A suite of tools to make running a game with a brainjockey quicker and less of a hassle.
Brainjockeys require that the Game Master keep track of a lot more cyberware than they normally would. In most circumstances, it doesn’t matter if an enemy mook has cyberoptics, a biomonitor, or a cyberarm with no cyberweapon, for example. Usually, these largely irrelevant cyberware modifications go unmentioned.
Having a brainjockey in the team changes that. Suddenly, every single piece of cyberware an NPC wears is an important thing to know about them. This means that you, as Game Master, will have more work to do if you introduce brainjacking in your game. While the fantasy of hacking people is cool, it represents yet more work for you and your players.
Both the player that wants to play a brainjockey and the Game Master should make an effort to learn the rules properly, so the session runs smoothly for the other players.
Introducing brainjacking to your game means that your players might have to face brainjockeys. However, some players might not feel good about losing control of certain aspects of their character due to brainjacking.
Brainjockeys do not ask for consent when they take over player characters. They hijack cybereyes to spy, they force characters to attack their friends, they make players hurt themselves and they impose debilitating injuries. Some players might not be comfortable with these abilities or might interpret them as an unfair punishment after they invested their money into cyberware upgrades.
Before introducing brainjacking to your game, make sure that your players are interested in the idea and enthusiastically agree to have it included in the game.
In addition, I recommend only introducing enemy brainjockeys if your group has their own brainjockey, or if a previous character was a brainjockey. Don’t spring this mechanic on your players without having their agreement first. Tabletop RPGs should be fun for everyone at the table.
Generating unique cyberware for each NPC the players encounter can become overwhelming for a Game Master. Your Game Master already runs several characters in combat, tries to balance fun encounters, negotiates NPC motivations, and remembers locations for the game. Adding a new feature to the game for your character can be overwhelming for them. This optional rule suggests a way you can help.
This optional rules suggests that you, the player, should take responsibility and reduce your Game Master’s workload by keeping track of the cyberware that the NPCs you meet wear.
As an optional rule, the brainjockey oversees remembering the various items of cyberware that the NPCs you meet wear. When your Game Master tells you an NPCs Access Point and when they tell you what cyberware is connected to their nervous system, you are in charge of writing it all down. If you fail to remember what your Game Master tells you, you become unable to exploit their Access Point.
This rule puts the onus on you to remember these details. This might make setting up a combat encounter take longer, but it will remove some of the increased pressure of using the brainjacking mechanics from your Game Master’s shoulders. In addition, taking these notes will allow you to have a clearer idea of your options in and out of combat.
These quick cyberware kits allow you to quickly generate the cyberware arsenal of the NPCs your players meet. These tables considers that most of the NPCs you roll this for will end having a few pieces of cyberware. To reduce your work, you can choose to only roll on these tables for half of the NPCs your players face.
You can generate the cyberware kit of the NPCs your characters meet in advance or on the spot.
For each NPC you want to roll for, roll 1d6 and 1d10.
If you roll the same cyberware twice (for example, if you roll 1 cyberarm, followed by 1 cyberarm), assume they both represent the same, single cyberarm.
Cyberware kits for NPCs with non-combat roles. Office workers, janitors, random passersby, etc.
1d6: Access Point
| Roll | Access Point Type |
| 1 | No cyberware. Do not use d10 result. |
| 2 | Access Point (Biomonitor) |
| 3 | Access Point (Cyberaudio Suite w/ Internal Agent) |
| 4 | Access Point (Cyberaudio Suite w/ Radio Scanner / Music Player) |
| 5 | Access Point (Skinwatch) |
| 6 | Access Point (a cyberarm) |
1d10: Cyberware kit
| Roll | Cyberware Kit |
| 1 | Neural link w/ Chipware Socket. 2 Chips. |
| 2 | Light Tattoos. Biomonitor. |
| 3 | Cyberhand w/ Tool Hand. Contraceptive Implant. |
| 4 | Mr. Studd OR Midnight Lady (you choose). Vampyres. |
| 5 | 1 cyberarm w/ Medscanner. |
| 6 | 2 cybereyes w/ MicroVideo, Chyron. |
| 7 | Neural Link w/ Tactile Boost, Braindance Recorder. |
| 8 | 1 cybereye w/ Anti-Dazzle, Color Shift. |
| 9 | Cyberaudio Suite w/ Voice Stress Analyzer. AudioVox. |
| 10 | Cybersnake. 2 cyberlegs w/ Talon Foot. |
Cyberware kits for gangoons, non-boostergang toughs street toughs or bodyguards.
1d6: Access Point
| Roll | Access Point Type |
| 1 | No cyberware. Do not use d10 result. |
| 2 | No cyberware. Do not use d10 result. |
| 3 | Access Point (Biomonitor) |
| 4 | Access Point (Cyberaudio w/ Radio Communicator) |
| 5 | Access Point (Interface plugs) |
| 6 | Access Point (Cyberarm) |
1d10: Cyberware kit
| Roll | Cyberware Kit |
| 1 | 2 cybereyes w/ Targeting Scope, Low Light/Infrared/UV. |
| 2 | 1 cyberarm w/ Popup Ranged Weapon |
| 3 | Neural Link w/ Chipware Socket. |
| 4 | Mr. Studd OR Midnight Lady (you choose). |
| 5 | 1 cyberarm w/ Big Knucks. Mr. Studd OR Midnight Lady (you choose). |
| 6 | 1 cybereye w/ MicroVideo, Chyron. |
| 7 | Neural Link w/ Tactile Boost, Braindance Recorder. |
| 8 | 1 cybereye w/ Anti-Dazzle, Color Shift. |
| 9 | Cyberaudio Suite w/ Amplified Hearing. |
| 10 | 2 cyberlegs w/ Jump Booster. |
Cyberware kits for low-level corporate security, edgerunners, police officers.
1d6: Access Point
| Roll | Access Point Type |
| 1 | No cyberware. Do not use d10 result. |
| 2 | Access Point (Cyberaudio Suite w/ Implanted Agent) |
| 3 | Access Point (Cyberaudio Suite w/ Radio Scanner/Music Player) |
| 4 | Access Point (Cyberarm w/ Medscanner) |
| 5 | Access Point (Neural Link w/ Interface plugs) |
| 6 | Access Point (Cybereye w/ MicroVideo) |
1d10: Cyberware kit
| Roll | Cyberware Kit |
| 1 | 2 cybereyes w/ Targeting Scope, Low Light/Infrared/UV. |
| 2 | 1 cyberarm w/ Popup Ranged Weapon |
| 3 | Neural Link w/ Chipware Socket, Kerenzikov. |
| 4 | 1 cyberarm. Mr. Studd OR Midnight Lady (you choose). |
| 5 | 1 cybereye w/ MicroOptics. Mr. Studd OR Midnight Lady (you choose). |
| 6 | 1 cyberaudio w/ Audio Recorder, Homing Tracer. |
| 7 | Neural Link w/ Braindance Recorder, Sandevistan. |
| 8 | Light Tattoos. Tech Hair. |
| 9 | 2 cyberlegs w/ Talon Foot. |
| 10 | 2 cyberarms w/ 2 Heavy Popup Melee Weapons. |
Cyberware kits for boostergangers on the verge of cyberpsychosis.
1d6: Access Point
| Roll | Access Point Type |
| 1 | Access Point (Biomonitor) |
| 2 | Access Point (Cyberaudio Suite w/ Implanted Agent) |
| 3 | Access Point (Cyberaudio Suite w/ Radio Communicator) |
| 4 | Access Point (Neural Link w/ Interface plugs) |
| 5 | Access Point (2 cyberarms) |
| 6 | Access Point (1 cybereye w/ MicroVideo) |
1d10: Cyberware kit
| Roll | Cyberware Kit |
| 1 | 2 cybereyes w/ Targeting Scope, Low Light/Infrared/UV. 1 Cyberarm w/ Popup Ranged Weapon. |
| 2 | 1 cyberarm w/ Popup Shield |
| 3 | Neural Link w/ Chipware Socket, Kerenzikov. |
| 4 | 2 cyberarms w/ Rippers. Mr. Studd OR Midnight Lady (you choose). |
| 5 | 1 cybereye w/ MicroOptics. 1 cyberhand w/Tool Hand. |
| 6 | 2 rippers. Neural Link w/ Chemical Analyzer. |
| 7 | Neural Link w/ Pain Editor, Kerenzikov. Cyberaudio Suite w/ Level Damper. |
| 8 | 2 cyberlegs w/ Booster Legs. 1 cyberarm w/ Popup Heavy Melee Weapon. |
| 9 | 2 cyberlegs w/ Web Foot. Neural Link w/ Olfactory Boost. |
| 10 | 2 cyberarms w/ 2 Heavy Popup Melee Weapons. Cyberaudio Suite w/ Amplified Hearing. |
Cyberware kits for cybered-up and dangerous cyberpsychos.
1d6: Access Point
| Roll | Access Point Type |
| 1 | Access Point (Cyberaudio Suite w/ Radio Communicator) (BLACK ICE) |
| 2 | Access Point (2 cyberarm) |
| 3 | Access Point (1 cyberarm) |
| 4 | Access Point (Neural Link w/ Interface plugs) |
| 5 | Access Point (2 cyberlegs) (BLACK ICE) |
| 6 | Access Point (Sensor Array w/ Implanted Agent) (BLACK ICE) |
1d10: Cyberware kit
| Roll | Cyberware Kit |
| 1 | 2 cybereyes w/ Targeting Scope, Low Light/Infrared/UV. 2 cyberarms w/ 1 Popup Ranged Weapon, 1 Popup Grenade Launcher. |
| 2 | 2 cyberarms w/ Popup Shield, Popup Heavy Melee Weapon. 2 Cyberlegs w/ Booster Legs. |
| 3 | Neural Link w/ Chipware Socket, Kerenzikov, Pain Editor. |
| 4 | 2 cyberarms w/ Wolvers. MultiOptic Mount w/ Low Light/Infrared/UV, Targeting Scope, Anti-Dazzle, Image Enhance. |
| 5 | Cyberaudio Suite w/ Amplified Hearing, Voice Stress Analyzer. Neural Link w/ Kerenzikov, Chipware Socket, Pain Editor, Tactile Boost. 2 Cyberlegs w/ Grip Foot. |
| 6 | Cybersnake. 2 cyberlegs w/ Talon Foot. Cyberaudio Suite w/ Voice Stress Analyzer. |
| 7 | 2 cyberarms w/ Slice n’ Dice. Neural Link w/ Pain Editor, Kerenzikov. Cyberaudio Suite w/ Level Damper. |
| 8 | 2 cyberlegs w/ Booster Legs. 2 cyberarms w/ Popup Heavy Melee Weapon. |
| 9 | 2 cyberlegs w/ Web Foot. Neural Link w/ Sandevistan, Olfactory Boost. |
| 10 | Artificial Shoulder Mount. 4 cyberarms w/ 2 Heavy Popup Melee Weapons, 2 Popup Ranged Weapons. Neural Link w/ Kerenzikov, Pain Editor. |
Cyberware kits for CEOs, stars, high-value targets, paranoid mob bosses.
1d6: Access Point
| Roll | Access Point Type |
| 1 | No cyberware. Do not use d10 result. |
| 2 | Access Point (Cyberaudio w/ Internal Agent) |
| 3 | Access Point (Cyberaudio w/ Internal Agent) (BLACK ICE) |
| 4 | Access Point (Cyberaudio w/ Radio Scanner / Music Player) (BLACK ICE) |
| 5 | Access Point (Skinwatch) (BLACK ICE) |
| 6 | Access Point (a cyberlimb) (BLACK ICE) |
1d10: Cyberware kit
| Roll | Cyberware Kit |
| 1 | Neural link w/ Chipware Socket. 2 Chips. |
| 2 | Light Tattoos. Biomonitor. Independent Air Supply. |
| 3 | Cyberhand. Contraceptive Implant. |
| 4 | Cybersnake. Mr. Studd OR Midnight Lady (you choose). |
| 5 | Cyberaudio w/ Audio Recorder, Bug Detector, Scrambler/Descrambler. |
| 6 | 2 Cybereyes w/ MicroVideo, Chyron, Image Enhance. |
| 7 | Neural Link w/ Tactile Boost, Braindance Recorder. Cyberaudio w/ Amplified Hearing, Audio Recorder, Voice Stress Analyzer. |
| 8 | 1 Cyberarm w/ Popup Ranged Weapon. 1 Cybereye w/ Anti-Dazzle, Color Shift, Image Enhance. |
| 9 | AudioVox. 2 Cybereyes w/ MicroVideo, LowLight/Infrared/UV, TeleOptics. |
| 10 | Cybersnake. 2 Cyberlegs w/ Talon Foot. |
