Cyberpunk 2020 vs Outrunners

Compare Cyberpunk 2020 and Outrunners side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.

	Cyberpunk 2020	Outrunners
Genre	Cyberpunk	Horror, Cyberpunk, Fantasy
Play Style	Combat-Heavy, Skill-Based, Gritty, Deadly, Lore-Heavy, Career-Based, Corruption, Faction Play, Crunchy, Grimdark	Rules-Light, One-Shot Friendly, Narrative, Fiction-First, Collaborative, Survival, Atmospheric, Character-Driven, Worldbuilding, GM-Friendly
Core Mechanic	Stat + Skill + d10 against a difficulty value set by the GM (typically 15 for average tasks, scaling up to 30 for nearly impossible ones). Combat uses the same formula — REF + weapon skill + d10 against a target number modified by range. Hit location is rolled on a d10 table, and armor on each location absorbs damage separately. Cyberpsychosis tracks Humanity loss from cyberware installation, with characters losing Empathy as they augment.	Each character assigns one die from a d20, d12, d10, d8, d6, and d4 set across six stats, then rolls the relevant stat's die against a difficulty number; if half that die's maximum already meets the DC, the action succeeds without a roll. Rolling a die's maximum value without beating the DC triggers a Twist of Fate, exploding up to the next larger die. Fate Points, earned mainly by failing rolls, are spent to reroll, sway outcomes, or invoke the Hands of Fate at a narrative cost.
Dice	d10	d4–d20
Complexity	High	Low
Accessibility	Low	Very High
Runnability	Medium	High
License	Proprietary	ORC 1.0 (free SRD)
Cost	$$	Free / $
Publisher	R. Talsorian Games	Einsol's Razor
Year	1993	2025
Best For	Groups who want a gritty, lethal cyberpunk setting with deep character roles, detailed cybernetics and gear, and a world where style matters as much as firepower.	Groups who want a rules-light, emotionally charged one-shot or short campaign about doomed characters racing to outrun a foreseen death, and GMs who want a portable fate-and-survival horror premise they can drop into almost any setting with little prep.
Highlights	Nine distinct character roles (Rockerboy, Solo, Netrunner, Techie, Media, Cop, Corporate, Fixer, Nomad) each with a unique Special Ability. Lifepath system generates detailed backstories, allies, enemies, and romantic history. Extensive cyberware catalog with mechanical and narrative consequences. Night City setting is richly detailed with corporate profiles, gangs, and neighborhoods.	Every character begins with a prophesied glimpse of their own death, which seeds concrete clues into the story and ties each session's tension to a deadline the player already knows is coming. Rolling a stat die's maximum without meeting the difficulty explodes it up to the next larger die, turning desperate long shots into escalating last-second reversals rather than flat failures. Fate Points are earned mainly by failing rolls and then spent to reroll, sway outcomes, or invoke the Hands of Fate, so setbacks bankroll later comebacks and every intervention carries a narrative cost.
Considerations	Netrunning subsystem operates on a separate timescale and can sideline other players during hacking sequences. Hit location and layered armor tracking add bookkeeping to every combat exchange. Rules for vehicle combat, martial arts, and fumbles are spread across multiple subsections with some inconsistencies between printings.	The default Adamah setting is sketched in only a few pages and the game expects the table to invent most of the world at session zero, so groups wanting a prepared, detailed setting must supply it themselves. Equipment grants only narrative permission rather than mechanical bonuses, so players who enjoy itemization or tactical loadouts will find nothing to optimize. The foreseen-death premise is built to resolve at the Vision's deadline, making the game strongest as a one-shot or short arc and harder to sustain across a long, open-ended campaign.