Mutants are everywhere, the lands beyond Neon City are ruined wastelands, you can buy cybernetics and implant them with relative ease, and the mega-corporations rule supreme. Yup, this week we’re trying a cyberpunk RPG on Finding the Fun, and a card-based one at that. Let’s take a look at Neon Sanctum, shall we?

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Clik here to view.Over the last few months, my home group and I have play-tested a fair few systems, some of which have yet to receive a review, and it’s pretty rare for everyone to like a product, at least to the same degree. That’s the beauty of having a group of players of fairly diverse interests and experience, everyone’s opinion is likely to be different, and it helps tremendously when working out what kind of product appeals to whom. As an added bonus, when we find a game that ticks at least a few boxes on everyone’s sheet, we know we’re on to a good thing.

I’m not a follower of cyberpunk by any stretch of the imagination. I’ve seen the big films, like Blade Runner or Judge Dredd, but more because they were there than by any conscious plan to partake in the genre. That said, it’s not a genre I’m against exploring through RPGs, just not one I would gravitate towards, or tolerate a shoddily-made product for. I’m telling you this because you can trust me to be honest, and to not fall back on bias just because something happens to be part of a genre I like or dislike.

So, what is Neon Sanctum?

Neon Sanctum is a card-based RPG from Grenade Punch Games — an indie company from Cambridge — based around a post-apocalyptic cyber-punk setting, in its first week of Kickstarter at the time of writing this review. Rather than using sheets, players build their characters by selecting cards that represent both specific abilities as well general skills, which they activate by using ability points.

First Impressions

I’ve got to say, considering this seems to be Grenade Punch Games’ first RPG project for Kickstarter, the artwork is not too bad at all. There’s a definite consistent style to both the PDFs and the cards that fits quite well with the non-grimdark cyberpunk they’re going with. Everything looks like it belongs, and the artwork seems a little reminiscent of the d20 Modern/Future artwork, which isn’t a bad thing at all.

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The rulebook still needs a little tweak here and there to make it easier to find specific rules, maybe overhaul a few pieces of the artwork, and possibly include an index, but for a playtest book for a game that’s not even finished, it’s certainly covered most of the bases. There’s still some work to do, but for a Kickstarter from a new developer, it’s certainly a good effort and I think there’s definite potential there.

Is it Fun?

Yes, for definite. Five thumbs up across the table at Casa Draper.

As I said earlier, it’s difficult to get my playtesting group to agree on a product. Most of the time I make a note of the feedback from each person and work out the pros and cons. Finishing a playtest with everyone more or less on the pros side is a rare occurrence, so more credit to Grenade Punch Games for putting out a product that has that kind of universal appeal. Kudos guys!

One of the key draws to the system for my players was the simplicity. Once you’ve learned the principles of the system from the first couple of cards you play, it’s easy enough to carry that knowledge over to the next card you want to use. In no time at all, you can stop worrying about the rules and start working out strategies to use. Character creation is likewise pretty simple, we managed to go from a brief explanation of the setting to four fully-made characters in ten minutes.

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It’s easy to see how the game was inspired by D&D 4e, being first and foremost a tactical resource management game. Your skill cards represent abilities as well as hit points that, when you are damaged, are removed from play until you are healed. As each card is played, it goes into cooldown, and you have to carefully weigh the benefits of spending ability points on defence, attack, buffs, or buying back previously-used abilities already in cooldown, because you won’t have the points to do everything. Having the PC’s abilities represented visually on these cards reinforces that feeling by putting all your options out in front of you. It’s a good method, and one that is really effective for this type of game. Similarly to D&D 4e, the game is intended to be played on a grid, but a confident GM can run it as a theatre of the mind game just as easily, if that’s their preference.

The adventures included in the playtest seem to favour combat scenes over story scenes — scenes where only one skill or ability check is required to progress — but while they’ve set the bar low for story scenes, the mechanics for such checks are in place if you wish to increase the complexity or extend the length of a story scene by adding more opportunities for the PCs to use their skill cards. It’s certainly easy enough to create your own story scenes or beef up the ones in the included adventures if that’s what you prefer, or leave it as is if what you’re after is a tactical, combat-focused RPG.

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For me, it was a relief to see that despite there being so many options available to the players, including the mutations and cybernetics cards, there was still an element of challenge in the system. Other systems give players too many unbalanced options and suddenly you’ve got imperial power-armoured death machines that can use a smartphone to bring allies from the ether as soon as they get a skinned knee — not that I’m being specific or anything — but here there is still a fair amount of swing in the 2d10 system that governs all rolls, for both the GM and the players. Keeping the attack and defence bonuses reasonably low helped in that regard too. In our playtest, two characters were downed in one session, and whilst neither died, there was the possibility they could have done at any moment.

The item cards included in the playtest perform admirably, and I was particularly happy to see that many of them include both an action that costs ability points, and a less effective one that doesn’t, increasing that feeling of having to think tactically in order to conserve resources such as ability points. The fault system has a game-changing quality about it, with there being a risk that an item with break during combat, rapidly decreasing the number of options available to the players. It certainly keeps things tense if there is only one gun per person or one first aid kit. One bit of criticism that I feel is worth pointing out: As it stands at the moment there is no system to determine how many items a group of players should start with. That could do with fixing as soon as possible, even if by including a list of items and suggesting a price for each one and a number of starting credits for the players to spend.

So, will you folks at home find it fun? If you’re a 4e enthusiast or a tactical wargamer looking for a simple RPG to play from time to time, absolutely. But I think the strength of Neon Sanctum is in its breadth of appeal, this looks like a fantastic game to teach to your kids, or to introduce to folks new to the hobby. Even more experienced players might enjoy it for the simplicity and speed. Finally, if you’re a cyberpunk enthusiast looking for a new game to try, this one is a must. It’s quick to play, simple to learn, and once you’ve gotten the hang of it, it is easy to get a fast pick-up game going at work, at home or between campaigns. It’s definitely been a hit with my group.

Grenade Punch Games are currently running a Kickstarter for Neon Sanctum, so if you think it might be up your street, go ahead and back them. If you’re still in need of convincing, try their print-and-play playtest for free.

If you’re a developer who would like to see your product reviewed contact me on Twitter. If you’ve seen a product that’s worth a look, let me know here at the Mad Adventurers Society via the comment box below, or on Twitter @jay_jaydraper.