Ok, this will be a long post. Below I will clarify how, in Cyberpunk
v3, there is no netrunning and also how cybernetics have been done away
with.
Part 1: No Netrunning
The Net is gone. There is no replacement. There is a "datapool" but you
can't do anything in it. (It is very poorly defined.) You can hack
computers, but you have to get inside the building to access the
computer itself. This is true. It is like the intrusion specialty...
but, once you access the computer, you enter into familar Netrunner
combat. Basiclaly, a Netrunner versus attack programs. The thing is,
now the programs can COME TO LIFE AND EAT YOUR FACE.
In CPv3, Netrunner programs are linked to high-power "nano-dust" which
is disguised to look like mundane objects near the computer (phone,
wall, bookcase, whatever). When an attack program is tripped (say, a
Hellhound) it activates the objects, which morph into nano-glop, which
re-morphs into a 10-foot-tall REAL Hellhound IN THE ROOM WITH YOU, and
it tries to eat your face. And the faces of your other teammates as
well.
This is not netrunning. This is not cool, Tom Clancy-like intrusion and
espionage. It is magical technology taken to a goofy extreme.
Part 2: The End of Cyberware As We Know It
Actually, in CPv3 Cyberware DOES still exist. There is a section in the
back dedicated to it. It's all the same stuff from the 2020 book, but
now it is called "OldCyb". It all carries Humanity Cost, which is
painted as being a VERY bad thing, and is also made even more scary and
unsafe by the addition of new rules. More on that later.
The thing is, in CPv3 when you make your character you're supposed to
be a member of one of six different "AltCults" (Alternative Cultures).
Each AltCult has its own technology, or "NewCyb" -- tech which only ITS
members have access to. The game even states that you can't steal the
tech secrets of other AltCults, because, well, you just can't.
Nevermind that stealing tech secrets is what almost ALL Cyberpunk games
are ABOUT!
But I digress.
Anyway, Each of the six AltCults has its own technology which only its
members have access to. NONE of them use OldCyb. They all use NewCyb:
Riptide
These Japanese-ish floating city residents' NewCyb is all about
bioengineered animal partners. They use these bioforms for everything.
EVERYthing. The book actually says that Riptide civilization is like
the Flintstones: baby elephant vacuum cleaners, pterodactyl wind****eld
wipers, etc.
Reef
People who live underwater use NewCyb which customizes their DNA so
that they can turn into "Whaleboys" and other wierd forms. And back
again. Whenever they want. It's true -- in less than an hour, you can
change from a normal human to a land shark which has armored scales,
sonar senses, and can electrocute you by touch. I wasn't joking when I
said "Were-Whales."
Rolling State
Nomads now they live in gigantic, mobile cities-on-wheels. Their
culture is like Native American "Indians" and their NewCyb is nanotech
transform nodes -- they can regenerate all sorts of damage (including
limb loss) and they can do it really, REALLY fast. Basically, Nomads
are now like Wolverine (the bone claws version). The nanotech in their
bodies grants them powers which are all animal-based. (Chameleon skin,
nose of the hound, ears of the bat, etc etc etc.) Oh, and they can
extend these powers to their equipment. So your gun can heal, too. :-/
Desnai
People who live in Disney theme park cities. Their NewCyb is all about
mecha -- Japanese anime-style giant robots. And little robots, like
droids and such. Desnai people idolize the past and have lots of robot
drones they can control at once, and they can also drive powered armor
and giant robots and all sorts of loopy stuff.
Cor****e Metal
The full borg society. Everyone is a full borg. The book tells us that
everyone in "Cee-Metal" has a biopod so everyone in Cee-Metal switches
bodies like normal humans change clothes. OK by me. Thing is, the book
acts like Biopods are a new thing -- but they've actually been around
since Chromebook 2 or 3, as we may remember. Oh, except now the biopods
are mobile -- the roundish pod has a prehensile tail it can use to move
around and grasp objects. Yes, kids, Cee-Metal borgs, when "undressed",
all look like SPERM! Also goffy: among the bodies you can get is a body
which transforms into a motorcycle. Complete with a seat on your ass.
Yep. Oh, and no humanty cost for the full borgs because, um, you're
born that way. Or something.
Edgerunner
In CPv3, Edgerunners DON'T use cybernetics (OldCyb). Seriously! They
use a NewCyb called "bracers". Remember in the first Michael
Keaton-as-Batman movie, Batman said "****elds" and the Batmobile got
insta-covered with telescoping armor? That's what Edgerunners do
nowadays. They're "smarter" than their parents -- they no longer chop
off their body parts and replace them with devices which are superior
in every way. Nope, now Edgerunners wear armbands and jewelry which can
instantaeously cover their hands and limbs (or legs or whatever) with
strength-boosting armor. Complete with hardpoints onto which you can
snap gizmos and weapons stored on your belt and such. What I gotta
wonder is: why, if you have a gun on your belt, would you bother
attaching it to your armored sleeve when you could just USE it?
The fact that CPv3 Edgerunners don't use OldCyb is really apalling to
me. It just makes them look chicken. They're afraid of Humanity Cost?
Wow, they sure are On The Edge! Oh, also CPv3 has this new rule that
when cyberware is seriously damaged/destroyed, there's like a 1 in 100
chance that the ATOMIC BATTERIES inside will irradiate the whole area.
Uh-huh. Never heard about that in any of the previous books...
Speaking of nothing in particular: Now cor****ations and organized crime
are the same thing. I'm really not sure how that works.
Oy vey. My head aches from thinking about all this...
Grebo!
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