Running Cyberpunk RED (Dual GM)

 

This year, a friend and I have been more or less alternating the reins on a Cyberpunk Red campaign.

We've been marinating in the various videos online and the wealth of official and homebrew source material out there, and each sharing our own take on the genre and the setting.

Admittedly, I'm more enamored with the glitz and the chrome and the high-octane nature of the setting, while he's been more of the grit and corporate backstabbing aspects. But it's come out as a great sort of shared setting between us two, with the players enjoying a semi-episodic campaign with some short story arcs that we coordinate on.

Plus, each of us gets to play as well.

The Cyberpunk 2020 perspective

Now, the thing is -- we've actually done this before! Decades ago, I was the primary GM of our group's Cyberpunk 2020 campaign and I absolutely devoured all the books that R. Talsorian released on the setting and the game proper. I ran week after week, and then he also started running games with the same player characters when I wasn't there.

The roles are reversed now, with me handling much less of the absorption of the setting and rules. He's primary GM now, and when I run my games, I lean on him more some of the rules. And of course, since we're both learning about it still, we quickly check the rules while the other one is running to help keep things flowing.

But it's still a bit of a jump for me to run in the setting because:

• the setting timeline has advanced to 2045 and the old big players have changed
• mega-corporations are still powerful, but they're balanced out now by the backlash of nations after the 4th Corporate War
• the semi post-holocaust feel allows for a nice mix of Mad Max-ish games in the badlands while still having the comforts of a civilization in the cities
• the economy is a bit different -- mass production and mass consumption are not as much of the norm with the international supply chains devastated by that aforementioned war

In the end, we're both having our own type of fun as well -- playing and running -- as we figure out how the new setting allows us to tell a dark future storyline with a different spin from the Cyberpunk we knew before.

DriveThruDeals: Dream Pod 9 discounts

Date: Apr 20, 2020 (included because these deals may expire)
Discounted Cost: Various

Type: Discounts

I was browsing through DriveThruRPG looking for some deals that might get me through the ECQ-related stress and boredom, when I stumbled upon Dream Pod 9's page, and noticed that all the Hottest Titles are heavily discounted (66% discount or more, if I'm eyeballing it).

Now, I'm a big fan of their work, so I dove right in. Here are a few you might want to pick up and complete your digital collection, while they're on sale -- or perhaps get ready for some online gaming!

JOVIAN CHRONICLES

Of course I'd mention this first, as I've been a fan of the setting from the days when it was a Mekton supplement!

In addition to the artwork and mecha designs (including all the different ships, not just the powered armor suits), the setting made a decision to go semi-hard SF in terms of space travel: no hyperspeed, and no artificial gravity.

It makes for an interesting juxtaposition against the fantastic spectacle of humanoid-looking ships fighting one another, but it feels true to some of the original anime inspiration as well.

You may even wish to pick up the Jovian Wars Beta Playtest Rules Package while you're at it!


 ALTERNATE REALITY CYBERPUNK

I was a big Cyberpunk fan back in the day; picked it up when it came in a box and hand three separate books and dice. So when Cyberpunk 2020 came out, you bet I picked it up again! And it looks like I'll be welcoming the return of Johnny Silverhand when the videogame comes out too!

You may not know this, but Dream Pod 9 came out with an Alternate Reality Night City setting for Cyberpunk.

Here, you can run into vampires (and perhaps other creatures of the night) that can give a change of pace from the monsters that you normally run into when Running the Bleeding Edge.

Perhaps you'll hunt them, perhaps you'll become them. Either way, Night City'll never be the same...


Are you a Heavy Gear fan (it had a TV show, you know)? Or perhaps, like me, you used to collect MechaPress -- their old magazine dedicated to mecha of all types? Those are on sale too!

Jumpstart for Cyberpunk RED

Everything old is new again. The marketing machine for the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 video game is revving up, which is good news for us TTRPGers -- because it means a new Cyberpunk game from R. Talsorian.

I picked up the first Cyberpunk RPG when it first came up (this one was the boxed set with the 3 books, including Friday Night Firefight), and I continued collecting well into the Cyberpunk 2020 setting as well.

My preference was always for straight Cyberpunk with occasional forays into dark fantasy elements somehow interwoven into the techno-freakish future of Night City. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed playing Shadowrun a lot. However, the cyberpunk feel was always strongest for me in the world of Arasaka, Militech, and Trauma Team.

Also, I'm also tickled to see what's happened to some of the characters featured in the various iterations of the setting (Johnny Silverhand, Alt, Rache Bartmoss, etc.) as they've aged into this future.

Still reading through the Jumpstart Kit, but it's definitely bringing back that initial excitement of the first set of Cyberpunk.

UPDATE: Unboxing Video

Want to see what comes in the Jumpstart Kit? Check out the video below, from R. Talsorian:

Data Scan: Cyberpunk 2077 E3 Trailer

If you're one of those Cyberpunk / Cyberpunk 2020 fans that have been looking at getting that late 80s cyberpunk fix this side of the 21st Century, I'm sure you've been wondering how to make it less dated and more relevant.

Of course, there's been no shortage of modern takes on the near future technodystopia in films and series -- perhaps it's time to come up with a new list of inspirations, since we're so close to 2020. However, a trailer was released at E3 for Cyberpunk 2077, sharing a glimpse into the world of that classic RPG, but updated (and hopefully ignoring the outdated technology that was touted as the 'bleeding edge' at the time it was written).

It looks promising, with an interesting set of 'slice of life' scenes that show that the strange, slightly violent cyberfuture has a wealth of alien, yet approachable locales to adventure in -- where not every streetcorner is awash in violence.

There are scenes of cybered up, gear-toting people on trains, hanging out on the street, enjoying the future as something mundane. I enjoyed the brief clip of the motormouth taxi driver chatting away, unimpressed by the gun-carrying cyberpsychos in his taxi, a sort of acceptance of the way of life in the future-shocked world.

There's a flood of vids and articles about the gameplay that a number of game reports actually got to see from E3, and I have to get caught up. But it looks promising, and I can't wait to hear more -- while digging up my old CP2020 collection!

Inspiration: Gadget Man

I'm fond of telling detail in RPGs -- little bits of detail that help flesh out the world. It may be innovative, it may be weird, or it may be downright domestic in that quirky, but very human "that's stupid but so true" way that we almost never think of but recognize the veracity of when we encounter it.

TV shows and magazines are my go-to source for these types of things, especially lifestyle bits and cutting edge technology.

I recommend Gadget Man (Season 01 has Stephen Fry, and Season 02 has Richard Ayoade as host) for some particularly interesting bits of lifestyle gadgetry that can be extrapolated -- or added in straight as 'old technology' -- for Science Fiction and Cyberpunk games.

My personal episode favorites so far are:

• The one where Mr. Ayoade takes us through a gaggle of gadgets aimed at making child care easier. The origami stroller (a self-folding and unfolding stroller) and the Puzzlebox Orbit (a mind-controlled flying toy) will definitely trigger ideas in the devious GM. Oh, and the automated rolling spycam to keep tabs on your children.
• The space-saving episode, chock full of ideas that could be stolen for your cramped starship or space-station... or just a Cyberpunk sarariman's home.

Play On Target takes on Settings with Serial Numbers Filed Off

So this post is a set of reactions to Play On Target's podcast episode on Settings with the Serial Numbers Filed Off. As always, these are one sentient's opinions and not meant to be a review or critique -- in the hopes that this feedback will help the podcast creators gauge how their podcasts are impacting their audience.

Stuff that I Really Enjoyed

Great!

Play On Target provides useful information in the podcast site about the episode in question!

Not only does it tell you what the episode is about -- "we talk about the pros and cons of releasing a product that is obviously a licensed property with the numbers files off" -- it also gives a list of relevant links to each of the games mentioned in the podcast.

Great for research, and to figure out how a game's name might actually be spelled, especially if composed of a homonym friendly play on words (I'm looking at you InSpectres).

I'm also grooving to the fact that my opinions on the Fading Suns reactions (It's not Dune with the serial numbers filed off. Nor is it Warhammer 40k with the serial numbers filed off.) match my own. I also find it hilarious that my reactions to the 'almost-Highlander' RPGs (Legacy: War of Ages,
Immortal: The Invisible War) were so similar, despite the fact that I never bought either -- just looked 'em over in the game shop. To be honest I felt that purely on visual appeal alone, Legacy: War of Ages was clearly the superior product -- but neither convinced me to shell out money.

Dread. That game again. I must buy it -- when I have the money.

I liked the reversal of the premise also -- just before the middle of the podcast -- that led into the discussion of the murky issue of vampire / werewolf / frankenstein's monster / world of darkness / new world of darkness intellectual property.

Bounty Head Bebop. Cute and Fuzzy Seizure Monsters. Really? Frickin' A! Thanks!

And yes, Fiasco & Hollowpoint are also things I must play soon.

All this stuff in the space of an hour! Amazing!

Stuff that I Found Interesting

Interesting.

I didn't know that d6 Space was effectively Star Wars with the numbers scraped off. I mean, I know that the d6 systems are really close to that original system -- a friend of mine picked up the Metabarons RPG, and I could really see the Star Wars D6 system that I knew and loved underneath everything -- but I didn't know it was that close in the generic system as well. I should really go through it now that they're free on RPGNow.

I also agree it would be cool to find out about the 'cease-and-desist' rumor about either or both 'almost-Highlander' RPGs. Keep us posted on that, guys!

I also found it interesting that InSpectres came across to some folks as more of a Ghostbusters-alike RPG, rather than as the indie game / collaborative RPG approach. Which is how I know about it -- and I'd pretty much dismissed the analog to Ghostbusters, because of that confessional mechanic that was mentioned. But it's true -- it really owes a lot of its inspiration to Ghostbusters.

Lords of Gossamer & Shadow is also interesting, because of its original incarnation as Amber: The Diceless Roleplaying Game, and because of its expanding sources of inspiration. In fact, I was immediately thinking of integrating an equivalent of the TimeLords and the Daleks into the list of other factions to run into. It has a different feel that the other forked setting / ruleset -- Lords of Olympus -- which is really more in the vein of gods and demi-gods and politics and epic universe-shaking and -shaping adventure.

With one exception -- see below in Stuff I Didn't Like -- I got a nostalgic thrill on the rundown of the X-files inspired RPGs. I was surprised that C.O.R.P.S. 1st Edition wasn't mentioned, but I guess I'm one of the few remaining BTRC fans.

When talking about Cyberpunk, I flashed back to the Fading Suns RPG and wondered how much some RPGs are less [insert property here] with the serial numbers filed off, and are just very niched genre/sub-genre emulation games / game systems. Cyberpunk 2020 certainly qualifies, and so does the Mekton series of games.

Burning Sands: Jihad. There is such a thing?

It's interesting that the Price of Freedom still has that stigma to it. Greg Costikyan has mentioned before that he really didn't believe everything in Price of Freedom, or at least to the extremes described in it. He seems to have been going for a Paranoia type of vibe for it in modern day(especially since it was also under the West End Games banner), but I think it was too close to reality to jump over to the humorous side of things.

I also like Crimson Skies, and enjoyed reading Warbirds. I wasn't as put off by the setting. Just think that it's not an alternate dimension but an alternate dimension timeline. Besides, they might have been trying to avoid the whole intellectual property landmine just waiting there.

The brief discussion on why getting licensed properties can be difficult for RPG companies, and thanks for the "Blake's 7 RPG" link reference. Although, I would posit my suggestion for such a game: Cold City / Hot War + Stars Without Number.

Stuff I Didn't Like

Whoa.

I know that this is all by fans for fans, and that we're not all professionals here, but consider this constructive criticism -- and just imagine me making these expressions while listening.

There was a point where the podcast crew was trying remember the game 3:16 Carnage Among The Stars that made me cringe a bit, and I was trying to figure out why. God knows the same thing happens to me on occasion, and it can be annoying. I do suggest that in the future, you can just say you'll put it into the the show notes and move on -- I felt that we wasted some time there remembering (subjective, because I KNEW what you meant guys, but screaming it across space and time wouldn't help). I also cringed at the mention of Hot War, because it was such a different type of game from what was being discussed -- but that's just me.

Also: come on, guys. Delta Green was written that way before X-files came out, everybody knows that. It's in the preface thingy in the book. As hard core Call of Cthulhu enthusiasts (which you are, right?) at least one of you would have known that bit of geek trivia. But, to be fair, it was very much in the vein of that conspiracy-laden zeitgeist.

Suggestions

You may wish to...

Technical stuff. Sometimes the difference in the audio quality can be jarring. Early on, some of it was choppy -- and then some times staticky. Mostly okay though, don't get me wrong.

Also, because there are so many of you guys -- rather than just a duo -- I kind of lose track of who's talking. Not that it matters, since most of the time I'm listening to the content -- but perhaps once in a while an identification of sorts might be great, 'cause in my mind I don't want to keep score of whose talking by labeling them (in  my mind only): Lowell; Not Lowell; Lowell again, maybe; Sam? Not Sam -- wait no, Sam, so who was the other guy?; Brian???; Not Brian, definitely not Sam, maybe Andrew????

Be careful when you guys end up talking over each other -- the volume can be painful to folks with earphones!

Structuring. Perhaps you can try to group things together and create artificial breaks at various arbitrary points (Sci-Fi, then Fantasy, the Horror OR 80s, 90s, 2000's) so that folks like me who squeeze the show in can feel like we're finishing a chapter or two and then come back to it later taking on the next chapter and so on.

Data Scan: An Unkindness of Replicants

"If only you could see what I've
seen with your eyes."

My awareness of the replicant theme in cyberpunk really started with Blade Runner. There was a lovely series of scenes that really reinforced that these humanoid beings were not mere enhanced humans -- they were engineered, design to meet key specifications and performance ratings.

And they were unhappy with the status quo -- especially the built in natural obsolescence that was far shorter than human lifespans. A frightening prospect, considering the capabilities of the combat models.

Somehow implicitly tied to the concept of these manufactured humanoids is the corporation behind them. In Blade Runner, it was the Tyrell Corporation's "more human than human" motto that blared proudly about its achievements in creating this life form that was so close to our own.

I suppose that, in the case of this movie, replicants were used to explore (among many things) what the definition of life / sentience / humanity was in the face of technology that allowed you to recreate creatures that could arguably be crafted to be more 'human' than you.

In Bubblegum Crisis, an anime heavily influenced by Blade Runner, they're called Boomers. Again, they have different models of this artificial life form; some of them were apparently more prone to going crazy and running amok through the rainswept, neon-washed streets of Neo-Tokyo. Boomers, however, were more powerful creations, apparently requiring not only the ADPolice to quell outbreaks of violence, but also the heroic Knight Sabers (whose crusade against the evil corporation known as Genom was the focus of the series).

They also had an unnerving ability to fuse with electronic material and add to their own mass -- almost as though the technology they were constructed from allowed them to insinuate themselves into machinery and circuitry, bypassing security and overriding default functionality.

And while not all boomers were evil, those that were clearly showed how -- through sheer capability alone -- they were a major threat to humanity's technologically dependent existence. Unlike Blade Runner, this anime seemed to be more about the dangers of playing god with replicant technology and letting it grow beyond the capability of humanity to control.

But not all anime series represented the threat of the replicant as predominantly a physical one. The manga and anime Appleseed tackled the replicant / bioroid as being a benevolent race, but one that was visually indistinguishable from humans.

Not only did most humans view them as benign; many of the the bioroids shown believed themselves to be tools of humanity -- a necessary part of the new form of civilization, in order to prevent another world war from breaking out and driving humanity back into barbarism.

Still, when some bioroids begin arguing that engineering a better class of people (perhaps hybrids of the two species?), the already impressive action kicks into high gear, and the intrigue and politics get turned up a notch as well.

Meanwhile, a current TV show seems to be trying to delve into this space once more, with mandatory combat model android partners to police officers. Almost Human isn't treading the ground that Star Trek: The Next Generation trod with Data -- an android trying to become human. Instead, the android protagonist that partners with the human protagonist seems to be akin to Top 10's Joe Pi, who acknowledges that certain things are meant to simulate human interaction, that he is not human. However, he clearly feels that he is different (if not superior) to the other androids on the force, in that they operate on meticulously defined decision trees, while he operates on something more along the lines of raw intelligence and knowledge coupled with leaps in intuitive logic.

So far, I also enjoy how this iteration of the replicant has different model series with in the same type of model (an MX series android, within the set of combat android models), very much like how Blade Runner's Nexus 6 replicants were also of varying functions in society. It really speaks to how the replicant is a product of corporate production, where some models and operating systems really hit the sweet spot in terms of synergystic functionality -- and others are just 'good enough' until a better model comes along.

In my Cyberpunk campaign later this year, I intend to revisit many of these themes -- but I also plan to add the concept of the software upgrade, backups, and rollbacks to really reinforce how replicants, despite their amazing approximation of humanity, are still something other than human; something detached from what we currently consider the human condition.

Data Scan: Cyberpunk RPG Anime Fuzion

R. Talsorian came out with an RPG that expanded the ruleset toolkit for a cyberpunk setting: Bubblegum Crisis. And during the short-lived era of Fuzion -- a system touted to have the benefits of the Interlock and Hero Game Systems -- there were a slew of fan-made rule expansions and sourcebooks which included an Appleseed sourcebook!

If only Cyberpunk 2020 v.3 had been, uh, better. It could've reaped the benefits of all this source material!

Bubblegum Crisis

I was a fan of the Bubblegum Crisis anime, so when I saw this out, I snapped it up immediately.

In addition to the setting, heavily influenced by one of the cornerstones of motion picture cyberpunk -- Blade Runner -- you have a lot of gadgets and gear, and vehicles and other mecha, to draw on for your cyberpunk game. Cyberpsychosis is particularly problematic here, with the mega-corporation of mega-corporations (GENOM) purposely pushing the boundaries of their artificial life forms (Boomers) beyond the manufacturer's warranty.

There are also many suggestions for expanded campaigns outside of Neo-Tokyo, and subsequent supplements added more machine and mecha to the mix. Perfect for a cyberpunk campaign a bit further into the future than the default 2020 campaign.

Appleseed

This sourcebook details many of the guns and some of the vehicles and bots in the Appleseed setting of Masamune Shirow's manga & anime series. Cyberpsychosis isn't so much of a factor, but there is the very prevalent theme (similar to Bubblegum Crisis and Blade Runner) dealing with replicants / androids / artificial life forms and what makes them human or not.

There is also much more of a political angle to this paramilitary-heavy storyline, hence the importance of constant training for the ESWAT team, and the occasional realization of protagonists that they are pawns being manipulated by multiple factions to get some nebulous (or all-too-concrete) end.

One of the things I'd like to have seen: more rules on creating full conversion borgs. Unlike the default 2020 setting, these guys don't really go crazy so much -- they seem to fully embrace their change, without losing touch with their identity or humanity.

Also: landmates and other iterations of powered armor aplenty!

Data Scan: Quotes on the Cyberpunk Genre

"It seemed to me that midcentury mainstream American science fiction had often been triumphalist and militaristic, a sort of folk propaganda for American exceptionalism. I was tired of America-as-the-future, the world as a white monoculture, the protagonist as a good guy from the middle class or above. I wanted there to be more elbow room. I wanted to make room for antiheroes... I wanted to see dirt in the corners."

- William Gibson, "The Art of Fiction No. 211", The Paris Review

"Never underestimate the determination of a kid who is time-rich and cash-poor."

- Cory Doctorow, Little Brother

"You will be required to do wrong no matter where you go. It is the basic condition of life, to be required to violate your own identity."

- Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

"...the street finds its own uses for things."

- William Gibson, "Burning Chrome", Burning Chrome

"Anything that can be done to a rat can be done to a human being. And we can do most anything to rats. This is a hard thing to think about, but it's the truth. It won't go away because we cover our eyes. THAT is cyberpunk."

- Bruce Sterling

Data Scan: A Cyberpunk 2020 Reading List (RPGs)

There are a ton of Cyberpunk RPGs out there, but in coming up with an initial reading list of RPG-based source material, I've identified my own priority list that I'd thought I'd share with you:

Cyberpunk 2020

Since this is the primary inspiration for the campaign setting, it makes sense that a re-read of the main Cyberpunk 2020 book would top the list.

My initial skim of the table of contents already brings out several initial impressions:

• this thing is a compact book of cyberpunk gaming goodness -- if a bit dated for the year 2014 in some ways -- due to the amount of material in it: character creation, realworld rules, netrunning rules, equipment lists, game fiction, an overview of the Night City mini-setting, and several game scenarios all in around 240 pages;
• in some ways, it reads like an alternate history and culture with some things ringing untrue in the modern era: the dominance of Japanese culture and economy, the weapons lists and the wired vs wireless mentality of modern technology, the 80s / 90s feel of the crime-ridden streets of New York, the absence of social media and the computer gaming in culture, and so on;
• in other ways, it's spot on -- the dominance of media and how it shapes perception of reality and values, the power of the megacorporations and the military industrial complex, paramilitary organizations that work for either or both of the former groups, remote controlled devices, and other ominous aspects of our very wired, very digital, very multi-cultural lives.

It should be fun giving this a re-read and figuring out how to run it with some relevance so close to the year it purports to represent. It should be fun to also pick up the other books I collected for the same setting.

Blue Planet

This may be a bit of a surprising choice, but the environmental / ecological shifts caused by global climate change would result in this increase of rain and wateriness in certain areas of the world -- and Blue Planet also handles the cybernetically-enhanced dolphins and orcas very well. I also like the way that they detail the balance between the needs of various corporations (mining for valuable resources), the need to monitor and control the frontier-ish feel of an archipelago. And if I will finally do a Philippine-based cyberpunk campaign, it will prove useful to have rules about a rain-soaked tropical setting with technology that tends to get damaged by moisture.

Actually, all the hard science in the book will be pretty useful for any near water or underwater campaign. Take your pick of the various editions out for this under-exposed game.

Kazei 5

Taking a step away from hard science, towards a more anime influence, the Kazei 5 sourcebook is another good source of cyberpunk material. You have a slightly different take on cybernetics & netrunning, rules on mecha and espers, and material on genetic enhancements that will really ratchet up the power levels of any cyberpunk campaign.

Plus, it's for the HERO system which -- while near and dear to my heart -- is also just a step away from Interlock system via their forgotten child -- the FUZION system.

OSR Entry 2013-01: Cyberpunk / Cyberpunk 2020

[ This post is a contribution to the Obscure Simulations Roundup, a community blog hop dedicated to forgotten / under-appreciated RPGs. ]

I don't remember if I'd already read the Burning Chrome anthology by William Gibson when I picked up my copy of Cyberpunk. Not Cyberpunk 2020, but the first R. Talsorian RPG set in that milieu -- set in the year 2013 (which, itself, is now winding down in our reality) -- the somewhat presumptuously titled Cyberpunk.

Several years later, I also picked up the 1st edition Shadowrun -- which tended to gather more adherents -- but Cyberpunk was my cyberpunk setting of choice. The one I sought out first, and without it, settled for my second fave: the cyberpunk + fantasy RPG.

I suppose that I was really after that grungy, gritty feel, and so many of the genre inspirations led to me to the more tech-heevy scenarios. I picked up almost every book of the run that I could, money and availability willing. I learned a lot about guns and modern technology, devoured the techno-thriller genre, and began focusing on the cyberpunk genre anime & manga like Appleseed and Bubblegum Crisis in my vidwatching schedules.

My Cyberpunk games were full of chipped Solos, Dorph-crazed gangs, Trauma Teams, and the echoes of films like Blade Runner and Robocop in my mind while I encouraged my players to lie and kill their way to success.

It was a game for my youth, an outlet for a young man seeking to rebel but unsure about what he was rebelling against, and how powerful 'they' really were.

These days, I long for the kind of world where a Rockerboy and his music really can topple megacorporations; but I also wish that there would be an equally powerful salve for the economic disaster that would follow.

Perhaps it's time for a review and retooling of the RPG genre in light of the Internet-savvy youth, social media, economic crises, and revelations of ultra-powerful cabals around the world...

Here's an old post that I did on the game:

As part of the RPG history project mentioned on RPG.net, I began scanning in the covers of some of my RPG collection, beginning with my Cyberpunk 2020 books. Let me share them with you: 

Cyberpunk 2020 was the main rulebook. It was an upgraded system and updated setting, essentially requiring the players of the original game -- Cyberpunk -- to buy the latest and greatest version of the game. Oddly enough, this did dovetail into the proposed cyberpunk ethos of style over substance and jumping headfirst into the latest developments ready to ride out any difficulties that might come up. 

To be fair, it was a sight better than the Cyberpunk boxed set's rulebooks (certainly dated by today's standards), and the modifications to the system did speed up combat. Building a character was often a pain, though, because in addition to buying gear, you also had the option to buy cybernetics -- taking care not to use up your humanity and go cyberpsycho of course. 

In addition to the core rulebook, R.Talsorian came out with new equipment and cybernetics in the form of the Chromebooks -- gear books with pictures for each of the items listed. Not satisfied with this revolutionary bit of sourcebook detail, they also came up with a rationale for it: these are the catalogs of the latest gear that people would order in game (ignoring all the game stats, of course). 

Updates

Now that this has been posted, in the grand tradition of cross-pollination of blog postings, I noticed the post from Hereticworks on Fringeworthy (another fave orphaned RPG of mine) mentioning the Tri-Tac podcast, and found a neat three-part podcast sequence (195 to 197) on Cyberpunk!

Inspiration: Body Bags

Body Bags is a sporadic comic book series that spotlights two characters: the knife-wielding Mack and his 14 year old daughter Panda. They are body baggers, paid bounty hunters / assassins in a futuristic U.S.A. where cybernetic body modifications are available but not necessarily mainstream.

The comic book series was controversial for numerous reason, including -- a main character who seems to have no compunctions about killing others regardless of age, a main character who is underage (14 and a half according to the comic) and is depicted as volumptuous, and gratuitous amounts of (at the time) violence and swearing in a comic book.

Did I like it? I liked it enough to collect the entire initial series, but there was something about the cold-blooded murder by Mack in the opening sequence that really turned me off him. In fact, in order to enjoy the rest of the series I realize now that I deliberately ignored it. Even now, I find that scene extremely distasteful despite the two rationalizations in the comic book concerning the matter.

Anyway, what can we extract from the series for games?




Characters

Distaste over character morality aside, the two main characters are interesting for different reasons.

Meet Mack and one of his knives.

Mack is a huge, hulking man who wears an armored T-shirt and armored zippermask with a yellow clown face on it. He also uses two massive knives in combat that seem indestructible and cable of cutting through almost anything and -- it's not really clear how -- he seems strong enough to throw these knives hard enough to match the concussive force of a howitzer.

He's a killing machine, and for powergamers or GMs looking for an interesting recurring villain or on-and-off criminal ally, he certainly fits the bill as dangerous, cruel, and distinctive.

Not just a tough girl, Panda obviously has a certain way with words.

It's Panda who steals the show however. Despite the criticisms of her overtly sexual visual representation, I felt that her personality and attitude overpowered her look and appearance. She doesn't have any outward doubts about her capabilities or her self-image, she pushes constantly to get what she wants, and (thankfully) doesn't ever once resort to the stereotypical 'feminine wiles' to achieve her goals.

Like her father, she's quite capable in combat. She apparently has mad skills with guns, and something called "The Eye". There is some pseudo-scientific rationale to this ability, likening it to "the Zone" in sports. It sounds suspiciously like Taskmaster's ability, only less powerful (perhaps because there aren't any true-blue superheroes to copy) but still dangerous enough to supposedly rationalize taking a teenager into combat. Hey, some folks believe that being a circus acrobat from a young age and training them in the martial arts is enough, right?

Pop culture reference, anyone?

Furthermore, she reminded me a lot of a foul-mouthed madcap superhero in the vein of Spiderman, Daredevil, the classic Robin, and maybe even the Creeper during her escapades. The only softer side to her is her intent on joining her father in his chosen profession -- and we're smackdab in the middle of controversy again.

Rather than earn a living some other way, her mom -- an officer of the law who died from breast cancer -- sent Panda to live with her dad rather than any other options. At least that's the story Panda tells. Being a body bagger isn't really the best profession for anyone, especially a 14 year old girl.

Because bullets have a tendency to hurt people.

Attitude and skill don't make you bulletproof, kids.

Together, Panda and Mack work like Comedian and Straight man in a comedy duo. Mack's always dead serious, while Panda almost never says a line without attitude, a put-down, or a zinger. Their first meeting set the tone for all their future interactions.

That ain't no way to talk to yer daddy.

Genre

I'd call it a different take on the cyberpunk genre merged with low-level metahuman abilities. People with money get to become full conversion borgs, while folks like Mack's pre-Panda partner Pops have to get by with low-tech cybernetics just to stave off impending death. And there are folks like Mack who are ridiculously strong and tough, and people like Panda who have "The Eye" (photographic reflexes but not at the level of certain Marvel super-villains).


At the same time, it's firmly in the action genre with a dash of noir -- the difficulties of staying alive and taking care of family when living a criminal lifestyle, the stress of shifting from the grey areas to the black areas of the law, and so on.

And no matter who you are, there's a definite respect for the power of guns and explosions.

GURPS and HERO can handle the rules. I'd think that guns and cybernetics and low-level superpowers would be also managed by a number of other cyberpunk settings in the pool now. Actually, now that I think about it, something like Ghost in the Shell would work as well, just with a lower cybernetics budget.

Cyberpunk 2020

As part of the RPG history project mentioned on RPG.net, I began scanning in the covers of some of my RPG collection, beginning with my Cyberpunk 2020 books. Let me share them with you:

Cyberpunk 2020 was the main rulebook. It was an upgraded system and updated setting, essentially requiring the players of the original game -- Cyberpunk -- to buy the latest and greatest version of the game. Oddly enough, this did dovetail into the proposed cyberpunk ethos of style over substance and jumping headfirst into the latest developments ready to ride out any difficulties that might come up.

To be fair, it was a sight better than the Cyberpunk boxed set's rulebooks (certainly dated by today's standards), and the modifications to the system did speed up combat. Building a character was often a pain, though, because in addition to buying gear, you also had the option to buy cybernetics -- taking care not to use up your humanity and go cyberpsycho of course.

In addition to the core rulebook, R.Talsorian came out with new equipment and cybernetics in the form of the Chromebooks -- gear books with pictures for each of the items listed. Not satisfied with this revolutionary bit of sourcebook detail, they also came up with a rationale for it: these are the catalogs of the latest gear that people would order in game (ignoring all the game stats, of course).