Cyberpunk Red - RPG Review

[@Alverant]

Back in the 90s when I was in college, one of the first computer programs I made was a randomized lifepath generator for Cyberpunk 2020. It was one of those things that helped me move from being a physics major to being a computer science major which started my career for 25+ years.

[@peterdickinson4599]

Following your passion is alway the best way to navigate life.

[@_Woody_]

@@peterdickinson4599 And in this specific case following your passion was also following the money.

[@samholden5758]

I remember writing a traveller character generator program in the 1980s. And again in the 1990s. And again in the 2010s :)

[@StabYourBrain]

@@_Woody_ You know it's hard to be alive annd exist nowadays without money.

[@_Woody_]

@@StabYourBrain Never has been different, choomba. I am glad for everyone who can combine passion and pay. Best thing that can happen to you.

[@briancroft5601]

The idea of a house rule called "You remember the time Robocop shot that guy in the dick?" that creates half cover conditions made me laugh a great deal.

[@Mutski1579]

And that concept is very much cyberpunk. Right down to the title! 😉

[@erc1971erc1971]

At one point I had a super detailed hit location chart because in my youth I thought adding all that complexity was more realistic, so we knew what armor covered what area, etc. Anyways, one of the PC's got shot in the dick by a 50 cal and...I rolled horrible damage, meaning he shrugged it off. That did wonders for his tough guy reputation!

[@Xingmey]

Had to double check... yeah! Scott Brown is in the Rulebook, even in the german edition. Proud of you Seth! Still my favorite warstory of yours

[@nothri]

No joke I bought this rulebook specifically because of that reference. Any company willing to make a nod to our man Seth is worth a little extra attention.

[@brianlawson3757]

I'm making it in-home canon that Scott Brown Realty LLC has been in existence since 1918 just in case I decide to run Call of Cthulhu someday! It's such a great story and it's ripe for spicing up an adventure.

[@JakeSweeper]

@@brianlawson3757 Ha! Have them be the Agency that bought Corbin House to long after the events of the Haunting and drop hints to the investigators that they're buying up the properties the party visits for some unknown reason. :)

[@Syaniiti]

@@brianlawson3757 But why stop there, someone had to kick the Natives out because they had a showing.

[@brianlawson3757]

@@Syaniiti That doesn't sound like fun and that's a theme I wouldn't bring to my table. I certainly wouldn't want to play a game with themes of colonization and genocide of an entire people. However, I'm pretty sure you're just trolling because you think being edgy and insensitive makes you cool. It doesn't.

[@paladinsorcerer67]

I played a bit of Cyberpunk 2020 in the nineties, and one thing that impressed me was the attention to detail about the many martial arts styles that were available. You could have a jujitsu master fight a kung fu master and their specializations mattered.

[@rushmw]

Really fair review, and echoed many of my criticisms of the game. For a setting that emphasizes style and flair they stripped a lot of the style (I.e. brand recognition) out of it in favor of going with something that feels really generic. My only hope is they have supplements planned to introduce this back into the game.

[@danacoleman4007]

Supplements?! No! Game companies don't do that

[@roarshach13]

They actually did! It's a PDF called "the old guns still work." It's a guide on how to convert old guns into cyberpunk red!

[@rushmw]

@@roarshach13 I have it. It’s not really the same as the Blackhand supplement from 2020, and the conversion method is super clunky imo.

[@persephoneunderground845]

Seems like the existing streamlined stuff might be a good start for new players, but then we'll need to houserule in modifiers and the best cinematic parts for the "full" experience. Wonder if there are good fan-made rules supplements for this purpose out- I'd be surprised if there's nothing out there.

[@Ashwgun]

yeah Black Chrome is coming, they teased it on their twitter, illustrations and weapon models, and companies

[@iwy6904]

RED was my introduction to tabletop Cyberpunk, and my group and I have been having a blast. It was a breath of fresh air for those of us who've only had a chance to play 5e. That said, I am hoping they release updates to the cover and aiming systems. I get the impression that RED is meant to be built on and expanded, so I'd be surprised if these kinds of things don't show up in another year or two.

[@Sytheduke]

The pricing thing was the first thing I decided to homebrew out of. For example, I broke down the Fast Food Meal at 10eb: 5eb for the burger by itself, 3eb for fries, 2eb for just a soda. Say you meet up with someone at a burger place, and need to order something to seem like you have another reason to be there. You wouldn’t have to pay 10eb. If you just want fries and a drink for 5eb instead, you can do that. If you play a big guy who usually orders the super sizes because he’s always hungry, it could be 6eb for a bigger burger, 5eb for super fries, and 3eb for a big drink for a meal that actually costs 14eb.

[@techno_tuna]

I like this method, I think I'm going to try to do similar modifications across the board. Split things up, offer nitty gritty piecemeal pricing (and combat modifiers, for example) for my group since the majority of us have been playing TTRPGs for some time now.

[@WilkesBarreWrestling]

bad choice

[@noahmoreno4122]

@@WilkesBarreWrestlingwhy?

[@Xingmey]

Which is completely pointless consideribg people just write off 300 eb a month for these kind of minor expenses.... i would not charge my players for burgers, fries or whatever.... we are here to play awesome cyberpunk, not bookkeeping sim. Just nice to know what something is worth to give some perspective

[@zhangbill1194]

Bruh wtf, if my gm makes me individually track fries I am leaving that game

[@ZRFehr]

I've just started GMing a game of red! I was super stoked to find your GM tips, you've been a massive help for me. Awesome to see you review Red finally! In our first session we ran Getting Paid, and when the players tried to search the warehouse online, I told them "You find a real estate listing." Unfortunately they did not take the bait.

[@oz_jones]

Next time ;)

[@LaterHarmony]

NICE me to an I love that cyberpunk red is getting more attention

[@jingbot1071]

The perfect game system for people who really wanna stay at your house.

[@F2t0ny]

I get that reference!

[@littlegiantj8761]

hey, listen you didn't need to post that why? why did you post that?

[@rocksteadyska6933]

@@littlegiantj8761 because he wanted to ask who's ready for tomorrow

[@bbd121]

@@rocksteadyska6933 Or maybe he wants to see who wants to go to the moon?

[@zetsugami00]

I see what you did there.

[@beathitus]

love that you took appropriate time to review it. thats what makes your channel so good. keep it up !

[@LordReginaldMeowmont]

It sounds like we need a list of Red houserules incorporating the good stuff from the old edition for everyone to use.

[@brianlawson3757]

I just noticed you got yourself a silver play button! Good for you, Seth! Your channel is awesome and you totally deserve that recognition! Yours is one of the few channels that I enjoy enough that when the notification pings on my phone, I make sure to watch whatever just dropped as soon as I get a chance. 😎👍

[@andrewdiaz3529]

27:16 Scott Brown survived the 4th Corporate War and has some nice offices in the city I see. Great video, really can't wait to see more of the Time of the Red; A lot of possibilities Lore wise before the 2077 events kick in.

[@theinevitable77]

Great vid Seth Problems with RED and Fixes 1) Layout is horrible... You have to flip to 4 chapters to fully grasp throwing a grenade. Lore chapters are mixed between rules and chapters like Putting the Cyber in Cyberpunk is completely redundant. Solution - Cut the corner out of non-rule chapters for quick flips 2) Lacking Gear Variety... Players begin with too much money and have most of what they want from the gate with little to look forward to. There's not even some obvious ones like a silencer attachment or reflex sight (For Laser Sight We gave it a +1 Hit, but allows targets of any REF to dodge). Solution - If the inventor can invent, the GM should to and make a huge list of everything missing. Also take the effects of exotic brand weapons and allow the to be applied to any weapon for the price difference. Weird the only malarian arm is a pistol for example. Buying excellent quality cyberware should have a minor skill bonus. 3) No Dual Wielding... Easy fix it provides +1 ROF, but a penalty to hit equal to the total d6s of the two weapons. Same applies to firing 2 handed weapons with 1 hand. 4) Armor Ablation Way Too Crunchy... A GM having to ablate every hit and track the ablation of 10 different goons is a pain and is very time consuming. Not to mention added math from melee halfing SP. Solution - Mass Combat Rule, the GM reduces goon armor by 1/5 round up to reduce more and piercing rounds simply add +2 Damage, but armor does not ablate. Math comes out to the same hits to kill with most weapons. 5) Heavy Armor is Terrible... Everyone has 11 SP, why, because any other armor is the wrong choice. Heavy armor penalized you to oblivion, costs a fortune, and takes forever to repair. Solution - Have the REFLEX penalty only apply to head armor. It makes sense and still allows you a penalized dodge vs bullets and the ability to aim. Plus heavy armored fores would be incentified to wear lighter head armor to avoid penalties encouraging head shots. 6) Melee Overpowered... Melee weapons and martial arts ignoring half armor is annoying math and makes them sooo much better than guns. Plus it's weird your BODY does not effect melee weapon damage. Their pricing is weird too, a lead pipe could cost you $100. Solution - Do not ignore half armor, simply add 1 d6 damage to unarmed at ROF 2, or 2d6 at ROF 1. 7) Autofire is a Trap... Do the math of special ammo costs and how high your hit has to be to reliably autofire and it simply isn't worth an x2 skill investment when compared to explosives or someone specing more in damage with single fire. Why? between aimed shots and the way higher crit probability of 5d6 vs 2d6 with a the result multiplied, you'll see the same damage results for single fire vs autofire. Solution - Easy, multiply d6s rolled, not damage, much higher crit probability, still not worth it to me, but viable. 8) Vague Skill Descriptions... Very minor, but a trend in modern gaming. Skills simply need some sample difficulties and tasks. Also demolitions being an x2 skill should let you craft grenades like a tech. Also also, there are some redundant skill bloat like why is there Style and Personal Grooming those should be the same. 9) Character Sameness... Everyone wears the same armor and prioritizes the same stats REF, DEX, WILL/BODY/EMP, TECH/INT, LUCK in that order. Why, REF is firearm hit and has to be at 8 to dodge bullets which is essential to survival. DEX is dodge and also melee hit, and so on. Allow dodging firearms when adjacent. It makes sense too, also allow luck to apply rerolls which are better. Luck maybey could have been called CHARISMA and have taken some of the social skills out of INT in my opinion. Bonus Notes 1) Exploding 10 is a good mechanic, but option is lackluster as 99% of the time it would have succeeded. Allow exploding dice to combo into another attack or skill roll for variety. 2) Raising Roles above 5 is rarely worthwhile. It should be a fixed rate at the medium range. Pro Tip, prioritize Evasion first. 3) Fumble - When a 1 rolls backward and rolls higher than your luck it's a fumble and has a chart effect. Fumble table however award a bonus luck use up to max luck. 4) Netrunning is better, but still slows the game to a crawl as Netrunners get 3 rounds to everyone's 1 and for very little effect at high risk. It's like you have an intense gunfight. The netrunner is going to hack the lights to turn them off and give everyone escape. The whole game pauses for a several turns of Magic the Gathering to maybe turn off a light, and maybe kill the netrunner. 5) Range Tracking - Printed a custom character sheet with range slots to fill in next to weapon. Helps allot. Remember the first 3 range increments is where most combat happens. 3,+3,+6 spaces, the next increment is +12 spaces that's most a battlemat if using The game is still fun. Really glad you got to the layout on this book being my biggest issue. Thanks Seth.

[@mollywantshugs5944]

12:00 networks do actually work kinda like this. Usually there’s a local network that then connects to the internet, but sometimes specific networks will be disconnected from the internet as a whole for security reasons. The big thing is that if you can access it legitimately, you also are connected enough to hack it

[@benjaminparent4115]

Also any connection to a bigger public network like internet are known vector of attack and monitored for that very reasons. Even if a network is connected to the internet you can still have reasons to go to the facility physically to facilitate or speed up hacking, also with remote hacking your attempt can always be twarted by just disconnecting the network from the internet.

[@rosssmith7753]

In the street scene at about 4:37, the guy on the right is a portrait of Mike Pondsmith, designer of the Cyberpunk games.

[@101Hitman]

Thanks for this review, it touches on all my own issues and praises for this sytem. In the end I feel like I may just pull portions of red and incorporate them into 2020 along with the homebrewed rules from Interlock Unlimited

[@phillee427]

I'm kind of in the same boat. As it stands rather something I will definitely not be playing however I will strip mine for any interesting resources. I'll just tweak my 2020 game as well.

[@sabershenanigans]

That does sound like the best plan: finding that sweet spot somewhere between the overcomplicated rules of C20 and the too-stripped-down approach of CRed, getting the best of both worlds as far as possible.

[@jasonconnerley]

Thanks for the honest review, I bounced off it after playing and we have stuck with Cyberpunk 2020.

[@SHVNE]

This is the best RPG review I've ever read or watched. I was a huge Cyberpunk 2020 fan and Red has had me excited since it was announced. I am disappointed by it, though. I think it's got great potential but it needs a serious amount of work to become what it should. Thanks for the great, great content, Seth!

[@theovermynd3930]

This is SO DAMN timely, I'm getting ready to play my first ever game of Cyberpunk tomorrow, I sent this to my DM to review. Thanks alot!

[@Robin_Robout]

Same here man, what a coincidence huh?

[@theredsoldier26]

I've recently purchased Red after watching the netflix series, and I'm thankful that you put this video out. I think my greastest disapoitment is the weapons. Browsing through the old edition really excited me, cause there were so many different weapons. So to see that they've stripped it down so much honestly hurts a little, since you've lost the brand recognition as you've said. I'm personally planning on just using the old weapon table for this new game for my players, though I'll have to see if that's viable. But despite that, I'm still excited to play. Even if it'll take home homebrewing and house ruling, I'm looking forward to some cyberpunk.

[@procrastinatinggamer]

Some of the free DLCs have started to fix this. “Old Guns Never Die” gives advice on converting the old 2020 guns into Red, “Twelve Days of Gunmas” brings a bunch of 2020 faves into Red (including the Cityhunter, the fancy revolver from the Scott Brown Incident), “Woodchipper’s Garage” brings in a bunch of heavier weapons. We also have “Black Chrome” right around the corner, which R.Tal dropped a teaser of on Twitter about an hour or two ago that gives me the impression that they’re bringing back more of 2020’s gun porn.

[@davoodoo8042]

@@procrastinatinggamer You can convert them, but thats just turning them into same generic shlock, maybe with higher quality as baseline which can just be given to generics. I can crack open my cp2020 book and cite benefits and drawbacks of ronin light(rof 30, wa+1, 450eb) and sa-80(rof 20, wa+2, 600eb) have over each other. and why you should never buy ovepriced pos towa type-99. How about the militech trio Dragon, less accuracy than its brothers but without silencer concealable under coat, nice pdw alternative, with decent 6d6-1 dmg at not that insane price 700eb MK IV, more accurate version of dragon and capable of firing both 6.5h(at 6d6-1) and 5.56(5d6) doesnt beat ronin in 5.56 but at 6.5h this gun is amazing and still affordable at 800eb. MK V, unique weapon, slow automatic 6.5 ETE at rof 4, prototype of something you cant just achieve with custom upgrades, nice good 9d6 damage, amazing range for assault rifle at 600m but naturally rather expensive at 1500eb.

[@Ashwgun]

They have a book coming out fairly soon, Black Chrome, which will increase the kind of gear, uses corp names and models. SO lots of new toys soon.

[@theredsoldier26]

@@brunojesusguilperez When you have a setting where your style and apperance is so important, not having a finer choice in what weapons you bring just feel like a waste of potential. If I have tabels for what kind of style of clothes I can wear, why is my heavy pistol basically the same as a random ganger I find on the street? It feels generic when there was potential for world building, like Seth says in 25:00.

[@davoodoo8042]

@@brunojesusguilperez there was always contenders and problem was more pronounced with pistols, i still have no idea why have 9mm or below other than to arm npcs, but npcs need to be armed too. Where i disagree, is the core premise of the game, i had a person get into argument about guns, buy scifi starrior, the absolute garbage at 60 eb and blow at it enough money to make it usable weapon. Why have 10mm when 11mm exists and is not much more expensive, well if i decide to turn my pistol into selective semi automatic 11mm will have too much recoil for me to fire even with cyberarm so i need to go down a caliber, thats a more niche use but its there. Of course everyone could just buy cyborg rifle and run with it, but realistically that doesnt happen, only outliers are extremely expensive guns, yeah sure they wont get used much because cheaper guns do stuff better. But then everyone had their favorites, i thought id never use sternmeyer m95a4 till i had installed 2 on drone, gun who normally is not better than ronin suddenly got nice in massive magazine i could put on machine that cant reload.

[@AramilWhisperwind]

As a new player who played the Jumpstart Kit, delved a bit into the 2020 just to fleshout some extra rules that didn't exist in the Kit and then day-1 the Red edition, I agree with most, if not all of your points (except the price categories, I find that in my not-so-good-at-math brain finds this categorising easier and quicker to understand and then roleplay merchants who have raised prices, e.g. instead of 100 eb pistol, they ask 175 for it). But I honestly think that, without having actual experience with 2020 outside of kinda reading it, the best of both worlds is that Red is a trimmed down version that can be easily understood and the players who want that something extra, we can implement almost directly from 2020. Don't want to have universal ammunition? Check the 2020 rules. Want more item / upgrade ideas that are not in the book? Check 2020 etc. Might not be the best writing (especially with the duplicate tables taking up space that could have been these extra stuff), but would be doable more easily than not, from what rules I took for the sessions of Red I run, and we have tons of fun. 2020 would be too heavy to run IMO, based on my party's needs and wants. Thank you for an awesome review!

[@dicewrites]

When I run cp red I used the old blackhand streetweapons guide to jury rig a bunch more weapons into the game and that was a huge game changer in my game, especially coming from playing 2020 a fair bit.

[@jaredtalksdungeons1402]

Can you elaborate? Sounds awesome.

[@dicewrites]

@@jaredtalksdungeons1402 I basically threw out all the cyberpunk red weapons and wholesale use the street weapons guide. I wasn't happy with the conversion rules put out so I just don't use them. sometimes there are tweaks made for balance but otherwise i don't change anything

[@timvanhaitsma9659]

for what is worth Scott Brown is a cannon for all games our group play. from call of cthulhu to Delta green to traveller. And we will be playing some Dungeon Crawl Classics sometime and Scott Brown will be there too... Thanks for the excellent content Seth.

[@VD913]

There is a single throwaway line somewhere in all the official material that mentions why suppressors are no longer used. Every single modern firearm is now integrally suppressed and caseless, no exceptions. I'm going to have to deep dive all the books and blog posts to figure out where that came from. Found it! It's "From the Mayor's Desk 1.15.21"

[@quma2590]

Ironically, a recent expansion brought silencers back.

[@Karajorma]

Haven't played 2020 but as someone who has been running a CPR game for about a year, I tend to agree with the complaints. I tend to find that players do tend to just stand around shooting at the enemy rather than acting like they're in a John Woo movie. Hopefully we'll get some DLC to alter that.

[@hamawang]

I think the game is made to cause attrition to pcs rather than everything having immediate and deadly consequences. Attrition favours a tank and spank style of gameplay. If you know the enemy might cause serious damage, even straight out kill you if they get to do their thing, you will be more likely to apply ambushes and, in a straight up combat scenario, apply tactics to take them out as fast as possible, including taking extra Actions and using multiple weapons etc. I'm doubtful if this can be fixed without redesigning the whole Combat System around the idea that everything should have great immediate effect or very dangerous effect over one to two rounds. I think dropping hp to around 20 max would be one way to do it.

[@hamawang]

Would also change to move + Action to just having the ability to take multiple actions per turn, moves or otherwise and giving a negative penalty for taking more than two.

[@procrastinatinggamer]

Could also lean into destructible terrain - when a player ducks down behind a kitchen counter or something, have the bad guys fire at where they were trying to shoot them through the cover. The game mechanics don’t let you deal damage with the same shot that finally breaks the cover but the NPCs don’t know that. From their in-universe perspective they don’t notice the change in initiative rounds. And, of course, as Raymond Holt once said; “Do you know what else is interesting? *Grenades*.” The rules for throwing them got buried in the grappling rules (same mechanics whether you’re throwing a grenade or some Maelstrom gonk) but I would let them be lobbed over cover as a called shot.

[@verityverri6506]

You are not throwing enough grenades then. That, hold action and autofire are the things that will make character move a lot. It is perfectly viable and legal to hold your action and shoot when someone peeks out of cover to shoot (That's one reason why initiative matters SO MUCH, since you can only hold until the end of the turn)

[@verityverri6506]

@@procrastinatinggamer Grenades will deal full damage to you if they blast your cover, if I'm not mistaken. And they are cheap. ;)

[@evilminion4989]

Separating thoughts and feelings about different editions/versions of anything is a herculean effort. Different editions of D&D have the same brand name, but at the table can play vastly different to the point of seeming like a different game with an attempt to dress it the same. I'm glad you put in effort to play it through and give yourself time to digest Red rather than an off the cuff review. Your professionalism shows and is appreciated. Does the ingame Scott Brown company compensate your characters for the free marketing you've been providing?

[@SSkorkowsky]

Yeah, when the river of, "When are going to review Red?!" questions started flooding in and blanketing every single video I posted, starting about 2 milliseconds after the PDF released, it was difficult to explain how no one actually wanted my initial thoughts on it because the old grognard in me was screaming with agony at every single tiny change. I've watched enough old-timers in every other game go on rants about how the new edition is a crime against their childhood, and I promised myself long ago I wasn't going to be like that. I'd give it time to rate it off its own merits and not my rose-colored memory of an edition that I'd house-ruled to the point it wasn't even recognisable (he says casually, as if he doesn't remember his initial and passionate reaction when D&D dared to change editions on him decades ago).

[@evilminion4989]

​@Seth Skorkowsky cough cough I just figured I'd let ya know I'm feeling the grognard in me as I look through Wizards of the Coast's changes to stuff in the One D&D / update to 5e (or whatever they're calling it now) playtest material... >.> lol. (I've played since 2e, and yeah changes are usually a mixed bag, but if they're substantial enough it just needs to be a new edition and not a half-baked hot fix).

[@jasonmountain4643]

There is an errata for the auto fire DV's. They updated the pdf and also have a link to it on their site.

[@myzri3557]

This review is bang on, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I really was disappointed by the lack of branding, in a world about brands (corps) being everywhere

[@johnsmithfrombackeast7376]

Hey @SethSkorkowsky. Would you mind making your House Rules available for us Chooms to access? I would be very interested in to see what modifications to RED you and your players use.

[@Havocfang2]

Virtual Light and All Tomorrow's Parties are my favourite full novels from Gibson, and the way he writes about the Bridge in both is why.

[@SSkorkowsky]

Years back I was working a job that included a ton of data-entry. It was mind-numbing work and I hadn't discovered Audible yet. So I had 4-5 audiobooks I'd cycle through as background noise. It's kind of like when I do laundry I put in a movie I've seen countless times. It was great because there were times I'd need to focus my attention on work and might stop listening to the book for a while, but when I turned my mind back to it, I automatically knew where I was. Among them was Virtual Light read by Frank Muller (also my favorite narrator). Over the years, (according to my iPod) I listened to that book over 20 times.

[@Tadash_br]

Personal thoughts: I totally agree the lack of some shooting mecanics, as well as a full crafting system, witch is something that i love at any worldbulding heavy TTRPG. But the generalization of the guns and setting those standart monopoly like prices isn't That bad these days if you think of: By the year the jumpstart kit was announced, some friends and I began to hype the Cyberpunk TTRPG franchise and engaged to read the 2020 rule book. We were a bit more young and unexperienced around tactic games mechanics and had a hell of a headache trying to interpret these rules. After reading RED I finally get the purpose of each of these editions based on the time they were developed. While 2020 catched the old school era of TTRPG with heavily mechanic based games, RED is dealing now with a new generation of players, more interested in entering this world by narrative means rather than the game aspects (both are great and appreciated, I just see the shift of interest regarding my fellow players). With that been said, RED mechanics are more focused to welcome new players rather than refresh the Old Guard's Nostalgia. That is why they only give detailed info about the Cyberware and Gear at the Economy section instead of the beginning, because the first pages were designed to simplify the world for those are coming fresh. Besides, it is done without hurting one of the mains proposals of the Cyberpunk Combat System, Friday Night Firefight (I'll be calling FNF), that is making every fight painful and every blade or bullet deadly, because no sane citizen would enjoy starting a gunfight. And, please, don't get me wrong; I've played TT games with heavily mechanic based economy regarding different prices and Looter Shooter Videogames, which try to state the crucial difference between to weapons of the same type but different manufacturers or just different stats. These thing do make a difference, but only at it's respective universes and for it's respective games' proposals. For RED, it is enough for a fresh player to know only what is an auto rifle and what is a shotgun, what is cheap and what is efficient, leaving the worldbulding labels for those who want a deeper dive in night city at later games. For storytelling purposes, I like to think that, at the Time of the Red, when the the traditional corporations failed, standart weapons don't make a difference anymore, ans the default prices of the market only represent the broken post-colapse economy. And that doesn't mean all mythic weapons are gone; that'a why those Christmas free DLCs R. Talsorian Games are so important. They didn't bring back Militech Crusher, Kendachi Dragon or Nomad Pneumatic Weapon just as Exotic weapons, those are relics from the past, and besides their own deal being "just" standart weapons with diffrent mechanics, it already tells us how the 2020s were the golden yeara for night city and gun manufacturing was pretty much diffrent than how the Neocorporations or Scavenger Techies. Speaking of which, this generalization of weapons was made specially so that they could insert a role ability able to not just fabricate itens into the game, but inventing brand new thing into the world. Still miss the suppressor though, sneaking like solid snake and gunning the boosters one by one, and I hope that 2023 Christmas DLC include crazy yet essencial gun mods, like they did with Gunmas and Cybermas (which, if you haven't read yet, hop on Talsorian's website right now and take a look, it is free and you can now pump out of your cyberarm a goddamn chainsaw) Finally, a message for the Old Guard: I hope y'all don't get mad at some young TTRPG Player and also Know I appreciate your experiences with this beloved hobbie. I learned to love combat tactis and character optimization, the game aspecta of the roleplay without compromising the story, and your war game wisdom many times served as a lighthouse when trying new game systems or jusr bulding up my combos. This text isn't about generation confict, is just a generation gap; I don't think they are making many more TTRPG like before, but don't think is much of an issue, just different game proposals; some may sound coherent or nor, and some we may like or not. There are things in RED's FNF that upset me, like making dual wielding useless. I can't chrome uo my both arms and go like wolverine into my enemies, and I would love to know your thoughts about homebrewing these gaps at the game. Talsorian itself encourages players to do it and let's get in mind that this edition is like 2 years old. If you manege to read untill here, I hope you have a wonderful day, and remember to stay hydrated. Never fade away, choom!

[@josuelservin]

I want to run an adventure in this system since you made the video on the jumpstart guide, and we are getting closer to finish our long DnD campaign, so this is a great video to gather a great perspective, thank you for the insight and tips.

[@TheeAugustCaesar]

Been waiting for this for a long time! Thank you Seth, for all you do! Keep up the fantastic work!

[@carolineartley2703]

I agree on all of your criticisms, particularly of the lack of weapon tables. As someone who loves binging on long intricate item lists for RPGs and salivating over every little item, seeing it so stripped down was disheartening, although I get it was probably for ease of access to new players. I even wrote out a full set of tables converting every weapon in the video game into the Red rules just to satisfy my list obsession. That said, RTG's website has been releasing a lot of small free DLC for it, some of which introduces specific items and weapons. Hopefully we'll see more along those lines, especially with them announcing a couple new chromebooks (although how they're described they'll be more for lore and mechanics than for lists of items).

[@cadenceclearwater4340]

You've got a show'in !!!

[@Woodclaw]

When I was working on translating this book in Italian I read the Scott Brown callback and I almost fell from my chair.

[@lordzaboem]

That's exciting!

[@naplinewander6927]

6:24 That's an uhhh, interesting picture to show when mentioning a characters siblings

[@thegamemeowster]

could you do a how-to series detailing some of the specifics of combat and netrunning? i'm a new player and your style is very easy to understand and apply. thanks seth!

[@phillee427]

There is a Facebook group that will help you out. It breaks down cyberpunk red piece by piece.

[@hellbreakfast]

Ok, I really like the idea Seth talked about where all the weapons have actual trade-offs, and name brand means things and you're customizing and learning about the world just through your weapon choices. I hate how many games will have gear lists for miles, but in reality there are only a few options, and the rest are just traps. It's like that in SR and so many other games. That said... Seth? Hey, I know there's over 800 comments, but Seth? Bro? Bro? That combat system you described isn't streamlined. Bro. If I have to make more than 4 separate rolls, and math starts flying as we tally up a bunch of stuff for each, that's not streamlined. Some of the options mentioned there would have me making more rolls than I sometimes made on my turn during a wargame skirmish. I cannot imagine how long a full round is for inexperienced players. I just. Is Cyberpunk a beer and pretzels game like SR? Like you just vibe while people make their rolls and bursts of cool things happen in between "Wait, no the rule was like this- no, it's- carry the 3- ah fuck, who remembers if you need software to control a drone swarm or if swarm is hardware-based?"

[@SSkorkowsky]

Bro, if you think that's complicated, play Cyberpunk 2020, Bro. Bro, when comparing the new edition to the old one, which is what I was doing, Bro, Cyberpunk Red is streamlined, Bro. Also, I don't know what SR is. Use your words, Bro. Write it out.

[@2ntwins]

Seth I didn't realize you had joined the GCN! It was a pleasant surprise seeing you on the traveler game! Great review!

[@bananapants76]

Would love to see him run Them through cyberpunk in stead.❤ also he should be hired as Consultant for the “hardcore” mode of cyberpunk.. were all the things he mentions here Can be added in if wanted. I Think that would be an awesome edition to the game

[@RequestforQuest]

Great video, as always! Funny thing - I've just finished reviewing CP_RED myself and I'm super happy to see all the conclusions I've done in the video of a person I presume to be one of the greatest TTRPG bloggers! My and my team"s takes on CP_RED also shown that game id far less deadly, then 2020. Almost up to the DND standards... looking forward to trying out your suggestion with damage rerolls for good to-hot rolls!

[@bryanstephens4800]

Thanks Seth. Any chance of you posting house rules yall use? I loved that feature of your review/overview in Travaller. Also, way to go George. I hope Seth is as good with you now as I have seen him be on Glass Cannon.

[@FuriousJorge]

hehe, I often say that Seth is a great GM and terrible player, but that's not really true anymore. He is a great player, when he doesn't BOMBSHELL!

[@oz_jones]

@@FuriousJorge never go full BOMBSHELL

[@wolfyblackknight8321]

not a big fan of cyber punk but I keep finding myself watching your videos and I can appreciate the effort you put in to try and be non biased. and even admitting to when you are. also the bit about learning weapon brands 27:30 (for those curious what part I mean) I can kind of relate to for anyone who plays borderlands or a game with different company's making comparable gear and the old joke of "what's better a Hyperion golf club or a Torgue one ? neither the Torgue club explodes after one swing and the Hyperion club takes 7 shot to be able to aim at anything worth a dam" its a great case of world building done right when just saying the band of an item ether gets a positive or negative reaction from the players. "holy crap a freakin' Militech handgun! dibs! I'm happy with just this from the boss loot." " a Dai lung? eh, ok I guess we can sell it for parts or scrap or maybe as a back up weapon but lets be honest who am I gonna kill with a freaking Dai lung? I'd be better off trying to pistol whip them then shoot them." also just wanted to clarify that while I might not enjoy most of the ttrpgs you cover as something I'd totally want to play. I always enjoy watching your videos on them since your just so entertaining with them great work Seth have a great day.

[@timetraveller6643]

Where did Jack get those cool sunglasses? He always has such wonderful costumes and backgrounds.

[@jonathongoulding9780]

Been looking forward to this! Kind of stuck in a rut between wanting to start a game of RED, Call of Cthulhu, or D&D with my gaming group. I was reading through the RED core rulebook, and I was already planning on merging 2020 rules into RED to fill in the gaps they left out or simplified too much. The economy they set up is made for bartering btw, at least from an article written by the designer of the economic system. It assumes that people aren't carrying eddies anymore, but are trading goods. So you trade an everyday item for an everyday item, and stuff like that. However, your idea of ranging prices is something I believe the designer said to go for in a Q&A, as while the prices are made for bartering, that doesn't mean fixers and vendors won't upcharge. The weapon layout I 100% agree with. I think I'm going to overhaul the RED weapon descriptions and combine it with 2020 stuff (concealability, customizability, etc.). Players can keep track of that stuff when they write down what their weapons do. Same thing with the modifiers for running while shooting and stuff. I plan to make a cheat sheet adding those back in. Thanks for some more ideas to include at my table based on the homebrew rules you guys are doing!

[@AGrumpyPanda]

9:50 I agree with issuing IP to individual skills, cos it encourages players to try to use the skills they want to improve. They'll naturally get better at the things they already do frequently, but it rewards active attempts to get better in character. Also, if you go with the old 2020 idea of awarding some points even if they're not particularly being effective but they're still using the skill, it can take the edge off some bad rolls. Players like being rewarded for putting in effort. On the subject of netrunning, I'm not a huge fan of the way they've done it in this edition, but it gave me the inspiration necessary to fix it in 2020. Firstly, I established that most major corporate data-fortresses are on separate local networks that can be cut off from the wider net the moment an intrusion is detected, so a runner has to be either *extremely* stealthy, or be physically present in the building in order to jack directly into the local net. Secondly, I make the data-fortress map directly to the physical environment of the real-world facility that houses it, so if for example a runner sees that the control program for an autoturret is on the other side of a partition but has no other protection they can be like "Get me through this wall and I can turn the turret off!" and suddenly you have interaction between the run in the meat world and the run in the data world, and at the end of the day the real problem was the extreme disconnect between those two things.

[@phillee427]

Bam. You just solve the net running problem right there. Without turning it into pokemon go. And yes the IP system for 2020 worked beautifully. One IP for using a skill whether it's successful or not it's fantastic because it means you learn something. I never understood level based games it made no sense to me that if character X levels up all his skills go up with him even if hes never used them.

[@AGrumpyPanda]

@@phillee427 For the record I did keep the pokemon battle of throwing programs at each other because I find that uniquely fun and charming as far as cyberpunk games go, my goal was to make it more interactive with the other part of the game.

[@DiceTTRPG]

Great review Seth. Main reason I even gave Cyberpunk a hard look was your first 2020 review and also 2077 pulling me in. I owe a lot to you in this mate. I still prefer people to your original Jumpstart Kit review when asked about it. Thank you.

[@XPLovecat]

Great review Seth. I agree there is some clunkiness to the rulebook and system, and yet I always find myself coming back to Night City! The lore is incredible and I feel I'm able to run sessions where the players and I really get immersed in the dark future that the book portrays.

[@justinsinke2088]

I always smile when I see developers and designers giving props to the creators who promote or review their stuff. The fact that Scott Brown is an easter egg in the lore of the game now is great. Reminds me of another example I saw of a content creator doing a Let's Play style video of a game called Rogue Tower. Without getting into too much detail, part of the game features a level of procedural generation and card draw, being a rogue-like. The developer was in the livestream where the player went through an entire successful run without a specific item spawning, leaving the player confused about a card pick he'd made that required said item. So when the game officially launched (the player was using a developer key version), it included a Steam achievement punnily referencing both the streamer and the incident.

[@drewcipher]

Been looking forward to this review as I'm running my first session of the Jumpstart kit for Halloween this year. I ran a mini session 0/combat test the other day and my players (all DnD players except when I force a new system on them) ate it up, many of them are already talking about player concepts based more on skills than roles which I think is dope. I can see how older players used to the crunch of 2020 can be disappointed by the streamlined approach of Red but as a new group coming in for the first time I think it'll help for a time at least. Perhaps later when Black Chrome or other supplements come out we'll see an increase in item complexity which I agree could add a lot to the game.

[@carloscaro9121]

Loved the review. I completely agree about the book's layout. I made two changes and the players loved combat. All I had to do was ignore RAW and treat cover and being prone like a modifier (-1 to hit for light, -2 for cover, -4 for improved), and tighten up shotguns.

[@bananapants76]

Yeah im gonna make a +3 vs -3 House rule . Full cover -3 to hit from or be hit. Half cover is +2/- 2. Going prone is +1/-1 . Easy , but gives enough feel and crunch. Ad to and Change the drug rules. In raw there is no reason to even use them as you will get addicted after first try , way to harsh as general rule! Yes yes medtech I know… Autofire needs to be tweaked but that’s simple enough. Again just subtract 3 or ad 3 to the DV will most likely work. I’m on the fence with shotguns.. but again a -3/+3 damage vs range buff could fix it( perhaps even a whole D6)

[@am-180]

honestly, i'd love to see what changes you'd implement to tackle the issues you found with red. be very interested in taking those "fixes" and using them myself

[@DAEDRICDUKE1]

the fix is to just play savage world's

[@am-180]

@@DAEDRICDUKE1 but i like night city :(

[@DAEDRICDUKE1]

@@am-180 I love Night City too, I just used Savage Worlds system instead of Red (that said I did throw out all Netrunning alternate reality stuff, but I never used any of that anyway even when running 2020)

[@am-180]

@@DAEDRICDUKE1 oh yeah i could do that, thanks for the recommendation. id never heard of savage worlds but i'll look into it 👍👍

[@jccusell]

Yet another amazing, peerless and free video. Count your blessings everyone.

[@theeffete3396]

Surprised you didn't mention how cyberware is so much more punishing in Red. Cybereyes are a friggin staple in the genre, but getting two of them (plus a couple of the obligitory upgrade options) can push you above 20 HL, dropping Empathy by 3 points. Tack on a cyberarm, a neural processor, and a chip slot, and you need to pump EMP to 6+ to even play the character. And that's without even slotting any chips (which also cause HL) or getting that nova pop-up Minami 10. Sure, you could go through Therapy to reduce your HL, but that just feels like an additional tax for getting chromed. If you have a Medtech in the party, she could do Therapy on you for free, but then she's spending her own Downtime on you instead out Hustling and MAKING money. Charging HL for foundational cyberware (which usually carries no benefit of it's own) and ALSO the upgrade options just feels like double-dipping. Especially since option capacity is already very limited. CP:R is a game I want to like, but the more I play, the more I feel I need to houserule to enjoy it.

[@kevincanas3267]

My man thanks for making this review. It gave me some ideas on how to change the rules to make it more action focused in regards to combat I and my player thank you.

[@CT_Phipps]

Fantastic review, Seth! I absolutely love Cyberpunk Red and think you really brought it out.

[@SSkorkowsky]

Thanks, brother.

[@CT_Phipps]

@@SSkorkowsky I wish you had done a bit more on the setting and the revised Post-Arasaka Bombing world. If you ever feel like doing a follow-up video, I think this would be a good idea. But I admit, lore is my jam.

[@smjsuperscott]

Wow, so soon after I talked to you about your opinions you make the video. One thing we didn't discuss last time that absolutely became the deal breaker for me is what I call "RuneScape combat" where people just stand there rolling dice against each other. that table you pointed out made 2020 actually dynamic. working class skills and the new netrunning in will probably be my end goal for my next campaign when my vampire 20th anniversary (another case where the old system won out despite jank) ends

[@Diamondfist1]

Great review! I think you may have a first printing of the book and PDF, because the portion you show for "How You Get Your Stuff" on pp 117 for the first five characters are different in my copy (second print). The Rockerboy, Solo, Netrunner, Tech and Medtech have the same humanity loss, but the EMP subtraction for each are -1, -2, -2, -2, and -2 respectively. They do have an errata document on the website, but I hate referring to errata, so I was lucky I got a second printing since all the first printings were sold out.

[@lordzaboem]

Oh yeah, I could tell from Seth's description of autofire that he's reviewing a first printing. To be fair, he's reviewing the book he has, not the book he doesn't have.

[@deathroar409]

Thank you Seth! I've been waiting with baited breath for this review and it was worth it!

[@MrCcs15]

Have my third session coming up for this game on Tuesday and I'm so hyped. It's been such a fun world to dive into.

[@widdrshinswonders]

IIRC the starting empathy package was fixed in the newest editions of RED in print and digital formats. Errata was released to address it.

[@Chuckler127]

20:21 (re: Cover - "I find it infuriating") I don't, because it cuts down on arguments between GM and players over just how much of their person is exposed and which parts of it are exposed. For example: Even in the case of shields where one would think a hand (holding a gun) and feet would be exposed, some players will insist that if they aren't moving then the shield is resting on the ground and they are crouched behind their shield, and they will only pop out their hand out just long enough to take a shot and then pull it back behind the shield. If not shields, this sort of argument can happen with any kind of cover you take (like behind a car - your feet should technically be exposed). The "all in or all out" rule just squashes all this in favor of getting on with combat. One can reason that if somebody in this game is taking suitable cover, then they are consciously doing their best to leave absolutely no part of themselves exposed to incoming fire, and if they try to take cover behind something that doesn't cover most of their person (like a lamp post), the attacker is going to be aiming at the exposed portions of their body, not the cover, so it's best to just declare they aren't in cover to just get on with the combat before it drags on for too long IRL.

[@mythfire1461]

How clean do you think it would be to mod in the combat modifier chart from 2020 and the partial cover = force shooter to make a called shot?

[@StabYourBrain]

I tried it and it works fine, honestly. You might have to change some of the Modifiers, as they don't really apply to the RED rules, such as shooting a target with 14 REF (which is unlikely to have/get in RED) but aside from that, you can just apply most of them no problem at all.

[@shellbackbeau7021]

I'm so happy your video showed up in my feed again! Haven't seen anything from you in a few months

[@littlegiantj8761]

They actually did explain the missing silencers; in Red firearms typically have integrated suppressors. Not movie silencers, but not gonna require hearing protection.

[@alizard7617]

That reminds me how most firearms in 2020 were caseless.

[@baker90338]

This is actually reasonable, considering that’s something (minus the massive red tape) that would be happening today, considering it’s what muffler technology is for cars today.

[@littlegiantj8761]

@@alizard7617 that carried over to Red

[@SSkorkowsky]

In Red, many of the weapons and gear are pre-collapse relics. Are these integrated suppressors retrofitted somehow?

[@littlegiantj8761]

@@SSkorkowsky Possibly? This info doesn't come from the book itself. It's from "From The Mayor's Desk" on RTS's website.

[@pb6703]

Sweet! I was hoping that you would review this. Thanks for all your great content Seth.

[@roundishwhale]

I wrote my bachelors thesis about CP20, CP77 and CPRed and I was rather disappointed by CPRed. There is so much great and funky stuff in there, but overall It just felt like it lacks the rough soul that made the old system so special. Especially glad to see I am not the only one who feels that the weapon and pricing aspects both took something essential away for the sake of simplicity. As it is now I don't run CP games anymore. I just can't bring myself to do commit to do the Frankenstein project of combining the parts I like of CP20 and CPRed. Hope that will change some day^^

[@ZeroKitsune]

I...literally was just looking up videos about this game system, I even checked your channel to see your thoughts about it and I watched the Jump Start Guide and The Apartment videos like...two days ago. I can't believe this just dropped, haha.

[@jesternario]

The most damning praise ever heard is “we loved the older edition so much that when we came to this game, the changes made just made us stop and hesitate on whether to play the new edition.”

[@danielramsey6141]

Oh! 2 Reviews at the same time! Oh Seth, you spoil us :D So Grateful for Jack the NPC as well, helps to get those suggestions.

[@IamKnucks]

I've been playing this for over a year and I really enjoy it! It is downright streamlined compared to The Witcher TTRPG. (same company.)

[@danielhuk3662]

Sorry i must disagree. Witcher rpg is great. It has far better rules then cp red. New incarnation of cyberpunk shuould be more like witcher rpg and less like it is now.

[@aegisofficial3819]

You hit the nail on the head Seth, yet again! I absolutely love RED, I think it is on the cusp on RPG greatness, but just needs a little extra push. A small side project that I've been working on for my group (and because I want RED to be closer to 2020, without being 2020) is a 2-parter, Part 1 is a full set of additional combat rules that addresses EVERYTHING you mentioned while Part 2 is a full re-charting of weapons, with positives and negatives that make firearms inherently more interesting and less generic. Thankfully, the games framework already allows the space to add these things into the game without damaging the speed of play all that much (At least, IMO) I just want my players to feel like badasses far more often than not, and a page or two of extra combat rules to help facilitate that? Worth.

[@bananapants76]

Not even a page, but a chart

[@aegisofficial3819]

@@bananapants76 I take my GM'ing far more seriously than I really should and if I like a game quite a lot, I am more inclined to create well-tested homebrew for it.

[@kevingriffith6011]

28:50 I feel like shotguns in *most* TRPGs aren't handled particularly well. The fantasy of the shotgun is basically the two-handed axe of the gun world, It's "close-range stopping power: the weapon"... but most TRPGs turn it into a sort of weird AOE crowd control weapon even though I've never seen shotguns in anything, fiction or otherwise, being used to shoot multiple targets at once. Shotgun pellets just don't spread that dramatically, and you wouldn't want them to!

[@drwatkins68]

Thanks Jack, I mean Seth! Another great review. It looks like we will be sticking with 2020 but adding a few things like netrunning from Red.

[@robman732]

So in other words ....we need Cyberpunk Red Second Edition. Clean up the errata, re-edit the information into a cleaner format, and update combat and the market like Seth mentioned. Basically I think the game will need a major over haul that would just make it a new edition all together, but that's just me. I have both CP 2020 and Red. Its great to see a new edition of CP come out but I have much of the same concerns that Seth has. Many of the gamers around me are seasoned and trying to tell someone there is no bonuses or penalties for prone shooting, aiming etc will not sit well with them. In addition, Jon Jon The Wise has a great KZbin page devoted to Cyberpunk. From what I have seen, I would call him very 'pro" cyberpunk with little criticisms of the new game. He does get interviews with R Talsorian game designers which is cool and provides good insight into some of the questionable game design choices that were made. However, I really like Seth's counter points and criticisms of the game. It provides some much needed constructive criticism and praise for the game. With all that said, I still want to play the game.

[@lordzaboem]

Well, if one looks at the errata document for Red, it seems like there's a lot. By page count, there has been actually more errata to D&D 5e Players Handbook which is a shorter book to begin with. Wizards of the Coast didn't rush out a new edition two years into the print run of 5e, and I see little reason for R Talsorian to do that now.

[@robman732]

@@lordzaboem It would be nice if RT Games produced a new book with cleaned up errata. November 2022 marks two years since CP Red was released, so RT Games should have plenty of feedback to see what errata needs to be fixed etc. After all, lees errata is less arguing, less confusing rules and it helps make the game go quicker. It is funny how this game has been out for two years but has been completely overshadowed by their computer spinoff Cyberpunk 2077. Maybe R Talsorian needs to hop on the band wagon and make a book version of Cyberpunk 2077 after all.

[@Ashwgun]

Nah, they have already incorporated the errata and there is tons of supplements out and more coming(Gear Book)

[@DjigitDaniel]

Excellent review, sir. Thank you. Disappointing and curious how a two-steps-forward-one-step-back outcome was achieved despite everything being in place for a straightforward facelift of the original classic.

[@basileosalexios9200]

That feeling of reading the book and having your enthusiasm go down the drain is how I felt when I got my hands on V5 when it came out. Dropped the book halfway through when it got to the part where Vampires can't use the internet lmao.

[@TheMerrox]

As did I , but I dropped it even earlier, didnt even read about the non--internet part, is that true?! lol why?? what was the explanation behind that?

[@paulnavales6469]

@@TheMerrox Only one clan cannot use gadgets or electronics and that is the Lasombra. The rest can just use the internet just fine, just dont show it to a conservative Prince or he'll take your head of, or talk about vampire stuff openly on the internet or the Second Inquisition or the Sheriff will take your head off. In short, kindred can still use technology provided they dont go around breaking the Masquerade and attracting the SI's attention.

[@basileosalexios9200]

@@TheMerrox Kenneth Hite's Men In Black from his other game somehow showed up on Vampire calling themselves the Second Inquisition. Because somehow the !@!%$ing Catholic church which is headed by a very liberal pope, is now full-blown on the hunt for supernaturals, because Religious Fanaticism. Whole lore is a dumpster fire.

[@Paxchi]

Jack might say "hopeless", but I prefer to think of it as consistency. :) This was a very solid review. Any time an existing franchise gets an update or a remake, by its nature it invites comparison to the previous thing because it's attached to that prior iteration. There were clearly things about the previous version that people loved and ideally a newer version should keep the good while improving on the weak points to make something better. Each iteration should be judged on its own merits, but it's then perfectly valid to compare the iterations to see what one did better than the other, as this is can hopefully then lead to another, better iteration that learns the lessons of the past. You gave the game full credit where it was good and where it had improved over a version of the game that is near and dear to your heart, while also pointing out what you feel the old game did better. That's as fair and unbiased a review as anyone could hope for. It sounds like there's a 'perfect' version of Cyberpunk to be found if you took the best elements of 2020 and Red and combined them together. I actually wouldn't be surprised if the reason some rules that were in the Jumpstart Rules are absent from the main rules is that they're planning on releasing a lot of supplement books the way the previous edition did. There were so many weapons and cyber books, even class specific books like Solo of Fortune (1 AND 2) that had new rules options and the like that I wouldn't be surprised if they planned to implement that here. Cyberpunk: Red likely feels stripped down because it's meant to be more of a general audience game, the D&D 5th edition of Cyberpunk if you will. Then in a few months we'll probably get something like an Advanced Rules book or GM's Guide with some of the Jumpstart rules you mentioned as well as additional options from the older books, a Cyberware and / or Weapons book with more unique weapon breakdowns, weapons and cyber limbs listed by category and corporation, etc. The nice thing is while I'd definitely support those books, you have all your old cyberpunk books and it probably wouldn't be that hard to house rule the old cover rules and modifiers to the new system, or incorporate the older weapons. Or you could do the reverse and play Cyberpunk 202 with the rules upgrades you like from Cyberpunk: Red, whichever is easier. Either way, great review choomba.

[@03dashk64]

I’m about halfway through the video. I like some of the changes Red made. Especially the stat changes. Removing appearance was a good call. Reducing the penalty for fumbles was also great. 1/10 chance of beefing it was always too harsh. But I’m not really a fan of what they did with combat. It seems way too simple now. Part of what made 2020 so deadly was you could always take a stray shot to the noggin. But with a -8 called shot in the modern version, that isn’t possible anymore. I also think the removal of the stun check was a bad idea. It seems a mash of the two systems is what I’d end up doing. Keep the new stats/basic mechanics but keep the combat from the old system.

[@guillaumeshinzon7382]

Seth ! Right when I was tempted to launch a Cyberpunk Red game. Damn. Thank you for the video !

[@RobeCobe]

I first found this channel looking for Cyberpunk Red vids when the jumpstart kit came out, great to see the full review! I found the generic equipment just as disappointing as a new player/referee - hypercapitalism is a central theme of the genre, standard templates and fixed pricing don't really fit in a world where everything and everyone is a product to be marketed.

[@abesolutzero]

Nothing's stopping you from naming the generic guns. Mechanically it makes sense to offer generic profiles for a wide swath of weapons that would otherwise overlap each other pointlessly. If they stand out enough, just use the Old Guns Never Tire pdf to make them into an Exotic. The world is going through a rough transitionary period in 2045. The core book reflects that with a good, generic groundwork for everything else to build on, imo. I'm sure Black Chrome will give us the goods.

[@RobeCobe]

@@abesolutzero It makes sense mechanically, it's just kinda boring - same for old guns never die, which 'flattens' everything into the Red templates (tho I did use it). Overlap is indeed mostly pointless for the game mechanics, but there's a balance between gameplay and roleplay and the gear game in Red leans to the wrong side for me personally. Anyway yeah, I heard Black Chrome is adding more, so looking forward to it!

[@abesolutzero]

@@RobeCobe I mean, it's just the core book, so I'm glad they're focusing on laying down a solid groundwork before going into everything else. All the new weapons, etc in the DLCs that've come out are so far looking pretty promising.

[@HuevoBendito]

Finally, it's here...it this ain't some clickbait comment! Been waiting for your review for a while now! *Edit:* I'd love to see a video that compiles all the homebrew changes that you and your group use!

[@falloutdude2308]

Seth how do you feel about the new Cyberpunk animated series on Netflix

[@SSkorkowsky]

Enjoyed it. I loved that it was ultimately a tragedy. Cyberpunk isn't a world of happy endings. I especially liked how they depicted the progression into cyberpsychosis, starting with shakes, and working up to full dissociation from reality. The way they set it up, so the audience and even other characters can clearly see it coming, but our hero, like an addict, is blind to the problems until it's too late. Cybertech (like Mythos Tomes in Call of Cthulhu) is a double-edged sword. It helps you survive in the short-term by giving you an edge. But in excess it ends up being the cause of your own fall.

[@MorningAndEveningStar]

What a day. New Avantasia album, AND a new Seth Skorkowsky video.

[@Batterydennis]

SCOTT BROWN 4 LIFE!! Well timed Review, synergising with those "I Really Want to Stay At Your House" vibes!

[@valerynorth]

I'm pretty new to Cyberpunk and the easier systems honestly are what made me so keen to try Cyberpunk:RED - I was doing quite well financially over the summer so I bought all the Cyberpunk:RED PDFs I could on DrivethruRPG. I'm quite a casual gamer (although I *love* character-building systems, so I went diving straight into the most complex version to try it out, and I really hope I get to play some day with the character I made). For me, having costs and weapons and such simplified is quite good. I guess the brand names and so on might be explored in the add-on books a bit more, but to get me started and avoid analysis paralysis, it's excellent gateway stuff to have not as many variables to worry about straight away, and learn the brand name lingo later as I get more familiar with things. While I do see how having that lore works so well with the general vibe and aesthetic that Cyberpunk is meant to have, I just want to be able to get straight in to the idea of who my character is and roughly where their stuff fits in the hierarchies. So from a beginner perspective, this feels like a good way in to the franchise where the stuff you old hands all crave might have been a bit overwhelming (like how I felt playing in my first Shadowrun game - so many brand names!!!)

[@PreferredRob]

As a big fan of the Advantage/Disadvantage mechanic in D&D5e, I love the idea of bringing it into RED to address some of the missing modifiers and issues with combat. Taking a turn to aim? Get Advantage. Partial cover? Disadvantage to the shooter. Dropping prone? Disadvantage to be hit at range, but advantage to be hit in close quarters. Running and gunning? Disadvantage to both shooters. I also completely agree with the layout issues you bring up, especially repeated tables and the like. Trying to get a clear picture on some things is not made easy thanks to how they set up the book. At least they have fixed a few things (like autofire having different DVs, or the EMP loss for starting cyberware) in the errata and digital versions, but it's not as convenient for the dead-tree edition fans.

[@SSkorkowsky]

Pulp Cthulhu does every one of those with Bonus/Penalty Dice, while also offering a buffet of different weapon choices.

[@bananapants76]

Agreed on your hack. Not hard to do.🙂

[@PreferredRob]

@@bananapants76 Not really my hack; just spitballing implementations of Seth's suggestion from the video.

[@nonya9120]

Scott Brown. Proof of your success Seth. Happiest holidays.

[@TheRyujinLP]

Outside of the lack of an Advantage/Disadvantage system (I hate this concept and hope if goes away, give me modifiers so I can fine tune things) I 100% agree with your assessment of Cyberpunk Red. A lot of 2020 flavor and what made it great was the world building and part of your character attitude was the gear they had. Dumbing that down, even more so then the combat, was the biggest issue I had. I can always house rule in cover and whatnot but it takes a lot more work add in that cool kit. This hit me hard too since 2020 was the first RPG that I played and was my first love till I found GURPS. Brand Loyalty is what I feel is a core concept of the setting, so much so it inspired me to make rules for my GURPS blog that got so well revived that they are actually used by people who write for the system. A generic heavy pistol is boring. A Westmister Systems HCP-15 gives they player something to let their imagination run with, even better if you also can add a General Defensive Systems HighCap-Heavy that costs more but is less likely to jam. Then through in a Fácil Power Special for a cheap Saturday night special for that added chef's kiss. But the book was still worth the pick up for me since I run Cyberpunk these days in GURPS since it does everything the original system did better to my gaming tastes but the world building and cybernetics ideas can easily be copied over. I'm hoping to run a campaign that combines the Apartment start scenario from the Jump Start Kit (which I love, such a great way to have an excuse for the characters to know each other give them something care about to fight for and a mission hub, all in one package!) with the Carnival scenario from the all time great 2020 fansite Data fortress 2020.

[@phillee427]

I'd like that you avoided the term streamlined and use the proper term dumbing down. I at the age of 18 in 1988 and learn how to run cyberpunk original. Then of course I went to 2020. So if I can learn it pre Internet new players that don't even have to know all the rules like the GM does should easily be able to get into 2020. Unless they are not giving new players enough credit.

[@TheRyujinLP]

@@phillee427 The way I look at it, making rules less clunky and easier to use with little to no lose in utility is streamlining. Taking away options that make the game funnier simply to make things simpler to use is dumbing down. Though sadly kids these days are made of less stern stuff. Millennials (and I say this as someone who's in the age group that's in the murky area that makes me either the last of Gen X or the first of the millennials) and zoomers are largely lazy and entitled and think the world revolves around them. This is why you see D&D go down the route it's going where you're in no active danger at any time and most battle are just I win. They can't handle the thought of their totally original OC, do not steal, dying or having to suffer any consequences for playing a member of generally evil race (they're just understood do systems of oppression, racism and heterosexual norms don't you know; not that they murder villagers and sacrifice babies to dark gods). Now of course this in no describes all or hell, probably even a majority of them buuuut the ones that are throw such a huge fit all the time it the create the illusion they're the majority and a lot of games are catering to that mindset.

[@JacopoVallepiano]

Thank you! I was really waiting for this review to come out :D

[@drsatanrx]

The valentines day "dlc" they added was pretty great. Feels more like a gig generator than speed dating which I'm totally ok with

[@NefariousKoel]

Was never a big fan of the Interlock d10 core mechanic, but 2020 made up for that in style and substance in the extra detail and the old cyberpunk attitude. After getting the new Red book, I felt like a lot of what made 2020 so great was drastically cut down or sterilized. Initial impressions didn't encourage me to delve much into Red. Doubtful I'll spend more for future accessories to expand Red into what I think the core book should've been. Thanks for the review as it confirmed, in practice, what I had taken away from a quick read.

[@SamuraiMujuru]

Hell yeah! Not just a review I've been looking forward to, but dropping right when I'm mainlining another playthrough of 2077 and my gaming group is chomping at the bit to give RED a try! Any thoughts on doing quick reviews for the DLC and such? I'd love to see if Old Guns Never Die addresses some of your concerns.

[@SSkorkowsky]

Old Guns Never Die excited me at first. But ultimately, after seeing it in action, it feels like all the unique and cool weapons of the old edition have simply been transformed into generic weapons that might have some of their Modification Slots pre-filled, and are more like different names for the same generic weapon over and over. You ever have a brand of something you like get bought out by a competitor (a tool, clothing, food, whatever), and you go to pick up one of those things you really love, but find that it's now an impostor? It was like that. The formulaic nature of how Red set it up (3 Quality Tiers of X price, Template base with slots for these 3 options) doesn't give the full range of diversity. Also, don't get me started on a Medium Handgun only holding 12 rounds without losing concealability, Concealability being Yes/No versus tiered, or their insistent use of the word "clip".

[@Big_Unit]

@@SSkorkowsky Seems much like Shadowrun 6e and DnD5e they are trying to go into broad appeal and lose all that crunch but games need some crunch or they just feel empty to play. I'll stick with SR5e and CP2020 I think because they might be full of crunch but at least the game doesn't feel empty and generic.

[@rpgchronicler]

@@Big_Unit I heard people swear on 3e Shadowrun or even the first edition of it due to preferring the 2050s. Unless you are more familiar w/ 5e why not go for 3e and prior instead?

[@NefariousKoel]

@@rpgchronicler - 3e Shadowrun is the standard in my mind. It's just a revised and somewhat expanded 2nd edition which was the one that hit it big back in the day. 5e tried to be a new 3e but just bloated it further without much extra benefit, and the organization of the books was a mess. 6e also looks to be a similar mess. The 6e mechanics changes are strange and, in an effort to simplify the system, it falls short in many ways (although I've not delved too deeply so that's just my initial impressions). There's Shadowrun Anarchy for those who want a more narrative system. It loses a lot of granularity in doing so, however, as characters, equipment, etc start feeling too similar at that level. However, it's definitely less crunchy than the rest so it probably works for certain groups who like the setting but are allergic to crunch- for a short stretch. It's more narrative/discussion driven like PbtA and Fate, albeit with a little extra in cyberware, equipment, and such than those.

[@SamuraiMujuru]

@@SSkorkowsky Oh damn, wasn't expecting an actual direct response! Definitely know what you mean by the "it's officialy the same, but it's clearly not the same" vibe, run into that enough times in the day to day. Thanks!

[@shadowtheory7500]

Oh sick! So excited for this interview!

[@Akeche]

I'm definitely coming at it with fresh eyes so overall the game seems pretty great to me. Probably some things here or there I'd tweak when actually running it (I like the idea of giving IP for fumbles). As for the brands and such for the weapons, I'm thankful that I'm a pretty decent graphic designer myself so making my own list using actual brand names, maybe adding an extra column for the quality and such shouldn't be hard to do.

[@persephoneunderground845]

You should share it with other fans when it's done - depending on how CDPR is about that sort of thing of course (please!). I'm reminded of the great resources I found just poking around Reddit for Call of Cthulhu when I first got into it(simple Google Drive file sharing stuff). It's such a gift when fans/GMs share the cool things they made with each other!

[@wraithshield]

Fantastic review with truly excellent constructive feedback from someone that clearly knows and loves the game :-)

[@cthulhupthagn5771]

I'm really enjoying this, it's a very interesting review. If I may offer my own Theory as to why it feels a little more generic. Mike pondsmith has always adhered to his own vision, but a lot has changed in the cultural landscape since the game originally came out and since even the last edition of it came out. There may have been some changes made and some items removed in order to make it a little more palatable to a wider audience and I don't mean that as a negative. For example, I happen to notice that there were some changes made in the re-release of t o r g. Naming conventions, some of the terminology used was softened or made a little more generic. It's not really a paranoid thought to think that in this day and age, people are just afraid of having somebody whip up a frenzy over a random name or term. From my little corner of the world watching social media, I've seen some people get upset over some very odd things and very specific words. The other reason might just be that the environment that we're playing in now is so different. Back in the '80s, it was considered common sense that Japan was going to rule the world, the landscape would be dotted with arcologies, governments would barely exist with corporations making the rules. All joking aside about how it's not too far off, the world of 2020 as envisioned in 1980 is very different. TV shows and movies from that era even reflected that. Max headroom, Johnny Mnemonic, RoboCop. So the fact that that isn't how people in 2020 view the world of 2040 is probably also a factor. Last small observation but I can't help but notice that the company has done a phenomenal job with keeping their older material in print. So they might be banking on the fact that for the fans that have been around for a long time like you and i, they'll fill in the blanks with the supplemental material that they either still own or can buy print on demand. And other players can make their imprint as they see fit. I don't necessarily see it as a negative but I do miss the era when a role-playing book seemed almost as much fiction to read as it did anything else

[@ericyork5696]

Glad to hear George is running again. Informative video.

[@adamg2031]

Hey Seth, have you considered doing a video on learning to run a game in a setting you're not familiar with? I've been interested in Cyberpunk for a while, but the biggest thing keeping me from trying it is the thought of running a game set in a universe I know nothing about. As a GM, it feels like that's something you can't just learn as you go.

[@jiggler1-1]

Honestly, best practice is to learn a little about the setting. But, that being said, you don't have to know everything, just the broad strokes. After all, something different happens in quite literally every game out there, so what does it matter if something acts differently than it is supposed to in 'canon'? It's your game, and you're the gm. You are the god of that setting, with ultimate power. So you can decide that, say, arasaka owns that building when, instead, militech should, in the game,book, whatever.

[@SSkorkowsky]

Ryan's advice is solid. Learn the big broad strokes first. That's most of what you'll need to run the world. During adventures, you can focus in on the minutiae of some specific thing. Now both you and your players have some broad general strokes on the world and finer details on that specific thing. Later, in another adventure, find another specific thing you want to focus on. After a while you and your players have a really solid understanding of a lot. Something in the word doesn't fit your vision, that's cool. Follow your vision. It's your game and you should feel ownership. But what's far more important than knowing all the fine details about the larger world is that you can present a world to your players that _feels_ larger than they see. At the same time, it doesn't matter if you know every tiny piece of world lore if you aren't presenting it in a way that feels like a giant world.