.
1
Authors
Andrew R Gross shrad.org @andrewrgross@aleph.land
Jack Gross jonathanrgross.com
Cromlyn bakefoldprint.wordpress.com/
Sean Bodley https://seanbodley.com www.patreon.com/seanbodley
Luna Sjonger
Jacob Coffin jacobcoffinwrites.wordpress.com/ @jacobcoffin@writing.exchange
Art by
Sean Bodley seanbodley.com
Jacob Coffin jacobcoffinwrites.wordpress.com/ @jacobcoffin@writing.exchange
Wanderingmeomeo @wanderingmeomeo@socel.net
Dedication
This game would not have been possible without friends, family, and playtesters:
Tony; Si; Marge; Peter; Jeff; Ari ; AE Marling; Goose; Yar; Jonathan; Pyro; Toli, Kuster, Ryan,
Bryce, Lawrencelot, Liren, Kurt, Joshua, Flynn, Jordan, poVoq, Five
Gratitude for our elders
This game would not be possible without all the wisdom and experimentation gifted to us by
those who've come before and passed on what they observed. We give a special thanks to our
elders who shared stories of culture in small towns and villages, yankee thrift, humility, service
to neighbors, and to elders around the world who've tried to improve the world for those who
come after, and pass down whatever knowledge they could.
We advise any GMs looking for fresh eyes to call grandparents and mentors and ask them for
stories from times and places far from what we know here and now to inspire them.
Licensing
All textual work herein is shared under Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0:
Anyone is free to share, remix, and commercialize it so long as they
attribute the work and release it under this same license agreement.
Images within are all shared with the permission of the artists. All rights to the images remain
with the artists.
Generative text was not knowingly used within this manual. Synthetic images were used as
inspiration and as component assets in some photobashes. No images contained were directly
generated from a synthetic image generator. In any images which contain synthetic imagery as
components, no such components make up a majority fraction of the image overall.
2
New Player Quickstart Guide
Setting Summary
Fully Automated takes place in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in the 2120s, in a
high-tech post-capitalist society where work is optional and basic necessities are free. For
more details on how goods and services are provided, see The Economy. But for the sake of
understanding the world quickly, just imagine that it’s always Saturday.
Culturally, changes come from an individual’s place within their society. Instead of lonely
worker bees driving separate cars and keeping to themselves, people recognize the
necessity of interconnectedness with their community and environment at every level.
Apartment dwellers are accustomed to sharing common areas. Urban centers and outlying
suburbs have become integrated into the natural landscape and between themselves.
Wilded parks suffuse every neighborhood, and disc golfers give wild animals they cross the
same respectful distance that they would a fellow passenger reading a book on a train.
National governments remain, though their authority has diffused. Strict codes of laws and
punishments have evolved into a collection of rules and restorative actions. There’s plenty
of structure, but rigid delineations and hierarchies are seen as outdated notions from a
bygone era.
Though life has far less compulsory stress, the fundamental elements of human nature –
curiosity, ambition, rivalry, etc. – still create conflicts. That’s when ordinary people like you
step up to investigate, assist, defend, and fight.
2
Basics of Gameplay
During gameplay the game master (GM) will describe scenes and players will declare their
intended actions. Outcomes are determined as follows:
1) The player or GM identifies a relevant base Attribute and Skill and adds them
together to get their Ability Score. For example: Intelligence + Assess Tech.
2) The player rolls two d10 dice and reports the sum of their Ability Score and roll.
3) The GM describes the outcome based on the total.
For example, if the character described below were being followed, the GM might ask them
to roll for Observation + Situational Awareness. Their Observation is 9 and their Situational
Awareness is 4, so their Ability Score is 13. If they roll a 4 and a 6 (for a total of 10), they
report that they rolled a total of 23.
The GM then describes the outcome. They might say, “You glance at a board game library’s
window and notice in its reflection a young person in sunglasses and a hat behind you. You
recognize them from the crowd at the food market you passed five blocks back.”
For more details, refer to the Gameplay Mechanics section of the game manual.
Combat encounters can be run in several ways based on player tastes, and are described in
the game manual under Combat Mechanics. Talk to your GM about whether they’ll be using
the combat system and how.
Throughout this manual we use the term “GM” to refer to the person who prepares and
facilitates games, as we believe that games are more interoperable and user-friendly
when we adopt shared conventions and terminology. If you find the term “Game Master”
to imply too much control over your games, feel free to call the role the “Story Guide” or
SG instead.
3
Quick Character Creation
First, consider one of the premade characters. To make your own, start with a blank
character sheet. There’s also a simplified version.
When making a character consider the following:
● What kind of person do you want to be in your personality, motivations, and ethics?
● What kind of unique abilities or skills do you think would be fun to have?
● How might you integrate into a team? Some recommended character types include
hacker; investigator; healer; negotiator; athlete; knower; ande fighter.
● Consider joining a service organization to justify responding to emergencies.
Once you have concepts in mind, start filling in the attributes and skills as described below.
Helpful Hint: You really only need to do steps 1 & 2 and have a concept to get started playing.
1. Assign your Attribute stats. You have 49 points to distribute between the seven
Attributes. None can be lower than 4 or higher than 10 to start (though they may go
up to 12 with augments). One way to do this is to assign 7 points to every Attribute
and then move points from one to another within the allowable range.
a. Mark down your HP: it’s your Strength + 2x Endurance
b. Mark down your Speed: it’s Strength + 2x Dexterity
2. Choose where to assign the following skill points:
8 pts 1 skill 5 pts 3 skills 2 pts 4 skills
7 pts 1 skill 4 pts 3 skills 1 pt 4 skills
6 pts 1 skill 3 pts 3 skills
4
Some skills afford abilities from the Abilities & Augmentations trees:
● For every 2 points invested in the Combat skill, take 1 Combat Ability
● For every 2 points invested in the Psionics skill, take 1 Psionics Ability
● For every 2 points invested in the Athletics skill, take 1 Athletics Augment or Ability
● For every 2 points invested in Law & Crime, History & Geography, Physics &
Engineering, and Chem & Molecular Bio (all added together), take 1 Mental Ability
Example: if you have 4 points in Combat, take 2 Combat Abilities.
If you have 1 point in each of Law & Crime, History & Geography, Physics &
Engineering, and Chem & Molecular Bio, take two Mental Abilities.
3. Select your Abilities and Augments from the abilities trees based on what skills
you’ve chosen and whether your GM grants you any starting experience points (XP).
A copy of the Abilities trees can be found on page 4 of the blank character sheet.
4. Choose your Combat Actions. You can have as many you like, but their total cost
cannot exceed your skill points in combat. See the Combat section for details.
Many proficiencies bundle in lower cost ones. If a player selects a proficiency with a
sword, it’s assumed that they’re also proficient with a club and E-baton, for example.
Attack Cost
Punch 0
Claws / Gorilla Punch / etc. (Free for parahuman animals) 0*
Spray 0
Knife 0.5
Club / Improvised Melee 0.5
Pistol 0.5
E-baton 1
Slingshot / Nanodarter 1
Shortbow/Crossbow 1.5
Microdarter / Rifle (Comes with Pistol & Nanodarter) 1.5
Whip 1.5
Trained Strike (Comes with E-baton) 2
Sword (Comes with e-baton and club) 2
Staff / Spear 2
Shuriken / Throwing knives/ Improvised throwables
2
(Comes with Knife)
Gluegun
2.5
(Comes with microdarter/rifle/pistol/nanodarter training)
Once your Attributes and Skills are assigned, fill out the character’s backstory. There is
room for the basics on page one, and then plenty more for writing a longer biography on
page two.
5
Players are encouraged to build characters by establishing who their friends and neighbors
are. Who do you call on to borrow a cup of sugar? Of what clubs are you a member? Are
you in a faith community? Unlike many RPGs, lone-wolf orphans are rare. Most characters –
especially orphans – have a family of people who bore responsibility for their care in youth.
Kids, nieces, and nephews are common. This is true of synths too: the typical synth
upbringing consists of four years in a boarding school environment where they’re socialized
and tested for competency before heading out into the world.
These connections don’t just offer GMs a pool of NPCs to threaten in order to create stakes.
If you want a contact on the inside when trying to access places or data, it’s a good idea to
have friends and be known by your community.
To help you with this and ground your character in the world, communicate an education
and work history under CV. Feel free to leave long gaps between commitments. Include
associations and hobby groups with which you’ve been involved. Help the GM create
settings by summarizing where you live and with whom. Agree to a social media follower
count with your GM. Describe your family and close friends, including animal companions
and synth assistants.
Consider giving your character some present goals, long-term goals, motivations, and
vulnerabilities. If you have trouble thinking up goals and motivations consult your GM. And
feel free to add rule violations (the equivalent of a criminal record) if it suits your character.
Page 3 of the character sheet is the Actions and Items page. It’s for tracking things that
may change within a session like current HP, items, expendable abilities, and available
combat actions. It’s recommended that players compose a default version that lists their
starting HP, Speed, and unarmed combat abilities. Write abilities you may want to use on
the right. Inside the “Carry” square, place any combat action cards that require a weapon
that your character might have on them on an average day. Then include the rest of their
everyday carry: keys, a cyberdeck or mobile device, a hydroflask, etc.
6
You’re ready to go!
This is the end of the new player quickstart guide. If you’ve run everything by your GM, go
pick out your snacks and drinks of choice because you’re ready to go!
If you’ve gotten this far and want more then feel free to peruse the World Guide for pages
and pages of details on how we got here, how the government works, who responds to
emergencies or what new social struggles you can fight for and much more. Have fun!
7
8
9
10
Premade Characters
Premade characters are available to use as-is or to modify.
Pulsação / Pulsa / Aide Fuentes
Fighter, Negotiator
Pulsação is a Capoeira artist skilled in dance, martial arts, and
sports medicine. She’s a friend to anyone in a tight spot and
enjoys serving others through the LA Protectors League.
Str Dex Cha Int Obs Know End
7 10 8 6 7 5 7
8 Skill Points 7 Skill Points 6 Skill Points 5 Skill Points
Combat Charm Athletics Empathy Art, Music, & Situational
Culture Awareness
Dusty / DustySpokes / Chelsea Lin
Investigator, Athlete
Dusty is a bike courier and problem solver living life a kilometer
at a time. She’s a Mars dreamer with an ear to the ground who is
known to be faster than anyone in fixing a flat or chasing a lead.
Str Dex Cha Int Obs Know End
8 8 6 7 7 6 8
8 Skill Points 7 Skill Points 6 Skill Points 5 Skill Points
Situational Community Athletics Research & Empathy Riding & Piloting
Awareness Contact Investigation
Windrush / Gillian Phong
Negotiator, Healer
Windrush is an aquatically modified port worker who likes to
discover. Whether getting to know other workers over a beer or
exploring kelp forests with her kids, she’s always up for
adventure.
Str Dex Cha Int Obs Know End
6 7 8 7 7 6 8
8 Skill Points 7 Skill Points 6 Skill Points 5 Skill Points
Care Charm Athletics Medicine Community Intimidation
Contact
11
ByteScythe / Gail Becker
Hacker, Knower
ByteScythe is an experienced hacker with a dark sense of
humor. Aside from playing with her grandbabies, there’s nothing
she loves more than having a front-row seat to watch drama
unfold. And if she can help while she’s rubbernecking, it’s a plus.
Str Dex Cha Int Obs Know End
5 6 6 9 8 8 7
8 Skill Points 7 Skill Points 6 Skill Points 5 Skill Points
Hacking Software History & Assess Tech Hacking Law & Crime Psychology
Geography Hardware
Miss Grant / Elizabeth Tisha Grant
Investigator, Negotiator
Miss Grant is known as one of the fiercest and most exacting
consumer advocates in LA. And after dark, she is known as one
of the most alluring professional submissives in Pacifica.
Str Dex Cha Int Obs Know End
4 7 9 7 7 8 7
8 Skill Points 7 Skill Points 6 Skill Points 5 Skill Points
Research & Intimidation Assess Tech Charm Law & Crime Detection &
Investigation Analysis
Hiro Yasuke / Naeem Freeman
Hacker, Fighter
Hiro is a seasoned spaceship mechanic and anime nerd with
skills in tech and swords.
Str Dex Cha Int Obs Know End
6 9 6 7 6 7 8
8 Skill Points 7 Skill Points 6 Skill Points 5 Skill Points
Combat Hacking Psionics Hacking Assess Tech Physics &
Hardware Software Engineering
12
Father Muscles / Georgie Sinclair
Healer, Athlete
Father Muscles is a servant of Christ who believes that there are
many paths to the Lord, but his is through the consecration of his
body and the mending of others, both physically and spiritually.
Str Dex Cha Int Obs Know End
10 7 8 4 5 7 10
8 Skill Points 7 Skill Points 6 Skill Points 5 Skill Points
Care Medicine Athletics Empathy Will Psionics
Mr. Winner / Mimi Nguyen
Negotiator, Investigator
Mimi Nguyen is a charismatic comedian and lounge singer. As the
stage performer Mr. Winner, Mimi is a prominent u-chimpanzee
entertainer with fans around the system.
Str Dex Cha Int Obs Know End
6 4 9 6 9 8 7
8 Skill Points 7 Skill Points 6 Skill Points 5 Skill Points
Charm Situational Art, Music, & Acting Community Intimidation
Awareness Culture Contact
Hypebot420 / Guy Bangalter
Investigator, Knower
Hypebot420 is a DJ looking for fun, adventure, and novel,
distinctive sounds for sampling.
Str Dex Cha Int Obs Know End
8 4 5 6 9 9 9
8 Skill Points 7 Skill Points 6 Skill Points 5 Skill Points
Art, Music, & Detection & Research & Physics & History & Assess Tech
Culture Analysis Investigation Engineering Geography
13
Mayhem / Joaquin Krikorian
Fighter, Athlete
Joaquin Krikorian got his nickname as an MMA fighter for both
his fighting style and his outspoken anarchist activism. As a
protector with the Free Protectors Network he serves his
community with his improvisational approach to justice.
Str Dex Cha Int Obs Know End
8 4 5 6 9 9 9
8 Skill Points 7 Skill Points 6 Skill Points 5 Skill Points
Combat Will Athletics Community Intimidation Psionics
Contact
Ewan Reinhart
Investigator, Fighter
A taciturn and philosophical detective.
Str Dex Cha Int Obs Know End
9 4 4 7 9 7 8
8 Skill Points 7 Skill Points 6 Skill Points 5 Skill Points
Situational Research & Psychology Combat Law & Crime Hacking Software
Awareness Investigation
KnowHound / Marigold Sinclair
Investigator, Hacker
Marigold Sinclair is a teen journalist eager to get their scoop.
Though young, they’ve already begun to build a reputation for
their mix of data analytics and shoe-leather investigation.
Str Dex Cha Int Obs Know End
5 7 6 8 8 8 7
8 Skill Points 7 Skill Points 6 Skill Points 5 Skill Points
Hacking Software Detection & Assess Tech Research & Hacking Psionics
Analysis Investigation Hardware
14
Voidstar / Xak Friedman
Negotiator, Hacker
Voidstar is a cyborg hacker influencer known for their love of
puns and their passion for inventing useful tools alongside
absurd joke devices.
Str Dex Cha Int Obs Know End
7 8 9 9 5 5 6
8 Skill Points 7 Skill Points 6 Skill Points 5 Skill Points
Community Hacking Charm Hacking Detection & Acting
Contact Hardware Software Analysis
Jon Giles
Investigator, Hacker
Jon Giles is an artisan repair specialist who can fix anything, but
specializes in restoring arcane antique hardware.
Str Dex Cha Int Obs Know End
8 8 5 8 8 7 5
8 Skill Points 7 Skill Points 6 Skill Points 5 Skill Points
Research & Detection & Hacking History & Access Tech Hacking
Investigation Analysis Software Geography Software
15
