Corporations

Before character creation even begins, the entire group (including the Master of Ceremonies, ie. GM) each names and describes a single mega corporation or similar power group (eg. government, criminal organization).  These entities will shortly become the game's antagonists, and are an important part of the campaign.

Playbooks

Next, as a PbtA system, each player chooses one of ten "playbooks", which are essentially a combination class/character sheet.  Each playbook gets stat bonuses, gear (including cyber gear), a set of unique "moves" (ie. action options), and a choice of various other benefits.

For instance, the Hacker playbook gets several stat bonuses, but the top two have to be allocated to Synth and Mind.  They get the moves "Jack in" (to the matrix) and Console Cowboy (hack a secure system), start with a cyberdeck and either a weapon or armor (along with some cybernetic data implants) and can choose one additional move.  That move could let them immediately jack out when attacked by "black ice", or they could be famous in the matrix, letting them use their Synth state for social rolls within it.

Stats

And in case you're wondering, Synth is one of the six stats in The Sprawl, representing how well the character interfaces with tech.  There's also Style (Charisma), Edge (street smarts), Cool (ability to remain calm under pressure), Mind (Intelligence), and Meat (Constitution).

Other Options

Some playbooks have additional choices to make.  For instance the Driver playbook begins with a vehicle, which the character has to customize, while the Fixer playbook actually starts with two minor criminal underlings, and has to select what each one is good at (eg. petty theft, debt collection, or surveillance)

Rolls

As a PbtA system The Sprawl uses a 2d6 whenever an action's success needs to be determined.  The player rolls 2d6, adds the appropriate stat, and then if the result is at least a 7 it results in a "hit".  A 7-9 is considered a weak hit, while a 10+ is a strong hit.

A roll with a strong hit achieves the desired goal, but a weak hit or even a failure could still achieve that goal.  However with a weak hit the character will either only get most of what they wanted, or they'll achieve all of it but suffer some sort of complication or other downside.  With a failure the GM decides whether the desired action succeeds or not, but if it does it will be similarly be accompanied by some "strings attached".

Moves

As a PbtA system everything the players (or MC) does is as a "move".  Each playbook gets a set of unique moves, but all characters can chose from a set of "basic moves", as well as a set of "Special Moves" that only apply in certain circumstances.  Every move has a corresponding stat (used when making the roll for that move).

To use a move the player describes the action they want their character to take, and then the MC decides which move is appropriate and has them make the appropriate roll.  For instance, a player wanting to collect information might "Hit the Street" (a Style move), while one who moved to higher ground for a better shot would "Manoeuvre" (Mind), and one who wanted to beat up a gangster would "Mix it Up" (Meat).

MC Moves

Whenever the player fails at a move, the MC then gets to make an "MC Move".  In addition the MC can also make a move when the players are waiting for something to happen, or when "the fiction demands it."

In general the MC should use these moves to make the world feel "dirty, high-tech and excessive", to make the PC's lives interesting, and to "see what happens".  The MC has a wide variety of moves to accomplish this from "use up their resources" to "offer an opportunity" to "foreshadow a future complication".

They also have a set of "mission moves" (eg. "raise the alarm"), corporate moves (eg. "terminate a problem"), and "site moves" which they can choose from at the appropriate time.  That last one, "site moves", can be different for various areas in the campaign world; for instance, a slum are might have the move "highlight desperation or kill someone's dream".

Clocks

In addition to moves, another key concept in The Sprawl is a "clock".  A clock represents a sort of "countdown to midnight", and looks like this:

1500  1800  2100  2200  2300  0000

As the clock "counts down" (triggered by in-game events) the GM crosses off entries from left-to-right.

Mission and Corporate Clocks

For instance, during a mission the GM maintains two clocks, one for how much noise the party makes, and the other for how well their opposition notices their efforts on their own.  On the campaign level, each corporation has a clock to track how much they know (and are willing to act against) the PCs.

This "clock" mechanism helps to make the game flow and fit it's cyberpunk setting in a more natural/organic way.  For instance, the corporate clock is meant to tick down because, as the rule book notes "The corporations are like sleeping lions. You don’t want to poke them; they’ll take your arm off. The Sprawl is about poking those lions."

Because The Sprawl is a PbtA system it doesn't have the concept of "initiative" or "rounds" the same way as traditional RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons.  Instead, combat is handled in the same way as action outside of combat: the players describe what they do, the GM decides the order things happen in, and then the appropriate rolls are made.

An entire fight might be resolved in a single "Mix it Up" move ... or it might involve a series of Manoeuvre, Act Under Pressure, etc. moves.

Weapons and Armor

Weapons in The Sprawl have relatively simple stats, just an amount of harm, a "range tag", and then possibly other tags such as "loud" or "armor piercing".  For instance a Heavy Pistol deals 3 harm at close range, and is loud.

Armor is similarly simple, providing a harm reduction value (up to 3), possibly with tags (eg. a military hardsuit has 3 armor, but is clumsy).

Injuries (Harm)

If a character is hit by a weapon they reduce the damage by their armor, and then suffer the rest.  Instead of hit points, characters use a "harm clock" to track their injuries.  A character on the lower end of the clock has minor injuries, while one closer to the end needs medical attention (and one at midnight needs an ambulance immediately).

Harm Rolls

In addition, whenever a character suffers damage they have to make a Harm roll.  Instead of using a stat, this roll adds the amount of damage taken, and if the result is 7 or more the character suffers some further harm.

On a 7-9 that harm might only be that the character is knocked over, or drops something they are carrying, but on a 10+ the character could lose a limb, a cybernetic part, or be knocked unconscious (as decided by the MC.)