The Berlin of Berlin 2185 is different to other cities of the late twenty-second century. Whilst their response to environmental collapse has been to cede control to the corporations and slide into a cyberpunk dystopia, the Berlin Mandate Group, at the direction and donations of the Philanthropist has instead sought to share the city’s wealth. To use to protect the city, preserving the old buildings for prosperity whilst constructing more sustainable ones; to introduce a Universal Income and eliminate homelessness; and to establish a drone-driven energy dome over the city, protecting its citizenry, flora, and fauna from the worst effects of UV radiation and other contaminants—effectively, cutting edge weather control. Free from corporate control and capitalist drives, Berlin has become both a scientific and technological paradise and powerhouse.
Another big difference between Berlin and the other major cities of the world is the limited presence of the big corporations—Tusk in particular. The anti-corporate attitude is not just Berlin Mandate Group policy, but deeply woven into Berlin society. In particular, its Punk scene, heavily influenced by the Punk scene in London, but given a German twist in the form of NuWave Punk. A popular slogan of the Berlin Punk movement is, “Keine Unternehmen mehr, keine Lügen mehr!” or “No more Corporations, no more lies!”. The music and associated underground scene are nicely detailed, noting the degree of crossover between London and Berlin whilst emphasising the differences, that it is more accepting of LGBTQA+ members and LGBTQA+ bands as the ‘Gay Capital of Europe’, and that the authorities in the city have a grater tolerance towards the scene than might be found in other cities.
In general Cyberpunk terms, the description of Berlin amounts to a paradise. It is well organised and divided along need, not greed, the roads are uniform, the public transport system non-obtrusive, there are actual trees growing in the city, and at night, one can see the see the stars—unlike any other city in 2185. So where then are the tensions that will bring the Player Characters—or Cyberpunks as they are known—to Berlin and help the Game Master create plots and stories for her campaign. Obviously, one scale there may be tensions one band and another in the city’s punk scene, but on another, the corporations, with their limited presence in the city, would like to know the secrets of Berlin Mandate Group and how the city is run so effectively, let alone steal the flora of the city found nowhere else quite so obviously. For the most part there are jobs that most of the roles in the city legitimately. Docs are in high demand in the city’s medical sector, whether in emergency response teams operating in the city or beyond it or in medical research; Enforcers can find work as bodyguards, and even do clandestine work for the Berlin Mandate Group; Hackers can find work protecting from net-based and Sphere-based corporate intrusion; and the net-based and the Berlin Mandate Group might even employ a Scoundrel.
Some of these tasks are reflected in the new character options included in Berlin 2185. They include a Public Enforcement Officer highly trained in de-escalation and non-lethal resolution, but also heavily scrutinised by their precincts and the Berlin Mandate Group for wrongful use of violence, and then Media Officer, Scientist, and Agent for the Berlin Mandate Group. The Media Officer will be covering up details as well as presenting them to the press; the Scientist will have access to some of the most advanced technology on the planet; and the Agent does the dirty work that the Media Officer for the Berlin Mandate Group avoids doing. The others include the Eco-Punk Ganger—an environmentalist punk rocker, Drone Operator—much in demand in the skies above Berlin, Media Personality, and Construction Engineer. There is also a discussion of Origins for Cyberpunks appropriate to Berlin, of which Korporate Kids and Badlanders are rare and High Flyers and Sleekers uncommon. The most common are Regular Joes and Gutter Punks.
The various sectors of the city are also described, including a few notable locations, the feel of the place, what food and drink options are available, and what secrets are hidden there. This is followed by a table of encounters. For example, the feel of the Science Park is dominated by the smell of actual live plants and clean water in the fountains, there are vending machines from the city ubiquitous currywurst can be purchased, but few restaurants, and the area is home to Research & Development Labs, Tech Facilities, and the Berlin Mandate Group’s Science Division, as well as the Foresters Houses. The latter is where the city’s foresters live, their job to protect the city’s flora—with prejudice. The secrets here include the Berlin Mandate Group’s complex here, hidden by trees, and rumours of access to an old botanical garden from before Berlin was built over. Compare that to the Construction Sector with its Drone Stations, Barge Launches which launch the huge vessels that do the heavy construction across the site, often deploying massive 3D printers to manufacture on site whole buildings and parts of buildings, and the Observation Watches from their launch can be safely viewed. Its atmosphere is of low hum from all of the devices across the vast maintenance and construction complexes, the air filled with drones and transports. Food and drink are available via vending machines or at canteens, whilst alcohol is forbidden. There is a secret construction project going on here, one that requires printers and factories to operate day and night. All of the nine sectors come with a set of encounters that serve as prompts for the Game Master to develop.
Berlin 2185 does include a section on the Undercity, the dark underbelly of what is old and new Berlin in 2185. Out of the old buildings and tunnels formed through collapse and being built over, long poisoned and irradiated by war and pollution, a nascent organisation called the Cabal is trying to establish itself in the city above. It has corporate connections, but mostly consists of bully-boy asshole white-supremacist fanatics. The Undercity is the Cabal’s territory, but it is home to mutated plants and animals and former humans. (The supplement suggests appropriate monsters from Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition.) It is quite a short section in comparison to the descriptions of the sectors in the upper city and the city as a whole. Plus, as really only the main antagonist in Berlin 2185, it does lack advice on how to use it and on how to interface its plans with the upper world, as well as possible hooks that the Game Master could develop into something playable. It leaves the Game Master to handle that.
Another issue with Berlin 2185 is its treatment of its secrets. Some it does tell the Game Master what they are and others not. Whilst the main two threaten to change the nature of Carbon 2185 towards a more Science Fiction genre rather than a Cyberpunk one. It is never quite explicitly explained what they and certainly the ramifications of their discovery are never explored. This would not be so much of a problem if Berlin was not so much of paradise and had a bit more conflict that the Game Master could work from.
Physically, Berlin 2185 is well presented with plenty of artwork to get across the idea that Berlin is a radically different, all but utopian city comparison to the others of Carbon 2185. Sadly, this leaves less room to depict the seamier side of the city where the Cyberpunks are likely to congregate. There is no map either and the layout is untidy.
Berlin 2185 presents something radically different for Carbon 2185. A city with a positive outlook and a sense of hope. The result is engaging, even fascinating in comparison to the other cities in this future, but it does leave the Game Master with a lot of work to develop content and story lines given the lack of conflict in Berlin. There is possibility in the well done section on Punk and the underground music scene, but the remainder feels as if the content could have been developed a bit more, made that bit more engaging. Berlin 2185 is a welcome addition to the Carbon 2185, but the Game Master is going to work harder to bring its utopia to life and tell interesting stories.
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