Humanity has spread to space. GRAND CROSS is a space station orbiting Earth, a high-tech city, and a gateway to the stars.But in this distant future, it's in crisis...

HARD WIRED ISLAND is a retrofuture cyberpunk TTRPG, inspired by 90s anime. This 400-page PDF includes:

• An easy-to-learnsystemwhere social actions and problem-solving skills are at least as important as hacking and getting into fights.
• A shorterplayer referencedocument for quick rule access.
• An alternate 2020 settingin anO'Neill cylinder near Earth.
• Descriptions of the many areasof Grand Cross, from the busy downtown Voyager Wardto the high-tech parkland of Mariposa tothe AgricultureRing that feedsthe station.
• Seven Occupations, including the Fixer, the Hacker, and the Influencer, along with a plethora of character options.
• Over 100detailed NPC descriptions, from corporate heavyweights to android crime lords tojust regular citizens of anEarth-orbit city.
• A flexible mission prep systemthat allows characters to adapt their plans on the fly without wasting their earlier efforts.
• A wealth system that tracks the financial burdens placed on you by the capitalist system you live in.
• A cybernetics system that doesn't dehumanize you for installing augments.
• A lot of great art from a lot of great artists.

Want a preview? Click here!

(Character sheets are provided for free below.Fillable versions byColinChapman.)

When we sayHARD WIRED ISLANDis cyberpunk, here's what that means to us.

Capitalism? No thanks.Good cyberpunk is anti-capitalist. It's about how technology without ethics can make social inequality worse. The wealthy use it to cement their power and perpetuate the status quo, while marginalized communities are kept that way. The PCs want to use it to break the current system. They work against their enemies, not for them.

Cyberpunk should be relevant.It is a study of where our society could go in the coming years. The issues faced by people in a cyberpunk setting should havesomerelevance to issues faced by the audience, even if they're not the same. Retro future, present problems.

Cybernetics are not inherently good or bad.Like most tech, what matters is how it's used.InHard Wired Island,the problem is that cybernetics often serves the needs of capital rather than people; Any alienating or dysphoric effects come from being reshaped into some corporation's property. There is no mechanic that suggests wearing a prosthetic makes you less human, or prone to mental illness; instead, the tradeoff of augments is adding to your financial burdens.

Cyberpunk is not just an aesthetic.Cyberpunk shouldn't just be about the neon-lit adventures of a group of trenchcoat futurists as they amass wealth and power through violence.Hard Wired Islandis about a group of marginalized people using technology to try to change the status quo.

Many perspectives.Good cyberpunk examines how technology and power intersect in many different communities. As an orbital space station, the city of Grand Cross can and should include perspectives from all over the world.The setting includes cyborgs and androids, but they're not stand-ins for minorities;they have their own identities andissues, which can change depending on how they intersect with other things.