54 thoughts on “Does anyone know anything about this PbtA cyberpunk game?”

  13. I backed the game and last Origins got to play in a game run by Hamish Cameron. We had a great time. I’d say this is one of those “must own” games if you are a cyberpunk fan.

    My memory might lack some detail but here’s what I remember of game play. The part that got us rolling was the world (sprawl) creation at the beginning of the game session. Basically the game follows the conceit that corporations have taken over and the urban landscape has grown so large that the cities cover massive areas. It’s very Gibsonian in flavor, or at least that’s how we colored the world. We created a super-city in the Amazon that had an orbital platform where the elites lived and was tethered to the surface with a space elevator. Setup of the sprawl with all it’s connections to individuals and corps in addition to making our characters took roughly a half hour. The sprawl creation hooked each of the characters into the world they lived in. It also set them up for bad things to happen with all those corps having agendas between each other.

    It was a really enjoyable game and I can’t wait to see my print copy.

  14. I backed the game and last Origins got to play in a game run by Hamish Cameron. We had a great time. I’d say this is one of those “must own” games if you are a cyberpunk fan.

    My memory might lack some detail but here’s what I remember of game play. The part that got us rolling was the world (sprawl) creation at the beginning of the game session. Basically the game follows the conceit that corporations have taken over and the urban landscape has grown so large that the cities cover massive areas. It’s very Gibsonian in flavor, or at least that’s how we colored the world. We created a super-city in the Amazon that had an orbital platform where the elites lived and was tethered to the surface with a space elevator. Setup of the sprawl with all it’s connections to individuals and corps in addition to making our characters took roughly a half hour. The sprawl creation hooked each of the characters into the world they lived in. It also set them up for bad things to happen with all those corps having agendas between each other.

    It was a really enjoyable game and I can’t wait to see my print copy.

  17. I’ve played it at Origins. Was a very good cyberpunk game from what I could tell. (Our table certainly had fun) I will definitely be buying it, but I’m waiting for a physical copy. It seemed like an advancement in the PbtA game model. 

    Victor Wyatt mentioned sprawl creation. I know you also create megacorps at the table normally, but for the con game we skipped that. I remember there was an interesting system for legwork, where you set up things for the run, but each thing had increasing risk of bringing down the wrath of the corps. From reading posts in The Sprawl community, I gather it is centered around missions, rather than slice of life play.

    Also, Hamish Cameron is a great MC and is responsible for my wife Pamela Alexander falling in love with PbtA games. 

  18. I’ve played it at Origins. Was a very good cyberpunk game from what I could tell. (Our table certainly had fun) I will definitely be buying it, but I’m waiting for a physical copy. It seemed like an advancement in the PbtA game model. 

    Victor Wyatt mentioned sprawl creation. I know you also create megacorps at the table normally, but for the con game we skipped that. I remember there was an interesting system for legwork, where you set up things for the run, but each thing had increasing risk of bringing down the wrath of the corps. From reading posts in The Sprawl community, I gather it is centered around missions, rather than slice of life play.

    Also, Hamish Cameron is a great MC and is responsible for my wife Pamela Alexander falling in love with PbtA games. 

  19. I picked up the PDF, haven’t read very far yet, but it does look pretty cool from what I have read.

    Will probably run it for the Gauntlet Hangouts community once I’ve had a chance to read it properly.

    That being said, I’d also really love to play. 🙂

  20. I picked up the PDF, haven’t read very far yet, but it does look pretty cool from what I have read.

    Will probably run it for the Gauntlet Hangouts community once I’ve had a chance to read it properly.

    That being said, I’d also really love to play. 🙂

  21. I playtested it in the early days, and enjoyed it. I imagine a lot of the kinks have been worked out, but I would say that the most important aspects were the creation of the corporations themselves and the gritty anti-hero feel of the characters. When I played, I used the Reporter playbook to create Dr. Liam Santiago, Action Ethnographer, who desperately wanted to be allowed to return to The University of the Great Lakes, Atlantis Campus under Lake Superior. In a world with no IRB to review his research, he was utterly amoral in that pursuit.

  22. I playtested it in the early days, and enjoyed it. I imagine a lot of the kinks have been worked out, but I would say that the most important aspects were the creation of the corporations themselves and the gritty anti-hero feel of the characters. When I played, I used the Reporter playbook to create Dr. Liam Santiago, Action Ethnographer, who desperately wanted to be allowed to return to The University of the Great Lakes, Atlantis Campus under Lake Superior. In a world with no IRB to review his research, he was utterly amoral in that pursuit.

  25. If I recall correctly, the hacking rules were pretty darn elegant too. Unlike most cyberpunk games, it did not turn into a minigame with just the hacker and the gm while everyone else sat around. 

  26. If I recall correctly, the hacking rules were pretty darn elegant too. Unlike most cyberpunk games, it did not turn into a minigame with just the hacker and the gm while everyone else sat around. 

  29. I’d love to get a game in via hangouts if anyone is interested, I’ve run a fair amount of cyberpunk and PbtA Games so I’m comfortable as Either an MC or as a player.

    I’m a newbie when it comes to playing via the internet though.

  30. I’d love to get a game in via hangouts if anyone is interested, I’ve run a fair amount of cyberpunk and PbtA Games so I’m comfortable as Either an MC or as a player.

    I’m a newbie when it comes to playing via the internet though.

  39. Thanks everyone!

    Mischa Krilov The Kickstarter was in New Zealand Dollars (20) and the PDF on DTRPG is in American Dollars (15), so the price is about the same (when I searched now NZD20 = USD 13.40). Kickstarter backers will also get stretch goals for free, whereas those will be separate PDFs on DTRPG.

    There’s a G+ community for The Sprawl. If you have rules questions, someone will usually answer pretty quickly.

  40. Thanks everyone!

    Mischa Krilov The Kickstarter was in New Zealand Dollars (20) and the PDF on DTRPG is in American Dollars (15), so the price is about the same (when I searched now NZD20 = USD 13.40). Kickstarter backers will also get stretch goals for free, whereas those will be separate PDFs on DTRPG.

    There’s a G+ community for The Sprawl. If you have rules questions, someone will usually answer pretty quickly.

  41. Jason Cordova, you might want to check out the Friends at the Table (Austin Walker) actual play podcast. They are currently playing The Sprawl in their Season 2 game (they played DW in Season 1). They started Season 2 playing MechNoir (a hack of TechNoir), but around episode 10 they switched to The Sprawl. 

  42. Jason Cordova, you might want to check out the Friends at the Table (Austin Walker) actual play podcast. They are currently playing The Sprawl in their Season 2 game (they played DW in Season 1). They started Season 2 playing MechNoir (a hack of TechNoir), but around episode 10 they switched to The Sprawl. 

  45. No problem Mischa Krilov! My campaign was before KS automatically showed currency conversions, so that was a real point of confusion at the time. I certainly know not everyone is used to being able to roughly convert NZD to USD on the fly!

    (MOAR CYBERPUNK!)

  46. No problem Mischa Krilov! My campaign was before KS automatically showed currency conversions, so that was a real point of confusion at the time. I certainly know not everyone is used to being able to roughly convert NZD to USD on the fly!

    (MOAR CYBERPUNK!)

  49. It’s a great rulebook for PbtA. It spells out unspoken mechanics for player and GM in a concise way, and it’s really well written. It’s also easy to skip the fluff and the examples, though the design will be love it or hate it. I love the directives and how you advance by acting accordingly (narratively).

  50. It’s a great rulebook for PbtA. It spells out unspoken mechanics for player and GM in a concise way, and it’s really well written. It’s also easy to skip the fluff and the examples, though the design will be love it or hate it. I love the directives and how you advance by acting accordingly (narratively).

  51. We’re working on a more traditional black on white design as well for those who don’t like the white on black. There will also be a print friendly PDF version too. No ETA on those yet.

  52. We’re working on a more traditional black on white design as well for those who don’t like the white on black. There will also be a print friendly PDF version too. No ETA on those yet.

  53. I need to get this on the calendar soon. I think the last time we played something cyberpunk was Remember Tomorrow a few months ago, but that wasn’t quite what I was looking for. 

  54. I need to get this on the calendar soon. I think the last time we played something cyberpunk was Remember Tomorrow a few months ago, but that wasn’t quite what I was looking for. 

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