Why Cyberpunk Works Alone
Night City stories are often about one person in over their head: a job that was supposed to be simple, a fixer who left something out, a debt that keeps growing. That suits solo play. What's missing is someone to tell you what's behind the door, and that's the job of an oracle. You ask the yes-or-no questions a GM would answer ("Is the guard awake?"), and the dice decide.
Nothing on this page is from the rulebook. The oracle, the scene check and the tables are tools for playing alone; anything that changes a rule is labelled house rule.
What you need
- An Edgerunner built with the normal rules (see Character Creation).
- A d10 and a few d6s, or the tool on this page and the Dice Roller.
- A job: a pickup, a rescue, a theft, a message nobody else will carry.
- A notebook, or the session log below.
The Oracle
Ask a question that can be answered yes or no, decide how likely a "yes" is, and roll 1d10 plus the likelihood modifier, with the game's own critical rules: a natural 10 rolls another d10 and adds it, a natural 1 rolls another d10 and subtracts it.
- Very likely: +4
- Likely: +2
- Toss-up: +0
- Unlikely: −2
- Very unlikely: −4
Like any check, you need to beat a number: here, 5. Then read the answer from the total.
| Total | Answer |
|---|---|
| 10 or more | Yes, and… You get it, plus something more. |
| 8–9 | Yes. |
| 6–7 | Yes, but… It's true, with a cost or a complication. |
| 4–5 | No, but… Not that, but something useful. |
| 2–3 | No. |
| 1 or less | No, and… Not that, and things get worse. |
Twist: a natural 10 adds something unexpected in your favour; a natural 1 adds something unexpected against you. Roll a spark if you need an idea.
Exact odds
Worked out from all the ways the die can land, including the extra die on a 10 or a 1. The tool on this page uses the same calculation.
| Likelihood | Yes, and | Yes | Yes, but | No, but | No | No, and | Any yes | Twist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very likely (+4) | 50% | 20% | 20% | 1% | 2% | 7% | 90% | 20% |
| Likely (+2) | 30% | 20% | 20% | 20% | 1% | 9% | 70% | 20% |
| Toss-up (+0) | 10% | 20% | 20% | 20% | 20% | 10% | 50% | 20% |
| Unlikely (−2) | 9% | 1% | 20% | 20% | 20% | 30% | 30% | 20% |
| Very unlikely (−4) | 7% | 2% | 1% | 20% | 20% | 50% | 10% | 20% |
Look at the corners: a "very likely" question almost never comes back a plain "no", but when it does go wrong it's usually a natural 1 and a "No, and…". Long shots work the same way in reverse. That is Cyberpunk's critical rolls doing what they do in a normal check: the odds bend, but the street can always surprise you. One roll in five is a twist, whatever the likelihood.
Ask only questions where both answers would be interesting. If you already know the answer, or a "no" would stop the story dead, just decide.
Scenes, People and Sparks
Scene check
When you start a new scene, decide what you expect to happen, then roll a d10:
| d10 | The scene is… |
|---|---|
| 1 | Interrupted: something else happens instead. Roll a spark. |
| 2–3 | Altered: as expected, but one important detail is different. Ask the oracle what. |
| 4–10 | As expected. |
NPC attitude
When you meet someone whose attitude isn't obvious, roll a d10:
| d10 | Attitude |
|---|---|
| 1 | Hostile: wants you gone, robbed or flatlined. |
| 2–3 | Unfriendly: suspicious; everything costs extra. |
| 4–7 | Neutral: business is business. |
| 8–9 | Friendly: helps if it doesn't put them in the line of fire. |
| 10 | Helpful: on your side, maybe because they owe someone you know. |
Sparks
Roll two d10s, one for an action and one for a subject. Interpret freely; the first idea that fits is usually right.
| d10 | Action | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Double-cross | a fixer |
| 2 | Steal | a data shard |
| 3 | Protect | a corp exec |
| 4 | Hunt | a gang |
| 5 | Bargain for | a piece of chrome |
| 6 | Expose | a ripperdoc |
| 7 | Rescue | a Nomad family |
| 8 | Ambush | a convoy |
| 9 | Hack | a NET Architecture |
| 10 | Escape | the Hot Zone |
Playing the GM's Part
Checks and fights
Your Edgerunner's actions use the normal rules: STAT + skill + 1d10 against a DV, or against an opponent's roll. Set the DV before you roll. For opponents, decide their action by asking the oracle "Do they do the obvious thing?" at Likely; on a "no", roll a spark for what they do instead. Fights in Cyberpunk RED are deadly; one Edgerunner against a whole gang should be a sign to run.
The heat clock
House rule: the heat clock. A GM keeps the city reacting to what you do; alone, a clock does it. Mark one step of heat each time the oracle answers No, and… or rolls a natural 1, and each time you are Seriously Wounded. When heat reaches 4, clear it: the next scene is interrupted by whoever you've crossed (the gang, the corp, NCPD), without a scene check.
A crew of one
- A contact (house rule): give your Edgerunner one NPC they can call, such as a fixer, a Medtech or a Nomad cousin, with a handful of numbers. They can make one check per job that you aren't trained for.
- Luck: spend LUCK exactly as written. It is the most important resource a solo Edgerunner has.
- Netrunning: if you aren't a Netrunner, treat a NET Architecture as an obstacle you go around or pay someone to deal with.
Solo Tool
Heat: 0 of 4
Session log
The log is kept in this browser only.
Your First Solo Session
- Make an Edgerunner and a job. One character, one fixer, one job with a payout and a deadline.
- Frame the first scene. One line: where you are and what you expect. Make a scene check.
- Play it. Ask the oracle what a GM would tell you. Make normal checks for anything your character does that could fail, and set the DV first.
- Count the cost. Ammo, armor SP, Hit Points, eurobucks and Humanity all matter more alone.
- Watch the heat. When the clock fills, the people you've crossed come looking.
- Get paid, or don't. End the session when the job resolves. Whether the fixer pays in full is a good first oracle question next time.
An Example of Play
Juno Ash is a Solo: REF 7, DEX 6, BODY 6, Handgun 6, Stealth 5. A fixer has hired her to collect a data shard from a courier who never showed up.
Scene 1: the courier's apartment. I expect an empty, ransacked room. Scene check: d10 shows 6, so it's as expected.
Oracle: "Is the shard still here?" Likely, so +2. The d10 shows 7: a total of 9, so Yes. No natural 10 or 1, so no twist.
A real check. Voices in the hall. Juno slips out the window and along the ledge: DEX 6 + Stealth 5 = 11, against a Difficult DV 15. The d10 shows 6: 17, which beats 15.
Oracle: "Did the courier sell the shard to someone else first?" Toss-up, +0. The d10 shows 1, a critical failure: roll again and subtract, 4, for a total of −3. No, and…, plus a natural 1, a twist against her. He didn't sell it: he was killed for it, and the shard Juno is holding is a decoy with a tracker in it. Heat: 1 (the "No, and…" and the natural 1 on the same roll count once).
A fight. A ganger tracking the decoy catches her in the alley and fires a heavy pistol. He hits, and the 3d6 roll 6, 6, 2: 14 damage against her armor's SP 7. Seven gets through, so the armor drops to SP 6. Two 6s means a Critical Injury and 5 bonus damage: 12 off her Hit Points in one shot.
That's the loop: ask, roll, interpret, write a line, move on. Whether Juno tells the fixer about the tracker is a question only you can answer.
Where to Go Next
- Dice Roller: Checks and opposed rolls with exact odds, damage through armor and Death Saves.
- Corporations & Night City: Who your jobs come from, and who comes after you.
- Building Your Night City: Zones, factions and fixers to set your solo jobs in.