What holds the genre together

You can paint on all the neon, rain and holograms you want, but decor doesn't make the scene. Cyberpunk is a city where everyone owes, everyone's under contract and everyone's a little bit for sale. Three rules that help you feel it:

  • Everything has a price. If someone helps for free, the hero's first thought is "what do they want from me?"
  • The body is a consumable. A new arm on credit, an old kidney as collateral. Ask about the everyday stuff: how much did that eye repair cost, and who did it? That tells you more about the world than a tour of corporate HQ.
  • Nobody tells the truth right away. Not the client, not the partner, not you. Don't rush confessions — let suspicion do its job.

Six hooks

Each hook is a situation plus an opening line. Copy the line as is or rewrite it for your own character.

  1. The hacker and the rookie with a driveYou brought in data you found "by accident." She's got ten years on you and she's deciding whether it's worth the trouble. Opening line: "I don't know what's on it. All I know is the same van's been following me for two days."
  2. The corpo agent and the runawayYou were sent to bring back an employee who walked out with something forbidden in her head. You found her. She isn't running. "How about I tell you what's in my skull first, and then you decide who you're selling me to."