Cy_Borg TTRPG will be the cyberpunk apocalypse we really deserve

Dark castle, the award-winning light rules RPG, is getting a high-concept spinoff. Noble Cy_Borg, the 160-page book is written by Christian Sahlén, with art from franchise illustrator Johan Nohr, and in association with the Stockholm poster. Described by Free League Publishing as a “deck hacking and brick throwing game”, it will be crowdfunded on Kickstarter starting at November 13.

Polygon sat down with the creatives behind him for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at what promises to be one of the biggest tabletop launches of 2022.

Understand Cy_Borg, first you need to think Dark castle and how it differs from other tabletop role-playing games (TTRPG) like Dungeons & Dragons. Designed by Pelle Nilsson, the 80-page hardcover book is part of the old-school Renaissance, also known as OSR. It’s a move among the creators of TTRPG to optimize the role-play experience, reducing it to its most basic elements. Flipping through the book, you will find many random tables that are used to tell stories on the go. There are fewer stats and smaller stat blocks. The sessions are unpleasant, brutal, and short.

Nilsson tells Polygon that the goal of OSR is not to fetishize the work of Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, and the other luminaries who helped create TTRPG. Instead, the goal is to make these types of games more accessible.

“I think [the fifth edition of D&D] It made it simpler, ”Nilsson said,“ and that was the impression I got when I first read it. But it’s still very complex as you level up. I think at level 10 or something it becomes too much for me to at least keep track of. “

“I did many Pioneer and [third edition D&D]”Sahlén added,” and the amount of time I had to spend learning monster stat blocks. Once the characters reached level 12, or something like that, it took me hours. “

The end result, the couple explained, is that Dark castle it is a game of rules, not rules.

“Not everything has to be written in the book,” Sahlén continued. “Just find out as you go. You have the basic core concept: this is how you hit someone with a sword, and this is how you avoid falling into a death trap of some kind. But everything else […] just make it up. Shoot something that feels good, right now. “

That doesn’t mean that Dark castle Lack of context or clarity. But what it lacks in fluff it makes up for in stunning art and graphic design. Every corner of the slim 80-page manual is packed with visual spectacle, with treatments ranging from 16th-century wood carvings to pen-and-ink demons that resemble Satan’s own Rorschach test.

But the tone of the game is also what makes it unique. It is not a post-apocalyptic game. Instead, the apocalypse is happening all around you. Your characters, drawn from the scum of society, are guaranteed a violent end.

“Your character is not having a happy life,” Sahlén said, “and they are not the great heroes, because when the campaign ends, the world ends and you burn the book. And that’s it. “Players shouldn’t expect an apotheosis, but if they’re lucky, they’ll laugh a bit and get a little catharsis out of the ordeal.

Cy_Borg was inspired by Dark castle, but also because of Sahlén’s daily work working on IT and risk compliance. Every day he grapples with the front-line realities of living in a late capitalist digital dystopia. His vision is a game that more accurately reflects the apocalyptic scenarios of where we are headed as a society than, say, Cybepunk 2077 did.

Cy_Borg It started out as one part pun and two part shit. It was resolved by Sahlén’s desire to execute a Cyberpunk 2020-style of play, to celebrate the release of R. Talsorian Games’ seminal TTRPG with a modern lightweight rules system instead of its own new revamped edition, Cyberpunk red. But Sahlén couldn’t find a system that was light enough to meet his needs, so he created his own. One thing led to another, and now he and Nohr are off to the races.

If D&D traditionally begins in a tavern, then Nohr says Dark castle It’s more likely to start off the gutter with hungover characters bloodied from last night’s debauchery. Cy_Borg, on the other hand, it might start off on a seedy dive bar. One thing is for sure: your characters will start the game amid total financial ruin.

“Maybe [they’ve stumbled into] a strange dark web forum, “Nohr said,” and a mysterious avatar comes with a data pack for them. All the characters will start with a huge debt that they will have to pay off. You have this heavy financial burden on you that you have to get rid of, so you have a real incentive to go out there and try to do something. “

“That means you also have people who can ask you for favors,” Sahlén said, “because you already owe them a lot of money. So we’ll raise interest here if you don’t do us a favor. Or do this and we cancel part of the debt. “

What happens next is highly dependent on the master of the game and the players at the table. the Cy_Borg manual, as it is, will include many more tables than Dark castle did. The art will also be just as luxurious and weird, but it will be based more on flawed images and digital graphics.

“I think the punk part is extremely vital in this game, and very important,” said Nohr. “This game is about rebellion and upheaval, breaking the systems that exist. […] I think there is fury in the artistic style and also in the writing. […] You can say in the text that the narrator of this game really hates this place, and that is very important. “

You can register to follow the Cy_Borg campaign today in Kick starter.

---