Danger Gal Dossier Does Double Duty

Over 100 NPCs to use as allies, enemies, rivals, and lovers in Cyberpunk Red.

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While the gadgets and the gear are what makes Cyberpunk Red cool, what I love about my games are the characters. I love the classic tropes of calling in a favor from a friend, hitting up an old friend for information on your current job and even the sudden yet inevitable betrayal when the corporations corrupt them. A lot of world building happens in these conversations in dingy gun shops and virtual sex clubs. Sometimes it can be hard to come up with a colorful character on the spot and that’s where Danger Gal Dossier comes to the rescue. Designers J. Gray, James Hutt, Anne Morrison, Chris Spivey, David Ackerman, Frances Stewart, Kate Bullock, Linda M Evans, Malize Evans, Melissa Wong, Noura Ibrahim, Paris Arrowsmith, Steve Kenson,Trace Wilson,Tracie Hearne and Tsuneo Tateno have packed this book full of over one hundred NPCs to use as allies, enemies, rivals and lovers. R. Talsorian Games sent a copy fresh from Gen Con for my review. How do these characters line up? Let’s play to find out.

Danger Gal Dossier presents itself as a document from the titular corporation, a cat-themed group of edgerunners who are also a security firm in Night City. The characters are broken up into fifteen factions that appear all ofer the map in terms of cyberpunk adversaries. You’ve got the classic clown themes gang The Bozos, some examples of the NCPD, media reps from Network 54 and even the Danger Girls themselves. There’s even a space for some celebrity writeups here. Ever wanted stats for a true cyberpunk version of Matthew Lillard’s Hackers character? Cereal Killer lives, man! Characters are broken down into four broad categories: mook, lieutenant, mini-boss and boss, with some characters getting a hardened writeup that’s like a half step in between the power categories. The back of the book also has an index that breaks each character down by faction, build and role, so if you need to suddenly drop a fixer into a location you weren;t expecting your players to go, you can quickly find one.

Each character comes with a short flavorful write up to let them be used as is.The write ups also link to other members in the faction to provide story hooks as players get caught up in rivalries and agendas outside their own. I enjoyed each of the factions and how they add forces pushing within Night City doing their own thing.

These factions also provide a little bit of, dare I say it, corporate synergy, as these characters are also the ones featured in Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone the new miniatures game from Monster Fight Club. You don’t need the minis game to be able to use this book for Cyberpunk Red but it is certainly useful for fans of both to get a little more information on their miniatures before they send them off to war.

The book also contains rules for making new NPCs. While I may never dig into these because it’s just easier for me to reskin one of the other NPCs in the book, they also seem like faster and cleaner guidelines for making player characters. I love the lifepaths and choosing templates but the speedy process here also appeals to folks who want to get playing without agonizing over point spends or buying gear.

Danger Gal Dossier offers plenty of meat for the Cyberpunk Red GM and might even tempt you to try out the minis game.

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Rob Wieland

Rob Wieland

Vincent55

Adventurer
to be honest there are better ones than this, which is playing off a video game, why not just Genefunk, ultramodern 5e: redux, you have older ones like Gurps, Shadow Run, or even Carbon 2185 and the list goes on. The question is what does this bring to the table that the others don't? Well from reading the material and going over the information in the start packet and such, really nothing. Anything that this game can do others have done it in more detail or better this is a derivative of better things packaged to sell and promote a video game. But at this point, most RPGs are just variations on older systems with slightly different game mechanics or a new gemic to make them feel new and fresh. As i said I have ran a game with the rules that have been released which are spotty at best and seem to not be fully fleshed out. On the flip side, ultramodern 5e: redux has many supplements and books and crunch to more than make any cyberpunk version you want. Just look at the 3 book set that was released recently Torus, Conestoga, and Paradise from the (Affinity) box set, or NeuroSpasta book which you could pull off a ghost in the shell very easily with. I could go on but this is just one of many RPGS that have books out some much older like Gurps (which i am not a fan of as it it way too involved and very complex in character creation) or you could just pick up say Genefuck which is one book and run a non-magic version of cyberpunk game with cyborgs and genetically enhanced humans, or mix in the 5e player's handbook magic classes as it is built on the same system with very little alteration. Anyway in the end it is completely up to you if this cyberpunk red got you into it then look around and discover that there is much more out there than just this small video game promo RPG. This is just my opinion from a DM who tried to run this and found it lacking, but please form your own opinions do not just take mine as fact.
 

MGibster

Legend
I live that even in 2045 the United States still hasn't switched over to the metric system. I'm not a fan of Cyberpunk Red, but I think this looks like a decent product. I had actually considered running a campaign and having the PCs employed by Danger Girl. I'm trying to figure out what's going on in that cover art though. They're sitting at an office looking at the computer like it's a normal day, but there's an attentive guard with a rifle and someone on the ground receiving treatment for an injury of some kind.
 

Vincent55

Adventurer
I live that even in 2045 the United States still hasn't switched over to the metric system. I'm not a fan of Cyberpunk Red, but I think this looks like a decent product. I had actually considered running a campaign and having the PCs employed by Danger Girl. I'm trying to figure out what's going on in that cover art though. They're sitting at an office looking at the computer like it's a normal day, but there's an attentive guard with a rifle and someone on the ground receiving treatment for an injury of some kind.
I know, i don't get it either, and what is with all the cat ears?
 


Blacksad

Explorer
Anything that this game can do others have done it

@Vincent55 that's the other way around: Cyberpunk2013 is from 1988, Cyberpunk Red the latest incarnation, Cyberpunk the video game is based on the pen & paper RPG

So maybe "Anything that this game has done others can do it" would be more technically correct
 

Vincent55

Adventurer
@Vincent55 that's the other way around: Cyberpunk2013 is from 1988, Cyberpunk Red the latest incarnation, Cyberpunk the video game is based on the pen & paper RPG

So maybe "Anything that this game has done others can do it" would be more technically correct
"to-may-to to-mah-to."
 


ChoomInCT

Villager
to be honest there are better ones than this, which is playing off a video game, why not just Genefunk, ultramodern 5e: redux, you have older ones like Gurps, Shadow Run, or even Carbon 2185 and the list goes on. The question is what does this bring to the table that the others don't? Well from reading the material and going over the information in the start packet and such, really nothing. Anything that this game can do others have done it in more detail or better this is a derivative of better things packaged to sell and promote a video game. But at this point, most RPGs are just variations on older systems with slightly different game mechanics or a new gemic to make them feel new and fresh. As i said I have ran a game with the rules that have been released which are spotty at best and seem to not be fully fleshed out. On the flip side, ultramodern 5e: redux has many supplements and books and crunch to more than make any cyberpunk version you want. Just look at the 3 book set that was released recently Torus, Conestoga, and Paradise from the (Affinity) box set, or NeuroSpasta book which you could pull off a ghost in the shell very easily with. I could go on but this is just one of many RPGS that have books out some much older like Gurps (which i am not a fan of as it it way too involved and very complex in character creation) or you could just pick up say Genefuck which is one book and run a non-magic version of cyberpunk game with cyborgs and genetically enhanced humans, or mix in the 5e player's handbook magic classes as it is built on the same system with very little alteration. Anyway in the end it is completely up to you if this cyberpunk red got you into it then look around and discover that there is much more out there than just this small video game promo RPG. This is just my opinion from a DM who tried to run this and found it lacking, but please form your own opinions do not just take mine as fact.
I am a big fan of the cyberpunk genre. I was in middle school when someone handed me the OG shadowrun core book with the Elmore cover and my life was changed. I also had Cyberpunk 2020 in the 90's, but it didn't fit my game group as well as SR did. Now we are several editions beyond for shadowrun, and here we are with Cyberpunk Red, which is a 20+ year prequel to the CDPR video game and the netflix series. As far as the mechanics go, I wouldn't say its any worse than the other systems, it can definitely move faster and doesn't get bogged down like some can (some editions of Shadowrun could crawl to a halt.) . Also, you are mentioning two D20 based systems in your post (Ultramodern and Carbon 2185), I think its definitely user preference if they want a 5e clone or something else. I admit I haven't looked at Carbon 2185 before today. Also, give Sprawlrunners a try if you are interested at all in the Savage Worlds system.
 

Vincent55

Adventurer
I am a big fan of the cyberpunk genre. I was in middle school when someone handed me the OG shadowrun core book with the Elmore cover and my life was changed. I also had Cyberpunk 2020 in the 90's, but it didn't fit my game group as well as SR did. Now we are several editions beyond for shadowrun, and here we are with Cyberpunk Red, which is a 20+ year prequel to the CDPR video game and the netflix series. As far as the mechanics go, I wouldn't say its any worse than the other systems, it can definitely move faster and doesn't get bogged down like some can (some editions of Shadowrun could crawl to a halt.) . Also, you are mentioning two D20 based systems in your post (Ultramodern and Carbon 2185), I think its definitely user preference if they want a 5e clone or something else. I admit I haven't looked at Carbon 2185 before today. Also, give Sprawlrunners a try if you are interested at all in the Savage Worlds system.
i will stick with ultramodern 5e: redux, and all the add-on books as i know the system and love the creator's take on expanding the 5e system and in making it better with added rules like hard core mode and such.
 

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