[RPG]: Corporation: The Roleplaying Game, reviewed by Destriarch (3/5)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12525.phtml

Ash's Summary:

An annoyingly haphazard book which nevertheless conceals a decent quality, easily understood and yet crunchy system. Obviously and nigh-exclusively combat oriented with little official support for narrative play, but plenty of potential for conversion to such. Overall, an excellent first attempt.

Go to the full review for more information.

[Saz]

A good review, covering nearly all the basics and even going beyond to grive the readers an idea of the scope of the game.

However, I would like to add the game also seeks to emulate the system shock pc games. Thos Archons you mentioned, especially the missing ones, well, lets just say those wil be a very important hook to any system shock 1 & 2 players out there!


I was wondering though:

I assume players fight other agents while on missions. What about other civilans, or police force? Now I don't mean the UIG, but the mundance civilan police force. How does a single officer stack up to a single agent? Can an agent mow through a swat team if he so wishes?

How exactly do bullets affect agents. Instant regeneration? Or no penetration?

How is advancement handled? What is the most advanced state/level possible? (for instance, in d20 you can go up to loevel 20)

Whats the total proportion of agents to the rest of the world?(5% agents, 10% agents etc etc?)

As to the social part, I have to say roleplaying is best left to the group itself. I don't think you need any rules to actually roleplay; and social combat would probably be illfitting in a game like this. (there are no courts or nobles to deal with after all, and no caste system)

Thanks!

[Destriarch]

Originally Posted by Saz

However, I would like to add the game also seeks to emulate the system shock pc games. Thos Archons you mentioned, especially the missing ones, well, lets just say those wil be a very important hook to any system shock 1 & 2 players out there!

Yes, this is true, excepting that both System Shock games take place on orbital stations. Although a moon base (and several off-world colonies) are mentioned in the background material, there are no detailed descriptions of them *yet* and the core rulebook does concentrate pretty closely on earth. I suppose you could set the game on Vastaag, but that's really more of an artificial planetoid than a space station. You are very right in saying that it would adapt extremely well to a System Shock style game however, couldn't agree more. I did love those two games.

Originally Posted by Saz

I assume players fight other agents while on missions. What about other civilans, or police force? Now I don't mean the UIG, but the mundance civilan police force. How does a single officer stack up to a single agent? Can an agent mow through a swat team if he so wishes?

As I understand it, and I'm just going to check it out in the rulebook... yes, I'm pretty certain that the UIG are the ONLY organised police force on the planet, but they basically police the entire world. The average police officer is lightly armed with pistol and stun batons, and probably wouldn't be much of a challenge to the average agent. However the UIG also has specialist teams to deal with more organised and well-equipped lawlessness, including the wonderfully named Malenbrach (Hammer Arm? Anyone care to translate that better than I can?) who are basically genetically engineered psychos with a license to smash heads. They also have a nice little selection of specialist equipment, including the rather lovely Erabite Armour. Now, erabite armour is NASTY. Let's just say that the first 150HP of damage you do to the bloke wearing it isn't even going to touch him. So, I'd say that the average law enforcement officer is not going to be able to stand up to an agent, but the specialists that the UIG have at their disposal can take on whole teams of 'em.

Originally Posted by Saz

How exactly do bullets affect agents. Instant regeneration? Or no penetration?

Basic equipment for an agent includes R-Drug, a supplement that allows the body to regenerate. It's not instantaneous, but at least you know that if you fall afoul of the dismemberment rules you can grow your leg back in under a month. As for how a bullet will affect an agent, well, it will have about the same effect as on a normal human unless the agent is equipped with certain gizmos. There is a comprehensive selection of armour, a form of energy shielding that (while only effective against ranged attacks) can increase your survivability in a firefight tremendously, there is an instant healing agent perfect for use in mid-combat, and also a rather nice genetic modification that toughens the skin to provide even more armour. An agent without the right equipment is as weak as a human, but with a little... investment you can turn yourself into a walking tank. Corporation's strength really is in its equipment selection, and every time I look through it I notice something I missed last time. For instance I completely forgot to mention that Agents are immune to being knocked out due to modification to the brain.

Originally Posted by Saz

How is advancement handled? What is the most advanced state/level possible? (for instance, in d20 you can go up to loevel 20)

Advancement is by spending XP on specific advancements, so for instance increasing the level of a skill costs a number of XP equal to that skill's current rank. Characters do have a level, but unlike D20 it's a flat progression. To get to level 2 takes 10 XP, level 3 is 20 XP. level 4 is 30XP and so on. There is no practical upper limit to your agent's level. The chart in the book stops at Level 22, but it's easy enough to intuit the levels after that, and the table ends with the rider 'And so on' suggesting that you should carry on developing as long as you like. The thing is though, level doesn't do anything mechanically. It's just a convenient measure of ability. Importantly, Hit Points do NOT go up with experience, and combat ability only goes up if you choose to increase that particular skill, so level isn't necessarily a measure of combat efficiency as it is in D20. I don't think there's an upper cap on skill limits, but the escalating cost of increasing high levels of skill should limit them effectively enough. Not too sure that the cost for raising a statistic should be so cheap (double the level of the stat) but that's something that would require a lengthy playtest to determine.

Originally Posted by Saz

Whats the total proportion of agents to the rest of the world?(5% agents, 10% agents etc etc?)

Whew, a tricky one. Hold on I will try and find out... nope, sorry really can't find that piece of information at all. If I were to make an educated guess, I'd say that almost everyone works for a corporation, the UIG or is a criminal. Of course, not everyone who works in a corporation is going to be a cybered-to-the-eyeballs killing machine.

Originally Posted by Saz

As to the social part, I have to say roleplaying is best left to the group itself. I don't think you need any rules to actually roleplay; and social combat would probably be illfitting in a game like this. (there are no courts or nobles to deal with after all, and no caste system)

I agree that you can't really enforce roleplaying with rules, but you can encourage it through the text. Still, this probably isn't the ideal setting for a deep political game, but I am very much of the opinion that it could be, if that's what the group enjoys. In any case, I didn't figure this as a marking factor because that's just my preference. If you like D20 but want a change, then you could do a lot worse than Corporation. In fact, it would be hard to do better than Corporation if you don't like D20 and want a detailed but easily scalable combat system.

Originally Posted by Saz

Thanks!

Welcome! By the way, I forgot to mention that, while most of the system is squarely centred on combat, there is a nice little section on computer hacking as well for all you Cyberpunk Cyberspace fans.

Ash

[Saz]

Wow, thanks for going the extra mile Ash. Your review and answers have really planted the scope and feel of the game into my mind. (I've been wanting to get this since I first heard about it many many months ago; now I want it even more).

Just a few more things:

From what you said, I take it its possible for there to be 'agents' without cybernetics? So exactly what makes an agent an agent? Anyone who is an employee of one of the corps? Does that mean there are no 'free' agents?

Second, how exactly are people chosen to become agents? Can anyone who has the dough purchase cybernetics for himself and become an instant superman? Or are these people specially chosen from birth, or at a certain point in their life, and must meet certain physical qualifications? (kind of like like in deus ex video games)

How is aputation handled? Opposed rolls with increased TN's to hit a specific body part?

Last, are the psionic/telepahs rules stackable? Would it be possible for an agent to use the jump power, activate a psi-blade in mid-air, and then fall down upon an opponent using the momentum of his fall to cleave him into two? Or is it a one power/round thing?

And yeah, I'm buying this to play in a system shock 2 kind of setting. Basically my first game will probably on that offworld colony thing, which has been taken over by one of the rogue Archons who are somewho killing people and reanimating their corpses. (I don't care if there is no detail in the rulebok of that place, I'll just make stuff up. All I needed was the rules) Fun Fun Fun

The only thing I'm disapppointed about in this game is that it has a hitpoint mechanic. (and psi points as well :rolleyes: ) Oh well, guess you can't have everything.

[Destriarch]

Originally Posted by Saz

From what you said, I take it its possible for there to be 'agents' without cybernetics? So exactly what makes an agent an agent? Anyone who is an employee of one of the corps? Does that mean there are no 'free' agents?

Let's see, where's that handy section on 'what makes an agent'... Well, basically an agent is loosely defined as any employee of the corporation that does the dangerous work. It's kind of like being a Troubleshooter in Paranoia, complete with increases in rank if you do well, but with the company actively supporting you instead of trying to trip you up. There's a whole bunch of free starting equipment that you get as an agent, from sub-vocal communicators (which allow you to communicate with your superiors and colleagues near-silently) to an AI chip (which puts a little computer program in your brain to help you use computers and cyberware). Agents also have an ID chip, so an ID chip reader can find out who you are and what special privileges you have. There's quite a bit that all agents get for free, but prices are included just in case you want to use them to make non-agent characters. Non-agent PC's are NOT supported by the core mechanics of the rulebook, but it wouldn't be hard to come up with house rules for them. There are no 'Free Agents' that I can see, although there are a number of minor corporations that agents could work for instead. Mind you, I don't know what a company like MultyMeat would do with them (gotta love that name, doesn't it just SCREAM reprocessed crap?) hush up a food poisoning scare, maybe hehehe. An organisation of Bounty Hunters called Lanzas is also mentioned, but again no specific support is given for creating a PC bounty hunter. That's probably the closest thing to a free agent I've seen so far though.

Originally Posted by Saz

Second, how exactly are people chosen to become agents? Can anyone who has the dough purchase cybernetics for himself and become an instant superman? Or are these people specially chosen from birth, or at a certain point in their life, and must meet certain physical qualifications? (kind of like like in deus ex video games)

I can't say for certain, but the implication is that Agents are highly trained employees with additional privileges. I expect one would have to be promoted to the position. However each corporation does have its own set of official titles, each with specific requirements. For example, if you're Rank 4 or higher and a combat specialist in Eurasian Incorporated, you'll gain the title of Praetorian. This is a nice touch and lends a bit of individuality to each corporation.

Originally Posted by Saz

How is aputation handled? Opposed rolls with increased TN's to hit a specific body part?

Amputation confused me for a while, because I misread the rules. Basically, you take a negative penalty to hit, and if you succeed then you must also obtain a certain amount of damage. For instance if you want to chop someone in half (mwahaha) you take a -4 penalty, but you must cause at least 20 points of damage after armour has been taken into account to get all the way through the body. If you hit but don't sever, you still get to count the damage. Amputation can also happen as a consequence of fighting even if you don't attempt to do it. This generally occurs if you roll maximum damage on certain very dangerous weapons.

Originally Posted by Saz

Last, are the psionic/telepahs rules stackable? Would it be possible for an agent to use the jump power, activate a psi-blade in mid-air, and then fall down upon an opponent using the momentum of his fall to cleave him into two? Or is it a one power/round thing?

Normally using a telepathic ability counts as an action in combat. However, if you spend twice as much telepathic energy to activate it you can do so as a free action, allowing you to take a second action during the same round. However there are no specific rules for combining the effects of two telepathic skills. So yes, they are kind of stackable, but no they don't actually have cumulative effect with one another unless you improvise your own house rules.

Originally Posted by Saz

The only thing I'm disapppointed about in this game is that it has a hitpoint mechanic. (and psi points as well :rolleyes: ) Oh well, guess you can't have everything.

Hit points have somewhat fallen out of favour recently, but at least with Corporation they don't go up incrementally with character level, which always struck me as rather silly. Personally, I don't mind a hit points mechanic so long as it's done in an intelligent manner, and the rules for amputation do mean that you don't necessarily have to reduce your enemy to zero in order to kill him. You could always try for a decapitation, take the somewhat painful -8 penalty and hope that you can get at least 15 points of damage. Man, the neck is one tough bit of gristle

Oh, unless the target has a cerebral link that is. If he's got a cerebral link, the body just nudges the head around to face you so it can see what it's shooting at and keeps on going while the head screams "Behold the power of my Bluetooth-compatible noggin, fools!" errr... ok maybe not quite that, but you get the idea.

Ash

[Destriarch]

Oh forgot to mention. I think that anyone who can afford the surgery can have cybernetics implanted, but each corporation has a selection of unique equipment and abilities so there will always be SOME things that a normal citizen can't buy on the open market.

Ash

[Dan Davenport]

Great review, Ash!

Two questions:

(1) Does degree of success (or flat skill level, or suchlike) affect damage in combat, or is it purely random?

(2) Given the alien ruins, how much discussion is there in the book about the fact that We Are Not (or at least Were Not) Alone?

[Destriarch]

Originally Posted by Dan Davenport

(1) Does degree of success (or flat skill level, or suchlike) affect damage in combat, or is it purely random?

Ranged weapon damage is determined entirely at random on a die type and number determined by the weapon itself, although there are some interesting forms of damage with all kinds of different effects, such as ion weapons that can bypass a certain amount of armour. Your degree of success does not affect the damage you cause, but there are other tactics that can adjust the amount of damage you dish out. For instance if you're using a crappy little pistol (D8 Damage, Firing Rate 3) you can loose off three shots in a single round thus doing additional damage, or you can elect to drop your rate of fire to obtain a bonus to hit. For instance, I might decide to only fire once, but take a bonus to hit of +4. Also, certain close-combat weaponry has its damage augmented by the wielder's Strength. I deny anyone to not love the chainsaw - 2D10 damage, plus DOUBLE your strength, deals Mashing damage (causes bleeding, even in Agents) and is immune to EMP effects, all for just 500 credits! Pity you need the powered melee license and powered melee training to wield it, but if you're planning on close combat then it's worth the investment. Finally, a critical hit results in double damage, but since you only have a 1/100 chance of scoring a critical hit, that's not going to happen very often.

Originally Posted by Dan Davenport

(2) Given the alien ruins, how much discussion is there in the book about the fact that We Are Not (or at least Were Not) Alone?

Not a lot, unless I've missed a major plot point somewhere, and to be honest I think it's better this way. Too much overt alien influences would shift the focus of the game away from corporate bickering and into far-too-often-trodden Star Trek territory. The alien ruins on Venus are a minor feature in the world's history and soon glossed over, with the only significant upshot of them being the nine alien AI programs, the Archons. On the other hand if you want something alien-seeming and horrific to threaten the players with, check out the Cult of Machina. Maybe they were human once, but they sure don't look it now!

Ash

[Destriarch]

Originally Posted by Destriarch

I deny anyone to not love the chainsaw - 2D10 damage, plus DOUBLE your strength, deals Mashing damage (causes bleeding, even in Agents) and is immune to EMP effects, all for just 500 credits!

I just analysed this in relation to certain rules in the game and realised that you could seriously munchkin this. Check it out. Make sure your agent has a 10 in Strength and Agility and set your relevant combat skill to +8. Now, use the severance rules to attack your target's torso. You take a measely -4 to your attack roll (and further penalties depending on how the target chooses to dodge) and your base bonus to the damage of +20 for your strength automatically offsets the required 20 points of damage for cutting your opponent in two. Provided you roll over your opponent's armour with your 2D10 (and standard armour only goes as high as +6, not counting bio-modification and cyberware) that's a one-hit-kill right there! This is even worse if you take into account that if your opponent isn't armed with a close combat weapon, he doesn't get to count his defence against your attack roll either.

It's not a total game-breaker, after all the psycho with the chainsaw has to get close enough to hit you first and there are some nasty ranged weapons too, but I think the moral of this story is if somebody comes at you with a chainsaw, or one of those lightsaber-ish power swords (which can be just as bad), you run the hell away unless you are damn certain that you can deplete his shields, breach his armour and shoot him to death before he can reach you.

Ash

[Wyvern76]

Originally Posted by Saz

However, I would like to add the game also seeks to emulate the system shock pc games. Thos Archons you mentioned, especially the missing ones, well, lets just say those wil be a very important hook to any system shock 1 & 2 players out there!

What exactly makes you think that Corporation would be particularly suited for running a System Shock game. Okay, so there's a similar concept that shows up in both, but does the system actually do a better job of simulating that concept than other systems? Does the book actually contain rules for the Archons?

Originally Posted by Destriarch

Mind you, I don't know what a company like MultyMeat would do with them (gotta love that name, doesn't it just SCREAM reprocessed crap?) hush up a food poisoning scare, maybe hehehe.

Soylent Green, anyone?

Wyvern