What's Splicers About?

[JTwig]

I've not played, or even seen the book (but am interested), could someone fill me in. I know the basics: Machines raise up against humans, human must turn to organic tech because of a nano-virus, humans proceed to fight against extinction.

What else is their?

Is there any work of fiction, book or movie, that would give me an idea of what it's like?

Is it like the comic book C-23 by Jim Lee that came out a few years ago (when it comes to organic tech, and a post apocalipic (sp?) setting only)?

[Prince Artemis]

if you have the new PU2 book it's very much similar to the eugenic character class as far as splicers and other bio-tech characters, but with alot more features and the ability to up grade. setting is similar in several ways to the matrix's real world, just on a larger scale. I'm not aware of any 1 work of fiction, movie, or book that you could easily identify with but the matrix one works as far as setting. As far as an example of the human bio-tech what always comes to mind is the guyver. sorry i can't really help more but that's all that really comes to mind. It's a great game though.

[JTwig]

It does sound interesting. I'm just not sure I want to spend my money on it. How does it play, is it a lot like Rifts were a game with even the best roleplayers eventually turns into who-has-the-biggest-gun-combat-fest. Not that I don't like combat, but everything in moderation.

Does it offer opportunities for other style of gaming, like intrigue/political, social, or commerce based?

Does it use M.D.C., or S.D.C.?

What info can anyone tell me about the Great Houses I've heard mention of? What details can you give without violating any board policies?

When I hear the term Great Houses I immediately think of Exalted and the Dragon-Blood houses, and the wonderful roleplaying opportunities they offer. Not just in combat, but also playing in character and lots of intrigue, and social maneuvering. Not that thats a fair comparison, White Wolf and Palladium tend to be on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to gaming styles (though they are equally great game companies, and I love both systems dearly).

Maybe I'll just wait and see if they are doing Christmas grab bags this year, and request it then instead of ordering anytime soon.

[Prince Artemis]

They always do grab bags, i doubt they'd stop this year. Anyway, the game isn't despite what it looks on the outside about combat to me. It's about espionage more then anything. The splicers are HORRIBLY outnumbered so all out fights are pointless and wasteful. The idea is to take out key targets to hinder the machine or take back some land. The great houses are basically local governements of different human colonies. It's an mdc game that offers alot of different policy and as far as 'who has the biggest gun' the machine almost always does, it's just a mater of being more creative with the weapons and tools you do have. I think i answered everything

[Kinghawke]

Splicers is about in a nutshell: Humans can't touch metal so they're fighting Skynet equivalent with geneticically modified organic power armor & monstrous mounts. Skynet has multiple personalities & has trouble reaching all the human colonies who are also competing/fighting with each other.

[Slight001]

Splicers is at its core a tool box for creating just about any story you want. If your group is prone to GM vs PC conflicts then yeah it can devolve into a quest for the biggest gun. The other problem is of you have a player that is obsessed with efficiency then you might need to be wary.

[cornholioprime]

Splicers:

Think of it as what the setting of "The Terminator" would be if Skynet were smarter about killing off humans.

And effectively invincible (unlike Skynet).

And the ONLY reason why humans are still left alive in this setting, is because the enemy A.I. is so well constructed electro-neurologically that it also has human-like neuroses and multiple personalities......some of which are keeping humans alive so that they have "toys" to play with.


GAMEPLAY: While there are a handful of "self-contained" OCCs, the mainstay of the setting is the Host Armor -Guyver-like biosuits of alien origin that serve as both armor and weaponry.
Players get to select a Host Armor type -each with interesting advantages and disadvantages, but all of them ALIVE (yes, you must take care of them as if they were horses or dogs or fellow soldiers) -and spend a rolled-up pool of allotted Bio-Points upon enhancements in almost any manner that the individual sees fit.

[The Reaper Man]

I referencing the human side of things it to me is "What if Tony Stark had studied biology and genetics instead of mechanical engineering and physics."

Just my two chigs worth.

[Razorwing]

Splicers:

Think of it as what the setting of "The Terminator" would be if Skynet were smarter about killing off humans.

And effectively invincible (unlike Skynet).

And the ONLY reason why humans are still left alive in this setting, is because the enemy A.I. is so well constructed electro-neurologically that it also has human-like neuroses and multiple personalities......some of which are keeping humans alive so that they have "toys" to play with.

I would argue that N.E.X.U.S. isn't that well constructed... a well constructed A.I. wouldn't have developed neuroses or multiple personalities due to contradictory and conflicting programing (with thousands of directives all given #1 priority so as not to offend any special interest groups that may feel they were less important than everyone else by suggesting their interest wasn't a #1 priority). I would argue that N.E.X.U.S. isn't invincible as humans are able to defeat the robots it sends to exterminate them... and have even used the Machine's faulty programing against itself (often pitting one of its personalities against the others in some way).

In many ways, Skynet was both better constructed and more invincible... it operated as a single entity and had no central core that could be destroyed. Both are as capable of wiping out humanity, but choose not to for various reasons. Both could reduce their worlds to slag... but haven't (again, for reasons). It is these reasons that allow their settings (and the Resistances within them) to exist... not much of a story if the enemy is so perfect that it has already wiped out humanity.

[Boomdoomer]

To me Splicers is about survival in a hostile world. The machine is entrenched enough that you need to work at it to get any kind of advantage on it.

As a G.M. or a player you need to get creative with your knowledge of "not rule mongering of" the abilities of different aspects of biology in the real living world and apply it to the game. Getting Creative has never had so many possibilities.

When you add the conflict between houses, the interference of different aspects of the machine as well as the possible addition to what is supplied in the main book. You could have any story you could never imagine popping up.

N.E.X.U.S. literally changes the face of the planet that you are living on. Constantly moving things and making new things and changing stuff around. If you read the intro to the game at the beginning of the book up to page 28 you get a great understanding of the basics. The setting is one of literally unlimited story possibilities.

As the G.M. of your own game there is no limit to the depth that you can run things. The lack of a timeline in the main book or should I say lack of an in game human ability to track a timeline gives the storyteller that opening to start your game anywhere and anytime and the gamers cant really argue, it is the story that you choose for them to play in. You cannot even identify what planet you are on because there is no reference material to compare what you see in the night sky to. That is of course if you have the ability to see the night sky without getting targeted for elimination by the machine.

Bio-Technology give you the means to fight back after your race "humans" has been chased off the face of the planet. Yes you may live in a cave in the ground. Yes you may have leaders that fight each other for the rank of supreme ruler/commander and yes your nearest neighbors don't play well with others on most occasions but this is a very mid-evil setting without the Bio-Tech. It is the game changer that should pull all efforts to one goal.

As a G.M. you can make your own house, design or scavenge your own war-mounts and class system as well as O.C.C.'s. You are using any and every piece of genetic material that you can scavenge to find an advantage over the ever present machine and her minions that are trying to exterminate you and your friends/family/community.

Splicers is a story that needs to be built and fought and then told to others. It has very few limitations and in my opinion has an opportunity to be a big contender with all the other big game names.

Before North America was discovered we thought the world was flat. No-one has set limitations to the size of the game or the planet or even given you a timeline to reference. What if you as the G.M. decide that the few opening stories in the main book are all lies that have been fed to the surviving humans to misinform them by the machine. What if the retro villages are actually the machines way of introducing new information to the surviving humans and seeing how they keep reacting to the setting they are in. Nothing in the Splicers world has been nailed down except the basic Palladium rules which are the best in the business in my opinion.

Just my opinion...

BoomDoomer aka Mills

[GeraldClamar]

The thing about Splicers is that it can take place on any world, so you might be fighting on Earth, Mars, Venus, where ever. Also, arguing for the computer, if you read the history you would recall that there are so many conflicting programs that in a way, made sense for those multiple personalities to manifest, and include others outside of the known ones. Plus, let's not forget that some of those personalities have made some deals with humans before (mostly Lilith, sometimes Freya, Eve, and more rarely Gaea), so the trick of this campaign is to make the Machine fight itself (can be done though difficult). As to the question of political maneuvering, relations and such, yes, there is opportunity for that. While the Great Houses are supposed to be against the Machine, there are those who will try to take power for their own ends. As for the mystery element, where do these Librarians come from, what do they want, and what do they get out of helping the humans with bio-tech? I am working with it myself and yes, it is a great game with a lot of potential.

[SAMASzero]

In four words:

Guyver vs The Terminator.

[TechnoGothic]

Yes...
Biobooster Armor Guyver/Zoanoids ...vs... The Terminators

[tsh77769]

To the OP: There is tons of espionage, and intrigue both in humans trying to pit the machine personalities against each other and mostly, with the human "houses" fighting among themselves. This is especially delved into in the Rifter official and some unofficial material. Most material in the Rifter for Splicer seems to be official stuff.

tsh77769