
Mnemonic Feedback A ruleslight Cyberpunk game hacked together from Into the Odd, and The Sprawl. Inspired by Cyberpunk media, 24XX, and Orbital Blues, Players are Operators, professionals earning a living doing the dirty work of the Corps. You play it smart and keep your name clean, or you thought you did until some corporate shill dug up something from your past and has you under their thumb. At least they are offering to let you work off the debt, at your own expense that is. Just about all of the mechanics, tables, and guidelines presented in this book can be adjusted to fit your tables needs and preferences. Plenty of the sub systems may be ignored depending on chosen Archetypes. Use what works for you, and change or discard anything that doesn’t.
Operators Players control Operators, skilled professionals earning a living doing the dirty work of the Corps. You play it smart and keep your name clean, or you thought you did until some corporate shill dug up something from your past and has you under their thumb. At least they are offering to let you work off the debt, at your own expense that is. Abilities Roll 3d6 for each. Swap any two. Meat Physical prowess, Endurance, Edge Reflexes, cunning, determination Synth Interfacing with machines, computers, and the net. Cool roll 1d6 for Cool. Ability to avoid harm. Details Archetype Roll or choose an Archetype. Discuss what that Archetype means to you, the other players, and the referee. Your Operator is assumed to have the skills and know how of someone associated with this archetype. What are some of those skills or areas of knowledge?(2-4 ideally. You are not limited to using these skills, they are just to flesh them out for everyone.) Fixer: You have a side hustle that generates 1 credit, what is it? Killer: You deal +1 damage, what is your weapon of choice? Soldier: You ignore 1 injury for a day, where did you serve? Infiltrator: You have 1 [SUPER HIGH TECH SPY GADGET], what does it do? Driver: You have a HIgh Tech Vehicle, what does it look and sound like? Hunter: You have +1 Cool, who do you hunt? Pusher: You have 1 Devotee/L, why do they need you? Reporter: You have 1 Inside Source, why do you trust them? Hacker: You ignore Layer 1 Encryption, where do your source your passwords? Tech: You have 1 Specialist Toolkit, what is it for? CLASS Debt Some ladder climbing corpo-rat bought up an old debt leading back to you and is threatening to take action if you don’t meet with them to discuss payment arrangements. Roll or choose a debt. Gambling Medical Inherited [Borrowed/Loan] Blackmail Legal Look Roll or choose a Look. What is your signature garment or feature? Slick Serious Stylish Sloppy Subversive Sexy Desire Roll or Choose a Desire. Who or what inspired your Desire? Wealth Fame Pleasure Revenge Freedom Power Gear Blackmarket Choose 1 from each pair. Cybergear/Body Armor Weapon/Minor Cybernetics Special Weapon/Major Cybernetics Weapons d6-1_ Unarmed d6___ Weapon d6___ Special Weapon (Special Property) Special Properties Munitions Armor Piercing (Ignore 2 Defense) Smart Aim (-1 Harm but hits all possible targets) Experimental (+1 Harm, Area, Loud ) High Caliber (+2 Harm) Explosive (Area) Rapid Fire (Shoot Twice) (Harm everything near target) (Makes lots of noise when fired) Close Combat Plasma (Ignore 3 Defense) [Bleeding Edge/Cyber] (+2 Harm) Powered (+1 Harm, Reach) Collapsing (Discrete) Paired (Attack Twice) Surgical (Ignores Cool) Defense 1 - Body Armor (Bulky) 2 - Heavy Armor (Heavy, Bulky) 3 - Cyber-Frame (Bulky, +1 to all abilities) +1 - Improvised Shield (Heavy Bulky) +1 - Tactical Shield Cyberware Condition Roll a d6 for each piece of cyberware to determine its Condition Pristine - Advantage when used Cared for Used Worn Unreliable A Liability - Disadvantage when used. Cyberdamage Test Synth when cybernetics could be damaged. On a failure, roll a 6. If equal to or greater than current conditions, reduce it by 1 If less than current condition reduce to match roll. Damaged cyberware is expense to repair. Cybergear Mag Grapple.(Magnetic grappling gun) Motion Sensor. (Self Explanatory?) Digital Bypass. (Ignore 1 layer of security) Signal Jammer. (Disrupts electronic communication in given area) Cyberdeck. (Allows access to the Net) Shaped Charges, 1d6. (Small focused demolition charges) Spy Drone, Flying/Crawling. (Remote control, short range) Nano-Doc Capsules, 1d6 (Ignore an injury for 1d6 days. Reduce Meat by 1 permanently) Holo-Shift Mask. (Worn on the head it generates a holographic disguise) Hoverboard. (Hovers up to 2 feet off the ground. Does not work over water) Major Cybernetics Net Interface (Allows for hacking from any network access point) Active Camo (10m/ level renders user invisible when still, but only obscured if moving relative to surroundings) Muscle Graft (Advantage on saves related to physical strength) Synthetic Nerves (Advantage of saves related to reflexes and agility) Skill Slots (Allow for skill chip usage to provide the skills. 2 slot per level. Comes with 1 chip) Targeting Computer (+1 on effect with ranged weapons) Minor Cybertnetics Cyberarms (Stronger/Faster Legs)/Cyberlegs (Stronger/Faster Legs) Cybereyes (Can Record/Filter/Enhance perceived sights) Cyberears (Can Record/Filter/Enhance perceived sounds) Implant Weapons (A weapon built into a body part) Implant Tool (A Cybertool built into a body part) Subdermal Armor (+1 Defense, useless against firearms) Posessions Choose three items from your CLASS or lower. CLASS 0 A dozen fake single use transit passes. Cheap french knockoff Datapad. Capsule hotel dongle, weeknights only. CLASS 2 Rideshare membership transponder. Last gen datapad, Arcology keyfob, a windowless sub-studio. CLASS 4 Sub-compact Electric Vehicle. Next gen Holopad Safehouse Key, it reconfigures daily Vaporware The Weapons, Properties, Armor, and Cyberware presented are not the end all be all. Players and Referees are strongly encouraged to come up with their own high tech chrome plated works of art. Ride the wave or get left behind.
Gameplay The Referee creates a dangerous and oppressive world for the Operators to explore interact with. Operators start in a tight spot. They each owe someone a debt they cant afford to repay. They must work against the odds to survive this harsh Hellscape. Time and Focus The scale and focus of the game should grow and shrink to fit the needs of the situation. As you Zoom out away from the moment to moment, time speeds up. Use these scales as a guide. These are useful benchmarks, not hard and fast rules Days (24h) A Country or Region Useful for downtime or long distance travel. Watches (4h) A City of Neighborhood Useful for stakeouts or travel. Turns (10m) A City block or Large Building Useful for exploration and chases. Round - (10-60s). Single Room or Building Useful for self contained combat or action scenes where the moment to moment timing matters. Tests When the Operators take an action deemed possible, but risky, the referee with highlight possible consequences, then ask for a test of the relevant ability. To test an ability the player rolls 2d20 and compares them to the relevant ability. If both rolls are equal to or under the ability in question, the attempted action succeeds. If only one is equal to or under the ability, the attempted action more or less succeeds, but the Operator faces consequences or a complications as established by the fiction. If no dice are equal to or under the ability, the attempted action fails and the Operator faces the established consequences. When a Operator has an advantage they may roll 3d20 and pick any two. When a Operator is at a disadvantage they may 1d20. As such they may only achieve a partial success at best. Violence and Action when Operators seek to use violence or cinematic to achieve their goals, or are themselves the target of violence time is tracked in rounds. Each round the players will convey their desired course of action to the referee who will in turn decided on the actions taken by their opposition. Each Operator may perform a single action. If any actions proposed warrant a Test, the referee will call for them before the round plays out. All actions are resolved simultaneously. Timing If the result of two or more combatants actions conflict, or depend on timing, have the involved parties test Edge to find out what happens. Harm Any combatants who make attacks roll for effect and inflict and equal amount of harm on their target reduced by the target’s defense. Operators with relevant cyberware may educe its quality by 1 and test Synth to avoid harm. Failure renders the cyberware a liability and does not negate any harm Injury and Death Suffered Harm reduces an Operators Cool first. When Cool reaches zero any further damage reduces the relevant ability and causes an Injury. The referee will determine the specifics of the injury and what ongoing effect it has based on the fiction. Operators suffering a wound must test the now lowered ability or risk being taken out (knocked out, in shock, system crash.) Operators who have been taken out will suffer permanent effects or even death if they do not receive aid promptly. Meat - Knocked out Broken Bone, Flesh Wound, Burn Edge - In Shock Concussed, Blinded, Slowed Synth - System Crash Glitchy, Power Loss, Low Bandwidth Recovery and Repair Recovery Short Rest - 1 Turn - Regain Cool Downtime - 1d6 Days - Call in a favor, or take on debt to heal a wound. Mark XP Repair Short Term Solution - 1d6 Turns - Increase quality 1. Disadvantage on next quality test. Quick Fix - 1 Day - Test Synth to restore 2 quality. Requires tools and supplies. Overhaul - 1d6 Days - Call in a favor or take on debt to restore 3 quality. Mark XP Skills Operators who have skills relevant to an action they are taking may roll with advantage. Operators with both the tools and the training to perform a risky action should not make be required to make a Test unless the circumstances would make such an action impossible without the tools and skill, which should be almost never. Operators are assumed to have all skills reasonable for their Archetype, plus any learned during play. Reputation and Reflection. Operators gain Rep then they: Heal an Injury. Overhaul their Cyberware. Complete a Job Complete a Rouge Job Let their desires get in the way of the job. Doublecross someone who trusts them. Splurge on excess. Grow a gang. Increase a their gang’s scope. Operators can lay low and reflect for 1d6 Days and spend 1Rep/level to do one of the following: Roll 3d6 for each ability, increasing the ability if the roll is higher than the current score. roll 1d6/level. If above current Cool, replace with new total. If below, increase Cool by 1. Max 20. Learn 2 skills Increase Archetype perk by 1. Gang grows by 50%. This also costs 1 cash/L. The Net The Net, Cyberspace, The Matrix: a network of powerful computer systems joined into a virtual space, translated through electrodes into the brains of its users joining the minds of all those who partake, in a limitless mass hallucination. It is accessible by anyone, though only those with skill and talent can navigate fast enough to avoid the logic gates and hunter-killer counter measures that protect corporate data stores and discourage prying eyes. Those truly committed to gaining every advantage over the competition get fitted with direct implant neural interfaces, allowing them to move at the speed of thought. The best of the best view each other as the only competition, never willing to give up a piece of the pie. Sadly Analog Netrunning leaves little in the way of meaningful stakes and choices for players to make without becoming a series of dungeon rooms and given that it is most often done by a single player, it is not conducive to group place unless the focus cuts back and forth to other players doing something else tense or exciting. As such, I recommend using the simple Netrunning for most tasks, and save the detailed for the climax when its all coming together or falling apart. Single Roll Netrunning To make a run on a network the runner must have access to the network. Most networks are publicly connected, but some private networks are kept on local nets and require access physical access to run. Network Security is displayed as X Layers, from 1-10 This represents various countermeasures such as, exhaustive crypto gates, dedicated counter-runners, and hunter-killer programs called ICE. Operators make Runs on networks to achieve a proposed effect, be it skimming pay data, accessing confidential records, or manipulating electronic systems in meat space. Operators Test Synth to make a Run. Rolls below the effective security level are failures. Operators may roll with disadvantage to achieve an extra effect. Runs last a single round in meat space. Cyberdeck have installed programs. Neural Interface Users ignore 1 Layer Consequences for failure should affect the Operator in meat space. Mnemonic Feedback (Damage their Meat) Bioelcetric Dissonance (Damage their Cyberware) IP Trace (Send threats to their location) Pointcrawl Netrunning Should you wish to play out Netrunning use the following as a guideline and I would encourage you to only do so when the rest of the Operators are doing something else exciting at the same time. Generate a stupid little die drop map. The Runner starts on any open Gate. Every turn the Runner takes an action after which the referee rolls a d6 to see how the system responds 1 Turn on The Net takes only 1 round in reality. Cyberdecks have an installed program. Neural Interface user ignore 1 Layer. Network Response Hostile Netrunner Encounter. Mnemonic Dissonance. (1d6 Harm, bypasses cool) Rate limited (Disadvantage on tests next turn) Bioelectric Feedback. (Damage Cyberware) Alert. (+1 layer in local network) Skimmed Paydata (Gain 1 PayData) Runner Actions Transfer to a connected node. Access an encrypted Data Bank. Manipulate System Node to affect IRL computer systems. Bypass Gate or ICE for 1d6 turns. Disable Gate or ICE permanently. Requires Runner to Test Synth. Activate ICE Advance ICE Lock Gate. Encrypt Data Retreat ICE. Deactivate ICE. Die Drop. Drop a handful of die on a grid of some sort. The more the die the bigger an more complex the system. Give each node a unique label, either a number or a letter is fine, but its a good deal more fun to give vague referential clues and red herrings. (Name all the decoys after deserts, or all the ICE after gods). Set Network Security to 1-6 Layers this is the baseline security for the network and is changed by each node. Use the table below to determine what each node is, what other nodes it is connected to, how secure it is. If you are missing an important node, either for connections, or the proposed, add it where you see fit. Break the rules. Keep it interesting. These can be generated ahead of time or on the fly, either way don’t let your players see the dice. Nodes: ICE - Connect to System (+1d6 Layers) Decoy - Connect to Gates and ICE (+1 Layers) Locked Gate - Connect to System and Decoy (+1d6 Layers) Open Gate - Connect to ICE and Data Bank (0 Layers) Data Bank - Connect To Locked Gate (+2 Layers) System - Connect to Decoy. (+1d6 Layers)
Dystopia Rules and guidelines for running the game. The Sprawl Spires Shining chrome monoliths tower above the neon coated slums. Shielded from the reality of the city below by clouds of purified air. Locations Corporate Offices Luxury Apartments Upscale Entertainment High-end Shopping Decadent Nightlife Engineered Greenspaces People Polite Security Carefree Youth Wild Hedonists Compelling Charlatans High-strung Entertainers Ruthless Executives Getting Around Mass Transit High Speed Mag-Lev lines allow residents to travel to destinations thousands of miles away in mere minutes.Though used only by the lowest end couriers and and the occasional curious resident, each Heaven connects to the rapid transit networks that worm beneath the Slums. Foot Traffic State of the art Vacculifts and moving walkways connect most locations. Hiking trails and walking paths are plentiful and well maintained. Cars Cars and Hovers are not uncommon, though the former has only limited practical usefulness as the few roads within were constructed for sport and leisure. Playboy thrill seekers are known to race hovers just above the gridlocked streets of the Slums and breakneck speed. Accidents cost less to clean up down there. Aircraft Private Aircraft are the most common way to travel between Heavens for those with no urgency and the only way to completely ensure safety from exposure to the horrors of poor people. Slums Hyper dense urban decay squeezed tightly between fire spewing industrial megaliths. and overstuffed corporate arcologies. Bathed in Neon light and coated in filth. Locations Questionable Street-Food. Illicit Nightlife. Automated Industry. Dangerous Blackmarkets. Soul-Crushing Poverty. Capsule Apartments. People Hostile Security. Hopeless Youth. Desperate Addicts. Amoral Opportunists. Hardened Criminals. Corporate Thugs. Getting Around Mass Transit A hodgepodge network of private rapid transit systems built to move Employees and Consumers within the controlling Corp’s sphere of influence and limit freedom of movement. Access is often restricted to Corporate employees and those that sell publicly access charge too much for anyone to afford more than one. Cars A maze of crumbling streets and highways slice the slums in every direction. A thick haze floats above the swarms of automated delivery trucks locked in an eternal traffic jam. Hovers operating above 30ft attract private police gangs eager to extort a bribe. Foot Traffic The very design of The Slums make it a hostile and dangerous environment ill suited to support human life. Dark alleys teem with the crushed and broken people pushed beyond their limits and stripped of their empathy, willing to take what they need by any means necessary. Throngs of glassy eyed consumers choke thoroughfares and plazas like workers bees looking to purchase their purpose. Backwaters Unincorporated pockets of neglected land half consumed by the wilderness. The obsolete scraps of the Corporations, severed and left to rot so that what remains might maintain the blistering pace of progress. The lack of cameras, lights, and consumers gives the backcountry a renewed purpose as a prime candidate for wet works, black ops, and myriad other illegal activities The Corporations would prefer not tied back to them. Locations Rusting Scrapyard Crumbling Factory Abandoned Outpost Derelict Hangar Inconspicuous Farmstead Condemned Arcology People Tightlipped Mercenary Mystic Nomad Anxious Refuge Brilliant Hermit Undeterred Homesteader Lonely Artificial Getting Around Mass Transit Sealed subway tubes connect to decommissioned stations beneath most locations. despite being officially abandoned any are still actively guard by artificial and organic sentries. Cars Access roads and old stretches of highway, some decommissioned before completion sit unmaintained as the land slowly consumes them. Waste gangs often deem chunks of roadway as their own, a claim that is rarely acknowledged let alone contested. Foot Traffic Traveling on foot is the best way to avoid the relatively few electric eyes that watch over the ignored corners of the backcountry, but the wilds are sprawling and fraught with dangers both human and inhuman. The folks that make a home in these parts don’t take kindly to strangers. The Ruins They called it an “accident,” or an “unexpected error.” Professional scapegoats dove on the grenade as soon as the checks cleared. They immediately resigned in well honed disgrace, then disappeared before the ink on their confessions was dry. They were convicted in abesntia and never seen again. The records clearly place all burdens, financial and criminal, solely on them. The Corporation authorizes bonuses, as share values swell. Their “mistake” is forgotten, yesterdays news, as are the inhabitants, deemed an "Unsound Investment"by the number crunchers at The Corporation’s Disaster Relief subsidiary. "An unwise risk to our struggling and over-regulated economy,"per a statement from the Office of the FedGov CFO. Powerless to right the wrongs wrought upon the land and its people, most just turn a blind eye to the crater as their parents did before them. Locations Uncanny Village Crumbling Building Collapsed Structure Shattered Cityblocks Fortified Bunker Glowing Crater People Guilt-Wracked Killer Powerful child Disarming Messiah Low-Tech Anarchist Delusional Vigilante Timid Cannibal Getting Around. Mass Transit The scattered remains of portions of the rapid transit tunes lie intact just below the ground, in places where the ground wasn’t disintegrated. If your players find and access these tunnels, then congratulations, I am very impressed, however sorry to say that is beyond the scope of this book, but id really love to hear what you came up with. Cars Fractured asphalt and blasted crater make for a rough ride. Modern cars struggle in the ruins but the high clearance of vintage cars and off-road vehicles can manage. Hovers excel at traversing the rugged terrain but their fragile turbine engines require vigilant dust removal lest they clog and fail catastrophically. Many, fleeing snapping jaws of the private justice system, get drawn into roving motor gangs. These gangs avoid corporate response and are allowed to grow until cost analysis dictates their removal to be a profitable endeavor based on projected costs and market trends. Foot Traffic Overland travel is slow and arduous. The landscape is vast, and tainted by the echoes of The Event. The slow pace of hiking damns travelers to prolonged exposure, slowly changing them in unpredictable ways. Determined nomads, seeking freedom that the backcountry can’t provide, either fighting the changes to the bitter end, or welcoming them with open arms and open minds. Corporations Creating Corps The below tables are intended as guidelines and inspiration for generating the Corps that control and exploit your Sprawl. Coming up with your own options is encouraged. Name your corp by mashing together its sectors with some Cyberspeak pg.XX. Try translating things to Japanese, Chinese, or Russian to really lean into the tropes. Alternatively find a fitting name from the Corps list on pg.XX Examples: Bio-Nexus, FedGov, Pinnacle News and Munitions, Omnistar Interstellar. Primary Sector Choose or roll 3 Sectors The Corporation dominates. Corps that share a sector are bitter rivals. Manufacturing Social Services Construction Real Estate Finance Logistics Medicine Consumer Entertainment Electronics Agriculture Emergency Services Energy Water Housing Transit Waste Recycling Retail Microprocessor Mining Fishing Food Recycling Travel Resorts Marketing Religion Philosophy Bio-Tech Automotive Communication Weapons Law Education Space Charity Robotics Cloning Agenda Choose or roll an Agenda The Corporation is furthering. Suppress a Movement Overcome Regulation Start a War Change History Incite Violence Takeover Rival Corp Crisis Choose or roll the Crisis The Corporation is managing. Leadership Crisis Public Scandal Sector Crash Insolvent Assets Political Crusade Losing War with Rival Corp Using Corps Procedures and guidelines for tracking corporate interest and response to Operators actions. Gangs Gang is a blanket term for an organized group that doesn’t fall under direct purview of a Corporate structure, though all but the fringe collectivists gangs ultimately serve a corporate handler. Use the tables below to generate gangs for your Sprawl. Type Religious Police Tech Syndicate Street Political Aesthetic Sports Drugs Youth Anonymity Vehicles Military Scope Small Time - (5+) Street corners and backrooms. On the Rise - (50+) - Apartment blocks and warehouses. Established - (5,00+) - A whole Arcology. Local Power - 5,000+) - A dozen city blocks. Syndicate - (50,000+) - International presence Corporation - (500,000+) - A shifting network of obfuscating holding companies. Mien Unpredictable Methodical Reckless Craven Sinister Intimidating [Operator Gangs] Operators may start, or take over, or in rare circumstances, inherit a gang. Founding Starting a gang costs Cash equal to the gangs Scope. Treat them as a contact, and roll 1d4+1 for Disposition. The new gang has members equal to the minimum + a relevant Ability. Hostile Takeover Taking over a gang requires taking out their current leadership or forcing them to kneel. This should be handled in the fiction mostly. Kill gang leaders, buy up old debts, blackmail them. Let the situation determine the gangs new Disposition. Passed Down Once is a lifetime the head of a gang steps down and passes on their dynasty. This should almost certainly create internal conflict and be the focus of the game. Threats Drones Operators Executives Contacts [Prose about contacts] Name - Resource - Disposition. Operators can call on 1 contact every job to source gear, perform tasks, or dig up info. Contacts can be paid in Cash or Operators can choose to take on Debt. Even hostile contacts will offer to trade favors, though doublecrosses are common from unfriendly Contacts. Dispositions may change during downtime depending on how things go during a Job. Disposition Hostile Avoidant Cagey Amicable Loyal Owned Contacts Hacker Collective. Corporate Mole. Information Broker. Freelance Operator. Blackmarket Smuggler. Unlicensed Cybersurgeon Material World Finance [CLASS/Consumer Class/CC] [Consumer Level/Liability and Solvency Status.] Four words that now determine the functional worth of the citizens The Sprawl. It is, simply put, a systematically enforced guarantee of purchasing power calculated by modeling all publicly available data to predict future earning and spending, determine safe debt thresholds. Private Federal Banks automate loan application and approval to maintain spending power and maintain maximum credit circulation. The end result is a single number that determines what you can eat, where you can live, and which emergency services you pre-qualify for. Those with CLASS 0 are barred from public finance, or intentionally Off the Grid. Cash Cash is the preferred untraceable currency for those operating outside the bounds of corporate policy and legal statue particularly those looking to remain anonymous. Cash can be used to purchase just about anything without leaving a paper trail. Corps and Gangs pay Operators Cash for Jobs. Operators pay off Debts with Cash. Blackmarkets take cash for contraband. Gangs take Cash Bribes. Use this table to give your paper transactions some flavor. The amount in parenthesis is about 1 unit of cash, but this is only intended as set dressing. Cash Wulong - (100-500k) New-Yen- (1-5m) Greenback - (10-50k) Pounds Sterling - (50-100k) Neo-Euro - (1-10k) Ruble.v2- (10-50m) Debt During downtime operators can spend cash to pay off debts 1:1. For each remaining Overdue Debt roll 1d6 and consult the collections table. Mark any remaining debt gained since the last downtime as Overdue. Collections Due in full. Collection Agents will be dispatched in 24hrs. Extension Fee +1 Debt. Compound Interest +1 Debt. Assets frozen. Lose one piece of gear. UBI garnished -1 credit Contact harassed or harmed to send a message. No longer on good terms. Gear Most gear can be purchased for 1 Cash in secret on the blackmarket. CLASS can be permanently lowered by 1d6 to legally purchase gear on the public ledger. Weapons d6-1_ Unarmed d6___ Weapon d6___ Special Weapon (Special Property) Special Properties Munitions Armor Piercing (Ignore 2 Defense) Smart Aim (-1 Harm but hits all possible targets) Experimental (+1 Harm, Area, Loud ) High Caliber (+2 Harm) Explosive (Area) Rapid Fire (Shoot Twice) (Harm everything near target) (Makes lots of noise when fired) Close Combat Plasma (Ignore 3 Defense) Bleeding Edge (+2 Harm) Powered (+1 Harm, Reach) Collapsing (Discrete) Paired (Attack Twice) Surgical (Ignores Cool) Defense 1 - Body Armor (Bulky) 2 - Heavy Armor (Heavy, Bulky) 3 - Cyber-Frame (Bulky, +1 to all abilities) +1 - Improvised Shield (Heavy Bulky) +1 - Tactical Shield Cyberware Condition Roll a d6 for each piece of cyberware to determine its Condition Pristine - Advantage when used Cared for Used Worn Unreliable A Liability - Disadvantage when used. Cyberdamage Test Synth when cybernetics could be damaged. On a failure, roll a 6. If equal to or greater than current conditions, reduce it by 1 If less than current condition reduce to match roll. Damaged cyberware is expense to repair. Cybergear Mag Grapple.(Magnetic grappling gun) Motion Sensor. (Self Explanatory?) Digital Bypass. (Ignore 1 layer of security) Signal Jammer. (Disrupts electronic communication in given area) Cyberdeck. (Allows access to the Net) Shaped Charges, 1d6. (Small focused demolition charges) Spy Drone, Flying/Crawling. (Remote control, short range) Nano-Doc Capsules, 1d6 (Ignore an injury for 1d6 days. Reduce Meat by 1 permanently) Holo-Shift Mask. (Worn on the head it generates a holographic disguise) Hoverboard. (Hovers up to 2 feet off the ground. Does not work over water) Major Cybernetics Net Interface (Allows for hacking from any network access point) Active Camo (10m/ level renders user invisible when still, but only obscured if moving relative to surroundings) Muscle Graft (Advantage on saves related to physical strength) Synthetic Nerves (Advantage of saves related to reflexes and agility) Skill Slots (Allow for skill chip usage to provide the skills. 2 slot per level. Comes with 1 chip) Targeting Computer (+1 on effect with ranged weapons) Minor Cybertnetics Cyberarms (Stronger/Faster Legs) Cyberlegs (Stronger/Faster Legs) Cybereyes (Can Record/Filter/Enhance perceived sights) Cyberears (Can Record/Filter/Enhance perceived sounds) Implant Weapons (A weapon built into a body part) Implant Tool (A Cybertool built into a body part) Subdermal Armor (+1 Defense, useless against firearms) Software Programs cool prose about programs Veteran Brainscan (Skills as if Hacker) Mnemonic Hash (Ignore Mnemonic Feedback) IP Scrambler (Ignore Trace) ICE Breaker (Ignore 1 Layer) Instant Backdoor (Achieve no effect but ignore consequences.) Virus bomb (Reroll 1 die) Skill Chips - Pick 2 - 1 Cash cool prose about skill chips skill chips allow Operators with skill slots to become instant experts at a specific skill Excess Legal Excess: Not only legal but marketed relentlessly and available 24/7 on every block. When you indulge in legal excess, consider what you can afford, what attention it might draw. Excess for Cash Deemed contraband by the major security Corps and hidden away in sub-basements and vacant warehouses. 1 cash covers all but the most out of control binges. Describe what excesses you indulge in and roll 3d6, 4d6 if spending cash. If total exceeds Cool, roll a d6 to determine the trouble you’ve gotten in. If the total equals Cool gain +1 Edge. Trouble Make an Enemy. Get Arrested. (-1 Cred for 5 Year Bail Loan) Somehow Overbudget (+ 1 Debt.) Damage Cyberware/[tool]} -1 Rep. -2 Rep. Jobs Structure Jobs and Downtime give the gave a structure and pace not tied directly to the passage of time. Jobs give players a goal to research and achieve but also drain them of resources and saddle them with debts. Downtime provides a a chance to reflect on what has happened and think about how it has changed the Operators, as well as way to pass large chunks of time without worrying about debts and complications. Jobs Contract Work Jobs on behalf of gangs or corps that pay in cash or favors. Contract Work Extraction Get an asset out of a secure location. Who are what is the asset? Who wants it and why? Who else wants it? Where is it located? How is it protected? Sabotage Destroy something. What is the target? Who wants it destroyed and why? Where is it located? How is it protected? Wet Work Eliminating 1 or more targets. Who is the target? Who wants them dead and why? Where are they located? How are they protected? Protection Sabotage/Terrorism Wet Work/Assassination Escort/Protection Espionage/Surveillance Roll 2 more times and combine. Ignore 6s. Handler: Fixer Lawyer Ladder Climber Messenger Thug Executive Twist: Unexpected complications. Setup - The job was the bait catch the Operators in a trap. Personal - One of the operators has a personal connection to the target. Suicidal - The defenses are overwhelming and chances of survival are low. No Doublecross - No one double-crosses the Operators. Bait and Switch - The handler doesn’t ay, or changes the terms. Heinous - The job involves doing something unexpectedly heinous. Doublecross Handler Cagey or worse Gang or Contact Cagey or worse Gang or Contact Skeleton in closet Loyal or worse Gang or Contact Corp Rouge Ops Jobs initiated by operators with a goal in mind. Players hold all the cards, and bear all the responsibility. Downtime Operators can spend a few days, weeks, or months between jobs. The spend this time laying low, but when it ends, their new debts come due, and outstanding debts start becoming problems. During this time Operators can spend rep to level up, pay off debts, get medical care, and repair cyberware. When operators enter Downtime, decide as a group how long they lie low for. Operators may then do the following: Pay for Recovery and Repair. Pay Debts Spend Rep to level up. At the End of downtime do the following: Make changes to contact and gang disposition if warranted by recent events. Advance Corp Agendas -Make changes to the scope of known gangs if warranted by recent events. Mark new debts as overdue Determine Collections for outstanding debts. Events When focus is wider than a round, for each unit of time that passes roll a d6 and consult the table below. A Change or shift in the environment or surroundings. Trouble with an active resource or tool. It will break, or otherwise stop helping next time an event is checked for. Mnemonic Feedback, all Operators with cyberware test synth or suffer 1 harm for each piece. A delay that poses some risk. signs of a troublesome or complicating person or Gang. Encounter them next time an event is checked for. Encounter a troublesome or complicating parson/group.
Cyberspeak Prefixes, Suffixes, Buzzwords, and References for naming the cools cyberstuff that permeates every inch of The Sprawl. Prefixes Omni- Ono- Trans- Neo- Micro- Macro- Ultima- Cypto- Mega- Deca- Killa- Giga- Mono- Duo- Suffixes -dyne -istic -tex -wave -wear -ware -core Buzzwords Apex Tech Blaze Chrome Applied Generative Artificial Simulated Industrial Global National Integrated Vertical Systems Solutions Dynamic Consortium Metro Nexus Capital Broadcasting Infotainment Vortex Obsidian Alpha Beta Delta Omega Jargon Data Net Web Quantum Atomic Tesseract Tessellate Wet Work Black Ops Dark Money Cypher HashInterface Carbon Weave Mesh Names Tetsuo Sendai Nero Astraus Astoroth Tessier Ashpool Miyazaki Janus Yog Turing Akira Achillies Weyland Chan Gibson Reaves Mitski Astly

Mnemonic Feedback

A ruleslight Cyberpunk game hacked together from Into the Odd, and The Sprawl. Inspired by Cyberpunk media, 24XX, and Orbital Blues,
Players are Operators, professionals earning a living doing the dirty work of the Corps. You play it smart and keep your name clean, or you thought you did until some corporate shill dug up something from your past and has you under their thumb. At least they are offering to let you work off the debt, at your own expense that is.

Just about all of the mechanics, tables, and guidelines presented in this book can be adjusted to fit your tables needs and preferences. Plenty of the sub systems may be ignored depending on chosen Archetypes. Use what works for you, and change or discard anything that doesn’t.

Operators

Players control Operators, skilled professionals earning a living doing the dirty work of the Corps.
You play it smart and keep your name clean, or you thought you did until some corporate shill dug up something from your past and has you under their thumb. At least they are offering to let you work off the debt, at your own expense that is.

Abilities

Roll 3d6 for each. Swap any two.

Meat

Physical prowess, Endurance,

Edge

Reflexes, cunning, determination

Synth

Interfacing with machines, computers, and the net.

Cool

roll 1d6 for Cool. Ability to avoid harm.

Details

Archetype

Roll or choose an Archetype. Discuss what that Archetype means to you, the other players, and the referee. Your Operator is assumed to have the skills and know how of someone associated with this archetype. What are some of those skills or areas of knowledge?(2-4 ideally. You are not limited to using these skills, they are just to flesh them out for everyone.)

Fixer: You have a side hustle that generates 1 credit, what is it?
Killer: You deal +1 damage, what is your weapon of choice?
Soldier: You ignore 1 injury for a day, where did you serve?
Infiltrator: You have 1 [SUPER HIGH TECH SPY GADGET], what does it do?
Driver: You have a HIgh Tech Vehicle, what does it look and sound like?
Hunter: You have +1 Cool, who do you hunt?
Pusher: You have 1 Devotee/L, why do they need you?
Reporter: You have 1 Inside Source, why do you trust them?
Hacker: You ignore Layer 1 Encryption, where do your source your passwords?
Tech: You have 1 Specialist Toolkit, what is it for?

CLASS

Debt

Some ladder climbing corpo-rat bought up an old debt leading back to you and is threatening to take action if you don’t meet with them to discuss payment arrangements.
Roll or choose a debt.

Gambling
Medical
Inherited
[Borrowed/Loan]
Blackmail
Legal

Look

Roll or choose a Look. What is your signature garment or feature?

Slick
Serious
Stylish
Sloppy
Subversive
Sexy

Desire

Roll or Choose a Desire. Who or what inspired your Desire?

Wealth
Fame
Pleasure
Revenge
Freedom
Power

Gear

Blackmarket

Choose 1 from each pair.

Cybergear/Body Armor
Weapon/Minor Cybernetics
Special Weapon/Major Cybernetics

Weapons

d6-1_ Unarmed
d6___ Weapon
d6___ Special Weapon (Special Property)

Special Properties

Munitions

Armor Piercing (Ignore 2 Defense)
Smart Aim (-1 Harm but hits all possible targets)
Experimental (+1 Harm, Area, Loud )
High Caliber (+2 Harm)
Explosive (Area)
Rapid Fire (Shoot Twice)
(Harm everything near target)
(Makes lots of noise when fired)

Close Combat

Plasma (Ignore 3 Defense)
[Bleeding Edge/Cyber] (+2 Harm)
Powered (+1 Harm, Reach)
Collapsing (Discrete)
Paired (Attack Twice)
Surgical (Ignores Cool)

Defense

1 - Body Armor (Bulky)
2 - Heavy Armor (Heavy, Bulky)
3 - Cyber-Frame (Bulky, +1 to all abilities)
+1 - Improvised Shield (Heavy Bulky)
+1 - Tactical Shield

Cyberware

Condition

Roll a d6 for each piece of cyberware to determine its Condition

Pristine - Advantage when used
Cared for
Used
Worn
Unreliable
A Liability - Disadvantage when used.

Cyberdamage

Test Synth when cybernetics could be damaged. On a failure, roll a 6.

If equal to or greater than current conditions, reduce it by 1
If less than current condition reduce to match roll.
Damaged cyberware is expense to repair.

Cybergear

Mag Grapple.(Magnetic grappling gun)
Motion Sensor. (Self Explanatory?)
Digital Bypass. (Ignore 1 layer of security)
Signal Jammer. (Disrupts electronic communication in given area)
Cyberdeck. (Allows access to the Net)
Shaped Charges, 1d6. (Small focused demolition charges)
Spy Drone, Flying/Crawling. (Remote control, short range)
Nano-Doc Capsules, 1d6 (Ignore an injury for 1d6 days. Reduce Meat by 1 permanently)
Holo-Shift Mask. (Worn on the head it generates a holographic disguise)
Hoverboard. (Hovers up to 2 feet off the ground. Does not work over water)

Major Cybernetics

Net Interface (Allows for hacking from any network access point)
Active Camo (10m/ level renders user invisible when still, but only obscured if moving relative to surroundings)
Muscle Graft (Advantage on saves related to physical strength)
Synthetic Nerves (Advantage of saves related to reflexes and agility)
Skill Slots (Allow for skill chip usage to provide the skills. 2 slot per level. Comes with 1 chip)
Targeting Computer (+1 on effect with ranged weapons)

Minor Cybertnetics

Cyberarms (Stronger/Faster Legs)/Cyberlegs (Stronger/Faster Legs)
Cybereyes (Can Record/Filter/Enhance perceived sights)
Cyberears (Can Record/Filter/Enhance perceived sounds)
Implant Weapons (A weapon built into a body part)
Implant Tool (A Cybertool built into a body part)
Subdermal Armor (+1 Defense, useless against firearms)

Posessions

Choose three items from your CLASS or lower.
CLASS 0

A dozen fake single use transit passes.
Cheap french knockoff Datapad.
Capsule hotel dongle, weeknights only.
CLASS 2
Rideshare membership transponder.
Last gen datapad,
Arcology keyfob, a windowless sub-studio.
CLASS 4
Sub-compact Electric Vehicle.
Next gen Holopad
Safehouse Key, it reconfigures daily

Vaporware

The Weapons, Properties, Armor, and Cyberware presented are not the end all be all. Players and Referees are strongly encouraged to come up with their own high tech chrome plated works of art. Ride the wave or get left behind.

Gameplay

The Referee creates a dangerous and oppressive world for the Operators to explore interact with. Operators start in a tight spot. They each owe someone a debt they cant afford to repay. They must work against the odds to survive this harsh Hellscape.

Time and Focus

The scale and focus of the game should grow and shrink to fit the needs of the situation. As you Zoom out away from the moment to moment, time speeds up. Use these scales as a guide. These are useful benchmarks, not hard and fast rules
Days (24h) A Country or Region
Useful for downtime or long distance travel.
Watches (4h) A City of Neighborhood
Useful for stakeouts or travel.
Turns (10m) A City block or Large Building
Useful for exploration and chases.
Round - (10-60s). Single Room or Building
Useful for self contained combat or action scenes where the moment to moment timing matters.

Tests

When the Operators take an action deemed possible, but risky, the referee with highlight possible consequences, then ask for a test of the relevant ability. To test an ability the player rolls 2d20 and compares them to the relevant ability.
If both rolls are equal to or under the ability in question, the attempted action succeeds. If only one is equal to or under the ability, the attempted action more or less succeeds, but the Operator faces consequences or a complications as established by the fiction. If no dice are equal to or under the ability, the attempted action fails and the Operator faces the established consequences.

When a Operator has an advantage they may roll 3d20 and pick any two.
When a Operator is at a disadvantage they may 1d20. As such they may only achieve a partial success at best.

Violence and Action

when Operators seek to use violence or cinematic to achieve their goals, or are themselves the target of violence time is tracked in rounds. Each round the players will convey their desired course of action to the referee who will in turn decided on the actions taken by their opposition. Each Operator may perform a single action. If any actions proposed warrant a Test, the referee will call for them before the round plays out. All actions are resolved simultaneously.

Timing

If the result of two or more combatants actions conflict, or depend on timing, have the involved parties test Edge to find out what happens.

Harm

Any combatants who make attacks roll for effect and inflict and equal amount of harm on their target reduced by the target’s defense.

Operators with relevant cyberware may educe its quality by 1 and test Synth to avoid harm. Failure renders the cyberware a liability and does not negate any harm

Injury and Death

Suffered Harm reduces an Operators Cool first. When Cool reaches zero any further damage reduces the relevant ability and causes an Injury. The referee will determine the specifics of the injury and what ongoing effect it has based on the fiction. Operators suffering a wound must test the now lowered ability or risk being taken out (knocked out, in shock, system crash.) Operators who have been taken out will suffer permanent effects or even death if they do not receive aid promptly.

Meat - Knocked out
Broken Bone, Flesh Wound, Burn

Edge - In Shock
Concussed, Blinded, Slowed

Synth - System Crash
Glitchy, Power Loss, Low Bandwidth

Recovery and Repair

Recovery

Short Rest - 1 Turn - Regain Cool
Downtime - 1d6 Days - Call in a favor, or take on debt to heal a wound. Mark XP

Repair

Short Term Solution - 1d6 Turns - Increase quality 1. Disadvantage on next quality test.
Quick Fix - 1 Day - Test Synth to restore 2 quality. Requires tools and supplies.
Overhaul - 1d6 Days - Call in a favor or take on debt to restore 3 quality. Mark XP

Skills

Operators who have skills relevant to an action they are taking may roll with advantage.

Operators with both the tools and the training to perform a risky action should not make be required to make a Test unless the circumstances would make such an action impossible without the tools and skill, which should be almost never.

Operators are assumed to have all skills reasonable for their Archetype, plus any learned during play.

Reputation and Reflection.

Operators gain Rep then they:

Heal an Injury.
Overhaul their Cyberware.
Complete a Job
Complete a Rouge Job
Let their desires get in the way of the job.
Doublecross someone who trusts them.
Splurge on excess.
Grow a gang.
Increase a their gang’s scope.

Operators can lay low and reflect for 1d6 Days and spend 1Rep/level to do one of the following:

Roll 3d6 for each ability, increasing the ability if the roll is higher than the current score.
roll 1d6/level. If above current Cool, replace with new total. If below, increase Cool by 1. Max 20.
Learn 2 skills
Increase Archetype perk by 1.
Gang grows by 50%. This also costs 1 cash/L.

The Net

The Net, Cyberspace, The Matrix: a network of powerful computer systems joined into a virtual space, translated through electrodes into the brains of its users joining the minds of all those who partake, in a limitless mass hallucination. It is accessible by anyone, though only those with skill and talent can navigate fast enough to avoid the logic gates and hunter-killer counter measures that protect corporate data stores and discourage prying eyes. Those truly committed to gaining every advantage over the competition get fitted with direct implant neural interfaces, allowing them to move at the speed of thought. The best of the best view each other as the only competition, never willing to give up a piece of the pie.

Sadly Analog Netrunning leaves little in the way of meaningful stakes and choices for players to make without becoming a series of dungeon rooms and given that it is most often done by a single player, it is not conducive to group place unless the focus cuts back and forth to other players doing something else tense or exciting. As such, I recommend using the simple Netrunning for most tasks, and save the detailed for the climax when its all coming together or falling apart.

Single Roll Netrunning

To make a run on a network the runner must have access to the network. Most networks are publicly connected, but some private networks are kept on local nets and require access physical access to run.
Network Security is displayed as X Layers, from 1-10 This represents various countermeasures such as, exhaustive crypto gates, dedicated counter-runners, and hunter-killer programs called ICE.
Operators make Runs on networks to achieve a proposed effect, be it skimming pay data, accessing confidential records, or manipulating electronic systems in meat space.
Operators Test Synth to make a Run. Rolls below the effective security level are failures.
Operators may roll with disadvantage to achieve an extra effect.
Runs last a single round in meat space.
Cyberdeck have installed programs.
Neural Interface Users ignore 1 Layer

Consequences for failure should affect the Operator in meat space.

Mnemonic Feedback (Damage their Meat)
Bioelcetric Dissonance (Damage their Cyberware)
IP Trace (Send threats to their location)

Pointcrawl Netrunning

Should you wish to play out Netrunning use the following as a guideline and I would encourage you to only do so when the rest of the Operators are doing something else exciting at the same time.

Generate a stupid little die drop map. The Runner starts on any open Gate.
Every turn the Runner takes an action after which the referee rolls a d6 to see how the system responds
1 Turn on The Net takes only 1 round in reality.
Cyberdecks have an installed program.
Neural Interface user ignore 1 Layer.

Network Response

Hostile Netrunner Encounter.
Mnemonic Dissonance. (1d6 Harm, bypasses cool)
Rate limited (Disadvantage on tests next turn)
Bioelectric Feedback. (Damage Cyberware)
Alert. (+1 layer in local network)
Skimmed Paydata (Gain 1 PayData)

Runner Actions

Transfer to a connected node.
Access an encrypted Data Bank.
Manipulate System Node to affect IRL computer systems.
Bypass Gate or ICE for 1d6 turns.
Disable Gate or ICE permanently. Requires Runner to Test Synth.

Activate ICE
Advance ICE
Lock Gate.
Encrypt Data
Retreat ICE.
Deactivate ICE.

Die Drop.

Drop a handful of die on a grid of some sort. The more the die the bigger an more complex the system. Give each node a unique label, either a number or a letter is fine, but its a good deal more fun to give vague referential clues and red herrings. (Name all the decoys after deserts, or all the ICE after gods). Set Network Security to 1-6 Layers this is the baseline security for the network and is changed by each node.

Use the table below to determine what each node is, what other nodes it is connected to, how secure it is. If you are missing an important node, either for connections, or the proposed, add it where you see fit. Break the rules. Keep it interesting. These can be generated ahead of time or on the fly, either way don’t let your players see the dice.

Nodes:

ICE - Connect to System (+1d6 Layers)
Decoy - Connect to Gates and ICE (+1 Layers)
Locked Gate - Connect to System and Decoy (+1d6 Layers)
Open Gate - Connect to ICE and Data Bank (0 Layers)
Data Bank - Connect To Locked Gate (+2 Layers)
System - Connect to Decoy. (+1d6 Layers)

Dystopia

Rules and guidelines for running the game.

The Sprawl

Spires

Shining chrome monoliths tower above the neon coated slums. Shielded from the reality of the city below by clouds of purified air.

Locations

Corporate Offices
Luxury Apartments
Upscale Entertainment
High-end Shopping
Decadent Nightlife
Engineered Greenspaces

People

Polite Security
Carefree Youth
Wild Hedonists
Compelling Charlatans
High-strung Entertainers
Ruthless Executives

Getting Around

Mass Transit
High Speed Mag-Lev lines allow residents to travel to destinations thousands of miles away in mere minutes.Though used only by the lowest end couriers and and the occasional curious resident, each Heaven connects to the rapid transit networks that worm beneath the Slums.

Foot Traffic
State of the art Vacculifts and moving walkways connect most locations. Hiking trails and walking paths are plentiful and well maintained.

Cars
Cars and Hovers are not uncommon, though the former has only limited practical usefulness as the few roads within were constructed for sport and leisure. Playboy thrill seekers are known to race hovers just above the gridlocked streets of the Slums and breakneck speed. Accidents cost less to clean up down there.

Aircraft
Private Aircraft are the most common way to travel between Heavens for those with no urgency and the only way to completely ensure safety from exposure to the horrors of poor people.

Slums

Hyper dense urban decay squeezed tightly between fire spewing industrial megaliths. and overstuffed corporate arcologies. Bathed in Neon light and coated in filth.

Locations

Questionable Street-Food.
Illicit Nightlife.
Automated Industry.
Dangerous Blackmarkets.
Soul-Crushing Poverty.
Capsule Apartments.

People

Hostile Security.
Hopeless Youth.
Desperate Addicts.
Amoral Opportunists.
Hardened Criminals.
Corporate Thugs.

Getting Around

Mass Transit
A hodgepodge network of private rapid transit systems built to move Employees and Consumers within the controlling Corp’s sphere of influence and limit freedom of movement. Access is often restricted to Corporate employees and those that sell publicly access charge too much for anyone to afford more than one.

Cars
A maze of crumbling streets and highways slice the slums in every direction. A thick haze floats above the swarms of automated delivery trucks locked in an eternal traffic jam. Hovers operating above 30ft attract private police gangs eager to extort a bribe.

Foot Traffic
The very design of The Slums make it a hostile and dangerous environment ill suited to support human life. Dark alleys teem with the crushed and broken people pushed beyond their limits and stripped of their empathy, willing to take what they need by any means necessary. Throngs of glassy eyed consumers choke thoroughfares and plazas like workers bees looking to purchase their purpose.

Backwaters

Unincorporated pockets of neglected land half consumed by the wilderness. The obsolete scraps of the Corporations, severed and left to rot so that what remains might maintain the blistering pace of progress. The lack of cameras, lights, and consumers gives the backcountry a renewed purpose as a prime candidate for wet works, black ops, and myriad other illegal activities The Corporations would prefer not tied back to them.

Locations

Rusting Scrapyard
Crumbling Factory
Abandoned Outpost
Derelict Hangar
Inconspicuous Farmstead
Condemned Arcology

People

Tightlipped Mercenary
Mystic Nomad
Anxious Refuge
Brilliant Hermit
Undeterred Homesteader
Lonely Artificial

Getting Around

Mass Transit
Sealed subway tubes connect to decommissioned stations beneath most locations. despite being officially abandoned any are still actively guard by artificial and organic sentries.

Cars
Access roads and old stretches of highway, some decommissioned before completion sit unmaintained as the land slowly consumes them. Waste gangs often deem chunks of roadway as their own, a claim that is rarely acknowledged let alone contested.

Foot Traffic
Traveling on foot is the best way to avoid the relatively few electric eyes that watch over the ignored corners of the backcountry, but the wilds are sprawling and fraught with dangers both human and inhuman. The folks that make a home in these parts don’t take kindly to strangers.

The Ruins

They called it an “accident,” or an “unexpected error.” Professional scapegoats dove on the grenade as soon as the checks cleared. They immediately resigned in well honed disgrace, then disappeared before the ink on their confessions was dry. They were convicted in abesntia and never seen again. The records clearly place all burdens, financial and criminal, solely on them. The Corporation authorizes bonuses, as share values swell. Their “mistake” is forgotten, yesterdays news, as are the inhabitants, deemed an "Unsound Investment"by the number crunchers at The Corporation’s Disaster Relief subsidiary. "An unwise risk to our struggling and over-regulated economy,"per a statement from the Office of the FedGov CFO. Powerless to right the wrongs wrought upon the land and its people, most just turn a blind eye to the crater as their parents did before them.

Locations

Uncanny Village
Crumbling Building
Collapsed Structure
Shattered Cityblocks
Fortified Bunker
Glowing Crater

People

Guilt-Wracked Killer
Powerful child
Disarming Messiah
Low-Tech Anarchist
Delusional Vigilante
Timid Cannibal

Getting Around.

Mass Transit
The scattered remains of portions of the rapid transit tunes lie intact just below the ground, in places where the ground wasn’t disintegrated. If your players find and access these tunnels, then congratulations, I am very impressed, however sorry to say that is beyond the scope of this book, but id really love to hear what you came up with.

Cars
Fractured asphalt and blasted crater make for a rough ride. Modern cars struggle in the ruins but the high clearance of vintage cars and off-road vehicles can manage. Hovers excel at traversing the rugged terrain but their fragile turbine engines require vigilant dust removal lest they clog and fail catastrophically. Many, fleeing snapping jaws of the private justice system, get drawn into roving motor gangs. These gangs avoid corporate response and are allowed to grow until cost analysis dictates their removal to be a profitable endeavor based on projected costs and market trends.

Foot Traffic
Overland travel is slow and arduous. The landscape is vast, and tainted by the echoes of The Event. The slow pace of hiking damns travelers to prolonged exposure, slowly changing them in unpredictable ways. Determined nomads, seeking freedom that the backcountry can’t provide, either fighting the changes to the bitter end, or welcoming them with open arms and open minds.

Corporations

Creating Corps

The below tables are intended as guidelines and inspiration for generating the Corps that control and exploit your Sprawl. Coming up with your own options is encouraged.

Name your corp by mashing together its sectors with some Cyberspeak pg.XX. Try translating things to Japanese, Chinese, or Russian to really lean into the tropes. Alternatively find a fitting name from the Corps list on pg.XX

Examples: Bio-Nexus, FedGov, Pinnacle News and Munitions, Omnistar Interstellar.

Primary Sector
Choose or roll 3 Sectors The Corporation dominates. Corps that share a sector are bitter rivals.

Manufacturing
Social Services
Construction
Real Estate
Finance
Logistics
Medicine
Consumer Entertainment
Electronics
Agriculture
Emergency Services
Energy
Water
Housing
Transit
Waste Recycling
Retail
Microprocessor
Mining
Fishing
Food Recycling
Travel
Resorts
Marketing
Religion
Philosophy
Bio-Tech
Automotive
Communication
Weapons
Law
Education
Space
Charity
Robotics
Cloning

Agenda
Choose or roll an Agenda The Corporation is furthering.

Suppress a Movement
Overcome Regulation
Start a War
Change History
Incite Violence
Takeover Rival Corp

Crisis
Choose or roll the Crisis The Corporation is managing.

Leadership Crisis
Public Scandal
Sector Crash
Insolvent Assets
Political Crusade
Losing War with Rival Corp

Using Corps

Procedures and guidelines for tracking corporate interest and response to Operators actions.

Gangs

Gang is a blanket term for an organized group that doesn’t fall under direct purview of a Corporate structure, though all but the fringe collectivists gangs ultimately serve a corporate handler.
Use the tables below to generate gangs for your Sprawl.

Type

Religious
Police
Tech
Syndicate
Street
Political

Aesthetic

Sports
Drugs
Youth
Anonymity
Vehicles
Military

Scope

Small Time - (5+) Street corners and backrooms.
On the Rise - (50+) - Apartment blocks and warehouses.
Established - (5,00+) - A whole Arcology.
Local Power - 5,000+) - A dozen city blocks.
Syndicate - (50,000+) - International presence
Corporation - (500,000+) - A shifting network of obfuscating holding companies.

Mien

Unpredictable
Methodical
Reckless
Craven
Sinister
Intimidating

[Operator Gangs]

Operators may start, or take over, or in rare circumstances, inherit a gang.

Founding

Starting a gang costs Cash equal to the gangs Scope.
Treat them as a contact, and roll 1d4+1 for Disposition.
The new gang has members equal to the minimum + a relevant Ability.

Hostile Takeover

Taking over a gang requires taking out their current leadership or forcing them to kneel.
This should be handled in the fiction mostly. Kill gang leaders, buy up old debts, blackmail them.
Let the situation determine the gangs new Disposition.

Passed Down

Once is a lifetime the head of a gang steps down and passes on their dynasty.
This should almost certainly create internal conflict and be the focus of the game.

Threats

Drones

Operators

Executives

Contacts

[Prose about contacts]

Name - Resource - Disposition.
Operators can call on 1 contact every job to source gear, perform tasks, or dig up info.
Contacts can be paid in Cash or Operators can choose to take on Debt.
Even hostile contacts will offer to trade favors, though doublecrosses are common from unfriendly Contacts.
Dispositions may change during downtime depending on how things go during a Job.

Disposition

Hostile
Avoidant
Cagey
Amicable
Loyal
Owned

Contacts

Hacker Collective.
Corporate Mole.
Information Broker.
Freelance Operator.
Blackmarket Smuggler.
Unlicensed Cybersurgeon

Material World

Finance

[CLASS/Consumer Class/CC]

[Consumer Level/Liability and Solvency Status.] Four words that now determine the functional worth of the citizens The Sprawl. It is, simply put, a systematically enforced guarantee of purchasing power calculated by modeling all publicly available data to predict future earning and spending, determine safe debt thresholds. Private Federal Banks automate loan application and approval to maintain spending power and maintain maximum credit circulation. The end result is a single number that determines what you can eat, where you can live, and which emergency services you pre-qualify for. Those with CLASS 0 are barred from public finance, or intentionally Off the Grid.

Cash

Cash is the preferred untraceable currency for those operating outside the bounds of corporate policy and legal statue particularly those looking to remain anonymous.

Cash can be used to purchase just about anything without leaving a paper trail.

Corps and Gangs pay Operators Cash for Jobs.
Operators pay off Debts with Cash.
Blackmarkets take cash for contraband.
Gangs take Cash Bribes.

Use this table to give your paper transactions some flavor. The amount in parenthesis is about 1 unit of cash, but this is only intended as set dressing.

Cash

Wulong - (100-500k)
New-Yen- (1-5m)
Greenback - (10-50k)
Pounds Sterling - (50-100k)
Neo-Euro - (1-10k)
Ruble.v2- (10-50m)

Debt

During downtime operators can spend cash to pay off debts 1:1.
For each remaining Overdue Debt roll 1d6 and consult the collections table.
Mark any remaining debt gained since the last downtime as Overdue.

Collections

Due in full. Collection Agents will be dispatched in 24hrs.
Extension Fee +1 Debt.
Compound Interest +1 Debt.
Assets frozen. Lose one piece of gear.
UBI garnished -1 credit
Contact harassed or harmed to send a message. No longer on good terms.

Gear

Most gear can be purchased for 1 Cash in secret on the blackmarket.
CLASS can be permanently lowered by 1d6 to legally purchase gear on the public ledger.

Weapons

d6-1_ Unarmed
d6___ Weapon
d6___ Special Weapon (Special Property)

Special Properties

Munitions

Close Combat

Plasma (Ignore 3 Defense)
Bleeding Edge (+2 Harm)
Powered (+1 Harm, Reach)
Collapsing (Discrete)
Paired (Attack Twice)
Surgical (Ignores Cool)

Defense

1 - Body Armor (Bulky)
2 - Heavy Armor (Heavy, Bulky)
3 - Cyber-Frame (Bulky, +1 to all abilities)
+1 - Improvised Shield (Heavy Bulky)
+1 - Tactical Shield

Cyberware

Condition

Roll a d6 for each piece of cyberware to determine its Condition

Pristine - Advantage when used
Cared for
Used
Worn
Unreliable
A Liability - Disadvantage when used.

Cyberdamage

Test Synth when cybernetics could be damaged. On a failure, roll a 6.

If equal to or greater than current conditions, reduce it by 1
If less than current condition reduce to match roll.

Damaged cyberware is expense to repair.

Cybergear

Mag Grapple.(Magnetic grappling gun)
Motion Sensor. (Self Explanatory?)
Digital Bypass. (Ignore 1 layer of security)
Signal Jammer. (Disrupts electronic communication in given area)
Cyberdeck. (Allows access to the Net)
Shaped Charges, 1d6. (Small focused demolition charges)
Spy Drone, Flying/Crawling. (Remote control, short range)
Nano-Doc Capsules, 1d6 (Ignore an injury for 1d6 days. Reduce Meat by 1 permanently)
Holo-Shift Mask. (Worn on the head it generates a holographic disguise)
Hoverboard. (Hovers up to 2 feet off the ground. Does not work over water)

Major Cybernetics

Net Interface (Allows for hacking from any network access point)
Active Camo (10m/ level renders user invisible when still, but only obscured if moving relative to surroundings)
Muscle Graft (Advantage on saves related to physical strength)
Synthetic Nerves (Advantage of saves related to reflexes and agility)
Skill Slots (Allow for skill chip usage to provide the skills. 2 slot per level. Comes with 1 chip)
Targeting Computer (+1 on effect with ranged weapons)

Minor Cybertnetics

Cyberarms (Stronger/Faster Legs)
Cyberlegs (Stronger/Faster Legs)
Cybereyes (Can Record/Filter/Enhance perceived sights)
Cyberears (Can Record/Filter/Enhance perceived sounds)
Implant Weapons (A weapon built into a body part)
Implant Tool (A Cybertool built into a body part)
Subdermal Armor (+1 Defense, useless against firearms)

Software

Programs

cool prose about programs

Veteran Brainscan (Skills as if Hacker)
Mnemonic Hash (Ignore Mnemonic Feedback)
IP Scrambler (Ignore Trace)
ICE Breaker (Ignore 1 Layer)
Instant Backdoor (Achieve no effect but ignore consequences.)
Virus bomb (Reroll 1 die)

Skill Chips - Pick 2 - 1 Cash

cool prose about skill chips
skill chips allow Operators with skill slots to become instant experts at a specific skill

Excess

Legal Excess:
Not only legal but marketed relentlessly and available 24/7 on every block.
When you indulge in legal excess, consider what you can afford, what attention it might draw.

Excess for Cash
Deemed contraband by the major security Corps and hidden away in sub-basements and vacant warehouses.
1 cash covers all but the most out of control binges.

Describe what excesses you indulge in and roll 3d6, 4d6 if spending cash.
If total exceeds Cool, roll a d6 to determine the trouble you’ve gotten in.
If the total equals Cool gain +1 Edge.

Trouble

Make an Enemy.
Get Arrested. (-1 Cred for 5 Year Bail Loan)
Somehow Overbudget (+ 1 Debt.)
Damage Cyberware/[tool]}
-1 Rep.
-2 Rep.

Jobs

Structure

Jobs and Downtime give the gave a structure and pace not tied directly to the passage of time. Jobs give players a goal to research and achieve but also drain them of resources and saddle them with debts. Downtime provides a a chance to reflect on what has happened and think about how it has changed the Operators, as well as way to pass large chunks of time without worrying about debts and complications.

Jobs

Contract Work

Jobs on behalf of gangs or corps that pay in cash or favors.

Contract Work

Extraction

Get an asset out of a secure location.

Who are what is the asset?
Who wants it and why?
Who else wants it?
Where is it located?
How is it protected?

Sabotage

Destroy something.

What is the target?
Who wants it destroyed and why?
Where is it located?
How is it protected?

Wet Work

Eliminating 1 or more targets.

Who is the target?
Who wants them dead and why?
Where are they located?
How are they protected?

Protection

Sabotage/Terrorism
Wet Work/Assassination
Escort/Protection
Espionage/Surveillance
Roll 2 more times and combine. Ignore 6s.

Handler:

Fixer
Lawyer
Ladder Climber
Messenger
Thug
Executive

Twist:
Unexpected complications.

Setup - The job was the bait catch the Operators in a trap.
Personal - One of the operators has a personal connection to the target.
Suicidal - The defenses are overwhelming and chances of survival are low.
No Doublecross - No one double-crosses the Operators.
Bait and Switch - The handler doesn’t ay, or changes the terms.
Heinous - The job involves doing something unexpectedly heinous.

Doublecross

Handler
Cagey or worse Gang or Contact
Cagey or worse Gang or Contact
Skeleton in closet
Loyal or worse Gang or Contact
Corp

Rouge Ops

Jobs initiated by operators with a goal in mind. Players hold all the cards, and bear all the responsibility.

Downtime

Operators can spend a few days, weeks, or months between jobs. The spend this time laying low, but when it ends, their new debts come due, and outstanding debts start becoming problems. During this time Operators can spend rep to level up, pay off debts, get medical care, and repair cyberware.

When operators enter Downtime, decide as a group how long they lie low for. Operators may then do the following:

Pay for Recovery and Repair.
Pay Debts
Spend Rep to level up.

At the End of downtime do the following:

Make changes to contact and gang disposition if warranted by recent events.
Advance Corp Agendas
-Make changes to the scope of known gangs if warranted by recent events.
Mark new debts as overdue
Determine Collections for outstanding debts.

Events

When focus is wider than a round, for each unit of time that passes roll a d6 and consult the table below.

A Change or shift in the environment or surroundings.
Trouble with an active resource or tool. It will break, or otherwise stop helping next time an event is checked for.
Mnemonic Feedback, all Operators with cyberware test synth or suffer 1 harm for each piece.
A delay that poses some risk.
signs of a troublesome or complicating person or Gang. Encounter them next time an event is checked for.
Encounter a troublesome or complicating parson/group.

Cyberspeak

Prefixes, Suffixes, Buzzwords, and References for naming the cools cyberstuff that permeates every inch of The Sprawl.

Prefixes

Omni-
Ono-
Trans-
Neo-
Micro-
Macro-
Ultima-
Cypto-
Mega-
Deca-
Killa-
Giga-
Mono-
Duo-

Suffixes

-dyne
-istic
-tex
-wave
-wear
-ware
-core

Buzzwords

Apex
Tech
Blaze
Chrome
Applied
Generative
Artificial
Simulated
Industrial
Global
National
Integrated
Vertical
Systems
Solutions
Dynamic
Consortium
Metro
Nexus
Capital
Broadcasting
Infotainment
Vortex
Obsidian
Alpha
Beta
Delta
Omega

Jargon

Data
Net
Web
Quantum
Atomic
Tesseract
Tessellate
Wet Work
Black Ops
Dark Money
Cypher
HashInterface
Carbon
Weave
Mesh

Names
Tetsuo
Sendai
Nero
Astraus
Astoroth
Tessier
Ashpool
Miyazaki
Janus
Yog
Turing
Akira
Achillies
Weyland
Chan
Gibson
Reaves
Mitski
Astly