Cyberpunk RED: Sell Out - Work for the Man (Beginner Friendly)

Creating your character

You can play any Cyberpunk RED Role that makes sense as part of a corporate deniable operations team working directly for the Man. Solo, Netrunner, Tech, Medtech, Exec, Fixer, Nomad, Media, Lawman or Rockerboy are all possible. If you have a character idea that is a little unusual, talk to me. If we can work out why the corporation wants you on the team, we can probably make it fit. I am very happy to discuss character concepts on Discord before the campaign begins. You can use the Street Rat or Edgerunner character creation methods without checking with me. If you want to use the Complete Package method, speak to me first so we can make sure the character fits comfortably alongside the rest of the crew. Anything from outside the Cyberpunk RED core book should also be discussed with me on Discord before you use it. You do not need previous Cyberpunk RED experience. I am happy to explain the rules, help with character creation and answer questions before or during play.

Preparing for the session

Make sure you have Fantasy Grounds installed and that it runs. Fantasy Grounds itself is free to download and use: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/ I will send you the campaign access details before the first game. If you already own, or want to buy, the Cyberpunk RED module for Fantasy Grounds, you can use its character creation tools. You do not need to buy the module to play. If you create your character outside Fantasy Grounds, send the character to me and I will enter it before the first session. We will use Discord for voice and optional video, as well as questions and chat between sessions. You do not need to use video, although I find seeing faces makes online roleplaying considerably easier. And you're all gorgeous. You will need headphones and a microphone at minimum. Please practise muting yourself if you have a noisy background. Sessions will normally run for around 2 to 3 hours. You do not need to know the rules of Cyberpunk RED before joining. I can teach them as we play, and Fantasy Grounds will handle a lot of the mechanical heavy lifting. If Fantasy Grounds is new to you, I am also happy to help you get comfortable with it.

What Hollowponds (Peter) brings to the table

If you have watched Hollowponds Solo Sagas, you will already have a feel for my style. I run immersive, character-driven games where the players help create the story and the world reacts to what they do. I will build the campaign around your crew's goals, choices, Lifepaths and inevitable trouble. Friends, enemies, romances and other details from your characters can become real parts of the campaign rather than background text that never gets mentioned again. I like memorable NPCs with personalities, motivations and, where my vocal cords permit it, voices. I like consequences. I like giving players room to make plans I did not expect and then finding out what happens. This campaign will mix corporate intrigue, deniable operations, action, investigation, social scenes and moral choices. I want Night City to feel alive around you, and I want the things your crew does to leave marks on it. I have played Cyberpunk since first edition and know and love the setting. I also wrote the original manuscript that became Cyberpunk RED: Single Player Mode, published by R. Talsorian Games. Through Hollowponds Solo Sagas I have also spent years running, playing, writing about and pulling roleplaying games apart to see what makes them work. My Cyberpunk material on the channel gives you a good idea of the tone I bring to the setting. Everyone is welcome at my table. I want a supportive, accepting game where people can relax, contribute ideas, make mistakes, ask questions and enjoy themselves. I am neurodiverse myself and understand that different people communicate, process information and engage with games differently. We will cover expectations, character fit and the sort of campaign everyone wants during Session Zero. The goal is not perfect roleplaying or perfect knowledge of the rules. The goal is to create an outstandingly good Cyberpunk story together.

Homebrew rules

By the book unless as a group we decide we want to do something a different way. In the moment the Rule of Cool may take hold of us.

How Hollowponds (Peter) creates a safe table

Cyberpunk can get dark quickly, and a campaign built around working for a corporation can wander into Black Mirror territory surprisingly fast. The setting deals with exploitation, corporate power, violence, inequality, body modification, loss of autonomy and people being treated as resources. Deniable operations can also put characters in situations where the sensible choice, the profitable choice and the moral choice are three very different things. That can make for fantastic roleplaying, but only if everyone at the table is comfortable with where the story is going. During Session Zero we will cover safety, expectations, Lines and Veils, and the themes we do and do not want in our game. Those boundaries are not fixed forever. If something comes up during the campaign that someone does not want to explore, we change course. Nobody needs to justify why. I will take the story into dark or uncomfortable territory only as far as the group is happy to go. I am also a Mental Health First Aider, with lived experience, and I take creating a supportive table seriously. Night City can be dangerous, ugly and morally complicated. The people around the table still come first.