CYBER_MERCS
RPG Card Game
Access the cybernetic cards, weapon cards, rulebook, and player sheet for the game below:
My Role
Worked with a team to design the game's roleplaying and card mechanics.
Researched the cyberpunk genre and elements to implement in the game's role-playing mechanics.
Created prototypes and finalized designs for cards.
Conducted playtests and iterated elements of the game based on player feedback.
Worked with team to produce a rule and narrative document as an outline for players.
Tools used: Adobe Illustrator
Made: October - December 2022, I worked on this project with two other groupmates.
Overview
Welcome to CYBER_MERCS a roleplaying game based in a cyberpunk style universe. This game can be played with as little as 2 people, but we recommend a group of 5 max. In this world your goal is to accomplish missions, defeat your enemies, and gain an arsenal of weapons that you can use to spread your name throughout the world and game eternal fame and glory. Games that have inspired the theme and mechanics of CYBER_MERCS are cyberpunk 2077, cyberpunk, dungeons and dragons, and lasers and feelings. With this in mind, we wanted to create a game that delivers an immersive and fun role-playing experience that invokes feelings of excitement and thrill for players. Our game succeeds in this by allowing the player to use their imagination to find ways to utilize the different cybernetics and weapons in the game in order to solve problems. Additionally, our game gives players scenarios that are realistic to the cyberpunk genre which helps with the players immersion.
Contents
40 Class Cybernetics cards
4 Character Sheets
4-character class specific cybernetics cards
4-character class specific weapon cards
10 weapon cards
A set of Dice
Set Up
First choose some to be the Techno master, they are the storyteller of the game, they are the one who will be creating the story and guiding the players on their missions (go to Pg 2 for Techno Master setup). The rest of the players will take one of the character sheets provided and begin setting up their character (proceed to character setup below)
Character setup:
1. Take a character sheet and fill out both your name, character name and pick your class, make sure there is only one of each class in the party, there cannot be more than one person with the same class. (Choose one class from below)
Fighter: The Fighters goal is to be the forefront in protecting the party, Fighters are professionals in all forms of combat they are better at defending attacks and tanking heavy hits. A fighter is an essential team member to have in a party for those teams that face this game with head on physical combat.
Engineer: An engineer is proficient in constructing weapons, cybernetics and fixing anything technologically based. When not in combat the Engineer can create cybernetics with a roll of the dice.
Biologist: A Biologist is a master over life and death, they are the doctors of this futuristic world. They are proficient in healing party members and fixing almost anything that has to do with nature.
Hacker: Hackers are extremely useful in this cyberpunk world where technology is everywhere, a Hacker is proficient in infiltrating any security system or network, using this ability they can disable weapons systems allowing your team members a better chance at completing the mission. This is an essential class to have in your party if you wish to play this with a focus on non-violence or just better strategy when fighting enemies, as the Hacker is great at reconnaissance.
2. Once you have chosen a class and named your character, maybe give the character a background if you want to add more to the roleplay. Make sure you give your character 50 mentality points, and 50 health. For more information on Mentality points read section “how to read the cards” below
3. After you have filled out the information above, split the cards into a weapons pile and a cybernetics pile and shuffle each pile, the weapon cards are indicated by a star at the bottom (An example of this can be found on Pg 1). Each player will now take one Cybernetic and one Weapon card, these cards can be shown to your fellow players, and you can even ask to trade your weapon or cybernetic with another player’s if you thought it would fit your character better. You can have only one weapon equipped at any time, but if you obtain more weapon cards you can keep the weapons in your inventory if you wish to swap them out you can do so only when outside of combat. Though you begin with one cybernetic card you can have up to 5 installed at a time, they can only be swapped out for different cybernetics when outside of combat.
Technomaster setup:
1. As the techno master it is your goal to guide the players through the mission you created
2. As the techno master you have final say over all rules, so if you wish to switch the rules up if you think the game will play better or be more fun that that way then go right ahead, this game is all about having a fun time playing.
3. At the bottom of this rule sheet there is a playtest guide to help you form a short game session quickly, all you need to do is just roll a 6-sided die for each of the sections to build a short one sentence story that you can use to build your narrative
4. Unless you have more, you need to prepare for your own story, this is all you need to do to prepare a short beginner’s game of CYBER_MERCS
Technomaster prompts
The Enemy:
1. A High-tech Warlord
2. Cyberterrorist
3. Hacker
4. A dangerous terrorist group
5. An evil Government
6. A Corrupt CEO
What the enemy wants to do:
1. Destroy
2. Hack
3. Infiltrate
4. Create
5. Build
6. Form an alliance with
What thing is the Enemy’s objective directed at:
1. The Worlds Power supply.
2. Governments Computer System
3. Biggest bank in the Solar System
4. Worldwide internet Mainframe
5. Robot Production Center
6. Earth Asteroid Defense Supercomputer
What is the Outcome of this Enemy’s objective:
1. A Financial crisis.
2. Secret Information Stolen.
3. The Enemy Steals Money
4. The Planet Explodes.
5. The Internet is shutdown
6. All Self Driving Cars lose control
How to use the cards
Each weapon card will have a name and description, some weapon cards have boosts that are class specific, but you do not have to be from that class in order to use it. Boosts will add a certain number to your attack rolls, this means that whatever number you roll when you attack, you will add the value of the boost to it which gives you a higher chance of success or boosts your damage output. If the weapon card says that the boost gives medics increased healing, then the Techno Master can decide how much the medic can heal.
Each cybernetic card has a name, description, the minimum mentality required to use it, and how many mentality points are subtracted from the player’s mentality when it’s equipped. In order to equip a certain cybernetic, the player’s mentality must be above or equal to the minimum mentality required to use it. Once the cybernetic is equipped, the player must subtract the mentality points on the card from their mentality points on their character sheet. If the player really wants to equip a certain cybernetic but they do not meet the minimum mentality, or their mentality is close to the cyberpsychosis range (mentality of < 23, more on Cyberpsychosis can be found in the next section below) then they can unequip cybernetics and gain back mentality points but the amount of mentality they gain back is decided by rolling a d20. If a player wants to unequip a cybernetic just to use the cybernetic they gained from looting an enemy after a session of combat, then they also roll a d20 to gain back mentality points and then they equip the cybernetic and subtract the mentality points on the card from their mentality.
NOTE: the effects of all boosts last till the end of the turn/round or until the player decides to unequip the card. Roll boosts only apply when the player decides to do something related to their specialty. If your mentality is less than the cybernetic you equipped after subtracting mentality points, you can still use the cybernetic.
Example Cards
How Players take turns and what happens in Combat
1. When outside of combat players decide on their own when they are going to do something in game, and the success of any of their actions is decided by a d20, a roll of 10 or higher is a success, the higher it is above 10 the better the result of your action is. If the roll is lower than 10 then it is a failure, the lower below 10 it is the worse the outcome is.
2. Combat plays similar except turns are decided by initiative, where all players as well as the Techno Master who will be playing the “enemy” will roll a d20, these scores will determine who goes first and the rest of the turn order. The player with the highest number goes first, with next being whoever has the next highest number below the first, and so on until the turn order is decided. (In the case of two or more players getting the same score, then each will roll again until one has the higher number over the other.)
3. In Combat, players and enemies will both roll the d20 to see if they successfully hit the other, weapons and cybernetics can grant bonuses to your attack roll. Success and failure is determined the same as with rolling for actions outside of combat, if the hit is a failure, skip the rest of your turn, if the roll is a success then the Techno Master will decide how badly the enemy is hit, and if they are defeated or not, when the enemy succeeds the player will roll a d20 to see how much damage they take will be, a lower score is more damage taken, a higher score is less damage taken, it is up to the Techno Master to decide the exact amount of damage the player will take.
4. Once Combat has ended, if all players are dead, the game is over, or if you have defeated the enemy then you have the chance to loot the enemy, each player can decide if they want to take one card from the weapon pile, or from the cybernetic pile. Each player may take only one card, unless the Techno Master decides otherwise.
Cyberpsychosis
Cyberpsychosis is a dissociative disorder caused by Cyberware upgrades overwhelming a person's body. Those afflicted by cyberpsychosis are known as cyberpsychos, cyberpsychos have lost their humanity after overloading on cybernetics which is a result of their mentality deteriorating significantly. Symptoms include being easily irritable, going on violent rampages, identifying with machines more than humans, hallucinations, impulsiveness, split personality, urge to kill others, etc. The symptoms and enhanced physical abilities due to cybernetics makes cyberpsychos extremely dangerous to themselves and those around them. Players with a mentality of 23 or less will have symptoms of cyberpsychosis and subtract –5 to all their rolls until they decide to remove cybernetics.