Editing GURPS Cyberpunk

{{Short description|Tabletop role-playing game by William Gibson}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox RPG
|title=''GURPS Cyberpunk''
|image=GURPS Cyberpunk.JPG
|caption=
|designer= [[Loyd Blankenship]]
|publisher=[[Steve Jackson Games]]
|date=1990
|genre=[[Cyberpunk]]
|system=''[[GURPS]] 3''
|footnotes=
}}
{{italic title}}
'''''GURPS Cyberpunk''''' is a [[genre toolkit]] for [[cyberpunk]]-themed [[role-playing game]]s [[setting (fiction)|set in]] a near-future [[dystopia]], such as that envisioned by [[William Gibson]] in his influential novel ''[[Neuromancer]]''. It was published in 1990 after a significant delay caused by the original draft being a primary piece of evidence in ''[[Steve Jackson Games, Inc. v. United States Secret Service]]''.

In 1993, ''[[GURPS Cyberpunk Adventures]]'' &mdash; a collection of three RPG scenarios in the ''GURPS Cyberpunk'' line &mdash; won the [[Origins Award]] for ''Best Roleplaying Adventure of 1992''.

Unlike most commercially successful books from the third edition of the game, there is currently no Cyberpunk sourcebook for its fourth edition, as of 2024. Similar rules for advanced technology can be found in [[GURPS Ultra-Tech]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/Ultra-Tech/|title=GURPS Ultra-Tech|website=www.sjgames.com|access-date=March 15, 2017|archive-date=March 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319093815/http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/ultra-tech/|url-status=live}}</ref> from gadgets to cyberwear, but there aren't, for example, rules for netrunning which are essential for such games.

==Contents==
Besides the main chapters detailed below, ''GURPS Cyberpunk'' contains a glossary of common cyberpunk terms, an index, and a [[bibliography]] of relevant media.

;Characters : This chapter describes some of the most common character [[archetype]]s (netrunner, corp(orate), cop, celebrity, etc.) and their typical skills, advantages, and disadvantages. It also provides a guideline about how much money a given job might bring or cost.
; Cyberwear : Rules for and descriptions of [[Bionics#Other uses|bionic]] enhancements.
; Technology & Equipment : Lists many sorts of near-future gadgets.
; Netrunning : The longest in the book, it details rules for realistic [[computer network]]s as well as fantastic [[cyberspace]]s accessible only through a neural interface. It describes what types of system can be found in the ''Net'' and how the characters can act (and fight) there.
; World Design : Gives guidelines for designing your own cyberpunk world.
; Campaigning : Helps the [[Gamemaster]] in running a longer series of adventures.

==U.S. Secret Service seizure==
{{main|Steve Jackson Games, Inc. v. United States Secret Service}}
[[Loyd Blankenship]], who was hired by [[Steve Jackson Games]] in 1989, was nearly finished with ''GURPS Cyberpunk'' later that year, which was intended both to introduce the company into the popular cyberpunk genre, and to help the company get over its financial difficulties.<ref name="designers">{{Cite book|author=Shannon Appelcline|title=Designers & Dragons|publisher=Mongoose Publishing|year=2011| isbn= 978-1-907702-58-7}}</ref>{{rp|108}}

''GURPS Cyberpunk'' received notoriety when the [[Austin, Texas|Austin]] headquarters of Steve Jackson Games was raided by the [[United states secret service|U.S. Secret Service]] in 1990.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.blackgate.com/2020/06/21/ten-wtf-moments-from-classic-rpgs/ | title=Ten WTF Moments from Classic RPGS – Black Gate | date=June 21, 2020 }}</ref> The authorities seized the manuscript for the sourcebook, which was under development at the time, asserting that it was a "handbook for computer crime". The book was reconstructed and rewritten from older drafts when the manuscript was not returned. The seizure delayed publication for six weeks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sjgames.com/SS/complaint.html|title=Complaint in SJ Games v. Secret Service|publisher=Steve Jackson Games|quote=(g) By their conduct, defendants prevented SJG from delivering GURPS Cyberpunk to the printer on schedule, and caused SJG to miss its publication deadline.<br> (h) As a result of defendants' conduct, and in an attempt to minimize damages, SJG and its employees reconstructed and rewrote GURPS Cyberpunk from older drafts.<br>(i) As a result of defendants' conduct, the publication of GURPS Cyberpunk was delayed for six weeks.|access-date=September 19, 2012|archive-date=October 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002031744/http://www.sjgames.com/SS/complaint.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This raid is often wrongly attributed to [[Operation Sundevil]], a nationwide crackdown on illegal computer hacking activities that was occurring about this time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sjgames.com/SS/topten.html |title=The Top Ten Media Errors About the SJ Games Raid |date=October 12, 1994 |publisher=Steve Jackson Games |access-date=October 26, 2005 |archive-date=September 6, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906022809/http://www.sjgames.com/SS/topten.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

''GURPS Cyberpunk'' was ultimately published in 1990, joining the already-released cyberpunk role-playing games ''[[Cyberpunk 2013]]'' (1988) from [[R. Talsorian]], ''[[Cyberspace (role-playing game)|Cyberspace]]'' (1989) from [[Iron Crown Enterprises|ICE]], and ''[[Shadowrun]]'' (1989) from [[FASA]].<ref name="designers"/>{{rp|209}}

==Publication history==
The main [[sourcebook]] for the line ({{ISBN|1-55634-168-7}}) was written by [[Loyd Blankenship]] and published by [[Steve Jackson Games]] in 1990, as a part of the extensive (3rd-edition) ''[[GURPS]]'' [[generic role-playing game system]].

==Reception==
The July 1990 edition of ''[[Games International]]'' (Issue 16) commented that "computers interfaced with humans and piles of personal morality make playing cyberpunk a challenge." The reviewer concluded, "Lovers of [[William Gibson]]'s ''[[Neuromancer]]'' should start here."<ref name=gi>{{cite magazine| date=July 1990 |title=Role Games|journal=[[Games International]]| issue=16|pages=37–38}}</ref>

[[Steve Wieck|Stephan Wieck]] reviewed ''GURPS Cyberpunk'' in ''[[White Wolf (magazine)|White Wolf]]'' #23 (Oct./Nov. 1990), rating it a 2 out of 5 and stated that "I think ''GURPS Cyberpunk'' would have been an excellent game supplement if it had been 60 pages longer and filled with more material to help a gamemaster create his campaign world. As it is, it's a nice introduction to the genre of cyberpunk, but the sourcebook doesn't have enough information to support a game campaign."<ref name="WW23">{{Cite magazine |last=Wieck|first=Stephan|authorlink=Steve Wieck |date=October–November 1990 |title=PBM Game Reviews |magazine= [[White Wolf Magazine]] |number=23 |page= 58 |url=https://imgur.com/a/H8K0GEn}}</ref>

==Awards==
At the 1991 [[Origins Awards]], ''GURPS Cyberpunk'' was a nominee for Best Roleplaying Supplement of 1990.<ref>{{cite web |title=Steve Jackson Games Awards |url=http://www.sjgames.com/general/awards.html |website=Steve Jackson Games |accessdate=May 27, 2019 |archive-date=March 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328104340/http://sjgames.com/general/awards.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web |title=A Brief History of the Genre |url=https://gameluster.com/what-exactly-is-cyberpunk-a-brief-history-of-the-genre/ |website=Gameluster |date=December 9, 2020 |accessdate=December 17, 2020 |archive-date=December 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201209171948/https://gameluster.com/what-exactly-is-cyberpunk-a-brief-history-of-the-genre/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Other reviews==
*''Dragão Brasil'' #3 (1994) (Portuguese)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rpggeek.com/rpgissuearticle/35599/gurps-gurps-cyberpunk|title=GURPS - Gurps Cyberpunk &#124; Article &#124; RPGGeek|access-date=November 21, 2021|archive-date=November 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121183044/https://www.rpggeek.com/rpgissuearticle/35599/gurps-gurps-cyberpunk|url-status=live}}</ref>
*''[[Casus Belli (magazine)|Casus Belli]]'' #58<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/casus-belli-058|title=Casus Belli #058|date=April 4, 1990|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>
*''[[Casus Belli (magazine)|Casus Belli]]'' #80<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/casus-belli-080|title=Casus Belli #080|date=April 4, 1994|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/Cyberpunk/ Official ''GURPS Cyberpunk'' page] on the SJ Games website
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060614074810/http://www.sjgames.com/SS/ SJ Games vs. the Secret Service] from Steve Jackson Games website
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080829204805/http://www.eff.org/Legal/Cases/SJG/ EFF: Steve Jackson Games v. Secret Service Case Archive]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040621130408/http://www.totse.com/en/hack/legalities_of_hacking/sj_decis.html Steve Jackson Games case decision]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040621084628/http://www.totse.com/en/hack/legalities_of_hacking/dibbel.html On-line and Out-of-Bounds]
* [http://lib.ru/STERLINGB/jackson.txt Bruce Sterling ''GURPS''<nowiki>'</nowiki> labour lost]

[[Category:Cyberpunk role-playing games]]
[[Category:GURPS books|Cyberpunk]]
[[Category:Origins Award winners]]
[[Category:Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1990]]
[[Category:Works about computer hacking]]