Engineering CYOA Information and Rules

Below are the rules and background information for the Engineering CYOA. It includes how to roll, how to vote, jargon used that might not be explained to new players, locations, factions, and a brief description of the setting.

-Rolls and Votes-


In order to advance the story, we use a combination of rolls and votes. Vote takes priority over rolls, but rolls do have influence.


Rolls: All players have the choice to roll a 1d20 for their suggestion, which will influence the success of the suggestion should it get the majority vote. Anything below 10 is increasingly executed terribly, while anything above 10 is increasingly done well. 1 will cause a bad event to occur which is out of the player's hands, for instance an explosion or enemy appearing, while a 20 will create a good event which benefits the MC, such as extra relationship points or a new piece of equipment.


You do not have to roll, but I will consider your vote a 9 for the purposes of calculation. Some things do not require a roll and will not be influenced at all, while others will require a roll. If nobody rolls for it, I will roll behind the DM board.


Voting: Voting determines what the character actually decides on doing. Let's say we have 5 players. 3 of them roll 15, 17, and 11 on going left, while 2 of them roll a 19 and a 20 for right. Majority rules, so the players will go left.

	*Voting only counts on conflicting choices. Let's say one player also wants to pick up a rock off the ground on either path. This does not conflict with either choice, so if nobody rolls against it, it will happen. Even if only 1 person says to pick up the rock, it will require another person saying 'don't do that' to stop it.


NPC actions: Players can request that NPCs do particular things, for instance one time a few people requested that Rida break into MC's apartment. Rolls do not affect these votes, and they require a large amount of people agreeing with the poster for me to consider them. In this way, I let the players control a bit of the story and set up the environments for themselves to progress their story, but it is still regulated and balanced by me. For instance, I would not allow finding a new weapon to be voted in, but I would take requests for new characters or for a character to appear somewhere for them to talk to. These requests will be discarded if it is not reasonable for the character in question to do them.


	*Finally, some major decisions, such as the removal of a character or a change in writing structure, rules, etc, will be decided by strawpoll. I'm forced to trust that no one will tamper with the strawpoll, just consider that there are other people who play. Golden rule: Don't be a nigger.



-World-


Environment: It's the 31st century and things are falling apart. Silicon valley is at an all-time high, but the wealth only flows in the highest corporate circles. You're surrounded by massive steel and glass towers that blot out the sun, flying automated vehicles, monorails, floating holographic advertisements and crowded streets. The modern charm of solid, contrasting colors and mathematical shapes is beautiful in the most expensive of areas, but the discheveled slums and ghettos of the city are ruled by filth and a shattered economy. Life is great for those at the top, but you're nowhere there, yet...


Technology: The most redeeming part about your age is the advancements. With such major discoveries like hardlight, holograms, VR, flying cars, and world-wide internet access, society is well on its way to personal space-travel. People are pumped to make it to the stars, but it seems the rich have first dibs. It all starts with the titanic bell...


Population: Because Mamono cannot birth male children, over the years the human population has dwindled. Mamono of all types claim 70%, while humans are left as 30%. Female humans only make up 15% of the 30% of humans, and 3% of the males are celibate. This is a problem, because with a population of about 130 billion people on the planet (including cities on the ocean and underground), there's 1 man for every 7 women. The dating market is particular in its supply and demand, meaning women have to try a bit harder to get a date. Most women rely on a polygamous, open, or uncommitted relationship structure just to get a piece of a highly-sought pie. This has spurned out of control into a time of desperate degeneracy, so to speak, with marriage being at an all-time low and the divide between available men for women pushed even further with each passing day.


Government: Corporatocracy. Those with the most money make economic decisions and hold a majority of votes. It's moreso a blatant corruption of a republic. The only thing not influenced by companies too much is the military, which is more like a world-wide police.



-Jargon and learned lore-

Code System: The code system is a discriminatory caste which keeps those affected by racial traits in line. It goes Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red. This is marked by the color of one's Engram. Furthermore, there is a bonus White code.

	Blue – The color of humans, danuki, catgirls, kikimora, dog-girls, and harmless mamono species like fairies and unicorns. They have no restrictions and are often the first to be hired by companies, get great public schooling (albeit a bit national pride biased), and are trusted among the police and most high-society members.


	Green – The color of mamono who are perfectly mentally healthy, intelligent, and slightly stronger than humans such as scylla, harpies, jorogumo, and lamia. They enjoy all of the benefits, if not a few more, that Code Blues have. They are a bit tougher to handle, but often have physical or mental powers that make them a superior hiring choice. Their schooling is decent, most of them are wealthy, and they're trusted among police.


	Yellow – The color of mamono who are inbetween green and orange. They include some catgirls with particularly violent heat-cycles, arachne, or overly large mamono like centaur. These have certain job and housing restrictions, as their apartments must be specially constructed to accomodate their body. Most of their restrictions are just based on circumstance and are simply a fault of their size or nature. While in heat, applicable mamono must stay under house arrest or, if they have a boyfriend and he should allow it, with him at all times to avoid randomly attacking workers and other citizens. They are considered dangerous until the heat ends, and all decisions are left to their caregiver or lover, almost as if they were a child. They have the same education as Code Green, with the exception of special classrooms for the larger-sized Mamono and a different time structure after puberty.


	Orange – The color of manticore, hellhounds, and other particularly violent or naturally weaponized mamono. They have a lot of job restrictions and oppressive systems in place. The police often hold the general consensus that they are guilty until proven innocent. They are often not allowed to work around humans in some companies, are forced to move into slums with their kind to avoid constant fear, and must come in for a mandatory government inspection every six months. Should they become recurring criminals, they have a chance of being bumped up to Code Red, which would make them eligable for rehabilitation. Their education and wealth is piss-poor, and while they can earn their way to Code Blue schools, they are usually denied. There are no laws in place which force them to be accepted, but there are a few affirmative actions and scholarships specifically for Code Orange.


	Red – The color of mamono that are beyond help. This includes mantango, criminals of all code sections, and simulacra or government property. This is often decided when a mamono loses their mind and cannot communicate or socially function. They are seen as mentally ill, and thus are placed under government supervision. Most Code Reds are chained in suits that automatically pump their bodies full of powerful drugs that haze their mind, destroying their focus and distracting them from any willful action. They act like machines, zombies, and cannot form coherent responses. To pay back the cost for their 'treatment', they are lended to corporate labor companies. Plant mamono are considered Code Red, but instead are kept inside biospheres or industrial gardens for the production of nectar, honey, and other mamono-based delicacies.


	White Status – An extra color which is added to another color code, denoting the holder as a government official. This is different for a lot of color codes. A blue, green, or yellow official is usually just a bureaucrat or government program philantropist. They are allowed into secret buildings, given special treatments, have more secure banks and are considered much more trustworthy, or a snitch depending on the observer's position.

On the other hand, a code orange or code red government official is usually a criminal soldier. Code blue and green convicts are given a choice between rehabilitation and joining defense forces. Most human murderers will choose this path over losing the ability to think, are given a new R/W engram and sent off on missions, which could be anything from hunting down special targets to guarding a school.


Engram: 1984 in a nutshell. An engram is a triangular dermal chip embedded on the right wrist. It's black with rounded corners featuring an internal triangle of a neon color reflecting one's position in the Code system. It is essential to function in modern society. It's used as social security, apartment/ship/car keys, credit and debit cards, internet logins, property deeds, the list goes on and on. Companies you are renting from can shut down your access to their property at a touch of a button, as well, which makes stealing things a lot harder and evictions quicker. Luckily it doesn't record you yet.


Funbucks: Dosh, cash, money. Can also be referred to as space shekels, monopoly money, or any other currency for comedic purposes.


Titanic Bell: The titanic bell is the key to space travel. Rida described it as a machine which could distort matter and energy, allowing one to take shortcuts through the fabric of reality. Mathematically, you can describe teleportation as any distance over a time of zero. That's precisely what the titanic bell achieves, it covers distance in a place where time does not exist. No one has seen a titanic bell, as far as most citizens are concerned, it's science-fiction.


Omnitool: A gun-shaped tool with various engineering functions. It can throw nails, weld metal, pressure-fire improvised ammunition, and even discharges electricity. More functions can be added to omnitools, but they are usually disabled by companies and contractors to avoid being used as weapons. If the functions are needed, they require special permissions from a supervisor's engram, which last a limited time. They are expensive for the average man and come pre-locked, requiring an invasive license to operate the more dangerous functions.


Bio-Engine: Half machine, half mamono. These are genetic experiments which hope to combine computer parts with biological brains. Mainframe is a bio-engine designed to sort information and control programs with human efficiency and reasonability. A majority of people voted against just the testing of such machine-human hybrids, but it seems they ignored those requests and did more than just test behind the scenes.



-Groups and Factions-
The groups and factions you know


Blacktops – The biggest gang in your area owned by the Mad Hatter Ophelia. They use a freedom-fighter appearance to supposedly get away with human and drug trafficking, though you've found no evidence for this. They sell guns and give odd-jobs for extra cash, including a couple porn gigs if you're interested. They're seen more as a business that's off the books than a terrorist organization, breaking a few rules to make a big profit. It's hard to get a read on them, but they seem honorable enough.


Golden Dawn – Celibate magi that run temples in the paladin reserves. Supposedly, they are the collectors and protectors of magical artifacts, if what the internet tells you is true.


Red Dawn – A group of human supremacists in power armor. Possibly a splinter of a paladin reserve. According to Elodie, they seek to rid the world of Mamono and reclaim their old societies. They are small in number, but technologically powerful. They have access to something called a 'Zeus Frame'. You have no clue what this is.


Stargliders – A corporation focused on space-travel, who apparently delve a little into biomechanical research under the counter.



-Locations-
Locations you've visited


Stargliders R&D – A research and developement building for the Stargliders corporation. You work here, hand-building display ships and dicking around from 9 to 5.

Stargliders R&D Basement – An underground facility hidden in plain site at Stargliders, found by the grace of Mainframe's guidance. You've yet to discover what's inside, but you've overhead something called 'J.P' being restrained, as well as the death of several gazers, demonic sigils, and some confirmed shady shit.

Ghetto – A collection of broken apartment buildings, tight alleyways and rigged neon machines. The out-of-date tech gives it a dingy cyberpunk style with a backtrack of muffled electro music and unsavory characters at every turn. Code Orange (Like Rida) and the poor make up a majority of this area.

Blacktop's Club – A club you visited the grand-opening of. This is where you met Ophelia, and serves as a place to rave, mosh, and fuck to your heart's content. Includes glory holes, a dance-floor, and an expensive bar run by Chastity.

Biosphere – An oxygen production park which features closed-off bubbles and walkways that are open to the public to observe code-red plantlife monster girls. It's somewhat like a zoo, with handlers and upkeep paid for by an entry 'donation' of ten funbucks per visitor. It is a government facility and a cheap place for a romantic date.

Blondie's Garage – Great place to buy technology! Located down in the slums, it's home to the Blacktop's very own Blondie.