Taking a 'Weird' Look at the Cyberpunk Genre with Echoes of the Veil

Today we’re reviewing Echoes of the Veil, an indie take on the cyberpunk genre from Reverie Rebels. It’s a hack of Mythworks’ CBR+PNK, which draws on the Forged in the Dark rules. Author Raffi Marhaba describes it as a “fast cinematic leftist” take on the genre that embraces the “WEIRD.” It’s also a game where the author claims it is more leftist than the genre as a whole, which has often brought a critical lens to modern-day capitalism in the process.

TTRPG Insider spoke with Marhaba about the game, its inspiration and what it adds to the cyberpunk genre as a whole.

1. What inspired the creation of Echoes of the Veil? What is its origin story?

I was really drawn to CBR+PNK for its aesthetics and ultra-minimalist system, but as a neurodivergent (and new) GM, running games from just a handful of pamphlets with minimal explanation left me overwhelmed and paralyzed.

I needed more. I needed art. I needed queerness. I needed texture and that extra sauce. So I decided to create a TTRPG that is flexible, expansive, deep, and accessible.

When I launched the Kickstarter, Echoes of the Veil aka EotV was only supposed to be an expansion, but the more I engaged with the community, the more I heard that they shared the same experience I had with CBR+PNK. So, instead of the promised 100-page expansion, I went on to create a 208-page stand-alone system to support all I wanted to see.

2. What distinguishes EotV from other parts of the cyberpunk setting, whether it be through rules, setting or thematics?

EotV is undeniably political, and I didn’t want to gloss over politics. I don’t believe that simply saying “corpos are bad, capitalism sucks” is fully grappling with what that actually means. So when creating the world, I wanted to make the connections between systems of oppression abundantly clear, and to note that even if you managed to take down the main corp, EdenTech, it won’t solve all your problems. You have to be willing to engage with communities, different cultures, and always consider the impact you cause around you.

The WEIRD is another distinction. It’s the ancient force capable of awakening supernatural powers within us. Capitalism wants to commodify everything, but the WEIRD is the thing that refuses to become entirely controllable or ownable.

The WEIRD is not magic that occurred because of radiation or a wrong scientific experiment: it predates the technological world. It didn’t choose conquerors, only those who reached for something beyond themselves. So, it’s not something that one can simply access if they just “open themselves up to it”. It’s a force much more in alignment with the Resistance than with those focused on exploitation and accumulation.

It doesn’t adhere to the typical tropes of magic as horror, but it actually explores the generative and transformational side of such powers.

The topic of ecological collapse isn’t just a flair in the game. It affects the world, the people living in it, animals and plants (or lack thereof), like in a domino effect.

The Gig is deliberately not the endpoint. Having the game be focused on Long-Shots (3-8 sessions) and developing specific rules, fits thematically, because you simply cannot bring entire systems down in one Run. Change takes time.

Although EotV is optimized for Long-Shots, it delivers satisfying One-Shots too!

3. Cyberpunk settings have often been used to explore a hypercapitalistic world and those willing to challenge or survive despite it. (IE edgerunners in Cyberpunk, Shadowrunners in that setting, etc). How are you distinguishing your own interpretation of that?

Runners in EotV aren’t simply trying to challenge or survive harmful systems, but are hopefully trying to transform the city.

The EPILOGUE asks both whether the world noticed what you did through the EXIT LOG and whether you actually achieved the thing driving your character through the ANGLE roll. So, with the new EXIT LOG component, you’re not solely focusing on you, but you know that when the Gig is done, how the world receives what you did will have a big impact on your character.

The Resistance isn't romanticized. EotV is very clear about where structural oppression comes from (corpos, cops and capitalism, etc), but that moral clarity doesn't mean the Resistance is pure. The Faction rules explicitly say revolutionary movements carry histories of exclusion, violence, compromise and contradiction, and some revolutionary Factions have reproduced the very power structures they once fought.

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Drawing on Leftist History to Re-Imagine Cyberpunk

4. How did your own history in leftist politics and resistance politics inform the way you made this game?

I wanted revolution to be complicated without making oppression morally ambiguous. I have over 2 decades of experience as an organizer and activist, so I brought all that knowledge with me to this game.

My politics also informed what counts as power. The setting explicitly recognizes things like mutual aid, care work, land stewardship, etc., as different tools through which people resist.

It rewards collaboration and group efforts by awarding REP, giving EDGE, and being able to help one another with an extra die, or by boosting someone’s results.

5. Why should someone play your game? What's the appeal?

EotV is an ode to the queer people, to spirituality, to the urgent need to care for our communities and Nature, to autonomy, and creativity.

If you want cyberpunk where you can jack into a corporate network, summon something ancient from underneath the city, punch some cops with awesome Augs, start a revolution, and then have the game push you to explore what all of that changed, play EotV.

6. What is something you are eager for folks to experience?

The moment where players realize that accomplishing the mission isn't necessarily the same thing as winning. Maybe they destroyed EdenTech's facility, but:

• Who gained power because of it?

• Which Faction did they strengthen?

• Who now trusts them?

• Who feels betrayed?

• How much REP did they earn?

• What DEBT did they accumulate?

• What did the WEIRD awaken?

Echoes of the Veil is available on itch.io.

What are your thoughts? Send any scoops, tips or press releases to [email protected].