From: dhoberma@pearl.tufts.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.cyber
Subject: Fixes for Cyberpunk 2020
Date: 13 Sep 92 01:24:32 GMT
Organization: Tufts University - Medford, MA
Archive-Name: rgc596

SUBJECT: RTG 2020 Fixes

This file was produced by the efforts and playtesting of two individuals.
	David "Dobie" dhoberma@pearl.tufts.edu
	Phil "Doc Mnemonic" U95_Pnadeau@vaxa.stevens-tech.edu

Since I, Dobie was the principal author of this piece, my friend and editor's
comments are enclosed in <>'s. He edited the original file to reflect his
experience and the result of many discussions of Cyberpunk mechanics.
Both of us have run and played RTG Cyberpunk 2020 for quite a while.

Share and Enjoy!!
<but leave the tag>

I decided to send this as a file so that you could hold on to it in hardcopy
and so I could come back to it a few times to finish (I dont have all of my 
RTG CP stuff with me at the moment.)

First I usually limit starting specialty skills to +6 unless the player can
give me a very good reason not to. This leaves room for improvement, and
prevents the Solo with a handgun of +8 and a combat sense of +8.

Costs: the costs in the Chrome book and Solo of Fortune are WAY off. You can
get Gibson Battlewear for way cheap amounts. A friend of mine checked out body 
armor prices in the real world (Second Chance Body Armor) the equivalent
of a bullet-proof jacket cost around 1500eb. Even adjusting for mass marketing,
armor of high quality should be a bit more expensive. Armor T: 300eb
Jacket: 1500eb. Trenchcoat: 2000eb.

<However, this will only cover like down to the knees, like you say...but FULL
SP, roll a D10 to see if it hits the calf (protected by boots, if the player
has them) or thigh (protected by the trenchcoat). "Real" body armor is only
designed to protect from the fron, so usually they have a large "apron" of
kevlar the attaches to the bottom of the vest and which hangs down to the
knees. It provides NO protection except from the front but it provides about
15 sp otherwise.>
Metal Gear: 5000+eb. 

Costs for most weapons are fine. Restrict or disallow most starting heavy weaps
(remember that concealment factor! let 'em buy it and say "Gee..how you going
to get that back to your apartment?"

<You should give the players an idea of just how hard it is to get ahold of
really big things anyway. In Shadowrun they did this by dividing the catalog
into two parts...the legal part and the "secure" part, where they stuffed
all the fully auto stuff, heavy weapons, and "For Law Enforcement Use Only"
type of devices. Do that to the chromebook. Make a list of things that the
players can get on the street or from specialty mail order and give them ONLY
that sheet. Then write down everything else and make it available only to the
military types and ESWAT cops (and have them make a professional ass-kissing
roll) for it. By NO means should the characters get to carry around an HE
Wrist Racate unless he is a Psycho Squad cop on duty. Maybe you can allow
characters with a military background to pick ONE sick weapon, and not a
heavy wepon, but maybe an assault rifle, and buy that.>

Armor layering rules. The official rules only put in modifier for REF if too 
much armor is worn. But characters with high ref and boost can get away
with sporting more armor than an AV. One can wear an armor T with anything
over it, and a trench coat over the legging is ok (but modify the sp the
coat provides the leg region. NO TRENCH COATS WORN OVER JACKETS. For some reason
some people think that the armor plating is so light that they can slip
into more than two layers and pay only a negigible Ref penalty (esp if they
are Solos) No way bucko.

Modify SP. The armor system in CP is a good idea, but there is too much of it!
Characters walk around (esp if they have weave...) with sp too high to be 
reasonably unnoticed. So either change what is noticeable or change the sp.
Suggestions.
	Armor T: 5 sp. Can be worn unnoticed under anything that covers torso.
	Jacket: 15sp. Can be worn unnoticed over anything (excluding armor >5)
	Heavy Jacket: 20sp. Noticed on a diff roll of 15 or better.
 	Pants: 15sp. Can be worn unnoticed.
	Heavy Pants: 20sp. Noticed on a diff roll of 15 or better.
	Trenchcoat: 15sp arms torso/10sp legs. Noticeable on a 10<15>or better.
	Metal Gear: 25sp Ref -2. You would have to be blind to miss it.
	Skinweave: ?sp Diff 20 to notice it.

<Armor doesn't hinder movement if you're used to it. Try this: Maximum of two
layers on the torso and one layer on the limbs. Skin weave and other cyber
implant plating (like cowls) don't count towards the limit. So
you could have a trenchcoat and t-shirt (and maybe pants) but not a trenchcoat
and jacket. Exception: Metal Gear+Anything Else is right OUT. Exception to the
Exception: Metal Gear plus Skin Weave is still okay. If you are willing to pay
that much money (over $10000 euro in all) then you deserve to be invulnerable.
Remember that it will take your players most of a game year to save this much
money. Don't restrict them TOO Much.
	A jacket, t-shirt, and pants would probably be the best, most
realistic, and least noticeable combination, and wouldn't really hinder REF.
If the weight of the armor is more than the character can carry, however, THEN
it would slow down his MOV and probably his REF to. Try this: Any chracter can
wear any legal combination of armor up to his BOD in kilograms without any
penalty. Anything OVER the BOD would subtract one from both MOV and REF for
every two extra kilos carried. Example: Lang has BOD eight. He puts on an
armorjac (3 kg), armor t-shirt (1kg), and armored pants (3kg) for a total of
7kg. He is unencumbered with full MOV and REF (unless he is carrying a lot of
other crap too, like a 20-kilo backpack. This would slow down his MOV and 
his REF too for things like climbing and running, but maybe not marksmanship.)
Another Example: Joe Grunt Guard has BT 6. He puts on Metal Gear (10 Kg). This
is four Kg over the limit, so (4/2)=2 is subtracted from BOTH his Mov and also
his REF if he tries anything like athletics, but not for things like weapon
skills or driving.

	So to reiterate: Armor does not make you clumsy. It WILL slow you down
if it is too heavy for you to carry, or if you try to do backflips in full
plate. For things like manual dexterity, guns, driving, and just about any
other non-athletic task, YOUR REF SHOULD STAY THE SAME. This is the realistic
approach to armor, and therefore more complicated. But just ask any expert on
medieval plate armor, or on modern body armor, or the SJG technical staff. They
will back me up on this.>
                    
If you let HE ammo into a normal CP run..caveat emptor.
	Chrome book Sternmeyer. (I dont have my books so I dont remember 
	exactly how it works [HE] but is is Nasty!

<See what is said above about making really sick items hard to accquire. That
single crate of HE rounds for a 9mm pistol would be a good alternative to the
assault rifle for retired cybergrunts.>

Keep track of Movement rates. Too many players think it is a useless stat.
Use it to show them it isnt.
Use attractiveness. same reason.

<I approve.>

Rules for stun shock\body saves for hulks with body over 10.
Roll a d10. If it is a 10, roll again. Pray to get below the remainder of your
Body. (ex.. BD of 12. Rolls a 10. Roll again. Rolls a 1. safe. If he had 
rolled a 3 he would be in sorry shape (failure))

<Sounds okay to me>.

Netrunning. Keep it simple. Try to keep it integrated so that the other 
players aren't bored. Either keep it short or alternate..switching scenes
every five minutes [Meanwhile...back at the lab..]

<Alternative: Write a REAL computer program to simulate the netruning stuff
so the netrunner player can screw around with the comupters without you having
to devote your full attention.>