Cybertrons in the World of Darkness
Though this system is probably best suited to reproducing the events of the Beast Wars themselves, it is possible to cross this over with other World of Darkness systems.
Probably the easiest way to cross Cybertronians into the World of Darkness is to create Transformers: Autobots and Decepticons, the Great War heroes themselves, who can disguise themselves as the character's cars, computers, flashlights, whatever. The other simplest way is to incorporate Cyberorganic Beast time-travelers, who choose the forms of common animals and hide themselves among animals of the same type. A Transmetal in vehicle form might be able to hide in a common garage, if the form was good enough, or an Optimal might have even better luck.
There also is the odd possibility of a Cybertron who decides to choose a human being as his "beast" form, or as one part of his Fuzor form! It has never been done, but is not impossible. A Cybertron who chose this would be a fully organic human (to the point of reading as human to most special forms of detection!) in his Beast Mode. There would be exactly no point in a Transmetal choosing this form, though Fuzors can create winged humans, Satyr-pretenders, or a hundred other possibilities.
Finally, a Cybertron in robot form can disguise himself as a human being by taking enough points in the Hologram mechanism. An Optimal would likely be too large to have much luck with this trick, but combining this trick with a Transmetal II yields interesting possibilities. If this Mechanism is used in this way, remember to also take one point in the Cloaking mechanism to hide the machinery sounds of Cybertron movement.
Once the problem of hiding is solved, coming up with a character origin for the World of Darkness should be easy enough. Cybertrons are excellent space travelers. Though it's 100% certain that the Transformers series didn't take place in the World of Darkness (imagine the complications if it did!), that doesn't mean you can't bend a dimension or two.
If you are adding Cybertrons to your WoD campaign, beware the lure of "cross-over characters." Remember that Cybertrons do not have blood, so turning one into a ghoul, or, worse yet, Vampire, is out of the question. A Vampire who tried to bite a Cybertron in beast mode would get a rude awakening indeed as the organic layer on top gave way to wires and mech fluids underneath!
And juuuust so you don't have to ask:
There are no Cybertron Mages. Cybertrons may believe in whatever system of reality they like, but most believe in an intact reality, and very few place much stock in "magic." However, Cybertrons do not count as Sleeper witnesses. ("That Mechanism is totally gear! When you get the chance, would you let me browse your data tracks?") In addition, spark powers are, in a way, Prime magick: they are flashy, immediate, and vulgar as all get-out. It is up to the Storyteller to decide on Paradox backlashes for these powers in high-reality areas; they are not normally recommended, but may lead to some interesting roleplay. Mechanisms, transformation, energy-based weapons, and the like, are purely scientific and will never cause such backlash.
Cybertrons have a life pattern, which reads as strongly as the Cybertron's current Spark rating. The pattern is centered in the spark cavity; Mages can tell the location of a Cybertron's spark with an excellent Life or Spirit roll. However, Life magic cannot be used to repair robotic frames, even in Cyberorganic Beast mode. Prime magic can be used to recover Spark; Matter to repair physical damage. A Spark itself is part Life, part Prime, and part Spirit. The Cyberorganic Sparks will read highest in Life; the Transmetal IIs' highest in Prime. A Mage can tell the exact power of a Cybertron spark with Spirit Sight, and may also gather readings on a Cybertron's past sparks.
Cybertrons are essentially Banal creatures and typically have a Banality equal to the average Vampire, though Cybertron does have its occasional jokester, too.
The Humanity rating of any given Cybertron tends to be pretty low, though some can work their way up the charts. Consider Predacons to be at a small disadvantage with an average Humanity in the 4-6 range. Maximals' Humanity ranges from 5-7. Variations abound.
Cybertrons, being robots, tend to read of Weaver, but will also read however their beast modes would. Predacons read of more Wyrm than Wild; Maximals of more Wild than Wyrm. Most Predacons will show up under use of a Sense Wyrm gift, unless they have protoformed a very harmless beast and do not act according to usual Predacon nature. A Unicron protoform will always read of Wyrm regardless of Alliance. (Consider Unicron himself to be an aspect of the Wyrm—a descendant of Eater of Souls, perhaps. A Vok alien would read in perfect balance.) A Scent of True Form on a Cyberorganic in beast mode will not come up unusually at all save on an exemplary roll. Cybertrons in beast mode will read as Cybertrons with a difficulty ten (if the Garou is familiar with the species); Cybertrons in robot mode who are disguised with Hologram or Cloaking are at the same difficulty.
Cybertrons return to the Matrix when they die, not the Shadowlands, and there are no Cybertron Wraiths. The Matrix itself can be considered a part of the Deep Umbra and a particular offshoot of the Digital Web. It is mostly unknown to Umbral travelers who are not Cybertronian. Dead Cybertrons do have spirits—in their sparks—and may be summoned as such, but not returned to life from death save through traditional Cybertron means.
Ordinary Cybertron weapons, even energy weapons, cannot damage Wraiths. However, a supernatural, unique Cybertron weapon can, as can a weapon infused with spark power. Energy weapons still do aggravated damage to organic targets; they are like flames or radiation.
Certain Cybertrons are very spiritual creatures, and all have some connection to the Wild. They can travel into the Umbra with their forms and weapons intact, and even enjoy the place, depending on their beast modes. However, they cannot make this jump on their own.
A Cyberorganic Beast can only protoform a singular animal which is (or was once) natural to the area it inhabits and of which DNA is available, and cannot protoform as a shifter such as a Garou, or as a Changeling. (Nice try.) A Cyberorganic cannot protoform a Vampire as it is not a living creature. (Nice try again.) A Fuzor only protoforms two animals, so the organic "horse/dove/narwhale" combination that femme-bot fan-fic writers adore so much doesn't work in this system. (Sorry there.) Cybertrons of the Optimal generation can protoform whatever type of living creature they desire, but must pay five freebie points for every mode they have beyond the first two. ("Okay, I'm an Optimal, and I'm going to have a Crinos Garou Beast Mode, and a second mode that's a Satyr, and another mode that's a dragon." "Okay, fine...pay ten freebie points for those two extra modes, and, remember, they're going to be METAL... And where are you getting all your Mechanisms from, then? Um...that flame thrower is going to cost extra.")
As you can see, I do not recommend writing Cybertrons into World of Darkness campaigns for the sole purpose of munchkinism. I do give the potential formulas for munchkinism in this system, but I don't condone people who play just for that purpose.
Do ask a regular White Wolf Storyteller before entering a Cybertron into his campaign. You can spring it on all the other players if you want (There's a lot of glee in taking people unaware when your quiet wolf character everyone assumed was a stunted Garou suddenly maximizes...), but don't spring it on the guy or gal in charge.
Some readers may be puzzled by the decision not to spend reserved points. Why wouldn't a player spend a point of Spark to revive himself, every single time he falls unconscious? Why wouldn't a character with a five Dexterity use his "Poor Man's Celerity" to win every fight, the minute he gets initiative?
Storytellers are encouraged to monitor the Energon rules extremely carefully in crossover Chronicles. White Wolf tends to be wishy-washy about its Celerity rules, altering them at whim if they feel they gave too much power to characters. Energon can, sadly, do the same. Luckily, Energon is used for many, many applications, so the overuse of it for extra actions is sure to catch up with players eventually. Players also must keep in mind the dice penalties for running on low energon, and Storytellers are encouraged to make these penalties more severe if energon actions are imbalancing their Chronicle.
Cybertrons tend to deal damage and take damage very quickly. Thus, the "Spark" rule. They rise again. Why not spend Spark? Well, it's a good idea to go ahead and accept stasis lock any time you're sure you're going to get out of the situation. If you have allies left at all after a fight, they will have a much easier time repairing you if you haven't taken any System Failures. Most importantly, remember that running out of Spark points is the way you end up dead. Spending Spark several times in a row can result in a no-win situation if you're completely outnumbered; sometimes, playing possum is the best way to wait for reinforcements.
To create a character sheet which is perfect for use in Transformers, use a four-page Werewolf sheet and a four-page Vampire sheet. These sheets will probably be for a specific clan and tribe, but it doesn't matter which. On the Werewolf sheet, label the top "Beast Wars." The bracket underneath the logo should read as follows:
| Name: | Generation: | Protoform: |
| Player: | Beast: | Alliance: |
| Chronicle: | Nature: | Class: |
Alter Skills and Knowledges as needed to reflect the categories used above. Cover the "Renown" section with the "Other Traits" section from the Vampire sheet (I would have liked to have used it! But it got way too complicated...the same goes for Virtues...). Cover the "Rage" section with the Vampire "Blood Pool," and label it "Energon." Relabel "Gnosis" as "Spark."
Label one of the "Gifts" columns as "Weapons." For the other, cut the "Backgrounds" slots out of the Vampire sheet and tape it overtop: mark this as the Mechanisms column. (Chances are, a few of your Mechanisms will spill out onto "Other Traits," and your Spark Powers assuredly will, if you have them.) Cover the "Weakness" section with an Experience box. We don't worry about weaknesses. If you're really into them, you can always write down the Weakness for your particular Generation, (Weakness: CANNOT SOAK ENERGON DAMAGE IN ROBOT FORM; Weakness: MISTRUSTED BY LOWER GENERATIONS -1 SOCIAL ROLL) but I bet you can remember it.
Take the Merits and Flaws box from the second Vampire page and place it overtop of the "Forms" chart on the second page of the Werewolf sheet. Take the (usually ten-dot; mine are cut to eight) Attributes from the Vampire sheet; place the three Physicals and the Appearance Attribute on the sheet, and label it "Beast Mode." Leave spaces for your Vehicle Mode (in case you have one). Also, leave space to write or sketch the location of your character's Spark—it's very important! I like to place the Vampire Combat Chart on top of part of the Werewolf Combat Chart, allowing for more room to detail out my weapons. (The "Stargazers" sheet has the nine-slot Combat Chart I use.) There should still be the "Rites" box left open; label it "Procedures." Any extra space is useful for writing down the rolls for your favorite Mechanisms.
Now the most difficult and important stuff is out of the way. The Expanded Background third Werewolf sheet is pretty much okay, with a little relabeling. Unless the Werewolf tribe you used has Background restrictions, you'll have all the slots. Ignore the "Nature" and "Demeanor" bit at the top. Also forget about the extra "Merits and Flaws" box, or paste "Gear" and "Equipment" on from the Vampire sheet; it's a good place to list your Devices and how to roll them, and you'll need a little extra space. Instead of "Sept," write "Base." You'll want to know the level of your base's computer. My sheet has lines labeled "Name," "Location," "Alliance," "Commander," "Computer/Level," "Security" (Have auto-guns set up? Note 'em!), and "Description." Experience is covered, so use the "Feeding Grounds" and "Vehicles" or similar from the Vampire sheet and label them "Refueling/Recovery" and "Ships." Same basic idea, right?
The fourth page of either sheet is pretty much the same, so use whichever one you like. It's a "Unit Chart" instead of "Pack" or "Coterie." Under "Description," be sure and leave space to describe both your robot and beast modes. (If I have space leftover anywhere on any White Wolf sheet, I like to do a "Personal Quote.") On the left sidebar of "Description" I only use a few values: "Age," "Apparent Age" (A tough call, basically, choose a range, like "Middle," "Teenager," etc.), "Optics" (AKA Eye-color, but number, too, if you're a spider or such), "Sex," "Apparent Race" (A frame-of-reference for those who look at the character, for example, Blackarachnia is basically Asian, and Quickstrike is from Texas), "Height," and "Weight." "Nationality," as in planet, might be a nice thing to add if you're dealing with a colonizer, and for mammals, "Hair" might apply.
There! That wasn't so annoying, was it? Now, if you're feeling really jazzy, you can put your Alliance symbol in the top corners of all the pages.
Alternatively, you now can download my blank Beast Wars sheet, which is a Word 97 document about half the file-size of a 3¹ floppy. It still has that "freshly homemade" look, and it's not the world's cleanest print, but at least it's already put together. I even utilized the Beast Wars logo font to make the whole of it look "less Werewolf." (I would like to improve on this rough sheet when I have the time.)
"Tech-Specs," the character information included with every Transformers action figure, are currently a very popular way of generating character sheet information for Transformers-based role play. They are nowhere near as specific as the method used above, but popular enough to warrant a look in this document.
Converting your White Wolf character sheet into your character's Tech-Specs involves some relatively simple math. Tech-Spec information is on a scale of 1 to 10+. Once you have received your final number for any of the ratings below, round it to the nearest tenth. If the number is above 10, simply write 10+. Tech-Specs can be created at any time—right after initial character generation, or whenever a character has been altered.
Strength: Take your character's full robot mode Strength. Add one if his Beast Mode Strength is above 4.
Intelligence: Add the character's Mental Attributes together, and divide this number by two. Add one to this for every Knowledge the character has which is above 2 points.
Speed: Multiply the character's Dexterity by two. Add one point for every point in the Speed Mechanism the character has. If the character has the Speed 4 Mechanism, his Speed rating is 10. If he has Speed 5, it is 10+.
Endurance: Multiply the character's Stamina by two, and add his Survival score.
Rank: A highly situational modifier, and more difficult to judge. If your character is in an active unit, start with the number 3. Add the character's Rank and Resources Backgrounds to find his total Rank. If the character is not in an active unit, Rank plus Resources will provide his total score.
Courage: Add the character's Charisma to his Willpower for the total Courage rating. This is not to be confused with the Vampiric virtue of Courage. (Typically, use Willpower if a White Wolf "Courage" roll is required.)
Firepower: Start with the number 4. Subtract one point from this for each Weapon Point which was lost during character generation (ignore this modifier if creating Tech Specs for a pre-existing character). Add one point to this for every purchased Weapon of a cost of 5 or above. Add one point for each of the following Mechanisms the character possesses: Cyber Venom, Distract, Drone Force, Flight, Focus, Magnetism (if 3 or above).
Skill: The least perfect conversion of the bunch. Add the character's scores in Athletics, Brawl, Melee, Firearms, Demolitions, Repair, Science, and Procedures, and divide by two. Add one for each of the following Mechanisms the character possesses: Audio Decryption, Cloaking, Demolecularize, Encoding, Energon Shielding, Holographic Imaging, Mimicry, Naturistics, Spectrum Vision, Zoom Vision.
To complete the Tech-Specs, add a condensed version of the character's description and history and, sometimes, a favorite quote.
Some Beast Wars roleplayers support other varieties of Tech-Specs, including different statistics such as Maneuverability, and numbers that operate on different ranges, such as 1-20. Your White Wolf sheet can conform to these statistics, as well—devise your own system for these conversions.
Because the Beast Wars action figure line was created separately from the characterizations on the show, the Tech-Specs created with the system above from the character sheets below will not match up with the Tech-Specs packaged with the action figure line.
Long-time players are somewhat encouraged to write "Tech-Spec" and packaging information completely different from their actual character's information.
Previous Part: Examples, Systems, Autobot/Decepticon Conversions
Chapter Eight: The Television Series