Game Mechanics: The Cultures (d20)
CorpStates:
The only PC culture from the CorpStates is a Consumer-Associate. Consumer-Associates may be of any Profession, except Raider or Shaman.
Consumer-Associates are commonly tied into one CorpState, living and working there throughout their lives. Some are groomed by their superiors
for advancement into the upper echelons of management. Only the lucky few born
to members of the Board may serve UNICorp at the highest level. Even among those,
it is most likely that they will only rise to the position of Vice-President of a CorpState.
Consumer-Associates enjoy an easy life, as long as they remain loyal to UNICorp and their superiors. They gain a x3 modifier to their "Starting Money/Goods" result, and begin the game
with Housing. They also have one item (related to their Profession) at the beginning
of the game. All Consumer-Associates read, write, and speak Esperanto. Other languages may be gained by spending skill points. (A
new language may be learned from any speaker. Read/write is a separate skill.) They also gain 4 extra skill points at first level, and gain one additional point
per level thereafter. There is no Favored Profession for Consumer-Associates.
Overworlders and Metagenics:
Overworlder and Metagenic PCs may choose from one of the following Cultures: Nomad,
Tribe, or Solitary.
Nomads go where the resources are. They
spend their lives roaming the Overworld, trading with other Cultures, hunting and gathering, or raiding. They may choose any profession except Cop or Medic. They seldom
make lasting bonds with outsiders, except for purposes of trade or other gain. They
are close-knit communities, and fear that outsiders may try to break up or destroy their way of life.
Nomads get a +1 modifier to Con, and a -1 to Dex. They
also gain a +1 Culture bonus to Wilderness Lore and Intuit Direction. They speak
English as an automatic language. Their Favored Profession is Tradesperson.
Tribe Culture is similar to Nomadic, except there is a more subdued level of xenophobia. Most tribes (and their members) are confident enough in the strength of their society that they dont openly
distrust strangers. This culture is found near sources of fresh water, where
hunting, fishing, farming, and ranching may be practiced.
PCs with the Tribe Culture gain a +1 bonus to Str, and a -1 to Wis. They also gain a +1 Culture bonus to Craft and Profession. They
speak English as an automatic language. Their Favored Profession is Fighter.
Those from a Solitary Culture are either outcasts or hermits. Most of the Metagenics fall into this Culture, though a handful of them come from Nomad or Tribe Cultures. These souls live as mercenaries, raiders, guides, or hunter/gatherers (often they
utilize all of these skills to survive). Many members of the Solitary Culture
are highly xenophobic and paranoid (with good reason-- they are shunned and avoided by most members of the other cultures;
Metagenics are even hunted for sport). However, some will join briefly with other
Cultures (usually the fully human or human-looking Metagenics), usually to obtain a common goal.
Solitary Culture PCs get a +1 modifier to Con and Wis, and a -2 to Cha. They also gain a +1 Culture bonus to Fortitude saves, and a +1 Culture bonus to Wilderness Lore. They speak English as an automatic language. Their Favored
Profession is Raider (Guide).
Subearthers:
Subearthers may choose from the following Cultures: Old,
Modern, or Individualistic.
Off-Worlders:
Off-Worlders may choose from the following Cultures: Consumer-Associate
(Off-World), Biomech, or Android.
Reactions
Between Cultures
The
table below shows the modifiers to the reaction of NPCs to members of other cultures.
The top row shows the culture that has been met (the NPC's), while the column on the left shows the character's culture. (In the case of multiple cultures, use the least favorable culture.)
The
NPC reaction (if random) is determined by rolling d20 plus the character's Charisma modifier (in the case of multiple characters,
use the leader's modifier) plus (or minus) the average level of the characters.
