Looking for a Cyberpunk Genre Game

[MGibster]

Carbon 2185 is a beautiful RPG and, if you're not wanting to drift too far from 5e, it has you covered (so the learning curve is very low). That said, it's very much a traditional cyberpunk RPG and not High Fantasy + Cyberpunk like Shadowrun.

That looks right up my alley except I tend to avoid 5th edition for anything other that D&D. Good suggestion though.

 

[jdrakeh]

That looks right up my alley except I tend to avoid 5th edition for anything other that D&D. Good suggestion though.

I normally avoid 5e for anything but D&D, but Carbon 2185 really hits it out of the park. Not only is it a well done implementation of the core 5e rules, but it's a standalone implementation, so none of that "you also need the D&D core books" malarky that many other products based on the 5e ruleset require.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I'd describe myself as preferring more traditional 1980s style cyberpunk, but like I said in the OP, it's time for me to expand my horizons a bit. So, sure, a little transhumanism never hurt anyone and Blue Planet has it in spades.

Then you might think about giving at least Eclipse Phase a look.

(I'm not sure whether to recommend Fragged Cyberpunk or not. Fragged Empire is an excellent game, but both it and its Cyberpunk predecessor are waaaay the heck in the future.)

 

[pablomaz]

I used to love Cyberpunk 2020 back in the day and was exciting to jump on Cyberpunk Red. Unfortunately my players and I were disappointed with Cyberpunk Red and resolved that we had no interest in playing it ever again. I've got an idea for a cyberpunk campaign but thought I might expand my horizons a bit instead of going back to 2020. Maybe it's time I move on, right?

Shadowrun: I love the setting quite a bit but I am never, ever going to run this game because of the abominable rules. I don't object to mixing magic and cyberpunk and I think my players might also be into it.

Sprawlrunners: This is a toolkit for Savage Worlds that I've heard is basically Shadowrun with the serial numbers filed off. My group and I love Savage Worlds. Anyone have any opinion on this?

Interface Zero: I understand there are rules for this setting for Pathfinder, Savage Worlds, and it's own system. Anyone have any experience with this one? The setting technology might be a bit more advanced than I'm used to but I won't discount it yet.

Cy-Borg: I don't really know anything about this one.

Any of you have any suggestions?

Curiously, here I am at this exact moment, trying to learn Shadowrun Sixth World (6e, the latest edition). It's... Confusing, to say the least.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Curiously, here I am at this exact moment, trying to learn Shadowrun Sixth World (6e, the latest edition). It's... Confusing, to say the least.

I've heard a rather lot of people who think its the worst edition to date. Including people who disliked 4e and 5e.

 

[Jahydin]

I love Interface Zero and would certainly recommend. As for edition, 3.0 is finally out (PDF), but really hasn't captured my interest (still feels like it's in Beta stage), but can vouch 2.0 is solid and fun.

Also, worth mentioning Cities Without Number too!

 

[payn]

FFG/Edge Android universe using the Genesys system looks pretty interesting.

 

[payn]

That looks right up my alley except I tend to avoid 5th edition for anything other that D&D. Good suggestion though.

I do think Carbon 2185 is good for folks who have trouble getting their groups to play anything but D&D. However, you are very correct in the 5E mechanics making it feel like reskinned D&D. I even had a GM who said, "guys these punks are just the goblins of carbon 2185..."

 

[GMMichael]

I used to love Cyberpunk 2020 back in the day and was exciting to jump on Cyberpunk Red. Unfortunately my players and I were disappointed with Cyberpunk Red and resolved that we had no interest in playing it ever again.

Ouch! Did you keep the old books?

I've got an idea for a cyberpunk campaign but thought I might expand my horizons a bit instead of going back to 2020. Maybe it's time I move on, right?

Yup. The future moves fast, especially in 2077. Try Modos 2, which has two features that would be great for cyberpunk, and one that isn't:

• PCs have Physical and Mental attributes with separate damage pools, which make separating net-space and meat-space easy, even when wearing net-goggles.
• Weapons are primarily managed with a range and a size, so creating new ones is easy and managing ammunition/power is (GM) optional.
• The game is setting-generic, so those old Cyberpunk books will be handy for lore, maps, and/or shopping lists.

 

[Reynard]

I used to love Cyberpunk 2020 back in the day and was exciting to jump on Cyberpunk Red. Unfortunately my players and I were disappointed with Cyberpunk Red and resolved that we had no interest in playing it ever again.

I find that funny because I bought RED all excited (based on CP2077) and decided never to play it because it looked like they didn't bother to make any changes from CP2020. It isn't 1990 anymore.