170 lines
8.9 KiB
Plaintext
170 lines
8.9 KiB
Plaintext
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: Earth's Dreamlands : Info on: RPG's, :(313)558-5024 : area code :
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:RPGNet World HQ & Archive: Drugs, Industrial :(313)558-5517 : changes to :
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: 1000's of text files : music, Fiction, :InterNet : (810) after :
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: No Elite / No porn : HomeBrew Beer. :rpgnet@aol.com: Dec 1,1993 :
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:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:
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Chapter 1:
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WELCOME TO BLIGHT CITY!
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It's 2020« A.D. and the world is a very serious place.
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Giant corporations (Megacorps, or just Corps) run everything
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and control the worldwide computer Net (short for network).
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Fun is illegal and the law is enforced by the Serious Police,
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a bunch of real party poopers. There's lots of pollution and
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everybody is gloomy and sad. But not for long!
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That's because _you_ are a member of the not-so-secret
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conspiracy of Toonpunks, and spreading laughs and jokes is
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your mission in life! You use your unique talents to play
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tricks on the Megacorps, disturb the status quo and generally
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shake the foundations of 21st-century society. Is that fun
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or what?
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Just remember that everyone has access to powerful
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weapons and other high-tech gadgets, especially the Serious
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Police. Life can be very short in Blight City, but it's
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never dull.
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You might even be a computer-hacking Netroamer,
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adventuring and playing tricks on the Megacorps' own
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computers. Cyberspace can be any world that a program tells
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it to be -- and being there without proper clearance can get
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you Boggled, Knocked Down or even (GULP!) Zeroed Out! Keep
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your mind clear and your Shtick programs ready!
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Yes, this world is incredibly dangerous and exciting, so
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enjoy it! Please note that Tooniversal Tours is not liable
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for damages incurred while breaking the law, but will pay a
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token fee ($12.50) to any customer who gets Mindfried.
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GLOSSARY
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First-time visitors to the Toonpunk world may need this
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handy glossary of common terms. Some of these will be
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expanded upon in other sections of this manuscript.
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A.I.: Stands for Artificial Intelligence. Any A.I. with
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a Smarts over 4 is illegal.
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BOT: Robot.
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C.A.T.: Comedy Assault Team
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CHIP: An information chip that can be installed in a
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"chipdip".
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CHIPDIP: A small socket on a piece of cybertech that
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lets a chip be installed.
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COP: Anyone involved in law enforcement, including
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private investigators.
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CORPCRIME: Crimes committed inside Corpdomes.
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CORPDOME: The huge domed buildings that contain a
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Megacorp's offices, factories and executive housing.
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CORPTOONS: Anyone who works as an executive at a
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Megacorp.
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CRACKED UP AND OUT: Term for what happens when a Gloomy
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is made to laugh (or is Boggled) so much that they lose their
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Gloominess.
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CYBERDOC: Street slang for a Cybersurgeon.
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CYBERSPACE: An artificial, computer-generated world
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inside the Net.
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CYBERSURGEON: A Technogeek who installs cyberware
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implants, often illegally.
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CYBERTECH: Cybernetic technology or cybernetic
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technology devices.
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CYBERWARE: Cybertech devices meant to be implanted in
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someone's body.
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CYBORGS: Anyone who has had more than half his body
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replaced by cyberware.
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DECK: Short for "cyberdeck", the interface device a
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Netroamer uses to access Cyberspace.
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GLOOMY: Anyone who has been stripped of all joy.
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Essentially, anyone who isn't a Toonpunk.
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GRAM: Short for computer program. For information about
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many popular programs, see the Netroamer Stuff section (p.00)
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and the Net Profits Catalog (p.00).
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LOON OUT: A form of berserk comic rage that sometimes
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overcomes Muscleboys and Cyborgs. See p.00 for the game
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effects of this.
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MESSAGE OF HUMOR: The creed by which all Toonpunks live:
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"Lighten up and have some fun!"
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MINDFRIED: Having one's Smarts reduced by 2 by a
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dangerous Trapgram, Bogglegram, or by the Serious Police.
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Not always a bad thing in Toon. See p.00.
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MUSCLEBOYS/GIRLS: Toonpunks who like combat and violent
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slapstick humor.
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NET: Slang term for the world computer network.
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NETCRIME: Any crime committed in Cyberspace.
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NETROAM: To travel through Cyberspace.
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NETROAMERS: Toonpunks who enter the Net, usually for
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illegal comic purposes.
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PINKYPLUG: A cyberware little finger that allows the
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user to plug into a cyberdeck. (This may be installed other
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places -- an elephant might have a plug on his trunk, for
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instance.)
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PLUG IN: What a Netroamer does when he sticks his finger
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in a deck.
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REALSPACE: The real world, not Cyberspace.
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SERIOUS POLICE: Universally accepted nickname for the
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Corporate Regulators Of Serious Situations (CROSS)
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STREETCRIME: Any criminal activity that takes place on
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the Street.
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SUIT: Another name for a Corptoon.
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TECHNOGEEK: Someone who can design, build, modify, and
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program cybertech devices.
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THE STREET: Slang term for any part of Blight City not
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inside a Corpdome.
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VID: Short for video (TV).
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VIDMAG: Short for video magazine, which you buy on a
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disposable compact disc.
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WORLDGRAM: A program that creates a Cyberspace world.
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ZEROED OUT: Having one's sense of humor destroyed. For
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Toonpunks, this is the worst fate imaginable. See p.00.
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TOONPUNK PERILS
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TECHNO-BOGGLE
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Any time an "augmented" character is Boggled, their
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implants and other gadgets are likely to spit sparks, smoke,
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and malfunction. This is only temporary. If you have
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extendable wings and laser eyes, and somebody Boggles you,
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your wings might flip up and snap back a few times, and your
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eyes might flash on and off and burn WUGGA WUGGA WUGGA into
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the nearest wall. But after that, you'll be okay. So have
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fun describing the Techno-Boggle.
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Characters with implants should avoid powerful magnets,
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stay indoors during electrical storms, avoid very cold
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places, keep their implants well lubricated, stay fairly dry,
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keep away from microwave ovens and go in for a checkup every
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six months or 10,000 miles. Sometimes an implant may pick up
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TV or radio signals from far away. Just ignore them and
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they'll soon fade out. Maybe.
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Gremlins do not exist, but if they did, they would love
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people with implants and bionic gadgets.
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LOONING OUT
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After any Techno-Boggle, the Animator rolls two dice.
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If the result is less than or equal to the number of bionic
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gadgets the character has, he Loons Out. The Animator takes
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control of him for 3 turns and can make him do whatever he
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wants!
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MINDFRYING
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Mindfrying occurs when someone is in cyberspace and
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encounters a particulary dangerous Trapgram or Bogglegram
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(see p.00). His Smarts score is reduced by 2 for 4d turns,
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even after he leaves cyberspace.
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ZEROING OUT
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Getting Zeroed Out is the absolute worst thing that can
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happen in a TOONPUNK 2020« game. When you are Zeroed Out,
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you instantly turn into a huge "0" and start rolling really
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fast in a random direction. Eventually, you hit something
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and smash into a zillion pieces and Fall Down.
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When you get up, you have lost all your ability to have
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fun, and must be totally serious and depressed until someone
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fiinds a way to un-Zero you.
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There are two ways to get Zeroed Out. In cyberspace,
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you could get zapped by a really bad trapgram. In realspace,
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you could get caught by the Serious Police, who tie you down
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and make you watch old sitcoms and political speeches until
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you crack.
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