Building on the massive success of Mork Borg, Stockholm Kartel released Cy_Borg: A digital neon view of a dystopian hellscape where the world itself is on the brink of apocalypse.
While I’m not going to review the rules for Cy_Borg as I’ve not run a session with them, I will give a brief overview of why I like this book and the merits it has beyond the system specific rules.
I bought the book primarily because I’d read it had some of the most evocative random tables and flavour for a cyberpunk RPG on the market. And I got exactly what I was after.
Much like its predecessor, the art style of Cy_Borg is in your face. It’s designed to convey a feeling rather than as a reference. Some people find this a turn off, and I can understand that perspective. However for me this book is an instant access portal to a grim and gritty cyberpunk future. Flipping through the pages conjures vivid mental imagery of a future I wouldn’t want to live in, but would jump at the chance to play in.
Lots of other RPG books have tables for NPC generation, pocket lint, and random encounters. Cy_Borg is no different delivering a wide variety of high quality tables. Where this book really shines though is the Miserable Headlines. These are randomly generated in world events that escalate in severity over the course of a campaign.
They can either serve as a backdrop to showcase the world moving on in spite of the players or a clever GM might select these and link them in with player actions. Either way they serve to fill the world with a sense of animation, hitting the sweet spot of providing the GM with a thought provoking sketch for them to fill in the details of.
Ancillary to the content of the book I’d like to talk about the production quality of Cy_Borg. A few people have commented that the Borg books will probably end on the coffee table, and they’re not wrong that this thing has appeal just in that regard. Aside from the usual stuff for a good quality hardback, the cover of the book features texturing, subtle silver flecks as well as glow in the fucking dark lettering on the spine. This could be called a gimmick but I think it speaks volumes about the enthusiasm the writers and publishers had for this product, and that enthusiasm rubs off on you when you read it.
Finally I’ll comment on the included adventure “Lucky Flight Takedown”, caveat in my usual style I hacked blades in the dark for a cyberpunk session when I ran this.
It’s a pretty fun adventure, there are some memorable characters (I really enjoyed playing Charlie Sand as a fixer) and enough events to make the casino feel alive. Combine this with plenty of trouble for the players to get into and you’ve got a great dungeon masquerading as a heist. This isn’t likely to be the best adventure you’ve ever run, but it provides a great way of introducing the setting and system in a self contained way.
Cy_Borg’s style might not be for everyone and if you don’t like rules lite, tongue in cheek or OSR you’ll probably not get much mileage out of the system. But this book oozes inspiration, it’s full of flavour and I challenge anyone who likes cyberpunk not to enjoy it.
halo wargaming review
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40k wargaming journal
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fitness
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mothership rpgs review
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borg rpgs worldbuilding
Over the course of my Cy_Borg inspired cyberpunk campaign I made numerous pretend social media posts, headlines, and other bits of world building. I’m posting them here for posterity and in case anyone finds them and is inspired for their own campaign.