The Exec is a Role in the Cyberpunk Red TTRPG that exemplifies the edgy, frequently dangerous nature of doing (il)legitimate business in the dystopian capitalist future. The Exec provides a bridge between being legitimate and illegitimate and the changes that were introduced in CP Red from the original Cyberpunk 2020 rule set have revitalized and opened up the role in general.
What is an Exec?
The Exec’s role ability is called “Teamwork”. It gets them some material perks, but mechanically it provides some non player characters (minions if you will) to help the Exec do their job. More ranks in the Role ability means adding more members to your team and some other corporate perks along the way. These perks include free housing, clothing and Trauma Team coverage.
The original Exec role was known as a “Corporate” and they were pretty much that. They worked for one of the corporations and this is typically the genre stereotype that persists. Now, they are an individual that can be part of the business world, but can also be part of the underworld as well depending on the agenda of the player for their character.
Execs in Practice
Honestly, I was on the fence about the Exec for awhile when I started my CP Red campaign. So much so that I wouldn’t allow my players to create one unless they could make a strong case. My table was mostly full of D&D 3.5 edition veterans and I felt that as noobs to the game it would be a hard sell.
A few years on and our Nomad’s player retired his character (due to in game shenanigans) and decided to start an Exec. I have no regrets about it.
Execs need a few things to really shine. By necessity they need to work within an organization. It doesn’t need to be one of the big corporate entities, but it does need to be a place that can provide them with the resources they receive as part of their Role ability. They could even own their business, join organized crime, or be some kind of freelance troubleshooter who is contracted by other organizations, so they’re not stuck only working corporate jobs. An easy way to think about a PC Exec is as a high stakes project manager. They usually have quite a bit of freedom in their job as long as the organization they work for/with profits while liability is mitigated as much as possible.
The player and GM should give this a good think as it provides all kinds of plot hooks. Just because they spend some time at the cubicle farm doesn’t mean they don’t have enemies gunning for them. I think this will come as a surprise within my game as business rivals begin to challenge my player’s character in the open and from the shadows.
Media
Exec media resources that are genre specific tend to portray them as villains. In a corporate capitalist dystopia this makes sense. Execs can be more nuanced, however, and the media they appear in outside of the genre can show them as people who work for a variety of reasons. Here are a few suggestions:
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Movie)
Halt and Catch Fire (Television)
Your Friends and Neighbors (Television)
Homebrew
Something I also decided on was to add some changes to the Exec. I felt that they should have some ability to draw on the resources of their parent organization. I gave them what is essentially expense accounts. Its not mountains of money, but a little extra from time to time. It also gives them a good reason to flex muscles on skills that an Exec SHOULD have but just don’t seem to get a lot of use, namely skills like Business and Accounting.
Team Members got a bit of an upgrade as well. Mostly using an ability I call “delegate”. The Exec can command specific tasks in higher stakes situations by using the Business skill to manage their employee in special ways. All of this is an active in game beta test right now, but so far nothing comes across as over powered and I think its been a good change to the things that, in my opinion, were lacking in the role.
Depending on the GM and the table in general, NPCs can be a mixed bag. As an example, in a D&D campaign I play in, the GM (and players) tend to treat NPCs as cannon fodder or almost generic quest givers. I think this is a mistake so most of my NPCs have a past, motivations, likes and dislikes. I do this with Exec team members as well. The loyalty mechanic associated with team members ensures that throwing them to the wolves gives the Exec a worse reputation over time. No one wants to work for an awful boss.
Conclusion
Overall, the Exec Role has been a pleasant surprise and has given me new ways to get creative for a character type that is pretty unique. Is your Exec just another ladder climber willing to do whatever they can to grab another rung? Did they join up as a means to survive and constantly battle with their conscience? Is the corporation they work for giving them the opportunity to work in a field they simply have interest in or are good at? I will need to see what the future holds for the changes I have made to the role and make further edits as needed.
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