10 Hooks and Rumours for Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0.’s Night City

This list has ten hooks and rumours that can be heard in or about the Upper Marina district of Night City. Whether or not they are true is up to the GameMaster. They can be used as background colour or as potential adventure hooks.

1. Big Blue Foods in the Upper Marina manufactures a lot of the standard foods that make up typical Night City provender. There are constantly rumours about just what goes into some of their dishes, but these are the sort of rumours that have been around for years. As yet, no-one has got any proof to justify the derogatory name of “Soylent Blue Foods”.
2. C. Donut Express Co, based in the Upper Marina, trans-ships and receives goods over long distances, and also collects and delivers goods locally, swapping goods over at their depot. The trucks are dangerous to try to jack, as for long distances they have convoys with outriders, and it’s rumoured that not every type of good that the company ships around is entirely legal. Or remotely legal.
3. Harbormaster Mahan Jones is both a cop and a government official, and tolerates no corruption by corporations or the Mob withing the Harbor Police. Both organised crime and the companies are less than happy about this, especially as control of the Harbor Police would make smuggling goods through easier. It’s rumoured that at least some have decided that individual cops cannot be safely bribed as long as Jones is around, and are planning to remove the problem at its head.
4. Medicross Preservation in the Upper Marina collects a goodly number of the city’s unnamed and unidentified corpses, which are then dissected for donor parts. It’s rumoured that not every corpse that goes through the doors is unnamed and unidentified; some say that the Mob or the corps occasionally use Medicross to make an inconvenient body – which may have been breathing – “disappear” with no-one the wiser.
5. Mustang Arms Co in the Upper Marina is essentially a giant warehouse full of shoulder arms as well as pistols and cyberlimb replacements. It’s rumoured that so many weapons pass through the facility that the company can’t manage to keep track of them all. Which results in a certain percentage going missing, and turning up in the hands of those who really shouldn’t be getting them.
6. Night City Today! is based in the Upper Marina, the city’s most popular screamsheet that focuses more on sensationalism and distribution than it does on journalism. Though it’s rumoured that the screamsheet has recently been receiving threats, as it appears they accidentally stumbled across a genuine piece of investigative journalism.
7. SensuTours in the Upper Marina was recently hit by a firebomb attack, though it appears this did surprisingly little damage to the business. The assumption is that a customer finally got sick and tired of the places inefficiency and decided to teach them a lesson. If so, it looks as if the lesson wasn’t firm enough to stick.
8. Servospiff is a supplier of security-coded work fashions and they are able to keep the registered designs out of the hands of would-be buyers who lack authorisation, thanks to their security precautions. It’s rumoured that the company’s precautions can sometimes be final, as those who attempt to acquire designs they have no right to may find that this is the last thing they do.
9. The American Bar in the Upper Marina caters to a variety of mercenary types as well as toughs and labourers from the waterfront. Both the NCPD and the CIA keep an eye on the bar, even though it’s licensed, but there are rumours that the CIA has lost a few people who have been watching the place recently. Though the NCPD apparently haven’t. This might suggest something is going on of interest to the CIA, but isn’t of a type of illegality to get the NCPD involved.
10. The Night City headquarters of the Department of Motor Vehicles is in the Upper Marina, and is not the most popular of places. Though the building has good security, there have been a number of attacks against it recently. These haven’t been more than the throwing of futile Molotov cocktails or cans of paint, and have had no great effect. The attacks do seem to be coordinated, though, and it’s possible whoever is behind them will start stepping up their game.

Want some general cyberpunk rumours? Check out 100 Cyber City Rumours.

D10: Night City Rumours – Upper Marina is unofficial content provided under the Homebrew Content Policy of R. Talsorian Games and is not approved or endorsed by RTG. This content references materials that are the property of R. Talsorian Games and its licensees.

10 Hooks and Rumours for Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0.’s Night City

This list has ten hooks and rumours that can be heard in or about the Upper East Side district of Night City. Whether or not they are true is up to the GameMaster. They can be used as background colour or as potential adventure hooks.

1. Allworld Insurance in the Upper East Side has an enclosure built of reinforced concrete as part of their building, where physical evidence is stored for examination by the company’s forensic engineers. There’s only one street entrance, without using explosives, and there are two checkpoints to ensure only those allowed to enter can do so. Yet there are rumours that some of what’s been stored in the enclosure has been tampered with to affect Allworld’s investigations and ultimate pay-outs.
2. CiNEmaXUS is a theatre and braindance arcade that has been struggling recently due to corporate clientele being driven elsewhere by the punks on the streets at night. Some say that the place is going to start catering to the punks, but there are other rumours that the owners are making a deal with someone far more dangerous than any street punk in order to keep the area around it safe so that its original clientele feels safe to return.
3. Global Foods prides itself on its ability to create any dish that a diner asks for, no matter how disgusting. It’s rumoured that it’s also possible to order dishes that, whilst not unknown, are illegal, with long pig being the one most touted as being available to those in the know.
4. Kitty Liquor violates most of Night City’s local laws, including selling to minors as well as remaining open at all times of day and night. Though the council would like to shut it down, doing so could well cause a riot amongst the local gangs. Others, however, are less bothered about the potential fallout, or about obeying the law when it comes to closing Kitty Liquor down, and there are rumours of violent actions planned against the business.
5. Long Last Books specialises in rare, out of print, banned and hard to find books as well as those published by independents. The gangs appreciate this, but the corps do not, and it’s rumoured that the corps have tried to put the shop out of business a few times, with the use of force, but that the gangs have stepped up to defend them.
6. StreeTemps is used to hire those in need of some quick cash to carry out various activities that, at best, skirt on being on the wrong side of the law and, more often than not, go fully over that border. It’s rumoured that those who sign up with StreeTemps tend to suffer higher casualty rates than normal, which may be because the hirers are not the best people around to deal with.
7. Systems Original manufactures networking software similar to that used in the Net. There’s a rumour that in some cases, perhaps all cases, that a backdoor is created in the software that allows Systems Original, or someone who pays them for the privilege, to access what are supposed to be secure networks.
8. The Advocet is a luxury hotel that provides services, both legal and not, to its clientele. To date, the police haven’t taken any notice of this, as everything happens in-house, but it’s rumoured that’s changing after one of the more dubious clientele caused the death of one of the people providing them with an intimate service.
9. The autovendor in NNEws is run by a marginally intelligent AI that reputedly has chopped the hands of people who have tried to steal from it. There are rumours that the AI is rather more than marginally intelligent, and takes a disturbing pleasure in inflicting harm on others, which may not bode well for the things it vends in the future.
10. The truck drivers of Barstow Enterprises often get into altercations of the punks who frequent The Slammer just down the street, and some take a kind of pride in the number of punks they’ve mown down with their vehicles. It’s rumoured that matters might be about to get out of hand though; some of the punks are said to be in the market for some anti-vehicular weaponry with the intention of blowing up some of the trucks, and their drivers at the same time.

Add random events to a cyberpunk city with 100 Events for a Cyberpunk City.

D10: Night City Rumours – Upper East Side is unofficial content provided under the Homebrew Content Policy of R. Talsorian Games and is not approved or endorsed by RTG. This content references materials that are the property of R. Talsorian Games and its licensees.

10 Hooks and Rumours for Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0.’s Night City

This list has ten hooks and rumours that can be heard in or about the City Centre district of Night City. Whether or not they are true is up to the GameMaster. They can be used as background colour or as potential adventure hooks.

1. Fantasy Unlimited in the city centre is a business that helps their clients’ fantasies come true, through their network of contacts. Some claim that Fantasy Unlimited will make any dream come true, no matter what it is, but it’s rumoured that those who’ve believed that and have tried to ask for something like that have either wound up getting an unexpected visit from the NCPD or have simply disappeared.
2. Grandmill in the City Centre is the place for people with too much money to burn to shop, where they can find things to suit even the most jaded tastes. And rumour has it, that anything means just that; anything. It’s said that those in the know can buy things that are definitely illegal and often horrendous in nature.
3. La Croix in the City Centre is considered to be the most trendy restaurant in Night City. At least by the trendy magazines. The food and service are, however, excellent, though this doesn’t tend to draw in non-trendy clientele. Rumour has it that the owner, Jaqueline duBenalle, has extensive contacts with journalists working for the trendy magazines to ensure her restaurant always remains on the list of trendy places to eat.
4. Mbole Ebunike, the mayor of Night City, has grown tired of being a toady for the corporations. In turn, the corporations have grown tired of the man they groomed for office behaving as if he had a will of his own. Ebunike is usually unavailable these days, even when in his office, and it’s rumoured that he now has a second office elsewhere after his security had to deal with visitors who were not so much irate as paid assassins.
5. Night City City Hall is in the City Centre is a bustling place filled with all sorts of lobbyists, corps, execs, government employees and special interest groups. This abundance of people with power, or who are close to those who have power, means that there is a lot of, to the right people, valuable information floating around. Despite City Hall’s security, there are rumours that information still manages to be acquired from it, and some wonder if it’s that same security acquiring it.
6. Night City Museum in the City Centre has a collection with a lot of valuable items in it. The more valuable the item, the more likely it is to be found in the underground areas which have tighter security. There are rumours, though, that sometimes-valuable items end up being placed in the upper areas, and then stolen, suggesting perhaps that someone who works for the museum is deliberately placing valuable items where they, or a partner, can steal them.
7. The Del Cornanado Bay Journal, based in the City Centre, is the home of an old-fashioned newspaper and a source of unbiased news. It’s rumoured that the paper has been looking into increasing security recently, as some are objecting to the unbiased approach and are suggesting it would be in everyone’s best interests, and particularly those who work at the paper, to add an element of bias.
8. The NCART City Center Station has a lot of juviegangers that avoid doing anything technically illegal when they are dealing with clients, and the fact that these clients are usually wealthy means that the Transit Police rarely crack down on them. It’s rumoured that some of the Transit Police are actively involved with the juviegangers, taking a cut of everything they make in exchange for a guarantee they will never get into trouble.
9. There have been attacks on a number of vehicles belonging to the Revere Courier Service recently, and these have always taken place in the City Centre, despite the district and the company’s precautions. Some think these attacks aren’t designed so much to rob the company as to make people start to think their service is not as safe as it could be.
10. Totentanz is a club in the top three floors of Burleson Tower in the City Centre, and it’s one where a lot of boostergang members go, and some don’t come back out again due to the patrons getting rowdy. The NCPD lets the club stay open because, for one thing, it cuts down on the numbers of punks on the streets. Rumour has it that the NCPD secretly encourages the violence that happens at Totentanz, ensuring the gangs keep on killing each other.

Want some general cyberpunk rumours? Check out 100 Cyber City Rumours.

D10: Night City Rumours – City Centre is unofficial content provided under the Homebrew Content Policy of R. Talsorian Games and is not approved or endorsed by RTG. This content references materials that are the property of R. Talsorian Games and its licensees.

10 Hooks and Rumours for Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0.’s Night City

This list has ten hooks and rumours that can be heard in or about the Northside district of Night City. Whether or not they are true is up to the GameMaster. They can be used as background colour or as potential adventure hooks.

1. Dillon Murphy is a solo in Northside with a reputation for protecting women and children and a soft spot for pretty redheads with little cyberware and lots of freckles. It’s rumoured that Murphy has angered some gangs with his chivalric acts and some are rumoured to be looking to hire, or sculpt, a woman that looks like Murphy’s type so that they can get close to the solo and finish him off.
2. Dynalar Technologies in Northside designs and manufactures cyberlimbs in the facility, and it’s rumoured that they have some very experimental designs created in some labs that are definitely off the books, due to some of the methods used to gain subjects to try the new designs on.
3. Everything and More is relatively safe from gang violence for Northside, but recently that relatively has been becoming less and less relevant. If it’s dangerous enough, the store’s clientele will go elsewhere, and it’s said that the owners are planning on stepping up the quality of security more than a little, and getting proactive with dealing with violence.
4. N.C.P.D. has raided the Meratis Warehouse in Northside twice, following tips that black market weapons are sold from the place for the city’s gangs, but have found nothing. It’s rumoured that the gunrunners have someone inside the department who tips them off about upcoming raids, and some officers are said to be intending to make the next raid be a complete surprise, using only carefully vetted police.
5. O’Flaherty’s Tavern in Northside is suspected by the police to be a place where O’Flaherty provides sanctuary to fellow countryman in a spot of bother with the law and to those supplying the Northern Irish Pacification Zone with weapons. It’s rumoured that some members of the N.C.P.D. have been pushing to investigate the tavern, but that others, who would appear to share O’Flaherty’s origin, have suggested to them that such investigations would be bad for one’s career. And health.
6. Psycol in the Renwald Plaza in Northside is a therapy house for registered cyberpsychos that operates out of the fortified fourth floor. Despite the protections to the business, there are rumours that, every now and then, one of the cyberpsychos inside breaks loose and causes havoc.
7. The Pit in Northside is a rundown building that is now home to the Slaughterhouse, one of the most dangerous and powerful gangs in the city. To date, only one attempt has been made to turf them out, and that failed badly, but it’s rumoured that a number of businesses are talking about combining resources to set N.C.P.D. and Arasaka on the gang. Should the Slaughterhouse discover who might be considering this, they would probably try to personally incentivise them to discontinue.
8. The Range in Northside is one of California’s most famous indoor shooting galleries, where the user can also learn how to fire many different weapons. It’s rumoured that the gallery has other, less legal, options, where those with the money can shoot at targets that are alive and moving or can gain access to weaponry that would otherwise be difficult to obtain due to legal issues.
9. The Sandorf Hotel in Northside is a condemned hotel that a number of smaller gangs occupy and keep standing to ensure a roof over their heads. It is also the recipient of frequent drive-by firebombing, due to being in contested territory, and it’s rumoured that something larger, and more permanent, is being planned to take care of the hotel once and for all.
10. The Wildmark in Northside is a flophouse for those who are tired of living. Those who rent a place there are often killed for just the few measly euros in their pocket, and the police just regard this as scum killing scum. It’s rumoured that not every body killed there comes out; sometimes, the dead person is stripped for parts and any viable organs, body parts or cyberware ends up on the market.

Want some general cyberpunk rumours? Check out 100 Cyber City Rumours.

D10: Night City Rumours – Northside is unofficial content provided under the Homebrew Content Policy of R. Talsorian Games and is not approved or endorsed by RTG. This content references materials that are the property of R. Talsorian Games and its licensees.

10 Hooks and Rumours for Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0.’s Night City

This list has ten hooks and rumours that can be heard in or about the Little Italy district of Night City. Whether or not they are true is up to the GameMaster. They can be used as background colour or as potential adventure hooks.

1. Beppo’s Trattoria in Little Italy is neutral ground, open to all Mob business, and off limits to both violence and the police. There’s the occasional rumour that Beppo isn’t quite as neutral as he’s supposed to be, and that sometimes guests get served a meal that has more in it than they bargained for.
2. Bruce Skiv is the current Capo di tutti Cappi of the Mob in Little Italy, but it’s rumoured that Boss Skiv’s grip on power has weakened recently after several attempts on the crime boss’s life. Though none have been successful, one was apparently a poisoning attempt that has seriously debilitated Skiv, though he seems unchanged when seen in public.
3. Chrome Ring Gym #46 in Little Italy may be part of a national chain but it is also the place where Mob enforcers gather to gossip, work out and receive orders. It’s rumoured that it’s also a place where disagreements can be settled after hours with violence, violence that usually results in only one person walking away from it afterwards. Or living, at least.
4. Guido’s Fashion Trim in Little Italy is a popular place with the resurgent Mob, and a good source of mid-level gangster gossip. There are occasional rumours that the law has an informant inside Guido’s, but as none of the staff have turned up dead or disappeared completely, most assume this isn’t true.
5. Julius Electronics in Little Italy is one of a small chain of electronics retailers and has a wide range of merchandise. The store isn’t the most secure place around, and it’s rumoured that they’ve been having problems with theft recently, particularly of high-end items. It sounds as if the shop is looking to increase its security with some more proactive defences.
6. KJBR Studios is home to one of Night City’s leading DJs, Rockaby Rozalyn. It’s rumoured that Rockaby has been receiving threats recently, suggesting that they leave the station or bad things will happen. Such could well be from a competing station, one that wants to poach Rockaby for their own channel or simply get rid of a popular competitor. KJBR are said to be looking into hiring people to deal with the problem.
7. Stafford Metro Productions has their business office in Little Italy, but the production company shoots at various locations around, primarily for TV but sometimes for the home market. It’s rumoured that part of the company also films less reputable productions, available for those with the money.
8. The Clinic in Little Italy is known to have the best doctors with virtually no failures with their prosthetic technology. It’s rumoured, though, that the failure rate is higher than it appears to be, for failures can sometimes be made to disappear, due to the surgery parlour having a Mob connection.
9. The Mob purchased the Social Services Agency building when they re-entered the city and turned it into a brothel, an excellent, and now legal, source of income for them. It’s rumoured, though, that it’s possible to purchase entertainment that is definitely not legal there, but most doubt the Mob would risk damaging a legal cash cow by having an illegal operation based there.
10. There’s a building currently empty in Little Italy which the current owner plans to turn into a hotel, but they’ve been having trouble getting the loan to do the place up, rumoured to be because of Mob interference. It’s also rumoured that the Mob have got tired of the owner’s intransigence and has been suggesting that they will use more vigorous means if the building isn’t sold to them.

Add random events to a cyberpunk city with 100 Events for a Cyberpunk City.

D10: Night City Rumours – Little Italy is unofficial content provided under the Homebrew Content Policy of R. Talsorian Games and is not approved or endorsed by RTG. This content references materials that are the property of R. Talsorian Games and its licensees.

Six Drugs for Use with Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0.

Section 9 of the Core Rulebook introduces a number of different drugs that characters could use or encounter. Here are another six drugs to add extra mayhem and problems to a game. Some may have originated from medical or military drugs, but have had unfortunate consequences for users, even before they were brewed on the street. See Section 9 in the Core Rulebook for details on any listed side-effects.

Death’s Door

Type: Healing Drug
Strength: +3
Difficulty: 12
Cost: 800
Duration: 1D6+1 minutes

A street knock-off version of a medical drug that is intended to stabilise a person on the verge of death. Due to its less than stringent testing and quality control, though Death’s Door can keep an individual alive, it has an unfortunate side-effect of sometimes killing the patient. It can be administered to an individual when they are in a Mortal wound state and will make Death Saves 2 points easier for the duration. However, if the patient is still in a Mortal Wound state, when the drug’s effect ends, they will need to make an immediate Death Save that is 3 points harder, due to the strain the drug put on their system.

Hulk

Type: REF Booster
Strength: +4
Difficulty: 7
Cost: 500
Duration: 1D10+1 turns

The military has had a long interest in drugs intended to boost soldiers’ performance, but MilSpec drugs are out of reach for the average character. The same does not apply to knock-off drugs based on military designs, in this case a combat drug that was considered too dangerous to use. The drug Hulk was based on was intended to boost the strength and physical abilities of the user, and it did, but the side-effects were considered too dangerous to put the drug into production. This didn’t stop an enterprising chemist from brewing a street version of it, which increases REF by Hulk’s Strength. Like the original, Hulk causes psychotic rage and paranoia, a combination that often results in a user “Hulking out” and attacking everyone in sight.

Knock-Out

Type: Soporific
Strength: +3
Difficulty: 8
Cost: 200
Duration: 1D6+1 minutes

Knock-Out is a sedative that has some similarities to the drugs used by medical professionals to render a patient unconscious. However, this is a knock-ff street version that is not as safe to use as the proper drug, though easier to obtain. The Strength of the drug is deducted from a Save vs. Sleep roll, but 1D10 must be rolled as well; on a 1-3, the recipient also takes 2 points of damage.

Smart Pill

Type: INT Booster
Strength: +2
Difficulty: 7
Cost: 300
Duration: 1D6+1 hours

Smart Pill increases INT by the strength of the drug for the duration. However, once the drug’s effects wear off, INT is reduced by -3 for the same length of time as the increase lasted. In addition, Smart Pill is highly addictive and once a user becomes addicted, they no longer gain the increase of INT for taking the drug, but still suffer the INT decrease, which now lasts from taking the drug for the double the length of time that the increase would have lasted.

Sweet Dreams

Type: Euphoric
Strength: +2
Difficulty: 8
Cost: 200
Duration: 1D6+1 minutes

Sweet Dreams is a dangerous drug. It’s a recreational drug that gives a feeling of intense euphoria when taken, and rapidly proves to be both psychologically and physiologically addictive. These, despite their dangers, are not the worst side effects that users experience, though. Anyone who takes a dose of Sweet Dreams also experiences hallucinations, and these last for 1D6+1 turns. The hallucinations vary from the clearly unreal to the almost real; more users have died from hallucinating something being there, or not there, than have died of anything else. Blundering into traffic on a street that appeared empty or using a fire escape that wasn’t there are the sorts of things users die from.

Zombifier

Type: Soporific
Strength: +3
Difficulty: 10
Cost: 800
Duration: 1D6+1 hours

Zombifier does not turn the living into the walking dead; what it does do is decrease the ability for those dosed with it to make decisions of their own and also make them more compliant to outside instruction. Its main uses are for questioning people who are reluctant to talk and to kidnap people who might otherwise resist such activities. As such, it is rarely legal and usually, outside the hands of governments, considered to be evidence of criminal intent. When a dose is administered, the recipient’s INT decreases by the strength of the drug for the duration. In addition, whenever they are told to do something or asked a question, they must make a Difficult INT check in order to resist doing it or responding. Instructions to kill themselves or others do not need a check.

Want some more items for a cyberpunk setting? 100 Cyberpunk Items of Dubious Provenance to Find for Sale has 100 items that characters could find.

Six Pack: Cyberpunk Drugs is unofficial content provided under the Homebrew Content Policy of R. Talsorian Games and is not approved or endorsed by RTG. This content references materials that are the property of R. Talsorian Games and its licensees.