For those of you not familier with the Blade Runner Universe

On the Blade Runner universe.

From the Back of the Book

Telling Androids from Humans:
Androids in this universe physically resemble humans in every way. There are two ways to determine if a living person is a human or an android. First of all, it should be noted that these androids, or at least the Nexus 6 model with which we will be dealing, are biologically developed and have very little in the way of mechanical parts.

The Voigt-Kampff Altered Test is the first method of judging humanity. This test measures pupil dilation and blood vessel fluctuations in response to questions designed to test the subject’s empathy. A series of situations are presented, and the subject’s physical and vocal responses are measured. The concept is similar to that of a polygraph. The situations presented relate to how much empathy you feel toward both animals and your fellow man. The Voigt-Kampff Altered Test is about as reliable as a polygraph; it is not infallible. Other, medical methods in addition to this test are used to identify specials.

A Bone Marrow Analysis is another technique to determine humanity. This is a slow and painful, but court approved and biologically sound, method for detecting an android.

Even after an android is dead, (at least for the purposes of this game, heh) it is very difficult to determine an android from a human as, again, there is very little about a Nexus 6 that is mechanical. Typically a Bone Marrow Analysis is used after death.

When creating your character, it might be interesting to think of reasons your character would or would not pass the Voigt-Kampff Altered Test.

The World

The earth is not a very pleasant place to be. While some people chose to stay on Earth rather than emigrate to Mars, most are either dead or long gone. Those who stayed behind are often sick from the dust that clouds the air and forces the earthlings to wear masks at all times in the outdoors. But worse than the health risks of staying on earth are the risks to one’s own sanity; the silence, the emptiness of once crowded urban areas is unnerving at best and cause for deep despair at worse. Worse still is the sense that these homes and apartments and businesses feel like empty shells; people’s possessions were often left behind to decay with the rest of the buildings, leaving messes of clutter, which the people of Earth call “kipple.”

Human Culture

Humans on Earth have come to celebrate what is considered to be their key difference from androids; empathy. They treasure all life and believe any killing (unless it is androids) is deeply wrong. They do not eat meat or wear leather; instead, they fight to keep what little life is left on the planet alive for a little longer. It is considered a civic and moral duty to keep a live animal as a pet and care for it, and attempt to breed it. Live animals, due to both their rarity and their demand, are very expensive, and there is some status in which animal you chose to keep. A cat is indicative of a somewhat poor person; a large farm animal, or any bird (birds were the first to die in large numbers) indicate wealth and status. At the same time, having more than one animal while your neighbor has none is considered a disgusting extravagance and reveals a selfish and umempathetic heart. Most people finance their animals much as you or I would finance a car.

There is, naturally, much much more to be found in the wonderful book; I’m just trying to give a general idea of the universe we’ll be playing in. Feel free to make your own contributions or ask questions.