a/state faq

a / s t a t e f r e q u e n t l y a s k e d q u e s t i o n s

So what is a/state about?

The game is, essentially, about hope in what is a very horrible, decaying, dying environment. People can play the game any way they want, taking account of different styles, techniques, etc. The tag line 'The streets take no prisoners' isn't really meant to be 'bad ass' or tough in any way, it's something of an attempt to capture the harshness of the urban environment. Cities are tough, uncompromising places, very 'apart' from the natural environment. In a/state, if you let your guard down, there will always be someone ready to pull the rug out from under you. This does not necessarily imply violence, merely the harshness and lack of sympathy which the concrete and brick of The City have. But there is a hidden meaning as well, but I can't say anything about that at the moment. Sorry to be secretive.

Will there be a full adventure included in the hardcopy release of a/state?

There will be a full, fairly extensive adventure provided with the main rulebook. Currently entitled 'The Prescription', it should be enough for 2 - 3 game sessions.

Will we be able to play The Shifted as characters?

The Shifted will be covered in more detail in the main rule book. They will not, however, be available as character types. This is mainly because The Shifted are so far removed in their way of thinking, their motivations and actions, from humanity, that it would be impossible to play them effectively. Only having the few types of Shifted being was a deliberate move, as it leaves things vague. Are there more Shifted? If so, what are they like? Are there Shifted integrated into human society? All these kind of questions.

How is a/state different from all the other games out there?

How is a/state different? A difficult question for any games designer to answer. Perhaps one thing which may differentiate it is it's representation of the harsh realities of urban life. The setting deals with many topics which affect us on quite a visceral level, such as child abuse, unemployment, corruption, consumer culture, exploitation of workers, murder and so on. These are all things, which by no means unique to a/state, are used as an integral part of the 'feel' of the setting. Yes, a/state does have the traditional 'horror' elements, but much of the horror element of a/state is inherent in the feel of The City, the very place where the game is played, rather than through other means. The City stems from my fascination with the urban environment and the societies which grow up in them. Much of this comes from my educational background (mainly history, sociology and politics) and also seeing cities across Europe. The City is essentially the summation of Dickensian London, belle époque Paris, Stalingrad, Auschwitz-Birkenau, post-USSR Warsaw, 1900's Glasgow, New York, Prague, mental institutions everywhere, Victorian prisons and so on ad infinitum.

How is 'a/state' pronounced?

The actual logo of the game looks like a (straight line)state, but is actually a font translation of a/state. Whenever the name of the game is written, it's a/state and pronounced 'aye' (pause for breath) state.

A bit like the film 'Dark City', isn't it?

Wonderful film, but (and hopefully this won't spoil things for anyone who plans on playing a/state), there is no connection at all between the central mystery of Dark City and the central mysteries of a/state. As a film, Dark City has a wonderful feel and atmosphere, if I could come even half way close to attaining such an atmosphere, I would be a happy man indeed. That having been said, the central concepts of a/state are quite different. I can categorically say there are no evil aliens influencing things!

Firmly believing in honesty in games design, I've got a big list of films, books and art which has been influential in creating a/state (anyone who wants to is more than welcome to take a peek at it). The work of Charles Dickens, for example, has been a major influence insomuch as Dickens had a wonderful talent for evocatively describing horrifying urban landscapes. I've tried very hard only to be influenced by great writers, directors etc who have produced marvelous work, rather than try to emulate what they have done. a/state is, I like to think, all the work of me and some talented contributors. However, it would be egotistical in the extreme to imagine that every concept contained in the game was wholly and totally original. I'm not for a moment going to sit here and try and tell intelligent people that I've never read China Mieville or seen Dark City.

Do titles of nobility (Duke and so on) exist within the city? While I'm at it are there civil titles (MP, Councilor) for people like the TCMAA representatives?

Strictly speaking, there are no 'noble' ranks within The City. That having been said, one of the macrocorps, Nakamura-Yebisu does operate on semi-feudal lines, with the high ranking individuals referred to (by the underlings) as Lord or Lady.

Most burgh councils have representatives called burgesses. A burgess is essentially the same a councilor, representing the people of his/her ward. Some areas call them by different names (for example, the RCCR has Peoples Representatives). In the TCMA, the burgesses are the policy and decision making body, with the Mayor (currently Mayor Hardgadley) as their head. There is a certain amount of graft, corruption and gerrymandering (quite a lot actually) within the system, with influence, votes and decisions being bought and sold to the highest bidder.

I've just had a look through the a/stateLite PDF and there don't seem to be any pictures of 'normal' people in there, except perhaps the scientist. I know there's a description of the types of fabrics used in the background details, but there's nothing really about how people dress. From the pictures of PC types it looks kind of neo-Victorian. Is that a fair assessment?

The art for the full version of the game contain far more images of 'regular' people. In addition (and quite handily, given your question) the next Mire End Tribune will have an article (already written) on clothing in The City. Also, your assessment of fashion having a 'neo-Victorian' feel is quite correct.

a/state has it's weird and supernatural side but how far does this go?

For example would you find arrogant young executives trading away ten years of their lives in return for a nasty accident befalling one of their rivals in seedy underground clip-joints?

Well, to the average person on the streets, and arrogant young macrocorp executive who had access to macrocorp medicine and certain bioscience would appear to be un-aging. The macrocorps can and do use such things to extend the lives of some of their 'citizens'. As Arthur C Clarke said "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." and I suppose the corollary to this would be that any sufficiently advanced technology would be indistinguishable from the supernatural.

However, this having been said, please do feel free to make of a/state what you will. If you want it to have a more overtly supernatural element, then feel free. As I've always maintained, the mysteries behind the game can be resolved in different ways by different GMs. If an individual GM desires certain events to be explained by supernatural goings on, then that's fine by me.

But to answer your initial query, there isn't any "Picture of Dorian Gray" method that a thrusting young executive could use to gain eternal youth!

What is the attraction of rpg settings based around the idea of cities? I do not mean games which merely use a city as a sort of standard location, but games which are (partly) defined by the presence, by the concept even, of cities (or even a single (archetypal)) city.

KULT with its Metropolis, SLA Industries, Obsidian, (Judge Dredd,) a/state.

Is "urban" horror perhaps a sub-genre of its own? Why?

Very interesting question. I feel I might need to put on my little-used and somewhat dusty pseudo-academic hat here!

The city is, perhaps, the very symbol of modernity, despite it's ancient origins. Their very harshness, being almost directly opposite the concept of 'nature' gives them an 'alienness' which is in itself horrifying. For my own part, I find the organisation, history and development of the city very interesting. In part this stems from my academic qualifications (history and sociology) and in part from a general fascination with the urban environment. In many ways, a/state originated from seeing the different historical eras, architectural styles, cultures and so on which a piled on top of each other in a city (I was in London at the time I started thinking about it).

For all of us, I think, there is something un-nerving about walking down a poorly lit, narrow alley at midnight in the middle of a strange city. Hence, where horror stems from the unknown, the city provides an ideal environment in which to emphasise and amplify this horror. Looking at Kult, Metropolis is in many ways the horrific epitome of the urban/machine age. The worst parts of the urban experience are present, from the maddeningly complex structure to the omnipresent but at times obscure technology. In a/state, The City is very much another character in the story. Rather than simply, as you said, being a locale, it must be interacted with in the manner you would with a living entity.

As for urban horror being a sub-genre of it's own, I'm not too sure of that, but it does indeed form a big part of many 'weird fiction' settings. From literature we have China Mieville's New Crobuzon, Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast (while not technically a city, the gigantic scale of the castle qualifies it in this regard), The City (damn, he called it that too!) of Michael Marshall Smith's 'Only Forward', , Brian Aldiss's Malachia and so on. So many of us are familiar with the urban experience that it is easy to take this familiarity and give it a twist of the surreal or strange, therefore introducing an element of the unknown, which essentially forms the major component of all horror.

While reading the a/State introduction I stumbled across some German names. Why?

Secondly: Yes, some of the names in a/state are German or German-derived. Fundamentally, this is because they sounded way cooler than their English-language equivalents! I felt that using German words would make them sound more 'unusual'. Of course, they won't sound unusual to German speakers, they'll just think "What on earth is he playing at?"

In addition, the three languages in The City are structurally similar to English, German and French. Provides something of an easy reference point for working out stuff.