Basic tech (Cyberpunk RED)
Definition
Basic Tech is broad mechanical and electrical competence: opening a housing, diagnosing why something stopped, and putting it back together with whatever is in the room. It is the generalist skill that sits underneath every specialist tech skill on the list. At the table Basic Tech is the one that saves jobs. A jammed door, a dead generator, a piece of equipment that failed at the worst moment: these are the small failures that turn a working plan into a firefight, and Basic Tech is what closes them. It is also the skill for improvising, which is the real currency of an edgerunner crew that cannot afford the right tool for anything.
How it works
Tips
Frequently asked questions
What does Basic Tech cover that the specialist skills do not?
Everything ordinary. Appliances, doors, generators, general machinery, and improvised fixes. The specialist skills handle their own domains far better, but nothing else covers the wide middle.
Do I need tools?
Effectively yes. Improvising without them raises the DV substantially, so a Tech character who carries a decent kit is meaningfully more capable than one who does not.
Can Basic Tech build things from scratch?
Simple items and modifications, yes. Real fabrication is the Tech role's Maker ability, which is a role ability rather than a skill and goes well beyond what Basic Tech alone can do.