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Guidelines
1. Nation-states are dying, but not yet dead: In D:HT, corporations certainly are top dog, and governments have outlived their usefulness. However, it hasn’t yet devolved into anarchy in the streets and private corporate compounds. The status quo remains recognizable. People live in the country, the suburbs, or the city, working career jobs and trying to do right for their families and enjoy a measure of security and culture. The difference lies mainly in the reality that law enforcement, local and national government, the very fabric of law and order in the world is deeply undermined by the closed-door political power the corporations wield. Everyone is paid off, everyone looks the other way, while the corporations grow stronger and become autonomous. Sprawling acres of land are restricted from access, and unquestioned by local authorities, a corporate logo emblazoned across the trespassing signs. Urban centers have grown denser and taller, with high culture equated with corporate affluence, in turn equated with altitude and isolation. Corporations rule downtown, and the average joe knows very little about what goes on in the towers, but assumes it’s enviable, satisfied to speculate and keep his distance, lest he attract the attention of plain-clothed corporate security agents. Corporate security vehicles can be seen maneuvering through traffic much like police, barrier-free and seemingly a part of the law enforcement community. In fact, in most senses, advances in corporate law and governmental concessions have legitimized the notion of corporate culture being above the law. Now, governments are funded by corporations, executives attending closed-door sessions with lawmakers and members of government, and corporate analysts acting as military advisors for what remains of national intelligence agencies.
2. Corruption is rampant: the authorities still exist, and the streets are clean and orderly. However, civic authority is far less than the organization of law enforcement agencies of today. Authority rests, in one form or another, in the hands of government spooks, organized crime, corporate security, even legitimate law enforcement. But government agencies are less powerful, less informed, and far less funded than corporate intelligence, and as a result, are rivals of each other and private corporations. Government agencies are beginning to prey on each other, refusing to share information and greedily absorbing surveillance infrastructure for themselves, while keeping a suspicious eye on the corporate towers where even they cannot freely interact. Law enforcement at street level maintains the peace, but taking corporate personnel into custody is becoming a form of career suicide, and cases against corporate muscle are either settled quietly or frequently thrown out on technicalities. More often than not, law enforcement officers offer wary but subservient assistance to corporate investigations. Jurisdiction is a gray area. So, justice is rarely done if you are on the wrong side of the desk. In addition, organized crime has a stranglehold on the streets, not as ignorant muscle extorting protection money from local businesses, but as an elaborate, multinational business: commodities, import/export luxury goods, entertainment, politics, all handled with savvy and organization. Linked, though not exclusively, to organized crime are the labor unions, which are compulsory, well-funded, and powerful. The docks, warehouses, and construction industry, all organized under labor leadership. If a conspiracy theory is floated about corruption among labor officials, mob bosses, and corporate executives working to undermine corrupt lawmakers, it’s probably true, and only the tip of the iceberg.
3. Corporate culture is culture: In a world where corporations enjoy the rights of individuals, corporate security is above the law, and access to corporate urban centers is frequently restricted, corporate culture has become the new elite status group. Everyone is scared of them, yet most people would jump at the chance of being one of them, and enjoying the perks and security of the overclass. Corporate fashion is mimicked on the runway and on the streets: close-cropped hair, dark suites, and shades for the corporate thugs and company men, expensive suits, exotic fabrics, pompadours and jewelry for the executives. Once the gradual migration of earth corporations to orbit began, pale skin was in, and tanning, rough skin, signs of environmental exposure was very much out. In other words, the farther from the dirt, the better. Restaurants, clubs, resorts, entire business districts, all have become segregated at the pleasure of corporate spenders.
4. Separation of infrastructure: Corporations not only hold massive amounts of real estate, but together with other corporations, maintain and operate infrastructure nodes like power facilities, airports, shipyards, and blocks of downtown business district buildings. More often than not, a corporate executive could easily spend weeks or months at home, work, and travel, all without having to interact with regular citizens. This brought about the beginning of the privatization of the space industry as well.
5. Biotech is king: Biotech is a multi-billion dollar industry. The future is bio-engineered. What D:HT lacks in cyber-technology, it more than makes for in biotech. The corporate-funded biotechnology research and development industry has led to remarkable advances in nanotechnology. Very little of this technology has trickled down to the popular consciousness. High-tech, medical, and agricultural applications of biotech and nanotech discoveries have fueled untold revenues for earthside corporations, and largely funded the orbital space program. In fact, this technology has occasionally influenced espionage and military technology as well, rumors of which are the only application of this science that has become part of the public perception of corporate sophistication. Some believe that corporate biotech firms are developing weapons, but very few truly understand the ramifications of this technology. [Most cyberware has been eliminated from use in the game. Some traditionally cybernetic technology has been redesigned as biotech or nanotech applications, and what was formerly cyberware has been replaced as physiological implants and modifications. This plays into the idea that internal, or disguised, adaptations are in favor over overt physiological changes, avoiding attention or discovery]
6. Space Race: This is probably the biggest gap in logic in the D:HT timeline. The orbital civilization exists to some degree in D:HT, though the extent of which is not generally known to the earthside public. It is common knowledge, that global conflict gave way to a space race, which in turn bankrupted many governments, which were forced to turn to private corporations for funding and assistance, which in turn was the catalyst in giving those corporations access to the stations that earth governments had been building. Now a growing divide is appearing in the corporate intelligence community, between earthside and orbital corporations. This is a feud that most people are not aware of, let alone aware that the space experiment has led to permanent colonies in space, mining and power generation, and the creation of a spacer culture. Once the corporations took control of the spaceports, a steady stream of propaganda and misinformation has been leaked into the public consciousness, that the frequent launches are scientific in nature, and that the space program is of little more than experimental nature. Conspiracy theories of alien colonization, battle satellites, global conquest, cloning, robotics, artificial intelligence, all have been encouraged by corporate misinformation agencies in order to discredit legitimate queries into what’s really going on in corporate space culture. Now, it’s kind of silly that a orbital population could in any way exist without people knowing about it, and at this point in time and technological (and financial) ability. But frankly, it plays into the idea that people are living head-down in a sea of denial about the unpleasant possibilities of corporate world their paranoia, and common sense, teach them to avoid. Most of the material on the Orbital system does not yet appear on this site, as players in my current game are exploring this environment for the first time, and are untrustworthy, cheating, cheeky bastards.
7. Keep yours hidden: In the interest of public security, weapons laws have taken on a double standard: more personal weapons permits are green-lighted, as the influence of corporate security and organized crime on public legislators has made it easier to carry concealed weapons, yet no easier to carry public weapons, and infractions are dealt with even more severely than today (unless you carry corporate ID, in which case you’ll likely get a slap on the wrist). The same goes with personal armor and non-ballistic weaponry. Keep to yourself, don’t make it obvious you are carrying, and you may avoid the attention of the police; draw attention to yourself, and expect an aggressive and immediate response. Again, the enforcement of firearm laws falls apart around corporate interests, as it has become a more common, and nerve-wracking sight, to see people calmly dining while a lone patron is dragged out of a restaurant by goons in dark suits, no one lifting a finger or questioning them.
8. Career choices: As a measure the lower-tech, less flamboyant, more subtle D:HT environment, career skill packages are different than Cyberpunk 2020. Nomads are more about being intimidating loners than they are packs of roaming families in the badlands. The Rockerboy class is gone; in it’s place, Celeb, which includes many types of cultural idols. The Netrunner has been hamstrung; in it’s place, the Hacker, which includes most computer crime, ciphering, codebreaking, and so on, but without the elaborate role-playing mechanism of virtual environment experiences in Cyberspace. In D:HT, hacking is just a skill role. Many more career packages have been added, weighted towards the Solo, Corporate, Criminal, and Authority careers.
9. No witnesses: Combat is very much a part of the D:HT campaign. However, it is less about high-caliber firefights in the streets, and more about tinted-window sedans, tense armed confrontations in the backs of nightclubs, covert operations, and industrial terrorism. Modifications have been made to the Friday-Night-Firefight combat system to provide a more dramatic, cinematic mentality. Players actively participate in both attacking and defending actions, and more than a little leeway is given for cinematic slow-mo athleticism. However, despite the exaggerated combat mechanics, the world of D:HT is just as deadly as straight Cyberpunk. Bullets still make people dead, fast. Just not as many flying around, and not as much protection. More effort is put into the discreet action: coercion, ambush, kidnapping, poison, ‘accident engineering’, black ops in the dead of night, these are the name of the game. No one wants to be a witness, and no one wants to know what’s going on in the alley down the street.
10. Streamlined game mechanics: The D:HT house rules and character sheet emphasize fast gameplay. The use of pre-calculated PRIME (attack) and CUF (defense) rolls allows for speedy play as a minimum of calculation is required at the table. Additionally, the de-emphasis of full-scale armed warfare is paramount. The emphasis is instead on preparation, contingency planning, and ambushes. Focusing on small-arms and melee combat has another advantage: when something heavy does make an appearance, it’s more impressive. This isn’t Red Faction, so count your bullets.
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