Cyberpunk RED skill
Basic Tech
Basic Tech is a skill in Cyberpunk RED: General repair and jury-rigging, keeping the crew's gear working under bad conditions.
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Key facts
- Stat
- TECH
- Category
- technique
Overview
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
Linked Stat: TECH Category: Technique Resolution: 1d10 plus TECH plus skill level against a DV based on how complex the device is and how bad your tools and materials are. A natural 10 lets you roll again and add, a natural 1 makes you roll again and subtract. Tools and time: A proper workspace lowers the DV and field conditions raise it. Repairs take time, which is why Concentration frequently gets rolled alongside this when somebody is trying to fix something while the situation deteriorates.
Tips and playstyle
Best for: Techs obviously, and worth two or three ranks for anyone who owns equipment they cannot afford to replace. Character concepts: A Tech who builds from salvage, a Nomad mechanic, a Medtech who maintains their own equipment, a scavenger who can tell working from worthless. Synergies: The specialist skills go deeper where this goes wide: Cybertech for implants, Weapons Tech for guns, Land Vehicle Tech for vehicles, Electronics and Security Tech for systems. Concentration keeps you working while people are shooting.
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.