Neon Anima: cyberpunk with Gaelic fantasy
An ancient stone monument has been unearthed beneath the cyberpunk streets, unleashing chaotic spiritual magic. Can you investigate and contain it?
$20.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Thursday - 7:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
Campaign Length / 3–6 Sessions
0 / 5 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
Do you want to try something new with Daggerheart? Do you want to see how flexible the system can be? Do you want to explore a unique, custom-made world? THE SETTING Step into the futuristic world of Neon Anima, a setting inspired by cyberpunk stories but blending in spiritual animism for a distinctly unique flavour. Gameplay focuses on Tir Linud, the land of the New Age. In this metropolis your actions will tip the scales between traditional values and modern expansion. THE STORY A neighborhood was recently demolished to make space for a Synthrax Industries arcology. As work began on the foundations, the work crews uncovered ancient carved stones which started to glow with spiritual magic. Chaos quickly erupted as angry spirits were unleashed, and dangerous beings gathered to exploit this power source. You will play as either a team of Synthrax Industry mercenaries investigating the situation and securing the site for Synthrax Industries to develop, or you'll play as Renegade eco-fighters who want to restore the natural balance of this spiritual location. Either of these approaches will work, and the group's decision to choose a side in Session Zero will begin to shape this short campaign.
Game style
Theater of the Mind
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Combat Heavy
Meet the Game Master
4.9
(10)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
7 games hosted
Highly rated for: Inclusive, Creativity, Storytelling
About me
I jumped into game-mastering in 2019 with a group of friends, a Dragonheist book, and a lot of uncertainty. Almost immediately my players caught be by surprise by doing something unexpected, and introduced me to the fun and excitement of improvised, group storytelling. Since then I've played an average of once a week, exploring a variety of games, and almost always being a game master. In 2025 I hosted my first convention games with total strangers, which was a wonderful mix of nerves and excitement. The more TTRPGs that I play the more that I enjoy the improvisational nature of them, and I'm always excited to see where the story goes next. I started with D&D (as most people do), and since then I've explored Motherboard, Pathfinder 2e, the Silver Road, Forged in the Dark, and Daggerheart. I'm a fan of player-guided stories, with a strong leaning towards The Rule of Cool and narrative-first games.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
You'll make first level Daggerheart characters, with all mixed ancestries and playtest content available to be used. You can make them before or during the session zero. Please keep in mind that you might be playing as a Synthrax Industries mercenary, or as a renegade eco-fighter. So I suggest bringing a flexible character concept, or even two seperate characters to the session zero I recommend using Heart of Daggers or Demiplane to build your character. I will provide a link to my Demiplane sharing group if anyone needs access to all of Demiplane's Daggerheart features. If you're interested in my homebrew cybernetic enhancement mechanics, then read on to the Homebrew Rules for more details.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Firstly, I'd greatly appreciate if people could read my campaign frame overview PDF which can be found for free on Heart of Daggers here https://heartofdaggers.com/products/neon-anima-a-beta-test-for-a-spiritual-fantasy-cyberpunk-world/ This will give you a brief summary of the unique world which blends together cyberpunk and fantasy elements. Please note that this version was before I switched from Japanese myths to Gaelic myths. If the overview interests you then you can get access to the full campaign beta frame for free. Message me via on StartPlaying for the updated Gaelic-mythology version. Once you join you'll also get a link to the Discord, where we can discuss characters, do voice chat, and I can post session summaries. Another link provided will be to my Demiplane group, where I can share all my Demiplane Daggerheart content with you. This is a website that guides you through the character creation process and handles all your character's rolls. It also connects with Roll20 to share your rolls with the group. You'll also get a link to join the roll20, which will be used for maps, tokens, and ambient music.
What Harry brings to the table
My home-made campaign frame, detailing all the specifics of the world. It also contains many player-focused questions to help us customise the world to fit your character. Ambient music through Roll20. Most of the game will take place as Theatre of the Mind when we're exploring the world, and I'll provide battle maps when combat occurs. I'm a big fan of the Rule of Cool, so feel free to ask me to bend the rules if you want to do something dramatic. I intend to make the story based on the characters that you make. If you want to introduce an interesting NPC via your backstory, then I'll do my very best to fit them into the world. I enjoy games where we work towards a shared goal, but the exact nature of the journey is open to collaborative worldbuilding paired with the luck of the dice.
Homebrew rules
In addition to the existing Daggerheart rules, I'm introducing a custom mechanic to explore the idea of body augmentation. Its very open ended and is summarised in the Campaign Frame. It allows player characters to opt-in to having a temporary Scar on their character to gain a non-standard benefit such as +1 evasion or a permanent +2 to damage thresholds. You can work on your PC's therapy during their downtime to adjust to their new augmentation, and thus remove this Scar.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Harry creates a safe table
The free session 0 will not only cover character creation, but also a discussion of Lines and Veils which will be recorded in the Discord server. This document can be added to if anything occurs in the game that we didn't anticipate, it is an ever-evolving document. X, N, and O cards can be sent via message directly to me, or typed publicly in the roll20 chat. Whatever the individual feels is most comfortable for them. While nobody needs to stick around at the end of a session for a debrief, I'm happy to discuss any topics that came up in the session and how we can deal with them better as a group. I always hope to be a better GM, so I welcome any constructive criticism that anyone wishes to bring forward. I also employ an open door policy, allowing players to come and go as they please, and for whatever reason. Also characters can be changed at any point if anyone feels that they aren't enjoying anything about their character.
Content warnings
Safety tools used