SPORE

The Dark

The black heart of the city

To view The Dark from above is to see a spiral of main city streets intersected by anarchy on the outskirts and moderate uniformity as one gets closer to the bottom. The skyscrapers filled center of this part of Dimm City is pitched black to the naked eye. That shroud is produced by an ever growing tower known as the Pharos that rises through and above all. This anti-lighthouse absorbs all luminescence present in this district.

Those inhabitants that lack the ability to see in the darkness stay well away from the depths most times, only venturing in with the help of a guide commonly known as a "Night Eye". Few of the Pharos District's inhabitants are sporos though. Androids, outsiders, and AI inhabiting a variety of physical and holographic forms make up the populace in the black iris of this lightless district.

Dream Guide

Roll or choose from the tables below to setup the scenario for the dream:

A powerful black-hat...

  1. AI known only as Dragonbyte
  2. outsider by the name of Ulgi
  3. dark sporos called Sliver
  4. alien called SixSixFour
  5. LL Teeny, CEO of Bananacom™
  6. autochthon named Mirrorshade

Has executed their plan to...

  1. Steal rare tech from a rival
  2. Roll out a city-wide surveillance
  3. Spearhead a hostile takeover
  4. Assassinate a respected leader
  5. Unleash a plague/horror on the city
  6. Kidnap an influential citizen

What will your sporos do?!

As a group, decide how you will respond to the scenario that is unfolding. Do you attempt to thwart the evil plan or join in the mayhem to gain a bit of the power for yourselves?

Character Creation

  1. Choose a name - The first step in connecting to your sporos is to give it a name, from the fanciful to the mundane.

  2. Choose its form - Rabbit, cat, monkey, or even an autochthon of your own design.

  3. Choose a specialty - Augmerc (fighter), Channeler (cleric), Cybersurgeon (doctor), Etherlock (wizard), Gutterdruid (shaman), Proxy (paladin), Streetwarden (ranger), Technosorcerer (hacker), Transpiler (con artist/spy), or Wirephreak (standard rogue).

  4. Choose a mood or vibe - compassionate, confident, enthusiastic, foolhardy, hilarious, jovial, low-key, reverent, serene, whimsical or any combination.

  5. Choose a number from 2 to 5 - A low number means your better when DREAMING (magic; communication; persuasion). A high number means your stronger AWAKE (athletics, science; technology, logic).

HP (hit points): The number chosen in step five is also your base hit points.

Basic Inventory: Any clothes, a dreamcred wallet, a Bananacom™ Comlink, a weapon/wand/tool, and one extra item.

Sporos goal: Gain Some Rare Tech, Fight For Your Rights!, Make Your District a Safer Place, Research Something Lost to History, or Help the Community.

Dice Mechanics

When you want to do something outside of the usual, your DM may call for you to roll a 1d6 to determine your success or failure.

Roll +1d if you're prepared and +1d if you're skilled. If you or a friend help out, give them a +1d.

Over: If you are DREAMING (using magic or fluid people skills), you want to roll above your number

Under: If you are AWAKE (using technology or physical skills), you want to roll below your number

Results:

  • 0 successes: The attempt goes sideways
  • 1 success: You make it by the skin of your teeth, but there's a cost
  • 2 successes: You pulled it off! SCHWING!!!
  • 3 successes: You perform flawlessly and receive an extra boon

!! LUCID: If you roll your number exactly on all dice, you become LUCID. Ask the DM a question and they'll answer honestly. Then you may change your action and roll again.

Dream Master Guide

As the Dream Master, your only job is to introduce the scenario and find out how the players survive it. Hint at what their sporos observes from a distance, then up close if they choose to investigate. Rarely spring unavoidable traps and always try to give them info that will let them piece together the danger they are facing.

Talking with NPCs should always be an option. Not every minion nor villain wants to fight. In many cases, anticipated combat can be avoided altogether with fleet feet and a smooth tongue.

Call for a roll when the situation is risky. Use failures to enhance the story instead of stopping it.

Plot Twist - Roll a die or pick one:

  1. An outside force has gained an opportunity to strike at the city
  2. The city's economy has collapsed
  3. They inadvertently taxed the city's infrastructure to the point of near collapse
  4. The everyday citizens are ready to revolt and destroy the city
  5. Criminals are emboldened and a crime wave is overtaking the city
  6. Their actions caused a chain reaction disrupting technology/communication