GURPS Cyberpunk

GURPS Cyberpunk is a role-playing game sourcebook published by Steve Jackson Games in 1990 as part of the GURPS (Generic Universal RolePlaying System) series. The book provides rules and background for running games in a near-future cyberpunk setting, including character creation, equipment, and scenario guidelines. The sourcebook contains detailed information about cybernetic enhancements, computer hacking, future technology, and dystopian world-building elements. Players can create characters ranging from corporate mercenaries to street hackers, with rules for implementing both physical and digital combat scenarios. The book gained additional notoriety when the U.S. Secret Service raided Steve Jackson Games in 1990, seizing manuscripts and computers during an investigation into computer crime. The publisher later won a lawsuit against the Secret Service regarding this incident. GURPS Cyberpunk reflects core genre themes of technological advancement, corporate power, and human modification while providing a comprehensive framework for exploring these concepts through gameplay. The book serves as both a gaming manual and a snapshot of early 1990s perspectives on future technology and society.

Readers praise the book's comprehensive treatment of cyberpunk in a gaming context, with detailed rules for hacking, cyberware, and near-future technology. Many note its usefulness beyond GURPS as a sourcebook for other cyberpunk RPG campaigns. Positives: - Clear explanations of complex technology concepts - Strong character creation options - Detailed equipment lists - Useful cybercrime and hacking mechanics Negatives: - Rules complexity can slow down gameplay - Some mechanics feel dated compared to modern systems - Limited setting information - Dense technical writing style Ratings: Goodreads: 4.13/5 (23 ratings) RPGGeek: 7.31/10 (13 ratings) Notable reader comment: "The hacking rules were revolutionary for their time but require significant bookkeeping." - RPGGeek reviewer The book gained additional notoriety when it was seized during a Secret Service raid of Steve Jackson Games in 1990, though readers focus more on its gaming content than this historical footnote.

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🔒 The book's publication led to a Secret Service raid on Steve Jackson Games in 1990, with agents seizing manuscripts and computers due to concerns about "hacking-related" content, despite it being a tabletop gaming rulebook. 🎮 Author Loyd Blankenship was a former member of the Legion of Doom hacker group, where he went by the handle +++The Mentor+++, and authored the famous "Hacker's Manifesto." 🌐 The controversy surrounding the raid became a pivotal case for digital rights, leading to the formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and helping establish protections for electronic privacy. 📚 The game manual was one of the first roleplaying supplements to include detailed rules for realistic computer hacking and network infiltration in a cyberpunk setting. 🏆 After the Secret Service eventually returned the materials and the game was published, it won the Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Supplement in 1990, partly due to the publicity from the raid.