PROJECT : GESTALT

The Gestalt was a key NPC who appeared in a game Dartboard ran last Autumn (c.1998). Greg, Martin, Lance and Burt where once four seperate people, who for one reason or another where prisoners of Militech (read - labrats). Each thrown into one nano-vat they where fused together at the cellular level, creating Gestalt. Having escaped, Gestalt is becoming physically and psychically unstable, unable to hold a specific guise for more than 48 hours.
	Overview Gestalt is a mixed entity with different mental and physical stats for each personality. The personality at the wheel uses his own stats until they relinquish control to another. Greg is in control more than any other and can often reassert control (with difficulty) when the need arises. There are four known personalities at this time.
Greg INT Tek Ref Cool Luck Attr Emp Bod Str MA 9 7 7 7 5 8 7 7 7 8 Awareness+5, Basic tech+5, Mech Tech+5, Pilot: Mech+3, Metalourgy+3, Electronics+4, Programming+3, Physics+4, English+10, French+4, E. Security+3, Social+3, Dance+3, Wardrobe & Style+2, Handgun+3, Streetwise+3, Drive+4 Generally level headed but can be a little greedy. Tries to avoid open conflict. Greg is supposedly an Mecha design assistant for Militech. Is a little bit envious of Burts superior technical mind. A hopeless romantic. Martin INT Tek Ref Cool Luck Attr Emp Bod Str MA 7 6 9 10 7 7 2 7 9 8 Awareness+5, Handgun+4, Melee+5, Brawling+4, Intimidate+6, Expert: Torture+5, SMG+3, Interrorgate+5, Stealth+4, Hide/Evade+4, Arcade+3, Shadow/Track+7, Wardrobe + Style+3, Streetwise+4, Motorbike+4, Expert: Occult+3. The most unstable facet (read - psychopath) Martin is capable of limitless violence. He is a stalker who likes to play cat and mouse with his prey. Prefers rape over anything else. Lance INT Tek Ref Cool Luck Attr Emp Bod Str MA 7 7 8 8 6 8 8 7 7 6 Awareness+5, Handgun+3, Pick lock+6, E. Security+5, Stealth+6, Hide/Evade+5, Persuasion/Fast talk+4, Seduction+4, Pick pocket+5, Streetwise+4, Wardrobe + Style+4, Personal Grooming+3, Drive+4 The 'teams' B&E man. Lance is generally called upon when Gestalt needs to escape. Lance is very suave and is a bit of a ladies man. But he will generally refrain as he knows Martin could 'pop up' at any moment. Burt INT Tek Ref Cool Luck Attr Emp Bod Str MA 8 9 7 8 5 8 6 7 7 7 Awareness+5, Netserf+5, Programming+6, Cyberdeck design+5, Website design+3, Electronics+5, Basic tech+5, Drive+3, Expert: Cyberdecks+3, E.Security+4, Streetwise+4. Burt is a technohphile and proud of it. He is good friends with Greg as the two have a lot in common. Is generally shy and likes to stay up in his work shop till midnight if he can. Socially he's a bit naive. What they think of each other... Greg on... Martin He needs locking up, unfortunately we can't let that happen. Lance He's great. Getting to vicariously chat up women is cool. Burt An amazing technical designer, though I'm a little bit jealous of that. Martin on... Greg What a pansy. The lad doesn't know what to do with himself. Lance He likes women, sure. But he doesn't have the right... motivation. Burt An' you call me crazy? Little twat stays up in his room all night w*nking over his cyberdecks... Lance on... Greg Alright I guess, but when it comes to chatting up women he's a flop. Martin He's not human, he's a monster. I'd kill him if I could. Maybe one day I will... Burt Why this lad spends all his time with inanimate objects when there's a whole world out there is beyond me. Burt on... Greg He's so lucky. Getting to work on Mecha was once my dream. Martin I'm sure with a little therapy he'll be as right as rain. Lance Here's Mr. Cool! Dramatis persona When a facet relinquishes control another it is not a matter of choice it is a matter of instinct. When a situation requires a specific personality, he will be given the controls. For example if a situation requires someone to be followed, Martin will be given control. Unfortunately he can get out of hand. If they need to escape, Lance's expertise will be required. Greg is special as he can grasp control whenever he wants. With difficulty. In order for Greg to grasp control he must make a COOL vs. 16, in order for the other facets to forcibly take control they must make a COOL vs. 20. Much more difficult.

The Gestalt Campaign Commentary by Hound When the Gestalt material first arived from DartBoard, we had just aborted a session of one of our RPGs because many of the players were suddenly unable to make it. Upon first perusal of the material, one application of the concept pried it's way into my brain, The Gestalt Campaign. Credit for this idea also has to go to John Varley, from the sci-fi / fantasy book Wizard. The basis is the same, a person has been formed from the merging of several persons through whatever Eldritch Technologies available to do the task (probably just once, perhaps during the escape of the Gestalt, much of the machinery as well as the main computer at the lab was destroyed and the Frankenstein genius who created the procedure died). The big difference is this time, the Gestalt is the Player Characters. Each player will take turns playing the Gestalt as their character. This works very well for unstable gaming groups when you may well only have one player over. When in a solo game situation, break out the Gestalt game and watch the fun. Except for Appearance and Body (which can vary +/- 1 point from the baseline set by the GM or the players working together), each player gets to create his own stats for the Gestalt, as well as skills, lifepath, etc. The friends, enemies and contacts from a player's lifepath will probably not recognize him in the Gestalt now (awareness check at dif 20), but little else has changed. The Gestalt should start play pretty much flat broke and cyberware-free. Whatever player is present at a game session suddenly has his persona take over the Gestalt, with no memories of what has transpired since the last time he played the character, or since the merging of the Gestalt at the lab (if that player has never played the Gestalt before). Much of the fun will be determining a course of action in suddenly unusual circustances once again. Also one persona with SMG at +6 may well get really irritated at always coming into control of the Gestalt with a handgun and no sign of the arsenal he collected last time he was in control. Cybernetics have to be handled in a special way, each persona only suffers a humanity loss for the cyberware he is aware of. If one persona should have a full light tatoo back piece done, the other personas will not lose the Humanity until they discover it's existance.