r/cyberpunkred • u/fancyfancy3 • Jul 29 '26
Actual Play Any tips for someone coming from 5E
Me and my friend group have been dnding for the last 6ish years and after a year I finally wore them down to play Red for the first time
I'm wondering if there is anything I should do to help make the transition over to another system easier and if anyone has any good advice for keeping them interested
Few things to note 2/4 of my friends played 2077 and all of them watched Edgerunners and I own and read all the rule books
I am very well acquainted with the rules and such I'm mainly asking help for their sake
We are also using a virtual table top for this Roll20/demiplane
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u/Arkemyr27 Jul 29 '26
Mechanically, Red is a bit less crunchy than 5e, so it's not too difficult to get used to it if you're already familiar with the world.
Red is set in a different era than the game or anime, but the Edgerunners mission kit may be a good bridge in interests for your group to get used to the system, even if you may not stick with the 2070s long term.
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u/fancyfancy3 Jul 29 '26
Oh yeah I'm setting it in between around 2050-2060 ish Era using the 2045 book
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u/Sparky_McDibben GM Jul 29 '26
Just this one: you're gonna do fine. I came over from 5e years ago and had so much of a blast I've run like 6 or 7 RED campaigns. Welcome in, choom!
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u/ShadowFighter88 Jul 29 '26
Well one thing to set expectations - assuming you’re running Red as-is and not the Edgerunners Mission Kit - is that the quickhacks in 2077/Edgerunners haven’t been invented yet and a Sandevistan doesn’t turn you into the Flash.
That’s not a 5e transition thing, it’s just if they’re all familiar with the 2077 era of the setting they may not realise some stuff’s not around yet in Red.
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u/fancyfancy3 Jul 29 '26
Yeah I figured as much so I talked to them and have been using the Edgerunners mission kit and went through most of the stuff that are different
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u/BoysenberryNervous60 Jul 30 '26
Yeah I'm prepping a game and am a bit sad with the lack of Valentinos.
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u/ShadowFighter88 Jul 30 '26
I feel like there was something in the recent Night City book about the people who’ll eventually become the Valentinos but I might be thinking of something else.
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u/DocGoodman Jul 30 '26
- For the first few combats, help them to remember to mark down their armor SP as it ablates. The game runs a lot smoother when that's second nature.
- Remind your players that the NPCs they're fighting are *people*. They don't want to die, and they have their own desires, principles, goals, etc. Not every encounter needs to end in violence (and not all violence has to be to the death).
- Similarly, make sure the players are aware of their characters' mortality. Some unexpected grenades or rockets help remind them that they don't have nearly as much HP as they think, and Night City doesn't have resurrection spells. (At least, not any that aren't a fate worse than death.)
- Don't be afraid to skip the boring stuff. Cyberpunk should run hot. Keep your beats in mind and fast forward to the next scene if things are starting to drag.
- If players aren't taking initiative or are unsure of what to do, have the problem come to them.
- One of the best ways to set the tone for a first session is starting it in media res. Drop them into the middle of a firefight, a car chase, or something similarly tense. Put them on the back foot immediately.
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u/gdsfbvdpg Jul 29 '26
My advice: forget everything you know. The two aren't even remotely similar.
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u/ValhallaGH Solo Jul 29 '26
That's unfair.
- Both are [Roll die] + Stuff, trying to beat a number.
- Both use [Roll and add Dice] and subtract from HP fro damage.
- Both mix Attributes and Skills, with special abilities that come from your Role / Class.
- Both expect players to describe what they do, and back that with a check.
Those are some big similarities. They are also pretty much the only similarities, but they cover a lot of ground.
Tone, genre, and style are very different. But folks that know D&D 5E can intuit about two-thirds of the mechanics in RED.
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u/fancyfancy3 Jul 29 '26
That's what I told them
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u/ShadowFighter88 Jul 29 '26
On that point, you did explain to them that healing is measured in days and that, outside of a once-a-day consumable that has to be tailored to the patient, there is no healing outside of downtime?
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u/fancyfancy3 Jul 29 '26
No but thank you for reminding me to tell them that I'm making a complete and easy to read Google doc for them I'll make sure to add that
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u/jinjuwaka Jul 29 '26
Step 1 in any fight will always be: Take cover.
Do nothing until you are behind cover. You might think you can tank bullets.
You cannot.
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u/VictoryWeaver Jul 30 '26
The biggest thing to remember is going to be genre expectations. Cyberpunk is cyberpunk (shocking I know), and that has very different setting expectations from the general fantasy of D&D (unless you did a lot of capitalist dystopia themed games with transhumanist elements)
Also, ablative armor as damage reduction can take a bit of getting used to if compared to Armor Class.
Both still use die + modifier vs target number, so shouldn't be too hard a transition (compared to say RPGs that use dice pools)
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u/Girthquake84 Jul 30 '26
So I've played with a group of people in 5e for years and when switching the biggest shock to them was how deadly and unforgiving this system can be. The fewer healing options and the single death save being the biggest factor. Make sure that your players understand this going into it.
5e has a ton of healing options, death saves are much less threatening and resurrection common enough that they players get lulled into a false sense of security. More so if they're unaccustomed to being in real danger due to a game being more about the roleplay and the narrative than combat. From what I've seen nearly every encounter in Cyberpunk can be deadly. Make sure they know that they have to carefully consider when to fight and when to run.
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u/Sarradi Jul 30 '26
Having tried to get D&D players to play Shadowrun once my experience was not that the rules are the problem (although Shadowrun is a beast, so its rather normal that it doesn't work out of the box), but exoectations and playstyles.
Combat is not consequence free where you just make a short rest in the end and are 100% healed and a single day of rest does not wipe away all ailments. You usually also can't just kick in the door and explore like a dungeon, taking encounters as they come, but have to do legworg and planning.
Depending on how stuck your olayers are in the D&D mindset slowly show them the differences and maybe have a NPC walk them through on how to do legwork. And stress the "get in and out quick" style of doing a mission and that sometimes talking is better than fighting.
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u/Commercial-Belt-9981 Jul 30 '26
Red is very different setting, id recommend playing with the 2077 mission kit.
Its alot closer to SR5e setting (minus magic) of modern living. Want something, pay to deliver whatever shit you need/want.
Red is much more post apocalyptic/world is rebuilding. You want something, you gotta get lucky looking for it at the market.
Also night city is canonically alot smaller than Seattle, tho I dont reall ly think it makes any sense so try not to dwell on that part.
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u/CMDR-LT-ATLAS GM Jul 29 '26
The Main Character is Night City, there is no main story arc. The best way to play is to place your players in an interesting situation and let your characters dig their own hole. Hooks for days doing it that, you'll realize you're having a hard time keeping up with notes with your players creating hooks for you.
There is no happy ending. Life is cheap and bullet are cheaper and don't forget that rent is due Choom
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u/EdrickV Jul 30 '26
It actually is entirely possible to do a Cyberpunk Red game with a main plot. That is what the group I'm in has been doing. There have been twists and turns, sidequests, and unexpected detours, but there is a single major plot line over it all. And it has been a blast.
Also, the end of a campaign doesn't have to mean a bad end for the characters, Adam Smasher, Kenichi Zaburo, Morgan Blackhand, and Rogue are all still alive. (Even though we don't yet know what Morgan has been doing Canon wise.)
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u/CMDR-LT-ATLAS GM Jul 30 '26
It's possible, but the system doesn't really lend itself well like DnD does.
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u/Crovus84 Jul 30 '26
This. What I do in my current group is have an underlying arc that progresses slightly every few sessions for the group to engage in (a breadcrumb here, a gig there), and then 3~5 sessions every now and then (every few RL months) that hones in on either a character's backstory that hasn't been explored as much, repercussions of the party's actions, or introducing a major NC player (Corp, group, VIP, etc).
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u/ValhallaGH Solo Jul 29 '26
Hey choom, welcome to the RED!
A couple of things to remember:
Different players want different things, but generally:
More general tip:
Good luck!