I'm thinking of running a game, but need some advice before starting work on it.

Hey everyone! I know I haven't really been active on this forum, but know that I have been paying attention. I just didn't have much to say, until now. As the title suggests, I'm hoping to run a Cyberpunk 2020 game before Red is released. However, with myself being a novice GM (having only successfully GMed one game for my Dad and brother), I don't know where to start for the story of things. All I have at the moment is that A) The game would take place in Night City, and B) Combat would take center stage as the solution to solving issues. I personally love the combat system in CP2020, and it almost feels like a waste for everyone I've played with to try and talk (or possibly seduce) their way out of problems. I can understand this in games like D&D, where combat can become stale if you're not doing absurd crap, but I'm not so sure for this game. What I'm hoping for is a type of experience similar to Tom Clancy's The Division: 2 , only with a better story. I have absolutely nothing prepared yet and would prefer to have characters made after the game is written. So, if you are interested, please refrain from making characters for the moment. Know that this game, as well as any game I run on any system, would be a serious one with absolutely zero tolerance for strange character concepts, character actions, or other tomfoolery. I feel like I shouldn't be needing to say things like that, but my experiences in D&D 5e have taught me to be cautious when advertising a game concept. I'm trying to tell an interactive story with my campaigns, and I would very much appreciate if no one steered it off course. I hope things go smoothly this time!

In my experience, rail roading players to fit a concept or very specific storyline takes away any role playing and they're basically actors at that point in your movie, thinking and doing what you want them to do. That said, stating that it's a run-and-gun Solo's campaign with specific mission objectives (maybe secondary branching objectives) and building a story around that like an action/adventure game could spark some interest. GL

I'm new to the system and interested.

D L. said: In my experience, rail roading players to fit a concept or very specific storyline takes away any role playing and they're basically actors at that point in your movie, thinking and doing what you want them to do. That said, stating that it's a run-and-gun Solo's campaign with specific mission objectives (maybe secondary branching objectives) and building a story around that like an action/adventure game could spark some interest. GL I agree with you 100 percent on that. I don't want to take the Role-Playing aspect out of the RPG (because then it'd just be a G). A Solo and/or Cop campaign could indeed spark some interest, and judging by Proclate's comment I can see that it already has.

I think it's okay as long as you clearly advertise the setting and mood of the game.  The TRAVELLER RPGs can fork off into merchant-ship games (which doesn't prevent side-adventures when hauling 50 d-tons of Oskurmiyur's Fauxlogna is not enough to pay the bills), exploration games or military-mercenary type campaigns, so the GM has to be clear from the outset where it's likely to be oriented. I haven't been getting many "cyberpunk" experiences except from some games of THE SPRAWL, an adaptation of the Powered by the Apocalypse rules, which is conducted tightly into mission phases, although campaigns can be set up as a modular bunch of missions as well.

Seth J. said: What I'm hoping for is a type of experience similar to Tom Clancy's The Division: 2 , only with a better story I meant that in both themes and mission structure. There would be Main Missions and Side Missions that the party could tackle in whatever order they wished, and certain Missions could only be unlocked by traveling to Safe Houses. Hopefully that's coherent enough to make a Campaign around it.

Being that your a new DM my suggestion is to remove different avenues of approach? 1: Stealth Approach, 2: Making a Deal, 3: Oceans 11 Let the players make there Solos/Cops with he intention that they are being hired into a corp funded Assault Force ( SWAT Team ) to deal with some local gangsters they stole the company's Property, this will be the main objective, how ever there secondary objective is the gangs "Brains" ( Gang leader, Netrunners, Intel ) giving them more then one options to complete this sec objective. With the Corp support you can give the part A solid break down of the situation, in stead of them trying to get there own lintel, this way they don't feel like there missing some extra options, and the party can use a solid layout of the building and plan there attack, and the enemy gang can restructure some of the walls and add traps to mix up the situation. This also forces the party to deal with the situation there the first team in and the Sec Squad is coming in when they lock down the building. ( giving the group a time frame of 2-4 hours to deal with the situation will force them to us brought force, is stead of stealthiness, also let the group gear military gear because of the corp backing. ) Silly me I forgot to tell you why to do this.  First big reason is for Combat experience, Cyberpunk 2020 has a large amount of number crouching and options in combat, forcing that combat to happen will help both Players and DM become familiar with the system.  Secondly This type of system will force the Players to rely on etch other, The Bulk of RP should be had in the small laws in gun fights as a Bad guy is taunting the party, the team has time to make up there mind about the next move, and if its just dumb or smart to do so will help the players understand how to look at there team and etch other.    Third Give etch player a third objective, this is personal to them selves, maybe there is a vault with some Extra Cred chips only one player knows about, or one of the gang members is a personal mark for a party member, when everyone things everything is clear, the party starts to realize there personal score is in someone else hands things mite not end up as clean as you mite think.