Cyberpunk Red

Cyberpunk Red is a dark future science fiction role-playing game in the cyberpunk genre, where you play as street samurais, console cowboys, rockers, and other low-lives trying to survive in a dark and dystopian future where cyberware, cyberspace, and a devastated environment are part of everyday life. In Cyberpunk Red, the future is bleak and society is ruled by ruthless megacorporations.

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Cyberpunk Red is inspired by Cyberpunk literature that emerged in the 1980s, especially Walter Jon Williams' novel "Hardwired". The movie Bladerunner was also a significant source of inspiration. The role-playing game has been subtitled "Red" to distinguish it from the genre it is named after. Fans of the video game Cyberpunk 2077 will recognize many of the game's elements and characters, as both take place in the same world. Chronologically, Cyberpunk Red occurs about 30 years before the events of the video game.
The recurring themes in the cyberpunk genre are that we find ourselves in a dystopian future where real power now lies with gigantic megacorporations that, above the law, ruthlessly do anything for profit. Exploitation of the planet, slums, and extreme pollution are everyday occurrences.

Humans in cyberpunk have also embraced cybernetic technology, and most have modified bodies to a greater or lesser extent. The so-called street samurais have massive cybernetic upgrades, such as mechanical limbs, built-in weapons, or cybernetically enhanced senses. Others might just have a plug-in, so they can interface directly with the Net.

The conflict in Cyberpunk is generally between megacorporations and society's lowest scum. A recurring type of mission is to hack, rob, or otherwise undermine the powerful companies. The Net is presented as a Matrix-like virtual reality world, where users navigate around representations of physical spaces.

In Cyberpunk Red, each player controls a single character through a world controlled by a Game Master. The game proceeds as a kind of verbally improvised drama, where players and the Game Master together build a story with the players' characters in the leading roles. It is the Game Master's role to explain to the players what they see and experience, while the players then tell how their characters react. The Game Master also controls the game's villains and enemies, but this does not mean that players and Game Master are against each other.

Combat

The combat system in Cyberpunk Red is characterized by realism and high lethality. Unlike many other role-playing games, where player characters acquire more hit points as the game progresses, and thus can withstand more damage - characters in Cyberpunk Red generally do not increase the amount of damage they can withstand. In the game, there are rules for cover and using people as shields.

Netrunning

An important aspect of Cyberpunk Red is cybernetic hacking, called Netrunning. When player characters "jack in," they experience the Net visualized in various ways, such as a classic Dungeons & Dragons dungeon, or perhaps a star-filled galaxy. In this edition of Cyberpunk, characters can Netrun on the move via Virtuality Goggles, which allow them to switch between the physical and virtual worlds. In previous editions of Cyberpunk, hackers were tied to a room where their equipment was set up. This reflects both the development of technology and the game developers' improvement of the Netrunning mechanics to make it more dynamic.

Cyberpsychosis

Cyberpunk Red takes place in a transhumanist future, where the boundaries of what it means to be human are constantly being pushed. The acquisition of cyberware - cyber weapons and other implants, has a human cost. If a character upgrades themselves with too many cybernetic modifications, they risk losing Empathy points, which measure how easily they can relate to other people. An empathy level of zero, represented by complete loss of humanity, is a condition known as Cyberpsychosis. If this happens to a player character, the miniature instead becomes a non-player character, controlled by the Game Master.