Cyberpunk Red: quickhacks

[Necrozius]

I recently played through Cyberpunk 2077 and absolutely loved the way "hacking" went. Quickhacks, in particular.

Essentially it was spellcasting vs. technology, including cursing, blinding and damaging people as long as they have cybernetic implants.

It was simple, cool and effective.

Now I'm ready to run Cyberpunk Red... but it doesn't have quickhacks like that at all. They still have that hacking mini-game, albeit it overlaps the real world in real-time. Still, not quite what I'm looking for.

For those who are familiar with Cyberpunk, either 2020 or Red, how hard do you think it would be to implement something like this?

Basically the ability to do "techno-wizardry" from a distance:

- controlling cameras, including turning them off temporarily
- controlling, short-circuiting or turning off gun turrets and robots
- opening/closing doors
- jamming guns and other hi-tech hand weapons
- seeing "auras" of all people and tech linked to a particular system, even through walls
- causing temporary madness (or curses) on people with cybernetics (blind, stun, knock out, berzerker rage etc...)
- create minor illusions (visual or audio) to people with cybernetics

You get the idea. Distance, speed, duration, power (damage) etc... depends on both the quality of the netrunner's equipment and their skills.

Is the Cyberpunk Red system similar to other R Talsorian games? Could I transplant magic or Sigils from the Witcher RPG, for example?

Cheers,

 

[Hairless Bear]

I am only a little bit familiar with CPR.

The systems of the Witcher RPG and CPR are similar but not the same. I believe that magic costs stamina in the Witcher RPG. There is however no stamina in CPR. So you would need to find a way to pay for the "techno-wizardry".

Also adding such wireless hacking kind of breaks the lore, if you care about this.

 

[chuckdee]

Also adding such wireless hacking kind of breaks the lore, if you care about this.

Not really. CPR and CP2077 are supposed to be in the same timeline.

 

[Hairless Bear]

Not really. CPR and CP2077 are supposed to be in the same timeline.

Sure, I thought that the OP want's to stay in the year 45 (CPR). If he wants to move forward then my argument is invalid .

 

[Necrozius]

Sure, I thought that the OP want's to stay in the year 45 (CPR). If he wants to move forward then my argument is invalid .

Oh yeah to clarify, I don't really care about the lore. I basically want CP 2077, but Red seems close enough.

edit: Red is all that I have, actually.

 

[Silverlion]

Could you write them up as programs that can be run and implemented on command?

 

[KrakaJak]

Take a look at the microwaver pistol in the exotic weapons section. It is a weapon that requires resistance roll to avoid having some of your cyberware shut down, but otherwise does no damage. Mechanically, that could be a basis for a lot of quick hacks. Some thing I notice regarding balance:is it only has 8 shots, and is a Expensive item, so it cannot be found with a fixer.

I would just be wary that something that works in a single payer video-game may not work so well at the table. Like the micowaver above, there is gear that has similar effects as quickhacks do in CP 2077, and manipulating automated defenses, cameras and the like already covered by the netrunning rules.

 

[Imaginos]

Quickhacks work well in a single player game (I haven't played a run in CP77 yet without them being a big focus of the character). They work a little less so in an RPG. But you could always look at the Technomancer from Shadowrun 4/20A for ideas.

 

[chuckdee]

Quickhacks work well in a single player game (I haven't played a run in CP77 yet without them being a big focus of the character). They work a little less so in an RPG. But you could always look at the Technomancer from Shadowrun 4/20A for ideas.

I'd think they work as good or better in an RPG. You don't have to have a parallel system for the hack and getting in- they act in real-time as other weapons and items do.

 

[Necrozius]

While researching this topic on other forums, I have been surprised at how many people say “this can’t work in a RPG”. Despite others explaining that these effects are essentially magic spells.

I will look more closely at this “hacking-lite” for Cyberpunk Red. There’s gotta be a way to efficiently handle this.

 

[Imaginos]

The concept works great. And depending how you want to run it, it could work. My reply earlier was considering how a game would run if all of the players had access to quick hacks. Truthfully, maybe not much different from D&D5E with everyone as casters with different spells. Feasible? Sure. But quickhacks were exceedingly powerful in CP77.

It depends on how you want to run it. Everyone has access to it? Only specific people have access. Given the prevalence of cybernetics in CPR, it would potentially be very tough on Solos if they didn’t have a good way to defend.

 

[chuckdee]

The concept works great. And depending how you want to run it, it could work. My reply earlier was considering how a game would run if all of the players had access to quick hacks. Truthfully, maybe not much different from D&D5E with everyone as casters with different spells. Feasible? Sure. But quickhacks were exceedingly powerful in CP77.

It depends on how you want to run it. Everyone has access to it? Only specific people have access. Given the prevalence of cybernetics in CPR, it would potentially be very tough on Solos if they didn’t have a good way to defend.

I'd think just like spells you'd get some sort of save. As Necrozius said, it's just magic by a different name. Everything, when you get it to a high enough level, is overpowered for PCs. Get Sandevistan and blades and cut through the competition like it's not there. Much of that is a function of you being a PC- I mean, you'd guess other hackers would have quick hacks, but they aren't a big obstacle for the PC.

 

[Necrozius]

So as an experiment, I looked up all the Quickhacks in CP 2077 (this was my reference: https://cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/Cyberpunk_2077_Quickhacks)

Reviewing them like this, they really work like magic spells. None of the effects are too over the top, except for the "Ultimate" ones, which you could just omit except for high-level characters.

This looks surprisingly easy to convert.

 

[Raleel]

I would suggest looking at Destined’s Technopathy, which allows for exactly this sort of ability.

The hero is able to interface their mind with machines, tapping into the information stored there. The hero can connect their mind with a machine that they can see within their INT in meters as an Action. The power only works with machinery that has electronic or computerized components, and machines without these parts are unaffected by this Core Power.

I came to a similar conclusion after looking at several cyberpunk systems and playing 2077. It’s magic spells. Arcane trickster is functionally the same thing. Exerting power over range, scoped to technology.

 

[Necrozius]

Yeah I've been referencing Destined a lot lately. What a great purchase that was; like a Rosetta Stone for tweaking game systems.

 

[KrakaJak]

While researching this topic on other forums, I have been surprised at how many people say “this can’t work in a RPG”. Despite others explaining that these effects are essentially magic spells.

I will look more closely at this “hacking-lite” for Cyberpunk Red. There’s gotta be a way to efficiently handle this.

It's definitely possible in an RPG. But is it possible to implement in a non-destructive way into cyberpunk RED?

Cyberpunk RED does not have magic spells, and they are not taken into consideration when the game was put together as it was. Or perhaps quickhacks were considered, then dropped during the design phase.

Quickhacks in CP2077 enable a Solo to take on a whole army of foes, and solo (small s) max geared cyberpsychos. Forcing enemies to commit suicide, or detonate their own grenades that kill or maim them and everyone around nearby in a single action is a pretty juiced effect. That is not the power level of the character types from the tabletop game. Quickhacks can easily be replicated mechanically, many of the effects are by certain equipment, but any character with quickhacks may quickly overshadow other characters without careful consideration.

Character power progression in RED primarily accomplished through equipment and cyberware (aka, $$ is more powerful than XP). The economy of the game is pretty hardwired into the playbalance and abilities of character types. Giving someone a sleep quickhack, when it costs everyone else 500eb and a fixer per sleep grenade to acquire, there is more to consider than just "can it be done."

 

[chuckdee]

It's definitely possible in an RPG. But is it possible to implement in a non-destructive way into cyberpunk RED?

Cyberpunk RED does not have magic spells, and they are not taken into consideration when the game was put together as it was. Or perhaps quickhacks were considered, then dropped during the design phase.

Quickhacks in CP2077 enable a Solo to take on a whole army of foes, and solo (small s) max geared cyberpsychos. Forcing enemies to commit suicide, or detonate their own grenades that kill or maim them and everyone around nearby in a single action is a pretty juiced effect. That is not the power level of the character types from the tabletop game. Quickhacks can easily be replicated mechanically, many of the effects are by certain equipment, but any character with quickhacks may quickly overshadow other characters without careful consideration.

Character power progression in RED primarily accomplished through equipment and cyberware (aka, $$ is more powerful than XP). The economy of the game is pretty hardwired into the playbalance and abilities of character types. Giving someone a sleep quickhack, when it costs everyone else 500eb and a fixer per sleep grenade to acquire, there is more to consider than just "can it be done."

In CP2077 it is created with the hero able to do all sorts of things that would not be possible in red (look at how OP Sandevistan is in CP2077 as compared to RED to see an example). Yes, you'd have to tweak it- there would need to be some sort of defense to overcome. But that's not a blocker to including them in a balanced way if you want to.

 

[Necrozius]

The “ultimate” hacks (eg force npc to commit suicide) could just be omitted from the game. Keep the other ones for netrunner use (eg turn off security cameras, stun enemy for a round etc).