Cyberpunk RED: dice & strategy guide

Cyberpunk RED — the tabletop prequel to the video game Cyberpunk 2077 — runs on one of the cleanest core mechanics in roleplaying. Master a single roll and you understand the whole system. Below is what dice it uses, how a roll resolves, how to play smart, and the mistakes new edgerunners make.

What dice Cyberpunk RED uses

The engine is built almost entirely on the ten-sided die (d10). Nearly every action — shooting, hacking, sweet-talking, driving — is one d10 plus a STAT plus a skill. You will also want a handful of d6 for damage (most weapons roll a number of d6) and the occasional d10 pair for percentile rolls on tables such as critical injuries. In practice a small set of d10s and d6s covers the game.

The core formula never changes:

How a roll resolves

Add your relevant STAT (such as REF for shooting or COOL for intimidation) to the matching skill, roll one d10, and add it. Compare the total to the Difficulty Value. Simple tasks sit around DV 13, everyday professional work around DV 15, and heroic feats climb to DV 21 or higher. If you equal or exceed the DV, you succeed.

The twist that gives the die its bite is what happens on the extremes:

• Rolling a 10 — the die explodes. Keep the 10, roll the d10 again, and add the new result. (That second die does not explode again.)
• Rolling a 1 — the die implodes. A critical failure: roll the d10 again and subtract it from your total.

So an ordinary-looking roll can suddenly swing high or low, which keeps even routine actions tense. In a fight, ranged attacks are usually resolved against a DV based on range, while melee and brawling are opposed — both sides roll and the higher total wins.

Effective strategy

Specialise, don’t spread. Because a single d10 is the only random element, your STAT + Skill total is what really decides outcomes. A character with a high total will beat most DVs before the die is even thrown; a dabbler is gambling on an explosion. Push your key skills up rather than buying a little of everything.

Understand armour as a resource. Armour in RED works by Stopping Power (SP), which reduces incoming damage — but it ablates, losing a point of SP each time it is penetrated. A firefight is a race: chip away at their armour while yours still holds. Aimed shots to the head bypass a lot of protection but are much harder to land.

Win initiative, control the range. Initiative is a 1d10 + REF roll at the start of combat, acted out highest to lowest. Going first lets you seize cover, close or open distance, and dictate the DV your enemies face. Movement and cover routinely matter more than raw firepower.

For handling handfuls of damage dice quickly, you can roll a pool of d6 in your browser and read the total instantly rather than counting pips by hand.

Beginner tips & common mistakes

• Don’t forget to add your STAT. New players read the d10 and the skill but leave the STAT off. The STAT is often the biggest part of your total.
• Remember imploding on a 1. It is easy to treat a 1 as “just a low roll”. You must roll again and subtract — that is what makes a natural 1 genuinely dangerous.
• Only the first 10 explodes. The bonus die from an exploding 10 does not chain into further explosions.
• Track armour SP on the sheet. Because SP ablates, forgetting to knock it down makes both sides far tougher than the rules intend.
• Cover is not optional. Standing in the open against ranged weapons is how first-session characters die. Treat cover and positioning as your first action, not an afterthought.

Coming from a fantasy table? Compare the approach in our Savage Worlds dice & strategy guide.