Tales of the RED: Street Stories is a collection of gigs for R. Talsorian Games’ Cyberpunk RED. It retails for US$40 hardback or $20 PDF.
These nine gigs aren’t screamsheets; they are full missions with all the GM details, NPCs, and maps you need to run. They are a mixture, in tone, venue, and themes. “A Bucket Full of Popcorn-flavored Kibble” takes you and your players into the world of movie-making, and is the lightest in tone. “Agents of Desire” is a story about a scary step beyond Agent AI’s as companions. I found the tale heartbreaking as well. Many take a closer look at aspects of Night City we haven’t seen a lot of, at least in this era, from those contaminated waters around the city to a closer look at a classic Cyberpunk gang. A couple feature The Reaper from Cyberpunk RED Data Pack (my review), but playing the Data Pack gigs isn’t necessary to run/play the new Reaper modules.
(MINOR SPOILERS ALERT!) In need of a Halloween one-shot to run, I picked “A Night at the Opera,” because vampires! Specifically, the Philharmonic Vampires, who are presenting a multimedia performance of Dracula, which turns into a bloodbath that wasn’t in the libretto – or even intended by the gangers. And things just got creepier. I had a good time using campy accents and putting in a couple minor bits aimed at specific PCs. I also appreciated all the maps and illustrations I could cut & paste into the chat as needed. One serious caveat/trigger warning: The climactic scenes take place in an abandoned and repurposed church and the descriptions and elements are not only extremely graphic, but some (like the Black Mass trappings) could offend players. I opted to remove the Black Mass bits completely and changed the vibe to be more campy than horrific, since I and at least one player aren’t big fans of gory horror. A good time, over two sessions, was had by all.
If that’s not enough Dark Future for you, R. Talsorian Games offers the free Tales of the RED+ DLC, with extras as well as content that was cut from the book. This DLC includes many extra maps, a few more Night Market vendors, and a handful of additional NPC stats. Among the stats is Trace Santiago, whose writings appear as chapter quotes and sidebars in the core book. Screamsheets for some, but not all of the Tales gigs can be found here. Like all R. Talsorian DLC, the presentation is as good as in their paid books. The excellent “Cover” art depicts a Night Market and RTG didn’t skimp on formatting or copy editing.
I am glad I picked up Tales and that I ran a gig for my game group. I think I might prepare one or two others, probably “Drummer and the Whale” and/or “Popcorn-flavored Kibble.” We always need Saturday Night Backup Plans. I hope that holds me – and the rest of you, my fellow Edgerunners – until Black Chrome (which has gone to print) debuts.
Linda Whitson
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