thinking about a cyberpunk ttrpg where instead of destroying your humanity or whatever, each cybernetic component increases your Dependence score, which tracks how dependent you are on the corporate world. if your Dependence is too high you can't effectively fight back against certain corporate actors.
progression for PC's would involve getting new cyberware while simultaneously trying to drop their Dependence score. jailbreaking corporate hardware. hacking together your own stuff. working with an open source cyberware collective. hell, there could be a mission all about getting a legislator to pass a right-to-repair build. i could see setting up PC's to bribe, coerce, or schmooze their way to politicians who could have mechanical consequences. maybe open source hardware tends to be a bit shittier but comes with a greatly lowered Dependence cost.
i think this kinda balancing really homes in on my anticiv/postciv leanings and sentiments. the message would be: "technology isn't something distinct from other human activity, it's just something We Do and have Always Done, ever since we started the first campfire. and like most human behavior, it's susceptible to being tainted by hierarchy, capitalism, and the state."
I love this so much. I genuinely try and find ways to play games in ways that align with my beliefs and values, and wow would I be thriving in your system
im two sessions into GMing a Cyberpunk Red campaign with my partner and im absolutely going to shoe horn this mechanic in somehow :D
Imagine trying to fight a corp, a bit of guerilla fun, but you're too Dependent on their tech and so as you go to ready a weapon you instead turn to your party with a false smile and pleading eyes; the implants take over and turn you into an unskippable advert for their products until the hostility in you subsides; a passenger in your corporate subsided body.
