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OVERVIEW
Carbon 2185 is a cyberpunk RPG created by Robert Marriner-Dodds released in 2019. Carbon 2185 is all about telling stories in a dark dystopian future influenced by franchises such as Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell, and Deus Ex.
The core mechanics and rules of Carbon 2185 are built using, and developed from the OGL, so anybody who has experience with this game system has a unique advantage in learning these new rules. That being said, experience is not necessary, and most new players pick up the streamlined rules by the end of their first session.
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Cybernetics & AugmentationsEverybody has some kind of cybernetic enhancement, more commonly known as an augmentation. The most common augmentation is a Neurolink, a type of organic computer wired into the user's brain. This is installed for free at birth by whichever corporation runs the nearest hospital or medical centre, and routinely displays you tailored ads directly into your field of vision. A Neurolink allows the user to directly interface with computers and data and is used for everything from online shopping, to ordering food from a menu at a restaurant, to even checking your own vital signs. Other common augmentations include new mechanical limbs for manual labourers, enhanced eyes for surgeons, or even mechanical livers to help you drink as much as you'd like.
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PollutionDue to environmental collapse, and the radiation leakage from power cells, the world is heavily polluted. Many cities have air filters atop buildings that keep the pollution at livable levels, although on bad days even the cleanest of cities have visibility of less than 100ft. The areas outside of cities are heavily polluted, and not somewhere you can spend any extended amount of time.
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EconomyThe 0.5% of the world control everything, with the majority of the population in constant never ending debt. You are expected to work 10 hours a day, 30 days a month in 2185. You sign up for a job with a standard five year contract, and get paid at the end of it. Most people run a five year line of credit during this time, hoping their paycheck is enough at the end of it to clear their debts. If you do not complete your contract in its entirety, you do not get paid anything.
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CurrencyThe world runs on a secure, decentralised cryptocurrency called Wonlongs (₩). This unhackable currency replaced traditional currencies following the manufactured collapse of the banking sector. Wonlongs can be found on physical credit chips, or transferred directly into your account. Many people opt to have interface chips in their fingers or thumb to allow them to scan their fingerprint to make purchases.
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HistoryThe world of Carbon 2185 is that of our own, and up until the end of 2018 follows our own timeline and history. 2019 - 2030 Between 2019 and 2030, the earth's climate continued to degrade, and the wealth gap continued to grow, causing widespread famine and political unrest. Despite this, many cities and companies thrived economically. Musk Interplanetary made huge strides in space exploration, and despite delays, successfully landed humans on Mars on March 15th of 2030. 2031 - 2080 The continued refugee crises, and weakened economies across the world, as well as the world's supply of crude oil running dry saw this time, which should have been a golden age in Earth's history, become a time of civil unrest and broken alliances. Shenzhen Solutions famously develop the world's first Neurolink in the early 2050s. By this point, the megacorporations had gotten a hold of the planet, and are unwilling to let it go. 2081 - 2130 The assassination of the President of the EU on May 2nd 2081, followed by the May 7th assassination of the President of the USA saw the weakened and panicked governments of the world usurped by the megacorporations waiting in the wings. The continued environmental collapse was now in full swing, with entire swathes of land becoming uninhabitable and inhospitable. The following 50 years saw huge advancements in technology from the megacorporations who were now free of government restrictions. More importantly it saw Nightingale Exploration, develop the first ever Synthetic human, known as a Synth. These Synths have biological bodies, but incredibly complex AI, and more importantly for the megacorporations, they have no legal rights. 2131 - 2185 Everyone seems to be used to the way things are done now. It's been over 100 years since the megacorporations wrestled control from the governments, and since humans shaped the world into a dystopian nightmare. People do as they always do, they try and survive.
Core Rulebook Errata V1
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