# Getting Started

*New to the game? This page gets you from your first question to your first scene.*

## What this game is
- **Cyberpunk RED**, set in **Night City in 2045** and played as text on the DeadKeys IRC chat.
- **Scenes start whenever people are online.** If you and another player are both on, you play a scene together in real time, posting every few minutes until it ends. The game runs around the clock, and time in the city moves at the same pace as ours.
- **Your crew lives in Little Europe**, a loud, crowded neighborhood next to the ruins of the Hot Zone.

## 1. Learn the city (ten minutes)
Pick the primer that fits the games you've played. If you've never played a tabletop RPG, start with Dungeon Crawlers:
- [Night City for Shadowrunners](/nc-for-shadowrunners)
- [Night City for Dungeon Crawlers](/nc-for-dungeon-crawlers), for D&D, Pathfinder and other d20 players

Then read about where your character lives: [Little Europe](/little-europe), [Greta's](/gretas) and [Fiddler's Green](/fiddlers-green).
That's enough to start. Your character has lived here for years, so if you don't know a local detail, ask the GM.

## 2. Bring an idea
Tell the GM who you'd like to play in [#cpr-planning](https://deadkeys.net/webclient/#cpr-planning). Check [The Crew](/crew) to see who's already in.

## 3. Build your character
[Create your character](/new). The builder walks you through these steps:

| Step | What you decide |
|---|---|
| Method | How you build: **Streetrat** (fastest, ready-made templates), **Edgerunner** (quick, with some choices) or **Complete Package** (spend STAT and Skill points, then a gear budget) |
| Role | Solo, Netrunner, Medtech, Fixer and the rest |
| Role choices | The options your Role offers |
| Lifepath | Where you come from: family, friends, enemies, goals |
| Lifepath details | The people and events your Lifepath turned up |
| STATs | Your ten core numbers |
| Skills | What you're trained in |
| Gear | Weapons, armor, cyberware and everyday kit |
| Review | Check it all, then finish |

- **Your link is your character.** There are no accounts. When you start, you get a private link. Bookmark it, because it's the only way back to your sheet. Anyone who has the link can edit your character, so keep it to yourself. Your IRC nickname is separate.
- **Your work saves as you go**, and you can move between steps at any time.
- **Each page explains its choices** and the game's defaults before you pick.

## 4. Get approved
When you finish, the GM reviews your sheet and may send it back with notes. Once it's approved, your character appears on [The Crew](/crew). During play, new gear and cyberware go through requests that the GM approves on your sheet.

## 5. Get on IRC
Never used IRC? The [IRC Guide](https://deadkeys.net/irc-guide) explains how to connect, register a nickname and join channels. Planning happens in [#cpr-planning](https://deadkeys.net/webclient/#cpr-planning), and out-of-character chat in [#cpr-ooc](https://deadkeys.net/webclient/#cpr-ooc). Once you're approved, say hello in #cpr-ooc and ask who's around for a scene.

## 6. Before the game starts
Approved characters can start meeting at [Greta's](/gretas) before the game begins. These scenes are soft canon: friendships and first impressions stick, but nothing big happens to the city yet.

## While you play
- **Ask what your character would know.** You just arrived. Your character has lived here for years.
- **Rules questions** go to **DataTerm** in [#cpr-planning](https://deadkeys.net/webclient/#cpr-planning). It answers from the books and gives the page.