RPGO Discord, #rp_discussions channel proudly presents: 80's retrofuturism Cyberpunk, now without a GM!

• Not much is set in stone, but the setting is. When we say Cyberpunk, we are referring to the style of the tabletop roleplaying game Cyberpunk 2020's world. This is to avoid Cyberpunk world mismatch issues that otherwise might arise.
  • Just to be clear, we are not bringing in the game elements of Cyberpunk 2020. It is the retrofuturism style it carries with it.
  • The rulebook for said system can, for setting reference purposes, be obtained from me upon request.
• Now that what is set in stone has been iterated, I shall reiterate the earlier point: Not much else is. This means the story is free to progress where the players want to take it, but this is still a communal effort.
• OOC talk of the RP is not only encouraged. It is pretty much a must for something like this.

• Lt. Davison is now dead. Characters need to figure out what happened.
• Lt. Davison is still kicking and refusing to co-operate. An internal investigation towards his activities is launched thank to an anonymous tip, our characters being assigned to do this job.
• Lt. Davison is a member of the PC party, trying his best to swim instead of sinking. Other PCs likely to be hired muscle to help the good officer.

Our main points hold as follows:

• Not much is set in stone, but the setting is. When we say Cyberpunk, we are referring to the style of the tabletop roleplaying game Cyberpunk 2020's world. This is to avoid Cyberpunk world mismatch issues that otherwise might arise.
  • Just to be clear, we are not bringing in the game elements of Cyberpunk 2020. It is the retrofuturism style it carries with it.
  • The rulebook for said system can, for setting reference purposes, be obtained from me upon request.
• Now that what is set in stone has been iterated, I shall reiterate the earlier point: Not much else is. This means the story is free to progress where the players want to take it, but this is still a communal effort.
• OOC talk of the RP is not only encouraged. It is pretty much a must for something like this.

• Cyberpunk Retrofuturism
  • Dark and dreary dystopian future based upon the 1980s in part, being a mixture of analog, digital, and brightly lit neon. Somewhere that the morality is a bit grey and finding "white morality" is rare because there is so much black. Not grimdark, more the technological future is frightening and strange, almost alien. Technology is a mishmash of plugging one's self into outlets and sockets to use some devices while at the same time the cyberworld is simultaneously more and less advanced and involved than in actuality.
  • A sense of underlying absurdism, as it is punk after all. Be it bright, garish colors, giant mohawks, studs and leather, or finely crafted suits and shined shoes with perfectly, immaculately kept hair for the business day. The idea either you are a part of the system or bucking it, but either way you know it terribly corrupt, ruled by corporations and consummerism gone wrong.
  • Technology did not necessarily get better and or smaller, just advanced differently to the point connecting one's brain to the net seems sane while trying to make a computer that fits in your pocket is more or less still technological sorcery. People have phones built into their bodies and can replace entire limbs, but the concept of wireless anything is metaphorical magic.
• For the world a general idea is that most of the people in it are not chromed to the nines; they might have the basics to get by, but are not optimized to being walking tanks or superhackers who could easily end up on the most wanted lists, those official and unofficial. There might be a few who are real cyborg types, but in general that is still rare. Keeping a sort of contrast between the having-nothings, or those who chose to forgo changing times, and the pristine future. Namely the freakshows and oddballs in between being a major area of interest.
• Themes of both white and blue collar crime, but where crime and corruption are rampant. There are few "good" cops, as in the ones who are not only doing the right thing for the right reasons, but are not morally questionable either. The type of world where a doctor is pretty clear he wants your wallet and is happy to give you what you ask for if the appropriate pay follows suit. A world where the "good" people might just be the gangs trying to police their own turf and even that is debatable.

Thoughts, opinions?

• The gangs the Lieutenant has been selling gear to are now having a fit either because he has stopped supplying it, or else because they want to protect their source of goods. Gang members or affiliates may be interested in causing a fuss.
• Whoever is supplying the Lieutenant with his supplies may be paying attention as well. A Police Lieutenant having access to truckloads of high-end gear on his own? Please. Somebody is using him as a middleman. Perhaps they have some form of agenda...Perhaps they will make their presence felt.
• The Corporate Agenda calls for the intervention of a few troubleshooters in this instance, either literal or figurative.
• The Police Agency itself is starting to investigate the Lieutenant due to suspicions they have had for a while.
• Private parties may be interested in sticking their noses into business that does not concern them - detectives, investigators, meddling children, busybodies...

The Corporate Agenda calls for the intervention of a few troubleshooters

<Snipped quote by Terminal>
You rang?

I would say so long as it is clear there is no one master corporation, there should not be too much issue from players introducing themes relating to them. There are surely some megacorporations of course, ones that are the real titans, but a gambit of everything vying for those upper tendrils of power and niche roles should be fine. Generally the only thing I would urge us all to stay far away from is power creep of any sort, say any of our characters being more, if involved in a corporation of course alike anything else, being mid-level at best. Not an executive, but a supervisor or manager; a boss, but not one the bosses. Likewise, a gang enforcer but not the criminal leader, a police sergeant or detective, but not the captain, so on and so forth.

if they even got to know of it in the first place instead of those toiling under them in the pyramid just handling it as it came up.

I personally am for smacking down power creep where it raises its head. Of course we are investing tremendous trust in one another already, but even trusted persons can and do prove unreliable. I believe the main issue with it is, is that when one starts to do it, many others like to follow suit. While this is only natural, you see it in most free form styled roleplays where each successive character in any sort of combat or potential player conflict game exists, it is not in our collective best interest. This is why I am saying we should utterly eschew that and leave it squarely in the realm of non-player character territory, mainly because it takes the power from one set of hands and lays all members' on it.

A player might have a collective set of non-player characters they assume and associate with for their play style, but that being their character to the point they benefit from the usual graces? It reduces that level. Call me skeptical, as my experience has taught me to trust no one in any semblance even close to that of actual trust, so dividing and eliminating potential issue is for the best. I simply do not think under any circumstances players should be anything close to mid tier importance on average and perhaps one, maybe two, edge that way.