| From: | lward@****.HARVARD.EDU |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Frequenly Asked Questions |
| Date: | Mon, 27 Sep 1993 18:24:35 -0400 |
* SHADOWFAQ *
* Frequently Asked Questions *
* for the Shadowrun RPG *
****************************************
As of: October 1, 1993
Version: 2.5
Compiled by: Wordman (lward@****.harvard.edu)
This post is posted monthly and is meant to answer some FAQ (frequently
asked questions) about FASA's Shadowrun and to suggest some house rules
which hope to fix some of Shadowrun's deficiencies. These deficiencies
have become much fewer in number since Shadowrun II was released, and
most of the rules in here are meant to be used with SRII. Some common
fixes for SRII are still included for use with SRI, for those of you odd
enough to be using it, and these will be tagged with <OLD>.
Entirely new rules systems and/or long, radically different rules are
not included in these posts, for the sake of brevity, if nothing else.
So, you will not find, for example, rules for martial arts or new types
of spirits.
The house rules were put together from the posts of the people posting
to rec.games.frp, rec.games.cyber and flashlife. This post contains the
entire FAQ, divided into categories. The categories are:
general -- questions about real world stuff
armor -- most of these are for SRI, as armor in SRII seems OK.
combat -- guns, melee and initiative
decking -- matrix, decking, deckers, decks
magic -- sorcery, phys ads, enchanting, conjuring
mechanics -- dice, metahumanity, misc.
Generally, each entry in this post starts with a general FAQ, then
attempts to answer the question under vanilla Shadowrun rules, if
applicable. Following this are house rules relating to and/or answering
the question or concern.
Many of the house rules go very well with other house rules. The intent
of these posts is to modularize each house rule into simple components
which may be mixed and matched.
CHOICES:
Where two very similar house rules existed, either the more complex of
the two was used, or two sub-variants were listed. Some subtleties were
left out to cut down on the length of this post.
FEEDBACK:
The vanilla answers to some FAQs may be in error or dispute. Usually an
SR rule is specific as to meaning, so conflicting interpretations of a
rule should be rare. If you disagree with a vanilla answer, mail
lward@****.harvard.edu and state your alternate case. Please note that
this is if you disagree with the listed vanilla INTERPRETATION of a
rule, not the rule itself. An attempt was made to give vanilla answers
in the way which seemed to be consensus when disscussed on rec.games.frp
If you disagree with a posted house rule, please do NOT send mail to
lward@****.harvard.edu. Just don't use it.
If you have a house rule that seems reasonable, please post it to
rec.games.frp. If it is general enough, it will find its way onto these
lists.
PERSONAL NOTE FROM THE COMPILER:
My apologies for not including the names of the authors of the house
rules. I feel that this had more cons than pros (not the least of which
was, quite honestly, my having to keep track of who did what).
I do not necessarily agree with or use the house rules in these posts.
I have attempted to take my opinions out of these posts all together,
but I'm sure they seep in anyway. Again, my apologies.
Enjoy,
Wordman
lward@****.harvard.edu
**********************************
* OUTLINE *
**********************************
I. General
A. Titling posts
B. About NAGEE
C. Internet Shadowrun resources
D. Kage magazine
E. Shadowrun Products
II. Armor
A. Weakening Armor (for SRI)
B. Layering Armor
III. Combat
A. Initiative
1. Slowing down mages
2. ...and the rule of 6.
B. Hit location.
C. Grenades
D. Modifiers
E. Narcojet weapons
F. Flechettes
IV. Decking
A. Starting decker's costs
B. GMing Deckers
C. Persona programs
D. Hacking pool
E. Examples
1. Sleaze with auto-exec
2. Sleaze without auto-exec
3. Black IC
F. Sensors
V. Magic
A. Increase Initiative Spells
B. Spell Locks
1. Grounding spells
2. Locking vs. Quickening
3. Karma for locks
C. Foci
1. First Bonding
2. Masking Foci
D. Physical Adepts and metemagic
E. Superiority
1. Mages vs. Shaman
2. Physical Adepts vs. Samurai
F. Alienation
G. Grounding through Quickenings
G. Grounding through astral magicians
VI. Mechanics
A. Dice
1. The Rule of Six
2. High rolling
B. Stacking skillwires
C. Concentrations and Specializations
D. Karma Awards
**********************************
* GENERAL *
**********************************
*******
G1: How should I title my posts?
*******
Please, please, please put a header on your post identifying it as a
Shadowrun post. The most common way of doing this is by putting SRUN:
or SRII: in front of the post name. Of all the things in this post,
this is the most important. Just do it. Everyone will be happier.
*******
G2: Where can I get the Neoanarchist's Guide to Everything Else?
*******
This net.book (not to be confused with the FASA product "The
Neoanarchist's Guide to Real Life) is compiled by Jerry Stratton and
contains SR articles of every description. Available by anonymous ftp
from teetot.acusd.edu in rpg/shadowrun. Submissions can be sent to
jerry@******.acusd.edu. The most current issue of NAGEE released was
number 4.
*******
G3: What other SR resources exist on Internet?
*******
Flashlife: Send name and email address to flashlife-request@***.com
FTP Archive: ftp.umd.umich.edu /pub/frp/srun This is where to find the
Equipment list and the character sheets that I did. It is also a
good archive, so send stuff there if you need to.
CyberRPG: (mailing list of rec.games.cyber postings)
Bunch o' stuff: archive-server@*******.com Send a mail message with a
body of "send help" on one line and "send index" on the next
Jayhawk: Mary Kuhner's fiction at ftp.white.toronto.edu
/pub/frp/shadowrun/jayhawk
Discussion Group: shadowrn@*****.bitnet
Mirror archive for Austrailian runners: yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au
/pub/frp/shadowrun.
For information mail ftp@****.cc.monash.edu.au
*******
G4: Where can I get Kage?
*******
Kage is a magazine licenced by FASA to provide new stuff at a constant
rate of once every three months. Subscriptions are $20 (add $4 for
postage to Canada or Mexico, and $6 to overseas). Checks payable to
AWOL Productions
2101 West Broadway #305
POBox 6018
Columbia, MO 65205-6018
USA
Also, those interested in the Official Shadowrun Fan Club, write to:
Shadowrun Network
P.O.Box 6018
Columbia, Missouri 65205-6018
*******
G5: What Shadowrun products are absolutely necessary to play? How much
of this stuff do I need to buy?
*******
This question comes up about every other month. The response is
basically that you only absolutely need the main rulebook. The Grimore
is also usually recommended as a must if you deal with magic
significantly. In the list of prducts below, the results of a survey
are listed. The survey asked a)if the responder owned the product, b) a
rating from 1 to 10 of it, and c) a rating from 1 to 10 of how necessary
the responder found it for their game. The first column listed is the
percentage of total respondants who said they owned that product. The
middle column is average rating given to the product of those who rated
it. Note that not all respondants rated all products. The last column
is an average of how crucial the respondants found the product. Again,
the average is out of those who gave a crucial rating. As you can see
by the lack of datal listed, this is not intended to be a deeply
scientific survey.
*******
G6: What are all the Shaowrun products currently out? What are their
product codes?
*******
See the above entry for what the numbers mean.
RULES & TECHBOOKS:
Shadowrun II [7900] 100% 8.60 9.93
Downtown Militarized Zone 53% 5.25 2.50
GM's screen for SRII 80% 6.25 5.36
Grimore II [7903] 93% 7.93 7.85
Paranatural Animals of North America 87% 6.62 4.58
Paranatural Animals of Europe [7112] 67% 7.20 4.70
Rigger Black Book [7108] 93% 6.93 6.29
Shadowbeat [7109] 73% 6.36 4.00
Shadowtech [7110] 93% 8.14 6.85
Sprawl Sites [7103] 80% 6.42 5.38
Street Samurai Catalog [7104] 93% 7.07 7.00
Virtual Realities [7107] 100% 6.80 5.53
OUTDATED OR NO LONGER PRINTED:
Shadowrun First Edition [7100] 100% 7.13 5.58
Grimore First Edition [7106] 87% 6.92 4.36
GM's screen First Edition 67% 4.70 2.14
SOURCEBOOKS:
Corporate Shadowfiles 7.00 8.85
London Sourcebook [7203] 60% 7.44 3.80
Native American Nations Volume I [7202] 80% 6.50 4.83
Native American Nations Volume II [7207] 60% 6.67 4.67
Neoanarchist's Guide to North America [7206] 67% 6.40 5.27
Neoanarchist's Guide to Real Life [7208] 87% 7.54 5.69
Seattle Sourcebook [7201] 87% 7.54 6.50
Tir Tairngire Sourcebook [7210] 67% 7.70 5.80
RUNS:
Bottled Demon 67% 7.00 4.00
Dark Angel 33% 7.20 5.40
DNA/DOA 67% 5.90 3.50
Dragon Hunt 53% 5.13 2.29
Dreamchipper 53% 6.25 4.25
Elven Fire 47% 6.00 3.83
Harlequin [7306] 80% 8.75 6.17
Imago 47% 7.57 4.67
Ivy and Chrome 60% 5.44 3.89
A Killing Glare 33% 5.80 2.75
Mercurial 53% 7.00 5.00
One Stage Before 47% 6.43 4.83
Queen Euphoria
Total Eclipse 53% 5.38 1.86
Universal Brotherhood 53% 8.00 5.13
FICTION: [ISBN codes]
Instead of a crucial rating, here the last column gives an average (from
1 to 10) of how accurately the respondent felt the novel described the
universe in which he or she ran.
2XS 60% 7.56 7.00
Changling 53% 6.88 6.63
Choose Your Enemies Carefully 60% 5.33 6.00
Find Your Own Truth 60% 5.00 5.88
Into the Shadows 60% 8.00 8.88
Never Deal with a Dragon 60% 5.56 6.00
Never Trust an Elf [0-451-45178-3] 53% 5.38 5.38
Night's Pawn [0-451-45310-7] 40% 7.67 7.67
Shadowplay [0-451-45228-3] 47% 7.29 7.14
Streets of Blood [0-451-45199-6] 40% 8.33 7.67
Striper Assassin [0-451-45313-1] 27% 5.25 5.00
UPCOMING PRODUCTS: (titles may not be exact)
The numbers for these products indicate a projected rating average, and
an average of how likely the respondant is to buy it (1 to 10)
Ares Security Catalog 2054 7.27 9.54
Corporate Security Guidebook 6.91 9.33
Denver Box Set 5.91 7.55
Germany Sourcebook 6.90 8.14
Harlequin's Back 9.17 8.92
Running Short 7.27 8.08
Tir Na Nog: The Land of Youth 6.45 7.08
RUMORS: (These have all been mentioned as being in production, but the
validity of such claims is unknown).
map pack 5.60 6.36
Neoanarchist's Guide to Europe 7.00 7.75
*******
* G7: What are some good books for background reading?
*******
Above and beyond the standard cyberpunk books (Neuromancer, et.
al.) here are some books for specific facets of Shadowrun.
Rigging: _Hardwired_, Walter Jon Williams
Gangs: _Do_Or_Die_, Leon Bing, ISBN 0-06-092291-5
Upper-crust/political social gatherings: _The_Crown_Jewels, Walter Jon
Williams, ISBN 0-812-55798-0
U.S. State/City/Downtown Maps: _U.S._City_to_City_Atlas_for_the_
traveling_professional_, Pinstripe, ISBN 0-933162-45-6
Folklore, American Indian: _American_Indian_Myths_&_Legends, Erdoes &
Ortiz, ISBN 0-394-74018-1
Folklore, Mayan: _Popol_Vuh_, Dennis Tedlock, ISBN 0-671-61771-0
Magical Groups: _The_Historical_Illuminatus_Chronicles, Robert Anton
Wilson
Street Living: _Shade_, Emily Davenport, ISBN 0-451-45062-0
**********************************
* ARMOR *
**********************************
******* <OLD>
A1: Armor is too powerful. What is to be done?
*******
HOUSE 1: Treat the current autosuccesses from armor as auto-sixes.
HOUSE 2: Armor does not give auto successes. It gives it's rating in
dice (used as body dice) to damage resistance.
VARIANT 1: Light armor gives 1 autosuccess in addition to dice.
Heavy armor gives 2 autosuccesses in addition to dice. Form-fitting
just gives dice.
HOUSE 3: Armor as vanilla, but impact of attack can bruise. Resist
damage with Body and dodge. If this does not get rid of the damage,
then armor reduces damage. If any real damage gets through armor, the
person takes that wound as normal, but if the armor absorbs all
remaining damage, the character takes a stun wound equal to one wound
category less than the damage that the armor cancelled.
HOUSE 4: Armor gives no autosuccesses or dice. Instead it subtracts its
rating from the Power of the attack. Zero power attacks do no damage.
HOUSE 5: Armor degrades one point (permanently) if a) a weapon hits
with a deadly damage code (regardless of whether the character resists
the damage or not) or if b) the character inside the armor takes any
damage at all. Note that both conditions can be satisfied from a single
hit, degrading the armor by 2 points. This is the most that armor can
be degraded by a single weapon hit.
HOUSE 6: Roll a number of dice equal to armor rating. Add them together
and divide power level of the attack (dropping all fractions). The
result becomes the number of autosuccesses.
*******
A2: If I wear a lined coat over a secure jacket, do I get the benefits
of both?
*******
VANILLA: No. Only the highest rating is valid. Armor is not
cumulative.
VANILLA (optional): Almost. You can layer armor, getting the rating of
the highest, plus one-half (round-down) the rating of the next highest.
Usuyally, you can only layer a jacket or coat over clothing style armor,
so the lined coat/secure jacket ensamble is out. [This rule is on pg. 94
of the Neoanarchist's Guide to Real Life, which came out after SRII,
giving it precidence.]
HOUSE 1: Each additional suit adds 1 to the rating of the toughest
armor. If the additional armor has no rating in the category it is
resisting, it gives no bonuses.
**********************************
* COMBAT *
**********************************
*******
C1: How do I stop magicians with Increase Initiative Spell Locks from
riding circles around cybered people?
*******
VANILLA <OLD>: Since you are limited to a maximum of four actions,
characters with very high initiative scores will likely run out of
actions, dodge dice and defence dice very early on in combat, leaving
them open to multiple attacks resisted without aid.
PSEUDO-VANILLA: While not actually in the rulebooks, the following has
been mentioned by Paul Hume and Tom Dowd: when "stacking" spells over
cyberware, only the highest rating holds. Reaction enhancements are not
cumulative. This doesn't answer the question, but is important. In
SRII, there are no cyber versions of Increase Initiative spells.
HOUSE 1: Disallow Increase Reaction spells.
HOUSE 2 <OLD>: Change Increase Reaction spells to only gain one die for
every TWO levels of the spell. Thus Inc. Reac. 2 is equivalent to Wired
1, Inc. Reac. 4 is equiv to Wired 2.
HOUSE 3: Change the number of phases between a character's actions from
10 (7 in SRI) to a variable number, based on cyberware/spells. Everyone
gets only one die for Initiative. The value of the roll is added to
Reaction (cyber/spell adjusted). Normal characters get an action every
7 phases, other characters by this table (for SRI, subtract 3 from each
of these values:
wired boosted Increase Physical
_level_______reflexes____reflexes____Reaction____Adepts__
1 7 8 9 8
2 6 7 8 6
3 5 6 7 5
4 - - 6 4
VARIANT 1: This same idea, but limiting the Reaction bonuses of the
types of cyberware and/or spells as well (+1 per level of wired, for
example, instead of +2).
VARIANT 2: Don't use the table, but say that each extra die acts as
a -1 decrement from the 10 base cycle rate. The extra dice are not
rolled for initiative.
*******
C2: Does the rule of 6 apply to initiative?
*******
VANILLA: No. Initiative is not a test and the rule of 6 applies only to
tests. [This can be found in the eratta sheets].
HOUSE 1: Yes.
HOUSE 2: Yes, but only to the nao explain this is by saying that the
more skill someone has, the more likely they are to shoot someone in a
vital and/or exposed location. Therefore, a hit location system of
sorts is built-in to the system.
HOUSE 1: Use DMZ-like hit location system. Mark two damage tracks (one
mental, one physical) as follows:
+1 +2 +3 +4
12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 D
When a character is injured, roll 2d6 to determine where on the track
the damage is applied. Wounds do the same number of "boxes" as in
Shadowrun. For example, a Moderate wound with a 2d6 roll of 6 fills in
boxes 6, 5 and 4, giving a +2 modifier to all the character's die rolls
thereafter. Skip any boxes that are already filled in. At 0 the
character is just unconscious; at D, comatose (mental) or dead
(physical). Additional boxes on the Mental track wrap onto the Physical
track.
*******
C4: Why are grenades so wimpy?
*******
VANILLA: SRII allows the number of successes to stage up damage as well
as accuracy [SRII pg. 97, col. 2]. Also, use repurcussion rules. [SRII,
pg. 97-98].
HOUSE 1: Increase the base damage of grenades to D.
*******
C5: Where are the more obscure combat modifiers found?
*******
Most of the modifiers to combat are on page 89 of SRII. Others are:
Reactive trigger <OLD> extra shot for single shot weapons (Street Sam
pg18,20) This is standard equipment on any gun that can use it in SRII
and is basically ignored/incorporated into the combat rules.
Ultrasound Sight negates visiblity mods (Street Sam, pg 36)
Image Magnification (SRII pg 90, 240)
*******
C6: How to narcoject weapons work?
*******
VANILLA: Roll combat pool dice against "the target number". Then "if
the test succeeds, the target makes a body test" against the toxin
[SRII, pg 277]. The problem here is: what target number? While
narcojet toxin is given a power rating, narcojet weapons are not, so...
HOUSE 1: Attacker A rolls firearms dice normally. Target T rolls combat
pool against A's firearms rating. T's sucesses are subtracted from A's.
If the net sucesses are greater than one-half (round-down) T's impact
armor, the dart penetrates and T must resist the effects of the drug
with Body dice (not-including Dermal Armor, but some toxin fighting
cyberware may apply).
HOUSE 2: Give Narcojet weapons a power of 6 for the purposes of
determining if the dart penetrates impact armor. Each success from the
combat pool of the attacker increases the power. Each success of the
combat pool of the target reduces the power. If the power is not
reduced to 0, the toxin is injected, and the target must use body dice
to resist the toxin.
******
C7: As written, the Viper is a powerful pistol. How do I stop it?
******
VANILLA: The Viper has a damage code of 9S(f). However, it is also
capable of burst fire, giving a damage code of 12D(f). Against an
armored target, this becomes 12S, which is rather a lot for a light
pistol.
HOUSE 1: Drop the Viper's base power to 6 instead of 9.
HOUSE 2: Make the Viper incapible of burst fire.
HOUSE 3: Unrealated to the above, a suggestion is made to make the viper
an inherantly silent weapon that does not use bullets, but rather sprays
the flechettes directly. This would make gas venting useless, but would
likely reduce recoil anyway.
**********************************
* DECKING *
**********************************
*******
D1. Using Virtual Realities rules, how does a starting decker use Tech
to get a deck? Does he pay street costs? What about programs?
*******
VANILLA: Continue to use the prices in the original rules for purposes
of beginning equipment.
HOUSE 1: Use street costs in Virtual Realities for decks and programs.
Remember street decks do not come with MPCP chips.
HOUSE 2: Use tech money to buy hours of deck-making/programming time.
300Y will give you one day of time. There are no skill rolls to cut the
time nor can time overlap (i.e. no saving days by designing one
component while another's chips are cooking).
*******
D2. How to you keep non-decking players from being bored while decking
is happening and vice-versa?
*******
VANILLA: Use the quick and dirty resolution system from Virtual
Realities.
HOUSE 1: The Practical Approach: Create deckers that have combat or
other skills. This keeps them in the action.
HOUSE 2: The Practical But More Limiting To Your Players Approach: Use
only NPC deckers. Have all decking happen behind the scenes.
HOUSE 3: The Theatric Approach: Handle decking as a role-playing
encounter, rolling dice only occasionally. A creative GM can keep all
the players interested in the description of the place (use lots of
sculpted systems) as well as have the decker interact with the Matrix
the way it is intended to be -- on a human level.
HOUSE 4: The Intellectually Unsatisfying but Very Effective Approach:
Have the decker character run by himself. Literally. Give the player
the node map (or make him make one up using the random tables in SR) and
let him make all rolls for himself as well as IC. This requires trust-
worthy players, but works well for many campaigns.
HOUSE 5: The Multi-tasking Approach: Shift between Matrix and real
action. This takes practice, but once the timing is down, it can be
good.
*******
D3: Do Persona programs take up storage space?
*******
No. They are hard-coded into optical chips in the deck. The size
ratings given in the rules are useful only when you are writing one of
these programs.
*******
D4: What, exactly, makes up the hacking pool?
*******
Hacking Pool = Natural React + Skill + (2*Response Increase Level).
Cyberware (except for some of the new goodies in Shadowtech like the
Math SPU) has NO effect on hacking pool. This includes cyberware which
increases reaction unless otherwise stated (e.g. Wired and Boosted
reflexes don't help at all).
*******
D5: How the hell does decking work?
*******
This example uses full Virtual Realities rules, inc. modes and load.
Decker with Reaction: 5, Computer: 6, Intelligence: 6, Hacking Pool: 11
Deck:
MPCP: 6 Attack: 6 (72Mp)
Bod: 6 Auto-Execute: 4 (16Mp)
Evasion: 6 Deception: 4 (32Mp)
Masking: 6 Sleaze: 4 (48Mp)
Sensors: 6 Hardening: 3 Response: 0
[Note, this deck is actually illegal. The sum of the persona ratings
can't exceed 3 times the MPCP (in this case, 18). This error will not be
fixed to keep the numbers a bit more managable.]
NOTE: Whenever pool is mentioned, remember that the number of dice from
the pool cannot exceed the rating of the utility being run. (SRII, pg
85.)
Decker loads all utils to start with. Enters in Masking Mode with MPCP
set at 6. This gives effective ratings of:
Bod/Eva/Msk/Sen: 3/3/9/3 Load: 5 (MPCP/2 + (Mp in active mem)/100))
Decker tries to sleaze into a Green-4 SAN with an Access-4.
SAN Green: 2 Threshold Rating: 4
Max Load: 8 IC Load: 2
Decker enters node to contact range, Load goes to 7 which is 'normal
load'.
SLEAZE with Auto-exec:
Execution Test: none. SAN Rating - Auto-exec rating = 0. No T#
penalty.
Opposed Success Test Decker IC
# of Dice 4 (Sleaze Rtg) + pool 4 (IC Rtg)
Target Number 4 (Node Rtg) 9 (Deckers Masking)
Decker wins if Her Succ - Node Succ > 2
The node wins if the same value is < 0
All other results (difference being 0,1 or 2) are 'ties'.
SLEAZE without Auto-exec:
Execution Test: Decker Node
# of Dice 4 (Sleaze Rtg) + pool 4 (Node Rtg)
Target Number 4 (Node Rtg) 9 (Deckers Masking)
Decker wins if Her Succ - Node Succ > 2
The node wins if the same value is < 0
All other results (difference being 0,1 or 2) are 'ties'.
Then as Opposed Success Test above. Pool does not refresh.
Next situation: Datastore with Black IC:4. Black IC swarms out and
attacks.
This situation will almost never happen. The Black IC needs a trigger,
like Access or Barrier or it will either a) never activate, or b) always
activate when anyone -- even legitimate users -- enter the node. It
could also come in, activated by an alert. If activated by alert, the
Black IC acts as Probe IC, and would interrogate the decker when it
found her. For the sake of the argument, let's say the decker failed
to sleaze or deceive the Black IC. Since she was in a datastore
scanning for data, she was probably in Sensor Mode. All utilities are
still in active memory, giving her a load of 7.
Let's say the Black IC has Shifting Defence (VR pg.22)
When the IC activates, its load gets added to the node's. Assuming that
its load rating is 2*rating, its load is 8; however, it also has
Shifting Defence which increases the rating (ONLY for the purpose of
determining load) by one, making the rating 5, giving a 10 load. When
the IC activates, this 10 load is added to the 7 of the decker. 17 is 2
more than the Maximum Load of the node (see below). This sends the node
into overload. This triggers a passive alert (but since the decker is
being attacked, this is somewhat academic). IC behaves as if it were 2
rating points lower than normal, as do utilities. For simplicity (too
late!), the events of this paragrph will be ignored in the following
example.
Datastore Orange: 3 Threshold Rating: 5
Max Load: 15 IC Load: 10
COMBAT
Initiative:
Decker gets 1d6 + Reaction. No pool.
IC gets 7 (Orange Node) + 4 (IC's rating) = 11 (IC probably wins)
IC Attack (The VR Black IC says "once the Black IC scores a hit the
decker may Hang Tough or Jack Out." I take this to mean that
the IC needs to score a hit in normal combat before it gets
nasty; like having to touch someone for Poison Touch to work.
This is not explicit in the rules, but my guess is the IC needs
one net to start its process and DOES, incidentally, damage the
DECK when it does so):
Resisted Success Test:
IC Attack: T# = 3 (Deck's current Bod (in Sensor Mode))
dice = 4 (IC Rating)
Decker Resist: T# = 5 (Node Rtg)
dice = MPCP + pool. Deck's hardening gives 3
auto-successes.
If Decker gets more successes, no damage, Black IC hasn't got
hold of her. Decker gets to attack.
If the IC gets more successes, net successes apply to the
damage track of the deck, Black IC gets hold. Black IC
Effects (see below).
Decker Attacks (w/ Auto-exec)
Decker's pool refreshes
Execution Test: none. Node Rating - Auto-exec = 1, so +1 to all
Decker's T#s with the attack utility.
Opposed Success Test
Decker Attack: Decker IC
# of Dice 6 (Attack Rtg) + pool 4 (IC Rtg)
Target Number 8 (5(Node Rtg) + 2 due 3 (Deckers Bod)
to IC's Shifting Defence
+ 1 due to Auto-exec)
Side with greater number of successes damages the other. Decker
must overcome threshold, IC must overcome hardening. If the
attack program had a staging and Decker did damage, the damage
would be the staging plus the net successes. If the Black IC
hits, it gives the net successes in damage to the deck. Black IC
Effects (see below).
Decker Attacks (without Auto-exec)
Decker's Pool refreshes
Execution Test (aka Aiming): T#: 5 (Node Rating)
dice: pool
Total successes - 3 (for Node Threshold) add to the Attack
Program's Rating for next step. If 0 net successes, attack
misses.
Resisted Success Test for Damage
Decker: T# = 5 (Node rating)
dice = 6 (Attack rtg) + # successes from Execution test
+ remaining pool.
IC: T# = 6 (Decker's Computer skill)
dice = 4 (IC Rating)
Net successes apply to IC. If the Utility had a staging, the
damage would be base staging plus net successes.
Black IC Effects
Decker's pool doesn't refresh
Hang Tough
Resisted Success Test
IC: T# = Decker's Body (not Int in Virtual Realities)
dice = 4 (Rating)
Decker Resist: T# = 4 (IC Rating)
dice = Her Body + remaining pool, Hardening Auto-succ.
IC net successes do damage (one box/succes) to Decker.
Jack Out
Unresisted Test
Decker: T# = 4 (IC Rtg)
dice = willpower
Any successes and she's out, but must use Body to resist 4M2
stun damage. Then she must resist Dump Shock (SR 102).
*******
* D6: What good are Sensors?
*******
VANILLA: Sensors only take part in play against other deckers.
HOUSE 1: The Sensors rating is used as the number of dice for perception
tests in the matrix.
HOUSE 2: Any programs which rely on Sensors (like Analyze) cannot
generate more successes than your Sensors rating.
HOUSE 3: Change the target of IC resisting Sensor programs to Sensors
rather than Evasion.
**********************************
* MAGIC *
**********************************
*******
M1: How do Increase Initiative spells work?
*******
VANILLA: Each level of the spell adds an extra die to the caster's
Initiative. The number of successes scored on the spell sucess test is
irrelevant.
HOUSE: For ways to control this spell, see the Reaction section of the
Combat section.
*******
M2: How does grounding spells into a spell lock work?
*******
VANILLA: Spells and spell locks behave like living things on the astral
plane. When they come in contact, they fight. If the spell wins, it
grounds into the lock. Spell locks fight with a rating of 1 (regardless
of what force the spell they are locking was cast at or how many
successes were made during the casting.) If the attacking spell was a
mana spell, the astral portion of the lock is destroyed, and the spell
it was locking dissapates; the lock itself will have to be rebonded, but
is intact. If the attacking spell was a physical spell, it grounds into
the lock (in real space), destroying it. If the attacking spell was (in
addition to being a physical spell) an area spell, the spell effects
those around the lock in a normal way. Note that this is not astral
combat as in SRI, but a single opposed success test [SRII, pg 139, 149-
150].
*******
M3: What is the difference between spell locks and Quickening?
*******
VANILLA: Only Initiates can use Quickening; any full magician can bond
a lock. Locks have and astral rating of 1; quickened spells have a
rating equal to the force they were cast at (actual force, not how many
die were used). Quickened spells have no physical component.
*******
M4: Can anyone pay the karma for bonding a spell lock?
*******
VANILLA: No. The same magician must a) cast the spell to be locked, b)
lock the spell, and c) pay the karma. The magician does not have to
lock the spell TO himself, however. There is an astral link between the
caster and the lock.
*******
M5: The rules for First Bonding in the Grimore II (pg. 26) allow PCs to
bond powerful foci for nearly no karma if enough Arcana and Orichalcum
is used. How can that be stopped?
*******
VANILLA: Remember First bonding only applies to foci that have never
before been bonded by anyone: foci just produced, (in most cases)
specifically by and/or for the bonder. Second, Arcana and Orichalcum
are really expensive (wether the cost is measured in nuyen or time).
Making foci can take a long time.
HOUSE 1: Apply the modifiers to final cost of the foci, not to the base
cost. That is ((base*rating)-modifiers), not ((base-modifiers)*rating).
In other words, bonding a power foci rating 3 using 4 units of
orichalcum would cost (7*3)-4 = 17, not (7-4)*3 = 9.
HOUSE 2: Keep the rules as is, but make the First Bonding mean bonding
the magic to the focus, not the focus to the magician. In other words,
the First Bonding makes the focus a focus (gives it it's astral presence
and abilities), then the focus needs to be bonded to the magician as per
the tables on the next page (pg49).
******
M6: Can foci be masked?
******
VANILLA: Yes. An Initiate can mask a number of rating points in foci up
to his grade. (GrimII, pg 46)
******
M7: Can Physical Adepts use metamagic?
******
VANILLA: The Grimore II finally answered parts of this one.
Centering: Yes, for Physical Skills (Grim II, pg 43)
HOUSE 1:
Quickening: No. Can't cast spells.
Dispelling: No. Cannot use sorcery skill in that way.
Sheilding: No. PAs have no magic pool.
Masking: Yes.
Anchoring: No. Can't cast spells.
HOUSE 2:
Masking: Yes, but only if the PA has Astral Perception.
*******
M8: Which are better, Shamans or Mages?
*******
VANILLA: Just the facts:
_category_______________________Shaman_______________________Mages_____
Spells Cast identical
Sorcery Bonuses Totem dice, always avail elemental service
Category By totem only by elemental type
Sorcery Penalties by totem none
Conjure Nature Spirits Elementals
Time of summoning One action Force * hours
Length of service Until sun rises or sets continuously
or until services used or until services used
Abilities Limited Extensive
Range Limited to domain summoned in no limits
Types restricted by domain by materials used
Initiation Extras Grade added to totem dice <OLD>
Great Forms can cross domains
Astral Quests to totem plane to all elemental planes
*******
M9: Physical Adepts vs. Samurai
*******
[This argument comes up about four times a year, it seems like. Usually
all the different opinions are expressed within the first four or five
posts, then the net degenerates into extended point/counterpoint for a
long time for no apparent reason. The following is a list of some of the
opinions expressed during the last time this topic was discussed.]
PhysAds can beat up on samurai.
No they can't.
Yes they can.
No they can't.
Yes they can.
Physical Adepts have trouble competing in a high-combat, high-tech
campaign or in a power escalation situation.
Physical Adepts are much harder to abuse than street samurai.
No they aren't
PA's are cool if played in the right way.
It is very difficult to make a survivable PA using the current rules.
No it isn't.
Yes it is.
PAs have more style.
Look, I'm telling you, PAs can kick sammy ass.
No they can't.
Yes they can.
No they can't.
Yes they can!
NO!
YES!
NO!
Well, this .particular. samurai can beat any PA ever.
No he can't.
Yes he can.
No he can't.
Yes he can.
[Etc.]
This is getting old.
No it isn't.
*******
M10: Can an alienation victim move?
*******
VANILLA: Not specified. In a novel, however, a character does cross the
street while alienated.
HOUSE 1: The person can only move if the spirit allows him to.
HOUSE 2: No. You cannot move while alienated.
HOUSE 3: Yes, but only at walking pace, and even to do that requires a
Willpower roll against half the spirit's Essence (round-down).
*******
M11: Can spells ground through quickenings?
*******
VANILLA: Not stated either way. However, because there is no other
aspect to a quickening besides the spell itself, the answer is no:
spells cannot be cast at other spells.
HOUSE 1: Yes. The astral circuit which is created acts as a bridge into
realspace.
*******
M11: Can spells ground through astrally perceiving/projecting magicians?
*******
VANILLA: They definitely can ground through perceiving magicians [SRII,
pg 146, col 1]. If is never actually stated that spells can ground
through projecting magicians, though it is strongly implied [Neo-
Anarchists Guide to Real Life, pg 21], and never refuted.
**********************************
* MECHANICS *
**********************************
*******
Q1: Are a six and seven (or 12 and 13, etc.) Target number the same?
*******
VANILA: For the most part, yes; howvever, if someone has, say a +2
modifier to do something, six and seven become 8 and 9, which is quite a
differece. This works both ways -- with target number of 4, a +2
modifer is effectively the same as a +3 modifier. Six and seven are can
be different in opposed success tests, as well (rating 7 IC is different
from Rating 6 IC).
HOUSE 1: The rule of six is altered. When 'rerolling' sixes, the value
added is five instead of six. A six on the reroll adds 5 + a new die
under the same rules. Thus (with one die) rolling a 6 then 4 yeilds 5 +
4 = 9. Rolling a 6 then 6 then 4 yields 5 + 5 + 4 = 14.
*******
Q2: When your target number is 4, but you roll an 18, do you get any
bonuses?
*******
VANILLA: No. Only the number of successes matters, not the highest
number rolled.
HOUSE 1: You gain an extra success for every multiple of six over the
target numer. Thus T# + 6 is two successes, T# + 12 is three successes.
HOUSE 2: Multiples of the target number are extra successes. With a T#
of 4, an 8 gives two successes, a 12 would give three total.
VARIANT: Only applies to target numbers 5 or greater.
*******
Q3: If I have level 3 skillwires with a rating 3 firearms skillsoft as
well as a firearms skill of 5, when I slot the chip is my firearms skill
5 (normal skill level) or 8 (the sum of the chip and normal level)?
*******
VANILLA: Neither. Your skill is 3, the level of the skillsoft.
Skillwires override existing skills. The normal Shadowrun guideline is
when two skills/systems are operating at once, use the highest of the
two, do not sum the ratings. For example, a samurai with Wired Reflexes
2 and a Increase Reaction +1 spell on him only gets 2 extra dice (from
the higher of the two systems), not three. Note that Skillwires are an
exception to this rule as they .always. use the skillsoft rating.
*******
Q4: How do concentrations and specializations work?
*******
VANILLA: The mechanics of concentrations and specializations (c/s)
differ widely depending on when in a characters life they are used,
either during character creation or after character creation.
During character creation one concentration can be chosen per skill
(if desired). This gives the character what amounts to two skills. For
example, Bob spends 6 skill points to buy Firearms 6. He then decides
to concentrate in Pistols. Bob now has a Firearms 5 skill and a Pistols
7 skill. A character can also take one specialization per
concentration. Bob chooses to specialize in the Preditor II, giving him
Firearms 4, Pistols 6 and Preditor II 8. Note the no extra skill points
were spent.
After character generation, the only difference between normal skills
and c/s (apart from the narrowness of focus, of course) is karma cost to
improve them . Treat the normal skill, the concentration and the
specialization as different skills. Bob has some karma points. He
could increase any and/or all of his normal or c/s skills.
In SRI, to increase his Firearms to 5, he'd have to spend 8 karma
(current rating (5) x 2 (normal skill)). Bumping his Pistol skill to 7
would cost 9 points (current rating (6) x 1.5 (concentration)). Moving
Preditor II to 9 would take 8 points (current rating (8) X 1
(specialization)). Note the increasing any one of these skills has _no_
effect on the other two.
In SRII, the deal is the same, except you use the new rating, not the
current one. So Firearms to 5 would be 10, Pistol to 7 would be 11 and
Preditor II to 7 would cost 9.
*******
Q4: How much karma/cash do you usually award?
*******
VANILLA: A recent survey conducted on the subject indicate the average
karma/cash award is 5.45 karma and 35,000 nuyen.
