How to Start With Cyberpunk RPG February 5, 2025

Welcome back, chooms! Since the 2.20 patch release, we’ve been absolutely obsessed with playing Cyberpunk 2077 on the PS5. The game (in its current state) is a love letter to the classic science-fiction stories I loved in my teenage years. Fans of books like Neuromancer by William Gibson, films like Blade Runner, and games like System Shock found themselves right at home in the game’s open world of Night City! If you’re reading this we’re assuming you love Cyberpunk 2077 or the Netflix series Cyberpunk Edgerunners but are stuck with one of two issues: what do you do if you want more stories that take place in Cyberpunk’s world? Some of you may lack a modern game console or a computer capable of playing the game. Others may have already played the game and watched the show, and need more Cyberpunk content to hold you over while you wait you wait for the eventual sequel. Well, you’ve come to the right place on the right day!

Before video games were even possible to play on computers, RPGs were still commonly played amongst groups of friends. Most people are familiar with Dungeons & Dragons, but they are hardly the only role playing game out there. Well, it is an open secret that many video games use these legacy tabletop (or pen-and-paper) gaming books as the basis for their game rules, and Cyberpunk is no different.

Cyberpunk, published by R. Talsorian Games, is a pen-and-paper RPG first published in the late 80s. It has undergone several revisions and updates since its initial release, partially to refine its rules and impartially to keep up with the technology of its time. As of the time of this article, the current published work in the Cyberpunk series is known as Cyberpunk RED. The RED era takes place in Cyberpunk’s year of 2045, thirty-two years before the video game’s 2077 setting. The world is suffering after the events of a major war which has left the sky red, and you’re tasked to survive in this post-apocalyptic world where corporations have taken over using just your wits, your charisma, and your technical know-how.

If you’re new to Tabletop RPGs and are interested in learning where to start with a game like Cyberpunk RED, there are a few resources out there to help you. First, all players should look into starting with Cyberpunk RED’s core rulebook, which is typically classified as book number 3001. We recommend purchasing this book from your local hobby shop (if they have it in stock) or order it online! If you’re not sure if you’re ready to buy a core book just yet, you could check out the website Drive Thru RPG which offers digital and print on demand copes of RPG sourcebooks. They are currently offering downloads of a limited instruction set referred to as the EASY MODE completely free of charge. This will provide a perfect jumping in point for new Cyberpunk players!

Once you have your core rulebook read through, you’ll notice plenty of other books in the Cyberpunk RED series. I admit, seeing all of these books listed can be a little overwhelming for a newbie. Many of these books are rule expansions which will include new weapons and in-game items that players can use, but some of them will be playable stories. Part of the fun of Cyberpunk includes customizing your player character with all kinds of unique weapons, clothes and armor, and these expansion books such as Black Chrome will offer players that kind of content. Newer books such as Tales of the RED: Street Stories and Tales of the RED: Hope Reborn, are going to be heavily wanted by Game Masters, as it is an original scenario set in the Cyberpunk RED timeline your player will want to navigate.

So now that you have some rules, here’s what you’ll need to play. Players more familiar with Dungeons & Dragons may be wondering about the game’s dice requirements. As far as I know, Cyberpunk RED only requires the use of a single D10 and several D6 to determine the effectiveness of their actions. These kind of dice can typically be found at your local game store or hobby shop, or you could use a program capable of producing random rolls when queried, such as an Amazon Echo.

Next, we want to talk about DLC and Eratta. Yes, even paper books can sometimes get updates and expansions, and the nice thing about R. Talsorian Games is they release all of that as free content on their website! Hundreds of pages of new rules, scenarios, gear, and rule refinements can be downloaded off of this official website entirely for free. The first thing you should know is this is where you can print out your character sheets. The publisher is even happy to let players use the included maps in these PDFs for players’ use, printed or projected!

And finally, the Cyberpunk RED community wanted me to tell you to just to have fun.

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty is out now for PC, Xbox Series X/S and PS5. Cyberpunk 2077 is also out for PS4 and Xbox One. It is coming soon to Mac.