Tokyo:Otherworld Character Sheet Preview

You may have already heard about Tokyo:Otherworld, soon to be kickstarted by Son of Oak Game Studio. This cyberpunk TTRPG draws people into a dystopian world of technology, magic, and the people fighting for control over both. And while this world exists outside the Mist, fans of City of Mist will have no trouble picking this game up as it runs on the streamlined rule system, City of Mist: Reloaded.

This means many of the same elements from our favorite cinematic RPG show up in Tokyo:Otherworld, including character themebooks and power tags. But Tokyo:Otherworld also brings in its own unique mechanics.

In today’s sneak preview, we’ll be taking a look at some of these mechanics as we check out the all new character sheet for Tokyo:Otherworld. Keep in mind that this character sheet, like the game itself, is still a work in progress and subject to change on final release. With that out of the way, let’s introduce you to one of our favorite freelancers.

Unagi

Unagi is a woman of many things. She spends most of her time as an urban explorer, scavenging the ruins of collapsed skyscrapers and submerged flood tunnels for lost tech and magical relics. She uses a healthy mix of high-tech gadgetry and mystical powers to search for her latest prize. But in truth, the thing she searches for most is her lost sister Naoko, who was taken from her one day by a mysterious corporation.

Unagi will be one of the first pregenerated characters you can play as when Tokyo:Otherworld launches, similar to the City of Mist pregens like Lance Sullivan or Detective Enkidu. What makes Unagi special is that she’s a well-rounded character with all three theme types.

You heard right. While City of Mist characters work within the balance between Mythos and Logos, Tokyo:Otherworld characters will have three theme types to choose from: Meat, Mythos, and Noise. 

Meat, Mythos, and Noise

Meat themes represent the human parts of your character, from their training to their history. Mythos themes are the magic your character utilizes from the city’s hidden gods, relics, and temples. And Noise themes draw from the cyberpunk technology at your character’s disposal.

While we won’t go into exactly how these themes work today, we can see how Unagi uses this trichotomy to get the job done. Starting with 2 Meat, 1 Mythos, and 1 Noise theme, Unagi comes equipped for any occasion.

One of Unagi’s Meat themes is her Expertise as a scavenger. With her athletic climbing skills and survival gear, she’s the best there is at finding hidden treasure. That said, all that time spent searching alone has made her a bit socially awkward.

If you’re a fan of City of Mist, you can already recognize these are power tags and weakness tags to be used during moves. But with the CoM:Reloaded rules, themes no longer have a descriptive title. Instead, the title of your theme is also your primary power tag. Unagi’s a scavenger, so when she scavenges, of course she’s going to use the power tag scavenger.

Her reasons for scavenging come with her second Meat theme, Looking for Naoko. No matter how many side jobs she takes, looking for her sister is always her primary goal. And while this gives the player power tags like relentless and good instincts, it also gives MC’s the perfect plot hook to get this PC involved in the story.

But this wouldn’t be a Son of Oak game without crazy superpowers. This is where Unagi’s Mythos theme Eel Princess comes into play. During a scavenging expedition, Unagi found a glowing underground pond where giant eels swam. With repeated exposure, she gained the boon of the Unagi Hime yokai, which gave her slippery skin and the ability to breathe underwater. Finding a secret magical place or artifact is how many in Tokyo:Otherworld gain their powers, and Unagi works to make sure this is one find she doesn’t sell to the highest bidder.

To round off her magical abilities and infiltration prowess is her Noise theme, Deep-Delve Scanner. With this shoulder-mounted retractable hi-power scanner, Unagi is able to sweep through concrete debris like a futuristic metal detector. By scanning for radiation anomalies, she is able to triangulate the source and cross-check it with the relics and shrines database.

If you’ve seen our series on Choosing Power Tags for City of Mist, then you’ve heard me talk about stacking power tags into effective combos. The Tokyo:Otherworld pregen character sheet works to make that principle more apparent. Any tags that are indented to the right are meant to benefit the tag above them, like how Unagi’s relics and shrines database helps her triangulate the source of magical artifacts. You can also see this in the tags you can choose during level-ups, such as Unagi’s good business sense assisting her already good instincts.

Loadout

With all of these themes, Unagi is already a force to be reckoned with. But I may have lied earlier when I said there were three major theme types. In truth, there’s four.

The Loadout theme is another new addition to the rules of Tokyo:Otherworld. This is a universal theme that every character has. Loadout describes the gear your character brings along to the mission, whether that’s exploring an urban ruin or heisting a magic artifact. In Unagi’s case, she never leaves home without her camouflage cape, climbing pick, and X-3 rapid fire machine pistol, among other useful gadgets.

What’s different about the Loadout theme is that it’s ever changing. At the end of each downtime, you can reload this theme and swap out tags to suit the situation. So if you’re planning on robbing a museum, it might be useful to swap out some of your Loadout tags for a holographic mask, camera EMP, and/or getaway car.

With five themes, player characters in Tokyo:Otherworld have a fantastic degree of customization. And while you can play as awesome characters like Unagi, Genji, and Wilson upon release, the main game will of course also have rules for creating your own unique cyberpunk character.

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We hope this preview of the Tokyo:Otherworld character sheet helps you see how much this new world has to offer. If you’re interested in exploring the Otherworld, then sign up for the Kickstarter to be notified at launch on April 4th. Day One backers receive early access to the Tokyo:Otherworld codex app; a phone-accessible version of the books, featuring information on this new cyberpunk setting along with the game’s mechanics, character creation, and more!

And be sure to let us know what you think of our videos in the comments, on social media, and on the City of Mist Discord. Until then, have fun!