History TabletopGame / CyberPunk

** [[CowboyCop Cops / Lawman]] are, well, beat cops and detectives who try their best to uphold the law and protect citizens from gang violence and cyberpsychos. Their ''Authority'' makes them extra intimidating for criminals of all kinds. Expanded in Red to Lawman , in order include the private security of corporations and security contractors hired by private individuals.

[[caption-width-right:350:The Roleplaying Game of the Dark Future[[note]]Cover of the second edition (''Cyberpunk 2020)''[[/note]]]]

''Cyberpunk'' is a tabletop roleplaying game created by Mike Pondsmith and published by Creator/RTalsorianGames. The game, as the title might indicate, is based heavily upon the {{Cyberpunk}} genre, to the point where Creator/WilliamGibson is often referred to as "Saint Willie" in sourcebooks.

The first edition, retroactively titled ''Cyberpunk 2013'', was published in 1988. ''Cyberpunk 2020'' was released in 1990 and gained much more success. The non-canon GaidenGame ''Cybergeneration'', centred around kids with strange superpowers, came out in 1993. ''Cyberpunk V3.0'' was published in 2005 and took the setting into more PostCyberpunk & transhumanist themes, but received [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks heavy criticism]] and has been [[CanonDiscontinuity declared non-canon]]. The most recent edition, ''Cyberpunk Red'', was published in 2020 and seems to have gotten the series back on track with good reception, releasing not only traditional paid splatbooks but also free monthly "DLC" [=PDFs=] that add new and reworked content & mechanics.

As the games are a very deliberate, self-aware attempt to capture the feel of the then-burgeoning cyberpunk genre, it can be comfortably assumed that any trope from that particular genre that isn't mentioned will fit neatly here. Supplements to the game allow you to play in specific author's 'verses, such as George Alec Effinger's ''Literature/MaridAudran''.

A videogame set in the ''Cyberpunk'' setting was announced by Creator/CDProjektRed, known as ''VideoGame/{{Cyberpunk 2077}}'' and appropriately released in 2020. An anime by Creator/StudioTrigger in collaboration with CDPR, called ''Anime/CyberpunkEdgerunners'', was released in 2022. For the franchise as a whole, see [[Franchise/{{Cyberpunk}} here]].

* BioAugmentation: Biotech, which are enhancements based around biology rather than technology, often using nanomachines, which has the handy benefit of minimizing humanity loss. These can range from antibodies and nanosurgeons that speed up your healing processes to custom organs that replace your original ones, often with bonus features (Want an appendix that lets you process dietary fiber for nutrients? Or how about lungs with improved oxygen capacity?). This is taken up to eleven in the Eurosource sourcebooks, as Europeans disapprove of cybernetics, so cyberware is either well hidden or replaced with biotech and also genetic engineering, which isn't readily available outside Europe.

* TransferableMemory: Through the use of an Alternative Reality Process (colloquially referred to as "braindancing") people can record, edit and distribute tactile experiences to others - including the sensation of death. Those who experience a braindance resulting in death can have their own heart stop from just the visceral reaction.

* LighterAndSofter: ''Cyberpunk V3.0'' was this to ''Cyberpunk 2020'' because the Arasaka Corporation had been destroyed and the megacorporations as a whole were far weaker with a focus on transhumanist technology.

** ''Cyberpunk Red'' removes ''Cyberpunk v3'' and its apocalypse setting in favor creating a prequel setting for ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077''. However, it will reintroduce some of the technology that was previously established in ''Cyberpunk v3'''s rulebook as well as new technology from the real world that's been developed since then such as 3D printed pistols.

* AscendedExtra: Due to HistoryMarchesOn, China and the megacorporation Kang Tao are now superpowers on the world stage.

** Likewise Saburo Arasaka's backstory mimics in part the one of RealLife UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Japanese ace [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saburo_Sakai Saburo Sakai]], the former having also fought in said conflict piloting a Zero and having also to fly several hundreds miles over the ocean badly wounded before arriving to his base.

** [[ThePowerOfRock Rockerboys]] are both underground musicians and political agitators, using their music to challenge corporate authority and rile up people. They can commandeer crowds with their ''Charismatic Leadership''.

** The overthrow of the British government and monarchy is deliberately patterned after the Wars of the Three Kingdoms that resulted in Oliver Cromwell becoming Lord Protector before a restoration of the British Monarchy. In this case, a radical Anti-Monarchist government comes to power after overthrowing the previous state, establishes a bleak fascist state with its Lord Protector basically acting as the de-facto ruler, until the government is overthown and the Monarchy is re-established once again.

** The overthrow of the British government and monarchy is deliberately patterned after the Wars of the Three Kingdoms that resulted in Oliver Cromwell becoming Lord Protector before a restoration of the British Monarchy. In this case, a radical Anti-Monarchist government comes to power after overthrowing the previous state, establishes a bleak fascist state with its Lord Protector basically acting as the de-facto ruler, until the government is overthown by the Monarchy is re-established once again.

** The overthrow of the British government and monarchy is deliberately patterned after the Wars of the Three Kingdoms that resulted in Oliver Cromwell becoming Lord Protector before a restoration of the British Monarchy. In this case, a radical Anti-Monarchist government comes to power after overthrowing the previous state, establishes a bleak fascist state with its Lord Protector, and then gets replaced.

** The overthrow of the British government and monarchy is deliberately patterned after the Wars of the Three Kingdoms that resulted in Oliver Cromwell becoming Lord Protector before a restoration of the British Monarchy. In this case, a radical Right Wing government comes to power after overthrowing the previous state, establishes a bleak fascist state with its Lord Protector, and then gets replaced.

** [[GadgeteerGenius Techies]] are tinkerers and builders who make a living by fixing items or, in the case of [[TheMedic Medtechies]], people. They can use their ''Jury Rig'' or ''Medical Tech'' to patch up things or people. In Red split into two distinct Roles with ''Techs'' focusing solely on fabrication and repair of mechanical devices while ''Medtechs'' focus on medical related techn and including ability to save and revive an otherwise dying character without a trauma team membership.

* RedSkiesTakeWarning: The nuclear explosion in Night City, conventional destruction from the Fourth Corporate War, orbital weapon strikes and massive wildfires sent so much debris into the atmosphere that it stained the skies an eerie red for two years. This came with [[RainOfBlood sticky blood-red downpours]] and eventually died down to just brilliant crimson sunrises and sunsets for the next decade, all of which became the namesake for The Time of the Red.