Technoir: High-Tech, Hard-Boiled Roleplaying

by Jeremy Keller

Technoir is a roleplaying game. You play protagonists like cyber-tweaked couriers, hard-nosed investigators, and drugged-out hackers making opportunities for themselves in a despairing world. Using a rules-light system with enough intricacies to spark new fires of hardboiled crime novels and cyberpunk science fiction, Technoir lets you coax, hack, fight, prowl, and shoot your way through a dark future. It features Transmissions--city guides brimming with plot nodes to inspire your high-tech adventures--that the GM uses to create tangled and compelling plot webs that expand and evolve as the players' characters engage it.

Genres: Role Playing Games

214 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cyberpunk RPG with some really interesting concepts, particularly in setting and adventure creation. Using Transmissions, which are setting summaries, the GM essentially creates the adventure as the players create their characters.

I'm looking forward to picking up the hardcopy of this book when it comes out, and giving it a play.

Update: I did get to play this a couple times. I really like the scenario creation system and am disappointed that it hasn't gotten more attention.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Technoir is a Cyberpunk rpg. It is made at its core to be a roll for plot, D6 dice pool roleplaying game. The art and setting are very appropriate and helpful towards delivering a feel and plot which can get one off to the game rather quickly. This system rewards for multiples of the 6 in the D6 pool, each 6 rolled giving a better scope of narrative success. Overall it will be a great experience if the storyteller is solid and the players are invested, as all rpgs require.

Again I finished this and reviewed it after a long rest in a box after my move and rediscovery of the book. Glad I finished it. I may run it in the future if I can stop writing new systems and games for myself and actually run a game someone else did the work on!

Danny

[Derrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really well laid-out RPG book with plenty of helpful examples. Looking forward to playing!

[Stan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The role playing game where Blade Runner meets The Maltese Falcon and the influence of Shadowrun can be seen in the background. The game uses a rules light and rather abstract set of game mechanics which can take some getting used to. It may be the first game where I would recommend having a thesaurus handy so you can have plenty of fresh adjectives on hand (adjectives being necessary for he unique game mechanics). The plot maps and transmissions in the game are an interesting mechanic for generating adventures. I think the game could have issues with replay-ability so if you are looking for a long running campaign, this may not be the system for you. Could be fun for a one off game or mini-campaign.

[Pierre-emmanuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jeu de rôle mêlant les poncifs du hardboiled et du cyberpunk. Très bien rédigé avec une superbe mécanique permettant au meneur d'improviser sans soucis et aux joueurs de vivre une aventure digne de n'importe quel livre de Chandler ou Stephenson.
[edit passage de l'évaluation de 5 à 2]... sauf que c'est injouable (et pourtant j'ai une certaine habitude de ce genre de jeux) ! Le système —en le suivant à la lettre— ne tourne pas du tout et bride l'utilisation de ce jeu. Dommage.

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seems very cool. I'll have to play it to be sure, but I'm already planning on stealing a few concepts from this game for many of the others I play regardless.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good rules light system