What kind of homebrew modifications do you make to CP2020, if any?
Better to play retro-80s, update it to the modern world or let it fade away...?
Cyberpunk 2020 General, just don't bitch about the definition of cyberpunk, pls. And don't mention Cyberpunk V3..
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>2d6 instead of d10 for skill rolls.
Makes the fails spectacular and the successes equally so. Taking the critical chances from 10% down to 3% while making other rolls more varied
>Die Explosion
To add on to the previous edit crits don't auto succeed/fail but cause dice to explode. This makes moments feel more cinematic and a bit more realistic. When you roll a 12 you roll an extra d6 and add that to your total. Get another 6 and you get to keep rolling. Same for rolling snake eyes. Roll an extra d6 and subtract from your roll(negative numbers are okay)
>Initiative
Putting a limit on initiative actions allowed to each player. They can only take 2 combat actions and 1 non-combat action. These actions will take place at your initiative value, and then you next action will take place at -5 from that initiative value and so on. Actions still get the penalty as before.
>Awareness/Notice and Hide/Evade Based on Cool
Flavor change, so Super Solos don't necessarily have to be Einstein, but they can Rambo
>Gun Skills
Condensing the Gun skills into three categories. Handguns, Rifles, and Heavy Weapon. If you fire it one handed you use your Handgun skill. Two hands use Rifle. If it's unwieldy use Heavy Weapons
>Stat Changes
Adding a new stat: HS(Humanity Score) which will take over half of what empathy used to cover. This is also a flavor change. It was odd how min maxed super solos started with the empathy of Mother Theresa. It also allows a Hannibal Lector type character to be played(i.e. someone with great people skills who is incredibly insane). To deal with the 10th stat You can start with 65 Character points instead of 60(Feel free to adjust for whatever power level game you want to play)
This part is super optional, and I'm not going to give details unless anyone wants to request it. >Classes
Doing away with the class system an dropping Career Skills from 60 to 50. Where are the Special Class skills? In a custom Edge and Hindrance system a la GURPS and Deadlands.
That pretty good stuff. I like it.
The German book had a nicer cover.
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Bamp
>2d6 instead of d10 for skill rolls.
I had the same idea, but finally dropped it.
>Die Explosion...This makes moments feel more cinematic and a bit more realistic.
If it's more cinematic it cannot be more realistic, and vice-versa. I'm also not sure about how it would affect game balance.
>Awareness/Notice and Hide/Evade Based on Cool
And why not on ATT? Seriously, solos are already pretty much overpowered with Combat Sense. They don't need one more boost. Personally, I'd even take away the bonus to Awareness/Notice given by Combat Reflexes. Theres a reason for that: there is no skill that would give a bonus to stealth. So a solo has much more chances to detect an ambush than to lay one effectively.
>Gun Skills
Totally agree on this one.
>Stat Changes
I had the same idea, but a different approach. I'd change Attractiveness to Sex-Appeal, which also covers some skills from Empathy (seducing with empathy gets you friendzoned, seducing with SEX gets you pussy). Then I'd add the stat Perception, which is used for shooting, searching and noticing stuff.
The major change I would do is to get rid of character classes. Simply let the players choose 10 skills for their characters and that's it. Special skills become normal skills and one character can have more than one. To calculate starting cash, take the highes special skill level into account.
Another change I would do is to get change the number of skill points available for hobby skills. Give the character 10 points to buy at least 2 hobby skills.
To give more importance to skill, I would also give a penalty to skill rolls whenever a character doesn't have the required skill (I suggest 3 points). All of a sudden those Skill Level 3 chips become much more useful.
Lastly, I'd get rid of the concept of Humanity. Calculate Humanity Loss like usual. Then multiply it by ten. This gives the weekly cost for maintenance and anti-rejection drugs.
Revised character sheet enclosed.
>The major change I would do is to get rid of character classes. Simply let the players choose 10 skills for their characters and that's it. Special skills become normal skills and one character can have more than one
One: You can basically already do this. In the same exact area of the book as the classes, it tells you that you can pick a special skill and a group of other skills to be your "career skills".
Two: The special skills are all better than normal skills. That's why they're special. If you can freely take them, then you need to get rid of their normal equivalents (Streetdeal is a strict upgrade to Streetwise, for example) and assume that everyone who reads what the skills actually do will fill up as many special skills as possible and ignore the rest.
Oh, and the starting money section tells you to select the category that most closely matches whatever you are, supporting the ability to select whatever career skills you want.
Anyone who doesn't have at least two points in Personal Grooming and Wardrobe and Style dresses stupid (Even by CP2020 standards) and doesn't shower often.
Actually enforcing this is the most important thing, since form > function.
I forgot one or two more things.
>Martial Arts
I'd get rid of the martial arts list. Characters who have the Martial Art skill, can simply distribute as many points as they have in their skill level for some martial art move. Maximum bonus per move is (skill level)/2. I also changed the damage bonus for Martial Art to (skill level)/2.
Ex. a guy has martial arts at level 6. The player decides to distribute 2 points to punch, 2 points to kick, 1 point to block, and 1 point to evade. The character will also do DMG +3 when fighting unarmed.
>Aiming
When a character is aiming he normally gets +1 per round spent aiming. To make scopes and cyberware better, the bonus is changed to +2 per round with a max. of 3 rounds (+6).
>Hit Location Chart
Torso hits are so bland, despite having most vital organs located there. Realistically, the whole area should have a damage modifier of x1.5, but as this could be excessive, I suggest to incorporate a new hit locations "Vitals" in the torso. Make it 2 or 4 on your hit location roll.
>AP Ammo
AP ammo halves AV or SP. Damage that goes through is divided by 2. The problem with that, is that combat can take forever. I say that whenever an AP round hits either Head or Vitals, damage passing is not halved.
So, that should be it.
>I say that whenever an AP round hits Head, , damage passing is not halved.
Already true, since damage to the head is doubled.
>Better to play the 80s or update it?
I try to split the difference myself, keep things clearly 'old school' but not to point of fallout parody levels of retro.
CP2020 doesn't let you create your character freely as I wrote. It simply lets you create new classes, which will lead to pages long character classes list. A thing I want to avoid.
>The special skills are all better than normal skills.
Nope. MediTech is simply medicine. It doesn't cover cryotank use, first aid and diagnose illness. Combat sense is not really a skill but it gives different bonuses - so do Credibility, Resources, and Family. Interface doesn't cover programming or system knowledge. Streetdeal, Charismatic Leadership, and Authority are more complex. Authority only applies if you're a cop in a cop situation. Charismatic Leadership is about firing up an audience an making it do whatever you want. It's faster and more violent than Oratory or Persuasion and Fast-Talk, but it only works if there's an audience willing to listen to you. Streedeal is about having a network of contacts who owe you favors. It's no substitute to Streetwise. Though here I admit, it's pretty stupid as Streetwise is to know where to get hot stuff, and Streetdeal would be about knowing who will get you hot stuff.
Yup. But I suggest to keep damage normal, this means x2 in the head and x1.5 in the vitals.
MediTech is literally First Aid, but better.
"A Character with Medical Tech skill makes a check as if using the First Aid skill, however, with Medical Tech, the patient will recover at the rate of 1 point per day... Using Medical Tech skills supersedes the use of First Aid skills"
Streetdeal is literally Streetwise, but better. It gets you all the same things, but at lower levels, and more efficiently. Fixers literally don't even have Streetwise because Streetdeal is a straight upgrade.
Charismatic Leadership does the same things as Leadership, but better, and neither the Rockerboy, nor the Politician get both, because they have the better version.
Authority is intimidation, but better. In the setting, there are no places it wouldn't apply.
Things like Family, Resources, Credibility, ect don't have directly similar skills, but MediTech is literally a better version of First Aid (It heals 1 point per day instead of 1 point every two days, and you can't combine them at all), Charismatic Leadership covers several normal skills (That already don't work except with a crowd) and Authority definitely supersedes Intimidation.
Streetdeal and Streetwise also literally do the same thing, except Streetdeal is better, and the guy whose entire job is to deal with the street (The Fixer) ONLY has Streetdeal as a career skill.
Then there's no reason to use anything but AP, since the head only takes 8 damage to pop, and then they're dead.
i wouldn't make ANY of the changes recommended in this thread
than the english version or the french? if it's the english, then I disagree
As we already mentioned:
Credibility, Family, and Resources are not really skills but rather an indication on position in the hierarchy or fame. People believe you because your famous and you get stuff because you're a boss.
Combat Sense isn't really a skill but rather an advantage.
Interface is a specific skill.
Now for the overlapping skills. It's not as radical you wrote:
Authority and Intimidation seemingly overlap, but there is a major difference. For Authority you need to be a cop, and you need to be in your jurisdiction. Intimidation works everywhere.
MediTech overlaps with First-Aid, but still not with Diagnose Illness or Cryotank Operation. In my opinion it should rather overlap with those two than First-Aid. First-Aid would just be stabilizing a patient quickly with what you have at hand (tourniquet, belt, piece of wood and rope...), while MediTech would be to perform surgery, heal wounds, install cyberware, diagnose and cure illnesses, all that kind of stuff that requires time and equipment (cryotank, nanobots, Speedheal...).
Jury-Rig and TECH-skills have for me the same relation as MediTech to First-Aid. Jury-Rig is fast and dirty McGyver style, while TECH-skills are careful engineering. Jury-Rig is McGyver, GenTech is A-Team, TECH-skills are James Bond's Q.
Charismatic Leadership kind of overlaps with Leadership, Oratory, Persuasion & Fast-Talk, but also with Credibility. I see the limitation in the sense that with charismatic leadership you manipulate people from your "tribe" (rockerboy and chromers or fans, politicians and militants/activists, cult leader and cultists).
Streetdeal and Streetwise do overlap.
Cyberpunk 2020 is such a great game that you can either play it as it is or you can modify it as you want. It's a very simple system that can be tweaked in any way possible. My advice to new GM's is to play the vanilla version first. By doing so, they will see what they don't like and then they can change it. I absolutely discourage new GM's to start adding tons of house rules from the start.
>Credibility, Family, and Resources
you have invested time in them, you reap the rewards
>Combat Sense isn't really a skill but rather an advantage.
a rose by another name
> X and Y overlap
if X is a special skill, it's a superior version; what's not to like?
We already discussed that in the majority of the cases the special stat is not superior. The only skill where we have a doubt was Streetdeal. Pic is what the basic book says.
From the text we clearly can see that a mafia boss would need both. Streetdeal for networking and information, Streetwise for being gangster.
I see things like that: Information from Streetwise are more or less immediate (you know what area to avoid, you know not to wear red when you cross this area, you know how to behave and talk like a gangster, you can decrypt tags, you know streetsland, etc.). Streetdeal makes two things. First it provides you with information, but this requires time as you need to ask your contacts and informants, etc. Secondly, it serves also for negotiation/barter.
An example of Streetdeal can be seen in True Detective, season 2, episode 1. The mobster boss, Semyon, heard from his contacts about a junkie who raped Velcoro's wife.
An example of Streetwise can be seen in the movie Stone Cold. The undercover cop, Joe Huff, wants to infiltrate a biker gang. He knows they frequent biker meets at a certain location and he knows that by beating a guy in a duel he will get their attention.
Why does the dealer not have Streetwise is a mystery. I'm pretty certain that in the German edition, dealers have both skills (Schwarzmarkt & Gassenwissen), but I'm not at home and I found no PDF of the German edition.
That cover is ugly as fuck. The old one is much better.
Out of curiosity. Are you using the French edition?
Should add this track, too: youtube.com
That's for the Night's Owl:
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Perfect to calm down the hardwiring after some action.
What's your screencap from?
>Though here I admit, it's pretty stupid as Streetwise is to know where to get hot stuff, and Streetdeal would be about knowing who will get you hot stuff.
There is a big difference between having contacts (reliable and more or less trusted dealers/fences) and knowing where to find an appropriate one, how to approach to them to make a deal and how not to get burned on someone else's turf.
Not that guy, but I'm pretty sure it's KITE, a live action adaptation of the (hentai) anime. I wonder if it keeps the Boondock Saints references.
Kite the movie adaptation.
No, the difference is tiny on the scale the game skills take place. They should just be rolled up into one skill or special ability. It doesn't make sense to split hairs about skills so much.
>We already discussed that in the majority of the cases the special stat is not superior. The only skill where we have a doubt was Streetdeal. Pic is what the basic book says.
that's because you are a bunch of giant newbie faggots who don't know the source material, who never read Wildside, who never read Listen up Screwheads, but STILL spout your shit as if you're the hottest Solos west of Chiba, choombatta.
>From the text we clearly can see that a mafia boss would need both. Streetdeal for networking and information, Streetwise for being gangster.
back to junior highschool, faggot
>Why does the dealer not have Streetwise is a mystery.
to you.
more source material to up your game
That's just because you're a fucking newfag. The 1990 or 1991 Cyberpunk 2020 edition, from which the German edition was translated has the dealer have both skills (Schwarzmarkt, Gassenwissen).
>plays the german translation
>doesn't use the original books
pleb-tier gamer detected
furthermore i never claimed it was not so, i merely pointed out that there is no mystery regarding streetdeal and streetwise, it has been clearly clarified in wildside.
It's exactly what you or some other fag said. And to make things even better, the excerpt you posted exactly says what I said: streetdeal is networking, streetwise is street knowledge. And like always Pondsmith starts to fuck things up by trying to fix things that work and contradicts himself in the process. You could absolutely have some high-class arms dealer who has good contacts but isn't necessarily streetwise (ex. Lord of War movie). All this makes even more sense for a classless system.
let me quote :
>Fixers, as reflected by their special ability, have their strengths focused in five main areas: Contacts, Information, Resources, Streetweise, Dealmaking.
=> Streetdeal >>>>>>>>> Streetwise
The authors just changed the skill's meaning between 2.00 and 2.01 editions. Then they tried to justify their change with a bullshit explanation.
Do nothing.
Play it as is.
If you start to update and or modify it you take away the game it was intended to be. It's gritty, it's shitty, it's not pretty. You can be as glamorous and flippant as you can try to be, but in the end you're just ground beef.
The point is; get away with whatever you can while giving a finger to the man.
Do it. Just fucking go for it.
Though the original idealism may be a little lost on the modern generations, think of it this way. Trump and Hillary are the corporate. BLM is nomads. Billy Idol AND Justin Bieber are the rockerboys. Cops, are the cops. Fox news is the news, and WikiLeaks are legendary. The youtube hacking channels and gadgeteers are the techboys. Anonymous is the 1337 HAXXORS known as Netrunning Veeky Forums. PMC Bearded Ranger is the Solo. And your fixers are the local street kids selling you a dime bag, or a Saturday night special.
The funny thing is; we thought the future was outlandish. This was a far off fantasy of 2020. Little did we know it would be very real but with less braindanceing.
What skill replaced Streetsmart as starting skill? Wardrobe and Style (to look cool), Seduction (helps when dealing with people), Human Perception (helps when dealing with people), Social (helps when dealing with people), Stockmarket (to invest money), or Submachineguns? No. It's Brawling - fucking Brawling. Clearly an indication of a hasty and badly thought out change.
Anyway, as you use the later CP2020 edition, the rule of having on "stronger" skill can be justified - Wildside and Listen Up where both written for this later edition. But, in the previous editions the system was slightly different and it made perfectly sense, too.
you have clear rules. streetdeal is strictly superior to streetwise. accept it or houserule it but don't claim there's some mystery.