Character Collection: Cybergeneration

Back before my life took a turn for the crowded, I promised I’d make a new character every week from one of the games in my roleplaying library. Okay, I’ve lost some time but let’s not dwell on such things.

For character collection this week, I’ve chosen one of my favorite games, R. Talsorian‘s follow-up to their hit game Cyberpunk 2020, a strange little dark future-anime-superheroes gem called Cybergeneration.

Originally a supplement for its older brother, Cybergeneration became its own game with the expanded 2nd Edition released in 1993. The corebook was followed by three rules and setting expansions (the “Documents of the Revolution” supplements which you’ll know because they all end in -Front) and an introductory adventure called Bastille Day. Ten years later, Firestorm Ink picked up the license and released a player’s guide called Generation Gap, a sourcebook/adventure called Researching Medicine, and a recent PDF called Mile High Dragon which presents a new city setting. All seven physical books are available through places like Noble Knight et al. If you’re inclined to the genre, or just like well-written games that do new things, they’re a great investment.

Cybergeneration is a weird game that I believe was, like a lot of Mike Pondsmith/R. Talsorian’s work, ahead of the curve and ahead of its time. While I have no idea of the sales data for the line, I think the shortage of supplements (compared to Cyberpunk 2020) speaks volumes (no pun intended). This is a shame, because there are a lot of good ideas in the game, not the least of which is the unique way the game engages the reader and leads them through character creation.

Which is what we’ll get to right now.

Game: Cybergeneration
Publisher: R. Talsorian Games
System: Interlock
Books Needed: Just the main book

In an alternate timeline to the classic Cyberpunk 2020, the sub-18 children of 2027 fight for survival on the mean streets of the ISA. On top of dealing with puberty, insecurity, and feeling like guppies in the shark tank, they must evade the BuReloc goons whose duty it is to neutralize any of them who pose a threat. See, these kids have been exposed to something called the Carbon Plague. Nasty little bug that kills any adults it infects. The kids, it just changes. And not peach fuzz and squeaky voice changes but crazy superhero-type biz. Meat that turns into metal, souls that infect machinery, that kinda stuff.

Like a lot of R. Talsorian products, Cybergeneration talks directly to you. But not you the player, you the character. Canon Edgerunner/favorite Morgan Blackhand guides you through everything: which clique you belong to (called “YoGangs”), what your abilities and skills are, and what your mutation, your acquired ability is. There’s even a mini-game based on getting your ‘ganger to a safehouse that, well, look I could stand here for hours selling you on this game. Truth is, you’re already intrigued or I’ve done a poor job describing it. If for no other reason, you should read this for the presentation alone.

Anyway, I jibber-jabber, let’s get to business.

The first thing I need to decide is what Yogang I belong to. There are 18 to choose from in the mainbook and others introduced in the supplements. I’m sticking with the corebook here so the one I choose will be from the base 18.

Your Yogang is your crew but also your influence, your social class, and, quite possibly, your future. There’s a good mix, from the chameleon FaceDancers who can alter their looks to appears as other people to the now kinda laughable Goths who can become as death to the culture-conscious MallBrats. All strata of neo-modern living is here.

I see my kid as someone who thrives in the gaps, someone thrown away by the system. An orphan maybe, someone whose family is long-gone or never was. I’m going with a Squat, the Yogang made up of the dispossessed and homeless scavengers.

Every Yogang has a Skill, much like Specialties for those of you hip to CP 2020 Interlock. Squats have Scrounge which helps them find whatever they need amongst all the garbage everyone else throws away. I make a note on the sheet that it’s tied to Intelligence.

Now that I’ve chosen my Yogang, I go through the list at the end of the gang description.

Name, age, and sex. My kid’s Curtis del Rey, 14, male.

Description. He’s short for his age. Product of malnourishment during the early stages of his development. Say, 5’2″ and he’s skinny, buck-twenty tops. Sandy hair and brown eyes. He’s pretty non-descript, doesn’t stand out. Maybe that’s why his parents got rid of him.

Equipment. Everyone starts with V-Trodes (they’re how kids connect to the virtual world in the game). Mine were picked off some fallen corporate so they’re top shelf. They’re an older model, sure, but they’re high-quality. Maybe these are a prized possession. Next, I pick four things from a list.

I choose:

2 cans of light-emitting FlashPaint.
Sleep Pad
Knife
Crowbar

Alright, that part’s done. Let’s move on.

Next is what usually comes first, especially in games designed in the 90s: Attributes. Or, as Morgan tells me, this is my Military Assessment Test. There are no surprises here for anyone familiar with Interlock. I have nine attributes (Intelligence, Reflexes, Cool, Technical Ability, Luck, Attractiveness, Movement, Empathy, and Body Type) and 50 points to spend on them. Attributes range from 2 to 8. Morgan says to push one on the touch screen under each attribute until all points are allotted.

Y’know, if this book were formatted for modern technology, Morgan, I could actually do that. Alas, all I’ve got is hardcopy. Okay, Curtis is pretty smart but really he’s savvy. He maneuvers well, often crawling into tight spaces when the authority comes sniffing around. He’s decent in a fight but, as stated before, he’s no hulk. He’s scrappy. Let’s see how this translates.

Int: 7
Ref: 6
Cool: 8
Tech: 3
Move: 8
Luck: 5
Body: 4
Emp: 4
Att: 5

We’re at Skills now. I get 40 points to buy them and they range from 2 to 8. Let’s see what kind of trouble Curtis can get into.

Streetfighting: 4
Thief Stuff: 3
Jockstuff: 4
Get a Clue: 4
Blend: 6
Genspeak: 1
Streetsmarts: 4
Fearless Leader: 3
Schoolin’: 1
Gogo: 2
Little Angel: 3
Yogang Skill (Scrounge): 5

Oh, to clarify: Gogo is driving vehicles, Genspeak is slang, Blend not getting noticed, Get a Clue is perception, and the rest is probably easy to grok.

It’s time to get Curtis some stuff. Morgan is kind enough to set up a temp account with a cool grand in it so even my poor Squat can get some gear. I imagine Curtis is focused on utility. What can he use that’ll last (does anything last in the disposable future?) and I don’t imagine he decks himself out in glitter and gold (he’d probably get shivved and turn into parts by other Squats if he did).

I buy the following:

Generic Pants of Average Quality (x2): $100
Generic Shirt of Low Quality (x3): $60
Generic Jacket of Average Quality: $100
Pack of Microflash disposable flashlights: $10
Light Machine Pistol: $500
And a small pepperoni and black olive pizza: $7

He doesn’t need anything else so let the rest of money rot in the account.

Y’know, on any other day, Curtis would be ready to play. Grab the dice, doc, we’re rolling through the streets tonight!

But, no. Thanks to the Carbon Plague, Curtis has one last step before he’s table-ready. His transformation.

There are five alterations in the mainbook: Tinmen, whose bodies become metal; Wizards, who directly enter Virtuality; Alchemists, who use nanotech to make things out of other things; Scanners, who can predict responses and interpret truth via “natural” EEG and stress analyzers, and; Bolters, who shoot electricity (kinda like Cole McGrath in Sucker Punch’s video game InFamous but I digress).

Curtis is a Bolter. He can use his power to shock jackos who get in his face, act as a DC power source, or create a non-weapon chainwire that I’m sure might come in handy somewhere.

Being a Bolter gives me the skill “Bolt Throwing” at +1. This allows me to create a Hexite chainwire that I can whip around obstacles at targets. Nice.

And with that, we’re done!

In Sum
I enjoyed making this character. This is my first Cybergeneration character. As often as I’ve read the book, flipped through and admired the book, I’ve never played. Maybe I’ll have the opportunity to do so someday. If I do, I’ll have a character!