When comparing 13th Age vs Cyberpunk 2020, the Slant community recommends Cyberpunk 2020 for most people. In the question“What are the best tabletop RPGs?” Cyberpunk 2020 is ranked 17th while 13th Age is ranked 27th. The most important reason people chose Cyberpunk 2020 is:
With its system for creating character traits and backstory, CB2020 inspires players to build well-rounded characters with adventure seeds built directly into their histories. Skill-checks are based on a D10 roles plus attribute and skill values against difficulty levels, and combat tends to be quick and dirty, keeping the focus on the action and allowing for cinematic gameplay.
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Pros
Pro The game is built for people who've done it before
The world is half built, letting you get in and leave your mark. Each class plays mechanically different than other d20 versions. Skills are placed by backgrounds. It's a short hand and interesting way of playing DnD.
Pro Long lists of skills are gone completely
And covered by backgrounds (much like FATE or Cortex+) so that players aren't searching through lists of skills and what they can do constantly.
Pro Gonzo without the grid
13th Age has some very gonzo fights with party combos, lots of variable powers for monsters and PC's but as a simple set of rules for combat that speed it up without losing a lot of options.
Pro Deep character creation and fast-paced action
With its system for creating character traits and backstory, CB2020 inspires players to build well-rounded characters with adventure seeds built directly into their histories. Skill-checks are based on a D10 roles plus attribute and skill values against difficulty levels, and combat tends to be quick and dirty, keeping the focus on the action and allowing for cinematic gameplay.
Pro Faithful rendition of "cyberpunk" fiction
Pro Universal Stat+Skill+d10! roll-system for determining success
There is a universal roll of using a character's appropriate Stat, a Skill related to that stat and to the action needed, and an exploding d10 die (if you roll a 10, you will start to have adequate "critical hit" thrills by rolling some more, but if you roll a 1 that is a potentially dangerous Fumble on the Fumble Chart, 60% of the time).
Cons
Con Too similar to 4th
Con The Icons and the PC relationships to them can confuse
Can be confusing, especially for new players.
Con It doesn't really do anything new, it just looks pretty
Con Chance may be more important than strategy
With a system that gives every roll a 10 percent chance to be a fumble or critical hit (respectively), gameplay can at times become somewhat arbitrary. Some players and GMs may find this high level of randomness enjoyable as a way of disrupting well-conceived plans, and the excellent fumble tables in particular contain loads of hilarity and mayhem. Others may feel the need to 'hack' the rules a bit.
Con A future that is almost an alternate history at this point
Set in a time that is almost upon us, the 1980s vision of the dark future can seem anachronistic, and it may require serious suspension of disbelief for anyone who did not grow up with the genre. Imagine cassette tapes were still around, mobile phones were still the size of a brick, and wifi was rare and expensive.