WorldEmber 2025: Preparation

Introduction:

This year, I am trying something new. Typically, I am a dark fantasy writer, with more of an emphasis on divinity, magic, swords, and demons. Well, this year, in preparation for a new ttRPG campaign I'd like to start in 2026 with my gaming group, I am going to expand on the world of one of my favorite video games: Cyberpunk 2077. That said, I don't want to just rip off the lore of 2077, I want to explore the world outside of Night City. Being that I live in the greater Houston area, I figured, why not...let's Cyber-up the area. So that's what I'm doing. This year (2026) I am going to work on designing a Houston 2077 campaign, set in the Cyberpunk RED world.

I'm hoping to pledge 10,000 words for World Ember this year, as I've been really out of practice writing. I want to make a significant dent in my world building for the year, so why not go in with both feet. Also, not gonna' lie, the bingo card makes it really accessible and easy to prep this year. On the right, you'll see my bingo card. As I finish up preparation prompts, I'll cross off sections. I'll be taking the last row from the bottom as my choice to complete, but we'll see if I get anything else done, too. I'm taking this easy, this year, but want to stay motivated.

Assignments & Prep

Assignment 1: World Building Playlist

I'm a huge music person, when it comes to getting me in the mood to write. As a start to my World Ember prep, I decided to begin with building my world building playlist. You can see it on the right-hand side of the page. Unapologetically, I labeled it lazily as Music of Houston 2077. I'll try to come up with something better for a name, later. But for now...it works. I already added a number of songs and ambient music to the playlist on Spotify, but I'll probably be adding to it throughout the month. Admittedly, there's some music on there from movies and games...I'll admit, I haven't seen most of them, or played them. But we'll give them a try. My audit of songs as I was adding stuff seemed legit for the tone and vibe of a cyberpunk world. I love the 80's synth vibe for something like this, and really wanted to focus on more of a Stranger Things/Terminator/Blade Runner type sound.

Assignment 2: Planned Articles

1. Weapons & Equipment Lists
2. Velvet Circuit
3. The Lotus Network
4. Ghost Shield Security
5. Guilded Rose Syndicate
6. Districts
7. Journal Entries as "Secrets" and "Collectibles"
8. Ripperdocs
9. History of Houston and the Lone Star Republic
10. Corpo Histories
11. Histories of the Fixers
12. News Articles and Short Stories
13. Local Bands
14. Texas Rangers
15. Cyberpunk Version of Buc-ee's
16. Characters for New Cyberpunk Serial Fiction: (Alex Vega; Marisol Chen; "Moth")

Assignment 3: Writing Schedule

I have pretty limited availability through the week, so I'm going to try to get the majority of my writing completed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Below is a list of my hopeful writing days, with the approximate word count I'm shooting for each day.

12/2: 1200 Words

12/4: 1100 Words

12/9: 1100 Words

12/11: 1100 Words

12/16: 1100 Words

12/18: 1100 Words

12/23: 1100 Words

12/26: 1100 Words

12/30: 1100 Words

Total Approximate Word Count: 10,000 Words

Assignment 4: It's Always the People

So, I'm torn on how exactly to answer this prep prompt. I have so many different character ideas in mind, that it's hard to say that people are "one way" or another. Overall, this is a Cyberpunk setting, meaning that it's filled with a lot of strife, struggle, and trans-humanistic themes. So, thinking about the kind of people that would populate a world where humanity is giving way to the cybernetic, while dealing with massive scale corporate greed, the consequences of nuclear conflict, and the struggles of anarchistic streets, I have some flavor ideas for the people. They would have to be tough, very focused on self or immediate family/dependents, and there is a lot of aspiring towards something greater. Mix in the despair of knowing you're not going to reach the top tier of society, but feeling also anger, jealousy, and a desire for nostalgia. I imagine you'd get a mix of people either so filled with a learned helplessness looking for any escape from reality, those who delude themselves into thinking extra work is going to matter, or those who feel a sense of overwhelming responsibility to someone or something that they push aside their own needs. Or you have the rebellious sorts whose anger fuels them. They act out, become delinquents or outright criminals, because...what's the point, why not? Then there is the upper echelon, who is out entirely for themselves, trying to fill the holes in their lives where relationships, religion, or principles should be. I think this is a pretty bleak world, and is likely filled with people experiencing bleak lives in an overcrowded jungle of concrete, wires, and advertisements. They always know what they are missing, and are always painfully aware they they an never afford it.

Assignment 5: Research & Prep

Houston in the World of Cyberpunk 2077

I really wanted to base this new world on the lore of Cyberpunk 2077 and Cyberpunk RED. But, limited information on Texas exists in this lore--at least that I could find. So, I've really been innundating myself with the lore that does exist. I've been utilizing the Fandom wiki for Cyberpunk 2077's version of Texas as a source, but not much exists there. So, using the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit, and the Cyberpunk RED Core rulebook, I've been trying to piece together a coherent timeline. Then, I can start to fill in gaps based on my Houston locale.

Corporate Equivalents

I have a few ideas for this year's World Ember, that focus on Cybperpunk equivalents of real world iconic businesses. I wanted to turn the idea of these businesses into corpos that can be seen throughout the city. I've been digging into the history of the real world businesses, such as Buc-ee's to help develop a fictional history for my in-game corpos.

OPTIONAL: Prepare Visual Elements

Okay guys, I think I got together some good framework prep for my main five assignments. I couldn't resist tapping into the visual side of things though, before Prep Month is complete. I have been generating and uploading images of different weapons, equipment, locations, and characters to prepare for my WorldEmber writing. I have found a way to replicate a similar style of art across several items, and really have enjoyed the process. This has started me down the path of generating ideas for new equipment, organizations, lore elements, etc. I can't wait get writing and show you all! Here are a few of them, that I've come up with so far.

OPTIONAL: Update Author Page

Not much to say. I reworked my intro a bit, and added a few details into the favorites sections.