Favorite Cyberpunk Game/System

[Donovan Morningfire]

Cyberpunk 2020. Aus_Snow is right in that there are some areas that need a bit of work, but for a purely "cyberpunk" feel, nothing else does it better, although some of the later tech books started getting a little out of hand with the gizmos they included (full-body 'borgs being the most egregious offenders in that regard).

Shadowrun's also pretty decent, but mysticism is just tied too much into the setting to really make it "cyberpunkish" (to me at least).

 

[Aus_Snow]

Some further thoughts.

A partway fix for the 'roulette factor' is to borrow and adapt from d20: Take 10 becomes Take 5, and Take 20 becomes Take 10. Otherwise, the systems are not too dissimilar (stat + skill + die roll vs. opposed roll or target number.) So, it can work fine.

Drugs are just too harsh, generally (though I understand this can come down to not only gaming preferences but psychological / sociological beliefs and other things.) If you happen to agree that they're too harsh, it isn't overly difficult to remedy, anyway.

Netrunning. . . needs an overhaul. People have found their own 'best solutions' here - good luck!

 

[Tetsubo]

My "solution" for netrunning is to make it a strictly NPC task. It's just too dull for the other players when a PC netrunner is doing his thing...

 

[Aus_Snow]

My "solution" for netrunning is to make it a strictly NPC task. It's just too dull for the other players when a PC netrunner is doing his thing...

Fair enough too. I know a GM whose answer is the same. And, to be honest, those who have included Netrunning PCs in their campaigns have often suffered for it.

Probably a good idea, indeed.

 

[Thanee]

Shadowrun (4th), of course!

It's certainly not purist cyberpunkt, more of a hybrid, but by far and wide the best out there.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Simia Saturnalia]

As far as a cyberpunk game to pick up and play, my dog-eared & duct-tape-bound edition of CP2020 is always going to be my go-to. The drug issue is best solved (if you want a more realistic approach) with this alternate system, courtesy of the Blackhammer Cyberpunk Project (which I believe became Dread Gazebo when d20 rolled around, then Blackhammer came back when v3 dropped). No longer does the 2020's analogue to beer cost $100 a six-pack! (In case you were wondering, it comes out to 85 cents a can with those new rules.)

But to pick up and read about the ideas therein, GoO's Ex Machina is bloody brilliant.

 

[Aus_Snow]

As far as a cyberpunk game to pick up and play, my dog-eared & duct-tape-bound edition of CP2020 is always going to be my go-to. The drug issue is best solved (if you want a more realistic approach) with this alternate system, courtesy of the Blackhammer Cyberpunk Project (which I believe became Dread Gazebo when d20 rolled around, then Blackhammer came back when v3 dropped). No longer does the 2020's analogue to beer cost $100 a six-pack! (In case you were wondering, it comes out to 85 cents a can with those new rules.)

Yeah, linked to that.

But to pick up and read about the ideas therein, GoO's Ex Machina is bloody brilliant.

Yeah, second that. Big honkin' book, small font. But that never did hurt GoO's AGoT, neither. So, is good!

 

[tensen]

I own a copy of the first edition of Shadowrun. Is the 4th edition really worth picking up?

Oh.. don't judge Shadowrun on 1st edition. I thought that was horrible and I never played a full campaign using that one. I prefered Shadowrun 2nd edition over 3rd (but that 3rd wasn't necessarily bad, it just changed things a lot so my character wasn't the same and not as much fun.) I really like the way 4th looks but it changes the world again... I haven't sat down to play a campaign in it yet.

 

[Jack of Shadows]

Cyberpunk 203X or Transhuman Space. Everything else is just too 80's.

Jack.

 

[Simia Saturnalia]

Cyberpunk 203X or Transhuman Space. Everything else is just too 80's.

Jack.

To be fair, cyberpunk is a pretty 80's phenomenon. I'd group THS and CP203X (*spits*) as post-cyberpunk games, to be technical about it.