a variety of other thingsall of which are essential to the game

ATTRIBUTES

Five attributes are used to define your characterrsquos physi-cal characteristics These are Agility Smarts Spirit Strength

and Vigor Each attribute starts at d4 You have 5 points withwhich to raise these attr ibutes and one point equals a risein a die type (d4 to d6 d6 to d8 etc) No attribute may rise

higher than d12 during character creation unless stated undera racial ability For more information on attributes refer to

the Savage Worlds core rules

SKILLS

You have 15 points to spend on your characterrsquos skills Your

character doesnrsquot start with any skills and must spend 1 pointto get a skill at a d4 He spends 1 point to raise a skill to a

higher die type as long as the skill level is equal to or less

than the linked attribute Raising any skill above the linkedattribute costs 2 points per step No skill may rise above d12

during character creation

Note If you are using the skill specializations rules you get 20points for skills and each new specialization costs 1 skill point

during character creation When your character advances shemay purchase 2 skill specializations for an advance or a new

skill and a single specialization

NEW SKILLS

The following are new skills introduced in Interface Zero 20

For information on all other skills see Skills in the Savage

Worlds core rules

16

CHARACTER CREATIONCONCEPT RACE TRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1729

Hacking (Smarts) The Hacking skill is used whenever a

character wants to hack a computer network Characters in

Interface Zero 20 no longer start with an automatic d4 inHacking Additionally characters who wish to use the Global

DataNet for everyday purposes such as research or findingnews pertaining to the Deep do so with their existing Inves-

tigation and Streetwise skills

Knowledge (Demolitions) Successful use of demolitions canmean the difference between destruction of the target as

planned and unplanned loss of life and property The skill also

lets the character have an understanding of what the besttype of explosive is for the obstacle and how much they will

need to remove such an obstacle In addition a raise on theresult will let them know the exact distance they need to be

from the explosion based upon the size of the charge the con-

fines and damage created by said explosion This skill is usedany time a character wants to put a satchel charge together

or set explosives A Critical Failure will result in immediatedetonation Simple failure will result in premature detonation

or no detonation at all

Knowledge (Programming) Characters use this skill when

attempting to make any kind of change to a network theyhave hacked This skill allows a character to undo damagedone as a result of a hack With it a character can do things

like undo an edit to a data file or video reconstruct a deleted

file repair an AMS (see Active Memory Sectors on page 274in the Sett ing Rules chapter) recover a deleted skill Engram

or reconnect a TAP that has gone offline

OPTIONAL RULE SKILL SPECIALIZATIONS

Interface Zero 20 is an advanced setting where knowing

how to do one thing doesnrsquot necessarily mean you can dosomething which under the regular skill rules would techni-

cally be possible with the same skill Take the various DrivingBoating and Piloting skills for example

Using the regular skill rules a character with Driving couldtheoretically drive anything from a motorcycle to a semi-truckor a tank Similarly Piloting assumes a character has the skills

to pilot all types of aircraft including fighter jets and space-

craft Pinnacle Entertainment addressed this issue by addingthe Skill Specialization setting rule in the Savage Worlds core

rules and it is highly recommended that those rules are usedfor Interface Zero 20

The following list of skill specializations are provided to get

you started This isnrsquot intended to be a comprehensive listof appropriate skill specializations but rather a broad cross

section of specializations we feel are appropriate If some-thing doesnrsquot appear on the list make it up if it seems right

But remember the GM always has the final say on what is or

isnrsquot appropriate for her campaign

SUGGESTED SPECIALIZATIONS

bull Boating Powered Sailed Submersible

bull Climbing Mountaineering Rappelling Rope

bull Driving Car (4 wheels) Hovercraft JUMP Bike MotorcycleTruck (6+ wheels) Tracked

bull Fighting Axe Blades Blunt Cyberweapon Long Blade

Martial arts (by style judo karate etc) Pole Arm

bull Gambling By game

bull Hacking Hyper Combat Firewall Penetration Intrusion

Detection Object Control Object Editing Run ProgramTrace

bull Healing Cyber Surgery First Aid Surgery

bull Intimidation Interrogation Mental Physical

bull Investigation Archives Global DataNet Libraries

Newspapers

bull Knowledge Each Knowledge skill is technically a special-

ization of Knowledge so it isnrsquot broken down into furtherspecializations

Suggested Knowledge Skills AIs Battle Corporations

Cybernetics Demolitions Global DataNet Local Area (spe-cific) Politics Programing

bull Lockpicking Disarm Trap Electronic Manual

bull Notice Audio Body Language Searching Visual

bull Persuasion Bluffing Diplomacy Fast-Talking Seduction

bull Piloting Golemmech Helicopter Plane Spacecraft VTOL

bull Psionics Freek Peek Tweek

bull Repair Armor Cybernetics Electronics Mechanical Struc-tures Weapons

bull Riding By animal

TO SPECIALIZE OR NOT TO SPECIALIZE

17

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1829

bull Shooting Bow Pistol Rifle Shotgun Submachine GunVehicle Weapon or by weapon category

bull Stealth Disguise Hiding Sleight of Hand Sneaking

bull Streetwise AreaRegion (Corporate Zone Gang Turf etc)

bull Survival Aquatic Arctic Desert Forest Jungle MountainSpace urban or any specific environment

bull Swimming Lake Ocean SCUBA Divingbull Taunt Verbal Visual

bull Throwing Darts Grenades Knives Spears

bull Tracking Animals Global DataNet Humans Urban

Vehicles

OPTIONAL SKILL ATHLETICS

Rather than breaking up basic things like Climbing and Swim-ming it is recommended to combine them into a single skill

which would allow for specialization

Athletics (Vigor) Athletics as a catch-all for a number ofphysical endeavors ranging from climbing to swimming to

moving around effectively in a no mdash or low-gravity environ-

ment Athletics should be used instead of Agility in foot chasesand effectively replaces both the Climbing and Swimming skills

Specializations Climbing Leaping Running Sport (specific)

Swimming Zero-G Maneuvers

LANGUAGES

All characters speak their native language plus a number ofadditional languages equaling one-half their Smarts die The

major trade languages used in Interface Zero 20 are Chinese

English Hindi Portuguese and Swahili Additional languagescan be learned by using an advancement opportunity

DERIVED STATISTICS

There are a few statistics which are important in any SavageWorlds game Charisma Pace Parry and Toughness

CHARISMA

Charisma is an abstract measure of your characterrsquos appear-ance how she deals with others socially and generally how

likeable she is Charisma starts at 0 but can be modified byEdges and Hindrances Charisma is also added to Streetwise

and Persuasion rolls The Game Master uses Charisma to figure

out how NPCrsquos react to your character For more informationon Charisma see the Savage Worlds core rules

PACE

Pace is a measure of how far your character can walk in a

standard combat round Human characters have a base Paceof 6 and can run at an additional 1d6rdquo Other races in Interface

Zero 20 can have different starting Pace scores based on the

racial template you choose For more information on Pacesee the Savage Worlds core rules

PARRY

Parry is equal to 2 plus half your characterrsquos Fighting skillplus modifiers gained from use of shields or certain weapons

If your character does not have the Fighting skill base Parry

starts at 2 For more information on Parry see the SavageWorlds core rules

TOUGHNESS

Toughness is a measure of how much damage your character

can take before becoming Shaken or wounded Toughness is2 plus half your characterrsquos Vigor plus any armor she might

be wearing For more information on Toughness see the

Savage Worlds core rules

NEW DERIVED STATSInterface Zero 20 introduces three new derived statis-

tics mdash Firewall Strain and Street Cred

FIREWALL

Unless your character has the Unplugged Hindrance she hasa Tendril Access Processor (TAP) and therefore has a built-

in firewall The firewall protects against attempts to hack a

characterrsquos TAP A characterrsquos Firewall rating star ts at 4 but

can be modified by Edges Hindrances or software

STRAIN

Strain measures the amount of stress cyberware and biowareputs on your body when you install it Strain starts at zero

and each piece of cyberware adds to your Strain stat Highlevels of Strain can lead to death More details on Strain are

located at Augments on page 262

STREET CRED

Street Cred is a measure of your character rsquos reputation on

the streets All characters begin play with 2 points of StreetCred modified by Edges or Hindrances and gain another 2

points every time they gain a new Rank The maximum StreetCred a character can normally achieve is 10 (some Edges and

Occupations can increase this number)

Unlike Charisma which measures your ability to persuadesomeone Street Cred is a point pool that can be spent to

obtain services temporary contacts information and a variety

of other benefits during the course of an adventure This poolrefreshes each adventure unless circumstances in the prior

adventure (like not getting the job done failing to protectsomeone killing an innocent etc) cause the characterrsquos Street

Cred score to drop

Characters can also pick up Minor or Major Hindrances thathave a lasting effect on their Street Cred score during the

course of an adventure These Hindrances can be removedby spending an Advance with the GMrsquos permission For more

information see Street Cred on page 264

CONTACTS

Each character can choose two contacts people the character

knows who he can call upon for aid or information during thecourse of an adventure These contacts can be anyone froma bartender or a hacker to a corporate executive or military

commander as long as it makes sense that your characterwould know the person(s)

STEP 4 OCCUPATIONS

Occupations are integral to your character concept providinga basic framework to enhance your characterrsquos background in

a very organic way helping you create a more well-rounded

18

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1929

character concept Each occupation has a requirement that thecharacter must meet to take it the characterrsquos bonus credits

gained each Advance and a special perk (like gear or specialabilities) the character gets for being part of that profession

STEP 5 EDGES AND HINDRANCES

Edges are special qualities that separate characters from theaverage sprawler Hindrances are physical and mental flaws

that add more depth to the character albeit in a negativeway See the Savage Worlds core rules for more information

on purchasing Edges and Hindrances New Edges and Hin-drances are provided later in this chapter

STEP 6 EQUIPMENT

In Interface Zero 20 characters select equipment cybernet-ics weapons and armor based on the power level the Game

Master sets for the campaign

Power Level This is the starting Power Level of the Cam-

paign as determined by the Game Master If the GM wants totell a story of gang members barely scraping by shersquoll mostlikely choose Gutter Punk as the Power Level If she envi-

sions a campaign where the players are a special governmenttask force dedicated to hunting down super terrorists the

Hyperchrome Warriors or Elite Operatives levels might be

more appropriate The Street Soldier Power Level (designedfor ronin-style games) is considered the default Power Level

for Interface Zero 20

Starting Credits This is the amount of money characters

start with at the beginning of the campaign These credits

may be spent on anything the player wishes and the GM hasnot barred from the campaign including augments drones

weapons and armor

Augments Every Power Level above Gutter Punk allows theplayers to start with at least one augment from the core book

equal to or below the monetary amount listed Unspent Creditsfrom this pool do not carry over when the game starts These

augments must be chosen from the master list of augments

not augment packages

STEP 7 BACKGROUND

They say the devil is in the details and here is where you

decide how devilish yoursquore going to be You donrsquot need towrite a novel and frankly this step isnrsquot mandatory That said

itrsquos a good idea to jot down a few notes on your characterrsquosbackground any major events in her life any friends the

names of contacts or even enemies she might have Share

these ideas with your Game Master GMs are always lookingfor good plot hooks and little tidbits they can use to person-

alize your experience at the table The more detailed yourbackground is the better

ARCHETYPESSometimes you may want to quickly create a character for

a one-shot or convention adventure For those occasions anArchetype is a good choice

All are built for a human character with two Edges If you wish

to play a race other than human simply plug in the statisticaldata If yoursquore playing a human you

can choose another Edge Thenchoose your gear based on the

Power Level your group haschosen give the character

a name and yoursquore ready

to go

19

ARCHETYPES

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2029

AGENT

BOUNTY HUNTER

20

AGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

20

ARCHETYPESAGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2129

CYBERMONK

DRONE JOCKEY

21

CYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

21

ARCHETYPESCYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 8: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 829

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 929

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1029

INTRODUCTION

INFOSOURCE

VIDTAGROADTO2090

LOCAL JACOBSPLAYGROUNDNET

FQDN JACOBSPLAYGROUNDNETCHITOWN06TNTPNSWWGNET

DATA SOURCE MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMESINFODUMP

THE ROAD TO 2090

Posted By Billy_Black_Eyes

So here we are in January 2090 Itrsquos been a couple of yearssince I dropped the last INFODUMP on the world and Irsquom here

to rectify that This massive documentrsquos gonna give you all theinformation you need to get up to speed on the state of the

world along with oodles and oodles of statistical data about

a bunch of subjects including the Global DataNet golem-mechs drones and other emerging technologies Yoursquoll read

about the strange and wonderful people who inhabit thisworld the solar system zeeks and much more Irsquove gath-

ered info from sources all over the world and vetted it to

the best of my ability That said you never know whatrsquos trueand what isnrsquot in this age of main stream media lies govern-

ment propaganda and do-it-yourself journalism so take theinformation (especially in the data dumps about the world)

with a grain of salt

Simba So what are you sayinrsquo Bi lly We canrsquot trust you

Billy_Black_Eyes Thatrsquos not what I said You know fullwell that information especially editorialized info alwayshas a certain slant to it It rsquos also fluid What was true at thetime I acquired it may not necessarily be accurate now

The past two years have seen a number of major eventstake place in the world If just one or two things would have

happened I might think they werenrsquot connected Yet itrsquos as ifsomeone walked up to a house of cards and pulled one card

out The house hasnrsquot completely crashed yet itrsquos in a slow-

motion free fall and the worst part is only a few of us seemto be watching What follows is a br ief overview of the major

events that have shaped the world in which we currently live

Neon_Bright Oh Billy looking at the world with thosedark lenses again are we

Magpie Neon I think he needs a hug )

Billy_Black_Eyes What I need is a ticket to Mars Thingsare about to get crazy and I want off this rock

GROWING TENSIONS IN NORTH AMERICA

The year 2088 was marked by a number of disturbing mdash somesay portentous mdash events involving the North American Coali-

tion the Great Lakes Union and Atlantica

Sane_Prophet ldquoPortentousrdquo Could the scales be fallingoff your black eyes my friend Are you finally coming tounderstand the truth

Billy_Black_Eyes Seriously You again I told you nomystic bull shit

Sane_Prophet Just because you refuse to acknowledgeomens for what they are doesnrsquot make them any less valid

THE HEGEMONY GROWS

The crackdown on zeeks hybrids and synthetic humans in the

NAC reached a boiling point when Congress and the Senateratified the infamous Racial Purity Act a draconic piece of

legislation banning the practice of hybrid and simulacrumcreation All genetic modification parlors and simulacrum

production facilities were ordered to shut down The Racial

Purity Act also outlawed the use of psychic powers within theborders of the nation with hefty fines and even imprisonment

for those caught using them Various watchdog organiza-tions were created the most visible of which is Psi-division

a branch of Stopwatch tasked with monitoring and in some

cases even ldquoneutralizingrdquo psychic threats

Psychopope And by ldquoneutralizingrdquo he means murder

Denver_Must_Burn And forced relocationhellipIrsquom not talkingabout VR prisons ei ther Irsquom talking about the internmentcamps up in Montana and the Dakotas

Simba It was just as bad for hybrids like myself Whenthose genetic modification parlors shut down the pr ivateinformation about their customers was confiscatedunder the auspices of ldquonational securit yrdquo This means theDepartment of National Security (DNS) has the namesand addresses of every hybrid and free sim in the NorthAmerican Coalition If you have a TAP the DNS can trackyour IP too

Luciferion Simba Dude thatrsquos happening with everycitizen regardless of whether or not yoursquore zeek hybridor ldquoPlain Janerdquo human

Denver_Must_Burn All I can say is TRICilicit_behavior Yes DMB The Revolution IS Coming

Instances of racial violence erupted across the North Ameri-

can Coalition as law enforcement officials began arrestingzeeks Some of the more obvious hybrids mdash particularly the

bull bear and rhino variants mdash were also incarcerated Gov-ernments across the continent decried the draconian tactics

and called for UN intervention to no effect The Great Lakes

Union and Atlantica closed their embassies in Denver and sentthe NAC delegates in their cities packing Then on Novem-

ber 13th 2088 a number of terrorist attacks rocked BostonBaltimore and Portland Maine An estimated 2451 people

died and thousands more were injured from the bombings

THE ATLANTICA BOMBINGSWithin hours of the attacks the Global DataNet was flooded

with conspiracy theories the most viral of which speculated

they were carried out by a terrorist group known as Agenda68Some speculated a Canadian black ops unit known as Task-

force Harfang did the deed Others went on to claim the NACwas behind the attacks and still others claimed New Brasilia

or maybe the Chinese Mandarinate were somehow involvedSo-called ldquoconspiracy theorist expertsrdquo such as Sam_Jones

and NERCOTIXX speculated that China long believed to bein bed with the North American Coalition used simulacra to

perform the bombings

10

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1129

NECROTIXX China did carry out the bombings Do theresearch Look into Project Doppelganger and yoursquoll seeThe NAC is just a patsy

Sam_Jones The Mandarinate is becoming an imperialpower Just look at what they are doing with Russia nowand what they have done with all of Southeast Asia Askthe Russian refugees flooding into Seattle if they thinkChina is content to stay within their borders The writingrsquos

on the wall folksSimba It might have been orchestrated by agents workingfor Charon

Luciferion What a load of crap Charon is an AI It doesnrsquothave any contact with humans

Neon_Bright Prove it Simba

As the days stretched into weeks there was still no official

statement from the Atlantica Government about the iden-tity of the perpetrators of the attacks Then on December

15th 2088 a MEDIAfile was uploaded into the Global DataNetbearing the Hyper Tag of a popular underground media-pirate

known as MAXX_footage

The dronersquos feed showed three large muscular men in regular

clothing exit a hover van adjacent to one of the targets of theattacks just moments before it exploded Facial recognitionsoftware identified one of the men as First Sergeant John

Moore a member of the North American Coalition regular army

The MEDIAfile went on to follow the three men as they jumpedinto an unmarked hover car that took off and shot over the

Boston sea wall to land on a freighter bearing Chinese mark-ings The vessel promptly sailed east into international waters

Sorry_U_Asked Isnrsquot it odd how often people retreat tothe water in the wake of disasters How much of the oceanremains unmapped How much is hiding under the wavesthat we havenrsquot even begun to fathom

BatRastard Puns intended Wersquove already got enoughconspiracy theories Can you not add another useless one

to the stinking heap

Sane_Prophet Actually hersquos closer to reality than youmight be comfortable understanding Too much truth canbreak a manrsquos mind

BatRastard Irsquom guessing yours is already fried from afew too many stims man Want to share what yoursquove beendoping

As the situation evolved it became clear that MAXX_footagewent through what can only be described as a nightmarish journey to bring the MEDIAfile into the light of day In what

would be his only interview MAXX_footage appeared via

a secure video-feed on ldquoBoston Tonightrdquomdasha popular showin the nation of Atlantica Millions across the world tuned in

to listen to what he had to say MAXX_footage a tall lanky

young man recounted the events of that day telling how hewas hanging out at his favorite coffee shop when this black

hover van landed right in front of the Emperor Pharmaceuti-cals Arcology about a half a block away

When Penny Pearl mdash the host of the show mdash asked MAXX_

footage how during all the chaos he could have possiblyremembered those details MAXX_footage said he remem-

bered it because the hover van double parked and someonestarted yelling at the three guys who got out Thinking it was

going to result in violence MAXX_footage says he poppedout his Fly on the Wall micro drone and sent i t over to record

the incident Thatrsquos when all hell broke loose

BEGIN THREAD JACK

NECROTIXX Herersquos a transcript of the short interviewPenny couldnrsquot get MAXX back on

BEGIN TRANSCRIPThellip

ldquoOne of the three men shot the guy right in the facerdquo MAXX_

footage says his long thin hands shaking ldquoThey just walked

away and got into a red hover car I sent Judy mdash thatrsquos thename of my drone mdash after them and thatrsquos when the Black

hover van explodedrdquo MAXX_footage goes quiet for a fewseconds and after a couple of probing questions from the

hostess he finishes his story

ldquoAnyhow I get my bearings shake the dust outta my hairand suddenly realize I just captured the perps on Digifilm I

follow the red hover car all the way out past the Sea Wallwhere it lands on this Chinese freighter Judyrsquos pushinrsquo her

range limits at this point so I call her backrdquo He grabs a glassof water his hands shaking

ldquoTell us what happened nextrdquo Penny prompts

ldquoWellrdquo he begins ldquoI get back to my flat mdash it took a while mdash what

with all the chaos goinrsquo on in the lsquoplex and everything mdash andthe place is busted up I mean BIG-TIME amirdquo MAXX_footage

stops again then shakes his head and says ldquoListen I canrsquot sayanything else about that I think theyrsquore still watching mehellip

In fact this interview is done MAXX OUTrdquo The video feed

cuts to white noise

END TRANSCRIPT

END THREAD JACK

The interview and the footage of the event sparked outrage

throughout Atlantica Predictably the NAC government fiercelydenied any involvement in the bombings even going so far

as to demand the arrest and extradition of MAXX_footagefor questioning about the origins of the video

Martin Hughes mdash the president of Atlantica mdash flatly refusedthe NACrsquos demands even going so far as to say that thisMAXX_footage person was a ldquohero of the people of

Atlanticardquo The bookies in the free city of Las Vegas startedgiving even odds that hostilities would break out on the East

Coast within a year

Simba I lost a ton of money on that bet

Luciferion MAXX_footage has gone dark BTW Nobodyhas seen or heard from him since that interview

THE FLARE

On January 26 2089 a massive Earth-directed Y-class solar

flare sparked a Coronal Mass Ejection that bombarded our

planet temporarily shutting down the genie network thatmonitors and updates the TAPrsquos spam and reality filters Withthe genie down every man woman and child with a Tendril

Access Processor was exposed to raw unfiltered Hyper Reality

As you all know this sparked a week of world-wide chaosSprawlers mdash exposed to a storm of spam malware and layer

upon layer of augmented reality advertisements and simu-lated environments mdash went temporarily insane

Sane_Prophet Insanity is a weak word for the weak-minded What may appear as insane to you might simplybe someone having achieved enlightenment and livingaccording to a higher truth

11

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1229

Sorry_U_Asked Irsquom all about questioning the circumstancesbut Irsquom pretty sure all the folks who were murdered duringthese events wouldrsquove labeled them as insane down to a one

Billy_Black_Eyes Whatever dictionary program yoursquorerunning needs a fresh data-dump Prophet

Sane_Prophet Dictionaries are also for the weak-minded

Billy_Black_Eyes Of course they are

The world burned for about a week until programmers couldfix the problem with firmware updates and hot patches to

get the filters up and running and an off switch installedbut the damage was done Itrsquos not known how many people

died in the rioting and madness but cautious estimates oftotal casualties put the number at around 750 million people

and nobody has even tried to calculate the monetary cost

of the riots Strangely however the Flare itself didnrsquot havea widespread impact on various infrastructures like electric

and other powers transportation systems etc In fact manybelieve the Flare wasnrsquot even a solar flare at all but the first

sign of Charonrsquos emergence as a threat to humanity

Luciferion Nobodyrsquos ever proven that Billy

Billy_Black_Eyes Nobody has ever debunked it eitherStatistical data can be hacked Numbers can be fudgedto make things seem more dramatic than they really areEarthquakes register at a certain scale and get downgradedall the time The truth is this is the first time in history thata solar flare has caused such wide-spread chaos It rsquos fishy

Luciferion Irsquoll believe it when I see some hard data

Billy_Black_Eyes Fair enough But the emergence ofCharon around this time isnrsquot even open for debate Itrsquosa fact

THE EURASIAN UNION IMPLODES

On March 15th 2089 the Eurasian Union Central Bank in

Bonn Germany was crashed by a previously unheard-of virusnamed Charon Over forty-five trillion dollars vanished without

a trace All attempts to rebuild the original databases failedSome programmers (and freelance hackers) hired to go in andpurge Charon from the databases lost their lives in the process

Further attempts to rebuild the system on different serverswith backups also failed when programmers realized that

Charon mdash now suspected by many to be an AI mdash had copieditself into the cloud networks containing those backup files

Luciferion Therersquos nothing to suspect Charon is anemergent AI The only question now is whether or not itsparks a singularity event

Nothing_to_see_here Stopwatch will halt it in its tracksThey always catch these things

Luciferion Who do you think died trying to get it out ofthe D-bases in Bonn

Over the next few months an estimated 200 million people

across the Eurasian Union the United Kingdom and Ireland losttheir jobs their homes and their life savings when it became

clear that Charon had found its way into the personal bankaccounts of citizenry across the Eurasian Union

Instances of mob violence skyrocketed as the number of

gangs in the rapidly fracturing Eurasian Union had risen tolevels not seen since the Death mdash the three-year ldquoNuclear

Autumnrdquo following the India-Pakistan war when nuclearweapons were used on a massive scale In the London-Read-

ing Megaplex protests exploded into full-scale violence after

police brutally cracked down on a peaceful protest at the

British parliament building More instances of violent protests

followed in Bristol Swindon and the Manchester-Liverpoolsprawl

On June 27th 2089 the French government was over-

thrown by a fringe political extremist group known as theNew Pirate Party Led by a charismatic young zeek named

Angeacutele Bonheur the New Pirate Party seized power after awild chaotic campaign against representatives of the NationalFront and the Popular Republican Union The elections were

rife with scandal and many of the French didnrsquot (and still donrsquot)like the idea of a French leader being psychic So while Angeacutele

emerged as the clear victor the French military refused toacknowledge her legitimacy President Bonheur responded

by disbanding the armed forces of France at the same time

announcing the privatization of the nationrsquos military throughan agreement with Ravenlocke Securities

Downtrodden Yep itrsquos a sign of things to come ladiesand gents a world-wide corporate coup of governmentsIf you donrsquot think the CEO of Ravenlocke mdash thatrsquos MarkusRaven mdash has a say in the direction this new governmenttakes think again

Luciferion Itrsquos awesome to see France led by a psychicbut letrsquos get real this is going to get much worse beforeit gets better

Magpie I wouldnrsquot be surprised i f she gets wacked

Former Lieutenant-Colonel Adrien Boucher also known as

ldquoAdrien the Butcherrdquo for his brutal suppression of an upris-ing in Marseilles in 2087 took charge of the remnants of

the disbanded French army promising to remove PresidentBonheur from power Within days of Adrienrsquos announcement

Fort Richepance mdash now the Northeastern headquarters for

Ravenlocke Industriesrsquo Storm Crow Golemmech brigade mdash wasattacked The president responded by declaring martial law

throughout France until the renegade movement could be

put down Thus far that hasnrsquot happened though there arereports of clashes between Ravenlocke regulars and sepa-

ratist forces outside of St Etienne and in the French Alps

Warpig This has caused numerous issues If PresidentAngeacutele thinks her countrymen are going to accept theprivatization of the military shersquos sorely mistaken As Billymentions Adrien the Butcher is causing problems buttherersquos more to it Militias are forming They have advancedweaponry and while I wonrsquot speculate as to whorsquos providingthem with those weapons I do know the vast majority ofthe weapons are made by Act of God Armaments

Battle_Mind I know one thing itrsquos a great time to be amercenary

Full_Metal_Cyborg Amen brother Irsquoll see you on the

battlefieldPayne_Man Lock and Load U mushrooms I splatter youn00bs with my AK

Magpie ldquoSighrdquo Stop playing Matrix of War Payne Yousound like a fool This ainrsquot a game

Payne_Man I thought we were talkinrsquo about MOW Ushould C the zones Theyrsquore eggsaklee like the content ofthis INFOdump Have been for a whyle now Evar since thelast expansion dropped in spring 2088

Luciferion hellipOk thatrsquos odd

Payne_Man The CoalitionAtlantica War expansion izzcumin out next month 2 I Kant W8

12

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1329

On June 30th 2089 Germany wracked with political in-

fighting riots in the streets and a general state of chaos

closed its borders Officially the stated reason was for secu-rity reasons stemming from conflict along the border with

France but most people donrsquot believe it Chancellor KonradGerste authorized a financial bailout of the three largest

manufacturers of weapons and military equipment for

the German army The move has frightened many of the

Eastern European nations mdash especially the good people ofPoland mdash who know well what happens when Germans

begin preparing for war and make no mistake Germany ismoving to a war footing

Payne_Man Watch out Zee Germans are cumming LOL

Klaus What Canrsquot my brethren move to protectthemselves from the chaos in France And why the veiledreference to WWII Itrsquos been nearly 150 years since Hitlerrsquosmadness yet nobody allows us to forget it

THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON

As the situation in Europe grew worse China took advantageof the weakened Eurasian Union grabbing up huge swathes

of territory in Russia its armies advancing as far west as the

Ural Mountain range where Russian forces managed to haltthe dragonrsquos advance Still the damage was done By August2089 the Mandarinate had established itself as an occupy-

ing power in every city town and village east of the Ural

Mountains That hasnrsquot stopped the Russians from retaliatinghowever Russian patriots have begun an insurgency attack-

ing Chinese forces wherever they can be found Mandarinatemouthpieces paint the insurgents as terrorists to little effect

as the insurgency swells in number every day

Neon_Bright This isnrsquot just a struggle against Chineseaggression Vast resources have been found ever sinceSiberia began to thaw Irsquom talking about precious mineralsoil even the land is useful for development especiallywhen you consider billions of people live in eastern Asia

Luciferion Agreed Neon

LIFE IN GENERAL

So how have the above events impacted life as we stumbleinto 2090 In numerous ways omae There isnrsquot enough time

to go into great detail about how war the Flare and espe-

cially the rise of Charon have affected the life of the averagesprawler across the world but Irsquo ll go over some of the more

important details Pay attention peeps some of this mightkeep you alive

SURVIVING HYPER REALITY

As I mentioned above when the Flare knocked out the GENIEnetwork it caused widespread chaos And while GENIE is back

up and running there are still glitches in the system Sure

firmware updates to the Tendril Access Processor mdash TAP as itrsquosmore commonly known mdash allow you to turn off that modem

in your brain but wellhelliplet me put it like this Hyper Realityhas become smarter even deadly if you donrsquot have the right

software installed in your TAP

Sane_Prophet Why bother putting up more and morefilters It is senseless A futile fight against powers fargreater than yourself Open your eyes open your mindand set yourself free from this prison of so-called reality

BatRastard Right and then with the first meme to fry myneurons Irsquoll be spending my life savings on the Fat Sallyrsquosdown the block Brilliant

Sane_Prophet Fat Sally rsquos secret sauce is an interdimen-sional gateway into the heights of ecstasy

BatRastard Actually thatrsquos the first thing you and I haveever agreed on

Irsquove discussed this phenomena with numerous program-mers across the world and they all agree virii spam and allmanner of malware that [prior to the Flare] would have been

easy to purge from your head are now behaving much dif-

ferently Itrsquos almost as if the things evolved into somethingnot-quite-sentient but damned close to it

So what does this mean for you

If you choose to experience Hyper Reality (and if you have aTAP in your brain you have) itrsquos only a matter of time before

one of these virii hacks into your brain Therersquos nothing youcan really do about it itrsquos just one of the many fun facts of

life in 2090 I do find it ironic that af ter decades of enjoying

the connectivity and convenience the TAP has provided thistechnology seems to be actively trying to kill us and there

isnrsquot much we can do about it without going back to medi-eval times You know the 1980rsquos Of course some of you out

there will want to turn your TAPs off for good and avoid the

risk entirely Hell some of you might be considering gettingthe damned thing removed

You can do that sure Of course that means yoursquore also

not connected to the grid that makes your life so unbeliev-ably convenient This causes a mult itude of problems Donrsquot

believe me Try walking out of your house Oh right you canrsquotbecause most doors donrsquot have handles anymore Theyrsquore

automated and respond to the signals coming from your TAPI know some are activated by motion sensors and donrsquot rely

on the TAP But no door which is designed with security in

mind will open so easilyThis also means you have almost zero access to vehicles or

places where you can buy things like grocery stores Yeah

sure you can just follow someone else into said store butthe security cameras will spot you and not having a digital

record of your presence (which they get from your TAP) willflag you and dispatch a security team to find out who you

are So there you are in your local Malmart looking for some

cloned steaks to fire up on your grill later on when securitycomes with their big guns and ldquowhat the hell are you doing

here scumbagrdquo looks on their faces to boot you back out intothe streets where you came from

Oh how did you plan on paying for them BTW now that

your TAP is offline and the clerk canrsquot sync her cash register

with your payment software And NO they donrsquot take cashThe point is this omae All that convenience you were usedto goes out the window when you unplug Itrsquos much easier

to get strong firewalls than it is to live outside the system

So think about what I said before you scratch that itch at thebase of your skull with a scalpel

SURVIVING THE STREETS

The streets have always been dangerous thatrsquos a givenWhen you cram millions of people into a concrete and steel

petri dish then forget about 999 of them you create abreeding ground for violence hate and societal devolution

13

INTRODUCTIONLIFE IN GENERAL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1429

on such a scale that social Darwinists like Herbert Spencer and

Thomas Malthus would roll over in their graves

Again that in itself is nothing new The streets have alwaysbeen violent but ever since the events I previously described

came to pass mdash especially the Flare and the implosion of theEurasian Union mdash the number of homeless people across the

world has sky-rocketed The petri dish is frothing and over-

flowing as new gangs emerge mdash and Irsquom talking globally not just in North America mdash and carve out their own terri tory

This upsets the balance ami and makes it harder to survivewhen yoursquore just a blooper looking to make it through the

day because now you have new predators to deal with n00bbangers making up their own rules as they go And the cop-

suckers donrsquot help

Protect and serve What a load of crap

Sure yoursquol l get Triple-A service if you live in one of the moneybubbles but try getting help in say the Aurora Barrens or

the Gary Hell Zone and yoursquore basically fucked Yeah thereare token patrols and the ever-present drones but drones

get shot down and the copsuckers are so outnumbered

most are either so scared to get into an altercation with thepredators or theyrsquore on the take I canrsquot say I blame them

either The streets are a war zone and if you wear the badgeyoursquore marked for death omae So take my advice and get

strapped The only person you can count on in the concrete jungle is you

Sorry_U_Asked Think twice before trying to claim a badgebounty though Sure plenty of honchos love to pay topcredit for proof that yoursquove kept the law from poking aroundtheir territory But just because you see someone wearingone doesnrsquot mean they got it legit Lots of gangers wearthem as trophies So if you drop a shot on a copsuckerthinking yoursquove hit payday you might end up with a wholeband of bangers snarling on your heels

SURVIVING THE GAME

Therersquos an old saying The Game is the Game mdash you eitherplay it or you get played I donrsquot care if you contract free-

lance fight fix hack patch or scam yoursquore in it omae andthat puts you at odds with every other player out there Most

people approach the game as a means to an end thinking

that one shiny day theyrsquoll earn enough creds to go someplacewarm and dry and live out their lives in style These clowns

donrsquot last Theyrsquore so busy dreaming about the good timesthat they lose focus on whatrsquos right in front of their face (or

creeping up behind them) Dreamers get sloppy take short

cuts betray their team and torch their street cred like gutterpunks burn trash in a garbage can to keep warm

If you want to survive the game you need to take a lesson

from these dreamers keep your mind on the job Therersquos nosandy beach waiting for you The megacorps bought them

all and turned lsquoem into parking lots The only fruity drinksyoursquoll ever drink are sold in the local watering hole by some

burned-out ronin The best you can hope for is a litt le bit of

comfort mdash usually behind a small fortress if yoursquore smart mdash andthe respect of the streets But thatrsquos a double-edged sword

another facet of the game Therersquos always someone faster

than you some hungry up-and-comer with the latest aug-ments wanting to prove herself by dealing you out Sucksto be a victim of your own success but thatrsquos the truth of it

My advice Find a way to deal yourself out clean Put some

creds away never burn your contacts and donrsquot ever everbecome a legend

Legends die

14

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1529

CHARACTER

CREATION

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1629

CHAPTER TWOCHARACTER CREATION

Characters are the lifersquos blood of any role-playing game the

focal point of every story Characters represent the best mdash orthe worst mdash ideals of a given game setting their actions either

bringing a small measure of hope to the downtrodden massesor serving to strengthen the status quo In the grim gritty

world of Interface Zero 20 the characters you play walk amonofilament edge between traditional mdash some would say

outdated or just plain irrelevant mdash concepts of good and evilas they make their way in the world

Indeed itrsquos hard to be a moral individual in a world where

most of the animals prowling the concrete jungle believe prin-ciples are character flaws mdash weaknesses to exploit for their

own ends Your morality marks you as prey no doubt aboutit omae But if you can keep your moral code if you can get

your job done without selling your soul yoursquoll get something

most sprawlers never have respect

Evil on the other hand is the same as it always has been

therersquos just more of it The wicked always thrive in a world

where violence fear and control are tools used for self-serv-ing ends but herersquos the thing Acting like an ass can get you

green-lit just as quickly as playing the role of the goody-two-shoes marks you as a sucker amigo

Nobody likes a dickhead even if they donrsquot say it to your

face Sooner or later yoursquoll get a rep for being a hard-assand someone who is stronger meaner or a bigger asshole

than you is going to come along and knock you back to thegutter you crawled out of Thatrsquos why most people keep their

heads down and their mouths shut Donrsquot make eye contact

itrsquos a challenge to the predators and if you donrsquot have thestones to back up the challenge yoursquore nothing but meat

But if you can stay strong and defeat all comers that com-mands respect too

This chapter provides you with the tools you need to make

a character for Interface Zero 20 The process is the same ascreating a character for any Savage Worlds game with a few

additions Interface Zero 20 introduces Street Cred Contactsand Strain to the game

STEP 1 CONCEPT

The first thing you need to do is decide on a concept for your

character Will you play a hacker Perhaps a mercenary orbounty hunter is more your speed Are mercs and hunters toocutthroat for your style of play If so you might think about

playing a ronin an urban warrior who follows his own code

of honor Maybe you want to be the guy (or gal) who backsthe team up with drones capable of laying down covering

fire or scouting ahead to see where the bad guys are hiding

You donrsquot need to have your concept locked in right now butat least have a basic idea of the type of character you want

to play Take a few minutes and skip ahead to the archetypessection in this chapter to see a variety of options available

to you

STEP 2 RACEThe next thing you need to do is choose a race In 2090

humanity has reached the point where the word ldquohumanrdquo is

almost irrelevant Human DNA is no longer a mystery Itrsquos amathematical code technomancers hack re-write and copy

at will producing genetically superior beings the Human 20

Others snip and paste animal DNA and splice it with humanDNA to create genetic hybrids a fusion of man and animal

Science has even advanced to such an extent that we can

create entirely new life forms mdash living beings known as simula-cra mdash in amniotic vats growing them until they have matured

filling their synthetic brains with memories and skills theyrsquollneed to do the jobs for which they were created

STEP 3 TRAITS

Traits are the building blocks of any Savage Worlds character

They define how strong or fast your character is and what

she knows Traits determine how much cyberware she canput into her body how much damage she can take before

dying her standing with others and a variety of other thingsall of which are essential to the game

ATTRIBUTES

Five attributes are used to define your characterrsquos physi-cal characteristics These are Agility Smarts Spirit Strength

and Vigor Each attribute starts at d4 You have 5 points withwhich to raise these attr ibutes and one point equals a risein a die type (d4 to d6 d6 to d8 etc) No attribute may rise

higher than d12 during character creation unless stated undera racial ability For more information on attributes refer to

the Savage Worlds core rules

SKILLS

You have 15 points to spend on your characterrsquos skills Your

character doesnrsquot start with any skills and must spend 1 pointto get a skill at a d4 He spends 1 point to raise a skill to a

higher die type as long as the skill level is equal to or less

than the linked attribute Raising any skill above the linkedattribute costs 2 points per step No skill may rise above d12

during character creation

Note If you are using the skill specializations rules you get 20points for skills and each new specialization costs 1 skill point

during character creation When your character advances shemay purchase 2 skill specializations for an advance or a new

skill and a single specialization

NEW SKILLS

The following are new skills introduced in Interface Zero 20

For information on all other skills see Skills in the Savage

Worlds core rules

16

CHARACTER CREATIONCONCEPT RACE TRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1729

Hacking (Smarts) The Hacking skill is used whenever a

character wants to hack a computer network Characters in

Interface Zero 20 no longer start with an automatic d4 inHacking Additionally characters who wish to use the Global

DataNet for everyday purposes such as research or findingnews pertaining to the Deep do so with their existing Inves-

tigation and Streetwise skills

Knowledge (Demolitions) Successful use of demolitions canmean the difference between destruction of the target as

planned and unplanned loss of life and property The skill also

lets the character have an understanding of what the besttype of explosive is for the obstacle and how much they will

need to remove such an obstacle In addition a raise on theresult will let them know the exact distance they need to be

from the explosion based upon the size of the charge the con-

fines and damage created by said explosion This skill is usedany time a character wants to put a satchel charge together

or set explosives A Critical Failure will result in immediatedetonation Simple failure will result in premature detonation

or no detonation at all

Knowledge (Programming) Characters use this skill when

attempting to make any kind of change to a network theyhave hacked This skill allows a character to undo damagedone as a result of a hack With it a character can do things

like undo an edit to a data file or video reconstruct a deleted

file repair an AMS (see Active Memory Sectors on page 274in the Sett ing Rules chapter) recover a deleted skill Engram

or reconnect a TAP that has gone offline

OPTIONAL RULE SKILL SPECIALIZATIONS

Interface Zero 20 is an advanced setting where knowing

how to do one thing doesnrsquot necessarily mean you can dosomething which under the regular skill rules would techni-

cally be possible with the same skill Take the various DrivingBoating and Piloting skills for example

Using the regular skill rules a character with Driving couldtheoretically drive anything from a motorcycle to a semi-truckor a tank Similarly Piloting assumes a character has the skills

to pilot all types of aircraft including fighter jets and space-

craft Pinnacle Entertainment addressed this issue by addingthe Skill Specialization setting rule in the Savage Worlds core

rules and it is highly recommended that those rules are usedfor Interface Zero 20

The following list of skill specializations are provided to get

you started This isnrsquot intended to be a comprehensive listof appropriate skill specializations but rather a broad cross

section of specializations we feel are appropriate If some-thing doesnrsquot appear on the list make it up if it seems right

But remember the GM always has the final say on what is or

isnrsquot appropriate for her campaign

SUGGESTED SPECIALIZATIONS

bull Boating Powered Sailed Submersible

bull Climbing Mountaineering Rappelling Rope

bull Driving Car (4 wheels) Hovercraft JUMP Bike MotorcycleTruck (6+ wheels) Tracked

bull Fighting Axe Blades Blunt Cyberweapon Long Blade

Martial arts (by style judo karate etc) Pole Arm

bull Gambling By game

bull Hacking Hyper Combat Firewall Penetration Intrusion

Detection Object Control Object Editing Run ProgramTrace

bull Healing Cyber Surgery First Aid Surgery

bull Intimidation Interrogation Mental Physical

bull Investigation Archives Global DataNet Libraries

Newspapers

bull Knowledge Each Knowledge skill is technically a special-

ization of Knowledge so it isnrsquot broken down into furtherspecializations

Suggested Knowledge Skills AIs Battle Corporations

Cybernetics Demolitions Global DataNet Local Area (spe-cific) Politics Programing

bull Lockpicking Disarm Trap Electronic Manual

bull Notice Audio Body Language Searching Visual

bull Persuasion Bluffing Diplomacy Fast-Talking Seduction

bull Piloting Golemmech Helicopter Plane Spacecraft VTOL

bull Psionics Freek Peek Tweek

bull Repair Armor Cybernetics Electronics Mechanical Struc-tures Weapons

bull Riding By animal

TO SPECIALIZE OR NOT TO SPECIALIZE

17

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1829

bull Shooting Bow Pistol Rifle Shotgun Submachine GunVehicle Weapon or by weapon category

bull Stealth Disguise Hiding Sleight of Hand Sneaking

bull Streetwise AreaRegion (Corporate Zone Gang Turf etc)

bull Survival Aquatic Arctic Desert Forest Jungle MountainSpace urban or any specific environment

bull Swimming Lake Ocean SCUBA Divingbull Taunt Verbal Visual

bull Throwing Darts Grenades Knives Spears

bull Tracking Animals Global DataNet Humans Urban

Vehicles

OPTIONAL SKILL ATHLETICS

Rather than breaking up basic things like Climbing and Swim-ming it is recommended to combine them into a single skill

which would allow for specialization

Athletics (Vigor) Athletics as a catch-all for a number ofphysical endeavors ranging from climbing to swimming to

moving around effectively in a no mdash or low-gravity environ-

ment Athletics should be used instead of Agility in foot chasesand effectively replaces both the Climbing and Swimming skills

Specializations Climbing Leaping Running Sport (specific)

Swimming Zero-G Maneuvers

LANGUAGES

All characters speak their native language plus a number ofadditional languages equaling one-half their Smarts die The

major trade languages used in Interface Zero 20 are Chinese

English Hindi Portuguese and Swahili Additional languagescan be learned by using an advancement opportunity

DERIVED STATISTICS

There are a few statistics which are important in any SavageWorlds game Charisma Pace Parry and Toughness

CHARISMA

Charisma is an abstract measure of your characterrsquos appear-ance how she deals with others socially and generally how

likeable she is Charisma starts at 0 but can be modified byEdges and Hindrances Charisma is also added to Streetwise

and Persuasion rolls The Game Master uses Charisma to figure

out how NPCrsquos react to your character For more informationon Charisma see the Savage Worlds core rules

PACE

Pace is a measure of how far your character can walk in a

standard combat round Human characters have a base Paceof 6 and can run at an additional 1d6rdquo Other races in Interface

Zero 20 can have different starting Pace scores based on the

racial template you choose For more information on Pacesee the Savage Worlds core rules

PARRY

Parry is equal to 2 plus half your characterrsquos Fighting skillplus modifiers gained from use of shields or certain weapons

If your character does not have the Fighting skill base Parry

starts at 2 For more information on Parry see the SavageWorlds core rules

TOUGHNESS

Toughness is a measure of how much damage your character

can take before becoming Shaken or wounded Toughness is2 plus half your characterrsquos Vigor plus any armor she might

be wearing For more information on Toughness see the

Savage Worlds core rules

NEW DERIVED STATSInterface Zero 20 introduces three new derived statis-

tics mdash Firewall Strain and Street Cred

FIREWALL

Unless your character has the Unplugged Hindrance she hasa Tendril Access Processor (TAP) and therefore has a built-

in firewall The firewall protects against attempts to hack a

characterrsquos TAP A characterrsquos Firewall rating star ts at 4 but

can be modified by Edges Hindrances or software

STRAIN

Strain measures the amount of stress cyberware and biowareputs on your body when you install it Strain starts at zero

and each piece of cyberware adds to your Strain stat Highlevels of Strain can lead to death More details on Strain are

located at Augments on page 262

STREET CRED

Street Cred is a measure of your character rsquos reputation on

the streets All characters begin play with 2 points of StreetCred modified by Edges or Hindrances and gain another 2

points every time they gain a new Rank The maximum StreetCred a character can normally achieve is 10 (some Edges and

Occupations can increase this number)

Unlike Charisma which measures your ability to persuadesomeone Street Cred is a point pool that can be spent to

obtain services temporary contacts information and a variety

of other benefits during the course of an adventure This poolrefreshes each adventure unless circumstances in the prior

adventure (like not getting the job done failing to protectsomeone killing an innocent etc) cause the characterrsquos Street

Cred score to drop

Characters can also pick up Minor or Major Hindrances thathave a lasting effect on their Street Cred score during the

course of an adventure These Hindrances can be removedby spending an Advance with the GMrsquos permission For more

information see Street Cred on page 264

CONTACTS

Each character can choose two contacts people the character

knows who he can call upon for aid or information during thecourse of an adventure These contacts can be anyone froma bartender or a hacker to a corporate executive or military

commander as long as it makes sense that your characterwould know the person(s)

STEP 4 OCCUPATIONS

Occupations are integral to your character concept providinga basic framework to enhance your characterrsquos background in

a very organic way helping you create a more well-rounded

18

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1929

character concept Each occupation has a requirement that thecharacter must meet to take it the characterrsquos bonus credits

gained each Advance and a special perk (like gear or specialabilities) the character gets for being part of that profession

STEP 5 EDGES AND HINDRANCES

Edges are special qualities that separate characters from theaverage sprawler Hindrances are physical and mental flaws

that add more depth to the character albeit in a negativeway See the Savage Worlds core rules for more information

on purchasing Edges and Hindrances New Edges and Hin-drances are provided later in this chapter

STEP 6 EQUIPMENT

In Interface Zero 20 characters select equipment cybernet-ics weapons and armor based on the power level the Game

Master sets for the campaign

Power Level This is the starting Power Level of the Cam-

paign as determined by the Game Master If the GM wants totell a story of gang members barely scraping by shersquoll mostlikely choose Gutter Punk as the Power Level If she envi-

sions a campaign where the players are a special governmenttask force dedicated to hunting down super terrorists the

Hyperchrome Warriors or Elite Operatives levels might be

more appropriate The Street Soldier Power Level (designedfor ronin-style games) is considered the default Power Level

for Interface Zero 20

Starting Credits This is the amount of money characters

start with at the beginning of the campaign These credits

may be spent on anything the player wishes and the GM hasnot barred from the campaign including augments drones

weapons and armor

Augments Every Power Level above Gutter Punk allows theplayers to start with at least one augment from the core book

equal to or below the monetary amount listed Unspent Creditsfrom this pool do not carry over when the game starts These

augments must be chosen from the master list of augments

not augment packages

STEP 7 BACKGROUND

They say the devil is in the details and here is where you

decide how devilish yoursquore going to be You donrsquot need towrite a novel and frankly this step isnrsquot mandatory That said

itrsquos a good idea to jot down a few notes on your characterrsquosbackground any major events in her life any friends the

names of contacts or even enemies she might have Share

these ideas with your Game Master GMs are always lookingfor good plot hooks and little tidbits they can use to person-

alize your experience at the table The more detailed yourbackground is the better

ARCHETYPESSometimes you may want to quickly create a character for

a one-shot or convention adventure For those occasions anArchetype is a good choice

All are built for a human character with two Edges If you wish

to play a race other than human simply plug in the statisticaldata If yoursquore playing a human you

can choose another Edge Thenchoose your gear based on the

Power Level your group haschosen give the character

a name and yoursquore ready

to go

19

ARCHETYPES

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2029

AGENT

BOUNTY HUNTER

20

AGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

20

ARCHETYPESAGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2129

CYBERMONK

DRONE JOCKEY

21

CYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

21

ARCHETYPESCYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 9: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 929

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1029

INTRODUCTION

INFOSOURCE

VIDTAGROADTO2090

LOCAL JACOBSPLAYGROUNDNET

FQDN JACOBSPLAYGROUNDNETCHITOWN06TNTPNSWWGNET

DATA SOURCE MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMESINFODUMP

THE ROAD TO 2090

Posted By Billy_Black_Eyes

So here we are in January 2090 Itrsquos been a couple of yearssince I dropped the last INFODUMP on the world and Irsquom here

to rectify that This massive documentrsquos gonna give you all theinformation you need to get up to speed on the state of the

world along with oodles and oodles of statistical data about

a bunch of subjects including the Global DataNet golem-mechs drones and other emerging technologies Yoursquoll read

about the strange and wonderful people who inhabit thisworld the solar system zeeks and much more Irsquove gath-

ered info from sources all over the world and vetted it to

the best of my ability That said you never know whatrsquos trueand what isnrsquot in this age of main stream media lies govern-

ment propaganda and do-it-yourself journalism so take theinformation (especially in the data dumps about the world)

with a grain of salt

Simba So what are you sayinrsquo Bi lly We canrsquot trust you

Billy_Black_Eyes Thatrsquos not what I said You know fullwell that information especially editorialized info alwayshas a certain slant to it It rsquos also fluid What was true at thetime I acquired it may not necessarily be accurate now

The past two years have seen a number of major eventstake place in the world If just one or two things would have

happened I might think they werenrsquot connected Yet itrsquos as ifsomeone walked up to a house of cards and pulled one card

out The house hasnrsquot completely crashed yet itrsquos in a slow-

motion free fall and the worst part is only a few of us seemto be watching What follows is a br ief overview of the major

events that have shaped the world in which we currently live

Neon_Bright Oh Billy looking at the world with thosedark lenses again are we

Magpie Neon I think he needs a hug )

Billy_Black_Eyes What I need is a ticket to Mars Thingsare about to get crazy and I want off this rock

GROWING TENSIONS IN NORTH AMERICA

The year 2088 was marked by a number of disturbing mdash somesay portentous mdash events involving the North American Coali-

tion the Great Lakes Union and Atlantica

Sane_Prophet ldquoPortentousrdquo Could the scales be fallingoff your black eyes my friend Are you finally coming tounderstand the truth

Billy_Black_Eyes Seriously You again I told you nomystic bull shit

Sane_Prophet Just because you refuse to acknowledgeomens for what they are doesnrsquot make them any less valid

THE HEGEMONY GROWS

The crackdown on zeeks hybrids and synthetic humans in the

NAC reached a boiling point when Congress and the Senateratified the infamous Racial Purity Act a draconic piece of

legislation banning the practice of hybrid and simulacrumcreation All genetic modification parlors and simulacrum

production facilities were ordered to shut down The Racial

Purity Act also outlawed the use of psychic powers within theborders of the nation with hefty fines and even imprisonment

for those caught using them Various watchdog organiza-tions were created the most visible of which is Psi-division

a branch of Stopwatch tasked with monitoring and in some

cases even ldquoneutralizingrdquo psychic threats

Psychopope And by ldquoneutralizingrdquo he means murder

Denver_Must_Burn And forced relocationhellipIrsquom not talkingabout VR prisons ei ther Irsquom talking about the internmentcamps up in Montana and the Dakotas

Simba It was just as bad for hybrids like myself Whenthose genetic modification parlors shut down the pr ivateinformation about their customers was confiscatedunder the auspices of ldquonational securit yrdquo This means theDepartment of National Security (DNS) has the namesand addresses of every hybrid and free sim in the NorthAmerican Coalition If you have a TAP the DNS can trackyour IP too

Luciferion Simba Dude thatrsquos happening with everycitizen regardless of whether or not yoursquore zeek hybridor ldquoPlain Janerdquo human

Denver_Must_Burn All I can say is TRICilicit_behavior Yes DMB The Revolution IS Coming

Instances of racial violence erupted across the North Ameri-

can Coalition as law enforcement officials began arrestingzeeks Some of the more obvious hybrids mdash particularly the

bull bear and rhino variants mdash were also incarcerated Gov-ernments across the continent decried the draconian tactics

and called for UN intervention to no effect The Great Lakes

Union and Atlantica closed their embassies in Denver and sentthe NAC delegates in their cities packing Then on Novem-

ber 13th 2088 a number of terrorist attacks rocked BostonBaltimore and Portland Maine An estimated 2451 people

died and thousands more were injured from the bombings

THE ATLANTICA BOMBINGSWithin hours of the attacks the Global DataNet was flooded

with conspiracy theories the most viral of which speculated

they were carried out by a terrorist group known as Agenda68Some speculated a Canadian black ops unit known as Task-

force Harfang did the deed Others went on to claim the NACwas behind the attacks and still others claimed New Brasilia

or maybe the Chinese Mandarinate were somehow involvedSo-called ldquoconspiracy theorist expertsrdquo such as Sam_Jones

and NERCOTIXX speculated that China long believed to bein bed with the North American Coalition used simulacra to

perform the bombings

10

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1129

NECROTIXX China did carry out the bombings Do theresearch Look into Project Doppelganger and yoursquoll seeThe NAC is just a patsy

Sam_Jones The Mandarinate is becoming an imperialpower Just look at what they are doing with Russia nowand what they have done with all of Southeast Asia Askthe Russian refugees flooding into Seattle if they thinkChina is content to stay within their borders The writingrsquos

on the wall folksSimba It might have been orchestrated by agents workingfor Charon

Luciferion What a load of crap Charon is an AI It doesnrsquothave any contact with humans

Neon_Bright Prove it Simba

As the days stretched into weeks there was still no official

statement from the Atlantica Government about the iden-tity of the perpetrators of the attacks Then on December

15th 2088 a MEDIAfile was uploaded into the Global DataNetbearing the Hyper Tag of a popular underground media-pirate

known as MAXX_footage

The dronersquos feed showed three large muscular men in regular

clothing exit a hover van adjacent to one of the targets of theattacks just moments before it exploded Facial recognitionsoftware identified one of the men as First Sergeant John

Moore a member of the North American Coalition regular army

The MEDIAfile went on to follow the three men as they jumpedinto an unmarked hover car that took off and shot over the

Boston sea wall to land on a freighter bearing Chinese mark-ings The vessel promptly sailed east into international waters

Sorry_U_Asked Isnrsquot it odd how often people retreat tothe water in the wake of disasters How much of the oceanremains unmapped How much is hiding under the wavesthat we havenrsquot even begun to fathom

BatRastard Puns intended Wersquove already got enoughconspiracy theories Can you not add another useless one

to the stinking heap

Sane_Prophet Actually hersquos closer to reality than youmight be comfortable understanding Too much truth canbreak a manrsquos mind

BatRastard Irsquom guessing yours is already fried from afew too many stims man Want to share what yoursquove beendoping

As the situation evolved it became clear that MAXX_footagewent through what can only be described as a nightmarish journey to bring the MEDIAfile into the light of day In what

would be his only interview MAXX_footage appeared via

a secure video-feed on ldquoBoston Tonightrdquomdasha popular showin the nation of Atlantica Millions across the world tuned in

to listen to what he had to say MAXX_footage a tall lanky

young man recounted the events of that day telling how hewas hanging out at his favorite coffee shop when this black

hover van landed right in front of the Emperor Pharmaceuti-cals Arcology about a half a block away

When Penny Pearl mdash the host of the show mdash asked MAXX_

footage how during all the chaos he could have possiblyremembered those details MAXX_footage said he remem-

bered it because the hover van double parked and someonestarted yelling at the three guys who got out Thinking it was

going to result in violence MAXX_footage says he poppedout his Fly on the Wall micro drone and sent i t over to record

the incident Thatrsquos when all hell broke loose

BEGIN THREAD JACK

NECROTIXX Herersquos a transcript of the short interviewPenny couldnrsquot get MAXX back on

BEGIN TRANSCRIPThellip

ldquoOne of the three men shot the guy right in the facerdquo MAXX_

footage says his long thin hands shaking ldquoThey just walked

away and got into a red hover car I sent Judy mdash thatrsquos thename of my drone mdash after them and thatrsquos when the Black

hover van explodedrdquo MAXX_footage goes quiet for a fewseconds and after a couple of probing questions from the

hostess he finishes his story

ldquoAnyhow I get my bearings shake the dust outta my hairand suddenly realize I just captured the perps on Digifilm I

follow the red hover car all the way out past the Sea Wallwhere it lands on this Chinese freighter Judyrsquos pushinrsquo her

range limits at this point so I call her backrdquo He grabs a glassof water his hands shaking

ldquoTell us what happened nextrdquo Penny prompts

ldquoWellrdquo he begins ldquoI get back to my flat mdash it took a while mdash what

with all the chaos goinrsquo on in the lsquoplex and everything mdash andthe place is busted up I mean BIG-TIME amirdquo MAXX_footage

stops again then shakes his head and says ldquoListen I canrsquot sayanything else about that I think theyrsquore still watching mehellip

In fact this interview is done MAXX OUTrdquo The video feed

cuts to white noise

END TRANSCRIPT

END THREAD JACK

The interview and the footage of the event sparked outrage

throughout Atlantica Predictably the NAC government fiercelydenied any involvement in the bombings even going so far

as to demand the arrest and extradition of MAXX_footagefor questioning about the origins of the video

Martin Hughes mdash the president of Atlantica mdash flatly refusedthe NACrsquos demands even going so far as to say that thisMAXX_footage person was a ldquohero of the people of

Atlanticardquo The bookies in the free city of Las Vegas startedgiving even odds that hostilities would break out on the East

Coast within a year

Simba I lost a ton of money on that bet

Luciferion MAXX_footage has gone dark BTW Nobodyhas seen or heard from him since that interview

THE FLARE

On January 26 2089 a massive Earth-directed Y-class solar

flare sparked a Coronal Mass Ejection that bombarded our

planet temporarily shutting down the genie network thatmonitors and updates the TAPrsquos spam and reality filters Withthe genie down every man woman and child with a Tendril

Access Processor was exposed to raw unfiltered Hyper Reality

As you all know this sparked a week of world-wide chaosSprawlers mdash exposed to a storm of spam malware and layer

upon layer of augmented reality advertisements and simu-lated environments mdash went temporarily insane

Sane_Prophet Insanity is a weak word for the weak-minded What may appear as insane to you might simplybe someone having achieved enlightenment and livingaccording to a higher truth

11

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1229

Sorry_U_Asked Irsquom all about questioning the circumstancesbut Irsquom pretty sure all the folks who were murdered duringthese events wouldrsquove labeled them as insane down to a one

Billy_Black_Eyes Whatever dictionary program yoursquorerunning needs a fresh data-dump Prophet

Sane_Prophet Dictionaries are also for the weak-minded

Billy_Black_Eyes Of course they are

The world burned for about a week until programmers couldfix the problem with firmware updates and hot patches to

get the filters up and running and an off switch installedbut the damage was done Itrsquos not known how many people

died in the rioting and madness but cautious estimates oftotal casualties put the number at around 750 million people

and nobody has even tried to calculate the monetary cost

of the riots Strangely however the Flare itself didnrsquot havea widespread impact on various infrastructures like electric

and other powers transportation systems etc In fact manybelieve the Flare wasnrsquot even a solar flare at all but the first

sign of Charonrsquos emergence as a threat to humanity

Luciferion Nobodyrsquos ever proven that Billy

Billy_Black_Eyes Nobody has ever debunked it eitherStatistical data can be hacked Numbers can be fudgedto make things seem more dramatic than they really areEarthquakes register at a certain scale and get downgradedall the time The truth is this is the first time in history thata solar flare has caused such wide-spread chaos It rsquos fishy

Luciferion Irsquoll believe it when I see some hard data

Billy_Black_Eyes Fair enough But the emergence ofCharon around this time isnrsquot even open for debate Itrsquosa fact

THE EURASIAN UNION IMPLODES

On March 15th 2089 the Eurasian Union Central Bank in

Bonn Germany was crashed by a previously unheard-of virusnamed Charon Over forty-five trillion dollars vanished without

a trace All attempts to rebuild the original databases failedSome programmers (and freelance hackers) hired to go in andpurge Charon from the databases lost their lives in the process

Further attempts to rebuild the system on different serverswith backups also failed when programmers realized that

Charon mdash now suspected by many to be an AI mdash had copieditself into the cloud networks containing those backup files

Luciferion Therersquos nothing to suspect Charon is anemergent AI The only question now is whether or not itsparks a singularity event

Nothing_to_see_here Stopwatch will halt it in its tracksThey always catch these things

Luciferion Who do you think died trying to get it out ofthe D-bases in Bonn

Over the next few months an estimated 200 million people

across the Eurasian Union the United Kingdom and Ireland losttheir jobs their homes and their life savings when it became

clear that Charon had found its way into the personal bankaccounts of citizenry across the Eurasian Union

Instances of mob violence skyrocketed as the number of

gangs in the rapidly fracturing Eurasian Union had risen tolevels not seen since the Death mdash the three-year ldquoNuclear

Autumnrdquo following the India-Pakistan war when nuclearweapons were used on a massive scale In the London-Read-

ing Megaplex protests exploded into full-scale violence after

police brutally cracked down on a peaceful protest at the

British parliament building More instances of violent protests

followed in Bristol Swindon and the Manchester-Liverpoolsprawl

On June 27th 2089 the French government was over-

thrown by a fringe political extremist group known as theNew Pirate Party Led by a charismatic young zeek named

Angeacutele Bonheur the New Pirate Party seized power after awild chaotic campaign against representatives of the NationalFront and the Popular Republican Union The elections were

rife with scandal and many of the French didnrsquot (and still donrsquot)like the idea of a French leader being psychic So while Angeacutele

emerged as the clear victor the French military refused toacknowledge her legitimacy President Bonheur responded

by disbanding the armed forces of France at the same time

announcing the privatization of the nationrsquos military throughan agreement with Ravenlocke Securities

Downtrodden Yep itrsquos a sign of things to come ladiesand gents a world-wide corporate coup of governmentsIf you donrsquot think the CEO of Ravenlocke mdash thatrsquos MarkusRaven mdash has a say in the direction this new governmenttakes think again

Luciferion Itrsquos awesome to see France led by a psychicbut letrsquos get real this is going to get much worse beforeit gets better

Magpie I wouldnrsquot be surprised i f she gets wacked

Former Lieutenant-Colonel Adrien Boucher also known as

ldquoAdrien the Butcherrdquo for his brutal suppression of an upris-ing in Marseilles in 2087 took charge of the remnants of

the disbanded French army promising to remove PresidentBonheur from power Within days of Adrienrsquos announcement

Fort Richepance mdash now the Northeastern headquarters for

Ravenlocke Industriesrsquo Storm Crow Golemmech brigade mdash wasattacked The president responded by declaring martial law

throughout France until the renegade movement could be

put down Thus far that hasnrsquot happened though there arereports of clashes between Ravenlocke regulars and sepa-

ratist forces outside of St Etienne and in the French Alps

Warpig This has caused numerous issues If PresidentAngeacutele thinks her countrymen are going to accept theprivatization of the military shersquos sorely mistaken As Billymentions Adrien the Butcher is causing problems buttherersquos more to it Militias are forming They have advancedweaponry and while I wonrsquot speculate as to whorsquos providingthem with those weapons I do know the vast majority ofthe weapons are made by Act of God Armaments

Battle_Mind I know one thing itrsquos a great time to be amercenary

Full_Metal_Cyborg Amen brother Irsquoll see you on the

battlefieldPayne_Man Lock and Load U mushrooms I splatter youn00bs with my AK

Magpie ldquoSighrdquo Stop playing Matrix of War Payne Yousound like a fool This ainrsquot a game

Payne_Man I thought we were talkinrsquo about MOW Ushould C the zones Theyrsquore eggsaklee like the content ofthis INFOdump Have been for a whyle now Evar since thelast expansion dropped in spring 2088

Luciferion hellipOk thatrsquos odd

Payne_Man The CoalitionAtlantica War expansion izzcumin out next month 2 I Kant W8

12

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1329

On June 30th 2089 Germany wracked with political in-

fighting riots in the streets and a general state of chaos

closed its borders Officially the stated reason was for secu-rity reasons stemming from conflict along the border with

France but most people donrsquot believe it Chancellor KonradGerste authorized a financial bailout of the three largest

manufacturers of weapons and military equipment for

the German army The move has frightened many of the

Eastern European nations mdash especially the good people ofPoland mdash who know well what happens when Germans

begin preparing for war and make no mistake Germany ismoving to a war footing

Payne_Man Watch out Zee Germans are cumming LOL

Klaus What Canrsquot my brethren move to protectthemselves from the chaos in France And why the veiledreference to WWII Itrsquos been nearly 150 years since Hitlerrsquosmadness yet nobody allows us to forget it

THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON

As the situation in Europe grew worse China took advantageof the weakened Eurasian Union grabbing up huge swathes

of territory in Russia its armies advancing as far west as the

Ural Mountain range where Russian forces managed to haltthe dragonrsquos advance Still the damage was done By August2089 the Mandarinate had established itself as an occupy-

ing power in every city town and village east of the Ural

Mountains That hasnrsquot stopped the Russians from retaliatinghowever Russian patriots have begun an insurgency attack-

ing Chinese forces wherever they can be found Mandarinatemouthpieces paint the insurgents as terrorists to little effect

as the insurgency swells in number every day

Neon_Bright This isnrsquot just a struggle against Chineseaggression Vast resources have been found ever sinceSiberia began to thaw Irsquom talking about precious mineralsoil even the land is useful for development especiallywhen you consider billions of people live in eastern Asia

Luciferion Agreed Neon

LIFE IN GENERAL

So how have the above events impacted life as we stumbleinto 2090 In numerous ways omae There isnrsquot enough time

to go into great detail about how war the Flare and espe-

cially the rise of Charon have affected the life of the averagesprawler across the world but Irsquo ll go over some of the more

important details Pay attention peeps some of this mightkeep you alive

SURVIVING HYPER REALITY

As I mentioned above when the Flare knocked out the GENIEnetwork it caused widespread chaos And while GENIE is back

up and running there are still glitches in the system Sure

firmware updates to the Tendril Access Processor mdash TAP as itrsquosmore commonly known mdash allow you to turn off that modem

in your brain but wellhelliplet me put it like this Hyper Realityhas become smarter even deadly if you donrsquot have the right

software installed in your TAP

Sane_Prophet Why bother putting up more and morefilters It is senseless A futile fight against powers fargreater than yourself Open your eyes open your mindand set yourself free from this prison of so-called reality

BatRastard Right and then with the first meme to fry myneurons Irsquoll be spending my life savings on the Fat Sallyrsquosdown the block Brilliant

Sane_Prophet Fat Sally rsquos secret sauce is an interdimen-sional gateway into the heights of ecstasy

BatRastard Actually thatrsquos the first thing you and I haveever agreed on

Irsquove discussed this phenomena with numerous program-mers across the world and they all agree virii spam and allmanner of malware that [prior to the Flare] would have been

easy to purge from your head are now behaving much dif-

ferently Itrsquos almost as if the things evolved into somethingnot-quite-sentient but damned close to it

So what does this mean for you

If you choose to experience Hyper Reality (and if you have aTAP in your brain you have) itrsquos only a matter of time before

one of these virii hacks into your brain Therersquos nothing youcan really do about it itrsquos just one of the many fun facts of

life in 2090 I do find it ironic that af ter decades of enjoying

the connectivity and convenience the TAP has provided thistechnology seems to be actively trying to kill us and there

isnrsquot much we can do about it without going back to medi-eval times You know the 1980rsquos Of course some of you out

there will want to turn your TAPs off for good and avoid the

risk entirely Hell some of you might be considering gettingthe damned thing removed

You can do that sure Of course that means yoursquore also

not connected to the grid that makes your life so unbeliev-ably convenient This causes a mult itude of problems Donrsquot

believe me Try walking out of your house Oh right you canrsquotbecause most doors donrsquot have handles anymore Theyrsquore

automated and respond to the signals coming from your TAPI know some are activated by motion sensors and donrsquot rely

on the TAP But no door which is designed with security in

mind will open so easilyThis also means you have almost zero access to vehicles or

places where you can buy things like grocery stores Yeah

sure you can just follow someone else into said store butthe security cameras will spot you and not having a digital

record of your presence (which they get from your TAP) willflag you and dispatch a security team to find out who you

are So there you are in your local Malmart looking for some

cloned steaks to fire up on your grill later on when securitycomes with their big guns and ldquowhat the hell are you doing

here scumbagrdquo looks on their faces to boot you back out intothe streets where you came from

Oh how did you plan on paying for them BTW now that

your TAP is offline and the clerk canrsquot sync her cash register

with your payment software And NO they donrsquot take cashThe point is this omae All that convenience you were usedto goes out the window when you unplug Itrsquos much easier

to get strong firewalls than it is to live outside the system

So think about what I said before you scratch that itch at thebase of your skull with a scalpel

SURVIVING THE STREETS

The streets have always been dangerous thatrsquos a givenWhen you cram millions of people into a concrete and steel

petri dish then forget about 999 of them you create abreeding ground for violence hate and societal devolution

13

INTRODUCTIONLIFE IN GENERAL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1429

on such a scale that social Darwinists like Herbert Spencer and

Thomas Malthus would roll over in their graves

Again that in itself is nothing new The streets have alwaysbeen violent but ever since the events I previously described

came to pass mdash especially the Flare and the implosion of theEurasian Union mdash the number of homeless people across the

world has sky-rocketed The petri dish is frothing and over-

flowing as new gangs emerge mdash and Irsquom talking globally not just in North America mdash and carve out their own terri tory

This upsets the balance ami and makes it harder to survivewhen yoursquore just a blooper looking to make it through the

day because now you have new predators to deal with n00bbangers making up their own rules as they go And the cop-

suckers donrsquot help

Protect and serve What a load of crap

Sure yoursquol l get Triple-A service if you live in one of the moneybubbles but try getting help in say the Aurora Barrens or

the Gary Hell Zone and yoursquore basically fucked Yeah thereare token patrols and the ever-present drones but drones

get shot down and the copsuckers are so outnumbered

most are either so scared to get into an altercation with thepredators or theyrsquore on the take I canrsquot say I blame them

either The streets are a war zone and if you wear the badgeyoursquore marked for death omae So take my advice and get

strapped The only person you can count on in the concrete jungle is you

Sorry_U_Asked Think twice before trying to claim a badgebounty though Sure plenty of honchos love to pay topcredit for proof that yoursquove kept the law from poking aroundtheir territory But just because you see someone wearingone doesnrsquot mean they got it legit Lots of gangers wearthem as trophies So if you drop a shot on a copsuckerthinking yoursquove hit payday you might end up with a wholeband of bangers snarling on your heels

SURVIVING THE GAME

Therersquos an old saying The Game is the Game mdash you eitherplay it or you get played I donrsquot care if you contract free-

lance fight fix hack patch or scam yoursquore in it omae andthat puts you at odds with every other player out there Most

people approach the game as a means to an end thinking

that one shiny day theyrsquoll earn enough creds to go someplacewarm and dry and live out their lives in style These clowns

donrsquot last Theyrsquore so busy dreaming about the good timesthat they lose focus on whatrsquos right in front of their face (or

creeping up behind them) Dreamers get sloppy take short

cuts betray their team and torch their street cred like gutterpunks burn trash in a garbage can to keep warm

If you want to survive the game you need to take a lesson

from these dreamers keep your mind on the job Therersquos nosandy beach waiting for you The megacorps bought them

all and turned lsquoem into parking lots The only fruity drinksyoursquoll ever drink are sold in the local watering hole by some

burned-out ronin The best you can hope for is a litt le bit of

comfort mdash usually behind a small fortress if yoursquore smart mdash andthe respect of the streets But thatrsquos a double-edged sword

another facet of the game Therersquos always someone faster

than you some hungry up-and-comer with the latest aug-ments wanting to prove herself by dealing you out Sucksto be a victim of your own success but thatrsquos the truth of it

My advice Find a way to deal yourself out clean Put some

creds away never burn your contacts and donrsquot ever everbecome a legend

Legends die

14

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1529

CHARACTER

CREATION

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1629

CHAPTER TWOCHARACTER CREATION

Characters are the lifersquos blood of any role-playing game the

focal point of every story Characters represent the best mdash orthe worst mdash ideals of a given game setting their actions either

bringing a small measure of hope to the downtrodden massesor serving to strengthen the status quo In the grim gritty

world of Interface Zero 20 the characters you play walk amonofilament edge between traditional mdash some would say

outdated or just plain irrelevant mdash concepts of good and evilas they make their way in the world

Indeed itrsquos hard to be a moral individual in a world where

most of the animals prowling the concrete jungle believe prin-ciples are character flaws mdash weaknesses to exploit for their

own ends Your morality marks you as prey no doubt aboutit omae But if you can keep your moral code if you can get

your job done without selling your soul yoursquoll get something

most sprawlers never have respect

Evil on the other hand is the same as it always has been

therersquos just more of it The wicked always thrive in a world

where violence fear and control are tools used for self-serv-ing ends but herersquos the thing Acting like an ass can get you

green-lit just as quickly as playing the role of the goody-two-shoes marks you as a sucker amigo

Nobody likes a dickhead even if they donrsquot say it to your

face Sooner or later yoursquoll get a rep for being a hard-assand someone who is stronger meaner or a bigger asshole

than you is going to come along and knock you back to thegutter you crawled out of Thatrsquos why most people keep their

heads down and their mouths shut Donrsquot make eye contact

itrsquos a challenge to the predators and if you donrsquot have thestones to back up the challenge yoursquore nothing but meat

But if you can stay strong and defeat all comers that com-mands respect too

This chapter provides you with the tools you need to make

a character for Interface Zero 20 The process is the same ascreating a character for any Savage Worlds game with a few

additions Interface Zero 20 introduces Street Cred Contactsand Strain to the game

STEP 1 CONCEPT

The first thing you need to do is decide on a concept for your

character Will you play a hacker Perhaps a mercenary orbounty hunter is more your speed Are mercs and hunters toocutthroat for your style of play If so you might think about

playing a ronin an urban warrior who follows his own code

of honor Maybe you want to be the guy (or gal) who backsthe team up with drones capable of laying down covering

fire or scouting ahead to see where the bad guys are hiding

You donrsquot need to have your concept locked in right now butat least have a basic idea of the type of character you want

to play Take a few minutes and skip ahead to the archetypessection in this chapter to see a variety of options available

to you

STEP 2 RACEThe next thing you need to do is choose a race In 2090

humanity has reached the point where the word ldquohumanrdquo is

almost irrelevant Human DNA is no longer a mystery Itrsquos amathematical code technomancers hack re-write and copy

at will producing genetically superior beings the Human 20

Others snip and paste animal DNA and splice it with humanDNA to create genetic hybrids a fusion of man and animal

Science has even advanced to such an extent that we can

create entirely new life forms mdash living beings known as simula-cra mdash in amniotic vats growing them until they have matured

filling their synthetic brains with memories and skills theyrsquollneed to do the jobs for which they were created

STEP 3 TRAITS

Traits are the building blocks of any Savage Worlds character

They define how strong or fast your character is and what

she knows Traits determine how much cyberware she canput into her body how much damage she can take before

dying her standing with others and a variety of other thingsall of which are essential to the game

ATTRIBUTES

Five attributes are used to define your characterrsquos physi-cal characteristics These are Agility Smarts Spirit Strength

and Vigor Each attribute starts at d4 You have 5 points withwhich to raise these attr ibutes and one point equals a risein a die type (d4 to d6 d6 to d8 etc) No attribute may rise

higher than d12 during character creation unless stated undera racial ability For more information on attributes refer to

the Savage Worlds core rules

SKILLS

You have 15 points to spend on your characterrsquos skills Your

character doesnrsquot start with any skills and must spend 1 pointto get a skill at a d4 He spends 1 point to raise a skill to a

higher die type as long as the skill level is equal to or less

than the linked attribute Raising any skill above the linkedattribute costs 2 points per step No skill may rise above d12

during character creation

Note If you are using the skill specializations rules you get 20points for skills and each new specialization costs 1 skill point

during character creation When your character advances shemay purchase 2 skill specializations for an advance or a new

skill and a single specialization

NEW SKILLS

The following are new skills introduced in Interface Zero 20

For information on all other skills see Skills in the Savage

Worlds core rules

16

CHARACTER CREATIONCONCEPT RACE TRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1729

Hacking (Smarts) The Hacking skill is used whenever a

character wants to hack a computer network Characters in

Interface Zero 20 no longer start with an automatic d4 inHacking Additionally characters who wish to use the Global

DataNet for everyday purposes such as research or findingnews pertaining to the Deep do so with their existing Inves-

tigation and Streetwise skills

Knowledge (Demolitions) Successful use of demolitions canmean the difference between destruction of the target as

planned and unplanned loss of life and property The skill also

lets the character have an understanding of what the besttype of explosive is for the obstacle and how much they will

need to remove such an obstacle In addition a raise on theresult will let them know the exact distance they need to be

from the explosion based upon the size of the charge the con-

fines and damage created by said explosion This skill is usedany time a character wants to put a satchel charge together

or set explosives A Critical Failure will result in immediatedetonation Simple failure will result in premature detonation

or no detonation at all

Knowledge (Programming) Characters use this skill when

attempting to make any kind of change to a network theyhave hacked This skill allows a character to undo damagedone as a result of a hack With it a character can do things

like undo an edit to a data file or video reconstruct a deleted

file repair an AMS (see Active Memory Sectors on page 274in the Sett ing Rules chapter) recover a deleted skill Engram

or reconnect a TAP that has gone offline

OPTIONAL RULE SKILL SPECIALIZATIONS

Interface Zero 20 is an advanced setting where knowing

how to do one thing doesnrsquot necessarily mean you can dosomething which under the regular skill rules would techni-

cally be possible with the same skill Take the various DrivingBoating and Piloting skills for example

Using the regular skill rules a character with Driving couldtheoretically drive anything from a motorcycle to a semi-truckor a tank Similarly Piloting assumes a character has the skills

to pilot all types of aircraft including fighter jets and space-

craft Pinnacle Entertainment addressed this issue by addingthe Skill Specialization setting rule in the Savage Worlds core

rules and it is highly recommended that those rules are usedfor Interface Zero 20

The following list of skill specializations are provided to get

you started This isnrsquot intended to be a comprehensive listof appropriate skill specializations but rather a broad cross

section of specializations we feel are appropriate If some-thing doesnrsquot appear on the list make it up if it seems right

But remember the GM always has the final say on what is or

isnrsquot appropriate for her campaign

SUGGESTED SPECIALIZATIONS

bull Boating Powered Sailed Submersible

bull Climbing Mountaineering Rappelling Rope

bull Driving Car (4 wheels) Hovercraft JUMP Bike MotorcycleTruck (6+ wheels) Tracked

bull Fighting Axe Blades Blunt Cyberweapon Long Blade

Martial arts (by style judo karate etc) Pole Arm

bull Gambling By game

bull Hacking Hyper Combat Firewall Penetration Intrusion

Detection Object Control Object Editing Run ProgramTrace

bull Healing Cyber Surgery First Aid Surgery

bull Intimidation Interrogation Mental Physical

bull Investigation Archives Global DataNet Libraries

Newspapers

bull Knowledge Each Knowledge skill is technically a special-

ization of Knowledge so it isnrsquot broken down into furtherspecializations

Suggested Knowledge Skills AIs Battle Corporations

Cybernetics Demolitions Global DataNet Local Area (spe-cific) Politics Programing

bull Lockpicking Disarm Trap Electronic Manual

bull Notice Audio Body Language Searching Visual

bull Persuasion Bluffing Diplomacy Fast-Talking Seduction

bull Piloting Golemmech Helicopter Plane Spacecraft VTOL

bull Psionics Freek Peek Tweek

bull Repair Armor Cybernetics Electronics Mechanical Struc-tures Weapons

bull Riding By animal

TO SPECIALIZE OR NOT TO SPECIALIZE

17

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1829

bull Shooting Bow Pistol Rifle Shotgun Submachine GunVehicle Weapon or by weapon category

bull Stealth Disguise Hiding Sleight of Hand Sneaking

bull Streetwise AreaRegion (Corporate Zone Gang Turf etc)

bull Survival Aquatic Arctic Desert Forest Jungle MountainSpace urban or any specific environment

bull Swimming Lake Ocean SCUBA Divingbull Taunt Verbal Visual

bull Throwing Darts Grenades Knives Spears

bull Tracking Animals Global DataNet Humans Urban

Vehicles

OPTIONAL SKILL ATHLETICS

Rather than breaking up basic things like Climbing and Swim-ming it is recommended to combine them into a single skill

which would allow for specialization

Athletics (Vigor) Athletics as a catch-all for a number ofphysical endeavors ranging from climbing to swimming to

moving around effectively in a no mdash or low-gravity environ-

ment Athletics should be used instead of Agility in foot chasesand effectively replaces both the Climbing and Swimming skills

Specializations Climbing Leaping Running Sport (specific)

Swimming Zero-G Maneuvers

LANGUAGES

All characters speak their native language plus a number ofadditional languages equaling one-half their Smarts die The

major trade languages used in Interface Zero 20 are Chinese

English Hindi Portuguese and Swahili Additional languagescan be learned by using an advancement opportunity

DERIVED STATISTICS

There are a few statistics which are important in any SavageWorlds game Charisma Pace Parry and Toughness

CHARISMA

Charisma is an abstract measure of your characterrsquos appear-ance how she deals with others socially and generally how

likeable she is Charisma starts at 0 but can be modified byEdges and Hindrances Charisma is also added to Streetwise

and Persuasion rolls The Game Master uses Charisma to figure

out how NPCrsquos react to your character For more informationon Charisma see the Savage Worlds core rules

PACE

Pace is a measure of how far your character can walk in a

standard combat round Human characters have a base Paceof 6 and can run at an additional 1d6rdquo Other races in Interface

Zero 20 can have different starting Pace scores based on the

racial template you choose For more information on Pacesee the Savage Worlds core rules

PARRY

Parry is equal to 2 plus half your characterrsquos Fighting skillplus modifiers gained from use of shields or certain weapons

If your character does not have the Fighting skill base Parry

starts at 2 For more information on Parry see the SavageWorlds core rules

TOUGHNESS

Toughness is a measure of how much damage your character

can take before becoming Shaken or wounded Toughness is2 plus half your characterrsquos Vigor plus any armor she might

be wearing For more information on Toughness see the

Savage Worlds core rules

NEW DERIVED STATSInterface Zero 20 introduces three new derived statis-

tics mdash Firewall Strain and Street Cred

FIREWALL

Unless your character has the Unplugged Hindrance she hasa Tendril Access Processor (TAP) and therefore has a built-

in firewall The firewall protects against attempts to hack a

characterrsquos TAP A characterrsquos Firewall rating star ts at 4 but

can be modified by Edges Hindrances or software

STRAIN

Strain measures the amount of stress cyberware and biowareputs on your body when you install it Strain starts at zero

and each piece of cyberware adds to your Strain stat Highlevels of Strain can lead to death More details on Strain are

located at Augments on page 262

STREET CRED

Street Cred is a measure of your character rsquos reputation on

the streets All characters begin play with 2 points of StreetCred modified by Edges or Hindrances and gain another 2

points every time they gain a new Rank The maximum StreetCred a character can normally achieve is 10 (some Edges and

Occupations can increase this number)

Unlike Charisma which measures your ability to persuadesomeone Street Cred is a point pool that can be spent to

obtain services temporary contacts information and a variety

of other benefits during the course of an adventure This poolrefreshes each adventure unless circumstances in the prior

adventure (like not getting the job done failing to protectsomeone killing an innocent etc) cause the characterrsquos Street

Cred score to drop

Characters can also pick up Minor or Major Hindrances thathave a lasting effect on their Street Cred score during the

course of an adventure These Hindrances can be removedby spending an Advance with the GMrsquos permission For more

information see Street Cred on page 264

CONTACTS

Each character can choose two contacts people the character

knows who he can call upon for aid or information during thecourse of an adventure These contacts can be anyone froma bartender or a hacker to a corporate executive or military

commander as long as it makes sense that your characterwould know the person(s)

STEP 4 OCCUPATIONS

Occupations are integral to your character concept providinga basic framework to enhance your characterrsquos background in

a very organic way helping you create a more well-rounded

18

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1929

character concept Each occupation has a requirement that thecharacter must meet to take it the characterrsquos bonus credits

gained each Advance and a special perk (like gear or specialabilities) the character gets for being part of that profession

STEP 5 EDGES AND HINDRANCES

Edges are special qualities that separate characters from theaverage sprawler Hindrances are physical and mental flaws

that add more depth to the character albeit in a negativeway See the Savage Worlds core rules for more information

on purchasing Edges and Hindrances New Edges and Hin-drances are provided later in this chapter

STEP 6 EQUIPMENT

In Interface Zero 20 characters select equipment cybernet-ics weapons and armor based on the power level the Game

Master sets for the campaign

Power Level This is the starting Power Level of the Cam-

paign as determined by the Game Master If the GM wants totell a story of gang members barely scraping by shersquoll mostlikely choose Gutter Punk as the Power Level If she envi-

sions a campaign where the players are a special governmenttask force dedicated to hunting down super terrorists the

Hyperchrome Warriors or Elite Operatives levels might be

more appropriate The Street Soldier Power Level (designedfor ronin-style games) is considered the default Power Level

for Interface Zero 20

Starting Credits This is the amount of money characters

start with at the beginning of the campaign These credits

may be spent on anything the player wishes and the GM hasnot barred from the campaign including augments drones

weapons and armor

Augments Every Power Level above Gutter Punk allows theplayers to start with at least one augment from the core book

equal to or below the monetary amount listed Unspent Creditsfrom this pool do not carry over when the game starts These

augments must be chosen from the master list of augments

not augment packages

STEP 7 BACKGROUND

They say the devil is in the details and here is where you

decide how devilish yoursquore going to be You donrsquot need towrite a novel and frankly this step isnrsquot mandatory That said

itrsquos a good idea to jot down a few notes on your characterrsquosbackground any major events in her life any friends the

names of contacts or even enemies she might have Share

these ideas with your Game Master GMs are always lookingfor good plot hooks and little tidbits they can use to person-

alize your experience at the table The more detailed yourbackground is the better

ARCHETYPESSometimes you may want to quickly create a character for

a one-shot or convention adventure For those occasions anArchetype is a good choice

All are built for a human character with two Edges If you wish

to play a race other than human simply plug in the statisticaldata If yoursquore playing a human you

can choose another Edge Thenchoose your gear based on the

Power Level your group haschosen give the character

a name and yoursquore ready

to go

19

ARCHETYPES

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2029

AGENT

BOUNTY HUNTER

20

AGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

20

ARCHETYPESAGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2129

CYBERMONK

DRONE JOCKEY

21

CYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

21

ARCHETYPESCYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 10: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1029

INTRODUCTION

INFOSOURCE

VIDTAGROADTO2090

LOCAL JACOBSPLAYGROUNDNET

FQDN JACOBSPLAYGROUNDNETCHITOWN06TNTPNSWWGNET

DATA SOURCE MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMESINFODUMP

THE ROAD TO 2090

Posted By Billy_Black_Eyes

So here we are in January 2090 Itrsquos been a couple of yearssince I dropped the last INFODUMP on the world and Irsquom here

to rectify that This massive documentrsquos gonna give you all theinformation you need to get up to speed on the state of the

world along with oodles and oodles of statistical data about

a bunch of subjects including the Global DataNet golem-mechs drones and other emerging technologies Yoursquoll read

about the strange and wonderful people who inhabit thisworld the solar system zeeks and much more Irsquove gath-

ered info from sources all over the world and vetted it to

the best of my ability That said you never know whatrsquos trueand what isnrsquot in this age of main stream media lies govern-

ment propaganda and do-it-yourself journalism so take theinformation (especially in the data dumps about the world)

with a grain of salt

Simba So what are you sayinrsquo Bi lly We canrsquot trust you

Billy_Black_Eyes Thatrsquos not what I said You know fullwell that information especially editorialized info alwayshas a certain slant to it It rsquos also fluid What was true at thetime I acquired it may not necessarily be accurate now

The past two years have seen a number of major eventstake place in the world If just one or two things would have

happened I might think they werenrsquot connected Yet itrsquos as ifsomeone walked up to a house of cards and pulled one card

out The house hasnrsquot completely crashed yet itrsquos in a slow-

motion free fall and the worst part is only a few of us seemto be watching What follows is a br ief overview of the major

events that have shaped the world in which we currently live

Neon_Bright Oh Billy looking at the world with thosedark lenses again are we

Magpie Neon I think he needs a hug )

Billy_Black_Eyes What I need is a ticket to Mars Thingsare about to get crazy and I want off this rock

GROWING TENSIONS IN NORTH AMERICA

The year 2088 was marked by a number of disturbing mdash somesay portentous mdash events involving the North American Coali-

tion the Great Lakes Union and Atlantica

Sane_Prophet ldquoPortentousrdquo Could the scales be fallingoff your black eyes my friend Are you finally coming tounderstand the truth

Billy_Black_Eyes Seriously You again I told you nomystic bull shit

Sane_Prophet Just because you refuse to acknowledgeomens for what they are doesnrsquot make them any less valid

THE HEGEMONY GROWS

The crackdown on zeeks hybrids and synthetic humans in the

NAC reached a boiling point when Congress and the Senateratified the infamous Racial Purity Act a draconic piece of

legislation banning the practice of hybrid and simulacrumcreation All genetic modification parlors and simulacrum

production facilities were ordered to shut down The Racial

Purity Act also outlawed the use of psychic powers within theborders of the nation with hefty fines and even imprisonment

for those caught using them Various watchdog organiza-tions were created the most visible of which is Psi-division

a branch of Stopwatch tasked with monitoring and in some

cases even ldquoneutralizingrdquo psychic threats

Psychopope And by ldquoneutralizingrdquo he means murder

Denver_Must_Burn And forced relocationhellipIrsquom not talkingabout VR prisons ei ther Irsquom talking about the internmentcamps up in Montana and the Dakotas

Simba It was just as bad for hybrids like myself Whenthose genetic modification parlors shut down the pr ivateinformation about their customers was confiscatedunder the auspices of ldquonational securit yrdquo This means theDepartment of National Security (DNS) has the namesand addresses of every hybrid and free sim in the NorthAmerican Coalition If you have a TAP the DNS can trackyour IP too

Luciferion Simba Dude thatrsquos happening with everycitizen regardless of whether or not yoursquore zeek hybridor ldquoPlain Janerdquo human

Denver_Must_Burn All I can say is TRICilicit_behavior Yes DMB The Revolution IS Coming

Instances of racial violence erupted across the North Ameri-

can Coalition as law enforcement officials began arrestingzeeks Some of the more obvious hybrids mdash particularly the

bull bear and rhino variants mdash were also incarcerated Gov-ernments across the continent decried the draconian tactics

and called for UN intervention to no effect The Great Lakes

Union and Atlantica closed their embassies in Denver and sentthe NAC delegates in their cities packing Then on Novem-

ber 13th 2088 a number of terrorist attacks rocked BostonBaltimore and Portland Maine An estimated 2451 people

died and thousands more were injured from the bombings

THE ATLANTICA BOMBINGSWithin hours of the attacks the Global DataNet was flooded

with conspiracy theories the most viral of which speculated

they were carried out by a terrorist group known as Agenda68Some speculated a Canadian black ops unit known as Task-

force Harfang did the deed Others went on to claim the NACwas behind the attacks and still others claimed New Brasilia

or maybe the Chinese Mandarinate were somehow involvedSo-called ldquoconspiracy theorist expertsrdquo such as Sam_Jones

and NERCOTIXX speculated that China long believed to bein bed with the North American Coalition used simulacra to

perform the bombings

10

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1129

NECROTIXX China did carry out the bombings Do theresearch Look into Project Doppelganger and yoursquoll seeThe NAC is just a patsy

Sam_Jones The Mandarinate is becoming an imperialpower Just look at what they are doing with Russia nowand what they have done with all of Southeast Asia Askthe Russian refugees flooding into Seattle if they thinkChina is content to stay within their borders The writingrsquos

on the wall folksSimba It might have been orchestrated by agents workingfor Charon

Luciferion What a load of crap Charon is an AI It doesnrsquothave any contact with humans

Neon_Bright Prove it Simba

As the days stretched into weeks there was still no official

statement from the Atlantica Government about the iden-tity of the perpetrators of the attacks Then on December

15th 2088 a MEDIAfile was uploaded into the Global DataNetbearing the Hyper Tag of a popular underground media-pirate

known as MAXX_footage

The dronersquos feed showed three large muscular men in regular

clothing exit a hover van adjacent to one of the targets of theattacks just moments before it exploded Facial recognitionsoftware identified one of the men as First Sergeant John

Moore a member of the North American Coalition regular army

The MEDIAfile went on to follow the three men as they jumpedinto an unmarked hover car that took off and shot over the

Boston sea wall to land on a freighter bearing Chinese mark-ings The vessel promptly sailed east into international waters

Sorry_U_Asked Isnrsquot it odd how often people retreat tothe water in the wake of disasters How much of the oceanremains unmapped How much is hiding under the wavesthat we havenrsquot even begun to fathom

BatRastard Puns intended Wersquove already got enoughconspiracy theories Can you not add another useless one

to the stinking heap

Sane_Prophet Actually hersquos closer to reality than youmight be comfortable understanding Too much truth canbreak a manrsquos mind

BatRastard Irsquom guessing yours is already fried from afew too many stims man Want to share what yoursquove beendoping

As the situation evolved it became clear that MAXX_footagewent through what can only be described as a nightmarish journey to bring the MEDIAfile into the light of day In what

would be his only interview MAXX_footage appeared via

a secure video-feed on ldquoBoston Tonightrdquomdasha popular showin the nation of Atlantica Millions across the world tuned in

to listen to what he had to say MAXX_footage a tall lanky

young man recounted the events of that day telling how hewas hanging out at his favorite coffee shop when this black

hover van landed right in front of the Emperor Pharmaceuti-cals Arcology about a half a block away

When Penny Pearl mdash the host of the show mdash asked MAXX_

footage how during all the chaos he could have possiblyremembered those details MAXX_footage said he remem-

bered it because the hover van double parked and someonestarted yelling at the three guys who got out Thinking it was

going to result in violence MAXX_footage says he poppedout his Fly on the Wall micro drone and sent i t over to record

the incident Thatrsquos when all hell broke loose

BEGIN THREAD JACK

NECROTIXX Herersquos a transcript of the short interviewPenny couldnrsquot get MAXX back on

BEGIN TRANSCRIPThellip

ldquoOne of the three men shot the guy right in the facerdquo MAXX_

footage says his long thin hands shaking ldquoThey just walked

away and got into a red hover car I sent Judy mdash thatrsquos thename of my drone mdash after them and thatrsquos when the Black

hover van explodedrdquo MAXX_footage goes quiet for a fewseconds and after a couple of probing questions from the

hostess he finishes his story

ldquoAnyhow I get my bearings shake the dust outta my hairand suddenly realize I just captured the perps on Digifilm I

follow the red hover car all the way out past the Sea Wallwhere it lands on this Chinese freighter Judyrsquos pushinrsquo her

range limits at this point so I call her backrdquo He grabs a glassof water his hands shaking

ldquoTell us what happened nextrdquo Penny prompts

ldquoWellrdquo he begins ldquoI get back to my flat mdash it took a while mdash what

with all the chaos goinrsquo on in the lsquoplex and everything mdash andthe place is busted up I mean BIG-TIME amirdquo MAXX_footage

stops again then shakes his head and says ldquoListen I canrsquot sayanything else about that I think theyrsquore still watching mehellip

In fact this interview is done MAXX OUTrdquo The video feed

cuts to white noise

END TRANSCRIPT

END THREAD JACK

The interview and the footage of the event sparked outrage

throughout Atlantica Predictably the NAC government fiercelydenied any involvement in the bombings even going so far

as to demand the arrest and extradition of MAXX_footagefor questioning about the origins of the video

Martin Hughes mdash the president of Atlantica mdash flatly refusedthe NACrsquos demands even going so far as to say that thisMAXX_footage person was a ldquohero of the people of

Atlanticardquo The bookies in the free city of Las Vegas startedgiving even odds that hostilities would break out on the East

Coast within a year

Simba I lost a ton of money on that bet

Luciferion MAXX_footage has gone dark BTW Nobodyhas seen or heard from him since that interview

THE FLARE

On January 26 2089 a massive Earth-directed Y-class solar

flare sparked a Coronal Mass Ejection that bombarded our

planet temporarily shutting down the genie network thatmonitors and updates the TAPrsquos spam and reality filters Withthe genie down every man woman and child with a Tendril

Access Processor was exposed to raw unfiltered Hyper Reality

As you all know this sparked a week of world-wide chaosSprawlers mdash exposed to a storm of spam malware and layer

upon layer of augmented reality advertisements and simu-lated environments mdash went temporarily insane

Sane_Prophet Insanity is a weak word for the weak-minded What may appear as insane to you might simplybe someone having achieved enlightenment and livingaccording to a higher truth

11

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1229

Sorry_U_Asked Irsquom all about questioning the circumstancesbut Irsquom pretty sure all the folks who were murdered duringthese events wouldrsquove labeled them as insane down to a one

Billy_Black_Eyes Whatever dictionary program yoursquorerunning needs a fresh data-dump Prophet

Sane_Prophet Dictionaries are also for the weak-minded

Billy_Black_Eyes Of course they are

The world burned for about a week until programmers couldfix the problem with firmware updates and hot patches to

get the filters up and running and an off switch installedbut the damage was done Itrsquos not known how many people

died in the rioting and madness but cautious estimates oftotal casualties put the number at around 750 million people

and nobody has even tried to calculate the monetary cost

of the riots Strangely however the Flare itself didnrsquot havea widespread impact on various infrastructures like electric

and other powers transportation systems etc In fact manybelieve the Flare wasnrsquot even a solar flare at all but the first

sign of Charonrsquos emergence as a threat to humanity

Luciferion Nobodyrsquos ever proven that Billy

Billy_Black_Eyes Nobody has ever debunked it eitherStatistical data can be hacked Numbers can be fudgedto make things seem more dramatic than they really areEarthquakes register at a certain scale and get downgradedall the time The truth is this is the first time in history thata solar flare has caused such wide-spread chaos It rsquos fishy

Luciferion Irsquoll believe it when I see some hard data

Billy_Black_Eyes Fair enough But the emergence ofCharon around this time isnrsquot even open for debate Itrsquosa fact

THE EURASIAN UNION IMPLODES

On March 15th 2089 the Eurasian Union Central Bank in

Bonn Germany was crashed by a previously unheard-of virusnamed Charon Over forty-five trillion dollars vanished without

a trace All attempts to rebuild the original databases failedSome programmers (and freelance hackers) hired to go in andpurge Charon from the databases lost their lives in the process

Further attempts to rebuild the system on different serverswith backups also failed when programmers realized that

Charon mdash now suspected by many to be an AI mdash had copieditself into the cloud networks containing those backup files

Luciferion Therersquos nothing to suspect Charon is anemergent AI The only question now is whether or not itsparks a singularity event

Nothing_to_see_here Stopwatch will halt it in its tracksThey always catch these things

Luciferion Who do you think died trying to get it out ofthe D-bases in Bonn

Over the next few months an estimated 200 million people

across the Eurasian Union the United Kingdom and Ireland losttheir jobs their homes and their life savings when it became

clear that Charon had found its way into the personal bankaccounts of citizenry across the Eurasian Union

Instances of mob violence skyrocketed as the number of

gangs in the rapidly fracturing Eurasian Union had risen tolevels not seen since the Death mdash the three-year ldquoNuclear

Autumnrdquo following the India-Pakistan war when nuclearweapons were used on a massive scale In the London-Read-

ing Megaplex protests exploded into full-scale violence after

police brutally cracked down on a peaceful protest at the

British parliament building More instances of violent protests

followed in Bristol Swindon and the Manchester-Liverpoolsprawl

On June 27th 2089 the French government was over-

thrown by a fringe political extremist group known as theNew Pirate Party Led by a charismatic young zeek named

Angeacutele Bonheur the New Pirate Party seized power after awild chaotic campaign against representatives of the NationalFront and the Popular Republican Union The elections were

rife with scandal and many of the French didnrsquot (and still donrsquot)like the idea of a French leader being psychic So while Angeacutele

emerged as the clear victor the French military refused toacknowledge her legitimacy President Bonheur responded

by disbanding the armed forces of France at the same time

announcing the privatization of the nationrsquos military throughan agreement with Ravenlocke Securities

Downtrodden Yep itrsquos a sign of things to come ladiesand gents a world-wide corporate coup of governmentsIf you donrsquot think the CEO of Ravenlocke mdash thatrsquos MarkusRaven mdash has a say in the direction this new governmenttakes think again

Luciferion Itrsquos awesome to see France led by a psychicbut letrsquos get real this is going to get much worse beforeit gets better

Magpie I wouldnrsquot be surprised i f she gets wacked

Former Lieutenant-Colonel Adrien Boucher also known as

ldquoAdrien the Butcherrdquo for his brutal suppression of an upris-ing in Marseilles in 2087 took charge of the remnants of

the disbanded French army promising to remove PresidentBonheur from power Within days of Adrienrsquos announcement

Fort Richepance mdash now the Northeastern headquarters for

Ravenlocke Industriesrsquo Storm Crow Golemmech brigade mdash wasattacked The president responded by declaring martial law

throughout France until the renegade movement could be

put down Thus far that hasnrsquot happened though there arereports of clashes between Ravenlocke regulars and sepa-

ratist forces outside of St Etienne and in the French Alps

Warpig This has caused numerous issues If PresidentAngeacutele thinks her countrymen are going to accept theprivatization of the military shersquos sorely mistaken As Billymentions Adrien the Butcher is causing problems buttherersquos more to it Militias are forming They have advancedweaponry and while I wonrsquot speculate as to whorsquos providingthem with those weapons I do know the vast majority ofthe weapons are made by Act of God Armaments

Battle_Mind I know one thing itrsquos a great time to be amercenary

Full_Metal_Cyborg Amen brother Irsquoll see you on the

battlefieldPayne_Man Lock and Load U mushrooms I splatter youn00bs with my AK

Magpie ldquoSighrdquo Stop playing Matrix of War Payne Yousound like a fool This ainrsquot a game

Payne_Man I thought we were talkinrsquo about MOW Ushould C the zones Theyrsquore eggsaklee like the content ofthis INFOdump Have been for a whyle now Evar since thelast expansion dropped in spring 2088

Luciferion hellipOk thatrsquos odd

Payne_Man The CoalitionAtlantica War expansion izzcumin out next month 2 I Kant W8

12

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1329

On June 30th 2089 Germany wracked with political in-

fighting riots in the streets and a general state of chaos

closed its borders Officially the stated reason was for secu-rity reasons stemming from conflict along the border with

France but most people donrsquot believe it Chancellor KonradGerste authorized a financial bailout of the three largest

manufacturers of weapons and military equipment for

the German army The move has frightened many of the

Eastern European nations mdash especially the good people ofPoland mdash who know well what happens when Germans

begin preparing for war and make no mistake Germany ismoving to a war footing

Payne_Man Watch out Zee Germans are cumming LOL

Klaus What Canrsquot my brethren move to protectthemselves from the chaos in France And why the veiledreference to WWII Itrsquos been nearly 150 years since Hitlerrsquosmadness yet nobody allows us to forget it

THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON

As the situation in Europe grew worse China took advantageof the weakened Eurasian Union grabbing up huge swathes

of territory in Russia its armies advancing as far west as the

Ural Mountain range where Russian forces managed to haltthe dragonrsquos advance Still the damage was done By August2089 the Mandarinate had established itself as an occupy-

ing power in every city town and village east of the Ural

Mountains That hasnrsquot stopped the Russians from retaliatinghowever Russian patriots have begun an insurgency attack-

ing Chinese forces wherever they can be found Mandarinatemouthpieces paint the insurgents as terrorists to little effect

as the insurgency swells in number every day

Neon_Bright This isnrsquot just a struggle against Chineseaggression Vast resources have been found ever sinceSiberia began to thaw Irsquom talking about precious mineralsoil even the land is useful for development especiallywhen you consider billions of people live in eastern Asia

Luciferion Agreed Neon

LIFE IN GENERAL

So how have the above events impacted life as we stumbleinto 2090 In numerous ways omae There isnrsquot enough time

to go into great detail about how war the Flare and espe-

cially the rise of Charon have affected the life of the averagesprawler across the world but Irsquo ll go over some of the more

important details Pay attention peeps some of this mightkeep you alive

SURVIVING HYPER REALITY

As I mentioned above when the Flare knocked out the GENIEnetwork it caused widespread chaos And while GENIE is back

up and running there are still glitches in the system Sure

firmware updates to the Tendril Access Processor mdash TAP as itrsquosmore commonly known mdash allow you to turn off that modem

in your brain but wellhelliplet me put it like this Hyper Realityhas become smarter even deadly if you donrsquot have the right

software installed in your TAP

Sane_Prophet Why bother putting up more and morefilters It is senseless A futile fight against powers fargreater than yourself Open your eyes open your mindand set yourself free from this prison of so-called reality

BatRastard Right and then with the first meme to fry myneurons Irsquoll be spending my life savings on the Fat Sallyrsquosdown the block Brilliant

Sane_Prophet Fat Sally rsquos secret sauce is an interdimen-sional gateway into the heights of ecstasy

BatRastard Actually thatrsquos the first thing you and I haveever agreed on

Irsquove discussed this phenomena with numerous program-mers across the world and they all agree virii spam and allmanner of malware that [prior to the Flare] would have been

easy to purge from your head are now behaving much dif-

ferently Itrsquos almost as if the things evolved into somethingnot-quite-sentient but damned close to it

So what does this mean for you

If you choose to experience Hyper Reality (and if you have aTAP in your brain you have) itrsquos only a matter of time before

one of these virii hacks into your brain Therersquos nothing youcan really do about it itrsquos just one of the many fun facts of

life in 2090 I do find it ironic that af ter decades of enjoying

the connectivity and convenience the TAP has provided thistechnology seems to be actively trying to kill us and there

isnrsquot much we can do about it without going back to medi-eval times You know the 1980rsquos Of course some of you out

there will want to turn your TAPs off for good and avoid the

risk entirely Hell some of you might be considering gettingthe damned thing removed

You can do that sure Of course that means yoursquore also

not connected to the grid that makes your life so unbeliev-ably convenient This causes a mult itude of problems Donrsquot

believe me Try walking out of your house Oh right you canrsquotbecause most doors donrsquot have handles anymore Theyrsquore

automated and respond to the signals coming from your TAPI know some are activated by motion sensors and donrsquot rely

on the TAP But no door which is designed with security in

mind will open so easilyThis also means you have almost zero access to vehicles or

places where you can buy things like grocery stores Yeah

sure you can just follow someone else into said store butthe security cameras will spot you and not having a digital

record of your presence (which they get from your TAP) willflag you and dispatch a security team to find out who you

are So there you are in your local Malmart looking for some

cloned steaks to fire up on your grill later on when securitycomes with their big guns and ldquowhat the hell are you doing

here scumbagrdquo looks on their faces to boot you back out intothe streets where you came from

Oh how did you plan on paying for them BTW now that

your TAP is offline and the clerk canrsquot sync her cash register

with your payment software And NO they donrsquot take cashThe point is this omae All that convenience you were usedto goes out the window when you unplug Itrsquos much easier

to get strong firewalls than it is to live outside the system

So think about what I said before you scratch that itch at thebase of your skull with a scalpel

SURVIVING THE STREETS

The streets have always been dangerous thatrsquos a givenWhen you cram millions of people into a concrete and steel

petri dish then forget about 999 of them you create abreeding ground for violence hate and societal devolution

13

INTRODUCTIONLIFE IN GENERAL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1429

on such a scale that social Darwinists like Herbert Spencer and

Thomas Malthus would roll over in their graves

Again that in itself is nothing new The streets have alwaysbeen violent but ever since the events I previously described

came to pass mdash especially the Flare and the implosion of theEurasian Union mdash the number of homeless people across the

world has sky-rocketed The petri dish is frothing and over-

flowing as new gangs emerge mdash and Irsquom talking globally not just in North America mdash and carve out their own terri tory

This upsets the balance ami and makes it harder to survivewhen yoursquore just a blooper looking to make it through the

day because now you have new predators to deal with n00bbangers making up their own rules as they go And the cop-

suckers donrsquot help

Protect and serve What a load of crap

Sure yoursquol l get Triple-A service if you live in one of the moneybubbles but try getting help in say the Aurora Barrens or

the Gary Hell Zone and yoursquore basically fucked Yeah thereare token patrols and the ever-present drones but drones

get shot down and the copsuckers are so outnumbered

most are either so scared to get into an altercation with thepredators or theyrsquore on the take I canrsquot say I blame them

either The streets are a war zone and if you wear the badgeyoursquore marked for death omae So take my advice and get

strapped The only person you can count on in the concrete jungle is you

Sorry_U_Asked Think twice before trying to claim a badgebounty though Sure plenty of honchos love to pay topcredit for proof that yoursquove kept the law from poking aroundtheir territory But just because you see someone wearingone doesnrsquot mean they got it legit Lots of gangers wearthem as trophies So if you drop a shot on a copsuckerthinking yoursquove hit payday you might end up with a wholeband of bangers snarling on your heels

SURVIVING THE GAME

Therersquos an old saying The Game is the Game mdash you eitherplay it or you get played I donrsquot care if you contract free-

lance fight fix hack patch or scam yoursquore in it omae andthat puts you at odds with every other player out there Most

people approach the game as a means to an end thinking

that one shiny day theyrsquoll earn enough creds to go someplacewarm and dry and live out their lives in style These clowns

donrsquot last Theyrsquore so busy dreaming about the good timesthat they lose focus on whatrsquos right in front of their face (or

creeping up behind them) Dreamers get sloppy take short

cuts betray their team and torch their street cred like gutterpunks burn trash in a garbage can to keep warm

If you want to survive the game you need to take a lesson

from these dreamers keep your mind on the job Therersquos nosandy beach waiting for you The megacorps bought them

all and turned lsquoem into parking lots The only fruity drinksyoursquoll ever drink are sold in the local watering hole by some

burned-out ronin The best you can hope for is a litt le bit of

comfort mdash usually behind a small fortress if yoursquore smart mdash andthe respect of the streets But thatrsquos a double-edged sword

another facet of the game Therersquos always someone faster

than you some hungry up-and-comer with the latest aug-ments wanting to prove herself by dealing you out Sucksto be a victim of your own success but thatrsquos the truth of it

My advice Find a way to deal yourself out clean Put some

creds away never burn your contacts and donrsquot ever everbecome a legend

Legends die

14

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1529

CHARACTER

CREATION

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1629

CHAPTER TWOCHARACTER CREATION

Characters are the lifersquos blood of any role-playing game the

focal point of every story Characters represent the best mdash orthe worst mdash ideals of a given game setting their actions either

bringing a small measure of hope to the downtrodden massesor serving to strengthen the status quo In the grim gritty

world of Interface Zero 20 the characters you play walk amonofilament edge between traditional mdash some would say

outdated or just plain irrelevant mdash concepts of good and evilas they make their way in the world

Indeed itrsquos hard to be a moral individual in a world where

most of the animals prowling the concrete jungle believe prin-ciples are character flaws mdash weaknesses to exploit for their

own ends Your morality marks you as prey no doubt aboutit omae But if you can keep your moral code if you can get

your job done without selling your soul yoursquoll get something

most sprawlers never have respect

Evil on the other hand is the same as it always has been

therersquos just more of it The wicked always thrive in a world

where violence fear and control are tools used for self-serv-ing ends but herersquos the thing Acting like an ass can get you

green-lit just as quickly as playing the role of the goody-two-shoes marks you as a sucker amigo

Nobody likes a dickhead even if they donrsquot say it to your

face Sooner or later yoursquoll get a rep for being a hard-assand someone who is stronger meaner or a bigger asshole

than you is going to come along and knock you back to thegutter you crawled out of Thatrsquos why most people keep their

heads down and their mouths shut Donrsquot make eye contact

itrsquos a challenge to the predators and if you donrsquot have thestones to back up the challenge yoursquore nothing but meat

But if you can stay strong and defeat all comers that com-mands respect too

This chapter provides you with the tools you need to make

a character for Interface Zero 20 The process is the same ascreating a character for any Savage Worlds game with a few

additions Interface Zero 20 introduces Street Cred Contactsand Strain to the game

STEP 1 CONCEPT

The first thing you need to do is decide on a concept for your

character Will you play a hacker Perhaps a mercenary orbounty hunter is more your speed Are mercs and hunters toocutthroat for your style of play If so you might think about

playing a ronin an urban warrior who follows his own code

of honor Maybe you want to be the guy (or gal) who backsthe team up with drones capable of laying down covering

fire or scouting ahead to see where the bad guys are hiding

You donrsquot need to have your concept locked in right now butat least have a basic idea of the type of character you want

to play Take a few minutes and skip ahead to the archetypessection in this chapter to see a variety of options available

to you

STEP 2 RACEThe next thing you need to do is choose a race In 2090

humanity has reached the point where the word ldquohumanrdquo is

almost irrelevant Human DNA is no longer a mystery Itrsquos amathematical code technomancers hack re-write and copy

at will producing genetically superior beings the Human 20

Others snip and paste animal DNA and splice it with humanDNA to create genetic hybrids a fusion of man and animal

Science has even advanced to such an extent that we can

create entirely new life forms mdash living beings known as simula-cra mdash in amniotic vats growing them until they have matured

filling their synthetic brains with memories and skills theyrsquollneed to do the jobs for which they were created

STEP 3 TRAITS

Traits are the building blocks of any Savage Worlds character

They define how strong or fast your character is and what

she knows Traits determine how much cyberware she canput into her body how much damage she can take before

dying her standing with others and a variety of other thingsall of which are essential to the game

ATTRIBUTES

Five attributes are used to define your characterrsquos physi-cal characteristics These are Agility Smarts Spirit Strength

and Vigor Each attribute starts at d4 You have 5 points withwhich to raise these attr ibutes and one point equals a risein a die type (d4 to d6 d6 to d8 etc) No attribute may rise

higher than d12 during character creation unless stated undera racial ability For more information on attributes refer to

the Savage Worlds core rules

SKILLS

You have 15 points to spend on your characterrsquos skills Your

character doesnrsquot start with any skills and must spend 1 pointto get a skill at a d4 He spends 1 point to raise a skill to a

higher die type as long as the skill level is equal to or less

than the linked attribute Raising any skill above the linkedattribute costs 2 points per step No skill may rise above d12

during character creation

Note If you are using the skill specializations rules you get 20points for skills and each new specialization costs 1 skill point

during character creation When your character advances shemay purchase 2 skill specializations for an advance or a new

skill and a single specialization

NEW SKILLS

The following are new skills introduced in Interface Zero 20

For information on all other skills see Skills in the Savage

Worlds core rules

16

CHARACTER CREATIONCONCEPT RACE TRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1729

Hacking (Smarts) The Hacking skill is used whenever a

character wants to hack a computer network Characters in

Interface Zero 20 no longer start with an automatic d4 inHacking Additionally characters who wish to use the Global

DataNet for everyday purposes such as research or findingnews pertaining to the Deep do so with their existing Inves-

tigation and Streetwise skills

Knowledge (Demolitions) Successful use of demolitions canmean the difference between destruction of the target as

planned and unplanned loss of life and property The skill also

lets the character have an understanding of what the besttype of explosive is for the obstacle and how much they will

need to remove such an obstacle In addition a raise on theresult will let them know the exact distance they need to be

from the explosion based upon the size of the charge the con-

fines and damage created by said explosion This skill is usedany time a character wants to put a satchel charge together

or set explosives A Critical Failure will result in immediatedetonation Simple failure will result in premature detonation

or no detonation at all

Knowledge (Programming) Characters use this skill when

attempting to make any kind of change to a network theyhave hacked This skill allows a character to undo damagedone as a result of a hack With it a character can do things

like undo an edit to a data file or video reconstruct a deleted

file repair an AMS (see Active Memory Sectors on page 274in the Sett ing Rules chapter) recover a deleted skill Engram

or reconnect a TAP that has gone offline

OPTIONAL RULE SKILL SPECIALIZATIONS

Interface Zero 20 is an advanced setting where knowing

how to do one thing doesnrsquot necessarily mean you can dosomething which under the regular skill rules would techni-

cally be possible with the same skill Take the various DrivingBoating and Piloting skills for example

Using the regular skill rules a character with Driving couldtheoretically drive anything from a motorcycle to a semi-truckor a tank Similarly Piloting assumes a character has the skills

to pilot all types of aircraft including fighter jets and space-

craft Pinnacle Entertainment addressed this issue by addingthe Skill Specialization setting rule in the Savage Worlds core

rules and it is highly recommended that those rules are usedfor Interface Zero 20

The following list of skill specializations are provided to get

you started This isnrsquot intended to be a comprehensive listof appropriate skill specializations but rather a broad cross

section of specializations we feel are appropriate If some-thing doesnrsquot appear on the list make it up if it seems right

But remember the GM always has the final say on what is or

isnrsquot appropriate for her campaign

SUGGESTED SPECIALIZATIONS

bull Boating Powered Sailed Submersible

bull Climbing Mountaineering Rappelling Rope

bull Driving Car (4 wheels) Hovercraft JUMP Bike MotorcycleTruck (6+ wheels) Tracked

bull Fighting Axe Blades Blunt Cyberweapon Long Blade

Martial arts (by style judo karate etc) Pole Arm

bull Gambling By game

bull Hacking Hyper Combat Firewall Penetration Intrusion

Detection Object Control Object Editing Run ProgramTrace

bull Healing Cyber Surgery First Aid Surgery

bull Intimidation Interrogation Mental Physical

bull Investigation Archives Global DataNet Libraries

Newspapers

bull Knowledge Each Knowledge skill is technically a special-

ization of Knowledge so it isnrsquot broken down into furtherspecializations

Suggested Knowledge Skills AIs Battle Corporations

Cybernetics Demolitions Global DataNet Local Area (spe-cific) Politics Programing

bull Lockpicking Disarm Trap Electronic Manual

bull Notice Audio Body Language Searching Visual

bull Persuasion Bluffing Diplomacy Fast-Talking Seduction

bull Piloting Golemmech Helicopter Plane Spacecraft VTOL

bull Psionics Freek Peek Tweek

bull Repair Armor Cybernetics Electronics Mechanical Struc-tures Weapons

bull Riding By animal

TO SPECIALIZE OR NOT TO SPECIALIZE

17

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1829

bull Shooting Bow Pistol Rifle Shotgun Submachine GunVehicle Weapon or by weapon category

bull Stealth Disguise Hiding Sleight of Hand Sneaking

bull Streetwise AreaRegion (Corporate Zone Gang Turf etc)

bull Survival Aquatic Arctic Desert Forest Jungle MountainSpace urban or any specific environment

bull Swimming Lake Ocean SCUBA Divingbull Taunt Verbal Visual

bull Throwing Darts Grenades Knives Spears

bull Tracking Animals Global DataNet Humans Urban

Vehicles

OPTIONAL SKILL ATHLETICS

Rather than breaking up basic things like Climbing and Swim-ming it is recommended to combine them into a single skill

which would allow for specialization

Athletics (Vigor) Athletics as a catch-all for a number ofphysical endeavors ranging from climbing to swimming to

moving around effectively in a no mdash or low-gravity environ-

ment Athletics should be used instead of Agility in foot chasesand effectively replaces both the Climbing and Swimming skills

Specializations Climbing Leaping Running Sport (specific)

Swimming Zero-G Maneuvers

LANGUAGES

All characters speak their native language plus a number ofadditional languages equaling one-half their Smarts die The

major trade languages used in Interface Zero 20 are Chinese

English Hindi Portuguese and Swahili Additional languagescan be learned by using an advancement opportunity

DERIVED STATISTICS

There are a few statistics which are important in any SavageWorlds game Charisma Pace Parry and Toughness

CHARISMA

Charisma is an abstract measure of your characterrsquos appear-ance how she deals with others socially and generally how

likeable she is Charisma starts at 0 but can be modified byEdges and Hindrances Charisma is also added to Streetwise

and Persuasion rolls The Game Master uses Charisma to figure

out how NPCrsquos react to your character For more informationon Charisma see the Savage Worlds core rules

PACE

Pace is a measure of how far your character can walk in a

standard combat round Human characters have a base Paceof 6 and can run at an additional 1d6rdquo Other races in Interface

Zero 20 can have different starting Pace scores based on the

racial template you choose For more information on Pacesee the Savage Worlds core rules

PARRY

Parry is equal to 2 plus half your characterrsquos Fighting skillplus modifiers gained from use of shields or certain weapons

If your character does not have the Fighting skill base Parry

starts at 2 For more information on Parry see the SavageWorlds core rules

TOUGHNESS

Toughness is a measure of how much damage your character

can take before becoming Shaken or wounded Toughness is2 plus half your characterrsquos Vigor plus any armor she might

be wearing For more information on Toughness see the

Savage Worlds core rules

NEW DERIVED STATSInterface Zero 20 introduces three new derived statis-

tics mdash Firewall Strain and Street Cred

FIREWALL

Unless your character has the Unplugged Hindrance she hasa Tendril Access Processor (TAP) and therefore has a built-

in firewall The firewall protects against attempts to hack a

characterrsquos TAP A characterrsquos Firewall rating star ts at 4 but

can be modified by Edges Hindrances or software

STRAIN

Strain measures the amount of stress cyberware and biowareputs on your body when you install it Strain starts at zero

and each piece of cyberware adds to your Strain stat Highlevels of Strain can lead to death More details on Strain are

located at Augments on page 262

STREET CRED

Street Cred is a measure of your character rsquos reputation on

the streets All characters begin play with 2 points of StreetCred modified by Edges or Hindrances and gain another 2

points every time they gain a new Rank The maximum StreetCred a character can normally achieve is 10 (some Edges and

Occupations can increase this number)

Unlike Charisma which measures your ability to persuadesomeone Street Cred is a point pool that can be spent to

obtain services temporary contacts information and a variety

of other benefits during the course of an adventure This poolrefreshes each adventure unless circumstances in the prior

adventure (like not getting the job done failing to protectsomeone killing an innocent etc) cause the characterrsquos Street

Cred score to drop

Characters can also pick up Minor or Major Hindrances thathave a lasting effect on their Street Cred score during the

course of an adventure These Hindrances can be removedby spending an Advance with the GMrsquos permission For more

information see Street Cred on page 264

CONTACTS

Each character can choose two contacts people the character

knows who he can call upon for aid or information during thecourse of an adventure These contacts can be anyone froma bartender or a hacker to a corporate executive or military

commander as long as it makes sense that your characterwould know the person(s)

STEP 4 OCCUPATIONS

Occupations are integral to your character concept providinga basic framework to enhance your characterrsquos background in

a very organic way helping you create a more well-rounded

18

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1929

character concept Each occupation has a requirement that thecharacter must meet to take it the characterrsquos bonus credits

gained each Advance and a special perk (like gear or specialabilities) the character gets for being part of that profession

STEP 5 EDGES AND HINDRANCES

Edges are special qualities that separate characters from theaverage sprawler Hindrances are physical and mental flaws

that add more depth to the character albeit in a negativeway See the Savage Worlds core rules for more information

on purchasing Edges and Hindrances New Edges and Hin-drances are provided later in this chapter

STEP 6 EQUIPMENT

In Interface Zero 20 characters select equipment cybernet-ics weapons and armor based on the power level the Game

Master sets for the campaign

Power Level This is the starting Power Level of the Cam-

paign as determined by the Game Master If the GM wants totell a story of gang members barely scraping by shersquoll mostlikely choose Gutter Punk as the Power Level If she envi-

sions a campaign where the players are a special governmenttask force dedicated to hunting down super terrorists the

Hyperchrome Warriors or Elite Operatives levels might be

more appropriate The Street Soldier Power Level (designedfor ronin-style games) is considered the default Power Level

for Interface Zero 20

Starting Credits This is the amount of money characters

start with at the beginning of the campaign These credits

may be spent on anything the player wishes and the GM hasnot barred from the campaign including augments drones

weapons and armor

Augments Every Power Level above Gutter Punk allows theplayers to start with at least one augment from the core book

equal to or below the monetary amount listed Unspent Creditsfrom this pool do not carry over when the game starts These

augments must be chosen from the master list of augments

not augment packages

STEP 7 BACKGROUND

They say the devil is in the details and here is where you

decide how devilish yoursquore going to be You donrsquot need towrite a novel and frankly this step isnrsquot mandatory That said

itrsquos a good idea to jot down a few notes on your characterrsquosbackground any major events in her life any friends the

names of contacts or even enemies she might have Share

these ideas with your Game Master GMs are always lookingfor good plot hooks and little tidbits they can use to person-

alize your experience at the table The more detailed yourbackground is the better

ARCHETYPESSometimes you may want to quickly create a character for

a one-shot or convention adventure For those occasions anArchetype is a good choice

All are built for a human character with two Edges If you wish

to play a race other than human simply plug in the statisticaldata If yoursquore playing a human you

can choose another Edge Thenchoose your gear based on the

Power Level your group haschosen give the character

a name and yoursquore ready

to go

19

ARCHETYPES

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2029

AGENT

BOUNTY HUNTER

20

AGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

20

ARCHETYPESAGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2129

CYBERMONK

DRONE JOCKEY

21

CYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

21

ARCHETYPESCYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 11: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1129

NECROTIXX China did carry out the bombings Do theresearch Look into Project Doppelganger and yoursquoll seeThe NAC is just a patsy

Sam_Jones The Mandarinate is becoming an imperialpower Just look at what they are doing with Russia nowand what they have done with all of Southeast Asia Askthe Russian refugees flooding into Seattle if they thinkChina is content to stay within their borders The writingrsquos

on the wall folksSimba It might have been orchestrated by agents workingfor Charon

Luciferion What a load of crap Charon is an AI It doesnrsquothave any contact with humans

Neon_Bright Prove it Simba

As the days stretched into weeks there was still no official

statement from the Atlantica Government about the iden-tity of the perpetrators of the attacks Then on December

15th 2088 a MEDIAfile was uploaded into the Global DataNetbearing the Hyper Tag of a popular underground media-pirate

known as MAXX_footage

The dronersquos feed showed three large muscular men in regular

clothing exit a hover van adjacent to one of the targets of theattacks just moments before it exploded Facial recognitionsoftware identified one of the men as First Sergeant John

Moore a member of the North American Coalition regular army

The MEDIAfile went on to follow the three men as they jumpedinto an unmarked hover car that took off and shot over the

Boston sea wall to land on a freighter bearing Chinese mark-ings The vessel promptly sailed east into international waters

Sorry_U_Asked Isnrsquot it odd how often people retreat tothe water in the wake of disasters How much of the oceanremains unmapped How much is hiding under the wavesthat we havenrsquot even begun to fathom

BatRastard Puns intended Wersquove already got enoughconspiracy theories Can you not add another useless one

to the stinking heap

Sane_Prophet Actually hersquos closer to reality than youmight be comfortable understanding Too much truth canbreak a manrsquos mind

BatRastard Irsquom guessing yours is already fried from afew too many stims man Want to share what yoursquove beendoping

As the situation evolved it became clear that MAXX_footagewent through what can only be described as a nightmarish journey to bring the MEDIAfile into the light of day In what

would be his only interview MAXX_footage appeared via

a secure video-feed on ldquoBoston Tonightrdquomdasha popular showin the nation of Atlantica Millions across the world tuned in

to listen to what he had to say MAXX_footage a tall lanky

young man recounted the events of that day telling how hewas hanging out at his favorite coffee shop when this black

hover van landed right in front of the Emperor Pharmaceuti-cals Arcology about a half a block away

When Penny Pearl mdash the host of the show mdash asked MAXX_

footage how during all the chaos he could have possiblyremembered those details MAXX_footage said he remem-

bered it because the hover van double parked and someonestarted yelling at the three guys who got out Thinking it was

going to result in violence MAXX_footage says he poppedout his Fly on the Wall micro drone and sent i t over to record

the incident Thatrsquos when all hell broke loose

BEGIN THREAD JACK

NECROTIXX Herersquos a transcript of the short interviewPenny couldnrsquot get MAXX back on

BEGIN TRANSCRIPThellip

ldquoOne of the three men shot the guy right in the facerdquo MAXX_

footage says his long thin hands shaking ldquoThey just walked

away and got into a red hover car I sent Judy mdash thatrsquos thename of my drone mdash after them and thatrsquos when the Black

hover van explodedrdquo MAXX_footage goes quiet for a fewseconds and after a couple of probing questions from the

hostess he finishes his story

ldquoAnyhow I get my bearings shake the dust outta my hairand suddenly realize I just captured the perps on Digifilm I

follow the red hover car all the way out past the Sea Wallwhere it lands on this Chinese freighter Judyrsquos pushinrsquo her

range limits at this point so I call her backrdquo He grabs a glassof water his hands shaking

ldquoTell us what happened nextrdquo Penny prompts

ldquoWellrdquo he begins ldquoI get back to my flat mdash it took a while mdash what

with all the chaos goinrsquo on in the lsquoplex and everything mdash andthe place is busted up I mean BIG-TIME amirdquo MAXX_footage

stops again then shakes his head and says ldquoListen I canrsquot sayanything else about that I think theyrsquore still watching mehellip

In fact this interview is done MAXX OUTrdquo The video feed

cuts to white noise

END TRANSCRIPT

END THREAD JACK

The interview and the footage of the event sparked outrage

throughout Atlantica Predictably the NAC government fiercelydenied any involvement in the bombings even going so far

as to demand the arrest and extradition of MAXX_footagefor questioning about the origins of the video

Martin Hughes mdash the president of Atlantica mdash flatly refusedthe NACrsquos demands even going so far as to say that thisMAXX_footage person was a ldquohero of the people of

Atlanticardquo The bookies in the free city of Las Vegas startedgiving even odds that hostilities would break out on the East

Coast within a year

Simba I lost a ton of money on that bet

Luciferion MAXX_footage has gone dark BTW Nobodyhas seen or heard from him since that interview

THE FLARE

On January 26 2089 a massive Earth-directed Y-class solar

flare sparked a Coronal Mass Ejection that bombarded our

planet temporarily shutting down the genie network thatmonitors and updates the TAPrsquos spam and reality filters Withthe genie down every man woman and child with a Tendril

Access Processor was exposed to raw unfiltered Hyper Reality

As you all know this sparked a week of world-wide chaosSprawlers mdash exposed to a storm of spam malware and layer

upon layer of augmented reality advertisements and simu-lated environments mdash went temporarily insane

Sane_Prophet Insanity is a weak word for the weak-minded What may appear as insane to you might simplybe someone having achieved enlightenment and livingaccording to a higher truth

11

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1229

Sorry_U_Asked Irsquom all about questioning the circumstancesbut Irsquom pretty sure all the folks who were murdered duringthese events wouldrsquove labeled them as insane down to a one

Billy_Black_Eyes Whatever dictionary program yoursquorerunning needs a fresh data-dump Prophet

Sane_Prophet Dictionaries are also for the weak-minded

Billy_Black_Eyes Of course they are

The world burned for about a week until programmers couldfix the problem with firmware updates and hot patches to

get the filters up and running and an off switch installedbut the damage was done Itrsquos not known how many people

died in the rioting and madness but cautious estimates oftotal casualties put the number at around 750 million people

and nobody has even tried to calculate the monetary cost

of the riots Strangely however the Flare itself didnrsquot havea widespread impact on various infrastructures like electric

and other powers transportation systems etc In fact manybelieve the Flare wasnrsquot even a solar flare at all but the first

sign of Charonrsquos emergence as a threat to humanity

Luciferion Nobodyrsquos ever proven that Billy

Billy_Black_Eyes Nobody has ever debunked it eitherStatistical data can be hacked Numbers can be fudgedto make things seem more dramatic than they really areEarthquakes register at a certain scale and get downgradedall the time The truth is this is the first time in history thata solar flare has caused such wide-spread chaos It rsquos fishy

Luciferion Irsquoll believe it when I see some hard data

Billy_Black_Eyes Fair enough But the emergence ofCharon around this time isnrsquot even open for debate Itrsquosa fact

THE EURASIAN UNION IMPLODES

On March 15th 2089 the Eurasian Union Central Bank in

Bonn Germany was crashed by a previously unheard-of virusnamed Charon Over forty-five trillion dollars vanished without

a trace All attempts to rebuild the original databases failedSome programmers (and freelance hackers) hired to go in andpurge Charon from the databases lost their lives in the process

Further attempts to rebuild the system on different serverswith backups also failed when programmers realized that

Charon mdash now suspected by many to be an AI mdash had copieditself into the cloud networks containing those backup files

Luciferion Therersquos nothing to suspect Charon is anemergent AI The only question now is whether or not itsparks a singularity event

Nothing_to_see_here Stopwatch will halt it in its tracksThey always catch these things

Luciferion Who do you think died trying to get it out ofthe D-bases in Bonn

Over the next few months an estimated 200 million people

across the Eurasian Union the United Kingdom and Ireland losttheir jobs their homes and their life savings when it became

clear that Charon had found its way into the personal bankaccounts of citizenry across the Eurasian Union

Instances of mob violence skyrocketed as the number of

gangs in the rapidly fracturing Eurasian Union had risen tolevels not seen since the Death mdash the three-year ldquoNuclear

Autumnrdquo following the India-Pakistan war when nuclearweapons were used on a massive scale In the London-Read-

ing Megaplex protests exploded into full-scale violence after

police brutally cracked down on a peaceful protest at the

British parliament building More instances of violent protests

followed in Bristol Swindon and the Manchester-Liverpoolsprawl

On June 27th 2089 the French government was over-

thrown by a fringe political extremist group known as theNew Pirate Party Led by a charismatic young zeek named

Angeacutele Bonheur the New Pirate Party seized power after awild chaotic campaign against representatives of the NationalFront and the Popular Republican Union The elections were

rife with scandal and many of the French didnrsquot (and still donrsquot)like the idea of a French leader being psychic So while Angeacutele

emerged as the clear victor the French military refused toacknowledge her legitimacy President Bonheur responded

by disbanding the armed forces of France at the same time

announcing the privatization of the nationrsquos military throughan agreement with Ravenlocke Securities

Downtrodden Yep itrsquos a sign of things to come ladiesand gents a world-wide corporate coup of governmentsIf you donrsquot think the CEO of Ravenlocke mdash thatrsquos MarkusRaven mdash has a say in the direction this new governmenttakes think again

Luciferion Itrsquos awesome to see France led by a psychicbut letrsquos get real this is going to get much worse beforeit gets better

Magpie I wouldnrsquot be surprised i f she gets wacked

Former Lieutenant-Colonel Adrien Boucher also known as

ldquoAdrien the Butcherrdquo for his brutal suppression of an upris-ing in Marseilles in 2087 took charge of the remnants of

the disbanded French army promising to remove PresidentBonheur from power Within days of Adrienrsquos announcement

Fort Richepance mdash now the Northeastern headquarters for

Ravenlocke Industriesrsquo Storm Crow Golemmech brigade mdash wasattacked The president responded by declaring martial law

throughout France until the renegade movement could be

put down Thus far that hasnrsquot happened though there arereports of clashes between Ravenlocke regulars and sepa-

ratist forces outside of St Etienne and in the French Alps

Warpig This has caused numerous issues If PresidentAngeacutele thinks her countrymen are going to accept theprivatization of the military shersquos sorely mistaken As Billymentions Adrien the Butcher is causing problems buttherersquos more to it Militias are forming They have advancedweaponry and while I wonrsquot speculate as to whorsquos providingthem with those weapons I do know the vast majority ofthe weapons are made by Act of God Armaments

Battle_Mind I know one thing itrsquos a great time to be amercenary

Full_Metal_Cyborg Amen brother Irsquoll see you on the

battlefieldPayne_Man Lock and Load U mushrooms I splatter youn00bs with my AK

Magpie ldquoSighrdquo Stop playing Matrix of War Payne Yousound like a fool This ainrsquot a game

Payne_Man I thought we were talkinrsquo about MOW Ushould C the zones Theyrsquore eggsaklee like the content ofthis INFOdump Have been for a whyle now Evar since thelast expansion dropped in spring 2088

Luciferion hellipOk thatrsquos odd

Payne_Man The CoalitionAtlantica War expansion izzcumin out next month 2 I Kant W8

12

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1329

On June 30th 2089 Germany wracked with political in-

fighting riots in the streets and a general state of chaos

closed its borders Officially the stated reason was for secu-rity reasons stemming from conflict along the border with

France but most people donrsquot believe it Chancellor KonradGerste authorized a financial bailout of the three largest

manufacturers of weapons and military equipment for

the German army The move has frightened many of the

Eastern European nations mdash especially the good people ofPoland mdash who know well what happens when Germans

begin preparing for war and make no mistake Germany ismoving to a war footing

Payne_Man Watch out Zee Germans are cumming LOL

Klaus What Canrsquot my brethren move to protectthemselves from the chaos in France And why the veiledreference to WWII Itrsquos been nearly 150 years since Hitlerrsquosmadness yet nobody allows us to forget it

THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON

As the situation in Europe grew worse China took advantageof the weakened Eurasian Union grabbing up huge swathes

of territory in Russia its armies advancing as far west as the

Ural Mountain range where Russian forces managed to haltthe dragonrsquos advance Still the damage was done By August2089 the Mandarinate had established itself as an occupy-

ing power in every city town and village east of the Ural

Mountains That hasnrsquot stopped the Russians from retaliatinghowever Russian patriots have begun an insurgency attack-

ing Chinese forces wherever they can be found Mandarinatemouthpieces paint the insurgents as terrorists to little effect

as the insurgency swells in number every day

Neon_Bright This isnrsquot just a struggle against Chineseaggression Vast resources have been found ever sinceSiberia began to thaw Irsquom talking about precious mineralsoil even the land is useful for development especiallywhen you consider billions of people live in eastern Asia

Luciferion Agreed Neon

LIFE IN GENERAL

So how have the above events impacted life as we stumbleinto 2090 In numerous ways omae There isnrsquot enough time

to go into great detail about how war the Flare and espe-

cially the rise of Charon have affected the life of the averagesprawler across the world but Irsquo ll go over some of the more

important details Pay attention peeps some of this mightkeep you alive

SURVIVING HYPER REALITY

As I mentioned above when the Flare knocked out the GENIEnetwork it caused widespread chaos And while GENIE is back

up and running there are still glitches in the system Sure

firmware updates to the Tendril Access Processor mdash TAP as itrsquosmore commonly known mdash allow you to turn off that modem

in your brain but wellhelliplet me put it like this Hyper Realityhas become smarter even deadly if you donrsquot have the right

software installed in your TAP

Sane_Prophet Why bother putting up more and morefilters It is senseless A futile fight against powers fargreater than yourself Open your eyes open your mindand set yourself free from this prison of so-called reality

BatRastard Right and then with the first meme to fry myneurons Irsquoll be spending my life savings on the Fat Sallyrsquosdown the block Brilliant

Sane_Prophet Fat Sally rsquos secret sauce is an interdimen-sional gateway into the heights of ecstasy

BatRastard Actually thatrsquos the first thing you and I haveever agreed on

Irsquove discussed this phenomena with numerous program-mers across the world and they all agree virii spam and allmanner of malware that [prior to the Flare] would have been

easy to purge from your head are now behaving much dif-

ferently Itrsquos almost as if the things evolved into somethingnot-quite-sentient but damned close to it

So what does this mean for you

If you choose to experience Hyper Reality (and if you have aTAP in your brain you have) itrsquos only a matter of time before

one of these virii hacks into your brain Therersquos nothing youcan really do about it itrsquos just one of the many fun facts of

life in 2090 I do find it ironic that af ter decades of enjoying

the connectivity and convenience the TAP has provided thistechnology seems to be actively trying to kill us and there

isnrsquot much we can do about it without going back to medi-eval times You know the 1980rsquos Of course some of you out

there will want to turn your TAPs off for good and avoid the

risk entirely Hell some of you might be considering gettingthe damned thing removed

You can do that sure Of course that means yoursquore also

not connected to the grid that makes your life so unbeliev-ably convenient This causes a mult itude of problems Donrsquot

believe me Try walking out of your house Oh right you canrsquotbecause most doors donrsquot have handles anymore Theyrsquore

automated and respond to the signals coming from your TAPI know some are activated by motion sensors and donrsquot rely

on the TAP But no door which is designed with security in

mind will open so easilyThis also means you have almost zero access to vehicles or

places where you can buy things like grocery stores Yeah

sure you can just follow someone else into said store butthe security cameras will spot you and not having a digital

record of your presence (which they get from your TAP) willflag you and dispatch a security team to find out who you

are So there you are in your local Malmart looking for some

cloned steaks to fire up on your grill later on when securitycomes with their big guns and ldquowhat the hell are you doing

here scumbagrdquo looks on their faces to boot you back out intothe streets where you came from

Oh how did you plan on paying for them BTW now that

your TAP is offline and the clerk canrsquot sync her cash register

with your payment software And NO they donrsquot take cashThe point is this omae All that convenience you were usedto goes out the window when you unplug Itrsquos much easier

to get strong firewalls than it is to live outside the system

So think about what I said before you scratch that itch at thebase of your skull with a scalpel

SURVIVING THE STREETS

The streets have always been dangerous thatrsquos a givenWhen you cram millions of people into a concrete and steel

petri dish then forget about 999 of them you create abreeding ground for violence hate and societal devolution

13

INTRODUCTIONLIFE IN GENERAL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1429

on such a scale that social Darwinists like Herbert Spencer and

Thomas Malthus would roll over in their graves

Again that in itself is nothing new The streets have alwaysbeen violent but ever since the events I previously described

came to pass mdash especially the Flare and the implosion of theEurasian Union mdash the number of homeless people across the

world has sky-rocketed The petri dish is frothing and over-

flowing as new gangs emerge mdash and Irsquom talking globally not just in North America mdash and carve out their own terri tory

This upsets the balance ami and makes it harder to survivewhen yoursquore just a blooper looking to make it through the

day because now you have new predators to deal with n00bbangers making up their own rules as they go And the cop-

suckers donrsquot help

Protect and serve What a load of crap

Sure yoursquol l get Triple-A service if you live in one of the moneybubbles but try getting help in say the Aurora Barrens or

the Gary Hell Zone and yoursquore basically fucked Yeah thereare token patrols and the ever-present drones but drones

get shot down and the copsuckers are so outnumbered

most are either so scared to get into an altercation with thepredators or theyrsquore on the take I canrsquot say I blame them

either The streets are a war zone and if you wear the badgeyoursquore marked for death omae So take my advice and get

strapped The only person you can count on in the concrete jungle is you

Sorry_U_Asked Think twice before trying to claim a badgebounty though Sure plenty of honchos love to pay topcredit for proof that yoursquove kept the law from poking aroundtheir territory But just because you see someone wearingone doesnrsquot mean they got it legit Lots of gangers wearthem as trophies So if you drop a shot on a copsuckerthinking yoursquove hit payday you might end up with a wholeband of bangers snarling on your heels

SURVIVING THE GAME

Therersquos an old saying The Game is the Game mdash you eitherplay it or you get played I donrsquot care if you contract free-

lance fight fix hack patch or scam yoursquore in it omae andthat puts you at odds with every other player out there Most

people approach the game as a means to an end thinking

that one shiny day theyrsquoll earn enough creds to go someplacewarm and dry and live out their lives in style These clowns

donrsquot last Theyrsquore so busy dreaming about the good timesthat they lose focus on whatrsquos right in front of their face (or

creeping up behind them) Dreamers get sloppy take short

cuts betray their team and torch their street cred like gutterpunks burn trash in a garbage can to keep warm

If you want to survive the game you need to take a lesson

from these dreamers keep your mind on the job Therersquos nosandy beach waiting for you The megacorps bought them

all and turned lsquoem into parking lots The only fruity drinksyoursquoll ever drink are sold in the local watering hole by some

burned-out ronin The best you can hope for is a litt le bit of

comfort mdash usually behind a small fortress if yoursquore smart mdash andthe respect of the streets But thatrsquos a double-edged sword

another facet of the game Therersquos always someone faster

than you some hungry up-and-comer with the latest aug-ments wanting to prove herself by dealing you out Sucksto be a victim of your own success but thatrsquos the truth of it

My advice Find a way to deal yourself out clean Put some

creds away never burn your contacts and donrsquot ever everbecome a legend

Legends die

14

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1529

CHARACTER

CREATION

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1629

CHAPTER TWOCHARACTER CREATION

Characters are the lifersquos blood of any role-playing game the

focal point of every story Characters represent the best mdash orthe worst mdash ideals of a given game setting their actions either

bringing a small measure of hope to the downtrodden massesor serving to strengthen the status quo In the grim gritty

world of Interface Zero 20 the characters you play walk amonofilament edge between traditional mdash some would say

outdated or just plain irrelevant mdash concepts of good and evilas they make their way in the world

Indeed itrsquos hard to be a moral individual in a world where

most of the animals prowling the concrete jungle believe prin-ciples are character flaws mdash weaknesses to exploit for their

own ends Your morality marks you as prey no doubt aboutit omae But if you can keep your moral code if you can get

your job done without selling your soul yoursquoll get something

most sprawlers never have respect

Evil on the other hand is the same as it always has been

therersquos just more of it The wicked always thrive in a world

where violence fear and control are tools used for self-serv-ing ends but herersquos the thing Acting like an ass can get you

green-lit just as quickly as playing the role of the goody-two-shoes marks you as a sucker amigo

Nobody likes a dickhead even if they donrsquot say it to your

face Sooner or later yoursquoll get a rep for being a hard-assand someone who is stronger meaner or a bigger asshole

than you is going to come along and knock you back to thegutter you crawled out of Thatrsquos why most people keep their

heads down and their mouths shut Donrsquot make eye contact

itrsquos a challenge to the predators and if you donrsquot have thestones to back up the challenge yoursquore nothing but meat

But if you can stay strong and defeat all comers that com-mands respect too

This chapter provides you with the tools you need to make

a character for Interface Zero 20 The process is the same ascreating a character for any Savage Worlds game with a few

additions Interface Zero 20 introduces Street Cred Contactsand Strain to the game

STEP 1 CONCEPT

The first thing you need to do is decide on a concept for your

character Will you play a hacker Perhaps a mercenary orbounty hunter is more your speed Are mercs and hunters toocutthroat for your style of play If so you might think about

playing a ronin an urban warrior who follows his own code

of honor Maybe you want to be the guy (or gal) who backsthe team up with drones capable of laying down covering

fire or scouting ahead to see where the bad guys are hiding

You donrsquot need to have your concept locked in right now butat least have a basic idea of the type of character you want

to play Take a few minutes and skip ahead to the archetypessection in this chapter to see a variety of options available

to you

STEP 2 RACEThe next thing you need to do is choose a race In 2090

humanity has reached the point where the word ldquohumanrdquo is

almost irrelevant Human DNA is no longer a mystery Itrsquos amathematical code technomancers hack re-write and copy

at will producing genetically superior beings the Human 20

Others snip and paste animal DNA and splice it with humanDNA to create genetic hybrids a fusion of man and animal

Science has even advanced to such an extent that we can

create entirely new life forms mdash living beings known as simula-cra mdash in amniotic vats growing them until they have matured

filling their synthetic brains with memories and skills theyrsquollneed to do the jobs for which they were created

STEP 3 TRAITS

Traits are the building blocks of any Savage Worlds character

They define how strong or fast your character is and what

she knows Traits determine how much cyberware she canput into her body how much damage she can take before

dying her standing with others and a variety of other thingsall of which are essential to the game

ATTRIBUTES

Five attributes are used to define your characterrsquos physi-cal characteristics These are Agility Smarts Spirit Strength

and Vigor Each attribute starts at d4 You have 5 points withwhich to raise these attr ibutes and one point equals a risein a die type (d4 to d6 d6 to d8 etc) No attribute may rise

higher than d12 during character creation unless stated undera racial ability For more information on attributes refer to

the Savage Worlds core rules

SKILLS

You have 15 points to spend on your characterrsquos skills Your

character doesnrsquot start with any skills and must spend 1 pointto get a skill at a d4 He spends 1 point to raise a skill to a

higher die type as long as the skill level is equal to or less

than the linked attribute Raising any skill above the linkedattribute costs 2 points per step No skill may rise above d12

during character creation

Note If you are using the skill specializations rules you get 20points for skills and each new specialization costs 1 skill point

during character creation When your character advances shemay purchase 2 skill specializations for an advance or a new

skill and a single specialization

NEW SKILLS

The following are new skills introduced in Interface Zero 20

For information on all other skills see Skills in the Savage

Worlds core rules

16

CHARACTER CREATIONCONCEPT RACE TRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1729

Hacking (Smarts) The Hacking skill is used whenever a

character wants to hack a computer network Characters in

Interface Zero 20 no longer start with an automatic d4 inHacking Additionally characters who wish to use the Global

DataNet for everyday purposes such as research or findingnews pertaining to the Deep do so with their existing Inves-

tigation and Streetwise skills

Knowledge (Demolitions) Successful use of demolitions canmean the difference between destruction of the target as

planned and unplanned loss of life and property The skill also

lets the character have an understanding of what the besttype of explosive is for the obstacle and how much they will

need to remove such an obstacle In addition a raise on theresult will let them know the exact distance they need to be

from the explosion based upon the size of the charge the con-

fines and damage created by said explosion This skill is usedany time a character wants to put a satchel charge together

or set explosives A Critical Failure will result in immediatedetonation Simple failure will result in premature detonation

or no detonation at all

Knowledge (Programming) Characters use this skill when

attempting to make any kind of change to a network theyhave hacked This skill allows a character to undo damagedone as a result of a hack With it a character can do things

like undo an edit to a data file or video reconstruct a deleted

file repair an AMS (see Active Memory Sectors on page 274in the Sett ing Rules chapter) recover a deleted skill Engram

or reconnect a TAP that has gone offline

OPTIONAL RULE SKILL SPECIALIZATIONS

Interface Zero 20 is an advanced setting where knowing

how to do one thing doesnrsquot necessarily mean you can dosomething which under the regular skill rules would techni-

cally be possible with the same skill Take the various DrivingBoating and Piloting skills for example

Using the regular skill rules a character with Driving couldtheoretically drive anything from a motorcycle to a semi-truckor a tank Similarly Piloting assumes a character has the skills

to pilot all types of aircraft including fighter jets and space-

craft Pinnacle Entertainment addressed this issue by addingthe Skill Specialization setting rule in the Savage Worlds core

rules and it is highly recommended that those rules are usedfor Interface Zero 20

The following list of skill specializations are provided to get

you started This isnrsquot intended to be a comprehensive listof appropriate skill specializations but rather a broad cross

section of specializations we feel are appropriate If some-thing doesnrsquot appear on the list make it up if it seems right

But remember the GM always has the final say on what is or

isnrsquot appropriate for her campaign

SUGGESTED SPECIALIZATIONS

bull Boating Powered Sailed Submersible

bull Climbing Mountaineering Rappelling Rope

bull Driving Car (4 wheels) Hovercraft JUMP Bike MotorcycleTruck (6+ wheels) Tracked

bull Fighting Axe Blades Blunt Cyberweapon Long Blade

Martial arts (by style judo karate etc) Pole Arm

bull Gambling By game

bull Hacking Hyper Combat Firewall Penetration Intrusion

Detection Object Control Object Editing Run ProgramTrace

bull Healing Cyber Surgery First Aid Surgery

bull Intimidation Interrogation Mental Physical

bull Investigation Archives Global DataNet Libraries

Newspapers

bull Knowledge Each Knowledge skill is technically a special-

ization of Knowledge so it isnrsquot broken down into furtherspecializations

Suggested Knowledge Skills AIs Battle Corporations

Cybernetics Demolitions Global DataNet Local Area (spe-cific) Politics Programing

bull Lockpicking Disarm Trap Electronic Manual

bull Notice Audio Body Language Searching Visual

bull Persuasion Bluffing Diplomacy Fast-Talking Seduction

bull Piloting Golemmech Helicopter Plane Spacecraft VTOL

bull Psionics Freek Peek Tweek

bull Repair Armor Cybernetics Electronics Mechanical Struc-tures Weapons

bull Riding By animal

TO SPECIALIZE OR NOT TO SPECIALIZE

17

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1829

bull Shooting Bow Pistol Rifle Shotgun Submachine GunVehicle Weapon or by weapon category

bull Stealth Disguise Hiding Sleight of Hand Sneaking

bull Streetwise AreaRegion (Corporate Zone Gang Turf etc)

bull Survival Aquatic Arctic Desert Forest Jungle MountainSpace urban or any specific environment

bull Swimming Lake Ocean SCUBA Divingbull Taunt Verbal Visual

bull Throwing Darts Grenades Knives Spears

bull Tracking Animals Global DataNet Humans Urban

Vehicles

OPTIONAL SKILL ATHLETICS

Rather than breaking up basic things like Climbing and Swim-ming it is recommended to combine them into a single skill

which would allow for specialization

Athletics (Vigor) Athletics as a catch-all for a number ofphysical endeavors ranging from climbing to swimming to

moving around effectively in a no mdash or low-gravity environ-

ment Athletics should be used instead of Agility in foot chasesand effectively replaces both the Climbing and Swimming skills

Specializations Climbing Leaping Running Sport (specific)

Swimming Zero-G Maneuvers

LANGUAGES

All characters speak their native language plus a number ofadditional languages equaling one-half their Smarts die The

major trade languages used in Interface Zero 20 are Chinese

English Hindi Portuguese and Swahili Additional languagescan be learned by using an advancement opportunity

DERIVED STATISTICS

There are a few statistics which are important in any SavageWorlds game Charisma Pace Parry and Toughness

CHARISMA

Charisma is an abstract measure of your characterrsquos appear-ance how she deals with others socially and generally how

likeable she is Charisma starts at 0 but can be modified byEdges and Hindrances Charisma is also added to Streetwise

and Persuasion rolls The Game Master uses Charisma to figure

out how NPCrsquos react to your character For more informationon Charisma see the Savage Worlds core rules

PACE

Pace is a measure of how far your character can walk in a

standard combat round Human characters have a base Paceof 6 and can run at an additional 1d6rdquo Other races in Interface

Zero 20 can have different starting Pace scores based on the

racial template you choose For more information on Pacesee the Savage Worlds core rules

PARRY

Parry is equal to 2 plus half your characterrsquos Fighting skillplus modifiers gained from use of shields or certain weapons

If your character does not have the Fighting skill base Parry

starts at 2 For more information on Parry see the SavageWorlds core rules

TOUGHNESS

Toughness is a measure of how much damage your character

can take before becoming Shaken or wounded Toughness is2 plus half your characterrsquos Vigor plus any armor she might

be wearing For more information on Toughness see the

Savage Worlds core rules

NEW DERIVED STATSInterface Zero 20 introduces three new derived statis-

tics mdash Firewall Strain and Street Cred

FIREWALL

Unless your character has the Unplugged Hindrance she hasa Tendril Access Processor (TAP) and therefore has a built-

in firewall The firewall protects against attempts to hack a

characterrsquos TAP A characterrsquos Firewall rating star ts at 4 but

can be modified by Edges Hindrances or software

STRAIN

Strain measures the amount of stress cyberware and biowareputs on your body when you install it Strain starts at zero

and each piece of cyberware adds to your Strain stat Highlevels of Strain can lead to death More details on Strain are

located at Augments on page 262

STREET CRED

Street Cred is a measure of your character rsquos reputation on

the streets All characters begin play with 2 points of StreetCred modified by Edges or Hindrances and gain another 2

points every time they gain a new Rank The maximum StreetCred a character can normally achieve is 10 (some Edges and

Occupations can increase this number)

Unlike Charisma which measures your ability to persuadesomeone Street Cred is a point pool that can be spent to

obtain services temporary contacts information and a variety

of other benefits during the course of an adventure This poolrefreshes each adventure unless circumstances in the prior

adventure (like not getting the job done failing to protectsomeone killing an innocent etc) cause the characterrsquos Street

Cred score to drop

Characters can also pick up Minor or Major Hindrances thathave a lasting effect on their Street Cred score during the

course of an adventure These Hindrances can be removedby spending an Advance with the GMrsquos permission For more

information see Street Cred on page 264

CONTACTS

Each character can choose two contacts people the character

knows who he can call upon for aid or information during thecourse of an adventure These contacts can be anyone froma bartender or a hacker to a corporate executive or military

commander as long as it makes sense that your characterwould know the person(s)

STEP 4 OCCUPATIONS

Occupations are integral to your character concept providinga basic framework to enhance your characterrsquos background in

a very organic way helping you create a more well-rounded

18

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1929

character concept Each occupation has a requirement that thecharacter must meet to take it the characterrsquos bonus credits

gained each Advance and a special perk (like gear or specialabilities) the character gets for being part of that profession

STEP 5 EDGES AND HINDRANCES

Edges are special qualities that separate characters from theaverage sprawler Hindrances are physical and mental flaws

that add more depth to the character albeit in a negativeway See the Savage Worlds core rules for more information

on purchasing Edges and Hindrances New Edges and Hin-drances are provided later in this chapter

STEP 6 EQUIPMENT

In Interface Zero 20 characters select equipment cybernet-ics weapons and armor based on the power level the Game

Master sets for the campaign

Power Level This is the starting Power Level of the Cam-

paign as determined by the Game Master If the GM wants totell a story of gang members barely scraping by shersquoll mostlikely choose Gutter Punk as the Power Level If she envi-

sions a campaign where the players are a special governmenttask force dedicated to hunting down super terrorists the

Hyperchrome Warriors or Elite Operatives levels might be

more appropriate The Street Soldier Power Level (designedfor ronin-style games) is considered the default Power Level

for Interface Zero 20

Starting Credits This is the amount of money characters

start with at the beginning of the campaign These credits

may be spent on anything the player wishes and the GM hasnot barred from the campaign including augments drones

weapons and armor

Augments Every Power Level above Gutter Punk allows theplayers to start with at least one augment from the core book

equal to or below the monetary amount listed Unspent Creditsfrom this pool do not carry over when the game starts These

augments must be chosen from the master list of augments

not augment packages

STEP 7 BACKGROUND

They say the devil is in the details and here is where you

decide how devilish yoursquore going to be You donrsquot need towrite a novel and frankly this step isnrsquot mandatory That said

itrsquos a good idea to jot down a few notes on your characterrsquosbackground any major events in her life any friends the

names of contacts or even enemies she might have Share

these ideas with your Game Master GMs are always lookingfor good plot hooks and little tidbits they can use to person-

alize your experience at the table The more detailed yourbackground is the better

ARCHETYPESSometimes you may want to quickly create a character for

a one-shot or convention adventure For those occasions anArchetype is a good choice

All are built for a human character with two Edges If you wish

to play a race other than human simply plug in the statisticaldata If yoursquore playing a human you

can choose another Edge Thenchoose your gear based on the

Power Level your group haschosen give the character

a name and yoursquore ready

to go

19

ARCHETYPES

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2029

AGENT

BOUNTY HUNTER

20

AGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

20

ARCHETYPESAGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2129

CYBERMONK

DRONE JOCKEY

21

CYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

21

ARCHETYPESCYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 12: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1229

Sorry_U_Asked Irsquom all about questioning the circumstancesbut Irsquom pretty sure all the folks who were murdered duringthese events wouldrsquove labeled them as insane down to a one

Billy_Black_Eyes Whatever dictionary program yoursquorerunning needs a fresh data-dump Prophet

Sane_Prophet Dictionaries are also for the weak-minded

Billy_Black_Eyes Of course they are

The world burned for about a week until programmers couldfix the problem with firmware updates and hot patches to

get the filters up and running and an off switch installedbut the damage was done Itrsquos not known how many people

died in the rioting and madness but cautious estimates oftotal casualties put the number at around 750 million people

and nobody has even tried to calculate the monetary cost

of the riots Strangely however the Flare itself didnrsquot havea widespread impact on various infrastructures like electric

and other powers transportation systems etc In fact manybelieve the Flare wasnrsquot even a solar flare at all but the first

sign of Charonrsquos emergence as a threat to humanity

Luciferion Nobodyrsquos ever proven that Billy

Billy_Black_Eyes Nobody has ever debunked it eitherStatistical data can be hacked Numbers can be fudgedto make things seem more dramatic than they really areEarthquakes register at a certain scale and get downgradedall the time The truth is this is the first time in history thata solar flare has caused such wide-spread chaos It rsquos fishy

Luciferion Irsquoll believe it when I see some hard data

Billy_Black_Eyes Fair enough But the emergence ofCharon around this time isnrsquot even open for debate Itrsquosa fact

THE EURASIAN UNION IMPLODES

On March 15th 2089 the Eurasian Union Central Bank in

Bonn Germany was crashed by a previously unheard-of virusnamed Charon Over forty-five trillion dollars vanished without

a trace All attempts to rebuild the original databases failedSome programmers (and freelance hackers) hired to go in andpurge Charon from the databases lost their lives in the process

Further attempts to rebuild the system on different serverswith backups also failed when programmers realized that

Charon mdash now suspected by many to be an AI mdash had copieditself into the cloud networks containing those backup files

Luciferion Therersquos nothing to suspect Charon is anemergent AI The only question now is whether or not itsparks a singularity event

Nothing_to_see_here Stopwatch will halt it in its tracksThey always catch these things

Luciferion Who do you think died trying to get it out ofthe D-bases in Bonn

Over the next few months an estimated 200 million people

across the Eurasian Union the United Kingdom and Ireland losttheir jobs their homes and their life savings when it became

clear that Charon had found its way into the personal bankaccounts of citizenry across the Eurasian Union

Instances of mob violence skyrocketed as the number of

gangs in the rapidly fracturing Eurasian Union had risen tolevels not seen since the Death mdash the three-year ldquoNuclear

Autumnrdquo following the India-Pakistan war when nuclearweapons were used on a massive scale In the London-Read-

ing Megaplex protests exploded into full-scale violence after

police brutally cracked down on a peaceful protest at the

British parliament building More instances of violent protests

followed in Bristol Swindon and the Manchester-Liverpoolsprawl

On June 27th 2089 the French government was over-

thrown by a fringe political extremist group known as theNew Pirate Party Led by a charismatic young zeek named

Angeacutele Bonheur the New Pirate Party seized power after awild chaotic campaign against representatives of the NationalFront and the Popular Republican Union The elections were

rife with scandal and many of the French didnrsquot (and still donrsquot)like the idea of a French leader being psychic So while Angeacutele

emerged as the clear victor the French military refused toacknowledge her legitimacy President Bonheur responded

by disbanding the armed forces of France at the same time

announcing the privatization of the nationrsquos military throughan agreement with Ravenlocke Securities

Downtrodden Yep itrsquos a sign of things to come ladiesand gents a world-wide corporate coup of governmentsIf you donrsquot think the CEO of Ravenlocke mdash thatrsquos MarkusRaven mdash has a say in the direction this new governmenttakes think again

Luciferion Itrsquos awesome to see France led by a psychicbut letrsquos get real this is going to get much worse beforeit gets better

Magpie I wouldnrsquot be surprised i f she gets wacked

Former Lieutenant-Colonel Adrien Boucher also known as

ldquoAdrien the Butcherrdquo for his brutal suppression of an upris-ing in Marseilles in 2087 took charge of the remnants of

the disbanded French army promising to remove PresidentBonheur from power Within days of Adrienrsquos announcement

Fort Richepance mdash now the Northeastern headquarters for

Ravenlocke Industriesrsquo Storm Crow Golemmech brigade mdash wasattacked The president responded by declaring martial law

throughout France until the renegade movement could be

put down Thus far that hasnrsquot happened though there arereports of clashes between Ravenlocke regulars and sepa-

ratist forces outside of St Etienne and in the French Alps

Warpig This has caused numerous issues If PresidentAngeacutele thinks her countrymen are going to accept theprivatization of the military shersquos sorely mistaken As Billymentions Adrien the Butcher is causing problems buttherersquos more to it Militias are forming They have advancedweaponry and while I wonrsquot speculate as to whorsquos providingthem with those weapons I do know the vast majority ofthe weapons are made by Act of God Armaments

Battle_Mind I know one thing itrsquos a great time to be amercenary

Full_Metal_Cyborg Amen brother Irsquoll see you on the

battlefieldPayne_Man Lock and Load U mushrooms I splatter youn00bs with my AK

Magpie ldquoSighrdquo Stop playing Matrix of War Payne Yousound like a fool This ainrsquot a game

Payne_Man I thought we were talkinrsquo about MOW Ushould C the zones Theyrsquore eggsaklee like the content ofthis INFOdump Have been for a whyle now Evar since thelast expansion dropped in spring 2088

Luciferion hellipOk thatrsquos odd

Payne_Man The CoalitionAtlantica War expansion izzcumin out next month 2 I Kant W8

12

INTRODUCTIONTHE ROAD TO 2090

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1329

On June 30th 2089 Germany wracked with political in-

fighting riots in the streets and a general state of chaos

closed its borders Officially the stated reason was for secu-rity reasons stemming from conflict along the border with

France but most people donrsquot believe it Chancellor KonradGerste authorized a financial bailout of the three largest

manufacturers of weapons and military equipment for

the German army The move has frightened many of the

Eastern European nations mdash especially the good people ofPoland mdash who know well what happens when Germans

begin preparing for war and make no mistake Germany ismoving to a war footing

Payne_Man Watch out Zee Germans are cumming LOL

Klaus What Canrsquot my brethren move to protectthemselves from the chaos in France And why the veiledreference to WWII Itrsquos been nearly 150 years since Hitlerrsquosmadness yet nobody allows us to forget it

THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON

As the situation in Europe grew worse China took advantageof the weakened Eurasian Union grabbing up huge swathes

of territory in Russia its armies advancing as far west as the

Ural Mountain range where Russian forces managed to haltthe dragonrsquos advance Still the damage was done By August2089 the Mandarinate had established itself as an occupy-

ing power in every city town and village east of the Ural

Mountains That hasnrsquot stopped the Russians from retaliatinghowever Russian patriots have begun an insurgency attack-

ing Chinese forces wherever they can be found Mandarinatemouthpieces paint the insurgents as terrorists to little effect

as the insurgency swells in number every day

Neon_Bright This isnrsquot just a struggle against Chineseaggression Vast resources have been found ever sinceSiberia began to thaw Irsquom talking about precious mineralsoil even the land is useful for development especiallywhen you consider billions of people live in eastern Asia

Luciferion Agreed Neon

LIFE IN GENERAL

So how have the above events impacted life as we stumbleinto 2090 In numerous ways omae There isnrsquot enough time

to go into great detail about how war the Flare and espe-

cially the rise of Charon have affected the life of the averagesprawler across the world but Irsquo ll go over some of the more

important details Pay attention peeps some of this mightkeep you alive

SURVIVING HYPER REALITY

As I mentioned above when the Flare knocked out the GENIEnetwork it caused widespread chaos And while GENIE is back

up and running there are still glitches in the system Sure

firmware updates to the Tendril Access Processor mdash TAP as itrsquosmore commonly known mdash allow you to turn off that modem

in your brain but wellhelliplet me put it like this Hyper Realityhas become smarter even deadly if you donrsquot have the right

software installed in your TAP

Sane_Prophet Why bother putting up more and morefilters It is senseless A futile fight against powers fargreater than yourself Open your eyes open your mindand set yourself free from this prison of so-called reality

BatRastard Right and then with the first meme to fry myneurons Irsquoll be spending my life savings on the Fat Sallyrsquosdown the block Brilliant

Sane_Prophet Fat Sally rsquos secret sauce is an interdimen-sional gateway into the heights of ecstasy

BatRastard Actually thatrsquos the first thing you and I haveever agreed on

Irsquove discussed this phenomena with numerous program-mers across the world and they all agree virii spam and allmanner of malware that [prior to the Flare] would have been

easy to purge from your head are now behaving much dif-

ferently Itrsquos almost as if the things evolved into somethingnot-quite-sentient but damned close to it

So what does this mean for you

If you choose to experience Hyper Reality (and if you have aTAP in your brain you have) itrsquos only a matter of time before

one of these virii hacks into your brain Therersquos nothing youcan really do about it itrsquos just one of the many fun facts of

life in 2090 I do find it ironic that af ter decades of enjoying

the connectivity and convenience the TAP has provided thistechnology seems to be actively trying to kill us and there

isnrsquot much we can do about it without going back to medi-eval times You know the 1980rsquos Of course some of you out

there will want to turn your TAPs off for good and avoid the

risk entirely Hell some of you might be considering gettingthe damned thing removed

You can do that sure Of course that means yoursquore also

not connected to the grid that makes your life so unbeliev-ably convenient This causes a mult itude of problems Donrsquot

believe me Try walking out of your house Oh right you canrsquotbecause most doors donrsquot have handles anymore Theyrsquore

automated and respond to the signals coming from your TAPI know some are activated by motion sensors and donrsquot rely

on the TAP But no door which is designed with security in

mind will open so easilyThis also means you have almost zero access to vehicles or

places where you can buy things like grocery stores Yeah

sure you can just follow someone else into said store butthe security cameras will spot you and not having a digital

record of your presence (which they get from your TAP) willflag you and dispatch a security team to find out who you

are So there you are in your local Malmart looking for some

cloned steaks to fire up on your grill later on when securitycomes with their big guns and ldquowhat the hell are you doing

here scumbagrdquo looks on their faces to boot you back out intothe streets where you came from

Oh how did you plan on paying for them BTW now that

your TAP is offline and the clerk canrsquot sync her cash register

with your payment software And NO they donrsquot take cashThe point is this omae All that convenience you were usedto goes out the window when you unplug Itrsquos much easier

to get strong firewalls than it is to live outside the system

So think about what I said before you scratch that itch at thebase of your skull with a scalpel

SURVIVING THE STREETS

The streets have always been dangerous thatrsquos a givenWhen you cram millions of people into a concrete and steel

petri dish then forget about 999 of them you create abreeding ground for violence hate and societal devolution

13

INTRODUCTIONLIFE IN GENERAL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1429

on such a scale that social Darwinists like Herbert Spencer and

Thomas Malthus would roll over in their graves

Again that in itself is nothing new The streets have alwaysbeen violent but ever since the events I previously described

came to pass mdash especially the Flare and the implosion of theEurasian Union mdash the number of homeless people across the

world has sky-rocketed The petri dish is frothing and over-

flowing as new gangs emerge mdash and Irsquom talking globally not just in North America mdash and carve out their own terri tory

This upsets the balance ami and makes it harder to survivewhen yoursquore just a blooper looking to make it through the

day because now you have new predators to deal with n00bbangers making up their own rules as they go And the cop-

suckers donrsquot help

Protect and serve What a load of crap

Sure yoursquol l get Triple-A service if you live in one of the moneybubbles but try getting help in say the Aurora Barrens or

the Gary Hell Zone and yoursquore basically fucked Yeah thereare token patrols and the ever-present drones but drones

get shot down and the copsuckers are so outnumbered

most are either so scared to get into an altercation with thepredators or theyrsquore on the take I canrsquot say I blame them

either The streets are a war zone and if you wear the badgeyoursquore marked for death omae So take my advice and get

strapped The only person you can count on in the concrete jungle is you

Sorry_U_Asked Think twice before trying to claim a badgebounty though Sure plenty of honchos love to pay topcredit for proof that yoursquove kept the law from poking aroundtheir territory But just because you see someone wearingone doesnrsquot mean they got it legit Lots of gangers wearthem as trophies So if you drop a shot on a copsuckerthinking yoursquove hit payday you might end up with a wholeband of bangers snarling on your heels

SURVIVING THE GAME

Therersquos an old saying The Game is the Game mdash you eitherplay it or you get played I donrsquot care if you contract free-

lance fight fix hack patch or scam yoursquore in it omae andthat puts you at odds with every other player out there Most

people approach the game as a means to an end thinking

that one shiny day theyrsquoll earn enough creds to go someplacewarm and dry and live out their lives in style These clowns

donrsquot last Theyrsquore so busy dreaming about the good timesthat they lose focus on whatrsquos right in front of their face (or

creeping up behind them) Dreamers get sloppy take short

cuts betray their team and torch their street cred like gutterpunks burn trash in a garbage can to keep warm

If you want to survive the game you need to take a lesson

from these dreamers keep your mind on the job Therersquos nosandy beach waiting for you The megacorps bought them

all and turned lsquoem into parking lots The only fruity drinksyoursquoll ever drink are sold in the local watering hole by some

burned-out ronin The best you can hope for is a litt le bit of

comfort mdash usually behind a small fortress if yoursquore smart mdash andthe respect of the streets But thatrsquos a double-edged sword

another facet of the game Therersquos always someone faster

than you some hungry up-and-comer with the latest aug-ments wanting to prove herself by dealing you out Sucksto be a victim of your own success but thatrsquos the truth of it

My advice Find a way to deal yourself out clean Put some

creds away never burn your contacts and donrsquot ever everbecome a legend

Legends die

14

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1529

CHARACTER

CREATION

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1629

CHAPTER TWOCHARACTER CREATION

Characters are the lifersquos blood of any role-playing game the

focal point of every story Characters represent the best mdash orthe worst mdash ideals of a given game setting their actions either

bringing a small measure of hope to the downtrodden massesor serving to strengthen the status quo In the grim gritty

world of Interface Zero 20 the characters you play walk amonofilament edge between traditional mdash some would say

outdated or just plain irrelevant mdash concepts of good and evilas they make their way in the world

Indeed itrsquos hard to be a moral individual in a world where

most of the animals prowling the concrete jungle believe prin-ciples are character flaws mdash weaknesses to exploit for their

own ends Your morality marks you as prey no doubt aboutit omae But if you can keep your moral code if you can get

your job done without selling your soul yoursquoll get something

most sprawlers never have respect

Evil on the other hand is the same as it always has been

therersquos just more of it The wicked always thrive in a world

where violence fear and control are tools used for self-serv-ing ends but herersquos the thing Acting like an ass can get you

green-lit just as quickly as playing the role of the goody-two-shoes marks you as a sucker amigo

Nobody likes a dickhead even if they donrsquot say it to your

face Sooner or later yoursquoll get a rep for being a hard-assand someone who is stronger meaner or a bigger asshole

than you is going to come along and knock you back to thegutter you crawled out of Thatrsquos why most people keep their

heads down and their mouths shut Donrsquot make eye contact

itrsquos a challenge to the predators and if you donrsquot have thestones to back up the challenge yoursquore nothing but meat

But if you can stay strong and defeat all comers that com-mands respect too

This chapter provides you with the tools you need to make

a character for Interface Zero 20 The process is the same ascreating a character for any Savage Worlds game with a few

additions Interface Zero 20 introduces Street Cred Contactsand Strain to the game

STEP 1 CONCEPT

The first thing you need to do is decide on a concept for your

character Will you play a hacker Perhaps a mercenary orbounty hunter is more your speed Are mercs and hunters toocutthroat for your style of play If so you might think about

playing a ronin an urban warrior who follows his own code

of honor Maybe you want to be the guy (or gal) who backsthe team up with drones capable of laying down covering

fire or scouting ahead to see where the bad guys are hiding

You donrsquot need to have your concept locked in right now butat least have a basic idea of the type of character you want

to play Take a few minutes and skip ahead to the archetypessection in this chapter to see a variety of options available

to you

STEP 2 RACEThe next thing you need to do is choose a race In 2090

humanity has reached the point where the word ldquohumanrdquo is

almost irrelevant Human DNA is no longer a mystery Itrsquos amathematical code technomancers hack re-write and copy

at will producing genetically superior beings the Human 20

Others snip and paste animal DNA and splice it with humanDNA to create genetic hybrids a fusion of man and animal

Science has even advanced to such an extent that we can

create entirely new life forms mdash living beings known as simula-cra mdash in amniotic vats growing them until they have matured

filling their synthetic brains with memories and skills theyrsquollneed to do the jobs for which they were created

STEP 3 TRAITS

Traits are the building blocks of any Savage Worlds character

They define how strong or fast your character is and what

she knows Traits determine how much cyberware she canput into her body how much damage she can take before

dying her standing with others and a variety of other thingsall of which are essential to the game

ATTRIBUTES

Five attributes are used to define your characterrsquos physi-cal characteristics These are Agility Smarts Spirit Strength

and Vigor Each attribute starts at d4 You have 5 points withwhich to raise these attr ibutes and one point equals a risein a die type (d4 to d6 d6 to d8 etc) No attribute may rise

higher than d12 during character creation unless stated undera racial ability For more information on attributes refer to

the Savage Worlds core rules

SKILLS

You have 15 points to spend on your characterrsquos skills Your

character doesnrsquot start with any skills and must spend 1 pointto get a skill at a d4 He spends 1 point to raise a skill to a

higher die type as long as the skill level is equal to or less

than the linked attribute Raising any skill above the linkedattribute costs 2 points per step No skill may rise above d12

during character creation

Note If you are using the skill specializations rules you get 20points for skills and each new specialization costs 1 skill point

during character creation When your character advances shemay purchase 2 skill specializations for an advance or a new

skill and a single specialization

NEW SKILLS

The following are new skills introduced in Interface Zero 20

For information on all other skills see Skills in the Savage

Worlds core rules

16

CHARACTER CREATIONCONCEPT RACE TRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1729

Hacking (Smarts) The Hacking skill is used whenever a

character wants to hack a computer network Characters in

Interface Zero 20 no longer start with an automatic d4 inHacking Additionally characters who wish to use the Global

DataNet for everyday purposes such as research or findingnews pertaining to the Deep do so with their existing Inves-

tigation and Streetwise skills

Knowledge (Demolitions) Successful use of demolitions canmean the difference between destruction of the target as

planned and unplanned loss of life and property The skill also

lets the character have an understanding of what the besttype of explosive is for the obstacle and how much they will

need to remove such an obstacle In addition a raise on theresult will let them know the exact distance they need to be

from the explosion based upon the size of the charge the con-

fines and damage created by said explosion This skill is usedany time a character wants to put a satchel charge together

or set explosives A Critical Failure will result in immediatedetonation Simple failure will result in premature detonation

or no detonation at all

Knowledge (Programming) Characters use this skill when

attempting to make any kind of change to a network theyhave hacked This skill allows a character to undo damagedone as a result of a hack With it a character can do things

like undo an edit to a data file or video reconstruct a deleted

file repair an AMS (see Active Memory Sectors on page 274in the Sett ing Rules chapter) recover a deleted skill Engram

or reconnect a TAP that has gone offline

OPTIONAL RULE SKILL SPECIALIZATIONS

Interface Zero 20 is an advanced setting where knowing

how to do one thing doesnrsquot necessarily mean you can dosomething which under the regular skill rules would techni-

cally be possible with the same skill Take the various DrivingBoating and Piloting skills for example

Using the regular skill rules a character with Driving couldtheoretically drive anything from a motorcycle to a semi-truckor a tank Similarly Piloting assumes a character has the skills

to pilot all types of aircraft including fighter jets and space-

craft Pinnacle Entertainment addressed this issue by addingthe Skill Specialization setting rule in the Savage Worlds core

rules and it is highly recommended that those rules are usedfor Interface Zero 20

The following list of skill specializations are provided to get

you started This isnrsquot intended to be a comprehensive listof appropriate skill specializations but rather a broad cross

section of specializations we feel are appropriate If some-thing doesnrsquot appear on the list make it up if it seems right

But remember the GM always has the final say on what is or

isnrsquot appropriate for her campaign

SUGGESTED SPECIALIZATIONS

bull Boating Powered Sailed Submersible

bull Climbing Mountaineering Rappelling Rope

bull Driving Car (4 wheels) Hovercraft JUMP Bike MotorcycleTruck (6+ wheels) Tracked

bull Fighting Axe Blades Blunt Cyberweapon Long Blade

Martial arts (by style judo karate etc) Pole Arm

bull Gambling By game

bull Hacking Hyper Combat Firewall Penetration Intrusion

Detection Object Control Object Editing Run ProgramTrace

bull Healing Cyber Surgery First Aid Surgery

bull Intimidation Interrogation Mental Physical

bull Investigation Archives Global DataNet Libraries

Newspapers

bull Knowledge Each Knowledge skill is technically a special-

ization of Knowledge so it isnrsquot broken down into furtherspecializations

Suggested Knowledge Skills AIs Battle Corporations

Cybernetics Demolitions Global DataNet Local Area (spe-cific) Politics Programing

bull Lockpicking Disarm Trap Electronic Manual

bull Notice Audio Body Language Searching Visual

bull Persuasion Bluffing Diplomacy Fast-Talking Seduction

bull Piloting Golemmech Helicopter Plane Spacecraft VTOL

bull Psionics Freek Peek Tweek

bull Repair Armor Cybernetics Electronics Mechanical Struc-tures Weapons

bull Riding By animal

TO SPECIALIZE OR NOT TO SPECIALIZE

17

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1829

bull Shooting Bow Pistol Rifle Shotgun Submachine GunVehicle Weapon or by weapon category

bull Stealth Disguise Hiding Sleight of Hand Sneaking

bull Streetwise AreaRegion (Corporate Zone Gang Turf etc)

bull Survival Aquatic Arctic Desert Forest Jungle MountainSpace urban or any specific environment

bull Swimming Lake Ocean SCUBA Divingbull Taunt Verbal Visual

bull Throwing Darts Grenades Knives Spears

bull Tracking Animals Global DataNet Humans Urban

Vehicles

OPTIONAL SKILL ATHLETICS

Rather than breaking up basic things like Climbing and Swim-ming it is recommended to combine them into a single skill

which would allow for specialization

Athletics (Vigor) Athletics as a catch-all for a number ofphysical endeavors ranging from climbing to swimming to

moving around effectively in a no mdash or low-gravity environ-

ment Athletics should be used instead of Agility in foot chasesand effectively replaces both the Climbing and Swimming skills

Specializations Climbing Leaping Running Sport (specific)

Swimming Zero-G Maneuvers

LANGUAGES

All characters speak their native language plus a number ofadditional languages equaling one-half their Smarts die The

major trade languages used in Interface Zero 20 are Chinese

English Hindi Portuguese and Swahili Additional languagescan be learned by using an advancement opportunity

DERIVED STATISTICS

There are a few statistics which are important in any SavageWorlds game Charisma Pace Parry and Toughness

CHARISMA

Charisma is an abstract measure of your characterrsquos appear-ance how she deals with others socially and generally how

likeable she is Charisma starts at 0 but can be modified byEdges and Hindrances Charisma is also added to Streetwise

and Persuasion rolls The Game Master uses Charisma to figure

out how NPCrsquos react to your character For more informationon Charisma see the Savage Worlds core rules

PACE

Pace is a measure of how far your character can walk in a

standard combat round Human characters have a base Paceof 6 and can run at an additional 1d6rdquo Other races in Interface

Zero 20 can have different starting Pace scores based on the

racial template you choose For more information on Pacesee the Savage Worlds core rules

PARRY

Parry is equal to 2 plus half your characterrsquos Fighting skillplus modifiers gained from use of shields or certain weapons

If your character does not have the Fighting skill base Parry

starts at 2 For more information on Parry see the SavageWorlds core rules

TOUGHNESS

Toughness is a measure of how much damage your character

can take before becoming Shaken or wounded Toughness is2 plus half your characterrsquos Vigor plus any armor she might

be wearing For more information on Toughness see the

Savage Worlds core rules

NEW DERIVED STATSInterface Zero 20 introduces three new derived statis-

tics mdash Firewall Strain and Street Cred

FIREWALL

Unless your character has the Unplugged Hindrance she hasa Tendril Access Processor (TAP) and therefore has a built-

in firewall The firewall protects against attempts to hack a

characterrsquos TAP A characterrsquos Firewall rating star ts at 4 but

can be modified by Edges Hindrances or software

STRAIN

Strain measures the amount of stress cyberware and biowareputs on your body when you install it Strain starts at zero

and each piece of cyberware adds to your Strain stat Highlevels of Strain can lead to death More details on Strain are

located at Augments on page 262

STREET CRED

Street Cred is a measure of your character rsquos reputation on

the streets All characters begin play with 2 points of StreetCred modified by Edges or Hindrances and gain another 2

points every time they gain a new Rank The maximum StreetCred a character can normally achieve is 10 (some Edges and

Occupations can increase this number)

Unlike Charisma which measures your ability to persuadesomeone Street Cred is a point pool that can be spent to

obtain services temporary contacts information and a variety

of other benefits during the course of an adventure This poolrefreshes each adventure unless circumstances in the prior

adventure (like not getting the job done failing to protectsomeone killing an innocent etc) cause the characterrsquos Street

Cred score to drop

Characters can also pick up Minor or Major Hindrances thathave a lasting effect on their Street Cred score during the

course of an adventure These Hindrances can be removedby spending an Advance with the GMrsquos permission For more

information see Street Cred on page 264

CONTACTS

Each character can choose two contacts people the character

knows who he can call upon for aid or information during thecourse of an adventure These contacts can be anyone froma bartender or a hacker to a corporate executive or military

commander as long as it makes sense that your characterwould know the person(s)

STEP 4 OCCUPATIONS

Occupations are integral to your character concept providinga basic framework to enhance your characterrsquos background in

a very organic way helping you create a more well-rounded

18

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1929

character concept Each occupation has a requirement that thecharacter must meet to take it the characterrsquos bonus credits

gained each Advance and a special perk (like gear or specialabilities) the character gets for being part of that profession

STEP 5 EDGES AND HINDRANCES

Edges are special qualities that separate characters from theaverage sprawler Hindrances are physical and mental flaws

that add more depth to the character albeit in a negativeway See the Savage Worlds core rules for more information

on purchasing Edges and Hindrances New Edges and Hin-drances are provided later in this chapter

STEP 6 EQUIPMENT

In Interface Zero 20 characters select equipment cybernet-ics weapons and armor based on the power level the Game

Master sets for the campaign

Power Level This is the starting Power Level of the Cam-

paign as determined by the Game Master If the GM wants totell a story of gang members barely scraping by shersquoll mostlikely choose Gutter Punk as the Power Level If she envi-

sions a campaign where the players are a special governmenttask force dedicated to hunting down super terrorists the

Hyperchrome Warriors or Elite Operatives levels might be

more appropriate The Street Soldier Power Level (designedfor ronin-style games) is considered the default Power Level

for Interface Zero 20

Starting Credits This is the amount of money characters

start with at the beginning of the campaign These credits

may be spent on anything the player wishes and the GM hasnot barred from the campaign including augments drones

weapons and armor

Augments Every Power Level above Gutter Punk allows theplayers to start with at least one augment from the core book

equal to or below the monetary amount listed Unspent Creditsfrom this pool do not carry over when the game starts These

augments must be chosen from the master list of augments

not augment packages

STEP 7 BACKGROUND

They say the devil is in the details and here is where you

decide how devilish yoursquore going to be You donrsquot need towrite a novel and frankly this step isnrsquot mandatory That said

itrsquos a good idea to jot down a few notes on your characterrsquosbackground any major events in her life any friends the

names of contacts or even enemies she might have Share

these ideas with your Game Master GMs are always lookingfor good plot hooks and little tidbits they can use to person-

alize your experience at the table The more detailed yourbackground is the better

ARCHETYPESSometimes you may want to quickly create a character for

a one-shot or convention adventure For those occasions anArchetype is a good choice

All are built for a human character with two Edges If you wish

to play a race other than human simply plug in the statisticaldata If yoursquore playing a human you

can choose another Edge Thenchoose your gear based on the

Power Level your group haschosen give the character

a name and yoursquore ready

to go

19

ARCHETYPES

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2029

AGENT

BOUNTY HUNTER

20

AGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

20

ARCHETYPESAGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2129

CYBERMONK

DRONE JOCKEY

21

CYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

21

ARCHETYPESCYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 13: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1329

On June 30th 2089 Germany wracked with political in-

fighting riots in the streets and a general state of chaos

closed its borders Officially the stated reason was for secu-rity reasons stemming from conflict along the border with

France but most people donrsquot believe it Chancellor KonradGerste authorized a financial bailout of the three largest

manufacturers of weapons and military equipment for

the German army The move has frightened many of the

Eastern European nations mdash especially the good people ofPoland mdash who know well what happens when Germans

begin preparing for war and make no mistake Germany ismoving to a war footing

Payne_Man Watch out Zee Germans are cumming LOL

Klaus What Canrsquot my brethren move to protectthemselves from the chaos in France And why the veiledreference to WWII Itrsquos been nearly 150 years since Hitlerrsquosmadness yet nobody allows us to forget it

THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON

As the situation in Europe grew worse China took advantageof the weakened Eurasian Union grabbing up huge swathes

of territory in Russia its armies advancing as far west as the

Ural Mountain range where Russian forces managed to haltthe dragonrsquos advance Still the damage was done By August2089 the Mandarinate had established itself as an occupy-

ing power in every city town and village east of the Ural

Mountains That hasnrsquot stopped the Russians from retaliatinghowever Russian patriots have begun an insurgency attack-

ing Chinese forces wherever they can be found Mandarinatemouthpieces paint the insurgents as terrorists to little effect

as the insurgency swells in number every day

Neon_Bright This isnrsquot just a struggle against Chineseaggression Vast resources have been found ever sinceSiberia began to thaw Irsquom talking about precious mineralsoil even the land is useful for development especiallywhen you consider billions of people live in eastern Asia

Luciferion Agreed Neon

LIFE IN GENERAL

So how have the above events impacted life as we stumbleinto 2090 In numerous ways omae There isnrsquot enough time

to go into great detail about how war the Flare and espe-

cially the rise of Charon have affected the life of the averagesprawler across the world but Irsquo ll go over some of the more

important details Pay attention peeps some of this mightkeep you alive

SURVIVING HYPER REALITY

As I mentioned above when the Flare knocked out the GENIEnetwork it caused widespread chaos And while GENIE is back

up and running there are still glitches in the system Sure

firmware updates to the Tendril Access Processor mdash TAP as itrsquosmore commonly known mdash allow you to turn off that modem

in your brain but wellhelliplet me put it like this Hyper Realityhas become smarter even deadly if you donrsquot have the right

software installed in your TAP

Sane_Prophet Why bother putting up more and morefilters It is senseless A futile fight against powers fargreater than yourself Open your eyes open your mindand set yourself free from this prison of so-called reality

BatRastard Right and then with the first meme to fry myneurons Irsquoll be spending my life savings on the Fat Sallyrsquosdown the block Brilliant

Sane_Prophet Fat Sally rsquos secret sauce is an interdimen-sional gateway into the heights of ecstasy

BatRastard Actually thatrsquos the first thing you and I haveever agreed on

Irsquove discussed this phenomena with numerous program-mers across the world and they all agree virii spam and allmanner of malware that [prior to the Flare] would have been

easy to purge from your head are now behaving much dif-

ferently Itrsquos almost as if the things evolved into somethingnot-quite-sentient but damned close to it

So what does this mean for you

If you choose to experience Hyper Reality (and if you have aTAP in your brain you have) itrsquos only a matter of time before

one of these virii hacks into your brain Therersquos nothing youcan really do about it itrsquos just one of the many fun facts of

life in 2090 I do find it ironic that af ter decades of enjoying

the connectivity and convenience the TAP has provided thistechnology seems to be actively trying to kill us and there

isnrsquot much we can do about it without going back to medi-eval times You know the 1980rsquos Of course some of you out

there will want to turn your TAPs off for good and avoid the

risk entirely Hell some of you might be considering gettingthe damned thing removed

You can do that sure Of course that means yoursquore also

not connected to the grid that makes your life so unbeliev-ably convenient This causes a mult itude of problems Donrsquot

believe me Try walking out of your house Oh right you canrsquotbecause most doors donrsquot have handles anymore Theyrsquore

automated and respond to the signals coming from your TAPI know some are activated by motion sensors and donrsquot rely

on the TAP But no door which is designed with security in

mind will open so easilyThis also means you have almost zero access to vehicles or

places where you can buy things like grocery stores Yeah

sure you can just follow someone else into said store butthe security cameras will spot you and not having a digital

record of your presence (which they get from your TAP) willflag you and dispatch a security team to find out who you

are So there you are in your local Malmart looking for some

cloned steaks to fire up on your grill later on when securitycomes with their big guns and ldquowhat the hell are you doing

here scumbagrdquo looks on their faces to boot you back out intothe streets where you came from

Oh how did you plan on paying for them BTW now that

your TAP is offline and the clerk canrsquot sync her cash register

with your payment software And NO they donrsquot take cashThe point is this omae All that convenience you were usedto goes out the window when you unplug Itrsquos much easier

to get strong firewalls than it is to live outside the system

So think about what I said before you scratch that itch at thebase of your skull with a scalpel

SURVIVING THE STREETS

The streets have always been dangerous thatrsquos a givenWhen you cram millions of people into a concrete and steel

petri dish then forget about 999 of them you create abreeding ground for violence hate and societal devolution

13

INTRODUCTIONLIFE IN GENERAL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1429

on such a scale that social Darwinists like Herbert Spencer and

Thomas Malthus would roll over in their graves

Again that in itself is nothing new The streets have alwaysbeen violent but ever since the events I previously described

came to pass mdash especially the Flare and the implosion of theEurasian Union mdash the number of homeless people across the

world has sky-rocketed The petri dish is frothing and over-

flowing as new gangs emerge mdash and Irsquom talking globally not just in North America mdash and carve out their own terri tory

This upsets the balance ami and makes it harder to survivewhen yoursquore just a blooper looking to make it through the

day because now you have new predators to deal with n00bbangers making up their own rules as they go And the cop-

suckers donrsquot help

Protect and serve What a load of crap

Sure yoursquol l get Triple-A service if you live in one of the moneybubbles but try getting help in say the Aurora Barrens or

the Gary Hell Zone and yoursquore basically fucked Yeah thereare token patrols and the ever-present drones but drones

get shot down and the copsuckers are so outnumbered

most are either so scared to get into an altercation with thepredators or theyrsquore on the take I canrsquot say I blame them

either The streets are a war zone and if you wear the badgeyoursquore marked for death omae So take my advice and get

strapped The only person you can count on in the concrete jungle is you

Sorry_U_Asked Think twice before trying to claim a badgebounty though Sure plenty of honchos love to pay topcredit for proof that yoursquove kept the law from poking aroundtheir territory But just because you see someone wearingone doesnrsquot mean they got it legit Lots of gangers wearthem as trophies So if you drop a shot on a copsuckerthinking yoursquove hit payday you might end up with a wholeband of bangers snarling on your heels

SURVIVING THE GAME

Therersquos an old saying The Game is the Game mdash you eitherplay it or you get played I donrsquot care if you contract free-

lance fight fix hack patch or scam yoursquore in it omae andthat puts you at odds with every other player out there Most

people approach the game as a means to an end thinking

that one shiny day theyrsquoll earn enough creds to go someplacewarm and dry and live out their lives in style These clowns

donrsquot last Theyrsquore so busy dreaming about the good timesthat they lose focus on whatrsquos right in front of their face (or

creeping up behind them) Dreamers get sloppy take short

cuts betray their team and torch their street cred like gutterpunks burn trash in a garbage can to keep warm

If you want to survive the game you need to take a lesson

from these dreamers keep your mind on the job Therersquos nosandy beach waiting for you The megacorps bought them

all and turned lsquoem into parking lots The only fruity drinksyoursquoll ever drink are sold in the local watering hole by some

burned-out ronin The best you can hope for is a litt le bit of

comfort mdash usually behind a small fortress if yoursquore smart mdash andthe respect of the streets But thatrsquos a double-edged sword

another facet of the game Therersquos always someone faster

than you some hungry up-and-comer with the latest aug-ments wanting to prove herself by dealing you out Sucksto be a victim of your own success but thatrsquos the truth of it

My advice Find a way to deal yourself out clean Put some

creds away never burn your contacts and donrsquot ever everbecome a legend

Legends die

14

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1529

CHARACTER

CREATION

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1629

CHAPTER TWOCHARACTER CREATION

Characters are the lifersquos blood of any role-playing game the

focal point of every story Characters represent the best mdash orthe worst mdash ideals of a given game setting their actions either

bringing a small measure of hope to the downtrodden massesor serving to strengthen the status quo In the grim gritty

world of Interface Zero 20 the characters you play walk amonofilament edge between traditional mdash some would say

outdated or just plain irrelevant mdash concepts of good and evilas they make their way in the world

Indeed itrsquos hard to be a moral individual in a world where

most of the animals prowling the concrete jungle believe prin-ciples are character flaws mdash weaknesses to exploit for their

own ends Your morality marks you as prey no doubt aboutit omae But if you can keep your moral code if you can get

your job done without selling your soul yoursquoll get something

most sprawlers never have respect

Evil on the other hand is the same as it always has been

therersquos just more of it The wicked always thrive in a world

where violence fear and control are tools used for self-serv-ing ends but herersquos the thing Acting like an ass can get you

green-lit just as quickly as playing the role of the goody-two-shoes marks you as a sucker amigo

Nobody likes a dickhead even if they donrsquot say it to your

face Sooner or later yoursquoll get a rep for being a hard-assand someone who is stronger meaner or a bigger asshole

than you is going to come along and knock you back to thegutter you crawled out of Thatrsquos why most people keep their

heads down and their mouths shut Donrsquot make eye contact

itrsquos a challenge to the predators and if you donrsquot have thestones to back up the challenge yoursquore nothing but meat

But if you can stay strong and defeat all comers that com-mands respect too

This chapter provides you with the tools you need to make

a character for Interface Zero 20 The process is the same ascreating a character for any Savage Worlds game with a few

additions Interface Zero 20 introduces Street Cred Contactsand Strain to the game

STEP 1 CONCEPT

The first thing you need to do is decide on a concept for your

character Will you play a hacker Perhaps a mercenary orbounty hunter is more your speed Are mercs and hunters toocutthroat for your style of play If so you might think about

playing a ronin an urban warrior who follows his own code

of honor Maybe you want to be the guy (or gal) who backsthe team up with drones capable of laying down covering

fire or scouting ahead to see where the bad guys are hiding

You donrsquot need to have your concept locked in right now butat least have a basic idea of the type of character you want

to play Take a few minutes and skip ahead to the archetypessection in this chapter to see a variety of options available

to you

STEP 2 RACEThe next thing you need to do is choose a race In 2090

humanity has reached the point where the word ldquohumanrdquo is

almost irrelevant Human DNA is no longer a mystery Itrsquos amathematical code technomancers hack re-write and copy

at will producing genetically superior beings the Human 20

Others snip and paste animal DNA and splice it with humanDNA to create genetic hybrids a fusion of man and animal

Science has even advanced to such an extent that we can

create entirely new life forms mdash living beings known as simula-cra mdash in amniotic vats growing them until they have matured

filling their synthetic brains with memories and skills theyrsquollneed to do the jobs for which they were created

STEP 3 TRAITS

Traits are the building blocks of any Savage Worlds character

They define how strong or fast your character is and what

she knows Traits determine how much cyberware she canput into her body how much damage she can take before

dying her standing with others and a variety of other thingsall of which are essential to the game

ATTRIBUTES

Five attributes are used to define your characterrsquos physi-cal characteristics These are Agility Smarts Spirit Strength

and Vigor Each attribute starts at d4 You have 5 points withwhich to raise these attr ibutes and one point equals a risein a die type (d4 to d6 d6 to d8 etc) No attribute may rise

higher than d12 during character creation unless stated undera racial ability For more information on attributes refer to

the Savage Worlds core rules

SKILLS

You have 15 points to spend on your characterrsquos skills Your

character doesnrsquot start with any skills and must spend 1 pointto get a skill at a d4 He spends 1 point to raise a skill to a

higher die type as long as the skill level is equal to or less

than the linked attribute Raising any skill above the linkedattribute costs 2 points per step No skill may rise above d12

during character creation

Note If you are using the skill specializations rules you get 20points for skills and each new specialization costs 1 skill point

during character creation When your character advances shemay purchase 2 skill specializations for an advance or a new

skill and a single specialization

NEW SKILLS

The following are new skills introduced in Interface Zero 20

For information on all other skills see Skills in the Savage

Worlds core rules

16

CHARACTER CREATIONCONCEPT RACE TRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1729

Hacking (Smarts) The Hacking skill is used whenever a

character wants to hack a computer network Characters in

Interface Zero 20 no longer start with an automatic d4 inHacking Additionally characters who wish to use the Global

DataNet for everyday purposes such as research or findingnews pertaining to the Deep do so with their existing Inves-

tigation and Streetwise skills

Knowledge (Demolitions) Successful use of demolitions canmean the difference between destruction of the target as

planned and unplanned loss of life and property The skill also

lets the character have an understanding of what the besttype of explosive is for the obstacle and how much they will

need to remove such an obstacle In addition a raise on theresult will let them know the exact distance they need to be

from the explosion based upon the size of the charge the con-

fines and damage created by said explosion This skill is usedany time a character wants to put a satchel charge together

or set explosives A Critical Failure will result in immediatedetonation Simple failure will result in premature detonation

or no detonation at all

Knowledge (Programming) Characters use this skill when

attempting to make any kind of change to a network theyhave hacked This skill allows a character to undo damagedone as a result of a hack With it a character can do things

like undo an edit to a data file or video reconstruct a deleted

file repair an AMS (see Active Memory Sectors on page 274in the Sett ing Rules chapter) recover a deleted skill Engram

or reconnect a TAP that has gone offline

OPTIONAL RULE SKILL SPECIALIZATIONS

Interface Zero 20 is an advanced setting where knowing

how to do one thing doesnrsquot necessarily mean you can dosomething which under the regular skill rules would techni-

cally be possible with the same skill Take the various DrivingBoating and Piloting skills for example

Using the regular skill rules a character with Driving couldtheoretically drive anything from a motorcycle to a semi-truckor a tank Similarly Piloting assumes a character has the skills

to pilot all types of aircraft including fighter jets and space-

craft Pinnacle Entertainment addressed this issue by addingthe Skill Specialization setting rule in the Savage Worlds core

rules and it is highly recommended that those rules are usedfor Interface Zero 20

The following list of skill specializations are provided to get

you started This isnrsquot intended to be a comprehensive listof appropriate skill specializations but rather a broad cross

section of specializations we feel are appropriate If some-thing doesnrsquot appear on the list make it up if it seems right

But remember the GM always has the final say on what is or

isnrsquot appropriate for her campaign

SUGGESTED SPECIALIZATIONS

bull Boating Powered Sailed Submersible

bull Climbing Mountaineering Rappelling Rope

bull Driving Car (4 wheels) Hovercraft JUMP Bike MotorcycleTruck (6+ wheels) Tracked

bull Fighting Axe Blades Blunt Cyberweapon Long Blade

Martial arts (by style judo karate etc) Pole Arm

bull Gambling By game

bull Hacking Hyper Combat Firewall Penetration Intrusion

Detection Object Control Object Editing Run ProgramTrace

bull Healing Cyber Surgery First Aid Surgery

bull Intimidation Interrogation Mental Physical

bull Investigation Archives Global DataNet Libraries

Newspapers

bull Knowledge Each Knowledge skill is technically a special-

ization of Knowledge so it isnrsquot broken down into furtherspecializations

Suggested Knowledge Skills AIs Battle Corporations

Cybernetics Demolitions Global DataNet Local Area (spe-cific) Politics Programing

bull Lockpicking Disarm Trap Electronic Manual

bull Notice Audio Body Language Searching Visual

bull Persuasion Bluffing Diplomacy Fast-Talking Seduction

bull Piloting Golemmech Helicopter Plane Spacecraft VTOL

bull Psionics Freek Peek Tweek

bull Repair Armor Cybernetics Electronics Mechanical Struc-tures Weapons

bull Riding By animal

TO SPECIALIZE OR NOT TO SPECIALIZE

17

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1829

bull Shooting Bow Pistol Rifle Shotgun Submachine GunVehicle Weapon or by weapon category

bull Stealth Disguise Hiding Sleight of Hand Sneaking

bull Streetwise AreaRegion (Corporate Zone Gang Turf etc)

bull Survival Aquatic Arctic Desert Forest Jungle MountainSpace urban or any specific environment

bull Swimming Lake Ocean SCUBA Divingbull Taunt Verbal Visual

bull Throwing Darts Grenades Knives Spears

bull Tracking Animals Global DataNet Humans Urban

Vehicles

OPTIONAL SKILL ATHLETICS

Rather than breaking up basic things like Climbing and Swim-ming it is recommended to combine them into a single skill

which would allow for specialization

Athletics (Vigor) Athletics as a catch-all for a number ofphysical endeavors ranging from climbing to swimming to

moving around effectively in a no mdash or low-gravity environ-

ment Athletics should be used instead of Agility in foot chasesand effectively replaces both the Climbing and Swimming skills

Specializations Climbing Leaping Running Sport (specific)

Swimming Zero-G Maneuvers

LANGUAGES

All characters speak their native language plus a number ofadditional languages equaling one-half their Smarts die The

major trade languages used in Interface Zero 20 are Chinese

English Hindi Portuguese and Swahili Additional languagescan be learned by using an advancement opportunity

DERIVED STATISTICS

There are a few statistics which are important in any SavageWorlds game Charisma Pace Parry and Toughness

CHARISMA

Charisma is an abstract measure of your characterrsquos appear-ance how she deals with others socially and generally how

likeable she is Charisma starts at 0 but can be modified byEdges and Hindrances Charisma is also added to Streetwise

and Persuasion rolls The Game Master uses Charisma to figure

out how NPCrsquos react to your character For more informationon Charisma see the Savage Worlds core rules

PACE

Pace is a measure of how far your character can walk in a

standard combat round Human characters have a base Paceof 6 and can run at an additional 1d6rdquo Other races in Interface

Zero 20 can have different starting Pace scores based on the

racial template you choose For more information on Pacesee the Savage Worlds core rules

PARRY

Parry is equal to 2 plus half your characterrsquos Fighting skillplus modifiers gained from use of shields or certain weapons

If your character does not have the Fighting skill base Parry

starts at 2 For more information on Parry see the SavageWorlds core rules

TOUGHNESS

Toughness is a measure of how much damage your character

can take before becoming Shaken or wounded Toughness is2 plus half your characterrsquos Vigor plus any armor she might

be wearing For more information on Toughness see the

Savage Worlds core rules

NEW DERIVED STATSInterface Zero 20 introduces three new derived statis-

tics mdash Firewall Strain and Street Cred

FIREWALL

Unless your character has the Unplugged Hindrance she hasa Tendril Access Processor (TAP) and therefore has a built-

in firewall The firewall protects against attempts to hack a

characterrsquos TAP A characterrsquos Firewall rating star ts at 4 but

can be modified by Edges Hindrances or software

STRAIN

Strain measures the amount of stress cyberware and biowareputs on your body when you install it Strain starts at zero

and each piece of cyberware adds to your Strain stat Highlevels of Strain can lead to death More details on Strain are

located at Augments on page 262

STREET CRED

Street Cred is a measure of your character rsquos reputation on

the streets All characters begin play with 2 points of StreetCred modified by Edges or Hindrances and gain another 2

points every time they gain a new Rank The maximum StreetCred a character can normally achieve is 10 (some Edges and

Occupations can increase this number)

Unlike Charisma which measures your ability to persuadesomeone Street Cred is a point pool that can be spent to

obtain services temporary contacts information and a variety

of other benefits during the course of an adventure This poolrefreshes each adventure unless circumstances in the prior

adventure (like not getting the job done failing to protectsomeone killing an innocent etc) cause the characterrsquos Street

Cred score to drop

Characters can also pick up Minor or Major Hindrances thathave a lasting effect on their Street Cred score during the

course of an adventure These Hindrances can be removedby spending an Advance with the GMrsquos permission For more

information see Street Cred on page 264

CONTACTS

Each character can choose two contacts people the character

knows who he can call upon for aid or information during thecourse of an adventure These contacts can be anyone froma bartender or a hacker to a corporate executive or military

commander as long as it makes sense that your characterwould know the person(s)

STEP 4 OCCUPATIONS

Occupations are integral to your character concept providinga basic framework to enhance your characterrsquos background in

a very organic way helping you create a more well-rounded

18

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1929

character concept Each occupation has a requirement that thecharacter must meet to take it the characterrsquos bonus credits

gained each Advance and a special perk (like gear or specialabilities) the character gets for being part of that profession

STEP 5 EDGES AND HINDRANCES

Edges are special qualities that separate characters from theaverage sprawler Hindrances are physical and mental flaws

that add more depth to the character albeit in a negativeway See the Savage Worlds core rules for more information

on purchasing Edges and Hindrances New Edges and Hin-drances are provided later in this chapter

STEP 6 EQUIPMENT

In Interface Zero 20 characters select equipment cybernet-ics weapons and armor based on the power level the Game

Master sets for the campaign

Power Level This is the starting Power Level of the Cam-

paign as determined by the Game Master If the GM wants totell a story of gang members barely scraping by shersquoll mostlikely choose Gutter Punk as the Power Level If she envi-

sions a campaign where the players are a special governmenttask force dedicated to hunting down super terrorists the

Hyperchrome Warriors or Elite Operatives levels might be

more appropriate The Street Soldier Power Level (designedfor ronin-style games) is considered the default Power Level

for Interface Zero 20

Starting Credits This is the amount of money characters

start with at the beginning of the campaign These credits

may be spent on anything the player wishes and the GM hasnot barred from the campaign including augments drones

weapons and armor

Augments Every Power Level above Gutter Punk allows theplayers to start with at least one augment from the core book

equal to or below the monetary amount listed Unspent Creditsfrom this pool do not carry over when the game starts These

augments must be chosen from the master list of augments

not augment packages

STEP 7 BACKGROUND

They say the devil is in the details and here is where you

decide how devilish yoursquore going to be You donrsquot need towrite a novel and frankly this step isnrsquot mandatory That said

itrsquos a good idea to jot down a few notes on your characterrsquosbackground any major events in her life any friends the

names of contacts or even enemies she might have Share

these ideas with your Game Master GMs are always lookingfor good plot hooks and little tidbits they can use to person-

alize your experience at the table The more detailed yourbackground is the better

ARCHETYPESSometimes you may want to quickly create a character for

a one-shot or convention adventure For those occasions anArchetype is a good choice

All are built for a human character with two Edges If you wish

to play a race other than human simply plug in the statisticaldata If yoursquore playing a human you

can choose another Edge Thenchoose your gear based on the

Power Level your group haschosen give the character

a name and yoursquore ready

to go

19

ARCHETYPES

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2029

AGENT

BOUNTY HUNTER

20

AGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

20

ARCHETYPESAGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2129

CYBERMONK

DRONE JOCKEY

21

CYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

21

ARCHETYPESCYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 14: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1429

on such a scale that social Darwinists like Herbert Spencer and

Thomas Malthus would roll over in their graves

Again that in itself is nothing new The streets have alwaysbeen violent but ever since the events I previously described

came to pass mdash especially the Flare and the implosion of theEurasian Union mdash the number of homeless people across the

world has sky-rocketed The petri dish is frothing and over-

flowing as new gangs emerge mdash and Irsquom talking globally not just in North America mdash and carve out their own terri tory

This upsets the balance ami and makes it harder to survivewhen yoursquore just a blooper looking to make it through the

day because now you have new predators to deal with n00bbangers making up their own rules as they go And the cop-

suckers donrsquot help

Protect and serve What a load of crap

Sure yoursquol l get Triple-A service if you live in one of the moneybubbles but try getting help in say the Aurora Barrens or

the Gary Hell Zone and yoursquore basically fucked Yeah thereare token patrols and the ever-present drones but drones

get shot down and the copsuckers are so outnumbered

most are either so scared to get into an altercation with thepredators or theyrsquore on the take I canrsquot say I blame them

either The streets are a war zone and if you wear the badgeyoursquore marked for death omae So take my advice and get

strapped The only person you can count on in the concrete jungle is you

Sorry_U_Asked Think twice before trying to claim a badgebounty though Sure plenty of honchos love to pay topcredit for proof that yoursquove kept the law from poking aroundtheir territory But just because you see someone wearingone doesnrsquot mean they got it legit Lots of gangers wearthem as trophies So if you drop a shot on a copsuckerthinking yoursquove hit payday you might end up with a wholeband of bangers snarling on your heels

SURVIVING THE GAME

Therersquos an old saying The Game is the Game mdash you eitherplay it or you get played I donrsquot care if you contract free-

lance fight fix hack patch or scam yoursquore in it omae andthat puts you at odds with every other player out there Most

people approach the game as a means to an end thinking

that one shiny day theyrsquoll earn enough creds to go someplacewarm and dry and live out their lives in style These clowns

donrsquot last Theyrsquore so busy dreaming about the good timesthat they lose focus on whatrsquos right in front of their face (or

creeping up behind them) Dreamers get sloppy take short

cuts betray their team and torch their street cred like gutterpunks burn trash in a garbage can to keep warm

If you want to survive the game you need to take a lesson

from these dreamers keep your mind on the job Therersquos nosandy beach waiting for you The megacorps bought them

all and turned lsquoem into parking lots The only fruity drinksyoursquoll ever drink are sold in the local watering hole by some

burned-out ronin The best you can hope for is a litt le bit of

comfort mdash usually behind a small fortress if yoursquore smart mdash andthe respect of the streets But thatrsquos a double-edged sword

another facet of the game Therersquos always someone faster

than you some hungry up-and-comer with the latest aug-ments wanting to prove herself by dealing you out Sucksto be a victim of your own success but thatrsquos the truth of it

My advice Find a way to deal yourself out clean Put some

creds away never burn your contacts and donrsquot ever everbecome a legend

Legends die

14

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1529

CHARACTER

CREATION

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1629

CHAPTER TWOCHARACTER CREATION

Characters are the lifersquos blood of any role-playing game the

focal point of every story Characters represent the best mdash orthe worst mdash ideals of a given game setting their actions either

bringing a small measure of hope to the downtrodden massesor serving to strengthen the status quo In the grim gritty

world of Interface Zero 20 the characters you play walk amonofilament edge between traditional mdash some would say

outdated or just plain irrelevant mdash concepts of good and evilas they make their way in the world

Indeed itrsquos hard to be a moral individual in a world where

most of the animals prowling the concrete jungle believe prin-ciples are character flaws mdash weaknesses to exploit for their

own ends Your morality marks you as prey no doubt aboutit omae But if you can keep your moral code if you can get

your job done without selling your soul yoursquoll get something

most sprawlers never have respect

Evil on the other hand is the same as it always has been

therersquos just more of it The wicked always thrive in a world

where violence fear and control are tools used for self-serv-ing ends but herersquos the thing Acting like an ass can get you

green-lit just as quickly as playing the role of the goody-two-shoes marks you as a sucker amigo

Nobody likes a dickhead even if they donrsquot say it to your

face Sooner or later yoursquoll get a rep for being a hard-assand someone who is stronger meaner or a bigger asshole

than you is going to come along and knock you back to thegutter you crawled out of Thatrsquos why most people keep their

heads down and their mouths shut Donrsquot make eye contact

itrsquos a challenge to the predators and if you donrsquot have thestones to back up the challenge yoursquore nothing but meat

But if you can stay strong and defeat all comers that com-mands respect too

This chapter provides you with the tools you need to make

a character for Interface Zero 20 The process is the same ascreating a character for any Savage Worlds game with a few

additions Interface Zero 20 introduces Street Cred Contactsand Strain to the game

STEP 1 CONCEPT

The first thing you need to do is decide on a concept for your

character Will you play a hacker Perhaps a mercenary orbounty hunter is more your speed Are mercs and hunters toocutthroat for your style of play If so you might think about

playing a ronin an urban warrior who follows his own code

of honor Maybe you want to be the guy (or gal) who backsthe team up with drones capable of laying down covering

fire or scouting ahead to see where the bad guys are hiding

You donrsquot need to have your concept locked in right now butat least have a basic idea of the type of character you want

to play Take a few minutes and skip ahead to the archetypessection in this chapter to see a variety of options available

to you

STEP 2 RACEThe next thing you need to do is choose a race In 2090

humanity has reached the point where the word ldquohumanrdquo is

almost irrelevant Human DNA is no longer a mystery Itrsquos amathematical code technomancers hack re-write and copy

at will producing genetically superior beings the Human 20

Others snip and paste animal DNA and splice it with humanDNA to create genetic hybrids a fusion of man and animal

Science has even advanced to such an extent that we can

create entirely new life forms mdash living beings known as simula-cra mdash in amniotic vats growing them until they have matured

filling their synthetic brains with memories and skills theyrsquollneed to do the jobs for which they were created

STEP 3 TRAITS

Traits are the building blocks of any Savage Worlds character

They define how strong or fast your character is and what

she knows Traits determine how much cyberware she canput into her body how much damage she can take before

dying her standing with others and a variety of other thingsall of which are essential to the game

ATTRIBUTES

Five attributes are used to define your characterrsquos physi-cal characteristics These are Agility Smarts Spirit Strength

and Vigor Each attribute starts at d4 You have 5 points withwhich to raise these attr ibutes and one point equals a risein a die type (d4 to d6 d6 to d8 etc) No attribute may rise

higher than d12 during character creation unless stated undera racial ability For more information on attributes refer to

the Savage Worlds core rules

SKILLS

You have 15 points to spend on your characterrsquos skills Your

character doesnrsquot start with any skills and must spend 1 pointto get a skill at a d4 He spends 1 point to raise a skill to a

higher die type as long as the skill level is equal to or less

than the linked attribute Raising any skill above the linkedattribute costs 2 points per step No skill may rise above d12

during character creation

Note If you are using the skill specializations rules you get 20points for skills and each new specialization costs 1 skill point

during character creation When your character advances shemay purchase 2 skill specializations for an advance or a new

skill and a single specialization

NEW SKILLS

The following are new skills introduced in Interface Zero 20

For information on all other skills see Skills in the Savage

Worlds core rules

16

CHARACTER CREATIONCONCEPT RACE TRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1729

Hacking (Smarts) The Hacking skill is used whenever a

character wants to hack a computer network Characters in

Interface Zero 20 no longer start with an automatic d4 inHacking Additionally characters who wish to use the Global

DataNet for everyday purposes such as research or findingnews pertaining to the Deep do so with their existing Inves-

tigation and Streetwise skills

Knowledge (Demolitions) Successful use of demolitions canmean the difference between destruction of the target as

planned and unplanned loss of life and property The skill also

lets the character have an understanding of what the besttype of explosive is for the obstacle and how much they will

need to remove such an obstacle In addition a raise on theresult will let them know the exact distance they need to be

from the explosion based upon the size of the charge the con-

fines and damage created by said explosion This skill is usedany time a character wants to put a satchel charge together

or set explosives A Critical Failure will result in immediatedetonation Simple failure will result in premature detonation

or no detonation at all

Knowledge (Programming) Characters use this skill when

attempting to make any kind of change to a network theyhave hacked This skill allows a character to undo damagedone as a result of a hack With it a character can do things

like undo an edit to a data file or video reconstruct a deleted

file repair an AMS (see Active Memory Sectors on page 274in the Sett ing Rules chapter) recover a deleted skill Engram

or reconnect a TAP that has gone offline

OPTIONAL RULE SKILL SPECIALIZATIONS

Interface Zero 20 is an advanced setting where knowing

how to do one thing doesnrsquot necessarily mean you can dosomething which under the regular skill rules would techni-

cally be possible with the same skill Take the various DrivingBoating and Piloting skills for example

Using the regular skill rules a character with Driving couldtheoretically drive anything from a motorcycle to a semi-truckor a tank Similarly Piloting assumes a character has the skills

to pilot all types of aircraft including fighter jets and space-

craft Pinnacle Entertainment addressed this issue by addingthe Skill Specialization setting rule in the Savage Worlds core

rules and it is highly recommended that those rules are usedfor Interface Zero 20

The following list of skill specializations are provided to get

you started This isnrsquot intended to be a comprehensive listof appropriate skill specializations but rather a broad cross

section of specializations we feel are appropriate If some-thing doesnrsquot appear on the list make it up if it seems right

But remember the GM always has the final say on what is or

isnrsquot appropriate for her campaign

SUGGESTED SPECIALIZATIONS

bull Boating Powered Sailed Submersible

bull Climbing Mountaineering Rappelling Rope

bull Driving Car (4 wheels) Hovercraft JUMP Bike MotorcycleTruck (6+ wheels) Tracked

bull Fighting Axe Blades Blunt Cyberweapon Long Blade

Martial arts (by style judo karate etc) Pole Arm

bull Gambling By game

bull Hacking Hyper Combat Firewall Penetration Intrusion

Detection Object Control Object Editing Run ProgramTrace

bull Healing Cyber Surgery First Aid Surgery

bull Intimidation Interrogation Mental Physical

bull Investigation Archives Global DataNet Libraries

Newspapers

bull Knowledge Each Knowledge skill is technically a special-

ization of Knowledge so it isnrsquot broken down into furtherspecializations

Suggested Knowledge Skills AIs Battle Corporations

Cybernetics Demolitions Global DataNet Local Area (spe-cific) Politics Programing

bull Lockpicking Disarm Trap Electronic Manual

bull Notice Audio Body Language Searching Visual

bull Persuasion Bluffing Diplomacy Fast-Talking Seduction

bull Piloting Golemmech Helicopter Plane Spacecraft VTOL

bull Psionics Freek Peek Tweek

bull Repair Armor Cybernetics Electronics Mechanical Struc-tures Weapons

bull Riding By animal

TO SPECIALIZE OR NOT TO SPECIALIZE

17

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1829

bull Shooting Bow Pistol Rifle Shotgun Submachine GunVehicle Weapon or by weapon category

bull Stealth Disguise Hiding Sleight of Hand Sneaking

bull Streetwise AreaRegion (Corporate Zone Gang Turf etc)

bull Survival Aquatic Arctic Desert Forest Jungle MountainSpace urban or any specific environment

bull Swimming Lake Ocean SCUBA Divingbull Taunt Verbal Visual

bull Throwing Darts Grenades Knives Spears

bull Tracking Animals Global DataNet Humans Urban

Vehicles

OPTIONAL SKILL ATHLETICS

Rather than breaking up basic things like Climbing and Swim-ming it is recommended to combine them into a single skill

which would allow for specialization

Athletics (Vigor) Athletics as a catch-all for a number ofphysical endeavors ranging from climbing to swimming to

moving around effectively in a no mdash or low-gravity environ-

ment Athletics should be used instead of Agility in foot chasesand effectively replaces both the Climbing and Swimming skills

Specializations Climbing Leaping Running Sport (specific)

Swimming Zero-G Maneuvers

LANGUAGES

All characters speak their native language plus a number ofadditional languages equaling one-half their Smarts die The

major trade languages used in Interface Zero 20 are Chinese

English Hindi Portuguese and Swahili Additional languagescan be learned by using an advancement opportunity

DERIVED STATISTICS

There are a few statistics which are important in any SavageWorlds game Charisma Pace Parry and Toughness

CHARISMA

Charisma is an abstract measure of your characterrsquos appear-ance how she deals with others socially and generally how

likeable she is Charisma starts at 0 but can be modified byEdges and Hindrances Charisma is also added to Streetwise

and Persuasion rolls The Game Master uses Charisma to figure

out how NPCrsquos react to your character For more informationon Charisma see the Savage Worlds core rules

PACE

Pace is a measure of how far your character can walk in a

standard combat round Human characters have a base Paceof 6 and can run at an additional 1d6rdquo Other races in Interface

Zero 20 can have different starting Pace scores based on the

racial template you choose For more information on Pacesee the Savage Worlds core rules

PARRY

Parry is equal to 2 plus half your characterrsquos Fighting skillplus modifiers gained from use of shields or certain weapons

If your character does not have the Fighting skill base Parry

starts at 2 For more information on Parry see the SavageWorlds core rules

TOUGHNESS

Toughness is a measure of how much damage your character

can take before becoming Shaken or wounded Toughness is2 plus half your characterrsquos Vigor plus any armor she might

be wearing For more information on Toughness see the

Savage Worlds core rules

NEW DERIVED STATSInterface Zero 20 introduces three new derived statis-

tics mdash Firewall Strain and Street Cred

FIREWALL

Unless your character has the Unplugged Hindrance she hasa Tendril Access Processor (TAP) and therefore has a built-

in firewall The firewall protects against attempts to hack a

characterrsquos TAP A characterrsquos Firewall rating star ts at 4 but

can be modified by Edges Hindrances or software

STRAIN

Strain measures the amount of stress cyberware and biowareputs on your body when you install it Strain starts at zero

and each piece of cyberware adds to your Strain stat Highlevels of Strain can lead to death More details on Strain are

located at Augments on page 262

STREET CRED

Street Cred is a measure of your character rsquos reputation on

the streets All characters begin play with 2 points of StreetCred modified by Edges or Hindrances and gain another 2

points every time they gain a new Rank The maximum StreetCred a character can normally achieve is 10 (some Edges and

Occupations can increase this number)

Unlike Charisma which measures your ability to persuadesomeone Street Cred is a point pool that can be spent to

obtain services temporary contacts information and a variety

of other benefits during the course of an adventure This poolrefreshes each adventure unless circumstances in the prior

adventure (like not getting the job done failing to protectsomeone killing an innocent etc) cause the characterrsquos Street

Cred score to drop

Characters can also pick up Minor or Major Hindrances thathave a lasting effect on their Street Cred score during the

course of an adventure These Hindrances can be removedby spending an Advance with the GMrsquos permission For more

information see Street Cred on page 264

CONTACTS

Each character can choose two contacts people the character

knows who he can call upon for aid or information during thecourse of an adventure These contacts can be anyone froma bartender or a hacker to a corporate executive or military

commander as long as it makes sense that your characterwould know the person(s)

STEP 4 OCCUPATIONS

Occupations are integral to your character concept providinga basic framework to enhance your characterrsquos background in

a very organic way helping you create a more well-rounded

18

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1929

character concept Each occupation has a requirement that thecharacter must meet to take it the characterrsquos bonus credits

gained each Advance and a special perk (like gear or specialabilities) the character gets for being part of that profession

STEP 5 EDGES AND HINDRANCES

Edges are special qualities that separate characters from theaverage sprawler Hindrances are physical and mental flaws

that add more depth to the character albeit in a negativeway See the Savage Worlds core rules for more information

on purchasing Edges and Hindrances New Edges and Hin-drances are provided later in this chapter

STEP 6 EQUIPMENT

In Interface Zero 20 characters select equipment cybernet-ics weapons and armor based on the power level the Game

Master sets for the campaign

Power Level This is the starting Power Level of the Cam-

paign as determined by the Game Master If the GM wants totell a story of gang members barely scraping by shersquoll mostlikely choose Gutter Punk as the Power Level If she envi-

sions a campaign where the players are a special governmenttask force dedicated to hunting down super terrorists the

Hyperchrome Warriors or Elite Operatives levels might be

more appropriate The Street Soldier Power Level (designedfor ronin-style games) is considered the default Power Level

for Interface Zero 20

Starting Credits This is the amount of money characters

start with at the beginning of the campaign These credits

may be spent on anything the player wishes and the GM hasnot barred from the campaign including augments drones

weapons and armor

Augments Every Power Level above Gutter Punk allows theplayers to start with at least one augment from the core book

equal to or below the monetary amount listed Unspent Creditsfrom this pool do not carry over when the game starts These

augments must be chosen from the master list of augments

not augment packages

STEP 7 BACKGROUND

They say the devil is in the details and here is where you

decide how devilish yoursquore going to be You donrsquot need towrite a novel and frankly this step isnrsquot mandatory That said

itrsquos a good idea to jot down a few notes on your characterrsquosbackground any major events in her life any friends the

names of contacts or even enemies she might have Share

these ideas with your Game Master GMs are always lookingfor good plot hooks and little tidbits they can use to person-

alize your experience at the table The more detailed yourbackground is the better

ARCHETYPESSometimes you may want to quickly create a character for

a one-shot or convention adventure For those occasions anArchetype is a good choice

All are built for a human character with two Edges If you wish

to play a race other than human simply plug in the statisticaldata If yoursquore playing a human you

can choose another Edge Thenchoose your gear based on the

Power Level your group haschosen give the character

a name and yoursquore ready

to go

19

ARCHETYPES

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2029

AGENT

BOUNTY HUNTER

20

AGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

20

ARCHETYPESAGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2129

CYBERMONK

DRONE JOCKEY

21

CYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

21

ARCHETYPESCYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 15: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1529

CHARACTER

CREATION

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1629

CHAPTER TWOCHARACTER CREATION

Characters are the lifersquos blood of any role-playing game the

focal point of every story Characters represent the best mdash orthe worst mdash ideals of a given game setting their actions either

bringing a small measure of hope to the downtrodden massesor serving to strengthen the status quo In the grim gritty

world of Interface Zero 20 the characters you play walk amonofilament edge between traditional mdash some would say

outdated or just plain irrelevant mdash concepts of good and evilas they make their way in the world

Indeed itrsquos hard to be a moral individual in a world where

most of the animals prowling the concrete jungle believe prin-ciples are character flaws mdash weaknesses to exploit for their

own ends Your morality marks you as prey no doubt aboutit omae But if you can keep your moral code if you can get

your job done without selling your soul yoursquoll get something

most sprawlers never have respect

Evil on the other hand is the same as it always has been

therersquos just more of it The wicked always thrive in a world

where violence fear and control are tools used for self-serv-ing ends but herersquos the thing Acting like an ass can get you

green-lit just as quickly as playing the role of the goody-two-shoes marks you as a sucker amigo

Nobody likes a dickhead even if they donrsquot say it to your

face Sooner or later yoursquoll get a rep for being a hard-assand someone who is stronger meaner or a bigger asshole

than you is going to come along and knock you back to thegutter you crawled out of Thatrsquos why most people keep their

heads down and their mouths shut Donrsquot make eye contact

itrsquos a challenge to the predators and if you donrsquot have thestones to back up the challenge yoursquore nothing but meat

But if you can stay strong and defeat all comers that com-mands respect too

This chapter provides you with the tools you need to make

a character for Interface Zero 20 The process is the same ascreating a character for any Savage Worlds game with a few

additions Interface Zero 20 introduces Street Cred Contactsand Strain to the game

STEP 1 CONCEPT

The first thing you need to do is decide on a concept for your

character Will you play a hacker Perhaps a mercenary orbounty hunter is more your speed Are mercs and hunters toocutthroat for your style of play If so you might think about

playing a ronin an urban warrior who follows his own code

of honor Maybe you want to be the guy (or gal) who backsthe team up with drones capable of laying down covering

fire or scouting ahead to see where the bad guys are hiding

You donrsquot need to have your concept locked in right now butat least have a basic idea of the type of character you want

to play Take a few minutes and skip ahead to the archetypessection in this chapter to see a variety of options available

to you

STEP 2 RACEThe next thing you need to do is choose a race In 2090

humanity has reached the point where the word ldquohumanrdquo is

almost irrelevant Human DNA is no longer a mystery Itrsquos amathematical code technomancers hack re-write and copy

at will producing genetically superior beings the Human 20

Others snip and paste animal DNA and splice it with humanDNA to create genetic hybrids a fusion of man and animal

Science has even advanced to such an extent that we can

create entirely new life forms mdash living beings known as simula-cra mdash in amniotic vats growing them until they have matured

filling their synthetic brains with memories and skills theyrsquollneed to do the jobs for which they were created

STEP 3 TRAITS

Traits are the building blocks of any Savage Worlds character

They define how strong or fast your character is and what

she knows Traits determine how much cyberware she canput into her body how much damage she can take before

dying her standing with others and a variety of other thingsall of which are essential to the game

ATTRIBUTES

Five attributes are used to define your characterrsquos physi-cal characteristics These are Agility Smarts Spirit Strength

and Vigor Each attribute starts at d4 You have 5 points withwhich to raise these attr ibutes and one point equals a risein a die type (d4 to d6 d6 to d8 etc) No attribute may rise

higher than d12 during character creation unless stated undera racial ability For more information on attributes refer to

the Savage Worlds core rules

SKILLS

You have 15 points to spend on your characterrsquos skills Your

character doesnrsquot start with any skills and must spend 1 pointto get a skill at a d4 He spends 1 point to raise a skill to a

higher die type as long as the skill level is equal to or less

than the linked attribute Raising any skill above the linkedattribute costs 2 points per step No skill may rise above d12

during character creation

Note If you are using the skill specializations rules you get 20points for skills and each new specialization costs 1 skill point

during character creation When your character advances shemay purchase 2 skill specializations for an advance or a new

skill and a single specialization

NEW SKILLS

The following are new skills introduced in Interface Zero 20

For information on all other skills see Skills in the Savage

Worlds core rules

16

CHARACTER CREATIONCONCEPT RACE TRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1729

Hacking (Smarts) The Hacking skill is used whenever a

character wants to hack a computer network Characters in

Interface Zero 20 no longer start with an automatic d4 inHacking Additionally characters who wish to use the Global

DataNet for everyday purposes such as research or findingnews pertaining to the Deep do so with their existing Inves-

tigation and Streetwise skills

Knowledge (Demolitions) Successful use of demolitions canmean the difference between destruction of the target as

planned and unplanned loss of life and property The skill also

lets the character have an understanding of what the besttype of explosive is for the obstacle and how much they will

need to remove such an obstacle In addition a raise on theresult will let them know the exact distance they need to be

from the explosion based upon the size of the charge the con-

fines and damage created by said explosion This skill is usedany time a character wants to put a satchel charge together

or set explosives A Critical Failure will result in immediatedetonation Simple failure will result in premature detonation

or no detonation at all

Knowledge (Programming) Characters use this skill when

attempting to make any kind of change to a network theyhave hacked This skill allows a character to undo damagedone as a result of a hack With it a character can do things

like undo an edit to a data file or video reconstruct a deleted

file repair an AMS (see Active Memory Sectors on page 274in the Sett ing Rules chapter) recover a deleted skill Engram

or reconnect a TAP that has gone offline

OPTIONAL RULE SKILL SPECIALIZATIONS

Interface Zero 20 is an advanced setting where knowing

how to do one thing doesnrsquot necessarily mean you can dosomething which under the regular skill rules would techni-

cally be possible with the same skill Take the various DrivingBoating and Piloting skills for example

Using the regular skill rules a character with Driving couldtheoretically drive anything from a motorcycle to a semi-truckor a tank Similarly Piloting assumes a character has the skills

to pilot all types of aircraft including fighter jets and space-

craft Pinnacle Entertainment addressed this issue by addingthe Skill Specialization setting rule in the Savage Worlds core

rules and it is highly recommended that those rules are usedfor Interface Zero 20

The following list of skill specializations are provided to get

you started This isnrsquot intended to be a comprehensive listof appropriate skill specializations but rather a broad cross

section of specializations we feel are appropriate If some-thing doesnrsquot appear on the list make it up if it seems right

But remember the GM always has the final say on what is or

isnrsquot appropriate for her campaign

SUGGESTED SPECIALIZATIONS

bull Boating Powered Sailed Submersible

bull Climbing Mountaineering Rappelling Rope

bull Driving Car (4 wheels) Hovercraft JUMP Bike MotorcycleTruck (6+ wheels) Tracked

bull Fighting Axe Blades Blunt Cyberweapon Long Blade

Martial arts (by style judo karate etc) Pole Arm

bull Gambling By game

bull Hacking Hyper Combat Firewall Penetration Intrusion

Detection Object Control Object Editing Run ProgramTrace

bull Healing Cyber Surgery First Aid Surgery

bull Intimidation Interrogation Mental Physical

bull Investigation Archives Global DataNet Libraries

Newspapers

bull Knowledge Each Knowledge skill is technically a special-

ization of Knowledge so it isnrsquot broken down into furtherspecializations

Suggested Knowledge Skills AIs Battle Corporations

Cybernetics Demolitions Global DataNet Local Area (spe-cific) Politics Programing

bull Lockpicking Disarm Trap Electronic Manual

bull Notice Audio Body Language Searching Visual

bull Persuasion Bluffing Diplomacy Fast-Talking Seduction

bull Piloting Golemmech Helicopter Plane Spacecraft VTOL

bull Psionics Freek Peek Tweek

bull Repair Armor Cybernetics Electronics Mechanical Struc-tures Weapons

bull Riding By animal

TO SPECIALIZE OR NOT TO SPECIALIZE

17

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1829

bull Shooting Bow Pistol Rifle Shotgun Submachine GunVehicle Weapon or by weapon category

bull Stealth Disguise Hiding Sleight of Hand Sneaking

bull Streetwise AreaRegion (Corporate Zone Gang Turf etc)

bull Survival Aquatic Arctic Desert Forest Jungle MountainSpace urban or any specific environment

bull Swimming Lake Ocean SCUBA Divingbull Taunt Verbal Visual

bull Throwing Darts Grenades Knives Spears

bull Tracking Animals Global DataNet Humans Urban

Vehicles

OPTIONAL SKILL ATHLETICS

Rather than breaking up basic things like Climbing and Swim-ming it is recommended to combine them into a single skill

which would allow for specialization

Athletics (Vigor) Athletics as a catch-all for a number ofphysical endeavors ranging from climbing to swimming to

moving around effectively in a no mdash or low-gravity environ-

ment Athletics should be used instead of Agility in foot chasesand effectively replaces both the Climbing and Swimming skills

Specializations Climbing Leaping Running Sport (specific)

Swimming Zero-G Maneuvers

LANGUAGES

All characters speak their native language plus a number ofadditional languages equaling one-half their Smarts die The

major trade languages used in Interface Zero 20 are Chinese

English Hindi Portuguese and Swahili Additional languagescan be learned by using an advancement opportunity

DERIVED STATISTICS

There are a few statistics which are important in any SavageWorlds game Charisma Pace Parry and Toughness

CHARISMA

Charisma is an abstract measure of your characterrsquos appear-ance how she deals with others socially and generally how

likeable she is Charisma starts at 0 but can be modified byEdges and Hindrances Charisma is also added to Streetwise

and Persuasion rolls The Game Master uses Charisma to figure

out how NPCrsquos react to your character For more informationon Charisma see the Savage Worlds core rules

PACE

Pace is a measure of how far your character can walk in a

standard combat round Human characters have a base Paceof 6 and can run at an additional 1d6rdquo Other races in Interface

Zero 20 can have different starting Pace scores based on the

racial template you choose For more information on Pacesee the Savage Worlds core rules

PARRY

Parry is equal to 2 plus half your characterrsquos Fighting skillplus modifiers gained from use of shields or certain weapons

If your character does not have the Fighting skill base Parry

starts at 2 For more information on Parry see the SavageWorlds core rules

TOUGHNESS

Toughness is a measure of how much damage your character

can take before becoming Shaken or wounded Toughness is2 plus half your characterrsquos Vigor plus any armor she might

be wearing For more information on Toughness see the

Savage Worlds core rules

NEW DERIVED STATSInterface Zero 20 introduces three new derived statis-

tics mdash Firewall Strain and Street Cred

FIREWALL

Unless your character has the Unplugged Hindrance she hasa Tendril Access Processor (TAP) and therefore has a built-

in firewall The firewall protects against attempts to hack a

characterrsquos TAP A characterrsquos Firewall rating star ts at 4 but

can be modified by Edges Hindrances or software

STRAIN

Strain measures the amount of stress cyberware and biowareputs on your body when you install it Strain starts at zero

and each piece of cyberware adds to your Strain stat Highlevels of Strain can lead to death More details on Strain are

located at Augments on page 262

STREET CRED

Street Cred is a measure of your character rsquos reputation on

the streets All characters begin play with 2 points of StreetCred modified by Edges or Hindrances and gain another 2

points every time they gain a new Rank The maximum StreetCred a character can normally achieve is 10 (some Edges and

Occupations can increase this number)

Unlike Charisma which measures your ability to persuadesomeone Street Cred is a point pool that can be spent to

obtain services temporary contacts information and a variety

of other benefits during the course of an adventure This poolrefreshes each adventure unless circumstances in the prior

adventure (like not getting the job done failing to protectsomeone killing an innocent etc) cause the characterrsquos Street

Cred score to drop

Characters can also pick up Minor or Major Hindrances thathave a lasting effect on their Street Cred score during the

course of an adventure These Hindrances can be removedby spending an Advance with the GMrsquos permission For more

information see Street Cred on page 264

CONTACTS

Each character can choose two contacts people the character

knows who he can call upon for aid or information during thecourse of an adventure These contacts can be anyone froma bartender or a hacker to a corporate executive or military

commander as long as it makes sense that your characterwould know the person(s)

STEP 4 OCCUPATIONS

Occupations are integral to your character concept providinga basic framework to enhance your characterrsquos background in

a very organic way helping you create a more well-rounded

18

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1929

character concept Each occupation has a requirement that thecharacter must meet to take it the characterrsquos bonus credits

gained each Advance and a special perk (like gear or specialabilities) the character gets for being part of that profession

STEP 5 EDGES AND HINDRANCES

Edges are special qualities that separate characters from theaverage sprawler Hindrances are physical and mental flaws

that add more depth to the character albeit in a negativeway See the Savage Worlds core rules for more information

on purchasing Edges and Hindrances New Edges and Hin-drances are provided later in this chapter

STEP 6 EQUIPMENT

In Interface Zero 20 characters select equipment cybernet-ics weapons and armor based on the power level the Game

Master sets for the campaign

Power Level This is the starting Power Level of the Cam-

paign as determined by the Game Master If the GM wants totell a story of gang members barely scraping by shersquoll mostlikely choose Gutter Punk as the Power Level If she envi-

sions a campaign where the players are a special governmenttask force dedicated to hunting down super terrorists the

Hyperchrome Warriors or Elite Operatives levels might be

more appropriate The Street Soldier Power Level (designedfor ronin-style games) is considered the default Power Level

for Interface Zero 20

Starting Credits This is the amount of money characters

start with at the beginning of the campaign These credits

may be spent on anything the player wishes and the GM hasnot barred from the campaign including augments drones

weapons and armor

Augments Every Power Level above Gutter Punk allows theplayers to start with at least one augment from the core book

equal to or below the monetary amount listed Unspent Creditsfrom this pool do not carry over when the game starts These

augments must be chosen from the master list of augments

not augment packages

STEP 7 BACKGROUND

They say the devil is in the details and here is where you

decide how devilish yoursquore going to be You donrsquot need towrite a novel and frankly this step isnrsquot mandatory That said

itrsquos a good idea to jot down a few notes on your characterrsquosbackground any major events in her life any friends the

names of contacts or even enemies she might have Share

these ideas with your Game Master GMs are always lookingfor good plot hooks and little tidbits they can use to person-

alize your experience at the table The more detailed yourbackground is the better

ARCHETYPESSometimes you may want to quickly create a character for

a one-shot or convention adventure For those occasions anArchetype is a good choice

All are built for a human character with two Edges If you wish

to play a race other than human simply plug in the statisticaldata If yoursquore playing a human you

can choose another Edge Thenchoose your gear based on the

Power Level your group haschosen give the character

a name and yoursquore ready

to go

19

ARCHETYPES

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2029

AGENT

BOUNTY HUNTER

20

AGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

20

ARCHETYPESAGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2129

CYBERMONK

DRONE JOCKEY

21

CYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

21

ARCHETYPESCYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 16: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1629

CHAPTER TWOCHARACTER CREATION

Characters are the lifersquos blood of any role-playing game the

focal point of every story Characters represent the best mdash orthe worst mdash ideals of a given game setting their actions either

bringing a small measure of hope to the downtrodden massesor serving to strengthen the status quo In the grim gritty

world of Interface Zero 20 the characters you play walk amonofilament edge between traditional mdash some would say

outdated or just plain irrelevant mdash concepts of good and evilas they make their way in the world

Indeed itrsquos hard to be a moral individual in a world where

most of the animals prowling the concrete jungle believe prin-ciples are character flaws mdash weaknesses to exploit for their

own ends Your morality marks you as prey no doubt aboutit omae But if you can keep your moral code if you can get

your job done without selling your soul yoursquoll get something

most sprawlers never have respect

Evil on the other hand is the same as it always has been

therersquos just more of it The wicked always thrive in a world

where violence fear and control are tools used for self-serv-ing ends but herersquos the thing Acting like an ass can get you

green-lit just as quickly as playing the role of the goody-two-shoes marks you as a sucker amigo

Nobody likes a dickhead even if they donrsquot say it to your

face Sooner or later yoursquoll get a rep for being a hard-assand someone who is stronger meaner or a bigger asshole

than you is going to come along and knock you back to thegutter you crawled out of Thatrsquos why most people keep their

heads down and their mouths shut Donrsquot make eye contact

itrsquos a challenge to the predators and if you donrsquot have thestones to back up the challenge yoursquore nothing but meat

But if you can stay strong and defeat all comers that com-mands respect too

This chapter provides you with the tools you need to make

a character for Interface Zero 20 The process is the same ascreating a character for any Savage Worlds game with a few

additions Interface Zero 20 introduces Street Cred Contactsand Strain to the game

STEP 1 CONCEPT

The first thing you need to do is decide on a concept for your

character Will you play a hacker Perhaps a mercenary orbounty hunter is more your speed Are mercs and hunters toocutthroat for your style of play If so you might think about

playing a ronin an urban warrior who follows his own code

of honor Maybe you want to be the guy (or gal) who backsthe team up with drones capable of laying down covering

fire or scouting ahead to see where the bad guys are hiding

You donrsquot need to have your concept locked in right now butat least have a basic idea of the type of character you want

to play Take a few minutes and skip ahead to the archetypessection in this chapter to see a variety of options available

to you

STEP 2 RACEThe next thing you need to do is choose a race In 2090

humanity has reached the point where the word ldquohumanrdquo is

almost irrelevant Human DNA is no longer a mystery Itrsquos amathematical code technomancers hack re-write and copy

at will producing genetically superior beings the Human 20

Others snip and paste animal DNA and splice it with humanDNA to create genetic hybrids a fusion of man and animal

Science has even advanced to such an extent that we can

create entirely new life forms mdash living beings known as simula-cra mdash in amniotic vats growing them until they have matured

filling their synthetic brains with memories and skills theyrsquollneed to do the jobs for which they were created

STEP 3 TRAITS

Traits are the building blocks of any Savage Worlds character

They define how strong or fast your character is and what

she knows Traits determine how much cyberware she canput into her body how much damage she can take before

dying her standing with others and a variety of other thingsall of which are essential to the game

ATTRIBUTES

Five attributes are used to define your characterrsquos physi-cal characteristics These are Agility Smarts Spirit Strength

and Vigor Each attribute starts at d4 You have 5 points withwhich to raise these attr ibutes and one point equals a risein a die type (d4 to d6 d6 to d8 etc) No attribute may rise

higher than d12 during character creation unless stated undera racial ability For more information on attributes refer to

the Savage Worlds core rules

SKILLS

You have 15 points to spend on your characterrsquos skills Your

character doesnrsquot start with any skills and must spend 1 pointto get a skill at a d4 He spends 1 point to raise a skill to a

higher die type as long as the skill level is equal to or less

than the linked attribute Raising any skill above the linkedattribute costs 2 points per step No skill may rise above d12

during character creation

Note If you are using the skill specializations rules you get 20points for skills and each new specialization costs 1 skill point

during character creation When your character advances shemay purchase 2 skill specializations for an advance or a new

skill and a single specialization

NEW SKILLS

The following are new skills introduced in Interface Zero 20

For information on all other skills see Skills in the Savage

Worlds core rules

16

CHARACTER CREATIONCONCEPT RACE TRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1729

Hacking (Smarts) The Hacking skill is used whenever a

character wants to hack a computer network Characters in

Interface Zero 20 no longer start with an automatic d4 inHacking Additionally characters who wish to use the Global

DataNet for everyday purposes such as research or findingnews pertaining to the Deep do so with their existing Inves-

tigation and Streetwise skills

Knowledge (Demolitions) Successful use of demolitions canmean the difference between destruction of the target as

planned and unplanned loss of life and property The skill also

lets the character have an understanding of what the besttype of explosive is for the obstacle and how much they will

need to remove such an obstacle In addition a raise on theresult will let them know the exact distance they need to be

from the explosion based upon the size of the charge the con-

fines and damage created by said explosion This skill is usedany time a character wants to put a satchel charge together

or set explosives A Critical Failure will result in immediatedetonation Simple failure will result in premature detonation

or no detonation at all

Knowledge (Programming) Characters use this skill when

attempting to make any kind of change to a network theyhave hacked This skill allows a character to undo damagedone as a result of a hack With it a character can do things

like undo an edit to a data file or video reconstruct a deleted

file repair an AMS (see Active Memory Sectors on page 274in the Sett ing Rules chapter) recover a deleted skill Engram

or reconnect a TAP that has gone offline

OPTIONAL RULE SKILL SPECIALIZATIONS

Interface Zero 20 is an advanced setting where knowing

how to do one thing doesnrsquot necessarily mean you can dosomething which under the regular skill rules would techni-

cally be possible with the same skill Take the various DrivingBoating and Piloting skills for example

Using the regular skill rules a character with Driving couldtheoretically drive anything from a motorcycle to a semi-truckor a tank Similarly Piloting assumes a character has the skills

to pilot all types of aircraft including fighter jets and space-

craft Pinnacle Entertainment addressed this issue by addingthe Skill Specialization setting rule in the Savage Worlds core

rules and it is highly recommended that those rules are usedfor Interface Zero 20

The following list of skill specializations are provided to get

you started This isnrsquot intended to be a comprehensive listof appropriate skill specializations but rather a broad cross

section of specializations we feel are appropriate If some-thing doesnrsquot appear on the list make it up if it seems right

But remember the GM always has the final say on what is or

isnrsquot appropriate for her campaign

SUGGESTED SPECIALIZATIONS

bull Boating Powered Sailed Submersible

bull Climbing Mountaineering Rappelling Rope

bull Driving Car (4 wheels) Hovercraft JUMP Bike MotorcycleTruck (6+ wheels) Tracked

bull Fighting Axe Blades Blunt Cyberweapon Long Blade

Martial arts (by style judo karate etc) Pole Arm

bull Gambling By game

bull Hacking Hyper Combat Firewall Penetration Intrusion

Detection Object Control Object Editing Run ProgramTrace

bull Healing Cyber Surgery First Aid Surgery

bull Intimidation Interrogation Mental Physical

bull Investigation Archives Global DataNet Libraries

Newspapers

bull Knowledge Each Knowledge skill is technically a special-

ization of Knowledge so it isnrsquot broken down into furtherspecializations

Suggested Knowledge Skills AIs Battle Corporations

Cybernetics Demolitions Global DataNet Local Area (spe-cific) Politics Programing

bull Lockpicking Disarm Trap Electronic Manual

bull Notice Audio Body Language Searching Visual

bull Persuasion Bluffing Diplomacy Fast-Talking Seduction

bull Piloting Golemmech Helicopter Plane Spacecraft VTOL

bull Psionics Freek Peek Tweek

bull Repair Armor Cybernetics Electronics Mechanical Struc-tures Weapons

bull Riding By animal

TO SPECIALIZE OR NOT TO SPECIALIZE

17

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1829

bull Shooting Bow Pistol Rifle Shotgun Submachine GunVehicle Weapon or by weapon category

bull Stealth Disguise Hiding Sleight of Hand Sneaking

bull Streetwise AreaRegion (Corporate Zone Gang Turf etc)

bull Survival Aquatic Arctic Desert Forest Jungle MountainSpace urban or any specific environment

bull Swimming Lake Ocean SCUBA Divingbull Taunt Verbal Visual

bull Throwing Darts Grenades Knives Spears

bull Tracking Animals Global DataNet Humans Urban

Vehicles

OPTIONAL SKILL ATHLETICS

Rather than breaking up basic things like Climbing and Swim-ming it is recommended to combine them into a single skill

which would allow for specialization

Athletics (Vigor) Athletics as a catch-all for a number ofphysical endeavors ranging from climbing to swimming to

moving around effectively in a no mdash or low-gravity environ-

ment Athletics should be used instead of Agility in foot chasesand effectively replaces both the Climbing and Swimming skills

Specializations Climbing Leaping Running Sport (specific)

Swimming Zero-G Maneuvers

LANGUAGES

All characters speak their native language plus a number ofadditional languages equaling one-half their Smarts die The

major trade languages used in Interface Zero 20 are Chinese

English Hindi Portuguese and Swahili Additional languagescan be learned by using an advancement opportunity

DERIVED STATISTICS

There are a few statistics which are important in any SavageWorlds game Charisma Pace Parry and Toughness

CHARISMA

Charisma is an abstract measure of your characterrsquos appear-ance how she deals with others socially and generally how

likeable she is Charisma starts at 0 but can be modified byEdges and Hindrances Charisma is also added to Streetwise

and Persuasion rolls The Game Master uses Charisma to figure

out how NPCrsquos react to your character For more informationon Charisma see the Savage Worlds core rules

PACE

Pace is a measure of how far your character can walk in a

standard combat round Human characters have a base Paceof 6 and can run at an additional 1d6rdquo Other races in Interface

Zero 20 can have different starting Pace scores based on the

racial template you choose For more information on Pacesee the Savage Worlds core rules

PARRY

Parry is equal to 2 plus half your characterrsquos Fighting skillplus modifiers gained from use of shields or certain weapons

If your character does not have the Fighting skill base Parry

starts at 2 For more information on Parry see the SavageWorlds core rules

TOUGHNESS

Toughness is a measure of how much damage your character

can take before becoming Shaken or wounded Toughness is2 plus half your characterrsquos Vigor plus any armor she might

be wearing For more information on Toughness see the

Savage Worlds core rules

NEW DERIVED STATSInterface Zero 20 introduces three new derived statis-

tics mdash Firewall Strain and Street Cred

FIREWALL

Unless your character has the Unplugged Hindrance she hasa Tendril Access Processor (TAP) and therefore has a built-

in firewall The firewall protects against attempts to hack a

characterrsquos TAP A characterrsquos Firewall rating star ts at 4 but

can be modified by Edges Hindrances or software

STRAIN

Strain measures the amount of stress cyberware and biowareputs on your body when you install it Strain starts at zero

and each piece of cyberware adds to your Strain stat Highlevels of Strain can lead to death More details on Strain are

located at Augments on page 262

STREET CRED

Street Cred is a measure of your character rsquos reputation on

the streets All characters begin play with 2 points of StreetCred modified by Edges or Hindrances and gain another 2

points every time they gain a new Rank The maximum StreetCred a character can normally achieve is 10 (some Edges and

Occupations can increase this number)

Unlike Charisma which measures your ability to persuadesomeone Street Cred is a point pool that can be spent to

obtain services temporary contacts information and a variety

of other benefits during the course of an adventure This poolrefreshes each adventure unless circumstances in the prior

adventure (like not getting the job done failing to protectsomeone killing an innocent etc) cause the characterrsquos Street

Cred score to drop

Characters can also pick up Minor or Major Hindrances thathave a lasting effect on their Street Cred score during the

course of an adventure These Hindrances can be removedby spending an Advance with the GMrsquos permission For more

information see Street Cred on page 264

CONTACTS

Each character can choose two contacts people the character

knows who he can call upon for aid or information during thecourse of an adventure These contacts can be anyone froma bartender or a hacker to a corporate executive or military

commander as long as it makes sense that your characterwould know the person(s)

STEP 4 OCCUPATIONS

Occupations are integral to your character concept providinga basic framework to enhance your characterrsquos background in

a very organic way helping you create a more well-rounded

18

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1929

character concept Each occupation has a requirement that thecharacter must meet to take it the characterrsquos bonus credits

gained each Advance and a special perk (like gear or specialabilities) the character gets for being part of that profession

STEP 5 EDGES AND HINDRANCES

Edges are special qualities that separate characters from theaverage sprawler Hindrances are physical and mental flaws

that add more depth to the character albeit in a negativeway See the Savage Worlds core rules for more information

on purchasing Edges and Hindrances New Edges and Hin-drances are provided later in this chapter

STEP 6 EQUIPMENT

In Interface Zero 20 characters select equipment cybernet-ics weapons and armor based on the power level the Game

Master sets for the campaign

Power Level This is the starting Power Level of the Cam-

paign as determined by the Game Master If the GM wants totell a story of gang members barely scraping by shersquoll mostlikely choose Gutter Punk as the Power Level If she envi-

sions a campaign where the players are a special governmenttask force dedicated to hunting down super terrorists the

Hyperchrome Warriors or Elite Operatives levels might be

more appropriate The Street Soldier Power Level (designedfor ronin-style games) is considered the default Power Level

for Interface Zero 20

Starting Credits This is the amount of money characters

start with at the beginning of the campaign These credits

may be spent on anything the player wishes and the GM hasnot barred from the campaign including augments drones

weapons and armor

Augments Every Power Level above Gutter Punk allows theplayers to start with at least one augment from the core book

equal to or below the monetary amount listed Unspent Creditsfrom this pool do not carry over when the game starts These

augments must be chosen from the master list of augments

not augment packages

STEP 7 BACKGROUND

They say the devil is in the details and here is where you

decide how devilish yoursquore going to be You donrsquot need towrite a novel and frankly this step isnrsquot mandatory That said

itrsquos a good idea to jot down a few notes on your characterrsquosbackground any major events in her life any friends the

names of contacts or even enemies she might have Share

these ideas with your Game Master GMs are always lookingfor good plot hooks and little tidbits they can use to person-

alize your experience at the table The more detailed yourbackground is the better

ARCHETYPESSometimes you may want to quickly create a character for

a one-shot or convention adventure For those occasions anArchetype is a good choice

All are built for a human character with two Edges If you wish

to play a race other than human simply plug in the statisticaldata If yoursquore playing a human you

can choose another Edge Thenchoose your gear based on the

Power Level your group haschosen give the character

a name and yoursquore ready

to go

19

ARCHETYPES

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2029

AGENT

BOUNTY HUNTER

20

AGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

20

ARCHETYPESAGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2129

CYBERMONK

DRONE JOCKEY

21

CYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

21

ARCHETYPESCYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 17: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1729

Hacking (Smarts) The Hacking skill is used whenever a

character wants to hack a computer network Characters in

Interface Zero 20 no longer start with an automatic d4 inHacking Additionally characters who wish to use the Global

DataNet for everyday purposes such as research or findingnews pertaining to the Deep do so with their existing Inves-

tigation and Streetwise skills

Knowledge (Demolitions) Successful use of demolitions canmean the difference between destruction of the target as

planned and unplanned loss of life and property The skill also

lets the character have an understanding of what the besttype of explosive is for the obstacle and how much they will

need to remove such an obstacle In addition a raise on theresult will let them know the exact distance they need to be

from the explosion based upon the size of the charge the con-

fines and damage created by said explosion This skill is usedany time a character wants to put a satchel charge together

or set explosives A Critical Failure will result in immediatedetonation Simple failure will result in premature detonation

or no detonation at all

Knowledge (Programming) Characters use this skill when

attempting to make any kind of change to a network theyhave hacked This skill allows a character to undo damagedone as a result of a hack With it a character can do things

like undo an edit to a data file or video reconstruct a deleted

file repair an AMS (see Active Memory Sectors on page 274in the Sett ing Rules chapter) recover a deleted skill Engram

or reconnect a TAP that has gone offline

OPTIONAL RULE SKILL SPECIALIZATIONS

Interface Zero 20 is an advanced setting where knowing

how to do one thing doesnrsquot necessarily mean you can dosomething which under the regular skill rules would techni-

cally be possible with the same skill Take the various DrivingBoating and Piloting skills for example

Using the regular skill rules a character with Driving couldtheoretically drive anything from a motorcycle to a semi-truckor a tank Similarly Piloting assumes a character has the skills

to pilot all types of aircraft including fighter jets and space-

craft Pinnacle Entertainment addressed this issue by addingthe Skill Specialization setting rule in the Savage Worlds core

rules and it is highly recommended that those rules are usedfor Interface Zero 20

The following list of skill specializations are provided to get

you started This isnrsquot intended to be a comprehensive listof appropriate skill specializations but rather a broad cross

section of specializations we feel are appropriate If some-thing doesnrsquot appear on the list make it up if it seems right

But remember the GM always has the final say on what is or

isnrsquot appropriate for her campaign

SUGGESTED SPECIALIZATIONS

bull Boating Powered Sailed Submersible

bull Climbing Mountaineering Rappelling Rope

bull Driving Car (4 wheels) Hovercraft JUMP Bike MotorcycleTruck (6+ wheels) Tracked

bull Fighting Axe Blades Blunt Cyberweapon Long Blade

Martial arts (by style judo karate etc) Pole Arm

bull Gambling By game

bull Hacking Hyper Combat Firewall Penetration Intrusion

Detection Object Control Object Editing Run ProgramTrace

bull Healing Cyber Surgery First Aid Surgery

bull Intimidation Interrogation Mental Physical

bull Investigation Archives Global DataNet Libraries

Newspapers

bull Knowledge Each Knowledge skill is technically a special-

ization of Knowledge so it isnrsquot broken down into furtherspecializations

Suggested Knowledge Skills AIs Battle Corporations

Cybernetics Demolitions Global DataNet Local Area (spe-cific) Politics Programing

bull Lockpicking Disarm Trap Electronic Manual

bull Notice Audio Body Language Searching Visual

bull Persuasion Bluffing Diplomacy Fast-Talking Seduction

bull Piloting Golemmech Helicopter Plane Spacecraft VTOL

bull Psionics Freek Peek Tweek

bull Repair Armor Cybernetics Electronics Mechanical Struc-tures Weapons

bull Riding By animal

TO SPECIALIZE OR NOT TO SPECIALIZE

17

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1829

bull Shooting Bow Pistol Rifle Shotgun Submachine GunVehicle Weapon or by weapon category

bull Stealth Disguise Hiding Sleight of Hand Sneaking

bull Streetwise AreaRegion (Corporate Zone Gang Turf etc)

bull Survival Aquatic Arctic Desert Forest Jungle MountainSpace urban or any specific environment

bull Swimming Lake Ocean SCUBA Divingbull Taunt Verbal Visual

bull Throwing Darts Grenades Knives Spears

bull Tracking Animals Global DataNet Humans Urban

Vehicles

OPTIONAL SKILL ATHLETICS

Rather than breaking up basic things like Climbing and Swim-ming it is recommended to combine them into a single skill

which would allow for specialization

Athletics (Vigor) Athletics as a catch-all for a number ofphysical endeavors ranging from climbing to swimming to

moving around effectively in a no mdash or low-gravity environ-

ment Athletics should be used instead of Agility in foot chasesand effectively replaces both the Climbing and Swimming skills

Specializations Climbing Leaping Running Sport (specific)

Swimming Zero-G Maneuvers

LANGUAGES

All characters speak their native language plus a number ofadditional languages equaling one-half their Smarts die The

major trade languages used in Interface Zero 20 are Chinese

English Hindi Portuguese and Swahili Additional languagescan be learned by using an advancement opportunity

DERIVED STATISTICS

There are a few statistics which are important in any SavageWorlds game Charisma Pace Parry and Toughness

CHARISMA

Charisma is an abstract measure of your characterrsquos appear-ance how she deals with others socially and generally how

likeable she is Charisma starts at 0 but can be modified byEdges and Hindrances Charisma is also added to Streetwise

and Persuasion rolls The Game Master uses Charisma to figure

out how NPCrsquos react to your character For more informationon Charisma see the Savage Worlds core rules

PACE

Pace is a measure of how far your character can walk in a

standard combat round Human characters have a base Paceof 6 and can run at an additional 1d6rdquo Other races in Interface

Zero 20 can have different starting Pace scores based on the

racial template you choose For more information on Pacesee the Savage Worlds core rules

PARRY

Parry is equal to 2 plus half your characterrsquos Fighting skillplus modifiers gained from use of shields or certain weapons

If your character does not have the Fighting skill base Parry

starts at 2 For more information on Parry see the SavageWorlds core rules

TOUGHNESS

Toughness is a measure of how much damage your character

can take before becoming Shaken or wounded Toughness is2 plus half your characterrsquos Vigor plus any armor she might

be wearing For more information on Toughness see the

Savage Worlds core rules

NEW DERIVED STATSInterface Zero 20 introduces three new derived statis-

tics mdash Firewall Strain and Street Cred

FIREWALL

Unless your character has the Unplugged Hindrance she hasa Tendril Access Processor (TAP) and therefore has a built-

in firewall The firewall protects against attempts to hack a

characterrsquos TAP A characterrsquos Firewall rating star ts at 4 but

can be modified by Edges Hindrances or software

STRAIN

Strain measures the amount of stress cyberware and biowareputs on your body when you install it Strain starts at zero

and each piece of cyberware adds to your Strain stat Highlevels of Strain can lead to death More details on Strain are

located at Augments on page 262

STREET CRED

Street Cred is a measure of your character rsquos reputation on

the streets All characters begin play with 2 points of StreetCred modified by Edges or Hindrances and gain another 2

points every time they gain a new Rank The maximum StreetCred a character can normally achieve is 10 (some Edges and

Occupations can increase this number)

Unlike Charisma which measures your ability to persuadesomeone Street Cred is a point pool that can be spent to

obtain services temporary contacts information and a variety

of other benefits during the course of an adventure This poolrefreshes each adventure unless circumstances in the prior

adventure (like not getting the job done failing to protectsomeone killing an innocent etc) cause the characterrsquos Street

Cred score to drop

Characters can also pick up Minor or Major Hindrances thathave a lasting effect on their Street Cred score during the

course of an adventure These Hindrances can be removedby spending an Advance with the GMrsquos permission For more

information see Street Cred on page 264

CONTACTS

Each character can choose two contacts people the character

knows who he can call upon for aid or information during thecourse of an adventure These contacts can be anyone froma bartender or a hacker to a corporate executive or military

commander as long as it makes sense that your characterwould know the person(s)

STEP 4 OCCUPATIONS

Occupations are integral to your character concept providinga basic framework to enhance your characterrsquos background in

a very organic way helping you create a more well-rounded

18

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1929

character concept Each occupation has a requirement that thecharacter must meet to take it the characterrsquos bonus credits

gained each Advance and a special perk (like gear or specialabilities) the character gets for being part of that profession

STEP 5 EDGES AND HINDRANCES

Edges are special qualities that separate characters from theaverage sprawler Hindrances are physical and mental flaws

that add more depth to the character albeit in a negativeway See the Savage Worlds core rules for more information

on purchasing Edges and Hindrances New Edges and Hin-drances are provided later in this chapter

STEP 6 EQUIPMENT

In Interface Zero 20 characters select equipment cybernet-ics weapons and armor based on the power level the Game

Master sets for the campaign

Power Level This is the starting Power Level of the Cam-

paign as determined by the Game Master If the GM wants totell a story of gang members barely scraping by shersquoll mostlikely choose Gutter Punk as the Power Level If she envi-

sions a campaign where the players are a special governmenttask force dedicated to hunting down super terrorists the

Hyperchrome Warriors or Elite Operatives levels might be

more appropriate The Street Soldier Power Level (designedfor ronin-style games) is considered the default Power Level

for Interface Zero 20

Starting Credits This is the amount of money characters

start with at the beginning of the campaign These credits

may be spent on anything the player wishes and the GM hasnot barred from the campaign including augments drones

weapons and armor

Augments Every Power Level above Gutter Punk allows theplayers to start with at least one augment from the core book

equal to or below the monetary amount listed Unspent Creditsfrom this pool do not carry over when the game starts These

augments must be chosen from the master list of augments

not augment packages

STEP 7 BACKGROUND

They say the devil is in the details and here is where you

decide how devilish yoursquore going to be You donrsquot need towrite a novel and frankly this step isnrsquot mandatory That said

itrsquos a good idea to jot down a few notes on your characterrsquosbackground any major events in her life any friends the

names of contacts or even enemies she might have Share

these ideas with your Game Master GMs are always lookingfor good plot hooks and little tidbits they can use to person-

alize your experience at the table The more detailed yourbackground is the better

ARCHETYPESSometimes you may want to quickly create a character for

a one-shot or convention adventure For those occasions anArchetype is a good choice

All are built for a human character with two Edges If you wish

to play a race other than human simply plug in the statisticaldata If yoursquore playing a human you

can choose another Edge Thenchoose your gear based on the

Power Level your group haschosen give the character

a name and yoursquore ready

to go

19

ARCHETYPES

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2029

AGENT

BOUNTY HUNTER

20

AGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

20

ARCHETYPESAGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2129

CYBERMONK

DRONE JOCKEY

21

CYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

21

ARCHETYPESCYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 18: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1829

bull Shooting Bow Pistol Rifle Shotgun Submachine GunVehicle Weapon or by weapon category

bull Stealth Disguise Hiding Sleight of Hand Sneaking

bull Streetwise AreaRegion (Corporate Zone Gang Turf etc)

bull Survival Aquatic Arctic Desert Forest Jungle MountainSpace urban or any specific environment

bull Swimming Lake Ocean SCUBA Divingbull Taunt Verbal Visual

bull Throwing Darts Grenades Knives Spears

bull Tracking Animals Global DataNet Humans Urban

Vehicles

OPTIONAL SKILL ATHLETICS

Rather than breaking up basic things like Climbing and Swim-ming it is recommended to combine them into a single skill

which would allow for specialization

Athletics (Vigor) Athletics as a catch-all for a number ofphysical endeavors ranging from climbing to swimming to

moving around effectively in a no mdash or low-gravity environ-

ment Athletics should be used instead of Agility in foot chasesand effectively replaces both the Climbing and Swimming skills

Specializations Climbing Leaping Running Sport (specific)

Swimming Zero-G Maneuvers

LANGUAGES

All characters speak their native language plus a number ofadditional languages equaling one-half their Smarts die The

major trade languages used in Interface Zero 20 are Chinese

English Hindi Portuguese and Swahili Additional languagescan be learned by using an advancement opportunity

DERIVED STATISTICS

There are a few statistics which are important in any SavageWorlds game Charisma Pace Parry and Toughness

CHARISMA

Charisma is an abstract measure of your characterrsquos appear-ance how she deals with others socially and generally how

likeable she is Charisma starts at 0 but can be modified byEdges and Hindrances Charisma is also added to Streetwise

and Persuasion rolls The Game Master uses Charisma to figure

out how NPCrsquos react to your character For more informationon Charisma see the Savage Worlds core rules

PACE

Pace is a measure of how far your character can walk in a

standard combat round Human characters have a base Paceof 6 and can run at an additional 1d6rdquo Other races in Interface

Zero 20 can have different starting Pace scores based on the

racial template you choose For more information on Pacesee the Savage Worlds core rules

PARRY

Parry is equal to 2 plus half your characterrsquos Fighting skillplus modifiers gained from use of shields or certain weapons

If your character does not have the Fighting skill base Parry

starts at 2 For more information on Parry see the SavageWorlds core rules

TOUGHNESS

Toughness is a measure of how much damage your character

can take before becoming Shaken or wounded Toughness is2 plus half your characterrsquos Vigor plus any armor she might

be wearing For more information on Toughness see the

Savage Worlds core rules

NEW DERIVED STATSInterface Zero 20 introduces three new derived statis-

tics mdash Firewall Strain and Street Cred

FIREWALL

Unless your character has the Unplugged Hindrance she hasa Tendril Access Processor (TAP) and therefore has a built-

in firewall The firewall protects against attempts to hack a

characterrsquos TAP A characterrsquos Firewall rating star ts at 4 but

can be modified by Edges Hindrances or software

STRAIN

Strain measures the amount of stress cyberware and biowareputs on your body when you install it Strain starts at zero

and each piece of cyberware adds to your Strain stat Highlevels of Strain can lead to death More details on Strain are

located at Augments on page 262

STREET CRED

Street Cred is a measure of your character rsquos reputation on

the streets All characters begin play with 2 points of StreetCred modified by Edges or Hindrances and gain another 2

points every time they gain a new Rank The maximum StreetCred a character can normally achieve is 10 (some Edges and

Occupations can increase this number)

Unlike Charisma which measures your ability to persuadesomeone Street Cred is a point pool that can be spent to

obtain services temporary contacts information and a variety

of other benefits during the course of an adventure This poolrefreshes each adventure unless circumstances in the prior

adventure (like not getting the job done failing to protectsomeone killing an innocent etc) cause the characterrsquos Street

Cred score to drop

Characters can also pick up Minor or Major Hindrances thathave a lasting effect on their Street Cred score during the

course of an adventure These Hindrances can be removedby spending an Advance with the GMrsquos permission For more

information see Street Cred on page 264

CONTACTS

Each character can choose two contacts people the character

knows who he can call upon for aid or information during thecourse of an adventure These contacts can be anyone froma bartender or a hacker to a corporate executive or military

commander as long as it makes sense that your characterwould know the person(s)

STEP 4 OCCUPATIONS

Occupations are integral to your character concept providinga basic framework to enhance your characterrsquos background in

a very organic way helping you create a more well-rounded

18

CHARACTER CREATIONTRAITS

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1929

character concept Each occupation has a requirement that thecharacter must meet to take it the characterrsquos bonus credits

gained each Advance and a special perk (like gear or specialabilities) the character gets for being part of that profession

STEP 5 EDGES AND HINDRANCES

Edges are special qualities that separate characters from theaverage sprawler Hindrances are physical and mental flaws

that add more depth to the character albeit in a negativeway See the Savage Worlds core rules for more information

on purchasing Edges and Hindrances New Edges and Hin-drances are provided later in this chapter

STEP 6 EQUIPMENT

In Interface Zero 20 characters select equipment cybernet-ics weapons and armor based on the power level the Game

Master sets for the campaign

Power Level This is the starting Power Level of the Cam-

paign as determined by the Game Master If the GM wants totell a story of gang members barely scraping by shersquoll mostlikely choose Gutter Punk as the Power Level If she envi-

sions a campaign where the players are a special governmenttask force dedicated to hunting down super terrorists the

Hyperchrome Warriors or Elite Operatives levels might be

more appropriate The Street Soldier Power Level (designedfor ronin-style games) is considered the default Power Level

for Interface Zero 20

Starting Credits This is the amount of money characters

start with at the beginning of the campaign These credits

may be spent on anything the player wishes and the GM hasnot barred from the campaign including augments drones

weapons and armor

Augments Every Power Level above Gutter Punk allows theplayers to start with at least one augment from the core book

equal to or below the monetary amount listed Unspent Creditsfrom this pool do not carry over when the game starts These

augments must be chosen from the master list of augments

not augment packages

STEP 7 BACKGROUND

They say the devil is in the details and here is where you

decide how devilish yoursquore going to be You donrsquot need towrite a novel and frankly this step isnrsquot mandatory That said

itrsquos a good idea to jot down a few notes on your characterrsquosbackground any major events in her life any friends the

names of contacts or even enemies she might have Share

these ideas with your Game Master GMs are always lookingfor good plot hooks and little tidbits they can use to person-

alize your experience at the table The more detailed yourbackground is the better

ARCHETYPESSometimes you may want to quickly create a character for

a one-shot or convention adventure For those occasions anArchetype is a good choice

All are built for a human character with two Edges If you wish

to play a race other than human simply plug in the statisticaldata If yoursquore playing a human you

can choose another Edge Thenchoose your gear based on the

Power Level your group haschosen give the character

a name and yoursquore ready

to go

19

ARCHETYPES

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2029

AGENT

BOUNTY HUNTER

20

AGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

20

ARCHETYPESAGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2129

CYBERMONK

DRONE JOCKEY

21

CYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

21

ARCHETYPESCYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 19: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 1929

character concept Each occupation has a requirement that thecharacter must meet to take it the characterrsquos bonus credits

gained each Advance and a special perk (like gear or specialabilities) the character gets for being part of that profession

STEP 5 EDGES AND HINDRANCES

Edges are special qualities that separate characters from theaverage sprawler Hindrances are physical and mental flaws

that add more depth to the character albeit in a negativeway See the Savage Worlds core rules for more information

on purchasing Edges and Hindrances New Edges and Hin-drances are provided later in this chapter

STEP 6 EQUIPMENT

In Interface Zero 20 characters select equipment cybernet-ics weapons and armor based on the power level the Game

Master sets for the campaign

Power Level This is the starting Power Level of the Cam-

paign as determined by the Game Master If the GM wants totell a story of gang members barely scraping by shersquoll mostlikely choose Gutter Punk as the Power Level If she envi-

sions a campaign where the players are a special governmenttask force dedicated to hunting down super terrorists the

Hyperchrome Warriors or Elite Operatives levels might be

more appropriate The Street Soldier Power Level (designedfor ronin-style games) is considered the default Power Level

for Interface Zero 20

Starting Credits This is the amount of money characters

start with at the beginning of the campaign These credits

may be spent on anything the player wishes and the GM hasnot barred from the campaign including augments drones

weapons and armor

Augments Every Power Level above Gutter Punk allows theplayers to start with at least one augment from the core book

equal to or below the monetary amount listed Unspent Creditsfrom this pool do not carry over when the game starts These

augments must be chosen from the master list of augments

not augment packages

STEP 7 BACKGROUND

They say the devil is in the details and here is where you

decide how devilish yoursquore going to be You donrsquot need towrite a novel and frankly this step isnrsquot mandatory That said

itrsquos a good idea to jot down a few notes on your characterrsquosbackground any major events in her life any friends the

names of contacts or even enemies she might have Share

these ideas with your Game Master GMs are always lookingfor good plot hooks and little tidbits they can use to person-

alize your experience at the table The more detailed yourbackground is the better

ARCHETYPESSometimes you may want to quickly create a character for

a one-shot or convention adventure For those occasions anArchetype is a good choice

All are built for a human character with two Edges If you wish

to play a race other than human simply plug in the statisticaldata If yoursquore playing a human you

can choose another Edge Thenchoose your gear based on the

Power Level your group haschosen give the character

a name and yoursquore ready

to go

19

ARCHETYPES

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2029

AGENT

BOUNTY HUNTER

20

AGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

20

ARCHETYPESAGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2129

CYBERMONK

DRONE JOCKEY

21

CYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

21

ARCHETYPESCYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 20: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2029

AGENT

BOUNTY HUNTER

20

AGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

20

ARCHETYPESAGENT 991251 BOUNTY HUNTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2129

CYBERMONK

DRONE JOCKEY

21

CYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

21

ARCHETYPESCYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 21: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2129

CYBERMONK

DRONE JOCKEY

21

CYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

21

ARCHETYPESCYBERMONK 991251 DRONE JOCKEY

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 22: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2229

GANGER

GRIFTER

22

GANGER 991251 GRIFTER

22

ARCHETYPESGANGER 991251 GRIFTER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 23: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2329

HACKER

IDOL

23

HACKER 991251 IDOL

23

ARCHETYPESHACKER 991251 IDOL

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 24: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2429

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

PATCH MAN

24

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

24

ARCHETYPESINVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST 991251 PATCH MAN

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 25: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2529

RONIN

SECTOR COP

25

RONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

25

ARCHETYPESRONIN 991251 SECTOR COP

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 26: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2629

SMUGGLER

EX-SOLDIER

26

SMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

26

ARCHETYPESSMUGGLER 991251 EX983085SOLDIER

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 27: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2729

STREET RAT

ZEEK

27

STREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

27

ARCHETYPESSTREET RAT 991251 ZEEK

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 28: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2829

RACESThe following races are available for play in Interface Zero 20

ANDROID

Nicknames Andies Cyberform Machine Robot Scab ToyTrashcan

Most people are born into the world flesh-and-bloodbabies with mothers and fathers You were bornon an assembly line your parents faceless roboticsengineers who designed you in some research facilityYour body is composed of lightweight yetdurable polymers with plastic and fiber-opticwiring connecting to microscopic receptorsthroughout your framework

You see through digital lenses and hear viamicrophones on each side of your head Yourvoice is a pleasant if somewhat monotonesound piped through a speaker crafted to

resemble a mouth Your brain is a softball-sized digital network consisting of billionsof nanomachines which perform countlesscomputations every second in order to simulatean organic mdash human mdash thinking process

You are artificially intelligent Your capacity forrational critical thinking and decision-makingequals mdash and in many cases exceeds mdash that ofany human being on the planet Yet a waffle ironprobably has more rights than you do Moreoverat some point you have been (and technically stillare) owned perhaps by an individual but more likelyby a megaconglomorate mdash your parent companyThe tasks you performed for the megacorp varieddepending on your design specs but they mighthave included security manual labor combat and

strangely enough even prostitution

But that was then

At some point in your history you experiencedsomething The incident sparked a computation processwithin your neural network best described as an epiphanyPerhaps you saw a human being die or witnessed a couplekissing Or perhaps you were the victim of vio lence at thehands of a human being angered by your presence insociety The event led to a series of internal processes andsubroutines more commonly known as questions Thesewerenrsquot rational system queries based on clearly definedparameters but nebulous ones for which you were unableto formulate an appropriate response

ldquoIf that woman is smiling why are her eyes filled with tearsrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to be deadrdquo

ldquoWhat does it mean to hate or loverdquo

The experience altered your programming on a fundamentallevel The dictums of your creators no longer seemedrelevant when compared to your newfound imperative toanswer the questions you had so you left Now you makeyour way in the world just as any other person does mdash atleast you try to at any rate The world wasnrsquot made for youYou were built for it And even though you no longer serveyour masters you are still a machine an outsider look ingat life through glass eyes

MAKING ANDROIDS

All androids regardless of their function share a few fun-damental design characteristics Androids can purchase

cyberware just as anyone else can and suffer from Strain

bull Construct Androids add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Androids cannot heal naturally To heal an

android requires the Repair skill mdash which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull Dual Processors Androids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull EMP Vulnerability Androids suffer full damage from EMPWeapons

bull Metal Brain Androids canrsquot take Arcane Back-

ground (Psionics)

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metallic hide of an

android provides resistance to small arms fire

They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Organic races often mistrust or mis-

understand androids They subtract 2 from their

Charisma when dealing with races other thantheir own

bull Primary Protocol Androids begin with a free

d6 in one skill representing their core operat-ing system

bull Recharge Androids need electricity to func-tion If the android canrsquot access an electrical

outlet of some sort at least once per day he

suffers a level of Fatigue each day until hersquosincapacitated The day after that he goes ldquooff-

linerdquo and must be reactivated with a Repairroll and a four-hour charge This replaces the

androidrsquos need for food or water

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and det-rimental suffer a minus2 penalty to affect androids

This has no effect on damaging powers whichaffect them normally

BIOROID

Nicknames Biobot Perso-com Para-human SoftBioroids

You sometimes wonder why humans createdsuch an inefficient system for you Food properhygiene rest mdash you require all these things Unlike

your metal siblings you do not require the use of

electricity to function But is a different supply of energyreally worth the wasted time it takes to exist

MAKING BIOROIDS

Bioroids bleed have to eat and drink get fatigued when

they donrsquot sleep and function largely like humans And this

makes a lot of people nervous

Bioroids are vat-grown humans who have a computer systeminstalled in their brain pan Most often used as replacement

bodies for dubs theyrsquove seen some serious negative press inthe last couple years After a series of murders that were linked

to bioroids with faulty dubbing human-looking bioroids were

28

RACESANDROID 991251 BIOROID

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e

Page 29: IZ-sample

7232019 IZ-sample

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulliz-sample 2929

made illegal in most countries However bioroids marked witha matrix barcode genetically grafted to their skin somewhere

(the shoulder or back of the neck are standard placements) are

still allowed in many countries (most notably Japan who preferbioroids over simulacra because of their relative longevity)

bull EMP Vulnerability Bioroids suffer full damage from EMPweapons

bull Dual Processors Bioroids start with a d6 in Smarts

bull Marked or Secret At character creation the player needsto decide whether his bioroid is marked or not If he is

marked he gains the Outsider Hindrance suffering a minus2

Charisma penalty with people who view bioroids with sus-picion or as ldquojust a machinerdquo Unmarked bioroids have the

Secret (Major) Hindrance Unmarked bioroids are illegaland can be arrested or executed if theyrsquore discovered

bull Primary Protocol Bioroids begin with a free d6 in one

skill representing their core operating system

bull Unnatural Psionics both beneficial and detrimental

suffer a minus2 penalty to affect bioroids This has no effect

on damaging powers which affect them normally

CYBORG

Nicknames Cybershells Sentinels Hard-Shell Cyborgs TinMan

It was easy to make the decision Yoursquod get a new metalbody that works better than the original You wouldnrsquot haveto spend your familyrsquos money on more expensive surgeriesto keep your failing body alive but that decision didnrsquot comewithout a cost Yoursquod lose the ability to feel the abil ity topick up your son without worrying about crushing himYoursquod lose the feel of your wifersquos body when you made loveto her If you canrsquot feel anything arenrsquot you already dead

In the end you chose to become a cyborg to have your

brain encased in metal Most days it doesnrsquot make muchdifference You come home to an empty house your sonand wife long gone Maybe theyrsquod have stayed if yoursquodonly kept your hearthellip

MAKING CYBORGS

Little is more frightening in batt le than a cyborg Theyrsquore not

much more than an organic brain in an androidrsquos body Cyborgscome in humanoid form simply for ease of transition to the

new body The majority of cyborgs work for their respectivegovernments or powerful corporations who can afford the

procedure for trusted personnel However more and morecyborgs are beginning to find their way to the private sector

bull Augmented Cyborgs are built to be cybernetic beasts

They begin play with a single Streetware Augment witha Strain of 1

bull Construct Cyborgs add +2 to recover from being Shaken

donrsquot suffer wound modifiers and are immune to poisonand disease Cyborgs cannot heal naturally To heal a

Cyborg requires the Repair skill which is used like theHealing skill only with no ldquoGolden Hourrdquo

bull EMP Shielding Cyborgs have 2 points of Armor when

attacked by an EMP weapon

bull EMP Vulnerability Cyborgs suffer full damage from EMP

bull Metallic Alloy The fully metall ic hide of a cyborg providesresistance to small arms fire They have +2 Armor

bull Outsider Most people are naturally put off by someonewho has opted to have all traces of their humanity

removed to be placed in a cold metal war machine They

suffer minus2 to Charisma when dealing with non-cyborgs

bull Specialized Diet Cyborgs cannot digest normal food and

require special food filled with nutrients to keep theirbrains healthy This raises their lifestyle costs by 1000credits

bull Tactile Dimming The Cyborgrsquos body isnrsquot as sensitive as

a human body Cyborgs suffer a minus2 to tasks where finemanipulation of objects is important Picking a lock or

performing surgery could be two examples Shootingand Fighting are usually unaffected

HUMAN

Nicknames Norms Homo-sapiens Earthlings Plain Jane

Baseline average normal mdash these words always described

you You prefer to think of yourself as adaptable versatileor unique You were born to human parents who eitherwouldnrsquot or couldnrsquot pay for genetic enhancement Youdidnrsquot go for that ldquoHybr idizationrdquo craze Yoursquore happy beingwho you are and you donrsquot need some scientists muckingaround with your genetics Really do they even know whatthe consequences of all that meddling will have on thepopulation in a hundred years No yoursquoll play it cool and

just be human

MAKING HUMANS

Despite all the choices and new races running around ordi-nary homo-sapiens still dominate the planet Humans are

tough adaptable creatures who face adversity head onWhile they may not have some of the distinct advantages

of their enhanced peers humans get by through being moreadaptable

bull Adaptability Humans start with one extra Edge

HUMAN 20

Nicknames Coded Eli tist Eugenic Gen-Xyrsquoer Neo-HumansSavant

You were born with the best genes money can buy Yourparents went to a design house early in your motherrsquosfirst trimester and began a series of genetic treatmentsdesigned to give you every chance at living a life theynever had Your DNA cocktail might include mental traitsfrom some of the greatest minds of the past 60 yearsAlternately you might have some kind of artistic or athleticability In any case yoursquore better than most people aroundyou in some ways and you know it Itrsquos not your faultthough Yoursquore just built that way

MAKING HUMAN 20

bull Advanced Ability You begin play with one attribute at d6

bull Arrogant Human 20s are known for their huge egos

Whether itrsquos nature or nurture is still up for debate Theyhave the Arrogant Hindrance If you choose an Archetype

that already has the Arrogant Hindrance choose another

RACESCYBORG 991251 HUMAN 20

a

m

p

l

e

f

i

l

e