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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tantavalist" data-source="post: 8224215" data-attributes="member: 7030056">Cyberpunk's Humanity rules always struck me as strange. It felt like you were being sold on the idea of playing a cyborg by the game's elevator pitch and then punished for doing so. Would it be fun to play a Wizard in D&D if you slowly went insane and eventually became an NPC every time you got access to a higher level of spell? Vampire: the Masquerade had one of the most punishing morality systems in RPGs and even that didn't punish PCs for learning new Disciplines. Because vampire powers are cool and getting them is a key part of why players buy into the game.And that's just from a game mechaics point of view, without bringing any real-world issues into it. Since Cyberpunk was first published the use of prosthetics in the real world has become a thing and I don't think anybody is going to claim that people being fitted with them are somehow becoming less human. The idea that voluntary vs. involuntary cyberware makes a difference is probably correct, except that real-world studies on the mental effects of physical trauma would suggest the game has it the wrong way round. The guy having a leg blown off and replaced would be the one with mental health issues, not the one actively seeking to have upgraded legs.Cyberpunk 2077 made the correct decision to just ignore Humanity Loss from cyberware because doing otherwise would cause controversy and make the game less fun to play. I'd just ignore Humanity for the same reasons. How does it really hurt the game to do so?The one major issue would then be Cyberpsychosis, which you'd need another explanation for. Given that most cyberware is second-hand tech from older generations installed in back-street clinics, along with how often PC software/hardware incompatibility causes bugs in the real world... Nope, can't see why people who jack large amounts of this direct into their nervous systems might go crazy.Doing it this way turns cyberpsychosis from a "Man vs. Machine" issue to one of socio-economic inequality and oppression. I think that makes a much better theme to explore in the cyberpunk genre, as well as one that's more fun to play out at the table.</blockquote>

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