History TabletopGame / CyberPunk

* DuelingGames: With ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', primarily (a number of other cyberpunk-themed RPGs existed at the hight of the rivalry, but almost none remain in print), the main difference between the two being ''Shadowrun's'' inclusion of fantasy elements (dragons, elves, magic, etc.). Purists stuck with the former, but the latter was more consistently popular thanks to cross-genre audience appeal. The release of ''Cyberpunk's'' much maligned 3rd Edition, combined with financial troubles at R. Talsorian, caused the game to disappear from shelves for several years, allowing ''Shadowrun'' to dominate the market, but with the announcement of the ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'' video game adaptation and the upcoming release of new setting updates to go along with it (which disregard the 3rd Edition completely), ''Cyberpunk'' appears poised to make a comeback.

* MinMaxing: A common fan criticism is that the game's "Character Role" class system (which gives certain starting skill sets and unique abilities to characters of a certain class) leads to balance issues, the most frequent being that Solos (aka: mercenaries) are the only viable character types for combat situations (thanks to their special ability which gives bonuses to their spot checks and initiative rolls), and that consequently most Solo builds end up looking very similar (high Reflex attributes & combat skills + low social skills + reflex boosting augmentations).

* TheGreatPoliticsMessUp: Instead of dissolving like it did in reality, the Soviet Union actually manages to successfully reform itself (though the second edition [[RetCon rewrote the timeline]] to account for Germany's reunification), but its global influence is greatly diminished.The US suffers economic collapse, several major terrorist attacks, and the secession of a number of states, and ends up becoming a Third World country in all but name, while the European Union and Japan become the world's new major superpowers.

* OrganTheft: There are rules to selling organs to organ banks and there is mention of an organ lottery. Officially you need a deceased donor card to donate organs and get a reward but this can be faked rather easily.

* {{Expy}}: The game's main setting, Night City, is fairly obviously based on SanFrancisco. The Night City sourcebook even spotlights Expies of other Bay Area cities, such as South San Francisco, Oakland and Pacifica.

''Cyberpunk'' refers to any of three editions of a single tabletop roleplaying game, the first of which was published by R. Talsorian Games in 1988. The game, as the title might indicate, is based heavily upon the work of Creator/WilliamGibson and Creator/BruceSterling, to the point where Gibson is often referred to as "Saint Willie" in the 1998 guidebook.

* DrugsAreBad: Though the option for characters to use drugs is there (wouldn't be cyberpunk if it wasn't), doing so is ''strongly'' discouraged (as in the writers directly tell players that it's a very good way to kill their characters). This was most likely done to appease the MoralGuardians that crusaded against roleplaying games, since back in those days, the idea that ''DungeonsAndDragons'' led to witchcraft and Satanism was actually taken seriously.

* MegaCorp: Plenty; This IS Cyberpunk after all. One of (if not the) largest has to be Arasaka, who unfortunately is also quite evil. Others MegaCorp's include Militech, the International Electric Corporation, the Lazarus Group, Petrochem and Sovoil.

* MegaCorp: Plenty; This IS Cyberpunk after all. One of (if not the) largest has to be Arasaka, who unfortunately is also quiet evil. Others MegaCorp's include Militech, the International Electric Corporation, the Lazarus Group, Petrochem and Sovoil.

* BladeBelowTheShoulder: In several different varieties, from [[{{Neuromancer}} Molly Millions]]-style finger razors, to [[DeusExHumanRevolution Adam Jensen]]-esque arm swords, to a knuckle-deploying blade trio subtly named "[[{{Wolverine}} Wolvers]]".

* TheGreatPoliticsMessUp: Instead of dissolving like it did in reality, the Soviet Union actually manages to successfully reform itself (though the second edition [[RetCon rewrote the timeline]] to account for Germany's reunification), but its global influence is greatly diminished.The U.S. suffers economic collapse, several major terrorist attacks, and the secession of a number of states, and ends up becoming a Third World country in all but name, while the European Union and Japan become the world's new major superpowers.

* BladeBelowTheShoulder: In several different varieties, from [[{{Neuromancer}} Molly Millions]]-style finger razors, to [[DeusExHumanRevolution Adam Jensen]]-esque arm swords, to a knuckle-deploying blade trio subtly named "[[XMen Wolvers]]".

* CyberneticsEatYourSoul: Each item you install comes with a cost to your humanity. It's not hard to skirt that restriction, and some degree of augmentation is absolutely necessary to compete, but too much of it and you go rogue. This is typically guaranteed to end in a showdown with highly-armed and very paranoid cops.

* KillEmAll: The original ''Cyberpunk'' guidebook treats the fact that life in the setting is cheap as a feature. If a character becomes too powerful or angers too many major factions, then the GM is encouraged to simply kill him and let the player start over.

* SuperReflexes: Combat in the setting is set up to be won by whoever gets to go first in a turn, due to its overwhelming lethality. As such, a number of augmentations exist to improve a character's initiative roll and you would have to be crazy not to take them.

* TheGreatPoliticsMessUp: Instead of dissolving like it did in reality, the Soviet Union actually manages to successfully reform itself, although its global influence is greatly diminished (though the second edition [[RetCon rewrote the timeline]] to account for Germany's reunification).The U.S. suffers economic collapse, several major terrorist attacks, and the secession of a number of states, and ends up becoming a Third World country in all but name, while the European Union and Japan become the world's new major superpowers.

* JapanTakesOverTheWorld: Another hallmark of the genre. Many of the megacorporations are wholly or partially owned by the Japanese.

* MegaCorp: Plenty; This IS Cyberpunk after all. One of (if not the) largest has to be Arasaka, who unfortunately is also quiet evil. Others MegaCorp's include Mili-Tech, the International Electric Corporation, the Lazarus Group, Petrochem and Sovoil.

* RetCon: The second edition of the game quietly adjusted the metaplot's timeline to accommodate the German reunification in 1990.

''Videogame/TheWitcher'' developer CD Projekt RED is working on a videogame adaptation ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'' for 2013.

''Videogame/TheWitcher'' developer CD Projekt RED is working on a videogame adaptation ''Cyberpunk2077'' for 2013.

''Cyberpunk'' refers to any of three editions of a single tabletop roleplaying game, the first of which was published by R. Talsorian Games in 1988. The game, as the title might indicate, is based heavily upon the work of WilliamGibson and BruceSterling, to the point where Gibson is often referred to as "Saint Willie" in the 1998 guidebook.

Tropes in the ''Cyberpunk'' games include: