“Try Before You Buy” is an occasional segment of Astral Projections. It spotlights free or nearly free ($20 and under) supplements, quick-start rules, and modules for various RPGs.
Microchrome and Interface RED: Volume 1 are two more low-cost supplements for R. Talsorian Games’ Cyberpunk RED line.
Microchrome is a set of 4 new items, available at just about any Night Market. Microchrome items were first featured on the backing for a set of Cyberpunk RED pins (an R. Talsorian/Penny Arcade collaboration) but are now also available in this one page PDF. You get a MicroCutie pistol, a cool jacket that’s so flashy it doubles as a flash grenade, and two options for your eyes. There’s a secret compartment for your cybereye. If you want better vision but don’t want to deal with cybereyes or Smart Glasses, try a Smart Lens. Personally, although they are fun, I don’t see any of them as must-haves. But the PDF is only fifty cents, so why not pick it up? (If you like the pin set as well, you can order it from the R. Talsorian store for US $30.)
Interface RED: Volume 1 is the first compilation of Cyberpunk RED DLC (downloadable content), and is offered not just in PDF ($8.50) but in a $17 physical book (second link above). It includes the CP2020 to CP RED weapons conversion guide “Old Guns Never Die,” a scenario (“Red Chrome Cargo”), “Single Shot Pack” (characters and NET architectures), Cyberchair stats, and the two Elflines Online (in-game MMO) supplements. (My Elflines Try Before You Buy)
There’s also new content! “All About Drones” features five drones to add to your game, including a toy – but still very handy – version of the giraffe looking drone (GRAF3) seen in the rulebook’s artwork. Several of these drones do not require a NET Architecture, which means non-Netrunners can control them, using an Agent and/or interface plugs. The play-by-post group I play in had a loaner Savannah Eagle from “All About Drones” on a recent gig. It was a useful recon tool and gave my Medtech and her Tech cohort something to do when nothing and nobody needed repairs.
The big question about this compilation is, of course, whether it’s worth paying up to $17 when much of the content was previously published and is still available free for download? In other words, are the cool drones worth the price? I thought the digital version was worth it, even though I already had everything but “Old Guns” and the never before published “Drones.” It is convenient to have everything in one PDF document with proper bookmarks. Also, while PDFs are less expensive, many gamers still want physical books, so I think R. Talsorian Games made the right call offering both. Plus RTG is generous with the amount of free DLC they create, all of which is is produced to the same quality standards as the paid products. R, Talsorian has already added even more new, free Cyberpunk RED DLC already, so I was happy to show my support and appreciation by adding Interface RED to my RPG library.
Linda Whitson
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