Enemies/NPCs

Concept: “If your name is Tim and you bought the physical version of A$$HOLE$ & ELBOWS in the last couple of weeks, SEND ME YOUR ADDRESS! You didn't fill out the form you were prompted to on itch. You haven't responded to my emails. I don't want a bad review or rating because I didn't send your pamphlet, but I literally can't. I don't have your address! Get in touch.  Unless you were legit just trying to be nice and don't want the physical reward you paid for. But the uncertainty is KILLING ME!  Thanks, hugs and kisses, Rugose Kohn”

Content: Includes NPC enemies, cultist and high priest for “The Cult of Tim,” whose practices revolve around the enigma that is Tim. 

Writing: Tongue so far in cheek for this material that the two have fused together into a new Cronenberg-esque anatomy. 

Art/Design: Black single-column text presented on the left page of a two-page spread with a tan background, with illustrations of NPC shadows combating one another across the spread.

Usability: Text contrast and font choices are very readable, with headings and labels visually distinct from main body text. The question of Tim’s existence/identity remains unanswered, however.

Concept: “In the not so distant future… Out of the unholy marriage of Super A.I. and alchemy of flesh, a new type of being came into existence. In the year 20X9, the machines rule every aspect of daily life, forever looking to further optimize culling the ‘dregs’ of society, ensuring any threat to its existence is either exterminated with the extreme prejudice of nu-capitalism, or by force. But the final battle for humanity will not be fought in the future. It will be fought here, it present day CY. Tonight…”

Content: A mission to save the future by terminating a CEO. Additional classes ("Time Target," "Veteran of the Future War," and "Reprogrammed Hunter Killer"), supplemental glitch rules, and a murderous NPC are also included.

Writing: Creativity permeates every page/spread, offering plenty of details to flesh out each encounter with a clear sense of in-game urgency for the stakes involved.

Art/Design: Distinct full-color layouts for each page/spread that manage to share a dark-themed aesthetic for a sense of consistency throughout. Numerous illustrations provide visuals for the landscape, significant NPCs, and maps.

Usability: Visually, most pages provide high-contrast text/background for easy reading, with immediately apparent headings/labels and distinct content sections (whether via whitespace, borders, etc.). However, the text is not embedded, so no searching or selecting is possible. A ToC is provided at the end of the supplement.

Concept: “Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die is a rules expansion for CY_BORG giving you the chance to drive fast and wreak carnage hanging out the passenger side window (or just crash headlong into it, your mileage may vary). These rules are light-weight, but robust, and will add a ton of flavor to your chase scenes as you bolt down narrow streets in attempt to escape the piggies or track down a corpo shit-bag. Hell, you don't even need to catch 'em, just have a firefight between vehicles - we got rules for that!”

Content: An impressive cornucopia of content: rules for vehicle chases/races and driving hazards, classes for the “Got-Away Driver” and “High Speed Vigilante," stats for vehicles that are purchaseable (or not), enemies to encounter on the streets of CY, and an entire revenge-themed mission.

Writing: A focus on thematic details/voices to breathe life into included elements that are supported by succinct, direct rules and guidance for GMs to implement assorted features into a game.

Art/Design: A mix of layouts and aesthetics throughout the supplement. Some pages are laid out landscape-wise, and at least one two-page spread has text broken across its pages. Number and variety of illustrations and themes, along with their execution, are inspiring.

Usability: Body text font is pretty consistent throughout, and despite the range of page/spread layouts it’s easy to identify headings/labels and how they relate to nearby content. However, the text is not embedded, so searching/selecting and screen reader use is not possible.

Concept: "During one of the earliest lunar prospecting missions, the commander of Chrysus 14, Alan Shepard, famously played a game of golf on the moon’s dusty-white surface. Two golf balls were lost and left behind that day. An anonymous CEO wants one (or better both) for their private collection. One golf ball = 2,500¤! The trip to the moon is already paid for, basic space suits included. What are you still standing around for? Off to the spaceport with your sorry wetware!"
Content: A simple job to travel to the surface of the moon and retrieve golf balls.
Writing: Concise descriptions and rules, encounters, and similar GM-facing info for each location that might be visited on the trip.
Art/design: Mission details are provided in a trifold brochure/pamphlet format, in both full-color version (with high-res background graphics of the moon's surface) and a black-on-white printer-friendly version. Distinct boxes separate out each scenario location, with one pamphlet panel dedicated to distinct NPC stat blocks and another to mission-related overview info for the GM.
Usability: Each separate content block is recognizably distinct, with a consistent aesthetic for recognizing similar kinds of content (block borders and, for the full-color version, block accent colors). Fonts are readable with visually distinct decorations for headings, labels, etc.

Concept: "TRIUNE dominates screens, frequencies and can be found in every corner of the NET.

Their music is everywhere, their brand is inescapable, and their message is carefully crafted to keep you coming back for more, addicted, and consumed by desire.
MindE. Bodi. Spyrr. The perfect pop-idol machine, multiplied threefold. Identical triplets, the epitome of stardom: impossible bodies, voices tuned to unfathomable harmonies. They don’t just make music—they code emotions."

Content: A three-in-one enemy with which to personify the essence of CY and also to make punks' lives miserable through the NPCs' popularity. 
Writing:  Disturbingly on-point mechanics for the NPCs, wrapped in equally (and appropriately) dystopian description of Triune and their reach/impact.
Art/design:  Several spreads of slick marketing-aesthetic presentation (a mix of light-on-dark and synthwave neon color schemes) that uses a mix of illustration and glitchy accents to sell the in-universe nature of the document.
Usability:  High-contrast text and recognizable distinctions between types and sections of content--along with concise and direct explanations of ruling-related abilities--allow for easy navigation, location, and use of desired info.

Concept: “This zine contains a table for Animals and plants altered genetically, mechanically or both, some stat blocks and body modifications.”

Content: A collection of biological and technological creatures, parts, and modifications to bring more animalistic variety to a game.

Writing: Descriptions make use of a casual and conversational voice that makes even the more mundane entries engaging and humorous.

Art/Design: Three pages of red and blue text on a light gray hex-pattern background. Two pages use single-column text layouts, while the page of stat blocks has different NPCs’ info scattered around the page.

Usability: Each page provides a consistent visual grammar to indicate how to navigate its content. Center-aligned lists of creatures and modifications may slow down some reading of entries that span multiple lines of text.

Concept: “UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT is an introductory three-part CY_BORG adventure inspired by classic movies like Running Man and Judge Dredd (2012), wherein the player characters must ascend a crumbling apartment tower and take out its self-appointed gang-goon leader, Jinghai Soan. It's nonstop action and weirdness that's perfect for introducing new players into the setting and system!”

Content: A scenario for PCs to get intimately familiar with life in a high-rise habitat on lockdown in order to bring down the crime lord at its apex.

Writing: Tons of details about apartment residents, the building’s aesthetic, recent rumors, NPC stats, a map, and more.

Art/Design: White-on-black monospace text with red and yellow graffiti/handwritten headings and embellishments. Occasional borders help indicate the extent of a particular sidebar or table. Black-and-white map and portrait of Jinghai Soan are included.

Usability: Text is provided mostly in one- and two-column formats with occasional exceptions. While text contrast makes for easy reading, the text is not embedded, so no searching or copying/pasting is available.

Concept: “An eerie chill sweeps the streets of CY, and the shadows between the neon lights seem ever darker this time of year. Within creep seven frightful ghouls to haunt the sewers, stalking any pvnk so foolish as to roam the dreadful night.“

Content: A collection of high-tech terrors, from the data spectre to the flesh debtor, with which to haunt a table of punks as they try to survive life in Cy.

Writing: A colorful set of descriptions and mechanical abilities that paint vivid possibilities for each NPC’s uses in a game.

Art/Design: Two versions available: one black-on-white printer-friendly version and one orange-on-maroon version with occasional illustrations to complement the ambience of the writing. Both use single-column text layout.

Usability: Consistent page organization, font usage, and presentation of NPC mechanics to make reading and navigating through the document easy and helpful.

Concept: “War makes money, at the end of the day, and the corps of CY are interested in anything that makes money, no matter how many cadavers will be piled up alongside those heaps of cash. “

Content: An arsenal of material–enemies, squad makeups, potential job seeds, environmental tables, and more–with which to make corps even more terrifying, overwhelming, omnipresent, and all-around dangerous.

Writing: A mix of informative mechanics and in-universe flavorful commentary on each entry that balances black humor on the edge of bleakness.

Art/Design: Simple black-on-white single-column layout over fourteen pages.

Usability: Visually distinct and consistent font and text decoration choices, along with helpful whitespace use, result in an easily navigable document.

Concept: “‘Tomorrow is nothing, today is too late; the good lived yesterday.’ - Marcus Aurelius

Welcome to the gas-guzzling, high octane post-apocalyptic hack of Cy_Borg, about miserable, radiated scum struggling to survive in tomorrow's unforgiving carcass!”

Content: A Mad Max-style take on Cy_Borg rules, with some new and different systems while others very closely resemble those of the base game. (Note: At the time of writing, the "Jumper Cable Edition" version of the game has been released. A fuller version of the game is set to be published in the future.)

Writing: A balanced amount of thematic description and mechanical explanation of effects/features that situate players and GMs to the game’s focus (especially in comparison to that of Cy_Borg).

Art/Design: Aesthetics of the core rulebook with some occasional pages/spreads and illustrations that break out in a different direction (such as in the more comic book-like “The world has ended” spread early in the book, or the Vast Grimm-style “lagunasuga” monster spread created by VG creator Brian Colin).

Usability: The fore/ground contrast varies significantly from page to page, as do fonts/typefaces, either of which can make some text quite difficult to read.

Concept: "Wiggly Dorpher introduces new game options for CYBORG hyperlinked to DRUGS.

Content: Sets of equipment, nano powers, a class (Wiggly Dorpher), a location, an enemy, and more--all relating to drugs in some way.
 Writing: Potently and concisely atmospheric, with rules/mechanics explanations complementing the descriptive aims.
Art/design: A mix of page/spread aesthetics and organizations that reflects the core Cy_Borg design variety.
Usability: While most pages have significant text/background contrast to facilitate reading, much of the text content is not embedded and thus cannot be searched or selected.