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I’ve been playing around with an idea for a cyberpunk game, so below are some tables with random cyberpunk Words for character creation. For cyberware, genetic tinkering, and high-tech gear, I’d probably use a system along the lines of the equipment rules from Fort High or All-Stars. Basically, if a piece of equipment alters the character’s stats, figure out the cost of those stat improvements. If it’s something that’s practically impossible for the character to be deprived of (like sub-dermal body armor), the player pays full price. If it’s basically a regular piece of equipment (like a smart gun), the cost is halved. For cyberpunk, I’d also put a 3/4 cost category for “somewhere in the middle”–the tech can be removed without grievous injury, but it’s still gonna hurt (for example, low-light eyeballs). For top-secret/illegal tech, the GM might want to add an additional cost.
Since I’m stealing terms from several different cyberpunk sources and making up a few of my own, I’ll give definitions of all the Jobs (along with a male and female WWPHITM?, just for the hell of it). I’ll also make notes on any other Words that I think need explanation.
Jobs
- Blue Blood: A socialite with connections to the rich and powerful (Jude Law, Jennifer Morrison)
- Desk Jockey: A white collar working stiff (Jason Bateman, Rashida Jones)
- Wage Slave: A blue collar working stiff (Jim Beaver, Rosanne)
- Snitch: One who trades in street-level information (Steve Buscemi, Juliette Lewis)
- Rabble Rouser: A troublemaker who inspires others to action. Often a semi-famous local celebrity such as a musician or journalist (Robert Downey, Jr., Salma Hayek)
- Scrapper: A person who specializes in hand-to-hand combat, such as a pit fighter, martial artist, or wrestler (Danny Trejo, Lucy Lawless)
- Gearhead: A person who builds and drives cars for street racing and/or vehicular combat (think demolition derby with live rounds)(Jensen Ackles, Michelle Rodriguez)
- Grifter: A con artist (John Cusack, Rachel Weisz)
- Fixer: A person who knows how to get things (Harvey Keitel, Helena Bonham Carter)
- Street Samurai: A (usually heavily-cybered) professional mercenary skilled in all types of combat operations (Gerard Bulter, Carrie Anne Moss)
- Hacker: A computer expert who specializes in cracking security systems and retrieving valuable data (Seth Green, Zooey Deschanel)
- Ganger: A member of a street gang (Francis Capra, Rosario Dawson)
- Gunslinger: A professional mercenary who relies almost exclusively on victory through superior firepower (Clive Owen, Gina Torres)
- Prowler: A professional thief (Jet Li, Angelina Jolie)
- Street Doc: A medic, usually with at least rudimentary knowledge in repairing cyberware (Christopher Lloyd, Kathy Bates)
- Sherlock: A private investigator (Bruce Willis, Gena Davis)
- Headhunter: A bounty hunter or assassin (Jean Reno, Keira Knightley)
- Transporter: A courier, smuggler, or wheelman (Jason Statham, Queen Latifah)
- Wiseguy: A member of an organized crime syndicate (Steven Van Zandt, Lucy Liu)
- Freak: Depending on the setting, this could be a mutant, a person with extreme body modifications, or the subject of genetic experimentation (Mickey Rourke, Courtney Love)
Gimmicks
- Medical Policy (Character has a contract with a company that provides cloned back-ups of damaged body parts. Depending on the tech level, they may be able to download the character’s consciousness into an entirely new body).
- Duct Tape & Chicken Wire
- Car Fu
- Informants
- Gun Fu
- High Tech Toys
- Not In The System (Should also take “Not In The System” Weakness)
- Friends In High Places
- Forgettable Face
- Friends In Low Places
- Reputation
- Bankroll
- Lackies
- Powerful Kung Fu
- Ladies’ Man/Seductress
- Hard Boiled
- Technomancer (Character has an almost superhuman knack for understanding, using, and designing computers and electronics).
- Backup Plan (Character has safe places to hide, stashes of money and equipment, and other failsafes in place in case he needs to go off the grid).
- Clean Identity (Character has ways of tricking the system into thinking he’s a completely uninteresting and completely fictional person).
- Genetic Enhancement (Details will depend on tech level. A low tech genetic enhancement might give the character combat reflexes or infrared vision. On the high end of the scale are things like Project Manticore).
Weaknesses
- Distinctive Appearance
- Flashbacks
- War Wound
- Punching Bag
- Getting Too Old For This Shit
- Fashion Victim
- Debt
- Criminal Record
- Not In The System (Should Also Have “Not In the System” Gimmick)
- Hunted
- Paranoid
- Addiction
- Reputation
- Dames/Men
- Victim of the Past
- Anger Management Issues
- Glass Jaw
- Looks Like Trouble
- Cybernetic Rejection (The character’s body resists cybernetic enhancements).
- Genetic Impairment (As with Genetic Enhancements, the details depend on the setting).
Skills
- Dumpster
- Diving Stealth
- Brawling
- Firearms
- Black Market
- Intimidation
- First Aid
- Electronics
- Streetwise
- Fast Talk
- Heavy Weapons
- Driving
- Corpspeak
- Security
- Surveillance
- Urban Survival
- Computers
- Data Looting
- Breaking & Entering
- Gambling
