I’m thinking of running a Cyberpunk RED campaign. My group has played D&D together for about five years now.
Any suggestions or advice on running the game? Are there any game play or mechanics tips that would help people coming from D&D?
I haven’t played Cyberpunk but I’ve been the GM when we transitioned from Warhammer to Shadowrun. This is what I’d say to myself back then:
- This is not a game about resource management. Don’t view combat as “we should do X combats of such and such difficulty between rests”. Focus on obstacles like “if they get inside with guns blazing, the elevators might be blocked” and leave to the players to decide how to approach them
- Don’t plan how will the gameplay progress, focus on who (meaning NPCs) does what, why, what are their obstacles
- Don’t try to get all the mechanics right from the beginning. Try to get a grip on general flow of the rules and when you meet a situation for the first time, make a ruling on the spot. Look it up after the game
- If you know which flavour you are going after (black trenchcoat vs pink mohawk) describe it to your players so you’re on the same page
- Completely abandon “don’t split the party”
This is not a game about resource management. Don’t view combat as “we should do X combats of such and such difficulty between rests”. Focus on obstacles like “if they get inside with guns blazing, the elevators might be blocked” and leave to the players to decide how to approach them
That’s a big difference from D&D. Thanksb for pointing that out.
Don’t plan how will the gameplay progress, focus on who (meaning NPCS) does what, why. what are their obstacles
That’s really good advice.