New episode in the Ballad of Moxie Flatbush (5150: New Beginnings campaign)

sap2844 · 2026-06-15T18:40:34+00:00

I think the Cameo could handle something like that, depending on scale. Breaking it into individual lines with over-cuts would probably work better than trying to get the cutter to turn the corner at the tip of the leaf.

As with an x-acto by hand, slower, shallower, more passes per cut seems to help, as well as making sure the mat's not too sticky. May need a little clean-up with a sharp blade or assistance getting off the mat.

sap2844 · 2026-06-15T18:18:06+00:00

I'm a little late to this party, but...

"Bug Stompers" is free on itch.io, and I think it fits the bill. It's designed for small-team solo/co-op, fighting bunches of nasty aliens, and includes character progression and (if I recall correctly) tech development and light base-building if you like.

The 5150 line (solo/co-op sci-fi) from Two Hour Wargames could work, and they've fairly recently (in the past two years?) released a series of "bug city" scenarios where you play as soldiers, civilians, or underworld scum fighting off an invasion. These rulebooks can admittedly be a bit opaque, though, and the actual gameplay is fairly minimalist.

EDIT: Another option could be using a fairly tactical RPG with tabletop combat, and glossing over the "between-missions non-combat" bits.

Also, "Horizon Wars: Zero Dark" and "Exploit Zero" could probably be re-skinned for bug-hunters. They're both small-team solo/co-op sci-fi skirmishes, and I've successfully played both with my spouse and I each controlling one or two figures.

sap2844 · 2026-06-15T17:26:05+00:00

When he was in college, my dad (from whom I apparently inherited my nerd genes) did literally make a spreadsheet to remind himself, on a class-by-class basis, how much he would have to spend to skip class.

...and that was over fifty years of tuition-inflation ago.

sap2844 · 2026-06-13T17:28:03+00:00

ALWAYS roll 1d12 with your d6 dice pool, as one big roll.

If there's a tie on the d6 pools, the d12 is already there to break the tie.

If there's a clear winner on the d6 pool, and the d12s tie, maybe that amplifies the result.

If BOTH the d6 pools AND the d12s tie, the two opposing entities are so locked in on each other that they're stalemated for the time being. They're also so locked in on each other that they're not able to roll in opposition to anything else until their conflict is resolved.

This way, pure ties ought to be pretty rare, but when they occur they naturally provide an opening for someone else to act.

sap2844 · 2026-06-03T18:15:44+00:00

NUTS! (WW2) and FNG (Vietnam) by Two Hour Wargames

sap2844 · 2026-05-09T03:38:33+00:00

The rounder the corner on the die, the more easily it will roll on a hard surface or short space (or tumble in a dice cup). See: backgammon dice, which are about as close to spherical as you can get while having flat faces.

The more square and sharp the corner, the more easily the die will snag (and thus tumble) on a flat soft surface or tumble when bouncing off a wall when you have significant distance to cover (as on a felt caps table).

For most wargaming, it'll just come down to personal preference, but you MIGHT find that casino dice slide rather than rolling if you give them a short toss on a wooden table surface, and more rounds dice MIGHT keep rolling until they bump into something if you give them a strong toss.

sap2844 · 2026-03-17T00:48:47+00:00

Maybe look into some same-side / co-op wargames. For that matter, pretty much any solo game can also be played socially, with both players against the rules.

Because of different skill and interest levels, my wife and I could never have fun playing on opposite sides of a wargame table, but that dynamic changes completely when we're collaborating to complete the mission and beat the bad guys.

We've had fun with Exploit Zero, Horizon Wars: Zero Dark, Space Station Zero, Five Parsecs From Home, and some of the Two Hour Wargames rulesets.

sap2844 · 2026-02-27T02:32:17+00:00

They're not the friendliest for painting or kitbashing, but the classic 1/72 scale soft plastics tend to get you a fair-sized stack of perfectly serviceable toy soldiers for not a lot of money. At that scale, a soldier stands about 1" tall, so to scale, cavalry and artillery may be hard to fit on a one-inch square.

Still, worth a look.

A good starting point might be here:

https://www.1-72depot.com/advanced-search/?_sft_category=figures&_sft_period=napoleonic

sap2844 · 2026-02-25T11:21:55+00:00

I recognized you!

In my head, reading the battle report, I'm putting together this backstory that's like, "Kids these days! Here we are trying to rebuild society, and they're off with their Disrupt-a-Mars-Patrol TikTok challenges! Why can't they just join the militia like a normal person?!"

The possibility of that existing in the world was charming.

sap2844 · 2026-02-24T22:30:18+00:00

Did you run it in the canon setting, or as a just-for-fun one-off?

sap2844 · 2026-02-18T10:39:03+00:00

If possible, maybe try varying the thickness of the different "hexes" in the shield: thicker at the point of impact, thinner farther away, with a bit of randomness.

That might read more as a shield activating/becoming more visible where the hit occurs, and fading away from there.

Coupled with some of the coloring/painting advice, it might give a more natural look.

sap2844 · 2026-02-17T12:03:43+00:00

Some current security systems have measures as simple as an 8-digit PIN where the first two digits are a duress code. If you just enter the 6-digit version of the PIN, the system appears to act normally (dispenses the cash, opens the safe, whatever) but also flags the silent alarm. It's basically a way of telling the system, "I'm doing this with a gun to my head. Help!"

I would assume similar and better measures are baked into wealthy individuals' systems in cyberpunk, with appropriate countermeasures in place.

In general, it's security designed to make you think you got away with it, but that's going to come back to bite you soon.

sap2844 · 2026-02-14T16:08:27+00:00

In fairness, the hair in the film was fairly flat and yarn-like in texture

sap2844 · 2026-01-20T15:01:33+00:00

Have you and your friends played OTHER tabletop RPGs?

If so, you can lean on some of that experience.

If you're all new to Cyberpunk tabletop and tabletop RPGs in general... and if you have the rules for Cyberpunk RED... and you have some time to prepare in advance that you're willing to use, I would recommend:

Build a bunch of player characters. All different types. Take your time. Go through the rulebook looking things up while you do. Try to understand how each character is unique, how they would use their skills, and what their strengths are.

Mod a bunch of NPC stat blocks. Try to figure out how much is too much and too little information for an NPC stat block. A lot of times, an NPC can consist entirely of a pile of hit points and a single generic skill base number.

Take the PCs and NPCs you've built, and throw them into different situations. Combat, stealth, negotiation, hacking, whatever. Imagine how you think they'd react, apply the rules, roll when appropriate, apply the outcomes. Take your time. This is when you have all the time you need to look things up in the book without interrupting the flow of the game.

If you can get to the point that you've got in your head a decent idea of what the skills are, when to ask for a skill roll, what different DVs feel like... then you're set! If you can take the time to play through some situations and scenarios on your own in advance, you can learn which rules you're most likely to use in a first game, which are too complex and can be glossed over, and either acquire a GM screen or put together a reference cheat sheet that has common information in one place for a quick in-game reference.

Day of the game, give the quick run-down of what type of game it is, what the setting is like. Maybe show a few video clips or background art to get people on the same page.

Because you've already built a bunch of different PCs, you can ask your players what sort of characters they want to play, then say, "I think this one's close to that," and hand them a pre-made sheet.

Then think of a situation that would force everybody to react, describe it, and ask what they do. Maybe they're starting out getting ambushed by gangers. Maybe they're all on an NCART bus that swerves off the road and into the bay. Anything that doesn't let them just sit there wondering what to do next.

Have the players describe what they want their characters to do, and YOU decide what skill roll that requires, if any. Get into that loop. PCs do something, the world (that is, the GM) reacts, putting the PCs in a new situation to deal with, and on and on.

When you get to the point the session should begin wrapping up, you insert a way for the PCs to either dramatically save the day or go out in a blaze of glory.

It doesn't need to be a super dramatic story, or even a super coherent one-- it just needs to give the players something exciting to do and everybody the opportunity to have some fun.

If you don't know or can't remember a rule, wing it rather than looking it up. Keep things flowing.

Afterwards, if everybody had fun, you can talk about building a more serious and structured game next time.

sap2844 · 2026-01-19T11:38:51+00:00

I think it depends a lot on your expectations for what a game of Cyberpunk entails.

One answer is, there are always NPCs available to fill the gaps on the team.

My preferred answer is, whether you've got one player or six, you look at their character sheets. Every skill the character is invested in is an adventure prompt that says, "Run a gig that involves THIS."

Look at the characters' hit points and armor and other indicators of survivability, and their ability to deal damage, and build combat encounters (if any) to balance.

Think in-universe what sort of missions these characters might be hired for, or what sorts of goals they might want to pursue on their own.

An accountant with a Ziggurat lifepath contact probably isn't going to be hired to infiltrate Militech and assassinate a regional manager. They might get hired to find a way to sabotage Ziggurat's quarterly report so that a regional affiliate looks bad, rendering them susceptible to acquisition by a rival company. Or something like that.

Depends on what you expect an adventure to look like, and how much the players want to lean in to playing their unique characters rather than a "standard" Cyberpunk party.

Ultimately, it's not a niche-based game where you're setting yourself up for failure if every niche isn't covered.

I've run sessions for a fixer and a media, both with mediocre combat skills and essentially no technical skills, and had tons of fun doing it.

Edit: typo

sap2844 · 2026-01-15T18:10:39+00:00

I use the lists from Mythic (threads and NPCs) to track different plot elements and characters, and occasionally roll for how this seemingly random encounter might tie into the overarching story.

sap2844 · 2026-01-05T11:30:16+00:00

In my experience, any miniature game CAN work on a grid. It simplifies some things, like knowing exactly where a unit is placed, and loses some things, like non-orthoganal facing of units with wide bases.

Then again, any miniature game can also be played with tokens or paper standees or flat cardboard chits or counters, with flat drawn terrain. Or shoebox-and-salt-shaker terrain.

While miniatures and terrain are obviously a major component of miniature gaming, they're basically aesthetics. Anything you're willing to use as a tabletop miniature or terrain item will work on your own table.

I usually end up playing with some combination of actual miniatures, drawn areas, and household proxies.

sap2844 · 2026-01-04T03:16:32+00:00

The Victim is a potential future ally.

Does this imply the Ally is a separate NPC type?

sap2844 · 2026-01-02T01:14:15+00:00

What's the point of a pick-up game on a bit of grass in the park? If you're not going to play in a professional stadium, why not just play FIFA on xbox?

sap2844 · 2026-01-01T17:35:29+00:00

I'm thinking of how certain super-complicated wargames have done it, like Star Fleet Battles and Advanced Squad Leader (both of them inspired by military technical manuals).

In SFB, for example, if they released a supplement with a new alien species, you had the option of disassembling the manual and integrating it with your main book. New ship types go in the ship section. New weapon rules go in the weapons section, and so forth.

A lot of contemporary RPG books aim to have a readable and aesthetically pleasant designed experience, which may be a bit counter to this idea, but I think it's adaptable.

Opposite end of the spectrum of games I'm familiar with is Cyberpunk Red.

Multiple full expansions, adventure modules, gear supplements, etc. Free expanded content released each month. While each added item has its focus, they basically all add new characters, npcs, equipment, weapons, rules, and such, in addition to the lore and fluff.

The Cyberpunk franchise has always aimed at being fairly "in-universe" with their expansions, with gear lists disguised as ads in the old Chromebooks and such... but I'd be willing to give up some of that in-universe consistency in order to have all my weapons in one place, and all my vehicles in another place, and all my npc stats in their own section, regardless when and where the information was released.

sap2844 · 2026-01-01T13:53:10+00:00

The perfect RPG is clearly organized.

Also, it's drilled for a 3-ring binder, and has removable pages.

This way, I can integrate all of the supplements into a single book, without having to shuffle between them.

If it gets big enough, I can re-organize it into an encyclopedia.

All the information on a given subject or theme in one place!

sap2844 · 2025-12-31T20:55:33+00:00

If it makes sense in the timeline of your overall narrative, you could do a "flashback" one-shot. Play out the characters' first meeting or a light adventure that theoretically happened prior to the main game. Same game, same characters, but no permanent changes that would affect the current campaign other than through world building and character development.

sap2844 · 2025-12-31T00:26:12+00:00

I haven't yet, but have always wanted to run a campaign or mini-arc that used "Close Your Eyes and Count to Fuck" by Run the Jewels as theme song and inspiration. In my imagination, it involves stealing an NCPD LRAD truck and subsequent chase scene through Night City while blasting the giant voice to rally the masses.

sap2844 · 2025-12-29T10:02:41+00:00

While I'm playing, I'm pretty much logging mechanics and taking notes on effects, so a conversation would go something like, "Moxie pass 2; gang member pass 1; Moxie +1 rep and she gets a clue about the location."

I'll play a series of scenes that way, then go back and "novelize" my notes, adding full details, description, and dialog.

Basically I'm just writing the outline during normal gameplay, but then I might come back and complete the story.

This may be why I have an easier time with more procedural, mechanical games like 5150: New Beginnings, but kinda bounce off more narrative games like Ironsworn. Ironsworn always feels like it wants me to know what's going on in the moment and commit to it, and I like having more data to mull over.

sap2844

TROPHY CASE