ANARCHOPUNK THE ROLEPLAYING GAME OF THE DARK PRESENT

2. 0. 2. 0.
T h e O n l y E d i t i o n

“People ask me-”

“Oh yeah, what’ll you

replace the cops with?
What’ll you replace
the shops with?”

“The answer is:

nothing.”

“Nothing at all.”

- Jessie Brass

j/k
AP 1312
games
inc.
Warning!
This game features real systems of oppression and violence that exist in the
real world. It’s fictional only in that it’s more exaggerated and fantastic than
the one we live in, where punk songs are a form of power.

It also plays on the assumption that anarchy is correct and justified. Some
who hold traditional political philosophies may find this inappropriate.
Others may find the depictions of oppression too uncomfortable. That’s fine.

Note that none of us at j/k games condone or encourage the oppression of

minorities, violence through power, or murder by neglect. In fact, we think
it’s bullshit and needs to end.
ANARCHOPUNK

2. 0. 2. 0.
T h e O n l y E d i t i o n

Cast & Crew

Photo Assets More Photo Assets Everything Else

Anastasiya Lobanovskaya, Andrzej Natalie Parham, Pop Zebra, Julian K

Mucka, Burst, Clay Banks, Derks24, Ian Skitterphoto, Thibault Trillet, Toa Heftiba,
Panelo, Marcio Nasciment, Warren Wong, Yatta RX

j/k
games
inc.
Anarchopunk 2020 is Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs (CC BY-ND). Photos are used under the respective agreements of pexels.com, unsplash.
com, and pixabay.com. If you want to support this kind of work, visit arbco.itch.io to pay what you want for it. Or don’t, if you can’t afford it. This work
does not represent the political views of any people. organizations, or bands included aside from the author. In addition, the author’s views may change. All
organizations and people portrayed within are fictional, and any similarity is strictly coincidental save for where satiric intent is present. This game was never
playtested; play at your own risk. If you want to hack Anarchopunk 2020 for your own game design purposes, just ask for permission.
This is where I would school you on being an
anarchopunk, if I wanted to.
But I’m not that interested in dictating.
Study, decide, and bring your own opinions.
Also probably read up on role-playing games
if you’re not familiar. That’s not covered here.
Once that’s done, let’s move on to the part
where we play music for the revolution.
SECTION
1 No Future
The world of anarchopunk is
a violent, dangerous place,
but a lot of you know that,
because you live here.
We don’t need a dark future
anymore.
Sure, things could be worse. Things
can always be worse. But in 2020,
a plague is dropping thousands of
bodies by the day, governments
have dropped even the pretense of
valuing human life, and people have
taken to the streets to fight against
corrupt establishments that attack
on their own citizens.
Let’s play for change.
Thirty years ago, Cyberpunk 2020
was released, the second edition
in the Cyberpunk RPG franchise.
And while it paid a fair amount of
lip to trying to do the right thing, it
still had people playing brutal cops
and sadistic salarymen in addition
to rockerboy revolutionaries.
Spreading a plague for profit was
literally described as a playable
option alongside exposing
corporate crime.
Many cyberpunk games followed,
borrowing the aesthetics and
attitude of punk, while discarding
its ethos. And many others have
followed in the footsteps of
appropriation, nabbing punk’s
hair and leather while discarding
the subculture. Steampunk.
Dungeonpunk. Artpunk.
Let’s be punks again.
Punk’s not dead. But it’s got assholes
ramming their hands up its ass to
make it dance for their amusement.
They take the aesthetic and discard
the ethic. Sometimes they get
some things right. They aren’t
necessarily bad games. But I don’t
think wandering into a maze to
stab things is punk. Working black
ops for a corporation definitely isn’t
punk. Let’s make a game about our
dark present, just different enough
that a song about shit matters.
Let’s be anarchopunks.
Nazi Punks, Fuck Off
This game is explicitly anti-fascist, anti-
conformity, and anti-establishment. Its
author condemns neo-Nazis and their
lazily disguised kin of the “alt-right”, or
any other pack of hurtful assholes who
take time out of their day to punch down
on minorities. And no, white people and
cis men are not the “new minorities”.
This game is not about assholes who
appropriate a sense of oppression. If
you’re about to argue against this, fuck off.
I like to believe in the ability of people to
grow past and recover from the intellectual
poison other people may have poured in
their ears. If you manage that with actual
sincerity and humility, come back around
again. If you’re just doing it to try and slip
in the cracks, fuck off.
Safety Pins
This section is not optional. Read it.
Anarchopunk can potentially get rough,
depending on how you decide to frame
resistance and the system. It also covers
forms of oppression that exist in the
real world. Respect peoples’ limits and
experiences.
To avoid anybody getting hurt by its
subject matter, I would suggest use of
the X, N, and O cards as tools. Just draw
one of each letter on a card and set them
towards the center of the table. If you’re
playing online, you can use a capital X, N,
or O in group chat instead. These can be
used by either punks or the system alike.
>> The X card is touched or indicated
when content is uncomfortable for a
given player. At that point, the group
should have a discussion whether it
would be best to undo or change the
present situation, or just skip past any
descriptions (the “fade to black”) and
move on to the next scene.
>> The N card is similarly used when a
player feels a scene is taking a turn
towards something comfortable. A
discussion of their concerns can take
place so the course can be corrected.
>> The O card can be used when a
player wants to inquire if other players
are willing to go forward with the
current direction of a scene.
These are tools for safety, not control. If
you’re looking for alternatives, check out
the TTRPG Safety Toolkit, which goes
into options for player safety at far greater
length.
The Fucking System
Here’s the dilemma: tabletop role-playing games have
rules, but we’re dealing with some iconoclastic notions
here. So we’ve got to meet in the ugly middle. This game
is all about enduring ugly middles.
Our punks don’t roll dice. As we’re telling our story, punks
just say what they do, and unless the system interferes,
they do it. The system inflicts rules on them. One player
takes the role of the system.
Determine randomly who has to run the system. Nobody
should want to be the system. If somebody wants to be
the system, it’s suggested you view them with suspicion.
Everybody else becomes punks. A group of punks is
known as a band.
The system uses only six-sided dice. Other dice are too
progressive, and the system denies their right to exist.
“Icosahedrons are a choice and not natural.”
This game does not have a strict structure that divides up
scenes, acts, etc. Punks do what they do, and the system
steps in to fuck with them. If you need somebody to take
on the role or portray a character aside from the punks,
the punks play any supporters they have. The system
plays everybody else. Or do it some other way, if you like.
Naturally, since the system is shit, punks want to tear
down the system. The system wants to preserve itself at
any cost, also because it’s shit.
There’s a bit of friction.
Complete Control
What a punk can do is defined by the fiction of your
setting. This game usually presumes you’re slightly
abnormal humans in 2020. So you can’t necessarily fly or
punch over a building. But you can play in a band, have
messy relationships, maybe punch a riot helmet, etc.
Whenever a punk or punks do something that defies
the established order, the system gives them heat,
represented by tokens. This includes violations of the
law or offending an authority figure. Each time there’s an
instance of this, the system gives the violator 2 heat, and
each punk adjacent to them also takes 1 heat (skipping
over the system, who doesn’t count).
Every time a punk takes heat, the system can spend 1
heat on a punk to attempt to oppress one of them, or
spend 1 heat from all punks to crush one of them. A punk
cannot gain more than 6 heat; if they would, the system
may immediately attempt to crush them at no cost.
When the system oppresses a punk, it rolls a die and
checks the value. If that value is equal to or less than the
punk’s current heat, they can oppress the punk. If that
value is greater than the heat, the punk removes a heat
instead.
When the system attempts to crush the punks, it rolls a
die and checks the value. If that value is equal to or less
than the heat of the punk with the lowest current heat, it
can crush them. If that value is greater than the heat, the
punks all get to remove a heat.
Expect Resistance
Punks engage in direct action, taking acts to undermine
the system. This is greater than mere lawbreaking
or defiance, but doing things like staging a protest,
inciting a riot, destroying a symbol of the system, freeing
prisoners, etc. This counts as defying the established
order, as noted above, and provides heat by default.
When an individual punk does direct action, they take
3 to 5 heat they have and bid it against the system. The
system then rolls one die.
>> If the roll is higher than the heat bid, they may choose
one benefit of direct action and remove the heat they
bid.
>> If the roll is lower than the amount bid, they retain
their heat, and the system can then attempt to
oppress them at no heat cost (though they still
remove a heat if they fail to harass them).
>> If the roll is equal to the amount bid, they retain their
heat and wreckage results (see “wreckage scatters” for
more details).
The whole band can attempt direct action together.
When they do so, they all gain 2 heat for violating the
order, and, they may each bid 3 to 5 heat. The system
then rolls a die as above, but the roll is against the highest
amount bid. So if three punks bid 2, 3, and 4 respectively,
the system would be bidding against a 4.
>> If the roll is greater than the amount bid, the band
may choose a number of benefits of direct action
equal to the highest amount bid minus 1, and remove
any heat they bid.
>> If the roll is less than the amount of heat, the system
can oppress all the members, or attempt to crush a
single member.
>> If the roll is equal to the amount bid, they retain their
heat, and wreckage results.
Enjoy Coca-Colonialism
Benefits that can be chosen as an individual include the
following. You may select a given benefit more than once,
in any order you like..
>> Deface a lynchpin.
>> Clear an oppression placed on a band member.
>> Prevent a punk from being crushed.
>> Let a punk draw three labels if they consent, choose a
label, and discard the rest.
>> Take up to 2 heat from another punk.
Some benefits are only viable as a group, taking multiple
benefits to select. So, for example, if a ground is selecting
three benefits, it could “reject a label” (two benefits) and
“deface a lynchpin” (one benefit).
>> For two benefit picks, you can reject a label, removing
it from a punk if they consent.
>> For two benefit picks, you can gain a supporter.
>> For three benefit picks, you can destroy a defaced
lynchpin. This counts as three benefit picks.
Welcome to the Show
A specific form of direct action that can be performed is a
concert, where the band gets together to play a song.
Unlike most direct action, this is not treated as defying
order. It only grants 1 heat to the band instead of 2, but
grants an additional 1 heat to the whole band if wreckage
results. It must be performed as a group, but can only
be used to gain gain supporters. In turn, the system may
not attempt to crush any members as a result of a show,
though they can still oppress them.
If an oppressed punk is oppressed again during a concert,
they gain 1 additional heat instead of being crushed.

Systemic Oppression
When the system oppresses a punk,
they may do any of the following:
>> Financial oppression: fining or
suing the punk, for example.
>> Social oppression: active
harassment campaigns, being
framed by the media, and so on.
>> Information oppression:
censoring the punk, making it
difficult for them to find venues,
etc.
While there aren’t strict rules on
what oppression might include,
it shouldn’t imprison a punk
indefinitely or cause serious physical
harm—that’s crushing. It should just
restrict what they can do. This is a
hard fictional limit to what they can
do in the story. If the punk had their
online presence wrecked through a
harassment campaign, they can’t do
anything too functional online until
it’s cleared.
If a punk would be oppressed again
while already being oppressed,
they’re crushed instead.
When a punk is oppressed, the
system asks them a question about
them as a character, and establishes
it as a fact on their record. Once they
have three facts, they may instead
add or remove a label.
Crushing Time
Being crushed is an attempt by the
system to destroy malcontents.
When the system tries to do this, it
removes a punk from play unless
the rest of the band intervenes. This
can be imprisonment, deportation,
assault, or even murder, depending
on the tone of your revolution.
Taking direct action immediately
is the only way to avoid this fate.
The punk being crushed is not
considered to be part of the band
for the purposes of this direct
action, and may not bid heat as a
part of it.
If the punk escapes punishment via
direct action and is not crushed, the
system may give or remove a label
of their choice.
If the punk is crushed, their player
may replace them with a supporter
once one is available; see “Leaders
and Followers” (pg. 10).
Any labels a punk had upon
becoming crushed are transferred
to the permanent record; see “The
Record” (pg. 9).
Propaganda of the Deed
Whether or not you want your direct action
to include violence, and if so, to what
extent, is something your band should
discuss. The rules for direct action work
for peacifists and violent revolutions alike,
so it just depends on what kind of story
you want to tell. The punks decide the
tone of the revolution.
Oppress Characters, Not
Players
Oppression and crushing can involve
some sensitive topics. In particular, many
modern systems of power are often
actively antagonistic towards minorities,
working to repress or exclude them.
Whether or not you want to include bigotry
as part of this should be discussed before
it’s brought into play, as many players may
not want to have the game resemble their
real-world hardships. Safety pins (pg. 4)
come into play.
You’ll also want to talk about how far you
want to go with violence and abuse. This
game works whether you’re looking to
have a hard look at the deep, dark end
of police violence… or just having some
skateboarding kids looking to take down
an evil corporation with sick kickflips and
jams.
The Good Kind of Trouble
Remember that you’re telling a story.
Punks may be tempted to play it safe and
stop at every red light or wait for every
walk sign. Resist this impulse.
Revolution is about risk. You’ll need to
break the law and flout tradition to get the
heat you need to destroy lynchpins. If you
don’t have heat, you won’t get anywhere.
You’ll often start out by describing minor
acts of rebellion to build up your heat. This
is how you get started. But also remember
that you’re telling a story.
The rules direct what happens, but the
details are up to you. The details are just
as important as the rules, and they’re
definitely more important than “winning”.
The revolution and systems have “win
states”. You, as a player, win just by
playing.
Wreckage Scatters
Wreckage can occurs as a result of direct action. This
represents things going unintentionally wrong. This
doesn’t result in immediate oppression, but has negative
side effects for the supporters and common people.
Revolutions are messy. Hopefully it’ll be worth it.
First off, wreckage removes 1 supporter. If you have no
supporters, all punks gain 1 heat instead. The punks
should decide on a fictional byblow of their actions. If
they can’t decide amongst themselves, the system will
decide for them. The system may also feel free to suggest
outcomes. Examples include (but are not limited to):
>> Somebody they care about gets badly hurt.
>> A place they frequent or a venue they play is trashed
or even destroyed.
>> Their fans are inadvertently inspired to self-defeating
behavior.
>> Rioting and looting without purpose or
discrimination occurs.
>> The band finds their fans targeted in the press for
mockery or condemnation.
The Record
Whenever the system oppresses, the system may offer to
give a punk a label, or the punk may demand the system
offer a label. Labels represent an increased ante by the
system, but also represent their fear of the punk. The
system chooses whether or not to reveal the label to the
punk before they accept it, but cannot change labels mid-
offer.
If the punk accepts a label, they gain the benefits of that
label thereafter. However, their heat is always treated as
the number of heat tokens or the number of labels they
have, whichever is higher, on any oppression or crushing.
A punk may have up to 3 labels at a time. If they would
receive a 4th label, the system may immediately try to
crush them at no cost. When doing so, the punk’s heat is
treated as a minimum of 4, but the system cannot give a
label if the crush attempt fails—it must remove one.
At times, the system may add labels to its permanent
record. These provide no benefit to the punks, but count
towards the number of labels the system requires to “win”.
Think of permanent labels as accusations that have been
levied against the entire revolution.
In rarer ocasionals, a punk may embrace a label. An
embraced label gives the benefit, but does not count for
a system’s “win” condition.
Protest Songs
Punks will start with a setlist of songs. Whenever they like,
they can play one of the songs on their setlist. When they
do so, the song must be audibly played for all players. For
the duration, the punks can declare acts of coincidence
and thematic wonder based on the lyrics or themes of the
song in question that are beneficial to them. It lets them
push the narrative of their world towards their revolution
in a nigh-magical way.
Think of how a stylish video or montage for the song
might come across in their story, because that’s what
you’ll effectively be playing out.
Here are some examples, but there are literally thousands
of possible songs you could choose from.
>> “Police Truck” by the Dead Kennedys: Police are
recognized as abusive thugs by the general
population, or at least complicit to their sins of their
peers.
>> “The Press Corpse” by Anti-Flag: A media figure or
outlet is forced to cover an uncomfortable truth or
reveals a deception or hidden truth.
>> “White Riot” by the Clash: Used to inspire the
disaffected amongst the upper and middle class
towards violent protest.
In addition, while the song plays, the punks ignore the
effects of being oppressed, and the system may not
attempt to oppress or crush them while it plays (but they
may still gain heat). This makes it an excellent time to
perform direct action.
Though the themes in the text lean towards anti-
authoritarian and leftist punk music, it doesn’t necessarily
need to be that. If you want to set your game to Fela Kuti
or The Coup, do so. (Also, I’d suggest not worrying about
what “punk” is.)
Leaders and Followers
Supporters keep the band from having to do it alone, but
involving them invites risk.
Whenever you gain a supporter, come up with a name
and face for them and put it on an index card or scrap of
paper. Each supporter represents a larger group of fans
and devotees, but it’s important for them not to just be a
number. If that supporter is lost, tear that support in half--
the supporter has been arrested, broken, or disillusioned.
They’re not coming around again.
Any punk can bid 1 supporter to when a system makes a
roll for oppression, crushing, or to oppose direct action.
This reduces the punk’s heat by 2, but if the system
successfully oppresses or crushes the punk, the follower is
lost and the oppression or crushing negated. Alternately,
if wreckage results, the follower can be lost to avoid the
side effects (in addition to the follower already lost).
Fictionally, bidding supporters is not the punks using and
discarding people like the system does. Instead, it’s their
supporters voluntarily making tough sacrifices to support
their cause.
When a punk is crushed, they may choose a supporter
and make that into a full-fledged punk and rejoin the
game without any heat, facts, or labels.
Smash the State
The system collapses when all of its lynchpins are
destroyed. But what happens after that? Well, I’m not
going to be one to tell you.
I’d suggest you look at any followers torn up, against
those that remain. Reveal your ideals. How well did you
stay true to them? Can you forge a way forward, free of
the system? Or are you the lynchpin of a new system? I
considered rules that gave you the answer, but let’s have
you decide. The system gets guidelines to continue, but
that’s purely optional. Decide what’s best for your story.
Uber Alles
It’s also possible for the system to “win” under several
circumstances. Any one of these represents enough
pressure occurring to derail the revolution, and it’s
considered defeated.
>> The system has performed a number of successful
crushes equal to the number of punk players.
>> There are at least three times the number of labels
than the number of punks present in play.
>> All punks all have 5 heat and all gain heat
simultaneously.
Of course, the system is self-defeating, but it doesn’t care.
It just continues on until the next revolution.
Join a band.
Make some music.
Overthrow millennia of violent hegemony.

SECTION

2 Radicalized
There aren’t any numbers or formulae here.
It’s the system that’s extremely into filling out
boxes.

Making your punk is simple: Lighting the Fires

>> Give them a name. When you’re starting the game, you may not know how
to start the game. Many role-playing games start you out
>> Give them a face: describe their appearance and in a tavern or corporate office and give you a quest or a
outward personality. mission. That’s their thing, but this is not that.

>> Let us know what instrument they play or vocal style
they have. This should make sense in terms of band
composition. If you’re doing something that isn’t
punk rock, fill other gaps.
>> Lastly, give them an ideal secretly. Write it down to be
revealed at the end.
See? I said it was simple and fast, and I meant it. But the
band is where things get a little more complicated.
Backstage
A band of punks needs two other things: a band name
and a setlist.
Instead, it’s important to be self-directed. Once the
system sets themselves up, think about what would
be great to take down a peg, or a song you’d relate to
your rebellion, and then do that. The system should
respond with heat, and maybe an attempt at oppression.
Consquences on both sides should start to roll from
there. When in doubt, start some shit.
As play goes on you can come up with more elaborate
plans and schemes, fictionally. You can make friends with
supporters and come up with catchphrases. You can riot
and sing and sabotage and do whatever your cool heart
desires. Just stay true to yourself and hope the system
doesn’t crush you all.

The setlist is used for their protest songs, used above. In Either way it goes, go out believing.
total, the setlist should not be longer than five minutes
for every hour you plan to play. But if you’re a little over
or off, it’s not a big deal. If you need inspiration, here’s a
starting point.

Once again, it isn’t necessarily punk, though this is a

punk-themed game. Perhaps you’ve noticed? Embody
the group of “punks” you’ve wrangled together.
Yes, the lyrics matter.
SECTION
3 Slang
Just so we understand each other.
Band: A group of punks.
Chain: Anarchopunk’s classification and representation of
the power that underpins a lynchpin. It determines what
happens when a lynchpin is defaced or destroyed.
Crush: An attempt by a system to remove a punk’s ability
to resist. This can include imprisonment, social censure,
and physical violence, and other punishments depending
on the tone of your game.
Direct Action: An action or set of actions taken by punks
to bolster their cause or undermine the system.
Embraced Label: A label that no longer benefits the
system but still provides a benefit to a punk. Only gained
after a successful revolution.
Fact: A detail the system has gathered on a punk’s record.
Unlike labels, facts don’t have a effect per se, but are used
to prove characterization for a punk during play. A punk
can have up to 3 facts, at which point the system has
uncovered all it can.
Heat: An abstraction of how much attention each punk
has gained from the system, and the infractions that the
system can use to oppress or crush them. You can use any
appropriate tokens to represent heat.
Ideal: A secret goal for your punk. This is for role-playing
purposes, to be revealed at the end as you discuss the
result of the revolution.
Label: A label the system has placed on a punk. Labels
represent the punk of being bound by the system, but
also provide symbolic power. A punk can have up to 3
labels, at which point they become very vulnerable to
crushing.
Lynchpin: A symbolic or literal representation of a
system’s power that can be defaced or destroyed.
Lynchpins should be tangible enough that they can be
undermined and destroyed by punks.
Oppress: An attempt by the system to restrict a punk’s
freedom.
Permanent Record: A list of labels that the system
counts towards victory, accusations leveled against the
revolution as a whole.
Punks: Musical, anarchist revolutionaries that make up
most of the characters portrayed by players.
Setlist: A set of songs.
Song: Music that empowers the punks to revolution.
Supporter: An ally of the punks who helps them out of
their own volition.
System, The: An oppressive organization portrayed by a
single player.
Wreckage: Fallout that can occur when direct action
goes awry.
It’s time for two great tastes that make
waste together.
SECTION
4
If your punks skate, and you
have a copy of Skatepunk,
here’s some sweet tips
to mash the two tricks
together.
Skatepunk: OPUSR, a one-page
skateboarding RPG, can be used as a
minigame to enhance direct action.
It isn’t suggested you use it for
every direct action, as it takes some
extra time, but when you want to
highlight skateboarding, it’s here for
you. Let’s suggest that you don’t do
it more than once per game. But if
you really get into Skatepunk’s reflex
mechanic, don’t let me stop you
from playing more of it.
First, when doing direct action as
skatepunks, say you’re gonna do it
on skateboards. The direct action
should directly related to that in
some sense. Maybe you’re just
showing off some sweet tricks to
earn attention or supporters, or
you’re infiltrating a corporate HQ
with death-defying rooftop stunts.
Note that you gain heat at the start
of direct action as usual, as you
normally do for defying order.
When you do so, insert your punks
as skaters into Skatepunk. You use
your punk’s name, then select your
skate tricks and board normally as
detailed under “Getting Started”
(Skatepunk pg. 1) like you would for
a skater.
You then play Skatepunk normally
as detailed under “Playing the game”
(Skatepunk pg. 1).
Once done, unless everybody’s
caught by the cops, you may gain
benefits as a result of direct action.
You gain benefits as follows:
>> 1 benefit per round completed.
>> 1 benefit if a punk runs out of
tricks.
>> 1 benefit if nobody gets caught
by the cops.
Each punk caught gains 1 heat, and
the system may attempt to oppress
them. It’s presumed any prison time
or fines aren’t onerous unless that’s
the form of oppression levied.
Changing the Game
This game isn’t about punks in 2020 as
a metaphor for oppression. It’s directly
about modern systems of oppression,
albeit abstracted for the purposes of role-
playing. (I would say “exaggerated again”,
but man, that’s less and less true by the
day here in America.)
But if you want to get more fantastical,
that’s fine. Maybe songs are literally
sparklingly magical and not figurative.
Maybe you’re orcish bards looking to
overthrow a human empire through the
power of ritual. If you want to reskin,
reshuffle, or add your own spin on things,
you can do that.
The only thing I’d request is to avoid the
pitfall of the “mutant metaphor”. In Marvel
Comics’ X-Men, mutants are used as a
metaphor for oppressed minorities. The
difficulty with this is that mutants often
have powers that make them physically
more powerful than their oppressors for
the most part, often practically godlike.
The problem with that it can easily lead
to fascistic thinking. Part of the fascist
mindset includes the notion that not
only are they constantly under attack
by phantom forces, but those who are
attacking them are objectively inferior.
If you actually have some power that
makes you stronger than the system itself,
you may not actually be oppressed. You
may just be the next system.
! FOR SYSTEMS ONLY !
The sections following this sidebar are
not for punks.
They are not permitted to look beyond
this point.
This is a rule they will definitely obey.
In statu quo ante bellum erat.
SECTION
5 Systemic
Shhh. I’ve been down on you all this time,
I know. But the secret? You’ve got all the
power. Mighty chub power. You’re the secret
cool one. Certainly nobody would read past
this point to find out all your secrets. It says
SYSTEMS ONLY, and who could disobey that?
Making a system is firstly a matter of choosing which
flavor of system you want to taste.
The Label. You’re about controlling music, writing,
comics, or even role-playing. You take artists into your
capitalist maw, and then chew them up, swallowing their
profitable part and leaving an addled husk of a human
behind. Top of the pops!
Wannabe Warriors. You have guns and tactical kit.
Tactical vests. Tactical pants. Tactical peanut brittle. You’re
here to defend your country from all the punks. You don’t
get paid, but patrotism is all about unpaid labor.
Channers. Tearing down the vulnerable is definitely a
hobby you have. But it’s okay, because they’re all secret
bad people who want to do bad things to the white race
children in pizza shops. Some other guy on the internet
told you. That’s kind of like evidence, right?
Techbro.com. Sure, nobody asked to have ingestible
microchips in their hamburgers, but tracking customers is
important to deliver better service. And it’s worth a lot of
money to the right people. Especially people on the right.
Fucks News. You’re there for the important people,
to defend them against the people that tear them
down. You’re there for cops, businesses, the president,
everybody that matters. By which we mean the powerful
people that support you. And the truth. Sure, the truth.
Cops. It’s time to protect people from safety, and
property from people. It’s time shit on that thin blue line.
The Fucking Corporation. The shareholders have needs.
You see to those needs. The rest of the world might burn,
the ground might be poisoned, people might starve, but
the shareholders must be satisfied. Shovel the money in!
Shovel it good! Mr. Market demands obsequience!
Hard(ass)core. You’re faux-punks. Fuck breaking the
rules, it’s time to break people, too. You mostly just
hate… well, whatever rallies the troops. You’re a bunch of
peckerwood pricks, a cancer that’s run across the scene,
that stuffs it full of shit drugs, shittier violence, and the
shittiest -isms. As long as you’re the one getting money
and authority over your little scene, nothing else matters.
Running Dogs. Bikes, leather, and the language of the
rebel is your front: powerful conservative support is at
your back. You get to beat the shit out of people and
then get bailed out, how sweet is that? You might say:
“Government-backed bikers? That sounds far-fetched.”
Look up the Night Wolves or Bikers For Trump, if so.
When you’ve selected that, give your system a name and
a description just like a punk has. Name its movers and
shakers, and think about what voice they have with a
few adjectives so that you have a fist that you can shake
at the punks. Describe the ways in which the system is
insufferable and untenable. You’re not misunderstood.
Then, ask each punk to each create a lynchpin that
represents something that backs your power. This might
be an influential leader, a location, a form of financial
support, a false narrative, an ethos, etc. It can be anything
that can be broken by meddling punks. The number of
starting lynchpins should equal the number of punks.
Then place a chain on each lynchpin secretly, face-down
if you’re using cards for them. Each chain has two effects.
The first occurs when the lynchpin is defaced, and the
second takes place when they’re broken. A defaced
lynchpin is advantageous to the punks, while a destroyed
one creates greater difficulties as the system gets
increasingly desperate. A destroyed one no longer grants
the benefits of being defaced.
Once a lynchpin is defaced, the system should reveal
both the effects of it being defaced and destroyed, so the
punks have an idea of what they’re getting into.
“Of course I qualify for your customer service position, sir. I’ve been a customer all my life.”
Getting Carded
On the following pages you’ll find cards for the various
chains and labels the system gets access to, represented
on cards.
The system is strongly encouraged to print the labels
and cut them out along the lines for use as a reference. If
you don’t have cardstock, you can buy a pack of penny
sleeves at a game shop, then take a deck of cards from a
dollar store to give cut-out cards some weight.
Labels are printed out and formed into a face-down deck.
The system draws a hand of three labels at any time to
choose from when placing labels, and always redraws
up to three if they have less (due to placing or discarding
labels). Whenever they oppress a character, they may
choose to discard a label. If they have placed or discarded
all their labels for any reason, they may shuffle their
discard and make that into a new deck.
In terms of the story, the labels may or may not be
accurate. Some, like “communist”, are possibly entirely
erroneous, depending on whether or not you’re an
anarcho-communist. What matters is that they’re widely
believed by those in authority familiar with the punk.
The Blood
This chain represents a false purity that the
system aspires to..
Defaced: Remove 2 heat from all
punks.
Destroyed: Whenever the system
tries to crush a punk that’s already
oppressed, it can roll twice. If it
succeeds on either, the punk is
crushed.
I want to be stereotyped
The Eye
This chain represents the means the
system uses to observe and judge.
Defaced: The system may not
question punks when oppressing
them.
Destroyed: The system may win if it
only has two labels for every punk in
play.
I want to be classified
The Pillar
This chain is seen as unquestionably
decent and respectable. At first.
Defaced: When a punk is
successfully crushed, the Pillar is
destroyed as well, implicated in their
crushing.
Destroyed: Wreckage occurs
twice—a riot or reaction to the
Pillar’s fall.
The Cage
This chain represents how the system deals
with dissent.
Defaced: The band gains 2
supporters (freed from the cage).
Destroyed: Whenever the
band would lose a supporter or
supporters, they lose one more due
to the system’s ruthlessness.
The Mask
This chain represents a lie or deception the
system relies on.
Defaced: Reveal all other chains
to the punks. If they’re all already
revealed, the punks gain a supporter.
Destroyed: The system a revealed or
defaced chain and discard it. Draw
three, choose one place another
revealed or defaced in its place just
like the previous one, then discard
the other two.
The Salt
This chain provides the system with tools
for abuse and violence.
Defaced: When defying authority,
adjacent punks no longer take heat.
Destroyed: When the system tries to
crush a punk, it may use the highest
heat value instead of the lowest.
The Devil
This chain represents a secret resource the
system relies on.
Defaced: Each punk may embrace
a label they have. If they have no
labels, each may choose to draw 3,
choose one, and discard the rest.
Destroyed: The system may
immediately, at no cost, try to
oppress all punks and crush one
punk.
The Pearl
This chain serves as a gaudy symbol of the
system’s power, ethos, or wealth.
Defaced: The system must spend 2
heat instead of 1 when oppressing or
crushing punks.
Destroyed: All punks gain 2 heat.
Everybody gets the blame.
The Soil
This chain represents something held as a
sacred cow by the system.
Defaced: The system defaces one of
its other lynchpins. This takes place
again if this lynchpin is restored to
defaced.
Destroyed: The system may restore
one of its destroyed lynchpins
to defaced. If there are no other
destroyed lynchpins, this lynchpin is
restored to defaced.
ACTIVIST!
“This person is telling you your country is
BAD. Your country is GOOD.”
Effect: When you perform direct
action as an individual, you may
choose to bid only 2 heat.
your neighbor is your enemy
ANTIFA!
“They’re in buses! Planes! Organizing to
overthrow all forms of transportation!”
Effect: When you do direct action as
an individual and wreckage results,
you can take 2 heat instead of losing
a supporter.
Your real friends are on TV
DEVIL!
“The evil.”
Effect: Whenever wreckage
happens, lose 2 heat.
AGITATOR!
“Don’t let them deceive you! Our lies are
the only true lies!
Effect: When you gain benefits from
direct action as a individual or a
group, you can gain supporters for
1 benefit each. When you do so, you
gain 1 heat for each one after the
first.
COMMUNIST!
“They want to control your lives, but we
protect your freedom to obey!”
Effect: Whenever another band
member gains heat, you may choose
to gain 1 heat in their place with
their permission.
GANGSTER!
“Thieves! Drug-dealers! Murderers! What’s
worse, they do it all illegally!”
Effect: Gain a supporter. Whenever
you gain a label, gain another
supporter.
ANARCHIST!
“Chaos is they want. Lawlessness. Disorder.
Anything to get out of work.”
Effect: When the system oppresses
you, and you have 4 or less heat, you
may take 1 additional heat instead to
negate the oppression.
CONSPIRATOR!
“They could be anywhere, any one of us!
But not me, don’t take that too far.”
Effect: When you do direct action as
part of a group successfully, you may
lose 1 heat.
HACKER!
“Don’t let them take your information;
that’s our business.”
Effect: When a lynchpin is defaced,
you may reveal another chain
associated with a lynchpin. If all
chains have already been revealed,
you may deface a lynchpin instead.
ICONOCLAST!
“They think they’re above the law? Who
would stoop so low?”
Effect: You only need to spend 1
benefit to remove a label (including
this one), and may do so as a benefit
of individual direct action.
The faithful assets only
MARTYR!
“We should all sacrifice for the greater
good, unless it’ll hurt productivity.”
Effect: When the system attempts
to crush a punk, you may choose to
stand in their place. When you do so,
if your heat is 3 or less, the crushing
is performed if the heat was 4. If the
system crushes you, all remaining
punks lose 2 heat.
know their masters love
REVOLUTIONARY! RINGLEADER!
“They’ll overthrow everything our
revolutionary forefathers built!”
Effect: When you may perform direct
action as part of a band, you can
destroy a defaced lynchpin for only
one benefit selection, but the system
may try to crush you for free if you
do so.
KOOK!
“You need to be a pundit to claim anything
that ridiculous.”
Effect: When the system rolls to
oppress you and fails, lose 2 heat
instead of 1.
NASTY!
“These awful little shits say the meanest,
most terrible things.”
Effect: When another punk would
gain a label, you can gain 1 heat to
take that label if they consent.
“They’re the one that’s irresponsible for
this!”
Effect: Whenever you perform direct
action as part of a band, you may not
be oppressed or crushed unless the
system rolls a 5 or 6.
LOOTER!
“They’re coming to rob your businesses!...
you all have businesses, right?”
Effect: When you’re involved in
successful direct action, you can gain
2 heat to add an additional benefit.
PROVOCATEUR!
“They’re just trying to make you angry like
they are. You should be angry like we are.”
Effect: When you perform direct
action as a band, the first supporter
you select costs 1 less.
RIOTER!
“They’ll burn down everything abstractly
represented by our stocks! Stop them!”
Effect: When you’re involved in
direct action that causes wreckage,
gain 1 benefit as if you had
succeeded.
SJW!
“Just because you oppress them, they think
they have the moral high ground!”
Effect: Whenever you gain
supporters, lose 1 heat (regardless of
the number of supporters gained).
you have no friends you wont be missed
TREASONIST!
“The deep state will destroy this country;
who wouldn’t overthrow their boss?”
Effect: When a lynchpin is destroyed,
you may negate the effect that
happens due to it being destroyed.
Your heat immediately goes to 6.
Im here to tell you that you dont exist
UPPITY!
“They should know their place; ideallly,
wherever they came from!”
Effect: When wreckage would occur,
you may gain 2 heat instead to
negate it.
SUBVERSIVE!
“You ought to watch talk like that. Start
making sense, and you’ll end up in jail.”
Effect: If you’re involved with direct
action that destroys a lynchpin, gain
a supporter.
TRESPASSER!
“Look, I’m the landlord here, unless you’re
a tenant- no, being a lord isn’t weird-”
Effect: When you perform direct
action as an individual or group
and wreckage may result, you
may negate it, but the system may
immediately oppress you at no cost.
VANDAL!
“They have no respect for the property we
took from others.”
Effect: When wreckage results
from direct action you took part
in, you may deface a lynchpin. If all
lynchpins are defaced, you no longer
can gain heat from wreckage.
TERRORIST!
“They hate us. Them. You know. Those
people. Look, just pick a target.”
Effect: If your heat would go above
6, the system may not automatically
attempt to crush you; it just tops out
at 6.
THUG!
“They’ll resort to violence, even just to
defend themselves!”
Effect: When the system tries to
oppress a punk, you may choose
to stand in their place by gaining 1
heat.
WANTED!
“There’s a reward out there for their arrest.
That’s why we’ll shoot; it’s cheaper.”
Effect: You may gain up to 5 labels
instead of 3, but whenever you gain
heat, gain 1 additional heat. The
amount of labels required for the
system to “win” is increased by 2.
I’m the Government, Mister
The role of the system is to be the sand grain in the
oyster. You’re there to give the punks a hard time, but
you’re not necessarily in it to win it.
I could tell you how to run the game, for sure. But instead,
I’m going to tell you how to play the system badly. If you
don’t want to have fun, and don’t want your friends to
have fun, here are some good guiderails:
>> Come up with a story in your head before you start.
Whenever possible, push that story as the narrative.
Discount any suggestions from the punks.
>> Never attempt to oppress. Only attempt to crush.
Oppressing may be interesting and thematic, but
crushing is more obviously like “winning”.
>> Never offer a label if you don’t feel the need. Why risk
losing even the slightest advantage? Definitely never
offer a label they might think is tempting.
>> If the punks argue about you applying heat, fight for
that heat. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Never admit
you might be wrong.
>> Make sure you push your punks’ boundaries as
hard as you can. Deliberately try and make them
as uncomfortable. If they object with safety tools,
acquiece as pettily as possible.
>> Don’t bother to ask punks questions when you
oppress them. Establishing facts is just extra work.
>> If the punks are in the middle of a sentence or action
as a song ends, penalize them fully. Don’t give them
the little extra time to finish their thought.
>> When a punk is crushed or a supporter is lost, use that
for excruciating misery. Wallow in that shit. Make it as
humiliating and drag it out as long as possible.
>> Every time a lynchpin is defaced or destroyed, try
and twist the narrative or make excuses so it doesn’t
matter or actually change anything.
Once again, these are guidelines for those who want to
make sure the game isn’t enjoyed. But if you want to run an
enjoyable, fun game, please don’t listen to me.
Hey, Fellow Punks!
Oh, did you disobey and read onward, you lousy, no-
good punk? Good for you. If one of the punks has read
this, at the start of the game, they can reveal one chain by
flipping it face-up.
This is a real rule and not a joke. If the system tried to
warn you off of reading this, they’re just following orders.
Eat a bowl of Anarcrunch, there’s an in every bite!
New Revolution+
What do you do when the system is defeated? Well, that’s
up for the punks to decide. If you all want to keep playing
their story, then it’s on to the next one. If they want to
wrap things up, then see “Smash the State” (pg. 10).
If the revolution is successful, all punks lose any
oppression and 1 heat, may select one label and embrace
it. A punk may have up to two embraced labels.
An embraced label is put aside and no longer counts as
a label. Any label not embraced is discarded (including
permanent labels), and are reshuffled back into the deck
of labels for the next game. Permanent labels are also
discarded.
If there are more supporters than punks, then the punks
must choose supporters to lose until the number of
supporters equals the number of punks.
Then, create a new system. This system has additional
lynchpins equal to the number of successful revolutions
performed previously by this group of punks.
And then you start all over again, as many times as you
like.
Rulebreaking
Many role-playing games have a “rule zero” that state if
the rules get in the way, to throw them out. As a designer,
I usually see that as a cheap escape clause for sloppy
rules, so I won’t cite it directly. I’m proud of what I write.
But it’d be against the anarchist spirit to tell you what
to do with what I wrote, wouldn’t it? So if you want to
change things, that’s fine.
The key part is that you do it as a group. The system
doesn’t lord over rules changes like gamemasters would
in a traditional role-playing game. Come to a collective
agreement on any changes. Adding new chains or labels
will have the smallest impact, and would be welcome.
If you create some new stuff, share it with me, and if it’s
okay with you, I might put it in a revision!
No doubt that, given enough play, some wiseass will
break the rules or cheat, shouting “anarchy!” And if you
find that cute as a group, that’s fine. But if it’s disrupting
the game (and, more importantly, people’s enjoyment),
that’s just disrespecting the labor of your allies in making
this little fantasy fun. Don’t be a dick just to be clever. Be a
dick only if it genuinely amuses.
Nothing burns down by itself.
Every fire needs a little bit of help.
SECTION
6 Outro
In which the author tries not to die.
I’m not an anarchist. This isn’t because I’m opposed to
anarchy in any sense. But I tend to be suspicious of any
“single answer” to the troubles we find ourselves in. I tend
to view political philosophy like a toolkit; I don’t think a
monkeywrench is right for everything. But as my country
spirals further into authoritarianism, my eyes keep
looking at that monkeywrench and thinking maybe it’s
time for me to find a project to use that wrench in.
In case you’re worried about my bonafides, don’t worry.
I don’t have any. I’ve never faced down a riot cop or
participated in direct action or civil disobedience. I have
some Crimethinc books on my shelf and listen to some
anarchist bands. I have a deep respect for those who do
take action, but my revolution is, at best, theoretical, and
at worst, I’m a fucking tourist. Sure, I’ve contributed to
Black Lives Matter, Human Rights Watch, bail funds, and
other organizations. But that’s just me dividing off the
labor that I probably ought to be doing.
But I’m a role-playing game freelancer. I write games
where people put their feet in fantasy boots. And right
now, it’s hard to think of a fantasy more appealing than
taking some of the people at the top right now down to
the bottom. Maybe you do too. Give this game a try. Tell
me what you think of it. And more importantly, tell me if
it made you think.
My first long-term role-playing game campaign was
Cyberpunk 2020 back in the ‘90s. I played Carla, a street
mercenary who worked for an American Mafia family to
support her extended family. She traded off quite a bit
a part of herself to be a professional killer for a system.
Sure, it was an extralegal organization, but it was still a
system and she was the bullet.
Over the years, I’ve paid attention to the panels for
Cyberpunk Red, the newest sequel to Cyberpunk 2020. And
there’s a lot of talk about how the rules work, how the
setting lore is going to be updated, what happened to
Johnny Silverhand, and so on. At the last panel, I asked if
recent events had informed any it, of what the creator, Mr.
Pondsmith, thought the themes of cyberpunk might be
in 2020.
I was never answered.
Now, there are a variety of innocent reasons this might
be the case. But with the devs of the 100+ million dollar
videogame adaptation, Cyberpunk 2077, seemingly
unclear on whether or not their game is “political”, I have
to wonder if Cyberpunk becoming an international brand
silences that notion. Perhaps the devs at CD Projekt
Red can’t say much, living under their own increasingly
authoritan government, and by extension Pondsmith
feels an obligation to keep mum. Or maybe it’s just
marketfears. Either way, Pondsmith isn’t obligated to
answer me. And it’s vitally important that people know
what the fuck happened with Johnny Silverhand.
That shit matters.
Role-playing games often position players as defenders
of the status quo. Whether it’s an adventuring party
putting a stop to goblin raiders, superheroes stopping
a supervillain’s invention, or street “samurai” (ugh)
ready to use violence and force... to disconnect illegal
cable hookups. (No, seriously, that last one comes from
Cyberpunk 2020’s sample adventures.)
And I don’t think that’s necessarily wrong. (Well, okay,
murdering people over illegal cable hookups definitely is.)
Role-playing games are often just light entertainment.
But even when they are, they do say things. Goblins can
use signifiers we associate with real-life people. If goblins
come at your with spears, masks, and have a shaman
at their back, that’s not an accident, and helps people,
consciously or otherwise, equate a squad of killable
goblins with real-life stereotypes.
Some Fucking Thanks
@TheSoundNinja, for believing in my animest games.
@In_Die_Zine, for letting me help build something new.
@badreligion, for becoming mainstream enough to
sneak punk onto my Dreamcast.
Garrett Ramey, for getting me to take Chumbawamba
seriously.
@shit_rock, for making it tough for me to take
Chumbawamba seriously.
Accursed, for reminding me what a “rule zero” is called.

They don’t intend to be “political”, but that’s what

they’re being. Goblins raid us because they’re primitive;
primitives can’t be reasoned with; people we can’t reason
with need fireballing. Alternately, gang members and
“psychos” steal from companies; they cannot be reasoned
with; it’s worth $10 to cut their cable connection, so...

Games create narrative. All narrative is based on a

particular point of view. That point of view includes
political assumptions. Anarchopunk 2020 is,
ironically, one of the few games with “punk” in the
title that is clear about its political intent. Punk has
often been an been simply an affectation. Others
will have to judge if this game transcends that.

But think about what “punk” means to you when you

slip it into your game name. Maybe that means anarchy.
Maybe that means something else to you. Just make sure
when writing your system, you’re not just being part of
the system.

Let’s not be Carlas if we can help it. Let’s consider being

monkeywrenches instead.

- Julian K
This page intentionally left.
 ANARCHOPUNK
THE ROLEPLAYING GAME OF THE DARK PRESENT
The Corporations control the world from their skyscraper
havens, enforcing their rule with offices of drone
lobbyists. On the streets, white nationalists roam an
infected urban wilderness, bullying and killing those who
dare protest. The rest of the world is a perpetual curfew,
as exhausted workers remote into work, watching their
neighbors get evicted into the meanest streets this side
of the apocalypse. The Present never looked so bad.

But you can change it. You’ve got friends at your back,
instruments packed, pamphlet in hand, and constant
political anxiety screaming in your brain. You’re
wireless, woke, and wise as you take your philosophy
to the Revolution because you have to. Because you’re
Anarchopunk.

Anarchopunk: the unoriginal roleplaying game of the

dark present; a world of brutal police, state-run bikers,
and callous techbros, packed with direct action and the
loudest concerts. Within this Portable Document, you’ll
find everything you need to take the Revolution to the
mean streets of the 2000’s — in a game system that
lets you tell your story simply and couldn’t give a single
fuck about realism.

FEATURING:
The Label: Callous shits corrupting your creativity for dollars and change!
Wannabe Warriors: Military fantasists taking the war to the oppressed!
Channers: Abusive political cults formed in the ass-end of the Internet!
Fucks News: State-run media vomiting disinformation to obscure the truth!
Running Dogs: Bikers standing up for oppression and toxicity!
The Fucking Corporation: They’ll burn society down for a dollar!
Techbro.com: Millionaries looking to turn your privacy into profit!
Hard(ass)core: Faux-punks infusing the scene with crime and violence!
Cops: “Maximum lawmen in the big-city jungle!”

2. 0. 2. 0.
T h e O n l y E d i t i o n

j/k FEATURING: No Cybernetics • No Weapons • Nonmandatory

games Combat • No Technology • Advanced Direct Action • No
inc. City Guide (Just Look Outside)
arbco.itch.io Computable with Skatepunk: OPUSR PWYW
@alienropeburn
No Copyrights | No Rights Reserved | CC BY-ND | We can’t copyright Anarchopunk, it’d be like copyrighting Cyberpunk, who would even try to d