Kitbashing: A Tour of the Books

We’re looking at what’s inside the Cyberpunk Red Jumpstart Kit every Friday until it debuts at GenCon on August 1st. This Friday, we’re looking at one of the most important details: The table of contents.

When you open up the Cyberpunk Red Jumpstart Kit, you’ll find two booklets inside. One is entitled simply “Rule Book” and the other “World Book”. Both are truth in advertising, as they contain exactly what they say. What does that mean, though? Let’s break them down, chapter by chapter. A lot of the chapter names might seem familiar but we promise, there’s a bunch of new information packed inside.

Art by Anselm Zielonka

• The View from the Edge. An introduction to Cyberpunk, complete with a quick tabletop roleplaying game primer.
• Soul and the New Machine’s all about the character. There’s descriptions of Statistics and Skills, and even a few hints about chargen in the upcoming Cyberpunk Red core rulebook.
• Of course, there’ll be Lifepath where you’ll be running through seven different areas of your character’s life, ranging from Background to Romance.
• Putting the Cyber into the Punk talks about cyberware, as well as a listing of the cyberware used in the Jumpstart Kit.
• Netrunning in the Time of the Red. We’ve already talked about it but this chapter breaks down the “floor system” of Netrunning in detail.
• Thursday Night Throwdown, a simplified modification of the classic Friday Night Firefight.

Art by Anselm Zielonka

• Welcome to the Time of the Red, an overview of the Post-4th Corporate War world with history and a look at the United States.
• Dark Future Countdown. From 1990 to 2045, we’ll show you things you might have already known about the Dark Future but plenty of new events, too!
• Night City 2.0. The Classic setting is still the best! We’re talking history, zones, government, public services, and transport and how it leads up to 2077.
• Everyday Things in the average Cyberpunk’s life. The Law. Communications. Weapons. Vehicles. Media. Clothing. Shopping. Food. You need it? We tell you where to get it.
• Running Cyberpunk Red. It’s the classic “How to GM” chapter with a Cyberpunk twist and even talks about making new adventures for the Jumpstart Kit beyond those included.
• For the first time ever, we’re proud to announce the Apartment (Mike Pondsmith’s classic convention demo you’ve also seen online at IGN). It’s a full adventure, ready to run right out of the box.
• Screamsheets. We’ve got three of them in the Jumpstart Kit, ready to show to your players as in-world handouts. Each comes with a related adventures, ready to run.

We’re looking forward to sharing the Cyberpunk Red Jumpstart Kit with everyone and we hope, after this chapter by chapter sneak peek, you’re excited about it, too!
The Cyberpunk Red Jumpstart Kit will debut at GenCon on August 1st. Visit our booth (1852, back of the hall next to the service desk) to pick up a copy. You can get the digital version online at DriveThruRPG on the same day. We’ll have it up for sale via our webstore and in stores as soon as possible afterwards!

In the meanwhile, we’ve got one one Kitbashing to go! We’ll see you next Friday! Until then, choombas, stay safe on the streets.