Try Before You Buy – Elflines Online for Cyberpunk Red

Elflines Online (ELO) is R. Talsorian Games’ free 2021 April Fools supplement. It’s for, of all things, Cyberpunk Red (CPRed). And RTG released an expansion pack later that month. ELO will make a nice change of pace as a one-shot for your home/online game group or as a con game.

So what the heck is ELO, choomba? In game, it’s a braindance MMO that the Segotari Corp (I love the name) created to push sales of their latest, coolest braindance headset. “Elflines” are the ELO guild-equivalent, with the added, “Choombatta, this is your family!” mindset – both IC and OOC – common to some types of CPRed gangs. The only playable race is Elf, obviously. Meta Bonus – the twenty EB/month subscription is included in your Generic Prepak, or higher, Lifestyle! No, that doesn’t include the one-time 550 EB cost of the game and headset.

Mechanics-wise, Elflines is a slightly simplified version of CPRed, with altered, and more limited, skill and gear lists. Full character (and monster – you can’t have a fantasy game without them) creation rules are included. Some CPRed rules are altered to work similar to typical real-world MMOs. All PCs can opt to Evade ranged attacks and anyone can use ELO’s version of Speedheal, reskinned as Sacred Herbs, for example. The best part? There is a “respawn” type mechanic, so if your Elf dies, it isn’t permanent, unlike Edgerunner death.

The base PDF has plenty of tips for using ELO in a CPRed campaign, from how your crew met to, my favorite, a job stealing/extorting rare in-ELO loot from a player. “We’re in the same Elfline” is a clever change from the usual party backstories. I think it might work best when all the Edgerunners are from disparate backgrounds, or there’s an “odd person out,” such as a lone Lawman or Corp, Roles which can be hard to justify or explain in a typical crew.

 ELO could just be part of a single character’s Lifepath. Maybe you met a Friend or former Lover while playing, or your Enemy is a former member of your Elfline who stole ultra-rare Loot from players? And I just might make a Netrunner who is a Mod or Admin on the Night City ELO server.

What about the Expansion Pack One? It contains 10 pre-gen Rank 0 Elf PCs, plus blank character sheets. Most of the pack is NPC descriptions, 10 Elf plus 10 ELO Players, both “regular folks” and a few Edgerunners. No stats for them, and I don’t think there is any connection between the Player and Elf NPCs. I got a kick out of the capsules, smiling or laughing at several. Many of them were MMO tropes that even I, not a big videogamer, recognized easily.

Both ELO PDFs can be downloaded from the R. Talsorian Games website. (ELO and Expansion) If nothing else they are fun to read, with good artwork courtesy of CD Projekt Red S. A.