Welcome to the Dark Future. Enter the World of CYBERPUNK v3 Unsorted/CyberPunk v3... · 3 CYBERPUNK 3 SO U L & TH E MA C H I N E into the appliances to make coffee; “studding”

Welcome to the Dark Future.Enter the World of

CYBERPUNK v3

CYBERPUNK 2SO U L & TH E MA C H I N E

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The View From the Edge“I’m not a man /or a machine.I’m just something in between.I”m all love / a dynamoSo push the button and let me go.”

Lovin’ Every Minute of It1984 Zomba Enterprises Inc. (ASCAP)

So you wanna be a Cyberpunk? Or maybe justlook like one?

Before you shrug off your bivvy bag and jump in,t h e r e ’s a few things we need to tell you. First of all,the name. Cyberpunk comes from two words.C y b e r —from the term cybernetic, or a fusion offlesh and machine technology. P u n k—from anearly 1980’s rock music style that epitomized vio-lence, rebellion and social action in a nihilistic way.The term was popularized in the Pre-Collapse days

by a group of writers who specialized in writing sci-ence fiction with this kind of techno-melange. Theirworks featured a streamlined blend of rock, pop,sex, drugs and the highest, hippest technology—usually grafted onto your body somewhere. Thea rchetypical Cyberpunk heroes of the 80’s rangedfrom technobarbarians roaming a Postholocaustworld, to cyberchipped jet setters with designerbodies.

Of course, from our enlightened viewpoint here inthe Dark Future, this all looks pretty dated. After all,you probably accessed this article from your per-sonal Agent, swilling down gigabytes of data like aRiptide goldfish on steroids. Or maybe you used aKojiru Alpha interface with a direct link from yourartificial cyber bodyshell. If you’re squatting in aDesnai parkology, you’re used to remote wiring

Soul & TheNew MachineSoul & TheNew Machine

Section 1: Welcome to the Dark FutureSection 1: Welcome to the Dark FutureU TH O U G H T TH I N G S WE R E BA D I N UR NE I G H B O R H O O D?

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into the appliances to make coffee; “studding” into your ridear-mor to haul down to the corner Vendit. But understand—in1987, this was all considered pretty visionary stuff. No one hadi n t e rface fields. You couldn’t dial Luna on your phone. Designerdrugs were illegal. You could walk down most city streets with-out an armor jacket. There wasn’t even a DataPool. Or even aN e t .

Now we know better. History books can tell you in detail aboutthe Crash of 1994, when the Euro-Combines established theWorld Stock Exchange and the economies of the United Statesand Old Sov Russia collapsed. Or the bad old days of the lastCorp Wa r, when the Megacorps went mano-a-mano with theCyberpunks to end in an apocalyptic stalemate.

Back then, everything was run by the M e g a c o r p s , which werepretty much governments in themselves— at least, therew e r e n ’t many governments that tried to stop them. There wasstill a world-wide Internet, with digital commerce and trade hap-pening at the speed of light. There were giant computer brainsthat ran industries and charted the course of civilizations. Yo ucould go anywhere on one passport—one worldism at its best.The economies of most nations were tied to each other, and theEuro was pretty much the world currency. There was plenty ofcheap, synthetic food to eat. Huge international media-netsmade sure that every apartment, cube and streetcorner haddirect cable access to TV, radio and sensory feed, so there wasalways some mindnumbing crap on the tube to keep you enter-tained. Sweet.

O k a y, sure there was a bad side too. Sixteen people to anapartment, sharing ration chips every week to buy food, witheight thousand apartments per city block. Sure, it wasn’t thebest life, what with the boostergangs roaming the mallplexesand the major-league crime problems, but it beat being on theStreet. And at least you knew where things were at. The Manand his corporate renta-cops were keeping you down, corrup-tion was rampant, the U.S. Government was a third worldbanana republic that kept getting bogged down in wars over-seas, and the entire planetary ecosystem was going to hell in aglobal warming handbasket. But it all made sense, neh?

Now we’ve got total anarc h y. No federal government, unlessyou count those rump enders back in the Boswash corridor andtheir armies for hire. Between the mess of the Fourth CorporateWar and the DataKrash wiping out the Net, even the mightyMegacorps have been blown back to square one. Every damn

I t ’s about Yo u>Recorder on.It's about Culture. Six civilizations inconstant, uneasy balance, not astones' throw from each other, eachas different as the ancient Romanson their seven hills were from theIncas of the MesoAmerican Plateau.They are joined by a common pointof origin; an incident that occurred adecade or more ago—and here I'mtalking about the infamous destruc-tion of the Arasaka Towers in 2022.E v e rybody knows about the To w e r s .Not that many know what reallyhappened there—and why itbecame the defining moment of aculture war that continues to thisd a y. I do. But I was there.

It's about History. It's been some-where between ten and twentyyears since it all went down on thatfateful day. God knows, I've triedkeeping track, but it's been a busytime. Two wars, at least, several eco-nomic collapses, a Carbon Plague, aDataKrash, a massive earthquake,worldwide global flooding. Stuffadds up. And I'm not getting anyy o u n g e r. Meaner, yeah, but noty o u n g e r. The world changed in aninstant. Morgan Blackhand, AdamSmasher—two godlike icons of theAge we now call the EarlyCyberpunk, clashing in mortal com-bat like comic book heroes in theskies over Night City. Metal vs Meat,hurtling to deadly collision and finalnuclear devastation. This is the his-t o ry we bequeath to you now; thelegends upon which you nowbedrock your future. C O N T. O NP G. 1 0


4 Cy b e r p u n k sare sur-vivors in a

tough, grimworld, faced withlife and deathchoices. Howthey make thesechoices will havea lot to do withwhether they endup as vicious animals roaming a ruined world,or retain something of their basic humanity.

Cyberpunks are also the heroes of a bad situation,working to make it better (or at least surv i v a b l e )whenever they can. Whether it takes committingcrimes, defying authority or even outright revolu-tion, the quintessential Cyberpunk is a rebel with acause. As a Cyberpunk r o l e p l a y e r, it’s up to you tofind that cause and go to the wall with it.

This is the essence of C y b e r p u n k—playing yourcharacter with the proper disaffected, cynical-yet-idealistic style. Whether you’re a biker withleathered skin and metal claws, or a debutante insatin sporting the latest in designer cyberoptics,you’re going to need a certain panache—a certainf l a i r, in portraying yourself. To achieve the essenceof 203X, you need to master three concepts:

1) Style over SubstanceIt doesn’t matter how well you do something, aslong as you look good doing it. If you’re going toblow it, make sure you look like you planned itthat way. Normally, clothes and looks don’t mat-ter in an adventure—in this world, having aleather armor jacket and mirrorshades is a seriousc o n s i d e r a t i o n .

2) Attitude is Every t h i n gI t ’s truth. Think dangerous; be dangerous. Thinkweak; be weak. Remember, everyone in the

2000's is carrying lots of lethal hardware andhigh-tech enhancements. They won’t beimpressed by your new H&K smartgun unlessyou swagger into the club looking like you knowhow to use it—and are just itching for an excuse.

Never walk into a room when you can stride in.Never look at someone unless you can make ityour best "killer" look. Use your best "I'm bad andyou aren't." smile. Don’t sit around the flat orcube waiting for the next job. Get on out and hitthe clubs and hangouts. Make sure you’re wherethe party starts.

3) Live on the EdgeThe Edge is that nebulous zone where risk takersand highriders go. On the Edge, you’ll risk yourcash, your rep, even your life on something asvague as a principle or a big score. As aCyberpunk, you want to be the action, start therebellion, lightthe fire. Joingreat causes andfight for bigissues. Neverdrive slow whenyou can drivefast. Throw your-self up againstdanger and takeit head on. Never play it too safe. Stay committedto the Edge.

Remember: The world of Cyberpunk is a violent,dangerous place, filled with people who’d love torip your arm off and eat it. The traditional conceptsof good and evil are replaced by the values ofexpedience—you do what you have to do to sur-vive. If you can do some good along the way,great.

But don’t count on it.

Cyberpunk EssenceCyberpunk Essence

The best Cyberpunk games are a combina-tion of doomed romance, fast action, glitter-ing parties, mean streets and quixotic quests

to do the right thing against all odds. It's alittle like Casablanca with cyberware..."

—maximum mike

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1 9 9 0 Start of first Central American Conflict. U.S.engages in interventionist actions in Panama,Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador. Military forcesare sent to secure the Canal Zone from an ex-U.S.puppet dictator.

West, East Germany reunited. Warsaw pact breaksup into separate nations.

Breakup of Soviet mega-state. From this point, theUSSR begins a new era of reapproachment withWestern Europe; by the 2000’s, the Soviets are theEurotheatre’s most powerful allies.

Soviet president Gorbachev appoints party suc-cessor, Andrei Gorborev.

Fall of South Africa. For the next 4 years, there islittle or no communication, although terrible atroc-ities and genocidal wars are rumored.

1 9 9 1 Eurospace agency launches Hermes spaceplane

Gorborev regime purges last of old hardliners

CHOOH2 developed by Biotechnica

First arcology built on ruins of Jersey City. 16“arcos” begin construction over the next 5 years,until the collapse of 1997, leaving the huge struc-tures half completed, filled with squatters andh o m e l e s s .

Artificial muscle fibers developed at StanfordResearch Center.

1 9 9 2 The Treaty of 1992 establishes the EuropeanEconomic Community. Zones of control and pro-tective tariffs regulate the activities of membernations, France, Britain, United Germany, Italy. Acommon currency unit (the eurodollar) is estab-lished, based on average value in gold of all cur-rencies combined. Trapped in paranoid isolation-ism, the U.S.. declines to enter.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) developsand spreads several designer plagues worldwide,targeting coca and opium plants.

Governments of Chile, Ecuador collapse.

A savage drug war breaks out between Eurocorp-backed dealers and DEA all over the Americas.

First use of high energy laser lift arrays in USSR.Simple massdriver established in Canary Islands byeight member Eurospace Agency.

1 9 9 3 First TRC biologic interface chips developed inMunich, United Germany.

AV-4 aerodyne assault vehicle developed to dealwith increasing riots in U.S. urban zones.

Columbian druglords detonate small tacticalnuclear device in New York. 15,000 killed.

1 9 9 4 World Stock Market Crash of ‘94. U.S. economyteeters, then collapses.

1 9 9 5 Kilimanjaro massdriver begins construction, underjoint agreement between ESA and Pan-AfricanA l l i a n c e .

1 9 9 6 The Collapse of the United States. Weakened bylosses in the World Stock Crash, overwhelmed byunemployment, homelessness and corruption,many city governments collapse or go bankrupt.The U.S. Government, snarled in a staggering deficitand the machinations of the Gang of Four, is total-ly ineffective.

Nomad Riots. By now, 1 in 4 Americans are home-less. hundreds of thousands riot for living spacethroughout the u.s. , Nomad packs spring up on thewest coast and spread rapidly through the nation.

First appearance of boostergangs.

Once upon a time, there was a DarkFuture. A Cyberpunk future.

The Megacorps ruled the world then, estab-lished in a nearly bloodless coup that had over-turned many of the world's governments andestablished a ruthless, bottom-line oligarc h y.Through violence, treachery, stealth and a subtlerewriting of history, these vast international com-

panies were the most powerful entities of thenew millennium. They ruled almost absolutely,through economic power, teams of assassine n f o rcers, and, when required, private armiesnumbering in the millions.

Packed like sardines into the largest urbanregions on earth, humanity combined the high-est level of technology ever achieved with thedeepest, grinding poverty. Beyond

Hell Bent For2 0 3 XHell Bent For2 0 3 X

A TIMELINE FOR T H E D A R K FUTURE 1990-203X


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CYBERPUNK 6IN S I D E TH E AL T C U L T S

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“ S o m eg o b o y s

t h i n kC o m p a n i o n s

a rel i k e . . . y o uk n o w. . .pets ors o m e-t h i n g .F r a c k

that, man.T h a t ’s like

c a l l i n gyour

partner apet. Yo uand your

C o m p a n i o n sa re a

c o m b a tteam, and

you b e t t e rn e v e r,

ever f o rget it.”

— L a n i I w a s eC i t y F i g h t e r


S t a t s I N T R E F T E C H D E X C O O L W I L L S T R C O N M O V E B O D YStat Value 7 6 3 6 7 8 4 5 5 6

DERIVED S T A T S L U C K H U M R E C E N D R U N S P R S W I M L E A P H I T S S T U NStat Value 6 8 0 4 1 0 1 0 1 5 5 5 1 2 3 0

K E YS K I L L S L V L K E YP E R K S / T A L E N T S L V LMelee (katana) 7 Combat Sense 4

Kung Fu (karate) 6 B e a u t i f u l 4

LIFEPATH Beautiful enough to be an Idol, Lani has choseninstead to become a City Fighter to defend her home.

OUTFIT Enzyme Bonding, Raptile, Plesiodragon, Hopper,Armored Bodysuit, Agent, Tr i p h i b i a n

Lani Iwase, City Fighter

h t t p : / / w w w. t a l s o r i a n . c o m / l a n i b l o g

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Ocean Nomads &Masters ofG e n e t i c s

There was a time when yourpeople were a part of the land.That was many years ago,when the great Kanto Floating

C i t i e s were still moored to Tokyo. Butthe War changed all that, casting theCities adrift and forcing you to becomea separate people. Tossed by storms,harried by pirates, protected by only afew brave defenders, you learned howto fight back, survive, and eventuallyp r o s p e r. Now the “Lost Cities” arenations in themselves. Webs of steeland cryptoplan plastic mesh withabandoned ships, floating platformsand the original Kanto structures tomake each City a unique environmenttailored to its thousands of inhabi-tants.

But steel and cryptoplan aren’t whatreally holds Rip together. What reallyholds Rip together are the b i o f o r m s. In203X, you’ve been dubbed the “beast-masters”—the Altcult that bends thelaws of genetics to its whim.Bioengineered creatures process ele-ments from the sea to supply your aut-ofactories. Gene tailored meat-beasts,fish herders and vegetation mats pro-vide all the food you need. Mutated seamonsters defend your territories frompirates and aggressive corporations.Personal servant creatures and bio-

morphed protectors work in tandemwith humans in a symbiotic fusion thatrivals anything mere cybernetics canachieve.

Like the rest of your people, you havelearned to ride the tiger, surf the openseas, master the riptides of change.Bioforms at your side, you’re ready totake on the future and anyone whostands in your way had better watchout. The Lost Cities are no longer lost.

Welcome to Rip.

B a c k g round The core Rip drift cities were constructed as vastfloating spaces moored offshore in Tokyo Bay.Constructed primarily of cryptoplan plastics, theywere used to absorb the overflow population of theheavily populated Kanto Plain, and were dubbedthe “Kanto Floating Cities.” During Arasaka Corp’sabortive attempt to take over Japan, the KantoCities lay between the renegade corporation’sstronghold and the Japan Self Defense Fleet. Tosave thousands of civilians, JSDF Adm. MasumaruHattori had a portion of his fleet tow the Cities farout to sea where he hoped they would be safe.

As the battle for Japan raged, a vast typhoonarose and scattered the Kanto Floating Cities farinto the Pacific. For several months, defendedonly by a four elderly JSDF destroyers and a lightc a r r i e r, the Cities fought off pirates, starvation andthe remnants of Arasaka’s navy. By the time helpfinally arrived from Japan, they had bandedtogether with other floating cities abandonedduring the 4th Corporate War and established theindependent Confederation of the Riptide, or Rip.

Tu rfDrift Cities are not part of land cities; they aremoored in the ocean adjacent to a city, connect-

R i p t i d eR i p t i d e


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“ G u n sa n d

B i k e s ,Bikes and

G u n s .T h a t ’s

how wehold theline out

h e re. Yo ucome tomy R o a dC i t y, you

s c re wwith m yF a m i l y,and I’llc o m e

lookin’ foryou, bike

ru n n i n ’balls to

the wall,and allguns

b l a z i n g . ”— Tr a c e

S a n t i a g o ,G - To w n

R o l l e r b o yS c o u t

S t a t s I N T R E F T E C H D E X C O O L W I L L S T R C O N M O V E B O D YStat Value 7 7 4 5 6 6 6 5 6 7

DERIVED S T A T S L U C K H U M R E C E N D R U N S P R S W I M L E A P H I T S S T U NStat Value 7 6 0 5 1 2 1 2 1 8 6 6 1 4 3 5

K E YS K I L L S L V L K E YP E R K S / T A L E N T S L V LD r i v i n g 8 Contact (The Aldecaldo) 9

R i f l e 6 Direction Sense

LIFEPATH Grandson of the legendary Aldecaldo de SantiagoTrace is a seasoned scout and leader of a Family pack.

OUTFIT Adaptive Healing, Urban Warrior, ArmoredTrenchcoat, ACS Nano Rifle, Roadbike, Fission Blade.

Tr a ce Santiago, Sco u t


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The Nomads taketo the Roads.F o re v e r.

Wheels and speed. Speedand wheels. This is yourworld. The horizon isalways moving; at

100mph, the dust hasn't got time togather under you. You're the eyes andears of your people, the Scout whofinds the trade routes, arranges thepassages, and spots danger when it'sstill a missile flight away.

Once, as Nomads, your peoplecrammed into huge, ragtag fleets ofcars, vans, buses and RV's, followingthe road as you sought out food, jobsand spare parts. You were despised bythe rooted city dwellers, the gaijo, w h odoled out scraps and spat on you whileyou picked their crops, tended theirjunkyards. You were hounded by othernomadic outcasts; the Raffen Shiv; thebikegangs; feral beasts who lootedyour homes and killed your kinsmen.Mostly for fun.

But that was yesterday. Now you rideto scout and protect your Road City---the huge rolling complex that is bothhome and fortress to ten thousand likeyou. Whether it's Big Apple, El Lay o rLittle Seattle, each Road City is a selfcontained urban zone on treads, sup-porting factories, trade-centers,defense bases and living modules as it

rumbles ever onward. The Road Citycan amass enough firepower to oblit-erate a small county. Its web of aero-dynes, battlecars and roadbikes rangefar beyond sight to destroy any rem-nants of the Raffen Shiv or dirtgrubberarmy that might cross your path.You're no longer victims. Now you're af o rce to be respected—and feared. Likea modern day cowboy, you ride to pro-tect the wagon train. But you've got agun, a bike and the attitude to back itup.

You're no longer "just a nomad." Now you're a Roller.

B a c k g round The Rolling State Altculture developed out of thescattered Nomad packs of the early 2020's. Afteran abortive attempt to make a home in the ruinsof abandoned Chicago, the seven Nomad"nations" were driven out of their new home bythe fierce inter-corporate battles of the FourthCorp Wa r. Led by their charismatic leader,Santiago Aldecaldo, the Nomads decided to putwhat they had learned about megastructuralengineering to good use, essentially lootingChicago and putting the rebuilt city on hugebanks of caterpillar tracks. From this beginningdeveloped a culture strong on technical compe-tence, independent action, close familial ties andthe need to be constantly on the move.

Tu rfThere are now roughly a dozen Road Cities sup-porting a total population of around 126,000between them. Most are banded together ingroups of three or four, connected through cat-walks, ground mobile units and constant aero-dyne bus service. Road Cities support themselves

Rolling StateRolling State

CYBERPUNK 10PU T T I N G T H E CY B E R. . .

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W ant a cyberarm?. First, start by cut-ting off your arm at the bicep, seal-ing off the main arteries, trunk

n e rves and bleeding meat. Dope the wholestump with a potent cocktail of anti-rejectiondrugs so it won’t rot, then join on a metal capthat splices directly to the naked femur to sup-port a titanium alloy replacement. Hook theremaining nerves into the endcap with micro-surgical precision, allowing you to move a lac-ing of plastic muscles, metal joints and lightmetal sheathing that gives your newappendage a semblance of a real arm. You stillcan’t lift a car, but now you can crush a steel I-beam in one hand and pack an armory fromfingertip to bicep on top. And while you’re atit, watch out for the cyberpsychosis that devel-ops when you take on the voluntary amputa-

tion of a major body part, and the two to threeweeks it takes to heal from the surgery.

T H AT was the way your father did it. But this is203X. This ain’t your dad’s ripperdoc chopshop.We have much better ways to get you cyberedup. This time we leave your meat arm just whereit is. Instead, we cap the upper bicep with a metalband called a b r a c e r , that rings the arm like athick, flexible cuff. We tap into the main nerv etrucks through several nearly microscopic con-ductance ports inside the bracer; no pain, barelyany skin penetration—less than piercing yourears. You concentrate on activating your newc y b e rware, and the surface of the bracer explodesinto a series of flexible, interlocking segments thatseamlessly coat your meat arm in a metal sleeve.The bracers instantly lace monomolecular rein-f o rcements and plastic pseudomuscles throughtheir entire structure, giving your metal clad armthe rigidity of a 57 Chevy fender and the strengthof a backhoe.

Various modules seamlessly join into the mainbracers; normally disguised as everyday braceletsand rings, they automatically seek pre-set hard-points and extrude weapons, sensors and evenspecialized fingercaps. You slap on a few extra“modds” you’ve stashed on the belt; the heavysmartgun, the mini-flamethrower, and you’reready to rock. Every couple of days, you powerdown the entire thing; it folds back into the brac-ers and rings; the modds drop off, and you catchup on your truck driver tan. The small metal but-ton in the middle of the bracer holds a biologicalpower cell good for a month—sure, not as long-lasting as the old atomic-decay batteries yourdad wore, but there’s no radiation cascade effectsto screw up your genes.

You can slap a bracer on almost anything; arms,legs, shoulders, wrists; there’s even removableones to enhance your sexual prowess. You don’t

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CYBERPUNK 11PU T T I N G T H E CY B E R. . .

I t used to be full body cyborgs were justthat—cyborgs. They were amalgamationsof cybernetic parts layered in and over the

original meat body, which bled and aged as allflesh does. The metal parts were patches;street cybertech brought together in a sem-blance of unity. And since the result requiredthe subject to cut off parts of his own livingb o d y, the ever-present danger of “cyberpsy-chosis” lurked just behind the eyes of every fullbody ‘borg.

No wonder your ancestors called themselves“ f r a n k e n s t i e n s . ”

T h a t ’s not the way you play fullborg in 203X.Now you’ve got Livemetal™—bodies constructedin complete pseudo-organic perfection. Unlikethe clunky metal frames of 2020, your skeletonhas carbon-filled bones wrapped in a titaniumcoating, and your advanced myomar musclesand pseudoflesh accurately replicate flesh with fargreater strength and resiliency. You have organsthat throb and beat, artificial blood that lubesyour joints, skin that is warm to the touch, yetnever ages. You even heal when you’re hurt.

Your Livemetal™ body is carefully fitted to you formaximum psychological comfort. The new bodyno longer just replaces the meat body, but insteadis designed to augment your original body’s basiccapabilities (in short, the new body’s stats are basedon the old one’s). Between this careful matching ofmind and body—and the supportive environmentof a society where everyone is a full cyborg, thethreat of cyberpsychosis has been reduced to aslow as .01% of the population. A Livemetal™

cyborg is no longer a robot steered by a humanbrain— it’s a living, albeit non-breathing personwho just happens to be made of silicon-basedmaterials instead of meat.

C y b e rtech BriefIn 203X, full body cyborgs are no longer scraps ofc y b e rware tacked onto a meat body. Instead,they are fully integrated artificial persons, withonly their organic brain and nervous systemremaining intact. These Livemetal™ bodyshells arenot only capable of mimicking human form, butare also designed to reflect the original bodyimage of the wearer (thus reducing the threat ofc y b e r p s y c h o s i s , a homicidal mental illness thatoccurs when a human alters his body with toomuch cyberware). The result is that stats listedbelow for each bodyshell are designed to beadded/subtracted to the original stats for the char-a c t e r.

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Welcome to the Dark Future. Enter the World of CYBERPUNK v3 Unsorted/CyberPunk v3... · 3 CYBERPUNK 3 SO U L & TH E MA C H I N E into the appliances to make coffee; “studding”