Chrome & Concrete

Source: AJB Blog — https://blog.ajb.bz/chrome-concrete
Author: Alan Bollinger
Published: Mar 15, 2020
Rights: © 2020 AJB Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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This conversion aims to capture the gritty, high-tech, morally grey atmosphere of Cyberpunk while leveraging Fate Core's strengths in character drama, narrative flexibility, and high-stakes action.

Core Concept: The Street Level Struggle

Tone: Gritty, Cybernetic Noir, High-Tech Dystopia.

Themes: Corporate Overlords vs. Street Samurai/Netrunners, Identity Crisis (Human vs. Chrome), Survival in a Hyper-Capitalist Hellscape.

Power Fantasy: Augmentation, Hacking, Street Cred, Corporate Espionage.

Fate Core Adjustments & Flavoring

1. Aspects (The Cyberpunk Soul)

Aspects are crucial for defining the world and characters. They should lean heavily into Cyberpunk tropes:

Character Aspects (Examples):

• "Chrome is My Only God." (A cybernetic dependency or belief system)
• "Street Cred is My Only Currency." (A reputation built on violence or skill)
• "Corporate Puppet." (Working for a MegaCorp, unwillingly or willingly)
• "Ghost in the Machine." (A highly skilled Netrunner, digital ghost)
• "Street Samurai with a Price." (A heavily chromed mercenary)
• "Augmented to Survive the Sprawl." (Has taken dangerous cyberware upgrades)
• "Haunted by Old Ghosts." (A past life, a corporate debt, or an implanted memory)

Setting Aspects (Examples):

• "MegaCorp Omnipresence." (The omnipresent surveillance and control of the corps)
• "Neon Dystopia." (The overwhelming visual assault of advertising and grime)
• "Cyberware is the Only Way to Live." (The necessity of augmentation for survival)
• "Data is the New Oil." (Information warfare and corporate espionage are paramount)
• "The Sprawl Never Sleeps." (Constant danger, constant hustle)

2. Skills (The Cyberpunk Toolkit)

Skills should reflect the blend of street survival, high-tech warfare, and corporate infiltration.

Core Skills (Fate Core):

• Streetwise: Knowing the gangs, back alleys, and who to trust. (Replacing "Contacts" or specific social skills)
• Tech: Hacking, jury-rigging cyberware, bypassing security. (The Netrunner/Engineer)
• Combat: Gunfighting, CQC, using specialized cyberware. (The Street Samurai)
• Social: Blending in, lying, intimidation, corporate maneuvering. (The Fixer/Face)
• Knowledge: Corporate secrets, black market tech, lore of the city. (The InfoBroker)
• Reflexes: Dodging bullets, quick environmental adaptation. (Pure Action/Parkour)

New Skills (Flavoring):

• Netrunning: Specialized skill for deep dives into the Matrix. (A specialized version of Tech)
• Augmentations: Using specific cyberware abilities as a skill check. (e.g., Cyberdecking, Chrome Overclock)
• Street Brawling: Unarmed combat, improvised weapons.

3. Stress & Consequences (The Cyberpunk Toll)

Cyberware and the constant threat of corporate takeover should manifest as unique Stress tracks.

Stress Tracks:

1. Chrome Integrity: How much of your body is replaced by tech? (Failure here means system failure, cyberware burnout, or a dangerous hack.)
2. Corporate Debt: How much do you owe the Corps? (Failure here means forced servitude, asset seizure, or a kill-contract.)
3. Street Cred: How much do the gangs and corpos respect/fear you? (Failure here means being disposable or a target.)
4. Humanity: How much of your original self remains? (Failure here means losing empathy, becoming a pure machine.)

Consequences:

• Cyberware Malfunction: A critical failure on a Tech check could result in a Consequence related to your Augments (e.g., "My Chrome is Glitching").
• Corporate Asset Seizure: A failure on a Social or Tech check could result in a Consequence related to your Corp ties (e.g., "[Corp Name] has a Claim on My Body").
• Street Debt: A failure in Streetwise or Combat could result in a Consequence related to your reputation (e.g., "The Wrong People Are Looking for Me").

4. Gear & Augments (Fate Mechanics)

Cyberware should be treated as Stunts and Aspects.

• Augments (Stunts): These are your core abilities.
  • Example Stunt: Optical Overclock. When you make a Tech or Combat roll against an opponent's high defense, you can spend Fate Points to gain +2.
  • Example Stunt: Ghosting the Net. When you make a Tech roll against high-level ICE, you can spend Fate Points to automatically succeed.
• Cyberware (Aspects): These are permanent, defining features that can be leveraged for narrative gain or loss.
  • Example Aspect: "Neural Link to the Net." (Allows you to use a specific Tech skill once per session without rolling.)
  • Example Aspect: "Chrome Heart." (When you take damage, you can choose to ignore the first level of Stress instead.)

5. The World & Antagonists (The Corporations)

MegaCorps: These are the primary antagonists, acting as monolithic forces of nature. They aren't just villains; they are the world.

• Fate Aspects for Corps:
  • "Omnipresent Surveillance." (They know everything you do.)
  • "Infinite Resources." (Can deploy armies, kill entire blocks, rewrite reality.)
  • "Moral Vacuum." (Their only goal is profit; they don't care about the people.)
  • "Perfected Cybernetics." (Their tech is always ahead of yours.)

Factions:

• Street Gangs: Localized power brokers, dealers, muscle. (Use Fate Aspects to define their territory and loyalty.)
• Fixers: The indispensable middleman. They connect players to everything—info, gear, muscle, or corporate favors. (A powerful NPC with a unique Aspect.)
• The Netrunners: The digital ghosts, hackers, and information brokers. (A specialized player archetype.)

Sample Character Archetypes

1. The Street Samurai (The Muscle):

• Aspects: "Chrome is My Only God," "Street Cred is My Only Currency."
• Skills: Combat, Streetwise.
• Augments (Stunts): Integrated combat systems that grant bonuses to specific attacks or defenses.
• Stress: Chrome Integrity, Street Cred.

2. The Netrunner (The Ghost):

• Aspects: "Ghost in the Machine," "Data is the New Oil."
• Skills: Tech, Knowledge.
• Augments (Stunts): Abilities to bypass ICE, manipulate data streams, or create digital decoys.
• Stress: Corporate Debt, Humanity.

3. The Fixer (The Broker):

• Aspects: "Knows Everyone," "Always Has a Contact."
• Skills: Social, Knowledge.
• Augments (Stunts): Abilities to acquire rare gear or information at a discount.
• Stress: Corporate Debt, Street Cred.

4. The Corpo Agent (The Insider):

• Aspects: "Corporate Puppet," "Perfected Cybernetics."
• Skills: Social, Tech.
• Augments (Stunts): Access to high-level corporate resources or implants that grant unique advantages in specific scenarios.
• Stress: Corporate Debt, Humanity.

Why Fate Core Works for Cyberpunk

1. Focus on Narrative: Cyberpunk is inherently about who you are in a world that tries to define you. Fate Core excels at character drama and moral ambiguity, forcing players to constantly negotiate their humanity against the chrome.
2. High Stakes: The stakes are existential: your life, your identity, or the freedom of the few remaining humans. Fate's Consequence system handles this perfectly; failure isn't just a bad roll, it’s permanent damage to your Aspect or Stress track.
3. Augmentation as Narrative: Instead of just being a stat boost, Augments are Aspects and Stunts that drive the story. A cybernetic eye isn't just +2 to Perception; it might be an Aspect that forces a difficult choice when you see something the "unaugmented" cannot.
4. The City as a Character: The Sprawl itself is an Aspect, a living entity that actively fights back against the players.

In essence, "Chrome & Concrete" Fate Core would be a game about choosing who you are in the face of overwhelming corporate power, where every chrome upgrade is a Faustian bargain.

Chrome & Concrete Example: Neon Bleed

Setting: Neo-Tokyo, Sector 7. A perpetually wet underbelly of a MegaCorp district where towering holographic ads bleed into the perpetual night and augmented gangs fight for territory against corporate enforcers.

Tone: Gritty, desperate, high-tech action with moral ambiguity.

ZONE: The Sprawl Under Neon (Urban Decay / Corporate Overlord)

This is the primary setting. The air is thick with synthetic smells, leaking coolant, and the constant hum of corporate advertising drones.

Aspects:

• "MegaCorp Omnipresence." (Everywhere you look, a Corp logo is plastered.)
• "Chrome is My Only God." (A character's core belief/dependency.)
• "Street Cred is My Only Currency." (A character's reputation in the underworld.)
• "The Sprawl Never Sleeps." (Constant danger, constant hustle.)

Skills in Use: Streetwise, Tech, Combat, Social.
Stunts/Augments: Cyberware abilities are used here to overcome environmental hazards or corporate security.

SCENE START

(The scene opens on a rain-slicked alleyway. The neon signs of towering MegaCorp towers bleed into the perpetual night, casting sickly reflections on the wet ferrocrete.)

GM: You're deep in Sector 7, a sector owned entirely by OmniCorp. The rain is relentless, washing the grime and synthetic filth down into the gutters where low-level gangs fight for scraps of territory. Your contact is late, which usually means trouble. You're already on high alert.

Player 1 (The Street Samurai): (Aspect: "Chrome is My Only God.") I'm already on high alert. My optical implants are filtering the worst of the rain and scanning for threats. I've got my chrome ready to deploy if anything moves in my direction.

Player 2 (The Netrunner): (Aspect: "Ghost in the Machine.") I'm already deep inside a Corp firewall, looking for any backdoor access. I'm trying to pull data on the contact before they get wiped out by a Corp cleanup crew.

Player 3 (The Fixer): (Aspect: "Knows Everyone.") I've got a contact on the ground level who can get you past the first layer of security. They owe me a favor, and they'll make sure you get what you paid for.

Player 4 (The Solo): (Aspect: "Augmented to Survive the Sprawl.") My augments are running diagnostics. I'm ready for anything from a Corpo raid to a gang ambush. My internal systems are compensating for the weather and any immediate threats.

GM: A Corp patrol drone hovers silently above you, its sensors sweeping the alleyway. It's a standard surveillance unit, but it has high-grade threat assessment capabilities. You have seconds before it locks onto your presence.

Player 1 (The Street Samurai): (Aspect: "Street Cred.") I'm already moving into a low profile. My chrome is cycling power to my subdermal armor plating, ready for impact.

Player 2 (The Netrunner): (Aspect: "Ghost in the Machine.") I'm already inside their local network. I've got a ghost signal bouncing off multiple layers of ICE, trying to find the weak point.

Player 3 (The Fixer): (Aspect: "Always Has a Contact.") I've got eyes on the target. They're not alone. A squad of heavily augmented OmniCorp Enforcers are sweeping the alleyway, their weapons locked on your position.

GM: The drone locks onto you as the rain intensifies, turning the alley into a slick mirror reflecting the corporate logos and weapon lights. The Enforcers are closing in, their heavy boots splashing through the toxic runoff.

Player 4 (The Solo): (Aspect: "Augmented to Survive the Sprawl.") I'm already moving. My chrome is compensating for the slick ground and environmental hazards.

GM: The Enforcers are opening fire. You have a moment to react before they close the distance.

Player 1 (The Street Samurai): (Aspect: "Chrome is My Only God.") I'm activating my combat augments.

Player 2 (The Netrunner): (Aspect: "Ghost in the Machine.") I'm flooding their local network with junk data. They're getting hit by phantom attacks, and I'm trying to find a backdoor into their command structure.

Player 3 (The Fixer): (Aspect: "Always Has a Contact.") I'm sending out a localized EMP burst. It should blind their drones and disrupt their comms for a critical three seconds.

Player 4 (The Solo): (Aspect: "Augmented to Survive the Sprawl.") I'm using my augments to navigate the slick alleyway, dodging fire and environmental hazards.

GM: The rain is blinding you all. OmniCorp Enforcers are closing the distance, their weapons tracking your movements with terrifying accuracy. You have a moment of relative cover before they lock on and begin the kill sequence.

GM: What do you do? (Players make Fate Rolls based on their Skills and Aspects.)

(The players declare their actions. The GM adjudicates the Fate Rolls, applying Stunts and Aspects.)

(Example Outcome):

• Player 1 (Samurai) succeeds on a Combat roll: Uses his chrome to deflect incoming fire, taking minimal damage.
• Player 2 (Netrunner) succeeds on a Tech roll: Successfully breaches the Corp firewall, gaining access to their tactical data.
• Player 3 (Fixer) succeeds on a Social roll: Uses his contact to create a momentary blind spot in the Corp sweep.
• Player 4 (Solo) succeeds on a Reflex roll: Uses his augments to navigate the slick alleyway, dodging fire and environmental hazards.

GM: The Enforcers are closing in. You have a brief window of opportunity before their integrated systems compensate for your actions.

GM: What do you do? (Players declare their Fate Moves.)

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