Paweł Kicman/Heltung Storytelling

Concept: “A new, terrifying enemy straight from Polish urban legend - Black Volga. Now roaming the streets of CY, looking for petrol. But it's now what you think it is. ‘I’ve heard it. The sound of the engine weirdly resembles a beating heart. Guess it’s my weird imagination’ ‘Windows are pure black. I wonder… who is inside?’ ‘I swear to Balfogriff, I’ve seen tentacles slipping out of the windows!’”

Content: A demonic automobile that terrorizes the roadways.

Writing: Ominous and creepy flavor made all the creepier by the car’s devastating attack mechanics.

Art/Design: White and blue text on black surrounds a hand-drawn illustration of the Black Volga.

Usability: Visually, color, italics, and positioning of content help indicate the different purposes and kinds of text on the page. However, the text is not embedded, so no searching/selecting is possible.

Concept: “You are hired by one of the most prominent gangs in CY. Your target is their former high ranking officer, Marco D’Elysio. Marco, after ratting out on his own organization, was promised immunity. The police, as usual, didn’t give a shit about their promise and left him out in the cold. He is now trying to escape in a cargo ship. But there are some complications - the engine is busted and the captain is missing. Dock 47, where the ship is sitting, is closed and full of bodyguards, those who are still loyal to Marco.”

Content: An opportunity to assassinate a rat on a docked vessel.

Writing: Several lists/tables relating to the gig/location are provided, as is a set of optional challenges for the punks to complete. Each of these entries offers a very brief but characterful dimension to the job.

Art/Design: Wide spread with text on the left and labeled maps of the ship and dock on the right. Almost entirely black-on-white except for the adventure title. 

Usability: Font choices are easily readable and each section is consistently organized to quickly identify and navigate to desired info. Unfortunately, text is not embedded, so searching/selecting is not possible.

Concept: “There is a new drug on the streets called Ambrosia.  It will make you see the gods. Are these GODS real? There are dozens if not hundreds of people seeing them. They are looming over CY like falling planets, ready to steal your soul. Group hallucination? A bug in the system? Does it matter?”

Content: A smorgasbord of fever-dream content: drugs that manifest perceptions of gods (who give unique blessings with killer mechanics!); player classes for a ronin, private eye, amateur wrestler, and moonpunk; tables of people to meet on the street or items to find in the trash; NPCs to fight; drugs, food and gear; and even poetry.

Writing: Thematic punches of flavor that spice up concise and clear mechanical effects. An author’s note indicates some text was generated/aided by AI.

Art/Design: Two-page spreads with unique layout schemes that feel in sync with the aesthetic of the official Cy_Borg rulebook. An author’s note indicates some art was generated/aided by AI, and the variety of styles applied to the book’s spreads is impressive.

Usability: While there is a wide range of fonts and colors on each page spread, high contrast makes the vast majority of content easy to identify and navigate. Text is not embedded (except on a small number of pages), so screen reader and searching/copying/pasting functionalities are mostly unavailable.

Concept: “Two new enemies for CY_BORG. Face against The Invisible Man and The Mummy, walking among the citizens of CY. Learn their motives and die by their hands. Over and over and over again. Be scared. Be very, very scared.”

Content: A pair of monsters that marry classic horror with the Cy_Borg hellscape experience.

Writing: Haunting and sympathetic descriptions of and tables & stats for the afflicted creatures.

Art/Design: Stark colors in a side-by-side spread, with an image of each enemy surrounded by its relevant text.

Usability: Text contrasts well with background colors and assorted types of content are easily distinguishable from others.