Sprawlvember 12: Trusted

 

Trust as an attribute in Cyberpunk games. This is very much a rough draft, constructive criticism is welcome. This is part of #Sprawlvember so search up that hashtag for more fun stuff.

This represents how much fixers, corpos, and other folks you have to do business with trust the runner. Because word gets around on the street, good and bad, whether you want it to or not. Everyone talks and they will be talking about you at some point.

The level goes on a scale from zero to ten. With the zero being the worst possible level where folks regard you as true street garbage that nobody will work with. Ten being the top of the line trust you with the most delicate jobs. Starting level should be decided by the GM and the backstory the players come up with for their characters. I would suggest somewhere from three to five.

Increasing or decreasing your Trust is done in small doses usually by adding or subtracting .1 or .2 at a time to or from your current level. So at times your character will have something like a 4.6 or 7.2. For rolling purposes the goal is roll under your current score paying attention only to the first number and not the incremental after it. So in the case of the 4.6 you need a 4 or under.

Things that add to your Trust.

- Successfully completing a job

- An extra .1 for completing a job above and beyond expectations

- Positive media exposure for yourself

- Showing proper respect and appearance at important meetings

- Making the person that hired you look very good

- Building community among your fellow runners

- Anything else that the GM thinks would make you gain more Trust

Things that subtract from your Trust

- Failing at a job

- Losing another .2 for spectacularly failing a job

- Looking bad in the media and being seen as a terrible person

- Blowing off etiquette and manners with important people

- Making the person giving you a job look bad

- Angering your community of fellow runners

- Becoming a criminal of a heinous nature (sex offender, serial killer, etc) can drop it a full point

- Anything else that the GM thinks would blow your Trust score down

When you are trying to set up a job, acquire specific merchandise or get into the good graces with some important NPCs you need to roll against your Trust. The object is to roll under your current rank. Now failing doesn’t mean you don’t get what you want but that there may be side effects. Here are a few examples.

- The cost of the item you want will go up

- It may take longer to acquire the item

- They will still get the item but you have to pay up front

- The job will pay quite a bit less

- There is no up front pay for a job you are about to take

- They may not tell you all the “need to know” information about the job

- May actively sabotage you ability to do the job by warning the target

- Whatever else the evil brain of your GM can think of.

Now of course there are sometimes some extras for succeeding in your Trust roll by a great deal. Here are a few examples.

- They can get you the item at a bargain or get it faster than expected

- They tack on an extra bonus if you complete the mission successfully

- The upfront pay is higher than normal

- Passing on extra information to the runner about the job

- You get a selection of jobs to pick from instead whatever scraps they have

- They recommend you to others to work with in the future

- Whatever else the generous brain of your GM can think of.

Sprawlvember 11: Cartel

 

Here is my entry for the eleventh day of Sprawlvember with the prompt 'Cartel'. 

The Security Cartel

In most cities there appears to be a myriad of security services and companies to choose from. All of them rather pricey as the demand for protection keeps going up. But what most don’t realize is that you’re actually only choosing between two different corporations and they’re in bed together already.

About fifteen years ago the heads of two of the biggest security firms met in private. At the time prices were all over the place, quality was non-existent and there were so many fly by night companies that things were in a downward spiral. So these two came to an agreement. No competition with each other, eliminate all other companies through either buyout or physical destruction, keep up the appearance of multiple businesses, then fabricate situations and events to keep themselves in demand.

This plan has come to fruit better than they expected. Once all the smaller riffraff security businesses were out of the way they were unstoppable. Creating dozens of shell companies and what appeared to be various choices to choose from. Then after a few assassination attempts that were planned, various kidnappings and violent attacks everyone saw how important it was to have extra security.

Now those at the top just set back in rake in the profits. While those at the bottom work dangerous jobs, are sometimes asked to do illegal covert activities just to keep help another company look better and are paid scraps. Because everywhere they go all the security firms pay the same, expect you to do the same and will dispose of you if you don’t like it.

Also quitting one company and going to another becomes a bit more difficult. As your personal information is shared between all parts of the Security Cartel. So if you rage out and quit at one the next time you apply at another company you will be offered a lower pay grade than usual. If you are exemplary at one then one of the other companies with better clients may offer to "hire you away" from your current job. But they will also store all the dirty laundry they can find on you as well.

If you like what you see on my blog please consider supporting me via my Ko-Fi page.

If you like cyberpunk stuff please check out the Old School // Cyberpunk discord server.

Sprawlvember 10: Robotics

 

Here's my entry for the tenth day of Sprawlvember. Robotics is the prompt so I came up with ten potential names for robotics companies. Hope you all get a little inspiration or use out of these. 

Robotics Companies

1 – Artificial Manpower

2 – Expendable Explorers

3 – Frontline Security Stations

4 – Metal Muscle Solutions

5 – Dependable Assembly Line Services

6 – Automatic Function

7 – Hard Wired Functional Safety Units

8 – World Wide Industrial Robot Providers

9 – Intelligent Kinematic Solutions

10 – Point-to-Point Professionals

If you like what you see on my blog considering giving me a little support over on my Ko-Fi page. Anything is much appreciated. 

Cyberpunk Sunday - 11/09/25

 

3D-printed full-auto bullpup 'ghost guns' can now be made for a couple of hundred dollars — designs have evolved dramatically outside the U.S.

https://www.tomshardware.com/3d-printing/3d-printed-ghost-gun-designs-have-evolved-dramatically-outside-the-u-s-full-auto-bullpups-can-now-be-made-for-a-couple-hundred-dollars

'Living metal' could bridge biological and electronic systems.

https://techxplore.com/news/2025-11-metal-bridge-biological-electronic.html

Here are a few links to some blogs that are participating in Sprawlvember. If I missed any let me know in the comments. 

https://gregorius21778.wordpress.com/

https://neuralarchive.blogspot.com/?m=1

Also check out the Old School // Cyberpunk discord server. Now under new management. 

Sprawlvember 7: Trend

 

Okay the prompt for the seventh day of Sprawlvember is 'trend'. So let's go with that for a quick roll a D10 list. 

Holy shit you’re trending! Now who’s trying to get you to sign a deal?

1 – Super Fizz Extreme Soda. They want you to get sticky!

2 – Soulless Sinima. They make porn movies starring amatuers, mostly runners… and they want you to get sticky as well.

3 – Delusions of Grandeur. Makers of knock off clones of popular clothing lines. They want you to be one of their ad models.

4 – NeonSky Social Media. They want to pay you to be exclusive to their social network.

5 – Clean Inside Enema Kits. Do you want to say you have a preferred enema cleansing kit on multiple network ads? Well if so then they are willing to write you a check.

6 – Barely Beer. They want you to be in their new commercials. But they offer an amount of pay that is only barely there.

7 – Silicone Sirens. The pop sensation female trio wants you to be in a music video.

8 – Scythe Body Spray. Cut through your stank with Scythe, well at least as one of their models.

9 – No Pain Nasal Spray. They want you for a few commercials selling their nasally inserted pain blocking nanobots.

10 – Trenchfoot Combat Boots. They will pay you to wear their boots while doing jobs. To bad they really aren’t that good of a boot.

Sprawlvember 6: Ammunition

 

So Sprawlvember has 'Ammunition' as a prompt today. So here are some thoughts on caseless ammunition in a Cyberpunk setting.

Each bullet is a cylindrical chunk where the accelerant is formed behind and around the bottom part of the slug. When the round is fired the accelerant is burned off forcing the round out of the chamber. But, most bullets are made cheaply and in mass quantity, therefore not held to many standards at all. What most Runners on a budget will have access to are rounds that produce a lot of smoke and dirty up the weapons very quickly thus requiring a lot of cleaning.

Now higher end ammunition is available. But it costs quite a bit more. Usually much more than the average runner trying to simply keep a roof over his head is willing to pay.

Ignition of the accelerant is done via electronic spark. Thus eliminating the need for a firing cap making it easier, and cheaper, to produce the caseless ammunition. Most weapons have the battery packs necessary for this located underneath the barrel in the case of handguns and in the grip for rifles and larger weapons that are magazine fed from a source not located in the grip. The batteries would have a standard charging port much like cell phones. Just plug them in and wait as they charge up.

Now with no brass being ejected or firing pin being driven forward this reduced the need for a slide. The next round is instead moved into place with a motorized action or a spring powered magazine. So firearms have become more boxed in with less moving external parts. Disassembly also becomes more simple with just a couple of screws being removed. The round cycling motor usually being the most complex part now but are replaceable if they stop working. But, again like cell phones, you better take it to a specialty shop to get it done properly.

The firearm will still fire when wet or submerged. However prolonged exposure to water will cause some of the accelerant to soften leading to less power behind the bullet, more dirt and residue afterwards and maybe even failure to fire. If failure to fire occurs there is no slide to work so you can eject the round quickly. Instead you will have to remove the top cover and physical pull the bullet out. This is not idea in a combat situation so you better keep your weapon clean.

Sprawlvember 5: Blackmarket

 

For this #Sprawlvember entry I'm doing a list of ten interesting things to find on the black market. 

Roll A D10: What odd interesting thing you found on the blackmarket.

1 – A set of four functioning cryochambers, running with occupants inside. They appear to be children and the only data is that they are part of Clone Batch 13B.

2 – A case of military grade EMP grenades.

3 – A sealed armored briefcase with the logo of a major corporation on it. It needs a bio-metric scan to open and the datajack has been drilled out.

4 – A D6 of packs of high end medical grade nanobot pain blockers. Each pack contains three injections.

5 – Six pouches of actual real life seeds for vegetable plants. Not the genetically modified types either.

6 – A large amount of surgery level medical equipment, all still sealed in plastic and sterile.

7 – Stacks of last years discontinued Mountain Dew flavor.

8 – A wireless electronic lock hacking device disguised as an older model cellphone.

9 – A techie selling custom made devices for your television that allow you to access nearly any streaming service for free.

10 – Several fulled sealed hazmat suits. Complete with built in Geiger counters, toxin scanners, and biohazard warning systems.