textstring

I just thought this was funny and topical.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzSj1yNZdY8

Straight from 1976.

I’m stretching it here a bit, but it might work. Given everything above, the 332nd Archetype is “The Broken Man”. Or the “Hanged Man” of the Tarot. He is the one that realizes that culture has run its course and has been become fully automated and “cliched” or “archetyped” to the point that human culture has essentially become a skipping record, infinitely repeating the same last groove. The idea would be to use globalization as a metaphor of the human template, erasing all individual aspects of culture. The front is just “The Anti-Christ” archetype. Simply because he’s the only one who realizes it. Enter moral dilemma. Do the PCs “Save The World” by taking him out, or do they “Save The World” by allowing his ascension? And thereby tacitly enabling a complete reboot of the human experience. Sounds UA to me. Inset Nanobots where ever they fit, just make sure they conform to Mechanomancy.

(3000 character limit. 😉

I’ve had to think about this regarding a campaign I’m writing as well. Like you, my intention is to just drop the players into the game cold, with absolutely no background at all. I’m so committed to this that I don’t intend to allow any players to the use the 2nd edition character sheet at first simply because it has the word “magick” on the 1st page. My personal opinion is that you shouldn’t do anything during character creation. I think the main problem is coming up with strategies for integrating the player’s initial obsession choices into the playing of the game itself.

In my opinion, the easiest answer to this is “Avatars”. They’re far more common than adepts. Regarding your book related example, the obsession could naturally lend itself to the The Scholar (Statosphere), for instance. Archetypes are actually extremely flexible and an open ended due to the fact that the character’s obsession doesn’t even have to align with an Archetype. The character just has to “walk the walk” and they can become an avatar. You could be even be devious and decide to assign a character an archetype without fully explaining it to the character. Make up a mysterious name or catchphrase for the new avatar skill the character suddenly discovers that he/she has (e.g. “Hear Ennio Morricone Music In Your Head” for The Masterless Man) and just have the channels mysteriously begin the manifest and provide some vague feedback regarding taboo violations. This would also correspond with the idea that many people are unconscious avatars.

Another option is to allow characters to start without an obsession. The book describes this as rare, but I think it makes sense as an option in a street level campaign. Allow the PC the choose an obsession during the course of play and rationalize it as a latent predisposition towards the obsessive behavior that emerges as a result of experiences during play. It’s admittedly a bit of a “kludge”, but strikes me as desirable when playing with a group of PCs who start out with absolutely no knowledge of the Occult Underground.

Along these same lines, you could encourage your players to describe their obsession in vague enough terms that mapping/translating them into a school later presents little challenge. To use an example of a mundane obsession in UA2, “Knowing It All” could easily develop into Western Cryptomancy (PoMoMa), Bibliomancy, or even Cliomancy. I think there’s also a strong case to be made for allowing players to organically develop their own adept school, however. It certainly has a stiff perquisite (5 Failed notches in Self), but has the potential to add a lot of a unique character to your game.

Time to hop in the Way Back Machine. Back in 1999, Greg Stolze addressed this on the UA mailing list. Here’s the link.

http://lists.unknown-armies.com/pipermail/ua/1999-October/004817.html

Or maybe the Shears allow you to cut away social contacts, friends and such, with the target. Until they are so isolated that suicide seems “rational”.

All one needs is a puppet with strings, consisting of the hair of the target, in order to effect.

It’s not you, man. The site is borked, but John is busy. Just submit once in the future.

Jars

Ghost Vintage
artifacts.

During the Dust Bowl, a Dipsomancer doctor migrating with the hordes started soul sucking premature babies, conceived early due to deprivation, as they died out of despair.
He had a fondness for vodka, hence:

“White Russians” -vodka, milk from a lactating woman, premature birth embyro/infant. Brew to taste.

Erases Failed or Hardened Stress checks but each vessel can also acts as a major charge for a Dipsomancer if consumed. Therapy without the hassle of thought.

The PCs are hired by a Plutomancer to steal it one day prior to a planned TNI job. The next morning, the
call for the exchange meet never comes. The one PC who acted as a contact investigates and finds the Plutomancer dead, his face completely covered in physical stock certificates and duct tape.

There’s a note reading “When I get a hold of the son of a bitch who leaked this, I’m gonna tear his eyeballs out and I’m gonna suck his fucking skull.”
on the corpse, which is a quote from the 1987 film “Wall Street”.

Now the TNI are trying to track down the PCs and word in the Underground has it that a former associate of Dirk Allen, a real cowboy type with boots and everything, is asking
questions in a rather impolite way.

The truth is that the operating TNI cell have gone rogue with out permission from the Mothership. But the Alex Abel hasn’t detected this yet. They’re basically a cell of sociopaths with enough sense and awareness left (in one of them at least) to realize that they’re going insane.

They’re attempting to track down the Jars in order to stave off complete sociopathy. And they’re willing to kill for it. And they’re quite good at that.

Pass the Psychic Bullets around.

Team Name: Brazen Mammals
Operation Code Name: Menagerie of Useless Broken Shit

Bonus advice: Lose the eye on the shears and then we can talk.