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         Chapter 1:

                            WELCOME TO BLIGHT CITY!

              It's 2020<32> A.D. and the world is a very serious place.  
         Giant corporations (Megacorps, or just Corps) run everything 
         and control the worldwide computer Net (short for network).  
         Fun is illegal and the law is enforced by the Serious Police, 
         a bunch of real party poopers.  There's lots of pollution and 
         everybody is gloomy and sad.  But not for long!
              That's because _you_ are a member of the not-so-secret 
         conspiracy of Toonpunks, and spreading laughs and jokes is 
         your mission in life!  You use your unique talents to play 
         tricks on the Megacorps, disturb the status quo and generally 
         shake the foundations of 21st-century society.  Is that fun 
         or what?
              Just remember that everyone has access to powerful 
         weapons and other high-tech gadgets, especially the Serious 
         Police.  Life can be very short in Blight City, but it's 
         never dull.
              You might even be a computer-hacking Netroamer, 
         adventuring and playing tricks on the Megacorps' own 
         computers.  Cyberspace can be any world that a program tells 
         it to be -- and being there without proper clearance can get 
         you Boggled, Knocked Down or even (GULP!) Zeroed Out!  Keep 
         your mind clear and your Shtick programs ready!
              Yes, this world is incredibly dangerous and exciting, so 
         enjoy it!  Please note that Tooniversal Tours is not liable 
         for damages incurred while breaking the law, but will pay a 
         token fee ($12.50) to any customer who gets Mindfried.


                                   GLOSSARY

              First-time visitors to the Toonpunk world may need this 
         handy glossary of common terms.  Some of these will be 
         expanded upon in other sections of this manuscript.

              A.I.: Stands for Artificial Intelligence.  Any A.I. with 
         a Smarts over 4 is illegal.
              BOT: Robot.
              C.A.T.: Comedy Assault Team
              CHIP: An information chip that can be installed in a 
         "chipdip".
              CHIPDIP: A small socket on a piece of cybertech that 
         lets a chip be installed.
              COP: Anyone involved in law enforcement, including 
         private investigators.
              CORPCRIME: Crimes committed inside Corpdomes.
              CORPDOME: The huge domed buildings that contain a 
         Megacorp's offices, factories and executive housing.
              CORPTOONS: Anyone who works as an executive at a 
         Megacorp.
              CRACKED UP AND OUT: Term for what happens when a Gloomy 
         is made to laugh (or is Boggled) so much that they lose their 
         Gloominess.
              CYBERDOC: Street slang for a Cybersurgeon.
              CYBERSPACE: An artificial, computer-generated world 
         inside the Net.
              CYBERSURGEON: A Technogeek who installs cyberware 
         implants, often illegally.
              CYBERTECH: Cybernetic technology or cybernetic 
         technology devices.
              CYBERWARE: Cybertech devices meant to be implanted in 
         someone's body.
              CYBORGS: Anyone who has had more than half his body 
         replaced by cyberware.
              DECK: Short for "cyberdeck", the interface device a 
         Netroamer uses to access Cyberspace.
              GLOOMY: Anyone who has been stripped of all joy.  
         Essentially, anyone who isn't a Toonpunk.
              GRAM: Short for computer program.  For information about 
         many popular programs, see the Netroamer Stuff section (p.00) 
         and the Net Profits Catalog (p.00).
              LOON OUT: A form of berserk comic rage that sometimes 
         overcomes Muscleboys and Cyborgs.  See p.00 for the game 
         effects of this.
              MESSAGE OF HUMOR: The creed by which all Toonpunks live:  
         "Lighten up and have some fun!"
              MINDFRIED: Having one's Smarts reduced by 2 by a 
         dangerous Trapgram, Bogglegram, or by the Serious Police.  
         Not always a bad thing in Toon.  See p.00.
              MUSCLEBOYS/GIRLS: Toonpunks who like combat and violent 
         slapstick humor.
              NET: Slang term for the world computer network.
              NETCRIME: Any crime committed in Cyberspace.
              NETROAM: To travel through Cyberspace.
              NETROAMERS: Toonpunks who enter the Net, usually for 
         illegal comic purposes.
              PINKYPLUG: A cyberware little finger that allows the 
         user to plug into a cyberdeck.  (This may be installed other 
         places -- an elephant might have a plug on his trunk, for 
         instance.)
              PLUG IN: What a Netroamer does when he sticks his finger 
         in a deck.
              REALSPACE: The real world, not Cyberspace.
              SERIOUS POLICE: Universally accepted nickname for the 
         Corporate Regulators Of Serious Situations (CROSS)
              STREETCRIME: Any criminal activity that takes place on 
         the Street.
              SUIT: Another name for a Corptoon.
              TECHNOGEEK: Someone who can design, build, modify, and 
         program cybertech devices.
              THE STREET: Slang term for any part of Blight City not 
         inside a Corpdome.
              VID: Short for video (TV).
              VIDMAG: Short for video magazine, which you buy on a 
         disposable compact disc.
              WORLDGRAM: A program that creates a Cyberspace world.
              ZEROED OUT: Having one's sense of humor destroyed.  For 
         Toonpunks, this is the worst fate imaginable.  See p.00.


                                TOONPUNK PERILS

         TECHNO-BOGGLE
              Any time an "augmented" character is Boggled, their 
         implants and other gadgets are likely to spit sparks, smoke, 
         and malfunction.  This is only temporary.  If you have 
         extendable wings and laser eyes, and somebody Boggles you, 
         your wings might flip up and snap back a few times, and your 
         eyes might flash on and off and burn WUGGA WUGGA WUGGA into 
         the nearest wall.  But after that, you'll be okay.  So have 
         fun describing the Techno-Boggle.
              Characters with implants should avoid powerful magnets, 
         stay indoors during electrical storms, avoid very cold 
         places, keep their implants well lubricated, stay fairly dry, 
         keep away from microwave ovens and go in for a checkup every 
         six months or 10,000 miles.  Sometimes an implant may pick up 
         TV or radio signals from far away.  Just ignore them and 
         they'll soon fade out.  Maybe.
              Gremlins do not exist, but if they did, they would love 
         people with implants and bionic gadgets.

         LOONING OUT
              After any Techno-Boggle, the Animator rolls two dice.  
         If the result is less than or equal to the number of bionic 
         gadgets the character has, he Loons Out.  The Animator takes 
         control of him for 3 turns and can make him do whatever he 
         wants!

         MINDFRYING
              Mindfrying occurs when someone is in cyberspace and 
         encounters a particulary dangerous Trapgram or Bogglegram 
         (see p.00).  His Smarts score is reduced by 2 for 4d turns, 
         even after he leaves cyberspace.

         ZEROING OUT
              Getting Zeroed Out is the absolute worst thing that can 
         happen in a TOONPUNK 2020<32> game.  When you are Zeroed Out, 
         you instantly turn into a huge "0" and start rolling really 
         fast in a random direction.  Eventually, you hit something 
         and smash into a zillion pieces and Fall Down.
              When you get up, you have lost all your ability to have 
         fun, and must be totally serious and depressed until someone 
         fiinds a way to un-Zero you.
              There are two ways to get Zeroed Out.  In cyberspace, 
         you could get zapped by a really bad trapgram.  In realspace, 
         you could get caught by the Serious Police, who tie you down 
         and make you watch old sitcoms and political speeches until 
         you crack.