Blades in Neon Lights - Running a Cyberpunk campaign with a BitD hack

[Yora]

I really love the Blades in the Dark system, though I'm not too hot on Duskwall as a setting.
I really enjoy playing Cyberpunk 2077 and regularly feel sad that the game doesn't do more with the gangs and their control over districts of Night City.

Blades in the Dark is a game that is all about a group of criminals building up a big reputation and acquiring resources and contacts, and fighting other gangs for territory. It's also a PtbA game, which is a system famous for how easily it can be modified to work with widely different settings.

Plug A and Slot B.
Bread and butter.
Pinky, are you pondering what I am pondering?

I have to sit down and read through the whole Blades in the Dark System again before really getting into the hacking business again. (But I think it should be really easy.) Does anyone know if there are any good cyberpunk hacks for Blades in Dark yet? I'm sure the must be some.

[Nepenthe]

As someone who used Blades almost completely unmodified for a Metal Gear Solid campaign, I'm super interested to see what you come up with.

Sorry, that's not terribly helpful...

[KineticDiplomat]

I believe there is a Forged in the Dark (basically, the BitD base “engine”) variant known as hack the world that is something similar - though not specifically in the CP 2077 setting.

That said if you want your own, swap out some of the mystical parts for netrunning and quick hacking, and you’re ready to rock.

[Yora]

That's also my own first impression. Magic and Netrunning is the only real difference I see that isn't just cosmetic. And even those fulfil very similar functions.

Swapping Attune to Hack, the rest of the 10 action types all pretty much map over perfectly as they are. I'd probably rename them for style.
The only one I am not completely sure about is Hunt. That maybe could be wrapped into Prowl, and it's spot as an Insight action be given to Hack. Which would leave an open spot for a fourth Resolve action.

[Aylowan]

You might want to check out The Sprawl, by Hamish Cameron. (I'd link it, but not enough posts, sorry! Very easy to find it via a search engine, though.)

It's a PbtA game with BitD influence. I'm not super-experienced with PbtA games, so I can't speak to how good it is as a game, per se. (Though I have seen it recommended by other folks.) But it has been very useful to me in hacking up a different system for use with the Shadowrun setting.

[Yora]

I've been thinking some more about it today, and for a somewhat different tone, I think Apocalypse World might actually be a better fit.

Blades in the Dark is a good starting point when the goal is to play a gang that established itself in the city and competes with other gangs.

For something more "punk" with over the top action and bizarre characters, Apocalypse World might have more to offer, though.

The primary psychic character types don't work, of course, but the others fit all mostly really well, except for the odd specific ability here and there. I can totally see the Skinner retooled as "Rockerboy", Angel as "Ripperdoc", Gunlugger as "Merc", and the Maestro as "Fixer". And The News from the Extended Playbooks is a "Media". Savvyhead could maybe get a bigger do over to create a "Netrunner".
Driver is simply a Driver, and Hardholder and Chopper are both gang bosses.

[KineticDiplomat]

Depends on what you want to play. CP lore has both gangs and crews of mercs (V by virtue of story and gameplay, is the odder solo merc) who in many ways work on the same premise as a BitD crew.

[Cluedrew]

I really love the Blades in the Dark system, though I'm not too hot on Duskwall as a setting.
I really enjoy playing Cyberpunk 2077 and regularly feel sad that the game doesn't do more with the gangs and their control over districts of Night City.Blades in the Dark certainly isn't generic but a different city with different gangs doing crime would work just fine. (Note I am going to for now ignore the fact you might do a different type of cyberpunk, but maybe I'll think of something and do a post on that.)

Of the core rules the only one you may have to swap out is the attune skill. May I recommend "everyone is a cyborg" and make it "Jack" which is like coding by via directly connecting your brain to the local web. This way it is still a resolve attribute skill and not insight. I think replacing the field with wireless and then ghosts and demons with various digital entities and most of that conversion is done.

Then you get to less core stuff. Like the things you make with tinker, coin can be replaced with... credit? Whatever you call it with digital currency you don't need the vault rules but maybe you can replace that with something else. But most of the big things about stress, heat and faction standing and tier can all stay the same.

[Yora]

You might want to check out The Sprawl, by Hamish Cameron. (I'd link it, but not enough posts, sorry! Very easy to find it via a search engine, though.)

It's a PbtA game with BitD influence. I'm not super-experienced with PbtA games, so I can't speak to how good it is as a game, per se. (Though I have seen it recommended by other folks.) But it has been very useful to me in hacking up a different system for use with the Shadowrun setting.

Sorry, I somehow mixed this up with a different Shadowrun hack that someone showed me.

Now I actually looked at The Sprawl.
And now I also feel a bit silly.

This is exactly the kind of game I was looking for. Mostly based on Apocalypse World but tailored to closely follow the style of Cyberpunk 2020.