Hello everyone, this is the first update for my cyberpunk tabletop role playing game that addresses some of the major feedback I received from people who tried out the first draft. This update is just one of the many updates to come that will bring in more features and mechanics to make this a feature packed game that everyone can enjoy. Thank you to the ones that spent their time to go through my first draft to help me iron out some of the issues and I hope you all will continue to play and give me your feedback to help me make this game the best version of itself. So let's now dive into what's up with Cred Cogs version 0.4!

Wasn’t It Called Neon Black?

Let me get the biggest question out of the way first. Yes, Cred Cogs is the new Neon Black. When I published the first draft of my game with the title of Neon Black, I wasn’t aware that there existed another game by that name already. So, the new name of the game is Cred Cogs which I believe is also more in line with what the game is supposed to be about. Cred Cogs, in my game setting, is used as a slang for those mercenaries that take up gigs, often risky and illegal in exchange for credits, the type of character the players will be playing in the game.. Cred Cogs is derived from the idea of “people willing to become cogs in the machine for credits” and is very much in spirit of the phrase “wage slave” that we use now. 

The Cred Cogs Character Sheet

So, update 0.4 for Cred Cogs also has the character sheet design added to the rule book. It is under the section Appendix XII: Character Sheet. With the character sheet I have tried my best to make sure the design is readable and usable enough to easily manage and track all the major information about your character, including your Weapons, Cybernetics, Cyberdeck and the Hacks you have installed on it. The character sheet is also available as a separate downloadable file on Cred Cogs’ home page. 

You can check out the design of a filled out character sheet below:

Gameplay Balancing

A major feedback I received from the play testers was the balancing for the Difficulty Ratings (DR) for a check. The old range was an unbalanced 10-20, where 10 was considered a “Very Easy” check. The new range has been updated to 0-20, where the easiest checks range from 0-4 making it possible for level 1 characters to actually make a successful check for tasks that are considered as easy. Some minor adjustments have also been made for Skills as well, where when a player uses a skill that requires the target to make a check against the trait score of a player character. Previously, the target character had to make a check using their attribute now it is done using a relevant trait.

Quality of Life Updates

Some quality of life tweaks have also been made for the rule book. Firstly, all the gameplay rules have been brought to the forefront, where the first half of the book is just the rules you need to play the game. Content lists such as Upbringing, Backgrounds, Skills, Weapons, Cybernetics, etc. have been pushed to the back, under individual Appendix for easier readability and use. Moreover, the Index and other references within the book have been hyperlinked to allow faster and easier navigation throughout the PDF file of the rulebook.

What's Next?

This was a quick update that I wanted to push out to iron out the major issues players were having with the rulebook. Based on the feedback I receive for Cred Cogs version 0.4, if there are no major issues in the rulebook that is making it difficult to play, the next update, Cred Cogs version 0.5 will have a dedicated Game Master’s section to help GMs on running a session. While the current rule book already has the mechanics in place to run a game, based on some responses and also my personal understanding, a dedicated section for Game Masters will probably be very helpful for players and GMs alike.

Thank you to everyone for being here and trying out my game. Any and all donations are highly appreciated and goes to helping me hire an actual artist to make artwork for my game. If you are unable to donate, leaving a rating or a feedback in the comments are also highly appreciated and as helpful if not more.

Hope you all enjoy Cred Cogs and I will see you all on the next update.

Cheers!