Reputation

Another Kind of Combat

Not everything on The Street is determined with fists or guns. In a world where combat can end your life in a hot nanosecond, other methods have evolved to determine who is going to be the top dog in a conflict. One of these methods involves having a Reputation.
Reputation is a measure of things your Character may do so well (or so badly) that they become well known for them. A Reputation for something is always established by a Character's actions, and is then awarded by the GM. When your GM believes your Character has done something worthy gaining a Reputation, they can assign them a Reputation Level from the table below. This is your Character's Reputation. While people may know of the other less impressive deeds your Character has accomplished, a new deed's Reputation will only replace the old one if the Level is higher.
Most Cyberpunk RED Characters start with a Reputation of 0.

Whenever your Character encounters new people in new situations, their Reputation may influence how those people react to them. When first meeting, Characters roll 1d10. A Character that rolls under the Reputation Level of the person they are meeting has heard of them. Sometimes this can be very good. Other times, it can be very bad, especially if you made lots of enemies while you were earning a Reputation. Reputation can also be a disadvantage. Whenever you do something extremely uncool (show cowardice, desert or betray an ally, etc.) the GM can still award you a Reputation Level for these actions. Reputation received from a negative event or action can replace the Reputation of a positive event or action. In that case, people are more likely to have heard about your uncool deeds rather than your impressive deeds (once again, roll 1d10). However, this time they won't be impressed; if your rep is for cowardice or something just as bad, it will work against you.

Facedowns
Reputation in Cyberpunk RED has one other big effect: Facedowns. A lot of combat in Cyberpunk RED comes down to a duel of wills—who's tougher, meaner, and looks more ready to prove it. This often leads to what are called Facedowns, when two heavies on The Street square off just before a fight or to see who'll back down from a confrontation. The GM will call for a Facedown whenever they feel the scene calls for it. When making a Facedown, both participants will roll:

In a tie, both parties are unsure and nothing happens. Otherwise, the loser has the option of either:

Facedown Example
Rico Rico notices a punk spraying graffiti on the side of his apartment building, so he tells him to buzz off, hanging an Assault Rifle out the window and threatening to use it. The two have a Facedown.
Each rolls COOL + Reputation + 1d10. Rico Rico wins because of his COOL and Reputation of 4 (He's known locally for an killer show he played last week). The punk decides to back down instead of trying to fight with his nerves all shaken up.