Cyberpunk - not just a game but a whole genre, an attitude - was originally spawned in 1988 by R. Talsorian Games. Since then, there have been 2 'mainstream' editions, Cyberpunk 2020 (1990) and Cyberpunk v.3 (2005), as well as Cybergeneration (1993) - the disaffected children of the first cyberpunks - and products lines licensed by Atlas Games and the then Ianus Games (now Dream Pod 9).

The basic game mechanic - the Interlock System - is skills based, with characters advancing by being awarded points to 'spend' on their skills sets. New skills outside of their expertise can be learned, but in-game time needs to be spent on this. A large part of this system is the characters' ability to augment themselves with cyber-technology and their ensuing loss of humanity as they become more machine than human. Each player must choose a character class or 'role' from those given in the basic rules, but there is enough variation in the skill system so that no two members of the same class are alike, and there's room for characters of any class to be as combat-ready (or not) as they wish. Character generation includes a 'lifepath' system that builds a background framework for the new character.

Page last updated: 1 August 2019