gm Protocols

The Cabinet of curiosities presents

01. Convey a vibrant world with neon lights, loud Threat & effect
music, greedy corps, high tech and low life. Emanoel Melo

[ CBR + PNK: R P G P M P H LT 0 . 1
02. Provide opportunities, play to find out.
Threat Level (T) informs the danger posed by the
03. Build upon their choices and follow the fiction.
situation and what/how much the PC can lose on a bad
roll. Effect Level (E) gauges how much is
accomplished on a favorable roll. They are both set
When a Player Character faces a risky
to Level 2 by standard.
situation, the outcome is determined by the
Action roll

Action Roll. Each side may have an Edge from how they are using
gear, tactics, environmental aspects or the
01. The player describes what they want to
opposition weakness to their advantage — only the
accomplish and what Approach, Skill and Gear
most significant factors should be considered. Edge
they will employ to do so. There is no “wrong”
can increase ({) or decrease (}) both levels in the
approach to a situation, but some may have
respective sides favor:
reduced effect or even increase the danger,
prompting the Player to rethink their course 01. If the Threat has an Edge that allows them to
of action to improve their positioning. respond more effectively, {T. An Edge that
could improve their defenses or diminish the PC CYBERPUNK TABLETOP RPG FORGED IN THE DARK
02. The GM assesses if any or both sides have
efforts might }E. MINIMAL RULES
Edge. If so, they will then inform what Threat
(T) and Effect (E) Levels can be expected. PAMPHLET_V1.0
02. If the PC has an Edge that can avoid or mitigate
retaliation from the Threat, }T. An Edge that
03. The Player can then raise or lower both T and
increases their action effectiveness might {E.
E simultaneously to improve their impact at
〉Using an Expertise, they can trade one die for
the cost of a harder consequence or
an Edge.
vice-versa.
〉They can choose to Push themselves for {E.
04. The Player gathers their dice:
〉A number equal to Approach+Skill ratings.
Consequences
〉Adds bonus dice from Push or Assist.

C+P 0.01
If they end up with zero or less dice to roll, 〉 Reduced Effect / their E is reduced.
〉 Harm / deal Harm to the runners involved.

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they roll 2 dice and keep the lowest.
〉 Complication / create and/or advance a danger’s

C OVE R IM A GE: E M AN O EL ME LO W ITH I MAG E S F RO M UN S PLA SH. C OM, VI TA LLY B UL GAR OV ET A L.

05. The Player rolls all the dice and reads the Progress Bar, deplete resources (e.g. ammo).
single highest result. Player and GM work 〉 Worse Position / remove one of their advantages or
together narrating the action, but the latter put them on a bad spot.
has final say over the outcome and is the one 〉 Lost Opportunity / circumstances shift. They must
declaring the Consequences. change their approach to the situation.
The Threat Level informs the Harm level, the ticks on
a Danger Bar or the severity of the Complication.
6, 6 Critical. They succeed and gain an
extra benefit (most likely {E). Combine these as the fiction dictates. e.G. a runner
trying to fight a Level 3 Threat rolls a 2. as a
consequence, The gm could deal a level 3 harm or level
6 Success. It goes as well as intended.
1 harm plus give the threat an edge over them.

4/5 Partial Success. They do it but also Each Consequence can be Resisted separately.
suffer a Consequence: HARM, }E,
[ CBR+PNK:RPG] END.FILE

LOST OPPORTUNITY or COMPLICATION. Harm

[ 2020/V01 CYBER+PUNK ]

1-3 Fail. Things go bad and they suffer Harm is a lasting condition or injury. If a PC takes
the Consequences. Harm and there is no slot left to fill, it is TIME TO
DIE. Level 4 harm is fatal if not Resisted and should
be dealt only when the stakes are clear.

This work is based on Blades in the Dark, product of One Seven 6 SIDED 2 TO 4 2 TO 5
Design, developed and authored by John Harper, and licensed for our This is the gm’s pamphlet. Download the full game at
DICE HOURS PLAYERS
use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. emanoelmelo.itch.io @emanoelmelo
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C+P 0.01

Player Characters (PCs) are a team of hardened

Setting

1. Coming in Hot Progress bars

RUNNERS — mercs, criminals, activists living on
the edge and running in the shadows of a gritty,
ultraviolent world.
Their fixer is an anonymous figure with a flat
voice known as OPERATOR. The Operator believes
that Runners are disposable — if one dies,
another one will come along and finish the job.
The SPRAWL can be any, as long as you abuse of
the genre elements: 24/7 busy, loud, over-
crowded high tech corporatocracy, powered by
privatized low-grade services, painted with
neon lights, intrusive ads, class struggle, bad
weather due to climate crash and so on.
Each game we play an entire new cast of
characters doing their LAST RUN.
Detail the circumstances the PCs start in — they
already successfully dealt with legwork, minor
inconveniences and now engage their first significant
obstacle. This situation must call for immediate
action: a shooting, chase, unexpected checkpoint,
etc. During the scene, have the OPERATOR checking in
with them for status updates. Remember them to take
advantage of Flashbacks (plan on the fly).
2. Something Unexpected Occurred
Complicate things by subverting the main elements,
possibly changing the PCs' priorities or interests.
This is an especially good opportunity to bring up
their ANGLES. Maybe the data they were stealing is
Threats and dangers are represented by Progress Bars
with 4, 6 or 8 segments. They are mostly used when
the GM needs to track something over time. e.g. the
endurance of an obstacle (like an enemy’s stamina or
a system’s integrity) or impending dangers (a time
bomb, reinforcements arrival). The GM can also set
two opposed bars to represent a race, e.g. one ticks
towards hacking a terminal, while the other
represents security closing in the hacker.
When progress is made, tick a number of segments in
the Progress Bar equal to T (when the Threat
advances) or E (When PCs advance).
MOST GOONS CAN BE TAKEN OUT WITH A SINGLE SUCCESS,
WHILE NESTED BARS MAY REPRESENT MORE COMPLEX THREATS.

SAMPLE THREATS
the first known awakened AI; The rogue synthetics
show empathy towards their creators; The client is Enhanced bouncer.
revealed to be the Runners' common enemy; Some shady King
A greedy bastard.
This gig should be a big, important operation, organization is also interested in the target. The
The Run

designated for veteran runners. Have a few Run final obstacle is resourceful, powerful, resilient.
OBJECTIVES for the Players to choose from.
Detail a couple of locations, potential assets A small gang armed
Ghoulz
and 8-12 obstacles that may be encountered. Use 3. logging off with guns & a SMG.
the tables below for inspiration.
When the Run’s OBJECTIVE is concluded (successfully
C H O Onote
Take S E AofT Ythe
P E PC’s Angles and Hunted or not) and there are no more immediate threats, it
statuses. Ask them about enemy gangs, corps, Vet hacker with a neural-
may be time to montage out. Wrap the current scene up poisn
allies — use those to make the Run personal. linked defensive deck &
and go around the table letting each Player narrate
When everyone is ready, state the Run’s light weaponry.
their character’s prelude. Ask them to convey a brief
OBJECTIVE and cut to the action. scene detailing how that Run changed their lives.
A few detachments.
security agents
Crowd control light
1 Assassinate / Tag 1 Highway / Corporate tower
OBJECTIVE

LOCATIONS (EXT./INT.)

armor, guns and rifles.

2 Escort / Protect 2 Docks / Underground facility
3 Steal / Extract 3 Slums / Apartment complex Paramilitary elite squad.
taskforcetm
4 Smuggle / Courier 4 Street markets / Powerplant Heavy armor and weaponry.
Loads of enhancements.
5 Raid / Defend 5 Luxury gardens / Nightclub
6 Plant / Sabotage 6 Entertainment zone / Monorail train Enforcer bipedal Drone.
dozer
Heavly armored, arms as
machine guns.
1 Political leader / Undercover 1 Biological matter / Offworld
WHO / STATUS

PAYLOAD / ORIGIN

2 Corporate officer / Missing 2 Data / Corporate Basic defensive program.

Artemisia-I
3 Celebrity / Hostage 3 Weapon(s) / Crowd-sourced Barrier protocol, traces
Firewall

[B.D.P. ART/I BULD V3.456.20XX]

4 4 and blocks intruders
[ 2020/V01 CYBER+PUNK ]

Scientist / Institutionalized Rare artifacts / Paramilitary

and deploys an I.C.P.
5 A.I. / Retired 5 Energy source / Governamental

C+P00X
Intrusion Countermeasure
6 White Hat / Refugee 6 Unique prototype / Syndicate i.c.p. Protocol, attacks the
hacker’s brain directly.

RUN // GEN

CBR // PNK _ 2020 : DATA V1.0

28091982