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The Book of Random Tables: Cyberpunk

Overview

This book is a fast-prep companion for cyberpunk referees. It leans into narrow, practical tables that answer recurring table questions: who is this person, what is in the room, what rumor is circulating, and what side effect followed that failed intrusion or installed implant.

Table Catalog

Names (d100 each) - Corporation Names × 4 tables (large combinable pool) - Nightclub Names - American Female Names × 5, American Male Names × 5 - European Female Names × 3, European Male Names × 3

Location Contents (d100 each) - Items in a Corporate Fat Cat Office - Items in a Hacker's Apartment - Items in a Street Doc's Office - Global Street Food × 2

Hacking & Cybernetics (d100 each) - Results of a Failed Hacking Roll — graduated severity: corporate security notified → implants reboot → terminal melts → hacker digitized and trapped inside the computer - Cybernetic Implant Side Effects

Encounters & Rumors (d100 each) - Nightclub Encounters - Rumors and Odd Jobs — dual-use: generates NPC rumors and quick-hire hooks in one roll

Naming Mechanics Snapshot

Source framing is explicit: naming tables are first because they are meant to be used at runtime to reduce prep friction.

Practical structure: - Organization/location naming: 4 separate corporation tables plus a nightclub table. - Personal naming: multiple regionalized first-name pools (American and European, split by male/female lists). - Hook coupling: naming is intended to chain directly into encounter/rumor tables for immediate playable context.

Minimal runtime loop: 1. Roll a name table appropriate to the target (corp, venue, person). 2. Roll Nightclub Encounter or Rumors/Odd Jobs. 3. Bind the rolled name to the rolled situation and play.

Use Patterns

Gap-filler alongside Augmented Reality City Kit: Roll neighborhood and pressure from AR, then pull NPC names and location contents here. The two tools interlock without redundancy — AR generates structure, this book generates texture.

For hacking scenes: Failed Hacking Roll provides escalating consequences that push into both mechanical and narrative territory without needing a dedicated hacking subsystem.

For fast NPC generation: Cross-reference a domain-appropriate name table with a Nightclub Encounter result to produce a named NPC with an attached hook in two rolls.

For faction generation: Roll a corporation name first, then roll one Rumor/Odd Job entry and treat that as the faction's immediate agenda.

Scope note: This is a detail engine, not a campaign engine. It answers "who is this person" and "what is in that room." Use Augmented Reality City Kit or Running Silent for neighborhood structure and mission generation.

Design Value

Its scope is narrower than a full city kit, which makes it a reliable supplement rather than a campaign engine. Most useful when a larger urban framework already exists and the GM needs fast, specific detail.

See Also

Sources

  • https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/307740/the-book-of-random-tables-cyberpunk