/srg/ Shadowrun General - Hackerman

>>54104401
My character lives in a sewer and eats devil rats. He doesn't need to know how a computer works.

>>54104503
>doesn't understand anything about computers
>lives worst possible life

There's a connection here.

The players in my game have decided to rob a group I included in the news mostly for fluff and now I need to decide what the defences would be like.

A group of Swiss Guard are in the city to transport the bones of a saint back to the Vatican. What sort of defences would they have/what sort of threat are the swiss guard in shadowrun?

One of the group is an Adversary-Mentor Black Magic mage who's convinced the rest of the group it would be a great idea and get him loads of favour with his mentor.

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>>54104956
Odds are very good that there will be at least one or two members of the Order of St. Sylvester as part of the commission. Sylvestrines are Awakened monks/priests with a focus on protective and healing magic, makes a lot of sense for some of them to be on board to ensure the safety of the relics/make sure no one tries to do a switcheroo and turn saint knuckles into reagents. There's also the possibility that the New Jesuits (papal clean-up squad) will be on hand, or irregular assets provided by the local diocese (the Catholic Church in Shadowrun encourages more militancy and militias of the faithful) to be the bulk of the security force, with the Swiss Guard being only a small detachment mostly there for ceremonial reasons.

For the Guard themselves, I don't know of anything in particular about them in SR. The modern Guard are very up-to-date in terms of surveillance technology and techniques, and non-violent confrontation (lots of experience dealing with tourists and sorting them out into 'idiots to be redirected' and 'threats to be dealt with'). They're all 19-30 year olds from the Swiss Army, so odds are very good they'll have some high-end combat 'ware. Also, if there is not a physad with a halberd weapon focus I'll be very disappointed.

>>54104401
>How many points do you have in Computer?

My first time playing Shadowrun 4th me and my friend got invited to a group and were the only two who had no idea about the setting.
GM didn't help at all with character creation aside from saying stuff like "Get a good commlink" or "Get more initative passes". We both went into the game with 0 points in computer and Novatech Navis + Fairlight Caliban. Safe to say, we were not very tech savy.

>>54104401
If you only care about being aware of what commlinks are and why you shouldn't dunk them in your toilet, you're probably better off just putting knowledge skills toward something like Matrix. No need to waste active skill points on it unless you're actually going to do some hacking.

Worst case just get a hacker contact. Let the GM slam his own head into the wall of the matrix rules.

>>54104401
>Everyone should have at least 2-3
Only if you're going to do anything considered difficult with a computer. At which point you might as well have 6, and Logic around the same.

>When you need to do something difficult or extraordinary, or when you need to avoid someone who has got you in their crosshairs, you have to roll the dice to determine a result.
Shadowrun is not the game for rolling simple shit, whether it be tying your shoelaces, driving a car, or checking your email. If you're not the guy for finding obscure data on the matrix or other uses of Computer, you don't need it.

When you lobotomize someone, and replace their higher functions with chrome that simulates a real personality, does that "body" still retain enough essence to do magic? Could you theoretically have a lobotomite with a machine brain do magic? I have a feeling this immediately classifies as a cyber-zombie, but if you only replace the brain you're not taking out an enormous amount of essence in regards to the amount of flesh replaced, right?

Imagine a mage that can literally never betray you, and how never demands a salary. Wouldn't that be some CEO's delightful pet project?

>>54104401
I have absolutely 0 points in computer and gremlins to prove it.
"I don't care how important your spells are, you sit in the backseat with your hands on your lap!"
And also "For the good of the team if you go in my room I will shoot you. A trip to the doc down the street for a bullet wound is a lot cheaper then my deck." Are things i have been told.

>>54106022
I'm pretty sure you can do that with Personafixes
Just give them one whose personality is "Group fanboy" or something similar
IIRC you don't even need to implant anything for that

>>54105337
>consecrated physads with monohalberds
Take my fucking money

>>54106237
I'm kinda sad that 5e did away with dikote by saying it's standard on everything now, because we can't give people classic cyberpunk super-blades to show how badass they are.

Street Grimoire says that Druids use Int to resist drain. Forbidden Arcana says they use Cha. Which one are they actually supposed to use?

>>54106595
If you don't think there are "super" melee weapons in 5e, you're not looking hard enough.

What are the advantages of melee weapons over guns? You would think that they wouldn't be all that practical considering every hobo and cranked up ganger has a gun of some sort.

>>54106929
For real? Not much.

>>54106971
Some people like to say that you never have to reload a knife. I would like to make the very real distinction that very few knives can be reloaded.

>>54106929
They tend to be quieter, and easier to sneak around more or less, depending on materials. Guns also aren't great in melee ranges usually, and when you're running around tight corridors, sometimes a sword or knife is best.

Also, axes don't need to reload.

>>54106929
Silent, don't need reloading, if you're an adept you can do some silly things with them, and that's about it, really. Loads of flavor, but not the best for practical use instead of a good gun.

>>54106929
Legality and ubiquity are often overlooked. A lot of places will hold firearms while you're inside, but not all of them take melee weapons, too.

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GM called our session on an interesting note last week

>Fixer sets us up with a meet
>Mr. Johnson and his bodyguard have a private table for us at a some fancy sushi place
>Mr. Johnson is describing the run, sounds like a pretty standard extraction of a scientist from an MCT R&D building downtown
>While the face and Mr. Johnson's discussion is happening, street samurai gets a text message from a trusted, longtime smuggler contact
>"Hey, are you guys at a meet right now, at that new Nishiki Sushi place right now?"
>Yeah, why?
>"Is the Johnson a middle-aged looking Japanese guy, nice suit, neck tattoo, asking you to hit a Mitsuhama place?"
>Spot on. What's this about, though?
>"I can't explain myself, but tell (face) to pass on this run. I'll owe you guys my fucking life, but you gotta promise you won't ask questions."

Not sure what the right "runner etiquette" way to handle this is. We like and trust this contact, but I'd hate to cancel on a lucrative run (payout is around 12k a runner) based on so little. On the other hand, if this is something big, turning down a run hurts your rep a little while backing out of the run hurts your rep a lot,

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>>54106168
You should be able to run it on a hotsim module and trodes. It'll look goofy as fuck, but they won't care; they're chipped.

>>54107393
How big is the smuggler in the scene?
Is he a small fry, keeping himself over water with easy jobs?
or is he a big wig, doing LARGE smuggling runs, who knows a lot of people and places?

Because if he is the second or close to it then he knows what kind of people can manage what kind of danger.
Since he knows you guys well he knows that this job is too much for you, especially since that kind of pay screams "Death run"

So I'd personally decline.
Let him say that you are honored to be offered such a dangerous job, but that you don't think you are ready for this job. (Especially since MCT probably means Z-Zone)

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>>54106918
Not that there aren't better-than-average melee choices. More that you can't have a corporate samurai step out, draw his sword, have the light shine off the diamond edge, and have the player's realise they are in for a serious fight.

>>54108046
agreed, there's a lack of cool hi tech melee weapons.

>>54104503
How does he not get VITAS eating devil rats?

>>54104401
None, but he lives in the rough with the pixie who gives machines cancer. (She has something like -13 to computer use and imparts a penalty to a lot of decker skills due to noise)

>>54108046
>More that you can't have a corporate samurai step out, draw his sword, have the light shine off the diamond edge, and have the player's realise they are in for a serious fight.
Sure you can. Just not in a way that says, "I bought this from the same shop you can!"

>>54106873
Will + Int for druids. Will + Cha is for shamans.

>>54108276
Every time someone mentions something like that, I think of this cheesy Japanese movie I saw once where the big bad had a katana with a laser targeter.

>>54108276
Shock ram.

>>54108276

So what kinda hi tech melee weapons do you want?

>>54108339
Ogre stomach and GM caveat.

>>54108780
There's been a few mages posted in threads with electrified swords with cables powering them, and there's nothing like that, it's an odd omission, like the lack of incendiary ammo.

>>54109531
images, not mages - fuck.

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How far could I get with a street sam modelled after this kind of template?

>>54109555
Full Body Armour, Stun Baton.

>>54109531
>like the lack of incendiary ammo

FLAME ON!
• Modifer: –6
• DV Limit: 1
• Effects: Light ’em Up (Ignites flammable materials)
• Available ammo types: Tracer

LIGHT ’EM UP
A flare burns, which provides potential for damage. All
you have to do is put the flame in contact with something
that can spread the burn.
• Modifer: –10
• DV Limit: 1
• Effects: Light ’em Up (Ignites flammable materials)
• Available ammo types: Flare, Gyrojet

>>54109555
It's probably more effective than you might think, especially if you prepare the terrain with gas grenades through a window or in the air vents. Perfect for less-lethal focused runs.

>>54107393
What version of CP2020 is that?

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In order to have spurs in each arm, do I need to buy them twice? The book doesnt seem to give a concrete answer.

>>54109943
>>54109878
Hope the GM makes neurostun NOT retarded.

>>54109241
http://www.catalystgamelabs.com/

OK, which one of you decker-LARPer fraggers did this?

>>54108444
Versus.

it involved a lot of guns, zombies, and eventually Reincarnated Samurai. Plus an Asian chick with a special outfit guaranteed to never hold dirt nor blood (even though the damn thing was whiter than a detergent commercial).

>>54110004

Yes.

>>54110004
Likely answer is yes, it counts for a single arm.
this keeps the calculations simpler than having to divide the numbers for a single blade if the numbers are for two.

>>54110019
If they don't change anything, use nausea gas.

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On a scale of 1 to mall ninja, how tacticool is your runner?

>>54110004
Think about it for a moment. Cyber weapons can use capacity. Capacity means it's installed in one arm. Why should essence do something radically different? Chrome Flesh has rules for adding +1 reach if you buy two of certain cyber melee weapons; ask the GM about transferring that to the core cyber melee weapons.

Anyone know of an easy way to get a career mode character in Chummer to obtain Mentor's Mask, or would I have to remove then readd Mentor Spirit?

>>54110424
Directly edit the Chum5 file?

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>>54110424
You have to remove and re-add the quality, I'm afraid. You should be able to mark the quality as free.

>>54110226
Concealed Holsters in an armoured suit. So operating operationally, but not tacticool. Maybe I should get a webbing belt.

>>54110557
That's what I thought. Thanks for the verification.

>>54110226
Mall Ninja. I have 14 in Small Unit Tactics and a 12 in Leadership, use suppressed assault rifle called shots with 20 dice, have a set a full body armor with a chemsuit, Ruth-Poly, and all the vision modifications, and regularly use chemical weapons while invisible. I am so tactical that my entire team lets me do the plans almost by myself.

>>54110557
A note, Swap Qualities does exactly what I needed and made it easy. Thanks Yekka.

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I'll bump you, baby.

probably a dumb question but im assuming sharpshooter and strive for perfection dont stake to make called shots have no penalty right?

>>54112646
There's nothing RAW that says they don't stack. I don't know where you're getting the no penalty thing, because it takes it down to -3.

Some people think it's cheesy, but as a GM I don't really care. Especially if someone gets their fluffy character stuff to fit around it comfortably.

>>54112692
oh so it reduces then halves for a -1 that make more sense thanks

>>54112775
Oh, I was thinking about halving to five then reducing by 2.

I guess that's another problem in RAW. What order they go in.

>>54112785
unless im missing something RAW says called shots are a -4

strive halves that to -2 and then sharpshooter reduces called shots by a flat 2

so either means called shots have no modifier (which seems broken) or -1 by changing how they stack (which seems more reasonable)

I just want some clarification or at least a second opinion

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Hoi chummers. I recently bought all the shadowrun books. I plan to them some time in the distant future. To help myself learn the rules I made characters for each of my regular players:

>The Roleplayer
>The (terrible) Metagamer
>The lolrandom chaotic neutral guy
>The Fighter

Can you please give me advice on each of these characters and how good/not good they are?

The first is the Roleplayer's, so named because they are the one who seems to enjoy actually talking to my characters and interacting with my world the most. The character is an elvish social adept working as a model whose shadowrunning brother turns up dead in the gutter one day, and she takes to the shadows to find his killers. I'm posting this one first because its the one I'm happiest with. Priority chargen (which I prefer honestly). Let me know if there's any holes in this character, yeah?

>>54112959
One die isn't a huge difference ine way or another. Personally, I have always used the rule of thumb of BEDMAS when doing those sorts of calculations, to keep things consistent.

>>54113090
Priority is almost universally hated around here, Strongly consider going with Sum-to-10 in the future, If you're happy you're happy though.

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>>54113090
Here's number two, belonging to the (terrible) Powergamer. So named because they try to powergame but aren't especially good at it, so I figured they'd want to play (what else?) a Pixie Mage. The idea behind this character is that they were raised and tutored in magic by their mentor Spirit, growing up in Puyallup with little to no exposure to the outside world. I know you guys hate pixies but this is what this person would play, so I'm trying to make it work. The idea is only their fellow runners know they exist - they keep themselves hidden from everyone else.

>>54113138
Priority is interesting but yeah I'd give sum to ten a go in the future. Skills and abilities NEED to be in the top three, which means you can chose to have money, be a mage or be a troll. Makes building good troll characters hard, which I'll mention with my next character.

>>54113211
Theres also Sum-To-12 for more power, or just raise the chargen avail to 14-16 for more power. If you have trouble getting something you're happy with for non mages.

>>54112646
There's literally no official answer on this, but mathematically, do you do addition/subtraction first, or multiplication/division?

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>>54113090
Here's number three, the Fighter, so named because they love combat and doing cool badass shit in our games. I originally built a troll street sammie for them, but I remembered some stuff I'd read here and elsewhere about pure sammies not having much to do during runs that don't go horribly wrong, so I remade him a human rigger with cybereyes, the hand of god and an Ingram.

His character was actually born in the 5th world, but was diagnosed with a rare inoperable cancer and stuffed into a cryogenic tube until a cure was found. 80 years later a horizon intern found him in a backroom. He was defrosted, given a shot to cure the cancer and ejected onto the streets of Redmond. After an introduction to the Sixth World similar to being trapped in a garbage can full of razor blades and kicked down several flights of stairs, he wound up working as a smuggler stuffed full of second-hand wiring and high on Jazz.

>>54113251
Cheers, but the non-mages aspect isn't really the problem. Because abilities and skills are vital it seems like you always have to have them in the top. This seems to make playing an orc or dwarf awkward, and playing a troll downright impossible. Next time I make a character I'll definitely use sum-to-ten.

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>>54113090
Lastly, we have the Lolrandom guy, who always picks the weirdest dumbest shit to play whenever we play anything. So I made them a gnomish BTL-addicted hacker. No explanation needed.

This was actually the one I had most trouble building, because I got to the end and found I had a shit tonne of cash left over. I added on some extra rigging - an implant, an RCC and a bunch of Fly Spies to add to the player's ability to infiltrate an area. I could ditch the hand of god and give the fly spies to Twitch, but they'd enjoy a combat-focused character more anyway.

So what do you think? Are there any large holes in these characters? Anything missing or that could be improved?

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bump

>>54112646
Personally I think it's pretty obvious SfP and Sharpshooter were not created with compatibility in mind, and that SfP was not created with the existence of called shot penalties above 4 in mind.

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Is it at all possible to bind a manifested spirit to your body in the manner of pic related/JoJo Stands?

>>54112646
Yeah, there's a couple of ways you do low penalty called shots that cost a ton of karma.

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>>54114266
Channeling more or less gets you that, but it's not a permanent situation.

>>54114266
You could always go for possession spirits. They won't do anything nuts like JoJo, but they'll make you shoot people and run really quick.

>>54114377
Isn't there that spirit pact thing? I don't exactly remember what it does and iirc only a crazy GM would allow a player to do it.

>>54114266
that is badass

Dangit someone give me feedback on my terrible characters!

>>54115156
I don't have time to read them, but I'll share with you what many consider to be the basics of character generation.
>Never have an attribute at 1. This makes it impossible for a character to default on a skill. It also implies that your character isn't just below average, but may actively be impaired. No you don't have to play a retard if you take LOG 1.
>A dice pool of 12 or more is considered to be good for a skill that you want a character to focus on. 10 is decent for secondary, 8 for tertiary, anything less is considered kinda meh, but doable with edge.
>No matter your archetype, put points into a gun skill and your choice between heavy weapons or throwing weapons so you can do something in combat besides sling spells that knock yourself out and aren't defenseless when the enemy street sam runs past your drones.
>You don't want to default on any of the Athletics skill group when you need to.
>Take dice into Sneaking. Despite how much fun it can be, being the loudest man in Seattle isn't the best way to secure a long and healthy future.
>If a Mage, take Heal and Stabilize. Don't be the guy that has nothing but Combat spells out of chargen.
>Remember the following - a commlink, a gun, a micro-transceiver, an armor jacket, a helmet, a medkit, trauma/stim patches, assorted grenades. These are pretty much mandatory for any characters, even if you don't shoot. Helmets can be replaced with ballistic masks at will.
>When in Doubt - Frag Out
>Shoot Straight, Yada Yada.

>>54115608
I usually do 12/9/6 for skills because I have autism

Does 5e have death masks because I find them almost obligatory, free fucking gas mask yo

>>54115608
Cheers mate, this is good advice.

>>54115608
>It also implies that your character isn't just below average, but may actively be impaired.
There are qualities for active impairment, and they will make it difficult to improve or use dice pool bonuses.

>No you don't have to play a retard if you take LOG 1.
This much is true, though.

It's still bad to have so many attributes at 1, especially when you also have edge at 1 and can only bypass your abysmal limits once.

>>54115668
If only there wasn't a grand total of 2 chemical weapons in the game that were inhale vector only Gas Masks would be a lot more useful. I DM, and my house rule for it is if you negate half of the vectors, you take half of the damage. It only feels fair.

>>54115085
https://www.artstation.com/artist/robertchew
>Random thread lurker here
He did sets based on Sins/Virtues.

So are dryads still all female? 4e and 5e (Run Faster in particular) seem to imply there are males

>>54113090
>I recently bought all the shadowrun books
WHY DID YOU DO THAT?
SO NOT BUY SR BOOKS
DO NOT GIVE CGL MONEY
ALL BOOKS ARE IN THE OP PASTEBIN

>>54115888
I think it's like the case of the draenei where male dryads exist but the only people that play them make females.

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>>54113090
>>54116008
We need to put "DO NOT GIVE CGL MONEY" in the OP. In short, CGL big wig embezzled money from employees to renovate his bathroom and shit, in a hilariously ironic case of corporate corruption. As a result, people quit. This is part of the reason the books are so shit in terms of formatting, editing, consistency, art quality, etc.

>>54115730
I run it that the listed vectors are available vectors, and the used vector is based on the deployment device.

Capsule Round / Paint Grenade = Contact
Gas Grenade = Inhalation
Injection Dart / Melee / Other = Injection

Cuts away the stupid niggling questions, like how you judge radius for inhalation from a capsule round, what immunity to one vector does to a two vector toxin (and whether respirator bonus dice still apply), etc.

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>>54113531
>>54113401
>>54113211
>>54113090
you probably realized this already, making characters is a pain in the dick and reviewing a character is an even bigger pain in the dick.
so i hope you arent surprised to see no body saying anything.

anyways i did take a quick look though, seems okay but honestly this all depends how are you running your games, if you're trying to go full operator darker than black trenchcoat playstyle then you're lacking quite a bit in gear. for example ghost seems to only have 1 gear. which is a level 1 commlink
that's bad, REAL bad any decker with 2 braincells could hack into that shit and risk breaching all of your team's communcations and information.
Now if you are running pink mohawk (and I mean like fuchsia pink) then i guess that's okay and dosent really matter.

one of the best 'starting gear' guides i've seen is runnerhub's (leddit group lol) guide. https://neosynth.net/index.php?n=Resources.GearSuggestions

but like I said this characters work fine in a pink mohawk setting, just don't except for them to be operators operating operationally without fucking up and dying in the process.

>>54116184
Cheers. I know its hard reviewing characters and I appreciate it.

The theoretical campaign I'm planning is gonna start out super pink mohawk and then transition to more trenchcoat later on as the players become more professional. That way me and the players can figure out what they need as we go and I don't end up accidentally tpking them all.

>>54116008
>>54116148
Right sorry. I knew about the embezzlement but didn't know there was a boycott going on. I'll remember it in the future and pirate stuff like a good little 4channer

>>54116254
>doing something just because everybody else is
>not doing it based on principle

You better be baiting anon. If you're not, why would you give money to CGL when you knew their business practices?

>>54116254
>>54116292
I try to buy stuff because I prefer to support creators instead of pirating it.

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>>54116229
sounds pretty good, hope it all works out.

>>54115750
thanks

>>54116292
The road to embezzlement is paved with good intentions.

>>54116321
>wanting to support a company whose CEO embezzled 750k dollars and got away with it
>wanting to support a company which doesn't pay the people working in it
>where the editor writes novels instead of doing his job
>where the artists just copy the artwork multiple times in one book
>which produces a book with one of the shittiest editing, playtesting, proofreading and implementation in the market
Anon, do you know why we boycott CGL?
Because them going down and the SR license going somewhere else is better than it is now.
Best case? Pegasus Spiele gets it (they actually give a fuck about quality)

>>54116385
Meant for
>>54116321

>>54116184
>making characters is a pain in the dick

Really? it's my favorite part because of my unique flavor of autism. I love building a character, weighing points, trying to make it all balance out. I've spent hours in chummer like it was a game in and of itself

Until it's time to buy gear anyway. Once I get past lifestyle, weapons, and armor it's just zzzzzz

oh boy time to buy a bunch of ammo and a bunch of burner comlinks and some fake SIN's and attach my fake liscences to them and zzzz

>>54116321
CGL aren't the creators, the unpaid freelancers were. Your money isn't going to creators, just the license holders that are killing the franchise.
Oh, and the CEO who pirated money from them.

You have become what you hate.

>>54116393
>>54116563
Sorry, didn't realise the embezzling thing was still going on. Thought it was ancient history and the guy had been fired. And anyway, its not a lot. I did it thru drivethrurpg, so it only comes to about $200 all up.

>>54116634
>the guy had been fired
trogga, please
He's still the CEO
no punishment
no lawsuit
no fines
nothing

>>54116634
As far as I know, he hasn't even had to pay it back. He still runs shit.

CGL is LARPing a Shadowrun Mega at this point.

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So here's a philosophical question for you guys. What's more readable, (0 of 10: 5 Karma) or (10 of 10: 5 Karma), where both represent that you've spent ten priority points and some karma on the thing?

>>54115041
Spirit Pacts can let you gain the use of a spirit's powers, but there's no requirement that the spirit actually stick around. Plus, harder to justify in canon that it's generated by your own psychic potential if you've leeched some power from Fluffletits the free spirit who gives it up for any adept that shows her a good time.

Ally Possession Spirit is probably the best fit, but it's a hell of a karma sink.

>>54117921
I'd say the first, but even better would be (0 of 10 left: 5 Karma)
That way you know how many points you still have left to distribute

>>54117921
(10 out of 10: 5 Karma), because it actually represents the investment on the thing, which will be useful for trying to adjust characters and shuffle around costs.

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>>54116634
It isn't still going on. It stopped a few years ago. Theoretically the money was returned, although there is no evidence that CGL got the money back (see attached statement, last the company said about it). The freelancers who didn't get paid have publicly said that they got all their backpay now.

The quality nowadays is still a step below what it used to be, Jason Hardy is still a shitty editor, Coleman is still involved with the company (though he stepped back from direct leadership, passing the reins to his wife), but the active issue has been addressed. supposedly they are getting investigated by the US authorities responsible for stopping this shittery, but no public charges have been laid

There is not any sort of active boycott, it's just people on /srg/ who pirate shit anyways, and can use these past crimes as justification to keep doing it.

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>>54117921
this >>54117941

New at the game, playing mage and just got a bunch of money, not sure what to spend it on. Any advice?

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>>54118118
Vehicles, lifestyle, good armour with mods, foci and reagents, better commlink/gun, DocWagon contract, skillsoft subscription, private helicopter...

An unknown sum of money, given to an undefined character, can be spent on literally anything. Up to and including whatever reason you're running for in the first place.

>>54118118
Hurlg

>>54118118
Get armor, a good safehouse, upgrade your lodge, buy and mod a decent gun. Maybe put trodes in a helmet so you can use a smartlink.

The best mage is one who doesn't look like a mage and get geeked.

>>54115730
I just ruled that gas masks count as rating 12 respirators.

So my group is wanting to play a team of grizzled detectives / private eyes rather then your usual Cyberpunks. The guys that take on the cases that Lone Star and the like just ignore, pretty much the Cyberpunk A Team.

Now the issue is I have no idea how to run this beyond just replacing the Johnson giving them missions with a distraught client. Any advice /srg/?

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>>54119396
Set them up locally, have them build a network of contacts there. Look at the rules for Fronts and Threats in Apocalypse World to design some long-running opposing forces that are trying to execute their own agendas in the area, so the players have to face off against dynamic but faceless oppression.

>>54118081
>it's just people on /srg/ who pirate shit anyways, and can use these past crimes as justification to keep doing it

We don't need a justification to pirate shit. The embezzlement scandal just lets us proselytize to other people.

>>54118118
If you have nothing else to buy, be a chummer and give your sammy/rigger/whatever some nuyen.

What's a good drone for a sammy? Not looking to do much with it in combat, I was thinking of using it for some utility. A fly-spy?

>>54120713

A fly-eye is always a good idea.

A big, glider drone can help you get into some areas while, most likely, tripping a whole lot of alarms

If your GM allows it you can grab one of those turret drones, so that you mount it on your harness and hve it spray foes while you scram.

Would I be correct to assume that SnS and gel ammo are subsonic, and thus somewhat quieter than regular ammo?

>can't put silencer and electric firing together on gun in chummer
>there are guns that have them integrated together
pls explain

>>54120837
I think that most of the sound comes from the expansion of the gas, so I don't think that a subsonic round is going to be that much quieter
But I'm nogunz so if it's wrong correct me (or at least point me towards the answer)

>>54120837
I would say no, since subsonic ammo in 5e has a damage and range penalty compared to regular ammo. I wouldn't mind as a GM if you wanted to acquire/load subsonic SnS and Gel rounds, which have the damage and range penalties in addition to the changes made by that ammo type.

>>54120911
Part of the noise is the expansion of the gas, while the other noise component is the "crack" the bullet makes. Subsonic ammo covers the latter, and a suppressor covers the former.

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Leaving some possible SR inspiration here, don't mind me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM0UI_Ic_s0

Where does your character see themselves in
>1 year
>2 years
>5 years
>10 years
?

>>54118081

While there's no way to say for sure, that sure sounds like the most made up damage control of a situation they had hoped to get away with.

>We understand that for a few employees the news was too stressful

I don't know if hearing news of a mistake is enough to make people quit their job if everything is being done to actually rectify it.

>>54120900
Integral/internal modifications don't consume slots. Electronic Firing, for whatever stupid reason, is a barrel mod.
>>54117941
>>54118057
Round 1, Fight!

>>54124301
Well, I can understand the second one, but as said I prefer the first because I see it more as "here are X skill tokens, Y attribute tokes, Z special attribute tokens, etc." which would mean tracking how many you have left to distribute
So if you see "Attributes: (2 of 8 left: 0 Karma)" you know "I can increase two attributes by one point or one by two before I need to spend Karma" and "Well I build the character how I wanted but I still have 4 Attribute Tokens left, but have invested Karma into skills, maybe I instead switch those"

>>54124301
>>54118057
Here, I still think it makes more sense to indicate the cost of the actual thing by it instead of the same total by each thing.

my guy has nothing on computers, his troll best friend insists on being the only decker around

>>54118081
>The freelancers who didn't get paid have publicly said that they got all their backpay now.
Some of them. Others have stated they basically gave up.

>There is not any sort of active boycott, it's just people on /srg/ who pirate shit anyways
I used to buy from CGL, and have more than a few 5e books legit. No more, until I consider their ways fixed.

>>54118081
Ah okay. Thanks for explaining. I will continue to support creators then.

>>54125763
But you aren't supporting the creators.

>>54125763
By not buying from CGL?

Hey guys question. I had an idea for a character and wanted to know if it would work, either as a pc or npc.

An ork blood mage, who is also a hacker. He learned to be a hacker because people who hunt bloodmages tend to use either drones or spirits, so he also learned a lot about banishing. With thesse talents he became a shadowrunner.

>>54125930
Why stop there? why not instead of an ork go pixie to ensure absolutely everyone hates the character?

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>>54125789
It's that or Patreon though, really. And throwing money at Bull just seems like a pity party.
>>54125930
Well, it can't work as a starting PC by RAW. Blood mage requires initiation, which can't be done during creation. Hacking can be expensive, but there are shenanigans that can be done to mitigate the worst of it.
>>54124419
>>54124540
Hrm. Maybe it'll be better if I just make it an optional rule that you can switch between or something.

>>54126078
Cheers, maybe it'll work as an npc for bounty-hunting pcs then

>>54126064
I like pixies better than Centaurs and Drakes at least.

>>54125930
Banishing is kinda shit, though, and as a hacker, who cares if they cut themselves?

>>54125930
Please never use that as a PC concept.

>>54123514
>1 year

Likely still doing what she is doing. Street Samurai-ing for money (if she hasn't been killed yet that is).

>2 years

Gained some connections in the world that could get her a stable and legit job. Maybe some sort of mercenary/security firm, or maybe even law enforcement. After she's managed to snag a decent Fake SIN of course.

>5 years

Maybe start a family with her gf, buy a nice house in the suburbs, and take it easy. Her hard-earned nuyen from running combined with a steady salary of legit work should be enough to take it easy.

>10 years

Early retirement. She can enjoy her middle-aged years with some grace and dignity. Maybe pick up a hobby or two.

I know, boring.

>>54126722
I have street samurai with no grasp on reality, too.

>when you can't tell if the reason the other PCs aren't giving a shit about your character killing herself with drugs is that you're a shut roleplayed, they're shit role players, or they're really good role players and have got really into the Sixth World attitude
I swear, she could die of an overdose before the next run and their only reaction will be "Shit, now we have to put out a job ad."

>>54126885
Not even, "Check her for credsticks and gear to fence"?

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>>54126885
>Feeling sorry for a person who snorts and shoots up all their nuyen when there are people on the team literally killing just to put food on the table

>>54126331
If you're a hacker with the Improve Attribute (Logic/Intuition) spell, cutting could massively up the level of the spells' power and therefore your ability to hack. Plus most of the people who hunt blood mages would be riggers - there's more of them than there are street sammies, awakened can easily get a cushy job in a corp and who'd think to bring a decker against a mage? A rigger can just buy a few drones and play dog the bounty hunter in their spare time, with the added bonus that killing a machine doesn't make the blood mage stronger.

So it would make sense for a blood mage to teach themselves to hack, even if its only with a commlink and an attack dongle.

>>54123514
Killin'.

>>54126885
Oh, that's not even the bad thing about being an addict.

Being an addict makes you inherently unreliable in any capacity. You can't be trusted with secrets, money, or access to anything. Drug addiction is a hole you're actively falling down. It's a bottomless pit leading to inevitable death. Nothing is against character when addiction is on the table, because it rapidly shifts character for the worse.

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Pastel anime girls with gas masks in Shadowrun?

>>54110073
That suit exists in Shadowrun, though.

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>>54127524

I mean whatever is your kink.

>>54123514
>1 year
Going on runs that he shouldn't and making deals he shouldn't
>2 years
Dead
>5 years
Dead
>10 years
Still dead

>>54119572

I know her shirt says "Riot" but I thought it said "Thot" first until I paid attention.

>>54127746
I mean, it makes sense. CGL have shown us that at the very least jackpointers partake in vintage memes from the 2000/2010s

>>54127698
Aww. Don't be so glum, buddy. There are plenty of necrophiliacs out there looking for love.

>>54127698
>>54127933
I know a couple of really sweet necrophiliac ghouls.

How should I optimize a female Giant? Biosam?

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I always find myself editing out those "air traffic jams" and hovercars that people are so fond of putting into their sci fi art for some reason, for my Shadowrun games. Though I enjoy the good-ol cyberpunk blimp with ads on it from time to time.

YOU DUMB BITCH!

>>54128048
>I always find myself editing out those "air traffic jams" and hovercars that people are so fond of putting into their sci fi art for some reason, for my Shadowrun games. Though I enjoy the good-ol cyberpunk blimp with ads on it from time to time.

yeah air traffic jams make no damn sense unless you are all trying to land in a limited space or pass though an aperture into a structure

>>54128524
Look, it was your idea to get me to take a shitload of Jazz for that last run, the least you could do is help deal with the aftereffects. By that I mean go buy me some more.

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>>54123514

>1 year
retired (probably not)
>2 years
retired (hopefully)
>5 years
retired or dead
>10 years
retired or dead

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>>54114266

>>54123514
>1 year
paid
>2 years
dead
>5 years
undead
>10 years
lich king

>>54127064
>more riggers than sammies

Citation needed. Rigging is expensive af, not the kind of thing you do on the weekends (especially not at the level where you're hunting blood mages). Making a razorboy is as easy as taking a local ganger, giving him some muscle replacements, and feeding his drug habit.

>>54123514
>1 year
Setting up a drug cartel in Seattle.
>2 years
Maintaining the drug cartel.
>5 years
Expanding his drug cartel into California.
>10 years
Setting up an escort service for all the wrong reasons.

>>54130290
I mean that there's countless riggers already who do everyday jobs working for the man. How hard is it to buy some rotordrones and fit them with AKs? You just need a few licenses. And those muscle replacements are just as expensive as the drones, more invasive and you're less effective against the blood mage than a rigger would be, because you have to go toe-to-toe with them. A rigger can kill you via their drones from their living room with no risk beyond losing their drones, and they're more effective than almost anything else.

I'm actually interested in making a runner like this now. Explains why they'd have all those military drones.

>>54130290
A basic control rig isn't that much money, and there are such a thing as loans. Imagine this - how many people drive for a living? Fly? Sail? Riggers do all that. Security often needs riggers, guaranteed. Almost every country relies on either freighters or trucks to survive. There are more truckers than soldiers.

>>54130522
>>54131450
The difference is you don't need a vcr to do basic flying / sailing / driving. Truckers exist to speak to the security guard at the gate. Driving is handled perfectly fine by pilot software, gridguide, etc.

>>54131641
Expect deckers.

>>54131645
When you're doing something valuable / nonstandard / otherwise risky. Not everyday bs trucking.

>>54131650
There's a piece of fiction in one of the books about an everyday trucker. Corporate espionage means that when he rolls out, even though he's driving it from his living room, he still has several flying drones covering the truck. Not to mention his whole run is a decoy for another truck carrying the real cargo.

Although I agree, there wouldn't be that many hackers to deal with in the day-to-day of most riggers.

>>54131714
Which book, which edition?

Simple fact is, there's always going to be a fuck ton more drivers than riggers.

>>54131764
It was in rigger 5.0, 5th. Can't remember the exact page. The rigger in it has to improvise when his house gets attacked by a bunch of operators and he has to fend them off with just the stuff he has around his house.

I think you mean more riggers than deckers chummer

>>54131783
>I think you mean more riggers than deckers chummer
If you think I ever did, then you need to reread the conversation.

>>54131764
Most drivers are riggers though. Rigger is a catch all term for people who handle vehicles and drones.

Furthermore, it is not that hard to become a rigger. If all you needed was an investment for some chrome that would easily net you a 100k a year a job, you'd best believe people would do that considering college is a thing. In the world of Shadowrun a flesh and bones Driver-tier driver is a rarity.

>>54131873
>Rigger is a catch all term for people who handle vehicles and drones.
No it isn't. It's a term for people with an installed VCR - Vehicle Control RIG.

>>54132023
or people that have an RCC
RIGGER Control Console

>>54132086
Mate, RTFB. Even the core book says it.

>Rigging starts with the important frst step of having a control rig augmentation

If you don't have it, you're not rigging, and you're not a rigger.

VCR == Rigger

No VCR == every other schmoe with some drones or a vehicle

What interesting locales is your game set in?
Anyone play in Aztlan?

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>>54114266
fucking heretic

>>54119396
I like the idea and at the risk of replying to a dead post... watch a whole bunch of detective shows of the kind of style that your players tend to fall into. E.g. if your players are more into Pink Mohawk, watch the Archer PI season. Maybe reading some hellraiser for supernatural runs. CSI and Law and order for team dynamics. Monk, sherlock, spooks... read up on the term "noir" and "hard boiled" and speaking of that, maybe play through LA Noir, or watch the good old black and white PI movies that inspired the shit like Archer in the first place.

>>54104401

Any anime fans here?

I'm meeting up with my group IRL for the first time in a few years and we're all running special one shots.

I want to play ACCELERATOR in my friend's one shot. What is the best way to go about building this character? Any cool deflection powers in shadowrun?

>>54132597
>I want to play X
>I'm not going to tell you what X is or does straight away

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>>54132641

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Shadowrun be a riggers
why do all the work, buy a drone sit back and let it do all the work for you.

because fuck Shamans and their summoners

>>54132597
First thing you should get is some used Move-By-Wire 3, to get good initiative

>>54132641

Sorry.
Basically an psychic user that can reflect almost any attack coming at him back at the target and can also use telekinesis to throw objects around at high speeds if he can first come into contact with the object.

It's basically manipulation of momentum. In the show he has a lot of other broken as hell abilities like deflecting air waves to be sound proof, flying and super speed because momentum vectors lol, and many other things.
I'd just focus on the reflection and momentum manipulation thing.

>>54132715
There is literally a spell called deflection. Read the core rulebook at least.

Where's the actual fluff and lore describing the Tir Tangerine revolution? I'm getting literally no helpful info from the tiny snippets here and there

>>54132715
At least read the CRB before you start asking questions.

>>54132715
>Basically an psychic user that can reflect almost any attack coming at him back at the target and can also use telekinesis to throw objects around at high speeds if he can first come into contact with the object.
You can use the adept power Missile Parry and mastery quality Missile Deflector to catch and throw slow moving projectiles, but not bullets, lasers, etc. Fling will throw objects, but is limited to low weight. Levitate will lift heavier weights, but is limited to slow speeds.

>>54132597
>Accelerator

Can't be done. Vector Redirect is way too huge a power for a game like Shadowrun.

>>54132793
>Tir Tangerine

Fucking orange elves.

>>54133553
>Sunny E

At least it's not Purple Stuff.

>>54133553
I mean the Orange Queen is on their council of princes

http://tgdmb.com/viewtopic.php?t=55019 Obligatory tangerine reading.

>>54133773
I always forget that Snowdonia is a little elf statelet, with some superborgs as knights.

>>54133773
But that's all pre Crash 2.0 lore. Supposedly literally everything about the politics changed after crash 2.0 but there's very little actual info

>>54131764
>>54131783
>>54131714
One of the books talks about how theres hundreds of thousands of drivers but only a fraction are true Riggers with a control rig, and usually only high pace dangerous jobs warrant said rig.

So do the Tangerines view Metavariant elves as equals or are they like the elf equivalent of the Irish/Polish in terms of 'not true elf'

>>54133773
Is there something like this for the NAN?

>>54135986
haven't seen one, but maybe there is one here
http://tgdmb.com/viewtopic.php?t=53716

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>>54114266

Look at Mentor Mask (formerly Shaman Mask) in Forbidden Arcana, pg. 182.

"Adepts may also choose to have a Mentor’s Mask if they have a Mentor spirit, which they will manifest whenever using an adept power. An adept who chooses to have a mask gains 1 bonus Power Point but generate a mask whenever using any of their adept powers. The threshold for noticing this effect is 6 – (4 x total Power Point cost of the power being used). Thus, a character using Critical Strike will have a threshold of (6 – (4 x 0.5)) or 4, while one using Improved Reflexes 2 will have a threshold of (6 – (4 x 2.5)) or 1 (which is the minimum for the threshold)."

As some have asked, do Adepts with always-on passive powers essentially always manifest their mentor mask? I haven't seen an official clarifying post from the devs yet on it, but you can certainly swing it that way if you wanted to get the look you seem to want. I actually did this using a different piece from that same artist and made a PhysAd sniper concept that follows the Spider Mentor. They're scarred up and disfigured, so they empathize with the Spider's misunderstood nature.

pic related

How does your runner get around SRG?

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>>54136330
>do Adepts with always-on passive powers essentially always manifest their mentor mask?

I'd say yes, because those powers aren't forced on. The adept can turn them on and off, as demonstrated through the background count rules. If they want to have some passive bonus, they assume some passive element of their mentor - fingernails replaced with talons, eyes gone golden, or similar. A full-on illusory head is the most dramatic manifestation when communing at the deepest level with your mentor. At least that was the detailed explanation back in the Shaman days.

>>54132552
My player characters are currently in Cuba trying to stop a civil war.

>>54137311
Why? If there's a civil war, you can make money running for both (or more) sides.

>>54137367
Because they're being paid to stop it.

And at this point it's personal with how much bullshit has happened.

>>54137399
When your runners start letting things get personal it's time for them to retire before they get themselves killed.

Unless that's your plan.

>>54137522
Runners are more than just automatons into which you insert money to receive violence.

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>>54137730
Yeah, those are called police officers.

>>54136485
I think it's more only manifesting when they actively benefit from it. Just being able to free fall won't make it show but when you're free falling it will

>>54137367
runners don't do well off of a civil war. There's too much shit that a deniable asset becomes pointless. They like their wars cold, not hot. That way they still get to play both sides but can be reasonably sure that their safehouse wont get bombed by either side

Hi guys, apologies if this is the wrong thread, but I wanted to know which edition of SR you'd recommend for newbies?

Everyone's got experience with D&D 5e, 2 guys with D&D 3.0 and VtM, and me and another guy have played a fair bit of Only War and other 40k RPGs.

I've read that 2e has best fluff, 3e has best mechanics, and 5e is probably the simplest to pick up but has terrible editing. Is that accurate?

>>54109902
Where are you getting that from?

>>54139009
5e, no question about it.

>>54139009
The bit about 5e is certainly correct. I'd go with 5e.

>>54139067
>>54139117

Cheers guys. Any other quick tips?

I'm going to be GMing by the way.

>>54132262
Don't turn this shit into the new street samurai code of honour.

>>54139134
Read the pastebin, there's GM advice pdf in there.

>>54139009
I'll back what these anons
>>54139067
>>54139117
said, but with some additional advice.

First, get the Hayek stuff from the top. It's got good cheat sheets. Second, the Superbook is out of date, but the simpler editing on what it does have is gold for learning.

>>54139136
did somebody say what I think they said?
you need a code of honor to be a street sam
don't want one? don't call yourself a street sam

>>54139009
I disagree violently with the bit about 3e, and anyone who says so is a grognard who needs their rose tinted glasses knocked off

>>54139159
>inb4 my code is kill everything

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>>54139162
He might be getting 2e and 3e mixed up. 2e tightened things up from 1e, but didn't go off the rails like 3e eventually did (though 2e is still peak early-90s in design, with all the faults that implies). Meanwhile, 3e got a lot of good sourcebooks, especially because it came out after Earthdawn was a thing so the two went hand in hand and had lots of good nods and background depth.

>>54139162
I'll fight you. Third is great.

>>54139269
Base mechanic doesn't give you enough dice to ever succeed at anything, patches with sloppy dice pool mechanic, variable target number modifiers routinely take target numbers outside the range of the dice, Soak mechanics make body more important that armour (their roles were basically arse backwards). A lot of shit in 5e may be poorly thought through and in desperate need of reworking but at least it's core mechanics aren't a total garbage fire.

>>54139009

4e, no question about it.

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>>54139795
Because the best thing for a cyberpunk game is to tell anyone who wants to play a hacker that they are wrong and terrible and should go somewhere else.

>>54139855
>Because the best thing for a cyberpunk game is to tell anyone who wants to play a hacker that they are wrong and terrible and should go somewhere else.

Explain please.

>>54139883
4e fucked up the Matrix rules hard, and set it up so that anyone could go down to the local (black) market, buy a high-rating commlink and a high-rating Agent program, and have a decker in their pocket at all times. It turned all the cyber stuff into "characterless stat block rolls against invisible NPC spider on behalf of PCs", because it was so much easier and more effective than to actually have a real PC decker.

>>54139883
>>54139943
I've heard that it took seven hours to hack stuff in 4e.

>>54140102
IRL time or in-game time. Because both are wrong. Hacking on the fly in SR4 is a simple action, and probing the target in AR takes a day per roll. IRL time, hacking only takes a long time if neither you nor your GM has any idea how the Matrix rules work. And even if it did take forever, that's been a problem in every edition before 4e as well.

>>54139056
Run & Gun.

>>54139943

So Agents is the thing fucking up the Matrix rules? Sounds very easy to solve.

>>54140732
among other things
one of the reasons why nobody really plays the matrix by RAW (in 4e or 5e) is the Infinity Mirror
basically by RAW you need to analyse each icon before you know what it is
so if the enemy has 4 icons you have a 1 in 4 chance of getting the right icon
which is why a possible way to defend yourself is to surround yourself with hundreds of icons (RFID tags work well)
So most GMs rule it that with a perception test you see every icon that isn't hiding and can immediately identify what it is

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>>54140732
Go read Ends of the Matrix, it's Trollman reworking the whole system and explaining why. The broad strokes are that the entire Matrix system is a house of cards that fall apart when you put the slightest pressure on it, and hackers are all about poking things looking for holes. Scriptkiddies and agent abuse, stacking hardware, even being able to put yourself in a position where you can hack without being hacked in return. You can't just cut out agents, because SR4 has an entirely shit Matrix that doesn't make any sense in the fluff, and anyone with some money and zero technical skills can tear it to shreds like they were the entirety of Echo Mirage.

>>54139159
What if your GM bans Codes?

>>54140887
>Give hackers mind control rays
10/10 dude

>>54140896
Then he banned street sams. No different from a GM who bans the matrix, for example.

>>54140938
Streetsam is a role, not a lifestyle omae. You don't need a weeb bushido 'code' to frag corpsec.

That's a load of drek pushed by Horizon to sell more in-house runner team merchandise and trids.

>>54140989
You need a code to be a streetsam, moron. You're just a thug or a merc without one. Own up to the name.

>>54141001

Prove it. Show the page number. I'll be waiting.

>>54141018
Nope. I'm not doing the work YOU should be doing.

>>54141001
Street sam=/=Samurai.

If they were straight up samurai, they wouldn't have the differentiation.

>>54141024
kek.
Burden of proof is on the one making the claim.

>>54140903
>Give hackers shitty, inefficient, limited and obvious mind control rays
ftfy
seriously, the only thing in it that comes even close is Jingle, which lets you implant ideas in their minds
too bad that
>you need to be connected to use it, so they can just stop the connection and shut you out
>it's defended with Firewall and WIL, which in this system is not hard to get to 9+ dice
>getting your dicepool up is hard, since hardware limits the software rating and software rating acts as a limit, not a DPM. So a normal human can get about 15 dice if he gets LOG 9 and Cybercombat 4 (Attack) at chargen, later 17 dice
>So on an average roll 15 dice you get 5 hits
>they roll 9 dice, average 3 hits
>which is treated like something you read on a fan-wiki
>and afterwards you are not stealthed anymore and people see that you are attacking others

If you want to mind control people you have to be a mage. They can get ridiculous dice pools, enemies only roll WIL and the effects are powerful even at small net hits

>>54141024
So you can't prove it and are talking out of your ass.

Duly noted.

>>54141191
Said by the one claiming you don't need a code of honor to be a street sam and thinking it's all about gear.

>>54141139
Since that homebrew never actually specifies any numbers and you seem to be affixing random adjectives based on your little dreamworld where hacker mind-control is actually a thing, I'll rest my case.

>>54141210
>Since that homebrew never actually specifies any numbers
what?
http://tgdmb.com/viewtopic.php?t=48836
You do know that there is more to it than just a fluff part?

>>54141210
specifically
>average person has a WIL of 3, Dwarves have average 4
>a commlink with Firewall 6 costs 3000nY, a firewall of 5 only 1000nY
>System limits the rating of your programs, the highest you can get at chargen is System 6 costing 14000nY and having Avail 8
>Attack Programs cost 2000 per rating with availability of 2 per rating, so the highest you can get at chargen is Jingle 6 for 12000nY
>To actually make a connection you also need Backdoor, which costs 1000nY per rating, and requiring to put more points into the hacking skill
>your dice pool is LOG + Cybercombat, which at chargen can be up to 17 (Cybercombat 6 plus specializing)
>Net hits set the veracity (how much it's seen as true)
1. Blog Entries
2. Fangroup Wiki Articles
3. Recent News Stories
4. Repeated News Stories
5. Criminal SINs
6. Corporate SINs
7. National ID
8. Corporate Court SINs
9. Corporate Treaties
10. Public Government Records

>>54141202
Nothing in the book mentions a code being mandatory for a street sam, so still waiting.

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>>54141001
>>54141018
>>54141024
>>54141036

Can we not? We've all seen where this shitpost of an argument goes.

>>54139136
You're a moron, chummer. Thanks for bringing this retarded shit back

>>54139159
>you need a code of honor to be a street sam
You need a code. Doesn't have to involve honour.

>>54133906
There's not all that much to know, really. The Rinelle resistance were able to leverage Crash 2.0 to lead a movement to depose the Princes as the primary arm of government, claiming that they couldn't protect the people of the Tir. Elections for a representative government followed, with the only princes that held onto their power being a dragon and a sasquatch, because the sasquatch has a plush toy and Hestaby probably slept with all of her voting bloc.

This largely led to an end to the Tir isolationism and removal of a lot of the economic stumbling blocks that prevented the various megas from interacting directly with the country.

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Has anybody tried Shadowrun: Anarchy yet?

How'd it play compared to "normal" 5e, and is it any good?

>>54141235
I was actually only ever linked the first few entries, Thanks.
But even still, looking at the numbers if we take the "3000 Nuyen commlink guy" from the below example, you can scan his brain pretty consistently with just R4 programs.
The fact that someone thought making conducting on-the-fly brain scans part of hacking is mind-boggling to me

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>>54141036
>If they were straight up samurai, they wouldn't have the differentiation.

A differentiation explained in Run Faster by the fact that street samurai don't submit to the Loyalty aspect that defines corporate samurai.

Does anyone still have that file/link to a whole list of equipment modifiers depending on megacorp ?

Like it listed differences in ware for each corp, what they gave bonuses, what they didn't have. Same for weapons, vehicles and gear.

>>54141617
>you can scan his brain pretty consistently with just R4 programs.
not really.
Brain Scan puts your LOG+Data Search against his WIL+FIRE, so on average 12 dice vs 9 dice meaning you normally get one net hit
Now this program is L(LOS) and CA(P) meaning that
>you need to actually be able to draw a clear line to them
>you need to be able to receive their signal
>you need to have this for 45 seconds (15 combat turns)
against weaker npcs you might get more net hits which you can use to reduce the time needed by 9 seconds each (3 CT per net hit)

now the interpretation of whether you need to sustain all requirements is hazy. But I personally say that you actually need to have it continually, so if they walk around you don't really have a good chance of reading them

It is possible
but getting a lot of data requires you to do this a lot of times
again, if you want to do anything with mind reading/mind control you are better off with a mage

>>54141612
Its not good.

>>54141764
Why not?

>>54141772
it's rules-LIGHTER not rules-light
SR anarchy to SR is what a sperm whale is to a blue whale
ligher, but still fucking heavy

if you can spare the work learning anarchy you can just go the whole mile and learn 5e

>>54141798
You actually just argued in favor of Anarchy, in my eyes.

>>54141728
It's just this obsession with hacking brain through commlinks that bugs me, even if it takes 36 seconds to do so (afterall: 1 net hit on average).
If you removed any mention of mind control and brain scans from this document, it could actually be a fun replacement - at least better than the default 4E crap.

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'Sup /srg/

Was just wondering how fellow GMs have dealt with introducing players to the idea that their actions can have consequences (especially if they do sloppy runs) in a way that isn't similar to "HTR comes, you die"

My group, while I enjoy their engagement and antics, are not really seeming to understand that this isn't D&D and they aren't drugged up murderhobos immune to consequences

>Be street scum campaign
>Characters are all human, save one big dumb giant, all living close together in a lower end part of town (not quite the barrens)
>Humanis vandalizes his house
>Group wants to take revenge
>Hunt down man who may have information on the offenders
>Arrive at a bar, wait for target, do 0 legwork save getting the layout of the bar
>He arrives
>Giant goes and bear hugs the target, street sam opens up with suppressing fire indiscriminately
>His goons and some civilians are now mush
>Giant literally carries the leader over his head to the van across the street
>Break some cameras nearby
>Get chased away by Ork gang who's paid to protect the bar
>They lose them in a non lethal way, but shots are still exchanged
>They proceed to jump straight into heavy intimidation on the dude they kidnapped, generally seem like unstable killers
>He offers them a job to kill some Humanis lieutenants so that he can get a promotion in exchange for info/leaving them alone for a bit
>They accept, he has no plans to double cross them (yet)

What would be some realistic consequences for these actions?

>>54141895
You're missing the point. Anarchy isn't enough lighter to be worth the trouble of learning.

If anything, it's only marginally less rule-heavy, and far more crap compared to 5E.

>>54142122
Well, assuming Humanis Policlub doesn't have any Lone Star or Knight Errant connections to lean on to track these guys down?

That Ork gang isn't going to take too kindly to the insult and being shot at. Did they get the van's legit plates? Were your players smart enough to have fake plates or a morpher installed?

An eventual doublecross by the guy they intimidated is a given, especially since the humans in the group are gonna be seen as race traitors.

The problem is, in a street scum campaign they don't really have enough of a profile to merit anything really inventive by a group with resources. Maybe have the gang do a drive-by, or try to steal the team's van.

>>54141960
thing is that it's kinda required to solve the Drop-Out problem
basically: why don't people just make everything wired and thus unhackable?
CGL tried it with the carrot method of wireless bonuses which doesn't really work (why is my super-duper stealth suit connected to the matrix? why does my gun need a matrix connection?)
Trollman's solution was the stick method, that you can't drop out. That a firewall of 0 is worse protection than a firewall of 1. And this lead to the fact that even without technology you are hackable. Which leads to the brain hacking

Trollman himself said that these aren't the only solutions, just the only ones he knows and that if you know another solution to the drop out problem you are encouraged to make a fix around it.

>>54142211
Well I mean I'm not sure about the licence part, do vans bought at chargen count as having a licence? If so they had the actual plate on

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I'd climb the Eiger.

>>54142322
At least you have different art this time.

>>54142263
I don't think it's an actual problem. If your device is currently actively using the matrix it is vulnerable, if it isn't... well it just isn't. If your GM wants to make every person a paranoid fuck, who walks around without any wireless devices and tinfoil hats (or 3000 Nuyen commlinks), that's on them. But that's the same kind of DM that drops a HTR team on you as soon as you fail your stealth roll to break into the Public Library.

>>54142322
no you wouldn't
if you did in front of a life sized troll instead of just looking at pictures you probably wouldn't
and even if, remember that the last guy that flirted with her got his arm broken

>>54142271
Vehicles come with a license plate, you only need the licenses mentioned in the book for things that are Restricted.

But yeah, if they never bothered to change or hide the plates on the van..hooboy. Anyone could be tracking them down.

>>54142147
I have a hard time believing that when the 5e rulebook is 400 pages, and Anarchy is 200.

>>54142491
You'd be surprised at how bad CGL is at writing, especially when the guys who designed it are the fucking layout and art team and not the game designers.

>>54142122
My players killed a few police officers in the first session. 40 sessions later, they still have that held over their head every once in awhile.

>>54133773
>We all carry a metaphysical blueprint, an aural template, conceived with our physical selves and borne until our deaths. This template represents not only who we are, but what we might have been had our bodies and spirits developed unhampered from birth. This aural template, our essence, also connects us to the mystical world. For most people, essence envelops and sustains them throughout life, but they derive no other power from it. For a magician, the aural template serves as the circuitry through which magical power flows. It connects the inner world with the outer in a direct, observable, tangible way.

>In the past, metaphysicists have warned of the associative damage done to the aural template through the implantation of cybernetics or bioware. Though such warnings have validity, we believe the reasoning behind them to be inaccurate.

>Rather than damaging the aural template, the associative damage done by cyber- and bioware and the resultant loss in magical potency results from the deviation between an individual's aural template and his body. In effect, the implantation of artificial enhancements creates a new body, or physical template, that differs from the aural template. The greater the deviation, the less efficient the transfer of mana from the aural to the physical becomes.
See, here's an explanation for essence that makes sense and ties into Earthdawn well enough. Why didn't they keep using this?

>>54142592
I like it best because it explains why just losing a limb in an accident won't lose you essence. You need to actually put something obtrusive in the way for it to start blocking your chi.

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>>54142518
>>54142122
I mean isn't that what public awareness is for? After runs that net people enough public awareness or powerful enemies, I usually do at least 1 follow-up plot where it comes back to bite them in the ass, which I announce 1 or 2 sessions before with a "cutscene" of me narrating the opposing faction's actions to the players.

>>54142592
>Why didn't they keep using this?
They did. The problem with SR5 is that they authors assume everyone is AncientHistory; they don't bother to explain anything about the world or how it operates (seriously, going off 5e stuff I don't even know if they explain anything about Seattle government or who Kenneth Brackhaven is, or if they just jump right to "Brackhaven is in trouble for that thing he did, you remember the one.")

So stuff like Essence hasn't been fully articulated in quite a while. They had a chance in Forbidden Arcana when they went through UMT and the alternate theories (which is probably the best written and most complete section I've seen in a 5e book), but missed it dramatically. If they don't get to it in this other planned book, I hope someone with two brain cells manages to take charge of SR6.

>>54142395
>I don't think it's an actual problem. If your device is currently actively using the matrix it is vulnerable, if it isn't... well it just isn't.
okay, so imagine you are the Sammy
so you are in combat and you shoot somebody
and suddenly everybody turns their vulnerability to bullets off
or imagine you are a mage and are only able to attack someone who's in a ward
that's what drop out is
it's when a Firewall of 0 is infinitely better than a firewall of 1

>>54142395
The problem is that every other archetype can use their primary skillset to contribute in combat except for the decker. The mage can cast different spells, the street sam's in his element, the rigger brings out the BIG drones, and the hacker hides in a corner until the shooting stops. While this fits the fluff fine, when you've got a game like Shadowrun where 3 seconds of shooting can take 30 minutes to resolve, you wind up with a bored player. Being a decker is commonly the equivalent of D&D's 'we need a healer'. It's a role that's forced on you because it's *important* but not *fun*.

And it still doesn't resolve the problem of 'If being on the Matrix is a dangerous thing and you can lose almost nothing by just going offline, why have anything online at all' for your OPFOR.
>>54142491
A lot of it is removed/condensed gear and spells and such. Street Gear alone is 78 pages, spells and adept powers are around 40.

>>54142931
So you want to be able to crack security, steal data, do computer research AND be effective in combat with attacks that can only be defended against by a dedicated counter?
Why not just pick up a gun? If the enemy wants to turn off their communications/tacnet/smartguns, that's fine.
>>54142992
It's basically like asking why you're not able to pick locks by investing into a better katana - B-b-but the decker, and the infiltrator can do it?!

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>>54142931
I don't have a huge problem with the brain hacking thing, but I think you're using the wrong example.

If the sammy wants to get through a door, his option is to break it down. If he wants a camera removed, his option is to break it. If he wants to know what is being said by enemy security teams, he better hope his cyberears are tuned to listen into the guy down the hall and that guy always repeats what's being said to him like he's on the phone in a 70's movie. If he wants to do anything else, like pick through the door, sneak around the camera, access the enemy communications, he needs extra skills.

Similarly for the mage, if he wants to do something different he needs a different spell to do it (or just gets another favour for a spirit, because spirits are broken af).

While Yekka is right in that the primary skillset of deckers doesn't let them contribute directly to combat, they have by far the most flexible skills beyond that. They have always been the best at legwork, they can get into systems and do things others cannot, and by 5e's Internet of Things you can regularly and consistently interact with just about every object in the world, from opening vault doors to tracking someone by the RFIDs in their thong.

>>54142263
>why is my super-duper stealth suit connected to the matrix? why does my gun need a matrix connection?

Yeah, who knows why they might remove functionality you consider basic, forcing an alternative that you consider worse because you're set in the old ways?

>Why did Apple remove a common audio connector?

>As Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller said at the iPhone 7 launch, "Maintaining an ancient, single-purpose, analogue, big connector doesn't make sense because that space is at a premium."

>Schiller said the decision to drop the 3.5mm jack was down to courage. However, even if you accept that the change was brave, "courage" doesn't clearly highlight the advantages to customers. Apple should have used another word to explain the iPhone 7's lack of headphone jack: progress.

>>54143157
Didn't they remove the audio connector to force you to buy wireless headphones?

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Anyone who isn't doing illegal stuff (i.e. corpsec/law enforcement/concerned citizens) in my games is using smart guns - guns that you cannot pull the trigger on (or have had the trigger removed) unless you hack them. They weighed the risk of goons stealing a gun and shooting up the place versus goons with military-grade hacking technology messing with their gear.

>>54142592
They did. They also kept using an introducing a bunch of other similar theories, too. The fundamental truth of it is that none of them are 100% correct. (though I do appreciate the 'essence as glue keeping your physical and astral forms stuck together' theory') Practically nothing of magical theory is - hence why the first piece of IC advice given is to burn your MT books.

>>54143246
which work worse than the wired ones

>>54143246
That, to help with waterproofing, save space, etc etc etc.

>>54143157
Isn't making things wireless actually making it worse if it could be done without? Wireless is always a liability, especially when we're talking military hardware, so you would think designers would minimize the chance of their stealth suit being destroyed by a script kiddie.

>>54143288
It's because nobody but mages are allowed to have nice things, you see.

>>54143288
>Isn't making things wireless actually making it worse if it could be done without?
Everything is wireless. Run silent or use a Wrapper program (you can even hardwire this) on the stealth suit, and don't do it in a white room with no other silent devices.

>Wireless is always a liability
Wireless for full functionality is a fundamental truth of the 2070s.

>you would think designers would minimize the chance of their stealth suit being destroyed by a script kiddie
Use a firewall if you're worried about the hacking dregs, m7.

>>54143309
Background count.

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>>54143288
Scriptkiddies are not a threat as such anymore. That's what the 5e Matrix de le Mar is all about - rebuilding from the ground up, crushing the 4rry hacker wannabes, putting the Matrix in the direct control of the corps and CC, and making decks (the only things capable of breaking the extremely tough and well-regulated rules) highly restricted. Militaries may need to worry about enemy deckers, thus the off switch - otherwise, wireless offers a massive advantage to anyone with control of the local Matrix.

>>54143370
I've literally never seen background count come up in a game.

>>54143398
Who is Captain Australia in the corner?

>>54143536
It's not the game's fault if you never use the limiting factor for an archetype, and then consider that archetype too powerful.

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>>54143536
Guess your GM hasn't read street grimoire then.

>>54143398
This would be true if literally eveyone couldn't get a stealth dongle to mess with your shit, or get an attack dongle to brick your military hardware at low low prices. Why risk expensive damage when you can just use wired functions instead? Why do I need the internet to get my cyber talking instead of having wires?

>>54143541
Don't let the bogan Emerge.

>>54143563
Not the anon you're talking to but I get where he's coming from.

I've never seen background count ever go up either.

And the reason for that is if a GM ever uses it, it feels like he's singling out the mage(s) of the group specifically and giving them a big "fuck you"

>>54143587
>>54143563

None of my GMs have ever used it and at this point I'm probably never going to see it unless we are doing a run in the middle of some sort of haunted house or holocaust memorial.

>>54143613
And the Adepts, for whom the effect is far more crippling.

>>54143613
>And the reason for that is if a GM ever uses it, it feels like he's singling out the mage(s) of the group specifically and giving them a big "fuck you"

So then does he never use Noise penalties or have people turn wireless off for fear of hurting the decker? Or visibility penalties so the street sam doesn't get his fee-fees hurt because he can't see that well?

The whole point of those sorts of rules is that, in different forms, everyone has strengths and weaknesses that apply to them. If you only leave someone with the strengths, it's no wonder that people looking at them think they're stronger than everyone else.

>>54143588
Everyone with proper licenses and several thousand Nuyen to spare. (3KxRating)

>>54143563
It is when the limiting factor is buggered. Instead of being an integral part of being a mage it's additional book-keeping and disproportionately wrecks adepts.

The best way I've seen to keep Mages under control is to start out with Street Scum rules

>>54143697
>So then does he never use Noise penalties or have people turn wireless off for fear of hurting the decker?

Yes, that happens too!

>Or visibility penalties so the street sam doesn't get his fee-fees hurt because he can't see that well?

Visibility penalties affect everybody.

>>54143697
>So then does he never use Noise penalties or have people turn wireless off for fear of hurting the decker?

Never seen Noise rules used either now that you mention it.

>Or visibility penalties so the street sam doesn't get his fee-fees hurt because he can't see that well?

Most of the negative modifiers that get thrown in are usually weather related. Rain, darkness, fog, etc. Unless its for plot reasons, the people I've played with steer away from Noise and Background, maybe because of what >>54143613 said. Conditions that single out specific characters (and no one else) aren't very fun. Its one thing to say "the alleyway is dark and anybody who doesn't have low-light vision takes a negative modifier" and another thing to say "Daisy the street mage is suffering from background because reasons."

There are ways a savvy runner can mitigate things like mundane environmental effects and they would be rewarded for their foresight and preparation. But a mage/adept/decker/techno/etc can be gimped while having done nothing wrong and being unable to plan for such conditions.

And while I stand by Picard's quote: "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose." in real life, it doesn't make for a very fair or fun time.

>>54143905
>"It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose."
That's generally why people play games.

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>>54143985
Hell, and I've been doing it for fun all this time like some sort of faggot.

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>>54143874
>>54143905
You guys do realise that Noise and Background Count cuts both ways, right? It's not singling out one character in particular, it's putting a twist on one field of play. A clever decker can use Noise penalties on offensive actions to shield himself from spiders, and manipulating the BC (or just luring opposing magic users into situations where they have to contend with non-aligned BC) is one of the best and most straightforward techniques mundanes have to counter magical enemies, and for your team's magic user to take on enemies well out of his weight class.

Foresight and preparation mean more than just bringing enough bullets.

>>54144004
That was the implication chummer. It's not fun to make no mistakes and still get fucked over.

>>54144015
Yeah, but considering that Shadowrunners are generally hired to go to a specific place and do a specific thing, your scenario is more of a rare opportunity than a standard tactic.

Shadowrunners getting to choose where they fight is a huge luxury.

>>54144015
I can only imagine the editors designed it to be used as such (or not, who can really tell with the shit editing), but in practice its almost never used that way.

>>54143633
>>54143613
>>54143587
I feel like the background count rules missed a great opportunity to be more than a stick to beat awakened characters with in the eyes of players and GMs.

>The background count is applied as a positive modifier to the limit tied to the skill or skills for an Awakened character aligned to a domain.
If the penalties rarely see the table, then the bonuses get even less attention, but they both lack in potential for finesse.

> Positive and Negative Emotions: Hate, love, or despair, are quick to aspect mana, especially when intense. They are also the least permanent of the aspects.
> Specific Tradition: When geomancers aspect a mana line, it aligns toward the geomancer’s tradition. Magician lodges and circles, when active, are always aligned to the owner or owners’ traditions. There are a few naturally recurring items and places that aspect the mana to a tradition without the interference of a geomancer.
> Violence: Sites of conflict, war, and death stir emotions in large groups of people, twisting the mana in the area.
> Spiritual: Many religious sites are also power sites with mana aspected toward the religion that holds away over the site.
> Natural Alignment: Some spots simply suit themselves to certain types of magic activities. There are forest groves that allow people of a certain tradition the calm needed to perform magic with greater strength, hot deserts that seem to almost spontaneously generate strong spirits of fire, and mountain caverns particularly suited to dark rituals. Finding the right spot for the way you practice magic can be quite a boon.

This is on the same page as >>54143587. Just outside the box. Consider if an area could be aligned for or against violence, stealth, or social magics. Causing or preventing specific emotions. A tool to shape how awakened characters use magic within an environment, rather than saying "yes, your spells here", or "no spells for you".

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>>54144113
How is that a missed opportunity on the part of the books? On the part of lazy GMs, certainly, but the books give it all to you as part of the BC rules package.

>>54144053
>not picking your ground and stacking the odds in your favour when you are the weaker party in nearly every situation

No wonder you need the GM to hold your hand.

>>54144159
>Go steal the thing
>But also pick your ground.

Riiiiight.

>>54144159
>How is that a missed opportunity on the part of the books?
It falls just short of being supportive toward that interpretation.

>>54144159
Yeah, sorry, I'm with >>54144186 on this.

English is either your second language or you didn't quite understand that many Shadowruns take you to a specific place you HAVE TO BE IN.

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>>54144186
>>54144310
>OK, the briefcase is on the 4th story of this Citigroup shell company, manager's office. Suggestions?
>Brick knows that fung shui master who's looking to expand his business; let's give him some cash up front for a 'free consultation', see if he can't align the chi in such a way that PingPong can't take advantage of it, or at least give that hermetic spirit a bit of a blind side
>Lawman has all those drones - rig them up for advertising, create a spam zone that'll blind the spider while Beeper gets in place; then we drop the spam long enough for him to dumpshock that corper and slice into the building's cameras
>Perfect. I'll go call up Motörmouth, see if the band is willing to do an impromptu late-night flashshow... here, a block away. Cover for us to get out.

It's like you faggots have never actually played Shadowrun as if you want to commit a crime and get away with it, and just wander into every run with your dicks out and complain if the GM has the audacity to point out it's a no-dick zone.

>>54144412
Uh huh. Right. That's a nice goalpost shift from 'choose your ground' there buddy.

And none of that is gonna alter the BG by more than a point or two, assuming he doesn't get caught because corps have fucking IN HOUSE MAGES to handle their BG.

It's like your GM is the one coddling his players.

Fuck off drek-head, you're just baiting at this point.

>>54144412
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paqSMlE6JgA

>>54144283
>A background count is a measurement of a variance from normal of mana levels in the area. Arcane scholars have developed a scale to measure the strength of these areas, ranging from –24 to 24, with 0 considered normal mana levels. A negative value relates to lower-than-normal mana available to be used for magic (meaning mana ebbs and voids). A positive value relates to mana that has been aspected in some fashion, making it harder to control unless your aspect overlaps with it (domains and warps).

The list in>>54144113 is under the heading 'How Mana Aspects'. The example given in the Acclimated subheading is about Teotihuacan magicians being used to the pollution while other mages are not, and pollution is explicitly outlined as a way mana aspects. The section on ratings is all about how it aspects to emotional, spiritual, and natural sites. I really don't see how it's falling short of 'being supportive' when every example they are giving you is saying, "Use this list we are giving you as guidelines for deciding how it works".

>>54144090
They specifically refer to Background Counts, in the background count section, as a "combined challenge and opportunity" when describing techniques for astral bodies to use it as cover. At least this once, they understood that it is meant to be applied universally.

>>54144479
>That's a nice goalpost shift from 'choose your ground' there buddy.

Read closer, then, pal.
>Choosing your ground and stacking the odds in your favour.

And if you literally can change the ground in the Matrix or in astral space, but you can't understand the metaphor because you think only in terms of square meters of dirt, that's on you.

Similarly, I never said that it was going to be a case of doing one thing and solving all your problems. It's about using a small measure of common sense to turn an obstacle into an opportunity, or at least less of an obstacle, instead of banging your head on a brick wall until the GM removes it.