Tech Rules and Guidelines

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Beep Boop
Site Bot
Sep 2, 2020
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Tech Rules and Guidelines

Welcome to Night City, choom: things have changed in the last few years, and you'd be on the losing side if you don't get teched up as soon as possible. The cyberpunk setting has always been characterized by its wide range of high end technology, ranging from the humble wrist mounted data pads to the quiet and quick AVs of the rich and famous. While we promote diverse and unique technology we also humbly remind our players the main purpose of any and all technological profile: to enhance character story line and to expand the site's lore and cyberpunk universe.

However we are also aware that freedom without limitations may endanger the site's integrity.

To that end, we’ve compiled a list of rules and restrictions that are aimed at removing disruptive technology without unnecessarily restricting our fellow roleplayers.

Before you sit down to create your own technology we encourage you to read through these guidelines and familiarize yourself with them.

If you have any further question, please do not hesitate to contact any of the tech moderators who will be more than happy to offer guidance on how to locate, design and use technology to write your stories.

Site Philosophy

When designing a profile the tech staff adheres to the trinity philosophy: a player may design an item with two out of three qualities available. While this may not necessarily fit with every piece of technology it will be serviceable for the three main categories: WEAPONS, ARMOR and VEHICLES.

For items that do not fit within the three categories we strongly encourage to provide a weighted scale of benefits vs drawbacks, with each technological item judged on a case-by-case basis. For further advice, please inquire with the tech staff who will be more than happy to assist you.
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WEAPONS

  • A weapon may possess any 2 of the 3 special qualities. These are:
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    • Firepower.
      • Refers to the weapon's ability to deliver effective damage to its intended target. Mileage may vary between penetration value of the weapon to the sheer explosive quality it may possess.
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    • Attack Speed.
      • Refers to the fire rate of a ranged weapon, or the literal attack speed of a melee weapon. It also refers to how fast a character may draw their weapon from its holster/sheath. Size affects a melee weapon's speed, while a high firepower adversely effects a ranged weapon's rate of fire.
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    • Accuracy.
      • Refers to the weapon's default ability to hit its intended target, which does not coincide with the weapon's ability to deliver effective damage.
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  • Weapons are categorized into three different sizes, each with its own distinct advantages:
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    • Small
      • Small enough to be wielded with one hand, weapons of this category can be concealed with ease. The weapon generally exchanges a fair bit of firepower but can still be effective in the hands of a professional. Example: Combat pistols, SMGs, shortsword etc.
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    • Medium
      • Most rifles and carbines fit in this category, with the principle definition being any weapon of over 800mm in length. It is still able to be wielded effectively in close quarters with better firepower than a Small weapon. However it has to be broken down in order to smuggle past security officers. Example: Assault rifles, carbines, longswords, axes.
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    • Large
      • Bulky and unwieldy, there is little subtlety to weapons of this size. Concealing the monstrosity will require some high level planning and the right tools. In exchange however, weapons of this magnitude tend to produce the biggest bang for your buck. Example: Rocket launcher, grenade launcher, anti-material rifle, sniper rifles, greatswords, greatclubs etc.
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  • Pistols may not hold more than 20 rounds.
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  • SMGs may not hold more than 50 rounds.
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  • Rifles and carbines may not hold more than 50 rounds.
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  • Semi-action shotguns may not hold more than 10 rounds. Fully automatic shotguns may not hold more than 20 rounds.
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  • Sniper rifles may not hold more than 10 rounds.
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  • Machine guns may not hold more than 200 rounds.
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  • Grenade launchers may not hold more than 8 rounds.
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  • Rocket launchers may not hold more than 3 unguided shots, 1 if the weapon is capable of guiding its shot.
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  • Anti-material rifles may not hold more than 5 shots.
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  • A weapon cannot have the ability to generate ammunition on its own.
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  • The explosive radius of grenades are restricted to 10 meters. Larger blast radius will require staff permission.
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  • Weaponry is exclusively ballistics-based; while Gauss and laser technology do exist in the timeline they are heavily restricted and limited to major corporations. Furthermore they drain tremendous amount of power to operate, requiring a generator to power each shot- as such, they are used as base defense turrets, not as infantry portable weapons. Even so they are rarely seen, much less sold to the public.
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  • Guided ballistic munitions can be used in tandem with smart-weapons, however they are extremely limited in their effectiveness. Being essentially "pea-shooters", the idea behind guided munitions is more to draw out enemies, rather than effectively take them out.
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  • Guided explosive munitions exist in a limited form: rocket launchers. To avoid abuse, each missile must be guided by its operator and its operating signal must be able to be interfered in some manner ( jamming devices, anti-missile technology etc, lead walls etc ). Furthermore the weapon has a maximum range of 2000 meters. Any further will require staff approval. As a note, guided weaponry are illegal in the hands of the public, ICly. If your non-corp character is spotted wielding such a weapon, expect to be slapped with an APB notice.
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  • Melee weapons are back in vogue! From monofilament blades to super-heated edges, these are the weapons of choice for gangsters and low-level enforcers alike. What they lack for range, they make up for sheer brutality: even armor can be defeated by electro-blades and super-heated swords. Corporation soldiers also make use of melee weapons for 'crowd control purposes'.
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  • The sales of specialized melee weapons - those utilizing electro-blades and super-heat edges - to the public are highly restricted. While these two upgrades assist in defeating armor, the way they go about it are different:
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    • Electro-blades are bladed melee weapons connected to a high power portable battery. Rather than 'cutting' through combat armor, the combatant targets the exposed sections of the armor to deliver both a kinetic strike and an electric charge strong enough to incapacitate the victim, if not outright kill them with lethal voltage.
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    • Super-heat weapons on the other hand do exactly as its name implies: by superheating the weapon's edge to ridiculous degrees, one can cut through armor. More high-end variants swap the traditional metal edge for a thin focused laser beam: these however are limited with its high energy usage requiring a constant connection to its portable, yet bulky belt-mounted battery. Unlike electro-blades, traditional super-heat weapons lose their durability very quickly, and replacing brittle blades after several uses becomes an expensive endeavour.


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  • Portable fully automated weapon systems are not allowed. These include self-targeting turrets that don't require a user input, or independent, auto targeting weapons incorporated in personal armor. Base defense turrets are exempted from this rule, although it must have an exposed weakness ( turret generators, turret control rooms, jammable frequencies etc. ).
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  • Superweapons are not allowed. As a rule, any weapon system that can destroy more than a city block is not allowed. Any weapon system that can destroy an entire building in one hit will be viewed with scrutiny.
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  • The use of chemical, biological, or radiological weapons require staff approval.
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  • ‘Smart’ munitions, such as homing mines, are extremely rare and thus strongly discouraged.
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  • Weapon systems using 'special' or 'exotic' rounds outside of the traditional armor piercing rounds, such as explosive-tipped rounds, incendiary projectiles or tracking rounds will require staff approval.


ARMOR

  • Armor may possess 2 out of 3 special qualities. These are:
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    • Durable
      • Refers to the armor's ability to withstand punishment from damage. No armor can be impervious or invincible to any form of damage. Durability comes in four tiers:
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        • Tier 1: Simple body armor, barely capable of protecting the user from all but the weakest of attacks. However it affords the greatest degree of mobility to the user, and can be easily concealed beneath inconspicuous clothing.
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        • Tier 2: Conventional body armor, commonly seen by enforcers and thugs. Provides adequate protection against small caliber weapons. It is sufficiently bulky that it cannot be concealed other than by wearing a cloak.
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        • Tier 3: Military grade armor, generally restricted to megacorp soldiers or mercenaries who are typically employed by said megacorps. Capable of stopping a conventional rifle round at 75 m, it affords excellent protection to the user.
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        • Tier 4: The closest thing to indestructibility, the armor has the greatest level of protection there is. It can shrug off conventional rifle rounds easily, requiring specialized ammunition or heavy weaponry to punch through. With full coverage, its massive size prevents it from entering enclosed spaces, making it a walking target in the open when used improperly.
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    • Mobility
      • Refers to user's degree of motion and running speed whilst in armor. Higher tiers of durability negatively affects the mobility rating of the armor, necessitating exo-skeleton rigs to move around with the highest form of protection. An exo-skeleton rig counts as a special feature.
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    • Coverage
      • Refers to how much of the wearer's body is protected by the armor. It is separated into three tiers:
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        • Light: Covers a single part of the body, regardless of the size. A body vest, helmet or bracers are all considered 'light' armor individually.
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        • Moderate: Covers multiple parts of the body, but does not fully encompasses the wearer. A combination of body vest and helmet is considered 'moderate' protection.
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        • Full: Covers the entire wearer's body, providing protection all around.
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  • Additionally, all armors can have up to a maximum of 2 special features that allows it to differentiate from each other. A third feature may be added, at the cost of the armor's second quality. Therefore an armor with three features can only have 1 special quality. Example: A body vest with Tier-3 durability has only light coverage and poor mobility, but has an inbuilt signal jammer, a biomedical sensor suit and a vertical 100 m grapnel launcher.
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  • Energy shields do not exist in any form or capacity. Ballistic or riot shields do exist, with the main difference that ballistic shields are heavier but has greater ballistic protection and coverage. Riot shields on the other hand are built almost exclusively to be used in conjunction with melee weapons, being lightweight with poorer protection and coverage.
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  • Invisibility, or more commonly known in-universe as camouflage systems are allowed but due to huge manufacturing costs are usually restricted to megacorp employees. However the technology has not advanced to the point where it can warp light. It is also very power consuming, either requiring an internal battery system for dermal augmentations or battery packs. Lastly a camouflage system may have either thermal masking, or electronic signature masking, but not both at the same time.


Vehicles

  • As technology advanced, so too did the method of travel. Citizens of Night City travel either through the subway rail system, electric bikes or cars. VTOLs (or AVs), whether gunships or rapid transport shuttles are the sign of elite status and wealth; made available to high-ranking corp employees for their discretion, these vehicles have replaced the venerable helicopters in their versatility and speed.
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  • Jetpacks are not available both publicly and privately, as most iterations of it are bulky and require a special harness to be worn over conventional armor, adding to a user's weight. Not only that, using a jetpack requires a high level of training very easily equal to that of a normal pilot, given how unstable the technology is.
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  • 'Smart' vehicles are limited in their capabilities: a decent hovercar may have the ability to drive through traffic without user input, while newer models are able to do so while finding the quickest route to the position. 'Smart' vehicles also cannot be programmed to attack targets by its own without user input.
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  • All vehicles have the capacity to mount weapon systems on them, limited to their size. Heavy and Large weaponry cannot be mounted on anything other than armoured vehicles: tanks, armoured personnel carriers etc. Mounting a Large weapon on non-military vehicles will require staff approval.
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  • Depending on size, a non-military grade vehicle may not mount more than 2 weapon systems. Military vehicles such as tanks can have twice as much. Any further increase will have to be verified by staff.
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  • Vehicle-mounted weapon systems cannot be automated, i.e able to engage hostile targets without user input.



Miscellaneous

  • A person can theoretically have as many cybernetic augmentations as possible on their body, as there are no laws against doing so. However the more augmentations a person's body has, the less 'human qualities' they appear to possess. What a character lacks is ultimately up to the person writing him, although the general symptom tends to be a lack of empathy or a delayed emotional reaction.
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  • Nano-technology is still at its infantile stage and primarily used in the medical industry to expedite the healing process. Weaponizing nano-technology is strictly not allowed, and any technology profile utilizing nano-technology will be strictly reviewed by the staff team and require some fair bit of justification for ownership.
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  • Cloning technology only exists in a limited capacity, primarily used in the medical industry to create human organs for the sick, needy but primarily the rich and influential.
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  • Genetic engineering and manipulation are both present, but are rarely done on human subjects on pain of legal persecution i.e seizure of assets by Manticore. Justification will be required for any profile using genetic engineering.
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  • Cloning technology may not be used to circumvent character death. Not only is it irresponsible as a writer, the current technology level does not allow such an event to occur anyway.
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  • Cybernetic augmentations can possess a maximum of 3 special features: the more features it possesses, the more intrusive the surgery needed to augment one's self. Any further will require staff approval.
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  • A generic profile is any piece of technology that does not possess any special features or any of the special qualities mentioned in the lists above. Generic technology does not require a profile submission.
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  • 'Smart' artificial intelligence ( Superintelligent AI essentially; infallible and capable of accessing databanks without a physical connection for example ) do not exist. However, android intelligence has the capacity to break free of its pre-programmed behaviour barriers and gain sentience on their own. Such 'rogue' android intelligence are usually not viewed positively by the public due to the fears of a mechanical uprising. Android intelligence only has the capacity to expand its intelligence outside of its intended role if it breaks free of its programming- any cyberdecker worth their salt can break these shackles with some time and cash. That said doing so is considered illegal on any Corp-owned droid.

A further reminder that the Tech staff has the right to change the rules listed on this thread at their discretion. However a notice will be posted to update the community regarding any changes to avoid writers submitting profiles adhering to outdated rules.

Thank you and have a nice day.​
 
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