Cybergeneration

CyberGeneration

Cover of CyberGeneration Revolution 2.0
Designer(s) Mike Pondsmith
Publisher(s) R. Talsorian Games
Firestorm Ink
Publication date 1993 (1st edition)
1995 (2nd edition)
Genre(s) Cyberpunk
Science fiction
Superhero
System(s) Interlock System

CyberGeneration is a follow-up to the R. Talsorian's Cyberpunk 2020 role-playing game. CyberGeneration was originally published as a supplement for Cyberpunk, but later re-released as a fully featured game in its own right under the title CyberGeneration Revolution 2.0. It is set in the year 2027, 7 years after the events in Cyberpunk 2020. The game's timeline doesn't correspond with that of the later third edition of Cyberpunk, which makes no mention of any of its contents or setting elements.

The game was most recently licensed out to Firestorm Ink, under Jonathan Lavallee though they are no-longer the license holders.

Overview

Cybergeneration (1993), published by R. Talsorian featured a new setting based for Cyberpunk 2020 in an alternative 2027 that went beyond the slow decay of to a world where the corporations had won, becoming the new governments, and where players took on the roles of young adults with more heroic motives for fighting against the Machine.[1]:209

In terms of tone, CyberGeneration differs from its predecessor somewhat, as the player characters take the part of nanotech-enhanced youngsters in an oppressive world ruled by adults who fear and seek to control them. The special powers of the CyberEvolved children give the game a definite superhero flavor.

A second edition of Cybergeneration was published in 1995.[1]:211

Firestorm Ink licensed the rights to the Cybergeneration alternate reality starting in 2004 and published a handful of products including Generation Gap (2005) – which had originally been scheduled by R. Talsorian a decade earlier; their final Cybergeneration book was Mile High Dragon (2009).[1]:214

Background

The back story revolves around the "Fox Run" incident of 2025, in which a transport of supposed scientific equipment crashed and accidentally released a weaponized nano-virus called the "Carbon Plague".

Adult humans infected by it died horribly after the virus rewrote the victims' genetic code and warped their bodies. However, the virus had a different effect on children and teenagers. Since they haven't fully matured, it altered their bodies, and granted them nanotech-enhanced powers, and made them immune carriers if they survived the illness. Society dramatically fears the capabilities of these "CyberEvolved" children, which drives them underground.

CyberEvolved, also called the "Changed", also belong to "yogangs" or youth gangs, subcultures that have distinct philosophies, styles, and special skills.

The oppressive mega-corporation Arasaka manages to dominate the US Government and gets its candidate David Whindam elected President of the new Incorporated States of America (ISA). Its laissez-faire government works with the corporations directly, becoming their puppet. The "Bureau of Relocation" (BuReloc) is a paramilitary force that runs prison camps for "unproductive" citizens and hunts down the Changed.

Multiple groups oppose, fear, and hunt the Changed, but one group stands out as protectors: the Edgerunners of old. The sourcebook describes them as wiser, more experienced and, ultimately rebels-with-a-cause (CyberGeneration offers the rules to convert old Cyberpunk 2020 characters into adults for the CyberGeneration setting).

To oppose this oppressive dictatorship, several major "Edgerunner" non-player characters from Cyberpunk 2020 run the Eden Cabal, a revolutionary movement that seeks to overthrow the ISA and BuReloc.

The CyberEvolved

So called "CyberEvolved" children fit in one of several archetypes:

Original CyberEvolved
Alchemist, reshapes matter at molecular level.
Bolter, project taser-like charged metal cables at a target.
Scanner, sense the brainwave patterns of others, allowing for telepathic-like abilities.
Tinman, Liquid metal skin. Limbs shape into tentacles or solid weapons and can extend; "natural" body armor
Wizard, augmented Virtual Net hacking powers, particularly with the Virtuality augmented reality technology that has largely supplanted the Virtual Net
Later Additions
Jammer, can jam media transmissions using electromagnetic force-fields. [MediaFront]
Medic, heals others through biokinesis. [Researching Medicine]
Scout, creates remote probes for reconnaissance. [EcoFront]

YoGangs

Members of a YoGang have unique Special Ability skills, like Roles in Cyberpunk 2020.

Rules

The rules in Cybergeneration are similar to Cyberpunk 2020 except the skills are fewer, broader and less specialized. This was due to the characters being younger and less experienced than their elders. A group of CP2020 skills would be equivalent to one CG2027 skill. This unfortunately made experienced Cybergeneration characters (especially the CyberEvolved) potentially more versatile and powerful than Cyberpunk characters.

Supplements

R. Talsorian supported CyberGeneration Revolution 2.0 with a quartet of supplements. Each supplement expanded on the world of 2027 as well as new Yogangs and CyberEvolved. Later, licensee Firestorm Ink would release another pair of supplements in support of the game.

The Documents of the Revolution Supplements (published by R. Talsorian)
Scenario supplements (published by R. Talsorian)
Other supplements (published by Firestorm Ink)

References

  1. 1 2 3 Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.