Shadowrun
Off-topic => General Gaming => Topic started by: Switch on <09-09-10/0906:39>
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Any of you out there played the Cyberpunk PnP RPG .
I was just wonering what people thought in companrison to Shadowrun.
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CP2020? Was a grandaddy of the Genre I've got a box with all but a a few of the books. It was a great pure dystopian cyberpunk game and other games that followed took alot of the gear and concepts away from it. It's alot like SR but without the magic. Edgerunners face off against similar threats.
Even to this day you still see it's influence popping up in SR usually with the names changed.
I for one didn't care for anything post corp war2 V.3 has me scratching my head.
So for pure cyberpunk and a great learning experience got pick up a copy and try it out. As for the newest version I can't recommend but it still has some high points.
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I've had the core rulebook in my bookshelf for 15 years no. Never played it once due to lack of interested players...
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It's much darker than Shadowrun, in my opinion. There is a LOT less hope of doing greater good in the world, and most of the time you're just trying to survive to the next job.
By the way, anyone ever try Cybergeneration?
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Had a copy of cybergen for awhile. It caught alot of flak and was retconned to be an alternate setting as opposed to the future of CP. It had a different feel (new mutants as opposed to x-men kinda thing). I think some of the concepts were carried into CP V.3.
Edit: Some of the abilities at the time really bordered on super powers...in tihs day and age not so much though, just really high end tech.
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It's much darker than Shadowrun, in my opinion. There is a LOT less hope of doing greater good in the world, and most of the time you're just trying to survive to the next job.
That all depends on how you run your Shadowrun, doesn't it? ;D
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It's much darker than Shadowrun, in my opinion. There is a LOT less hope of doing greater good in the world, and most of the time you're just trying to survive to the next job.
That all depends on how you run your Shadowrun, doesn't it? ;D
That's true...
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It's much darker than Shadowrun, in my opinion. There is a LOT less hope of doing greater good in the world, and most of the time you're just trying to survive to the next job.
That all depends on how you run your Shadowrun, doesn't it? ;D
I tend to run mine with a bit of hope. Pure dystopian fiction both bores and depresses me, though not generally at the same time.
I guess I need to dig up my old "f___ing ray of hope" screed from back in the ShadowRN days and repost it. It's been a decade; probably everyone's forgotten what a crackpot I am....
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There can be rays of hope in a "pure" CP:2020 game, too, though. I'm just saying Cyberpunk isn't innately any more grimdark than Shadowrun.
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I definitely kept my CP games dark and gritty. I was always dark and rainy, the birds were dead, the air unbreathable and everyone wanted to shoot you.
I Played SR that way too for most of first and some of second edition but about 10 years into the game I figured life had to change, just look at the US in the 60's compared to say the 80's. With 4th edition life is still hard and theres a great divide between the haves and have not's but the world has stabilized some and life is less dark and dangerous. At least outside of the shadows. That has become the major difference between my 1st ed games and my 4th ed games. The sun does shine someday's, the bird clones can be heard chirping, you only need a breather on some days and only half the people want to shoot you. In my old games a pink mohawk caused people to cross the street in anticipation of trouble, these days there more likely to hit there virtual panic button or give you a giggle. Real life doesn't exist in a vacuum and neither do my games. I'd like to think this was due to some incredible enlightenment on my part but I think it's more likely just a few thousand game sessions. Experience really can be the best teacher.
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It gathers alot of dust on the shelf but I actually prefer my cyberpunk without magic. I just always like the SR mechanics better and its set in Seattle (where I live) so it always won. Though I'm mighty tempted by Interface Zero Savage Worlds edition these days :)
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Somewhere during SR2, I was very fed up with Shadowrun and played CP2020 for ten straight years. It's a great, flexible system. Very lethal, full of attitude, more cyberpunkish than SR (obviously), wonderfully pulpish/trashy and great for antihero action.
I esp. liked the "voice" of the game, the way it talked to the GM, offered help and ideas on every page and didn't care what was ingame and what was outofgame.
I always liked my Seattle sourcebook and the Street Sam catalogue -- in CP2020, you have similar books (Night City sourcebook and chromebooks), and they are like their SR counterparts on steroids.
However, what was good about CP was also bad: It was SO cyberpunk that you actually had to live in the 80ies/90ies to fully enjoy playing it. The more our real world moved on to "the age of Apple", the less fun CP2020 was (plus, we played the Stormfront campaign and blew Night City to shreds -- it was an epic finale of the campaign, but after it there wasn't left anything to say . Or to (story)tell).
I learned a great deal from CP2020, and when I run the shadoes now, there's a little nihilistic cyberpunk within me grinning maniacally :)
THE FUTURE IS DISPOSABLE.
ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING.
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Cyberpunk is what would've happened if the Linux/Unix users won out and Windows/Apple faded into the background. ;D
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Like I said: Great game :)
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Cyberpunk was a very good game that unfortunately was never updated for the 1990s, let alone the 2000s. It was permanently stuck in 1988. For everyone who complains about forced edition upgrades (D&D 4E, SR 4E, etc.), look upon the counter-example and weep*.
I hope someone, somewhere does it a proper service by updating it for the modern world, with modern technologies. The core of the game system and the thematic dynamics are still excellent.
*cyberpunk v3 doesn't count as 1) I refuse to admit its existence and 2) it was no longer a cyberpunk game at all.
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I wholeheartedly agreewith abou everything you said.
BTW, anyone ever taken a look at "Genesis Descent", that "new" Cyberpunk game using CP2020 (Interlock) rules? http://cubicle7.clicdev.com/f/?CDCookie=cubicle7&trk=cubicle7&showtopic=1337
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Looks interesting... I'll have to check it out when it releases.
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Unfortunately nobody seems to know anything about Genesis Descent, so I'm still putting it into the same mental space as poorly-done cyberpunk knockoffs like Cyberworld, Ex Machina and Interface Zero. We'll see.
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Available for pre-order (early 2011). Meh... :/
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If you ever only read one CP 2020 book make it Rache Bartmoss's guide to the net. I laughed, I cheered and when the corp war book came out and we find out Rache's final fate I nearly cried.
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That was a great game. I loved the rule system (at the time). I think i still have the core rulebook. But it can't compare to our beloved sixth world.
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That was a great game. I loved the rule system (at the time). I think i still have the core rulebook. But it can't compare to our beloved sixth world.
Word!
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You say "WORD" Inca? That's my shit. People who aint in the know think it's stupid. It just means, "True". I say it all the time.
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You say "WORD" Inca? That's my shit. People who aint in the know think it's stupid. It just means, "True". I say it all the time.
word
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Word!
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What word?
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bird
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bird
Thanks a lot, now I have to clean my monitor, keyboard and parts of my desk ;D
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I don't get it.
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I don't get it.
It's from "Surfin' Bird," from the Trashmen. A song, wherein -- for the most part -- you sing "Bird's the word!" over and over again.
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As noted on Family Guy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WNrx2jq184).
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I don't get it.
It's from "Surfin' Bird," from the Trashmen. A song, wherein -- for the most part -- you sing "Bird's the word!" over and over again.
No. I got that, but why did chaos puke?
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I don't think he puked.
Spewed a bunch of soda through his nose onto everything, that I can see.
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Oooooooooo... I get it now jack. He was laughing. Duh.
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Yes. Yes he was ;) Maniac style ;)
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I used to play CP 2020 exclusively. That is until all my players with edge moved or got lives. The new gen of players just do not have what my boys in the 1990s had. I can remember the time when Snake and Stan nearly ambushed and beat the crap pizza guy because they thought they were being followed. Then after that little bit of weirdness we actually sat down and gamed.
I really like the CP 2020 game. I have no idea what Pondsmith was thinking with V 3.0. I understand the need to change up a game but killing the whole mood and inserting a bunch of nonsense rules. That pretty much axed it for me. All he really needed to do was fix the netrunning rules and maybe polish as well as update the time line. All in all V 3.0 was a mess. Me personally I am still trying to figure out the barbie dolls:-p
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Yeah. Whatever Mike was slotting at the time should be banned universe-wide. I still don't get it how anyone could be a BRILLANT game designer for 20+ years, then suddenly not only losing it a little, but going TOTALLY nuts.
AAS
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I used to play it last Century.
Tried last year for a comeback (1 adventure with a Cop from Hong Kong)
But our Group was not satisfied so we're playing Traveller now (with this Group.I'm in several different ones)
...V 3 is the "Barbie Doll Version" right ?
read some bad Reviews ,seen the Book, didn't like it
(Seems like that saved me from severe Headaches,right ?)
with several Dances
Medicineman
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Well, well, a fellow Traveller :)
Yeah, V3 is barbiedoll. And it sucks so bad that CPv3 should be the name for a black hole.
AAS
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Well, well, a fellow Traveller :)
Yeah, V3 is barbiedoll. And it sucks so bad that CPv3 should be the name for a black hole.
AAS
Or maybe it should be named "Kobold" like the infamous Vaccumcleaner
HoukaHejaHey
Medicineman
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I used to play it last Century.
Tried last year for a comeback (1 adventure with a Cop from Hong Kong)
But our Group was not satisfied so we're playing Traveller now (with this Group.I'm in several different ones)
...V 3 is the "Barbie Doll Version" right ?
read some bad Reviews ,seen the Book, didn't like it
(Seems like that saved me from severe Headaches,right ?)
with several Dances
Medicineman
Yeah that and maybe down right seizures:-)
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I think Cyberpunks biggest plus all in all is that easy to play. The system was very very easy to run and use. It made things alot simplier at the time than all the mounds of Shadowrun's 1st and 2nd edition.
Interlock is the bomb in my opinion.
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Some of the Cyberpunk "Alternate Reality" stuff worked quite well. And that was before "vampires" were the in-thing in pop culture 8)
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Yeah, indeed.
I still have fond memories of lines like "See how the system setup of the Matrix looks a lot like a crossword puzzle? That's because we designed it that way. Need a quick system? Just take your newspaper and be ready to go". Priceless. And USEABLE!
AAS
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I played Shadowrun first then played Cyberpunk. I like SR4 much better because of the magic and such. Basically, with any system I want as many options as possible for characters and plot ideas.
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I played Shadowrun first then played Cyberpunk. I like SR4 much better because of the magic and such. Basically, with any system I want as many options as possible for characters and plot ideas.
I played Shadowrun first as well then got into c-punk. Cyberpunk was just so slick at the time I could not put it down. Of course that was when Shadowrun was in 1st edition. Yeesh I am getting old:-) Anyway I do love SR 4th. Now, it is the slickest system out there. It really works well and I am glad to see that it is being supported. The folks behind the system should be really proud.
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Just finished Interface Zero. It's good. Really good. I like how they managed to fit all those nifty cyber-toys into Savage World rules. And the world itself looks like Cyberpunk that finished catching up to the present. I'd say this is not a knock-off of CP2020, but a good remake of it, with updated tech and setting.
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Yeah. Whatever Mike was slotting at the time should be banned universe-wide. I still don't get it how anyone could be a BRILLANT game designer for 20+ years, then suddenly not only losing it a little, but going TOTALLY nuts.
AAS
Mike Pondsmith swapped out of pnp game design and over to work on video games for several years. His brain went into games like Crimson Skies and Matrix Online. And back at R. Talsorian, they were focused on updating games like Mekton while the Cyberpunk update sat on the sidelines. When they did get back to it, I have no idea why V3 ended up being as barbie as it did. *shrug* Maybe getting his hall of fame entry capped it for him?
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Just finished Interface Zero. It's good. Really good. I like how they managed to fit all those nifty cyber-toys into Savage World rules. And the world itself looks like Cyberpunk that finished catching up to the present. I'd say this is not a knock-off of CP2020, but a good remake of it, with updated tech and setting.
I will have to check it out. Always interested in new games. I have been collecting RPGs since 1989. What dice system does it use?
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It's a Savage World setting, so d4, d6, d8, 10, d12, and occasionally d20 (only some settings). You basically get Attribute and Skill levels decribed by dice instead of numeric values... Anyway, Savage Worlds is worth checking out as an easy and customizable ruleset.
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Cool so I guess it is a difficulty level type system where you role the dice to see if you get higher than a set number?
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Cool so I guess it is a difficulty level type system where you role the dice to see if you get higher than a set number?
Yes
Savage worlds is THE new Generic RPG .Favored in Germany as GURPS is/was by american Players.
I like it (I likem' both :) )
with a universal Dance
Medicineman
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And recently it had it's Polish edition, which actually conquered the market. Well, it's 'Fast, furious, fun', so it fits the cinematic style of gaming, but also the game mechanics support other styles, like the grim&gritty CP2020.
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And recently it had it's Polish edition, which actually conquered the market. Well, it's 'Fast, furious, fun', so it fits the cinematic style of gaming, but also the game mechanics support other styles, like the grim&gritty CP2020.
Yep definitely going to have to go and pick up a copy:-)
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Really liked Cyberpunk 20.20. I could not wait for 3.0, but left it on the shelf of the game store :'(.
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Took one look at V3.0 and cried manly tears.
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I think everyone except Mike died a little bit inside when they saw V.3
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I think everyone except Mike died a little bit inside when they saw V.3
M$ made Mike die a bit, I think, and he wanted to share his pain with the world.
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After the corporate war books awesomeness every cp2020 fan was on the edge of there seat waiting to see the final outcome. Years went by with hardly a noise. Out with a bang....back with a giggle. I never understood it.
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I like to point to the use of Bartmoss as an GMPC, especially during the corp war books and 2020/V3 transition, whenever someone complains about Frosty's use in Dawn of the Artifacts.
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Took one look at V3.0 and cried manly tears.
I think we all did. I bought it basically because I had faith that it would continue in the great tradition of 2020. I guess I should have known the gig was up when Cybergeneration came out:-(
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Cybergen came out in the middle of 2020, not after.
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I almost see V3 as a revamp of cybergeneration as opposed to a continuation of CP2020.
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Cybergen came out in the middle of 2020, not after.
Yup Cybergen did come out before V3.0. It was a glimmer of what was to come. Should have known if they would waste all that time on that piece of drek that what was coming was going to be utter garbage.
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That's a little harsh. If you drop the mutant superpowers aspect and just treat carbon plague as, well, a plague caused by nanites, you get a VERY decent and dystopian setting that works even as a re-vamp of CP2020. It's less "Escape from New York" and more "The Island". Less "Cyborg" and more "Gattaca".
Plus, I liked the key enemies (ISA Incorporated States of America und CDC Center of Desease Control FTW!)
AAS
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I do not think that it is harsh. I really have no desire to play a thirteen year old kid in a cyberpunk game. Cybergen was just ridiculous. I admit the nano-plague aspect was cool but the ISA. I mean come on. Good grief what were they thinking?
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"We should get the jump on the Tween Demographic"?
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Even a kid back in the day is going to look at Cybergen and say what the heck?
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The only thing I remember about the CyberGen add-on was the Spider-man theme song.
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Didn't The Ramones sing that?
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Didn't The Ramones sing that?
They did cover the song, but it was the original theme song to the 1967 cartoon.
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Good. I'm not TOTALLY insane then.