Neon Rain

I found my next book. Neon Rain is a Cyberpunk setting book that I'll need to complete my CyberPink custom setting within Cypher System. Alas, I have to wait for my next paycheck to get it though.... boo.

Okay, so I'm a naughty girl... I bought the book a few days early out of funds that I don't have reserved for it!

Notwithstanding...

This book is amazing! It really does capture the feel of old ShadowRun games that I've played. The classic Types have been reskinned for a modern vibe.: Solo (Warrior), Hotshot (Explorer), Broker (Speaker), and Tech (Adept). Already this game feels dirty. I love it. Moving on to Descriptors, five new ones have been added (Addicted, Corpo, Engram, Furious, and Luddite). These may be used in addition to the ones found in the Core Cypher System. Finally, there's new Foci. This chapter (three) has a list of 43 Foci that are appropriate from the Core System, but also adds nine new ones to the mix for a specific cyberpunky feeel. There's also a few pages on shoehorning other Foci to fit within the Cyberpunk setting. For example, Controls Beasts mentions using implants that use a combination of pheromones, and soothing tones that can repel animals, or to hack animal's implanted cybernetics to outright control them.

There's an entire chapter dedicated to new Player Intrusions (the things that players get to do to rudder the story/plot toward their benefit, each broken down by Type category. But one of the real gems with this book is the next chapter (five), when we start dealing with Equipment Options. My oh my, there are guns and weapons galore! And not only weapons but several weapon accessories and customizations are offered as well. I'm a bit disappointed by the rather modest armor selection, but maybe I can import some other options from ShadowRun, Cypberpunk Red, or even GURPS. There's an entire section for Entertainment and Lifestyle costs. I love all the in-your-face advertisements that are littered throughout the book. It makes the immersion feel even more gritty and slimy, in fact. Most of the equipment listed in this chapter has a dedicated paragraph explaining it in more detail, which is a really nice touch from the typical list entry. Finally the chapter ends with everybody's favorite topic: Drugs!

Chapter six talks about Cybernetics, and it is packed with options, all broken down by body region. We have anything that you could possibly need within a dystopian corporatocracy future from not only external limb replacements, but also internal organs and built-in weapons. Chapter seven talks about vehicles, I feel that there are a fair amount of options here, although, I'll probably snag some of my favorite ShadowRun 4e options as well.

Part Two, stating with chapter eight, we learn about building a custom cyberpunk setting. And I find it to be a wonderful inclusion that right here at the top of this section is a discussion about consent. Cyberpunk is gritty, it can be dirty, it can be uncomfortable and outright horrible for some people. I find this is especially true for today in 2025, as it seems that we're actually living through the birthing pains of a similar dystopia in the real world. I really like how the authors describe each various building block descriptor of what defines Cyberpunk. Furthermore, this is a pretty lengthy piece.

There's two d100 tables for generating a Cyberpunk mission, and while I appreciate the expanded options to choose from for the What, I feel that this piece is lacking. I also want to be able to randomly generate the Who, Where, Why, When, etc. I'll be adding additional tables (probably from Cyberpunk Red or Augmented Reality) to assist with this procedure. However, reading further, there are additional methods for constructing a mission. You can create a mission based on a Foci too. There's information for including other genres too. Typical Aliens or other Sci-Fi adjacent options are listed, but also one that kind of surprised me is the inclusion of Magic, Vampires, and even Zombies. (Now, I have to make myself look like an ass, because if I had actually read the chapter before drafting this article, I would have noticed that at the very end of the chapter are tables for events, locations, and even external genre add-ons.)

Chapter nine gets into Optional Rules and GM Advice. Skimming through this section, I would highly recommend giving it a decent peek through before starting a campaign-- there are some truly amazing gems contained within! Like on page 131, there's several tables for generating fodder in your game. Story hooks, News headlines, street art, advertisements, even street gossip! Some of these stuff could easily be transferred over into other genres with some minor tweaking. To say that this chapter is long is an understatement. There's so much good stuff! If you're familiar with Cypher System, you're aware of Intrusions. And typically, we talk about only two types: Player and Game Master. However, buried in this chapter are several other forms of Intrusions (most likely that the GM will use). I find this to be really helpful because Environmental Intrusions are easy, and the options that are listed are helpful reminders that they do exist.

Then we've got chapters on NPCs and Critters (10), Cyphers within Cyberpunk (11), Artifacts (12). Lots of great stuff in these three chapters!

Part Three is a Cyberpunk specific setting, known as Edge City. which details specific places, people, and costs for services.

Part Four lists two pre-made Adventures (The Seventeenth Floor (15) and Needle in the Haystack (16). There are a couple of YouTube Actual Play's that feature these two adventures, and in fact, that's what lead me to purchasing this book! Check them out.