CBR+PNK Designer Spotlight: Sequential James

Runners! Another awesome spotlight for you - this time for the designer of CRESCENT PARALLAX, Sequential James! A graphic designer by trade, James created a scenario straight out of a John Wick movie. Let's dig into his brain and see what he has to say...

1. What inspired your Pamphlets?

Crescent Parallax is inspired by all the high action movies that take place in a
single high rise. The primary inspiration is Smoking Aces (2006) and Hotel
Artemis (2018), in a syndicate with rules similar to The Continental of the John
Wick Franchise (2012-Present). Ever since watching Smoking Aces, I wanted to
create a story set in a bottle. Every few years another one came out (The Raid
2011, Dredd 2012) to reinforce the desire. When CBR+PNK came out, I knew I’d
found the right system to write it.

2. Describe your Pamphlet in three words, then explain why you chose them.

Pressure. Bottle. Modularity.

Pressure: At the core, this Run is all about building constant pressure. It contains
several countdown clocks with consequences themed around phases of the
moon. And there’s always someone (or some THING) one step ahead of the
runners.

Bottle: Pressure only builds over time and limited space. The runners are
restricted to one hour, and one building. And they're in there with a whole bunch
of other dangerous entities that want the same thing they do.

Modularity: The final bit of polish was to find a way to provide options for all the
plug-ins that came with the base game. Add some Weird, throw in a Hunter, or
do both and really crank up the CBR+PNK experience.

3. What’s a design element - either as part of your Pamphlet or otherwise - that you’re particularly proud of?

Inspired by games like MӧrkBӧrg, I wanted to give some randomized tables if the
MC is low on spoons to make some of the decisions. Any place there are multiple
options, I kept it to six so they could just roll a d6 and go with it.

I provide pre-made Angles for why the runners want to hunt down (or protect)
Kenji. There’s a section on “Alternate Takes” if you want to try the scenario from
different hooks.

As a graphic designer, I’m also really pleased with how the color theory and
standardization of design carried through to give the MC easy visual cues while
running. Emanoel Melo provided a great kit of assets to integrate into the design.

4. Do you have any advice for someone designing their first TTRPG or module?

Cyberpunk as a genre works best when you question some aspect of what
makes us human. Cyberpunk also relies on at least one power structure that 3-5
punks have no hope of overcoming; militarized police state, Artificial Intelligence,
Hyper-Consumerism. That’s going to be the antagonist that tests the question. In
Crescent Parallax, my question was “What are you willing to do to come out on
top of a game with no winner?” My primary antagonist is ambition, but an AI also
plays a strong secondary antagonist.

Always write for heartbreak. Cyberpunk doesn’t get happy endings. Often the
best outcome for anyone caught in the world is the ability to wake up to another
day of outliving the competition.

Finally, this is general advice for anyone running a game. The players only know
what you tell them. Everything else is just stuff you can save for a later session.

5. What’s your signature drink in the CBR+PNK universe—and what’s in it?             

Bourbon Brawl
It’s a variation of the Alabama Slammer and an ode to the most popular
sport in the Sixth World outside of combat biking. It has the punch of a full
metal jacket and the smokey aftertaste of a ruined city block.

Recipe:
Pour a Shot of Bourbon and a Shot of Mezcal into a glass of ice. Fill with
orange juice. Stir.

The sweetness hits first, with layers of bitter smoke at the end. Make the
ice crushed and orange juice pulpy for extra grit.

5. Any other projects or thing’s you’d like to plug?                                                 

Being a part of this project has gotten the writing bug scurrying again. Subscribe
to https://sequentialjames.itch.io/ to find out when the next module will come out.

6. Where can people find you?  

Bluesky: @sequentialjames.bsky.social‬

Instagram: @sequentialjame5

Itchio: @sequentialjames

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Don''t forget, CBR+PNK: OVERLOAD runs through the month of June 2025!