Cyberpunk RPG Random Scenario Generator

CYBERPUNK RANDOM SCENARIO GENERATOR
===================================

by Antony Johnston
May 1997

http://antonyjohnston.com/


How many times have you sat at your desk the night before a game and stared at a blank piece of paper? Started counting the hairs on the back of your hand, consumed three packs of cookies and fifteen cups of coffee, smoked forty cigarettes and played Tetris till you've got tunnel vision before you realize it's two-thirty in the morning and you STILL haven't thought of a scenario.

Cool it, choomba. GMs block happens to the best of us, and this scenario generator is for just those moments.

You can take it literally or simply use it as a source of ideas. We're assuming you know how to write a plot and run a scenario - what you're short on is inspiration. So we won't lecture you about how to put these together, or the direction of the story. Just raw data.

Now relax, pick up your d100 and get rolling...


Using this Scenario Generator
=============================

It's so simple, it's criminal. Roll once on each table and follow the instructions.

TABLE 1 tells you what the situation is, from a gang war in the streets to a media celebrity coming to town. Try to get the PCs involved directly in these situations (some suggestions for this are given with the entry descriptions), even if it's not their usual line of work. At worst, it should happen around them as they try to get on with their normal business.

TABLE 2 will tell you who's involved in this situation besides the PCs. These will most likely end up as the main adversaries, so again try to make them significant to the PCs in some way.

TABLE 3 decides where the majority of the action takes place, whether that's at the beginning of the scenario, the climax, or both. Don't always go for the obvious, here - if there's a bent cop on the streets and the table says "diner", maybe he's got a contact there, or he could be using the back room to stash his gear. If you roll "rooftops" he might be paragliding around the city during his dubious business, or have a base of operations on a rooftop somewhere.

TABLE 4 is an optional table that tells you what the REAL reason is for all of this, because in cyberpunk nothing is ever what it seems. If you choose to use this table, the result will either describe the real POWER behind the problem and/or the real REASON for the situation in the first place.


1. WHAT'S GOING DOWN?
=====================

01-05 Corp extraction
06-10 Celebrity under threat
11-15 Decker causing havoc
16-20 PC's past catches up with them
21-25 Valuable item suddenly within reach
26-30 Media circus comes to town
31-35 Corp going bust
36-40 New drug hits the streets
41-45 Gang war
46-50 Bent cop/s
51-55 The Mob throws its muscle around
56-60 An outsider comes to town
61-65 Nomads on the warpath
66-70 New hardware hits the streets
71-75 Crime Boss goes legit
76-80 Cops purge the underworld
81-85 Old girlfriends never die
86-90 Megalomaniac out to destroy the world
91-95 Serial Killer
96-00 Roll again twice, combine the two if possible


2. WHO'S UP FOR IT?
===================

01-05 The Mob
06-10 Military Corp
11-15 Biotech Corp
16-20 The Government
21-25 Booster Gang
26-30 Solo
31-35 Merc Outfit
36-40 Media/s
41-45 Fixer
46-50 Decker
51-55 Foreign Government
56-60 Eco-guerrillas
61-65 Nomad Family
66-70 Police Force
71-75 Rogue Cops
76-80 Cyberpsycho
81-85 Rockerboy/Gang
86-90 Conspiracy Theorist
91-95 Rogue Government Agents
96-00 Roll again twice, combine the two if possible


3. WHERE'S IT AT?
=================

01-05 Warehouse
06-10 Corp HQ
11-15 Government HQ
16-20 Nightclub
21-25 Docks
26-30 Mob HQ
31-35 Combat Zone
36-40 Dustzone
41-45 Airport
46-50 The Net
51-55 Media HQ
56-60 Rooftops
61-65 Subways
66-70 Police Station
71-75 Diner/Restaurant
76-80 Concert Hall
81-85 Hotel
86-90 Lab
91-95 Mall
96-00 Roll again twice, combine the two if possible


4. WHAT'S THE REAL STORY?
=========================

01-05 Government cover-up *
06-10 Corp extraction
11-15 Corp takeover
16-20 Bent cop/s
21-25 Smuggling
26-30 Gang infiltration
31-35 Blackmail
36-40 Decker causing havoc
41-45 Old enemy
46-50 Old friend
51-55 New drug
56-60 New hardware
61-65 Solo on the warpath
66-70 Medias "creating" news (i.e. hoax)
71-75 The Mob
76-80 Biotech corp "experimenting"
81-85 Cultists
86-90 All for love
91-95 Nothing. It really is what it appears **
96-00 Roll again twice, combine the two if possible

* You may want to roll again on [1] to see what they're covering up...
** This'll REALLY make 'em paranoid!


SITUATION DESCRIPTIONS
======================

# Corp Extraction

Corp A has decided it wants Employee X (currently working for Corp B) to work for them instead. Corp B refuses to let him go, so Corp A is using a black ops team to kidnap, er, extract him.

- The PCs are the black ops team
- Employee X is a friend of one of the PCs
- The PCs work for Corp B

# Celebrity Under Threat

A major media celebrity is being stalked/receiving death threats/in a dispute with an employer/the target of an assassination.

- The PCs are hired as bodyguards
- One of the PCs knows who is behind the situation
- The PCs are covering the story

# Decker Causing Havoc

A hot whizkid is disrupting something via the net. This could be inside the net itself (crashing a Corp's system, stealing data, crossing routelines) or something in real life affected by the net (misdirecting deliveries, aiding a team of burglars by disabling alarms, messing up credit accounts).

- The PCs are hired by the main sufferer to find and eliminate the decker
- The PCs are the main sufferer
- The PCs know the decker

# PC's Past Catches up with Them

An old friend/enemy/relative/colleague of one of the PCs turns up out of the blue and starts causing problems.

- The PC has a past they'd rather forget
- The NPC wants vengeance on the PC for something
- The NPC wants the PCs help for something

# Valuable Item Suddenly Within Reach

Something valuable to one or more of the PCs becomes available, but not legally. Something they'd kill to get their hands on.

- Brand new proto ICEbreaker
- Military firearms
- Classified documents

# Media Circus Comes to Town

Something is happening in the PCs city that brings all the media buzzards in. A hip music scene emerges (cf Manchester 1988, Seattle 1991); a personal appearance by a major celebrity; a new invention; perhaps even a disaster.

- The PCs are embroiled in the event
- The PCs are involved in something completely irrelevant but highly sensitive, and there are too many media snooping around

# Corp Going Bust

A major Corp has gone into liquidation. Maybe this has been on the cards for a while, or perhaps it's entirely unexpected. Either way it's trouble.

- It's the PCs employer
- It was the PCs actions that brought it down

# New Drug Hits the Streets

...And becomes so popular it's a MAJOR problem.

- One of the PCs is a junkie
- The PCs are cops, trying to curb its spread
- One of the PCs is a fixer selling it

# Gang War

Two or more gangs have decided enough is enough and are going to battle it out.

- The PCs have a vested interest in one of the gangs
- The PCs have a vested interest in TWO of the gangs (!)
- The PCs live in the zone where the battle takes place

# Bent Cop/s

Somewhere in the city are one or more rogue cops. They may have gone vigilante or (more likely) they're corrupt.

- The PCs are one of the cops' targets
- The cops are friends of the PCs

# The Mob Throws its Muscle Around

...And the PCs are on the receiving end of some/all of it.

- The PCs are cutting in on the Mob's business
- They insulted/killed someone the Mob holds in high regard

# An Outsider Comes to Town

Out of nowhere comes someone who upsets the status quo. A foreign diplomat stirring trouble, or a hotshot solo gunning for the top jobs. Maybe a new Chief of Police who won't honor the "arrangement" the PCs had with the previous one...

# Nomads on the Warpath

Somehow the PCs have earned the wrath of a nomad family. They're coming to town.

- One of the PCs spurned the amorous advances of the leader's son/daughter
- The PCs embarrassed a "brother"
- The PCs have initiated a project nomads object to

# New Hardware Hits the Streets

Your tek is suddenly obsolete, and you can't afford the nutek. Time to start falling behind.

- Your cybermodem has been ousted by one twice as fast
- New armor renders all your expensive ammo useless

# Crime Boss Goes Legit

Big media story - Don Acapulco has declared he's going straight. Why? And if it's true, how come no-one has taken his place at the head?

- The PCs are medias covering the story
- The PCs work for Don Acapulco's rival

# Cops Purge the Underworld

Bowing to public pressure, the cops undertake a massive effort to clean up. Long-forgotten misdemeanors are re-investigated. "Arrangements" suddenly cease to be effective. Favors are forgotten.

- The PCs are the cops
- The PCs are responsible for a list of unsolved crimes as long as your arm

# Old Girlfriends Never Die (flip gender if necessary/more interesting)

...They just re-emerge when you're in flagrante with your new input (never should have let her keep that keycard). Or they come running to you when they're in big trouble.

- She's on the run from the cops
- Her new boyfriend is a psycho
- She wants to use the PC for something (but of course won't tell him that)

# Megalomaniac Out to Destroy the World

...And only the PCs can stop him. Think James Bond.

- Madman threatens nuclear devastation
- Eco-guerrilla plans to unleash a bioplague

# Serial Killer

Someone in the city is working their way through a list...

- The PCs are on the list
- The PCs are cops trying to catch him
- The PCs are medias covering the story


NOW WHAT?
=========

So you've rolled your dice and got your results. Now you've got to combine them in some way, and you're wondering how the Government is behind a Corp going bust, why it all takes place in a police station, and what the hell it's got to do with smuggling.

Hey, that's why we're here. Let's take a look:

[1] Corp going bust. OK, so pick a corp. Let's take a military weapons developer that was doing well until very recently. We'll call them Firearms, Inc.

[2] The Government. So maybe Firearms, Inc used to have the Government contract, and now they haven't, hence the sudden liquidation. Simple enough so far.

[3] Police Station. A bit trickier, this. Let's check number 4 first and come back.

[4] Smuggling. A-ha! Check this out:

The Government was quite happy buying guns off Firearms, Inc. But then a foreign developer offered them the same guns for half the price. Firearms, Inc couldn't match the price so they lost the contract.

But the reason the foreign company was offering the guns so cheaply is because in each shipment of firearms there's about half a million's worth of dope coming into the country.

This can now go a number of ways, depending on who your PCs are:

- If they're Corps, it's their company that's going bust. It's up to them to do some dirt-digging on the foreign corp.

- If they're cops, they might receive an anonymous tip-off.

- Maybe the Government KNOWS about the dope, but is quite happy to let it pass because they're getting their guns cheap. Ideal if your PCs are medias...

You may have noticed I've ditched the police station (unless your PCs are cops, of course). It's OK, that's what it's all there for - inspiration. If only three out of the four match up, it's enough. Hell, if only one of the rolls gives you an idea, it's better than a blank page, right?

Let's try one more:

[1] Decker Causing Havoc. Well, this could be anything, so let's get some more info.

[2] Medias. But why?

[3] Airport. So we can safely assume that's what their decker's disrupting, whether it be data or operational systems.

[4] All For Love. Here we go:

Donna White, media extraordinaire, has a domestic problem; her girlfriend Maria is leaving her for another woman. Donna is understandably cut up about this, but Maria has made her mind up and is leaving on the 2230 flight to Atlanta tonight.

Not if Donna can help it. She's hired a decker to screw up the airport's control systems, cause a snarl-up, and delay all flights. She's not sure how she can persuade Maria to stay, but she's not letting that flight take off before she's had a chance to try.

But to make things complex, the decker has a compulsion to use this as an opportunity for infamy, and goes one step further. Planes start colliding in the air, people start dying. And Donna's media boss wants her to cover the story.

How do you get your PCs involved? Maybe they're waiting for a flight themselves. Maybe they're a rival media team. Maybe Maria is one PC's cousin, and calls them for a shoulder to cry on; or maybe they're already at the airport to see her off. Maybe your PC decker notices all the strange activity at the airport. Maybe your merc group is called in by airport security to eliminate the problem. Maybe...

Use your imagination, and don't be afraid to use and discard ideas as necessary. Your PCs will thank you for it... and you'll never have to stare at that blank page again.

// ENDS

2350 words