The Foundation: How Dice Tell Stories
In Cyberpunk Red, everything revolves around a simple concept: rolling a ten-sided die (d10) and adding your relevant skill and attribute. Think of it like this - the dice represent chaos and uncertainty (the random elements of life), while your skills and attributes represent your training and natural ability (what you can control).
It's like trying to hit a bullseye while riding a motorcycle in a thunderstorm. Your skill determines how steady your hand is, but the storm (the dice) can still throw you off target - or give you that perfect moment when everything aligns.
Interactive Dice Roller
Try your luck in Night City!
The Core Mechanic: 1d10 + Stat + Skill
The Universal Formula
Roll: 1d10 + Attribute + Skill vs. Difficulty Value (DV)
If your total equals or exceeds the DV, you succeed. It's that simple - and that brutal.
Roll: d10 + Intelligence + Technology vs. DV 15
Think of it like this: you're constantly taking tests in Night City, but instead of getting a grade, you either succeed or face consequences. Sometimes those consequences are embarrassment. Sometimes they're bullets.
Difficulty Values: The Mountain You're Climbing
Everyday
Driving in normal traffic
Professional
Performing surgery
Heroic
Hacking military ICE
Incredible
Shooting while blindfolded
Legendary
Outsmarting an AI
Impossible
Dodging a bullet
Real-world analogy: DVs are like video game difficulty settings, but more granular. DV 9 is like playing on Easy mode - most competent people can do it. DV 25 is like playing Dark Souls blindfolded while someone throws things at you.
Critical Success and Fumbles: When Dice Go Wild
Roll again and add] B -->|No| D{Natural 1?} D -->|Yes| E[FUMBLE!
Something goes wrong] D -->|No| F[Normal result] C --> G[Exploding Dice
Keep rolling 10s!] E --> H[Complication
GM decides consequence] style C fill:#4ecdc4 style E fill:#ff6b6b style G fill:#96ceb4 style H fill:#ff9999
Critical Success (Natural 10)
When you roll a natural 10, you don't just succeed - you succeed spectacularly. Roll another d10 and add it to your total. If that's also a 10, keep rolling! This represents those perfect moments when everything goes right.
Example: Your hacking attempt doesn't just break in - it gives you admin access and erases all traces of your intrusion.
Fumble (Natural 1)
Rolling a natural 1 means something goes wrong, regardless of your skill total. It's not necessarily a failure, but there's always a complication.
Example: You successfully pick the lock, but it takes so long that security notices the door is ajar.
Think of criticals and fumbles like life's extreme moments - sometimes you have the perfect day where everything goes right, and sometimes you spill coffee on your shirt right before the big meeting. Cyberpunk Red captures both these extremes.
Combat: When Talking Stops Working
Combat in Cyberpunk Red is like a deadly dance where everyone's trying to step on each other's feet with bullets. It's fast, lethal, and unforgiving - just like real violence should be in a game about consequences.
Initiative Phase
Roll: 1d10 + Reflexes
Determines who acts when. In gunfights, going first often means going home alive.
Action Phase
Each character gets one Action and one Move per turn. Actions include:
- Attack: Shoot, stab, or punch someone
- Aim: +1 to your next attack roll
- Reload: Because running out of bullets is embarrassing
- Full Defense: +2 to all defense rolls this round
Resolution Phase
Roll damage, apply armor, check for critical injuries. Combat is over when one side is dead, unconscious, or runs away.
Attack Resolution
d10 + REF + Weapon Skill] --> B{Hit?} B -->|Yes| C[Roll Damage
Weapon dice + BODY mod] B -->|No| D[Miss - No Effect] C --> E[Subtract Armor] E --> F[Apply Final Damage] F --> G{Critical Injury?} G -->|Yes| H[Roll on Critical Table] G -->|No| I[Mark Damage] style B fill:#f39c12 style G fill:#e74c3c style H fill:#ff6b6b
Damage and Death: The Price of Violence
Health and Injury System
Your Body Type modifier determines how much damage you can take:
No penalties - just scratches
-2 to all actions
-4 to all actions, Death Saves required
Critical Injuries: When Bad Gets Worse
When you take damage equal to or greater than your Body Type + 8 in a single hit, you suffer a Critical Injury. These range from annoying to life-changing:
- Bruised Ribs: Painful but survivable
- Broken Limb: Arm or leg is useless until healed
- Spinal Injury: Permanent paralysis without medical intervention
- Head Shot: You're probably dead
Real-world parallel: Critical injuries are like the difference between a paper cut and a car accident. The system reflects that some wounds change you permanently, which is realistic and terrifying.
Netrunning: Digital Warfare
Netrunning is like being a digital warrior in a virtual battlefield. While your body sits safely jacked into a cyberdeck, your mind fights for its life in cyberspace against security programs that can literally kill you.
Architecture Recognition
Roll: Interface + Intelligence vs. DV 10
Map out the digital fortress you're about to assault. Knowledge is survival.
Backdoor
Roll: Interface + Intelligence vs. DV varies
Sneak past the front door security. Sometimes stealth beats brute force.
Cloak
Roll: Interface + Intelligence vs. DV varies
Hide your presence from security programs. Being invisible is better than being dead.
Control
Roll: Interface + Intelligence vs. DV varies
Take command of enemy systems. Turn their weapons against them.
ICE: The Digital Guardians
Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics (ICE) are like guard dogs made of code. They patrol cyberspace looking for unauthorized users, and when they find you, they try to delete you - sometimes literally.
- Wisp: Weak but fast - the guard dog that barks
- Killer: Designed to cause brain damage - the attack dog
- Liche: Controls other ICE - the pack leader
- Dragon: Corporate-grade death machine - the digital demon
Skill Interactions and Complementary Actions
Skills in Cyberpunk Red work together like instruments in a jazz band - individually they're good, but together they create something greater than the sum of their parts.
Complementary Skills
When you use multiple skills for the same task, you can get a bonus:
- Primary Skill: The main skill for the task
- Complementary Skill: A related skill that helps (+1 to +3 bonus)
Example: Using Education (complementary) to help with a Technology (primary) roll when analyzing ancient computer systems.
Teamwork and Assistance
Multiple characters can work together on tasks:
- Same Skill: Each helper adds +1 (max +3)
- Different Skills: Each relevant skill adds +1 (max +3)
- Leadership: A good leader can coordinate better teamwork
Real-world analogy: It's like having a study group for a difficult exam. Everyone brings different strengths, and together you can tackle problems none of you could solve alone.
Advanced Mechanics: Beyond the Basics
Autofire and Suppressive Fire
Automatic weapons change the game completely:
- Autofire: Multiple shots at one target - each bullet that hits does damage
- Suppressive Fire: Spray an area to keep enemies' heads down
- Full Auto: Empty the clip - devastating but wasteful
Vehicle Combat
Car chases and vehicle combat use different rules:
- Maneuvering: Drive + Reflexes vs. obstacles and opponents
- Ramming: Vehicle damage can be transferred to occupants
- Shooting from Vehicles: Additional penalties for unstable platform
Reputation and Face
Your reputation precedes you in Night City:
- Street Cred: How well-known you are in criminal circles
- Corporate Rep: Your standing in business world
- Media Exposure: How famous (or infamous) you are
Game Master Tools: Running the Mechanics
For GMs, these mechanics are like the engine of a car - players don't need to understand every detail, but you need to know how to keep things running smoothly.
When to Roll vs. When to Roleplay
- Roll when: Outcome is uncertain and consequences matter
- Don't roll when: Success is certain or failure isn't interesting
- Roleplay when: Character interaction is more important than mechanics
Scaling Difficulty
Adjust DVs based on circumstances:
- Favorable conditions: Lower DV or give bonuses
- Poor conditions: Higher DV or apply penalties
- Time pressure: Multiple rolls or escalating consequences
Making Combat Flow
- Pre-roll initiative: Start fights immediately
- Describe impact: Make every hit and miss cinematic
- Consequences matter: Injuries should affect the story
Common Situations and Their Mechanics
Social Encounters
- Persuasion: Cool + Persuasion vs. target's Cool + Resist Torture/Drugs
- Intimidation: Cool + Intimidation vs. target's Cool + Resist Torture/Drugs
- Seduction: Cool + Persuasion vs. target's Cool + Human Perception
Investigative Scenarios
- Finding Clues: Intelligence + Investigation, Education, or Library Search
- Following Leads: Intelligence + Streetwise or Local Expert
- Connecting Dots: Intelligence + Deduction or appropriate knowledge skill
Survival Situations
- Endurance: Body + Athletics vs. environmental DVs
- Navigation: Intelligence + Land Vehicle or Wilderness Survival
- Finding Shelter: Intelligence + Survival or Streetwise (urban)
Putting It All Together
Cyberpunk Red's mechanics serve the story, not the other way around. Every rule exists to create tension, consequences, and dramatic moments. The dice don't just determine success or failure - they determine how your character's story unfolds.
Remember: In Night City, the house always wins eventually. But the mechanics give you tools to fight back, to carve out your own space in a hostile world, and to tell stories worth remembering.
The key is understanding that these aren't just game rules - they're the physics of a world where style matters as much as substance, where a single roll can change everything, and where the most important victories are often the ones that let you keep your humanity while gaining power.