I bought Shadowrun 6th. edition when it first released with high hopes that they finally got it right, with the promises of a light crunch Shadowrun edition and all and ended up being sorely disappointed. I love the setting but the BR rules have been ass for years. I am now looking for a good cyberpunk replacement for the disappointing Shadowrun 6th. edition. I've looked at Cyberpunk Red and I bought the starter box and liked the rules, since I enjoy rules lite and medium crunch games but am frustrated with how long it is taking them to release the full core rulebook. I am taking a look at Carbon 2185 now as well.
What cyberpunk game would you go for? Should I wait for Cyberpunk Red or plunge into Carbon 2185 or somerthing else? What setting does it for you and what one has good mechanics that are rules lite to medium?
CP2020 with the supernatural expansion setting Nights Edge does a pretty good job.
Check out these Pay What You Want games from Bedroom Wall Press. The author used to be a member here, and a great poster, until he suffered terminal TDS and went total fruitcake.
WELCOME TO NEURO CITY
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/121828/Welcome-to-Neuro-City
ARCANA RISING
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/121426/Arcana-Rising
The most back handed referral ever haha
Stars Without Number + Polychrome a good cyber choice with an imaginative spin on the setting concept.
https://sine-nomine-publishing.myshopify.com/collections/stars-without-number (https://sine-nomine-publishing.myshopify.com/collections/stars-without-number)
Quote from: daddystabz;1132009I bought Shadowrun 6th. edition when it first released with high hopes that they finally got it right, with the promises of a light crunch Shadowrun edition and all and ended up being sorely disappointed. I love the setting but the BR rules have been ass for years. I am now looking for a good cyberpunk replacement for the disappointing Shadowrun 6th. edition. I've looked at Cyberpunk Red and I bought the starter box and liked the rules, since I enjoy rules lite and medium crunch games but am frustrated with how long it is taking them to release the full core rulebook. I am taking a look at Carbon 2185 now as well.
What cyberpunk game would you go for? Should I wait for Cyberpunk Red or plunge into Carbon 2185 or somerthing else? What setting does it for you and what one has good mechanics that are rules lite to medium?
Try Everywhen + Neonpunk Crysis (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/258380/Everywhen-and-Neonpunk-Crysis-BUNDLE)
GURPS.
Just kidding. CP2020 is pretty slick :) No idea what the hell is going on with SR6E, I haven't had the chance to go through the book yet.
Quote from: Ghostmaker;1132206GURPS.
Just kidding. CP2020 is pretty slick :) No idea what the hell is going on with SR6E, I haven't had the chance to go through the book yet.
Don't even bother with SR6. So many issues with rules missing or incomplete, rules that seem to have been added last minute, copy paste of gear with stats from 5e referencing things that no longer exist rules wise, and things that just make no sense (unarmed damage is the same no matter str and is fund buried in the text for grappling, armor has no real effect, etc).
I ran Sixth World for Dungeon World once and had fun. The Sprawl for PbtA would be a non-magic version.
I'm reading through Altered Carbon right now (except for getting distracted by Soulbound and Taleb) which is a great setting -- not sure on the rules yet.
I'm actually really tempted to use Star Wars FFG for cyberpunk but that is a massive outlay for books if you weren't already collecting them. The basic books don't really have enough to support this.
Quote from: Omega;1132025CP2020 with the supernatural expansion setting Nights Edge does a pretty good job.
^^This^^. Omega has given you the best recommendation.
Quote from: KingCheops;1132342I ran Sixth World for Dungeon World once and had fun. The Sprawl for PbtA would be a non-magic version.
I'm reading through Altered Carbon right now (except for getting distracted by Soulbound and Taleb) which is a great setting -- not sure on the rules yet.
I'm actually really tempted to use Star Wars FFG for cyberpunk but that is a massive outlay for books if you weren't already collecting them. The basic books don't really have enough to support this.
Why not just use FFG's Genesys system for cyberpunk via the Android Shadow of the Beanstalk book? It is cyberpunk in setting and uses the same system as their Star Wars games.
Quote from: lordmalachdrim;1132244Don't even bother with SR6. So many issues with rules missing or incomplete, rules that seem to have been added last minute, copy paste of gear with stats from 5e referencing things that no longer exist rules wise, and things that just make no sense (unarmed damage is the same no matter str and is fund buried in the text for grappling, armor has no real effect, etc).
Hadn't planned on buying it. :D
For what you're looking for -
Interface Zero 3.0
It already has all the built-in systems that you'd need. Psionics=Magic. And if you want actual Magic, it requires zero effort to simply add whatever you need from the Savage Worlds core books.
Quote from: daddystabz;1132516Why not just use FFG's Genesys system for cyberpunk via the Android Shadow of the Beanstalk book? It is cyberpunk in setting and uses the same system as their Star Wars games.
Mostly because I haven't purchased or read it. I'm definitely interested.
Quote from: jeff37923;1132372^^This^^. Omega has given you the best recommendation.
I agree with Jeff on that. CP2020. If you don't like the Night's Edge stuff, reskin the Psionics from Mekton.
Quote from: tenbones;1132548For what you're looking for -
Interface Zero 3.0
It already has all the built-in systems that you'd need. Psionics=Magic. And if you want actual Magic, it requires zero effort to simply add whatever you need from the Savage Worlds core books.
2nd place goes to Tenbones.. i'm new to SW, but it's VERY slick and fast.
Quote from: KingCheops;1132342I ran Sixth World for Dungeon World once and had fun. The Sprawl for PbtA would be a non-magic version.
We had a lot of fun with The Sprawl.
There's also a set of Shadowrun playbooks for it: Link (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1If8nBsl73CFxyy1x951le8VNYYVL9xDr/view?usp=drivesdk).
Quote from: Itachi;1132853We had a lot of fun with The Sprawl.
There's also a set of Shadowrun playbooks for it: Link (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1If8nBsl73CFxyy1x951le8VNYYVL9xDr/view?usp=drivesdk).
The Sprawl has two books out for it, Touched, A Darkening Alley (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/260900/Touched-A-Darkening-Alley?term=Touched+A+) and Touched Prime (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/280124/Touched-Prime?src=also_purchased).
A Darkening Alley is low magic where that sort of stuff is just starting to emerge. It's more of a cyberpunk Cthulhu game than Shadowrun prequel.
Touched Prime on the other hand is where the weird has been around for a few generations and things like elves and trolls are back. Magic has been adopted into the corp structure and is basically a Shadowrun version of the game.
Quote from: rgalex;1133099The Sprawl has two books out for it, Touched, A Darkening Alley (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/260900/Touched-A-Darkening-Alley?term=Touched+A+) and Touched Prime (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/280124/Touched-Prime?src=also_purchased).
A Darkening Alley is low magic where that sort of stuff is just starting to emerge. It's more of a cyberpunk Cthulhu game than Shadowrun prequel.
Touched Prime on the other hand is where the weird has been around for a few generations and things like elves and trolls are back. Magic has been adopted into the corp structure and is basically a Shadowrun version of the game.
Thanks, Rgalex. I already knew Touched Prime but not Darkening Alley. I'll take a look at it.
I would still recommend those playbooks for someone who wants to use it for straight Shadowrun, though, as it's ready to play with all the gears and fluff of the setting (even 2e Bradstreet art). We have played a bunch of times now and it works very well.
Back in the 90s I ran a cyperbunk game with I.C.E.'s Cyberspace (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberspace_(role-playing_game)). It was fun.
Cyberhero...EXTREMELY underrated. Also, I actually liked GURPS Cyberpunk, sue me.
That said, Shadowrun 2nd edition is probably the best iteration of the game...I had 3rd, 4th, and 5th, the system somehow got worse and worse. Didn't even bother with 6th. Further, I wouldn't consider Shadowrun "cyperpunk" in the strictest sense; it's definitely more fantasy than sci-fi. You could honestly try something like Rifts, as dumb as that sounds.
Another option is DCC + Cyber Sprawl Classics (https://csc-rpg.neocities.org/)
I was just thinking of recommending Cyber Sprawl Classics while reading the thread.
Quote from: Brad;1133107Cyberhero...EXTREMELY underrated. Also, I actually liked GURPS Cyberpunk, sue me.
The very first GURPS campaign I ran was Cyberpunk/Horror (The inspiration was Alfred Bester's "Golem ^100"). Somehow I managed to create a story/atmosphere that was as scary as hell. When we finished it my players actually clapped! I still remember it as a "lightning in a bottle" event. This was back in 1991-92. Those were the days.
Quote from: tenbones;1132548For what you're looking for -
Interface Zero 3.0
It already has all the built-in systems that you'd need. Psionics=Magic. And if you want actual Magic, it requires zero effort to simply add whatever you need from the Savage Worlds core books.
That is my vote. I still mull over buying the 2.0 book every time I see it at FLGS though it is not my genre, the book is high quality and full of good stuff. I imagine 3.0 is more of the same.
I played the heck out of CP2020 back in the day and we loved it. But in retrospect, more for the setting than the rules... which always seemed to need some hacking to make workable. The cyberspace rules in particular, were really problematic... it was basically a side game that only hackers would play. So groups tended to either all agree to be hackers, or all agree that there would be NO hackers in the party.
If I were playing a cyberpunk game today, I'd probably use Savage Worlds... I haven't read Interface Zero, but I used SW for more than a few one-shots, and it was pretty solid. Medium crunch. Tactical combat, but still pretty fast. You just have to overlook some of the wonky dice probabilities. And being a generic system, it's not overly hard to splice in some different genre material if you want build something akin to Shadowrun (ie, by adding magic and fantasy races).
I just saw that Interface Zero also has a Fate edition... which is the other system I'd consider, but really it would depend on your playing group. IMHO, they are both suitable systems in their own way, but Fate and SW have very different styles.
For medium- to long-term campaigns, I'd probably still end up buying some of the CP2020 sourcebooks, simply because they are pretty awesome inspiration. My old group loved flicking through the chromebooks in particular, and I suspect the material would be adaptable.
Quote from: Reckall;1134861The very first GURPS campaign I ran was Cyberpunk/Horror (The inspiration was Alfred Bester's "Golem ^100"). Somehow I managed to create a story/atmosphere that was as scary as hell. When we finished it my players actually clapped! I still remember it as a "lightning in a bottle" event. This was back in 1991-92. Those were the days.
GM >>>>>>>>>>> system
Every single time. But GURPS Horror was a really good resource, too. Actually, is there ANY GURPS book that isn't a good resource for a campaign?
Quote from: Brad;1135093GM >>>>>>>>>>> system
Every single time. But GURPS Horror was a really good resource, too. Actually, is there ANY GURPS book that isn't a good resource for a campaign?
Especially GURPS Horror for 4e. Ken Hite nailed it, and simultaneously exposed a legion of crap GMs for whom "horror" means "license to defeat the PCs" and "license to tell my story and berate the players for not reacting like I think they should" without calling them out, just by laying out the right approach to horror in a RPG. I put that book on my top 5 list of "if you haven't read this book you have no business running a RPG".
Quote from: oggsmash;1134888That is my vote. I still mull over buying the 2.0 book every time I see it at FLGS though it is not my genre, the book is high quality and full of good stuff. I imagine 3.0 is more of the same.
Wait for 3.0. Though I've seen Gunmetal toss out 2.0 PDF's out there in bundles for cheeeeeeep!
Quote from: Tyberious Funk;1135012I just saw that Interface Zero also has a Fate edition... which is the other system I'd consider, but really it would depend on your playing group. IMHO, they are both suitable systems in their own way, but Fate and SW have very different styles.
I've toyed with using The Dresden Files for a Shadowrun replacement. The magic actually behaves similarly and I feel the system lends itself really well to legwork/planning/hacking.