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Neon City Overdrive

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The rain-slick streets gleam like silver on a circuit board and holographic signs paint the metroplexes in a river of neon. The city stretches as far as the eye can see, from the toxic coast to the city limits where the walls keep the wasteland from encroaching. Despite advances in technology most people continue to live as cogs in a machine, distracted from their ineffectual lives by slick consumerism and invasive media. 

You are a cyberpunk, a desperate individual with valuable skills, willing to put your life on the line in return for a little cash, reputation or leverage. With a lot of effort and a little luck you may survive the dangerous streets long enough to fulfill your goals and escape this life of violence and trouble.

NEON CITY OVERDRIVE is a fast-playing RPG of cyberpunk action. With a focus on story and action, character creation is fast and the rules are intuitive. Create any kind of cyberpunk character you want and throw them into the action within minutes. 

  • Simple, intuitive D6 dice pool system
  • Create any kind of cyberpunk you can imagine
  • Broad sandbox setting and random tables help make the setting your own

NEON CITY OVERDRIVE supplements

Skinjobs: Rules and information about ghost chips and re-skinning in the neon city.


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Reviews (20)
Discussions (49)
Customer avatar
Brandon P February 11, 2024 10:00 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Nathan, what are the odds we might see some of the fantastic rules embellishments found in Tomorrow City get ported back into NCO, maybe with the help of Osprey Games? I would love to see a hardcover collection of all four books with Tomorrow City's rules updates, with a section on how to use NCO with the city of tomorrow; Mother still trying to keep everything together with the city declining as it starts to lean off-kilter due to the expanding swamps beneath.
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Fabian P January 08, 2024 8:09 am UTC
PURCHASER
Since I can't review this product (might be because I published something on the DMsGuild), I want to highly recommend this product here at least:

I was looking for a rules light system to play in the world of Cyberpunk 2077. We have played Cyberpunk Red and Shadowrun 5e and 6e, but since we only visit Night City occasionally when we aren't playing Pathfinder, both systems where to rule heavy. I was looking for a system where my players don't have to read through hundreds of pages of equipment and can simply create a cool character with ease and Neon City Overdrive achieves this par excellence!

As a DM you can focus on a cool story and the players can focus on their role in that story without memorizing dozens of different rules. The first character creation might take some time, especially if you come from rule heavy systems, because the players needs to realize, that this system is more abstract and they have more freedom and how they could use that freedom to their advantage, but as...See more
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Nicolas B August 04, 2023 9:09 am UTC
Hello Nathan.
I'm coming from Shadowrun and CP2020/CPR. But I like a lot the way you designed your system.
Less crunchyness more narrative.

I have an issue with.. let's say the weight of some edges :
"Quick" can be use for attack, defense, running, to help perform certain tasks under stress (lockpick, repair something, etc..)
"Wired reflex" as an edge can do the same.
On the other hand "Parry" can only be use to as a defensive action against a close combat attack.
As a GM... I need to balanced that. One of my "ludist" player tried to have "Quick, Wired reflex, Smart, Cool" as edges. But for me they are all very wide ranged edges allowing him to add action dices to a LOT of checks. I get this is NOT a "ludist" oriented system, and that's why I'm into it right now.

My second and most important issue is about cyberware :
Cyberware, in my vision, is the way to overcome human limitation....See more
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Richard H June 06, 2023 12:22 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Is this well-suited for solo play?
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Nathan R June 06, 2023 8:35 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Hi Richard, while not specifically designed for solo play, many people have done so. In the attached blog post, I have links to a couple of actual plays where people play it solo, which might help you decide.

https://www.perilplanet.com/blog/actual-play-neon-city-overdrive/
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Richard H June 07, 2023 6:26 am UTC
PURCHASER
That's great, thanks.
Customer avatar
Roman O April 23, 2023 3:15 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Hi Nathan, I really like the system, however I see 2 major problems incorporating it for my cyberpunk campaign:

1. Do I understand correctly that the system is not designed to support long-term campaigns? With jobs versus downtime dynamic, the retirement mechanic and character progression cap - it's not really designed to support the story like V's from Cyberpunk 2077, but rather played out in a span of like 4-5 jobs tops? Do you have any plans to expand it so it can be played with extended campaigns?

2. I know that's been asked already, but I am not really digging the 4 item limit for specialized equipment per job, becuase it breaks immersion significantly. For example, as one of the rewards that characters can get for a job you mention "cash", but what is the point of cash if you can't retain specialized equipment with that (or there is nothing to buy in-game, really)? You can maybe use it as an argument to advance your drive goal, but still. Also, if you are really successful...See more
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Nathan R April 24, 2023 8:50 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Hey, thanks for the questions. I will do my best to answer them. :) I will start with (1) and answer (2) in a separate reply.
1. Play can be long-term without any changes to the Downtime rules, depending on whether players are actively working toward their personal drives and whether they spend Leverage on "ticking" drive boxes. Yes, if they spend all their Leverage and attempt to recover from Traumas, it will fill up in just a few sessions, but in my experience that is rare. However, you can extend this further by restricting players from spending Leverage on the drive track ONLY if they specifically worked towards their goal during the job. Often, players won't spend any Leverage on their drive, and you can mix the jobs around so only one or two players are working towards a goal at any time. In this way, a character might spend several jobs helping a friend and making no progress towards their own Drive. Also, remember, a character does not have to retire when their drive track is filled - they...See more
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Nathan R April 24, 2023 9:12 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Part (2) of your question!
2. I totally understand not digging the specialized equipment rules; let's see if we can find a solution. First, some background: These particular rules were done to emulate the transient nature of technology and gear in the cyberpunk setting and cyberpunk fiction in general. If something is truly integral to a character's identity (like, let's say, a famous rocker's silver cyber arm), it should be a Trademark. Everything else is just set dressing that can come and go with relative ease. Think of specialised gear that changes every job a bit like the way you re-equip your character in a video game - even in Cyberpunk 2077 you can switch out your cyber ware when you want something different, so think of it like that.

*A note on characters getting "cash" as a reward for jobs: this is abstracted in the Leverage rules in the Downtime chapter. Leverage represents information, money and improved position that opens doors and gives the characters a chance to heal,...See more
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Roman O April 27, 2023 3:15 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Hi Nathan, thank you for such a well-thought reply. I'll be incorporating some of your suggestions; your comment provides some good options and perspectives on managing longer stories. Thank you!
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Roman O April 27, 2023 3:18 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Oooooooh. OK, I think this clears my perspective: "Think of the Specialised Gear roll as deciding what cool things you want your character to do during the current job - what do you want to draw attention to?" Again, thank you for all of these, I definitely will gradually try some of these things, and I think your ultimate advice does it for me regarding equipment.
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filippo B August 04, 2022 6:56 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I'll take the book and it's pretty good.
My only concern is about the combat, i don't understand that.
Said that the rules are quick and fast to learn. It's a modern game with a good twist.
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Matthew K February 04, 2023 1:34 am UTC
PURCHASER
I'll try to help if I can. Combat is actually pretty easy once you understand the system.
1) Make sure you understand how Checks work (see pg 28-30). This is how you resolve dice rolls.
2) Make sure you understand how Harm works (see pg 34-35). This is how your character takes damage. Every character can take 3 Hits (see the Hit Track on the top right of the character sheet at the end of the book).
3) For Combat, follow along on page 36. The yellow highlighted headings are the major points to follow. First, roll for Initiative. This is a simple d6 roll (although creative GMs and players could probably modify this if they have the right Tags (see pg 12 for a definition of Tags). Then take your Action or make an Attack. This is a standard check aka dice roll. You start with 1 Action Die and then add Action and/or Danger Dice to your pool depending on what Tags you have. A success causes a Hit (meaning the target marks off one of their three Hit boxes). The target can now Defend. This is also...See more
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Richard H January 10, 2022 3:27 pm UTC
PURCHASER
This game is quite possibly the best Cyberpunk game out there; it's awesome.

Are there any plans to release any further material for it and, if so, what's on the horizon?
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Nathan R January 10, 2022 9:35 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Thank you so much for your positive comments. I'd like to do a supplement about life beyond the city - the No Zone, Orbitals and Mars. It is on the schedule, but there are a number of other projects ahead of it at the moment. What else would people like to see for supplements?
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Frederic M February 08, 2023 8:38 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I would like to see a supplement about the city. Then, when you have the time, Orbitals and Mars. Available in SC/SC Premium and HC Premium if possible!! Also, do you have in mind a ruleset to play true solo (GM=PC)?? That would be very helpful!! Thank you!! :)
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Jeremy P December 18, 2021 7:47 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I don't get chances to write reviews but found myself using this companies cyberpunk/NCO stuff more than most. Easy to read, some interesting ideas, and overall excellent quality in writing as well as design. Would love to see me NCO stuff from them.
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Nathan R December 18, 2021 8:59 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Thank you so much for the kind words!
Customer avatar
Dillard R December 12, 2021 9:13 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Before writing a question I read through the below comments. I am glad I did b/c they explained the answer to what has bugged me the most about NCO. Triggers. I have played FATE for years now and that system has some pretty specific language for mechanical effects in the game. I can see the DNA in the rules. Please when you do a re-write explain that Triggers grant "permissions". I was very confused. I thought they were somehow descriptors without mechanical consequence...fluff. I am going to run a Grim City/SR style campaign combining all the supplements to date. Love the game! I just was having a hard time figuring out the point of triggers and in turn that really led me astray during character creation. Cheers!
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Nathan R December 18, 2021 8:59 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Thank you for the feedback, I really appreciate it. The role of triggers has been addressed more specifically in the games I am currently working on.
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Blaine B December 02, 2021 4:53 pm UTC
Question about handling area attacks against players in this and FU2... Do you make all players involved build a pool and roll to avoid a bazooka blast? Since building the pool is kind of a conversation, this seems slow and clunky.
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Vincent A December 10, 2021 12:26 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Yes and no depending on setting. have players defend against **bazooka blast** (2 to 6 danger dice). Either by **diving for cover** or being **armored** or something similar (telekinetic push! Or Cyberarm ricochet!). Partial success could cause immediate trauma (instead of hits). Failure cause immediate death (refer to automatic success and failure rules). The system is Intuitive enough to make these tweaks fit your gaming table. As always go with Fiction First when it comes to rules.
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Vincent A December 10, 2021 1:33 pm UTC
PURCHASER
As an example, say that the first cyberpunk wanted to deflect the rocket with a cyberarm and got a partial success. Instead of applying hits or trauma to the player or other PC's, they were successful in deflecting the rocket...but it blows up something else causing collateral damage. Then the other PC's wouldn't have to defend against the rocket...but have to deal with the collateral damage (innocent bystanders, alerts law enforcement etc.). Fiction first.
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Joshua G November 15, 2021 5:04 am UTC
PURCHASER
I have got the hardcover coming and have already got the pdf but I am curious with the other books.
Are there any plans to have hardcover versions of those or will they only be paperback?
I would love hardcover versions but I understand if it is unavailable.
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Jordi F November 09, 2021 8:47 am UTC
PURCHASER
I really want to try this game as it sounds awesome, but I have a pair of questions ...

1.- On the combat section you can read that you can make a move and an attack or a precise shot, what is a precise shot?

2.- How do I interpret some gear tags like "deadly", "area of effect", "explosive", etc?

Like imagine the following group:
Player 1 : Have a big revolver with the "Deadly" tag, as he want to really pack a punch with it.
Player 2 : Wants to use a submachinegun because she loves shootings tons of bullets, she decides her weapon has the "Area of effect" tag to represent his ability to attack multiples targets at once.
Player 3 : Want to use an automatic shotgun with "explosive ammo" as a tag.
Player 4 : Decides she wants to be close and personal, so she chooses a switchblade with the tag "venomous".

How do I use those tags? How do I differentiate them? What could...See more
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Nathan R November 10, 2021 8:46 am UTC
PUBLISHER
Hey, thanks for getting in contact. I will try to answer your questions as best I can. :)

1 - A precise shot is a catch all for being careful / taking aim / attacking a vital or specific area. You might require a player to take a long action if they want to attack a specific body part on a target, for example. At my table it is mostly used when a player says they are carefully aiming before firing, and I add an Action die to their dice pool for the effort.

2 - Weapon tags are primarily story tools, helping you understand what potential actions / implications using the weapon might introduce to a scene. You should always fall back on the fiction first - "My weapon has the incendiary tag. Does that mean it will ignite the gas in the room?"

With deadly weapons I like to just add an Action die to the character's pool as it is a simple way of representing the potential extra damage. An area effect tag would let the player attack multiple targets at the same time, as...See more
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Jordi F November 11, 2021 1:57 pm UTC
PURCHASER
It does, thanks. I even had a short session with the group yesterday and it's been the most fun I had in months. It still was a bit rough because I was improvising and have to accommodate to the system, but it was a blast nonetheless.

Its really taking a warm place in ma heart.

Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna go buy all the NCO supplements.
Customer avatar
Alex T September 21, 2021 4:55 pm UTC
Great game, this is about to be my go-to system for generic play. Can't wait to see more from Nathan Russell.

One small question: how do opposite tags work ?
For example, attacking an NPC with an armor tag, with a weapon with the armor-piercing tag: should we add one action die and one danger die, or should we consider that the tag from the weapon cancels the tag from the NPC?
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Nathan R September 21, 2021 8:51 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Hi Homard, thanks so much for the feedback. Technically, with “opposite” tags, you should add one danger die and one action die, but if you want to cancel out before rolling your pool of dice, that works fine.
I didn’t include that option as I wanted to keep it simple and avoid needing lots of clarifications on what tags cancel what, or when to cancel vs when to add more dice. But if you prefer to do it that way, the game will work just as well.
I hope that helps.
Cheers, Nathan
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Alex T March 09, 2022 5:25 pm UTC
If I may ask another question:
Can you accumulate tags (especially on gear or story tag)? For example, you have a heavy armor and give it the tags "bullet-proof", "heavy", and "deflective". Can you use the three tags when shot at with this armor? Similarly, imagining that a psion buffs somebody or creates a psionic shield that he makes permanent, can he creates multiple shields (whether by boons, multiple actions or story points) to stack shields on one person (using the same tags or slightly different ones) ?

More generally, how to handle tags that represent effects that increase over time (burn, poison, or different degrees of spells (e.g., invisibility for spell-singlers)) ? Or should we consider that all effects/spells are full-force (e.g., invisibility means really invisible rather than slightly less visible with +1 boost die) ?
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Nathan R March 16, 2022 6:23 am UTC
PUBLISHER
You can certainly accumulate/stack tags if it makes sense to the story you are telling and the situation a character is in. This is especially true of gear a character has spent slots on - if they want super-protective armour that is "reinforced", "bullet proof" and "kinetic absorption", then go ahead and let them roll 3 extra Action dice when the bad guy shoots at them! I guess I would allow the stacking of the psionic shield if the player wanted to spend their time/resources on it, but it depends on how you want to represent the psionic powers in your game.

In regards to your second question, some things represented by tags might simply persist (a character who is "poisoned" might continue to be poisoned and perhaps continue to lose hits). Other tags might change - for example, a "burning curtains" tag might become "room ablaze" if the fire was not dealt with satisfactorily.

For psionic powers and the like, by default I consider...See more
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Aaron K July 17, 2021 4:58 am UTC
PURCHASER
As a "publisher," I can't leave a review. But this game is awesome for cyberpunk and easily hacked for other genres. It is an awesome outgrowth of FU and FU2. The theme and the flexibility of NCO is great. And Dungeon Crawlers is great, too. If anyone want to see it in action, I posted a play through and a TL;DR review on my channel. This is a great game!
Play session: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB3ooCQLqRA
Much shorter review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9yOD-R4s4U&t=209s
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Nathan R July 18, 2021 9:40 am UTC
PUBLISHER
Thank you so much for the kind words. As a small indie publisher it really means a lot to get this kind of feedback.
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Aaron K May 20, 2021 4:37 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Does this use the FU rules, or something similar?
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Nathan R May 20, 2021 9:04 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
It uses a dice mechanic similar to those presented in the FU send Ed beta doc, but does not use Yes/No/And/But. There are other similarities to FU variants, too, such as trademarks. I would say the rules are “inspired” by FU, but not 5th same.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.
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April 06, 2021 6:17 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Hi Nathan, I have been playing D&D for years and I have recently discovered your game, I want to be a GM and try something different, but some things are not clear to me (partly I think it is the fault of the fact that I have never played narrative games. Can you help me? Here are my questions.

1) Page 15 says: "You are not restricted to a specific selection or type of Trademarks." Does this mean that I can choose as Trademarks two Roles and two Skins at the same time during character creation?

2) Do the characters’ Drives have to be part of the Job (so this allows you to tick or cross out during the mission itself) or are the Drives designed only to be tick or cross out during the Downtime (spending experience)?

3) Was your design goal that each Job contain within it every single characters' Drive as hook for them to get involved (in order to tick or cross out boxes)?

4) If I understand correctly, is a Boss stronger and tougher than a Big Bad...See more
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Nathan R April 06, 2021 9:41 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Thanks for the questions. I’ll do my best to answer them / clarify.

1) Yes, you can take any combination that makes sense to you and your group. Totally take two or three roles if you wish. I would restrict to only one skin, as this is a representation of the physical body your character has.

2) Drives don’t need to be incorporated into every job (or can be left out of jobs entirely and just dealt with in downtime if you wish). I like incorporating character drives into jobs, but would not do more than one or two character’s in any job.

3) You might sometimes use drives to hook a character into a job on a personal level, but most of the time fall back on the old cyberpunk trope of “you get hired/threatened/coerced into doing a job”.

4) Ah, good question! They certainly will be most of the time. For me, the big bad is a mastermind who will probably try to get away once they start taking trauma. What I failed to explain on page 55 was my intention that...See more
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May 21, 2021 2:10 pm UTC
PURCHASER
WOW! Thanks for your mega answers!

Only one thing is not clear to me. It's about you answer number 4).

Normally a Boss can assume the status of "Bloodied", but it seems that a "Big Bad" can't (because after a number of traumas equal to their standard hit value they are automatically defeated). For example a Big Bad with 2 hits box is automatically defeated (without being "Bloodied") after suffer 2 hits and 2 traumas.

So in your example how many hits does a "Big Bad Boss" with two hits have to take to be considered "Defeated"? Does he have to suffer 8 hits (because 6 hits and take 2 traumas) or 9 hits (because 6 hits, 2 traumas and another one after being Bloodied) before being Defeated?

PS: recently I also bought all your supplements because a few sessions to get used to this new style of play we are having fun, thanks a lot!
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Pages
72
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PPAS01
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File Last Updated:
April 23, 2020
This title was added to our catalog on March 29, 2020.