Poll: Cyberpunk RPG classes

[MammothBlade]

Here's my take on the core classes of a cyberpunk rpg. Not too familiar with the actual Cyberpunk? franchise but how do these sound if we were talking about a game from scratch?

Mercs
Specialise in cybernetic augmentations and weaponry. Will work for anyone who pays well enough. Amongst their ranks include bounty hunters and corporate henchmen. They excel in combat and espionage, but are weaker in technology.

Spoiler

Enforcers
The umbrella of law enforcement agents. They are able to equip many augmentations, and use advanced government technologies and specialised weaponry, alongside advanced espionage gadgets. Unlike mercenaries they are quite proficient in technology, and can often take on hackers. Something of a jack of all trades, but unable to use black market chems or augmentations.

Spoiler

Junkies
The evolution of designer recreational drugs and nanotechnology has given rise to an expanded class of wasters, addicts, and psychonauts. They can use various drugs to enhance their abilities, and become maniacal berserkers. Cybernetic modifications are not uncommon with junkies, often used alongside their chems to gain superhuman lethality and speed in combat, and kill in creative and gruesome ways. Generally, they are less proficient in stealth, hacking, and ranged weaponry.

Spoiler

Cyberpukes
In a word, hackers. In the past few decades, they have become a feared and respected segment of society. They have a technological affinity that "muggles" cannot comprehend, able to bring down key systems, disable security, or rob a bank given the right amount of skill. Moreover, they are valued in combat situations for their ability to wage highly effective electronic warfare. They possess some discretion, allowing them efficient use of espionage skills - it is not uncommon for 'pukes to infiltrate facilities on their own and steal vital information from under the nose of top-level security. They may also hijack robots and cybernetics, and turn them against their original masters. However, when detected they become highly vulnerable as they cannot defend themselves too well.

Spoiler

Which class would you play? Thoughts? Suggestions? Additions?

 

[Vern5]

These classes don't make much sense. The names and descriptions of these classes technically fit into a cyberpunk setting but they do so in a way that does not make the setting integral to their existence.

Each class should be representative of how integrated that character is with the Cyberpunk world they inhabit. In that reagrd, we could break down classes into divisions of those who love the cyberpunkiness of their world and have practically downloaded their brains into the internet and those who are struggling against the cyberpunkiness and refuse to have any amount of technology integrated into their bodies.

Examples:
Purist: A character that uses no integrated technologies or implants. Can use devices but is far less suitable for hacking. However, a purist, being unmodified, is unremarkable and usually never a target for investigation surrounding hackings. Also, while a purist cannot hack as well as other more cybernetic individuals, he is also not vulnerable to hacking of any kind.

Datamancer: A character that has completely abandoned their humanity in order to become hacking powerhouses. Usually, the Datamancer spends their time as pure code, traveling the web at their leisure and hacking all sorts of things with nothing but a thought. While they can download themselves into a physical body when the need arises, they are far less used to this mode of being and, as a result, are slightly less useful in the physical world than a Purist character.

 

[MammothBlade]

These classes don't make much sense. The names and descriptions of these classes technically fit into a cyberpunk setting but they do so in a way that does not make the setting integral to their existence.

Each class should be representative of how integrated that character is with the Cyberpunk world they inhabit. In that reagrd, we could break down classes into divisions of those who love the cyberpunkiness of their world and have practically downloaded their brains into the internet and those who are struggling against the cyberpunkiness and refuse to have any amount of technology integrated into their bodies.

Examples:
Purist: A character that uses no integrated technologies or implants. Can use devices but is far less suitable for hacking. However, a purist, being unmodified, is unremarkable and usually never a target for investigation surrounding hackings. Also, while a purist cannot hack as well as other more cybernetic individuals, he is also not vulnerable to hacking of any kind.

Datamancer: A character that has completely abandoned their humanity in order to become hacking powerhouses. Usually, the Datamancer spends their time as pure code, traveling the web at their leisure and hacking all sorts of things with nothing but a thought. While they can download themselves into a physical body when the need arises, they are far less used to this mode of being and, as a result, are slightly less useful in the physical world than a Purist character.

Personally, I don't think that anything with -mancer is suitable for a cyberpunk game, it just enforces the idea that sci-fi rpgs should be an imitation of medieval fantasy rpgs. Purist, even less since it defeats the point of sci-fi rpgs to actually engage with technology.

The whole point of these classes is to encompass a wide range of potential play-styles and character types without being too redundant, there might be sub-classes such as white-hat, black-hat, bounty hunter, fed, etc. Something relatable to the present day yet definitively cyberpunk. I think they most definitely do fit in a cyberpunk world the way I envision it.

 

[madwarper]

I'd like to second that your classes don't make any sense.

If you want to see some classes with a sci-fi/cyber influence, just look at Mass Effect.
Soldier (Fighter), Adept (Mage), Engineer (Thief), Vanguard (Fighter/Mage), Sentinel (Mage/Thief), Infiltrator (Fighter/Thief).

 

[MammothBlade]

I'd like to second that your classes don't make any sense.

If you want to see some classes with a sci-fi/cyber influence, just look at Mass Effect.
Soldier (Fighter), Adept (Mage), Engineer (Thief), Vanguard (Fighter/Mage), Sentinel (Mage/Thief), Infiltrator (Fighter/Thief).

And I'd like to repeat that basing classes off fantasy rpg paradigms is not what I have in mind. If anything Mass Effect classes make even less sense, we're not just talking types of soldiers here, we're talking the sorts of "players" in a cyberpunk world.

 

[Vern5]

My point is that Mercs, Enforcers, and Junkies can all exist outside of a Cyberpunk setting and, as a result, seem to fall flat as character classes when you compare them to character classes that can hack just about everything. Considering this is a cyberpunk setting, I would assume that almost everything is hackable including people to an extent.

Generally, Cyberpunk atmospheres are about the impact Cybernetics has upon the world and its inhabitants. Some people embrace the power of technology and perhaps lose their humanity as a result. Others struggle to retain their humanity in the face of a world that is rapidly turning cybernetic before their eyes. And then there's everyone else; people who straddle the lines between Cyborg and Human.

Also there's the dichotomy of realspace and cyberspace. For purposes of gameplay balance, more human characters will have greater skill at anything that involves realspace whereas hacker characters are more suited with cyberspace. Then there are those who are in the middle: jacks of all trades, so to speak.

Maybe our views of Cyberpunk as a genre are just too different. I just think that, in an ideal Cyberpunk RPG, you would want the setting and the classes to synergize based upon the major thematic aspects of the setting and not various character tropes.

 

[MammothBlade]

My point is that Mercs, Enforcers, and Junkies can all exist outside of a Cyberpunk setting and, as a result, seem to fall flat as character classes when you compare them to character classes that can hack just about everything. Considering this is a cyberpunk setting, I would assume that almost everything is hackable including people to an extent.

Generally, Cyberpunk atmospheres are about the impact Cybernetics has upon the world and its inhabitants. Some people embrace the power of technology and perhaps lose their humanity as a result. Others struggle to retain their humanity in the face of a world that is rapidly turning cybernetic before their eyes. And then there's everyone else; people who straddle the lines between Cyborg and Human.

Also there's the dichotomy of realspace and cyberspace. For purposes of gameplay balance, more human characters will have greater skill at anything that involves realspace whereas hacker characters are more suited with cyberspace. Then there are those who are in the middle: jacks of all trades, so to speak.

Maybe our views of Cyberpunk as a genre are just too different. I just think that, in an ideal Cyberpunk RPG, you would want the setting and the classes to synergize based upon the major thematic aspects of the setting and not various character tropes.

The game would have to be balanced to make sure that Cyberpukes are not overpowered, naturally. Augmentations would be hackable but that would very much depend on the hacker's skill and the defender's firewall and augmentations. Someone who has foregone augs won't be hackable at all. Their weapons might be, especially the more advanced models.

I disagree that they're incompatible with cyberpunk themes. To the contrary, we can explore those themes from the point of view of these archetypal player classes, the movers and shakers of the seedy underworld. And what of the other themes, such as artificial intelligence, cloning, corporate espionage, and so on. All player classes will have a use for augmentations, but different types. I want the detail to be in the sheer variety of weapons, augmentations and technologies each class can deploy, allowing for very diverse tactics and builds - some of which will fail, some of which will be completely awesome.

 

[Vern5]

My point is that Mercs, Enforcers, and Junkies can all exist outside of a Cyberpunk setting and, as a result, seem to fall flat as character classes when you compare them to character classes that can hack just about everything. Considering this is a cyberpunk setting, I would assume that almost everything is hackable including people to an extent.

Generally, Cyberpunk atmospheres are about the impact Cybernetics has upon the world and its inhabitants. Some people embrace the power of technology and perhaps lose their humanity as a result. Others struggle to retain their humanity in the face of a world that is rapidly turning cybernetic before their eyes. And then there's everyone else; people who straddle the lines between Cyborg and Human.

Also there's the dichotomy of realspace and cyberspace. For purposes of gameplay balance, more human characters will have greater skill at anything that involves realspace whereas hacker characters are more suited with cyberspace. Then there are those who are in the middle: jacks of all trades, so to speak.

Maybe our views of Cyberpunk as a genre are just too different. I just think that, in an ideal Cyberpunk RPG, you would want the setting and the classes to synergize based upon the major thematic aspects of the setting and not various character tropes.

The game would have to be balanced to make sure that Cyberpukes are not overpowered, naturally. Augmentations would be hackable but that would very much depend on the hacker's skill and the defender's firewall and augmentations. Someone who has foregone augs won't be hackable at all. Their weapons might be, especially the more advanced models.

I disagree that they're incompatible with cyberpunk themes. To the contrary, we can explore those themes from the point of view of these archetypal player classes, the movers and shakers of the seedy underworld. And what of the other themes, such as artificial intelligence, cloning, corporate espionage, and so on. All player classes will have a use for augmentations, but different types. I want the detail to be in the sheer variety of weapons, augmentations and technologies each class can deploy, allowing for very diverse tactics and builds - some of which will fail, some of which will be completely awesome.

Oh, they're completely compatible and, in some scenarios, necessary to the setting. I don't know about making them into separate classes. Surely, a person living in a Cyberpunk world could freelance as a Merc before settling down as an Enforcer for a spell before succumbing to a cybernetic addiction and becoming a junkie . These are playstyles the player can undertake but they don't have to define the player's character (i.e their class).

 

[MammothBlade]

My point is that Mercs, Enforcers, and Junkies can all exist outside of a Cyberpunk setting and, as a result, seem to fall flat as character classes when you compare them to character classes that can hack just about everything. Considering this is a cyberpunk setting, I would assume that almost everything is hackable including people to an extent.

Generally, Cyberpunk atmospheres are about the impact Cybernetics has upon the world and its inhabitants. Some people embrace the power of technology and perhaps lose their humanity as a result. Others struggle to retain their humanity in the face of a world that is rapidly turning cybernetic before their eyes. And then there's everyone else; people who straddle the lines between Cyborg and Human.

Also there's the dichotomy of realspace and cyberspace. For purposes of gameplay balance, more human characters will have greater skill at anything that involves realspace whereas hacker characters are more suited with cyberspace. Then there are those who are in the middle: jacks of all trades, so to speak.

Maybe our views of Cyberpunk as a genre are just too different. I just think that, in an ideal Cyberpunk RPG, you would want the setting and the classes to synergize based upon the major thematic aspects of the setting and not various character tropes.

The game would have to be balanced to make sure that Cyberpukes are not overpowered, naturally. Augmentations would be hackable but that would very much depend on the hacker's skill and the defender's firewall and augmentations. Someone who has foregone augs won't be hackable at all. Their weapons might be, especially the more advanced models.

I disagree that they're incompatible with cyberpunk themes. To the contrary, we can explore those themes from the point of view of these archetypal player classes, the movers and shakers of the seedy underworld. And what of the other themes, such as artificial intelligence, cloning, corporate espionage, and so on. All player classes will have a use for augmentations, but different types. I want the detail to be in the sheer variety of weapons, augmentations and technologies each class can deploy, allowing for very diverse tactics and builds - some of which will fail, some of which will be completely awesome.

Oh, they're completely compatible and, in some scenarios, necessary to the setting. I don't know about making them into separate classes. Surely, a person living in a Cyberpunk world could freelance as a Merc before settling down as an Enforcer for a spell before succumbing to a cybernetic addiction and becoming a junkie . These are playstyles the player can undertake but they don't have to define the player's character (i.e their class).

I'm not sure how that sort of "class switching" could be implemented in a game, unless you want something which has no classes at all, simply skillsets which work well together. Now personally, I'd love nothing more than having players simply roll at the start and then adopt whichever playstyle they like, spanning various "classes'" skillsets. But at the same time there is a place for classes and specialisation.

 

[Vern5]

I'm not sure how that sort of "class switching" could be implemented in a game, unless you want something which has no classes at all, simply skillsets which work well together. Now personally, I'd love nothing more than having players simply roll at the start and then adopt whichever playstyle they like, spanning various "classes'" skillsets. But at the same time there is a place for classes and specialisation.

What is a class? A miserable little pile of skillsets. Classes can be involved, even picked from chargen but changing them mid-game doesn't sound outside of the realm of Cyberpunk. A few body modifications, neural restructuring and, what the hell, a surgically "enhanced" face and your character could be someone else entirely. And all for the price of a quick trip into a dark alley and a lot of cash.

All that aside, the original classes you posted were more like jobs than specializations. A class should have more to do with how the player plays rather than what the player is.

 

[DoPo]

I'm not sure how that sort of "class switching" could be implemented in a game, unless you want something which has no classes at all, simply skillsets which work well together. Now personally, I'd love nothing more than having players simply roll at the start and then adopt whichever playstyle they like, spanning various "classes'" skillsets. But at the same time there is a place for classes and specialisation.

I'd like to what echo Vern5 said - classes are just a set of skilsets. Unless you make them something more unique and fine tune them, but that would be removing choice and freedom (what, if I'm an addict I cannot be an enforcer?). Indeed, you can separate the "class" into a skillset of its own - having an attribute "profession" which grants certain privileges and special bonuses. For example, an enforcer has legal backing and can call in some favours from the other enforcers. Say, if the attribute is rated 1-10, a lowly enforcer 1 can just probably get away with a parking ticket, an enforcer 5 can "radio in" for information about stuff, and probably have somebody detained, enforcer 10 is the highest calibre and can call in the future SWAT when big guns are needed. And then you can have a junkie "profession" which has different functions, say, junkie 1 is a bit more resistant to chems and body mods, junkie 5 has black market tech that can push his body mods to beyond normal capacity (for a price), and junkie 10 is a sci-fi version of a berserker. Just ideas.

You don't even need to be limited to 1 profession - have as many as you like. However, I'd suggest putting a safeguard, so you can't really have an enforcer/junkie/cyberpuke/fighter 10/rogue 4/barbarian 1 or whatever. And it really makes sense - if you are an enforcer, you could also be addicted to sci-fi stuff, however, if you get that addiction take over, your career is likely to suffer as a result, and vice versa - to be the top of the line enforcer, you need to be fully devoted to that. So one solution is to limit the sum of all profession scores to the maximum you can have. With my example, that's 10, so a guy can just start off as a merc and also do harbour some addiction, so merc 1/junkie 1, then he advances in both, starts getting better contracts, and also better black market stuff until he gets to merc 5/junkie 5, at which point an advancement in either would cause the other to drop.

Again, just an example - you could have incompatible professions - an enforcer could very well be unable to be a junkie (they might get thrown out of the police force). At any rate, aside from the profession attribute, the character can have a variety of skills one enforcer could rely heavily on cybernetics, while another may not. Sure, a profession would probably make advancement in some areas easier, but you're still not limiting anybody - you can have a dozen enforcers who are distinct from each other.

 

[daveman247]

I think fallout is a good place to start for stats and stuff. No classes just various skills and perks to build you're own character

 

[DoPo]

I think fallout is a good place to start for stats and stuff. No classes just various skills and perks to build you're own character

Or GURPS (which I think actually inspired Fallout) - everything there is a trait, each character just has different traits. Want to play role? Pick the appropriate traits. Want to play a different race? It's got you covered. You can have classes, if you really want to, however they are just an association of traits - just bundled up in a package. But you can generalise any template like that - race, class, subtype, special templates (say, "vampire" or "half-demon") - just make it a collection of pre-existing options. And you can have a fair bit of leeway in the templates as well, depending on how strict you want them.

Alternatively, for a game with actual classed which I actually like, I'd go the Dark Heresy route. Technically, everybody has a class but the classes themselves aren't too restrictive. What a class does, is make some abilities and traits easier to get, so a guardsman would level up fighting weapons skills easier than an adept, for example. Some traits are restricted to some classes (so a guardsman cannot take psyker mumbo jumbo) but otherwise, it's not too hard to get some "out of class" skills providing you have justification. And level advancement is based on how much XP you've spent (you spend XP to get new skills and stuff), so it actually works out fine. You'll still have most guardsman be typical guardsmen with skills and abilities that most would have, but two guardsmen don't need to have the exact same character sheet. And they can also have "non-typical" skills without it being much of a problem.

 

[A Weakgeek]

Where is the bard class? Every rpg needs a bard class. Rockstars, DJs, yadda yadda. The thing is, if you want your game to rock, you need to rock.

 

[Echopunk]

Right off the top of my head -

Bodyguard: May or may not have extensive cybernetic augmentation, but almost certainly has had some work done on their nervous system. Increased reflexes and coordination. High weapon proficiencies. Aside from whatever gear they have crammed in their bodies, they aren't all that good with tech manipulation. If a console can't be blasted, smashed, or cut in half with a harmonically balanced katana, they are probably going to need some help getting around it. Highest health.

Couriers: Intra-cranial data smugglers. Couriers tend to be a lot squishier than other classes. They can't risk getting stopped at a border or the tech detector at the nearest Arcology on account of black market tech. They're lucky enough to have their repurposed dyslexia module or exocortex pass the scans as is. They aren't defenseless though. They can download instruction in anything from martial arts to firearms training and advanced hacking suites, but cramming too much operational information into their heads takes up vital space they could be using for big ticket info smuggling. In their younger days, they might have worn jumpsuits full of pockets and bladed or boarded their way around town.

Flesh Mechanic: If you want to do any healing, or just straight up hot-rod a human body into a finely tuned machine, these are your go too guys. They probably won't fare too well in a stand up fight without some bodyguards or Anarchs around to keep the heat off of them, but they are invaluable to any operations team that would like to stay alive long enough to collect their earnings or just keep their heads attached once a job goes south.

Techno-Seperatists: Rebels who eschew the trappings of modern life. These are the guys running around with claymores, crossbows, and spear guns. They also pack emp grenades, since hey, it is no skin off their back if they take down all the power in a room, building, or sector. One important point would be that their neo-luddite stance comes not from ignorance but from understanding. These were the corporate managers or tech-pushers, they just saw that their work was turning humanity into something else and decided to push back from the brink. They aren't above using the trappings of their old lives to broadcast beneficial information to the masses. Free your brain.

Corporate Enforcers/Yakuza: A former criminal organization transformed into an international security force. As long as their duties are carried out "with honor", there is no depth they will not sink to in the pursuit of stolen information or fugitives from corporate law. They are skilled in firearms but tend to prefer close quarters combat as a holdover from ancient traditions. Pride themselves on their proprietary cutting edge hard tech, although there is a growing movement pushing for soft tech - or nano/biological augmentations.

Deliverators: In a grim future where even things like pizza delivery are controlled by elite cabals, the old pimply faced kid in a hatchback routine just isn't going to cut it. Your deliverator drives a hot rod from hell, essentially what you would get if a formula one racer copulated with a Tumbler on steroids. That car doesn't come cheap though, so the Deliverator has to have split second reaction time and highly trained driving skills. They also follow melee and small arms tracks, since not getting ripped off at a delivery is a fairly important part of the job. This is hybrid class, taken mostly by Hacker Princes and Tajiks who grew tired of the taxi business.

Hacktivists: This group tends to over specialize, but without the unrelenting pressure of their assaults upon the Corporate Sector, the dominion of the Elite would stand un-checked. These are the people responsible for the data that the Couriers carry around. While they do tend to be an anti-social and squishy lot, since spending your life jacked into the network isn't the best thing for a person's physique and social skills, they are more versatile than you might think. The mentality that pushes a person to break into databases and crack codes lends itself well to picking locks and general cryptology. Lets face it, if you're waiting for your programs to crack through a burly assembly of corporate security, you might as well spend some time practicing your lock picking. This is slightly less effective of late, since the Yakuza generally favor on the spot be-headings (or simple limb removal for lesser offenses) the ability to slip handcuffs isn't as important as it used to be.

Anarchs: They may work for corporations or charismatic megalomaniacs, but that is just a cover up. All they really want to do is nuke the world and crash the network so that they can live in a society free from consumerism and law. They tend to be a bit anachronistic, be it riding around on a motorcycle and throwing bamboo spears or sneaking around in high tech stealth gear while sporting glass knives. You don't really want to mess with these people as they tend to have bad impulse control.

 

[daveman247]

ohhh snip

Anything like that can work too. Hybrid "classes" are the way forward I think

Though after witcher 2 we shall have to see.

 

[daveman247]

snip

These classes seem pretty good. You'd have a job stuffing them all into a game though, with their very varied backgrounds and such.


Street samurai anyone?


How about a flipside to the guys that denounce technology (Techno-Seperatists?), like an augment junkie or something. Who have gone completely mental with "upgrades". Think of a t-800 but used to be human