LORE
"From the author of Cryptomancer comes SIGMATA: This Signal Kills Fascists, a cyberpunk tabletop role-playing game about ethical insurgency against a fascist regime, taking place in a dystopian vision of 1980's America.
Players assume the role of Receivers, the superheroic vanguard of the Resistance, who possess incredible powers when in range of FM radio towers emitting a mysterious number sequence called "The Signal." When the Signal is up, Receivers lead the charge against battalions of Regime infantry and armor or serve as the People's Shield, protecting mass demonstrations from the brutality of a militarized police force and neo-Nazi hooligans. When the Signal is down, however, Receivers are mere mortals, desperately fleeing from a powerful state that senses their weakness.
It's called the Sigmata, a Signal-induced stigmata, because it is a both a blessing and a curse. At least when you're marked by the state, you can't sit on the sidelines anymore.
-Construct your cybernetic revolutionary with a wide assortment of cybernetic implants, Signal-fueled superpowers, iconic equipment, and invokable story hooks.
-Leverage strong teamwork mechanics to prevail in structured scenes of combat, evasion, and intrigue, each scene putting every player at the table in the spotlight
-Manage a fragile alliance of partisans from vastly different ideological backgrounds and steel the Resistance against sabotage, extremism, dwindling morale, and shocking betrayals.
-Contend with the Regime in a constantly evolving political struggle powered by the game's built-in insurgency sandbox, which incorporates Resistance and Regime strategy, factional loyalty, and the sentiment of the people.
This Signal Kills Fascists. Repeat the Signal.
Content Warning:Â Explicit language and discussions/depictions of a political ideology centered around extreme bigotry.
Accessibility Warning:Â Unfortunately, this product is not well optimized for low-visibility customers at this time. We regret this misstep and encourage all game designers to incorporate accessibility into their designs.
Thematic Warning: This is a game about a fictional insurgency engaged in an armed conflict with a fascist state. It is a (cautious, methodical) study of violent insurrection, not a power-fantasy game about achieving social justice outcomes. There's nothing wrong with said games. It's just that this isn't one of them."
https://land-of-nop.itch.io/sigmata-this-signal-kills-fascists
Your characters aren't just masked vigilantes punching bank robbers and aliens, but the vanguard of a national revolutionary movement. It's not enough to kill the fascists, you need the people on your side to overthrow the evil Regime. Waging an ethical revolution – and not alienating the disparate factions that support you – is a very engaging concept with lots of potential for tough moral choices. But make no mistake, if you want to play superheroes who punch Nazis… this is your game.
https://rpggeek.com/rpg/50154/sigmata
https://old.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/7hu1y1/ama_im_chad_author_of_cryptomancer_and_the/?context=8
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Ngl, the basic idea of an insurgent RPG is interesting, especially the idea of managing factionalism within the revolution itself.
The dynamic of conditional superpowers is intriguing, but I'm not sure what's stopping those marked by this Sigmata from just siding with the government. You'd imagine one or two people would side with the people who actually hold any power and can grant massive privileges.
!chuds !nonchuds Anyone with more experience in TTRPGs care to chime in?
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I wonder what would stop superhuman Ăśbermemschen with racial superiority given to them by God from creating their own neofascist ethnostate
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That would be a more interesting game for sure
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Fascist receivers exist in the game, but they are antagonists and they don't spend too much time on them, just say that the regime pulls them out as a last resort.
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Literally me
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I do wonder whether, if the antifascist rpg had explicit factionalism mechanics for incentivising purity spirals so you went from punching nazis to punching the only thing worse than nazis - people who agree with you on almost everything except niche and arcane points of praxis that nobody outside your ideology even understands, redditors (derogatory) who played it would recognise the satire
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Solid maybe. There's a chance redditors would just not touch that part of the game.
In something like the TNO mod for Hearts of Iron 4, where several competing varieties of Wholesome 100 Anarcho-Communism were possible, I remember Redditors glossed over a lot of conflicts between good factions.
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