How to create a Character for Frankfurt 2085

Welcome Chummer,
you're about to take the first steps into the corrupt and brutal world of Frankfurt in the year 2085. Here you will experience fictitious tales of assassinations, money laundering, kidnapping and prototype plans extractions. And all that in the flickering neon lights of the streets of Frankfurt. This article will tell you how to create a character in GURPS, as well as how to make sure you're getting the most out of the game! Let's dive in.

If you have never played GURPS before, you should start out by reading this document. It will give you an overview of what GURPS is all about. You should then proceed to get the very fine books if you want to help the authors (_{and maybe encourage them to update their system ;)}). You do not need to read everything just yet, but mainly the introduction as well as the general structure of how it works. It might all seem a bit much at first, but this is normal as you are indeed learning something new. (And learning new things is always commendable!)
Now that you have a basic understanding of GURPS, you can download the GURPS Character Sheet Creator (GCS). It is a very complete program, still receiving updates as of 2020! This program is vital to easy crate and later edit your character. While you can indeed use paper, I suggest for an initial character that you use this program.

Creating your Character

Creating a first character is rather easy in GCS, but before we do that, please download the template files that have all the specific skills and advantages that are core to Frankfurt 2085. You will also find an example player in it, which you are free to copy and adapt as you wish!

1. Think about a character concept

In the Frankfurt Sprawl there are many ways you could run missions. Are you a hunter, chasing your prey until you have them cornered? Or maybe a reporter, snooping for juicy headlines to publish? You could also be a Hacker, or anything you think of! Feel free to get inspired by Shadowrun, The Sprawl, or any other cyberpunk medium you've seen. If you need help go ask your DM, they will certainly help you with some ideas or suggestions. At this stage you could write down some notes. For the example with the templates, I wrote down "Hunter, Disguises as a Businessman or Manager". I'm imagining him a classical spy, but deadlier.

2. Start the Character Sheet

Now comes the most important step, creating the character sheet. But before we do so, we will make sure the GCS settings reflect your preferred units. Go to Edit -> Preferences and then Display. There you can now select for example cm and kg as the preferred units. Once that is done, we can create your sheet: simply select File -> New Character Sheet in GCS. Before you start filling out anything, be sure to set the TL in the Description to 10. And the amount of unspent Points on the right to 150.

Description

Now you can start filling out all the appearance details that make your character look like who they are. A picture is best here, but you don't have to add one.

Attributes

They describe your character at a base level. Are they naturally smart? Then you should give them a higher IQ, of maybe 12-14. Maybe they are strong or quick, then a higher ST or DX makes sense.

Advantages

Next, you need to elaborate your character. Do they have any innate gifts or disabilities? For example Nugoon, the example character, has Combat Reflexes, making him particularly apt at reacting in high-danger situations like being surprised by a group of guards sent after you! This is where your creativity has free reign. If you want a quick overview of the available advantages, you can do so on the left. Simply open the advantage library called "Basic Set" in the Library Explorer. Make sure you've also opened the files frankfurt_2085_advantages.adq as it also contains potential dis/advantages that are useful to you. A particularly important one is being Owned. This means that a Corporation has some control over you! This is usually a pretty bad situation to be in, as they require of you utmost loyalty and might try to convince you with force if you are not obedient. However it is also a fun Roleplaying experience, and gives you back some points you can spend on other advantages or skills!

^{Nugoon's Advantages & Disadvantages}

Cybernetics: An important part in Cyberpunk is the use of cybernetics. As a general rule of thumb, your character should have at least one cyberware implanted into them. You are free to make it as small or major as you wish. For details you can check Ultra-Tech p. 208 onwards, or simply talk to your GM. (For those with GURPS knowledge, Cybernetics are simply reskinned advantages that get grouped together with drawbacks associated to their level of quality.) There are two examples of cybernetics in the frankfurt_2085_advantages.adq file.

Skills

After picking out your dis/advantages you should have quite a few points left over (if you don't I suggest you try to change things up until you have about 50+ points unspent as your character might otherwise be hindered in play). Skills represent what your character has learned to do, and as such are a core part of what makes your character. You should start with the most impactful skills first, and then transition to more situational or fluff skills you think your character knows.

Wildcard Skills: Wildcard Skills are different to others, as they represent a whole group of skills at the same time. The idea is that instead of picking dozens of different skills core to your character, you could instead pick a single wildcard skill that represents those. In the frankfurt_2085_skills.skl skill library you will find a few example wildcard skills. They represent fairly standard Cyberpunk 'classes' and you are free to pick one of them. Of course you can also think of your own! But make sure you talk to your GM first to make sure you have the same idea in mind.

A short overview of each Wildcard skill:

• Hunter! -- The Hunter is a skillful tracker and killer. Their job is to find and track any prey they want to find and corner. Using traps, social engineering and some weapon assisted persuasion they are a must have on any job where you have to find a person or object.
• Influencer! -- The Influencer has the power of words, and knows how to use them. They are usually a high-profile person acting under a pseudonym, hiding their face through holograms or in some cases even adaptive skin. They use their bodies, language and skills to influence and persuade those that stand in their way to their target.
• Fixer! -- The Fixer is the person you go to if you need something, be it a mission, a weapon or disappear some bodies. Their trademark is not being seen and acting from the background. Their expansive net of contacts allows them to leverage their power at high-impact moments.
• Killer! -- The Killer is the natural born apex predator. Having a penchant for violence, their abilities focus on causing as much damage as possible. Nonetheless each Killer acts differently and usually have a preference ranging from explosives to assault machine guns.
• Hacker! -- The Hacker is the whiz of anything electronic. In a world of ones and zeroes, those who understands them is king. At least that is how they portray themselves. Nonetheless Hackers are highly skillful in shaping the information flow of the Matrix, being able to eavesdrop on remote locations and even jamming enemy weapons.
• Driver! -- Getting everyone from and to jobs is the job of the Driver. They know the streets by heart and every shortcut. Their implants usually allow them to feel the car, giving them seemingly superhuman agility with it. Similarly, their drones are a force to be reckoned with as they come in myriad sizes and configurations.

Equipment

Now you are almost done with your character. The final part you need to decide on is what kind of equipment your character is wearing or owning. Do they have a Workbench at home? This would allow them to tinker with their gadgets or weapons, or maybe even develop their own cybernetics! The sky is the limit (and your budget), if you do not have enough money, consider trading in points or talk to your GM.

3. Send it in for Review

The last step is to send in your character sheet to your GM. They will take a look and discuss with you if any changes might be necessary. Once they greenlight it, you are good to go! You've got time now until your first session. Maybe train the voice of your character, try to flesh out their backstory or work with others in the group to see if you share some history. Either way, you are done for now!