Blast From The Past: Cyberpunk 2020

Ah, the 1980s. The Reagen years. When we all thought the Japanese would conquer the world. Not though military might, as they tried some forty years earlier, but though economic might. An era of massive technological improvements and advances. Pop music was changing, bringing in influences from the Punk movement. We knew the world was going to hell in hand-basket and we were all along for the ride.

In this era, authors like William Gibson and Rudy Rucker wrote about a future where the internet was completely interactive and that countries had been overshadowed by corporate entities. TV shows like Max Headroom shed light on the new ideas of ratings, companies running political candidates and the growing income disparity in the western world. Movies like Robocop blurred the line between man and machine, while movies like Escape From New York made us fear the increasing levels of violence in the country. And, as always, the violence of this grim, dark, and Dystopian future was front and center.

But, it never happened.

Maybe these things made us change direction, or maybe it was never meant to be. Either way, the Cyberpunk future never happened and the genre has made less and less sense to mainstream audiences. But, screw them. Let's harken back to those years of violence, net running, cybernetics, and anti-establishment sentiment.

CyberPunk 2020: Live fast, die young, and leave a cybernetically enhanced corpse behind.

Many years ago, when I first starting branching out from D&D, I was shopping for a gift for my best friend at a local used book store, searching the RPG section. I stumbled across a beat-up copy of Cyberpunk 2020, looked though it, checked the price, and bought it for him. My friend and I poured over the rules and we found our first Greatest Game Never Played. Because neither of us wanted to run it and nobody else did. I bought my own copy and, to this very day, I've never played a game of it. But, what was so good about this game?

In Cyberpunk 2020, you have a broad choice of classes to play:

Rockerboys: Putting the 'punk' in cyberpunk, Rockerboys (and girls) tell the tales of the street. While possibly one of the hardest classes to work in to a game, the Rockers have to be some of the most interesting to play.

Solos: Soldiers of Fortune in the early 21^st century. Full of cybernetics and usually some of the most damaged people, Solos are the combat beasts of the game. However, that means you'll probably have more than one in the group, if not a group full of them.

Netrunners: When it comes to the Net, these guys are gods. Using their 'Interface' special skill they rule the electronic world.

Techies: The doctors and cyberneticists of the world. Every group needs one of these. If they know it or not.

Medias: Clearly, this group was based on the world of Max Headroom. Out of all of the classes, Medias have the power to change the world at large.

Cops: Even in this dark world, there are still folks who are willing to help their fellow man. Of course, cops in 2020 are out-gunned, overwhelmed, and underpaid...

Corps: Wait, aren't these the bad guys? Maybe yes, maybe no. Surprisingly, these characters are easy to fit in to most campaigns. Got a Media? Great, the Corp is part of her company. Rockerboy? The Corp is his manager.

Fixers: The middle-men and general 'guy who might know a guy' characters. The Fixers take the role of fence, intelligence resource, and face for the party.

Nomads: In 2020 America, there's not a lot of jobs for folks. So, they travel around like caravans of old, usually part of family groups. Nomads are generalists, can be faces, good in a fight, and have the ability to call on some folks to help out in a pinch.

Night City was the original setting for the game

There were several things that made Cyberpunk 2020 different in its setting. For one, the European Union was the big economic driving force in the world, not Japan. They brought Punk to the fore, along with the Cyber. The world was dark and gritty, but not too far from our own world. Well, at the time it was written.

One of the more interesting things that the game did was how the handled the Net. They really went all in and allowed you to design whole worlds. Of course, people being people, there's some nasty things out there in the Net: viruses. That's how they handled combat in the Net. Now, as cool as the Net is, there's one major problem: If you have a Netrunner in the party, they're the only ones who will be using it. So, you'll have to run solo adventures for the 'runner while everyone else deals with stuff going on in the real world. It might be cool for some folks, but most people I know who have run the game either ban Netrunners or do nothing but Netrunners.

When it came to the cybernetics, Cyberpunk 2020 had a huge list and even expanded it in the Chromebooks they released. There was a cybernetic attachment, limb, or implant for any situation. Even in the bedroom. They balanced this with loss of 'humanity' and Empathy. Which means most Solos were really empathic... Before they started relacing perfectly good parts with chunks of steel and plastic.

When it comes to the game itself, the system is your 'standard' D10 system: Stat+Skill+D10=results, higher better. There's a good amount of stats, including Attractiveness which is always good to see as many people confuse 'charisma' with 'looking good'.

The skill list is fairly complete, I doubt anyone would have trouble not finding a skill they wanted. One cool thing they did in the game is you can get 'skill chips'. Want a skill but don't have the points? Just spend some money and you can have a few levels in it. Not bad, right?

The one thing that always stuck for me was the Lifepath the game uses. It's a random background generator for your character, but it provides so many ideas for what your character is like. Not sure of your character's style? There's a chart you can roll on. Want to know what socio-economic class your character came from? There's a chart for that. The only problem with the chart is that lucky rolls can give you extra money, which is critical for classes like Solos. Of course, if you really need money, you can get some by having a bomb implanted in your head or other worse things...

While the technology is dated (oh so dated), they did have some insight in to what we have now, like wireless internet connections. They also included organ banks and hover cars, but that is fine for sci-fi. Just, kind of a shame we don't have those yet.

So, the world moved on and left Cyberpunk 2020 behind. They tried a new edition, Cyberpunk 203X but I don't think it caught on with anyone. And, they did release (or were going to release) a new version: Cyberpunk 2077. I guess cyberpunk isn't dead but it sure has changed...

If you're looking for a flashback to the future that never was, put on your mirrorshades, put in Johnny Mnemonic, and jack in, choomba!

Haters gonna hate

Giving Up On GamesWorkshop

About seven years ago, I started reading the Warhammer 40,000 novels. Starting with the classic gateway drug of 40k fiction, Eisenhorn, I quickly started Gaunt's Ghosts and wanted to play the Imperial Guard. I liked the idea of normal people facing the horrors of the Warp, the brutality of the foul Orks, the machinations of the enigmatic Eldar, and surviving the hordes of Tyranids. I was drawn to these stories and, of course, I wanted to get in on the action.

I had surplus funds and quickly bought the 4^th edition hardback rulebook, the Imperial Guard codex, and a IG battleforce box. I started putting together the minis and tried to rope my friends (the original co-contributors here) in to playing. Being foolish with money, I soon bought Chaos Space Marines to provide a force I could let others try out the game. Soon enough, we figured out that the Assault on Black Reach set was a sweetheart deal and I kept splitting it with people and had a pile of Orks. (Which, thanks to the price increases, I can sell used at a profit.)

Soon enough, I was painting, playing, and having fun with my friends. I was getting more and more in to the hobby, planning events, creating terrain, and losing... A lot. But, I was still having fun. We all were. I also had the idea for the blog and tried to get the others involved. Then, we all got busy, games happened less and less, and I got tired of being the driving force behind getting games together. In time, we pretty much quit playing. I quit painting and just about everything about the game except the books.

All the while, I knew the game was expensive. That was fine, Gamesworkshop makes a quality product. The minis are usually well made, the books always well done with fantastic art, and paints are some of the best quality out there. But, I started noticing 'codex creep' and how every year, the prices of things increased. Then, they started releasing codexes and editions faster and faster. While I agreed, to a degree, with the lawsuit against Chapterhouse, I soon began to see more and more frivolous lawsuits.

I don't know if there was one particular moment when I gave up on GW. It was a slow process, over the course of years. One of the turning points for me was the release of the 5^th edition Imperial Guard codex. I loved what they did with the army in the book... But, then they cut down the troop box for Guardsmen. Originally, you could get 20 Guardsmen in a box, which was great, because you needed that many for one of the two required Troop choices. With the new codex release, they got rid of the 20 man box and introduced a 10 man box. For about the same price. They also use to have an 'Armored Fist' box which came with 10 Guardsmen and a Chimera. Given that that edition was much more vehicle friendly, this would have been a great product for new players. But, it never returned to shelves. I can't begrudge a company for wanting to make money, it's their goal. That said, it has become more and more obvious that GW no longer cared about providing a quality environment for players while making money.

I know this may be late for many people who have already turned their backs on GW. That's fine. I wanted to express my own feelings, without lashing out in anger. I've taken time to think about why I don't want to play anymore. I'd rather be late but more balanced about the topic.

So, GW has started to increase prices. Then, they start going after people who sell their products below market price. Excuse me, GW, but you've made your money off of the sale. If someone wants to sell it below what you're selling it at, that's up to them. I've never ordered directly from GW. I always bought from a local store. As I once told them: I'd rather give some of my money to the people in my area then all of it to them. But, GW continues to cause problems. They allow stores to sell their products, make a market in the area, then they open an official store that only sells their product. I don't know if any of you remember, but about 15 years ago, there were Wizards of the Coast stores. And you know what the first thing I ever bought in one of their stores? My first copy of All Flesh Must Be Eaten. Not something made by them. Of course, they dropped other companies' products before the stores went under, but for a time, they weren't as evil an empire as GW.

There are so many issues with what GW has done and continues to do. They got rid of supported tourneys. They've made White Dwarf in to nothing but an ad for their products, not even bothering to be subtle about it. I've heard stories of GW store employees asking people to leave if they mention a game made by another companies or using models made by another company. It's disgusting. To top it off, they made it so you couldn't order a product from a third-party store using a 'cart' online, nor could they ship products outside their 'zone'. It makes no sense. Some people say that GW is afraid of the internet or is stuck in the 90's. I don't think so. I see it more that they're trying to make as much money as possible without regard to their public image. Perhaps they believe that the players will keep coming as they're the biggest game in town. I also think that they know that the rest of the world, people who don't play games, they're not going to pay attention to this kind of thing. If this was any other kind of company, one with a bigger image, there would be public protests and all sorts of things. But, while nerds are becoming more and more out there in the eyes of the Western World, most people could care less about 'little plastic space men'.

I think the final nail in the coffin for GW is their new focus: new players. I understand why they're focusing on new players. To start the game, there's a massive initial investment in this game (or any game for that matter). People who have been playing longer need less. Maybe a new unit here and there and usually things like paints and glue. But, those aren't making as much money for a company as someone who walks in, buys a codex, the core book, and a battleforce. That's hundreds of dollars (or pounds, for our friends across the pond) all in one sale. Then, they'll be back for the paints, glue, tools, and basing supplies. I can see why a company would focus on those new players. They make more money. Some people complain about the updates of codexes and editions, but it makes sense to provide a way to make money from older players as well as providing a means to allow the game to evolve.

The major thing about focusing on new players, to the near-exclusion, of older players is that it's not sustainable in the long term. If you don't keep some people around, keep them engaged and happy, you will eventually reach a point in which there are no more new players to be had. Sure, you've made hefty short-term profits, but you'll end up with dropping profits later on.

Let me put it in context: When I picked up Spinespur, I bought a rulebook and perhaps a dozen models. As I started playing more and more, I bought more and more minis. I also bought more copies of the book (one was a gift for a friend and another was to semi-replace my abused copy I had bought originally). I put up money for the Kickstarter and then bought more minis because of that. But, I haven't bought minis in over a year now. I have no more need to. So, there's not much I can do to support Comfy Chair Games. Not directly, at least. But, since I love the game and think CCG is good people, I can do something: I can talk about their products, I can get others in to the game, and I keep an eye out for their products that I want to pick up.

And that's the difference for me when it comes to GW: I don't want to support them because I can't agree with their way of doing business anymore. I'll paint the minis I bought, I might buy novels from time to time, but I'm not going to spend another dime of my money on any new models, rulebooks, or anything else to play the game. I may buy used, but that's it. I'll give my money to companies that try to create a community based on respect, not greed.

In time, I see Gamesworkshop trying to encourage older players to come back in to the fold. The question is, will any of them be willing to come back?

A find on Kickstarter

Hello there, boys and girls! Did you miss me? I wish I had been around more, but life (mostly drama, bullshit, and laziness) got in the way. But, I'm back! And I come bearing gifts from Kickstarter.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/33195679/wwii-assault-tactical-skirmish-combat

Jay (who you may remember from my SpineSpur battle reports) emailed me this link earlier this week. I took a look and threw down $40. Why? Because unlike most WWII games, this one is a skirmish one. And I've found I like those better than most other things.

Now, why should you back this project? Well, I'm not one for nitpicking rules. I'll play anything and houserule stuff if I have to, so don't ask me about that. That said, Jay is that kind of guy and he seems impressed from what he's mentioned. I like the scale and the size. It looks fun. And, for $10, that should be worth it for you guys.

What army am I picking up? Why, the Russians, of course. Don't ask me why, but I have a thing for those crazy Soviet bastards. Plus, in WWII, they did a hell of a lot of damage. At the end of the war they had a standing army of five million. Kind of reminds me of the Imperial Guard... Hmm...

So, take a look. If it's something you think you might like, spend $10 to give a game (and a new guy) a chance.