Company Loyalty

Ok, we are off the ground with our submission to Ryan Macklin’s Flash RPG contest, which can be found at http://ryanmacklin.com/2011/09/flash-game-design-friday/

In order to not color the content with a premature introduction, we are going to wait until the contest is over before we talk about it at any length or provide examples of play. That being said, we are happy to present Company Loyalty; a game of corporate intrigue.

You are Samurai in a ruined world that has been rebuilt anew. You dwell within the perfected spires of ebon glass; sworn to protect the Corporation and its interests from outside forces, and weed out corruption from within the company.

You are tasked with securing or recovering property, executing dishonorable employees and protecting the Chairmen at all costs. The most valuable asset possessed by the company, your virtues are many, but your most relevant traits are…

Honor: Roll 1d10 and multiply it by ten. This represents your status within the Company and is tracked by the Board as a running statistic. Social attacks deal damage to this pool, as does any failure in fulfilling your duties. A Samurai with a perfect 100 gains a +2 bonus to Influence rolls. Should your Honor fall below ten, you have one day to rectify the error… or commit seppuku to regain your status.
Health: Roll a d10 and record the number. These are how many points of damage you can suffer before perishing. If you get a one, reroll the die. It is unfitting for Samurai to be weak.
Sword: This represents the quality of your sword. Roll 1d6+1 once and add this result to any rolls involving the weapon.

You have a d4, a d6 and a d8 to distribute amongst the following skills:

Execution: your physical proficiency, including the use of your Sword and other weapons.
Influence: your ability to communicate, interrogate and placate others with your impeccable social skills, as well as engage in social combat.
Suspicion: your ability to ferret out fraudulent transactions, paper trails and other skulduggery committed by dishonorable employees.

Opposition

To resolve a conflict, make an opposed roll of the relevant skill to determine who goes first. Then, the participants take turns making offensive and defensive rolls. Should the attacker beat the defender’s roll, they deal damage to the opponent’s Honor or Health equal to the margin of success. Most minor functionaries or rabble have skills at 1d4, ten points of honor and two  Healthpoints. Their skill dice will increase by one type per member, up to 1d10. It will shrink appropriately as they suffer losses.

Edges

Having a clear advantage, such as attacking from behind, wielding a superior weapon, using an administrator password or discovering social leverage on an opponent offers a +2 bonus to any opposed roll.

Chairman of the Game (COG)
One of the players must become the COG, the one who is responsible for running the mission, arbitrating play and setting the target number for unopposed skill tests against the environment. Their word is the word of the Company.

Motion
Paper trails burn, embezzled funds vanish and valuable property is stuffed into greedy peasant maws. At the start of the mission, the COG determines a number between three and thirteen; and if the issue is not resolved in that many scenes, then you have failed to fulfil your duty.

Requisition
You are equipped as the Chairmen see fit for the mission.