Going beyond what was shown in 2077, Cyberpsychosis is a state of mental degeneration in which your character's worst traits and mental illnesses are gradually amplified to an uncontrollable extreme.

If you are a naturally cautious person, cyberpsychosis will make you worrisome to the point of paranoid schizophrenia. If you really enjoy a glowing fire, you may devolve into a pyromaniac who commits arson whenever they can. If they are a little unconfident in themselves, they may become depressed and suicidal. Explosive anger and violent compulsions. Obsession. Isolation. Many things can be a result of cyberpsychosis.

Overall, cyberpsychosis is the idea of losing yourself to the cybernetics. That whatever you are pursuing or trying to acheive is so overwhelmingly important, that you are willing to not only cut up and replace your physical body, but your very sense of self to pursue it.

What causes Cyberpsychosis?

Potentially many things, but nothing is certain, and that's on purpose. It's up to you to decide. Cybernetic implants leeching chemicals into the bloodstream? Resonant frequencies messing with the mind? The idea that it isn't the cyber, but the messed up world of Cyberpunk driving people to insanity? Arasaka beaming waves into your head? It's up to you.

As for what directly causes it, cybernetics are the main factor that increases the chance of cyberpsychosis. Furthermore, particular bad events (your best friend or close family dying, torture, witnessing gruesome events, killing a person you believed was innocent) can also slowly degrade the mind in tandem with the cyberware.

But not everyone is impacted the same!

Some people can withstand much more cyberware in lore. David Martinez is said to be able to chrome up so much because he had a loving mother, a close network of friends through his crew, and a stable home where he could sleep and eat. He came from a stable foundation, and that helped him with a good mindset.

Most people aren't that lucky.

And some people snap even after getting a single cybereye or even a piece of fashionware. Everyone is different.

Cyberpsychosis is measured using five Cyberpsycho Levels. Your level represents the degree to which cyberware and other contributing factors are affecting you character's mental state.

A higher Cyberpsycho Level does not dictate exactly how your character behaves. Cyberpsychosis can manifest differently between characters depending on their personality, experiences, existing traits, circumstances, and roleplay.

The Cyberpsychosis Scale

0-1 - Normal Augmentation

At Level 0 or 1, your character is showing no meaningful symptoms of cyberpsychosis. They may have cyberware, but its effects on their humanity are currently negligible. Your character should otherwise behave normally. Ordinary personality flaws, stress, trauma, or other problems are not automatically symptoms of cyberpsychosis simply because the character has chrome.

2 - Noticable Augmentation

At Level 2, your character has accumulated enough augmentation for cyberpsychosis to become a consideration, but there is little immediate concern. Minor changes may begin to appear. Your character may become somewhat more detached, irritable, obsessive, reckless, withdrawn, or otherwise affected in ways appropriate to them. These effects should generally remain subtle and manageable.

3 - Meaningful Risk

At Level 3, your character is heavily augmented enough that cyberpsychosis has become a meaningful risk. Symptoms should begin to have a noticeable effect on roleplay. Existing negative traits may have become more pronounced, new behavioral problems may emerge, or the character hay experience occasional episodes associated with their declining humanity.

These effects do not need to make the character dysfunctional. A Level 3 character can still function normally much of the time, but their condition should no longer be completely invisible.

4 - Severe Risk

At Level 4, your character is at severe risk of cyberpsychosis, and its effects should meaningfully influence roleplay. Symptoms may become difficult to hide or control. Existing traits can become substantially more severe, and the character may experience episodes of paranoia, aggression, detachment, obsession, impulsivity, dissociation, or other problems appropriate to their character.

They have not necessarily lost control, nor are they automatically destined to go on a violent rampage. However, their condition is serious and should be treated accordingly in RP.

5 - Critical

At Level 5, your character is approaching or experiencing cyberpsychosis. Their symptoms should be severe and have a major impact on how they behave and interact with the world. Their ability to control or conceal those symptoms may deteriorate significantly, particularly during stressful or traumatic situations. However, reaching Level 5 does not automatically cause your character to snap, become violent, or become unstable. How their cyberpsychosis manifests is ultimately determined through roleplay and should make sense for the individual character.

A character at Level 5 may be approaching a breaking point, actively experiencing cyberpsychosis, or struggling to remain functional despite it. If and when they finally lose control should be determined by the character's player and the circumstances surrounding their story.

Your Cyberpsycho Level goes up as your character takes on more cyberware.

Negative

Aids with lowering cyberpsychosis, shows how much in cyberware description.

Harmless

Does not affect cyberpsycho levels. Cosmetic, social, basic utility, and other minimally invasive cyberware.

Minimal

6 pieces increases your Cyberpsycho Level. Common or foundational augmentation, including many ordinary cybernetic replacements.

Moderate

4 pieces increases your Cyberpsycho Level. Slightly more invasive specialized augmentation.

Substantial

3 pieces increases your Cyberpsycho Level. More invasive or specialized augmentation.

Major

2 pieces increases your Cyberpsycho Level. Extremely invasive, experimental, or heavy combat augmentation.

Critical

Varies on the type of cyberware, shows how much in cyberware description.

All cybernetics of Minimal or greater HL will always provide a Minimal level of cyberpsychosis, even if your character receives therapy to lower their cyberpsycho level.

So long as you are not at level 5, you can recover from cyberpsychosis through a few methods:

1. Remove Your Cyberware

The easiest and fastest way to restore your character's mental state is to simply remove the cyberware. This immediately improves your Cyberpsycho Scale at no cost.

2. Send Your Character to Therapy

When you have an RP Confirmed and received a Graded item, you can send your character to therapy.

• Standard Therapy lowers your Cyberpsycho Scale level by 1, and is a Grade C service. If you RP Confirm any RP you do with someone else, you gain a Grade C item, which can include this service.
• Premium Therapy lowers your Cyberpsycho Scale level by 2, and is a Grade C+ service. This means you obtain it by RPing with a medtech.

3. Immunoblockers

The stuff David was juicing up on. Immunoblockers are a drug which is injected, and provides temporary relief from Cyberpsychosis. Keep in mind, Immunoblockers have the following effects:

• At level 3 and below, a single Immunoblocker will stabilize your character, as if they had no traits, until the characters obtains more chrome or experiences a particular bad event - in which case it immediately bounces back.
• At level 4, you need two immunoblockers to receive the same affect as before.
• Immunoblockers do not work at level 5!

Cyberware is not the sole cause of cyberpsychosis. A character's established psychological state, trauma, relationships, living conditions, and significant life events may affect their vulnerability.

Staff may apply a ±0.5 adjustment to the calculated Cyberpsycho Level when clearly justified by established RP or backstory. Exceptional circumstances may justify a larger adjustment, but require a second staff review.

These modifiers cannot make a character immune to cyberpsychosis and should never be assigned solely because a character has a particular real-world diagnosis.

You don't. Not without help, that is.

There are 3 ways to recover from Extreme Cyberpsychosis:

1. All your cyberware has to come out.
   Your character isn't likely to do this by themselves in this state, so they need to be captured. If the NCPD captures you in a cyberpsychotic state, and you aren't killed in the turmoil, they will rip out your cyberware and take it for themselves as compensation.
2. MAXTAC Psychotherapy.
   This is an extremely experimental and highly secretive form of psychotherapy that only MAXTAC has the rights to. Read about it more here. The cost of such a life-saving procedure? You're enslaved to MAXTAC now.
3. Death.
   Cyberpsychos are feared by many people, and if there is suspicion that you are a true cyberpsycho and you are on a rampage, MAXTAC will be called. While some characters may live to become MAXTAC themselves, MAXTAC also has the full jurisdiction to simply kill your character!

Can my character be immune to cyberpsychosis?

No. This is considered a feat that only Adam Smasher was given as a unique trait. He was psychotic enough already, and more importantly, lucky enough to survive as long as he did to eventually receive his cyborg body. Furthermore, and more relevant, is that your character would simply be too powerful.

Can I start with my Cyberpsycho level higher?

Yes! You can start all the way at 5, if you wish.

What are the standards for my Cyberpsycho Trait?

The only standard is that a cyberpsycho trait must be debilitating and catastrophic in its extremes. If a character has something along the lines of "he gets loud and a bit angry" or "he starts to smile a lot..." it will be asked to either be left blank and written later, or rewritten. The reason is that these traits are not debilitating (they don't sabotage the character's intentions) or catastrophic (even if they did, they don't provide any significant impact to your character or others).

Can wonderful moments act as therapy?

Yes! Good things happening to your character can slowly undo cyberpsychosis. Your character finding genuine love. Becoming rich. Being supported by a group of their friends in a time of need. These things, if mentioned in RP Confirmation, may lower your cyberpsycho level. But be careful, as particularly horrible things can have the opposite affect.

Can I repeatedly receive therapy followed by more chrome?

Yes! The idea is that you can potentially have more chrome, but your progress to that point is mediated by your character's need for therapy.

However, do note that therapy will never make you immune to cyberpsychosis so long as you keep getting it. It just enables you to take more than your natural unprepared mind would normally. There will come a point where not even therapy or immunoblockers will save you from cyberpsychosis, given you have enough cybernetics.

Practice safe cyber, choom!