My gang isn't human. Literally.

Nod to the Brainer is a Dog thread before I begin, because it reminded me of a not dissimilar experience...

So in the first game I MC'd, our Savvyhead (who turned out to be more like a Brainer, but it's cool) is on the run from his former crew after he botched a direct-brain whisper projection, giving one of them a seizure in the process. But Weird was his highlighted stat, so that did give him just enough experience to make an upgrade, so he racks his brain for an out...

Savvyhead: "Says here I can have a gang."
MC: "Eyup."
Savvyhead: "... what about those rats we fought?"

I had the whole group get a rude awakening when nasty rats got into all their food and supplies. Didn't think anyone would want to revisit that... but maybe that was the point. I had him find some Old World tech that let him command the rats, and told him they were a 1-harm Medium gang with no armor. I figured the advantage was, swarming one poor dope with a killer rat horde would keep him from fighting back, while a small gang of humans might be better in a flat-out battle.

So... non-human gangs. Thoughts?

So... non-human gangs. Thoughts?

One : awesome.

Two : if I were you, I'd give them the whole package : 2-harm gang small 1-armor then 2 options. I'd work with the player to make sense out of it. Maybe the savvy' used some mean drugs and strange emissions to "enhance" the rats and now they're bigger, smarter and meaner. Maybe I'd add a custom move or two to fit the situation. But that's me.

You miss out on a lot of human interaction when you have a non-human gang. There's some neat role playing that can be done when a lieutenant of your gang is sleeping with another gang member's girlfriend, and the two come to blows. 

Though I suppose you could personify the rats, secret of NIMH style.

I'd make them political and difficult to rule but not human. Like there's this young brash rat, he's from the hunters, and he doesn't like the old alpha and so he's recruiting members of the hunting pack to overthrow him. But the females aren't happy with him, and try to corner him any chances they got.

I understand the savvy' has some means to communicate with them with brainer moves or some shit. So there are plenty of means to announce badness or put the savvy' in a spot — even try and replace him as the "true" alpha.

im doing this with robots.

I'm loving the different perspectives on the rat gang, everyone! =D It sadly turned out to be a one-shot, so the question of how to personify the rat gang didn't quite come up. If it does, you've given me a lot to work on!

im doing this with robots.

It will be pretty interesting when the Leadership/Pack Alpha roll fails for those guys. Maybe a robot uprising caused the apocalypse?

Sounds neat!

I'd offer him a version of Norman, but for rats instead of a mask. Willard?

I'm loving the different perspectives on the rat gang, everyone! =D It sadly turned out to be a one-shot, so the question of how to personify the rat gang didn't quite come up. If it does, you've given me a lot to work on!

Quote from: niles kane on March 12, 2012, 02:31:04 PM

im doing this with robots.

It will be pretty interesting when the Leadership/Pack Alpha roll fails for those guys. Maybe a robot uprising caused the apocalypse?

check it:

Robot Drone
   Instinct: obey programmed orders
shoot at known threats
aid in the rescue and defense of civilians
provide sensory tools
communicate in a robot voice or by coded radio messages
3 Armor, 2 harm before dying, inflict 3 harm

Command Robots
When you command your robots to do something, roll+sharp. 10+, hold 3. 7-9, hold 1. Over the course of the operation, spend your hold 1 for 1 to make your robots:

make a hard advance on the enemy
stand strong against a hard advance
make an organized retreat
comb the area for signs of life
conduct a rescue
deactivate immediately
On a miss, your robots either misinterpret your commands and stray, malfunction and take no actions, or continue their previous order as if you did nothing.