Executive requires a robust Session 0  
  and are really powerful  

Art by Psychée"

INTRODUCTION

 Executive in a Corporation, that's not the best way to make friends with a group of Edgerunners, as most of them hate corporations. How do they fit in a Cyberpunk crew ?


Of course you can reskin an Executive as stated in Collecting the Random.


"Want to play a Mobster? Exec is perfect. The mob pays for your home, gives you underlings, and makes sure you’re taken care of. All you need to do is sell your soul and be willing to do what the boss of bosses says. Until you kill them and take over." 

HOW DO THEY FIT ?

But let's try to stick to the initial concept a bit.

Teamwork p.389

"You’ll notice that Cyberpunk groups are not social. The Players will have no reason to trust anyone, and the conventional reasons (stop evil, kill bads) for a Crew won’t work ..... The Team is the Hook For this reason, you’ll need a more solid "hook" on which to hang a Cyberpunk adventure.

"For this reason, you’ll need a more solid "hook" on which to hang a Cyberpunk adventure. Our hook is the team. A team is a group of people who are already CYBERPUNK thrown together by Fate in some way that forces them to cooperate. .... The group stays together, or it dies. Simple."

Session 0 will be central to the design of your team. This is very important in Cyberpunk, as some roles don't fit the narrative at first glance. But, with a little effort during Session 0, you can work wonders.

Neocorporate Teams

"Corporate teams are groups that are oriented around a specific Corporation, working together to accomplish the company’s goals. The main base of operations is the Corporation’s offices or security areas.."

In this case, all the players are in some way part of the company. And they don't hate it. Maybe it's because it's a small company, or because they simply want to destroy the main competitor with whom they have a grudge. Maybe the CEO is family and he/she is struggling a lot to make it. You can always find RP reasons, even with a character who hates corporation in general, because "It's always personal" p.28

Band

"Bands are any group of Rockerboys who have gotten together to play music. The band travels from place to place, getting into trouble at each new gig, holding concerts and raising hell ..... Various other slots such as ..... Execs (playing record execs)."

The exec is not the centerpiece anymore. But he will protect the label investment. And that's certainly a small label, they don't have plenty of money to give and they want a return on their investissement. This is the best way to include an Executive in group of corporate haters. They might be a bit distrustful, but if you play you Executive as a friendly dude who really cares. That will do the trick.

Trauma Teams

"Trauma Teams are groups of licensed paramedics who patrol the city looking for accident victims. They operate from an AV-4 Urban Assault Vehicle, redesigned into an ambulance configuration and armed with a belly-mounted minigun. A typical Trauma Team would include a driver (Exec, Fixer or Solo, although Nomad is best), one or more Medtechs, and two or more Solos acting as "security."

You are playing a trauma team crew, that's very specific. But if you PCs end-up being friends, they might want to do other small job in order to improved their life. The Executive is part of the team here, and will be the enablers for the other jobs. He will arrange the schedule of the team and will authorized the leave without a pay.

Gangs

"Gangs and countergangs are usually the enemy in Cyberpunk. But why not turn the tables? Gangs can also be created for positive purposes: neighborhood defense, to stop other more violent gangs, or to resist a major invasion by government or the Corps. In this context, you could look at Robin Hood or the WWII Resistance as gangs. A typical gang would have lots of Solos, Nomads, and Fixers. There might be a Medtech or Tech around, and possibly even an Exec if the gang is one of those controlled by a covert organization."

This one is also possible with the caveat that your gang gain some benefit from a cover organization, meaning they will do the deeds of this organisation when needed. Be careful with your covert organization, the Executive reprensents them. The objectives of the gang must be aligned with the organization one. Else you will plant seeds for PvP which is never good.

Lawmen

"The Lawman team could operate out of a seedy, heavily fortified police station. They might include ... a Captain (Exec) who handles connections with the City government, and a large number of grunt cops"

You also have a Lawman in your group, that could be the way to make it happens. Again all players must agree to this kind of team during Session 0. This not an easy one because the Captain is more than a simple Executive. He is the boss, he have authority which important in a hierarchical structure. Relationship ingame between PCs with different status can be tricky. That requires a mature group, and a very mature Executive player. Be sure everyone understand that.

Media Teams

"Media teams go anywhere, and do anything to get the story. A Media team can operate out of a TV or radio station, a newspaper office, or even a major network news bureau ....... A good newsroom also has at least one harried Exec who has to cover the team with the bosses upstairs."

You also have a Media in your group, that could be the way to make it happens. Again all players must agree to this kind of team during Session 0. This one is a powerful one, as Media is the most dangerous Role in the game. If the entire team work for his sake.... be prepared to see you world crumble around you.

Exec freelancer

Danger Gal dossier introduced to us : SABER Freelance Corporate Troubleshooter.

"His somewhat argumentative nature means Saber doesn’t fit into a comfortable Corporate hierarchy. Rather than letting this be a career-ender, he turned the flaw to an advantage. Now Saber is the freelancer who companies hire to come in and fix their messes and he gets the job done, no matter who that ticks off."

This one is kinda an easy way out, the Executive will change corporation a lot, new contract and new problems to fix. He can choose for which corpo he is going to work. But sometime, the GM could forced him into accepting a job he is not fond of. Else he would lose his benefits. This kind of Executive have less risk to be ostracized by the other member of the crew.

Maybe the crew is part of his "personal" team, they are mercenaries to hire. But not the kind the client wants to stay in the shadows. The client want to send a message : "I'm doing this, I have the resources, stop f... with me".

Then, because the group start to have a good reputation, they might be hired for more covert operations while the Executive is working on some internal stuff in his current corporation. 

Bored and underpaid Exec wants to build reputation & contact for future promotion/job.

The executive's day-to-day work is boring and he can't stand it. He wants another position in the company, with more action and more money to be made. Operations branch is what he wants. That's why he's chosen a different approach to the problem. He will become an Edgerunner on his downtime. He will raise his reputation and will make a lot of contact. Eventually he will have the experience, the skills, and the network to be part of the Operations branch.

This one is tricky, as you need to manage his downtime, after all he is still working is normal job for the corps and get the benefits (Teamwork rank). 

Conclusion

If you want your Executive to be fully integrated into the team, you need a solid 0 session. As a group, you will decide how to create a team that makes sense at your table and in your setting. It's vital to build this with the whole group of players to make sure everyone can build PCs that fit within the constraints of integrating an Executive.

WHAT ARE AN EXECUTIVE STRENGTHS ?

As everything is linked in CPR, Newcomers should play as intented : Street Level and earn around 1000eb + loot per job. And this is important for an Executive as most of his Role benefits are about money. The role has been balanced around the above-mentioned paycheck. If you play in an epic campaign with higher paycheck, the benefits of your role will be less interesting in comparison. 

Quick reminder of the Role ranks

More money, more Style & more Safety

A Businesswear suit is only 1550eb but that's some eddies you save in order to buy other clothes and fashionwear. Style over Substance, you need that suit.

A cargo hotel : 1000eb/month. That's where live most of starting character. You will save this amount of money compared to other members of the crew + you will leave in a far better place than them. That huge.

A free Trauma team Silver subscription that's 500eb more a month

Right from the start : your character gonna live in a big house with a bathroom and some security guard in order to protect him while at home. And the money you save can go directly into your Lifestyle : Fresh food ! 

No place like home 

No Place Like Home – Base Building for Cyberpunk RED. A Game-changing DLC for Executive and Tech. Inside you will find the Workstation (you can only have 1)

Workstation : An Improved Team Member is considered a full member of the crew, gains IP whenever their Exec gains IP and should receive an equal share of the pay for any gigs they participate in. IP and cash are spent as the GM decides.

For combat, choose a teammate with REF8 and/or high level in DEX. If not REF 8, install a Reflex Co-processor and dump IP into Evasion because they aren't good enough in Evasion. Of course that's GM fiat. On the other hand... why a combat oriented Teammate wouldn't want to improved his surival ability ? Base 14 in Evasion seems a good goal.

This DLC can also diminish the renting cost of a shared apartment between the member living in it. Meaning you're not gaining 1000eb a month more than them if they choose to buy the Rent Reduction improvement.

Exemple : Upscale Conapt is supposed to cost 7500eb a month but will drop to 2500eb a month for 3 bedrooms and 2 bathroom. 4 people can live here and that's 625 a months for each one of them.

On the other hand, your Improved Teammate could have a room in the HQ, and he will save money in order to gear-up. 

Team members

Team members: they are interesting for starting characters, but then become a little less effective when facing dangerous opponents. That's no more the case for one of them thanks to the Workstation. And they are by definition a boost in your action economy.

At rank 5 you have 2 of them. And number matters in combat (economy of action), if you choose a bodyguard, a company driver or a covert operative (your secretary). They all have a potential base 14 in hand gun. Give them 1 VHP EQ + AP & 1 HP EQ + AP. Let's say you do the same for yourself.

The main issue here being middle range, as no Teammates have Shoulder arms. Maybe it's your job to have this skill ? Or maybe you will have to wait a bit, and your Improved Teammate might learn this important skill (GM Fiat, but that's sound logical).

The Driver is awesome, because of his skill, equipment and cyberware :

The first one have 8 REF, 6 DEX and 5 EMP. He can be a good Improved Teammate.

The Covert ops is considered to be an excellent choice

The second one have 8 REF, 6 DEX, 5 EMP. He can be a good Improved Teammate. This one can fight inside a smoke grenade, that's awesome, and he can bring his weapon everywhere (almost).

Diversifying Teammates

It's also a thing. Remember that your teammate can have a very large array of skill. Therefore they can help your crew with complementary checks. A +1 is always good. The company technicien is not a bad choice as he can repair LAJ and other small stuff.

Improving teammate

Even without a Workstation you can give them gears that will improved their abitlity by a lot.

A Company tech with Neural link + chipware socket + Paramedic chip + Medscanner + medbag (3100eb + therapy) will have Paramedic 13. You can save people with such a score and fix some critical injuries.

You can equip the Driver and the Cover ops with a Neural link and a subdermal grip. They will shoot at people with a total of 16 in Handgun + bonuses. And if you provide smartglass with low light / IR/ UV to the Driver, and to you. All three can fight inside a smoke grenade. 

Conclusion

 They have more money to spend into Lifestyle or something else, and they avec Teammates. Action economy is central in CPR combat. A Solo can do 1 action per turn. An executive rank 5 can do 3 Actions per turn. Not by himself, not with the level of expertise. Still... that's three actions per turn and that's pretty powerful if you know what you are doing. Don't overlook the Company tech, in some group he might be useful, like a lot. 

BIGGEST MISTAKE  TO DO

That's for GMs. An executive with well equipped teammates can be deadly. But don't boost this opposing team just to stop the fact they are outnumbered. That's the power of the Executive. Of course don't let the OPFOR getting sweep all the time. You need to reach a balance. Having teamats also come with drawbacks. They aren't that good by themself, and if you kill one of them depending on the situation it might be hard to secure his body/equipment. And if the player is not smart enough to keep them loyal, they will betray him, with their new toys. 

HOW SHOULD I PLAY

That's the beauty of CPR, it's not class based but Skill based. You can choose whatever path you want. You are a leader and a manager, yes, but you can also be a good combattant if you choose to be the leader of a merc group or the captain of a lawmen group. Obviously you can be a Face with high level in INT and COOL and all the Skill related to these STAT. You can be an investigator with High level in EMP and INT. The sky is your limit. 

John Smith

Here an example of a balanced Executive.

Social

He is a Face : Human perception, Conversation and Persuasion. And he can play a role if needed : Acting. Everything can be boost with a bit of Smash when he is in a pinch.

He will have only 10 cyberwares in total in order to keep his EMP at 6. Conversation base 12 & Human perception base 12 +2 = 14. That's not bad. If needed a dose of Pirahna smash will do the trick.

Investigation

He is not that good here but with INT 7 he has the potential to evolve. Still, he can do his part with Business and Bureaucraty. When gathering Intel for an Heist these two skills can be central and are sometimes forgotten.

Combat

For this specific Executive, I picture him being the manager of a merc team, or part of the secret operation branch of a corpo. He is not your typical suit, as he can demonstrate some combat experience and gain the respect of his subordonnates. He can be a freelancer, specialized in fixing problem with kinetic action.

Sheet

INT 7 - REF 8 - DEX 7 - COOL 8 - TECH 2

WILL 6 - LUCK 4 - BODY 6 - MOVE 6 - EMP 8

Skills

Teammates :

Gears

Gear to buy

CONCLUSION

Executive need a bit of work as a group during session 0, then it offers a very wide range of characters, more divers than your average "Suit". Teammates are central to the Role. Depending on how you invest on them (money for gears and Cyberwares) they can help you more than you think. One of them will even become very dangerous.