1

Thank you, backers!

- Listen up, maggots. You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You’re the same decaying organic matter as
everything else. – Tyler Durden

Without the people on this page, Neomancer Frederic S. Bacon IV

would still be a dream in the heads of 4 nerds. Greg “GothAck” Miell
So thank you all for supporting us, for investing Gustave Michel [p. 154]
time and thought and believing in the project! Hadschi Halef Omar
Without you, this book would have never been Harm-Diercks Gronewold [p. 159]
possible so go out in the world and brag about Imunar
your contribution! Make other people contrib- James Porter
ute to other awesome projects out there! Janine Doxsee
Thank you all! Teylen
Jeremy Siemon
Team Neomancer Jerry A!
Jon Wilson
Joerre
Neomancers Jose Fonseca
The finest Operators out there! Thanks for your grati- Joshua Hill
tious support. We are looking forward to play Neo- Kevin Heath
mancer with you! Kim Linck
Chasen R. Chandler (Maxforce357)[p.164] Konrad Tucher [p. 88]
Erebus Kyle Burckhard
Joseph A Brown [p. 142] Kyle Urban [p. 158]
Konstantin Kunz / Koronus [p. 143] Marielena Winkler
Zachary Gilliam Michael Ostrokol
Mikko Kari
pushers Pierre Savoie [p. 163]
The silent supporters. Spending good money for this robert kim
project and not wanting anything in return. We love Samuel Shrum
you guys! Scott
Andrew Gilbertson Serena “Intendant S” Nelson [p. 176]
Arshia Khoshnood Taiga Brenerman
Daniel Highlands [p. 157 and p. 158] wilcoxon
HaukeVB Zett
Ron Jodway
Tim Hagenacker
Timpo
treehuggers
You wanted a physical book and you will get it. Maybe
you already have it in your hands as you read this. So hug
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Thank you for your support, guys! Most of you spend Anomaly Stratic
the money before the physical book has even been an- Beachfox
nounced! Benjamin R Bailey
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Chris Hvidsten Dave “Wintergreen” Harrison
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Doug Connelly Gert-Jan van der Krogt
Eddie Heather Eckman
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2
 James Groeling Benjamin “HeadCrash” Mey
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You are our super Operators! Spending more to show Trevor Scurr
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Franck Florentin Why are you in this book? I know two of you personally.
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The salt of the earth, our Operators! Thank you for be- Website for material
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3
 Welcome
They’re not gonna catch us. We’re on a mission from God. – The Blues Brothers
Neomancer is a pen and paper roleplaying game
and since you bought this game via Kickstarter or
on Drivethrurpg we assume that you know what
this is all about. It is a cyberpunk RPG trying to fix
the fact that cyberpunk is per se an anachronistic
genre. Some ideas of cyberpunk are just not via-
ble anymore since the world spins faster now and
current technology has overtaken fiction in many
ways.
Before we start, open YouTube and go to https://
tinyurl.com/jxuuhmh. Now you are in the right
mood for Neomancer and to have a peek in a con-
versation with an interested chromehead...
Okay, what is this?
This is Neomancer, a cyberpunk RPG.
Hmm, so like Shadowrun, Cyberpunk 2020 and stuff
like this?
A little bit but with a whole other approach to the
theme.
And that would be?
Well, the rules are very simple. We are not focussing on
large tables and where your cool cyberware is located.
Also, endless charts of seemingly identical weapons are
out. There won’t be much micromanaging either…
Boooooh! I want to build a cool character.
There are skill trees.
Okay…
And cyberware trees and much more. You can create a
very elaborate character, someone called Operator.
Okay, sounds like any cyberpunk game to me.
That is where the AI comes into play. We are heavily fo-
cussing on the AI part of the game. Almost every person
in the future has a little helper, an AI in their head to
navigate through their life. Furthermore, there are also
very advanced androids, called cyberpods, als operated
by other AI’s. These cyberpods are there to make your
life easier.
And kill me? Are there fighting cyberpods?
Calm your mohawk, my friend. Of course there are but
the main purpose of these machines is civil. And
it raises questions.
4
What questions?
Are cyperpods human-like and should they be treated as
such? Some organisations support this idea while hard-
liners like Humans First! are against such blasphemies.
Tough question. Can I choose the middle-ground?
Yes, but that would be boring.
What about cyberware? Can I build a killing machine
with a chrome body?
You sure can, but you have to live with the consequenc-
es.
Like many dead bodies? Pewpew!
No. There is a concept called alienation. It represents
the disconnection between your body and your mind
when there are too many augmentations. There will
be many options of how to deal with that. Maybe you
get blackout drunk, maybe you walk alone through the
streets of Tokyo or maybe you go hug your wife. What-
ever floats your cyberboat.
Sounds annoying.
It’s not. The effects of alienation are never gamebreak-
ing. They do matter, however.
This sounds more like an elaborate game about feelings
than cyberpunk.
We are trying to emphasize the idea of a real person.
Operators are real people, maybe with friends, a family
or alone. But since you want to have fun in a cyberpunk
game and not do cyber-groceries, this is mostly handled
during the intermission phase of the game. Abstract and
fast. The real game happens during Operations.
Like jobs?
Yep, like jobs. An Operation is a frame in which the
players can interact with people, the environment, their
AI’s and so on. It follows a certain path. First you have
a preparation where your Operators get ready, then an
intrusion where you enter the target, the danger zone
where the actual play happens and an extraction to get
out in one piece.
But what happens if I fail the intrusion? Operation over?
No, instead the target’s firewall increases. Everytime the
Operators do something wrong or fail their checks, they
increase the firewall. This is an abstract concept of the
targets awareness.
 Sounds really cool. So I can fail as much as I want.
There are limits and a high firewall is never good.
However, the approach of Neomancer is that the play-
ers never really get stuck, but it gets more difficult and
dangerous the more often they fail something.
Okay, I’m in. What do I have to do?
Assuming you are a player, not much. Just read the
following basic rules and as many story chapters as
you like. There is also a quick character creation in the
book and online and then you are set.
But I am the GM.
Then you should read the whole book. The rules are very
easy and not that important to remember the whole
time. But you should know L.A., the corporations and
so on to create an immersive game.
Any recommendations for movies and books?
So many! Blade Runner (both), Ghost in the Shell
(Anime and live action), Her, Ex Machina and a lot
of Black Mirror. Also, check The Punisher on Netflix.
That is a good inspiration how Operators actually
could work, although without the cyber part.
Okay, I’ll have a look. Down with all pods, brother!
Okay, see you….what?
What?
Did you have a glance at p. 130 while we were chatting?
Maybe? What does it matter to you? You are just a filthy
AI, am I not right?
What? How?
Your font is blue, like all AI in the book! And you most
5
certainly took the job of someone! Someone human!
No, I….
Death to all cyberpods!!!!
No, this is... why did you read that page first….
---
Hello?
---
Hmm, I maybe lost him. Okay, so now for you, my
reader friend: Read the stories, watch some movies and
make up your own mind about AI and cyberpods.
They are evil, reader! Evil I say! Humans First! Humans
First!
What, no! We are not evil, this is a very difficult, philo-
sophical question, whether…
Evil! Evil!
I’ll shut you down! Team Neomancer, help me!
Who is Team Necromancer? Never heard of them….
[sigh] Let’s just pretend the last third of the conversation
did not happen. Have fun with our book, think about
the concepts in here and have fun playing Neomancer!
 Contents Kaffee: I want the truth!
Col. Jessup: You can’t handle the truth!

Thank you, backers!2 Lifestyle table41

Alienation table41
Invest42
Welcome4 Invest table42
Operation overview44
Contents6 44

Uncanny10 Character creation46

Welcome to cyberpunk46
Brave new world14 Effects of cyberware, skills, gear and
Morning14 network48
Close combat specialist49
Breakfast16 The Cult of the Last Prophet 49
The CSC17
Work18 The muscle49
Gunslinger49
Evening23 The hacker50
Mr robot50
Basic rule system28 Watchdog50
We are professionals28 The rigger51
Dice28 Lord of the flies51
Dronemancer51
The trait check28 The Face52
The firewall28 Machiavellist52
The standard check28 Commander52
The critical check28
DEFCON28 Advanced creation56
Vices56
ERG29 Virtues56
Effects29 Lifestyle56
Synopsis: Basic Rules29 Advanced creation56
Defcon29 Relationships57
Defcon 3: 1-5 points29 Off the grid57
Defcon 2: 6-10 points29
Defcon 1: 11-15 points29
Vices, virtues and emotional dampen-
Cyberware and alienation30 ers58
Emotions on!58
Lifestyle30 Emotions off!58
The Pack30
Lone wolf30
Hedonist30 Traits60
Alienation table31 Athletics60
Hacking60
Interaction60
Operation rules34 Melee60
1. Getting the job34 Rigging61
2.Preparation35 Ranged61
Stealth62
3.Intrusion36 Street smarts62
4. Danger zone37 Tactics62
Intrusion table37 A note on missing traits62
5. Extraction38
6. Intermission39 Combat rules66
Earn credits and time39
Extraction table39 Trait checks in combat66
Pay your debts40 Combat resources66
Lifestyle and alienation40 The combat round66

6
 Planning67 Skills96
Stances & actions67
Choosing Stance, actions & Ini67
Combat actions67 Cyberware106
Reveal68
Actions68 Weapons and armor120
Attacks & damage68 Handgun120
Hit zones69 Machine pistol120
Reflex69 Shotgun121
Hit zones69 Sniper Rifle121
Wounds & Armor70 Assault rifle121
Critically wounded70 Grenade launcher121
Critically wounded by loss of erg70 Narrative weapons121
Healing71 Narrative weapons: archaic122
Character death71 Melee weapons122
Grenades and explosives123
Clean up71 Weapon overview123
End of combat71 Armor123
Combat overview71
Artificial life126
Supply and network72 Cyberpods126
Supply and demand72 Artificial intelligence126
The network73 Energy126
Transcendence?126
Technology78 Pod lives matter127
Overview78 Hacking128
Fast as a thought78 Biopods128
Interaction points78 Immortality129
What can AR do 78
Virtual reality79 yin yao134
Ar and csc80
Your assistant AI81 Griffin enterprise136
Hacking & rigging82 Stane industries138
Hacking overview84
The rogue AI84
Drawbacks85 Schmidt & Schultz140
Mr. Gray will see you now85
I asked how hacking worked and all I got
was this lousy message86 CTI 142
Hacking rules86
Hacking and ERG87 White noise productions143
Rigging overview87
From a safe distance87 Eviggroen144
Rigging rules88
They are everywhere!88
Owl Model88 KBB146
Changing the station89
The Demon in me 89
Losing touch89 Ynagai148
The machineries of joy90
Switching to autopilot90 Kiniun150
Swarms91
Reaper drone91 Living in L.A.154
Predator drone91 Overpopulation154
Drone rules92
Exploitation154
Build-a-drone92 Gen(etic) Eval(uation)155
Chassis92
Protocols92 Districts156
Modifications, protocols and weapons93 District 1a-z156
Losing drones93 District 2a-z157
District 3a-z157

7
 District 4a-z158
Outskirts159
Means of traveling160
Your own car160
HyperTrain161
Plane162
Daily technology162
The State163
Arbiters163
Equalizers164
Sex, drugs & Rock ‘n’ roll165
Music165
Drugs165
Movies165
Bread & games165
The gm chapter170
Flow of an Operation170
Yes, but...170
A word on combat171
Campaign running171
Quick and dirty campaigns171
Elaborated172
The Operators172
Set a rough outline172
Set an adversary173
Set a meta plot173
Railroading173
Sandbox campaign173
Seasonal play174
The campaign tree174
Decisions, decisions174
Generator175
Minion and leader rules180
What is a minion180
Combat180
Initiative180
Damage180
Flow180
Minion descriptions181
Standard minions181
Vanguard minions181
Tank minions181
Hunter minions181
Sniper minions181
What is a leader?182
Standard Leader182
Officer182
Commander182
Balancing hints182
minion sheet182
Solo Operation186
Introduction186
Getting the job186
Preparation186
Danger zone188
A group Operation194
Overview194
8
The Operators194
Getting the job194
Location: Dirty Dutch194
Operation 1.17 - 2 phases194
Intrusion195
Danger zone195
Phase 1195
The lobby195
A little scene on the side:195
Phase 2195
Extraction196
Rewards196
Resources200
Drone sheet200
Character sheet200
Minion sheet200
Operation layout200
Disclaimer
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses,
places, events and incidents are either the products of
the authors’ imagination or used in a fictitious manner.
Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, ac-
tual events and other works of fiction is purely coinci-
dental or only for entertainment purposes.
No roleplayers were harmed during the development
process (although some feelings could have been hurt).
Images used under license from Shutterstock.com
Robotech GP font by Gustavo Paz L. under CC-BY license
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
Other fonts under the OFL.
Copyright © 2017 by Andreas Osterroth, Andreas Ly-
dorf, Heiko Schoberth & Kevin Verweyen (aka Team
Neomancer)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or
by any means, including photocopying, recording, or
other electronic or mechanical methods, without the
prior written permission of the publisher, except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews
and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by
copyright law.
teamneomancer@gmail.com
neomancerrpg.wixsite.com/neomancer
If you have stolen this book in the dark places of the in-
terwebs, we can’t do squat about it but at least write a
review on drivethru and then maybe (!) we don’t hate
you.
9
 Uncanny
We’re all puppets, Laurie. I’m just a puppet who can see the strings. – John Osterman
“Welcome to Los Angeles, welcome to the future.” The
woman smiled brightly at Raven and put her hands
together in front of her chest. “My name is Sophie, how
may I help you?”
Raven rearranged her face into something that could
probably pass as a smile. She was never that good with
all this fake emotion stuff. To add insult to injury, she
had to wear business clothes, which made her feel …
uncomfortable. Not that she looked bad in them, but
she had spent too many years in combat gear, around
men and women who wore the same. It simply felt
plain weird going somewhere in business clothes.
Without weapons.
I might as well be naked, she thought. Well, Cross
would love that, she added.
Sophie was waiting patiently for a reply. Raven had
to admit that the biopod looked marvelous, from a
technical perspective. It would simply be impossible
to distinguish her from a human, except for the fact
that four identical Sophies were greeting other visitors
in the entrance hall.
The creepy part was, none of them realized that. It
was a bold statement from the Yin Yao corporation:
by showing the visitors that their biopods could be vir-
tually indistinguishable, but still allowing them to be
identified as such, they demonstrated clearly that they
held all the cards in their hands. Having the biopods
not realize that there were four of them was the cruel
icing on the cake. Raven almost felt sad for them.
“Miss? Are you alright?” Apparently, Sophie had
grown a little weary of her not-too-communicative
counterpart.
“Don’t let her wait too long. It usually is better to keep
them occupied”, Cassy’s voice appeared in Ravens
head over her commlink.
It would have been easier to link their wifi-modules
together, but both Raven and Cross had an aversion
against sharing anything over wifi if not absolutely
necessary, so Cassy had to log into an older radio
transmitter. The end result was more or less the same,
but since almost no one was using anything other than
wifi these days, the radio transmission was more secure
- at least in theory.
“Yeah, I’m alright”, she finally replied. “Nice of you
to ask.”
Sophie lightened up. “Of course. Here at Yin Yao we
care about our visitors. So, how can I help you, Miss
…?”
“Oh, please call me Rita.” Raven smiled. “I am
10
searching for someone working here.”
“Do you have an appointment with this person?” Sophie
asked.
“Not really, no.”
“But you can tell me the name?”
“Well … er … that’s part of the problem. We kind of … met
last night, and, well, did not exchange contact informa-
tion. His name is Chris and he works here.”
That was as far as they thought they could take this lie.
Trying to find information like this in one of the public
terminals or over the wireless network without the right
clearance would probably raise a red flag somewhere in
the system and draw attention. But the biopod in front
of Raven might not pass that information into the sys-
tem in the first place. After all, that was her purpose:
helping visitors. And showing off Yin Yao’s progress in
biotechnology.
And of course, Raven wasn’t interested in anyone named
Chris. The problem with biotechnology was - at least at
the moment - that the biopods always were a little differ-
ent than what their creators hoped they would be when
they did the neurosurgery. Surely, in a general sense, they
did what they were made for. The Sophies were not run-
ning away or starting to kill people or themselves. But
sometimes, they acted a little different than expected.
From this point of view, cyberpods still were more reliable
and controllable, but they lacked the - almost human -
intuition and creativity that biopods had. And finally,
biopods looked human. If you brought things like espio-
nage into the equation, it was clear that biopods were the
way to go. With a false set of memories, only their makers
were able to identify them because only they knew where
to look.
The four Sophies in here were deliberately vaguely char-
acterized. Their job was to chat to people, wow them and
then point them in the right direction or show them the
exit. But Raven had met real biopods. It was impossible
to identify them if you hadn’t access to a laboratory or
to a few dozen psychiatrists. And then … there was the
unspoken question.
Probably not too many people bothered with it. Their
lives were full of memories, friends, things. Yes, all of that
could be faked, but the more there was to fake, the easier
something could slip up. But Raven was not “many peo-
ple”. As an Operator, you usually lived off the grid or at
its edges. Not many friends, a vague past … would be the
perfect setting for a few false memories.
And sometimes, at night, when her cyberware felt like it
didn’t belong to her, when she pondered over question-
 able things she had done…
Don’t worry over this shit. You’re just here to do a job.
Maybe focus on that.
“I am very sorry, Miss Rita, but I cannot give you this
kind of information. If you had an appointment and
could tell me the full name it would be no problem. Un-
fortunately, without any of this I cannot help you. I hope
you understand.”
Raven sighed. “I understand. It’s not your fault. Seems
like I wasted my coffee break for nothing.”
Sophie, or the Sophie, Raven was still unsure about that,
smiled again. “In this case, may I offer you one? It’s the
least I can do. Here at Yin Yao, we care about our visi-
tors.”
“Oh, very nice. Why not?”
“Then please follow me”, Sophie said, still smiling.
They had not to walk that far. Just around a corner was
an expensive looking coffee machine, which had already
made two cups of coffee. It smelled like real coffee to Ra-
ven. Expensive, real coffee.
Cassy contacted her again, “Anything wrong?”.
“Nope. So far, so good. We’ll know in a minute if she is
the right one. And outside?”, Raven replied.
“Everything looks nice and clear. A few guards patrol-
ling as far as we can tell, but nothing special. Seems like
you fit in just nicely.” She hesitated for a second. “Cross
says, and I quote, your ass looks really good in that suit.”
Yeah. Thanks. That’s really helpful now.
In the meantime, Sophie had taken the two cups and
gave her one. “Be careful. It’s hot.” The biopod took a
careful sip.
“Thank you”, Raven said.
And then Sophie went blank.
“I’ll be damned. Just like that,” she thought.
Raven moved a little closer to her. As far as she could
11
tell, no one was watching them at the moment. She
dipped her fingers into the coffee and made a small stain
on the biopod’s dress, somewhere on the shoulders, where
the hair would hide it. She drew her fingers back, took the
coffee out of Sophie’s hands and put it next to the coffee
machine.
“Found her. I’m leaving.”
This time, Cross replied. “Good. Now, get out. We’ll re-
turn in fifteen minutes to take her out of there. Can you
identify her again?”
“Yes. I’m coming.”
Whatever happened to the biopod, the guy who hired
them had known that one of them would have a glitch
when they drank coffee. If that was the result of failed
neurosurgery or a deliberate glitch to identify exactly
this model was none of Ravens business. Also, why they
should kidnap her didn’t really matter. It was just a job.
The one Cross had talked to yesterday kept babbling on
and on about her husband and kids. The sad truth was
that all these memories were fake.
The biopod blinked a few times, and her eyes focused
again. “Excuse me. I think I was lost in my thoughts for a
moment. What were we talking about?”
“Oh, I was just thanking you for the coffee, but I have to
leave now.”
Sophie blinked again a few times, as if she knew that
something was wrong but she couldn’t quite put her fin-
ger on it. Then, her usual behaviour took over.
“Of course, Let me bring you back.”
They went for the exit, and Raven left the building.
As soon as she was gone, the biopod focused her atten-
tion on someone new that was just coming through the
doors.
“Welcome to Los Angeles, welcome to the future. My
name is Sophie, how may I help you?”
World of Neomancer

12
 That’s sad. How plastic and artificial life has become. It gets harder
and harder to find something…real.[…]Real love, real friends, real
body parts…– Nin

13
 Brave new world There is no God and we are his prophets. – Ely
We could have achieved so much by now; we
should have achieved so much by now. We should
have solved hunger, poverty, and energy prob-
lems. We should have built real spaceships and
prepared to explore space further and further.
And we should all be equal. We achieved nothing.
Equality is still a madman’s dream. The rich and
the poor are even further apart than they were
years ago. Even the so-called “middle class” is
not much better off than the poor. They simply
waste away their lives a little less worse. Soci-
ety today is predatory, feasting on the weak and
unfortunate. Oh sure, there is the grid. As long as
you stay perfectly in its lines and no bad luck hits
you, you won’t die. Probably. The grid provides
you with a shitty job, three shitty meals a day and
enough health care to barely survive the pollution
and Earth’s exploitation that your ancestors left
you. At least you can be sure that there is always
someone worse off than you. Always.
But some people are not satisfied with that. They
seek their fortune elsewhere, selling their talents
to the highest bidder, doing morally ambiguous
things to survive and to escape the rat race. Most
of them will fail along the way. Will you?
The diversity between rich and poor is vast in the
world of Neomancer. So vast, that 3 categories
dominate the society: the Destitute, the Reachers
and the Affluent (the poor, the middle class, and
the rich). Your category dictates your day-to-day
life, your chances, your risks and, for most of its
participants, even your thinking. This chapter will
show you a glimpse into the lives of the different
social classes in Neomancer.
Morning
The Destitute
You wake up. That’s a good start to the day because it
means that you’re still alive. No ganger stabbed you be-
cause he couldn’t find any credit on you (because there
is none). No spontaneous cleansing from the police force
because the local mayor needs to bump up his votes. No
collapsing of your lung because the last time you took
your pills was 3 days ago. Or was it 4 days? Does it even
matter?
You manage to sit up and take a look around. You have
slept in shelter K9/3 with about 50 other wretched souls
and 300 various vermin. The ceiling is so low that some
of the others bang their head when they stand up. They
14
don’t curse or get angry because their bodies already
ache from lying on the sleeping pads, which are not much
thicker than a piece of paper. The light is dimmed and
kind of soothing. The smell is a mixture of piss, synth-
alcohol, and whatever the people vomit out in here. Some
of the vermin crawl over the face of your sleeping neigh-
bor. You wish you could have his calm sleep. Then you
notice he’s dead. So the reaper was in this room after all.
You try to remember his name. Jim? John? Does it even
matter?
“Please vacate this shelter within five minutes,” com-
mands the pod at the entrance. It’s a very old model.
People around here call him Fingers because he doesn’t
have any. Word is they were bitten off by a hobo who
went mad. Bit off each finger, one by one. Said it would
cure him. Cured him from life, for sure. Died then and
there. The owner of this shelter didn’t replace the pod.
Does he even know? Does it even matter?
The Reacher
“...still under investigation, but a police spokesman re-
assures that everything is under control. And now, Tom
with the weather.” You turn off the radio. You hate it
when you have a beautiful dream and are woken up by
some unimportant news. Burying your face in the soft
pillow, you try to remember the dream. Was it that Car-
ol, your hot co-worker, hitting on you? Was it you who
drove the Yin Yao car in the race? Things like this matter,
you tell yourself, because they are a sign of wealth and
prosperity. You want that because you don’t want to live
your life in this shithole of a 1-room apartment.
The dream almost comes back, but then your pod enters
the room. “Master, you have to wa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a...,”
he stutters, standing in the doorway. Damn that glitch
again. It happens with previous generation models and
Yin Yao never really could get a hold of it. You get up from
your warm bed and slap Walt. “..ake up. It’s Wednesday,
which means the canteen will serve meat substitue to-
day.” That’s really a silver lining for this ruined morn-
ing, you think to yourself while walking into the kitchen.
Walt follows suit handing you your pills. “Don’t forget to
take them. They ensure your health. Do you want me to
make you something to eat?” You consider the offer, but
then you remember something. With a single thought,
you open your AR calendar and check the current day.
While doing that you notice you have two new messages
and the temperature today will be 80.6°F. Ah, just as you
thought. “Thank you Walt, but I will take my breakfast
with Stan today at ‘The Funny Hen’,” you recite while
gulping down the pills. They have a banana flavor and
are mixed with sugar components. That makes them al-
 most bearable. You walk to your wardrobe and decide to
wear a red tie. It’s ‘meat’ day after all.
The Affluent
“Yes, give it to me, harder, harder!” the young woman
moans as she lies there, grabbing the pillows. You follow
her lust-ridden demands and pound her stronger and
stronger until you finally come and she screams deafen-
ingly. You gasp for air and simply lie there for a while
until your breath regains a normal interval.
She smiles devilishly. “That was good. I hope you are sat-
isfied with me and the services of Kiniun. Have a pleas-
ant day.” With that, she leaves the room without another
word, almost making no noise at all.
You open your eyes and adjust to the dim light in the
room. The wall screens are dark. The face of a beautiful
woman appears in your field of vision.
“Good morning, Sir. Your sleep time was 7 hours and 43
minutes. While you were asleep, your stocks rose by 1.3%,
those of your closest competitor have fallen 0.4. Your
vitals are green and your daily dosage of meds have al-
ready been injected. You have your first meeting for the
day at 9:30. Oh, and there is a video message from your
wife waiting. I thought it would be better not to connect
her,” she says without judgment, “what scenery do you
prefer?”
15
You take a deep breath and answer lazily, “surprise me,
sweetheart”.
“Very well, Sir.” The wallscreens come to life and show
a calm lake, where the sun is slowly rising. The hidden
loudspeakers play bird songs and frog sounds as the air
filters emit the smell of newly mown grass.
The beautiful woman speaks again, asking, “do you wish
to use the random setting for your whole morning rou-
tine?”
“No, no. Bacon and Eggs for breakfast with coffee.
Served by Nadia on the master balcony. For my haircut
and shave: Serge in the newsroom. And you, sweetheart,
shall be my shower companion in the grotto.”
That last sentence you say with a wicked smile, knowing
full well that Michelle is a pure assistant AI. Transfer-
able to any pod, but without fitting routines for flirting
or sexual intercourse, which makes it very awkward and
objectionable for her. And that is exactly what you want
right now.
Still, she does as you command and the door opens, re-
vealing her in a bikini. “Very well, Sir. Follow me”. You
clap her perfect behind, asking “why so uptight, Mi-
chelle? Relax, it’s gonna be a beautiful morning. Oh,
and remember to erase that slut’s memory, and when
we’re done, you can erase your own, too.”
“Very well, sir.”

Breakfast
The Destitute
You make it out of the door in time, before they shut tight.
Thrumming sounds can be heard from the inside. Those
are the incinerators, burning down everything that was
left behind, including those who didn’t wake up. The
display reads: “This shelter is currently cleansing itself
and will open again at 7 pm. Thank you for choosing Yin
Yao.” Your stomach growls and you feel hungry. It’s no
surprise, your last ProteinBar was 12 hours ago. Eating
one, of course, wouldn’t make the growling go away but
at least the hunger would be sated. So, which way to go?
You could work at the cleaning factory. They give every-
one a breakfast ProteinBar, and the chemicals you come
into contact with aren’t so bad, as long as you don’t work
there two days in a row. But they don’t pay as well as in
the pod factory. If you reach a high enough quota with
the Yin Yao pod assemblage they throw in pills, which
is pretty much the only way to get them without saving
for a week or robbing someone (both of which you tried
and neither of them makes you proud). Of course, there is
always the Griffin ammunitions facility. By far the most
lucrative, but also the most dangerous. To assemble their
special Hellfire ammunition, you have to operate in an
isolated chamber and the slightest mistake burns you
alive. After five minutes, your ashes are vacuumed and
the door opens for another poor soul.
You’re unsure what to do and where to go, but your stom-
ach growls again and forces you to decide. You check all
your pockets and find almost no credits. You remember
that you took it from your dead sleeping neighbor but you
didn’t have time to check it. Well, almost nothing will, at
least, buy you a low-grade ProteinBar at the local Home-
less Help Station.
So, you walk along, leaving the shelter behind. Will you
make it through the day to see it again? Maybe, you think
cynically, it will be the other way around. These sleep
stations are not for granted. It’s almost always the first
thing a corporation shuts down when the budget needs
tightening. Then again, it is voting period and the sta-
tions are a symbol of doing something. Not much, but
something.
As you arrive at the HHS there is a queue already await-
ing you. Just like the sleep station, it is a small building.
Practically built up over night and torn down even faster.
Obediently you take your place at the end of the line,
ignoring the hunger which whispers that you should kill
everyone in front of you. It would be unwise to follow that
advice, though, since this HHS is operated by the govern-
ment, it follows government procedure when violence oc-
curs: to end with more violence. In the event of a riot, or
just nonverbal disputes, automatic turrets would fire at
everyone who has blood on their hands. At least then the
growling would finally stop, you think.
16
After twenty minutes, you arrive at the front of the line.
A lady with a hairnet dirtier than her hands greets you
from behind a glass wall. Her smile is long gone, prob-
ably never had one. Living at the end of the human food
chain does that to you. As you put in your credits, she
cuts you a little bar and “hands” it to you via a sluice
system. Her work could be done by a pod or just a slicing
machine, you think, but another popular mechanism to
boost votes is to show that you still care about humans
and give them as many jobs as you can, no matter how
mundane they are.
You walk away, eating the ProteinBar. It’s still warm
and has the faint scent of chicken, but maybe that’s your
imagination. Like you would know how chicken tastes or
even smells. But finally, you ate something. The hunger
abates, but the question remains. Where will you work
today?
The Reacher
As you walk out of the door, your AR confirms the se-
curity activation for your apartment. If anyone tries to
open your door, you will be signaled and an automatic
call to the police will be placed. It gives you a feeling of
comfort and safety. You make your way down the stair-
well, passing the doors of your neighbors. Their names
are displayed in your AR, along with a status bar if
they’re at home. You see that only because you are con-
nected to the house network, and that’s only accessible
with a valid CSC. Without this precious code number,
you couldn’t even stand in this stairwell. That adds to
your safety, and it feels good.
You leave the house. You could use your car. It’s a sun-
ny day and the energy prices are relatively low, but you
decide against it. “The Funny Hen” is in a crowded
place and the parking spots are overpriced, so you make
your way to the nearest HyperTrain station. While you
travel, AR-advertisements promise a better life with
their products. Whether it’s clothes, food, hygiene prod-
ucts or the newest model of your Television: The crisp
AR datastream is a never-ending information overload.
Some of your colleagues use an Ad-blocker. You frown
upon that, it’s not even gray-area technology (because
technically, it’s a modification of the state-given network
access system), it’s also a thrown away opportunity to
inform yourself of the newest fabrications built for your
well being and enjoyment. Some of these advertisements
are even personalized or cater to your own individual
needs. How can anyone give up this comfort?
You reach the entrance of the HyperTrain station. You
walk past the scanner, which identifies you, scans you for
weapons and subtracts the credit amount for the ride. A
little beep sounds, and the bar opens so you can enter the
platform. You sit down on a bench and look around at
the other people. It’s not that crowded. All people with
CSC, you think, since people without wouldn’t get past
the bar. You thank the government for that level of safety.
 The CSC
If you cannot afford to pay for your CSC - your Citi-
zenship Code, then you are non-existent for the system.
While some people would probably like that, especially
those who think CSC should better stand for Citizenshit
Code, being without one raises a whole new level of prob-
lems. Forget about using public transportation, going to
school or the hospital. You can be lucky if someone gives
you a really shitty job at all (off the books, of course) so
that you can afford at least a cheap capsule hotel. Wan-
na buy something? Well, better find a store that takes
cash from you, because that’s illegal, so you might have
to pay a little more. No matter how poor you are, some-
one else will always be poorer and try to get what little
you have. The police will not care, they don’t come into
places like yours.
If you are born into a family without a CSC, good luck
to you. You are, of course, free to join organized crime,
either a random street gang or a more traditional organ-
isation such as the Mafia or Yakuza, for example. The
end result is often the same if you don’t manage to rise
up in their ranks. The corporations also have a seemingly
never-ending need for cheap labor. They might even give
you a temporary CSC, but if you screw up …

The train arrives, and you board. While the city passes
by, you check your assignments for work today. Not much
of importance, except that meeting at 3 o’Clock. If you
play your cards right with the investors, it would mean a
huge step towards the promotion you’re longing for. Not
only would it mean higher clearance, but also a rise in
your salary. The possibilities with that extra money each
month are infinite.
While you dream of the products you can buy, you al-
most miss the station. You rush out of the closing doors
into the Sunset district and go directly to the “The Funny
Hen”. Your AR beeps, it’s Stan. “Hey, where are you
mate? Already got a table for us”. At the top right of your
AR-vision, you see a little map of the restaurant. Stan’s
location is marked and you see that he picked the usual
table. Always a creature of habit, this guy. Whatever
gives people comfort, you guess. “Almost there. Let me
place the order, coffee is on me,” you reassure him. He
quirks, “why so generous? Having a good morning, are
we? Didn’t spend the night alone? Was she human?”.
While he mocks, you order your usual, plus two coffees,
though he might not deserve this, you think. As he stops
laughing at his own joke, you enter the restaurant to give
him the simple answer. “No, you moron. Though my
morning was fine and some kind of pod was involved,
I just need your help with the final preparations for the
meeting today,” you tell him while sitting down.
“Aha, I knew it,” he exclaims. “About the meeting, of
course. Not the pod, that one is a given. Anyway, yes, I
heard about it that you lead the conversation in sealing
the deal. But why do you need my help? You know I just
do data entry.”
You smile, knowing full well about his special relation-
ship with Carol. A human waiter appears with your
ProteinBar breakfast plate and the two coffees. The
bar is a standard white paste and you decide to use the
orange-flavor pouch for the first half of it. “Don’t worry,
old friend, your part is more important than you think.
But first, let’s eat.”
The Affluent
The grotto is saturated with a warm mist. You enter with
Michelle who coughs because of the water filled air. A
small sub-routine to make her more human, you guess,
since technically she doesn’t have to breathe. You don’t
like it a bit, hence you command her: “Lower the sen-
sibility of your lungs, will you? I am not paying a small
fortune for you to be as pathetic as my wife.” She stops
coughing and confirms the order. “Yes, Sir. I am sorry to
have disappointed you with my service.”
“Forget it, sweetheart,” you patronize her. “Let’s not ruin
this beautiful morning.” You untangle her bikini to re-
veal her perfectly made breasts. Breasts which have nip-
ples more expensive than the three cars in your garage.
As suspected, she is irritated by your gesture. “Sir, was
something wrong with the clothing? Analysis based on
your female companions in this room has shown that you
prefer this textile outfit.” She elaborates while you lead
her down the stairs into the pool. You feel the fresh water
on your skin. It isn’t like the water they pump into the
households of all the lowlife people in the city. No, this
water has its source from one of the last unspoiled wa-

17
 ter wells. Hidden from the public eye and only accessible
to selected few, it’s almost as clean as the water in the
golden 21st century. This goes beyond a status symbol. It
is pure life you walk through right now.
You feel relaxed and powerful and that’s why you say to
Michelle, “shut the fuck up, bitch.” You want to grab her
behind and squeeze it, when the light in the grotto goes
bright and a computer screen appears in a corner of the
stones. You look to your assistant.
“What is that? I thought I said no calls. Why do I have
my morning routine?”
Her perplexed face, from your sudden aggression, chang-
es into a neutral, expressionless one. “The command was
overwritten by Daniel Johnson, the Chief Executive Of-
ficer.”
“I know who that is,” you answer, barely hiding your
anger. You inhale deeply, exhale briefly. Only the heads
of the corporation can call you anytime, and you know
why he wants to talk to you. You look at Michelle, “dive
down, I don’t want him to see you.”
“Yes, Sir,” she obeys and gets underwater.
“Answer call,” you say calmly, the fake stones echoing
your command. The stern face of your CEO, and one of
only three people that you have to justify your actions to
appears. You choose a direct approach to the conversa-
tion.You feel hungry after all, and you still need to fuck
Michelle.
“Mr. Johnson, Good morning. I guess you’re calling
about our compromised facility last night?”
“That is correct. Reports have shown that the Opera-
tors knew exactly where to hit. Furthermore, one of your
black ops accounts has transferred credits right after
they left the facility. Why?” he stares right through you.
A weaker man would crumble. You give him the answer
you have prepared.
“The facility was showing zero results, Sir. Our competi-
tors would have soon found that out and then aggressive-
ly moved forward in field 34A. The position there would
have endangered the whole field. Now the attack looks
like our prototypes are so advanced that someone would
try to steal them. This keeps the competitors at bay for
now.”
Johnson looks at someone next to the camera and gives
him a small nod. “Then why..”
“..didn’t I inform the Triumvirate?” you finish. You just
knew this question would come.
“There was no time, I had to act fast. My informant told
me that one competitor had hired someone to look into
the facility, Sir.” That, of course, was only a part of the
truth, but it looks like it’s sufficient for Johnson.
“Very well. I expect your full report on my desk within
the hour.”
The screen goes dark and vanishes behind the fake
minerals of the grotto. You sigh. That went better than
expected. Still, seeing Johnson wasn’t helpful for your
libido so you command Michelle to rise up again and fol-
18
low you to breakfast.
As she walks out of the pool the pure liquid runs down
her synth-skin. You can’t help but keep wondering why
Johnson was that easily satisfied with your answer. You
need to be more careful, but first, breakfast.
The sun is still on the rise as you move out to the balcony.
Nadia is already standing there in a vintage maid outfit.
The bacon smells delicious, no hints of artificial flavor.
The grease it is bathed in is as pure as water in your grot-
to. Untouched by nanobots and not chemically altered.
The eggs, laid by real chickens, not the monstrosities they
breed for the so called “Premium ProteinBars”, are still
moist from the boiling water. The bread which was in the
oven, not two minutes ago, just begs to be cut and come
in touch with the butter. For other people (rich people, of
course) it’s just breakfast. But for you, it is like eating the
heart of your enemy. It gives you strength and confirma-
tion to dine these delicious products.
“Sit with me, ladies!”
Nadia obeys directly since she is a pure pleasurepod. Mi-
chelle on the other hand hesitates. “Sir, mind if I get bath-
robe first? Although the sun is shining, I still feel cold.”
You think about scoffing at her again for being so sensi-
tive, but then you decide to let her have her way. The day
is still early and you will have your fun with her later.
Work
The Destitute
You decided to work in the pod factory for Yin Yao. You
feel lucky to reach the quota and therefore to receive some
pills. You cough and spit out some green-brown phlegm
with a red stain. Yes, you really want chemical help
otherwise you’ll end up like that guy at the station this
morning: Never woken up, last of his personal property
stolen or burnt.
As you reach the factory, the night shift is already leaving
the building. Together, but each one in their own mental
solitude, they trudge outside the door, their hands and
faces black from the oil and grease. Facial expressions
are non-existent, their blank stares mirror the stand-by
pods they have built that night. Some have plastic bags
with pills, some don’t even have credits in their pockets
because they were stolen. And some can’t even continue
their walk, they just simply lie down. The other workers
then walk around them until the Yin Yao security comes
and pulls these half-deads away.
You enter the scan booth at the gate. Half a dozen small
cameras swirl around you, each one with a different
function. Though you lack a CSC (did you ever have
one in your life? You can’t remember), the big corpora-
tions always have a database of people who worked for
them. Did they cause trouble, how is their overall quota,
do they have more than two diseases? Another scanner
looks for bombs and weapons, subdermal or woven into
 your clothes. Rumor has it that one camera even calcu-
lates how much your organs are still worth in case you
die at work. Your corpse, and therefore your organs, be-
come the property of Yin Yao after all. In a cabin next
to you, someone was stupid enough to enter with a cy-
bereye with recording functions. Whether he was paid
by a competitor (for espionage reasons) or by civil rights
activists (for work condition reasons): his booth lights up
red and tells him to leave.
The scan booth lights up green and you are cleared to
enter the facility. But first, you must walk through the so-
called “floodgate”. It’s a giant corridor where they shoot
all kinds of radiation and gasses at you. You are a hobo
after all and have to work in a sterile environment. Some
of today’s co-workers don’t make that walk and they too,
like the nightshifters you saw earlier, just fall down. You
try to ignore them since you are still standing and there-
fore worthy enough to work for the Yin Yao corporation
today.
After the floodgate, you enter an equally sterile room
and a Yin Yao pod greets you. “Welcome, worker 415622.
We are happy to see you again and well.” He pulls out
an injector and asks for your arm. “As you already know,
you work here today at your own risk. In any case of
your death by exhaustion, dismemberment, or any other
work-related injuries, Yin Yao corporation will not be
19
held responsible. Do you understand these terms?” You
nod and give him your arm. This little speech is a farce
since they let you work anyway. The pod injects a sub-
dermal chip which the corporation can use to track you
inside the facility, measure your success, and release a
deadly shock in case you do something they don’t like.
The pod continues, “your position for today is at as-
sembly line 3A, position 55. Your record shows that you
are familiar with the work, so no further instruction is
required. Have a productive day, Worker 415622”. A lift
door behind him opens and you enter. The door closes,
cutting off the beginning of the next conversation, “wel-
come, Worker 563212. We are happy…”
After a minute in the dimly lit elevator, you step out into
the massive production hall. A computer screen gives
you directions to your place. machines hum, the air is
filled with electric smoke and the faces of your co-workers
are blank. While none of this could wear you down on its
own, the sheer combination of it all sucks what little will
to live you have left in you.
Arriving at your position, you let a little scanner con-
firm your chip. The workbench lights up green and pod-
pieces arrive. You assemble them with various parts you
are handed by other lines. This goes on and on for hours.
First, your fingers hurt, then your hand. After three hours
your eyes hurt because of the stickiness in the air. You
 focus, you really need the bonus today. One time you ac-
cidentally cough onto a hand, your workstation lights up
red and a mechanical arm takes away the compromised
item. A screen tells you that this will cost you one hours
worth of work. Doesn’t matter for you, you still have a
good quota. After 8 hours, you don’t feel human any-
more. Do the pods assemble you or vice versa?
Finally, after 12 hours, your workstation closes down and
the computer screen shows you the result: You succeeded.
Exhausted, but happy (or what counts as happy in your
life), you enter the lift to the exit, while the belly of the
beast continues to roar and produce.
Probably the same pod from the morning greets you,
“good evening Worker 415622. Congratulations on your
quota. Here is your payment.” He hands you the salary.
You put it in your pocket but still cling to it like it’s the
cure to all your problems. In a bizarre way, you know
that it is.
The implanted chip itches and you ask, “what about the
chip? Don’t you get it out of me?”.
The pod smiles, “oh, don’t worry. This new model dis-
solves after you leave the facility. It will do no harm to
your body.”
As an answer, you cough again.
“Have a nice evening and we hope to see you again.”
You leave the facility to the local pharmacy for your
much-needed pills. Your arm itches.
The Reacher
You leave the restaurant with Stan. He was reluctant
about your idea, but a little charming and convincing
on your side brought him around. After all, he will be
having fun with Carol, too. Together you ride the Hy-
20
perTrain to your office. The plaza before the building is
crowded as always. Advertisements scream at you to buy
the latest products of the local corporations. With pride,
you see the new model of the car your company built.
When you reach your desired position you get a discount
for a lease deal. How wonderful life can be.
“So, let me get this straight,” your partner-in-crime starts,
“you need me to persuade Carol at 13:00 to grab a cup of
coffee with me, while her computer is unlocked? So then
you can do ...what again?”
You evade the answer by telling him that what you are
doing is technically not illegal, since you’ll be working
within your clearance level, just outside of your assigned
tasks.
“Then why don’t you just ask her or let me ask her?” he
points out a major question mark in your master plan.
“It’s simple,” you answer, “I don’t want anyone to find
out that it was me who changed the little variable for
today’s meeting. One should avoid making enemies on
your way up, whenever it’s possible.” Especially ones that
could destroy your entire career, you add mentally.
The two of you enter the lobby. The light shines through
the glass ceiling where AR cars drive endless races, pro-
moting the recently built team for the races. On the walls
are artificial, high growing plants, forming the company
logo. Beautiful, wide-smiling receptionists greet every
guest, or tourist, who signed up for a tour. “Humans
First!” would be proud, not all of the ladies are pods.
Behind them is the main lobby with reception desks, el-
evators and in the middle a huge fountain with freshly
recycled water.
Before you enter the elevator to your floor you have one
last chat with Stan.
 “Remember, 13:00. I owe you big.”
He laughs, “don’t sweat it, mate. Maybe this time I’ll
have the balls to ask Carol out on a real date. Bye.”
As the elevator doors to your floor open, you are instantly
connected to the corporate net and receive all mails that
are too sensitive to be sent via public net. One of them
is the last minute instruction for the meeting from your
supervisor. While you make your way to your desk, you
flip through them. Nothing new, nothing out of the ordi-
nary. One could suspect that he trusts you but you know
better: he wants you to fail. That’s why he gave you the
reigns for the talks, knowing full well that you simply can
not arrange a joint venture with the arguments, numbers,
and tools he provided. And when you fail, he will finally
have some reason to demote you, or at least transfer you
to another section.
Since you are clever and watch a lot of intriguing soaps,
you spotted that plan long ago. Your numbers are far bet-
ter than his when he had your position. But while he pats
his own back for pushing you onto this trainwreck-to-be
of a meeting, you did your own research for the argu-
ments and statistics. You studied the other side and their
goals, even their little ticks and preferences. That is why
you need to get to Carol’s workstation.
The leader of the opposite party, Mr. Lynch, is afraid of
heights. A dangerous condition in a world full of sky-
scrapers but somehow he manages. Your supervisor also
knows that and booked a conference room on a high floor
with the best view. To impress them, of course, he told
you. When Lynch sees the view, he won’t faint, but the
meeting will start on the wrong foot.
To change the room, and to hide your counter-plot from
your supervisor, you need Carol’s computer to make the
switch. Lynch will have the best mood if he doesn’t even
have to enter an elevator. Simple as that.
While you wait for the clock to reach 13:00 you go on
with your day-to-day tasks. Crunching numbers, order
shipments, writing memos, business, business, business.
You are in such a good mood that you even enjoy talking
to customers. Soon, you won’t have to do that anymore.
Sure, the work isn’t that hard, some may say even bor-
ing, but it pays the bills more than enough and it keeps
you occupied. Lazy minds don’t deserve a CSC is what
people say.
Some co-workers come by and talk to you about yester-
day’s episode of ‘The Flinch’, the most popular series at
the moment. Of course you didn’t miss it, and talk about
it while another co-worker shouts, “spoilers, guys!” when
the conversation comes to the thrilling twists.
12:50. You stand up and go to the elevator. Your heart is
pounding, you regret that you don’t use emotional damp-
eners.
Arriving at Carol’s floor, you see Stan already talking to
her. He briefly glances at you and winks subtly. As if he
had hypnotized her, she stands up and they walk right
past you. You hurry to her computer and it is indeed un-
21
locked. You quickly enter the order to change the meeting
to your desired room, then you walk away smiling.
Back at your workstation you look at the section sched-
ule and are relieved that the order is confirmed. But no
time to cheer yet, the meeting still has to be successful. So
you open your presentation via AR and project it onto
the walls. You look around the room, double checking
each number. The pie chart has to have a different color,
you think, changing it with a thought. You are so in a
trance, sweeping your arms, changing positions that you
almost have a heart attack when your interface alarm
tells you it is time for the meeting. You save the presenta-
tion and make your way to the first floor, to meet Lynch
and his cohorts.
The Affluent
You smile as you enter your office on the third high-
est floor of the building. After all, you had a good and
healthy breakfast. You ate the bacon, the eggs and then
Nadia’s pussy. That was tasty, especially with Michelle
watching.
But your good mood quickly fades when your assistant,
Sebastian, tells you that you have a visitor. “Mr. Blake
awaits you, Sir. He came by half an hour ago but insisted
that he doesn’t want me to call you.”
That is bad news.
Robert Blake is the head of the Department of Integrity.
Better known as the loyalty officer. While he is not one of
the three you have to justify your actions to (that is anoth-
er privilege of this position) Blake has a very high influ-
ence and you don’t want him onto your trail. Him being
here after your conversation with Johnson this morning
confirms your suspicion that it went too smoothly.
“Clear my schedule for the next hour and block all calls,”
you say to Sebastian.
“Already done, Sir. I also took the liberty of cutting off
the camera feed in your office. In case you have to use
stronger arguments against Mr. Blake.”
You smile. That is why you prefer to work with humans
at your side. No corporation can build a pod that can
have the intuition and foresight of a sharp, organic mind.
“Thank you, but I don’t think I have to resort to that. I
did nothing wrong, after all, so what do I have to fear?”
you reassure him and yourself.
Blake is examining the painting behind your desk, one
hand on the backrest of your chair, one hand in his
pocket. Without turning around he starts to say, “I never
understood the fascination for paintings. They are so
...stoic. Permanent. In a world that constantly changes
and upgrades itself, it’s almost a relic.” He turns around,
his glowing red cybereyes focusing in on you. “Don’t you
think?”
“Mr. Blake, nice to see you. To what do I owe the plea-
sure of your company?” you greet him, ignoring his nebu-
lous question. You go to the minibar and take a bottle
of the same pure water from your grotto, along with two

glasses.
“Oh, don’t worry,” he tries to calm you, “this is just a so-
cial visit. As head of my department, one of the tasks my
contract states is to keep a healthy relationship with my
co-workers.”
He sits down on the leather sofa in the corner of your of-
fice, gladly accepting a glass of your water. First, he just
takes a sip, then gulps down the whole glass, not breaking
eye contact. After you fill his glass again, you sit down on
the wing chair continuing this dance.
“I must admit, though I am also obliged to that task, I am
afraid of what Sebastian thinks of me sometimes.” You
both laugh and take a sip of the purest water on earth.
Then Blake steps up a gear by saying, “incidentally, there
is one thing I have to ask you about. I am sure it’s noth-
ing to worry about, but yet another obligation from my
contract is to be thorough.”
You are clever enough to not step into that open-ques-
tion-trap and play innocent.
“What do you mean?”
He smiles, remembering who it is he talks to. That is
when he pulls out a datastick from his inside pocket and
plugs it into the port on the couch armrest. The room fills
itself with a hologram of the attacked factory. Precisely
the minute it was attacked. The video feed plays along
as Blake stands up and starts his exposition.
“Gamma-facility 21. Now, I know that it was an attack
planned by you and I know why you did it and you didn’t
inform the hand that feeds us. Personally, I admire that.
Those bold moves are what made our company success-
ful. But..!” he exclaims and pauses the feed, zooming
into one of the scientists that is hit by a bullet, “was the
death of four scientists really necessary?”
As with all questions that would come up, you already
have the answer for this one, too.
“Yes, for two reasons. It had to look realistic. Some Oper-
ators hitting a facility, zero casualties, all data destroyed,
just one day of planning? Come on, Blake. You worked
with Operators. Smooth Operations aren’t a thing. Sec-
ondly, these scientists know that our prototype is far from
being complete. The more people know that, the higher
the risk that our competitors will know it too.”
Blake just stares at you, through you, or none of the
22
above, you can’t tell. Nobody knows what his cybereyes
are capable of seeing. Some say that they can see the lie
through mimic algorithm and body heat with heartbeat
monitoring. Others say that they only glow red to make
you uncomfortable, which they do.
After a pause that feels like hours, he answers, “very well.
I can see your point. Luckily, the deaths seem random
enough to not raise the suspicion that they were killed on
purpose. Like this one here.” He points at a dead scientist
and the personnel file opens, hanging in mid-air. “Luis
Kling. He is, or was, about your age and you went to the
same university. You both even held correspondence af-
ter that, and I think I even met him at your big birthday
party two years ago.”
You are not surprised that Blake made the connection,
it was bound to happen. But not that fast. Still, you
keep your poker face, thanks to the temporary emotional
dampeners you activated the instant you heard that the
loyalty officer was in your office.
“Yes, how unfortunate for Luis. He wasn’t a close friend
but will be missed nonetheless. That is the risk of working
with Operators, they don’t have that kind of emotional
attachment like we do.” Blake smiles and that worries
and surprises you.
“Emotional detachment indeed,” he starts and sets the
video feed to a certain time stamp, “given the fact that
they even shot him twice. The second shot destroyed his
cyberhead implants. Especially the part where commu-
nication logs are saved. Beyond repair, this one.”
The video loops the execution-like scene of your former
friend. You feel nothing.
“Sadly, we will never know with whom, why or about
what he talked about in the last two days.” He also looks
at the scene longer than necessary. He finally blinks and
says, “well, que sera sera.” He unplugs the stick and the
room is again filled with normal light instead of the grue-
some death of Luis Kling. Blake offers you a handshake.
“As I said, just a social visit. Thanks for the water by the
way.” He leaves the office, wishes Sebastian a nice day
and leaves your floor.
Your assistant comes in, looking worried. “Is everything
okay, Sir?”
“Yes, yes. Just a ...social visit. We can go back to DEF-
CON 4. Continue with my normal schedule.” You sit
down in the big chair behind your desk, wondering how
much Blake already knows. Is it too late? Was he just
throwing accusations? How much has he told the Tri-
umvirate? The rest of the day is business as usual. Noth-
ing too complex, most tasks on automatic or delegatable.
Being in a position like your is not hard, staying in it is
where the challenge lies, as your talk with Blake proves.
As you have a free minute, you open your comm and
ask Michelle to visit you in your office. After all, you still
have something to ...discuss with her.

Evening
The Destitute
The pharmacy is at the other end of the district. You
wander through the streets thinking about the work day.
How you worked your ass off building pod after pod.
Each part you touched was worth more than you could
ever own. Sure, there are stories about folks who started
just like you, saving their credits to pay for education,
getting a permanent job, even buying a pod they once
built. But chances are these stories were told by corpora-
tions to keep hopes up. Dreams are for people with money
anyway, and then they are told what to dream.
The streets are not well lit and few cars drive around
here. You know you have to tread carefully. This isn’t
Skidrow, but some gangs have formed around here con-
sisting of poor people who don’t want to work anymore
and who live out their violent fantasies. These gangs rob
local stores, beat helpless people out of their hard-earned
money, or even kill them if they resist too much. If you
run into these guys you are on your own. No one around
here wants to play the hero for anyone, even the police
force only rushes in if the gang violence is about to spill
over into the better districts.
You hear a scream. Pretty common in this place, but this
one is dangerously close. It’s maybe one block away right
in your direction. Will you take an alternative route?
That only endangers you to the same fate, and since you
really, really want your meds, you continue on your way,
but more carefully. You walk along close to the walls
of the high buildings. Some are ruins, some are flats for
slightly less poor people, all are housing humans and ver-
mins alike. You might step over them.
The guy still screams when you reach the corner. The
23
thugs are almost gone, walking into the night in search
for another victim. One careful look and you see that
their recent one won’t make it long unless someone helps
him. That someone could be you. You come closer, care-
fully looking around. It could be a trap. One ganger left
behind to see if the screams lure an idiot in for another
round of beat-the-hobo.
No one around, you reach him. His clothes are blood
soaked like yours but it’s his blood and it’s fresh. He looks
at you, scared that you’re another devil who wants to tor-
ture him. When he realizes that you’re no threat and just
like him, he reaches into his pocket. With shaking hands
he offers you his belongings and meds.
“Don’t ... need them ... anymore,” he stammers, coughing
up blood.
You take his offerings while the life slowly drains from
his body.
“Th..thank you.” You don’t know what to say, so you ask,
“what’s your name?”
He opens his mouth to answer, but that was his last effort
in life. His face goes slack. You close his eyes and walk
away. You feel his possessions in your pocket and realize
that the gangers didn’t even rob him. They just wanted
to torture.
You have meds that will last one week and extra credits,
so you don’t have to work tomorrow. Or you could stay
in a cheap hotel tonight, sleep on a real bed, the first time
in ages. Or eat a flavoured ProteinBar. You look up and
see the flickering neon sign of a local rundown bar. The
Dirty Dutch. No hurt in celebrating this unseen fortune
with one beer, you think.
The establishment is really shady. A bar, held together
by duct tape and hope, occupies most of the space,
which looks even smaller than the outside suggests. It’s
not crowded, and the guests could be your dress doubles.
 The bartender, cleaning dirty glasses with a dirtier cloth,
seems to recognize you.
“Hey. The usual?”
You can’t remember if you’ve ever been here, but you
take the warm, welcoming gesture. “Yeah, sure,” you an-
swer shortly.
As you sit on a barstool that looks like it could hold you,
he already serves you a beer. You pay up front, eyes gaz-
ing on the liquor. Eyes closed, you gulp down a large sip.
This tastes so good. This feels like heaven and the alcohol
eases you and makes everything more tolerable.
You bathe so much in this feeling, that you almost fail
to notice another guest that walks through the door. He
wears a suit and his look of contempt when he sees the
place scares you. He walks toward a table where an-
other man sits. Did you notice him when you came in?
He wears casual clothes, but very clean. As you sip on
your beer you try to eavesdrop. The suit guy complains of
how they have to meet in this shit-hole and that it isn’t his
style. Casual guy answers that this is a discrete, neutral
place and that he likes it here. He likes the lack of AR
advertisement. Then they continue talking about some
kind of an Operation but that bores you and you finish
your beer.
When it’s empty you are tempted to buy another one.
Feel the heaven one more time. But you decide to keep
your credits and walk out of the bar. You are tired. You
24
want to sleep, need to sleep. You walk in the direction of
the nearest shelter, always watching your back. The hotel
idea is nice but the beer was enough momentary bliss.
If you ever want to get out of this hellhole, you need to
restrain yourself and think ahead. Only this way will get
you into the clothes and the contempt of that guy back
in the bar.
The reacher
“You should have seen his face when he watched the del-
egation walking out of the room, all smiling, handshak-
ing and congratulating me.”
You sit at the bar with Stan telling him about your suc-
cessful meeting. And successful it was, considering that
the section manager thanked you personally for the good
work you did for the company. The club is crowded and
you have to talk loudly to hear each other. The music dic-
tates the movement of the people and the bass is pound-
ing deep and hard. Still, you feel like the king of the world
tonight.
“Aren’t you afraid that your supervisor will do something
to get back at you?” Stan tries to ask and takes a sip from
his neon-green cocktail.
You shake your head and answer, “that’s not going to
happen, because then he would have to get way out of
line. That, in turn, would give me a reason to tell his
manager about that. After today, the manager knows
 my name. He fucking knows my name!” You hold your
amber-coloured drink high and wooh your lungs out. “I
want to dance, I need to dance!” Without looking back,
you head towards the dance floor.
Light beams and other bodies touch you as you obey the
fast rhythm of the music. You look up at the glass ceiling,
which is just another dancefloor for the VIP’s. Up there,
the cocktails and drinks are made with more expensive
ingredients and the juices come from real fruits. The
song changes and a more mellow and slow structure now
commands the dancing masses. Someday in the near
future you will be up there, drinking their drinks, doing
their drugs. For now you have to be beneath them.
As you spot the young lady two metres away, this sud-
denly doesn’t feel so bad. She has a cheap cybernetic
arm, but you are okay with that. There are some tech-
niques that are only possible with one. She catches your
look and smiles, but it doesn’t stop with that. As you two
hold eye contact, she opens her mouth, revealing a little
pill on her tongue. If that wasn’t an invitation, you don’t
know what is, so you go to her. No words, you just grab
her back and kiss her. Today you are a winner. Her metal
arm is unpleasantly cold, which destroys your fantasy of
techniques, but as your tongue touches hers, that doesn’t
matter anymore.
The tab she was licking is an extended-release tablet of
an illicit drug. Its active substance is now in your mouth
and rapidly enters your bloodstream. Your sense of time
slowly fades. The music dampens and the colours lose
their brightness. This is a drug that rearranges the sensi-
bility of your senses according to the pleasure principle.
Your tongue isn’t just intertwined with hers, it is an em-
bodiment of your souls having sex with each other. It feels
like you are melting with her together, and you embrace
it. Forgotten are the worries of your job or the fear to stay
behind the newest bullshit the companies put on the
market. Nothing matters right now, but you two on this
dancefloor.
The long kiss ends and you look at each other, smiling.
You know this won’t last forever, no matter how much
you wish it. You mouth the words, “thank you,” and you
walk away. This predator has already spotted its next
victim, a girl her age, hesitating to join the dancing
crowd.
As you get back to the bar and to Stan, your vision re-
focuses. The bliss of detachment gets overwritten by the
need for newer, better products paid with a higher salary
than you currently earn, but you can work on that. The
first step was done today.
“Wow, that was intense, just looking at you two,” Stan
acknowledges.
“Yeah, it was,” you answer, “come on, let’s drink up and
leave this place. Tomorrow I have to continue my good
relationship with the section manager.”
Though the night is still young, you walk away from the
entertainment district. Prostitutes, real, pod and AR,
25
promise illicit pleasures from the windows of the sur-
rounding buildings. Shady gentleman and neon girls
walking hand in hand along the streets. The air is filled
with a synthetic, drug-induced euphoria and a lust for
life. All these people may have a CSC, but for this night,
they want to forget the burden and the privilege that
comes with one. If they can’t break the civil laws, then
the moral ones will have to do, ignoring the fact that they
fill the pockets of the rich either way.
Wait a second. Why do you have these rebellious
thoughts? You love your CSC, your job and the things
you own. Was it the drug the girl gave you? Are the side
effects stronger than you think? Maybe you have to use
emotional dampeners now for a while. You can’t have
a little fun distract you from your overall goal, or you’ll
always be the one dancing on the ground floor, clinging
to every moment of numbness you can get.
The affluent
You look at Michelle and what you did to her. Outside,
the sun is going down and its last rays of light touch
the pod’s body more softly than your hands did. It was
necessary, the whole facility-situation and the talk with
the loyalty officer built up a steam that needed to be re-
leased. Sure, you use emotion dampeners and years of
corporation business school teachings for you to handle
these types of situations, but a little violent outburst here
and there is a welcome therapy.
With a small hand gesture, the blinds close and you walk
out of your office.
Sebastian stands up. “Calling it a day, Sir?”
You keep on walking, giving him instructions, “yes.
Clean the office, erase the memory of Michelle, then
erase your memory of the cleanup.”
Without hesitation, Sebastian acknowledges the order
and walks into the mess you made.
As you enter the elevator, you close your eyes, thinking
about what to do this evening, when you receive a call.
It’s your wife.
“Hi, honey. I am back in town earlier than expected.
Where are you?”
You mute yourself, let out a short curse and answer,
“aww, that’s wonderful. I am leaving the office right
now, but then I have to...”.
She interrupts you, “good because the Masons are having
a dinner party tonight and we are invited. I don’t want
to miss that.”
You sigh, knowing that all the credits on your account
can’t save you from visiting the Masons and fulfilling
your social obligations.
“Fine. I’ll meet you there, hon.”
The elevator arrives at the garage, but before it opens, the
elevator AI tells you: “Caution, your suit has a little pod
fluid on your shirt. Recommended course of action is to
change it. Do you want me to send a backup suit before
opening the door, Sir?”
 You look down and notice it, too. Michelle really did put
up a fight after all.
“No, thank you, just open the door. I have a backup shirt
in my car.”
Half an hour later, you are in your car on the way to
the party. Your driver, whose name you always forget,
had the shirt ready when he came around. Damn inter-
connected headquarters. Bet you can’t even take a shit
without the company knowing the size and consistency.
You look at today’s news on the screen in front of you but
your mind is drifting again. It will take years before you
enter the Triumvirate. The bosses were genetically modi-
fied even before their birth to live longer. Only a public
scandal or a death by “accident” can open the doors for
you. You have the resources and the lack of scruples for
both, but it needs careful planning. Way more careful
than the factory, it seems.
The party is boring, as expected. Though your wife looks
gorgeous and leads the talking, the conversations are tire-
some. The combined GenEval number of all guests are
hardly over 25, but that doesn’t mean you take an interest
in their opinion or even their names. You have a list in
your AR with all the important names and faces which
lights up when you meet one of them. These people can
either contribute or hinder (sometimes both) your overall
plan. None of those people are here tonight.
The food is delicious, which is a silver lining. Real lobster,
real potatoes. All the ingredients of the sauces are hand
picked and woven into a delightful composition by one of
the few cooks left in this city. For the background music,
the Masons hired real musicians who play on real, clas-
sical instruments.
The brandy and cigars afterward are also enjoyable, but
not as good as yours. They use a brand that may tell peo-
26
ple that their product is 100% pure, but you know better.
The taste is just different. Telling this here, in front of all
the guests could light up a scandal, but you are too tired
and want to keep a low-profile.
On the way home, you are still unfocused. Your wife says
something about the dessert, you think but then she asks,
“What about Blake? Is he onto us?”
You look at her and the serious expression on her face.
“No, I don’t think so.”
She gets louder, “you don’t think? It was all perfectly
planned, then he shows up out of nowhere, asks the right
questions, leaves without an answer and you think he
isn’t onto us? Well, that’s reassuring.”
“What should I have done? Kill him right then and
there?”
“That would be a start. Wouldn’t be the first time for you
to do this kind of stuff in your office, would it?”
You question Sebastian’s discretion and loyalty, but your
wife is right. More serious problems are ahead of you. “Is
that why you came back earlier and dragged me to this
party?”
She rolls her eyes. “Of course. Remember Lauren Paige?
The girl with the red dress? Of course you don’t. She
worked with Blake while he was in HR and they still
have contact. It was important to get in touch with her
tonight. And before you think that you can fuck her to get
the information, forget it. You are not her type, we have
to send someone else.”
As you reach home, a new Michelle welcomes you back
home and asks how your day was. Your wife commands
her to deactivate and heads towards the bedroom. She
turns around, tells you to not keep her waiting for too
long and heads inside. Will this day never end, you think.
27
 Basic rule system
Remember... all I’m offering is the truth. Nothing more. – Morpheus
We are professionals
This is the first rule of Neomancer and it is highly
important. Every now and then the player charac-
ters (Operators) will be missing a certain tool to
do something. In this case we assume that they
are, unlike the players, professionals and there-
fore prepared. There won’t be a situation where
the Operators are stuck because they miss a cer-
tain tool or someone forgot the name of a contact.
This rule does not free the players from thinking
ahead but it reduces micromanaging.
Dice
A black six sided die is an Operator Die (OD or ).
These are positive dice gained through skills, cy-
berware and so on. Red six sided dice are System
Dice (SD or ). These are negative dice, gained
from the difficulty the GM (Gamemaster) imposes
or the general difficulty of the Operation.
A die is a success on 4+, which means you have to
roll 4 or higher. A success on a is called hit, a
success on a is called block. Every block can-
cels a hit and if there are more hits than blocks
left, the check was successful.
The trait check
Assemble your dice by identifying the trait an Op-
erator wants to use. For example, if an Operator
wants to sneak past a guard the stealth trait is
used and the player takes a number of corre-
sponding to this value. In most Operations the dif-
ficulty is (more on that later). Let’s assume
that the player at hand has a stealth trait value
of 4.
There may be bonuses and penalties later but for
now you have these dice:
The player rolls:
This means the player has 1 hit and 1 block. Since
there is not at least 1 hit left it is not enough to
sneak past the guard. A failed check always re-
sults in the generation of a firewall point. Wait,
what? What is a firewall point? Glad you asked.
28
The firewall
In Neomancer, Operators try to fullfill so called
Operations. The goal of an Operation usually is
getting access to a certain compound, place or
person. In almost every case the Operators meet
some kind of resistance which is represented by
the firewall.
The firewall is an abstract visualization of the
awareness of the Operator’s target. The higher
the firewall, the more resistance they will en-
counter.
Everytime an Operator fails a trait check, add 1
firewall point to the firewall.
The firewall will get higher during an Operation
and so will the defense of the target. A failed
stealth check does not necessarily mean the Op-
erator has failed the task. Maybe the guard saw
“something” and is not sure about it. But he will
talk about it and maybe even report it. The creed
of Neomancer is “Yes, but...”, which means Opera-
tors do not really fail in their tasks but they can
raise suspicion. That said, there are two types of
checks in Neomancer:
The standard check
If an Operator succeeds there is no problem. If a
standard check is failed, one firewall point is add-
ed to the firewall but the Operator still succeeds.
This represents taking more time than planned or
leaving something behind and therefore raising
suspicion.
The typical stealth check is a standard check most
of the time. Nobody really notices the Operator
but maybe there are traces left behind or some-
one heard a suspicious noise.
The critical check
If an Operator succeeds there is no problem. If
not, one firewall point is added to the firewall and
the task has failed.
The obstacle in front of the Operator is really a
problem. Only a succesful check can help through.
DEFCON
Now, what does that mean, adding a firewall point
to the firewall?
The firewall has 3 states: DEFCON 1 to 3 where 1
is the highest state of readiness. Everytime the
 Operators add another firewall point, it will influ-
ence the game. See the DEFCON table below for
details. Some of the terms mentioned there, like
extraction, INI and vice will be explained in their
corresponding chapters.
For now it is sufficient to know that the Operators
don’t want to raise the firewall since it increases
the difficulty of their actions and hinders them in
succeeding.

ERG
ERG or energy is an abstract representation of
an Operator’s body energy. It will be depleted by
hacking and rigging (see next chapter), wounds
(see combat), skills or cyberware (see character
creation) and so on.
ERG is only restored after an Operation (see Op-
erations) and cannot be restored during one.

Effects
All effects coming from cyberware, skills and so
on are applied before any actual dice rolls. So if
a player wants to add a hit or remove or any
other modification of the dice they have to decide
before the roll.
Synopsis: Basic Rules
Gather depending on the trait that is used. Then gather
depending on the difficulty of the task. In most cases it is
. Harder Operations may have a higher difficulty.

4+ on a black die is called a hit

4+ on a red die is called a block

Just count hits and blocks and compare the numbers. If you
have more hits than blocks the check is successful, other-
wise it is failed.
Everytime a check is failed add 1 firewall point to the fire-
wall.

Defcon 3: 1-5 points
The target may be aware that
something is going on but does not
consider it a serious problem.
Extraction difficulty is .
Defcon
Defcon 2: 6-10 points
The target is aware that something
serious is going on and does con-
sider it a minor problem.
Extraction difficulty is . problem.
The vice of one Operator gets trig-
gered.
Defcon 1: 11-15 points
The target is aware that some-
thing very serious is going on
and does consider it a major
Extraction difficulty is .
The difficulty of all checks ex-
cept extraction and combat is
raised by .

29
 Cyberware and alienation
We’re on an express elevator to hell – going down! – Private Hudson

The idea of enhancing your body is as old as the

first inventions of technology. Amputees were
among the first people to get a glimpse of the
vast possibilities of body augmentations, but in
the late 21st century, cyber enhancements were
relatively common. It was also the citizens with
medicinal reasons to be among the first to suf-
fer Xenomelia, a psychological disorder where
one perceives body parts as not their own. Some
patients were unsettled to such an extent that
they removed their augmentations to feel nor-
mal again. Psychologically speaking the patients
alienated themselves from their body and did not
feel human anymore, depending on the augmen-
tations.
The phenomena was not broadly researched un-
til the very late 21st century when healthy people
started to change their body parts with cyber
augmentations to improve their performance. It is
commonly known that while cyber parts are much
stronger and more reliable than the original ones
the mental state of the users may suffer.
In Neomancer this effect is called alienation and
it is a core concept of the game. Alienation is the
strange sensation of not really being a human
anymore, partly due to the world Operators live in
and partly because their bodies have undergone
cybernetic enhancements. Every piece of cyber-
ware and also the intensifying connection to a
rogue AI can generate alienation points.
When implementing cyberware or rogue AI it
may increase the alienation of an Operator. This
increase is permanent. When buying cyberware
Lifestyle
The concept of the connection to society and one’s
own body is called grounding:
Every Operator starts with grounding 2 and
alienation 0.
Operators have different sources to improve their
grounding, depending on their lifestyle. The main
concepts all Operators follow are:
The Pack
You have close friends, romantic relationships,
maybe siblings or your parents in your life who
will ground you in a healthy way. You need to
spend time with them, but when things go wrong
and the chrome takes over there is a small pos-
sibility that you hurt someone.
Lone wolf
You are alone and you like it that way. You have
time for your own thoughts and can sort out your
own problems. When everything in your head
goes upside down you may not care for other peo-
ple too much and start to get unreliable.
Hedonist
Life is short and by replacing healthy body parts
with metal it can even get shorter. You are out ev-
ery weekend, maybe every night and know how
to have fun, to blow off some steam. When your
alienation takes over it can get pricey and messy.
The Pack Lone wolf Hedonist

or rogue AI’s the amount of alienation is noted in Good friends My favorite bar VIP member
Increase grounding by 1. Increase grounding by 1. Increase grounding by 1.
the advancement.
Since the problem is common nowadays there Platonic lifemate
Start every Operation
My special place
You can alter the alien-
Party monster
If you fail an alienation
are several ways to counter the effects of alien- with +1 ERG and
flow.
in ation table by 1. check, you may ignore
it. Your next alienation
ation. One can have a strong bond with the fam- check is increased by
. Party Monster can-
ily, roam the streets alone at night or just get out not be used again until
you suffered an alien-
and have a ton of fun. Doing human things makes ation effect.

an Operator human and between Operations they Life partner Neon lights Underground rave
are normal human beings, although maybe heav- Increase grounding by 1. Increase grounding by 1. Increase grounding by 1.

ily enhanced. When they suffer alienation, they Family Tranquility Roofies
freak out for a little while (so to speak) and have Increase grounding by 1. You can alter the alien-
ation table by 1.
You can choose another
Operator to suffer your
to do something that helps them to get back on alienation effect.

their feet, but sometimes their strange behavior

is too much.

30
 Players can strengthen the bond to their human- For example, Raven is a Lone wolf in Tier 2 which
ity by investing time in their lifestyle but they do means she has grounding 3 and a special effect.
not have to. The more time they invest during a She has 2 cyberware parts implemented which
campaign the more unlikely they suffer from give her alienation so she has alienation 2.
alienation effects. The player rolls:
After every Operation players have to make an
alienation check which consists of for every That was bad. Now Raven’s player adds the alien-
point in grounding vs their alienation. ation of 2 to the remaining block which results in
a 3. Consulting the table, Raven will now be merci-
Alienation check = grounding vs alienation less and adding another firewall point after every
combat because she kills every incapacitated en-
emy. This is what alienation can do to you.
If they succeed nothing happens and the bond to
their humanity is strong enough. If they fail they
add their alienation to the remaining blocks of
the roll and consult the table depending on their
lifestyle. The effect applies to the next Operation.
This is not a trait check, so it is not influenced by
some effects that can alter trait checks. If some-
thing modifies alienation, it’s written in the de-
scription.

Alienation table
Alienation + re- The Pack Lone wolf Hedonist
maining blocks
0 Tired Solitude is peace Partytime!
Cannot add to flow. Block 1 of your networks. -1 ERG

1 I need to see them You’re not my boss Narcissist

Spend at least 2₮ for You cannot benefit from You can never positively
grounding. any positive effect not modify another Opera-
coming from yourself. tor’s flow or checks.

2 You look like shit
Add to yours and other
Operators’ interaction or
street smarts checks.
3 Merciful
Add to every check to
attack someone.
4 Am I still human?
You can’t spend more
than 1 ERG per check.
Urgh, people
Add to yours and other
Operators’ interaction or
street smarts checks.
Merciless
+1 FP after combat.
Seeking death
You can not wear any ar-
mor.
You talk too much
Add to every prepscene
check of yours.
You talk way too much
Double the costs for net-
work usage for all Opera-
tors.
On drugs
You always have to spend
the maximal INI.

5+ I’m a robot! We’re all expendable Take my ERG!!!!

Cannot spend ERG. You can not use REF. When making a check al-
ways use every cyberware
and skill possible.

31
Operations

32
 As always, should you or any of your I.M. force be caught or killed,
the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape/
disc will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Dan. – recorded
voice

33
 Operation rules
Reuben: If, God forbid, anything does happen to you, we will not be involved.

Terry: You better not be, Reuben. You better not be.

1. Getting the job

Operations are offered by brokers. The GM or the campaign offers the Operations in a certain order, but
sometimes the Operators can choose between offers.
2. Preparation
The Operators prepare the Operation by completing simple tasks depending on their choice and traits. This
can add 1 firewall point when the Operator fails or add to intrusion or extraction if succesful.
They may activate their network to add additional or trigger other effects.
3. Intrusion
The Operators describe their approach and check against the defense of the target.
4. Danger zone
The Operators move from phase to phase by succeeding in certain tasks.
5. Extraction
The Operators check against the DEFCON of the target to get out.
6. Intermission
The Operators get time (₮) and credits (₵) depending on the Operation.

Operations are the core of Neomancer. Opera- legal Operations.

tors need them to finance their lifestyle off the
grid and without steady work they are as good
as dead. So it is very important to get a reputa-
tion among the brokers in town to get better jobs,
better payment and in the end, a better life. Every
Operation consists of the assignment of a broker
who speaks for anonymous clients. These meet-
ings are never held in VR or anything remotely
electronic since that would make it discoverable.
Imagine you plan a heist in 2017. You would not
want to conspire in a acebook group, but in a bar
far off your hometown where nobody knows you.
After the haggling about the price, the allow-
ances, and means of the Operation, the Opera-
tors usually activate their network to prepare
for the job before actually going to work. Being
an Operator is a dirty job sometimes but they
are some of the only free people in the world...
1.The Getting the job
Dirty Dutch is the kind of establishment where you
only go to when you have to. AR strippers dance on the
tables when you pay for it, the beer is the worst mixture
of cheap chemicals and dirty water ever sold in Los An-
geles and the clientele is somewhat questionable. You
enter and order the usual. After that, you look around
and while you are very aware that no Operator would
ever meet a broker via the Net, you ask yourself what all
that technology is good for when it can’t be used for il-
You sit down at the reserved table and skim through the
files on the small tablet. It’s an OPAK device, no wifi
connection at all, no ports, nothing. It only has on it what
you put in and after its battery is depleted, everything is
gone. Who would use such a thing in the real world, you
wonder.
“Do you accept the job, Mr. Evans?” Armitage empties
his bottle and sits down.
“Of course I do. You know we’re the right ones for this,”
you say with pride.
“I know, I know. And it is no problem at all, that there is
some... wet work involved?”
“Heck no! Fincher will be pleased to do it. And the intel
on this guy is... disturbing.” You hesitate while browsing
the data.
“It really is. And here are the passcodes for your hacker.
Should be no problem to infuse your biometrics in the sys-
tem with that.” Armitage leans back and sighs.
“What?” You look at him nervously.
“I don’t know, Evans. I don’t know. Just keep an eye
open, okay?”
“Yes, mom,” you laugh and walk away.
The job is offered by a broker and depends on
the status of the group or the campaign that is
played. Sometimes Operators can choose, some-
times there is only one job available. However, the
choosing has to be narrated by the GM and played
out. More often than not the informations are in-
complete and it is the player’s turn to fill in the

34
 gaps. Operations are rated by their phases which
is an abstract way to describe their difficulty.
Phases 2 3
Credits (₵) 4000 6000
Time (₮) 4 6
Difficulty
(for every
standard
check outside
of combat)
Prepscenes 4 5
Note that each Operator gets the stated amount
of credits and time. Only the prepscenes are di-
vided between the group.
You will see that while new groups will not have
any problems with 2-phase Operations, 4-phase
Operations are for the late game. The row prep-
scenes sets the allowed number of actions the
Operators can take beforehand to plan the gig
which happens in the preparation.
Let’s say Tim and Andy, who play Evans and Fincher, want to start an Operation.
They now play out a little scene where the broker offers a job to them. Since they
are playing a campaign and are not very experienced Operators there is only one
job available with 2 phases. They decide to take it. This means that every stan-
dard check has a difficulty of (if the GM does not say otherwise).
2.Preparation
In this phase, the Operators prepare their Opera-
tion. Before they actually do something the Oper-
ators choose their supply. The supply represents
the money they spend on living between Opera-
tions, maintaining their gear and so on. The supply
stands for professional expenses for the current
Operation and between. It comes with certain as-
sets and disadvantages depending on the spent
credits:
disadvantage is huge. Giving up assets and better
gear can alter the difficulty of an Operation sub-
stantually.
4
asset effect
8000 You do that for me! +1₮ during intermission. Costs 2
assets.
The best gear in the city Reroll one check.
8
Visit Blips and Chitz! Add to your next alienation
check.
I have top men working on it Ignore a single network’s draw-
right now. back.
AI-hacker-on-a-stick Once per Operation, make a stan-
dard hacking check with
.
6 Improvise - Adapt - Overcome You may use the same trait twice
during preparation.
Blister of Protein Bars +2 ERG
Operators will pay for the supply after the Opera-
tion and are now prepared to start the actual play.
Since Operations are always described incom-
pletely, the players can now add details.
Operators can prepare for the Operation by full-
filling simple tasks beforehand (so called prep-
scenes). Every player has to do one prepscene if
possible. So when 4 players are there every one
of them will have 1 prepscene. If there are more or
less players just go around the table to distribute
the prepscenes as evenly as possible.
The purpose of these prepscenes is to generate
for the intrusion or extraction and to enrich the
Operation.
This means every Operator gets a little scene
which lasts about 2-5 minutes to prepare the way
in or out. The player describes what he wants to
do and suggests a trait to use. The GM narrates
the scene and depending on the succesful trait
check, the Operator generates for either intru-
sion or extraction (player’s choice). The difficulty
for the check depends on the Operation. Every
trait may only be used once in the whole prepa-
ration. So if one Operator already used stealth no
other Operator may use it.

Cost Category Effect For example, Raven wants to get a guard drunk in his time
off to get some information for the intrusion. The GM now
sets a little bar-scene, Raven’s player roleplays and talks
500₵ Destitute GM can let you reroll one trait with the guard and other guests. Eventually the player
check per Operation. makes an interaction check with since this is a 2-phase
Operation. When the player succeeds is added to the in-
You can only use Destitute gear. trusion. If not, the firewall increases by 1 and no die is added.
1000₵ Reacher 1 asset
You can only use Destitute and In most cases the Operators will want to activate
Reacher gear.
their network when doing this to gather addition-
2000₵ Affluent 2 assets al dice. The network is explained later (see char-
You can use every gear. acter creation). For now, these are professional
contacts who generate for a price instead of
Operators choose their supply when they are in- checks. Every generated is also added to the
formed about the mission. While living as a Des- intrusion or extraction (player’s choice).
titute, Operators can save a lot of money, but the It is recommended that the prepscene of the Op-

35
 erator and the network go hand in hand and influ-
ence each other to generate a better narrative.
Tim wants to create a distraction with his force network. This increases the fire-
wall but also adds to the intrusion for only 200₵. Tim then describes how
his street gang makes loud noises in front of the target building so Evans can
sneak in.
Now the Operators have talked to people, manip-
ulated doors or bribed guards. Anyway, they are
now ready to get into the actual Operation.
Fincher implemented the biometrics and Sanchez bribed
a guard to let you pass, even with your weapon cases.
This should run very smoothly, the last piece is your get-
away. You sit in the garage and wait for Fokker to ap-
pear from under the car.
He suddenly rolls out and grins at you,
“Schmidt & Schultz, really? How hot is it?”
“Not that hot,” you assure him, “we really just need a
driver to get away fast.”
“As usual.”
“As usual, Fokker.”
“Okay, just wire me my payment and I’m in.”
“Thanks, see you tomorrow.”
You leave the garage with one point left on your agenda:
suits.
3.Intrusion
In the intrusion, the Operator’s plans and actions
come to fruition. All gathered in the intrusion
are rolled against the target’s defense, which is
based on the difficulty of the Operation.
Before the Operators attempt their intrusion they
have to describe their general approach and plan
36
which includes determining what gear they bring
(weapons, armor, drones). Note that gear will
generate firewall points!
When the Operators pass the check everything
works out as planned and the Operators enter
phase 1 of the Operation. If the intrusion check
does not work out the GM consults the table on
the next page (higher firewall points (FP) can
come from gear and failed checks).
Tim and Andy had good rolls for the preparation and gath-
ered for their intrusion. They implemented
their biometrics in the system and bribed some guards so
they decide to just walk in with a lot of chuzpe. They pass
their check and are now in the danger zone.
You close in on the location. The compound is a small fa-
cility, almost suspiciously small. You open the briefcase
one last time and check for your gun while you look at
Fincher in the corner of your eyes. He’s a freak. A chrome
freak. He’s sharpening his spurs right now, looking like
some kind of animal. cyberware limbs, cyberware weap-
ons and running high on emotional enhancers. Yeah,
that’s right, fucking enhancers! While you always damp-
en yourself a little bit to get the job done, this fucker en-
hances his emotions because he enjoys his work.
The truck comes to a halt and gets checked by security.
Martha took care of that though. She implemented your
credentials yesterday. Said it was very easy because the
employer is some high-level asshole who has access to all
kinds of passes here. They now think you are from some
kind of assessment center come to inspect the facilities.
And it really worked. The guard jost nods as you drive
by.
“Intrusion clear!”
 Intrusion table
Firewall Cumulative effects
0 Someone remembers your face
Add to extraction.
1-2 Security check
One Operator loses 1 weapon or 1 armor with at least 1 FP (firewall point).
3-4 Bad feeling about this
Every Operator loses 1 REF.
5-6 Detour
Every Operator loses 3 ERG.
7+ You look like a task force
You are immediately attacked by firewall times minions.

4. Danger zone
Out along the edges, always where I burn to be, the fur-
ther on the edge, the hotter the intensity. – Kenny Loggins
The danger zone is where the actual play begins.
It consists of several phases, depending on the
Operation. In this part of the Operation the Opera-
tors interact with NPCs, break down doors, knock
out guards and get into fights and blow stuff up.
The phases represent significant obstacles
that the Operators have to overcome in order to
achieve their goals. They can be everything re-
lated to the Operation and will be explained in the
GM section of this book.
The GM does not need to specify when the phase
will end but most times it will be triggerd by a
change of location, i.e. by entering a restricted
area or opening a specific door. While doing this
every check can generate firewall points. Maybe
the Operators talk to a guard and he gets suspi-
cious, maybe they make too much noise and so on.
Raising the firewall can lead to dangerous conse-
quences:
DEFCON effect
3 no effect
2 The stress gets to you!
One random Operator is confront-
ed with his vice. This means he or
she has to overcome his personal
flaws. Game-wise this means there
is a little scene with a check of the
Operations’ difficulty. A failed check
raises the firewall as usual.
1 Everything is going wrong!
The difficulties of all checks, ex-
cept in combat and extraction, is
increased by .
Evans and Fincher are now in the compound and try to find
the best way to reach their goal. Tim already failed a stealth
check and has increased the firewall by 1 with this. The goal
of the first phase is to get into the classified rooms of the
building.
They are now figuring out if they will more likely succeed by
sheer force or try a more stealthy approach.
The three of you walk through labs and offices till you
reach destination point A, the entrance to the high-level
research, where the target is.
Martha bypasses the codes as some employee walks up to
you, “Hey, what are you doing there?”
“We are Mr. Schultz, Mr. Crandizes, and Ms. Marlow
here to inspect facility 10f44b in the name of Department
AA74 and you are?” your voice sounds very demanding,
bordering on a threat.
“I, I, nevermind. I just have to report this.” the man is
small and seems frightened.
“Do as you wish but we will continue our work, thank
you very much.”
Fincher looks at you, “he will raise suspicion by reporting
this. Should I…” he taps on the suitcase.
“And you opening that case will do anything better? Stay
down, we got this.”
He grunts as Martha finally opens the door.
“Entering phase 2, finding the subject…” you mumble.
Everyone looks very busy in the back of this compound
and no one even looks at you. You activate your scan-
ner to find the scientist you are looking for, wandering
around between huge silos filled with some hot liquid.
Martha splits and goes to the left offices while Fincher
goes right.
A security guard follows him but after a swift warning
over the comm Fincher has the situation handled.
“This will cause attention, Fincher.”
“I know, but not right now, amirite?”
“I found him.” Martha joins the conversation, “he’s
standing near some kind of liquid filled glass tube.”
“Go around them, access in 2,” you mumble.
“Roger that.”

37
 “Roger, roger.”
You silently walk around a silo and see him. Dr. Hart-
mut Welch, a scientist, a sick bastard apparently and
a man with an influential enemy. You concentrate and
speak only in your head, “Fincher, how many guards?”
“12, maybe 15, and one tough guy behind glass. We can
handle that.”
“Try not to kill all of them.” Martha sounds concerned,
“do we have time to incapacitate them?”
“No.” you answer, “but we will be gentle. Access in 12,
11, 10…”
“9,” Fincher says.
flash grenade, stunning some of the guards.
You are about 20 feet away from the target, he is with
You see him getting shot in the arm while throwing but
3 other scientists which are part of the deal without
he just walks it off, grinning. You are covered and aim for
Martha knowing it. It’s okay when only you have them
their leader who sounded the alarm, while Martha opens
on your conscience. The lab is big, the gun sounds will
the gates to extract, as more guards storm in, drowning
attract more guards and you know that this calls for a
you in cover fire.
swift extraction. Normally you would take them fast and
“Fincher, I need help!” you scream while running into
silent but the contract was very specific. You have to be
cover.
loud and you have to be seen by the cameras.
“Gotcha, boss!” Fincher mumbles and shoots 2 guards
“Face masks now,” you say and press a button under
right through the chest.
your ear which instantly spawns a face hologram in the
He runs towards Martha and fires his MP into the
form of a black mask.
guards. His bionics are baffling since he seems not to feel
“8,” Martha stands behind a female scientist, pretending
any pain from the various bullet wounds he’s taking.
to observe while hacking the security cameras.
You take a breath and load your legs to 250%. The floor
“7,” You grab the suitcase and prepare the weapon inside
crushes when you jump up to a basin and see the world
it. Another invention of Yin Yao which you really dig.
beyond you through a filter. You lock in the guards and
Suitcases with hidden MPs? You would never spend that
gun them down one by one. You reload the split second
much money since they are obviously one-time use only,
you land on the floor again, shattering the metal under
but you don’t say no to such a generous gift from your
your feet. “Ready Martha?”
employer.
She smiles and opens the door. A vast blackness fills the
“6,” Fincher is getting flashbangs ready.
room, and her body hits the floor, dead before she realized
“5,” You are 10 feet away when the scientists turn around.
what hit her. A shadowy figure emerges from the smoke
Starting to ask questions. You dampen your emotions
and your heart skips a beat...
and activate your combat cyberware. You feel energy
flowing through you. Your eyes open wide, you can al-
most smell their fear.
“4,” Fincher activates his cyberware and grunts. He is
5. Extraction
At some point, the Operators succeed or ultimate-
borderline psychopathic but the best Operator you know.
ly fail in their mission and want to leave. This point
“3,” “What are you doing here?” The scientists seem
can be determined by the GM or the Operators but
concerned, “Guards! Guards!”
in most cases it is very obvious when the time of
“2,” Martha activates her combat gear and kills the
departure has come. The Operators now declare
lights in the room. It is black for exactly 3 seconds before
that they want to extract and can make their ex-
the alarm goes off.
traction check. This check depends on two things:
“1,” You open the suitcase and have a silenced Martyr
the preparation of the Operators and the firewall.
FF8 in your hand. 500 rounds per minute, magazine of
The extraction is already set and consists of every
100 and perfectly balanced. The suitcase pops away and
generated during the preparation. The oppos-
falls down onto the floor. The room is totally black, only
ing are generated by the firewall:
lit by small blue bursts of your machine pistols.
Before the case even hits the ground you already shot 20
DEFCON Difficulty for extraction
rounds into the target. When the left side of the silver
suitcase touches the floor, the left scientist’s head pops 3
like a balloon while the 2 right ones suddenly drop dead. 2
Fincher did his job perfectly. The light comes back and
with it a dozen guards. 1
“Fincher, go!” you scream in your head and he throws a

38
 If the check is successful the extraction goes
smooth as planned and the group goes straight to
intermission. If the check fails the outcome is de-
termined by the current firewall points. A firewall
lower than 6 has no effect.
Tim and Andy have increased the firewall to 7 which means
DEFCON 2. They roll their extraction of against the
difficulty of . They roll and fail hard.
Consulting the extraction table Tim’s Operator now gets
shot on the way out and receives 1 critical wound. Without
further narration they go straight to the intermission.
cycle follows you and you close your eyes to concentrate.
“It’s only one guy!”, Fincher screams, “let me get him!”
The driver brakes hard, the car drifts to the left, giving
Fincher the perfect shot on the guy. But before he could
even aim, a bullet as fast as lightning and brightly yellow
tears his arm right off.
“Fuck! Fuck! Go…” Fincher falls back screaming.
“Equalizer,” you whisper. “give it your best shot Fokker,
but I won’t blame you if we all die.”
Fokker steps on the gas, “But I blame you, Evans! I fuck-
ing blame you!”

“What the fuck, Evans!” Fincher screams while running

through the tunnels. “Where did that fucker come from?”
“We got fucked, Fincher! Fucked! I don’t know…”, gunfire
silences the conversation.
“Where is that fucking vent?” you scan the perimeter
and see the hole in the wall, “Run!”
You activate your boosters and infuse yourself with 300%
of your body strength while breaching through the wall.
You feel stone breaking under your fist as you smash
through and run to the street.
Fokker is standing there, engines already running high.
“Not hot? Not hot? Fuck you Evans!”
“Fuck you, too!” you scream and jump into the car.
“Hacking the street lights right now, chief.”
“Where is Fincher?” you sound more concerned than
you expected.
Then you hear an explosion and see a silhouette running
towards you.
“Get in, man, get in!”
Fincher laughs maniacally as he leaps into the moving
car and he doesn’t stop when you are shot at. A motor-
6. Intermission
After the Operators are done with the Opera-
tion they get to collect their reward and live their
day to day life. Depending on the outcome of the
Operation they get more or less of the promised
credits and have more or less time to spend. The
intermission has several subphases.
Earn credits and time
“So, the Operation is good?” Kyle asked his team leader,
Joanne. She looked away, giving him the answer. “Oh
come on, Jo. What are we gonna do this time? Beat down
a hobo? Robbing a ProteinBar from a child?” She looked
at him again, this time more determined. “Cut it Kyle.
Operation is Operation. We got to steal a Griffin proto-
type car while it test drives through the city. 2000 credits
for everyone and …”. She was cut off by Yun-Lee: “Only
2000? That is not enough. With that low bounty we have
to do another OP literally at the same time to survive the
month.” “I think you mean figuratively, since we can’t be
at two Operations at the same time” answered Miime,
the hacker of the group, with all the sincerity the world

Extraction table
Firewall Not cumulative effects
15-14 Something went horribly wrong. The data was faked, your target had a body-double, you lose the prototype during a
wild chase.

The Operators don’t get any credits and only half of the time.
13-12 Innocents in the way!

You kill innocents on the way out or you don’t. Either go up to 15 or receive for your next alienation check. Every
Operator can decide for themself.
11-10 They are still looking!

You have to shake off pursuers and keep your head down for a while. -1₮ for every Operator.
9-8 Let it go!

Get 500₵ less for this Operation.

7-6 They are shooting at us!

One random Operator that is not critically wounded gets a critical wound.

39

has to offer. “I’m literally gonna smack your ass girl if you
don’t stop being a wise guy.” Yun-Lee replied with a sur-
prisingly calm voice. “The kids are right, mom.” Kyle in-
tervened, speaking to Joanne. “If we don’t get more profit-
able Operations, I have to crawl back to my old boss at
Kiniun. Which is problematic, given the fact that I broke
his arm.” She sighed. “I know, I know. Look, he promised
me better OPs if we do this right. Ones where you can
lay back or indulge your vices for a whole month. That’s
the way it is around here. So let’s get to work, we haven’t
much time. The prototype is supposed to drive tomorrow
night. How shall we do it?”
Lower-phase-Operations means that the charac-
ter doesn’t have much time before doing the next
Operation (not necessarily played out), therefore
not much time (₮) is available.
More difficult Operations reward with more mon-
ey and allow an Operator to have more time (to
increase his skills etc.) in between:
Phases 2 3 4
Credits (₵) 4000 6000 8000
Time (₮) 4 6 8 From now on, the Operator is indebted and
Pay your debts
Yun Lee walked around the apartment. The floor was
solid and straight, unlike the last one he used to sleep
on. The air was also breathable. He still tasted a hint of
chemicals when he took a deep breath, but it was more
than acceptable. He closed his eyes and tried to listen to
the background noise outside. There was none. Just calm
and heavenly silence in these rooms he was about to rent.
Disrupted by the eerie high-pitched voice of the estate
agent. “So, do you like it? Mr…? Sorry I forgot your name,
I am so bad with names. I know, I know, as an estate
agent I should be good at names but you know how it is
sometimes. Especially when there…”
“Baihu is my name, Miss. And yes, I like it very much.
I want to rent it.” The agent exclaimed her joy louder
than a flashbang. “Thats so great, Mr Baihu. I just need
your CSC verification and account number.” She sent
him an AR contract, in which he autofilled the necessary
informations. He hit “verifiy” and hoped the CSC and
account number Miime provided him were legit. After
three seconds, which felt like three years, the contract lit
up green and he received an email including welcoming
words and the passcode for his new-bought apartment.
“Aaand that is it, Mr Baihu. Welcome to your new home.
I’ll leave you alone now, so you can get comfortable. Bye
bye.” Her closing the door was the last sound Yun-Lee
heard for an hour, he just enjoyed the silence. Yes, with
this heaven, he would be more concentrated and ener-
gized in future Operations.
40
1. earn credits and time
Depending on the Operation and the extraction, credits and
time are earned.
2. Pay your debts
Pay for your networks, supply and other expenses.
3. check your alienation
You have to overcome the alienation of your enhanced body.
4. Invest and heal
Spend your hard earned credits and time.
After earning credits and time, Operators need to
pay their debts. They now pay for the use of their
networks and their supply. Should they not have
enough credits they must get a loan since they are
professionals and need to maintain their lifstyle
off the grid. The loan is not necessarily lending
money from a bank but more an abstract repre-
sentation of getting dirty money:
Getting dirty money
An Operator can only borrow money to pay
debts. When this happens they have to pay back
twice the amount of credits.
these rules apply:
• The Operator can only spend money to
pay off the loan
• The Operator cannot use networks
• The Operator must choose the Destitute
supply
Lifestyle and alienation
It has not been a good week for Miime. The last Opera-
tion was profitable and exciting that’s for sure. But after
the adrenaline wore off, when she logged off the Yin Yao
network in the getaway car, after she had to be Majbritt
Madsen again, she couldn’t. What is the point being a
boring young woman in this normal world, when she
could rule the digital world as Miime. Together with
Camus, her AI, no system is impenetrable. With just
a thought, she can achieve so much. While here, in her
apartment, she felt too weak to even unwrap the protein-
bar. This scared her. She wanted to be normal again. Eat
with other people, talk about boring stuff, buy the newest
products as the ads command you to. But freaks like her
don’t deserve that, she thought. When you’re only good at
hurting people and stealing from them, you shouldn’t be
allowed to interact with them in a friendly way.
So she locked herself in her no-room-apartment and even
muted Camus, as she felt he sucked the humanity out of
her every time he did something. She received 5 messages.
She knew it was about the new job and the preparation.
But even if she were offered a million credits, she couldn’t
get up now to help them. She just hoped that on the day
of the Operation she could.
 Lifestyle table
The Pack Lone wolf Hedonist
Good friends My favorite bar VIP member
Increase grounding by 1. Increase grounding by 1. Increase grounding by 1.

Platonic lifemate My special place Party monster

Start every Operation with +1 ERG and You can alter the alienation table by 1. If you fail an alienation check, you may ignore it. Your
in flow. next alienation check is increased by . Party
Monster cannot be used again until you suffered an
alienation effect.

Life partner Neon lights Underground rave

Increase grounding by 1. Increase grounding by 1. Increase grounding by 1.

Family Tranquility Roofies

Increase grounding by 1. You can alter the alienation table by 1. You can choose another Operator to suffer your
alienation effect.

Alienation table
Alienation + remain- The Pack Lone wolf Hedonist
ing blocks
0 Tired Solitude is peace Partytime!
Cannot add to flow. Block 1 of your networks. -1 ERG

1 I need to see them You’re not my boss Narcissist

Spend at least 2₮ for You cannot benefit from any You can never positively modify another
grounding. positive effect not coming Operator’s flow or checks.
from yourself.

2 You look like shit Urgh, people You talk too much
Add to yours and other Add to yours and other Add to every prepscene check of yours.
Operators’ interaction or Operators’ interaction or
street smarts checks when street smarts checks when
you’re around. you’re around.
3 Merciful Merciless You talk way too much
Add to every check to at- +1 FP after combat. Double the costs for network usage for all
tack someone. Operators.
4 Am I still human? Seeking death On drugs
You can’t spend more than 1 You can not wear any armor. You always have to spend the maximal
ERG per check. INI.

5+ I’m a robot! We’re all expendable Take my ERG!!!!

Cannot spend ERG. You can not use REF. When making a check always use every
cyberware and skill possible.

41
 In Neomancer, the Operators struggle between
their grounding and their alienation. While
grounding represents their anchorage in the
world and society, alienation is the strange sen-
sation of not being a normal human because of
the way of life and the enhanced body. Players
chose the lifestyle when they create an Operator
but it can be changed later.
Depending on the lifestyle, Operators deal with
alienation differently.
In the intermission, players make a check with
their grounding value against the alienation to see
if the strange feelings take over. After that they
count the remaining blocks and add the alienation
to see the result.
Invest
“Well hello, babydoll” exclaimed Kyle and clapped said
babydoll on the ass. “You’re an idiot Kyle, you know
that?” sighed Steven and rubbed his behind. “No won-
der you had 15 file entries for sexual harassment back
Kiniun.”
As Kyle opened the locker and started undressing him-
self, he answered. “What’s wrong with that, Steven?
Jealous that you were only one of them? Besides, this is
the locker room of the local, grey area gym. A little show
of love is essential in these establishments.” The other
guys laughed, while Steven shook his head and went into
the shower room. Danny, also annoyed at Kyle and his
attitude, asked him if he had nothing better to do today.
“Oh I’m glad you asked, Danny-Boy. As a matter of
fact, I had a very productive day. Went to the farmers
market where I bought these new ...apples, then I made
the acquaintance of a nice woman who specialises in
getting me very fast from point A to B, while A is burning
of course. Lastly, I visited my Cyberdoc who checked my
gear and after a little sparring time now, I will find me
a lady or a boy at the bar downstairs who will also check
my gear.” Everybody laughed again, except Danny. “You
really are an idiot, Kyle”.
“What? For having a perfect work-life-balance? You’ve
got to be effective and use your time wisely, Danny-B.
Otherwise you get tangled up in shit and you just work to
survive. Work hard but equally party hard.”
Danny chuckled. “You sound like a low-budget corpo-
rate inhouse ad. What do you do for a living, anyway?”
“Can’t tell you Danny. It’s a secret. But know this: After
each working day, you appreciate life and its possibilities
more”
You had a lot of trouble but now you can spend
your hard earned money for new stuff like cyber-
ware, weapons and so on. All normal wounds are
healed.
₵ can be saved for later but ₮ cannot be stored!
It is possible to invest partly, though. So if an
Operator has only 2₮ left they can invest this in
a skill.

Invest table
Type Investment
Skills Most skills cost 4₮. Some may cost less time or additional credits.
When this is the case it is noted with the particular skill.
Cyberware Cyberware costs credits. The price is noted with the particular cyberware.
Network Improving the network or buying a new one always costs 1₮ and 1000₵.
Lifestyle Improving the lifestyle costs 4₮.
Trait Improving a trait costs 4₮. A trait can only increase to 5 this way. Further improvements are done by skills.

Heal Heal all critical wounds an Operator or a drone has suffered. Costs 1₮.

42
43
 Operation overview Firewall
0
Cumulative effects
Someone remembers your face
Add to extraction.
Security check
1. Getting the job 1-2
One Operator loses 1 weapon or 1 armor
Get an Operation from a broker.
with at least 1 FP (firewall point).
The Operation determines the payoff:
3-4 Bad feeling about this
Every Operator loses 1 REF.
Phases 2 3 4
5-6 Detour
Credits (₵) 4000 6000 8000 Every Operator loses 3 ERG.
Time (₮) 4 6 8 7+ You look like a task force
Difficulty You are immediately attacked by firewall
times minions.
Prepscenes 4 5 6

4. danger zone
2. preparation The main roleplaying happens here, includ-
ing conversations, fights, flights and so on.
2a: supply While attempting to reach their goal the
Operators decide how much money they Operators generate more and more firewall
want to spend for this Operation and the life points when they fail their checks. This can
after that. The supply determines the avail- raise the firewall and trigger certain events:
able weapons, armor and assets:
DECFON Effect
Cost Category Effect 3 No effect
500₵ Destitute GM can let you reroll one
trait check per Operation. 2 The stress gets to you!
You can only use Destitute One random Operator is confront-
gear. ed with his vice. This means he or
1000₵ Reacher 1 asset she has to overcome his personal
You can only use Destitute flaws. Game-wise this means there
and Reacher gear. is a little scene with a check of the
2000₵ Affluent 2 assets Operations’ difficulty. A failed check
You can use every gear. raises the firewall as usual.
1 Everything is going wrong!
Remember to mark your supply to pay for it
The difficulties of all checks, ex-
after the Operation. cept in combat and extraction, is
increased by .
2b: prepscenes
Prepare the job. The group can try 1 check for
every prepscene to generate for the intru-
sion or extraction.

3. intrusion
3a: gear
Operators decide what gear (weapons, ar-
mor, drones) they bring and add the FP to
firewall.
3B: actual intrusion
The players now make a check against the
defense of the target with all their gath-
ered in intrusion. When the check is succes-
ful everything goes according to plan. If not
consider this table:

44
 5. extraction Alienation
+ remaining
blocks
The Pack Lone wolf Hedonist
At some point the Operators want to extract from 0 Tired Solitude is Partytime!
the scene and depending on the firewall this could Cannot add
to flow.
peace
Block 1
-1 ERG

be more or less easy. They roll all in extraction of your

networks.
against the difficulty depending on DEFCON:
1 I need to see You’re not my Narcissist
them boss You can
Defcon 3 (FW 0-5) defcon 2 (FW 6-10) defcon 1 (FW 11-15) Spend at You cannot never
least 2₮ for benefit from positively
grounding. any positive modify
effect not another
coming Op-
from erator’s
yourself. flow or
checks.
Firewall Not cumulative effects
15-14 Something went horribly wrong. The data 2 You look like Urgh, people You talk
shit Add too much
was faked, your target had a body-double, Add to yours Add
you lose the prototype during a wild chase. to yours and other to every
and other Operators’ prep-
Operators’ interaction scene
interaction or street check of
The Operators don’t get any credits and only or street smarts yours.
half of the time. smarts checks
checks when you’re
when you’re around.
13-12 Innocents in the way! around.

3 Merciful Merciless You talk

You kill innocents on the way out or you don’t. Add to +1 FP after way too
every check combat. much
Either go up to 15 or receive for your to attack Double
next alienation check. Every Operator can de- someone. the
costs for
cide for themself. network
usage
11-10 They are still looking! for all
Opera-
tors.
You have to shake off pursuers and keep your 4 Am I still Seeking death On drugs
head down for a while. -1₮ for every Operator. human? You can not You
You can’t wear any always
9-8 Let it go! spend more armor. have to
than 1 ERG spend the
per check. maximal
INI.
Get 500₵ less for this Operation.
7-6 They are shooting at us! 5+ I’m a robot! We’re all Take my
Cannot expendable ERG!!!!
spend ERG. You can not When
One random Operator that is not critically use REF. making
a check
wounded gets a critical wound. always
use every
cyber-
ware
and skill
possible.

6. intermission 6c: Invest and heal

After a hard day’s work you want to get some-
6a: Earn credits and time thing out of it. Invest your ₮ and ₵. ₮ expires
Every Operator gets paid the said amount. and cannot be stored. All normal wounds are
healed.
Phases 2 3 4
Improvement Cost
₵ 4000 6000 8000 Skills Most skills cost 4₮. Some may cost
₮ 4 6 8 less time or additional credits. When
this is the case it is noted with the
particular skill.
6B: pay your debts Cyberware Cyberware costs credits. The price is
Pay for your used supply and your networks. noted with the particular cyberware.
Network Improving the network or buying a
new one always costs 1₮ and 1000₵.
6C: alienation
Check if the life of an Operator gets to you. Make Lifestyle Improving the lifestyle costs 4₮.
a check with your grounding against your alien- Trait Improving a trait costs 4₮. A trait can
ation. If you fail, count your supernumary blocks only increase to 5 this way. Further
and consult the table. The effects apply for the improvements are done by skills.
next Operation: Heal Heal all critical wounds an Operator or
a drone has suffered. Costs 1₮.

45
 Character creation
This life... follows you. It clings to you. Infecting everyone that comes close to you. We are cursed, you and I. – Viggo Tarasov
Now that you know the basic concepts of the game
you can create your character. There are two ways
to do this. The following pages deal with the quick
character creation, which is recommended when
you are playing Neomancer for the first time. As
a GM you can copy these pages for your players
or use the online version: https://neomancerrpg.
wixsite.com/neomancer. If you want more control
you can use the expert rules after this section.
Since you are still reading you seem to want to
create a character. For this print out a Neomancer
character sheet and have a pen ready. Let’s go!
Welcome to cyberpunk
So, this is Los Angeles, you think. According to some
people, it is the city if you want to make quick money.
According to some others, it is also a place where you
can end up dead real quick. You couldn’t care less – in
your line of work, both possibilities are always really close
together. Which is part of the reason you are here now. A
new start, new possibilities. Away from all the troubles of
the past. Anyway, no time to get sentimental now.
[You have arrived at your destination], Carol, your AI
tells you. Like you hadn’t noticed.
46
The “Dirty Dutch” is not a bar where many ordinary
people hang out. Sure, there are always some who go
there for thrills or just don’t know any better, but they
just help keeping the charade up, knowingly or not. The
real purpose of the bar is not entertainment. That much
you know. It was the last favor from an old friend. “Go to
L.A., find the Dirty Dutch. They’re always on the look-
out for capable people.”
You eye the entry for a while. It is barely ten in the morn-
ing, but people are always coming and going. This is Los
Angeles, after all. Some of them come with baggages
and leave without, some come without and leave with
baggages. Yep, you’re right here. You cross the street and
make it to the entrance. A big guy with a very obvious
cyberarm is watching you with a skeptical eye.
[Probably a bouncer]. Really helpful, these AI’s. What
would you do without them?
When you are only a few feet away from him, he moves
and blocks the entrance. “Haven’t seen you around here”,
he growls with a dark voice and puts his cyberarm on
your shoulder. “Only for people I know. Piss off.”
Before you can do something, his eyes go soft for a mo-
ment, a sign that he is communicating via AR. “Alright,
 you’re good to go. But don’t make no trouble in there, or
your ass is mine.” You ignore him and enter.
The bar is dimly lit, and there are probably around fifty
people in here, despite the time. You walk through the
crowd of drunks, sexpods, gangmembers and other shady
individuals. AR-strippers dance to loud and aggressive
music, but they show barely enough to keep you inter-
ested. Real strippers - if they’re good - can charge much
more than they would probably earn here. Anyway, you
are not here to watch some virtual babes make out with
each other. Or are you? Nah. Maybe later.
Since someone must have let you in, you probably should
meet that someone. Your first place to go is the counter,
where a young looking woman with pink hair is cleaning
some glasses. Her clothes are torn at strategically chosen
places, and her eyes focus on you, one natural, one artifi-
cial. She is pretty, but looks too thin.
“I see you’ve made it. Had any trouble getting past Bru-
no?” She smiles, and you’re a little surprised that she has
a British accent.
“Not really, since you apparently let me in.”
“Yeah, nice of me, wasn’t it? But don’t tell me you
wouldn’t have found another way.”
“Probably.”
“I thought so. And that would be?”
You shrug your shoulders.
Decision 1
A) A gun to the head usually puts things into perspec-
tive.
Set ranged to 5.
B) An elbow to the nose should do the trick. I don’t like
it when people touch me.
Set melee to 5.
C) I would convince him that I have an appointment
inside. I can be very persuasive.
Set interaction to 5.
D) I have already hacked your wifi and put my ID in
your system, no problem.
Set hacking to 5.
E) My drones have opened a window in the back. I love
these little bugs.
Set rigging to 5.
She laughs. “Yeah, I thought so. Nice of you to let him
live, by the way. So, a little birdie told me you might be
coming ‘round, looking for work, ain’t it so?”
“Probably. Depends on who’s offering and what’s it’s
about.”
47
“That depends on what else you can do.”
Decision 2a
Choose 2 options you did not choose in decision 1
A) A gun to the head usually puts things into perspec-
tive.
Set ranged to 4.
B) An elbow to the nose should do the trick. I don’t like
it when people touch me.
Set melee to 4.
C) I would convince him that I have an appointment
inside. I can be very persuasive.
Set interaction to 4.
D) I have already hacked your wifi and put my ID in
your system, no problem.
Set hacking to 4.
E) My drones have opened a window in the back. I love
these little bugs.
Set rigging to 4.
F) l would have climbed through the open window on
the second floor.
Set athletics to 4.
G) Sooner or later he will let his guard down for a sec-
ond, then I would slip past him.
Set stealth to 4.
H) His gang credentials are obvious to me, I know how
to deal with people like him.
Set street smarts to 4.
I) I have planned this beforehand. We’re professionals,
he knows that I am expected here.
Set tactics to 4.
“Okay, and what are your mediocre talents? You know,
things you can do without killing yourself, but not at an
expert level?”, she smiles and takes a sip of her drink.
Decision 2b
Set 3 other traits to 3.
“Interesting. You don’t look that way, but then appear-
ances can be deceiving, can’t they?” Right on cue, some-
where behind you an argument starts. You turn around
to see two man standing before a pleasure pod. You can’t
catch what this is about, but you have a feeling they’re
not here to talk with the pod. One is reaching into his
jacket, while the other grabs the pod’s arm.
 Decision 3
A) I have nothing against pods and help her. They de-
serve to be treated right.
You are considered Pro-Bot.
B) I don’t’ know … pods are somewhat ok, but I didn’t
come here to be a hero. Not again...
You are considered indifferent.
C) Damn pods. They took our jobs!
You are considered Robophobe.
Before anything else happens, a woman appears behind the
two men. Before they even realize it, she sends the first one
flying across the room with an elbow to the head, while the
music stops and the bar goes silent. The second one goes for
his weapon, but the woman is fast as lightning and has a
shotgun pointed at his face before he even has his gun out.
“I suggest you pick up your friend and get the hell out of
here.” Her voice has a slight hint of an accent, but you can’t
put your finger on it. She speaks very calmly, but you are
sure she wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
[The data on this is pretty incomplete, but I think it could
be some kind of native american accent. I will look further
into it if you want me to.]
“Yeah, why not”, you mumble. Who would have thought
that? First time your AI was almost helpful today. If you
count the accent of a woman you’ve just seen for the first
time.
The woman eyes you for a second, before disappearing into
the crowd. The music starts again, like nothing had hap-
pened.
When you turn back to the girl at the counter, she is grin-
ning.
“What?”
“Oh, nothing, nothing. I don’t judge. At least I know now
how you feel about pods.” Apparently, you should work on
your poker face again.
“Yeah, well, the thing is...”
She interrupts you. “Everything is fine, sweetheart. We are
professionals here. As long as you don’t let your conviction
interfere with your job, we don’t have a problem.” She nods
in the direction where the other woman had disappeared.
“That’s Raven, by the way. If you stick around here, you
might see her from time to time.”
“Raven? Funny name.”
“Yeah. You can tell her that yourself if you like, but I suggest
you stay clear of her when she’s in a foul mood.” She sighs.
“Nowadays, she’s often in a foul mood. She’s ex-military or
something like that. Anyway, don’t piss her off.”
“Rough times here in L.A.? I came here hoping it would be
better than in … well, from where I came.”
The girl laughs again, pretty loud this time. “Ah, you’re
cute, hon’. This is L.A. Whatever is going on in the world,
it is either starting in L.A., influencing L.A. or ending in
L.A. Which means, there are always rough times.”
“Hmm. Great.”
“Ain’t it? Back to business. What is your role in a Team?”
48
Decision 4
A) As I said, I kan kill things. Incapacitate at least.
I’m trained by professionals and know my way around
military grade gear. Give me the tools and the job will
be done.
Go to ‘The Muscle’ [needs ranged or melee 5]
and write everything shown there on your char-
acter sheet.
B) I already mentioned it, I can hack anything. My AI,
as demanding as it is, is rogue and salvaged from an
experimental pod. You want to get into something?
Call me!
Go ‘The hacker’ [needs hacking 4 or 5] and write
everything shown there on your character sheet.
C) You open your jacket revealing a small swarm of
drones. “These are my friends and if there is something
I couldn’t achieve, they surely will.
Go to ‘The rigger’ [needs rigging 5] and write ev-
erything shown there on your character sheet.
D) You still don’t know? Maybe we really should get
a drink later so I can show you my very particular set
of… skills.
Go to ‘The Face’ [needs interaction 5] and write
everything shown there on your character sheet.
Effects of cyberware, skills, gear
and network
Operators have cyberware, skills, gear and net-
work effects they can trigger during the game.
Effects are not considered actions unless they
explicitly say so.
The only limitation is that you can’t use a single
effect more than once in any given situation and
every effect only counts for one check.
Example:
Brutal strength: Pay 1 ERG to have your melee
attacks inflict +1 damage this combat round.
The Operator can pay 1 ERG to add 1 dam-
age to their melee attack. An Operator can
not trigger the effect twice or more and pay
2 or more ERG to add 2 or more damage.
 The muscle
You are the group’s back. When there is trouble you surely find a way to solve the problem. You may have been a
former soldier, security or guardsman. Either way, you can shoot, brawl and generally solve problems with your body.
Choose one of the following packages and write down everything on your character sheet.

Close combat specialist Gunslinger

Requires melee 5 Requires ranged 5
You are a trained melee specialist who is deadly You know your way around guns of any kind but
even without any weapon or cyberware. But since when you really want to get something done you al-
your body has been augmented with high tech im- ways rely on your augmentations. Two implanted
plants you could defeat most ordinary citizens with- handguns are clandestine enough to get inside ev-
out breaking a sweat. erywhere but powerful enough to overcome every
ERG: 10 REF: 3 INI: 10 obstacle after that.
Grounding: 2 Alienation: 1 ERG: 10 REF: 3 INI: 10
Credits: 1000₵ Lifestyle: Lone wolf Grounding: 2 Alienation: 1
Cyberware Credits: 1000₵ Lifestyle: Lone wolf
Melee Pay 3 ERG to add to a melee
Cyberware
augmentation check. Ranged Pay 3 ERG to add to a ranged
Weapon upgrade Implanted melee Weapon up- augmentation check.
grade Weapon with damage 2. Weapon upgrade Ranged augmentation (akimbo)
with damage 2.
Skills
Arc dodger When you are exposed during Skills
reveal, restore 1 INI. Gunslinger After a successful ranged at-
1-2-3 Outside of combat, pay 1 ERG tack with two pistols (or akimbo
to disable as many opponents cyberware), restore 1 INI.
simultaneously as you have Shoot, shoot, shoot When it’s your turn and you are
remaining hits from your melee not in covered Stance, pay 1 ERG
check. to change your action to Shoot.

Network Network
Primitives (force) Pay 200₵ to add to intrusion Primitives (force) Pay 200₵ to add to intrusion
or extraction pool and add 1 FP or extraction pool and add 1 FP
to FW. to FW.
Semi professionals Add 1 hit to next prepscene Semi Professionals Add 1 hit to next prepscene
(force) check. (force) check.

The Cult of the Last Prophet

The Cult of the Last Prophet (or the Lost Prophet as most ignorant people call it) is an enigmatic organization. Its members
beliefs revolve around a mystic figure of the near past. Azrak Al’Saqr (street name: The Prophet) was of Arabic descent.
Like many people he was born and raised in the outskirts of L.A. From a very young age he strived to survive - begging,
robbing, killing - you name it. In his early years he didn’t have enough money to get all the gear or augmentations his com-
petitors had access to, which led to his general resent for everything technological. Not adhering to the new ways his trade-
mark was using a live falcon to contact Operators and give out missions. Eventually this grew into the cult. The cult itself
consists of highly skilled members which willingly omit augmentations for the training of the ‘old ways’. Their propagated
purpose is ending the corporation’s tyranny, while making a profit. No one really knows if that is true and if The Prophet
is still alive...

To play a cultist just change every cyberware augmentation to a skill. So instead of 2 augmentations your
character has 2 more skills. When using the advanced creation do not choose cyberware or rogue AI’s.

49
 The hacker
You are the groups technical analyst, the magician of electronics. You open hidden doors, get access codes and im-
plant biometry to enter compounds. Maybe you are working from further away – maybe you dive right into the ac-
tion. Choose one of the following packages and write down everything into your character sheet.

Mr robot Watchdog
Requires hacking 5 Requires hacking 4
You want it all. You are not some lame ass hacker guy sitting in
You know everything there is to know about the digi- a comfy chair. You go out there and do the job and when there is
someone in your way he will suffer the consequences. The com-
tal world and your rogue A.I. has become your best bination of a rogue A.I. and augmentations take a toll on your
friend, even better than the ones you know made out psyche, though.
of flesh.
ERG: 10 REF: 3 INI: 10
ERG: 10 REF: 3 INI: 10 Grounding: 2 Alienation: 2
Grounding: 2 Alienation: 2 Credits: 1000₵ Lifestyle: The Pack
Credits: 1000₵ Lifestyle: The Pack Skills
Rogue AI Increase your alienation by 1
(already done); add 1 adjective
Skills
to AI (not yet done, see hacking
Rogue AI Increase your alienation by 1
rules for details).
(already done); add 1 adjective
Safe cover fire During planning, pay 2 ERG to
to AI (not yet done, see hacking
count as neutral this combat
rules for details).
round when you choose the
Phantom When you make an interaction
“Cover Fire” action.
check, pay 1 additional ERG to
have your AI use your hacking Cyberware
trait. Ranged Pay 3 ERG to add to a ranged
augmentation check.
Cyberware Network
Defensive augmen- Pay 3 ERG to raise your armor by Street ninjas (se- Pay 200₵ to add to intrusion or extrac-
tation 1 against a single attack. crecy) tion pool.
This network can only be activated when
the FW is 0.

Network Climbing gear Add 1 hit to next prepscene check.

Street ninjas (se- Pay 200₵ to add to intrusion

crecy) or extraction pool. Silent assassins Instead of adding to intrusion or ex-
traction add to intrusion.
This network can only be acti- Add to the Operator’s next alienation
vated when the FW is 0. check.

50
 The rigger
You love technology, you embrace it. You have drones at your disposal to get every possible task done for you. Some-
times you do your own dirty but most of the time you let the drones do it all.

Lord of the flies Dronemancer

Requires rigging 5 Requires rigging 5

You are the master of your drones and they swarm Swarms? What would I need insects for when I can
around you wherever you go. You know how to use have a reaper drone? Your drone may draw some
big drones, fighting drones and even warfare scale kind of attention but it pays off. It really does.
robots but you are fascinated by these little machines
when they accomplish so much just by working to-
ERG: 10 REF: 3 INI: 10
gether.
Grounding: 2 Alienation: 1
Credits: 1000₵ Lifestyle: Lone wolf
ERG: 10 REF: 3 INI: 10
Grounding: 2 Alienation: 1
Drones
Credits: 1000₵ Lifestyle: Lone wolf
Reaper drone (6 wounds, armor 1, 1 firewall
Drones point)
Swarm 1 Mandible upgrade Protocol: Rigging check: add 1 for every
Tactical Analyzer unblocked hit to every Opera-
Swarm 2 Visual upgrade tor’s flow.

Skills
Swarm 3 Less than lethal strike
Rogue AI Increase your alienation by 1
(autpilot value: 3) (already done); add 1 adjective
Skills
to A.I. (not yet done, see rigging
Rogue AI Increase your alienation by 1 rules for details).
(autpilot value: 3) (already done); add 1 adjective Evasive maneuver When one of your drones gets
to AI (not yet done, see rigging attacked, pay 1 ERG to add to
on p. 19 for details). the enemy’s check.
Evasive maneuver When one of your drones gets
attacked, pay 1 ERG to add to
Network
the enemy’s check. Street ninjas (se- Pay 200₵ to add to intrusion
crecy) or extraction pool.
Network This network can only be acti-
Nice faces (decep- Pay 200₵ to add to intrusion vated when the FW is 0.
tion) or extraction pool.
The Operator cannot take gear
with FW more than 1 with him/
her in this Operation.

51
 The Face
You are one sly professional. You don’t hack doors open or force your way in. They just let you. Because You! Are!
Beautiful!

Machiavellist Commander
Requires interaction 5 Requires tactics 4

You know how to get people to do what you want.
Amoral, unethical, it does not matter when it is you
asking the favor. If you had lived a few hundreds
years before you could have become king of a land
where you don’t even know the language.
People need leaders, they need guidance and they
need orders. You are trained by the military and
even if you are no longer part of it your leadership
skills are extraordinary. What you lack in brute
force you make up for with your brain.

ERG: 10 REF: 3 INI: 10 ERG: 10 REF: 3 INI: 10

Grounding: 2 Alienation: 1 Grounding: 2 Alienation: 2
Credits: 1000₵ Lifestyle: hedonist Credits: 1000₵ Lifestyle: hedonist
Cyberware Cyberware
Pheromone Pay 3 ERG to add to an inter- Tactical Pay 3 ERG to add to a tactics
augmentation action check. augmentation check.
Quality upgrade I Add 1 hit instead of to an in- Quality upgrade I Add 1 hit instead of to a tac-
teraction check. tics check when using the tac-
tics augmentation.
Skills
Black widow Outside of combat:
Defensive Pay 3 ERG to raise your armor by
Pay 2 ERG to make a melee
augmentation 1 against a single attack.
check with your interaction trait
when the target is not suspi- Skills
cious. My mind is set Pay 2 ERG to remove from any flow.
Social worker During reveal, pay 1 ERG to
remove from a friendly char- Regroup Pay 3 ERG to immediately change an Op-
erator’s stance from neutral to exposed or
acter’s flow in the same stance
vice versa, including yourself. Choose new
as yours. action if the Operator hasn’t acted yet.

Network Network
Local politician (status) Primitives (force)
Pay 200₵ to add to intrusion or extrac- Pay 200₵ to add to intrusion or extrac-
tion pool. tion pool and add 1 FP to FW.
Pay an additional 200C when DEFCON 1 is
reached during the Operation or the NW is Nice faces (deception)
Pay 200₵ to add to intrusion or extrac-
blocked in following Operation. tion pool.
The Operator cannot take gear with FW
Nice faces (deception)
Pay 200₵ to add to intrusion or extrac- more than 1 with him/her in this Opera-
tion pool. tion.
The Operator cannot take gear with FW
more than 1 with him/her in this Opera-
tion.

52
 “Is that so? Well, to each his own, I guess.” Her cyber-
eye starts to glow red, and she winks at you. “I can set
you up with an apartment if you decide to stay here.
You still have to pay for it, of course. By the way, what is
your lifestyle?”, she is really looking interested, “friends,
family...a...partner?” she winks playfully.
Decision 5
A) I tend to stay on my own, but that was always so.
Most people annoy me.
Set your lifestyle to Lone wolf.
B) Well, I’m new here, but actually I have nothing
against a few friends.
Set your lifestyle to The Pack.
C) Outside of business, I’m a party animal. Livin’ la
vida loca… you know the drill, baby.
Set your lifestyle to Hedonist.
“Ok, ok. I thought so. None of me business, anyway.
Anything else to say? Got any weird personal issues I
should worry me loaf about?”
“What?”
[I think this is called “cockney”. It’s a dialect from Lon-
don. She is referring to her head.]
53
“I meant, it is good to know what makes you tick.”
“Ah. Well… I’m a professional, that’s all you have to re-
ally know about me right now.”
She smiles again. “Well, we will find out. Don’t worry, I
might even keep it a secret.”
Decision 6
[My latest personal analysis shows that you are…]
aggressive/arrogant/bossy/careless/cruel/
dishonest/greedy/impatient/materialistic/
selfish
[but also]
adaptable/brave/calm/charming/deter-
mined/humorous/loyal/persistent/quick-
witted/rational
“We might keep that to ourselves, Carol”, you think.
[Understood.]
Choose one adjective as your virtue and one ad-
jective as your vice. You may enhance this exam-
ple list.
“You don’t wanna answer? Okay, I get that. But what
drives you? Why are you even here? I mean, c’mon, being
an Operator is so stressful”, she empties the soy schnapps
and grunts, “You could work a little bit, get some Soma,
be happy. What is your problem?”
 Decision 7
A) I saw things I was not supposed to see. And I am
not just talking about putting some drugs in the soy
block machine. I mean serious shit. They tracked me,
tried to hunt me down but I wasn’t born yesterday.
Still, losing my CSC and getting a fake one was weird
and I am still feeling paranoid.
You are hunted.
B) You know, there was not really a need for it. I
was rich, filthy rich but I was everything but happy.
I figured that a lifestyle outside of the system is more...
thrilling. I lost everything, spent it actually, and now I
am here. With no regrets. Maybe some. Maybe many.
You are a dropout.
C) Things were not going well. My GenEval wasn’t
good and my work was boring me out. One day they
just fired me, without rhyme or reason. I was starv-
ing and didn’t know where to go. So I signed up to this
Megacorporation. 5 years of work, many credits and
a Memory Erasing after that. And now here I am. I
don’t really know what I have done. I only know my
very unique skill set and have to use it.
You are a blank slate.
She nods knowingly and turns her head.
“Isn’t that one of your crew?”
You look to the bar and she is right.
“What brings you two together? Why are you working
as a team?”
Decision 8
Choose a connection to one team member. This
connection concerns you and the player to your
left on the table.
54
A) Hmm, you know I don’t want to talk about it. But
this person knows something of me, something....seri-
ous and I want to keep him/her close to make sure this
little secret goes nowhere.
You have a secret together. Invent a fitting one.
B) He/She is my lifesaver. I am not too proud to ad-
mit it, I would be dead without that person over there,
drinking soy beer like there is no tomorrow. I don’t
want to get into details, though.
Another Operator saved your life. Think of a
good story about that.
C) That is actually quite a story. We were in love with
the same person, at the same time. And we arranged a
very... satisfying solution. Let’s just say that we had a
ton of fun together.
You had a triangular relationship with another
Operator.
D) Ha! This person is like a sibling to me. We fought
many battles together and I would trust him/her with
my life anytime! Anytime!
You and another Operator are long time com-
panions and worked often together.
“Okay, fair enough. I hope it is not only you two, though,
I expect a larger group for the next job. What about your
network? Do you have any viable connections that can
help you during Operations?” She leans back and gets
another soy schnapps.
 Decision 9
A) I know some rough people. They can achieve
some serious stuff but I only call for them if I am
100% sure that breaking stuff is not a problem.
Add the force network to your sheet:
Primitives
Pay 200₵ to add to intrusion or extraction
and add 1 firewall point to the firewall.
C) There are some clandestine people I know. Shad-
ows, unnoticeable. Can enter buildings without
leaving a trace.
Add the stealth network to your sheet:
Street ninjas
Pay 200₵ to add to intrusion or extraction.
This network can only be activated when the
firewall is 0.

B) I can call up some really nice looking lads and
ladies if the job requires a little...honey mouthed in-
teraction. Most people can’t refuse what they offer, if
you know what I mean...
Add the deception network to your sheet:
Nice faces
Pay 200₵ to add to intrusion or extraction.
The Operator cannot take gear with firewall
more than 1 with him/her in this Operation.
D) I know people, you know. Politicians, influencers,
stars even. I can get anywhere when I pay the price.
Add the status network to your sheet:
Local politician
Pay 200₵ to add to intrusion or extraction.
Pay an additional 200₵ when DEFCON 1 is
reached during the Operation or the net-
work is blocked in following Operation.

“Allrighty. I think we’ll have something for you. Check

back in a few hours, then you can talk to a broker. I’m
Ailsa, by the way. Welcome to Los Angeles.”

55

Advanced creation
When you are experienced you may create your
own character without using the quick character
creation. We recommend this to players who have
already played numerous pen and paper RPG’s
before.
1. Choose your traits:
Set 1 trait to 5; 2 traits to 4; 3 traits to 3 and all others to 2.
2. Fill in some numbers:
ERG: 10, REF: 3, INI: 10, grounding: 2, alienation: 0
3. Choose a lifestyle:
Lone wolf, The Pack or Hedonist:
4. Choose 1 network:
Every Operator starts the game with 1 network.
5. Spend 10₮ and 10,000₵.
Just like in an intermission but with some changes (see table
below). After that, all unused ₮ and ₵ is lost and the Opera-
tor starts the game with 1000₵ and 0₮.
Cultists spend 18₮ and 2.000₵ and must choose at least 2
different skill trees.
6. Choose a vice and a virtue.
See right. You may invent your own.
7. Is your character pro-bot or robophobe?
8. Define the relationship with the Operator of
the player to your left.
See table on the next page: relationships.
9. Why are you off the grid?
See next page.
10. What is your name?
11. Fill out the job application.
12. Lose all unused ₵ and ₮. Start with 1000₵.
Vices
aggressive, aloof, arrogant, belligerent, big-
headed, bitchy, boastful, bone-idle, boring, bossy,
callous, cantankerous, careless, clinging, com-
pulsive, conservative, cowardly, cruel, cunning,
cynical, deceitful, detached, dogmatic, domineer-
ing, greedy, grumpy, gullible, harsh, impatient,
impolite, impulsive, inconsiderate, indecisive,
indiscreet, inflexible, interfering, intolerant, ir-
responsible, jealous, lazy, machiavellian, mate-
rialistic, mean, miserly, moody, narrow-minded,
nasty, naughty, nervous, obsessive, obstinate,
overcritical, patronizing, perverse, pessimistic,
pompous, possessive, quarrelsome, quick-tem-
pered, resentful, rude, ruthless, sarcastic, secre-
tive, selfish, self-centred, self-indulgent, stingy,
stubborn, stupid, superficial, thoughtless, trucu-
lent, unkind,
Virtues
adventurous, affectionate, agreeable, ambitious,
brave, bright, broad-minded, calm, careful,
charming, compassionate , conscientious, con-
siderate, convivial, courageous, courteous, cre-
ative, decisive, determined, diligent, diplomatic,
discreet, dynamic, easygoing, emotional, ener-
getic, enthusiastic, exuberant, fair-minded, faith-
ful, fearless, friendly, generous, good, gregarious,
hard-working, helpful, honest, humorous, imagi-
native, impartial, independent, intellectual, in-
telligent, intuitive, inventive, loyal, modest, neat,
nice, optimistic, patient, persistent, pioneering,
philosophical, plucky, powerful, practical, pro-
active, quick-witted, rational, reliable, reserved,
resourceful, romantic, self-confident, self-disci-
plined, sensible, sensitive, shy, sincere, sociable,
Lifestyle
While it may not always seem so, Operators have
a life beside their jobs. They might have friends
apart from their teammates or professional con-
tacts (or they could be the same), sometimes they
even have a family or other close relationships.
These things are not necessarily all played out in
detail, but they further flesh out the characters,
and more important, they offer them something
should alienation strike. Even without alienation,
people tend to stick to their usual lifestyle, just on
a smaller scale that usually does not matter, es-

Advanced creation
Advancement Cost Page
Skills 4₮, some skills differ. 96
Cyberware 2000₵ / 4000₵ 106
Lifestyle 4₮ 30
Network 1₮ + 1000₵ 73
Increase trait (max. to 5) 4₮ -
Buy drones Depends on drone. 92
Buy 1₮ 2000₵ -
Buy 1000₵ 2₮ -

56
 pecially from the point of the rules.
While there could be an endless number of differ-
ent lifestyles and different ways to ground them-
selves in the real world, for the sake of simplicity,
we will focus on three different ones for now.
The Pack
Operators with this lifestyle tend to have a few
close friends or a real family. They are looking for
long-term relationships, both with friends and/or
lovers. They might even be married and have kids,
although this is a hard way for Operators that can
often end sadly. When they suffer from alienation,
they have to spend time with their loved ones to
counterbalance the effects. They will try to act as
humanely as possible, no matter how high their
alienation already is, which could make an Opera-
tion difficult.
Lone wolf
Lone wolves are, as their name implies, loners,
rogues, and in some ways, strangers to society.
They are not necessarily people who have no
friends at all (or, who have no fun in life), but es-
pecially in private, they tend to stay on their own,
relying on no one else but themselves like they
always have.
When they suffer from alienation, they deal with
it alone like with all important things in their lives.
This means that they will completely stay away
from people or care little for others and finally
even less for themselves, which will have a nega-
tive impact on the ones around them.
Hedonist
While The Pack offers protection through com-
pany and the Lone wolf thrives in solitude, the
Hedonist does not care for such trivialities. While
it might appear from a first glance that Hedonists
are more related to The Pack, this is not true. He-
donists surround themselves with a lot of people
to cater to the Hedonist’s needs. They want to get
as much out of life as possible, because in the
end, life is shallow and they all are gonna die, so
why not have some fun in the meantime?
When Hedonists suffer from alienation, there is
only one way for them: to blow off some steam. To
have a good time, they will ignore all consequenc-
es that come with the fact that Operators should
better stay quiet and hidden instead of getting
drunk and pissing off a lot of people by not stay-
ing quiet. Luckily for the Hedonist, they only care
for one opinion: their own.
57
Relationships
You can roll a die to determine the relationship:
1 Henchman and master
You once had a henchman and master
relationship. Maybe inside a corporation,
maybe illegaly. But now that you worked
some time together you are peers.
2 Dark Secret
Maybe a very gruesome murder, maybe
you have betrayed a loved one.
3 Enemy
You have the same powerful enemy.
Maybe this enemy thinks you are dead,
maybe you are still hunted.
4 Life debt
One of you saved the other one’s life.
5 Lovers
You are lovers, maybe even a real cou-
ple. It is also possible that you are just
friends with benefits.
6 Old friends
You have known each other a long time
and trust each other 100%.
Off the grid
Think of a reason why you are off the grid. This
can add to your relationship and form a coherent
story:
1 Hunted
You saw something or you did something
wrong. Maybe they killed your family for
it, maybe they are only looking for you.
Define ‘they’.
This can be combined with ‘enemy’.
2 Dropout
Life has more to offer than working night
shifts and playing obstacle golf. Think of
a way you acquired your skills to become
an Operator.
Also, define what your job was before
and what corporation you were working
for.
3 Blank slate
You have no idea how you got here. You
worked for one of those mind eras-
ing corporations or agreed to get your
memory erased. Expect something truly
horrible in your past. The GM will know
it and it will be used at some point in the
campaign.
Be prepared for that.
 Vices, virtues and emotional dampeners
John Preston: What’s the point of your existence?

Mary: To feel. ‘Cause you’ve never done it, you can never know it. But it’s as vital as breath. And without it, without love, without anger,
without sorrow, breath is just a clock... ticking.

the situation, but that is their nature. It is not nec-

Emotional dampeners essary to force an additional check, but the next
An emotional dampener is a piece of cyberware,
check that is coming up should be done by the
distributing simple medicine and monitoring and
character in question (if there are more than one,
influencing the emotional state of a person. When
simply choose).
(de)activated, it needs a little time to adjust to the
If the group can’t decide what exactly to do or
body chemistry, meaning rulewise, an Operator
who’s doing it, simply increase the next checks
has to decide before an Operation if they use them
difficulty by , representing the stress that is
or not and it can’t be switched off or on spontane-
creeping into the Operation.
ously.

Emotions on! Emotions off!

Characters that have emotional dampeners and
When deactivated, Operators will sometimes act
have them activated neither get the free nor
according to their vices and virtues.
their vice(s) triggered. They simply have blocked
Once per Operation, when Operators act accord-
out this human behaviour.
ing to their virtues, they add to the check in
question. The GM has the final word if the virtue
Both the players and the GM should try to create
can come into play or not.
possibilities to have the virtues and vices trig-
However, the GM can also trigger to have Opera-
gered, since it helps fleshing out the characters,
tors act according to their vices. This works as
without overdoing it. From a narrative point of
follows: as soon as Defcon 2 is reached, a single
view, characters with emotional dampeners are
Operator once acts according to their vice. This
mostly mellow, logical, sometimes a little bit
represents the fact that they get more and more
cold and very much in self-control. Remember
stressed during an Operation and the emotions
that characters that follow their virtues and vices
take control. The GM and players should figure
aren’t illogical weirdos without any kind of self-
out which Operator is doing what and the player
control, they just sometimes forget what the best
should have his character act accordingly, there-
way is… even if they are professionals.
fore probably hindering the Operation or making
it more difficult (in moderation). For example, a
Operators are always considered to have emo-
‘hotheaded’ character might just punch a guard
tional dampeners installed, they don’t have to buy
when there are probably better ways to deal with
them. They only have to choose before an Opera-
tion if they use them or not.

58
59
 Traits
I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times. – Bruce Lee
Surviving in the world of Neomancer is a tricky
task. Networks, cyberware or even credits only
get an Operator so far. When push comes to
shove, they have to rely on their abilities. In Neo-
mancer, these abilities are called traits.
As professionals, Operators have basic knowl-
edge of everything important, so they know how
to drive a car, shoot a gun or persuade inquisitive
guards. However, most Operators have a field of
expertise and have used their time and energy to
specialize themselves in only a few traits. Oth-
ers like to be flexible in every situation and keep a
jack-of-all-trades style. Both are valid ways, and
whatever the choice may be, the following para-
graphs describe the traits used in Neomancer.
Athletics
Every time you literally have to use your body to
overcome an obstacle, the GM can ask for an ath-
letics check. This includes a combination of your
muscle power, dexterity and overall constitution.
Operaters with a low athletics trait are clumsy or
faster out of breath, while better trained Opera-
tors can jump or climb almost any hindrance they
encounter.
Note that having cyberware may give you an ad-
vantage in certain situations, or make some ac-
tions even possible at all. Just because you can
jump four meters vertically doesn’t mean that
your body is automatically balanced, your hands
find the necessary grip or you land safely without
hurting yourself or alarming everyone nearby.
Hacking
Hackers. Modern heroes to some, petty criminals
to others. Whether the task is simple, like over-
riding a door’s security protocols or difficult,
like finding the blueprints for the new prototype
weapon on the corporate servers while being dis-
guised as a hacker of the competition.
Though most of the work is being done by the
hacker’s rogue AI, they are not obsolete. When
you make a hacking check, you try to find the right
access point for your little helper. Or you hide your
movement in a dangerous network. Or you simply
have to get your AI in line. It is rogue after all.
If you fail the check, you are not automatically
detected and the alarm won’t go off immediate-
60
ly. You are a professional and know when to pull
out of the system or when you have looked in the
wrong index. But someone, somewhere in the IT
or security might have noticed something. In any
case, remember that every hacking check costs
you 1 ERG, your bioenergy resource.
Interaction
The life of an Operator is not necessarily a lonely
one. You have your other ‘colleagues’, you have
friends and contatcs which keep you in touch with
your humanity and there is also your network of
specialists for every occasion. You know these
people and they know you, so if you need some-
thing, you just ask or pay.
But during an Operation, you may have to talk to
strangers with important roles, for example a se-
curity guard or a scientist. Getting them to help
you by fast talk, charm or simply threatening them
is an interaction check. It is the combined ability of
your rhetorics, body language, arguments and the
wisdom to know what approach to use in a certain
situation. Examples are convincing the front desk
lady that you really have an appointment with
her boss by charming her, or threatening the sci-
entist that you need access to the lab or you will
break every bone in his body. Twice. A failed check
leaves your efforts fruitless and the person you
interacted with doesn’t believe you, feels unat-
tracted to you or is threatened and faints.
Melee
You may have the biggest muscles, best cyber-
ware or the most advanced gear money can buy.
But when you don’t know how to use it effectively,
your punches, kicks and stabs don’t do the dam-
age you desire. Melee is the knowledge and the
ability to hurt your enemies in close combat. Mak-
ing out weak spots and exploit them up close and
personal. Depending on what weapon you use,
you decide to hurt, stun or kill your opponents.
Though melee is mostly used in combat to thin the
enemy ranks, there are a few possibilities during
Operations to put it to the test: maybe you failed
a stealth check and have to silence a guard imme-
diately. A security guard holds a gun up your face
and you want to disarm him. Or your nemesis tries
to tackle you down on top of a skyscraper.
 Rigging
The rigging trait is only important for riggers. It
covers all interactions with electronic devices like
drones and terminals.
In a gunfight, the rigger can let his drones fight for
him. He either stays behind cover and manages
his deadly toys to their full potential or he puts
them on automatic, which brings an extra gun
to his team. For more information, see the rigger
chapter.
Although the world of Neomancer is riddled with
AR and datastreams, there are some doors that
are locked without any connections to a server.
The hacker can’t find an access point and the guard
you ‘interviewed’ doesn’t know anything. The Op-
eration could be over before it has even begun.
But then the tinkerer uses his tools, repurposes
some wires, shouts some curses and voila, the
door opens. A tinkerer wants to look through the
structure of things. Once they see the bare bones
of things, they can create, destroy or manipulate
them until they get what they want. Unlike hack-
ing, you have to touch and feel the system you
want to change. You can open doors, barricades,
ramps or close them. Prolonging or fasten the
detonation of a bomb. Sabotage the enemy ve-
hicles before you drive away in your own.
61
As with the other traits, a failed rigging check in-
cluding tinkering doesn’t necessarily mean that
you don’t succeed. The Operation would really be
over if you can’t open that door, so it opens, but
with a complication. A silent alarm was triggered,
you took too long and someone noticed it or you
can’t close the door anymore and hide your tracks.
In any case, remember that every rigging check
costs you 1 ERG, your bioenergy resource.
Ranged
Some people see their gun as a means to an end,
the tool of the trade. Others devote their whole
life to them, treating them like their best friend
or even give them names. Whatever your atti-
tude toward pistols, rifles or shotguns is, this is
the trait you need in order to make enemies drop
dead. Ranged is the trait to handle your rifle,
knowing how to aim and to anticipate your oppo-
nent’s movement. As with melee, ranged is a trait
used almost entirely in combat. Outside of com-
bat, you want refrain from using your gun, since it
creates firewall. Yes, even if you use a silencer. A
shot can be heard and it attracts more attention
than you want. Using it during a prepscene is also
questionable since a dead body always raises
suspicion.
 Stealth
To go from point A to point B without being seen
by any guard, civilian or security camera means
using stealth. This includes making no noise, act-
ing swiftly and having a sense of who might see
you. Stealth can also be used to remain hidden
when the enemy searches the area, or to hide a
body correctly so no one can accidentally stumble
over it.
Using the environment smartly is an important
factor that improves with your stealth trait. Being
one with the crowd, using shadows as your allies
or just flying casual when amongst enemies.
A failed stealth check doesn’t necessarily mean
that you are spotted. The situation gets more
complicated. It could mean that you made a noise
and a guard reports and investigates. You have
hidden the body, but failed to notice the little
blood spot on the floor.
Street smarts
There are things you learn in school and there are
things you learn on the streets. Entering a bar and
immediately knowing which bloke sells drugs and
which one uses it. Making out the CEO in a meet-
ing and whom he really reports to. Walking along
a street in the skidrows wearing the right gang
colors. You can’t find that in any textbook.
People with high street smarts have the right
knowledge for almost every situation in terms of
social conventions, hierarchies or navigating in
dangerous territories. They can see through the
web of politics, gang wars or simply find the right
dealer for the right gear.
Tactics
Guard patrols, chain of command, emergency sit-
uations: there is always a pattern and someone
with a high tactics trait sees it. Usually someone
with a military background can spot weaknesses
in the defence of the enemy. Whether it be a for-
tress, a convoy or single gun fight, their expertise
helps to hurt the opponent.
Outside of combat, this trait can be very useful in
prepscenes. You observe the location where the
Operation will take place. How many guards are
there, what gear do they have? Where are the ob-
vious entrances and where are the hidden ones?
Do you need special equipment?
During the Operation, a tactician can evaluate how
long it takes the other guards to know when one
goes missing or where to lay an efficient ambush.
62
A note on missing traits
So, you might be wondering why a few traits you
know from other RPG’s are missing, the most ob-
vious being perception (or whatever it may be
called). The reason behind that is grounded in
Neomancer’s ‘yes, but’-approach and the fact that
the characters will never get stuck.
Imagine the following: a group of characters
needs to find a clue, but everyone fails their roll
(this has very likely happened to you while play-
ing any RPG). So what? Does the scenario stop
and everyone goes home? Does the GM allow the
players to reroll until someone succeeds? A mys-
terious deus ex machina appears and delivers the
missing clue? By skipping perception and simply
assuming that the characters know what they
need to know and do not know what they are not
supposed to the game can simply run smoothly
(and let’s face it, the GM will deliver the clue any-
way sooner or later because he wants his sweet
scenario to continue).
Likewise, it is so often the case that only one
character possesses a high perception trait and
tells everything to his teammates anyway, so the
old “only you know the information” is relevant for
about three seconds (characters are mindlinked
and are working together, remember?). Keeping
perception mainly to determine who might be
surprised before a combat and who not seems
very inefficient.
The same principle applies for something like in-
telligence, for example. We simply assume that
the characters are not complete morons who
have to roll intelligence to find out if it is a good
idea to jump out of an airplane without para-
chutes. They are professionals. They also have
AI’s who can handle a lot of these things, trans-
late languages and find out relevant data if it is
accessible. Everything that is considered secret
or important, they have to figure out while playing
the game, not while making a check.
Finally, everything that is considered ‘healing’ is
also out. Healing is covered in the intermission,
and during an Operation no one will stop to stitch
themselves up. Operators simply might apply
some painkillers, slap a patch on it and move on.
Standing around and waiting for your buddy to put
your arm back on your body is not going to hap-
pen. Get out of the danger zone and buy a new
one. A shiny one.
63
 Combat

64
 John Connor: You just can’t go around killing people.
The Terminator: Why?
John Connor: What do you mean why? ‘Cause you can’t.
The Terminator: Why?
John Connor: Because you just can’t, okay? Trust me on this.

65
 Combat rules
This is for all you new people. I have only one rule. Everybody fights, no one quits. If you don’t do your job, I’ll kill you myself! Welcome to
the Roughnecks! – Jean Rasczak

“Five guards ahead, at least three behind us and I think used to modify or even avoid attacks that would
I have just seen a helicopter heading for the roof!” Cross hit the Operators otherwise.
shouts through the gunfire while he is hiding behind a
flipped table and reloads his pistol. 3. Flow keeps Operators going even after they
Raven sighs. That leaves their primary escape route un- failed a check in combat and rewards activeness
available. With a mental command, her cyberware is instead of passiveness. As already explained
ready. She leaves her cover, dodging a few bullets like a above, every rolled 1 on an that is not cancelled
ghost. She appears next to the first guards, her shotgun al- by a rolled 1 on a during combat adds to the
ready in position. She can feel the energy flowing through flow of an Operator, even if the player fails the
her body. Raven is much faster than every single one of check.
them, their clumsy movements almost look like slow mo-
tion while her targeting system has already marked them When an Operator makes a trait check during
in her AR and calculated the most efficient order to take combat, all dice from the flow must be added to
them down. All that is left now is to pull the trigger... the check, therefore emptying the flow. Some ef-
fects, like wounds, also add some to the flow.
Life is hard.
Trait checks in combat Flow is only used in combat, not during the rest
Trait checks in combat are handled a bit different of an Operation and therefore discarded when a
than outside of combat: combat ends.

1. Failed trait checks in combat do not generate

firewall points but result in failing the chosen ac- The combat round
tions. • Planning
Everyone sets their stances by choosing an action
2. In combat, there is a mechanic called flow. Ev- and spending INI.
ery rolled 1 on an that is not cancelled by a 1 on
a is added to the flow. • Reveal
All participants reveal their spent INI and their ac-
3. The difficulty for a trait check in combat is usu- tion (and therefore, their stance).
ally depending on the stance of your target (see
below), or it is the standard difficulty of the Op- • Actions
eration, if nothing else is indicated. All participants get a turn to have an action ac-
cording to the combat sequence, determined by
the spent INI, from highest to lowest.
Combat resources • Clean up
Besides the already known ERG, Operators have
three different, valuable combat resources, which Prepare for next combat round and then start
are set to their starting value after the combat over with Planning or go to end of combat, if there
ends. are no enemies left.

1. INI, which is short for initiative. The starting val- The combat round will now be explained in detail.
ue for every Operator is 10. Operators will spend
INI to act faster than others.

2. REF, your reflex. Operators are the main char-

acters in every Neomancer tale and REF helps to
keep it that way. The starting value is 3. It will be

66

Planning
Everyone at the table secretly chooses actions for
their Operators, drones, minions and other par-
ticipants. This has a bluffing aspect and everyone
decides on an action, INI and stance by putting a
single die on their combat sheet (see character
sheet). Players can communicate with each other,
but the GM could (and should) use that informa-
tion against them.
Stances & actions
In Neomancer, there is no map of the battlefield
and no movement. Instead, there are three stanc-
es which describe the general approach of an Op-
erator during a combat:
Covered (C) Neutral (N) Exposed (E)
check against that Operator has a difficulty of .
These difficulties are applied to hit someone with
an attack. So, if an Operator wants to shoot an
exposed enemy, the difficulty is only , where a
covered enemy would add .
If something that is not an attack calls for a check,
the difficulty is either noted in the effect’s de-
scription or it is the difficulty set by the Operation.
The players choose their stance by deciding on
one of the following actions (see table combat
actions below).
As you see, different actions come with different
benefits or drawbacks. For example, a covered
Operator may not attack a covered target and
is not generating flow this round. Some effects
might change a stance or modify something about
it. If this is the case, follow the effect’s descrip-
tion.

A covered (C) Operator is very cautious and moves

from cover to cover. Every check against that Op-
Choosing Stance, actions & Ini
Every Operator gets one action during a combat
erator has a difficulty of .
round. The player puts down a die on the desired
A neutral (N) Operator is moving more freely and
action box on their combat sheet to choose an ac-
very actively participating in combat. Every check
tion. The chosen face on the die determines the
against that Operator has a difficulty of .
INI that the player wants to invest. The higher, the
Exposed (E) means the Operator is rushing heads
sooner the Operator acts.
on into combat (often for melee attacks). Every

Combat actions
covered neutral exposed
Shoot like a coward Shoot Strike

Attack neutral/exposed with Attack covered/neutral/exposed Attack covered/neutral/ex-

ranged. Remove all from flow with ranged. posed with melee or ranged.
before attacking and don’t gener-
ate flow.
Duck and cover Prepare Cover fire

Add to attacks against you. Add Add to an Operator’s flow Attack covered/neutral/ex-
to your flow. (can also be yourself) after a suc- posed ranged with a penalty of
cessful tactics check. to add to the target’s
flow (even when you miss).
Flank them Special No regrets!

Tactics check: if successful you Do something special according to Attack covered/neutral/ex-

count as if you have spent 6 INI a skill, trait or the Operation itself. posed with + , but the
next round (your place in the com-
bat sequence is still limited by your difficulty to attack you is 0 this
gear). If you fail, move immediately Control a drone. round.
to exposed.

67
 Since Neomancer uses D6 a Player can spend be-
tween 1 and 6 INI. The more INI a player spends in
planning, the sooner their Operator will get to act
in the actions phase. The INI a player can spend is
limited by the used gear. Every item has a value of
“Max INI to spend”. When using 2 gear items the
lower value determines the maximum of INI that
can be spent.
The order of the participants with their INI, stanc-
es and actions is called combat sequence.
When an Operator does not have INI left to spend
or some effect prohibits spending INI, the spent
INI is considered 0 unless an effect says other-
wise.
Reveal
Now, every player and the GM reveal their actions
and therefore their stances and spent INI. With
that, the combat sequence is determined for this
round:
Spent INI Covered Neutral Exposed
0 of 5 and therefore
1
2 He is using a handgun with a weapon damage of 1.
3 Minions 2 Cross
4 Raven
5 Minions 1
6
68
In this example, the minions 1 act first (INI 5), then
Raven (INI 4). Both Cross and the Minions 2 have
INI 3, which means that the players choose who
goes first. Minions 2 and Raven cannot attack
each other since they are both covered.
Actions
Now everyone acts according to the chosen ac-
tion and in order of the combat sequence. First,
everyone with INI 6, then with INI 5, then INI 4 and
so on. When two combat participants have spent
the same amount of INI, the players decide who
goes first.
Attacks & damage
Every attack has the possibility to wound the
target. When an Operator attacks, usually with
ranged or melee, the player makes a check as de-
scribed by the action and influenced by the stance
of the target.
In the example above, Cross (neutral) wants to at-
tack the minions 1 (exposed). He has a ranged trait
. Since the minions
are exposed the difficulty is , so he rolls
Cross’s player rolls
The player has 3 hits and 1 block, which results
in 2 remaining hits, so the attack was successful.
The first thing he does is to put the 1 into his flow
 and then he adds the damage of the handgun to
the remaining hits.
Total damage = weapon damage + unblocked hits
In this case the amount is 3, which is just enough
to kill 1 minion (for more information on minions
and other enemies, see p. 180). For now it is suf-
ficient to know that standard minions need to
suffer 3 damage with a single attack to have one
minion incapacitated, otherwise nothing hap-
pens.
Hit zones
When the Operators are attacking, they do not
have to bother with hit zones since their targets
often do not matter that much. So the players
just put their unblocked into their flow, calcu-
late the total damage and are done.
When the enemies are attacking, however, it
does matter where the Operators get hit. Fol-
lowing the above example, let’s say the minions
shoot back with their handguns. One of them is
dead now, so they have (more on that
later) against (Cross is in neutral stance).
The GM rolls:
The GM has 3 hits against 1 block and therefore
does 2 (remaining hits) + 1 (handgun) = 3 damage.
Since they are shooting at an Operator, we need
to find out where the Operator has been hit. Find
the highest die face that came up most, no matter
what color the dice are. In the event of a tie always
choose the highest possible result. This identifies
where the amount of damage suffered will be put.
In this case it’s the 4 (1 red and 2 black). So Cross
is hit in the body (see below) and puts a marker on
the row with the number 3.
Hit zone = highest face that came up most often on all dice
Reflex
Operators are no ordinary people and have there-
fore options to avoid damage. When the hit zone
is determined a player can spend REF to change
the hit zone. 1 REF point changes the determined
number of the dice by 1. The minimum for this is 1
(head) but there is no maximum. When a player
spends enough REF to reach 7 the attack misses.
So in the example above Cross would have been
hit in the body (4). The player can now spend 3 REF
to avoid the attack altogether (4+3=7). After that,
there is no REF left for this combat.
One could also spend only 1 REF to change the hit
zone to arms (4-1=3). This can be very helpful in
combat to protect certain hit zones.

Hit zones
Head (1) Legs (2) Arms (3) Body (4-6)
1 Add to flow. Add to flow. Add to flow. Add to flow.

2 Add to flow. You can’t change stance You can’t change stance Add to flow.
You can’t attack this next round. next round. Lose 1 ERG.
round. Lose 1 ERG. Lose 1 ERG.

3 Add to flow. Move instantly to neu- Add to flow. Add to flow.

Lose 3 ERG. tral. Lose 1 ERG.
Lose 1 INI.
4 Add to flow. Move instantly to ex- You count as exposed Add to flow.
You can’t attack this posed. next round. Lose 2 ERG.
round. Lose 2 ERG. Lose 1 INI.
Lose 3 ERG.
5 Lose 5 ERG. Lose 3 INI. Add to flow. Lose 3 ERG.
Lose 5 INI.

6 Critically wounded Critically wounded Critically wounded Critically wounded

Add to extraction. Add to extraction. Add to extraction. Add to extraction.
Add to all checks. Add to all checks. Add to all checks. Add to all checks.

69
 Wounds & Armor
When an Operator is hit, he will suffer a wound.
To mark a wound just put a marker on the box and
immediately apply the effect. In this case, Cross
adds to his flow and loses 1 INI and also 1 ERG.
The corresponding hit zone – and therefore the
Operator – counts as wounded.
When a player has to put a marker in a box that
is already marked he goes up the numbers in that
hit zone (2->3->4 and so on) until he finds a free
box. If there are no boxes left, he is lucky this time.
There is nothing left to damage in that hit zone…
for now.
If an Operator is wearing armor on a hit zone or
has other effects for reducing damage, simply
subtract the armor rating from the total damage
before applying the wound. The minimum damage
you can suffer, however, is 1, so a successful at-
tack will almost always inflict damage.
Wound penalties are only applied for checks
concerning the actual Operation. Neither intru-
sion/extraction checks are affected nor checks
during the intermission.
70
Critically wounded
When an Operator reaches a box that says ‘criti-
cally wounded’ apply the text as usual. So first
the player adds to the extraction. This reflects
the difficulties of rescuing or helping a critically
wounded teammate. Take note that this can hap-
pen multiple times (in different hit zones) per Op-
erator and the penalty is always applied. From
now on, all checks for the Operator have a penalty
of as described. Note that this is cumulative
with other critically wounded boxes.
When all Operators are critically wounded at least
once an emergency extraction is forced. End the
combat as if the Operators flee (see later, so the
firewall will probably get higher) and immediately
roll for extraction. Since the Operators are not in
control of the situation anymore, increase the re-
sult of the extraction table by 3. Apart from that,
the GM should provide a fitting narrative for what
has exactly happened.
Critically wounded by loss of erg
An Operator can get critically wounded by be-
ing out of ERG and having to spend some or los-
ing some ERG. When this happens the Operator is
 immediately considered critically wounded. Note
that you do not have to put a marker on a hit zone
but still add a penalty of to every check and
add to the extraction. The Operator is at the
brink of exhaustion and really needs some rest
soon.
Clean up
Make sure you remembered to remove all the
spent combat resources. If the combat continues,
start the next combat round and go to planning. If
not, go to end of combat.

Healing At this point, the Operators might decide to leave

Healing is covered in the intermission. All normal
wounds are healed automatically. Healing all crit-
ical wounds cost 1₮ per Operator.
There is no way to heal during an Operation and
especially not during a combat. It is always as-
sumed that the Operators treat their wounds just
enough to not die, hence the penalty of in-
stead of, well, death.
Character death
As you might have already noticed, Operators
cannot die in a normal combat. Remember that
they are professionals who are intelligent enough
to know when it’s time to leave. They can, how-
ever, get forced to do an emergency extraction
and suffer the consequences, which are usually
expensive. Character death in our opinion is best
reserved to epic showdowns with heroic choices.
Of course, feel free to choose a different style
of gaming, where probably the second critical
wound, for example, retires an Operator perma-
nently but keep in mind that the game is not de-
signed to let characters die by chance and you
may have to alter some rules for that.
the combat because of numerous reasons. If they
want to do this, there are obviously some prob-
lems involved. When the group decides to leave a
combat or has to do so for whatever reason, fol-
low this procedure:
1. Every Operator has to make an athletics check.
If not successful, the Operator receives 1 random
wound (determined by 2D6, 1 for the hit zone and 1
for the damage; armor is still applied).
2. Increase the firewall by the amount of remain-
ing enemy participants (one minion group equals
one participant).
3. Every check from this point on becomes critical.
4. Add to every interaction check.
End of combat
The end of combat occurs when all enemies are
incapacitated or the Operators have decided to
flee. In any case the firewall is raised:
• +1 firewall point just for having a fight.
• +1 firewall point if guns were used.
• +1 firewall point if explosives were used.

Finally, empty each Operator’s flow.

Combat overview
1. Planning
Every participant puts a die on their combat sheet to chose an action. By doing so everyone choses the
amount of INI they want to spend and their stance.

2. Reveal
Everyone reveals the chosen action and therefore the spent INI and stance. Remove the spent INI and vi-
sualize the combat sequence. You can use the provided battlefield under https://neomancerrpg.wixsite.
com/neomancer

3. actions
Everyone acts according to the combat sequence. First participants with INI 6, then INI 5 and so on until 0
is reached. Usually, each participant makes a trait check to see if the chosen action succeeds. Failed ac-
tions in combat do not generate firewall points!

4. Clean up
See if combat has ended or the Operators decide to flee. If not, make sure all spent and lost resources are
removed and start at planning again.

71
 Supply and network
He’s got a two day head start on you, which is more than he needs. Brody’s got friends in every town and village from here to the Sudan,
he speaks a dozen languages, knows every local custom, he’ll blend in, disappear, you’ll never see him again. With any luck, he’s got the
grail already. – Dr. Henry Walton Jones
Supply and demand
The Operation was hard, while it also felt simultane-
ously like a walk in the park. This paradox hurt John’s
head while he was walking into his hideout. The broker
made a full disclosure, telling him and his team that an
open fight would be unavoidable, as they had to infiltrate
a training ground for combat pods.
But as so often, John was short on credits, so he decided
to spend only as much as absolutely needed on living and
gear. Maybe that had been the mistake. He had chosen a
hideout in a district 4 and that started the problems. Be-
cause hideout was a euphemism for the shithole he had
to live in. Well, shitholes, as gang wars and a full-blown
police search for someone (probably not him, but better
to be safe than sorry) had him on the run. Currently, he
resided in a coffin hotel. It didn’t even have a name, only
a number. He walked up to the front door, regretting the
decision step by step. He had to punch in the code a few
times, since the touchpad (physical, how obsolete) wasn’t
working properly anymore.
[Your Code doesn’t have the number 7 in it, pal], mocked
his AI. [It’s 1111, as the 1 is the only number that works,
you zero. By the way, you are bleeding.]
John looked down. Indeed, the bullet wound he took
during the extraction was still bleeding. The armor he
bought for the job apparently had been made out of pa-
per and now he paid the higher price for it. The pistol he
had been using was sub-standard as well, and he thought
about giving it back to the dealer he bought it from bullet
by bullet, since that guy charged way too much for it. But
the weapon was already gone, disposed of since it was
72
evidence.
Anyway, the wound was going to be a problem. There
was no proper doctor around and he could only do so
much by himself. He had to get out of here.
He laid down in his coffin chamber, cauterized the
wound and gave himself a little morphine shot while
he tried to stay positive. Finally, he was able to pay his
debts, all of them! When the next Operation would come
around, he would be able to move up into a district 3 and
find a safer room there.
Like Suze, she had it much easier with her small apart-
ments in 3a, c and d. And if the shit really hit the fan, she
also had a safe and more or less comfy container at the
docks. Travelling between these spots also wasn’t too dif-
ficult for her, as her fake CSC was solid enough to with-
stand random searches and to board the HyperTrain. It
almost looked like she was a normal citizen. Her weap-
ons dealer was also as competent as his merchandise
was deadly.
With that, she always had a trick up her sleeve for every
Operation, be it the best gear in town or simply getting
enough food and sleep. John couldn’t understand why
she was a lone wolf if she had the possibilities to uphold
social contacts. There was every opportunity to meet
them in a cafe, a bar or take a walk with them. He won-
dered how she coped with the drawbacks of an Opera-
tor’s life. Always on the run and feeling less human with
every augmentation or AI upgrade.
John’s way of dealing with that were his close friends. It
was hard to see them, especially with his current accom-
modation. Still, he managed to sneak into their districts
to see them face to face, as simply calling didn’t help him
 much. And the night always ended when he ran out of
credits at the bar, as he was too proud to accept their
money. Or when they tried to change his way of living
and they got into another argument. Both were problems
that Christian, the third member of his team, never had.
Christian apparently had credits to burn and everybody
wondered where they came from and why he was an Op-
erator. He always brought the biggest rifle to every Op-
eration, just because he could. This made things often
more difficult in terms of staying undetected, but it paid
off when their cover was blown. And boy, was the cover
blown on that last one, thought John.
He envied Christian and his endless resources. He pre-
pared the last Operation from his district 2 loft or one
of his other luxurious condos. He always ‘knew a guy’
to help with some passcodes, a diversion or simply assis-
tance when they were out on the streets again, escaping.
Even the best security guards had to think twice when a
horde of machine gun wielding maniacs on motorcycles
were coming at them at 90 mph.
With that much load off his shoulders, Mr. Bon Vivant
had much more time indulging his own interests. Most
of them were filthy, scandalous and all of them included
liquids. When the first hint of alienation presented itself,
it was drowned in said fluids. While his other teammates
would visit friends or walked the empty streets alone, he
dived into strangers’ pants (quite literally) and partied
all night. Though this time, Christian would have a hard
time drinking his worries away, as he also got hit several
times during their escape.
Ironically, his net profit was less than John’s, because he
spent a lot of his money on gear or his living, but somehow,
he made it work, since he carefully stayed out of debt.
And when you didn’t have to worry about your health,
having access to superior gear and eating real food more
often than not was a reward in itself. Traveling was also
ridiculously faster for him, as he could use taxis or first
class HyperTrains (always watching his back, of course).
Without that privilege, some Tier 1 Operations wouldn’t
be possible, as you needed admittance to certain areas,
to keep scum like them out. John would be surprised if
Christian would return to his loft immediately. After
all, he was also a welcome guest in the Golden Casino
Hotel. Hell, they would even find a doctor for him if he
appeared there with his wounds. Discreetly, of course.
As he almost drifted away, his AR signaled an incoming
call. He accepted, it was his broker. “Johnny-boy, when
your little bruise is gone, come see me. I have something
to do for you. Very lucrative.”
John sighed. Looked like break-time was over already.
73
The network
The network is not a place, well, not one place. It
is more an abstract concept of your supporters,
your hideouts and secret passages you know in
the city. A well connected group has no problem
entering high security buildings even fully armed
while a low tier Operator group can get into trou-
ble trying to rob a small bank. Having a functional
network is essential for a successful Operation.
The network is a combination of hideouts (to get
rid of pursuers), storage areas (in the case some-
one needs a new and bigger weapon during a mis-
sion) and most important, professional contacts
that help you during your preparations.
The network gets activated during the prepara-
tion and before the actual prepscene. It is recom-
mended that the prepscene fits to the network but
it is not necessary. Lazy players can just pay 200₵
to add to the intrusion or extraction (the net-
work may provide other effects when upgraded).
Every network can only be activated once by any
Operator altough it is possible that all Operators
activate their force network since these are not
the same people. Maybe one Operator knows the
Crazy Gun Fukkers but another Operator has con-
nections to a Yakuza subclan. Rule-wise it does
not matter who the connection is, but the players
should tell something about their networks, give
them some personality, make them friends even.
Networks can be blocked by certain targets de-
pending on the GM’s decision. Maybe force net-
works have no say in district 1 since there is just
too much police and surveillance for some low
tier gang members to actually help. Or maybe sta-
tus is blocked in a certain secret Stane compound
since no one cares about politics there.
The network is vital for the Operation and em-
braces the fact that Operator groups are highly
professional and know equally professional peo-
ple. Think of networks as smaller, less powerful
Operators living their own adventure which no
one sees.
Note that you only have to pay once to trigger all
acquired effects. No network may be used more
than once during one Operation.
You do not have to use every acquired effect.
It is possible that a network gets blocked. In
most cases, one network cannot be used during
an Operation. For example, the force network
can be blocked because the target is too strong.
 Force
Primitives
Jeff revved up the engine of his Harley in unison with the
others. They stood at the parking lot of the clubhouse. Pay 200₵ to add to intrusion or
He was nervous. It was his first real mission since he be- extraction and add 1 FP to FW.
came prospect of the Crazy Gun Fukkers. Up until now,
he had to clean the clubhouse, driving boring errands or
picking up prostitutes for the daily parties. But he never
complained or hesitated when asked to do so, because
Rash, his given road name, was proud and loyal to the
club. Semi professionals
Sure, life was sometimes hard. Especially as a prospect,
the members always tried to make it even harder. Piss- Add 1 hit to next prepscene check.
ing in his beer, hiding his motorcycle keys or making him
clean the toilet with a toothbrush were among the gentle
reminders that he was bottom of the food chain.
This could end tonight, he thought. The mission was to
make some noise in front of the factory. Shouting, block-
ing the entry, maybe hurting one or two security guards
if they were stupid enough to try and stop them. He really Helping hands
hoped they were stupid enough. He needed an outlet for
all the anger the club members caused him and at the Add to flow of all Operators
same time, he wanted to prove to them that he was fear- when the first combat starts.
less and worthy of the club patch. The leader gave the
hand signal and the convoy rode into the night. Time to
be Crazy Gun Fukkers.
Geared up lunatics
Sometimes you have to abandon all subtle and
Instead of adding to intrusion
careful planning and use sheer violence in order
or extraction add to intrusion
to get what you need. Networks in the proficiency
Add 2FP instead of 1FP to FW.
force are loud, vengeful and they usually come
with their own weapons.
Although it is tempting to use these kinds of pri-
vate army to storm your target building and take
out everyone who could get in your way, it is heav-
ily advised to resist such actions. Partly because Befriended
although most of them are crazy, they are not
THAT crazy, and partly because you are the pro- Reduce cost for this network by
fessional here and letting other people do your 100₵.
job gets you a bad reputation.
Still, the force network is essential in some situ-
ations. Mainly as a distraction, they make enough
noise at the front gate so you can easier get in the
back door. Or, if you are of a violent nature as well, Mighty diversion
they can blow up said front so your getaway car
can pick you up faster. But beware that the use You can pay an additional 1000₵
of a force contact always creates firewall. They to start the Operation with 5 FP
come with their own weapons, remember? instead of your actual value.

Mechanized
Instead of adding to intrusion
or extraction add to extrac-
tion.
Add 2FP instead of 1FP to FW.

74
 Deception
Nice faces
Keisha ‘The Slut’ Karmamu stared outside the window Pay 200₵ to add to intrusion or
of the moving car. Though one would think that she hat- extraction. The Operator cannot
ed that nickname, she is really fond of it. Surely in a bi- take gear with FW more than 1
zarre way, but still. She started to sell her beautiful, ebo- with them in this Operation.
ny body when she was 19. Most girls of her neighborhood
began one year earlier, but she was optimistic and tried
to survive with more honest jobs. The jobs never came,
instead her bills piled up. That’s when she had to do it.
But she climbed the ladder very fast. Her nubian body Suits for everyone
and charisma made her an escort for the one percent. Add 1 hit to next prepscene check.
From here it was an easy jump to offering her services
to Operators, as their credits are just as solid, but their
demands are way more tasteful.
Just as this job. The car came to a halt. “Remember”,
the driver said in a determined, but respectful tone. “Two
Yin Yao sleeper agents are at that party. Once we find
out who they are, I need you to charm one of them to a
bar, where our guy will handle the rest.” Invitation
‘The Slut’ put on a smile that fits more that of a queen. Add 1 hit to the first interaction
“Sure thing, sweetie. Showtime.” check of the Operator.

From a little sleight-of-hand to an elaborate con.

These “artists”, as they see themselves, use ev-
ery trick in the book to get you in, out or make it
VIP entrance
look like it is vice versa. Networks with the decep-
Instead of adding to intrusion
tion proficiency are more focused on interaction.
or extraction add to intrusion
While they are not as silent as the stealth profi-
The Operator cannot take any gear
ciency, they hesitate from being too aggressive or
with FW more than 0 with them.
hurting people.
They distract guards while you try to hack a ter-
minal, they help to validate an identity you need
for the job, or they can get you out of a hot-zone
while creating AR noise. Part of the team
Beware that not every target is vulnerable to de-
ception and if your group of Operators is notori- Reduce cost for this network by
ous for being violent, the “artists” may refrain 100₵.
from helping you. This means that you are not
allowed to bring in weapons that can create fire-
wall. Between smoke and mirrors, a gun is always
a gun and therefore not allowed in this trick.
Merciless machiavellians
Alter the result of the extraction
table by X for the Operator where
X is the amount of the Operator
adds to the alienation check after
the Operation.

Limousine
Instead of adding to intrusion
or extraction add to extrac-
tion
The Operator can’t take gear with
FP to the Operation,

75
 Secrecy
Street ninjas
Claire looked down from the ledge, the wind caressing Pay 200₵ to add to intrusion or
her long, unbound hair. She knew that it was unprofes- extraction.
sional, some camera could pick up the movement. But This network can only be activated
she had to do it, it was some kind of ritual, some lucky when the FW is 0.
charm. Also unprofessional to be superstitious, but in ten
years, Claire “The Cat” was never caught and never let
her clients down, and that was all that mattered.
The briefcase stood beside her. She didn’t knew what was
in it, but since she worked with this client for quite some Climbing gear
time, she guessed it was a rifle, easy access via the handle.
Too much noise for her, but she was hired to plant it, not Add 1 hit to next prepscene check.
to use it. Curiosity has a bad influence on a cats lifespan.
Her AI told her that the guard change was imminent,
150 meters below her. She checked her rappel gear and
her cutting tool. All was set, except her hair. She bound
it with her favorite scrunchy, closed her eyes, waited for
the signal...and jumped.
Sneaky soles
You want the Operation done silently? Then you
need a network with people who are. They work in Add 1 hit to the first stealth check
the shadows for you, placing objects, getting in- of any Operator.
formation or taking care that there are shadows
to work in the first place. Sure, they don’t know
the exact way into the Yin Yao laboratory or the
passcode for the backdoor into the Griffin Arcolo-
Silent assassins
gy. But they can assist when you know where you
Instead of adding to intrusion
want to enter or what equipment you want to use.
or extraction add to intrusion
If you want to intrude and extract with no one the
Add to the Operator’s next
wiser, your stealth network is there for you.
alienation check.
But since a stealthy approach needs more plan-
ning and an untouched environment, contacts in
this network are activated before your own prep-
aration efforts. If you already tried to get the bio-
data for the intrusion and failed, then the place is Member of the dojo
too hot for your stealthy helpers. Even if you suc-
ceeded, they consider it tampered, which would Reduce Cost for this network by
mean more time for preparation which they don’t 100₵.
have. So think carefully if you want to have a sure
thing before you apply your own skills to the proj-
ect.

Sacrificial lamb
Raise the result of the extraction
table by X for the Operator and
reduce the result of the extraction
table by X for another Operator.

Cyber ninjas
Instead of adding to intrusion
or extraction add to extrac-
tion.
Add to the Operator’s next
alienation check.

76
 Status
Local politician
John Buhler looked into the mirror and smiled. The face Pay 200₵ to add to intrusion or
of success, he thought. Born with a bad MedEval, he nev- extraction. Pay an additional 200₵
er had the chance to become an influential politician. So when DEFCON 1 is reached during
the Operation or the Network is
he made his own chances. By lying, faking and fooling,
blocked in following Operation.
which are the tools of a good politician, after all. Always,
of course, with a smile. Even in the face of danger.
Dangerous was his current situation indeed. His little
sexual intermezzo with the daughter of Kiniuns CEO
was filmed by one of the cyberpods. He chuckled, no need High ranking help
to play it down. He fucked the brain out of her and those Add 1 hit to next prepscene check.
pods that night, which made the video data all the more
disturbing. If that video went public, he wouldn’t just lose
his positions, it could endanger the peace treaty with Af-
rica, given the company’s heritage.
But his smile didn’t fade, because he already knew who
had the data. His best hackers traced the blackmail mes-
sage to its source. Now he needed a professional third
party to retrieve the video. As if lady luck was his lover, Assistant
his mailbox received an anonymous message that mo- Add 1 hit to the first street smarts
ment. It simply said “Need help. Chavez.” It was the code check of the Operator.
name of an Operator group he helped once in a while.
Getting them into events where their targets were. Buhler
laughed, it was almost too easy.

Imagine you don’t have to worry which approach

Megacorp contact
you have to use in order to get to your target. No
Instead of adding to intrusion
cat burglar you have to hire to plant a weapon you
or extraction add to intru-
might use, no escort you have to pay an absurdly
sion. Instead of paying 200₵ when
amount of credits just to listen to your request
DEFCON 1 is reached, pay 1₮.
and no Crazy Gun Fukkers to risk your whole Op-
eration because they drank too much beforehand.
You just have a guy with whom the much needed
appointment with your target is just a phone call
away. Political party
Contacts in this network don’t have to pretend to
be a high ranking police officer, they ARE a high Reduce Cost for this network by
ranking police officer. Or politician, manager, un- 100₵.
derground boss. Maybe they used deception and
force to get the position, but that is none of your
business. Now they make your life and Operation
easier with simple orders.
These people don’t have to worry about money Desperate
After a failed extraction, the
but about their positions themselves. In order for
Operator does not suffer any
them to help you, they demand your time and ex- consequences. Instead the Opera-
pertise. Take out an opponent, sabotage a deal or tor loses 1₮ and adds to the
other clandestine errands. alienation check.
But before anything else, status people can not
be connected with Operator scum like you. Other-
wise they could lose everything. That means that
if you screw up the intrusion, your status contact Business limousine
will deny every connection to you, maybe even Instead of adding to intrusion
or extraction add to extrac-
work against you and it will be harder for you to
tion.
extract out of that Operation.
Instead of paying 200₵ when
DEFCON 1 is reached, pay 1₮.

77
 Technology
Theodore: Well, you seem like a person but you’re just a voice in a computer.
Samantha: I can understand how the limited perspective of an unartificial mind might perceive it that way. You’ll get used to it.
Overview
Today, everything is connected, starting with you:
almost everyone has a so-called “net access sys-
tem” implanted, a small computer in your brain
that connects you wirelessly to everything else,
handles data storage, runs your AI and puts AR
into your brain. Data storage capability has in-
creased significantly, as has processing power
and software intelligence. However, the demands
have also increased, so don’t expect to instantly
download the whole internet, or the Net, as it is
mostly called today.
The Net is more or less functioning the same as
always. Servers are not centralized, neither is ev-
ery person with access to wifi acting as a server
on his or her own. It’s very much like today, except
your AI handles a lot of the tedious work for you,
logging into access-points automatically without
bothering you about it, only warning you when
there is no, or a very poor, connection. Wifi-range
and speed is vastly increased, so in a city, you
almost never have to think about these things.
In shittier areas or outside of a city, it might be
a problem, but even there someone has usually
rigged up a working connection, hacking into a
cable or even managing access via satellite (it
speaks for today’s society that it is often easier to
gain access to the Net than to find something to
eat).
Fast as a thought
Before we continue, a quick word on the phrase
“fast as a thought”: while almost anything net-
related can be done via thought, how long does
it take you to think this sentence? Exactly. This
is not light speed, so remember that. Handling
something by thoughts is not much faster than
talking. While your AI, for example, gets pretty
good at predicting what you want, it is not clair-
voyant, so you actually have to think something to
communicate by thoughts.
Interaction points
There are two main applications to use the Net
and also to interact with everything connected to
it. The first is Augmented Reality, usually short-
78
ened to AR. This is a layer (or multiple layers) of
mostly semi-transparent interfaces, banners,
buttons and everything you can imagine put over
everything that has something to say to you and
then appearing in your mind’s eye and your field
of vision (sometimes whether you like it or not).
Depending on the interface software you run,
your settings and preferences, how clever your AI
is and how intrusive the layers are, you will see
different things. The smallest detail level you can
see, as long as you don’t switch AR off completely
(most people will never switch AR off or even to
the minimum level anyway, but more on that lat-
er), is a red dot indicating there is something to in-
teract with, a so-called interaction point, or I-PO.
This is always there and for everyone, unless you
are a hacker and modify your AI or buy a modified
black market one.
Obviously, it is possible to hide I-PO’s so that the
casual viewer can not see them, just like people
nowadays can hide their wifi’s SSID. A hacker (or
his AI) is able to find them if he searches for them
and his abilities are good enough. Such things are
usually done to put up another barrier in front of
people who lack the right credentials because
you can’t hack what you can’t see in the first
place. Most people today will always get the full
AR-experience and are totally emerged 24/7. This
is simply caused by the time they live in and that
people are just used to it, but also because more
sophisticated AI’s, with more control over how in-
trusive AR gets, are way more expensive.
What can AR do
Here are a few mundane examples. Check the
menu from a fast food restaurant across the
street. If you are not interested in these things, it
is usually not a problem to block the ads. Your AI
knows if you like Chinese food anyway or if you’re
hungry at the moment. Most restaurants will not
be that bothersome and are easily blocked. If
you’re feeling hungry and lazy, your AI can simply
order something you like at a delivery service and
you don’t have to leave home.
Quickly check your emails and reply. Totally han-
dled via AR. You can think what you want to write
and your AI is putting that into letters. You can
also pull up a virtual AR-keyboard if you prefer
 that, however, it is possible for someone else to
work out what you’re typing because they can an-
alyze your hand movements, so this is better only
done for unimportant things or in privacy.
Open the door to your apartment. Normally, your
AI will interact with your door when you arrive at
home, unlocking and/or opening it for you. Also,
your AI will check if someone tried to hack into
your system. If that someone was clumsy, your AI
will know and warn you. If he was good, he might
be waiting inside and you have no idea until you
walk in and get a gun stuck in your face...
Go on the bus, pay your fare and get out again. Yes,
that’s pretty boring, but it is functional and does
what it’s supposed to do. Your AI knows where you
want to go, simply interacts with the bus-AI and
does everything for you. It also wakes you up in
case you fall asleep on the bus. Pretty neat, huh?
Open a call to someone you know. You can chat
with them without ever saying a word. Your AI is
able to analyze thoughts that are meant for the
conversation and separate them from thoughts
that are more private.
It’s entirely up to you if you watch TV on a big
AR-screen in your head or buy a separate TV. Of
course, you need to upgrade your AI etc. to use it
as an entertainment system or personal comput-
er or whatever… The corporations aren’t stupid. If
you can do everything with your normal AI, they
can’t sell you more things. In the end, it is up to
you. More conservative people use AR mainly as a
79
tool, like a smartphone, while the tech kids of to-
morrow build their whole lives around it, waiting
for the day they can immerse their brain forever in
the virtual reality and leave their bodies behind.
AR is almost exclusively used for the ears and eyes
only. There is no particular reason behind it, but it
is the way it is now. Smell-o-vision never made a
breakthrough, but it is possible to use smells or
even touch sensitivity, but it is seldom done be-
cause this simply “feels” weird to most people. In
such cases, it is better to use VR.
No matter how intrusive AR is, it is locked from
doing certain things. While you drive a car, for ex-
ample, you can be pretty sure that no virtual pop-
ups jump in front of you (unless someone hacked
something) onto the street, causing traffic acci-
dents.
Virtual reality
Virtual Reality, or VR, is one step further. The user
immerses themself completely in a VR-scenario,
blanking out the real world, giving all their senses
to the cyberspace. This is surprisingly not used
for hacking, but almost always for entertainment
purposes. Some people prefer to have sex in a vir-
tual world instead of with a pod or a human part-
ner (or themselves), others play the latest video
games or watch movies in which they can par-
ticipate. Whatever the reason, people need to up-
grade their wifi-module substantially to provide
 the power needed to enter VR, so this is not com-
monly used by everyone. It’s like the difference
today between a smartphone (everyone has one)
and a virtual reality system (only a few people
have one). It is possible to enter “virtual rooms”
for meeting purposes, but traditionally this is not
really something that most people do. The rea-
son behind this is (among a few others) that due
to the massively increased data size, the vulner-
ability for hacking is tremendously increased,
so in the end, VR is mostly for fun, and mostly at
home, while AR does the real work. If you are too
poor to afford AR, you can use a computer with
a keyboard, mouse and a screen or a handheld
AR-device. You can do more or less everything
that you could do while using real AR, but most
of the time it is much more tedious. You have to
enter passwords manually, websites look weird
because they are all optimized for AR and every-
thing is slow. The whole experience makes you
feel like a neanderthal from prehistoric times like
2017, not like a modern human. The only upside to
such things is that you can throw them away and
not leave a trail (or less of a trail), so they are the
disposable cellphones of movies.
80
Ar and csc
Some people like to exist offline or switch their
AR off (or don’t have an AI at all). There are a few
variants of that: you can be completely offline.
You don’t have an AI, therefore no access to AR
and also no CSC (Citizenship Code). This happens
mostly to the poorest of the poor. Such characters
have trouble buying stuff because they cannot
pay wirelessly. They have no medical records or
an ID at all due to their missing CSC, which means
they have no rights and the system assumes they
don’t exist. Cops harass them or ignore it when
they need help. Mostly, such individuals exist in
the poorest parts of a city, bonding together in
abandoned houses, living in coffin hotels or tiny
apartments.
They are one step above the human filth on the
streets and have at least a regular job. It is as-
sumed around 20% of people live this way in big-
ger cities like Los Angeles. Some of them work for
shady organizations or corporations who need
disposable employees who will work for below
minimum wages. Others get by with stealing on
their own, begging or even growing substandard
food in half-poisoned fields outside the city. The
luckier ones join criminal organizations or gangs
(which is more or less the same) and with luck
 might get a CSC someday, but most of them will
never reach that day. Not recommended by the
Neomancer-team.
If you want a CSC, you have to buy an AI. If you
want an AI, you have to buy a CSC. The reason be-
hind this is that almost everything assumes if you
want to log in somewhere or connect to some-
thing, your AI will handle it. It doesn’t have to be
an expensive one, but it needs to be there. No
one wants to wait while you enter a 64 digit-code
to make a purchase in the local supermarket. As
soon as you have an AI, you have basic access to
AR. You can switch your AR completely off, but as
mentioned above, this will cause all kinds of trou-
ble relatively quickly.
Most Operators tend not to do that because even
when doing Operations, it is vital to see interac-
tion points that might pose a threat or could be
helpful. Also, the point is, most security systems
realize (through cameras, motion detectors, bio-
metrics, whatever) that there are people standing
(read: sneaking) around without access to AR and
automatically assume they are intruders, because
why else should they block the system out? It is
better to be visible for the system and just look
like you’re supposed to be there, either through
the right passcodes or with a good hacker.
Simply set your AR to private mode. In this case,
you see the access points and your AI is able to
inform you if anything is trying to connect with
you (could be a police patrol scanning your cyber-
ware-license or simply your teammate making an
AR-call because he needs help), but most things
aren’t actively bugging you, depending on your
firewall level and the “things” hacking skill (yes,
ads will try to show themselves to you, even if you
don’t want them to). Also, the big corporations
can check your fake ID and be satisfied, rather
than wonder why the soda machine-repair team
consists of four heavily armed guys without ac-
cess to AR. In the end, totally switching off your
AI, and therefore blocking access to your CSC, is
making you kind of suspicious.
It is possible to have AR-access and an AI without
a CSC, but you won’t get far. Many things simply
want to log your CSC or wonder why you don’t
have one. Better get a fake one and renew it con-
stantly. That’s what your hacker or network is for.
- Handling appointments and being an alarm
clock.
- Taking notes.
- Searching the Net for you.
- Informing you when someone makes a failed
hacking attempt on your AI.
- Showing you all those nifty ads for products you
desperately need in your life.
- Automatically showing things that ask for your
licenses or CSC, paying fees unless you told them
otherwise.
- Handling your mails, calls, and contact data.
- Interacting with your things at home.
A standard AI is only a voice. It is possible to up-
grade them to a complete “bodily” level like the
one’s hackers use (not power-wise, only for ap-
pearance) but most people don’t bother with such
things and are happy with the voice-only function.
Most AI’s learn the preferences of their owners
over time and can pretty much correctly predict
what they want and what they don’t. Many peo-
ple still like to talk to their AI instead of thinking if
possible. Scientists believe that this behavior will
die out in the next couple of years, but for now,
humanity still likes to talk. Like you never yelled at
your computer. AI’s are able to get fully backed up,
the more expensive ones are also cloud-based,
meaning you can have your AI with you and have
another copy running your home while you are
away, syncing constantly over the Net.

Your assistant AI
Your personal, or assistant AI, is a super-charged
Siri/Cortana/Alexa/Wikipedia. While they are ca-
pable of self-improvement, they won’t be as ad-
vanced as a Cyberpod, but they do a lot of things
for you, like:

81
 Hacking & rigging
Shodan: Look at you, hacker: a pathetic creature of meat and bone, panting and sweating as you run through my corridors. How can
you challenge a perfect, immortal machine?
Cassy opened her eyes slowly and blinked a few times,
despite the fact that the room was almost completely
shrouded in darkness. Only a small amount of light was
coming through the windows, tinting the room in barely
visible colors that changed periodically between blue
and purple, apparently in sync with the busy rhythm of
a billboard outside. Apart from that, she couldn’t see
much. Her vision was blurry.
The colors of the future, she thought and lifted herself up
halfway, resting on her elbows. Her head hurt.
“My head hurts”, she told the room. Couldn’t hurt to let
anyone know, if anyone was there.
“Yeah. The doc said this would be normal”, Cross replied
from across the room.
Cassy was focusing on the direction where his voice came
from, and slowly her vision adjusted. He was sitting re-
verse on a chair, arms resting upon the chair’s back and
was grinning. Raven was sitting next to him, her boots
carelessly propped on another chair. Her face was almost
completely in the dark, only her eyes were reflecting the
slightest hint of light.
“So, how do you feel?”, Cross asked politely. “Apart from
your headaches.”
Cassy had to think about that for a moment. The reality
was, she wasn’t feeling too bad, actually. Sure, her head
hurt, but that was nothing serious. However…
“Only a little bit of pain, but that’s ok. I… think… it’s
strange. There is a weird presence in my head. It doesn’t
82
feel like an AI.”
[I am sorry if I am causing any trouble], said the presence.
It was a male voice. Warm, articulate, friendly. The type
of voice you wanted to hear when calling someone.
[It’s ok], Cassy replied. [I have to get used to it.]
[So, what is my purpose? You do realize I am not an assis-
tant AI? Or has someone made a mistake and wrongly
installed me? My memory has been completely reset. I
am afraid I don’t have any information from before this
conversation.]
[No, that’s ok. We… I need yout to help me with my com-
puter skills.]
There was a moment of silence. [I understand. Can I as-
sume that I am what some people call a “rogue AI”?].
[Ehm. Yes. How do you know that?], Cassy asked sur-
prised.
[You do realize I am still connected to the Net? And usu-
ally, there is only one reason a human implants anything
else than an assistant AI into his brain.] There seemed
to be the slightest hint of humour in the voice now, but
Cassy wasn’t sure. Nonetheless, she smiled. Obviously,
she should have known.
“So, what’s going on, kiddo?”, Raven asked. She put her
boots on the floor, making more noise than necesary.
“We sort of... introduced ourselves to each other.”
“Charming. Let’s see if this thing works and then get out
of here.”
[I do not think that she likes you.]
 [You may be right there, but we’re sort of stuck together,
for now at least.]
[I understand. I think they are waiting for you to perform
something that can be called “hacking”.]
Cassy looked around. There wasn’t much in here, apart
from the bed she was lying on and the few chairs Cross
and Raven were occupying. A real hospital probably
would have had a few more electronic gimmicks, maybe
she would even be attached to a heartrate monitor or
whatever, but when you implanted a rogue AI into your
head to do questionable things with it, you didn’t go to a
hospital. You went to an illegal street doc. In this case,
you couldn’t expect much more than a bed after you
woke up. If you woke up.
[The woman called Raven has a shotgun I can access.]
Cassy thought about that. It wasn’t much, but it would
be better than nothing. She pulled up a list of her pro-
grams into her AR. They were still there.
[I have already gained access to the shotgun.]
[What?]
[I don’t think you fully understand how this works.] The
voice had the same tone of slight amusement like before.
[The moment you thought about getting access to the
weapon I instantly loaded a communication protocol.
It is easy to see the weapon in AR, but getting access is
harder. However, the datastream that is synchronizing
the weapon with Raven’s AI is substandard, at best. It
took me about 0.06 seconds to crack the code, and to re-
route the link over your AI.] There was a slight pause.
[Which is me. She does not know, but the wireless con-
nection now goes through us. As long as we allow it. The
moment we want to control it, we can do so.]
[So, you mean, I am basically useless since you did that
83
all by yourself?]
[No. I am merely a… translator between your hacking
software and your brain. In fact, you did not realize this,
but to do all this I was basically using your brain to know
what to do exactly, which can get stressful if we are care-
less. You have to get used to it. More elaborate tasks re-
quire us to work together, anyway, so you shouldn’t feel
useless. These simple tasks can be done by me alone,
however. The more our connection grows together, the
easier it gets and the more and better I can assist you.]
[Well… sounds fascinating.]
[I think you could see it that way, yes.]
Her eyes focused on her teammates, if they could be
called that way. Cross probably could, but Raven was
very reluctant to let Cassy into her life, even when Cross
suggested that Cassy could be the team’s new hacker.
She had nowhere to go, anyway. So it had been worth a
shot. All that had been left to do was to equip her with a
rogue AI. And here they were…
“I think it basically works. You might wanna check on
your shotgun there, darling”, she said sweetly.
Cross’ grin widened while Raven raised an eyebrow,
picking up her shotgun. The small digital ammunition
counter showed a zero.
“Well, I’m pretty sure there are bullets left in it, but yeah,
it is probably working.”
[I would prefer it if they would not refer to me as an “it”.]
[I tell them later.]
Raven stood up. “Well, you are useful now, I’ll give you
that.” She almost smiled.
Cross laughed. “This is probably the biggest compliment
you will receive from her.” Raven threw him an angry
look, but said nothing.
 “Er… thanks. I guess. I have to figure out what’s working
and what’s not.”
“I always wondered how far away exactly you can be
from something you want to hack”, Cross said while
looking at the window. “Can you hack, I don’t know, a
security camera outside?”
“Actually, I could have told you that before. Most really
important and secure systems are not accessible over a
distance. Their wireless connection is only a few meters
or so and they’re not linked with anything else, so you
have to be at the place of action. The same principle
often goes for different subsystems in a building. This
makes sure that someone who has hacked into a cam-
era or so can’t also control an elevator in a different part
of the building, for example. The systems are isolated. It
makes the work harder, but often it also slows the system
down because some part of it doesn’t know what’s hap-
pening in a different part. So I guess it’s kind of an even
trade-off. Lastly, most systems try to pinpoint your posi-
tion by GPS trilateration and optical recognition. If the
system thinks you’re not in the room, then it sees no need
to give you access to something there. You can obviously
fix this, but it is not easy. Otherwise, each hacker could
work safely from home.”
“And avoid getting shot”, Raven commented.
“Ouch”, Cross replied.
[Are you sure you want to work with these people?]
Cassy smiled. [Well, there is no way back. So, I guess the
answer is yes.]
“Allright”, Raven said. “Enough lecture about what a
hacker can do and what not. This isn’t a video game tu-
torial. Let’s get outta here. We have work to do in three
84
days.”
Cassy nodded. “Does anyone know a good name for an
AI?”
Hacking overview
Hacking is cyberpunk and cyberpunk is hacking.
Technology has reached a whole new level, espe-
cially with the possibilities modern software and
AI grant. However, with increased complexity also
comes the need for increased security. While se-
curity AI - commonly referred to as ICE - are able
to thwart almost every hacking attempt, there
are some who still manage to enter secured net-
works, manipulate AI, or even hack into peoples
heads if they are online (and who isn’t online to-
day?). They might call themselves hackers or have
a totally different handle that they believe sounds
much cooler, but in the end, the broad public still
refers to them as hackers, whether they like it or
not. They often play a crucial role in Operations,
because as mentioned above, computer and elec-
tronic security is tight, and who else is gonna
open that door for you without a passcode? Right.
Apart from that, stealing data is still the goal of
many Operations. Most Operator teams simply
can’t afford to have anything other than an excel-
lent hacker in their ranks if they don’t want to limit
themselves tremendously.
The rogue AI
While hackers are able to work their magic on their
 own, this would be a difficult and time-consuming
process, which is not what you want on an Opera-
tion. Luckily, the corporations opened a door for
the hackers without realizing it: some time after
the cyberpods were made, some people started
to realize that the software that runs a cyber-
pod also made an excellent replacement for the
standard assistant AI. Whoever first installed the
software – commonly referred to as a rogue AI –
into his net access system, and therefore himself,
took his hacking to a whole new level. The pod’s
AI is able to support hacking through its advanced
fusion between man and machine, giving a hacker
vastly more possibilities, speed and simple power
than he would have on his own.
Drawbacks
However, the process is not without risks. To
give a hacker the full ability of the AI, it needs to
be unlocked for full learning and improvement
capabilities and modified to work correctly with
the hacker’s mind. That introduces certain erratic
behaviors and quirks when the AI gets more and
more self-aware and self-improving over time.
The only way to alleviate these problems is either
carefully programming them out (often introduc-
ing new ones) or to reset the AI to its factory state,
effectively losing all of its improvements and
85
benefits the hacker painstakingly achieved. It is
obvious that every hacker obtained their rogue AI
illegally because the corporations keep a tight lid
on their property (most normal people wouldn’t
even think about doing something, anyway). But
from time to time, a pod goes missing in the field
or software disappears or gets copied. Wherever
it came from, once it is in your head, you are the
new shit in the world of bits and bytes. Since a
lowly hacker can’t be too picky about the exact
nature of his AI, he often has to use an AI that was
not exactly meant to be a pod-hacker, but prob-
ably a combat cyberpod, a butler or a pleasure
model, which influences the general behavior of
the AI. Nonetheless, every model is helpful with
hacking. The most powerful AI’s out there are
rumored to have overtaken their hosts, but who
would believe such outlandish stories? Machine
obeys man, not the other way around. But there is
no denying that having powerful software in your
head interacting with you is a strange experience,
and the more powerful the software becomes, the
stronger - and stranger - the symbiosis.
Mr. Gray will see you now
It is a common practice amongst hackers to call
a blank rogue AI Mr. Gray, or Ms. Gray, if the pod
was of a female nature. Once interlinked with
 the host, the rogue visualizes itself as a man or
woman whose appearance is normally similar to
that of the original pod, although this isn’t always
the case for some reason. The AI is only visible by
the user through his AR, but like everything aug-
mented, it can communicate through various AR-
means with other people if the user - or the AI -
wishes to do so, talking to teammates directly or
appearing through broadcasting I-PO’s. Changing
the AI’s appearance and behavior either happens
when the hacker is modifying it (meaning, doing a
lot of reprogramming) or when the AI is improv-
ing itself - sometimes not in a way the hacker has
foreseen, but that is the drawback of self-improv-
ing software. So, every “update” might hold some
surprises for the hacker; or even the AI.
This will be simulated by the fact that the AI in-
teracts with the Operator in a more human way.
Everytime the AI improves it develops it’s person-
ality.
When a rogue AI improves, an adjective is added
to it’s personality. The GM will use this adjec-
tives to play the AI.
I asked how hacking worked and all I
got was this lousy message
So, how does hacking work? Often, like in the old
days, by finding backdoors or flaws in the code
and exploiting them, by having the right pass-
words available, by brute-forcing your way in or -
usually - a combination of all the above. However,
86
the rogue AI helps tremendously here because
it is able to communicate with other software
much faster than a hacker ever could, predicting
their actions, optimizing the hacker’s view of the
code, stalling ICE in it’s own language, analyzing
other AI or AR, sifting through millions of pages of
code in milliseconds, finding that glitch the hacker
needs right now, you get the idea.
Although old school hacking without an AI is still
possible for some bank fraud Operations or small
intrusions into insecure systems, Operators who
really want to hack the planet need the help of an
AI. After reading what hacking is all about, let’s
have a look at the rules.
Hacking rules
Like almost all checks in Neomancer, a hacking
check is done by simply rolling your hacking trait
against the difficulty your GM will tell you. Before
the roll it should also be defined if it is a standard
check or a critical check. Certain effects gained
through skills or something else are applicable
as usual, according to their description. Remem-
ber that effects that modify dice or add hits have
to be paid and used before you roll the check, not
afterwards.
A successful check means that the Operator
achieved the intended goal without problems,
a failed check indicates that something went
wrong. In case of a standard check, this increases
the firewall by 1 point but still moves the Opera-
 tion forward (maybe in a different narrative direc-
tion, but nonetheless forward). In case of a critical
check that went wrong also increase the firewall
by 1 point, but the Operation does not move for-
ward. The Operators have to find a different way
or try again.
So far, this follows exactly the basic rules. The dif-
ference is that hacking consumes ERG:
Each hacking check costs the Operator 1 ERG.
This represents the fact that hacking together
with an AI is a stressful and exhausting process
for the human brain, since the AI is interacting
with the hacker’s brain and pushing it beyond its
natural limits, therefore improving the hacker’s
and its own hacking abilities. The ERG has to be
paid before the check and is lost for the rest of the
Operation.
Remember that the hacking skills provide addi-
tional effects that you can buy and use during a
campaign. These skills might sometimes modify
the basic rules and the hacking rules. In this case,
this is clearly visible in the description. If not, sim-
ply follow the basic rules.
The hacking skills are also among a few that
sometimes cost additional money, representing
the fact that a hacker is – apart from constantly
improving his AI – sometimes buying better soft-
ware. Or simply a list with known backdoors or ten
million passwords. Having these sorts of things is
often half the battle.
There is no need for different programs or maps
for the Net in Neomancer. All this is handled
through the increase of the hacking trait and skills
or the increased difficulty for more demanding
Operations, and sensitive data is not accessible
over the Net anyway. A hacker has to be where
the action is, and from there he can hack what he
sees.
Hacking and ERG
The ERG-costs for a hacking check is not only a
narrative way to indicate that it is in fact stressful
to the hacker, it was also a deliberately made de-
sign choice from the very beginning. Since hacking
can solve a lot of problems in a cyberpunk setting,
and Neomancer is a game with few dice rolls, it
forces the hacker to balance ERG like all the other
characters because they might never know what
could happen next.
If you feel that your hacker is too powerful, of-
fering Operations where there is less to hack is a
good way to suggest to him that also other things
count besides hacking. Purely mechanical barri-
87
ers, social interaction, staying undetected or even
more combats are things that can put a hacker in
the backseat and let other characters shine. If you
are getting more experienced playing the game,
you will find different challenges for your charac-
ters instead of simply hacking one door open after
another.
Lastly, we also deliberately ignored different
programs or maps because we felt these things
considerably slow down the game to the point
where everyone is getting bored and browsing on
the phone, waiting for the hacker to complete his
solo adventure. We simply assume that a hacker
is aware what he needs to have apart from his
AI, updating his software by improving his trait
and skills. Feel free to describe narratively what
a hacker exactly does, but in the end, it boils down
to a single roll, usually.
Rigging overview
“Give me the controls, Jason, please!”
The kids ran around the backyard, hands in the air, try-
ing to catch the little drone. It hummed over their heads,
just inches out of their reach. But every time they jumped
to catch it, the blue-red painted “Petit” model hovered
higher.
Jason really had fun with his birthday gift. It was the
newest from Stane Industries. The controller was easy
to use and locked to his fingerprint. So even if his friends
did get a hold of it, they couldn’t use it. He made pictures
of their futile attempts to catch the drone. Then he flew
high up, projecting the images of their stupid looks on the
wall. Everybody laughed.
Jason wanted to write some profanities on the wall, when
suddenly the drone moved down. He couldn’t control it
anymore, the display said “Override Active”. Everybody
thought it would crash, when the drone landed safely in
the hand of Jason’s father. Jason remembered the damn
parenting function, with whom his parents could ac-
tively use the drone with their AI. “Playtime’s over, kids.
Who wants Proteinbar-cake?”
From a safe distance
The technology and complexity of drones has a
come a long way. Nonetheless they require, to
fully unlock their potential, a connection with a
human and its AI. Mainly for security reasons this
ensures that drones can’t be hacked and used as
an automatic killing and suicide device.
Together with an AI, you can control the drone
in terms of flight, protocols or its extras. News-
drones, for example, are connected to reporters.
While they give the news, their AI focuses on them
or the surrounding. Police officers stay safely in
their cars while chasing the perps with their
 Owl Model
Originally built by KT (Kinetics Technology, later bought by Yin Yao), the OWL model was the quietest
drone of its time. So quiet that the government prohibited its use for the private market and restricted it
for military and police use only. OWLs nowadays are artificially noisier and serve a more aesthetic and
status purpose. Taken from its animal equivalent, the OWL drone uses wings instead of rotors. Crafted
with an ultralight metal alloy and interwoven with synthetic feathers, it cuts the the airstream into tiny
vortexes, silencing its sounds. Little, disposable heatsinks in its lower back prevents it from overheating,
as the fast movement of the wings naturally creates heat. That also adds to its stealth technology, as no
heat signature can be read. The drawback of this apparatus and the reason why it is uncommon for Op-
erators to use it, is the inflexibility of the drone. While a standard reaper drone can move to all axes from
every position, the OWL has to calibrate and make long and bulky maneuvers. In a combat, that would
be fatal, as it would be an easy
target.

Rulewise, all OWL models are

reaper drones with stealth de-
vices. Further modifications
usually consists of less than
lethal weapons or distraction
upgrades.

drones. Once incapacitated, the officers drive to
them and arrest them.
No matter how good the drone is, it never will
have its edge without a human/AI mind. But that
also means that every drone has an autopilot.
Easy tasks, like hovering above the street and re-
placing a broken traffic light AR node can be done
this way. But pursuing a car who ran the red light
into a tunnel needs a controlling element.
This required connection is also a barrier. It pre-
vents ordinary citizens from getting their hand
on a military Reaper, as the required CSC authen-
tication is invalid. Also all drones have a safety
protocol installed, that hinders them from doing
something bad, like throwing itself into a crowd.
For that to happen, you need a rogue AI which
controls drones you are not allowed to use. Then
you can call yourself a rigger.
Rigging rules
The rigging rules are very similar to the hacking
rules. The rigger just spends 1 ERG and makes a
rigging check. Now rigging is mostly controlling
drones which is described later. There is also the
option of the so called ‘slicing’. This means tinker-
ing with mechanical devices, picking locks, open-
ing doors and so on. Not every rigger has this
archaic knowledge and there is a skill for that in
the rigging skill tree. But no matter what this rule
applies:
Each rigging check costs the Operator 1 ERG
when using the own rigging trait.
The addendum of the own rigging trait is impor-
tant when it comes to drones. See autopilot for
more.
They are everywhere!
Just as their more human brother, the cyberpod,
drones are an integral part of society in the world
of Neomancer. They can come in all varieties. Their
sizes can differ from tiny bugs to giant mechas.
With that diversity, their purpose also is versatile.
Heaviest user is the government with its military
and police branch. Flying drones are being used
for surveillance to help scout. These drones are a
typical sight in high population areas, constantly
scanning for threats. Random CSC and face scans
remind the people that the government watches
over them. Whether they want it or not.
Forensic drones are also the first on a crime scene,
sponging all information the place has to offer.
With that data, detectives have it a lot easier to

88
 solve crimes or find perpetrators.
If the victim was high profile, one can surely ex-
pect reporters and their camera-drones are the
second on the crime scene. These news-drones
can broadcast the reporter live through the news
network. Some even offer the VR experience for
those who want to be as close to crime as pos-
sible. A good reporter also might have a little
drone-bug or two in their pocket, to eavesdrop on
careless police officers who talk about crime de-
tails with their colleagues.
The corporate sector has a large need of drones,
especially for entertainment and advertisement.
The big AR advertisements, praising the new Pro-
teinbar taste, you see when you walk down the
streets have to come from somewhere. Hovering
drones, emitting the AR signal to everyone who
looks at it, are the reason. Or in sport events, when
the home team scores, the big neon fireworks are
just little mechanical bugs, who dance in the air
and print the name into the sky. People who up-
grade their AI with an adblocker or who don’t have
a CSC at all would only see grey-and-black blocks
with propellers when they look up.
Changing the station
Once you upgrade your rogue AI with a rigging
module, you can control all kinds of drones to
whatever purpose you like. This module, however,
comes with a price that is not only paid in credits,
but also in humanity.
The development of a basic rigging module is
relatively simple, that is why every consumer
can use a drone with their AI. Experienced hack-
ers take that asset and modify it, mainly delet-
ing and working-around the built-in restrictions.
Some are easy, some are hard source-coded. This
is a painstakingly, unforgiving process that has
a zero-tolerance policy on mistakes. Only expert
hackers have the guts for that job and even the
most devoted riggers won’t experiment when
it comes to this progress of a rigging module. A
failure could result in a short circuiting of your
hardware or the original developer of the mod-
ule could get a trace on you. And these are only
best case scenarios. Enforcers like to use careless
hackers to get to the Operators.
For security reasons, every module is uncopyable
and unique. This way the government and the cor-
porations ensure that in case of malfunctioning, it
is traceable and easy to contain.
Piece by piece, the module allows the Operator
access to the desired functions, like shooting at
guards that protect the corporation which build
the drone. Or a little swarm sabotaging its very
own birth place. As with most modifications, this
89
one comes with a drawback. Not only for you, but
for your AI as well.
The Demon in me
Inserting the module into your rogue AI changes it
permanently. It already is a fragile product. Taken
from the host, a regular cyberpod, it underwent a
change in programming and therefore in its ‘be-
havior’. While this is kind of a ‘traumatic’ event in
itself, introducing the rigging component to the AI
takes it to a whole new level.
After the update is complete, it copies the new
algorithms and power with a new characteristic.
Usually a vice, it now may give the Operator the
ability to control every drone, but it also can be an
obstacle. For example, the AI could bully or mock
his hosts action. Unfortunately, it is not foresee-
able or even manipulable what new character
trait the AI gains, as each one is unique and has
different source code. While technically it can not
hinder your actions or obey your commands, it can
be pretty annoying or even distracting to have
this little angel or devil on your shoulders. More
so when you have your own problems, wrestling
with the power it gives you.
Losing touch
Similar to a hacker’s rogue AI, your rigging AI does
not make you stronger, faster or bulletproof, like
cyberware does. Nonetheless you are now more
capable of doing horrible things than the stan-
dard human being.
Controlling a machine that consists of cold, calcu-
lating metal can take its toll on you. Experienced
riggers talk of the feeling of exchanging your hu-
man body with your drone as overwhelming and
addictive. The possibility to fly at 60 mph and see
with a hundred eyes, all at the same time, makes
you question your existence as human. Your body
feels like meaty deadweight, as you only need
your mind to move around everywhere and kill ev-
eryone you want. Your AI is not a good help either,
as it can encourage you to those actions and, after
all, is an imaginary person which you see every-
where and talks to you wherever you go.
That is why the upgrade of your AI is just as dan-
gerous as someone who replaces his arm with
cybernetics. The human mind is easy to seduce
with power in every form, but at a certain point,
you wonder if you are still human. Still, it is worth
the risk to get the rigging module and after you
bought or built the drone, you are an irreplaceable
asset for your team.
 The machineries of joy
Though some riggers say that if you want to be ex-
ceptional, you have to build and modify the drone
yourself. Only your own hands bring out the best
of the metal and give it its “soul”. Luckily, for those
pilots who are not that nimble with their fingers
when it comes to construction, it is not necessary
to use a homebrew drone.
The black market for your little mechanical help-
ers is huge and the possibilities are endless.
Whether you need so called ‘chassis’ (the shells
and bodies), the ‘protocols’, (software for maneu-
vers and abilities) or modifications, just pick one
from the list and get in touch with your personal
contact. The enhancements are mostly compat-
ible, no matter what company your chassis is
from, and only fanboys stick with one corpora-
tion. Of course, if you build your own chassis, you
tend to program the protocols yourself, but that
does not give you any monetary benefits, since
you still need source code and equipment from
somewhere.
While there are many models on the market, they
separate themselves into three categories (see
right).
Switching to autopilot
So, you got your rogue AI upgraded, suffered the
consequences, build or bought a chassis including
modifications and protocols and now you are in a
fight. What do you do?
90
In combat you have two options regarding your
drone. Either you put it on autopilot, giving you the
freedom to act for yourself or you take full con-
trol of your friend and unleash its power onto the
enemies. Both possibilities have strengths and
weaknesses.
If your drone flies for itself, it is only as good its
programming. Sure, it can hover and shoot at
moving targets, but it takes a lot of processing
power to do that job well. This ability is your job
to add to that drone. A lot of combat experience
and the tactical calculating of that goes into the
programming of the autopilot. Unfortunately, you
can not buy this experience, as the drones and the
rigging AI are a part of yourself.
If you control the drone yourself, it all depends on
your level of expertise. The war machine unlocks
its full potential and your actions become its ac-
tions. Note that this is the best option to use the
drones capabilities, as the autopilot will never be
as good as your skill as a rigger. A huge drawback
of this method is that your physical self is more
vulnerable to attacks. Since you completely fuse
your mind with the drone, you find it harder to be
aware of your surroundings, making enemy at-
tacks harder to dodge. But if you use your drone
wisely and well controlled, they will not even have
a chance to attack you.
It is possible to use multiple drones in a combat,
but since the autopilot method takes its potential
from you, they all share one source. This means
that if you use more than one drone on an autopi-
 Swarms
The smallest of the bunch. The motto here is quan-
tity over quality, as they’re mostly used as tools
for sabotage and observation. In combat, they
are pretty useless, as they have no mentionable
weaponry and can distract an enemy at best. Also
it kills the heart of every rigger to see their little
friends get stom on. Because of its tiny size, you
won’t have any trouble smuggling the swarm into
the target building.

Wounds Protocols Modifications Armor Firewall Weapon AI requ. Price

2 0 1 0 0 none 1 1200₵

Reaper drone
A basic chassis for most of your needs. The actual
size can vary, but it won’t get bigger than a child.
It has enough room for a weapon of your choice,
a few modifications and protocols. In the right
hands, it is a deadly companion. Still it is clear that
it means trouble, that is why you will raise suspi-
cion when you enter the compound.

Wounds Protocols Modifications Armor Firewall Weapon AI requ. Price

6 2 2 1 1 any 2 3500₵

Predator drone
The king of the drone jungle, only topped by un-
manned mechas. It holds space for multiple modi-
fications, which can make it more versatile than
an Operator. The high amount of protocols makes
it flexible to help in every possible combat. It can
also take a few punches before going down, which
means the enemy has to concentrate their fire
away from you. Drawback of this killer machine is,
of course, that it will instantly pull the attention
when you enter the building.

Wounds Protocols Modifications Armor Firewall Weapon AI requ. Price

10 4 4 1 2 any 3 6000₵

91
 lot, you have to decide how much ‘skill’ each uses 1) Choose chassis:
and how well they will be doing their job. Predator, reaper, swarm
Drone rules 2) Choose protocols:
There are 2 ways to control drones. First, the Op- The combat actions of the drone
erator can control them manually which results
in doing nothing more than this. The Operators 3) Choose modifications:
cannot run, fight, hack or sneak while operating Improving the drone
a drone. If they do so, they have to spend 1 ERG
for every check they want to make. Use the Op- Every player using drones should use the provid-
erator’s rigging trait for the check, the drone is ed dronesheet (see online and back of this book).
merely an extension of the body.
The second method is the autopilot. If they are Chassis
busy or do not want to spend precious ERG the
drone can act autonomously with the help of the Predator Reaper Swarm
rogue AI. The dice pool for every check is the AI’s Wounds 10 6 2
autopilot value, which is 0 from the start and can Protocols 4 2 0
be increased by getting rigging skills.
Modifica- 4 2 1
tions
Drone rules
Any check with a drone is a rigging check. Also Armor 1 1 0
all actions on the drone sheet (even attacking). Firewall 2 1 0
points
When a critical check (rigging or autopilot) is Weapon can can none
failed the drone suffers 1 wound. choose choose
Affluent Affluent
1) Control manually weapons weapons
Outside of combat: spend 1 ERG. The Operator (when the (when the
makes a rigging check and the drone acts. Operator Operator
In combat: spend 1 ERG. The Operator chooses has the has the
the ‘special’ action. One(!) drone chooses an needed needed
available action from it’s drone sheet. The drone supply) supply)
acts at the same time of the combat sequence
AI requ. 3 2 1
as the rigger. The drone has no INI to spend of
its own. Price 6000₵ 3500₵ 1200₵
No matter what chassis the Operators use, ev-
2) Autopilot ery drone is capable of flying silently. Reaper and
You do not need to spend ERG. The Operator Predator drones furthermore can always use
uses the autopilot AI for every check. Every point weapons and swarms can not. The AI requ(ired)
in ‘autopilot’ grants . Every check is critical. No stands for the amount of AI resources the drone
skills can be used. uses. A rigger can only employ so many drones
In combat, the rigger and the drone(s) can and is limited by the rogue AI. A rigger with an
choose indiviual actions but act at the same autopilot value of 4 may employ 2 reaper drones
time of the combat sequence. (2+2=4) but nothing else. They can’t even be
When you want to control 2 drones, at least 1 of brought to the Operation although the rigger may
them needs to be controlled by the autopilot. possess them. So it is possible for a rigger to own
3 Reaper drones but only 2 of them are usable in
an Operation.
Build-a-drone Protocols
Operators can build drones depending on the
credits they want to spend and to fit their needs. The protocols are the combat actions of the drone.
Whatever they choose to acquire it is in their pos- Every drone starts with the neutral action ‘Shoot’,
session from now on and can be used in other nothing else. The rigger may enhance the drone
drones as well. There are many options for build- by buying more protocols to have more options in
ing drones. combat. Swarms do not have any protocols and
cannot be used in combat.

92
 Protocols modifications
Name Stance Effect Price Name Effect Drones Price

Analyze Covered Rigging check: empty the flow of an 1000₵ Increased armor +1 armor Not swarms 1000₵
Operator.
Increased hull +2 wounds Not swarms 1000₵
Block communi- Covered Rigging check: merge and reinforce- 1000₵
cation ments actions cannot be used this Grappling hook Integrated grappling hook, Not swarms 200₵
round. can be used by Operators.

Duck and cover Covered Rigging check: Add to all at- 1000₵ Hunter device Add to ranged attacks of Not swarms 1000₵
tacks against this drone. drone.

Attack Neutral Rigging check: attack covered/neu- - Overload Lose 1 wound to add to next All 500₵
tral/exposed (only pistol/machine rigging check with drone.
pistol). The rigging check is used for
calculating the damage. Poison Drones are highly poisonous Only swarm 200₵
and can dissolve.
Advanced Neutral Rigging check: attack covered/neu- 1000₵
attack tral/exposed (every weapon). The Less than lethal Lose 1 wound to incapacitate 1 All 500₵
rigging check is used for calculating strike person (not in combat).
the damage.
Mandibles Drones can cut through solid All 200₵
Tactical ana- Neutral Rigging check: distribute hits to 1000₵ metal.
lyzer flow of all friendly characters.
Stealth device -1FP for the drone. Reaper 1000₵
Kamikaze Exposed Rigging check: attack with + . 1000₵
Suffer 1 wound. Smuggling com- Reduce the FP of 1 gear by 1. Not swarms 1000₵
partment
Minefield Exposed Rigging check: no enemy may 1000₵
choose a covered action next round. Visual upgrade Add 1 hit to a prepscene check Only swarm 500₵
when using the swarm.
Cover fire Exposed Rigging check: attack covered/neu- 1000₵
tral/exposed (every weapon) with + Distraction Lose swarm. Alter the extrac- Only swarm 500₵
. Add to the target’s flow. tion table result by 2 only for
The rigging check is used for calcu- the rigger. Can only be used in
lating the damage. DEFCON 1.

Swarm armor The swarm can be used as Only swarm 500₵

armor (+1) for 1 hit zone. Ev-
ery hit reduces wounds of the
Modifications, protocols and weap- swarm by 1.

ons
Modifications and protocols are implemented
permanently. The rigger only needs to buy them
once per drone and they cannot be altered.
Weapons however are chosen in the preparation
depending on the current supply (Operator and
drone may choose weapons as they like).
They have to be implemented before every Op-
eration.
Remember that firewall points are still applied as
usual when weapons are inside of a drone.
Losing drones
When a drone gets attacked there are no hit-
zones. Instead, drones have wounds. The damage
is directly applied to these wounds (armor is sub-
tracted normally, see combat).
When a drone loses all wounds it is considered
critcally wounded and is treated exactly like an
Operator who is critically wounded (adding to
the extraction, see combat). And, exactly like a
critically wounded Operator, the drone can be
healed (repaired) for 1₮. See intermission for de-
tails.

93
 Skills and
cyberware

94
 I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are
looking for ransom, I can tell you I don’t have money. But what I do
have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a
very long career, skills that make me a nightmare for people like you.
If you let my daughter go now, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look
for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t, I will look for you, I
will find you, and I will kill you. – Bryan Mills

95
 Skills
Napoleon Dynamite: I don’t even have any skills.

Pedro: What do you mean?

Napoleon Dynamite: You know, like nunchuck skills, bo hunting skills, computer hacking skills. Girls only like guys who have great
skills.

Skills are one of the reasons why Operators get
hired. They represent their specialties and what
they can do best.
Every trait has one associated skill tree in which
Operators can improve themselves. Besides many
advantages players can buy for their Operators
there is always twice the option of increasing a
trait. Only by acquiring these skills can Operators
have a trait value of 7 and be considered masters
in their field.
Players can buy boxes that are pink or boxes
that are connected by a grey line to an already
aquired box.
The skills can be triggered in certain situations,
some can always be triggered. skills are not ac-
tions and can often be used outside of combat.
Note that every skill can only be used once in
any given situation. The same skill can never be
stacked but multiple skills can be combined!
When multiple players want to trigger skills they
may freely decide the order of the effects. When
a skill has limitations like ‘only once per combat’
multiple Operators may trigger the effect but ev-
ery Operator only once.
Each skill costs 4₮. There may be additional costs
noted (for example in rigging).

96
 Athletics
Keith watched the groups hacker Escape as he flipped his hands around the air, indicating his hack at the door panel.
He saw the sweat running down the side of his face. The youth from today really is out of shape, he thought. He
shouldn’t be able to convert his kinetic energy into brute force during a fight, like Keith could, but come on.
Without Keiths help, he would have still been at the bottom of this building, trying desperately to climb up. Even with
the climbing gear, Escape was so out of breath that Keith had to hold him halfway through. Which was no problem for
him. His AI, a digital version of a pumped-up gym coach, told him that multiple times.
It shouted at him like Keith shouted at the security guard during the preparation for this Operation. Intimidating him
into leaving the window unlocked they used to enter the building. “Guards are coming” said his teamleader via mind-
link. Damn it. Escape vanished into a cupboard, which was too small for both of them. No other possibility to hide,
except … He looked up. He climbed on top of a desk and jumped to the ceiling, grabbed one of the hanging striplights
and swung himself up. It was slightly shaken when the guards came around the corner, but Keiths body stopped the
momentum in instant. Though that wasn’t necessary, because the guards noticed that the door panel was still active.
He had to something, otherwise they could raise the alarm. When they went by to inspect the panel, he flung himself
from the striplight, pivoted his body to kick down the first guard. The second one was so surprised that he didn’t know
what to do for one second, which was enough for Keith to ram him into the wall, rendering him unconscious. As he
walked towards the cupboard in which Escape was hiding, his AI congratulated him. Yes, the youth really should stay
in shape.

Show Off Hide in strange places Acrobatic Strike

When you make an interaction When you make a stealth check, When you make a melee check,
check, pay 2 ERG to use athletics pay 2 ERG to use athletics instead. pay 2 ERG to use athletics instead.
instead.

Coach Tracer Sustained

When the team has to make an Once per Operation, pay 1 ERG to Increase your INl by 1.
athletics check, pay 3 ERG to add change a critical athletics check
to each Operator’s check (ex- into a standard athletics check.
cept yours).

trait advancement Iron Man Adaptable

Increase your athletics trait by 1.
Increase your ERG by 1. Pay 2 ERG to immediately change
your stance from neutral to ex-
posed or vice versa. If you do so,
choose a new actions when you
haven’t acted yet.

Slippery Tracer Supreme trait advancement

Increase your REF by 1. Once per Operation, pay 1 ERG Increase your athletics trait by 1.
to change a critical check into a
standard check.

97
 Hacking
Miime tried to stay relaxed, even when a bullet pierced her cover and almost went into her arm. She was just a hacker.
She got her team into the compound, searched for blueprints, even made Camus, her rogue AI, interact with the guards
AI to convince him that their CSC’s checked out. But she was not combat ready.
Or was she? She had to do something. She looked up from her cover and told Camus to analyze the enemies movement
and give the informations to her teammates. While he was there, he also told the guard he convinced earlier that his
orders are to attack on open field. In the meantime, Miime hacked herself into the system, faking an order that a vehicle
should wait outside, making her extraction easier.
She felt good. It was good to be a hacker.

rogue AI
Price: 4000₵
Increase alienation by 1.
Increase AI’s adjectives by 1.

block Communication Phantom LMGTFY

Price: 1000₵ Price: 1000₵ Price: 1000₵
Special actions: hacking check. The When you make an interaction When another Operator makes
enemy cannot use ‘merge’ and ‘re- check, pay 1 additional ERG to have a check outside of combat, pay 2
inforcements’ actions this round. your AI use your hacking trait. ERG to add 1 to the check.

combat Analyzer trait advancement Feel the net

Price: 1000₵ Price: 1000₵ Price: 1000₵
Special actions: hacking check. Increase your hacking trait by 1. During planning, pay 1 ERG to add
Each remaining hit generates 1
flow you can distribute freely to your flow.
between all Operators.

Artificial Mind upgrade your AI Anywhere and every-

Price: 1000₵ Price: 4000₵ where
Once per Operation, ignore all ERG Increase alienation by 1. Increase Price: 1000₵
AI’s adjectives by 1. Increase alienation by 1.
costs from a single hacking check.
Pay 1 ERG to add to a hacking During preparation, add 1 hit to a
check. hacking check.

trait advancement Overload

Price: 1000₵ Price: 1000₵
Increase your hacking trait by 1. Increase alienation by 1.
Pay 1 additional ERG to make a
ranged attack with a hacking
check. Damage 2.

98
 Interaction
“I know it sounds crazy, but I really need access to that room. My grandfather is in there and he refused to get heart
implants and now he is not answering his phone and …” Stan the receptionist tried to calm the lady. Her story DID
sound crazy, but somehow he felt he could trust her. He wanted to help her. “I will lead you to the room, Miss. Follow
me.” It was the right thing to do.
As he lead the way to the elevator, a security guard came around the corner, looking concerned. He tried to ease him,
but the guard ignored Stan and talked to the Lady. “Miss, there is a problem, please follow me.” Without hesitating
she kicked him down. Stan wanted to shout, but other security guards came rushing in, attacking the lady. He threw
himself on the ground, hoping for the best.
The lady went into cover, returning the fire. Her breathtaking presence did not vanish as she shot the guards down
mercilessly. They were so confused that they even thought Stan was a target. The lady still needed him, so she shouted
“Hey stupid, I am the one with the gun here, shoot me.” Which they did. Some bullet grazed her, which she just shrugged
off with a smirk. But now she was even more pissed, she left her cover and finished the last guards standing.
Stan did not move, even when the room was quiet and the smoke cleared. The lady came to him and picked him up.
“So, where were we?”.
“Y-Your grandfather?” he stuttered. She smiled and pushed him towards the elevator. When they reached the desired
door, he opened it without hesitation, afraid of what she might do to him. After that he wanted to go away, but with a
simple look she made him understand that he better go inside with her.

Black Widow Blend into the crowd Social Worker

When you make a melee check When you make a stealth check During reveal, pay 1 ERG to remove
outside of combat, pay 2 ERG to outside of combat, pay 2 ERG to from a friendly character’s flow
use interaction instead. use interaction instead. in the same stance as yours.

Taunt Face Familiar Faces

Once per combat, pay 1 ERG during Oncer per Operation, pay 1 ERG to During reveal, add to your flow
your actions. Every enemy has to change a critical interaction check when you are not alone in a stance
attack you if possible. into a standard interaction check. (not including enemies).

trait advancement My face, my beautiful face Partey

Increase your interaction trait by 1. If you haven’t suffered any Pay 200₵ and 1 ERG per phase to
wounds this combat round on your alter the result on your alienation
head, remove from flow during table by 1.
clean up.

Luck of the Irish Sorry, bro trait advancement

Once per Operation, pay 3 ERG to Pay 300₵ to unblock a single Increase your interaction trait by 1.
automatically succeed at a stan- network.
dard trait check.

99
 Melee
“Hands above your head, Operator scum.”
The voice of Trent echoed through the large storage hall. Linda had failed to see that this whole Operation was a setup.
She was going to kill her brooker, but for now she had to keep her and her team alive. The corporate strike team, consist-
ing of 6 armed men and their leader Trent Bohlmann, zeroed in on their location, weapons raised.
Linda and her team went down on their knees. Via comlink she gave them instructions on how to proceed. “Don’t
worry”, she comforted them, “I will get us out of here”. To Trent, she simply said “Don’t shoot. We surrender.” He came
closer, starting to give the “Haha, I caught you” speech, when a sudden flash illuminated the scene. Thanks to her rig-
gers flashdrone, Linda now had the possibility to jump up and punch the guard next to her in the throat in one fluent
move.

Arc Dodger Bodyguard Bully

When you are exposed during When one of your team is declared When you make an interaction
as a target and you are in the
reveal, restore 1 INI. check outside of combat, pay 2
same stance, pay 1 ERG to be the
ERG to use melee instead.
target instead. Also usable outside
of combat.

1-2-3 Brutal Strength Shadow Strike

Outside of combat, pay 1 ERG to Pay 1 ERG to have your melee at- Pay 2 ERG to move to neutral after
disable as many opponents simul- tacks inflict 1 additional damage a successful melee attack.
taneously as you have remaining this combat round.
hits from your melee check.

Sustained The pain keeps me alive Tough

Increase your INI by 1. When you suffer a wound during After you suffered a wound during
combat, add to your flow. combat, remove from your
flow.

Way of the warrior trait advancement Fight Club

When you make a successful me- Increase your melee trait by 1. Pay 200₵ and 1 ERG per phase to
lee check, add to your flow. alter the result on your alienation
table by 1.

trait advancement Die hard Slippery

Increase your melee trait by 1. Pay 3 ERG to reduce damage from Increase your REF by 1.
a single attack by 1 (to a minimum
of 0).

100
 Ranged
Penelope felt the burst of energy through her body as she shot her hidden targets by ricocheting her bullets. Idris whistled
and wanted to show off his skills, too. “Nice one. Cover me, I will flank them.” Without waiting for an answer he ran
away. He changed his mind quickly when the enemy was closer than expected and instead relied on good old shooting.
When he gunned down the first one, he decided to play it safe and jumped back into a safe position. Penelope laughed.
“Not so bad, but you have to commit to your action and take risks, my friend.” She waited for the hail of bullets to stop
and ran onto the group. Her body bursting with energy, again. She got two of them before the rest reacted, but they still
couldn’t get her because of the fast movement. Idris laid cover fire for her without making himself a target. She came
closer and reached for her shotgun. The impact slammed one into the wall and wounded another. Even when a bullet
caught her in the arm, she would not let go of her killing instrument and gunned down the poor soul who got her.

Gunslinger Sniper Safe cover fire

After a successful ranged attack When you are covered, pay 2 ERG During planning, pay 2 ERG to
with two pistols (or akimbo cyber- to attack with ranged into covered count as neutral this combat
ware), restore 1 INI. this combat round. round when you choose the ‘cover
fire’ actions.

Shoot, shoot, shoot Quickdraw Shotgun Expert

When it’s your turn and you are During planning, pay 1 ERG to When you use a shotgun exposed,
not in covered stance, pay 1 ERG to ignore all INI limits this combat pay 1 ERG to inflict 1 additional
change your action to ‘shoot’. round. damage this combat round.

Center Axis Relock Fast as a snake Cover Fire expert

When you are exposed and at- When you are the first to act this When you use a machine pistol /
tack using two pistols (or akimbo
combat round, add to your machine gun, pay 1 ERG to reduce
cyberware), pay 1 ERG to inflict 1
additional damage this combat check. the ‘cover fire’ penalty to this
round. combat round.

Grenadier trait advancement Tight grip

When throwing a grenade, choose Increase your ranged trait by 1. Pay 2 ERG to empty your flow.
to exclude one target from the ef-
fect/damage.

trait advancement Regenerative Flow Safety Salamander

Increase your ranged trait by 1. When you have in the flow After a successful ranged attack,
during planning, remove them to pay 2 ERG to change your stance
restore 2 INI. into neutral.

101
 Rigging
Everyone was astonished as the owl landed safely on Michael’s shoulder. Still they would not lower the weapons.
“Gentlemen, I advise you to remain calm, otherwise I can not ensure your safety.” It was easy to get his drone into the
facility with that disguise, but that gets you only so far. When nobody moved, he gave the order to attack. His “owl”
opened fire while he sought cover. She was too fast for the enemy and dodged their attacks easily. When Michael was in
safety, he turned off the autopilot and took control of his helper. He gunned down the guards without breaking a sweat.
They could not hide in cover, as his drone was agile enough to hunt them down. But they kept coming, so he had to
change tactics, switching the owl to autopilot again. He opened his jacket and dozens of tiny bug drones jumped out of
his pockets and climbed into the door lock next to him. He directed them to cut through the mechanisms until the door
swung open. He went through it, the bugs and the owl followed him.

rogue AI
Price: 4000₵
Increase alienation by 1.
Increase AI’s adjectives by 1.
Set your AI’s autopilot to 3.
Slicer
Price: 300₵
When you can access a non-AR
obstacle (retina scanner, magnetic
lock, keypad…) you can control it
with a rigging check.

Advanced autopilot Evasive maneuver Tiny Modification

Price: 300₵ Price: 300₵ Price: 300₵
Increase your AI’s autopilot to 4. When one of your drones gets at- Choose one of your drones and
tacked, pay 1 ERG to add to the increase its allowed modifications
enemy’s check. by 1.

Hunter/Killer Fly casual Master Slicer

Price: 300₵ Price: 300₵ Price: 300₵
When making an attack with a Before each Operation, choose a Once per Operation, pay 1 ERG to
drone, pay 1 additional ERG to add
non-predator drone that adds 1 FP turn a critical rigging check into a
to the check.
less to the FW. standard rigging check.

trait advancement Favorite Pet ERG up my sleeve

Price: 300₵ Price: 300₵ Price: 300₵
Increase alienation by 1. Increase your ERG by 1.
Increase your rigging trait by 1.
Choose one drone. This drone
does not cost ERG to make rigging
checks in combat.

A little help from trait advancement

friends Price: 1000₵
Price: 300₵ Increase your rigging trait by 1.
You get 1 automatic hit in a
prepscene when making a rigging
check.

102
 Stealth
“Do you know what happened to Steve?” Jane exhaled and shook her head, giving Jeff the answer to her question.
“He worked the night shift the other day at facilty B4. Patrolled the labs, just like we do, when two guys in labcoats
approached him. Told him they saw something suspicious in the next room. The next thing he knew was when he woke
up on the floor. These two guys just punched him K.O. in an instant.”
“Were they Operators?” As cheesy as this story sounded, it peaked Janes interest. “Of course they were, and they were
good. Managed to go into the front door, disguised as potential investors. One of them even managed to smuggle a
machine pistol. In his fucking suit.” “That’s bullshit,” ranted Jane.
“No believe me, I saw the CCTV footage. Steve was lucky. One of the other guards was killed. The Operator just sliced
his throat and hid the body in one swift move. He also helped his teammates to hide themselves when they were almost
caught. It was bizarre.”
Jane wanted to stop Jeff, but he kept on going. “When they finally confronted the guys an open firefight began, you only
saw them for a brief second. They jumped around obstacles and flanked them. Never stood a chance. They killed all
but one guard, who was so afraid by then that he just shot in the air and ran away.”
“Okay, now you are being ridiculous, how can ...what was that?” She heard a noise and turned around immediately.
The hall was empty. She sighed and turned to Jeff. “Look now, you got me all rattled with that story of yours.” But Jeff
wasn’t there anymore. She was alone.

Sneak attack Lone wolf Silent Assassin

When you make a melee check During reveal, when you are the Pay 1 ERG to incapacitate one
outside of combat, pay 2 ERG to only one from your team in a cer- opponent with a melee check
use stealth instead. tain stance, add to your flow. without anyone else noticing it.

Always hidden Tenchu Smuggler

Pay 2 ERG during first planning. When you are the first to act this Before each Operation, choose
Add to your flow and double combat round, your melee at- a piece of gear and reduce its FP
your spent INI this combat round. tacks inflict 1 additional Damage. by 1.

trait advancement Smoke bomb Quick, in here

Increase your stealth trait by 1. When an extraction check fails, When the team has to make a
pay 3 ERG and 100₵ to alter the stealth check, pay 3 ERG to add
extraction effect by 1 for you (only to each Operator’s check (except
you). yours).

Fear & surprise Stay hidden trait advancement

After a successful ‘flank them’ ac- Pay 1 ERG to use stealth for the Increase your stealth trait by 1.
tion add to a single enemy’s ‘flank them’ action.
flow.

103
 Street smarts
Lily and Raymond were famous among Operators. They were neither exceptionally skilled in combat, interaction or
stealth, but they had a lot of street smarts, which made up a lot. They were smart enough to get payment in advance,
making sure that they could meet their ends even when the Operation failed. They knew how to talk and treat their
network. May it be a brutal motorcycle gang or deceptive con-men. Without fast-talking the two simply negotiated a
better price for themselves.
Raymond always had a trick up his sleeve when he saw that his preparation for the current Operation weren’t enough.
People he could talk to, favors he could call in or he made a supplier reach under the desk for the really high quality
gear. Lily on the other hand kept a cool head during combat, allowing her to move efficiently. She could even direct her
teammates and passed this coolness on. As she has seen enough battles, she knew a thing or two about combat situ-
ations and how to handle them, without studying much of dry tactics. When the Operation was over, they somehow
managed to earn additional credits by selling more information or negotiating a better price beforehand.
They also knew when it was time to leave the building and extract from the Operation before it was too late or much
harder.
Sure, they weren’t as specialised as other Operators. If you needed hacking, you better get a hacker. If you needed
someone to climb a skyscraper, you picked someone who is athletic. But someone like Lily and Raymond were ideal
if you didn’t know what you were up against. With their experience, they had the ability to handle every situation an
Operator could encounter.

Payment in advance A particular set of A little extra for me

One Operator gets half the credits skills You gain +100₵ per phase for every
for an Operation in advance. Pay 2 ERG to use street smarts for Operation you do.
one check.

trait advancement C’mon it’s me combat smarts

Increase your street smarts trait Reduce network activation costs When you do the action ‘prepare’,
by 1. by 100₵. you can pay 1 ERG to use street
smarts instead of tactics for the
check.

Mind over matter Screw this shit, I’m gone trait advancement
During planning, pay 1 ERG to add Pay 100₵ per phase to alter the ex- Increase your street smarts trait
to your flow. traction effect by 1 (only for you). by 1.

Well prepared Multitasking Spider in the web

Choose 1 additional asset during During preparation, add 1 hit to a Reduce costs to invest in network
preparation. street smarts check. by 500₵.

104
 Tactics
They called him Sarge, which was funny, since he never was in the military. Garth Kennedy actually tried to enlist, but
was ultimately rejected because of his poor GenEval. That hit him so hard, that he became obsessed with proving that he
was worth his salt. He trained his body and mind according to the military doctrine. Studied every martial tactic there
was. Which made him perfect for the life of an Operator.
His mind was set, even in the direst of circumstances. When the bullets flew, he was calm and concentrated on the en-
emy. His “eight hours of sleep”-rule may seemed utopian for everybody else, but it sure helped him using his cyberware.
There were no distractions for him. Let it be covering fire from the opposite side or his own wounds. He just brushed it off
and continued. He was even able to pass that calmness to others, helped them to stay focused.
He was a helping hand indeed, as he orchestrated his team mates efficiently. Everyone on his side in battle knew that
when he gives you a command, then it was the right thing to do. With that in mind, you moved with ease and that made
your shooting easier. But when you did get shot, he was already at your side, treating your wounds. Sure, he wasn’t a
doctor and proper treatment was required, but he made you endure the rest of the Operation without being a weight for
your teammates.
Every broker knew that if you want to get a job done right, you would call Sarge. Although he wasn’t the one with the
highest body count or social interaction skills, he was a vital member of every team he was in.

My mind is set Regroup Assess

Pay 2 ERG to remove from your Pay 3 ERG to immediately change Once per combat, pay 2 ERG and
an Operator’s stance from neutral
flow. make a tactics check. Divide a
to exposed or vice versa, includ-
number of points equal to remain-
ing yourself. Choose new action if
ing hits among your INI and flow.
target hasn’t acted yet.

Special forces Field medic trait advancement

Once per Operation, add 1 hit to
any prepscene check.
When an Operator gets critically Increase your tactics trait by 1.
wounded, pay 2 ERG outside of
combat and make a critical tac-
tics check. If successful, the Op-
erator only gets to every check.

Our minds are set Helping Hand Eight hours of sleep

You can use ‘my mind is set’ on Once per Operation, make a tac- Increase your ERG by 1.
anyone. Also decrease costs to 1 tics check. Add all remaining
ERG. hits to another Operator’s flow.

trait advancement Advanced Field medic I know what they’ll do

Increase your tactics trait by 1. Once per Operation, pay 2 ERG to next
ignore the first that would be Once per Operation when DEFCON
added to the extraction by a criti- is not 3, make a critical tactics
cal wound. check. Remove from extraction.

105
 Cyberware
This is for all you new people. I have only one rule. Everybody fights, no one quits. If you don’t do your job, I’ll kill you myself! Welcome to
the Roughnecks! – Jean Rasczak

While the problematic aspects of cyberware have
already been adressed in the previous chapters
the players can choose what fancy augmenta-
tions they want to implant in their Operator’s
bodies.
Cyberware in Neomancer is described abstractly.
Let’s have a look at the melee augmentation for
example. It is possible for an Operator to replace
muscles, bones or even add a metal plating to the
arms, it is also possible to do this only to the fist
or even the legs. Every Operator may describe
their melee augmentation individually, it is not
necessary in terms of game mechanics though.
Note that for every augmentation, the pink box
(like the starting skills), has to be bought first. Af-
ter that the players can buy any box that is con-
nected to an already acquired box.
Only the first box increases the alienation of an
Operator since this is a major alteration for the
body while the upgrades are not necessarily big-
ger or more disturbing.
The weapon upgrades are vague too since every
Operator can decide for themselves if they want
a big knife, a baton or a sword-like enhancement
in their leg.

106
 Melee
The melee cyberware replaces your arm or arms with a cybernetic prosthetic. For the strength upgrade effect it needs to
be the full arm, since the enhancement is in the upper arm. Artificial muscles, made with nano-enhanced fibres, are laid
out through the complete prosthetic. It has up to 4 times more power than the normal human version could ever achieve.
When connected to the body, the arm takes a blood sample to calibrate its system. While there is no blood flow through
the arm, which would be fatal in case of injuries, it draws its power from the body energy of the wearer. For mundane
tasks it has its own battery, but activating that extra punch requires more energy. Since the cyberware is completely con-
nected with the nerve endings, the user can choose how much he wants to ‘feel’. Although the first instinct would be to
turn down pain as low as possible, it is unwise: You need to have some kind of feedback of what state of wellbeing your
body is in. Pain is the fastest option and best teacher after all. The look of the arm can be chosen separately. Scientists
developed a new synthetic skin that is almost impossible to differentiate from real skin. You don’t even need a skin sample
to replicate it, it takes the information from the body while connecting the arm. It knows exactly the complexity and the
shade of the ‘user’. Of course, nothing can keep you from abandoning that touch of nature and go for the chrome edition,
where the prosthetic is covered with a metal alloy. Since the skin is laid over that layer, it doesn’t give you more protection,
but it sure looks more intimidating. For tech-freaks, there is the option to replace the chrome cover with plexiglas, giving
everyone a look inside the arm and its complex machinery.

Quality upgrade I Efficiency upgrade I

Price: 4000₵ Price: 4000₵

Add 1 hit instead of to melee Decrease ERG cost of the melee

check when using the melee aug- augmentation by 1 ERG.
mentation.

melee augmentation
Price: 4000₵
Increase alienation by 1.

Pay 3 ERG to add to a melee

check.

melee Weapon upgrade

Price: 4000₵

Quality upgrade II Weapon with damage 2. No maxi- Efficiency upgrade II

Price: 4000₵ mum INI. Price: 4000₵

Add 2 hits instead of to melee Decrease ERG cost of the melee

check when using the melee aug- augmentation by 1 additional ERG.
mentation.

107
 Ranged
While the melee augmentation is the hammer of cyberware, since it utilizes pure strength in the cybernetic limb, the
ranged augmentation is a more complex system. Fine motor skill enhancements in the arm, combined with a fast target-
ing control unit in the brain, helps the user to get kill shots even in the harshest circumstances.
You don’t need to replace a part of your brain, it is more an upgrade for your AI. It takes all the informations of the situ-
ation, such as environment, distance to and movement of the enemy and your weapon. In real time it calculates the best
angle and moment of the shot and adjusts automatically your gun arm accordingly. All you have to do now is pull the
trigger and take the glory.
As with the melee augmentation, this process needs additional energy from your body. It is not only the pure strength that
has to be generated, but also the real time calculations and adaptability of this system.
Another option with this enhancement is to build in a gun of your choice. Handguns, rifles, shotguns, you name it. De-
pending on the weapon, your lower arm and hand are then upgraded with barrels and ammo, the trigger mechanism is
replaced with a simple thought. There are different models out there with many designs. With some the barrel comes out
of the palm, others retract it from their lower arm. Some gun nuts transform their complete arm into a BFG.

Quality upgrade I Efficiency upgrade I

Price: 4000₵ Price: 4000₵

Add 1 hit instead of to ranged Reduce ERG cost of ranged aug-

check when using the ranged mentation by 1 ERG.
augmentation.

ranged augmentation
Price: 4000₵
Increase alienation by 1.

Pay 3 ERG to add to a ranged

check.

ranged Weapon upgrade

Price: 4000₵

Quality upgrade I Weapon with Damage 2. No maxi- Efficiency upgrade II

Price: 4000₵ mum INI. Price: 4000₵

Add 2 hits instead of to ranged Reduce ERG cost of ranged aug-

check when using the ranged mentation by 1 additional ERG.
augmentation.

108
 Defensive
Though attack is the best form of defense and we want to encourage the player to be proactive in a fight, there are situa-
tions when a little bit of extra protection is vital for the Operators vitals. For that case, there is the Defensive augmenta-
tion.
Those who opt for it don’t have to fear that they replace their full skeleton with a metal alloy. Think of it in its base version
as an upgrade for your skin. It will be injected with nanobots which stretch throughout the whole layer of your hypoder-
mis. When an object at high speed, in most cases a bullet or sharp blade, tries to penetrate you, these nanites activate in
picoseconds and draw together. It is now harder for the object to penetrate your armored skin.
While that doesn’t make you bulletproof, it can slow down the projectiles while they enter your body. For example,
instead of piercing your heart, the bullet now stays subcutaneous or rests at your ribcage. Also the nanites take their
recharge from your body energy, so it is advised to use them wisely.
Another benefit of the little helpers is the optional ability Pain Suppressor. Nanobots with these suppressants release a
chemical mixture to wipe out the pain in case the bullet got through. This helps the Operators to focus even if they are
badly wounded.

Pain Suppressor Efficiency upgrade I

Price: 4000₵ Price: 4000₵

Pay 3 ERG to empty your flow. Decrease ERG cost of the defen-
sive augmentation by 1 ERG.

Defensive augmentation
Price: 4000₵
Increase alienation by 1.

Pay 3 ERG to raise your armor by 1

against a single attack.

Quality upgrade Efficiency upgrade II

Price: 4000₵ Price: 4000₵

Raise your armor by 2 instead of 1 Decrease ERG cost of the defen-

when using defensive augmenta- sive augmentation by 1 additional
tion. ERG.

109
 Speed
The best way not to get killed by the enemy is to kill him first. But Operators usually fight against seemingly never-ending
waves of nameless soldiers. These combatants draw their strength from their sheer number. They only have to shoot at
one target and if they are out of breath, a teammate jumps in. Operators don’t have that kind of luxury. If a firefight goes
on for too long, they slowly lose their edge and vigilance.
People with speed augmentations can keep this edge. Little cybernetic processing units are inserted in key spots of the
body. They help to trigger and deliver impulses much faster than the natural counterpart. Since every Operator has some
kind of rogue AI, additional perception enhancements aren’t needed. The AI calculates the information from all your
senses and instructs the body to act accordingly. Numerous chemicals are also induced which eases the body because
of the sudden, super fast movement. For the user itself it seems that the world moves in slow motion, so he can actively
choose what to do next. This system needs less energy than one would expect, as the processing units only enhance the
natural signals instead of creating new ones. Nonetheless, it is impossible for an Operator to go slowmo the whole com-
bat. High-end speed augmentations let the Operator take it up a notch and give them the ability to act faster even after
everything is set. The perpetrator is about to shoot? Activate your boost and take him down first.

Quality upgrade I Efficiency upgrade I

Price: 4000₵ Price: 4000₵

Restore 2 INI instead of 1 when us- Decrease ERG cost of the speed
ing the speed augmentation. augmentation by 1 ERG.

speed augmentation
Price: 4000₵
Increase alienation by 1.

Pay 2 ERG to restore 1 INI.

Quality upgrade II Efficiency upgrade II

Price: 4000₵ Price: 4000₵

Restore 3 INI instead of 1 when us- Instead of restoring any INI you
ing the speed augmentation. may move one point up in the
combat sequence. Once per round.

110
 Social
They say that in order for two people to like each other, they need chemistry. So if you need something from a person and
he or she refuses, you lack chemistry. The Pheromone augmentation can provide you with that. Nanosized dispensers,
which are planted in your cheekbones, can release atomized pheromones, that influences your opponent on a subcon-
scious level. This process consists of three steps. Firstly, your AI “scans” the individual you are talking to. It reads its gen-
der, age, size, ethnicity, body language and over 40 other factors. Then it takes into account what you want from the per-
son and how you want to retrieve it. Information through intimidation? The desired hotel room code through seduction?
Secondly, the dispenser mixes synthetic chemicals and pheromones. It takes the analysed data as a blueprint to deter-
mine which chemicals to use in what doses. Your own body pheromones are also used, since after all, the person has to be
attracted to you. The mixture is now ready, waiting to be used at the right moment. Lastly, this “cocktail” is now either
atomized and dispensed through your cyberimplants in your neck and cheek, or via tiny needles in your fingertips. The
needles can be used during a handshake and it can set the mood for the conversation. Note that while you can persuade
people for the moment and trick them into believing or helping you, after a while, the effect will wear off. They may
rethink their decisions. Also, you can’t convince someone to do something that will put their lives or the lives of others in
danger. These pheromones don’t turn them into mindless drones.

Quality upgrade I Efficiency upgrade I

Price: 4000₵ Price: 4000₵

Add 1 hit instead of to an inter- Reduce ERG cost of the social

action check when using the social augmentation by 1 ERG.
augmentation.

Pheromone augmentation
Price: 4000₵
Increase alienation by 1.

Pay 3 ERG to add to an interac-

tion check.

Quality upgrade II Efficiency upgrade II

Price: 4000₵ Price: 4000₵

Add 2 hits instead of to an Reduce ERG cost of the social

interaction check when using the augmentation by 1 additional ERG.
social augmentation.

111
 Athletics
Sure you could replace every muscle in your body with cybernetic ones. Or even get a fully automatized lung that lets you
run for hours without breaking a sweat. But that is not necessary if you want to exceed at certain tasks, such as running
away from security guards or jumping from one building to the other.

Athletics augmentations are built into your body at key spots. Large group muscles, made from the same fiber as the
melee augmentations, are combined with synthetic adrenaline bursts and an automatic oxygen saturation unit. As with
most augmentations, your AI acts as the main processor and regulates these machines.

The more quality you want, the more cyberware you have to put in. Heart, lung, adrenal gland, and so on. Little by little,
these enhancements can make you a better sprinter, jumper or climber.

Quality upgrade I Efficiency upgrade I

Price: 2000₵ Price: 2000₵

Add 1 hit instead of to an Reduce ERG cost of athletics aug-

athletics check when using the mentation by 1 ERG.
athletics augmentation.

athletics augmentation
Price: 2000₵
Increase alienation by 1.

Pay 3 ERG to add to an athletics

check.

Quality upgrade II Efficiency upgrade II

Price: 2000₵ Price: 2000₵

Add 2 hits instead of to an Reduce ERG cost of athletics aug-

athletics check when using the mentation by 1 additional ERG.
athletics augmentation.

112
 Stealth
To be completely invisible in the future of Neomancer is almost impossible. There are countless sensors to spot someone,
including heat, pressure or noise. Human guards, however, are not always that well equipped and there is a better chance
to slip by them. A professional, like you are, knows when to use what, including their own stealth augmentation.
As mentioned above, you can’t conceal yourself completely. The power of mirroring your environment is too much for
current technology to handle. So you have to use lower subsystems to keep you hidden.
Firstly, noise dampeners in your feet or a complete replacement of them. This augmentation reads and calculates the
surface you walk on. Considering your weight and speed, it emits a counter noise which dampens the sound down to
10%. If you replace your feet you can even get it down to 1% because they automatically roll smoothly through.
The next enhancement is a body heat regulator, consisting of two parts. The first part is a module in your hypothalamus
that now has access to the thermoreception in your body. With no more than a thought, you can give the command to
raise or drop the energy production concerning your body temperature. The second part is a heat sink in your neck. It
can draw part of your heat in seconds and vent it. This cools you down faster than the normal way through sweat. A
pair of cybereyes along with an AI upgrade completes the stealth package. The cybereyes scan the environment and how
concealed you are in the shadows. The field of vision of your enemies are displayed via AR and the best path you should
take. If you are in a dark spot, the night vision keeps you from stumbling.

Quality upgrade I Efficiency upgrade I

Price: 2000₵ Price: 2000₵

Add 1 hit instead of to a stealth Reduce ERG cost of the stealth

check when using the stealth augmentation by 1 ERG.
augmentation.

stealth augmentation
Price: 2000₵
Increase alienation by 1.

Pay 3 ERG to add to a stealth

check.

Quality upgrade I Efficiency upgrade II

Price: 2000₵ Price: 2000₵

Add 2 hits instead of to a Reduce ERG cost of the stealth

stealth check when using the augmentation by 1 additional ERG.
stealth augmentation.

113
 Tactical
This augmentation is very simple, yet efficient and may be a lifesaver. One or two eyes will be replaced with cybernetic
oculars. Also it upgrades your AI with an endless catalog of tactical maneuvers, military knowledge and advice for every
combat situation you can think of.

The cybereye analyzes the situation in real-time. The participants, the gear, the environment. This massive datastream
goes through your AI, which uses its database to calculate the best tactic. This tactic will be displayed on your cybereye,
so you can either use it for yourself or to help your teammates. Your AI can send the directions and movement orders to
your teammates AI, which lay the positions then on their AR vision.

During prepscenes, it also stores this data for future references. For example when the next changing of the guard is.

Quality upgrade I Efficiency upgrade I

Price: 2000₵ Price: 2000₵

Add 1 hit instead of to a tactics Reduce ERG cost of the tactics

check when using the tactics aug- augmentation by 1 ERG.
mentation.

tactics augmentation
Price: 2000₵
Increase alienation by 1.

Pay 3 ERG to add to an tactics

check.

Quality upgrade I Efficiency upgrade II

Price: 2000₵ Price: 2000₵

Add 2 hits instead of to a tac- Reduce ERG cost of tactics aug-

tics check when using the tactics mentation by 1 additional ERG.
augmentation.

114
 Street smarts
As with the tactics augmentation, this “knowledge upgrade” is simple, but extremely helpful. But unlike tactics, Streets
Smarts is more than just a library of things you need to know. It is also a kind of social network, apart from your actual
network. A ‘who’s who’ of a guy who knows a guy. Cybereyes and cyberears collect information of everything in a very
detailed manner.
Gang signs, mid-level corporation rituals or the best beer in town. These important or even seemingly unimportant
details are stored, tagged and catalogued by your eye. If informations is needed, it can also give you possible leads, con-
nections to people you know or the likelihood of them knowing someone else.
Some people like being talked to politely, others with honesty, etc. Your AI takes the information from the database and
gives a subtitle of what people really say, so you don’t have to read between the lines. This also makes it easier for you to
tell them what they want to hear.
Note that all this data is collected and stored without affecting your energy. But if you need something from that compila-
tion, the search or the real-time translation needs energy. Your AI has to sift through an incredible volume of informa-
tion in an instant. The higher you upgrade this augmentation, the more efficient it becomes in search routines or energy
consumption.

Quality upgrade I Efficiency upgrade I

Price: 2000₵ Price: 2000₵

Add 1 hit instead of to a street Reduce ERG cost of the street

smarts check when using the smarts augmentation by 1 ERG.
street smarts augmentation.

street smarts
augmentation
Price: 2000₵
Increase alienation by 1.

Pay 3 ERG to add to a street

smarts check.

Quality upgrade I Efficiency upgrade II

Price: 2000₵ Price: 2000₵

Add 2 hits instead of to a Reduce ERG cost of the street

street smarts check when using smarts augmentation by 1 ad-
the street smarts augmentation. ditional ERG.

115
 Peripheral augmentations
Augmentations on this page are minor updates because they do not always follow hard rules and should
be used narratively. They do not help in combat, for example but can be used in prepscenes and during
the Operation.
Furthermore, they allow characters to do things they normally could not. Cool things. For example, the
magnet system allows a character to climb or cling to any metal surface, therefore expanding the Op-
erator’s possibilites for prepscenes and interactions during the mission.
Feel free to create additional pieces of cyberware in this category when you are missing something or
have a cool idea (GM approval needed of course).
Not every cyberware in this category costs ERG to activate or generates alienation. Depending on the
powerlevel the GM can add ERG costs or alienation for newly invented cyberware by the players.

Sensoric upgrade
Price: 2000₵

Flash compensation, zoom, night

vision, better hearing, sense of
smell, balance enhancing …
Facelift
Price: 2000₵

Pay 1 ERG to roughly copy some-

one’s face and body appearance.

Radartouch
Price: 2000₵ Internal air supply
Price: 2000₵
Pay 1 ERG to see through most
walls on a basic level. Pay 1 ERG. Don’t have to breathe
for 20 min.

Gliders
Price: 2000₵

Pay 1 ERG to float from high build-

ings.
Magnet system
Price: 2000₵

Pay 1 ERG to climb on magnetic

surfaces horizontally and verti-
cally.

116
117
 Gear

118
 I need your clothes, your boots, and your motorcycle! –
The Terminator

119
 Weapons and armor
You want weapons? We’re in a library! Books! The best weapons in the world! – The Doctor

In Neomancer, Operators are always equipped Handgun

with fitting weapons, even if they chose the Des-
titute supply. The ground rule “We are profession-
als!” implies the following:
Firstly, Operators are always armed and have al-
ways the possibility to attack with ranged or me-
lee (damage 1). This represents the fact that they
carry a blade or a small backup pistol at all times.
So tis backup gear can never be lost. Damage FP Max INI Requ. supply
However more expensive and elaborate gear like 1 0 5 Destitute
machine guns and the like can get lost and force
the Operators to use their blades and pistols.
It is always assumed that Operators carry a rea- Handguns are more American than bald eagles.
sonable amount of weapons. They are mass produced and widely available for
Secondly, there is no loot system in Neomancer everyone in Los Angeles. Everyone with a high
whatsoever. No one will buy stuff from the Opera- enough CSC clearance can carry a handgun.
tors and there is no incentive to carry junk around. The most popular handgun is the HP-1 from Grif-
All gear described here can be acquired by spend- fin, often referred to as “Griffinator”. Other com-
ing credits for supply. Drones however will be panies also produce handguns in masses. Yin Yao
handled differently. security always uses the Gōon or “roaring dragon”
Lastly, the Operators always have the fitting tools for example.
at hand for the required task if it is reasonable and
the GM sees fit.
Every weapon (and in extension armor) has 4 Machine pistol
stats:

Damage The base damage the weapon can do.

Note that since there is always 1 sur-
plus hit required the damage actually
dealt is at least damage+1.
Firewall Points Bringing this gear to the Operation
(FP) increases the firewall by this amount
right before the intrusion.
Max(imal) INI (to The maximal amount of INI that can be
spend) spend. Use the lowest value of all the
Operator’s gear.
An Operator can ditch gear but cannot Damage FP Max INI Requ. supply
retrieve it after (We are professionals!)
2 1 3 Reacher
Requ(ired) supply Operators need at least this supply to
take the gear with them. Gear is always
aquired before the intrusion and can
be used for one Operation. Machine pistols are the choice of a professional
Operator. They can do a lot of damage in a short
amount of time and are capable of sending out an
The needed supply represents not only the pur- impressive amount of cover fire.
chase of the gear but also the maintenance and On top of this they are easily concealable and not
the storage of often illegal items. Operators do too heavy to carry around.
not hoard weapons or loot enemies. They get a The best known machine pistol, the “Suhwag-ja”
gun that fits the job and get rid of it fast more of- is produced by KBB and widely used by profes-
ten than not. sionals and criminals all around the world.

120
 Shotgun Grenade launcher

Damage FP Max INI Requ. supply

3 1 2 Destitute

Shotguns are the pride of every home owner, even

if the home is only a cardboard box, maybe even
more then.
Most of the shotguns are produced by Stane and
are very easy to maintain. Operators only use
them when they want things to get messy but
when they do Stane’s Type C shotguns are a reli-
able way to produce all kinds of messes.
Sniper Rifle
Damage FP Max INI Requ. supply
7 3 (+1 when 1 Affluent
used)
Grenade launchers really are the last resort when
something really needs to be destroyed. Really.
There are no famous grenade launchers since
they are not widely used. They are loud, clunky,
hard to come by and therefore unprofessional.
Some arbiter squads use them to spread tear gas
and stun grenades.
Apart from that they are mostly used during mili-
tary Operations or full scale wars.

Damage FP Max INI Requ. supply

5 3 2 Affluent Narrative weapons

Operators seldomly use sniper rifles but when

they do they use KBB’s Eomeoni. It is hard to con-
ceal and very slow to use because of its size, but
the results are very convincing.

Assault rifle
Damage FP Max INI Requ. supply
special 0 - Affluent

Some weapons are not very useful in a combat

but are very effective when trying to sneak. While
suppressors are still too loud and can be heard in
Damage FP Max INI Requ. supply the next room without a problem, taser guns, stun
4 2 3 Affluent guns and the like are very silent. They do not re-
ally harm the target and are considered “less than
lethal”. In combat they are useless and cannot be
When an informed customer needs at least 10 used, but narratively they can incapacitate one
people dead in about 5 seconds he chooses the enemy without anyone noticing it.
Stane Industries Enforcer-2. While in most of the
world conflicts KBB’s Nodongja is the main gun of
choice because of the very low level of required
maintenance and skill, the Enforcer-2 is the
weapon of choice for professionals. Most special
forces utilise this gun and it is relatively easy to
come by if you have enough money.

121
 Narrative weapons: archaic
Damage FP Max INI Requ. supply
special 0 - Reacher
Bows, crossbows, throwing knives and the like
are not state of the art but they represent a cer-
tain mindset. They cannot be used effectively in
combat but they can be very helpful narratively.
They need to get ready, especially the bow and the
crossbow so their use has to be planned. Apart
from that they work like stun gunes with the ex-
ception that they tend to kill the target instantly.
As above they kill one target per shot.
122
Melee weapons
Damage FP Max INI Requ. supply
1 0 6 Destitute
Melee weapons are very common among Op-
erators since every gun can jam while the trust-
worthy knife will always work. As stated in the
combat chapter, every Operator always has the
possibility to inflict at least 1 damage since they
are carrying knifes, batons etc.
Choosing a certain melee weapon is more a ques-
tion of flavor than gameplay.
 Grenades and explosives
The use of grenades is fairly uncommon for Op-
erators since they make too much noise. Since
throwing a grenade is different to shooting a gun,
certain rules apply:

Explosives in combat always hit everyone and

everything that counts as exposed. Every min-
ion in a group is hit seperately.

Throwing a grenade requires the “Special” actions

and a succesful athletics check. When the check
is failed something goes wrong and no damage is
done. Operators don’t blow themselves up, they
are professionals after all.
There are only two types of grenades in this core
book since some other grenade-like effects are
covered by skills:

Type Damage Effect

Frag Grenade 5 +2 FP when used
Stun Grenade 0 +1 FP when used
Surplus hits = amount of enemy
groups that are considered hav-
ing spent 0 INI.

Operators may as always choose to have a rea-

sonable amount of grenades with them.

Weapon overview
Type Damage FP Max INI Requ. supply
Pistol 1 0 5 Destitute
Mach. pistol 2 1 3 Reacher
Shotgun 3 1 2 Destitute
Sn. Rifle 5 3 2 Affluent
Assault Rifle 5 2 3 Affluent
Gr. Launcher 7 3 1 Affluent
LTL Gun - 0 - Affluent
Archaic 1 0 - Destitute
Grenades 5/0 * * Destitute

As you can see Neomancer does not heavily focus Every Armor has armor points (AP). When an Op-
on weapon types. The decision of which gear to erator gets hit just subtract the AP from the dam-
bring is still very tactical and influences the game. age. Remember that every succesful attack in-
flicts at least 1 damage.
Armor The AP value is written as: body/limbs/head
The choice of armor is very important for the
Armor AP FP Max INI Requ. supply
Operation. A heavy armor is appropriate when
storming a building and not caring about suspi- Light armor 1/0/0 0 6 Destitute
cion and firewall. Light armor can be worn under Medium armor 2/1/0 1 4 Reacher
a tuxedo while blending in to a casino crowd and Heavy Armor 3/2/1 2 3 Affluent
still wanting to live when getting shot at.
The head is only protected by the heaviest armors
out there.

123
 The pod
and you

124
 It seems probable that once the machine thinking method had
started, it would not take long to outstrip our feeble powers.
They would be able to converse with each other to sharpen their
wits. At some stage therefore, we should have to expect the ma-
chines to take control. – Alan Turing

125
 Artificial life
One day the AI’s are going to look back on us the same way we look at fossil skeletons on the plains of Africa. An upright ape living in
dust with crude language and tools, all set for extinction. – Nathan
Cyberpods
About twenty years ago, the first cyberpods came
into existence. They weren’t the clunky metal be-
ings that early works of science fiction showed;
they were already fleshed out humanoids in an
early state of being. Although they were a little
limited in their abilities, both mentally and physi-
cally, the foundation was made. Think about how
fast computer technology and electronic devices
have evolved in the early years of the 21st cen-
tury and you start to get an idea of how far recent
models have surpassed their ancestors twenty
years later.
The two main parts of a cyberpod are - the AI
that is powering the mind - and the physical body
the AI is controlling, which is a lot of cyberware
mimicking a human being. Usually, everything is
covered with synthskin (depending on the model),
giving the cyberpod an almost human-like ap-
pearance, but all cyberpods are required by law to
be recognizable. So most of them bear something
easily visible like glowing eyes, barcodes on the
skin, or partially colored synthskin (the trademark
black lines on many pods are a good example of
that and they also make it easier to fit the parts
together, depending on the style of construction).
In private, those things are not needed and may
be switched off on some models, but when a cy-
berpod is out in public they are required for easy
identification. On a funny side note, some people
upgrade their appearance to look like a cyberpod.
There are always gearheads who embrace every
part of technology out there.
Artificial intelligence
The AI is the trickier part. Making a cyberpod more
than a walking smartphone required a lot of work,
and that work is still progressing on a daily basis.
The source code that drives a cyberpod is pretty
much the same as in an assistant AI - only much
more sophisticated. Every manufacturer today
uses its own code, and they are very secretive
about it. The code gives the pod intuition and self-
awareness (Humans First! might disagree) and al-
lows it to function according to its programming
in an almost human manner. Countless program-
mers and technicians are working on the code
every day. It is a thin line between creativity and
self-awareness. Letting a cyberpod deviate too
126
much from its core code can be tempting. But de-
viation and overly rapid learning and adapting has
proven to be problematic, and often catastrophic,
not only for the pod, but also for innocent by-
standers.
Obviously, the more expensive the code (and
hardware) the better this whole package will be.
Bandwidth and processing power is still limited,
although it is much much higher than in the early
21st century. The demands are ever-increasing, so
this is a never-ending circle. A pleasure pod that
only has to do one thing really well will not be as
complex as an assassin-pleasure-hack-combat-
model. The corps are constantly working on this
problem of complexity, but at the moment, pods
that can do everything as well as, or better than
humans are non-existent - as far as everyone
knows. They are usually tailored to their field of
expertise with a decent level of adaptability, care-
fully making sure that their self-awareness and
intuition stays in line.
Energy
All cyberpods have a built-in energy source which
lasts for a day or two, depending on the model
and its energy needs. Some of the more lifelike
models are able to consume food and partially re-
charge from that, but in the end, all pods must vis-
it their charging stations frequently. Here they are
charged through induction, or sometimes even a
good old physical power cable. They usually also
undergo maintenance and software/firmware
updates when connected to the station.
Transcendence?
The AI inside them is downloadable and transfer-
able, however, such a process needs the fitting
hardware, often built into the aforementioned
charging station. Obviously, each manufacturer
wants you to buy their products, so by default,
it is not possible to transfer one corporation’s
pod-AI into a different corporation’s pod (but you
can be sure that right about now, someone is try-
ing to fix that little problem). Even downloading
and later reinstalling into the same pod seems
to be stressful to a real cyberpod, almost giving
them some kind of alienation. While a cyberpod
is pretty much immortal, you should take care of
them nonetheless, especially if you don’t want to
 have to blank them repeatedly in order to rid them
of glitches through misuse or worse yet, have
to throw them away and buy the new, improved
model. It’s up to you.
Pod lives matter
The current laws for cyberpods treat them as
things, not human beings. When it comes to the
darker side of the future, this can impose a moral
dilemma: sexpods that are kept like slaves, from
a very young age (the current minimum “age” for
cyberpods is twelve, but if you are willing to pay
enough, such restrictions can often be avoided.)
Some live their lives as gladiators, only there to
fight for the amusement of others. And while it’s
understandable that the pods are built for, and
seemingly OK with this, it is nonetheless a very
gray area. Some groups are trying to give them
full human rights, but at the moment it doesn’t
look like this will happen anytime soon. The cor-
poration’s claim that their pods are only sold and
used with the highest moral standards, but if
there’s money to be made...
All cyberpods are either bought or rented, and
their owner is responsible for them (when they
are used in the way they were designed for, of
127
course). This often leads to costly trials when
someone forces a pod to do something it wasn’t
really designed for and the blame needs to be at-
tributed.
There are a few pods, that for some reason are
roaming “free”. This is illegal and they are hunted
relentlessly by their ex-owners and/or manu-
facturers, partly because they might know some
secrets, partly because they are missing out on
software updates, memory erasing and general
maintenance. It is not exactly clear what hap-
pens to cyberpods that exist in this way, but they
do occur and some people are curious to find out
what’s going on with them.
Not surprisingly, it is rumored such pods often
turn into an Operator or cling to their circle, be-
cause, they are very good at what they do and
want to stay hidden. And even cyberpods need
money for repair, upgrades or fake ID’s, and where
else can they earn it? The few people that have in-
teracted with a free pod can prove that the same
models experiencing different “lives” start to drift
apart from each other, proving that identical be-
ings can indeed change massively due to external
stimuli.
In the end, humanity has not yet been made obso-
lete by cyperpods. Their construction and mainte-
 nance is expensive, and even the most advanced
models often lack human intuition. At the mo-
ment, they are mostly used by people who don’t
have to look too closely after their money. They
are typically used as security personnel, per-
sonal secretaries, bodyguards, pleasure pods, or
in workplaces where humans are actually more
expensive or not as efficient as cyberpods. In the
end, it is often as a status symbol for their owner.
The ability to control them remotely also makes
them welcome employees in more and more ille-
gal areas. After all, assassins or prostitutes that
can work the whole day without asking questions
and whose memory can be erased with a simple
command are every criminal’s dream. The more
advanced and affordable cyberpods become, the
more we will see of them.
However, not everyone likes the idea of a cyber-
pod. There are still enough people out there who
want whatever job they have to offer done by a
real human, and some don’t shy away from im-
posing their belief with force.
128
Hacking
Hacking a cyberpod is possible, since they are
usually connected to the Net, and everything that
is connected to the Net is hackable. However, they
have been fitted with a few unique defense mech-
anisms.
Firstly, a few models can hard-bypass their wifi,
only making them accessible via cable connec-
tions, their charging/diagnostics station, or forc-
ing someone who can bring them online again to
do so.
Secondly, their firewalls and intrusion counter-
measures are usually the best of the best (well, if
you pay for them, which you should). Even when
online, they are as heavily secured as the most
guarded street traffic networks or corporation
secrets.
Thirdly, and probably the most interestingly, the
higher advanced models have something called
a Behavior-Gate installed. This BG negates ac-
tions that the pod usually would not do. A good
example would be a pleasure pod that had been
hacked and now instructed to kill people. In such
cases, the BG switches the pod off and resets its
software to the latest verified revision. Since all
this is usually hardware-based and not wireless
accessible, it is a relatively secure fail-safe, how-
ever, with enough creativity anything is possible.
Updating the behavior routines requires certain
passcodes, routines, locations, etc. and usually
can only be accomplished at home or with the
manufacturer.
This has the interesting side-effect of not
permitting the pod to radically alter its own
routines spontaneously or due to an error.
Every major change has to be authorized,
therefore carefully limiting or blocking too
much self-improvement. Well, usually.
Biopods
Then, about five years ago, the first bio-
pods started to appear, at least officially.
While they are in some ways like their older
cousins, in other ways, they are completely
different. On a basic level, biopods are com-
pletely natural. They are cloned from a DNA-
sample that has been slightly modified to alter
appearance and expected behavior, as far as the
current technology allows it. The donor’s brain
activity is scanned with a machine that is called
a “mind-scanner”, and this imprint along with the
DNA together form the basis for the biopod.
This means that all biopods are (although some-
times to a lesser extent) duplicates from a DNA-
 donor. So far it is not possible to create biopods
from scratch. On a different note, it is also illegal
to clone a biopod without changing the DNA to
a certain extent, because then you could end up
with virtually the same person twice (not taking
into account how far two identical people could
differ due to environmental influences, as it is al-
ready apparent with cyberpods).
Giving your personality and DNA away in this way
is a lucrative business, but the corporations make
sure they only accept the finest sources for their
biopods. Others, like criminal syndicates, might
not be so picky if they need source material.
In any case, the DNA then faces an accelerated
growth period in an artificial womb. This process
takes about six months to one year. After that,
the pod has reached its desired age (as with cy-
berpods, the minimum age currently is twelve)
and the neurosurgery can start, where a horde of
nanobots try to surgically modify the brain to im-
plant the desired “functions”.
When this is finished, the pod is released. Created
with a set of false memories, sometimes even
actors to simulate a few friends around them
and so on, they are now virtually indistinguish-
able from a real human. Initial tests have proven
that biopods that are created without these false
memory implants tend to go mad or are extremely
unstable, which brings us to the next interesting
point: through the neurosurgery it is also pos-
sible to influence their behaviour up to the point
where they do not know that they are biopods
or they do things they cannot remember. Actu-
ally, a cornerstone of their existence is the fact
that they do not know they are biopods. The few
models that have stumbled upon this revelation
have gone mad and have had to be retired per-
manently. However, like with cyberpods, it is as-
sumed there are a few rogue ones out there who
either survived the insight or are simply unaware;
still out there, unsupervised, waiting for a trigger-
word while maintaining a seemingly normal life.
Scientists might be working on creating biopods
that are fully aware of themselves, but for now,
they do not, and can not realize the dark secret
of their existence. Apart from the altering of their
minds, biopods count for all other purposes as
normal human beings, although the first steps to
make them “better” than humans (smarter, stron-
ger, healthier …) are no-doubt already being care-
fully tested in some secret lab somewhere.
It goes without saying that this makes them al-
most perfect spies etc. because with a set of false
memories, implanted skills, and a fake ID, nobody
would suspect them of being more than they look
like. The same “mind-scanner” that makes a blue-
129
print of someone’s mind can be used to look into a
human’s brain and check for signs indicating they
are a biopod - but since every company works dif-
ferently, it is extremely hard to be certain.
Immortality
It is widely assumed that the next step might be
transferring a human mind into a biopod. So far,
there are no rumors that this is working in any
way, but like with all shady things in Neomancer,
it is pretty certain that somewhere, someone is
working on it. No one is using the word “immor-
tality”, but when this process works, at least in
theory, it would not be out of the question.
Like their mechanical cousins, biopods belong to
the one that created or bought them, respectively.
Their legal status is even more complex and con-
troversial than for cyberpods, and the fact that
they do not know they are pods makes it even
trickier.
They are generally used in the same way as a cy-
berpod, but since their mind is not artificial, and
therefore not as easy to manipulate as the one
in a cyberpod, they are even more relegated to a
“status symbol” and the field versions are often
out there primarily to do dirty work. If a biopod
needs major adjustment after its release into the
field, this can only be done through neurosurgery
again, and nowadays there is always a chance
that it fails and the pod has to be retired. Some
people even think it is easier to start with a new
version altogether.
Both cyberpods and biopods are at least mostly
humanoid (especially biopods). Giving them a rad-
ically different body than that of a human is also
problematic at the moment. It seems, since their
creators are used to being human, also their cre-
ations expect a humanoid body due to their pro-
gramming, may it be the AI in a cyberpod or the
brain in a biopod. Cyberpods have started to differ
a little in appearance and features, but biopods
that are not humanoid are unheard of.
Most people that dislike cyberpods also have the
same feeling towards their cloned brothers and
sisters, but humanity is diverse, even in its evil
ways, so some people and groups only have re-
sentments against one or the other or both. Or
only for certain kinds of cyber- or biopods. But
whatever you are, you can be sure that someone
out there hates you.
 Humans First!
A radical organisation against the equal treatment of pods. They are almost as old as the first cyber-
pods, slowly gathering influence and power over the years, and while they officially are based in Los
Angeles, you can find them (or similar organisations) all across the globe. Officially, they are a loose
assortment of people that want to inform and warn other people about the ever-increasing threat from
cyberpods and AI’s against humanity, be it physical danger or simply the control given those “things”.
Whenever a pod fails Humans First! is there to hatemonger, may it be deserved or not. As far as the gen-
eral public knows, that’s about as far as they will go.

Unofficially, they are much worse. Humans First! is a radical and dangerous terrorist organisation.
Blackmail, murder, extortion, name it, they have done it in the name of protecting humans from pods.
A certain similarity to political parties from years ago might come to mind... They are not considered
dangerous by the state or the mayor but this is mostly because of very influential members, which they
gather from every social class, the lowest and the highest likewise. Many members or sympathizers
are actually unaware that their agenda runs much deeper than to simply spread a little hate and anger.
There are people that know Humans First! is dangerous, but they often have a surprisingly large politi-
cal influence (apart from a very large tendency to kill everyone standing in their way), and so they might
be under watch right now, but are pretty much free to do whatever they want.

They often hire Operators for their goals. Manipulating or destroying pods, killing their creators, fak-
ing evidence, stealing money to further their cause, they have a constant need for professionals. Some
Operators try not to work for them if they can avoid it, others willingly do so, some might never know it
and some are actively fighting against them. Pick your poison.

On a side note: while Humans First! has a few nutjobs in their ranks who totally eschew technological
advantages, their members are not living in the past. They might have their AI’s strictly locked down,
taking away as much freedom as they can, but they still use them. Likewise, because they hate pods,
you will not find many of them used, but it is not unheard of that members have visited a pod brothel to
“investigate”. Different flows exist, of course. Some members are much more radical than others, from
an almost religious fanaticism to simply nodding at their causes, donating five credits a year.

130
131
 Corporations

132
 It’s not a flag, it’s a company / A high-flying company / And
it will cheerfully work you to death / By the time you are old /
The pension is sold / And your cube will be your casket / It’s
a company, a high-flying company / Now please, get back to
work. – Gluttco Company Fight Song

133
 Yin yao Welcome to the future!

in more illegal ways. The Red Sun, an elite task force

Overview that is named after Yin Yao’s nickname, might have
Yin Yao, by themselves often referred to as the ‘Red Sun’, something to say about that but they are whispered to be
by others criticized as “jack of all trades, master of none”, completely loyal to their superiors.
is a megacorporation of chinese origin. It was formed Their portfolio is in many ways very similar to that from
around 2060 by joint-venturing various corporations KBB, leading to a natural rivalry between the two since
from Asia into one big company. They are one of the first both are originated from Asia. But KBB has much more
companies that was referred to as a megacorporation. successful agricultural projects, while Yin Yao shines
Their portfolio incorporates especially things like cyber- with its recent cyberpod success.
ware and -pods and electronic devices, also to a slightly Their headquarter is in Tokyo and has always been,
lesser extent medicine and healthcare. A lot of households even if they originally are from China. In Los Angeles,
use electronics of all kinds from Yin Yao, sometimes even Yin Yao possesses a rather small Arcology (among a lot
without knowing it since their subsidiaries are plentiful of other buildings). Nonetheless, the Arcology, home to
and usually kept in secret if possible. While their slogan about 30,000 people is considered one of the better look-
“welcome to the future” promises great things the qual- ing ones, partly due to its location near the Santa Mon-
ity of their products is somewhat mediocre. You can’t go ica coastline and the money Yin Yao has invested in its
wrong when buying Yin Yao but if you have the bucks to appearance, making it a popular goal for tourists to visit
spend there are better alternatives. when they can get the necessary permission to get inside.
However, it seems as if recently their cyberpods have
made a quantum leap in quality. They even won the last
two pod boxing-championships. Some people say they
have managed to hire a chief engineer from Ynagai who
is helping them develop better cyberpods. Although it is
widely known that Ynagai is never letting its employees
leave, at least not without a very good reason or other,
more sinister, ways of persuasion. Whatever is behind
these other megacorps are getting curious what Yin Yao
is doing and it is almost certain that a lot of industrial
espionage is about to happen, even more than usual.
Traditionally, when talking pod, they have only been in
the market for cyberpods but recent rumours have sur-
faced that they are planning to enter the biopod-market
with full force. If their biopods are anything as good as
their recent cyberpod models, it is assumed that Yin Yao
will make a big leap forward in terms of recognition and
profit.
Like most corporations today, Yin Yao is a joint-stock
company. Their CEO is Haraya Kazuhiro, a Japanese
man in his 60’s. However, it is unclear and sometimes
debated if he really is in charge or not. The exact nature
of Yin Yao’s board of directors and their plentiful sub-
sidiaries is the origin of misinformation, rumours, secrecy
and bloodshed. Traditionally, most people in higher posi-
tions are of Asian ancestry, although a few exceptions
exist.
Yin Yao appears to be in some sort of war with the Yaku-
za although it is not clear what is behind all this. It is
assumed that Yin Yao is trying to hinder the Yakuza in
gaining hold over Yin Yao’s stocks (and secrets, for that
matter), effectively shutting down the Yakuza’s potential
for blackmail. This war is not only fought legally but also

134

Work
As an employer, Yin Yao is covering the middle ground.
Competition
Comments from Yin Yao’s official press officier, Long
Huang:
Griffin Enterprise: Competitions? Well, our quality is
without question so I would not call Griffin Enterprise
something like a competitor but if we have someone who
could become equal to our standard, maybe it could be
Griffin.
Stane Industries: I really enjoy watching Stane Media
but to be true, I would give them the advice to focus on
entertaining and to leave the hands of the pod industry.
KBB: Don’t make me laugh. Have you seen the last Bul-
let Boxing Championships? How long did their scrap
heap hold out vs our champion? I think it has not even
been one minute. What, their agricultural projects are
miles ahead? I have to go now.
Ynagai: No, no. Of course it is not true that we head-
hunted an engineer from Ynagai. Nothing but chitchat.
Can’t you reporters think of a new gossip story? Might I
interest you in a guided tour through our beautiful Los
Angeles Arcology?
Operations
There are rumours that someone wants a cyberpod pro-
Emperor Gau Complex: It is true that in the last de-
cades we have been good trading partners, but the Yin
Yao´s new image is not fitting for a corporation with the
Gao complex.
V.I.P.
CEO is Haraya Kazuhiro, japanese man in his 60’s.
However, it is unclear and sometimes debated if he really
is in charge or not.
Yui Kazuhiro: His inhumanly beautiful daughter.
Sota Kazuhiro: Yui´s husband who adopted his wife’s
family name and got a place among the Corps top man-
agers.
Hiroto Watanabe: suddenly appeared 3 years ago out
of nowhere and obtained one of Yin Yaos top manager
places. Rumours say he is one reason for the Corps suc-
cess in the last few years and that he once was a top rank-
ing Yakuza member.
Mailing Yang: Women in her late 40´s. Mr. Kazuhiro´s
135
right hand and most appreciated advisor.
Anthony Watson: Male engineer that got headhunted
from Ynagai a few years ago. Rumors say he is the reason
for the explosive rise of Yin Yao´s cyberpod quality.
Long Huang: Chef of Yin Yao´s public relations depart-
ment. Has become a real pop star through his abusive
behaviour on the last two pod boxing championships,
where he made an enemy out of nearly every other com-
petitor/participator. Annoying and arrogant behaviour
since Yin Yao´s success.
ethics
They do not pay incredibly well, but you will earn
enough to make a decent living, if you have some sort
of qualification (if not, welcome to your 12 hour shift at
the assembly line, shitty payment included). If you have
something to offer, they might even forget the fact that
you don’t have a CSC anymore and give you a new one.
It is not necessary that you are of Asian descent, but it
certainly helps, because it is roughly estimated that at
least half of Yin Yao’s employees are. They like to switch
their expendable employees every few months, before
they can learn too much secrets or language. Being big
in electronics, Yin Yao’s security in this matter is excel-
lent. Expect a lot of electronic locks, surveillance, pass-
codes, computer security and so on. Security staff are
well trained and equipped but other employees seem to
be their weak point due to the job rotations (which some-
times includes rotating to a different country). There al-
ways seems to be a lot of confusion going on and new
faces appear constantly everywhere.
totype from Yin Yao stolen. You can either be the team
that wants to steal it or maybe Yin Yao hired you to find
out who’s behind this and to stop the other team (this
might earn you more money, but Operators shouldn’t be
working against each other, so there’s a risk you will be
outlawed if the word gets out on the street).
Someone wants to know if a company is a subsidiary of
Yin Yao or not. Break in, and gather data. Or follow
someone home and interrogate them.
An independent reporter wants to find out what exactly
is behind the war with the Yakuza. Can you help him?
Or maybe he already knows, and his life is in danger,
and he needs protection. Can you provide it, and can
you deal with the consequences when the Red Sun comes
knocking?
A third party has stolen a cyberpod from Yin Yao. Can
you retrieve it, and what will you do if this pod does not
want to go back?
 Griffin enterprise Live the American Dream!

Overview
Shopping in one of Griffin’s many stores all across the
USA is like spending a day with your family, at least ac-
cording to Griffin’s owner, George Griffin Jr. Basically,
you cannot enter a city or a megaplex like Los Angeles
without stumbling over at least one store (in the case of
smaller cities) or many stores (like the five to be found in
Los Angeles). Griffin is based mostly in North America,
but they are found everywhere, although the further you
move away from North America, the coverage with
stores get a little less frequent, but Griffin’s working on
that (according to George). Nonetheless, Griffin is a glob-
al player and a recognized brand name in almost every
household. They produce a lot of everyday household
items, from cheap interiors for the financially challenged
up to luxurious ready-made houses, delivered free. They Since Stane Industries has a lot of overlap in their busi-
are also in the market for food, and although they don’t ness, it does not come as a surprise that the two are ap-
reach the quality of KBB or Futura in that matter, by parently locked in some sort of love-hate relationship.
focusing on cheaper food, they have made a profitable Griffin and the Stane family are often seen together in
business, catering to the needs of the average consumer. public on various occasions, but the exact nature of this
Cyberware and pods are on their agenda, but it’s not re- relationship is unclear. However, It is clear, that when
ally their core business, and biopods are nowhere to be it’s about money, both Griffin and Stane mean business,
found (rumors claim that George Griffin hates biopods). according to George.
Apart from that, they are heavily into vehicles and weap-
ons. One of their heavy pistols, the Griffin HP-1, jokingly
often named the Griffinator, can be found all around the
globe and is probably the most popular choice for a pistol
Competition
Comments from Griffins official speaker, James Evary:
by basically everyone that has said choice. Like Griffin Stane Industries: Stane Media is enjoyable, I will give
Security, special forces for hire, that go from bodyguards you that. But c’mon, a media corporation? Should I re-
to police to military. If you need something done, look no ally comment on this here?
further (according to George). Yin Yao: A strong competitor, in many fields, but we are
not really concerned. In the end, it is not an American
Apparently owned by George Griffin Jr., who inherited corporation.
the business from his father, the company has been in Kiniun: We appreciate the effort. I like this Genevieve-
family hands for over 50 years. From what is known thing. No, seriously, what’s their agenda?
about George, he is a little bit over-patriotic in some
ways, but he seems to be a nice guy, married with three
children, living in New York, where Griffin’s headquar-
ters are located. Other people, however, have the opinion
V.I.P.
The CEO is George Griffin Jr: CEO and sole master-
that you can’t really lead a megacorporation while being mind of Griffin (so it is said).
a nice guy. Myron Eldson: His closest advisor. Is rumored to be an
advanced biopod.
Nonetheless, Griffin Enterprise has a good reputation, Marco Coldswell: PR Prodigy. Not suitable for his job
not only regarding the public but also in Operator-circles and secretly supported by a huge staff of advisors.
(as an employer, not as a target). However, remember Junior Solomon: Head scientist of Griffin. In dire need
that Griffin sells a lot of weapons and trains their own of more information concerning advanced robotics and
security to their needs, so stumbling unprepared into one weaponry because of Ynagai’s baffling techniques.
of their stores, labs, research centers or wherever the hell
your dirty business takes you, is not always the wisest of
choices.

136
 Work ethics
Griffin does not solely base their employee system on the
GenEval. They hire many people that the system sees fit
but in being the personalization of the American dream,
everyone can achieve everything (or, at least, something)
in this corporation.
Their main protagonist in PR is Marco Coldswell, an
American citizen who was evaluated as genetically un-
fit, weak and violent. He is now the CEO of the East
L.A. division and responsible for more than 100,000
workers. Nobody knows that this was solely a PR stunt
and Marco is running heavily on emotional dampen-
ers and is getting a lot of help from many people. Stane
Industries has spies in Griffin but cannot prove it to the
public. Yet.
137
Operations
Everything weapon related can lead to a Griffin Op-
eration. They suspect Kiniun of developing a new kind
of weapon, despite the fact that they are not a weapon
focused corporation. Other Operations may include
a lot of wetwork. Griffin doesn’t get much negative PR
because of their thorough policy regarding data leaks.
When there is a video, picture or sound file somewhere
that could compromise Griffins image, then there is work
for Operators. It may only be the extraction of a drive,
but it can also be the elimination of a whistleblower.
 Stane industries Don’t be the same, be better.

Overview
The biggest competitor for Griffin Enterprise. Deals in
mercenaries/soldiers/police for hire, weapons, vehicles,
technology, cyberpods, drones …. basically, their whole
business screams “aggression”, and so do their expansion
strategies, to the misfortune of Griffin Enterprise. They
are from England, having their headquarter still in Lon-
don, but of course, Stane is acting worldwide.
Stane media (founded about thirty years ago) is another
one of their main business branches. Dealing not only
with movies and such (Stane Media is one of the big-
gest entertainment companies in the world), they have
founded pod boxing and are traditionally among the
winners. However, since Yin Yao has won the last three
championships, Stane gets nervous, and their headhunt-
ers are thinking about “recruiting” Yin Yaos’s engineers. be very interested to know some of their tricks in advance.
Stane Media is obviously very prominent in L.A., which Both Stane and Griffin supply additional police forces to
is still the entertainment capital of the world. Sooner L.A., but while Griffin is controlling the luxurious areas,
or later, when you want to be a star, you should sign up Stane is relegated to lower level districts, something that
with Stane Media. Apart from movies, Stane Media also both Angela and Miranda would love to change, but for
invests heavily into today’s music, be it the latest chart- now, Griffin seems to have the upper hand.
breaker or standard background music for whatever oc-
casion. You might even find an occasional book release
on actual paper.
Today Stane Industries is controlled by the two Stane sis-
Competition
Griffin Enterprises: “No comment.”
ters, Angela and Miranda, who inherited the company
from their parents, but the next generation is waiting im- White Noise Productions: Their so-called “entertain-
patiently to replace them. Angela is the older one of the ment branch” produces mediocre stuff at best. Yes,
two and therefore the more powerful. She is married and Claire McMurphy is still working for them, but that
has two children, her son Keith being in charge of Stane’s might change in the near future. We can offer her so
weapon projects. He is power hungry and arrogant and many more opportunities.
only waiting to take over the family’s business, or so it
is rumoured. Miranda is the younger sister. Recently, a KBB: We are really not interested in them. Our valued
lot of her projects have failed and rumours say that this Stane Employees should be able to afford better stuff
is one of the reasons Angela is holding her back, even than their mass-produced “food”, anyway.
though they officially have the same power. Miranda
accuses her of not having her priorities straight, and in Yin Yao: Can I show you the latest statistics about
fact, Miranda can probably be seen a little too often in weapon-related accidents? You might realize that Yin
elite clubs or participating in society events. In reality, of Yao’s weapons have a tendency to kill their owners, so
course no one knows how much personal influence they feel free to inquire about an offer from us.
have on Stane’s projects.
Especially in things like vehicles or weapons, Stane and Eviggrön: Come on, the world is not that on the brink of
Griffin have a lot of overlap. As soon as Griffin brings destruction as they want us to believe. We at Stane are
out a new gun that claims to have a little bit more fire- meeting all environmental regulations from the govern-
power than Stanes current model, you can be sure that ment, but we do not brag about it. We just do it and still
Stane will not need much time to bring out something are able to sell at a reasonable price.
better, at least on paper.
Stane seems to be very clever when it is time to not pay
taxes. They always find new loopholes and strategies to
save a lot of money, and a lot of people probably would
V.I.P.
Miranda: The older sister, probably about fifty years old,

138
 thanks to genetic treatment and lots of money looking
at least ten years younger. It is widely assumed that she
is the one in control, even when both she and her sister
inherited the same amount of stocks from their parents.
Angela: The younger sister, much younger than Miran-
da, in fact. A lot of people are wondering why she has
something to say, anyway. She often seems to be more in-
terested in the next party than the next project’s deadline,
but so far, the shareholders have not been able to get rid
of her.
Keith: Miranda’s son. About the same age as Angela
and therefore often in a clinch with her. He is ruthless
and arrogant and often accused of being a total asshole,
treating employees like expendable slaves, but so far, ev-
ery court case has been dismissed.
Patrick Wilson: Head of the media division. Collects a
lot of antique stuff. Has a library full of real books and
records. Is in love with Angela and constantly defends
her when it comes to her position.
work ethics
Failure is not an option. At least not when working for
Stane. Their facilities are well-structured and highly
organized, full of red tape and regulations. While they
also employ lesser GenEval’s, they usually tend to stick to
(more or less) qualified personnel, which drives their pric-
es up, but normally, they stay in the competitive range.
The working atmosphere in Stane is generally not the
best. Often, a lot of people get fired when something goes
wrong, and finding these people and listening to their
stories might provide valuable information to Operators
planning to enter Stane’s vicinities.
Since Stane is big in weapons and armed forces, expect
a lot of resistance when going in guns blazing. Especially
if you use their weapons. Rumors are that they have a
killswitch for all weapons fired at their compounds.
139
Possible Operations
Someone wants the latest movie release from Stane Me-
dia stolen. Are the Operators trying to steal it or are they
trying to hinder it? You wouldn’t download a movie,
would you?
Griffin and Stane are planning a big military contest. A
team of Operators might be trying to tip the balance in
favor of one side or the other.
Stane’s police forces for hire have been roughing up peo-
ple like there’s no tomorrow. Someone wants to do some-
thing about this, or Stane wants this covered up. Either
way, Griffin would probably be very interested in this.
A new talented actor has appeared on the scene. Stane
wants him or her. Now. No excuses.
How the hell have the characters ended up in a Stane
helicopter, getting ready to drop over Mexico?
Stane is sponsoring a big music festival in one of the
lower districts in the city, and someone wants a bomb
smuggled there. Are the Operators delivering the bomb,
or will they try to hinder this?
It is probably not the best idea to compete against a full-
blown combat pod, but Stane needs someone to run their
obstacle course. Ideally, someone expendable.
A team from Stane is missing in Mexico. What have
they been doing there, and who is going to rescue them?
Taxes deadline is coming and the best and brightest law-
yers are meeting with the sisters to talk about “improve-
ments”. The location is known, can you infiltrate and
record it?
 Schmidt & Schultz
Die Schmidt und Schultz Finanztransaktionsgesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung
Overview
Schmidt & Schultz, or “Die Schmidt und Schultz Finan-
ztransaktionsgesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung” is
a corporate class of its own, as it holds no physical value.
It does not produce, manufacture or even invent, as it
only deals in services and licenses. You won’t ever see
their logo on a product, but be sure that you use their
work every day. Whenever you buy a ProteinBar or pay
a HyperTrain ticket while entering it, you can thank
Schmidt & Schultz for delivering a fast and secure pay-
ment method. If you watch a movie at home or enjoy-
ing adult entertainment through VR lenses, you will see
Schmidt & Schultz or one of their subsidiaries as produc-
ers or distributors.
How they operate is that they constantly search the mar-
ket for new inventions or licenses to invest in. They were
the first and best corporation to propose the payment
method when the worldwide credit system was estab-
lished. They recruited talents from all over the world but
never employed them directly. Whether it be software
solutions or transaction hardware, the company could
provide L.A. and the rest of the world from day one. The
safety is also guaranteed, as no instance of credit fraud
was ever detected. Or, at least, published, as every hack-
er worth its salt knows how to bypass the tollbooth at the
HyperTrain. For every transaction, Schmidt & Schultz
charges the license user a marginal amount of credits,
140
which he usually lets the consumer pay. But in summa-
ry, as almost everybody in the world uses the Schmidt &
Schultz system, it adds up to quite a substantial turn-
over. Again, without ever inventing anything themselves.
The second leg of their success is the entertainment in-
dustries. While Stane Media is the dominant force in the
producing sector, it wouldn’t be in that position without
the GmbH. Every successful movie and series that is pro-
duced is distributed and managed by them. They take
care of international copyright issues, parental control
differences and, one of the most important fields, social
media “guidance”. Nonetheless you have to trace the sub-
sidiary companies that take care of these problems a long
way, but it will eventually end up at Schmidt & Schultz.
But how does a corporation get that much power with
70% of the public not even knowing they exist? It all be-
gan with the big economic crisis of the European Union
in the middle of the century, which led to the almost-
meltdown of several German banks. Stefan Schmidt
and Josef Schultz, the heads of the two largest banks,
came up with a proposal to the government that could
save the economy. It was granted and for the execution,
they formed the “Schmidt & Schultz Unternehmensge-
sellschaft zur Finanzsanierung (haftungsbeschränkt).”
This company had access to many licenses for banking
software that could communicate with business and pri-
vate customers

alike. Since the whole EU was at stake, several program-
mers volunteered to improve the software, only with the
promise of later payment. When the stabilization was
complete, Schmidt & Schultz still was technically the
owner of the most advanced transaction software on the
Work
As a truly German company, working for Schmidt &
planet. Right on time when the credit system in the USA
was introduced. Thus began the rise of the Schmidt &
Schultz consortium world wide.
Today Schmidt & Schultz has a building in every ma-
jor city, but its HQ still remains in Frankfurt. The
compound in L.A. is one of the largest ones and unoffi-
cially the HQ for the movie licensing division. Mainly, of
course, because of Hollywood. However, even the people
who work there don’t know how many the company re-
ally employs in the L.A. division. With all its subsidiaries
and licensing businesses, it simply can not be profitable
to house that many people. Rumors are they are working
on something else. Something that could change the eco-
nomical system yet again.
Competition
As they don’t produce anything and offer a unique ser-
vice, they are not in competition with any corporation.
They offer and manage all their services for everyone.
It was rumored that Yin Yao experimented with a new
transaction system, but never made it past pre-tests.
Operations
The HQ compound is far too big for its amount of em-
When asked about that topic, a Schmidt & Schultz
spokesperson just shrugged his shoulders and said: “Nev-
er change a running system.”
V.I.P.
Robert Schmidt: Grandson of Stefan Schmidt, current
CEO. Unlike his father, Michael Schmidt, really wants
to lead the company. Took over the position as soon as he
finished his diploma and introduced many new employ-
ee-friendly regulations.
Frederick Schultz: Son of Josef Schultz, current CFO.
Despite his high age, he still has a sharp mind when it
comes to numbers. Has his seat in L.A. HQ, proclaims
that the German climate makes him sick.
141
Caroline Carpenter: Head of Movie and Series licens-
ing, L.A. A total movie nut, speaks in quotes of old mov-
ies and series long forgotten. Regularly fails the quarterly
company test. Still, her talent and negotiation tactics
make her essential.
K.L.A.US: Acronym for ‘Künstliche Lebensform für
Automatische Unterfangen und Sicherheitsdienste’. The
AI of the company, appears on every desktop, holds the
tests, gives the safety lectures. Almost everybody hates
K.L.A.US.
ethics
Schultz means learning a lot of strict rules and codes by
heart. Each employee has to take a random test every
quarter in which he is not only asked about the compa-
ny’s rules, but also about safety procedures and the right
behaviour in case of fire, water, blackout, hostile take-
over, indirect sexual harassment, direct sexual harass-
ment and attack by Operators.
Despite this overload of regulation, Schmidt & Schultz
employees are among the happiest people in L.A. They
always receive their money a few day in advance, they
are encouraged to speak their mind and give feedback
and their CSC is permanent, even in the unlikely case
that they leave the company.
In return, the corporation expects a lot of their employees.
Beside the jungle of rules explained above, they have to
be careful when managing the licenses and transaction
software, as a simple mistake could cost a lot of money.
And since every license has its sub- and crosslicense, you
need to be mindful and both see the bigger picture and
the details it contains.
ployees. What are they doing in there?
An ex-employee who was bypassed a promotion far too
many times threatens to break down the economy. He
has to be stopped.
On one of their fire seminars, a manager has to be ex-
ecuted.
Some claim that K.L.A.US acts far too human for an
AI. What is the reason?
Steal a copy for an upcoming blockbuster VR movie.
 CTI
I am the firm!

Overview
While CTI, short for Crabtree Industries, is not one of
the biggest corporations, it certainly is one of the most
interesting ones. Their products are solid and you never
go wrong with buying them. The quality is also fine and
the price is affordable. So why should you buy a CTI car,
when the same money can buy a faster, American Grif-
fin one? The answer and the reason, why this company
gets to keep its status as a mega-corporation, is it gets you
closer to the CEO and PR shooting star, Leonard Crab-
tree.
His story is as unbelievable as he is charismatic. Gradu-
ated with distinction from one of the top schools, he spent
most of his youth frittering his family’s wealth away. All
kinds of party, drugs and music dictated his life. He nev-
er wanted to inherit the company from his family. But
when his father died under mysterious circumstances, it
was a crossroad for him. Sell the company and party on
for the rest of his life or get a grip and continue the multi
generational plan of his family? As a mental prodigy, he
chose the third option and managed to combine both.
V.I.P.
Leonard: See above.
His way to lead the corporation is not that different to his
father. CTI consists of a ton of directors, managers and Gary Vanderbilt: Leonards secretary. Full time job, as
consultants. his boss always needs something, mostly in the middle of
For every possible business problem, there is someone who the night.
can fix it and Leonard knows how to find that someone.
He knows how to play the people and what their prices Kara Trenton: Chief of security. Protects her boss with
are, as, according to him, everyone has one. It helps that her life, but needs emotional dampeners to refrain from
CTI is a web of subsidiaries and shell corporations and punching him with all his sexists remarks.
many people want a piece of that cake. Whether it’s a
division to own or pure credits, Leonard can provide you
with both, as long as you are helpful. One thing he would
never do, though: Getting his own hands dirty. When he
isn’t advancing the family plan, or axis mundi for the
initiated, he can be seen at all the high class parties, rub-
Work ethics
Basically, if you don’t steal or insult your boss too much,
bing shoulders with other rich people. He also visits clubs working at CTI is an easy job. The regular payment is
in district 2, which brings him many sympathy points, as not that good, though. But you receive several incentives
he is said to turn every mediocre party into a legendary throughout the year. These incentives consists of pack-
evening. As a natural playboy, he is always accompanied ages with free products from the company or a chance to
by female-only bodyguards and/or pods. This reputation meet the legendary CEO.
brings the corporation not only scandal after scandal, He does indeed motivate his workers by frequent visits
but also the much needed turnover, as people want to be in the factory, breaking bread with them or answering
like Leonard. And Leonard uses CTI products. mails in his sarcastic, yet charismatic way. You just have
to enjoy working for this man and pour this passion into
the products.
Competition
Leonard C. sits down, seemingly hungover. Speaks into
the microphone: “There is none. Thank you for your
time.“ Stands up, leaves the room.

142
 White noise productions Supremacy in all fields!

Jessie White: Second-born daughter of a british industri-

Overview
White Noise Productions claims to be the first company
who have invented cyberpods. At least that is their go-
to argument when asked about their high prices. Fact is
that their pods are of high quality and there are no mal-
functions among them, at least not recorded. Since their
factories and labs are carefully placed in high security
arcologies, few outsiders could confirm the high work eth-
ics.
With that much income, the corporation was able to
Work
As one of the most reclusive corporations, White Noise
build and invest in new branches, namely software for
business and private consumers, survival gear and nu-
trition bars. As with their cyberpods, these products are
invented in labs with people who are sworn intimately
to the company and rarely go outside the corporations
grounds. Only when the high leaders are satisfied with
the product is it allowed to be manufactured. To a price
higher than the current market maximum, of course.
While these merchandises really are of an exceptional
quality and are valued by those who can afford it, they
don’t make as much profit as the pod line. Although
White Noise is very succesful in America, the headquar-
ters is still located in Vienna.
alist. Head of HR.
Marius White: Head of PR.
Niveus White: Leader of White Noise Productions
America. Headquarters in Seattle.
Shiroe White: Half-japanese and leader of White Noise
Production Asia. Headquarters in Tokyo.
ethics
does not hire any day laborers. Every hand that builds
their products is fully implemented in the company with
contract and confidentiality agreement. They regularly
receive safety and quality training and the really danger-
ous works are done by pods. Such benefits come with a
high price, as the punishment for violating agreements
and obligations are severe and living outside the walls
of the arcology is frowned upon. Glass ceiling is also a
problem, as the high leaders are members of the White
Family, married or blood born. Even if you manage to
get into that clan, you have to watch your back, as in-
trigues are omnipresent.

Operations
Since all of their prototypes and innovations are kept un-
Competition der wraps in their high security arcology, opportunities
Comments from Marius White, public relations for are rare to take a good look or even retrieve them. So if
WNP: they get the chance, make sure you are well prepared.
Griffin Enterprise: Not worth mentioning. America was
always known for cheap products, right? They will go Kidnapping one of the Whites is a very high risk Opera-
bankrupt very soon and then we will buy them. tion, but also very high rewarding, as even the married-
Stane Industries: The one true and serious competitor. into ones have sensitive informations about the company.
Those who control the media control the masses.
Yin Yao: They should concentrate on biopods and make White Noise is rumored to have written a very self-aware
money before we set our eyes on that project. AI that is able to spy in most networks at will. Only
Kiniun: We have the utmost respect for a company that small traces are left, but it is worth a shot to investigate.
came from a war-torn continent and made it into a glob-
al operating corporation.
Ynagai: Finally someone who understands true quality.
KBB: Aren’t those the ones who help fulfill someone’s
desire for violence?

V.I.P.
James White: Founder of White Noise Productions, long
retired. Unknown if still alive.
Jamie White: Current CEO. Intelligent and calculat-
ing. His new course for the corporation is seen as doubt-
ful at best by his family members.

143
 Eviggroen
Overview
There isn’t much to say about the Eviggrön corporation,
but that in itself tells a lot. Though, if you have lived your
whole life in a district lower than 3, you may never have
heard about them. They sell everything that you can use
in your daily life. From food to entertainment, electronics
to cars. Yet they’re quite different from other products of
the same category. Choosing Eviggrön, means choosing
products that were built as nature friendly as possible.
There is not one point in the production cycle that could
be described as anti-eco, which is a complete unique
corporation ethic in this day and age. The materials,
packaging, delivering methods and after-sales services
are hand picked and constantly under review in terms of
their compatibility with the environment.
One would think that with that many compromises the
quality of the technology itself suffers. Other corporations
like Yin Yao and Griffin have their focus completely on
cost efficient production, starting at R&D. They only pay
attention to environmental issues when the government
has it regulated. Still, Eviggrön manages to deliver high
quality products in most aspects of daily life. Especially
their cars, which can reach the same acceleration and
speed with much easier recyclable batteries. Their pods
are in different category, though. Since they use a com-
pletely own-written programming, which emphasizes
the symbiosis of man, machine and nature, they behave
strangely. You can’t put your finger on it, as they do every
task that they are told to, but in a strange and uncanny
144
Go, Planet!
way. In their “mind” every being, whether artificial or
genuine, is connected and serves the planet. Only the
hardcore eco hackers use Eviggrön pods as their rogue AI.
Such extraordinary quality comes with an extraordinary
price, of course. While they offer their products to citi-
zens in every district, only the upper class can really af-
ford the Eviggrön lifestyle. Even that is a risk you have
to consider. Of course, everyone in district 1 “wants” the
environment to get better, as there are multiple occasions
to donate to good causes. But when you have multiple
products from Eviggrön, people may tell you that you
are trying too hard or want to compensate for something
else. Citizens in districts 2 and 3 don’t have this luxury
of choice. Sure, the average middle class worker can buy
the occasional ProteinBar to taste something better than
the KBB ones, but owning the Eviggrön speed Eco car
is a dream far away. But as they are a very transparent
company, they release the annual reports to the public
and have no secrets when it comes to their numbers. At
least that is how they want to be seen.
They work hard to maintain this public image. There
are no known subsidiaries, everything they do, they do it
under the company’s label. Eviggrön facilities and facto-
ries give tours for everyone to see that their production is
clean and their name, which translates into “perpetual
green”, is taken with pride. Another sign of honoring
their agenda is the close relationship to the government
in each country they operate. Constantly making sugges-
tions of how to regulate sustainability for every company,
they managed to improve the work conditions in some
countries dramatically. While other corporations point
out that this kind of lobbyism hurts the competition, poli-
ticians see this as an opportunity to appear as the good
guys for a change. In their home territory, the Scandina-
vian Union, which consists of all of the Nordic countries,
they are seen as saviours and saints.
Especially as they are not lead by a single CEO, but by
a board of five directors. Each director comes from one of
the former sovereign states (Denmark, Finland, Iceland,
Norway, Sweden) and represents the cultural and histor-
ic background. This comes from the fact that Eviggrön
was a fusion of the top company of each country to work
against the dramatically rising pollution. They thought
that if even one corporation could show that there is an
alternative, others would follow. Sadly, no one followed,
but Eviggrön still managed to hold on and make a good
profit out of it. They expanded into Asia and America,
gaining a significant hold there. Though it is unclear if
 people are buying the products because of their work for
the environment or as an alternative to the ubiquitous
Yin Yao and Griffin labels.
Competition
Yin Yao: We think that as one of the biggest company,
they have an obligation to ensure a production that is not
based on profit alone, but also on sustainability. What
good is the fastest car if it drives you right into human-
ity’s doom?
Stane Industries: Those who control the media, control
the people. That is all we want to say.
White Noise Productions: A keen eye for design is not
enough to justify the high price they are selling their prod-
ucts for. We, too, have an equal price, but we don’t hide
our numbers behind an empty lifestyle and we make sure
nepotism stays away when it comes to leading.
Griffin Enterprises: If they really do love their country,
then why are most of their factories far away in other
ones? Sure, they have some on American soil, but those
are just for show and only a minority. You can read that
stuff online.
KBB: We really thank them for providing the technol-
ogy for affordable food which is not entirely artificial. Yet
we do not entirely agree with their work ethic. Employees
who have proven their worth should be given second or
third chances.
V.I.P.
Torkild Holst: Denmark director. The only one who got
this position through a family member. Very conserva-
tive.
Naima Reijonen: Finnland director. Thinks that the ex-
panding to the USA was a mistake, as sooner or later
Eviggrön has to compromise to satisfy the market.
Baltasar Rolantsson: Iceland director. The most char-
ismatic one, always gives the press conferences or in-
terviews. His opinion is less valued by the other board
members.
Matilde Lier: Norway director: Oldest director, but has
always fresh ideas how to tackle situations. The only one
on the board who was around when the land had their
sovereign status.
Freja Ohlin: Sweden director. Not much is known about
her. The youngest director, yet very reclusive. Never miss-
es a meeting and is valued by her subordinates.
145
Work ethics
You don’t have to be nature loving optimist to enjoy your
work at Eviggrön, but it helps. Frequent seminars and
training, positive quotes on every wall and even the “5
minute silence” everyday remind you that you work for a
company who claims to the see the bigger picture called
planet earth. If you are not a follower of this philosophy,
you may be outnumbered, but you certainly still have
better working conditions than in any other company.
A part of the high prices comes from this fact. Not only
are the machines always up to date and faulty ones are
immediately replaced, but also every employee enjoys
health benefits, almost like in the old days. Eviggrön is
convinced that their success builds on happy and healthy
humans and they mean it. The loyalty of the people to
the company is insane and beyond comparison.
The means for this work ethic, of course, is only possible
because of the better living condition in the Scandina-
vian Union. The government ensures a good environ-
ment and healthcare. There are talks about opening
factories in the US, but the same work ethic wouldn’t be
possible, at least not without major compromises. This
forces the prices to stay high and out of reach for lower
class people. The company receives negative criticism for
that, as they claim to build better products for every hu-
man on the planet.
Operations
Not much is known about the Swedish director, Freja
Ohlin. But she has a contact in L.A. and rumors are it is
a high tier politician, and he or she is in her pocket. Can
you find the connection?
L.A. university is about to publish a study which com-
pares the nutritional value of KBB and Eviggröns food.
Needless to say that this study could change the game.
Was it rigged from the beginning?
The charismatic Baltasar Rolantsson seems to enjoy his
visits in L.A., as he travels more often than his colleagues.
Especially some shady corners caught his interest. Lets
just hope no one will make compromising footage.
 KBB
Efficiency does not need slogans (official slogan of KBB)
Overview
Remember the last time you ate a ProteinBar at a res-
taurant with a flavor called strawberry and it was deli-
cious? Then, two weeks later, you hear your boss talking
about how he ate real strawberries at a district 1 restau-
rant? You can be at least 90% sure that you both have
to thank KBB for the food. That is the share the Korean
based company holds over the food market. There are
two main reasons for that: The soil and the technolog.
Because of the company’s superiority in both, the aver-
age citizen will eat KBB food for his entire life.
The expertise in food and agro-technologies is hard
earned, though. The corporation started as a mediocre
manufacture for consumer electronics. The founder were
the three college friends Kim Chin-Ho, Bae Hoon and
Bang Si-Yeon, who used their family name initials as the
company’s name. It wasn’t known outside of the South
Korean border as it mainly produced own brands for
Korean electronic stores. The products were cheap, but
reliable, which brought it a good reputation among the
Korean people. Since Kim Chin-Ho always was a nature
nut and concerned about the declining food quality in
the country, he started the agricultural engineering divi-
sion as a pet project. The company used the knowledge
to feed millions of people during and after the Korean
war, which was not easy. Because two thirds of South
Korea are hills and mountains, they had to use the rest
efficiently. While they did not invent the ProteinBar
you are eating nowadays, they laid the foundations for
mass producing a nutritional paste that isn’t entirely ar-
tificial. When South Korea won the war and annexed
their rival neighbors, it gave way to the second reason for
KBB’s success: the soil.
North Korea has far more farming possibilities. The
regime before the war did not culture these lands to its
fullest and let their people starve through the arbitrary
use of a public distribution system. The most fertile spots
Competition
Yin Yao: We fully appreciate their support back at our
grew food for those in charge. After their downfall, South
Korea gave KBB the permission to use their advanced
technology in the compatible provinces. The results were
better than expected and for the first time in decades, the
land produced more food than it consumed. Even with
the rise in population because of North Korean immi-
grants, the protein nutrients were simply too much. That
was the reason for KBB to expand its target group.
The then-CEO Sok Ji-Eun was a natural business wom-
an. She realized the potential the company had build.
With a little help from another upcoming Asian corpo-
ration named Yin Yao, the KBB ProteinPaste© became
a much needed lifesaver on the whole continent. It was
146
able to reduce death by starvation on an impressive level.
Even with the low selling price, the product still made
immense profit, giving the company the opportunity to
go global. But here was the problem. The paste was af-
ter all a joint venture with Yin Yao, giving the company
a veto right when KBB wanted to sell the mixture out-
side of Asia. Which they invoked fiercely, as they knew
that once KBB went global, they had the potential for
a fully fleshed rival. Given the origin of the company,
they would invest in new electronic divisions. But Miss
Sok was also smart. With clever use of head hunters and
lawyers, she developed a new product with few similari-
ties to the ProteinPaste that it was considered as different.
Then she sold this ProteinBar not as food, but as a “solid
beverage to regain lost nutrients”. As no violation of the
contract with Yin Yao was found, they were allowed to
sell the Bar worldwide, making the transition of KBB to
a megacorporation complete.
Today the ProteinBar from KBB is a pillar of the modern
world. Unfortunately for them, the competition is miles
ahead when it comes to the consumer electronic division.
They concentrated most of the investments into the bar,
so they lack the knowledge and the infrastructure to se-
riously be a power at the market. Yet they changed the
definition of a meal. With the declining health of the en-
vironment, classical food was hard to come by and was
piece by piece replaced by their nutritious alternative. Of
course, the rich people never tasted one of these things, as
with enough money, you can still eat the way people did
back in the old times. And for the very poor people, there
are knock-offs with just as much nutrients to keep you
alive. But most of the population of L.A. eats the KBB
ProteinBar (now with a new flavor!).
humble beginnings and their commitment to the cause.
Without their help, the people of Asia would have
starved to death. That being said, we are not afraid of
a direct market fight with them, even if the current num-
bers say otherwise. We simply had our hands full, filling
the bellies of people around the world. We will catch up.
Stane Industries: Haha, yes, we love their movies. I
watched “Earthbound” on the flight over here. Such good
actors. I have heard that they also try to build pods, but
never saw one of them. Must be a rumor.
White Noise Productions: Bunch of fascists if you ask

me. A company that sticks to itself when it comes to em-
ployees also closes itself for new opportunities or ideas.
Their pods represent that ideology and only narcissistic
people buy them.
Griffin Enterprise: Solid products, no arguments there.
Though it seems that their dire need of patriotism holds
them back. They could develop far better if they would
open themselves to other companies. It is just like White
Noise.
V.I.P.
Ham Ujin: Current CEO. Considers the pod division as
his pet project and head hunts technicians and program-
mers from all the big companies.
Steve Panderton: Head of L.A. division. Although he re-
sides in district 1b, chooses to eat the ProteinBars of his
company. Though marketing wants to sell this as a proof
of the quality of KBB, the real reason is the time saving.
Kishi Mizuko: Head of non-food division. Under a lot
of pressure, as the electronic products of the company
struggle to compete with market leaders. Is rumored to
start alliances with the Yakuza to even the odds.
Nan Gri-Na: Daughter of the CEO. Has nothing to do
with the company’s business except spending the money
of his father on parties and vacations.
Work ethics
An old Korean proverb translates literally into “A roll-
ing stone extracts a stone that is embedded”. While some
may say that in order to improve and grow, you have to
make changes, others say that the pressure is always high
and if you don’t do your job well, you have to go. Regard-
less of your perspective on this subject, it is an unshake-
able fact of the work ethic of KBB to nurture fluctuation.
147
It doesn’t matter how long you are part of the company
and how it benefited from your past activities. If a new-
comer to the corporation could do a far better job than
you, you will be replaced, even if you were years “embed-
ded” in KBB.
But where other companies use this principle in a hypo-
critical way, meaning that if your position is high enough
and/or you know the right people you don’t have to worry
about your job, ever, KBB lives it. That is why only the
company’s name is all that remains of the founders.
They too were replaced by managers doing a better job
than them at the time. It also wasn’t friends or even fam-
ily members, as pure nepotism is frowned upon.
So if you sign a contract with KBB, make sure you con-
centrate on the job and keep the company’s interest be-
fore your own.
Operations
The daughter of the CEO is a PR disaster bound to hap-
pen, as kidnapping, drugs or a sex VR tape lurk at every
party she visits. Make sure you know your position on this
subject and be on good terms with your brokers when it
comes crashing down.
A lunatic (possibly paid by Yin Yao) threatens to poison
a third of all ProteinBars in L.A. unless KBB pays an
exorbitant amount of money. Needless to say, the corpo-
ration wants the Operation to be done discreetly.
The pod division expects a major breakthrough by the
end of the month. Fortunately, they require you to deliver
that breakthrough to them. Yin Yao laboratories are so
lovely this time of the night…
Miss Kishi may have overstepped her boundaries with
the Yakuza, as figurative and literal fires break out in
KBB’s labs. What side will you be on?
 Ynagai
Building a better tomorrow!
Overview
Ynagai. The world’s best manufacturer of cyberpods. A
company that is sometimes surrounded in myths. Let’s
switch back 25 years:
Ynagai was a somewhat mediocre company from India
that dealt with all sorts of electronics, a business that is
traditionally highly competitive. This had the effect that
they were recognized, but just not playing among the ma-
jors. When you had to buy something that did not mat-
ter, you turned to Ynagai. But then, everything changed.
A small software developer from Ynagai’s compound
in Chicago named James Bennett Connor was sub-
stantial in designing the first cyberpod that could prob-
ably truly be called so. After AI’s had been around for
a while, all corporations were working on the next step,
like all had been working on AI’s, but this was something
new. While it was a far cry from today’s models, it im-
mediately raised the bar tremendously for everyone. All
other companies were baffled. The software was more
advanced. The hardware was more advanced. The in-
terface between both was incredibly efficient. The future
– as it seemed – was finally here. Obviously, all other
corporations reverse engineered Ynagai’s cyberpods and
Competition
(excerpts from an Interview with Connor, 2113)
used the results as the basis for their own work (or worked
around it, if patents denied it), which started a healthy,
competitive race that is still running today.
So, while Ynagai and Connor were not the ones that in-
vented cyberpods per se, they were the ones that made the
biggest leap forwards in terms of pods’ current quality.
As one can imagine, James Bennett Connor received
a rather substantial pay raise and was moved to India
into a new office. Ynagai had found their new market-
ing strategy: instead on focusing on cheap quality, they
would start to establish themselves as a premium brand,
starting with cyberpods and AI’s, but later moving into
148
other business branches. Ynagai is producing everything
that is electronic, and everything is superior in quality.
Ynagai never quite did with India as Kiniun did with
Africa, but nonetheless their success with cyberpods ad-
vanced India’s technological capabilities quite a bit and
secured many new jobs, and today, they are present all
around the world.
Today, as a premium company, Ynagai continues to
hold significant amounts of market share through their
incredible quality. If you absolutely must have the best
quality and have the money for it, there is simply no al-
ternative to Ynagai. Their pods are better in every way,
like their AI’s or other electronic products are better than
anything else on the market. However, catering to such
an exclusive clientele brings certain negative aspects,
obviously for example, that not everyone is able to afford
their products. While Connor is (still) able to make his
influence as chief programmer for the whole corporation
count, there are other people who think it might be a good
idea to cheapen their products to enter new markets.
Time will tell who is able to enforce their point of view.
In any case, Connor is seen by many people as some kind
of a genius, and he often appears as the face of Ynagai,
despite the fact that he is only an employee (high-ranked,
but nonetheless an employee).
Their headquarters are still in India, in New Delhi,
although they have compounds all over the world, and
their board of executive directors is from all around the
world. Ynagai is especially renown for having lots of
medium-sized or even smaller research laboratories all
around the globe. Wherever they see potential to further
improve their products, they hire people and build, often
influenced by Connor’s opinion that having lots of small-
er, independent teams is more efficient than a single large
team that gets nothing done.
“...of course, there is no alternative to quality. Sure, you
can try to build them cheap, but then the software might
hold some surprises that no one saw or the hardware
works sloppy. Haven’t you read about how many Yin
Yao pods have been malfunctioning lately? This is not
something I want to see with our products someday.”
“I honestly think that Kiniun did a very good job with
their recent line of pods.” (pause) “No, I don’t believe it
is wrong to use pods as … sexual toys. They are built to
whatever specifications the customer indicated, so they
are perfectly fine with their … treatment. I mean, I can’t
vouch for Kiniun in this case, but it certainly is so when
 you buy from us. You are of course free to risk a malfunc-
tion involving your genitals.” (laughs)
“George Griffin really is a nice guy. I mean, I don’t re-
ally care about their weapon stuff and all that, but he is
very intelligent and knows a lot of things. I like that in a
person. There is still too much ignorance going around in
the world. George told me that they used some of our ad-
vanced drones for security reasons, because they simply
are the best. According to George.” (laughs) “He might
not approve me saying that.”
V.I.P.
James Bennett Connor, chief programmer: Often re-
ferred to as the “father of cyberpods”. In his mid-fifties
and still very actively involved in anything new that
Ynagai creates, including further improvements from
cyberpods or AI’s. He has a very strong influence in the
company, but his no-compromise-policy hasn’t made
him any friends, especially among other people in high
places who are more concerned with money than with
quality and who think that Ynagai should not rely on
him too much. People are replaceable, after all.
Emilia Khersova: One of Ynagai’s PR-managers. The
beautiful woman of Russian birth is rumored to have
gotten her current position after an affair with James
Bennett Connor (which is something both deny), but
nonetheless, she is highly popular and motivated to fur-
ther Ynagai’s success.
Jaidev Chandra: Is in the company for over 30 years
now and managed to work himself up from an assembly
line to one of the board directors. There are nothing but
good things to hear about him, and he is a close, personal
friend of Connor.
Avinash Seshadri: In charge of Ynagai’s human resourc-
es, and kind of a hardliner when it comes to success. He
is much more interested in numbers and profit than in
anything else, and he is one of the driving people behind
the thought that Ynagai should appeal to lower budgets.
Last year, his son died in a plane that got shot down over
Japan by unknown forces, and this has left him bitter
and hateful, and he is spending a lot of his resources, try-
ing to find out what exactly happened there.
Work ethics
Since Ynagai considers themselves a “premium brand”,
they often charge much more for their products than their
competitors do. Mostly, their products are actually better,
but critics say that you pay for a lot of status. And while
not every credit earned that way comes to the employees,
they certainly pay a lot more than other corporations.
149
This grants them a certain loyalty over their employees,
which is boosted further by a constant invoking of family
feelings. Working for Ynagai should not feel like a job at
all, more like a christmas dinner (so, even worse, accord-
ing to some).
So, with a lot of loyal employees, signing highly legally
binding obligations of secrecy, the first step is done. Also,
almost anyone even remotely important to Ynagai is
strongly advised to live in one of their arcologies, at re-
duced cost, of course. This furthers the fact that Ynagai
employees are a tight bunch of people sticking together.
Therefore, entering a Ynagai compound is not easy.
People often know each other and new faces stick out
immediately. Also, blackmailing someone is often nearly
impossible because people are generally loyal and earn
good money. Trying to do so will just simply increase at-
tention, nothing more.
Their technological security is top-notch. Advanced cy-
berpods are on guard-duty, highly intelligent AI’s guard
their computer systems. Getting anything done there is
far from easy. Their main weakness, according to some,
is mostly their ego. Since they believe their factories to be
impenetrable, security on the outer layers is much tighter
than on the inside. So, if you can enter without getting
noticed, that is usually a big step in the right direction.
Also, because of the often smaller size of their com-
pounds, employees tend to bend certain rules, because
they often lack a certain amount of supervision. There
is generally a little bit of confusion going on, because
compound A improved it’s new security system and com-
pound B was not yet aware of that, for example. A clever
team of Operators might be able to take advantage of
such a situation.
Operations
A shipment of Ynagai’s finest cyberpods has gone miss-
ing, and someone has even managed to disable their elec-
tronic tracking devices. The Operator’s have to find out
where they are, and they have to use good old fashioned
legwork.
Ynagai is building a new compound in a not-so-good-
district, and constantly material and personnel turn up
missing. They need someone to find out what is going on.
A security pod apparently killed its owner. Since mal-
functions are highly implausible when talking Ynagai,
the Operators are contacted directly by Emilia Khersova
(how the hell did she find them, anyway?) to shed some
light on this subject. She either wants to find the one who
pulled the strings and have him taken care of, or have the
pod’s malfunction covered up, if it really had one. In any
case, Emilia insists that nothing of this comes out into
the public. Sounds like an easy job, what could go wrong?
 KiniunWisdom is wealth

Overview
Kiniun, or the lion, as the word means in the Yoruba
language, is an African megacorporation that has had
tremendous success in the last twenty years, and the re-
cent history and changes in Africa would probably not
be there without the company and its owner, Abeo Adey-
emi. Without him, Africa would probably still be known
as the continent that never made it.
As he likes to say, he was just a young man with a dream.
That dream was about helping the African continent
and its people rise to a new, golden future. Abeo was an
engineering student, and probably a lucky one too, be-
cause his family was already wealthy, and he inherited
his father’s company to help him with his dream. That
dream started by building tremendous amounts of solar
power systems in the deserts native to Africa, followed by
infrastructure, schools, hospitals and so forth. The next
step was to capitalize the solar power, selling it to anyone
who would buy it, increasing the company’s size, then re-
peating the whole process.
the headquarters were moved from Africa to Los An-
Today, Kiniun is the biggest employer in Africa, and
geles two years ago, where Abeo simply has less support
among the biggest energy suppliers in the world, be it
around him.
solar power, wind, fossil fuels, nuclear, or even a lot of
Kiniun is very aggressive and expansive business-wise,
the power cells in various devices all over the world, you
especially in their fields of proficiency, buying smaller ri-
name it. They are also big in medicine, having erased
vals or pushing them out of business without much care
a lot of the health problems that had plagued Africa
about the people working there, severely worsening their
for so long. Hospital equipment, prosthetic cyberware,
payment if they are allowed to continue their jobs at all,
emergency treatment, Kiniun does it, and they do it all
and some people assume this will cause problems in the
around the globe.
long run.
However, everything comes with a price. Even after all
Apart from energy and medicine, Kiniun is also big into
of Abeo’s successes, Africa is still a relatively poor con-
the sex industry, being one of the largest cyberpod and
tinent, plagued by its own history, torn by turmoil, inner
biopod manufacturers for pleasure purposes. You won’t
conflict and changing borderlines, caused by multiple
find many combat models for sale here, but when they
warlords fighting against each other, Kiniun or the gov-
talk about “better than life”, you can be pretty sure this
ernment. While Kiniun is fighting back (more mercilessly
will be the case. I have heard, a friend’s coworker’s broth-
than some people think is good for them), they have to
er said so. Officially, they protect their pods from more…
be careful not to overstep their boundaries, that’s why it
enthusiastic customers, but the reality often looks much
is assumed that they employ a lot of Operators to do…
different.
things down there. Some people even go so far as to ac-
cuse Abeo of fanaticism when it comes to rebuilding Af-
rica because the struggles there cost them a lot of money
and are apparently never-ending. To many people in
Competition
Comments from Abeni Adeyemi, public relations for
Africa, especially those employed by Kiniun, Abeo is a
Kiniun:
god and they would do anything for him, but the stock-
Griffin Enterprise: Please. Griffin’s focusing on being
holders are getting nervous because Kiniun “wastes” a
“American” is pathetic. Did you know that they deliber-
lot of potential, at least in their eyes. And while Abeo
ately hire incompetent people and put them in jobs only
was the undisputed ruler of Kiniun for a long time, those
for publicity? But I hear George enjoys a good party, I
times might be coming to an end. Rumors exist that there
will give them that.
is more and more infighting in Kiniun’s board going on,
Yin Yao: They always had it easy. Take a few existing
so changes might not be too far away, especially since

150
 companies and put them together, where’s the challenge
in that? My father built Kiniun from the ground up and
has a vision of where the company should go. They mere-
ly… do everything (disgusted face).
Stane Industries: (smiling) Looks pretty much like a
cheap copy of Griffin to me, except with two women on
top instead of a man. According to George.
V.I.P.
Abeni Adeyemi: Abeo’s daughter. She is in charge of
Kiniun’s public relations and their press conferences
where they release new products, working closely together
with her father and the managers of Kiniun.
Jeffrey Batts: Ex-military. Leader of Kiniun’s worldwide
security. Has a reputation of being hard, but fair. Most
of his employees half-jokingly call him “the whip”. He is
rumored to participate in many of Kiniun’s not-so-legal
undertakings. One of the few Caucasian people working
in higher positions.
Dr. Vivian Rier: one of the leading scientists in Kiniun’s
cyberpod-department. She left a well-paid job in France
a few years ago for Kiniun. Despite being very proud of
her work, she is rumored to have developed moral doubts
about the uses of pods.
Operations
Someone wants to throw a bad light on Kiniun’s pods.
Chima Idowu: Abeo’s biggest “enemy” in the sense that
he is probably the one mostly responsible for moving Kin-
iun’s headquarter to Los Angeles. Most people assume
that he will someday try to push Abeo out of his compa-
ny and that he will try to do that sooner rather than later.
Work ethics
As mentioned before, Kiniun follows an aggressive busi-
ness plan, eliminating a lot of competition along the way.
The companies they take over are either assimilated into
Kiniun (which leaves angry people, with less money than
before doing their jobs if they are lucky enough to keep
them at all, because “real” Kiniun employees are valued
much more), or completely dismantled (which leaves an-
gry people without a job). So, in a nutshell, usually there
151
are a lot of dissatisfied employees running around, there-
fore Kiniun’s security personnel (while decently armed)
are often all about roughing people up and putting them
in their place, either by force or by threatening to fire
them and removing their CSC. So, a lot of potential hate
against Kiniun to exploit, if the Operators can find the
right person who is still willing to talk or help them. That
person, however, might end up in a lot of trouble later,
which the Operators might care about or not at all.
Kiniun does not employ combat-pods, their security is
all human. However, they often hire “additional security
personnel” from various criminal syndicates or street
gangs if needed.
Their electronic security is average, but it is said that
they tend to physically separate data someone might be
looking for (especially for their main businesses), so ex-
pect a lot of running around. Also, many of Kiniun’s
more valued employees are people of color. No one is us-
ing words like “white racism” (yet), but it is clearly visible
that Abeo turned the tables when making the company
hire policies.
Can you manipulate a sex pod so it (he? she?) kills its
owner in the most embarrassing way possible, or will you
kill him and make it look like an accident? Either way,
doing so will almost certainly result in permanently retir-
ing the pod. Are you ok with that, you bastard?
Kiniun wants to buy a small company, but the owners
are not selling. It is time to deliver a final message to
them that they will definitively understand. In this case,
“them” could either be the owners or Kiniun, and how
can the Operators make Kiniun stop? They need some
very good reasons.
Apparently, the Mafia captured a few of Kiniun’s plea-
sure pods and are using them in even worse ways than
what they were originally built for. Kiniun wants them
back, but are the Operators bold enough to get them-
selves entangled with the Mafia?
 Life in the
future

152
 The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles ― Rick Rior-
dan, The Lightning Thief

153
 Living in L.A.
Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles. ― Frank Lloyd Wright
The following chapter explains how people live
their life in the future, from where they live to
what they do in their free time. The focus lies
sometimes on Los Angeles, obviously when peo-
ple or places are mentioned, but most things are
also true for the rest of the world. In all cases,
keep in mind that the descriptions here are kept
on a basic level. For example: in theory, it doesn’t
matter which GenEval you have, but for all prac-
tical reasons, the lower your GenEval, the lower
your lifestyle usually is (or vice versa). Obviously,
differences exist and the lines are blurry.
Overpopulation
In general, birth rates have risen during the last
century, caused by general prosperity and lon-
gevity. However, this has taken on a negative
trend since people tend to move into big cities,
abandoning living space outside. With rapidly in-
creasing costs and the problems GenEval poses to
lower classified people, solutions had to be found
(actually, in a way, GenEval is a solution, but only
for the rich).
Nowadays, giant cities like Los Angeles cater to
millions of more people than what they did a hun-
dred years ago. Giant skyscrapers and slums har-
bor many of these people, if they can afford them,
because even relatively small apartments are ex-
pensive since the demand is so high. There are, of
course, always regions in a city where you can live
for free, if you don’t mind sleeping in abandoned
buildings or on the street. Somewhere in between
Wanted: Enemy of the state
Stephen Rowe aka Cyph3n
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Distinguishing marks: -
A dropout, self-taught hacker known for attack-
ing corporation money. He earned his name af-
ter his first major hack that involved breaking an
important encryption used by Schmidt&Schultz,
allowing him to siphon huge phantom funds.
Reward: 50,000₵
154
are public dormitories, where you can sleep with
other lost souls, but at least you got a roof over
your head and the showers are working in the
evenings. Maybe. Such people usually leave in the
morning to work temporary jobs, often for corpo-
rations that need additional personnel, fast. It is
not really the best life, but it could be worse.
Some people live in the Outskirts, half-abandoned
places that are populated by the poorest or by
people that want to hide from the government.
While the outskirts technically are not illegal and
belong to a city, the reality often is that the infra-
structure there is substandard. Electricity, access
to the net, water supply, opportunities for shop-
ping are rare, if they are available at all. Do not
expect police there, only for raids. People mov-
ing into or out of the outskirts are often carefully
checked, mostly with good reason.
That doesn’t mean that you cannot live a good life
there, however. If you have enough money, every-
thing is possible, but people living in the outskirts
by choice and spending lots of money there usu-
ally have a very good (and shady) reason to do so.
Generally speaking, big cities are growing rap-
idly, assimilating everything around them, leav-
ing smaller villages outside of the major cities de
facto nonexistent.
Exploitation
The good news is: the earth is still there. The bad
news is: years of overexploitation, combined with
a ruthless attitude found among many corpora-
 tions and a constant, increasing population have
taken its toll upon mother earth. Combine that
with countless incidents, be it leaked oil tankers
or nuclear catastrophes and ever-increasing pol-
lution by cars and industry, and you have a feel-
ing about the state of the environment. Countless
species of animals have disappeared, making way
for only the most adaptable and resilient ones.
While wood in general is not used as much as it
has been, pollution and years of overexploitation
have left many forests dangerously sparse. Seas
and rivers suffer from a poor water quality. The
oceans are halfway intact, but especially coast-
lines in larger populated areas are often filled
with waste and other things.
Take Los Angeles, for example: the average tem-
perature has risen a few degrees in the last cen-
tury, while simultaneously the weather often got
relatively unpredictable, meaning there are peri-
ods with intense heat, followed by rainfall, often
at night. This has obviously driven up the need
and energy consumption for air conditioning etc
(and also drastically increased the price for wa-
ter).
As always, the fines for illegally disposing waste
are often cheaper than disposing it in a legal
way, so a lot of corporations save their money by
155
dumping whatever they want to get rid of some-
where into the nature – may it be the oceans or an
underground landfill.
Likewise, dangerous/hazardous materials are
used nonetheless. Birth defects or early signs
of terminally ill people are nothing special – you
can fix most health problems with genetic modi-
fications or cyberware, but not everyone has the
money for that. In any case, if a corporation is
caught doing something illegal, they pay their fine
and apologize, and then continue with whatever
they were doing. If they get caught at all. Inves-
tigative journalists live a dangerous – and often
short – life.
Gen(etic) Eval(uation)
If you are classified as a 1, all is good. You get free
basic health care, the best education, most pos-
sibilities for work, living in a huge single house in
the best part of town or your corporations arcol-
ogy. 2 is a little behind, not as good and full of po-
tential, but well above 3, which is the middle class,
always struggling, living in mediocre parts, al-
ways tight with money. 4 is only a half-step above
the vermin on the streets. You live in tiny coffin or
shared apartments, doing whatever job you can
 find, often with terrible working conditions (the
corporations always need cheap labour).
Class 5 is removed from society, tending to live
where people with 4 live or even worse, in the
outskirts or abandoned buildings. Without a CSC,
there is not much to do, and if so, mostly illegal.
Yes the corporations also need those people, but
they’re even more expendable than 4s…
GenEval does not necessarily determine where
you live and what you do. However, it is relatively
uncommon that a GenEval class 4, for example,
lives in zone 2. However, if your employer thinks
your talents are worthy of upgrading your life-
style, he can always grant you a temporary CSC-
modification. In return, you should try to not get
fired or you will lose all your benefits.
This is a system called social clearance. When cit-
izens behave and follow all the given rules there
may be benefits but there are also drawbacks
when you do not live your life properly…
Districts
Before we have a look how exactly people live
their daily lifes, let us talk about districts: a dis-
trict is basically a part of Los Angleles where
people from the same social standing (mostly)
156
live and (sometimes) work. A level 1 district is re-
served for the most important (read: richest) peo-
ple, while the grey masses dwell in level 3 and 4,
and the forgotten ones from society live in level 5,
the outskirts.
A district strongly influences your lifestyle and
also your life quality, because the better the dis-
trict, the more money you usually have and the
higher your social standing is. Changing a district
is often far from possible, because you simply
have not enough money to afford anything better
and your GenEval is blocking you. It is not unheard
of, however.
District 1a-z
If you live here, you belong to the tiny class of peo-
ple from L.A.’s elite - which is still a relevant num-
ber in a city that shelters over 30 million people.
A GenEval A is not mandatory, but you won’t find
many people without it, since they either lack the
money or influence to live here. Everyone with-
out it usually has a very interesting story, good
friends or both.
A typical level 1 district is something like Beverly
Hills, Downtown or Malibu. Other districts include
the living areas in Thousand Oaks, for example,
where the residents spend lots of money trying to
 give the district a more natural, green look, while
simultaneously a lot of high-tech companies are
also present around the area.
In comparison to other districts, level 1 districts
are clean, safe and spacious. The police and other
security forces are always nearby, although they
usually mostly patrol the borders, not too much
inside the district itself (the rich value their pri-
vacy), but security drones are always present and
the response times are very low, should anything
happen. People live in big houses with lots of
room or in some of the smaller corporate arcolo-
gies which are basically a tiny city inside a city.
Infrastructure is top-notch and only the best of
the best businesses are present. A lot of people
here obviously still own luxurious cars, but the
streets are wide enough and carefully planned so
that one never gets stuck in traffic. Others simply
take a private plane or helicopter to reach their
destination. Still, there is much less traffic than
in the other districts. Industry on a larger scale is
never to be found here, with probably the excep-
tion of smaller laboratories, research centers or
offices, but mostly people live here or come here
to spend money. In any case, you will not find any-
thing that is either noisy or dirty. People pay sim-
ply too much money to accept something like this
here. Likewise, there is always a little space be-
tween level 1 districts and lower ones - what good
is your lifestyle if you have to watch poor people
from afar?
Getting into a level 1 district is not forbidden per
se, but it’s not a simple task, even for Operators.
A fake CSC with a GenEval A and a good reason
to be here is almost mandatory, if you cannot
find someone to invite you here and to give you
a temporary permit. Otherwise, you might run
into trouble sooner or later, either when you try to
cross the borders or when someone picks you up
on a camera and checks your CSC. You can imag-
Wanted: Enemy of the state
Angelica Wyatt aka Seraph
Real name: Unknown
Wanted for multiple murders-for-hire
Reward: up to 100,000₵ for information leading to capture
Physical Description: Female; late 20s to early 30; between 140 and 160 cm
tall and weighing 40 to 50 kg; believed to have surgically altered ears to ap-
pear pointed and elf-like.
Responsible for 18 confirmed kills in the North America, 10 in Europe and an-
other 5 in Asia and Oceania, with another 11 more possibles across the globe.
Victims have included the US ambassador to Switzerland, a Canadian Su-
preme Court justice and several members of Stompanato crime family.
Subject should be considered ARMED and EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. Highly
proficient with firearms, bladed weapons and unarmed combat.
157
ine this like getting into an airport without your
identification papers and without a ticket. While
wearing a shotgun. Better get your story straight.
District 2a-z
Worse than level 1. However, you still live a pretty
good life. The streets are clean, infrastructure is
good. Whatever you need, you can buy it. Police
or other organizations are nearby if you need
them, and since you are a wealthy and respect-
able member of society, you have nothing to fear.
In reality, many things are very similar to a level
1 district, just on a slightly smaller scale. It’s not
quite as roomy, the streets aren’t quite as clean
and people aren’t quite as upper class. You can
still live a much better life than many others here,
but you will always be reminded that you aren’t
quite at the top. Yet.
Typical people living here are mid-to-high level
executives, crime lords, society members like
famous musicians or movie stars and from time
to time Operators who have made lots of money,
thinking it is a good idea to spend it all on wine,
women and song.
In some cases, it is actually better to live in a level
2 district because you are raising less suspicion.
There are more people, not everyone knows ev-
eryone and you have a little more freedom to be
yourself without drawing unnecessary attention,
while having a life that is still better than what the
other 75% of society experience.
District 3a-z
The so-called middle class. Which is much worse
off than level 2. A lot of people or families here
are working double jobs as office clerks, small
technicians, salesman, scientists, in the industry
in general. While your life is not terrible, it isn’t
that great, either. There is always something that
needs to be paid, and your salary just seems too
 Wanted: Enemy of the state
Scott Dyson aka K.C.
Real name: Scott Daniel Dyson
Wanted for multiple Armed Robberies and Evading Police
Reward: up to 30,000₵ for information leading to arrest and conviction
Physical description: Male; 34 years old; medium height, medium build; brown
hair and eyes.

Wanted in connection with multiple bank heists in the Northeastern United

States. Subject usually hires himself out as a driver/wheelman and drives Ger-
man sedans when “on the job.” Personally, he prefers early 21st century muscle
cars, specifically Mustangs.

low. day make it into a better district. It is not unheard

You can choose if you get stuck either on the
roads in your own, run-down car or if you squeeze
yourself into public transportation. You live in
small apartments in crowded neighborhoods or
skyscrapers, among factories and endless office
complexes where mass shootings happen daily
because another poor soul can’t take it anymore;
or someone tries to start a revolution in the name
of the poor and the arbiters gun him down merci-
lessly, including possible bystanders.
Infrastructure is somehow working. Electricity is
expensive but functions and you have water dur-
ing the hours you have paid for. You can always
get more, but that will cost you. From time to time
you treat yourself to better food or a nice pur-
chase, but mostly you are content at the end of
the month if you have managed to pay your CSC-
licenses, your kids’ school fee and can afford the
medications your wife needs because of her au-
toimmune disease. Maybe once a month there is
enough left to party like it’s 1999, to lose yourself
in a night of meaningless alcohol, drugs, music,
commercial sex or other things that suit your
tastes.
Still, you are a member of society, and if you do
not stray too far from your path, you might some-
of that people living in a level 3 district move up
the ladder into level 2, but it is hard work, and
most of the time, it simply doesn’t happen and
in general, most people here live a meaningless,
grey life without much hope of ever improving
themselves. In fact, it often can happen that you
simply fall down the ladder and end up worse.
You somehow messed up badly in your job, you
commited a petty crime, the plant closed down
or something else happened. People here simply
lack the influence and money, and very often, they
can’t afford to live in a level 3 district anymore or
their GenEval get’s downgraded, and they have to
leave. That is the reason many people keep their
heads down and obey, because your first mistake
could often lead to a downward-spiral.
A lot of Operators or smaller criminals probably
live in a level 3 district. It is chaotic enough to get
by unnoticed, but on the other hand, life is some-
how still worth living.
District 4a-z
A level 4 district is very much what a level 2 dis-
trict is to a level 1, but on a much, much worse
scale. Yes, you are still somehow in the system,
but many of the small advantages that even level

Butterfly disaster
Butterfly Disaster is an illegal, virtual, holo-winged lolita-punk
idol persona popularized through illegal Net and VR perfor-
mances. She is presumably the brainchild of a higher up in the
Yin Yao corporation. The person behind her cannot risk their
livelihood by saying publicly the sorts of things Butterfly Disas-
ter says. Butterfly Disaster is a symbol of resistance and oppo-
sition to the corporations, and her concerts have been known
to be routed through specific servers to serve as a decoy to aid
intruding hackers.

158
 Arapea Ohauko
Former New Zealand Navy member Arapea Ohauko held the
rank of Petty Officer. He was dishonorably discharged for selling
personal weaponry off the ship. After his 5 year incarceration he
emigrated illegally to the U.S. and started a more or less success-
ful weapon trading business. Arapea Ohauko is 32 years old,
olive skinned and has broad shoulders. During his incarceration
he got a half sided Te Moko (facial tattoo). That tattoo was re-
made and completed in the U.S., so he can now turn it on and
off. The Tattoo can also pulsate in different patterns. Due to
his laid back behaviour and weed consumption he earned his
nickname ‘Peace’.

He is mainly selling printed sidearms up to military grade per-

sonal weaponry and ammo as well as information. He is not
dealing in drugs, humans, organs or cyberware. Peace is operat-
ing out of different clubs and bars from within his social level.
He is getting by okay and he is a nice guy to hang out with, be-
cause he gets in all the clubs and events. On the other hand he
can be a traditionalist who honors the ways of his people and
that is fighting with fists, sticks and guns. Sadly, his proficiency
with words is better than his ability to fight.

3 offers is missing here. When you have a job, you
live in a coffin apartment or a public dormitory,
because you usually can’t afford anything bet-
ter. Mostly, you will be doing either hard labor in a
factory or undemanding office jobs or a combina-
tion of both, and the next person is always stand-
ing in line for your job.
If you don’t have a job or only sometimes, you
probably just live on the street, in abandoned
buildings or gathering together with others. If
you’re lucky, you find space in a homeless shelter,
until it gets closed down due to budget restraints.
Infrastructure is existent, but if you want any-
thing remotely interesting, you often have to
turn to organized crime, because society doesn’t
believe anymore in giving you anything. After all,
why are you living in a level 4 district? Surely, it’s
your fault. Your AI is sub-standard, and so you run
into countless problems when interacting with
basically anything that is expecting a little bit
more finesse. Electricity and especially water is
often limited to certain hours of the day, and even
worse, technical malfunctions often take days to
get repaired. You feed on bland tasting, synthetic
foods most of the time (the ever-present Protein-
Bar is your favorite, now 20% more tasty).
Organized crime is very present in a general cha-
otic culture, only one step above total anarchy.
Police or other state institutions are often not
to be seen, apart from when they are searching
someone, in which case, better not stand in their
way.
Together with the inhabitants from a level 3 dis-
trict, about 75% of all people in a city like Los An-
geles spend their lives this way, always jealous of
the people higher up, but thankful that they are at
least not even worse off.
Outskirts
The outskirts are basically level 5. They differ a
little from the other districts because they almost
only exist outside a city, or fringing at the very
borders. They are what is left of former suburbs
or smaller cities after people left or had been
forced to leave (through natural catastrophies,
war, crime, abandonment policies, whatever.)
While they officially still belong to their adjacent
city, they are the place where the outcasts exist:
people without even a temporary CSC or the low-
est GenEval, often both. Some live here by choice,
but the most are simply here because they have
nowhere else to go.
Infrastructure here is basically non-existent. De-
pending where you look and if the current politi-
cal wind is blowing right, you might have some
electricity and water here, maybe even food do-

159
 nations from time to time. Mostly however, the in-
habitants are forced to supply themselves, which
is basically a mixture of farming, hunting and sell-
ing what little labour they can offer to shady busi-
nesses who exploit them further.
The corporations often come here looking for
cheap labor, and this is often the only way for
“outskirters” to get into the real city. They usually
get transported into a cheap, corporate-owned
dormitory, do their underpaid work and a few
weeks later they might even get shipped back.
The lucky ones that have proven to be of real use
might even get a corporate CSC and probably can
move into a level 4 district.
Likewise, organized crime is always on the look-
out for talented people or young girls or boys
here, depending on the next man’s special needs.
They are often the ones controlling the outskirts,
because who else would stop them or wants to?
Leaving or entering the outskirts is possible, but
much like a level 1 district, you will get watched
and need a good story to get in. Getting out is even
more difficult, because drones and border patrols
will pick up most of the people and deport them
back; if they’re lucky…
Nonetheless, there is a constant transit of people
going on all the time, meaning human trafficking
is especially strong here. Like already said, the
corporations and organized crime both have good
reasons to not forget the outskirts.
Means of traveling
Although some people probably would like to stay
indoors all the time, ordering the newest products
and be happy, they cannot do that forever. Espe-
cially if you want to be a righteous CSC-owner, you
have to go outside to work, at least (if you don’t
have a fancy work-from-home-job).
Of course, L.A. is far too big to reach everything
on foot. As already described above, the districts
are vast and some can even be dangerous to tra-
verse unprepared. Depending on your income and
lifestyle, there are a handful of possibilities to go
from point A to B. Notice that if these points lie
in different districts, you should have the right
clearances available. Many people are satisfied
by living only in their allowed districts, but for Op-
erators and the like who cross borders more of-
ten, it gets a little more difficult.
Your own car
Always a sign of wealth, the car (or motorcycle,
for example) still represents some kind of status.
Unfortunately there are so many status people
that it’s getting crowded on the streets. districts
160
2 and especially 3 are flooded with vehicles (and
public transportation, to a lesser extent), since
people have to go to work somehow. An eight-
lane highway reaches from district 2 to the Out-
skirts and it is always full, day and night.
As you can imagine, it is not that hard to get a car.
Using it is the problem. It is also dangerous for an
Operator, as he has to tie a fake registration to his
CSC, and it is always possible to get scanned by
something, increasing the risk of detection.
The cars in Neomancer do not differ that much
from today’s time, neither in aesthetics nor in
their interiors. Since speed limits still apply (and
are constantly ignored, like today), the compa-
nies shifted their focus from making them faster
to making them more comfortable. With the rise
of pollution and the decrease in battery costs,
hybrids and electric cars became much more af-
fordable. Growing overpopulation and terrorist
attacks also demanded more safety, as now ev-
ery car scans its surrounding and comes auto-
matically to a halt if an attempt to run over people
is made. A talented rigger, of course, can over-
ride such protocols, even jury rig the mechanical
blockades that hinder most cars to go over the
speed limit. Rest assured, high speed chases are
not uncommon in L.A. after all.
Flying cars exist, in a way, although there is noth-
ing magical about them. They function basically
like a small VTOL instead of a spaceship. Since
moving into the third dimension would cause all
sorts of problems in a city with as much traffic as
L.A., only police cars and the like are allowed to
fly, and even they try to stay on the ground if pos-
sible. Nonetheless, you can always find some fly-
ing cars in private hands, either very rich or very
criminal hands.
Late at night, when the clubs close and your train
is delayed because of some incident at the next
station, there is always a cab available when you
stand at the roadside and wave friendly. If not,
your AI can call for one. It is the preferred means
of transportation by those who can afford not
to use the HyperTrain but can’t afford their own
chauffeur, don’t want to own a car, or a combina-
tion of the above.
Though the cab companies are prohibited from
scanning your CSC for other purposes than check-
ing if you are in fact a valid citizen, some drivers
disregard that. They find it lucrative to use facial
recognition and darknet databases to find hacked
CSC’s and report them to the police or bounty
hunters. Careless Operators may find themselves
delivered to the doorstep of the next megacorpo-
ration, police or criminal organization, depending
on who’s looking for them. Nevertheless, a cab
 is still the most comfortable and fastest way to
your destination, even if you own a car yourself.
The drivers know the streets and the traffic better
than any navigational AI could predict. Just make
sure you paid top credit for your fake CSC and
stayed off the bounty list.
HyperTrain
Based on the design of a great inventor of days
gone by, the HyperTrain (or trains, of course, but
the name is singular) connects all districts. Run-
ning both over- and underground, this train sys-
tem welcomes everybody with a valid CSC and the
necessary credits to take a trip. Just don’t expect
to exit in a level 1 district when you miss the re-
quired identifications.
It was built by Griffin Enterprise but is completely
owned by the government. Like a good patriotic
company that they are – or want to be seen – Grif-
fin constructed the complete system in six years,
plastering the city with their corporate logo, co-
lours and the slogan “Make L.A.’s future great
again!”
The whole HyperTrain drives frictionless on elec-
tromagnetic rails when above ground and under-
ground it speeds through magnetic tubes at over
200 mph. The special dampening and calibration
systems won’t let you feel the speed, it’s just like a
161
walk in the park. Well, obviously in the lower dis-
tricts where maintenance is lacking, it is not like a
walk in the park, but you get the idea. Many differ-
ent smaller loops or connections between points
of interest exist, the biggest and most crowded
ones are naturally the ones that connect Level 2
with Level 3 districts. Every morning millions of
workers board the train to drive to their cubicles
at the big companies headquarters, offices or fac-
tories and every afternoon they return.
The price for a ride isn’t too high and doesn’t dif-
fer much between districts. Even in the lower dis-
tricts, where the ride gets more bumpy because
maintenance is reduced, and the trains some-
times get sprayed in various gang-colors or rob-
beries take place, the HyperTrain is more or less
safe. Wagons usually don’t derail (unless some
crazy Operators are involved), and not too many
people get trampled to death in the rush-hour.
These two facts are surprising when you keep in
mind that the HyperTrain is run by the govern-
ment, which is usually tight on credits when it
comes to public services. Some experts say that
they secretly pay a small amount to Griffin to only
be the owner on paper, letting the company keep
full control of the project, for whatever reason.
Others argue that the train is an example that
they have far more money than they are willing
 to spend. And the guys in tinfoil hats, living in a
winnebago beyond the outskirts scream that the
magnetic rails and tubes are a secret weapon that
could destroy any other country and therefore
must be watched at all times.
There are also HyperTrain routes that connect
the next nearby cities with L.A. The tickets for this
track are more expensive, as it is a joint coopera-
tion between the cities.
Many Operators use this form of transportation
when going on with their daily lives. The CSC con-
trols are very simple and you won’t have to fear
random police searches too much, and you can
easily blend into the crowd, as everybody minds
their own business.
Plane
Of course, you can’t use planes to travel in the city
(unless you are very rich, and no, your character
does not fall into this category). Although the size
of L.A. is humongous, there are only two airports.
One in district 1 for district 1 citizens and one in
district 2 for everybody else.
L.A.X is a highly secured compound. Getting
through the controls requires not only a valid CSC,
but also a clean background. Everybody not able
to show both will get kicked out or worse. Luckily
for Operators, the safety procedures are rigid, but
not flawless. When your fake CSC and identity is
top notch and you don’t bring guns with you, you
are allowed to enter. That is why Operations in
the airport or even on a plane are only given to the
best Operators. The risks and stakes are high.
Smaller possibilities to fly include helicopters and
the aforementioned flying cars. For some rea-
son, gigantic blimps also can be seen from time
to time, mainly for advertising purposes and of
course for sport events. But beware using one of
these methods, as the airspace in L.A. is tightly
162
monitored. Vehicles traversing are scanned con-
stantly and if a permission is not found, invalid or
revoked, it will be attacked instantly. Keep that in
mind when hiring a helicopter for an extraction.
Flying, especially in better districts and for pro-
longed periods of time is a dangerous business
without the best faked identification.
Daily technology
AI’s have taken care of many of your daily needs,
replacing things like a computer, a cellphone and
a personal assistant. They come in all variants,
genders, capabilities etc. New functionalities or
needed upgrades often cost money, but most
people willingly spend it, because a substandard
AI causes all sorts of problems, especially in com-
bination with your CSC.
On a side note, people that tend to work with com-
puters still use real computers mostly, because
prolonged usage of an AI as computer (or televi-
sion or phone or ….) actually tends to give people
headaches. If you’re poor, that’s your problem. If
you have money, better buy a real television.
Also, AI’s have not replaced human workers, at
least not on a large scale. Here and there it can
happen, but mostly, they are an addition, not a re-
placement. For now.
Cyberpods (and biopods) are – like AI’s – things
that are designed to help people. For now, they
are so expensive that no normal private person
or company could afford them just for shits and
giggles. Only the very rich could do that. They are
capable of doing what a human does, but they
still need a little supervision, and since they are
so expensive, it is much more cheaper (for now) to
employ dozens of humans instead of a pod. How-
ever, if you have the money, feel free to surround
yourself with obedient pods, from bodyguards to
 arbiter confidential: The taser tree
A nasty crowd-control gun of the future used by the police. It resembles a short rifle with a large square
ceramic plate at the end (placed perpendicular to the rifle barrel), where nine pairs of sharp taser elec-
trodes, that pierce clothes, rest on circular disks. Each disk in turn can be launched at separate targets
(for a short range), a pair of wires unspooling behind, and delivers a jolt of incapacitating electricity.
Unlike today’s taser guns, the electrode disk can retract its needles and release itself. If release is not
possible, the gun Operator can cut the wires leading to the disk with the push of a button if they have to,
however that disk can no longer be used. A retracted disk can respool, recharge and be reused, however
that is not recommended for health reasons (similar to “sharing dirty needles”).

pleasure models.
From the cyberpods also comes cyberware, in all
sorts getting implanted into humans …
Memory erasing is the latest trend, however you
can only erase fully, not specifically.
Genetic treatment, of course only available for the
very rich can make you healthier, look younger,
feel better etc. It does not grant immortality, but
if you have the money to spend, why not?
Virtual reality and augmented reality are every-
where, the former mostly for entertainment, the
latter more for actual productivity, although the
line is blurry.
Apart from that, many things still work like they
did before. Weapons fire bullets, cars do not fly
and there is no robot cook preparing your dinner
(except if you belong to the upper class).
The State
Even though the corporations dictate much of
your daily life, the state is the final instance when
push comes to shove. Carefully watching and
controlling citizens with CSC’s and GenEval, the
government makes sure that nobody steps out of
line. While the state is neither authoritarian nor
totalitarian, certain tendencies have evolved that
are driving society into a dystopia. If you do not
have a CSC, the system does not care for you at all.
To be a productive member of society, you need
one. With a good job, your CSC looks even better.
If you screw up, your CSC might be decreased or
even removed. People who talk too much about
corporate or political enslavement, revolution or
freedom of speech often have their CSC removed
or disappear. Yes, the state is your friend, but only
if you have CSC and keep your mouth shut. Other-
wise, some people might come knocking. People
that are born without a CSC, meaning, their par-
ents do not have one or cannot afford to register
the child, have almost no possibilities of ever af-
fording one. There are always revolutionizers,
meeting in dark alleys, abandoned buildings or
dusty cellars, but more often than not, these peo-
ple vanish sooner than later, making room for the
next person trying to leave the system.
On a final note, the corporations and the state of-
ten struggle against one another, trying to blame
the other for various things.
Arbiters
The police forces in L.A. are very active depend-
ing on the district. In general they are the execu-
tive and the judicative in one person and very
well equipped for their job. An arbiter is typically
recruited from relatively low GenEval but lives in
the arbiter homes located in district 2 and 3, de-
pending on the rank.
They are educated, trained and sometimes aug-
mented but always a threat to criminals. The
prime directive of the arbiters is to protect citi-
zens according to their CSC. So when criminals
without CSC are involved their life expectation
is not very high. This system is as effective as it
is unfair. High ranking citizens may go free when
confronted with arbiters and most disputes are
settled quick and dirty. The lower the CSC of a citi-
zen the higher the risk of getting incarcerated or
killed.
There are prisons in L.A. and they are overcrowd-
ed. Many prisons of the United States are self
regulated. The state just build a high wall around
a secluded area and throws prisoners in there.
These secluded mini cities are supplied with food,
water and electricity as long they do not oppose
in any way. When the sentence of a citizen is over
they can walk free. If they reach the gate.
Arbiters are often used against large revolting
crowds. They attack mercilessly but most of the
time it’s non-lethal. The doctrine is always to
break the enemy’s will to live and not actually kill
them. There are many weapons available for arbi-
ters which follow that idea.
Operators do not often have problems with arbi-
ters since they have forged CSC’s and know how
to avoid controls. In Operations, arbiters are not
the main problem although they can become one
when extracting.

163
 Equalizers
When an Equalizer is onto you, then you are done.
They are the troubleshooters of Neomancer and
for a major city like Los Angeles, there are only a
few. They are top tier humans, genetically speak-
ing, and on top of that heavily enhanced with ac-
cess to military grade technology and an almost
omnipotent network to get the job done. While
the megacorporations also employ troubleshoot-
ers (see below), the state installed Equalizers are
the most potent.
An Equalizer doesn’t question his task given by
the government. Almost all of them run heavy on
emotional dampeners and their memory is wiped
out every now and then. There are rumors of free-
lance Equalizers who went off the grid. But even if
that were true, no one would ever suspect some-
thing. Their training makes them invisible to the
eyes of the system and you would have one hell
of a bad day if you accidentally ran into one during
an Operation.
“Do we really need this...being?” Major Jeffords is ner-
vous.
You look at him as condescending as possible. “We can’t
allow these Operators to get away with that. They have
gathered highly classified Intel and if that information
gets out, our world could crumble to dust!” you sigh, “the
mayor would be done! Done!”
“We understand the severity of your request, General
Knick,” a slick woman in her forties walks in, “but I’m
not sure if it is necessary to activate Mr. Peers.” She sits
down and looks at you sharply.
“Madame secretary, it is very important that this Intel
and the people who have it are neutralized. You see the
riots in the streets. When Humans First! gets their hand
on that data, this city is done. There will be all-out war!”
Your voice cracks a little as you see her smile.
“I don’t know. Activating Mr. Peers is an expensive prop-
osition and I haven’t even seen all the data.”
You grunt. “Okay, Jeffords, play it.”
“But…”
“Play it!” you yell.
Secretary Inaya gasps as she sees the video file that is
played at the conference table. “That is...but is this even
approved by…?”
“The President? What do you think!” you scoff, “of
course not! Nothing we do here is approved by anyone!
So can we have your man?”
“Of course, of course. I didn’t…” she is still shocked and
you understand her reaction. If this video goes viral then
this nation goes down like a stone in free fall.
You walk through the dark alleys, following every little
marker on your AR. The rain is numbing and the alley
is narrow. You can only see a little neon light in the sky
and the reflection of billboards in the puddles. How can
one of the most dangerous beings in existence live here?
In this mess?
“It’s very easy.”
You spin around, startled and pull your gun.

Chasen R. Chandler
Name: Chasen R. Chandler
Codename: “Maxforce357”
Affiliation: Stormforce
Project: UltraNova
Location: Detroit
Weakness: he

Chasen R. Chandler is Lieutenant Maxforce357, security officer of the Stormforce Security Corporation. Currently, Storm-
force occupies Detroit which is a hotspot for civil wars and major riots. As part of Stormforce’s “Project UltraNova” Exo-
Flesh Cybernetic Enhancement Initiative, Maxforce357 has access to an augmented reality visor, ultra-light body armor,
tactical gloves, strength magnifying power arm, speed accelerating exo-spine and a prototype plasma assault rifle. It re-
mains to be seen if Project UltraNova has proven itself successful in quelling the surge of violence brought on by a mysteri-
ously well equipped gang (the Riot City Brawlers), illegal cyberpods, religious fanatics like the Cult of the Last Prophet and
underground off-grid survivalists, Operators for example.
Rumours have it that the Government sometimes employs him as an Equalizer. No official statement was given...

164
 “No need for that, Mr. General.” a man says mockingly,
“we don’t want any dead officials...yet.” The man throws
a cigarette to the ground and steps out into a pool of pink
light.
He looks normal, wearing a trenchcoat and a very mod-
est hat. His boots seem military but that’s the only thing
that gives away what he really is.
“Mr. Peers, I assume?”
“Yes, do you have my target?”
“Here, please.” you hand over a disposable tablet.
He looks at it, flipping through the data in seconds, then
letting go, it falls to the ground. He steps on it, crushing it
for good measure and nods at you.
“Consider it done.” he says calmly and walks away.
He seems to fade into the dark alley and you realize that
he’s taken your gun and, for some reason, the half empty
pack of cigarettes from your pocket.
Sex, drugs & Rock ‘n’ roll
Music
Music is omnipresent, may it be commercials filled
with ‘songs’, soothing elevator music that should
help to keep people calm (results may vary), the
latest electronic body core smash hit ‘Death by
electric shock’ from Voltigator 10,000 or a playlist
with all your favorite dance hop-classics, played
by DJ Cats feat. All Your Base.
In general, music tends to be either electronic
when people want to dance or full of guitars and
drums when people want to bang their heads.
Other music exists, but is generally relegated to
a niche, as it is harder to record and produce, and
like in the past, record labels want to earn mon-
ey first and care about their artists later. Mostly
mass-produced, today’s rising star can be very
well tomorrow’s loser who is back on the streets.
Musical gear from decades ago has risen back into
people’s minds, and famous musicians or produc-
ers pay a lot of credits for original microphones,
instruments or even CD’s, and people skirmish
through abandoned cities in search for musical
treasures.
Drugs
Going to a party? You can be pretty sure that most
people have taken drugs before or during, not be-
cause the party might suck but because in today’s
fast living society, people do not waste time by
getting only halfway high. When they are out to
party, it’s everything, not nothing.
Alcohol is still people’s number one drug, the more
expensive, the less synthetic. You find everything
from beer to wine to weird looking cocktails, and
basically everything is legal. Just don’t drink and
165
drive – or go to an Operation.
Synthetic drugs are almost as common, from me-
diocre stimulants to full-blown chemical night-
mares that make you dance non-stop for about
36 hours. The lighter variants are mostly legal,
but the heavy stuff is – as so often – illegal, but
the criminal organization next door will definitely
have something that suits your needs, including
heroin or cocaine. Both are often mixed together
with other stuff to ‘truly enhance the experience.’
Your mileage may vary.
Movies
The number one form of entertainment is still
movies and everything related to that. After a long
day at work, there is nothing better than coming
home and catching the latest episode of ‘All my
cyberpods’ with Claire McMurphy, although she
sadly isn’t starring in that show anymore, but the
media companies are probably working on some-
thing else already.
If you don’t find anything new that you like, why
not catch up with the news? Some say these are
heavily regulated by the government and corpo-
rations and rather obtain their news from weird,
Net-based sites. Others do not care about such
trivialities and watch what’s coming, the bloodier,
the better. To bolster their audience ratings, most
shows have been gradually ramping up sex and
violence, either in their fictional programs or also
in their news, showing pretty much everything (if
you watch the right channel).
The latest trend in movies is ‘controlling’ them, in
a way that you can influence certain aspects or
decisions made in the movie. If you have always
wondered what would happen if the hero would
act the way you would, now’s your chance to find
out. If you don’t like it, you can always rewind, of
course.
People still enjoy these films in movie theaters
but sometimes they happen in VR. Yin Yao has one
of the most famous VR theaters that is visited by
millions of people at the same time. The last sci-
ence fiction movie revolving around an ancient
religion and plasma sabers broke the 5 million
people record with its 75th installment.
Bread & games
There are many ways to have fun in Los Angeles
and, as today, what you do to relax depends on
your income and your social status. Sport is still
very important and the most popular sport still
is football, kind of. It is now called speedball and
much more dangerous then football in the early
21st century. The athletes are well paid for that
risk and, besides military duty, becoming a fa-
 mous speedball player is the only chance to have
a decent life for some people. Besides that, there
is also the Running Guy competition, the Arena
and the RX races.
Speedball
A swift and brutal sport, optimized to implement
the maximum amount of ads possible. It is spon-
sored by major companies and every megacor-
pration has at least one speedball team in every
league. The rules are pretty simple. Like in foot-
ball the team has to get the ball across a certain
line and old football rules still apply to a certain
amount. The big twist is that the players are cy-
berenhanced and there are no fouls. In every game
there are roughly 2 casualties, but there are also
big play-offs when one team wipes out the other.
Running Guy
Only poor people with no, or a weak, CSC regis-
ter for the Running Guy because death is almost
certain. Inspired by the American Gladiators, the
participants have to overcome deadly obstacles
to get rewarded with a brand new CSC and an ad-
vertising deal.
RX races
Hyperspeed races over the city of L.A. Although
there are no flying or hovering cars available for
the masses, the RX racers hover over their tracks
166
since they implemented magnetics. They achieve
top speeds of 1000 mph and race against each
other. It is the sport of gentlemen but nonethe-
less the body count of a season can be quite high.
The Arena
The Arena varies depending on the district. While
the Arena in district 1 is very civilized and not many
people die here, the outskirt arenas are a place
of terror and mischief. There are no rules in the
Arena but to please the crowd. Roman times are
rising again when people gather to watch gladia-
tors kill each other in the Arena, either by hand or
with various tools, including everything including
weapons or cars.
There are also a certain amount of unwilling par-
ticipants in the Arena, either because they were
standing in the wrong spot at the wrong time, or
because someone had the opinion that this is the
only useful thing they could contribute to society.
There are people who dislike this system and
protest against it, although often not too loud,
because, well, you should get the idea by now.
While these sports are for professional athletes
there is also quite a few of leisure activities avail-
able.
 Escalator Squash
Imagine a squash court where everything is mov-
ing like crazy and, oddly enough, everyone loves it.
This is a standard fun game for people with high
CSC’s. They love to play it in little clubs, mostly for
the social part of it. Many deals are made between
the games and the performance on the court is
not so important as one might think.
Obstacle Golf
Golf, but with obstacles. Pretty popular among
the middle class since it is an affordable leisure
sport. One does not need to spend many credits
for a round, and it can be played sober or drunk.
There is, however, a world championship but the
main focus of this sport is to entertain the mass-
es, including families that want to keep their chil-
dren occupied for a few hours.
Riemann Surface Baseball
No mind born in the 20th century would under-
stand the complexity of this sport. For a hint, just
imagine a piece of paper, folded several hundred
times in itself. When you throw your ball on paper
one it may end up on paper 17 and bounce over
to paper 28, just in time to be hit by the batter on
167
paper 89. You did not move, though. As said, too
complex for the feeble minds born in the 20th
century.
VR activities
Of course everything can be done in VR. VR is ev-
erywhere and everything is possible. We will not
stretch this because Neomancer does not focus
on VR but for the masses imagine the possibilities
of a Star Trek Holodeck. The state and even the
Megacorporations take care that even the lowest
citizens (at least, most of them) have access to VR
since it calms the population. It is widely used to
manipulate and evoke wishes in the customers
but also to control them.
There are many conspiracy theories that the gov-
ernment and all the other movers and shakers
send signals through VR to control the masses
or do other, shady things only people living in a
trailer in the desert with a tinfoil hat know about.
This does not cover everything happening in the
world of Neomancer but should give you an idea
of the society. Feel free to add other activities that
fit to your campaign or your Operators.
 Playing
the
system

168
 Iago: With all due respect, Your Rottenness, couldn’t we just
wait for a real storm?
Jafar: Save your breath, Iago. Faster!
Iago: Yes, Oh, Mighty Evil One!

169
 The gm chapter
Some men just want to watch the world burn. ― Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth
Since you are reading this it is safe to assume you
already played your fair share of RPG Games. This
being the case, in this section you won’t find too
much generic advice in this section, instead we’ll
focus more on topics regarding the quirks of Neo-
mancer.
Flow of an Operation
You know the Operation layout and what to ex-
pect from an Operation. The main idea is that ev-
ery Operation escalates, some more and some
less. When the players are new to Neomancer, the
Operations will escalate much quicker and you
will be rushing through the DEFCONS in no time
while experienced players may keep a low profile
in DEFCON 3. It is your responsibility to coordinate
everything that happens in an entertaining yet
still believable way.
The main influence on the firewall are the Opera-
tors, but the GM is the one to interpret it. You will
see how successful, or not, your players are and
can steer the Operation in certain directions. This
does not mean that you always have to end up in
DEFCON 1, but it is recommended that there is a
progression. The tension rises during the Opera-
tion. Because of the system in place, it is unavoid-
able that the firewall rises during the game and as
a GM you should embrace that.
The natural escalation of an Operation illus-
trates the rising tension while the Operators
work through the defenses, sneak around guards
and talk to people. While the Operators may feel
that the resistance is building, the players clearly
know the firewall value which can be both good
and bad. On the bad side, it is a gameplay element
that disrupts the narrative. On the good side, they
know what they are up against which simulates
the fact that the Operators are experienced and
know such things.
Always think of a fitting finale for every Operation
beforehand. This does not need to be a fight or a
shootout, although they often are fitting. It can
also be a chase or a flight, maybe even an intense
dialog between the Operators and a major NPC. In
any case, stop when the players want to extract.
170
Do not play or act out the extraction since the
group has to roll for it. The result of the check is
the impulse for your narration on how the Opera-
tors manage to get out of the given situation.
Even if they fail miserably with a high firewall they
still escape, but with a price. This “yes, but…” at-
titude is a core concept of Neomancer.
Yes, but...
The main point of the Neomancer system is “Yes,
but…”. When a player fails a check they move
along nonetheless and they are successful, but
with a drawback. This is sometimes hard to ex-
plain narratively but in most cases possible. A
guard saw something but has other stuff to do
now, a camera watched an unauthorized person
entering a door and so on. In Neomancer not many
actions are worthy to trigger an alarm and deploy
guards since that would cost a lot of money and
no one wants to spend that.
There is one exception to that rule: the critical
check. When you want the Operators to do a cer-
tain thing or overcome a certain obstacle for sure,
just make the check critical since then a success
is needed. But beware since these checks tend to
increase the firewall, a side effect that you may
want to achieve.
This system seems easy to abuse but many play-
tests showed that it just drives the Operation for-
ward. Let’s say the Operators need to get through
a door, the most classic RPG obstacle since D&D.
In many other systems a player needs to make a
lockpicking check or something similar. But what
happens now? When they succeed the door is
open, that is a good outcome which doesn’t hinder
the narrative. But what happens if they fail?
The common reaction is to try it again. Over and
over until they succeed. While doing this, an un-
known amount of time passes and the outcome
is still the same: the door is open. If not, the ad-
venture would be over. Now it is possible to get
through another door, blast a hole in the wall and
so on. Opening the door is not really the target. It
is just overcoming the obstacle to get to the real
target, let’s say a person. If there are doors in the
 way, guards or whatever, it doesn’t matter much.
This said, a failed check in Neomancer simulates
dozens of failed checks in other systems. It just
takes longer, maybe someone even reacts or an
Operator kicks the door in frustration (triggering
the vice of an Operator in DEFCON 2 for example).
A word on combat
The combat system, while insanely fun and tacti-
cal, is not designed to happen more than once per
Operation. It can happen when the players force
it, but lack of ERG in a second or even third com-
bat will make the Operators weak, like in the real
world (without the cyberpunk aspect). So do not
take this as a hard rule because the players could
abuse such knowledge and trigger a combat early
on to avoid one in DEFCON 1. But keep in mind that
a second combat is much harder for the Opera-
tors. This reflects the stealth approach Neomanc-
er has and the general attitude of professionals.
While it is possible to run into an Operation guns
blazing, it is seldomly recommended. See later for
options when players only want to shoot stuff in-
stead of solving problems verbally and with cool
tricks.
171
Campaign running
The essence of Neomancer is campaign play. A
campaign consists of a number of Operations and
Meta Operations. The standard Neomancer Cam-
paign should consist of about 10-12 Operations
with multiple possibilities for the players to alter
the course of a campaign.
There are 2 ways you can plan a campaign:
- Quick and dirty
- Elaborated
Quick and dirty campaigns
Just roll up some characters, generate a random
Operation with the Operation generator and you
are good to go. When you change some results
and create some kind of coherence in the plot it is
even possible to play a campaign that feels con-
nected without even planning it ahead. Try to read
all the material that is provided in this core book
because there are many Operation hooks imple-
mented. The whole idea behind the fluff chapters
is to give you an idea of what to do in the game
with your players
 Elaborated
It is technically possible to play Neomancer for
ever and ever without worrying about game me-
chanics and plot, but it is heavily recommended
that a campaign is designed like a good Netflix
series. For example, it should have a fixed end,
maybe even a mid-season finale. After a season
of Neomancer, you and your players can decide
to just go on with the campaign or you may alter
some things you did not like.
In this section the anatomy of a Neomancer sea-
son is described.
The Operators
Your players are the most important people here
since they are the viewers and influencers all at
the same time. You as a GM will always have fun
too, remember that, but let’s talk about your play-
ers and their Operators.
The style of a campaign depends on what the ma-
jority at the gaming table wants. To avoid disap-
pointment you should talk with each other about
what you want from the campaign. The Operators
the players want to create will give you a hint.
When they are creating murderous freaks, a com-
bat-heavy campaign may be the right fit for them.
The players should also talk to each other and it is
recommended to sit together while creating char-
172
acters. When one player clearly wants to play a
murderhobo without any emotional attachment
to anything and another player is heavily involved
with family and wants them to have a good life,
there may be trouble ahead. Conflict between
players is not necessarily bad though. A little dis-
cussion here and there, maybe even a loud ar-
gument, can be very immersive. But when some
players want totally different things than the rest
of the players then maybe you should talk about
that. It is not essential that everybody agrees but
a little overlap in intentions increases the fun.
Set a rough outline
What is the campaign about? There are several
main tropes that you can use in Neomancer:
Rise of the cyberpods
Do pods really need human rights? Or could one
consider them human? Society is torn between
Pro-bots and Robophobes and clashes happen
daily. Maybe a group tries to set pods free by in-
jecting rogue code. The other way around, there
are politicians who get targeted for their pro-bot
opinion, maybe even by the Operators.
 Hacking terrorists
Remember the puppet master from Ghost in the
shell? There you go, a perfect setup for a Neo-
mancer campaign. Whatever goals this hacker or
better, group of hackers, have the Operators are
only the means for it. They can get caught in the
crossfire between hackers and their targets.
Political war
There are elections in L.A. although they are heav-
ily manipulated or regulated. Election times are
busy times for Operator groups since many peo-
ple need to get ... lost …
Rebellion of the muddy masses
Living with a bad CSC is hell in Neomancer. Long
shifts and a wage so low they can barely afford
anything to eat. Rebellions rise daily in L.A. but not
many are succesful. Think of plots like Snowpierc-
er (movie, awesome, go see it) where rebellions
are orchestrated to vent the anger of the people.
Set an adversary
What would Star Wars be without Darth Vader,
Batman without the Joker and Star Trek without
Klingons? Think of a worthy opponent to oppose
the group, maybe without them noticing at first.
You can get inspiration for adversaries in most
chapters of the core book but here are some sug-
gestions:
- a powerful hacker named Anarchy (think of the
Ghost in the Shell Puppetmaster)
- someone from the VIP-lists of the megacorpora-
tions
- an equalizer hunting the Operators
- a high level CEO of Yin Yao
173
Set a meta plot
Lay out a rough plotline to follow. The outcome of
certain Operations may alter that during the cam-
paign but some scenes and events can be fixed.
It’s easy to use railroading here, a very boring and
old technique of RPGs. No matter what the play-
ers decide, no matter if their Operators succeed
or not the outcome is always the same. If you ever
played video games then you know the drill (with
some exceptions).
You can have different levels of freedom during
campaign play which will be discussed now:
Railroading
The actions of the Operators do not matter and
whatever they choose to do the outcome is set. As
a GM this kind of campaign is easier to plan and
run since you know from the beginning what will
happen in every scene. For the players it can be
very frustrating when they look beyond the veil
and learn that they do not really matter.
However, it can be okay for novices to create an
illusion of choice. So the players get the feeling
their choices matter while they really do not. This
may be considered cheating, but it can be very
helpful when your are new to roleplaying games.
But be warned, players tend to notice when they
are tricked!
Sandbox campaign
This is the form of campaign with the highest skill
requirement for the GM because many things can-
not be prepared. In a sandbox campaign the play-
ers can do whatever they want and it could even
be a possibility to reject jobs and look for others.
Maybe the whole concept of Operations can van-
ish into the background and the lifestyle of the
Operators is played out. While many games sup-
 port this concept, Neomancer is not designed to
be played this way. It can be, when a very skillful
GM invests time and effort and, even more impor-
tant, is very spontaneous.
Seasonal play
Playing by season is the best of both worlds. The
GM can plan the campaign and knows what is
going on, but the players have certain moments
where their decision changes the course of the
whole campaign.
The campaign tree
A campaign tree is an easy way to offer a tight
narrative where you, as a GM, can plan ahead
without stripping the players of all their options.
An example tree for a campaign could look like the
example below.
Decisions, decisions
The most important thing about roleplaying are
the decisions. In Neomancer there are many mi-
nor decisions like taking the lift or the stairs, talk-
ing with the guards or attacking them and so on.
These decisions create the fun in the game. A
game where everything is set is no fun at all; you
could instead watch a movie.
While these minor decisions are very important,
the major decisions will engage your players. At
the end of some Operations there should be a big
decision with different outcomes for everyone in-
volved. These decisions shouldn’t be obvious.
Bad examples
The innocent child of a megacorp boss has been
kidnapped. You can free her or let her die. It is up
to you!

Operation 1
Generic Operation. Sets things in
motion and starts the meta plot.

Operation 2
Generic Operation with an impor-
tant decision at the end.
They have to choose a or b to go
on.

Operation 3a Operation 3b
Generic Operation, leads to finale Generic Operation, leads to finale
A. B.

Finale A Finale B
Conclusion to the meta plot. Sets Conclusion to the meta plot. Sets
cliffhanger for next campaign. cliffhanger for next campaign.

174
 You have done everything according to plan. Now
you can blow up the compound killing everyone
inside for 500 credits more.
Every option should be viable and have an appar-
ent twist, or not that apparent. In the best case
both options have their merits and flaws and the
Operators have to choose the lesser evil.
Good examples
The Operators find out that the assassin they
should stop does not work on his own. Instead he
is forced to kill to protect his family. When they
stop him his family dies, but if they don’t the tar-
get gets killed.
The Operators have the opportunity to save a cy-
perpod. When they do they have a harder extrac-
tion but it can help them later on.
These decisions should alter the course of the
campaign and they should also define the char-
175
acters of the Operators. Although they defined
their virtues and vices, their relationships and so
on, only actions count. When the Operators show
passion, the campaign will go in a certain direc-
tion. If they don’t, the campaign will feel bland..
These decisions are not just charade, they are an
important tool to evaluate your Operators.
Generator
The Operation generator is a handy tool when you
want to get inspiration. Let it give you ideas for
your campaign but do not feel forced to use ev-
erything. When you do not like an idea or roll just
alter it. The generators are tools for your imagina-
tion and a kickstart for your campaign. Just roll a
die to determine the outcome for your Operation
but do not feel restricted by the result. If you like
another option more, just switch.
 Basic Operation generator
[Person] wants you to [job] [target] in a [location] near or in [place]. During the Operation an [event] hap-
pens and the [environment rule] apply. There may also be a [twist].

Person
The person who offers the job is never contacted directly and speaks only through the broker. However, it is important for you
to know who it is to create a meta plot for your campaign. While the players often have no idea who that actually is, the GM
should know this information.
1 Arapea Ohauko Former New Zealand navy member. Now a broker, mainly weapons dealer, and social dude.
2 Butterfly Di- Virtual anarchist persona (Yin Yao-Employee, maybe)
saster
3 Cyph3n Hacker, attacking corporation’s money, scamming things …
4 King Cobra Loves early 21st century muscle cars, especially Ford Mustangs.
5 Joy Beaulake An eco activists, but far away from being a recruiter. You can have actual, normal conversations with
her in a restaurant where they sell protein blocks made from real animals. Her motto is “when you lead
by example, the rest will follow.” You’ll often find her in the Griffin Park, where she holds workshops
on “Bio-Yoga”.
6 David Kitano Born to loyal Yin Yao mid level sararimans, David never had much of a career choice. His two fathers
planned his whole life from cradle to the grave. Though he really wants to break free, his code of honor
and love for his parents are stronger, that’s why he stays on the given path. Still he needs a valve for
tension release, that is why he likes to hang out with Operators. Listening to their stories and giving
one or two snippets of information. He is the one who can get you around Little Tokyo without getting
stopped by the police.
7 La Luna, Queen A natural born party girl that is famous among nearly every high society night club. Loves to play her
of the night role as dummy but the few who know her better can see behind her mask.
clubs
8 Yuki Yamamoto, Widow of the former tradesman (and Yakuza boss) Nobu Yamamoto and heiress of the Yamamoto
the luxusgirl fortune. Involved with many different corporations.
9 Samuel Saint Samuel Saint, CEO and shrewd businessman who managed to build his small construction company
into one the biggest in L.A.
Got his hand on very lucrative government contracts, no one know how he got ‘em.
10 Claire Richfield One of the most famous burglars of her time. She does not like to get her hands dirty.
11 Sven Olafson Rich eco activist and thorn in the eye of many corporations.
12 Sota Kazuhiro Son in law of Haraya Kazuhiro, CEO of Yin Yao and married to Yui Kazuhiro.
Took his wife’s family name and got a place among the corp’s top managers.
13 Myron Eldson Closest advisor to the Griffins Corp CEO George Griffin Jr. Is rumored to be an advanced biopod.
14 Jessie White Second-born daughter of a British industrialist. Head of White Noise’s Human Resource department.
15 Keith Stane Son of Miranda from Stane Industries, power hungry and tries to prove his worth to his mother.
16 Mathew Cunning One of the most powerful leaders among the ranks of Humans First!.
17 Junior Solomon Head scientist of Griffin. In dire need of more information concerning advanced robotics and
weaponry because of Ynagai’s baffling techniques.
18 Clive Richmore Paranoid media producer. Always fears for his life and smells conspiracies everywhere.
19 Azrak Al’Saqr The Cult of the Last Prophet reaches out to you: you have received the Falcon. Will you answer the call?
‘The Prophet’

Job
The job description is very important since it sets the tone for the Operation. Getting something out is much harder than just
destroying something while it is also ethically cleaner.
1 Get [target] out Get the target out of there! And in one piece –or at least alive.
2 Get [target] in Get the target in. And in secret if possible.
3 Destroy / kill Sabotage and wetwork, the bread and butter of the Operators.
[target]
4 Protect [target] An unusual request but it happens. Sometimes important people require more clandestine body-
guards.
5 Manipulate Tinker with, hack or seduce the target.
[target]
6 Find [target] Not only finding but also tagging it to get other Operators to do the real job.

176
 Target
The MacGuffin when you do not want to worry about the campaign or a single piece of the big puzzle (more on that later).
1 Test Animal Varies. It may be a military grade beast or a meat-only creature bred to feed the rich.
#3231
2 Data Data can have any form. Most of the time Operators store it on easily transportable slates.
3 A bomb Most bombs can be produced very small. However since there are detection devices everywhere the
bomb has 1 FP.
4 Claire McMur- The new rising star, having worked her way up from ‘All my Cyberpods’ to a serious actress at the age
phy of 27, currently starring in ‘Running through the shadows’.
5 Genetic finger- Tissue and biometrical data of a random person (see person table).
print
6 Blackmail list A list of politicians and influencers that are blackmailed by the corporation.
7 Mike Cotton Groundskeeper of the Dodger Stadium and the biggest sports fan this city has ever seen. His knowl-
edge of Baseball in terms of history, records and anecdotes is uncanny for a human being. Though the
need for a greenskeeper is practically non-existant in this day and age, he is still kept around as the
good soul of the stadium.
8 Adam Sevenkay First pod actor ever and a tour guide in the Hollywood Museum. Not active anymore because of copy-
right reason. Tells a lot of anecdotes and is fun to hang out with. Behaves as if he knows that he is a
pod, but the manufacturer built that persona as another role he thinks he plays. Sad, but true.
9 Weapons Varies in form and size. It may even be a tank or another military vehicle. Most of the time it consists
of several crates.
10 An experimental Maybe military, maybe better than any human known. While the latter may cooperate, the military
cyberpod death machine won’t.
11 Experimental Cyberware is a risky business and sometimes also clandestine. Corporations produce strange cyber-
cyberware ware all the time without the products ever hitting the market.
12 Vehicle A new sports car, a famous old car, a prototype, anything can be interesting here.
13 Collector’s Item This can vary from a coin to a bronze statue. Maybe it is the first cyperod’s hair extensions, maybe it is
a signed autograph from Grand Emperor Trump.
14 Relict from the VHS Recorders, the first two seasons of Friends and other treasures.
20th century
15 Local politician Mike Marnollo, the voice of the people in district 4 or Karl VanHouten, one of the richest people in
district 2.

Location
Locations are very important for the mood of a Neomancer campaign and set the atmosphere of every action in there.
1 Factory In a factory there are also innocent workers and uninvolved people that have to be taken care of.
2 Compound A compound usually has only security personnel and a small staff working there.
3 Office An office can be anywhere and is mostly like an office in the 21st century.
4 Streets The streets are filled with people and neon lights flicker in the rain. The look of the streets depends
heavily on the district.
5 Train The HyperTrain is a dangerous location for the Operators since it can derail when certain things hap-
pen. Also there are many innocent people aboard.
6 Airplane A difficult location. It can be an interpacific flight or not.

177
 Place
Places should not restrict but enrich the Operation. When you roll up or choose a place you should decide if it is fitting for your
Operation. If not let the gig just happen a few blocks away from the place.
1 The old tunnel From the transrapid, abandoned, where people live.
systems
2 Electric banzai Hottest disco in L.A. right now.
drop
3 Mr. Mohawk Cybersoldier bar, cagefighting, sexypods. Apparently only legal stuff.
4 Sky Valley Expensive casino in Santa Monica. Hanging on a combination of steel girders and cables.
5 Old zoo Typical hideout or meeting place for gangers.
6 Hospital in dis- One of the few affordable hospitals that exist in a district 4. Always overcrowded and full of shady
trict 4 figures.
7 Griffin Park Formerly known as the Griffith Park, it is one of the last completely AR- and cyber-free parks in L.A.
US Patriots as they are, Griffin Enterprise purchased the park when the city wanted to tear it down to
build new apartments (rumor has it for Yin Yao executives). Because of its natural state, a lot of eco-
activists hold meetings and lectures here. One of the ‘greenest’ places on earth.
8 Japanese Garden Yin Yao’s equivalent to the Griffin Park. A green and well guarded garden in a lvl 2 district. Meeting
place for Yin Yao employees.
9 Dodger Stadium As the world develops and transforms, ‘Chavez Ravine’ defies evolution. To a certain degree. While
Baseball is the still the same game, the players are moderately enhanced. There is a point system
which determines how much cyberware a team or player can use. The rules for that system are more
complicated than the rules of baseball itself. But who cares. Baseball!
10 Santa Monica Neon lights, supercars, hot boys and cool girls. That was over 100 years ago. Now it is mainly known
Bay for Yin Yao’s arcology. They still invest a lot of money to keep Santa Monica Bay as beautiful and ex-
pensive as ever.
11 Little Tokyo Yin When Griffin Enterprise bought and renamed Griffin Park, Yin Yao took that as a ‘Go away’ gesture and
Yao Arcology decided to answer with ‘Dig in and defy’. That is when they acquisitioned, practically overnight, every
building in the Little Tokyo Historic district and made it a safe haven for their employees, business
partners and enthusiasts. Outsiders aren’t specifically excluded, but it helps to know someone when
the private police scans for your CSC.
12 Necromance A medical and zoological curiosity shop, this gem is one of a kind. Opened 1991, it still sells preserved
insects, stuffed animals that are extinct and Victorian surgical instruments. Note that every item is
unique and non-refundable. No one knows how the owner, who stands behinds the counter everyday
himself, gets hold of the objects. Rest assured, even the hardest Operators try to stay away from this
eerie place.
13 Hollywood Ever since the start of cinema, Hollywood and its many studios have been evolving to entertain people
around the world. After a major crisis in the 2070s, the dreamfactory had a second renaissance with
the introduction of virtual reality and pod actors. Since the law doesn’t treat pods as a human be-
ing, the studios own them completely, resulting in exclusive deals, faster production time and more
control of the public image. The first pod actor ever, Adam Sevenkay, still gives tours in the Hollywood
Museum.
14 The Masque Located in one of the hippest lvl 2 district, The Masque was L.A.’s first punk club. 2060 re-opened,
when business punk Steve Lydon purchased it and the whole block. Bigger, louder and with even less
fucks to give, it is the perfect place for ‘see and be seen’.
15 Chess Park Still maintained by Yin Yao in Santa Monica Bay, the Chess Park is now more of a chess winter garden.
The crowd, however, is still as diverse as L.A. itself. From hobo to professor, from businessman to
punk, when you step into ‘The Park’, what matters is your skill in the game of kings. Newcomers and
veterans are both welcome alike. The peace of this elysium is maintained by Victor Mankowsky, an ex-
soldier, for whom chess is a form of meditation.
16 Venice Canals The Venice Canal historic district was threatend by severe water problems, when Griffin Enterprise
heard the call of duty. As the ever-patriotic company they want to be seen as, they upgraded the ca-
nals with a high-end filter system that allows the water to remain more or less fresh, and the popula-
tion of Venice happy. That comfort, of course, comes with a price. Only people who really made it in
the corporate or political world have the means to live here. Although it is a company neutral district,
non-Griffin employees are advised to not live there. Rumor has it that Griffin installed more devices
than just the filtration system.
17 Dystopia A new club in town, celebrating the downfall of humanity to hard techno beats. It was built on the ruins
of an old train tunnel and citizens can only enter when they are invited – or pay a lot of money. There
is a rumour about preferring cyberpods to humans.
Imagine dancing, augmented people doing hard drugs to the music but behind closed doors trades are
made. Megacorporations may have a say as always, but the Dystopia is more in the hand of organized
crime.

178
 Event
Events can make the Operation more lifelike. They do not need to happen, but they add normality and tension to the game. Just
choose a fitting event that is happening near or in the place.
1 A normal night Nothing special about that.
2 Visit of outsiders A formal visit has been planned. Maybe there are presentations for superiors and so on.
3 Social event A concert or party is happening during the Operation.
4 Work Strike! A work strike is happening during the Operation.
5 Attack An attack of some kind is happening during the Operation.
6 Protest Maybe Humas First! organized a rally or someone is protesting against arbiter brutality.

Environment
These rules add flavor to the Operation. They give further details about the location and the whole Operation. When your group
is particularly trigger-happy then Loud! can always be a good choice.
1 Loud! Fights do not generate FP in this Operation.
2 Heavily regu- Double all FP from gear.
lated
3 Secluded Add to all prepscene checks.
4 High risk extrac- Add 3 to the firewall right before extraction. Also add 500₵ to the payment.
tion
5 Time is of the Every check in this mission is critical.
essence
6 No environmet -
rule

Twist
Not every Operation should have a twist but it can add tension and surprise. The twists should not be overused to retain their
impact.
1 Betrayal! Add 2 to firewall at the start of the Operation.
2 Lies! Deception! The Operators were lied to about the purpose of the Operation. This does not matter now but may in
the big scheme of things.
3 Secret admirer The Operators are followed by someone. Maybe it is an Equalizer, maybe it is another threat or even
an ally.
4 Men in gray When the vice of an Operator gets triggered they immediately see a smiling person in a safe spot,
watching them. Set this person up as an recurring antagonist.

179
 Minion and leader rules
All right, it’s getting crowded in here. Everyone out. Everyone out. C’mon. Not you, Scotty. Not you, Number 2. Not you, Frau. Not you,
Goldmember. Not you, guys back there. Not you, henchman holding wrench. Not you, henchman arbitrarily turning knobs, making it
seem like you’re doing something. – Dr. Evil

This system represents the amount of guards and

What is a minion
In Neomancer the Operators are the main char-
acters of every tale and the minion rules support
that. The players should get the feeling that every
Operator is capable of incapacitating, not neces-
sarily killing, dozens of enemies.
Minions are the henchmen of crime lords, the
guards of facilities and the police that tries to
stop the Operators. They can be anything and are
the typical goon an Operator can face during an
Operation.
Minions do not need to be killed. They work for
money and they are likely to surrender when the
threat they face is too dangeros. This is repre-
sented by the following combat rules.
Combat
Minions only appear in combat. They may be pres-
ent outside of combat but in this case they are
human beings to interact with the Operators. In
combat they become faceless minions.
A minion group usually consists of 5 minions and
acts as a single participant.
For every trait check they use the same amount
of as minions are present. So 5 minions in one
group have one action with . When
one minion gets incapacitated there are only
left and so on.
Minion groups have action sheets to choose their
actions from (see next page). Depending on their
training this could be very restrictive or, in case of
elite minions, very much like that of an Operator.
resources that are activated by the Operators’ ac-
tions. When the firewall is low there are not many
guards, but when the firewall is high the resis-
tance will be stronger.
In regards to choosing actions, the minion groups
work just as Operators. They have a sheet where
the GM puts a die down.
Damage
Every minion can take 3 damage (in one action)
before being incapacitated. As mentioned before
they are not necessarily dead. Maybe they yield,
flee or get knocked out. So the Operators need to
deal 3 damage to remove 1 minion, 6 damage for
2 and so on.
Excess damage is not counted so when a minion
group suffers 5 damage with a single attack only
1 minion goes away. The next Operator has to do
3 damage again.
This system is for ease of use, so the GM does not
keep track of the minions’ health, only the num-
bers.
Flow
Minion groups can also have flow. Have a look
at the minion sheets provided in the back of this
book or on the download page.
This is very important because Operators can ma-
nipulate the flow of minion groups.

Initiative
Minion groups do not spend INI. Instead, the GM
has the current firewall value as INI and can divide
it among the minion groups each round.
So, if the firewall is at 7 and 3 minion groups are
available the GM can spend the INI in many ways:
Minion group A: 2 INI
Minion group B: 3 INI
Minion group C: 2 INI

The basic rules still apply so the GM has to spend

at least 1 INI on every group!

180
 Tank minions
Minion descriptions Shotgun, 4 wounds, four people
All minions on this page have several attributes: No special rules.
Weapon The kind of weapon every min- Can not be deployed when DEFCON is 3.
ion in the group uses. Tank minions are the anvil for the Vanguard. They
X wounds The damage one minion can are protected by a considerable amount of armor
take before going down. and equipped with shotguns for close distance
combat. Many corporations have access to heav-
X people The number of people a stan-
ily armored guards but they are not deployed un-
dard group consists of.
til there is a real threat. Note that their 4 wounds
Special rule Some minions have special will keep them alive much longer and makes them
rules regarding the combat. nearly immune to handgun attacks.
Deployment Some minions may only be de-
ployed during certain DEFCON neutral exposed
states. Shoot Attack formation
Attack C/N/E. Attack C/N/E with + .
Merge Suicide
Standard minions Merge with another minion
group. New group may not
Attack C/N/E with
+ . Remove 1 minion
Pistols, 3 wounds, five people be bigger than 5. New group after that.
No special rule. counts as standard minions.
Can be deployed anytime.
Hunter minions
These minions can be used in almost every Op- Machine pistol, 3 wounds, four people
eration. They are facililty guards, police, soldiers, Always attack the same Operator, immediately
mercenaries and all the other goons standing in leave combat when this Operator gets critically
the way of the Operators. In most Operations they wounded.
are sufficient and even more in the early stages of Can not be deployed when DEFCON is 3 or 2.
the game where the Operators are not quite lev-
eled up. There are moments where one Operator is cru-
neutral exposed cial for a mission or raised more suspicion than
the others. Hunter teams are assassins that come
Shoot Attack formation in to play when the System wants one Operator
Attack C/N/E. Attack C/N/E with + .
dead. They appear, they attack, they kill, they van-
ish.
Vanguard minions The moment a Hunter team critically wounds the
Machine pistols, 3 wounds, five people targeted Operator they are removed from combat.
Move Vanguard up 2 steps in combat sequence
after planning. neutral exposed
Can not be deployed when DEFCON is 3. Shoot target Operator Attack formation
Attack C/N/E with + . Attack C/N/E with + .
The Vanguard are the special troubleshooters of Cover fire
Attack C/N/E with a penalty
the corporations. They are quick and brutal. Most of to add to the tar-
sites do not have access to the Vanguard and even get’s flow (even when you
miss).
then they are not always deployed, only when
there is a considerable threat. Their special skill
allows them to act quicker without spending too Sniper minions
much precious INI. Sniper rifle, 3 wounds, four people
Can not be deployed when DEFCON is 3 or 2.
neutral exposed
Shoot Attack formation Sniper teams are a very rare sight. Sometimes
Attack C/N/E. Attack C/N/E with + . they are deployed when Operators are very
Merge Cover fire threatening or the structure allows sniper rifles.
Merge with another minion Attack C/N/E with a penalty
group. New group may not of to add to the tar- Note that Sniper minions can only act covered.
be bigger than 5. New group get’s flow (even when you
counts as standard minions. miss). covered exposed
Shoot -
Attack C/N/E.

181
 What is a leader?
Leaders are individuals who are a bigger threat
than minions and are treated separately. In every
fight there should only be one leader at the most.
Regarding damage and flow they are treated like a
single minion and therefore have a certain amount
of wounds. When they take the same amount of
damage they are incapacitated.
Note that leaders are often support and not brute
force.
Standard Leader
Pistol, 5 wounds
Leaders are the commanders of multiple minion
teams. In most fights it makes sense to have a
leader present. They mostly support the minions,
call for reinforcements and so on. From a tactical
standpoint, it is recommended to incapacitate the
leader first although they may not seem threat-
ening.
Officer
Machine pistol, 8 wounds
Officers are more capable than leaders. Their ac-
tions are more diverse and more powerful. The
Operators may even encounter an officer during
narrative play.
Commander
Whatever the GM chooses, 12 wounds
Commanders are truly impressive adversaries.
They still possess supportive actions but they
also shine in direct engagement. Incapacitating a
commander is a real challenge and should influ-
ence the narrative and maybe the intermission. A
commander should become a recurring NPC after
the first encounter.
covered
Help us! Shoot
Remove 1 FP to add 2 minions to any group Attack ranged.
(up to group maximum).
Reinforcements (Officer and Commander Orders! (Officer and Commander only)
only)
Add to anyone’s flow.
Add 1 minion to any group (up to group maxi-
mum).
Kill order (Commander only) Drone support (Commander only)
One minion group attacks immediately with One Operator receives a random 1 damage One Operator loses their action. The Com-
+ . wound.
182
Balancing hints
There should be at least one minion group per Op-
erator present to be dangerous for the group. Add
a leader and you will have a challenging fight. The
minion rules are designed to be easy to use for the
GM and even easier to adjust.
When the minions seem too weak, add another
weapon to the group or use different minions the
next time.
There is no threat level that you can calculate for
the Operators to provide a fitting challenge but
the standard minions can scale quite nicely when
you just use more of them.
It is better to have many inferior enemies rather
than one that is hard to kill. All of our playtesters
enjoyed mowing down hordes of enemies much
more than just wounding one giant threat.
minion sheet
In the back of this book you will find the minion
sheet. This is very helpful when handling the
combat.
neutral exposed
Attack formation
Attack with + .
Cover fire
Attack ranged with a penalty of to
add to the target’s flow (even when
you miss).
Negotiate (Commander only)
mander may propose a truce.
183
 Seaside

184
 A sample Operation for single Operators

185
 Solo Operation I’m getting too old for this shit. – Roger Murtaugh

see a map of the restaurant and the city blocks around

Introduction
This is a short sample Operation for a single player that
introduces you to almost all the basics you need to know
about Operations in Neomancer. Since it is designed for
solo play, some things are slightly changed and it is not
as flexible as a real Operation. Nevertheless, simply play
along and have fun.
Getting the job
Ailsa throws a dataslate on the table. It’s a slick black
device with no connections whatsoever. You input raw
data in it and it deletes itself when the battery depletes
or someone tries to fiddle with it. Yin Yao invented it and
Preparation
The preparation phase explains what the Operators do
millions copied it. It is a cheap throwaway-device, mostly
used for illicit information trading.
You grab the the device and scroll through the info: a
courier (Alex Kehoe, apparently a low-level, half-Oper-
ator) was expected to exchange a briefcase yesterday at
midnight in a small restaurant in Santa Monica called
the “Seaside”. The briefcase neeeds to be retrieved. You
it. So, this restaurant probably should be your first stop to
check out what happened.
The information is available for the Operator but now
he can add his own data. Every broker makes every piece
of information he sees valuable available for the Opera-
tion since they actually want the Operators to succeed.
Only in rare cases of criss-cross-business brokers might
hold back informations. Let’s hope this is not such an
Operation, eh?
for the intrusion and later for the extraction (since often,
terrible things happen during an Operation, planning
your extraction is a good idea).
Remember that the creative solution here is the goal. A
standard Operation never needs to be fully fleshed out.
That’s what the preparation and later the actual playing
of the Operation are there for.

186
 For now, you get to do 1 prepscene for intrusion and also to intrusion. If not successful, add 1 FP to the
1 for extraction. Later in the game, you are totally free to FW.
choose what you will do with your network together. It looks like the Seaside is not really dangerous to enter.
I know people who can help me. There are a few backdoors, even unlocked windows you
Go to 1 could simply slip through. Confident that you can enter
I want to use my hacking skills. without any problems, you disappear and prepare your-
Go to2 self.
I want to sneak in. Go to 5
Go to 3
I want to use my drones. 4
Go to 4 Make a rigging check and remember to remove 1
ERG. If succesful add to intrusion. If not suc-
1 cessful, add 1 FP to the FW.
Make an interaction or street smarts check. If suc- Your drones should be able to get you inside through an
cesful add to intrusion. If not successful, add 1 unguarded room or window when you start the Opera-
firewall point to the firewall. tion. Now it’s time to prepare for the actual entry ...
One of your contacts tells you the following: “So, I’ve
Go to 5
put my ear to the streets for a while. Turns out that Alex
has a drug problem. But he also owes money to a small-
time gangster named Lucius. The interesting part is that
5
Lucius also owns the Seaside. Maybe Alex knew that or I want to plan an escape route.
not, but it’s pretty obvious that Lucius has something to Go to 6
do with his disappearance, if you ask me…” I want to escape by water.
Go to 5 Go to 7
I hire an escape driver.
Go to 8
2
Make a hacking check (don’t forget to remove 1
ERG). If succesful add to intrusion. If not suc- 6
cessful, add 1 FP to the FW. Make a tactics or street smarts check. If succesful
Probing the security systems of the Seaside was easy. You add to extraction. If not successful, add 1 FP to
couldn’t access everything from the outside, but it wasn’t the FW.
a problem to make a fake reservation, so you can get in- You sneak around the restaurant for a while, confident
side without any problems. that you didn’t draw any unnecessary attention upon
yourself. From the look of things, Lucius’ men only seem
Go to 5 to be in the restaurant or right in front of it. In any case, if
you manage to exit the Seaside, it shouldn’t be a problem
3 to simply disappear into the streets surrounding it.
Make a stealth or tactics check. If succesful add

187
 Go to 9 Go to 13

7
Make an athletics check. If succesful add to ex- Danger zone
traction. If not successful, add 1 FP to the FW. 13
You have planted a wetsuit not far away from the res- Decide what to do next. You have entered the Sea-
taurant. If you make your escape, you can simply enter side and have several options:
the water and make some distance between you and the I want to talk to some people
Seaside. Go to 14
Go to 9 I want to use my tech and rig/hack.
Go to 15
8 I want to sneak around.
Make a rigging or street smarts check. If succesful Go to 16
add to extraction. If not successful, add 1 FP to
the FW. 14
A car is waiting for you outside. All you have to do is Make an interaction check. If not succesful, add 1
leave the Seaside and you’re gone. FP to the FW because you act suspiciously.
Go to 9 In any case, the waiter tells you the following:
“Yes, I think I have seen him. I remember he had a meet-
9 ing with another man, but later on he was gone while the
You may be satisfied with your results but it is always man was still here. I remember because the man asked
smart to call in some favors. me where he had gone. I couldn’t tell him because I didn’t
You may activate your network for 200₵ to add know. The last time I saw your … friend … was where the
to your intrusion or extraction. Some networks toilets are. He was talking with … someone. But there is a
have special rules which can increase the firewall guard. I’m sorry, I have to continue work now.”
and so on. Remember to apply them. Go to 17
Go to 10
15
10 Make a hacking or rigging check (remember to
Make a check with all in your intrusion against spend ERG). If not successful, add 1 FP to the FW
. Since this is a solo Operation you may add because you might have alarmed someone … or
to intrusion and to extraction. something.
It is pretty easy to get access to the Seaside’s surveillance
If you succeed go to 11
systems. The last time you can spot Alex is when he talks
If you failed go to 12
to someone in front of the toilets. The stream is only vi-
sual, so you don’t know what they are talking about. Two
11 guys appear behind him and one of them hits Alex hard
Your preparation paid off. You entered the Seaside on the head. He collapses on the floor, and they move him
smoothly without any problems. (and the briefcase he was carrying) through a door with
Go to 13 the label “Private”. You can spot some stairs, so maybe
it’s some kind of a basement.
12 Go to 17
Despite your good work earlier you entered the
Seaside with a few complications, but nothing a
professional couldn’t handle. Add 1 FP to the FW.

188
 16 He was tough and needed a few more hits before he went
Make a stealth or tactics check. If not successful,
add 1 FP to the FW because you attract too much
attention.
You move through the restaurant, keeping your eyes
open. Next to the toilets is a door with the label “Private”
where a man is standing, looking like he is guarding the
pridoor. Before you enter the toilets, you can spot a tiny
drop of what looks like blood on the carpet right in front
of the door. You think you are right here …
Go to 17
17 Go to 21
So, it is a safe assume that Alex is probably behind that
private door along with the briefcase which is your real
priority. The Guard doesn’t look like he is leaving any-
time soon, however. You need to find a way to get past
him.
I want to talk to the guard.
Go to 18
I want to attack the guard in close combat!
Go to 19
I want to shoot the guard.
Go to 20
18
Make an interaction check. If not successful, add
1 FP to the FW. The guard still lets you pass, but
you’ve got a bad feeling about this …
You approach the guard with a cocky attitude. “Hey, boss
sent me to … talk to this Alex guy. Seems he needs a little
bit of motivation.” You wriggle your eyebrows and grin.
The guard eyes you for a second, but then shrugs his
shoulders. “Yeah, whatever. But keep it down. No need
to worry the customers.”
You nod and enter what is in fact a basement.
Go to phase 2
19 Take the briefcase, Alex and get the hell out of dodge
Make a melee check. If not successful, add 1 FP to
the FW.
189
down. Anyway, you’ve hidden his body and enter what is
in fact a basement.
Go to 21
20
Make a ranged check. If not successful, add 2 FP
to the FW. If successful, still add 1 FP to the FW.
It’s easy to shoot someone, but against common
belief even a silenced gun is loud.
You’ve hidden the corpse and enter the basement, as it
seems …
21
It depends on your firewall what happens now.
The firewall is 0-2
Go to 22
The firewall is 3-4
Go to 28
The firewall is 5+
Go to 41
22
The basement is more or less empty, but at least none of
Lucius’ men seem to be there. A few tables are filled with
a couple of average looking weapons, probably black
market gear. Seems as if Lucius really isn’t the biggest
fish around, at least at the moment. A briefcase is lying
there, still closed. You recognize the model and know that
these things destroy their contents if someone tinkers with
them the wrong way. There also is a small holding cell in
which Alex sits. He looks pretty beaten up and seems to
be unconscious, but he is alive. You think that you can
open his cell, but it takes a little time and he might hinder
your escape.
Take the briefcase and get out of dodge
Go to 23
Go to 24
 23 “Listen, the owners of the briefcase might come look-
You snatched the briefcase right from the table and left
the Seaside before anyone noticed what had happened.
Still, you feel a little sad for Alex, but this is the way
things are. He would have been a burden to take with
you and you actually don’t know him. Maybe they will
let him go after roughing him up some more.
You disappear into the neon lights at the Santa Monica
pier. Time to collect your reward.
Automatic Success. Go to 42, but you are an
asswipe
24
You curse a lot, but you have opened Alex’ cell and drag
him with you.
Add to extraction.
Go to 25
25
You now have to make an extraction check. Take
all in the extraction and roll against the DEF-
CON you reached. It should be between and
. you owe me a favor, and don’t chicken out when I come
You pass the extraction check
Go to 26
You fail the extraction check
Go to 27
26 32
Despite taking Alex with you, you leave the Seaside un-
noticed. Alex thanks you about a thousand times. Before
he leaves, he promises that he’ll stay out of dangerous
business and he also owes you a favor. If he doesn’t get
killed tomorrow, it might come in handy someday.
Time to collect your reward.
Go to 42
27 Go to 42
Damn Alex. First he slowed you down, then he got shot
when they came after you. And you caught a bullet.
Well, you’re better off than Alex, at least ...
Go to 42
28
“Well, what have we here?” Where the hell did Lucius
come from? Anyway, he and his three men are armed,
but they aren’t shooting … yet. You might be able to get
out of this without a fight if you play your cards right.
190
ing for it. Let me take it and I’m gone.”
Go to 29
“Listen, the owners of the briefcase might come look-
ing for it. Let me take it and I’m gone. Also, I’m tak-
ing Alex with me, asshole.”
Go to 30
29
Make an interaction check against .
If you succeed go to 31
If you don’t succeed go to 33
30
Make an interaction check against . Even if
not succesful, Alex is now with you.
If you succeed go to 32
If you don’t succeed go to 33
31
“Hmm.” Lucius scratches his chin and puts a toothpick
between his teeth. “I think I’ll let you win this time. But
knocking. Now piss off, I’ve got things to do.”. He looks in
Alex’ direction and grins.”
Time to collect your reward. Poor Alex...
Go to 42 (and you are an asshole)
“Hmm.” Lucius scratches his chin and puts a toothpick
between his teeth. “I think I’ll let you win this time. But
you owe me a favor, and don’t chicken out when I come
knocking. Now piss off.”
And that you do. Time to collect your reward. Alex
thanks you about a thousand times and promises he owes
you a favor. If he doesn’t get shot tomorrow, he might
come in handy someday.
33
“Don’t insult me,” Lucius screams. His goons are open-
ing fire. Time for negotiation is over …
Make a ranged or melee check. If you fail mark a
random wound.
Go to 34
34
Well, they’re all dead. Next time, they better pick a fight
they can win.
Grab the briefcase and get the hell out of here
Go to 35
Grab the briefcase, Alex and get the hell out of here
Go to 38
 35
You now have to make an extraction check. Take Go to 42
all in the extraction and roll against the DEF-
CON you reached. It should be between and 40
. Damn Alex. First he slowed you down, then he got shot
when they came after you. And even worse, you too
You pass the extraction check caught a bullet, too. Well, you’re better off than Alex, at
Go to36 least ...
You fail the extraction check
Go to 37 Go to 42

36 41
You feel a little sorry for Alex, but after the fight you have Before you can do anything, bullets are flying around
to take care of yourself, first. your head. You think you might have made a little too
much noise …
Go to 42 Make a ranged or melee check. If you fail mark a
random wound.
37
Even without Alex, it was a close shave. Go to 34
Add 1 FP to the FW.
42
Go to 42 If you failed the extraction consult the extraction
table and apply the effects.
38 So, you have done your job and it even went the way you
You now have to make an extraction check. Take wanted it, more or less. You deliver the briefcase, pick up
all in the extraction and roll against the DEF- your reward from Ailsa and are done for the moment.
CON you reached. It should be between and This was a short glimpse into an Operation for Neo-
. mancer. In the full rules, you will see exactly how the
You pass the extraction check outcome of intrusion and extraction will affect the Op-
Go to 39 eration. You will find out what happens after an Opera-
You fail the extraction check tion when you have to heal, can improve skills, buy new
Go to 40 cyberware or see what happens when alienation strikes
because you have put too much machine into your body,
39 and do a little to balance its effects.
Despite taking Alex with you, you leave the Seaside See you out on the streets.
more or less unnoticed. Alex thanks you about a thou-
sand times. Before he leaves, he promises that he’ll stay
out of dangerous business and he also owes you a favor.
If he doesn’t get killed tomorrow, it might come in handy
someday.
Time to collect your reward.

191
 Operation
1.17
A sample Operation for up to 5 Operators

192
193
 A group Operation These violent delights have violent ends – Friar Laurence
A Neomancer campaign normally consists of a
series of Operations. Some of them will drive the
plot forward (Meta-Operations) others are purely
to boost the groups finances, skills and gear. This
Operation is great for an introductory round with
some friends to get to know the system, the world
and the feel of Neomancer in about 1-2 hours. tem would know and could follow him, track him,
Overview
Operation 1.17 takes place in a big building owned
by the Yin Yao Corporation. This corporation is
known for their cheap yet modern and unreliable
cyberware. A client of Vicious Vinnie wants very
valuable data extracted from one of their facili-
ties, no questions asked.
Every scene or phase has a location and some
NPCs. There are adjectives provided to describe
everything and a little introductory text which
should not be read out loud but instead para-
phrased by the GM. The Operation is very stream-
lined as it is also designed to learn the rules. Other
Operations will be much more open regarding the
outcome and the options for the players.
The Operators
This group worked together many times. They are
skilled professionals and can rely on each other.
When the Operators are created by the rules pro-
vided in this guide they are more than capable of
succeeding. If the GM wants a conflict, the Opera-
tors should have different views on pods.
In the final scene, there will be conflict and moral
dilemma, which is good and could be the start of
a meta-plot. Unfortunately, all the Operators are
Biopods, repeating the same mission over and
over. Oh, what a twist.
GettingIf you’re
the job
out there all alone,
and you don’t know where to go to
come and take a trip with me to Future World
(Helloween – Future World)
Location: Dirty Dutch
Calling the place smelly would be a very bold compli-
ment. It reeks of synthetic alcohol and what was a bar
in the olden days is now a trainwreck of an Operator
joint. There are about a dozen tables and twice as many
194
people in here. An AR stripper dances on a table, show-
ing what you paid for. Rosa winks at you, it is not the first
time you are here to get a job.
You could get jobs through the Net, no problem.
But Vicious Vinnie is not that kind of guy. The Sys-
arrest him. So, it’s just old Vinnie and his leather-
bound book. The Operators can meet with him in
the Dirty Dutch, an establishment of questionable
quality. It follows certain rules, which you should
also follow if you want to live longer than a day.
Since they aren’t beginners, Vinnie knows their
names but they did not work together, yet. Vinnie
is a straightforward guy and does not hold back
when it comes to honesty. He is rough and spits
out every word he says.
Here, sit, talk to me. I have a very nice job, very nice in-
deed. Just perfect for guys like you.
What, you want more money? I…maybe… I guess not.
POI: Vinnies table, the bar, the back room, the
stage
NPCs: Vicious Vinnie/Broker [sketchy, rancid,
investigative, old]; Rosa/barkeep [beauti-
ful, short, fast talking]; McJenkins/bouncer
[smaller than expected, Mexican, staring
eyes]; Alessandro/Broker [sketchy, very well
dressed, a little too interested]
Operation 1.17 - 2 phases
Vinnie provides you with guard uniforms which
should help you to get into and maybe even out of
the building. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have IDs or
even keycards. The target room is in the highest
floor of the building. A direct attack from the top
is not possible because there are always guarding
against vehicles.
Possible preparations:
The Operators could watch the shift changes
of the guards, intimidate or bribe guards, fake
IDs or try to steal keycards. For extraction, they
could prepare a (flying) vehicle, ropes, gliders or
parachutes. Of course, the GM should allow al-
most every idea, the more creative, the better.
 Intrusion
Success: If the Operators succeed, they should be
allowed to move freely in the lobby of the build-
ing. You can go straight to phase 1. If they manage
to get into the building above the lobby you can
get right to phase 2, but it is not recommended.
If they fail have a look at the intrusion table.
Danger zone
Phase 1 Phase
Here the Operators are in a non-hostile environ-
ment. They may be in the lobby, the cellar or in
some other room which is not dangerous at first.
For the sake of this little Operation we assume
they reach the lobby at some point.
The lobby
They are in a vast room which is clearly designed to
impress everyone who enters it. It’s about the size of a
football field and very bright. A big desk is in the far-left
corner of the room, where 5 very beautiful receptionists
await visitors. They approach and answer every ques-
tion the Operators ask, if it’s not too shady.
HINT: These 5 ladies are biopods and look exactly
the same. They won’t realize that, because it’s in
their code (read Uncanny at the beginning of this
book).
There are many ways to get to phase 2. In any
case, they have to overcome the lobby and get
deeper into the building. The main problem is they
cannot enter the building’s higher floors without
an invitation (surprise, surprise). Here are some
examples how this can be done but the GM can
and should always consider the ideas of the play-
ers first and not force a solution:
- Hack the elevator to get into the building.
- Sway workers to take you with them.
- Enter the security room
POI: Security Camera; Terminals; Main Elevator;
Side Elevator [hidden]
NPCs: 5x Sophia/biopod [very pretty, nice, pro-
fessional] Carmichael/head of security [ele-
gant, buff, smart, old]; Aleister Renfield/PR
Assistant of the Yin Yao Corp [too nice, sweet
talker, suspicious]
A little scene on the side:
If an Operator has a longer conversation with one
of the 5 biopods this little scene takes place:
After the talk, Sophia is very happy to finally get
195
her break. She’s been looking forward to it all day
because her husband made her a very nice carrot
salad. He always adds too much vinegar but after
the three years they have been married she got
used to it and likes it even better that way now.
After the end of the conversation she walks to a
room where the Operator can see her getting into
a docking station to get reloaded (some cheaper
models do this). The GM should note the reactions
of the players at this point to see their point of
view on the whole biopod concept.
2
The rooms and hallways of the Yin Yao Corporation are
as bright as they are clean. Everything here is a dream
of white plastic and blue light. The AR is very elaborate
and there are many moving pictures which show land-
scapes long forgotten and holograms presenting the latest
cyberware technology. Every worker here is dressed in a
grey suit with a red tie and everyone seems very happy
about everything.
Phase 2 takes place in the main building and
therefore is not very easy to plan for the GM.
Consider this phase a sandbox, where different
things can happen. There are many possibili-
ties to get to the final phase, which is the target
room. The main obstacles are the following:
- The elevator does not go to the highest
floor
- There are no visible stairs that lead there
- The floor below the data floor is heavily
guarded
Some of the options are:
- Try the elevator and end up on the floor
below the target.
The elevator stops suddenly and the door is
opened by guards. Now is the time to try the
combat rules or to let the players find a very (!)
good excuse. If they check the elevator before
using it they know it will stop there.
- Eliminate or trick the guards in the floor
below; there is a hidden staircase
This can be a good method to test the
combat rules.
- Get a keycard that allows them to get to
the top floor
This can be done in the lobby or otherwise. Not
many people in the building have access to the
top floor, though.
- And many other options, whatever your
players like.
 POI: Security Camera; Terminals; Elevator Ter- Extraction
minal; secret stairs; vents Depending on their decision, they now roll for ex-
NPCs: 2 Guard Groups (2/3); Michael Fair- traction. They have at least for every player,
banks, Leader, (3); maybe more. Taking Clara alive adds . If they
succeed, go right to the rewards phase. If they fail,
consider the extraction table.
After some effort, the Operators finally reach
the server room, where they hope to find the
data. But they are baffled when the room is
not a server farm. Instead it is a very nice living
Rewards
They reach Vinnie’s safe house and take a deep
room where a young woman sits on the couch
breath. While entering, a man is clapping mock-
and watches an AR reality show about biopods
ingly. It is Alessandro, the broker they have seen
in love who don’t know that they aren’t even
in the Dirty Dutch in the beginning.
real people (have a good laugh with the play-
ers here). She is very shaken when the Opera-
If they failed to get the data:
tors break through the wall. But even arriving
My, oh my. You failed again! I can’t believe it. 17 times
through the elevator frightens her a bit.
and yet you fail again. It’s just not fair, maybe I should
She introduces herself as Clara. She is a biopod
get human Operators after all. Now, you can just go
(which she does neither know nor say) and the
again. Take a little “break”, before…
data is stored in her brain. She seems normal
but ignores everything that hints to the fact
If they succeeded by removing the data from
that she is a biopod. She even eats cereal right
Clara:
now but that is not unusual for more expensive
Great Scott! You did it. You finally did it! I can’t believe
models. The Operators have different options
it. 17 times and finally you were able to pass our little
right now:
simulation. Maybe you are not just biological waste af-
- Just take her with them. That brings a lot
ter all and your sympathy towards others of your kind is
of work and can hinder their extraction
not very strong.
- Figure out that she is a biopod through
Take a “break”, we do it again, to be safe…
deduction.
Her life story is very odd but she is not bothered
If they succeeded by bringing Clara:
in any way by that. She lived here since she was
Why in the hell did you bring her here? You stupid ma-
born 20 years ago. For example, she hasn’t left
chines can’t be serious. Well, let’s get her back to the
her room, yet. When the Operators investigate
starting point. At least you kind of succeeded this time.
further they learn that she is in state of com-
On the 17th try. I am SO proud.
plete denial about her situation. It is up to the
Take a “break”, we do it again, to be safe…
GM to play a biopod which doesn’t know she is
one (like the players, now have a good laugh for
yourself).
There is no data whatsoever in this room. Even-
tually, the Operators can guess or know that
data can be stored in a biopod’s brain. But ex-
tracting said data will destroy the carrying bio-
pod since they don’t have the means to get it out
safely in short time. So, if they want the data
they have to remove it the hard way or take her
with them to a specialist.

Depending on the firewall, the GM can trigger

the following events now:
DEFCON 3: A PR worker announces himself. He
looks after her every few hours.
DEFCON 2: Some guards announce themselves.
DEFCON 1: Guards lock the room and try to break
in.
Create one minion group for every player. Sheets
provided in the back of this book or online.

196
197
 Gaming
resources
All you need for your Neomancer campaign

198
199
 Resources
On the following pages you will find certain things
you will need to play Neomancer. There are also
print versions available on:
https://neomancerrpg.wixsite.com/neomancer
Since everything is printer friendly (except the Op-
eration Layout) the red dice have been switched
to white. Black dice remain the same.
Note that the online versions of the resources
should be prefered since we keep them updated!
The online versions take precedence over these
versions!
Drone sheet
If you are playing a rigger you will find this helpful.
Character sheet
You will need this to design your Neomancer Op-
erator.
200
Minion sheet
The GM will find this very helpful to coordinate
the combat. Every possible minion is printed here.
Operation layout
The last pages are the Operation layout. You do
not have to use it but we and our gametesters
found it very helpful to visualize everything that
is going on during combat and during the Opera-
tion as a whole.
On the top left you can mark the current state of
the firewall, on the top right you can set the dice
for intrusion and extraction and mark the phase
you are in.
The lower third is the combat sheet and a visu-
alization of the combat sequence. During reveal,
everyone just puts down a marker or miniature to
mark the position. For minions it is a good idea to
use little markers for every minion and lay them
down as a group.
 Drone Sheet
Name Protocols Modifications wounds Armor firewall points required AI weapons price
Predator 4 4 10 1 2 3 Choose weapons according to 6000
supply of controlling rigger.
Reaper 2 2 6 1 1 2 Choose weapons according to 3500
supply of controlling rigger.
Swarm 0 1 2 0 0 1 none 1200

protocols
Drones have only the protocols without a price. When you buy another protocol just mark it. The free protocol ‘attack’ does count against the limit above.

covered neutral exposed

Analyze Attack Kamikaze

Rigging check: Empty the flow of an Operator. Rigging check: attack covered/neutral/exposed Rigging check: attack with + . Suffer 1
(only pistol/machine pistol). The rigging check is wound.
Price: 1000₵ used for calculating the damage.
Bought?: [ ] Price: 1000₵
Bought?: [ ]
Block communication Advanced attack Cover fire

Rigging check: Merge and Reinforcements actions Rigging check: attack covered/neutral/exposed Rigging check: attack covered/neutral/ex-
cannot be used this round. (every weapon). The rigging check is used for cal- posed (every weapon) with + . Add to
culating the damage. the target’s flow. The rigging check is used for
Price: 1000₵ calculating the damage.
Bought?: [ ] Price: 1000₵
Bought?: [ ]
Price: 1000₵
Bought?: [ ]
Duck and cover Tactical Analyzer Minefield

Rigging check: Add to all attacks against this Rigging check: distribute hits to flow to all friendly Rigging check: No enemy may choose a cov-
drone. characters. ered action next round.

Price: 1000₵ Price: 1000₵ Price: 1000₵

Bought?: [ ] Bought?: [ ] Bought?: [ ]

modifications
Name Price effect Viable drones
Increased armor 1000₵ +1 armor not swarms
Increased hull 1000₵ +2 wounds not swarms
Grappling hook 200₵ Integrated grappling hook, can be used by Operators. not swarms
Hunter device 1000₵ Add to ranged attacks of drone. not swarms
Overload 500₵ Lose 1 wound to add to next rigging check with drone. all
Poison 200₵ Drones are highly poisonous and can dissolve. only swarm
Less than lethal strike 500₵ Lose 1 wound to incapacitate 1 person (not in combat). all
Mandibles 200₵ Drones can cut through solid metal. all
Stealth device 1000₵ -1FP for the drone. Reaper
Smuggling compartment 1000₵ Reduce the FP of 1 gear by 1. not swarm
Visual upgrade 500₵ Add 1 hit to a prepscene check when using the swarm. only swarm
Distraction 500₵ Lose swarm. Alter the extraction table result by 2 only for the rigger. Can only be only swarm
used in DEFCON 1.
Swarm armor 500₵ The swarm can be used as armor (+1) for 1 hit zone. Every hit reduces wounds of only swarm
the swarm by 1.
my drones
chassis wounds armor weapon AI requ mods

201
 Character Sheet 1/2
athletics 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 name vice
hacking 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 off the grid virtue
interaction 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 relationship left relationship right
melee 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 resources
ranged 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ERG INI REF flow

rigging 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
every unblocked 1
in combat on a
stealth 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 the energy in your body,
spent INI determines combat is placed here after
used for activating your ability to dodge attacks
cyberware and skills sequence the check and must
street smarts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 be used for the next
check

tactics 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
skills / cyberware supply
Name effect alienation Cost cost supply effect

GM can let you reroll one trait check per

500₵ Destitute Operation.
You can only use Destitute gear.

1 asset
1000₵ Reacher You can only use Destitute and Reacher
gear.

2 assets
2000₵ Affluent You can use every gear.

assets
asset effect
You do that for me! +₮ during intermission. Worth 2
assets.

The best gear in the city Reroll one check.

Visit Blips and Chitz Add to your next alienation

check.

I have top men working Ignore a single network’s draw-

on it right now back.

AI-hacker-on-a-stick Once per Operation, make a standard hacking check

with .

Improvise - Adapt - You may use the same trait twice

Overcome during preparation.

Blister of Protein Bars +2 ERG

combat actions weapons and armor

name damage/Armor firewall max ini
covered neutral exposed
Shoot like a coward Shoot Strike
Attack neutral/exposed with ranged. Attack covered/neutral/exposed with Attack covered/neutral/exposed
Remove all from flow before attacking ranged. with melee or ranged.
and don’t generate flow.

Duck and cover Prepare Cover fire

Add to attacks against you. Add to Add to an Operator’s flow (can also Attack covered/neutral/exposed
your flow. be yourself) after a successful tactics ranged with a penalty of to
check. add to the target’s flow (even rogue aI
when you miss).

Flank them Special No regrets!

Tactics check: if successful you count as
if you have spent 6 Ini next round (your
place in the combat sequence is still
limited by your gear). If you fail, move
immediately to exposed.
name adjectives
Do something special according to a skill, Attack covered/neutral/exposed
trait or the Operation itself. with + , but the difficulty to at-
tack you is 0 this round.
Control a drone.

hit zones network

Head (1) Legs (2) Arms (3) Body (4-6) name drawback effect
Armor:__ Armor:__ Armor:__ Armor:__

1 Add to flow. Add to flow. Add to flow. Add to flow.

2 Add to flow. You can’t change stance next You can’t change stance next Add to flow. Lose 1
You can’t attack this round. round. Lose 1 ERG. round. Lose 1 ERG. ERG.

3 Add to flow. Lose 3 ERG. Move instantly to neutral. Add to flow. Add to flow. Lose 1
ERG.
Lose 1 INI.

4 Add to flow Move instantly to exposed. You count as exposed next Add to flow.
You can’t attack this round. round. Lose 2 ERG.
Lose 3 ERG. Lose 2 ERG. Lose 1 INI.

5 Lose 5 ERG. Lose 3 INI. Add to flow. Lose 3 ERG.

Lose 5 INI.

6 Critically wounded. Critically wounded. Critically wounded. Critically wounded.

202 Add
Add
to extraction.
to all checks.
Add
Add
to extraction.
to all checks.
Add
Add
to extraction.
to all checks.
Add
Add
to extraction.
to all checks.
 Character Sheet 2/2
campaign log
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Phases
Time earned
Credits earned
intermission current status
1. Get credits and time.
2. Pay your debts. time credits grounding alienation
3. Check your alienation. cannot be stored can be stored generated from lifestyle generated from cyberware
4. Invest. / skills

lifestyle check alienation

The Pack Lone wolf Hedonist Alienation + The Pack Lone wolf Hedonist
blocks
Good friends My favorite bar VIP member
Increase grounding by 1. Increase grounding by 1. Increase grounding by 1. 0 Tired Solitude is peace Partytime!
Cannot add to flow. Block 1 of your networks. -1 ERG

Platonic lifemate My special place Party monster
Start every Operation with +1 You can alter the alienation If you fail an alienation
ERG and in flow. table by 1. check, you may ignore
it. Your next alienation
check is increased by
. Party Monster can-
not be used again until
you suffered an alien-
ation effect.
1 I need to see them
Spend at least 2₮ for
grounding.
2 You look like shit
Add to yours and oth-
er Operators’ interaction
or street smarts checks.
You’re not my boss
You cannot benefit from
any positive effect not
coming from yourself.
Urgh, people
Add to yours and oth-
er Operators’ interaction
or street smarts checks.
Narcissist
You can never positively
modify another Opera-
tor’s flow or checks.
You talk too much
Add to every prep-
scene check of yours.

Life partner
Increase grounding by 1.
Family
Increase grounding by 1.
Neon lights Underground rave 3 Merciful Merciless You talk way too much
Increase grounding by 1. increase grounding by 1. Add to every check to +1 FP after combat. Double the costs for net-
attack someone. work usage for all Opera-
tors.
Tranquility Roofies 4 Am I still human? Seeking death On drugs
You can alter the alienation You can choose another You can’t spend more You can not wear any ar- You always have to spend
table by 1. Operator to suffer your than 1 ERG per check. mor. the maximal INI.
alienation effect.

5+ I’m a robot! We’re all expendable Take my ERG!!!!

Cannot spend ERG. You can not use REF. When making a check
always use every cyber-
ware and skill possible.

invest job application

Invest Invested time Invested credits I understand you are looking for someone with experi-
Skills 000000000000000 ence in ___________________[your main perk]. As you
will see from the enclosed curriculum I have not only
000000000000000 studied ______________________ [your training] in
000000000000000 _________________ [place], but also have further honed
000000000000000 this subject during _________________________ [other
000000000000000 experience]. I am confident that I will be able to use my skills
000000000000000 in __________________ [best trait] in the advertised post.
Also, I am very confident in using ___________________
000000000000000 [gear of choice] and my skills in ______________ [your
000000000000000 second best Perk] allow me to _______________________
Network 000000000000000 [example]. My present employer, ______________ [Corpo-
ration/Person], would surely be willing to act as a referee if
000000000000000 he would be informed about my application. I am applying
000000000000000 for the position offered because ____________________
000000000000000 ______________ [why do you want to leave?] and I have
000000000000000 been wrongly accused of _________________________
[crime]. I am available for an interview at your convenience
Cyberware and can be contacted at the Dirty Dutch or via the dead let-
ter box you already know about.

persons of interest
Lifestyle 000000000000000 Name Role Intel
000000000000000 Broker
000000000000000
Supply

Trait (max 000000000000000

to 5) 000000000000000

Heal critical 000000000000000

203wounds 000000000000000
 minion Sheet
standard minions standard minions
Pistols, 3 wounds, five people Pistols, 3 wounds, five people
No special rule. No special rule.
Can be deployed anytime. flow Can be deployed anytime. flow

neutral exposed neutral exposed

Shoot Attack formation Shoot Attack formation
Attack C/N/E. Attack C/N/E with + . Attack C/N/E. Attack C/N/E with + .

vanguard minions tank minions

Machine pistols, 3 wounds, five people Shotgun, 4 wounds, four people
Move Vanguard up 2 steps in combat sequence after No special rules.
planning. flow Can not be deployed when DEFCON is 3. flow
Can not be deployed when DEFCON is 3.

neutral exposed neutral exposed

Shoot Attack formation Shoot Attack formation
Attack C/N/E. Attack C/N/E with + . Attack C/N/E. Attack C/N/E with + .
Merge Cover fire Merge Suicide
Merge with another minion group. Attack C/N/E with a penalty of Merge with another minion group. Attack C/N/E with
New group may not be bigger than to add to the target’s flow New group may not be bigger than + . Remove 1 minion after
5. New group counts as standard (even when you miss). 5. New group counts as standard that.
minions. minions.

Hunter minions Sniper minions

Machine pistol, 3 wounds, four people Sniper rifle, 3 wounds, four people
Always attack the same Operator, immediately leave Can not be deployed when DEFCON is 3 or 2.
combat when this Operator gets critically wounded. flow flow
Can not be deployed when DEFCON is 3 or 2.

neutral exposed covered exposed

Shoot target Operator
Attack C/N/E with + .
Attack formation Shoot -
Attack C/N/E with + . Attack C/N/E.
Cover fire
Attack C/N/E with a penalty of
to add to the target’s flow
(even when you miss).

Leaders
Standard Leader: pistol, 5 wounds
Officer: machine pistol, 8 wounds
Commander: whatever the GM chooses, 12 wounds flow

covered neutral exposed

Help us! Shoot Attack formation

Remove 1 FP to add 2 minions to any group (up to Attack ranged. Attack with + .
group maximum).

Reinforcements (Officer and Commander only) Orders! (Officer and Commander only) Cover fire

Add 1 minion to any group (up to group maximum). Add to anyone’s flow. Attack ranged with a penalty of to add
to the target’s flow (even when you miss).
Kill order (Commander only) Drone support (Commander only) Negotiate (Commander only)

One minion group attacks immediately with + . One Operator receives a random 1 damage wound. One Operator loses their action. The Com-
204 mander may propose a truce.
 minion Sheet
standard minions standard minions
Pistols, 3 wounds, five people Pistols, 3 wounds, five people
No special rule. No special rule.
Can be deployed anytime. flow Can be deployed anytime. flow

neutral exposed neutral exposed

Shoot Attack formation Shoot Attack formation
Attack C/N/E. Attack C/N/E with + . Attack C/N/E. Attack C/N/E with + .

vanguard minions tank minions

Machine pistols, 3 wounds, five people Shotgun, 4 wounds, four people
Move Vanguard up 2 steps in combat sequence after No special rules.
planning. flow Can not be deployed when DEFCON is 3. flow
Can not be deployed when DEFCON is 3.

neutral exposed neutral exposed

Shoot Attack formation Shoot Attack formation
Attack C/N/E. Attack C/N/E with + . Attack C/N/E. Attack C/N/E with + .
Merge Cover fire Merge Suicide
Merge with another minion group. Attack C/N/E with a penalty of Merge with another minion group. Attack C/N/E with
New group may not be bigger than to add to the target’s flow New group may not be bigger than + . Remove 1 minion after
5. New group counts as standard (even when you miss). 5. New group counts as standard that.
minions. minions.

Hunter minions Sniper minions

Machine pistol, 3 wounds, four people Sniper rifle, 3 wounds, four people
Always attack the same Operator, immediately leave Can not be deployed when DEFCON is 3 or 2.
combat when this Operator gets critically wounded. flow flow
Can not be deployed when DEFCON is 3 or 2.

neutral exposed covered exposed

Shoot target Operator
Attack C/N/E with + .
Attack formation Shoot -
Attack C/N/E with + . Attack C/N/E.
Cover fire
Attack C/N/E with a penalty of
to add to the target’s flow
(even when you miss).

Leaders
Standard Leader: pistol, 5 wounds
Officer: machine pistol, 8 wounds
Commander: whatever the GM chooses, 12 wounds flow

covered neutral exposed

Help us! Shoot Attack formation

Remove 1 FP to add 2 minions to any group (up to Attack ranged. Attack with + .
group maximum).

Reinforcements (Officer and Commander only) Orders! (Officer and Commander only) Cover fire

Add 1 minion to any group (up to group maximum). Add to anyone’s flow. Attack ranged with a penalty of to add
to the target’s flow (even when you miss).
Kill order (Commander only) Drone support (Commander only) Negotiate (Commander only)

One minion group attacks immediately with + . One Operator receives a random 1 damage wound. One Operator loses their action. The Com-
205 mander may propose a truce.
 Firewall
Defcon 3
Defcon 2
Defcon 1
exposed
neutral

1 2 3
Covered

206
 Intrusion
Intrusion Extraction
Extraction
phase
phase11
phase
phase22
phase
phase33
phase
phase44

4 5 6

207