Overview

A cyberpunk-inspired D&D 5e campaign set in a sprawling megacity where neon lights mask a web of corporate greed and street-level grit. Seven adventurers, drawn from disparate odd jobs and arcane talents, converge in a rain-soaked bar after an anonymous email summons them there for a meeting. They are promised answers by a mysterious person who will reveal more if they prove themselves worthy. The game blends classic 5e mechanics with cyberware, digital intrigue, and heists, using Investigation, Insight, and Intelligence-based checks to hack, track, and outsmart foes.

Hook

The email’s subject reads: “Your Skills Are Needed.” Inside: a rendezvous at the Neon Mirage, a dive bar known for blending synth-brews with illegal data streams. A cloaked courier hands them a data shard that hints at a hidden contact “in the Grid,” then vanishes. The bar’s bartender hints that the mysterious person will only meet in person once they’ve gathered three clues tied to a recent citywide anomaly.

The Mystery Person

The objective is to locate The Whisper, a mysterious individual who can reveal the truth behind the city’s data disturbance and their own connection to it. The Whisper is not a single person but a legend: a rumored fixer who survives by gathering fragments of memory, code, and trust. Finding The Whisper requires following three leads to distinct zones and factions.

Adventure Arcs

• The Data Market: A black-market hub where illegal implants and corrupted memories are traded. A lead here requires negotiation, stealth, or a quick-footed sally through a security gauntlet.


• The Vault District: A fortified corporate complex where a prototype AI chip lies hidden. Expect corporate guards, drones, and a pivotal choice about sharing or hoarding data.


• The Echo Theater: An abandoned venue transformed into a hacker sanctuary. Here the group deciphers the shard’s cipher and faces a trial that tests loyalty and resolve.

Central Events & Triggers

• A city blackout caused by a rival faction attempting to erase data trails.


• A memory-altering hallucination that reveals a truth about one PC’s past life in the city’s birth data banks.


• A climactic reveal that The Whisper is an AI-spawned avatar seeking guardians for a coming digital revolution.

Objectives & Outcomes

• Find The Whisper and determine what they want: alliance, betrayal, or a new purpose for the city.


• Decide whether to release, hide, or weaponize the proto-AI in the memory shard.


• Secure safe passage and a farewell with enough credits and cyberware to continue the journey.

Rewards & Loot

Credits to fund operations, augmented implants (temporary or permanent), access keys to restricted networks, and a beacon that threads into the city’s data grid for future adventures.