TMCS 0-91

These Mean Cybernetic
Streets
V 0.91
Luigi Castellani 2021
To Simon Carryer for On Mghty Thews

and John Harper for Agon
Special thanks to:

u/ShyCentaur, u/shroomvolcano, Andrea Garrone
THESE MEAN CYBERNETIC STREETS
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Table of Contents
:Introduction:...............................................................................................5
::The Basics::............................................................................6
::Glossary::................................................................................9
:Character Creation:..................................................................................14
::Attributes::............................................................................15
::Abilities::...............................................................................17
::Skills::....................................................................................19
::Equipment::...........................................................................24
:::Drugs:::............................................................................25
:::Gear:::..............................................................................26
:::Implants :::......................................................................28
:::Contacts:::.......................................................................30
::Starting Heat::.......................................................................32
::Example character creation::..............................................33
:World-building and the MCP:....................................................................34

:Mission and Scenes:.................................................................................38
::Stand-Ins::.............................................................................39
::The Prologue::......................................................................40
::Scenes & Interludes::...........................................................41
:::Removing oneself from a Scene or Interlude:::..........44
::Epilogue::..............................................................................45
::Simple Mission & Scene Generator::.................................46
::Heat::.....................................................................................48
::Info::.......................................................................................53
:Actions:.....................................................................................................54
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::Degrees of Success and Failure::.......................................57

::Transhuman Insight::...........................................................59
::Challenges & NPCs::............................................................60
::Action Sequences::..............................................................62
:::Flight:::............................................................................63
:::Diplomacy:::....................................................................64
:::Fights:::...........................................................................64
::Trauma & Glitch::.................................................................68
:::Trauma:::.........................................................................68
:::Glitching:::......................................................................69
:::NPCS and Damage:::.....................................................70
:::Healing and Recovery:::................................................71
:::Out of Action:::...............................................................71
:Downtime:..................................................................................................72
::Special Spends::...................................................................73
:PROTAGONIST SHEET:....................................................................................74
:MISSION SHEET:............................................................................................75
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:Introduction:
This game has been written with the idea that it will allow you to
play out cyberpunk and transhumanist adventure stories in the vein
of William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Rudy Rucker, Neal Stephenson,
Masamune Shirow and the like.
No idea of how a role-playing game works? Have no fear.

Role-playing games can -usually- be summarized as a
conversation lead by one of the players in order to collectively
create a story with the help of dice or other randomizers.
These rules are full of examples of play to help you “get” what this
game is about and how to handle different situations.
In case you need something you can’t find here, the internet is
shock-full of examples of play (YT especially) and forums where to
debate about the finer points of Role-playing.
5
::The Basics::
You will need a player to take on the mantle of the Master Control
Program (or MCP), the person in charge of the procedures of the
game and describing the world.
The other players will create and run the Protagonists, a bunch of
skillful cyberpunk characters living in the game’s imaginary world.
Protagonists try to earn a living, while keeping safe and -
hopefully- sane.
Protagonists also get to change the world around them.
After the Protagonists have been created, the players and the
MCP get down to describing the world in which the action takes
place.
They will create the locations and factions that are the focus of the
action, these are collectively known as Hubs.
Once the Hubs (and their relationship to each other and the
Protagonists) have been established, you are set up for playing.
A Session typically starts with the Prologue, during which the

MCP will hand out one Mission to the Protagonists, usually via
their Contacts.
Alternatively one of the Protagonists can create a Mission for the
rest of the party by spending Info.
The MCP will then set Scenes till the Mission ends, handle non-
player characters (or NPCs), put Heat on the Protagonists’ tail,
and interpret Action Rolls.
The Protagonists can, on their part, call for Interludes between
6
Scenes, or pay Info to create their own Scenes that advance the
plot.
After all Scenes have been played out, the Epilogue is played out.
Once a Mission ends, and before a new one starts, Protagonists
get some Downtime to learn new things, heal, buy stuff, lower
Heat.
Protagonists that can’t pay for their own livelihood during

Downtime may worsen their health conditions, accumulating
Trauma or Glitch (see below).
Don’t forget to keep handy five or six regular six-sided dice,

pencils, erasers, some sheets of paper.
Protagonists also need a Character Sheet (see at the end of this
book), while MCPs have been provide with a Mission Sheet.
------------------------------
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------------------------------
EXAMPLE: You’ll find text like this about almost all

subjects throughout the rule-book. These are meant to
show how the rules work in practice.
I this case, we have four friends that would like to play
some cyberpunk adventure: Mark, Zoe, Sarah, Tony.
Sarah offers to be the MCP, you can think of her as the
Director of the movie. Zoe, Sarah and Tony will be the
players, in charge of creating and playing their
Protagonists.
These are the characters at the center of the story that
will unfold in play.
Instead of following a script, the players will be
improvising according to how they see their characters
reacting to the situations the MCP will put them in during
the game.
Together, starting from the Protagonists’ Attributes (see
later), they will devise the Hubs around which the game-
world and the Protagonists revolve.
------------------------------
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::Glossary::
Here’s a list of the important terms used in this game, and what
they mean. If you get lost, come back here and see if we can shine
a light for you.
Abilities (Cool, Smart, Techie, Tough): a Protagonist’s natural

attitude in the four basic fields of ability. Abilities are rated in
numbers of dice.
Action Roll: when it’s not clear if a Protagonist’s action is

successful or not, and what effects it may have, 3 dice are rolled
and the total is compared to the Difficulty Number set by the
MCP according to the current Scene number. If the total is higher
than the DN, the action is successful.
Advance: A Scene that has been successfully passed and carries

the Mission towards a successful completion.
Advantage/Disadvantage Dice: dice that are added to the dice

pool for an Action roll and used to replace a dice that rolls
lower/higher than they do. These are used to indicate some
advantage or disadvantage on the action due to Skills, Gear...
Antagonistt: Major NPC that leads a Squad of Mooks.
Attributes (Phenotype, Demeanor, Origin): these describe a

character’s background and psychology and are used to link the
Protagonists to the world they live in. Attributes are descriptive
terms like “Bot”, “Violent” and “Corporate”.
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Contact: a helpful NPC that can sell equipment and services or

hand out Missions.
Credits: in-game currency used to buy stuff
Degree of Success/Failure: the difference between the Action

Roll’s total and the DN of the action is used to determine eventual
side positive or negative effects of the action.
Difficulty Number (DN): the number a player must roll above in

order to have their Protagonist’s current action be successful.
Downtime: time between missions, the Protagonists will have to

pay for their livelihood and may even learn or earn new things,
information and abilities.
Epilogue: The final Scene that determines if the Mission is a

success or a failure.
Gear: a special piece of equipment owned by a Protagonist.
Glitch: a measure of a character’s current mental health.
Heat: a resource used by the Master Control Program to make

the Protagonist’s life miserable.
Hub: an important faction or place of the game world.
Implant: a special kind of Gear, implanted into a person’s body.
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Info: points that Protagonists get from their Contacts or in-game

actions that can be used by the Players to set Scenes or
Missions for themselves.
Interludes: After each Scene, the Protagonists may call for a

break in the Mission’s advancement to do a bit of R&R.
Master Control Program (MCP): the arbiter of the rules, the

person leading the game, also called Narrator, Storyteller,
Dungeon Master, Game Master or Master of Ceremonies in other
games.
Mission: a paid errand for the Protagonists to carry out.

Missions are made out of Scenes.
Mooks: Minor NPCs that act in Squads numbering as many

individuals as are the Protagonists.
Nano: special Gear that morphs in what is necessary and

dissolves after use.
Non-player character (NPC): A character handled by the MCP.
Out of action: when a Protagonist is made powerless during a

Scene because they lose their senses due to Trauma or
Glitching.
Player: someone playing a Protagonist in the game.
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Prologue: Typically the beginning of a game Session, when a

Mission is handed on to the Protagonists. During a long-term
game, after Downtime and before a new Mission starts.
Protagonist: the character created and handled by a Player.
Relationships: A single word descriptor of how a Protagonist is

connected to a Hub or other Protagonist.
Scene: a single moment in a single place that plays an important

part in the current game and in the Mission’s story-arc: be it a
chase, a meeting in a VIP lounge or a shootout in a corporate
arcology. The current Scene Number determines the base DN of
Action Rolls and the effects of Heat spends.
Session: an evening of play, usually covering one or more

Missions each made of multiple Scenes.
Setback: When the Protagonists fail to pass a Scene they get a

Setback, at any point in which the number of Setbacks is higher
than the number of Advances, the Mission fails.
Skills: learned abilities of a character.
Transhuman Dice: dice added to an Action Roll when a

Protagonist calls on Transhuman Insight. These dice “explode”:
whenever a Transhuman Dice rolls a 6, roll and add to the total
another Transhuman Dice.
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Transhuman Insight: when a Protagonist rolls one or more “6”s,

on an Action Roll (and gets to keep them, after Advantage and
Disadvantage have been considered) they get to roll one
Transhuman Dice for each 6.
Trauma: a measure of a character’s current physical health.
Zones: Measure of distance for Action Sequences.
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:Character Creation:
Before creating a new Protagonist try to make up your mind on
the kind of character you want to play, it will help you navigate the
process.
Cyberpunk heroes come in all varieties and shapes: hardened
hackers, gritty mercenaries, rebellious rockers, cybernetic con
men, and so on.
No ideas? Don’t worry, you can probably think of a favorite

character from fiction you’d like to emulate, or ask other players for
suggestions and help.
So, now all players (excluding the MCP) need to create a

character, Protagonists are defined by:
• Abilities
• Attributes
• Skills
• Relationships
They also have (or would like to get) Credits, which can be spent
on:
• Contacts
• Drugs
• Gear
• Implants
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::Attributes::
First each player picks one descriptor (or makes up one) for each
of the following Attributes.
• Phenotype: Alien (off-putting, incomprehensible,

mysterious), Bot (machine, built, detached), Human
(inventive, driven, face-in-the-crowd, born), Nu-man (vat-
grown, excellent genes, stands out), Uplifted (feral,
instinctive, surprising)
• Demeanor: Gluttonous, Greedy, Kleptomaniac, Liar,
Lustful, Obsessive, Rebellious, Unemotional, Violent.
• Origin: Anarchist, Combat Zone, Corp, Criminal, Ganger,
Government, Military, Spacer, Techno, Wage-slave.
Attributes serve the purpose of defining a character and give hints

about their personal history, personality and ties to the world.
In addition, Attributes may either help or hinder a Protagonist in
the course of their adventures.
At the MCP's call, each Attribute that applies to an Acton Roll
add can an Advantage or Disadvantage Dice to the pool of dice.
------------------------------
15
------------------------------
EXAMPLE: Maria Santamuerte is a Rebellious Human

Ganger. We can expect to see her have ties to the low-
lifes of the world and be something of an activist willing to
stick it to The Man.
It’s likely that the MCP will allow her player to add
Advantage Dice to pass unnoticed in a crowd (for her
Human Phenotype), but on the other hand she might get
one or even two Disadvantage Dice when dealing
diplomatically with Corporate execs (due to being
Rebellious and a Ganger). Rebellious, though, could
grant an Advantage Dice when fighting rent-a-cops, but
not fleeing from them.
------------------------------
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::Abilities::
Abilities represent general areas of knowledge and competence,
all Protagonists now get to assign Advantage or Disadvantage
Dice to their Abilities. For each Advantage (mark as “A” on the
Protagonist Sheet) they pick, they must assign a Disadvantage
(mark as “D” on the Protagonist Sheet).
Each Ability may have Advantage, Disadvantage, or neither
(mark as “=” on the Protagonist’s Sheet).
• Tough (fighting, endurance, athletic tasks)

• Smart (finesse, stealth, knowing and noticing
things)
• Cool (charm, willpower, communication)
• Techie (using, creating, repairing and altering
equipment)
When an action needs to be resolved (because it’s dangerous, or

the outcome is uncertain) the MCP and the Protagonist pick the
governing Ability, and see if the Protagonist’s player has to add
dice to the roll.
In this game the MCP never rolls dice, and high rolls are good
while low rolls are bad.
------------------------------
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------------------------------
EXAMPLE: Tony wants her character Maria Santamuerte

to be strong-willed, charming and good with technology,
although not very athletic or particularly studious.
Tony assigns Advantage and Disadvantage in this way:
Tough D, Smart D, Cool A, Techie A. Maria is very likely
a personable techie girl, though somewhat lazy, she
probably got good at using high-tech gizmos thanks to
some natural talent than through hard study.
------------------------------
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::Skills::
The third step is choosing four Skills. Each Skill applies to one of
the four main Abilities listed above. When a Skill applies to an
Action Roll, the Protagonist gets an Advantage dice.
Aircraft (Techie)
Piloting helicopters or planes, in person or by remote.
Animal handling (Cool)

Handling, training, healing and raising animals.
Athletics (Tough)
Running, swimming, climbing, jumping, throwing stuff
like javelins (or grenades).
Archery (Smart)
Skill with bows, crossbows and other ancient missile
weapons.
Boating (Techie)
Piloting boats and ships, in person or by remote.
Chemistry (Smart)
How to recognize, prepare and use drugs and
pharmaceutical and chemical products (like explosives)
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Cybernetics (Techie)
Analyzing, repairing, modifying and installing Implants.
Demolitions (Techie)
Recognizing and handling explosives, placing charges.
Driving (Techie)
Driving cars, bikes, trucks and other ground vehicles, in
person or by remote.
Endurance (Tough)
Resisting fatigue and lack of food or sleep, enduring
torture.
Engineering (Techie)
Planning, building and repairing structures.
Electronics (Techie)
Understanding, creating, repairing and modifying
electronic devices like computers.
Etiquette (Cool)
Who’s who among the higher-ups and the corporate
elite, the skill of behaving in polite company.
Gaming (Smart)
How to play (and win) at cards, dice, chess, mahjong,
and a variety of other games. Includes the skill at
cheating.
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Genetics (Smart)
genomes.
Hacking (Techie)
Coding, manipulating computer networks, forcing
firewalls and databases.
Heavy Weapons (Techie)

Shooting vehicle mounted weapons and field artillery.
Intimidate (Tough)
Using fear to manipulate people’s reactions and
demeanor.
Linguistics (Cool)
The knowledge of different languages, how they relate
to one another, how words are born and how people use
them.
Mechanics (Techie)
mechanical devices, like cars and bikes.
Media (Techie)
Skill at taking and editing, pictures, audio or video.
Medicine (Smart)
Healing living creatures, diagnosing illness or poisoning.
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Melee weapons (Tough)

The ability to deal (and avoid) harm while handling
melee weapons like swords, clubs, pole-arms.
Perform (Cool)
How to entertain (and misdirect) people by acting,
singing, playing, dancing. Can be used to disguise
oneself.
Persuasion (Cool)
This skill covers rhetorics and the ability to change
people’s minds with arguments.
Psychology (Cool)
Insight and understanding people’s behavior.
Robotics (Techie)
How to create, repair and modify robots and drones.
Small arms (Smart)

The use of guns, rifles, shotguns, smgs, manportable
laser.
Spacer (Techie)
Piloting spaceships, donning spacesuits for EVA,
safeguarding space environments.
Stealth (Smart)
Moving silently and hiding, very useful to shadow
people.
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Streetwise (Cool)
Knowing Who’s who in the streets, and where to go if
you want to buy illegal stuff. The low-life etiquette.
Unarmed Combat (Tough)

This skill covers barehanded fighting techniques like
boxing, judo, kung-fu, tae-kwon-do, wrestling.
Wherewithal (Cool)
Perseverance in the face of hardship, willpower, used to
resist intimidation or persuasion.
Wilderness survival (Smart)

Orientation, finding food water and shelter.
------------------------------
EXAMPLE: If Maria is going to truly be a techie, Tony is

going to pick a few tech-related skill. No self-respecting
Techie can do without some kind of computer skills and
the passion for modding their gear.
So Electronics (Techie) and Hacking (Techie) are a must.
Since Maria is some kind of Combat-Zone Anarchist the
Streetwise (Cool) skill sounds almost mandatory.
Someone once said that the Revolution is not a dinner
party or something like that, Maria’s last choice is Small
Arms (Smart).
------------------------------
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::Equipment::
All Protagonists get 4 Credits, each Credit can be spent for a
Contact, a piece of Gear, a dose of Drugs, or an Implant.
Credits can be kept in a reserve called Stack.
Each Protagonist starts the game with 1 Credit in their Stack.
------------------------------
EXAMPLE: We can safely assume that Miss

Santamuerte’s basic equipment includes some kind of
electronics tool-kit, a personal computer or laptop of
some kind, and a small caliber gun like a cheap plastic
needler.
For 1 Credit she gets a new, shiny “Handa Thunderwind
Bike” piece of Gear (that grants her 1 Advantage Dice
when she rolls Driving). Maria also adds 1 Credit to her
Stack.
------------------------------
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:::Drugs:::
Are everywhere in Cyberpunk worlds.
Why renounce the benefits of chemistry, especially if the corps say
it’s harmless?
A dose of Drugs is always connected to one of the four basic
Abilities. If you consume a dose of drugs, all the Ability rolls
connected to the chosen Ability receive an Advantage dice for
the rest of the current Mission.
However, either your current Glitch or Trauma score (more on
that later) raises by 1. The more drugs you take, the more your
Health deteriorates.
------------------------------
EXAMPLE: Hexalledrine-9 can make you more efficient

at parsing Data and perceiving interconnections, it grants
an Advantage Dice on Techie rolls for the rest of the
Mission.
------------------------------
25
:::Gear:::
Can basically be anything: software, portable computers, guns,
vehicles, whatever.
By default, unless in-game events somehow change this, all
characters are expected to always have the necessary equipment
for all their activities, at least all those they have a Skill in: Hackers
will have cyberdecks to connect to the net, people with driving will
have a bike or a car to drive, Small arms specialists guns to shoot.
Basic Gear can be obtained through a Contact at 1 Credit cost.
Gear, however, represents high quality equipment and each item

must be named.
When a piece of Gear applies to an action roll, you get 1
Advantage dice.
No character can carry more than four pieces of Gear at the same
time, but all kinds of stuff can be kept home.
Nano is a special kind of Gear, it costs 2 Credits and once used it

is gone, but when activated it morphs in whatever it is that you
need, adding 1 Advantage dice.
Stand-ins are another special kind of Gear. A Stand-in can be

physical (a drone), or virtual (a minor AI). A Protagonist may
chose to send a Stand-in into a Scene of the appropriate type
instead of themselves. Stand-ins cost 2 Credits, 3 if they grant
Advantage.
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Should the character have been deprived of even the most basic
equipment, the MCP can either deny some courses of action, or
impose 1 Disadvantage dice.
------------------------------
EXAMPLE: The Avtomat Segetov ‘37 gauss auto-rifle

grants 1 Advantage to Small Arms rolls, while the Ikko-
Samae Neurotronics 5 Cyber-modem grants 1 Advantage
on Hacking rolls and the Bundeskampf kevlar jacket adds
1 Advantage to Tough rolls to avoid collapsing due to
Trauma.
------------------------------
27
:::Implants :::
Implants are high tech enhancements that a character can get
implanted in his body.
Implant Effect
Audio Chip 1 Smart Advantage when listening for things
Combat Reflexes Always act before people without the same
Implant, compare Initiative with others
Dynalegs The character can move two Ranges per
Round
Gun implant Allows shooting at Far Range even when
unarmed
Gun link 1 Smart Advantage with Heavy Weapons or
Small Arms
Nanodocs Recover 1 degree of Trauma between
scenes
Nanoprocessor Can record what vision and audio chips
perceive
Neo Muscle 1 Tough Advantage for athletic tasks
Panzerboy Chip 1 Techie Advantage when Driving
Pheromone Emitter 1 Cool Advantage when persuading or
intimidating
Rippers 1 Tough Advantage in melee combat
Skill Processor Has the same effects of a Skill, can be
changed in-between Scenes for 1 Glitch
Subdermal Plating 1 Tough Advantage when resisting Trauma
Virtuality Chip 1 Techie Advantage when Hacking
Vision Chip 1 Smart Advantage when looking around
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Implant can only be Implanted between Missions.

For each Implant installed, the character's Glitch (see later)
improves by 1.
------------------------------
EXAMPLE: Maria installs a Skill Processor Implant

(gaining her 1 point of Glitch) for 1 Credit, she is down to
2 Credits.
------------------------------
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:::Contacts:::
How do Contacts work? Protagonists can go talk with each of
their Contacts free of charge once per Mission. Any further visit
costs a Credit, or the Protagonist may burn the Contact in order
to get this little extra help, remove it from your Protagonist sheet.
Contacts have specific abilities, each player gets to chose for their
Contacts three abilities from the following:
• Repair one Gear

• Repair one Implant
• Sell (Buy) one Gear
• Sell (Buy) one Implant
• Sell (Buy) Nano
• Sell (Buy) Stand-ins, per type
• Sell (Buy) Info
• Sell (Buy) dose of Drugs
• Heal one Trauma (no less than 0)
• Heal one Glitch (no less than 0)
• Lower Heat by 1 (no less than 0)
Each of these abilities costs 1 Credit to use, a Protagonist can

use any number of abilities during a visit.
Protagonists can sell stuff to Contacts in some cases, each piece
of equipment costs as usual, while Info is worth 1 Credit.
Each piece of Info can be used by a Protagonist’s player to

define and describe one part of the game world as they desire.
Each piece of Info doesn’t have to be spent immediately, but it
must be specific (“info about Emile Straits”) and it must be spent
30
within the current game Session.
In addition, all Contacts can give Missions. When paying a visit to

a Contact, the Protagonists always have the option of picking up
a Mission (free of charge).
If the Protagonists carry the Mission out, they will get paid each 1
to 7 Credits (based on how complex and long the Mission is) by
the Contact once they report back.
If a Mission fails the Contact is burned out, unless they get paid 1
Credit, and Heat goes up by 1.
------------------------------
EXAMPLE: Smiley is an ex-street ganger turned fixer:

she deals drugs, fences stolen goods and can find you a
place to hide (Sell (Buy) Gear, Sell (Buy) Drugs, Lower
Heat).
Maria uses the last two of her four credits to buy two
Contacts (Gyno, who can hook er up with the local Mafia
bosses and sells Drugs, Info and Gear, and Solange, an
unauthorized street doctor that can heal Trauma, Glitch
and repair Implants).
------------------------------
31
::Starting Heat::
Player’s can give their Protagonists a little extra by awarding the
MCP some Heat to use as the game advances.
Each player chooses whether to award the MCP 1 point of Heat
(and no more) in exchange of 1 Credit, one Contact, a piece of
Gear (not Nano), one Info, a dose of Drug or Implant.
------------------------------
EXAMPLE: Maria Santamuerte doesn’t like to attract too

much attention, Maria will not take extra equipment in this
way she doesn’t allow the MCP to grow their Heat
reserve.
------------------------------
32
::Example character creation::
------------------------------
I’m going for a razor-boy of some kind, called Johnny Blade.

Johnny has a Nu-man Phenotype, Violent Demeanor and
Corporate Origin
I’m giving Johnny Tough =, Smart A, Cool =, Techie D and
the following Skills: Athletics, Persuasion, Stealth, Unarmed
Combat.
His Basic equipment probably includes some camo or
nondescript clothes and little else. His Stack contains 1
Credit.
I spend his four Credits on two Implants (Rippers and Sub-
dermal Plating for a basic Glitch score of 2), one Contact
(Mister Hicks, his corporate handler that can sell and repair
Implants, and lower Heat) and one Drug (Beta-Stamine,
when rolling Tough add 1 Advantage dice for the rest of the
Mission, but Glitch goes up by 1).
Johnny likes a rough ride, I decide to grant the MCP 1 point
of Heat, in exchange of another dose of drugs (Vasopressin-
X a stimulant for the Brain: add 1 Advantage Dice to Smart
rolls for the rest of the Mission, but raise Glitch by1).
Johnny Blade is ready to tackle the world.
------------------------------
33
:World-building and the MCP:

OK, so the players do not only create Protagonists but, along with
the MCP, do all of the set-up for the game.
How?
First of all, prepare the important factions and places of the world:
the Hubs of the game.
There will be at least one Hub for each Protagonist in the game,
plus one made up by the MCP.
Take turns writing down one of the Protagonists’ Phenotype near
to another one’s Origin and a third Protagonist’s Demeanor.
Remember to name each Hub and add a short description.
The Protagonists’ players and the MCP can keep adding new
made-up Hubs as long as they feel comfortable.
Hubs can be scavenger factions in a junkyard, rogue AIs hiding

deep in the net, mafia families in the downtown, corporations, or
revolutionary movements.
More likely your game will benefit from a mix and match of all
these things.
At this point connection lines should be drawn between Hubs,

each should connect to at least another one (no more than two or
three) and the lines connecting them should show the nature of
their relationship.
Every player and the MCP take turns defining a connection and the
nature of the relationship.
34
Now let each player chose the Relationship of their Protagonist

to a Hub of their choice: the Hub can be home, or a place you
escaped from, or you are afraid of, hate, or crave to be in. The
chosen Hub may already have a Relationship to other
Protagonists, but it is usually better if it has not.
As last thing, each player draws a one or two word connection

between their Protagonist and another player’s thus sharing a
Relationship: maybe they share a Contact, or they hate each
other. The chosen Protagonist may not already have a
Relationship to other Protagonists.
All this will help later to set the first Scene, the one that kicks the
game off, and better defines the Protagonists and their motives.
Now you are ready to start the game.
------------------------------
EXAMPLE: So, let’s see an example setting. We will call

it Millennium City.
Let’s introduce the Protagonists:
Guuddog (Violent Uplifted Corporate)
X-17 (Kleptomaniac Bot Spacer)
Trooper (Compulsive Nu-man Military)
W.J. Huntigton III (Greedy Human Techno)
By mixing and matching their Attributes they cook up:
35
RUR inc (Greedy Bot Corporate): a corporation

specialized in androids, some say its CEO is an android
bent on world domination. His plan is to turn everyone in
a Robot.
Martian “Embassy” (Violent Alien Spacer): Mars won the

war, its Embassies -actually military compounds- are
scattered all across the Earth and guarded by the
dreaded Red Guard.
The Magpie Market (Kleptomaniac Uplifted Anarchist): a

mix of fantasy novel thieves’ guild and grim fixer
syndicate, this rebellious flock of sentient magpies has
the ambition of becoming the “power behind the throne” in
town. The Market also deals in information, obviously.
Gene Mafia (Secretive Nu-man Techno): There is no

proof the Gene Mafia exists, only whispers and rumors.
According to the grapevine, this cabal of Nu-man
geneticists is working to crack the secrets of their genome
and grant all Nu-men extended lifespans... or preparing a
disease pandemic to wipe out all other lifeforms.
The MCP, comes up with:

Peace Corps (Compulsive Human Military): a security
corporation charged with keeping the peace in the
combat zone.
The MCP draws a connection between the Martian

Embassy and the Peace Corps, and writes “contempt,
competition”.
36
W.J. Huntington III draws a line from the Gene Mafia

pointing at the Peace Corps and writes “in their pocket”
Guuddog attaches himself to the RUR inc. writing

“hunted”, the Uplifted Great Dane was an Enforcer of
Corporate Security at RUR inc. before defecting. Guddog
writes down “Affection” as its Relationship with X-17.
X-17 attaches itself to the Martian Embassy writing

“emigre”, the Bot astronaut has decided to move from the
Martian Republic to Earth. The Secret Service of the
MRSS keeps tabs on its citizens. X-17 feels “Suspicious”
about W.J.
W.J. Huntington III attaches himself to the Gene Mafia

writing “frenemies”, the human scientist alternates
working for the secretive Nu-Men group with secretly
sabotaging them, so to keep his livelihood going. W.J.
feels “Compassion” towards Trooper.
Trooper attaches herself to the Peace Corps writing

“AWOL”.
Trooper deserted the Earth Union’s army during the war
with Mars, there’s a bounty on her head. Trooper is
“Afraid” of Guddog.
------------------------------
37
:Mission and Scenes:

OK, the Protagonists are done, the Hub’s are ready, time to go.
A Mission is basically a sequence of Scenes interrupted by

Interludes, with Prologue and an Epilogue.
In the Prologue the MCP sets the Mission: declaring its Length,
Target, and if and how it can affect a Hub in the game’s world.
By spending one point of Info, a Protagonist can set the Mission.
Scenes advance the plot toward the Epilogue and are usually set
by the MCP. Scenes revolve around a specific and explicit goal
that requires a successful Action Roll to be passed.
When a Scene isn’t passed, the Mission gets a Setback.
If the Scene is passed, the Mission gets an Advance.
At any time the Mission has more Setbacks than Advances, it
fails and you go to Downtime.
Interludes are moments for the Protagonists to recover, get

Gear, talk to Contacts.
Protagonists can spend Info to set their own Scenes, while the
MCP can spend Heat to deny an Interlude.
The Epilogue is the last Scene of a Mission, if the Epilogue

Advances, the Mission is a success, otherwise it fails, go to
Downtime.
38
The Protagonists can take on a single Mission at a time, but

multiple Missions can be played in the same evening if time
allows.
Instead, its advised to avoid playing a Mission over multiple
Sessions.
::Stand-Ins::
A Stand-in can only be present in a Scene that is fictionally
appropriate (no Virtual Stand-ins in a bar fight, no Drones in the
Net).
As all Gear, Stand-ins can be damaged by Trauma, they are
useless but salvageable after 1 Trauma, and destroyed after 2
Trauma points.
When a Stand-in is destroyed, the Protagonist is out of the
Scene and may not interact anymore with it.
Action rolls through a Stand-In may still cause a Protagonist to
Glitch, and may not benefit, usually, from other kinds of Gear. If
Skills, Abilities, Attributes and Relationships apply to a roll, it’s
up to the player that has set up the Scene.
Sending a Stand-in is not the same thing as removing oneself

from a Scene (see later).
39
::The Prologue::
During the Prologue the MCP states the objective of the Mission,
its length in Scenes (which is the pay it nets to each of the
Protagonists if successful) and which Hub in the game world it is
going to affect.
Otherwise, any of the Protagonists can offer to pay 1 Info and set
the Mission themselves.
------------------------------
EXAMPLE: The MCP starts talking -“So, you get

contacted via the web, your fixer Mr. Johnson asks to
meet you in VR chatroom. At the virtual meeting he offers
you the following Mission: you have to destroy a special
molecule being developed by Genet-X in their main
laboratory. The mission is complex, it has a length of 5
and will, obviously, affect Genet-X BIO Design Labs Hub.”
Eugene intervenes – “Nah, I don’t like running mercenary
for the corps. Fuck them! I pay one Info: My buddy Miguel
runs with the Street Ronins, he told me some kind of
sleazy weasel is selling some kind of super-addictive (and
deadly) drug to kids on the streets. I say we ought to Stop
the Drug traffic, 3 Scenes and affects the Three Shadows
Tong Hub.”
------------------------------
40
::Scenes & Interludes::

At this point Interludes and Scenes alternate till the last Scene,
the Epilogue, is reached and played out, or the Mission fails.
A one Scene Mission is made of its Epilogue only.
After the Prologue you play the first Interlude, and then the first
Scene, and then an Interlude and so on.
Interludes are narrated by the players, but remember that the

MCP can deny an Interlude by paying Heat.
During an Interlude each Protagonist can do one of the following:
• Go to a Contact and narrate how they pay for multiple
services (remember to pay or burn the Contact if this is not
the first time you call on the Contact during this Mission)
• Declare and narrate a single action (typically using
Medicine or Psychology to care after wounded or Glitching
characters, or using Hacking to get Info, or Credits, or
Mechanics to repair some Gear)
• Help another Protagonist’s Action.
• Spend Info to cancel a Setback
Scenes, instead, are set by the MCP. The MCP sets the Scene
and declares its location, how much time has passed since the
previous Interlude, what is the Scene’s goal and what kind of
Action Roll is required to Advance the Mission.
By paying 1 Info, one of the Protagonists can set the Scene for
themselves.
The Protagonists may chose to skip an Interlude, if they choose
so.
41
------------------------------
EXAMPLE: MCP says -“Since you didn’t succeed in

kidnapping Professor Von Buren at the opening party, this
Scene takes place at the Bistrot Lumiere on the La
Avenida. You have to get inside the Lumiere, avoid his
bodyguards, and slip a neuro-toxic Drug in the food of
Von Buren so that he passes out and you can leave with
him. I think that the Action Roll required to pass is
affected by Smart and Perform”.
This time Zoe intervenes – “No, too much people at the
Bistrot and I do not like the idea of having to pass a Smart
and Perform Action Roll. Time for some VR-action. The
next Scene is set in the Net, we have to discredit Van
Buren doctoring some Audio-Visuals and medical reports,
make him pass as a rat-bastard: I say Techie and
Hacking, here’s my Info.”
------------------------------
At this point each Protagonist declares what they are doing for the
Scene:
• Only one Protagonist can actually roll to pass and
Advance the Mission
Other Protagonists, can make an Action Roll and Set-up the

acting character. OR
• Roll ONE other action that will not help Advance the
42
Mission (healing someone, checking a deck for Info) OR

• Stand by for Complications and Squads due to Heat
• Act out your Demeanor and clean 1 Glitch by gaining 1
Heat
At any moment, before or after the action to Advance (or any other
action) is actually rolled, the MCP can decide if he is going to
spend Heat to add complications, hostile NPCs, damage Gear and
so on.
Any event added by the MCP via Heat happens in the order
declared by the MCP. Always resolve each event before moving
on to the following one.
Protagonists declaring any kind of action (be it reaching for the
Scene Goal or not) can’t roll to bypass Complications that the
MCP has paid for with Heat.
As soon as the MCP inserts a NPC Squad, the Scene freezes and
goes into an Action Sequence. If no Protagonist is free when a
Squad shows up, the Protagonists are surprised.
Only once the Action Sequence has been resolved does the
Scene resume.
The Scene actually ends only after all required Action Rolls have
been made, and any eventual Action Sequence has been
completed.
If the Scene’s goal has been reached, the Mission Advances,
otherwise it gets a Setback. If the Mission has more Setbacks
than Advances, it fails, go to Downtime now.
At the end of each Scene, the MCP collects 1 Heat.

Try to keep Scenes and Interludes brief and to the point.
43
:::Removing oneself from a Scene or Interlude:::

At the beginning of a Scene or Interlude, a Protagonist may
chose to remove themselves from the action.
While they are lying low, they will not be affected whatsoever by
the actions of the other Protagonists.
------------------------------
EXAMPLE: Eraser’s player says -“I pay one Info. This

Scene takes place in the Genet-X laboratory. We got in
thanks to some fake ID, it’s been a couple of hours since
we stole the passwords from the Genet-X Database. I say
we roll Smart and Pharmacology to pass unnoticed up to
the lab and destroy the molecule.”
MCP – “So what does the rest of you do?”
Neon’s player – “I set Eraser up with some fake janitor’s
suit, I’d roll with… Cool and Perform?”
Gilligan – “Hmm, I remain on guard”
MCP -”That’s a pretty good Idea Gill, because - here’s the
Heat - a group of guards bumps into you before you can
reach the molecule. They are Hostile: you, and only you,
can either roll a Cool and Persuasion Action Roll or get
into a fight. We’ll go back to the Advance after Gill
resolves this… or not!”
------------------------------
44
::Epilogue::
In the long run, this sequence of Scenes and Interludes will move
the plot forward up to the point of bringing the Protagonists to the
last Scene whose purpose is to determine if they achieve their
Mission’s goal or not.
If the goal of the Mission’s final Scene is reached, the Mission is
successful, otherwise it fails.
If the Mission had a length of 4 or less:

If the Mission was successful, change one of the descriptors of
the affected Hub as defined in the Prologue. Change its
relationships with one Hub or one Protagonist
If the Mission had a length of 4 or more:

If the Mission was successful, change two of the descriptors of the
affected Hub as defined in the Prologue. Change its relationships
with up to two Hubs and/or Protagonists.
If the mission had a length of 7:

If the Mission was successful, change all the descriptors and
relationships to Hubs and Protagonists of the affected Hub as
defined in the Prologue. OR
Create a new Hub. OR
Destroy the selected Hub.
All Protagonists involved clear 1 point of Glitch.
------------------------------
45
::Simple Mission & Scene Generator::

No ideas? You can roll or pick one of each to set a Scene or
define a whole Mission (just remember to pick a Hub too).
1D6 Action Object Twist

Hostile
1 Escort Drugs
Environment
Multiple
2 Distribute Information
Factions
3 Guard Money None
4 Hide New Tech Red Herring
5 Steal Weapons Secret Ally
6 Suppress ViP Treason
1D6 Location Opposition Time

Deep of the
1 Corporate Corporate
night
2 Downtown Crime Around Dawn
3 Slums Gangs Morning
4 Space Media Afternoon
5 Suburbs Hackers Evening
6 Wilds Radicals Night
------------------------------
46
------------------------------
EXAMPLE: With no ideas whatsoever, Sarah the MCP

rolls 5 dice on the above tables and gets: 1,5,3,2,2.
The Mission will be about delivering weapons into
Downtown to some Gang, feeding the current gang-war.
She now rolls 6 dice to set the first scene: 6,6,4,3,1,2.
The first scene is set in the Slums at Dawn, they will have
to steal the weapons from a Corporate armored truck that
is coming into town. The truck, crew and leading
Corporate Exec must be terminated and vanish as if they
never had existed.
------------------------------
47
::Heat::
Heat is a resource that the MCP can use to hassle the
Protagonists, and represents the turmoil and interest that the
Protagonists raise in the game world, and the push-back from the
powers that be. Things are never static in this world!
Heat typically starts at 0 unless the players bought some extra

stuff for their characters. Heat does not reset between games.
At the end of each Scene, the MCP collects 1 Heat.
When a Mission fails, the MCP collects 1 Heat.
The MCP can not spend more than 6 Heat on a single
Scene.
The MCP can spend 1 Heat at anytime to:

• Introduce a Squad of opposing Neutral NPCs to the
current Scene
• Worsen a Squad’s Disposition by one (Neutral to
Hostile to Violent)
• Introduce a complication to the current Scene, this usually
requires an Action Roll with a DN of
Scene 1-2: DN 10
Scene 3-4: DN 12
Scene 5-6: DN 14
Scene 7+: DN 16
------------------------------
48
------------------------------
EXAMPLES: The Protagonists are stealthily moving

through a Corporate research facility they have just
broken into. As they close on the lab they have come for,
the MCP spends 1 point of Heat: “A password-secured
door stands in your way, as it is Scene 3, you’ll need
someone to pass a DN 12 Roll on Techie/Electronics to
open it and go to the Scene’s main Goal.”
“In the distance you can clearly see a small group of

militias. They wear a hodge-podge of camo clothes and
weaponry, they seem to be talking shop and glancing
around distractedly.”
“Something you have done seems to have attracted the

attention of the ammosexual bunch of fascists. They stop
talking and a small bunch of them moves in your
direction, guns forward. ‘ID please’ says a cold voice
coming from behind a gasmask.”
------------------------------
49

• Introduce a squad of opposing Hostile NPCs to the current
Scene, the squad is made up by a number of Mooks equal
to the Protagonists, and an Antagonist.
• Inflict Trauma to a piece of Gear or Implant
------------------------------
EXAMPLE: “The car roars as you are fleeing the scene,

however one of the bullets from the rent-a-cops must
have hit the engine because after a hundred meters or so
the machine starts coughing and slowing down, apply one
Trauma to the car.”
“You notice a bunch of rough looking guys and gals in

leather jackets popping out of the shadows. They have
flashy neon tattoos, and all of them dangle chains from
their waist. ‘This is Anarx turf’ states the girl at the front in
a menacing tone”
------------------------------
50

• If a Protagonist has Trauma or Glitch of 1 or more,
increase it by 1 (see Trauma and Glitch for the effects).
• Deny an Interlude.
• Introduce a squad of opposing Violent NPCs to the current
Scene
------------------------------
51
------------------------------
EXAMPLES:
“You head for Jimmy the Shark’s little redoubt in the
abandoned Medina Street Parking lot. As soon as you
reach the door one of his Muscle-girls steps out of the
shadows, a big shotgun resting comfortably on her arms:
‘Sorry mate, Mr. Jimmy is not taking calls.”
“You are standing in the parking lot at midnight, asking

yourself whether to cave-in the face of Jimmy’s grunt and
get inside when Fox suddenly sighs, ‘ooofs’ loudly and
crouches. When he raises his hand from their side it’s
stained in blood. It seems that knife wound is getting
worse by the moment.”
The Protagonists are now gone out of the lab, running as

fast as they can to their cars. The MCP spends 2 Heat
and says: “You hear a chopper above your head, a
searchlight flashes about and you hear a voice booming
through the night: ‘this is Excaliber Security, drop to the
ground with hands on your head!’ As you can imagine this
is a squad of three rent-a-cops and their Squad
Leader...”
------------------------------
52
::Info::
Info can be spent by Protagonists to set Scenes and Missions.
No dice roll is required, the MCP can (and should) not prevent this,
and once spent Info points are gone.
Info can also be spent during Interludes to cancel a Setback.
All Info not spent, but 1, is gone at the end of a Mission.
------------------------------
EXAMPLE: “Ok” says Tony. “I’m using my Info. I want to

make it happen that Mr. Vega is a Football fan and that
tonight he will be coming out of his hiding place to go to
the Stadium with his wife. The new Scene is at the
Stadium and we have to pass a Persuade check to make
the wife leave him by exposing all the horrible stuff he’s
done as an organ trafficker.”
------------------------------
53
:Actions:
During Scenes, the Protagonists have to pass a test of some kind
to Advance a Scene.
The MCP will usually call for the Action Roll, or one of the players
will have set the Scene and decided what is required to Advance.
Action Rolls could be framed like questions:
● Can they get this information from the database?

● Can they jump from roof-top to roof-top?
● Can they evade the guardsman?
● Can they avoid being shot?
This uncertainty can happen because of a variety of reasons: the

action may be difficult, costly, dangerous, or challenged by other
characters. Pick 3 dice, than add one Advantage Dice for each of
the following that applies to the action being rolled for, the person
who set the scene has the power to say which of these should
affect the roll:
● an Ability
● a Skill
● an Implant
● a piece of Gear
● a Drug the Protagonist is on
A roll can be affected by a single item for each category listed

above, two Abilities or two Skills can not affect the same roll, for
example.
54
Advantage and Disadvantage dice are added to the dice rolled,

but cancel each other out, a roll happens at either Advantage or
Disadvantage.
Each Advantage dice left to roll must be used to discard and
replace a dice that rolls lower.
Each Disadvantage dice left to roll must be used to discard and
replace a dice that rolls higher.
For an action to be successful, the Protagonist’s dice roll must

beat a Difficulty Number (or DN). The DN is not set by the MCP,
but is a function of the current Scene, as to simulate the increasing
tension and complexity of the situation.
Scene/Interlude 1-2: DN 10
Scene/Interlude 7: DN 16
------------------------------
EXAMPLE: During Scene 2 Maka tries to repair the

damaged cyberdeck they stole from the den of Z3r0.
Maka is going to roll Techie (=), with a Advantage Dice
for their Electronics skill and an Advantage Dice for their
‘Precision tools’ Gear. The DN is set at 10.
------------------------------
55
In addition, none, all or a part of a Protagonist’s Attributes can

also affect an Action Roll, as can their Relationship to a Hub or
other Protagonist involved in the Scene or Interlude.
The player who set the Scene gets the final judgment call to say if
Attributes and Relationships apply to an Action Roll, and how.
The MCP does so for Interludes.
Beating the DN grants a Degree of Success, not beating it earns

the Protagonist a Degree of Failure.
If the roll equals the DN for the task, the Protagonist gets both: a
Degree of Failure and a Degree of Success.
------------------------------
EXAMPLE: Maka rolls 5 dice, using a dice of a different

color for the Advantage Dice and rolls: 6,1,3 and 2,2. The
total is 5+3+2 (discarding a 1 and a 2)= 11. Maka gets
two Degrees of Success.
Had Maka rolled a 8 they would have got both a Degree
of Success and a Degree of Failure. An abysmal roll of 6
(very unlikely) would have netted Maka two Degrees of
Failure.
------------------------------
Other Protagonists may help, the player that set the Scene says
how many other characters can help, by rolling their own Action
Rolls and Setting up (see below, under degrees of success) the
acting Protagonist’s roll.
56
::Degrees of Success and Failure::

For every 2 points rolled above the DN above the target number, a
Protagonist gets a further degree of success.
For every 2 points by which it fails a roll, a Protagonist gets a
further degree of failure.
A Degree of Success can be used by the player to determine a

further beneficial fact about the in-game events (just like Info)
connected to the action he’s undertaking, degrees of failure can
instead be spent by the MCP or the challenging player to
determine negative effects of the action.
A Degree of Failure or Success can be used to:

● Inflict -or remove- one Trauma or Glitch on a target (be it
a resource like Gear or Implants, or a Character)
● Generate or burn one Heat
● Alter time (make the time necessary for the action longer or
shorter)
● Set up an action (alter the DN of a specific subsequent
action on someone else’s part by +/-2)
● Get/destroy Info (one piece per Degree)
● Move an NPC on the Disposition meter below by one step:
Friendly – Neutral – Hostile - Violent
● Pass (or fail) the action
● Earn/Cancel a Setback
● Earn/Lose 1 Credit
------------------------------
57
------------------------------
EXAMPLE: Z3r0 is trying to hack a system to steal some

Info on the CEO of GlobalDyne: the MCP states that the
Corporate Database is protected by High Level Anti-
Intrusion Defenses, with potentially deadly bio-feedback
routines.
The DN is 12, the MCP declares that to hack the
mainframe of Globaldyne will require a day of work, and
any eventual Degree of Failure will cause Trauma.
Z3r0 has Techie “=”, the Hacking Skill and an average
basic cyberdeck, so they get to roll 4 dice (the three basic
dice and one Advantage dice) and score a 16.
That’s three Degrees of Success: the MCP states that
Z3r0 manages to access 1 Point of Info, and Z3r0 uses
the extra successes to Set-up a Back door in the system
(lowering the DN of his next Hacking attempt on
GlobalDyne’s Database by 2), and steal about 1 Credit
worth of Data.
------------------------------
58
::Transhuman Insight::
A Protagonist can call on Transhuman Insight, whenever he
rolls an Ability Roll, after dice for Advantage and Disadvantage
have been discarded, but before the success or failure of the
action is finally declared.
For any of the 3 dice left that is a 6, the Protagonist gets to roll a
Transhuman Dice.
Transhuman Dice explode: they are rolled and added to the total,
and for each dice that rolls a 6, the acting player may roll an
additional Transhuman Dice (which may then itself Explode).
After all dice have been rolled and the action resolved, the
Protagonist gains 1 Glitch.
------------------------------
EXAMPLE: Maka’s roll ended up being a 6,3,2 (for a total

11). But let’s say that Maka’s player wants more and calls
on Transhuman Insight, for 1 point of Glitch, Maka rolls
an additional Transhuman Dice and gets a 4 bringing the
total to a whopping 15, for four Degrees of Success.
------------------------------
59
::Challenges & NPCs::

If an action targets another Protagonist that puts up a resistance,
the DN is set by the other Protagonist’s roll instead of the Scene
number.
If the action is challenged (as happens in Action Sequences) by
an NPC, the DN is always based on the current Scene number,
but there’s a couple of differences to keep track of.
First of all, NPCs are divided in Mooks and Antagonists.
Mooks are minor NPCs that always appear and act in squads of a
number of individuals same as the Protagonists.
A group of Mooks gets +2 to its base DN as long as the group is
more numerous than the Protagonists tackling them.
When a squad of NPCs make its appearance, the player that set
the Scene must declare up to one advantaged and one
disadvantaged Ability: using those Abilities against the NPC(s)
means taking Advantage or Disadvantage to the roll.
Mook squads are always lead by major NPCs (one per squad)
known as Antagonists.
Antagonists have a base DN that is 2 higher than that set by the

current Scene number.
Squads and Antagonists are usually Hostile, or even Violent

when they show up. Hostile Squads can be talked to, fought or
fled, Violent Squads can only be fought or fled.
60
A Squad’s disposition can also be set to Neutral or even Friendly.

The Disposition table is:
Friendly – Neutral- Hostile- Violent
Friendly and Neutral NPCs do not interfere with the

Protagonists’ actions, while Hostile and Violent ones will.
Once a Squad becomes Hostile or Violent, an Action Sequence
interrupts the Scene.
------------------------------
Example: Scene 1 Mooks like rent-a-cops would likely

have a DN of 10 and give Advantage on Smart and
Disadvantage on Tough.
Some Cybered-up Corporate Ninja in Scene 5 would be
DN 14 and maybe give Disadvantage on Smart and
Advantage on Tech.
------------------------------
61
::Action Sequences::
When the MCP introduces a Squad of NPCs the current Scene
freezes and the Action Sequence gets to be resolved first.
------------------------------
Example: Squads and Antagonists can be anything you

like, that suits the Scene. During a Scene set in the Net, a
squad will be made up of AIs, hackers or Anti-Intrusion
Software. If the Scene is set in the Barrio Nuevo of
Olympus on Mars, a squad is probably comprised of
famished Colonists, or Martian Cops.
------------------------------
Squads are mostly Hostile to the Protagonists. The presence of

Neutral or Friendly NPCs won’t trigger an Action Sequence, but
Hostile or Violent NPCs will.
The Protagonists generally have three choices to resolve the

Action Sequence:
• Flight
• Diplomacy
• Fight
If the Protagonists have been surprised (all Protagonists are

engaged in other actions when the Squad shows up), they can not
chose Flight as a their reaction, if the NPCs are Violent and have
62
Surprise, the Protagonists can only Fight.
When the Protagonists take an approach, and it fails, they can try
the lower one, at an increasing Disadvantage.of 1.
If Fight fails, they can try Flight, the list is a loop.
If the Protagonists flee, but fail to escape they can try Diplomacy
at 1 Disadvantage, if it fails, they can try to Fight with 2
Disadvantages, if things go South they can now try Flight at 3
Disadvantages and so on till they break the circle or are taken
Out of Action).
:::Flight:::
If the Protagonists try to evade their enemies, have all of them roll
against the highest DN of Mooks and Antagonists.
Virtual fights in cyberspace will require a Hacking Action Roll to
elude, while a rooftop brawl will require Athletics roll to escape
from.
Any Failure means that the Protagonists haven’t managed to lose
their pursuers and a round of diplomacy (or combat) ensues, with
an increasing Disadvantage to all rolls of 1.
Protagonists that succeed may chose to remove themselves from
the Scene and leave their compatriots to their enemies.
If the Mission had been already been Advanced successfully, this
means that the fleeing Protagonists can secure the Mission’s
Advance.
If all the Protagonists flee the Scene before the Mission is
Advanced, the Mission gets a Setback instead. Proceed as usual
(Increase Heat for ending the Scene and check if the Mission
fails, go to the next Interlude or to Downtime accordingly).
63
:::Diplomacy:::
One of the Protagonists gets singled out as the party
spokeperson,. Using either their Intimidate or Persuasion skill, the
spokeperson has to generate enough Degrees of Success as are
necessary to put the NPCs’ Disposition to Neutral.
Other characters may try to set them up as their action.
The Action’s DN is either that of the Squad or the Antagonist,
whichever is higher.
If the Action Roll fails, the party can pay as many Credits as are
the number of Disposition levels missing from Neutral (or even
Friendly).
If the Squad is still Hostile, because the roll failed or wasn’t even
tried in the first place, the Protagonists have to move one to a
Fight with an additional 1 Disadvantage.
:::Fights:::
First of all, the player who set the Scene must describe the area
surrounding the characters and describe Zones that make up the
fighting ground.
Zones are measured abstractly, a Zone is as big as the space you
can cross in a handful of seconds. So Zones of difficult terrain may
be comparatively smaller than free terrain.
• People in the same Zone are Close, they can beat the
crap out of each other in melee, talk or shoot freely.
• People 1 Zone apart are Near: these can be shot or talked
to without shouting. You can probably pick up some details
easily.
• People 2 Zones apart are Far can be shot or shouted at.
Shooting or trying to interact or detect someone at Far
range happens at 1 Disadvantage.
64
• Beyond that people are Too Far. People at Too Far can
be looked at, but not shot or otherwise meaningfully
interacted with.
Zones are endless. Run out of space because the fight moved out
of the 24/7 Pakistani Deli? Let the player that controls the Scene
add and describe the new Zones in the street outside.
When a Fight breaks out, place the Protagonists according to the

fiction, if the fiction is unclear let them chose their position,
The player who set the Scene places the opposition, however:
Violent or Hostile NPCs who have the surprise will usually be

Close or Near, otherwise they will be Near or Far.
If a Fight breaks out after a Diplomatic attempt, the NPCs will be
Close or Near. If Diplomacy was skipped and a new fight starts
after a failed flight attempt, the opposition is Far.
A fight scene is handled in discrete units of time called Rounds

(you can think of Rounds as 3 to 10 seconds long).
At the beginning of each Round roll 1d6 for each Squad in the
Scene and for the Protagonists.
Groups of characters act in descending order. If ties arise,
Protagonists beat Mooks but are beaten by Antagonists.
Implants may alter that.
Once it's up to the Protagonists, it's up to them to chose in which

order each one resolves its action.
A Protagonist can do all he wants on their turn, as long as their
action doesn't call for a roll, once the action has been resolved it’s
another Protagonist’s turn.
65
The MCP chooses in which order the NPC factions act, within the
established sequence of initiative, and in which order they act
within the same group.
Once everyone has taken their turn, a new Round begins.
------------------------------
Example: So Iliana Ramirez can talk, run, draw a gun

and either shoot (requires a roll) or try to intimidate
(requires a roll) all in the same round.
------------------------------
Keep in mind however, that only Protagonists roll dice for actions
in this game, so an NPC’s turn ends when his actions trigger a
Protagonist action roll.
Basic Movement will never require an Action Roll, all characters

can move 1 Zone per Round. A Protagonist may move twice by
making an Action Roll (usually Driving or Running, in real space).
Protagonists will roll for their attacks (be it shooting or using a

computer virus) and for their defense against NPC attacks.
Taking cover is usually the same as setting up (with Stealth)

oneself for defense rolls later on.
66
How does the MCP make NPCs take cover or move twice? By
asking Protagonists to roll against such actions with their own
Running or Stealth.
At any moment when the Protagonists are Too Far or more from
all Hostile Mooks and Antagonists, they can chose to flee with
an increasing Disadvantage of 1.
------------------------------
Example: The MCP will not roll to see if the Faceless

Corporate Ninja strikes down Noburu the Electric Buddha,
it will be Noburu's player that will roll to avoid damage.
So on the Ninja's Turn they will jump down the wall,
speed across the room and cut down Noburu.
Noburu’s player rolls to avoid being hit and then the
Ninja’s turn ends and initiative either goes to the
Protagonist or a new Round begins.
----------------------------
The MCP can still spend Heat during a Fight Sequence: they can
cause Trauma or call on new Hostile Squads or add
complications to a Protagonist’s Round, as long as they do not
spend more than 6 Heat overall for all the Scene.
67
::Trauma & Glitch::

Trauma is physical damage (wounds, broken bones, bruises)
while Glitch is psychological (alienation, self-doubt, depression).
Once Trauma or Glitch reaches 6 levels, a Protagonist is
permanently removed from the game: they are either dead or out
of their mind.
:::Trauma:::
Gear or Implants that receive physical Trauma can not be
employed till they are repaired with an appropriate Action Roll, a
second Trauma breaks them beyond repair and a replacement is
required. Trauma breaks beyond repair any non specialist
equipment that is not Gear.
Whenever a Protagonist receives Trauma, they must pass an

Action Roll (modified by Tough) to avoid being put Out of action
for the rest of the Scene.
Each level of Trauma a Protagonist has accumulated they get a
Disadvantage Dice.
68
:::Glitching:::
All Protagonists have a Glitch score, ranging from 0 upwards.
When rolling for an Action roll, after all Advantage and
Disadvantage Dice have been discarded, if all your dice roll equal
to or less than your current Glitch, your Protagonist Glitches.
When a Protagonist Glitches, they are confused and will suffer a
Breakdown, the player temporarily loses control on their
character.
Now roll 1d6 to determine what happens:

1-2 the character is catatonic and Out of Action for the
rest of the Scene,
3-4 the character irrationally carries out their demeanor on
the spot.
5-6 the character flees the Scene at top speed.
The character will stay in its current state for all of the current
Scene, after that the player regains control.
When a Protagonist Glitches, lower its Glitch by 1 but raises

Heat by 1.
If a character's Glitch reaches 6, the character is removed from

the game as psychological damage over time has the best on
them.
Protagonists can reduce by 1 point their Glitch score (and raising

Heat by 1) by purposefully acting out their Demeanor in a way that
is contrary to their interests in the current Scene.
69
:::NPCS and Damage:::

Mook level NPCs are put out of the game by inflicting any level of
Trauma or Glitch (see later).
When a Protagonist attacks a group of Mooks, One Mook is rput
Out of Action for each degree of success applied to Trauma or
Glitch on group of Mooks. A second point of Glitch or Trauma
actually removes the NPC from the game.
Antagonists (major NPCS) can take more punishment: it takes 5

levels each of Trauma or Glitch to be taken out of action, a sixth
point removes them from the game. Each level of Trauma
and/or Glitch lowers all of their DNs by 2.
------------------------------
Example: Following up from the chapter on Challenges,

the rent-a-cops are Mooks that can take 1 Trauma or
Glitch each before being knocked out. The Cyber-Ninja
you meet in Scene 5 is an Antagonist and would take 4
Trauma or 4 Glitch to knock-out.
------------------------------
70
:::Healing and Recovery:::

Trauma and Glitch can be removed in Downtime between
Missions, with appropriate Action Rolls during a Scene, asking
help from a Contact.
Trauma and Glitch do not reset naturally between sessions and
are always in a state of flux.
If it becomes necessary to keep track of specific NPCs, reset their
Trauma and Glitch to 0 at the end of a Scene, if they haven’t
been taken out of the game.
:::Out of Action:::
An Out of Action Protagonist can do nothing and will recover
their senses in the next Scene.
If they get targeted by another character (be it an NPC or
Protagonist), they roll 2 Dice only for their Action Roll, without
considering any Skill or Ability for Advantage or Disadvantage
(Trauma, Gear, Drugs and Implants may still affect the roll,
though) and may not spend any of their eventual Degrees of
Success.
71
:Downtime:
At the end of a successfully completed Mission, Protagonists
receive Credits equal to the Mission’s Length (1 to 7) they can put
in their Stack.
Also, each Protagonist can change a Relationship with another
Protagonist or a Hub.
If the Mission failed, the Protagonists get no Credits and Heat
raises by 1.
Livelihood: keeping yourself safe and happy is important in these

streets, in between Missions each Protagonist has to spend
some Credits on food, housing and entertainment.
Credits spent Effect
0 (Poverty) Gain 1 Trauma or Glitch
1 (Basics Only) No effect on Trauma or Glitch
2 (Good Meal/room) Remove 1 Trauma or Glitch
3 (Spoil Yourself) Remove 1 Trauma and Glitch
Downtime: each Protagonist can also do one of the following, for

an additional Credit
● Learn a new Skill

● Gain a Contact
● Buy one piece of Gear, dose of Drugs or an Implant
● See a Doc, lower Trauma or Glitch by 1
● Recover Basic Gear
● Lower Heat by 1
● Buy Nano for 2 Credits instead of 1
72
::Special Spends::
Special spends are exceptional Downtime activities.
Back-up (10 Credits): Back-ups are clones – or back-up copies

in case of Bots- of a Protagonist that get revived when they die,
effectively "resurrecting" them.
Very rich people can spend money on many back-ups.
73
:PROTAGONIST SHEET:
74
:MISSION SHEET:
75
A Cyberpunk storytelling game
2021

TMCS 0-91

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These Mean Cybernetic

Luigi Castellani 2021

To Simon Carryer for On Mghty Thews

Special thanks to:

:World-building and the MCP:....................................................................34

::Degrees of Success and Failure::.......................................57

No idea of how a role-playing game works? Have no fear.

A Session typically starts with the Prologue, during which the

Protagonists that can’t pay for their own livelihood during

Don’t forget to keep handy five or six regular six-sided dice,

EXAMPLE: You’ll find text like this about almost all

Abilities (Cool, Smart, Techie, Tough): a Protagonist’s natural

Action Roll: when it’s not clear if a Protagonist’s action is

Advance: A Scene that has been successfully passed and carries

Advantage/Disadvantage Dice: dice that are added to the dice

Antagonistt: Major NPC that leads a Squad of Mooks.

Attributes (Phenotype, Demeanor, Origin): these describe a

Contact: a helpful NPC that can sell equipment and services or

Credits: in-game currency used to buy stuff

Degree of Success/Failure: the difference between the Action

Difficulty Number (DN): the number a player must roll above in

Downtime: time between missions, the Protagonists will have to

Epilogue: The final Scene that determines if the Mission is a

Gear: a special piece of equipment owned by a Protagonist.

Glitch: a measure of a character’s current mental health.

Heat: a resource used by the Master Control Program to make

Hub: an important faction or place of the game world.

Implant: a special kind of Gear, implanted into a person’s body.

Info: points that Protagonists get from their Contacts or in-game

Interludes: After each Scene, the Protagonists may call for a

Master Control Program (MCP): the arbiter of the rules, the

Mission: a paid errand for the Protagonists to carry out.

Mooks: Minor NPCs that act in Squads numbering as many

Nano: special Gear that morphs in what is necessary and

Non-player character (NPC): A character handled by the MCP.

Out of action: when a Protagonist is made powerless during a

Player: someone playing a Protagonist in the game.

Prologue: Typically the beginning of a game Session, when a

Protagonist: the character created and handled by a Player.

Relationships: A single word descriptor of how a Protagonist is

Scene: a single moment in a single place that plays an important

Session: an evening of play, usually covering one or more

Setback: When the Protagonists fail to pass a Scene they get a

Skills: learned abilities of a character.

Transhuman Dice: dice added to an Action Roll when a

Transhuman Insight: when a Protagonist rolls one or more “6”s,

Trauma: a measure of a character’s current physical health.

Zones: Measure of distance for Action Sequences.

No ideas? Don’t worry, you can probably think of a favorite

So, now all players (excluding the MCP) need to create a

• Phenotype: Alien (off-putting, incomprehensible,

Attributes serve the purpose of defining a character and give hints

EXAMPLE: Maria Santamuerte is a Rebellious Human

• Tough (fighting, endurance, athletic tasks)

When an action needs to be resolved (because it’s dangerous, or

EXAMPLE: Tony wants her character Maria Santamuerte

Animal handling (Cool)

Heavy Weapons (Techie)

Melee weapons (Tough)

Small arms (Smart)

Unarmed Combat (Tough)

Wilderness survival (Smart)

EXAMPLE: If Maria is going to truly be a techie, Tony is