Day 4: Hard Wired Island - Chris Lendo, cyberpunk activist

Hard Wired Island (also on itch.io) is a retro-futuristic cyberpunk game, essentially a game for running stories in what a 90s idea of cyberpunk would look like. HWI is one of my Kickstarter finds and I think it does a better job of fitting Cyberpunk than the overwhelming majority of Cyberpunk RPGs. But let’s make a character, and I will throw in some more explanations later.

Here we start with a character idea; Grand Cross Station is the location of the game, a large orbital station ruled by a cartel of corporations, a place in the far distant future of 2020 where technology has birthed miracles but also reinforced social power structures. Since it has been ages since I read the background, I will leave it at that.

I’d say we will play Chris Lendo (they/them), a young activist and second-generation Grand Crosser, or Double Crosser, which means their parents, the Lendos, came to the station shortly before Chris was born. Mom is a local bureaucrat, dad initially was involved with building the place, but was fired a few years back and has since then been the local tinkerer for hire. The Lendo’s aren’t rich, and Chris has moved out a few months ago to lessen the burden on the family. They have made money as a hired hand who is up for nearly anything, and spent quite a bit of their limited free time in political activism. Which is now transitioning into a mix of direct activism, and … shady jobs, purely out of necessity.

Now I choose an Origin. There are several that would fit, I think either Activism or Double Crosser would work. Let’s go with Double Crosser, which refers to their second-generation citizen status. This will mean they get to boost a social roll against another Double Crosser once per session, and that I can choose any Specialty at +1, as well as either Activism or Social Media at +1. Activism seems right, doesn’t it? For the “any Specialty” I will go with “Bureaucracy”. Specialties are essentially skills, but they are mostly made up by the group, with no fixed list.

Next to determine Abilities; these are Cool, Clever, Tough, and Quick, and Chris will have them at 0,2,1,3. Zero chill, but at least they can run after pissing someone off! I also choose the first of two Traits, meant to describe what life made us into, what it did to us. I will go with Activist, which means Chris can sometimes push themselves to do things, in exchange for later problems. Work yourself to the bone to get things done, but later you will be useless, that kind of thing. Yes, Chris is a double activist - activist to the core, Activist Max, so to speak.

Now for an occupation, the thing that puts the Crime in Criminal. I will go with Fixer, the networker who mediates between problem-havers, and problem-solvers. Chris does not mind getting their hands dirty but likes to stay out of the thick of it. That kind of thing might otherwise reflect badly on the political action, and we can't have that! This allows us to choose one more esoteric Speciality, and another general one. Let’s go with “Keep cool +1”, which is a defense against challenges to Cool, and Networking +1. I also get to choose a Talent, like a special effect, from the Fixer list. Let’s go with Lighten Up, which allows us to roll to defuse a situation, or at least make a tense encounter more friendly. 

Now to choose another trait. I will go with Regular Customer, which means we are a known quantity in a specific bar, club, or restaurant, where regulars and employees know Chris. I would choose the correct one if this were for an actual game. I do envision some kind of seedy hangout, a place a bit away from their usual living space, a place Chirs probably thinks of as their office. Damn it, let's call it "The Watering Hole". Mechanically, this can serve as a place that helps with some prep work, or with hiding out, etc.

Next to choose three Specialities, or increase one. I step up Activism, add Stealth and Tinkering. Then it is time to dig into Chris' Assets. Some I get from their Occupation as a fixer. Chris has a license for two built-in Augments; one is a communication device built into their head. The other I will have to get in-game - Augments are expensive! When choosing between owning a business or a gun with a suppressor, I go with the gun. Finally, I get to add a defensive Speciality (going with “Hard to Shake", which defends Tough), and one more Talent. I pick “I Know a Guy”, meaning Chris can get cheap prices for illegal goods. We also get two more Assets from a generic list, I take a Scooter, and Holographic Projection Armor (essentially a way to project a different image instead of myself). I do not own any more Augments, but have to decide now why and how Chris got their current one. They took a loan from a local crime lord to buy them and made that decision when they got serious about wanting to change the station for the better, with direct action if necessary. So far that is a mixed blessing, Chris has yet to wait for the augment to be worth the price. I get to engage a bit more with the Augments chapter and decide my communicator gives me a +1 to Networking. This brings me up to a Burden (read: debt) of 4. I can have a maximum of 3 to start with, but if another player would agree that we are roommates, we’d share Burdens, and it would go down to 3. There are downsides to that decision of course - if either of us can’t handle the debt anymore, it becomes a problem for us both. But hey, story hook right there! And this is where the game is a bit more cyberpunk than most - crushing debt and negative consequences of capitalism out of control are depicted, not as optional but core elements.

Finally, I need to choose a personal goal for Chris. They wouldn’t admit it publicly, but Chris wants to get so much behind-the-scenes influence that they can break the stranglehold companies have on the station. It is the only way forward; power belongs in the hand of the people who can handle it responsibly, which is Chris.

Done. Find the sheet here.