Content deleted Content added
→History: moved System descriptive items under a new System heading. Added a list of system Attributes |
|||
Line 6:
Interlock was a game system by [[R. Talsorian Games]] based on a simple ‘die + bonus’ system, using a d10.<ref name="designers">{{Cite book|author=Shannon Appelcline|title=Designers & Dragons|publisher=Mongoose Publishing|year=2011| isbn= 978-1-907702-58-7}}</ref>{{rp|208}} ''[[Mekton II]]'' (1987) – the 3rd edition of R. Talsorian's mecha game – revealed for the first time the full-fledged Interlock system. Interlock featured point-based characters with a character background system that had appeared in ''[[Mekton]]'', though in a more complex and comprehensive form called Lifepaths.<ref name="designers"/>{{rp|208}} ''[[Cyberpunk 2013]]'' (1988) was R. Talsorian's second Interlock design.<ref name="designers"/>{{rp|208}} ''Cyberpunk'' expanded the original Interlock system by introducing a new combat system called "Friday Night Firefight". The second edition of the game, ''[[Cyberpunk 2020]]'' (1990), polished up the Interlock system once more, producing what is now known as "Standard Interlock".<ref name="designers"/>{{rp|209}}
Interlock is one of the direct parents of the [[Fuzion]] system (the other is the [[Hero System]]). The Interlock System is "skill-based"—characters are created by choosing skills for them, and by advancing those skills individually, rather than by choosing [[character class]] packages. The Interlock System is used primarily in the ''[[Cyberpunk 2020]]'' and ''[[Mekton]]'' role-playing games; a variant of the Interlock System is used in ''[[Teenagers from Outer Space (role-playing game)|Teenagers from Outer Space]]'' and the Japanese ''[[Gundam Senki]]'' RPG.
==System== [[Ability score|Stats]] and skills are both rated on a scale of 0-10 with 0 representing no ability/no training and 10 representing the maximum ability possible for a human being. A typical skill roll will range from 12-20 for most tasks, so a skill 10 + stat 10 will succeed at virtually any task barring a critical mishap, while a skill 0 + stat 2 (minimum statistic level for a human character) will fail at any but the very simplest task, and even then will succeed only on a critical success. Interlock builds on the typical skill-based paradigm by offering "template" (Mekton) or "profession" (Cyberpunk) packages that give specialized abilities to characters that take these packages. There are nine Attributes: Intelligence (INT), Reflexes (REF), Cool (COOL), Technical Ability (TECH), Luck (LUCK), Attractiveness (ATT), Movement (MOVE), Empathy (EMP), and Body (BOD). Characters must have a starting Attribute stat minimum of 2 and a system stat maximum of 10.
In ''Cyberpunk'' and ''Cybergeneration'' Empathy is very important. It not only controls interpersonal interactions but it also determines how much cyberware you can install. Every piece of cyberware has a Humanity Cost that reduces the character's base Empathy. A rating of "0" or less means the character has become psychotic and can no longer be played.
The Interlock System is best known for its ''Lifepath'' system, a storytelling device used to create character backgrounds without particular direct benefit or drawback to the character, avoiding [[min-maxing]].
| |||