rolled 19 = 19

nobody wants to talk about shadowrun?

Unless it's D&D or 40k, you generally need good timing to get a good discussion going.

Neuromancer did not age well.

The constant preaching from the author didnt help

rolled 46 = 46

>>12799771
FUCK!!!

Currently in a 4th Ed campaign, set in Los Angeles.

I'm playing a mage, a former talk-show host who was fired by Horizon for reasons he's unsure of, mainly because he's perpetually high. All the time. Even in combat situations.

I may not be the most useful player in the game, but goddamn do I get to have the most fun.

rolled 50 = 50

>>12799797
I still like it, I listened to an audio recording of it last week.

but then again, I am a tasteless unrefined cretin.

or so says everyone I know.

pic is how I envision a magician in system...

>>12799844

Reminds me more of a Blood Mage, to be honest.

Damn, those guys are annoying.

In my first group's Shadowrun game we got SEALS on a corporate building. We got in, grabbed a scientist, and got out in 4 in-game minutes. My human was giving sniper support from a mile away and acted as wheelman while the other guys actually did the snatch. I can go into more detail if anyone is interested but long story short two of our team parachute off the side of the building while one rappelled from a sushi bar just under the laboratory.

Ok, the new group I'm GMing has got to have the biggest "Kick Me!" sign on it I've ever seen:
- Human Adept: Former EVO employee, Elf Poser, Super Rich, Has an AI roommate, Latent Dracomorph.
- A pair of Elf twins: One is a Technomancer, the other a Hermetic Mage (yay experimentation fodder!).
- Two uninteresting elf characters (well, at least so far).

Currently running a 3rd ed game.

Several players have recently received inordinately durable armor and some big guns. Shockingly they've shown no signs of realizing I'm about to molest them terribly.

Some events of note-
Elven rigger/face kidnapped by a psychotic super scientist and tasered brutally. He now has flashbacks when he hears electrical arcing.

Troll street samurai was hired to test fire a sonic weapon. It generates a frequency in the grip that causes the wielder to lose bowel control while violently vomiting.

Troll physical adept plows through an apartment wall, punches through a Yak thug and the door he was in front of then feels up the tits of the Elf street rat (a teammate) on the other side.

Also, I'm slowly turning one of the players into the BBEG.

>>12799797
I thought it was alright. What's so bad about it?

rolled 70 = 70

>>12799857
>blood mage
what and where is this from?

>>12799823
the character I'm running has this for his only real pre job line

"I an't doing shit till I get copies of all yo maps, 24 hours preptime, a cheap hooker, a voucher for a shower, and 6 hits of cram"

am I having as much fun?

>>12799913
beware of blatant signage, probe the group carefully; then kick them all in the cooch.

>>12800025
Blood mages? I think they're first mentioned in the Aztlan book and there was more in the 3rd ed magic book which I can't recall the title of offhand.

Beyond access to blood spirits their big deal is that they gain the Sacrifice metamagic. Essentially they hurt something while casting and the damage they inflict is deducted from the force of the spell for purposes of the Drain test.

So if they take someone all the way to Deadly that means they can cast a force 12 spell and only risk the drain of a force 2.

>>12800199

Is it SR3 or SR4 that basically has a glitch in blood spirit rules where if you summon one, it can very easily get infinite force?

>>12800213
I don't know much about the magic system in 4th.

Any idea how the glitch supposedly worked? Blood spirits are vampiric, draining essence to keep their own up, and can end up with up to double their base essence but that doesn't mean much for their force rating.

rolled 71 = 71

>>12800199
I know nothing of the shadowrun magic system.

but this sounds very nice.
and almost makes me wish I wasn't making a character with the astral bane quality.

>>12800314
offtopic: Iwas just watching this last night
Balalaika rocks my world

> whosiggs otherwife

>>12800213
Ah, found it in the 4th ed errata. Apparently they drain essence into Force, 1:1. Which is amazingly horrifying.

rolled 71 = 71

>>12800558
can I get a general synopsis of magic use in game to get an idea of the terror you are expressing?

>>12800750
To non-astral characters the big deals are thus (mind you I haven't played 4th yet, this is in 3rd ed terms)-

A spirit's Force determines all of its attributes in one fashion or another and allows it to totally ignore mundane damage with a base damage lower than its force, like hardened armor.

With spells, the force determines how difficult the spell is to resist.

I've been summoning spirits left, right, and centre with my Troll Shaman.

They're a fucking Swiss Army Knife. They've been solving EVERY problem we have.

>>12801318
Bold using a Troll shaman, given the Charisma hit. Unless summoning has changed away from Charisma in 4th.

rolled 10 = 10

>>12800846
>allows it to totally ignore mundane damage with a base damage lower than its force, like hardened armor.

I have a feeling that if 3e is even slightly similar to 4e taking astral bane would have been a bad thing...

rolled 25 = 25

bamp

>>12799797

>Neuromancer did not age well.

it only predicted the internet.

actually, not only did it do that, but when the guys that were pitching the internet to corporate america were trying to explain what they wanted to do, they went out and bought a dozen copies of Neuromancer, shoved it at them, and said, "this is what we're going to do."

Neuromancer didn't just age well, it got in a god damn DeLorean, went back to the future, and returned with a sports almanac to get rich.

rolled 49 = 49

>>12802913
yes, sort of.

the bio augments are a while out, but not too far.

Sure, let's have my group. I've only had a single session with them, so I don't really know the team yet, but I've known the GM for ages.

I'm pretty much playing the paranoid as hell sam. Always tries to have an exit strategy for most situations. We get what's supposed to be a milk run, just lean on a "gentleman's club" at the behest of the competition. In doing so, we start a firefight, the bouncer gets shot by our anti-social sniper who manages to knock out one of the team with a flashbang and damn near gets me with it in the process.

They kill the guards, the bouncer, sniper kills one patron in cold blood for no reason, and they decide to try and demo the place with hi-ex grenades while I've buggered off ahead of them to collect my pay.

Not sure how they equate "intimidate" with smite the hell out of everything in sight, but this is the kind of thing that gets a runner team put on Knight Errant's "to do" list.

>sublegle age.

Well, I'm sure some of the club patrons were...

>>12802923
>>12802913
The way the world currently looks we're likely heading into another great depression. Not sure how that will fuck with tech development, but I'd imagine the wailing throes of capitalism's failures will have an impact.

I'm mostly new to shadow run, but it has been rather fun.

group includes.

1 elf bio-aug street sam with 0.2 essence. Our resident gun bunny and urban-brawl fanatic

1 elf negotiator with black market contacts in the fashion industry.

1 elf norse shaman. who spends most of his time speedballing nova-coke and cram, then summoning Valkyries.

1 human hacker/rigger who has implanted most of her toys to turn her into a cat-girl. Also turned most of her drones into 2072 hello kitty characters.

1 albino human stealth sam who recently go a hold of ex.ex. explosive rounds for her sniper rifle.

(me) 1 human hindu mage and medic who is rather fascinated with the conversation of mass and energy, and the circle of karma and reincarnation. Thus won't heal anyone, unless he has caused equal amounts of suffering. fortunately he prostitutes himself for S&M reasons.

and 1 newly acquired jack-of-all-trades sam that was recently on her way to a bounty drop off. As soon as she was rescued, we debated chopping her up for her bio-ware.

>>12802250
Oddly one of my players described his character to me and then I saw that pic and sent it to him. We both agreed that it was a perfect fit. Then it turned out that the character in that pic and his SR character even have the same name.

>>12802250
What does Astral Bane do exactly?

>>12804223
I don't know about 4th, but drugs of any kind can cause Magic loss in 3rd.

>>12804333

Prolonged abuse can cause aura damage in 4th, but it's not immediate.

I had a really trigger happy group. They attempted to raid a MET2000 convoy, botched the job, took too long, reenforcements turned up. Didn't know how to avoid having the entire party just shot out of hand, and so I realised an option.

They wake up, bomb collars a ticking, in the middle of Amazonia, fighting as Irregulars.

My players last session walked into such an obvious ambush that it made me cry a little inside.

They finish a run, go to get rest of money from Johnson. The Johnson wants to meet at a warehouse on the docks. Johnson has three cars in a sort of semicircle arrangement, each car with at least a couple dudes in it. Johnson puts a briefcase purportedly containing the rest of the payment on the hood of his car, and tells the face to come get it. As soon as the face grabs it and turns around, the dudes all get out of the cars and open up with assault rifles, dealing him two serious wounds and nearly killing him.

They managed to get away, and even recovered the face via a levitation spell, but now he's in a coma on life support for the next two weeks.

>captcha: John Emerint
Hm, that'll make a good NPC name.

My favorite shadowrun is no magic shadowrun.

I know, I know, no magic? Wha?

Well, fuck your shit. I just want my cyberpunk, and none of your fancy magics.

>>12804748

Might as well play CP2020.

>>12804774
Unless he just likes the SR system better. I don't see any problem with that. Hell, they pulled all the cyber out and called it Earthdawn.

>>12804853

Heh. How did you handle the world? A LOT of it was seriously affected by the Awakening.

>>12804881
Maybe he just has none of the PCs use magic and never has them go up against magicians? It could happen I guess, only like 1% of the population can cast magic.

>>12804881
I haven't done it, I'm just saying I don't see any big issue with it. Drop everything induced directly by the awakening. Re-write the Elven nations and NAN some. You're kinda done. For that matter one could simply use whatever the fluff in CP2020 is and just use SR for the system.

Most of SR is already just megacorp dickery, especially in terms of what the players deal with, so you'd just have to play that up.

>>12804969
I hear the suffering is what makes it delicious.

Seriously though, that sounds like good times.

Played in a group once. I was a Elf Hacker with a bend for the Otaku culture, but thats a different story altogether.

I'm going to tell you about, the Troll.

Not to say he was a troll in the internet sense, but I can't remember his name, only his deeds.

We had burnt down a mansion in an attempt to assassinate a mob boss. Good news, it worked, bad news, burning mansions are fucking obvious. I swindled my way past some Lone Star patrols till they caught wise, and gave chase. During that chase, our down to earth, tough as nails, human PI Type popped out of the trunk of our sedan and unloaded some .44 into the patrol car behind us.

We weaved our way through the city, cursing, shouting, and shooting our way to supposed safety. The Troll was riding passenger, not really contributing.

We ditched the car and ran into an alley. Suddenly, one of those annoying Police Helicopter types shows up. We make to book it, but the Troll holds up his hand, and tells us to stop. He walks calmly up to the trunk of the car, and pulls out the Vogeljaeger AA Missile Launcher.

He aims, exhales, and pulls the trigger.

He critically glitched, the weapon malfunctioned, and the missle fell out of the rear end of the weapon with a resounding clank to everyone in the alley, i.e. moi and the PI.

>>12805135
The PI dove into a new alley, and I backflipped into a dumpster to avoid the inevitable blast. The Troll tried to jump behind my dumpster.

Another critical glitch.

After glancing left and right, he meekly jumps a few feet straight up, and lands back on the ground. The missile went off soon after, throwing him thirty feet down the alley into a brick wall. He stood up, dusted off his vest, and ran. He took no damage.

I peered out of my dumpster, and realised the gig was up, and proceeded to run too. I made my way towards the nearest Net Bar, while the PI dove into the sewers. Being the sort of Troll he is, he ran into a brick wall. Then ran into it again. Suddenly he was inside.

He fled through the building, and hid in a maintenance closet for 23 hours.

>>12805141
Awesome man.

I actually implemented the botch mechanic from 4th into my 3rd ed game so that it would happen more than once a decade.

>>12805141

> hid in a maintenance closet for 23 hours

Oh god, I loled.

rolled 84 = 84

>>12805171
was his name Detritus?

Last game my group played, we had decided to rob a casino during it's grand opening when a lot of high-rollers would be there, and because of this, a large amount of security.
The casino was a few blocks away from two rival gangs one to the west and one to the east. Our group split up, half dressing as the elven gang, half as the ork gang. The group dressed as elves drove a van covered in racial slurs for orks into a nearby ork occupied building, shooting up the place and leaving a message that this was now elf territory.
The group disguised as orcs rode motorcycles through elf territory, throwing molotov bombs into the neighborhood, and then heading in the direction of the casino.
The two groups met up, ditched the costumes and vehicles in a nearby alley and waiting for the two gangs to meet in front of the casio. A huge gang fight broke out, and while the security guards were trying to keep the fight outside and away from casino patrons, the group got in while the guards were distracted and were able to complete their objective.

rolled 8 = 8

>>12809961
plot hook stolen...

what kind of payout did ya'll get?

>>12810106
Shit.. it's been almost a year since our last shadowrun, let me see if I still have papers for it. I remember it being a lot of money, and some weapons that were taken off the casino patrons . If I can find it, I'll post it.

rolled 4 = 4

>>12810254
tanks bra

>>12810265
We did this knowing it would probably be our last run together, so the take ended up being huge. 200,000,000 nuyen. But obviously scale it down a lot if you plan on playing more after that. I wrote up another adventure the followed that, that we didn't end up using. Where one of the wealthier patrons used his money and connections to link the heist back to the group, and send them on a fake mission over seas, where the group would be ambushed and shot down in their plane, having to parachute/glider to safety and piece together who set them up. I feel it would have been a nice long adventure.

rolled 15 = 15

>>12810415
damn, nice...

saving to send anonymously to my DM

rolled 90 = 90

I wonder if the round peg that is the rules of shadowrun can be bent to fit in the square hole implied by this picture...

>>12810265

>>12811306
Actually, I recall reading about a trick where you summon possession spirits (or something) into ammunition in order to fake a ranged weapon focus.

It was expensive to the point of ludicrous inefficiency, but the end result was that you had a gun that shot magic.

rolled 25 = 25

>>12811419
could a non caster operate these weapons?

>>12811462
Yes, a mundane could even command a spirit when the mage sends him on a remote service.
Now, if a mundane wanted to shoot spirits, he could also just aim well and use APDS ammunition (or a gauss rifle, these things are varitable spirit killers after the errata for Arsenal).

The main issue i see with the spirit gun is that being used as a projectile and slammed headfirst into things is one of these things that spirits generally don't enjoy much, possibly resulting in them and everyone they know on the metaplanes using edge to resist further summoning attempts (which makes summoning higher powered spirits a pain in the ass) or even earning the mage the spirit bane flaw.

The whole thing doesn't seem that useful to me anyway. You can copy the effects of a weapon focus by other means that don't piss off your most valuable asset as a mage.
Enhance Aim spell for the increased dice pool, combat spells to attack spirits or regenerating critters at a distance etc.
Yes, that costs drain, but a decently built mage should be able to handle that.

>>12811419
Yeah sure that does work/is possible, but as you said yourself, it is extremely ineffective.

First of all you need one spirit per bullet, and you also need to conjure up and get services from each and every one, and it is both time consuming and straining on the body, it also costs eventual summoning materials.
So it is by far one of the most ineffective ways of combatting awakened beings.

>>12811462
And to answer your question, yes, without problem.
But another magician would have to have summoned and be in control of the spirits, so you would kind of borrow them.


Something I might as well share with you all though as I find it rather cool myself.
And that is the Anchoring metamagic introduced in Street Magic.
And while.. it may perhaps not be the most cost effective to use the skill in this manner, you can pay karma = to a spell's force and then store it inside an object and then have trigger conditions made up in terms of detection magic.
The sad part is that it is only one spell, so an instant spell such as a combat spell would only be able to be activated once, and then the spell and the karma spent to store it would be lost, and that is why it may perhaps not be the most efficient way to use this skill, but you can in theory store up many spells at once.

In this manner you can in theory make magic wands or whatever you may want to use, and these things can even be used by mundanes given the trigger for acativating them lies within their fields.

Also, no one happens to have the latest version of StreetMagic?
You know the one fixed according to all errata as well as adjusted to go along the anniversary edition?

It would be nice to have instead of the old one.

>>12811649
Yeah, Anchoring Foci might have been what I was thinking of in the first place, but even then they're horribly inefficient because of the bonding costs.

An anchoring focus takes 6 * Force karma to bond, so around 24 karma a bullet. And you can only have a number equal to your magic score floating around at the same time (although one sam could use bullets made by multiple different magicians).

If you had some way to recover them afterwards, they are technically reusable, but I'm pretty sure whatever makes them foci wouldn't survive impact with your target.

>>12811649
>it also costs eventual summoning materials

You only need those in SR4 when you're binding a spirit. Now that i think about it, you where probably already implying that when you said "eventual"...

>Anchoring metamagic

Karma sink abillity for a karma sink character type? I guess i'll pass on that one.
Ever since Street Magic came out, my favorite metamagic has been Invoking.
Yes, you have to bind the spirit for that and it can get very drain intensive at higher forces, but damn, is it worth it.

So, was going to run a 3rd edition game, but pussed out. How the hell do you fellas come up with bad guys outside of snatching them from one of the books? Shit takes so long to make them believable. That and our "that guy" wants to play an adept gunslinger using ingram smartguns. LOL! 14 dice, -3 to TN 10S damage! I'll be so cool.

>>12811798
>And you can only have a number equal to your magic score floating around at the same time

No, you can only *bind* a number equal to your Magic attribute.
The number you can have *activated* at the same time is equal to your Logic attribute, which may be considerably lower in a lot of cases.

If you use the optional rules for focus addiction from Digital Grimoire, you also probably shouldn't use foci with a total Force exceeding your Magic x 1,5.

>>12811798
I do believe what you first thought off was the old possessed bullet trick, that I do.

It is still cool to have a wand to shoot fireballs with and whatnot.
I did actually place such an artifact in one of my games, something the players found. That was kind of swell.
I agree that it is not really something that is worth it for actual players as it is kind of karma consuming, something too valuable to most, but this way none of my players had to pay anything, so it was all good.

>>12811850
>Now that i think about it, you where probably already implying that when you said "eventual"...
That's about right.

>Karma sink abillity for a karma sink character type? I guess i'll pass on that one.
Kind of agreed.
>Invoking
Agreed.

>>12811927
Anchoring foci are apparently not active until they trigger, if I'm reading Street Magic correctly. However, I've realized that doing it with foci instead of just regular anchoring metamagic is even more incredibly dumb and inefficient, so I guess it doesn't matter.

Now we're limited by the mage's initiation grade, though, which is even worse.

Fuck it, just use Stick-n-Shock ammo. That shit's practically magical anyway.

>>12811924
>ow the hell do you fellas come up with bad guys outside of snatching them from one of the books?
Make it some CEO of some corporation.
If you want groonies take genetically engineered beasts, or simply drones, or both.
Shove in the occasional special ops team and or elite strike force.
Have the actual CEO have acess to some really special vehicle or armour or some other shit.


Or you could have some wizard do crazy shit and have critters as your groonies as well as the occasional followers or curses from minor groups of mages.

Or you can simply run with the mafia, and go for underground dangers, be it drugdealing or illeagal or new/stolen tech.

And on the internet pretty much anything can fly, you can even run an MMO game or something.

>>12811997
>Fuck it, just use Stick-n-Shock ammo. That shit's practically magical anyway.
>Stick-n-Shock
I have always wondered wether or not Stick-n-Shock is surely and without doubt really counts as a "non-normal" weapon, or as I often interprets it, supernatural weapon?

If it did that would mean that you could basically just throw a fire against a spirit and do full damage or something, or somehting as simple as incinerary granades.

Most spirits actually easily goes down by ordinary weapons.

That whole immunity to normal weapons thing isn't exactly absolute.
It counts as hardened armour twice the rating of the spirit's force.

That is, if the end damage value is less than the armour rating, no damage is done.
But if the end damage value exceeds the armour value, full damage is done.
Of course this only applies to materialized spirits, but those are the ones with a real impact on the world anyway.

This basically means that even something as a force 5 spirit, with rating 10 hardened armour, would go down just as long you have good enough weapons, or simply just good enough people using them.
Of course this quickly adds up. Rating 6 = 12 armour, rating 7 = 14, 8 = 16 and so on, so sure it is not easily managable forever, but still.


In fact, vehicles and drones also doesn't take any damage if the DV doesn't exceed their armour ratings.
And considering the armour ratings they may very easily have they can in actuality be far more troubling depending on the situation.

>>12812082
It's not that SnS is a 'non-normal' weapon, the base 6S and -impact just lets it hit anything without at least 7 magic (and that's with the bare minimum 1 net hit), and that includes most spirits any normal party is going to encounter.

Mundane fire also has -impact penetration, I believe, so if you can get the DV up to around six it's also effective against spirits. Basically, Immunity to Normal Weapons just doesn't hold up against the A. Pen. of energy damage.

Shadowrun is the game I play weekly. I like my group. I basically play as a "cleaner" a guy who is hired to clean up crime scenes using nanotech goo to remove bodies and evidence. I'm pretty much have all around good stats. We are currently in Istanbul trying to capture a live cockatrice for a professor at UC Berkley. Last session I went to the Grand Bazaar to get some Russian weapons.

I wonder, just what can you do with a rating 12 stealth program or complex form?

Now we didn't play the last time when we were to, but this may become a relevant thing.
Can't you pretty much do anything to anything with a connection? That is unless someone is actively super paranoid doing whatever is within his might to catch anyone and anything within his servers at all time, but even then you would have a pretty good chance to simply fuck around, wouldn't you?

Couldn't one kind of casually rob banks and manipulate the grid system however one wants, and snatch any information from any comlink within reach?

>>12812261
Well, you're probably not going to do it with a rating 12 program, because it's unclear whether or not such things even exist in the base setting. Ratings higher than 6 are cutting edge MilTech, and 12 is quite a bit higher than 6.

This is mostly ignoring the software writing rules in Unwired, where basically anyone with a pirated programming suite and some headware can apparently outcode any corporation or government they want.

Consider making a force 1 ally spirit in manifestation form. With the form of a sword, and elemental aura (whatever).

Enjoy your go-anywhere astrally active sword.

Want a go -anywhere gun? Give it elemental attack. Add extra force points to allow it to operate in higher background count areas. And add damage to the 'gun', but the melee wweapon form is much better.

>>12812371
Wether or not individuals can write programs with ratings over 6 and to what extent is up to the GM.
They "can" do it, but most of the time some sort of collaborative effort over time is apparently needed, or so I believe I read somewhere.

Anyway, complex forms are a whole other thing.
One player made a technomancer with 6 as his ressonance attribute, and made sure to have a dice pool easily capable of threading complex forms up to the rating of 6.
According to the rules one can improve the ratings of already existing forms through threading, but there is a limitation where a threaded complex form cannot exceed the resonance attribute, as well as how the fading resistance test turns physical damage while going over it.

But essentially, this means, that with 6 resonance, you can thread up to 12. And with a complex form of 6 (which you can start with if you have 6 resonance) and 6 hits from your thread test, you can in theory have a rating 12 complex form.
The biggest hurdle to overcome is to actually being able to score 6 hits on the thread tests, but this was already figured out.
The real problem is apparently to resist the fading, but with full health it turns out that shouldn't be a problem, if the test is limited to once a day or so.
Though when the test is done, it an in theory be sustained for hours, or even the remainder of the day.

>>12812163
You're in correct. Say you're fighting a force 5 spirit. It has 10 hardened armour, thanks to immunity. Okay.Now, say you manage 11DV. Okay, the spirit has 10 extra points of armour, too, in addition to it's normal reisstance test.

>>12812541
That's why I explicitly didn't say anything about technomancers.

Everyone's afraid of them for a reason, you know. They could be in your base, stealing your secrets. All your secrets.

>>12812579
But ten points of armor is only going to soak about three points of damage. Out of at least eleven.

The thing about hardened armor is, if you can do enough damage to get through the armor at all, you've dealt so much damage that they're only going to soak around one-third of it.

>>12812579
Well, armour calculations is taken cared off before comparing it to the hardened armour.
And with 10 armour that would be roughly a deduction of 3 DV, so you would need about 14 DV for the attack to go through.

After that however, it's only the body resistance test left, and there is no way a force 5 spirit would have a body resistance pool of over 30 for an average of 10 resistance per attack.
That is, if you manage to deal an attack above the armour, it is likely to deal serious damage, expect one or two hits for it to go down.

Then of course, dealing 14 DV can be somewhat hard for some characters, but it is by far impossible, especially with the right gear and training.

rolled 1 = 1

now that this thread has gotten itself rolling...

I'm gonna post a character I've been working on. and I want you to tear it a new asshole with criticism.

this is so I can see where I can improve it.

brace for an Ork drone rigger.

rolled 30 = 30

>>12812720
>>>>>>>>>>>
backstory.
>>>>>>>>>>>
1.) born t-25 years in the renkaru arcology.

2.) begins learning the hackers trade.

3.) the AI Deus takes the arcology, arcology is sealed.

5.) bad shit goes down.

6.) out of necesity learns the trade of drone hacking and rigging.

7.) survives and makes it out but is identified and arrested by police.

8.) the AI Deus escapes the arcology onto the matrix.

9.) escapes prison, predominantly because of a suspicious fluke in the paperwork.

10.) acquire drug habit, hooker habbit, and terrible paranoia.

11.) acquire a name for self as a competant (but incredibly unlikeable) rigger.

12.) acquire a pair of mono-whips from a guy that couldn't make all his payments in cash.

13.) learn to use them safely. (only one at a time)

14.) work sideline job as a shade tree robot repairman.

15.) introduction to the party, by Mr. J
>>>>>>>>>>>
attributes
>>>>>>>>>>>
body=4
agility=5
reaction=5
strength=3
charisma=1
intuition=4
logic=5
wilpower=3
edge=2
initiative=9
>>>>>>>>>>>
skils
>>>>>>>>>>>
electronics group=3
mechanics group=3
exotic weapons=4
automatics=4
armorer=3
hacking(drones/otherdevices)=4
pilot ground craft(remote operation)=3
pilot aircraft (remote ops)=2
gunnery=5
EW=2

I actually like technomancers.
Some may they are fundamentally overpowered, but they are seriously forgetting what an ordinary high level hacker can do with a mighty botnets, an army of viruses, worms, trojans and agents, coupled with all those cool augmentations the technomancer can't have, and the hardware modification the technomancer most likely won't make as much use of.
The unwired book actually did balance things out rather good if you actually manage to read through it.

Mechanically speaking it kind of works like this if I were to draw a crude comparison.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBaeSq_R38Q&fmt=18

>>12812787
Though of course, as per fluff Smith is more like one of those dissonance beings introduced in unwired.

>>12812752

Logic 5 for an ork means maxing out that attribute, costing 25 instead of 10 BP for the last point.
One extra die isn't worth that much, imho.
Better get Logic-boosting ware.
Cerebral Booster 2 (highest rating available with Restricted Gear quality) costs 20k nuyen, that's just 4 BP.
Dump the remaining 11 points in a higher Edge attribute and 1 more point for gear or connections.

rolled 85 = 85

>>12812752
>>>>>>>>>>>
qualities (DM rules I can have all of this)
>>>>>>>>>>>
mild addiction(5)
weak immune system(5)
spirit bane (10)
Sinner criminal(10)
uncouth(20)
>>>>>>>>>>>
weapons
>>>>>>>>>>>
ceska black scorpion
===>sound suppressor
===>quick draw holster
===>4 spare magazines
2 mono-whips(not at the same time)
===>in quick draw holster
===>in concealed holster
ares alpha
===>8 spare magazines
5 flash packs to be duct taped to drones and operated remotely
>>>>>>>>>>>
armor
>>>>>>>>>>>
a lined coat
===>chem protection(3)
===>fire resistance(3)
===>thermal damp(2)
===>insulating(2)
===>non-conductive(2)
helmet
ballistic shield
>>>>>>>>>>>
ware
>>>>>>>>>>>
commlink (4/5)
controll rig
datajack
ultrasound sensor
smartlink
cybereyes (3)
>flare compensation
>thermographic vision
>protective covers
cyberears(2)
>balance aug
>sound damper

muscle toner(2)
cerebral booster(2)

rolled 9 = 9

>>12812863
noted, I'll feed that into my character generator and see how the maths work out.

>>12812872
>>>>>>>>>>>
electronics hardware
>>>>>>>>>>>
commlink=hermes Ikon (the thing they see, sometimes prevent people from looking harder)
==>AR gloves
==>biometric reader
==>sim module
==>sim rig
==>trodes
==>white noise generator
==>holo projector
==>skinlink
==>area jammer(4)
>>>>>>>>>>>
drones
>>>>>>>>>>>
5 shiawase kanmushi (micros)
5 lockheed optic-x (smalls)
5 steel lynxes (large)
==>5 cammo suits (it's in the armor section, but DM is allowing some cross hacking)
==>+5 armor
==>ram plate
==>smoke emitters
==>searchlight
==>winch

>>12812872
> uncouth

Didn't people already explain that it was a bad idea to take that disadvantage because you can't resist people trying to intimidate/manipulate you?

rolled 61 = 61

>>12812954
yes, and I counter-explained that the GM is too new to the game to see that.

and I have no intention of talking to people, you talk too much I shoot you in foot, you want I do something ask in short simple words...

>>12812752
I would recomend to lower Automatics or something to give room for you to increase hacking or something to 5.

The rules gives you the oppurtunity to either have one skill at 6, and others at 4 or lower, or two skills at 5 and others at 4.
Might as well make use of this and rank up another one of those skills to 5, like hacking for instance.
Or possibly to simply increase gunnery to 6, gunnery is most likely going to be your main way of attack, is that not right?
Even a small drone or a mounted gun on your back can be used with gunnery.

In either case, versitality is great, it really is. But it is also reassuring to know that your character truly can stand his ground in at least one field, thus it can be comforting to at least meet the 6 or 5 and 5 roof given on the skills.

>>12812954
>to intimidate/manipulate you?
I find it sad that you so often in games don't take care of things like this with your will stat if present.

Weak social skills could for an example render you weak in intimidating or manipulating others, in other words to have your way with folks.
Willpower could however be used when people are trying to manipulate you. If someone tries to make you do something your character doesn't want to do (initially), you sure should be allowed to resist it will your will stat no matter how low your charisma may be.

And as sad as it may be Shadowrun isn't the only game where I have seen this.
Houserules are a wonderful thing to have though.

rolled 65 = 65

>>12812990
also noted.

>>>>>>>>>>>
now to let this stew for a bit; the moderator has called, it is time for the killing of the zombies of the campus, WITH SOCKS AND NERF.

I SHALL RETURN!!!!!!1!!!!!!!!11!!!!!!!

>>12812951
Doesn't the sim-rig come with a sim-module?

rolled 30 = 30

>>12813054
one plays the recording, the other allows a recording to be made.

one is the VCR and the other is the cam-corder

>>12812954
Yes, Uncouth is one of the most crippling flaws in the game if the GM doesn't totally gloss over the mechanical side of social interaction.
Doubly so if your character doesn't have any social skills in the first place, because he can't default on the tests (not that this would work without spending Edge if you have CHA1), meaning he doesn't get ANY resistance rolls in social situations.
The GM may also call for tests in everyday situations that won't pose a problem for anybody, meaning that your character is constantly at the GM's mercy when he interacts with anybody, including his connections, the Johnson, the team's fixer, bouncers at places the team has to get into or the cops that are regularly harassing him because he's an ork with a criminal record.

This can only work out if he stays in his van all the time and only interacts with the outside world through his drones and has VERY loyal connections who are used to him being the walking, talking, unsightly avatar of /r9k/.

>>12813077
There, found it.
>"An advanced version of the trode net, the simrig records simsense experience data (both physical and emotive) from the wearer.
>Simrigs incorporate a sim module."

I sort of missed that when I started out as well. But the simrig actually goes both ways.
Though it is not really as if any of them are expensive.

>>12813033
Resisting social skills used on you doesn't involve Charisma, but either Willpower or Intuition.
They've got a list for that in the skills chapter.

>>12799823

Good for you! Not nearly enough people playing outside Seattle.

>>12801404

Varies based on tradition, but it's still Charisma for standard shamans.

What I love about Shadowrun is how the pc's don't necessarily have to like each other, they just have to work with one another. I'm playing with this middle school kid on many of the missions and he is kinda a hyper brat. His character gets in trouble a lot and I often say "your on your own with this one." And last session we had to make two contended roles, one because I was on the phone and he wanted to snatch it from me, and the other because we both wanted to be the driver for the car.

>>12813264
Has anyone ever killed another PC in their game of Shadowrun?

>>12813330
Hey, that was an accident.
I just critically glitched on that first aid test.
Ok, i had to roll for first aid because i shot the other PC in the kneecap, but strictly speaking, that wasn't my fault either.

>>12813330
Yeah, but not on purpose, and anyone that doesn't think a full-auto grenade launcher is an awesome idea probably deserved it anyway.

>>12813330

My last groups made some serious attempts at it, but usually through intermediaries and tried to cover their tracks. The human Islamist gunslinger and pro-Awakened Catholic Maya elf shaman had serious ideological disagreements. The elf almost died once times, but the Islamist hadn't entirely done her research, and underestimated the elf's gang-leader's magical abilities, dramatically. Ultimately, the elf "beat" the jihadi by causing her to realize that she herself was an adept; she had an emotional meltdown and went on the Hajj to figure her shit out, and left the campaign at that point.

>>12813330
>>12813485

Also, one time the shaman player's previous character tried to sell the mission goal to Ares instead of the party's Triad Johnson. Things got out of control, the character, who had Ares ties, called Knight Errant, and it resulted in a high-octane bus (yes, they hijacked a city bus) chase down a main street in the city (Lake Street in Minneapolis). The rest of the group survived, somehow, and Leo (the shaman's old character) fled to an Ares military base in rural Laos. They eventually attempted to hunt him down, but he got away, and ultimately they gave up the chase.

rolled 18 = 18

>>12813036
6 zeds beaten down with a high density sock-flail
and one of the group of wandering Lutherans passed out and had to be wheeled out on a gurney.


>>12813146
so I'm not boned, all is good.

I just can't do that shit to other people, so I leave it to the face.

>>12813097
>This can only work out if he stays in his van all the time and only interacts with the outside world through his drones and has VERY loyal connections who are used to him being the walking, talking, unsightly avatar of /r9k/.

1) I don't have a van, yet, I'll have a van AND a lair as most of my cut of the first job.
2) I have 2 connections with loyalty 3 is this loyal enough?
3) I wasn't going for /r9k/, I was going for an embodiment of /b/

>>12813146

Don't know about the previous editions but fourth edition but only Intimidation and Leadership are resisted with willpower + the same skill

negotiation, and etiquette are resisted with charisma + the same skill

con is resisted with charisma and either con or negotiation

What are everyone's favorite weapons? My character uses pistols as a weapon. I really like my trusty Ares Viper Slivergun. Its really handy for taking down paracritters and its fun to imagine what happens to enemies, they get filled full of tiny metal shards.

>>12815473

Honestly, I like modding the Ruger Super Warhawk to semi-auto. Same thing with hunting/sport rifles; you can easily pass them off as less illegal weapons that way and you can still get good damage and moderate sniping capability.

>>12815572
Take the shorten barrel option and you have an extraordinarily reliable gun doing assault rifle damage (even greater with explosive rounds) that's just about as concealable as a light pistol, even greater if you're using concealed holsters and longcoats.

I call it the Ruger Alabaskan.

Pic related.

bump

rolled 27 = 27

>>12812863
I ran the numbers on that, I took off a point of logic and spent it on 2 points of edge, and a 5 point contact (loyalty:3, connections:2)

The one thing in SR4 that makes absolutely no fucking sense is how they dumbed down the Matrix/Rigging.

I mean, everyone I knew handwaved the "Lol. Roll to log on" bullshit, and drones weren't all that hard to run if you mapped shit out, and getting new tech toys/upgrading the house's security really really added an amazing element to the game.

Also, commlink decking is fucking retarded.

Did they fix this in 20th Anniversary Edition, or will I need to

Bump

>>12823538
What exactly do you not like about SR4's matrix rules?

It is difficult to determine whether or not they've been 'fixed' without knowing why you think they're broken

>>12823538

I liked the "dumbed down" aspect of it, but I came to SR from a BESM background, so getting the horrid complexity under control was kind of a priority.

>>12823538

By dumbed down you mean "You can actually use the rules without sending the rest of the party out for pizza".

The old matrix rules were horrible, and the little lists that were there are dead easy to replicate.

The new system is more accurate, easier to use, and less of a pain for everyone else.

And what exactly is wrong with Commlink decking? You'd PREFER that a hacker has to carry around a skateboard? It was cool in the 80s, it just looks retarded these days.

>>12825264

Honestly, I don't see the issue for matrix stuff. It's all pretty straightfoward.

Roll Hacking + Exploit, beat (Firewall + System) to break in. Extra +3 if you want security, extra +6 if you want admin. It either takes ages, or it takes one pass, and the node gets a firewall + analyse check to detect you, target (stealth).

rolled 23 = 23

>>12825331
>>12823538
>>12825243
>>12825264
COOL IT DAMMIT

SR3 and SR4 have both got good points AND bad points

>>12825440

SR3 had handy fluff. SR4 has a much better rules system. There is no conflict here whatsoever.

rolled 58 = 58

>>12825471
I was unsure.

it looked like it was heading downhill.


anyone got anymore tricks to pull in the shadows?

>>12825564

Motorcycle with gekotires, and glider attachment, and weapons mount.

You ride it up the side of skyscrapers, then fly down, shooting your mounted machine gun all the way.

rolled 64 = 64

>>12825575
I love you.

and I have stolen you idea to troll my DM with.
can you cite literature? aresenal, runners companion, etc. I want to make an un-interesting little entry in my character sheet

>>12825622

All of those are vehicle customisation mods from Arsenal.

rolled 55 = 55

>>12825678
dammitm now I've got arsenal open and I'm being compelled to construct a long list of mods for a cycle...

combine the flying fox, with some smoke grenades and a little rope to the back of the cycle. you drop from your chute, and leave a big cloud of smoke. add an oil slick and a spike strip dispenser and I got a death-cycle...

>>12825895

Hah. Very Delta Force. Just needs a mortar at the back.

I'm thinking of making an old lady rigger (loosely inspired by the Dead Kennedys' "Buzzbomb from Pasadena"), and, while I'm away from book right now, I'm wondering about tricking out an Evo Orderly wheelchair/drone with hidden weapons and shit. Is this win or fail /tg/?

>>12825955

Totally doable. I'm thinking like that guys wheelchair from Alien 4.

Concealed weapons'd be easy. Reenforced frame, that's hollow to fit an oil slick and smoke dispenser. A full sensor suit underneath.

>>12825955

She can be like the team granny. With a 6 in gunnery.

rolled 90 = 90

>>12825919
so, it's looking like this...
>>>>>>>>>>>>
Indian Pathfinder
==>armor...
==>chameleon coating
==>rigger adapt
=====>pilot=6
==>engine customizations (both)
==>flying fox(detachable chute)
==>gecko tips(wheels)
==>improved sensor array
=====>(millimeter, radar)
==>lock on countermeasures
==>motorcycle gyro stabilizer
==>oil slick
==>road strip ejector
==>smoke projector
.
..
...
now, what weapons should I mount...

>>12826226

I'd say an Ingram White Knight with Underslung Grenade Launcher. Alternatively, an Assault Cannon.

rolled 90 = 90

>>12826263
yes, this seems good...

now the real question, would and SR DM let me have this...

rolled 99 = 99

bamp

>>12826313

Of course. The only possible weird bit is the gecko tips, depending on how strong they are vs the surface, etc.

How much does it all cost?

I am currently sitting on a campaign I designed where the players wake up as prisoners in a Nazi cyberzombie research lab. Would obviously want to run some prelude first.

Picture Chronicles of Riddick: Butcher Bay, but in Shadowrun 4e Germany, and the players are going to be waking up every morning with some of their parts changed around.

>>12827416

That DOES sound awesome. Cyberzombies are a pretty intense campaign concept, so I'd be careful here. They're meant to be rare, and horrifying.

Bump.

I'm DMing Shadowrun campaign, set in some Siberian city. Sadly, i never was DM before. Any tips?

>>12826226
You really should get a rigger cocoon.
With the rigger cocoon you can control the vehicle from behind a 20/20 extra personal armour shield, and become immune to damage.
It is essentially telling everyone else to shoot down your vehicle until it is wrecked, and not you, because they can't.

Then you could implement a Valkyria Model in order to automatically get healed any time you may actually become hurt.
And it would also provide you with a kind of a mobile medic-bot.

Or better yet, you could just install the enhanced rigger cocoon if made available, it has both things combined.

Didn't the anniversary edition retcon things so that all off the shelf vehicles had rigger adaptions installed even if they weren't listed?

rolled 4 = 4

>>12831171
No, you still have to pay extra for that

>>12830291

A rigger cocoon seemed to be a bit much for a motorcycle...

And if I do shit that's cool enough the DM WILL allow it strengh of a skyscraper wall or not.

>>12831699
No of course not, you would just be lying face down in some sort of capsule while driving, you know... like Batman or something.

>>12829718

Betrayal works best when used sparingly. Try to figure out who the major players are in the sprawl and figure out how they react to the PCs' actions, and try to judge how they'd act against each other.

>>12829718
>set in some Siberian city

Oh fuck, shapeshifters everywhere!

But yeah, the best approach is to stat out some factions in your setting, draw plans of key locations, think of encounters on the street/in the wilderness and not to plan out any plot besides who wants to screw over whom.
The player's tendency for mischief, coupled with the availability of big guns, usually takes care of the rest.

Get a hang of basic security (guards and their equipment, matrix defenses and technological countermeasures like cameras, sensors n stuff), maybe some magical security in tightly guarded installations, like a ward, a spirit etc.
Think about who will come for backup when the players cause a ruckus, how long they need to arrive and which means they have to track the PCs down if they escape.

>>12834710

Not just who wants to screw over whom, but why. What are the various factions' objectives? Whose objectives conflict?

Is it considered hard to hack the gridlink?

Or rather, does anyone have any idea of the security level of things in general? Is there anything to go on?

Netsecurity up foremost was what I was thinking about, that is things and services connected and round for everyday life, and perhaps average Joes's commlinks and the content etc.
Would it be hard to cheat you a free cab ride?
Isn't it ridiculously easy to phish the bank accounts of regular dudes? Why would you even need to work for money?
Say you want to register some "paid" time at the local workshop or facility?
Score passing grades in order to "legitaemately" get real titles or licenses, rather than faking them?

and so on and so on?

I drive a hovercraft. It carries a heavy machine gun with a turret link. I have three other weapon mounts available for use, you know, for passengers and shit. I have three initiative passes, and I take kamikaze to get a fourth. I am an adept with bonuses to kinesics, unarmed combat damage, and combat awareness. I have a pain editor and two ranks of orthoskin. I have full body armor. I roll 15 dice when I fire my sub machine gun, or 11 if I'm just trying to convince someone of something. And that's not counting edge. I have conquered portions of the sprawl, and rule by proxy through an allied biker gang.

I fucking love Shadowrun. But admittedly, I have a pretty good GM who puts up with our shit.

>>12836621

I imagine it's hard for a noob to hack Gridlink, but probably doable for a PC. It's not Zurich Orbital, they just don't want every jackass with a commlink doing it.

As far as everything being hackable, well, the ease of hacking is going to be inversely related to how accessible people make sensitive materials. I imagine anything where you're having to spoof someone's ID is a pain in the ass, though, as you'd have to to really steal a lot of money. SINs are more complicated, web-of-trust systems than a Social Security Number. But remember that Zurich Orbital is talked about as the most secure system ever created and that's the biggest bank IIRC. The financial system is lucrative enough that they don't need to pussyfoot around. Unlike Gridlink, which is publicly funded and thus probably underwatched.

>>12837454
Question is, is hacking it harder than breaking into a compound full of spirits guard animals, guard metahumans, etc etc?

Part of why car theft is so popular is that even with changing DMV databases and frying three thousand rfids on it, it's still less work and less dangerous than trying to bop into some hellhole for 5k total.

>>12839265

Most likely you can get in, but people in the cars will notice if their ID changes and you're jacking their wheels.

I'd be more inclined to see it used for redirecting traffic subtly to influence a chase scene or something.

>>12839604
I meant stealing it when they weren't around. If they're still driving, that's a job for mind control. Just order them to drive into the barrens, order them out. Car is yours and the neighborhood will take care of the witness.

>>12836621

It says in Unwired that Gridlink is commonly held to be very secure. It goes on, in the next sentance, to say that this is complete rubbish, and that people hack it all the time, and go play chicken with other people's cars.

Having said that, it can't be all that common.

Think about this. A hacker with rating 5 programs, and 5 in hacking, can get into near anything common. Broken?

Well, they're using near state of the art hacking utilities, and they're of a skill level equal to the skill level that a special forces soldier wields a gun. They're DAMN good at what they do.

Now compare that with a 3/3 hacker. He's also exponentially more likely to be detected.

>>12839265

Well, I'd say that a manual override switch'd be in the dashboard for all cars. Unless you're quick, and good, and catch them unawares, it'd be pretty easy to regain control of a vehicle.

I'd also be detected. Now wether they'd catch the hacker or not is another matter entirely.

>>12839908
Choose your targets well. They gotta have something worth stealing yet by and large be unhelped by law enforcement. This means the very small section of middle class orcs, trolls, and to a lesser extent, dwarfs.

>>12839823

Ah, there's no gridlink in the barrens by a longshot, or perhaps even near. It's an inner-city thing.

>>12839948
I meant using magic to force them to drive to the barrens, that's the point, the car will disappear off gridguide and you're free to do with it as you please.

>>12839961

Mind control's not that precise, or easily accessed.

>>12839823

I guess I figured they weren't connected to Gridlink unless the car was running.

>>12840066
I don't see how "drive to x location" isn't within the realm of it. And the rest of the top tier gear shadowrunners carry isn't easily accessed either, yet they can start with plenty of it.

Perhaps the hard part of auto theft isn't acquiring the vehicle, it's moving it for anywhere near its value.

How to sucessfully steal cars in Shadowrun.
1. Find an empty vehicle you think you have time to work on for at least half an hour or an hour and up.
2. Do a simple hardware test, sure you might need some skills commoners don't have, but you are no commoner so that is no problem. Rip the "network" card out, or if you feel like it replace it with a fresh one or one with an ID you prefer.
3. Hack the grid, no matter if it is connected or not, no matter what ID it might have, now you hack the grid in order to either become invisible or to register it as a vehicle ID you prefer.
4. Drive home.

Be an adept martial artist.
Retrieve the former mind of your sister of whom the society have shattered and digitalized and distributed as part of the software in highly exclusive drones among the higher ups of the city.
Get into contact with the russian mafia, help them infiltrate the main office building of one of the major coorporations.
Ditch them and carelessly run to confront the CEO, former super hacker.
As it turns out that he had modified his drone into a battle drone abomination and used the schock and cover of it to escape, jump into a vehicle and fly out and pursue them.
Having lost his company and career and being chased with his life in danger, this former hacker now doesn't care about the company or it's image anymore, and continues to hack the gridlink. Using the gridlink to smoothly control traffic, and using it as a proxy to hack all the vehicles in current traffic.
Sending the protagonist's vehicle straight into a building, and when the crazy man survived, instead chasing you on top of the cars, running, jumping, he continued to send other cars crashing into him and sending the drone to shoot him.
As the protagonist continues to jump from car to car, in the air, whle fighting a heavily armed battle drone, far, far above the ground.

bump

>Meeting Mr J in Inferno
>Misanthropic Conspiracy Theory Hacker talks to other runner team there, other hacker leaves when his team arrives.
>Hacks his commlink, downloads "briefing notes", after she hacks his ears.
>Reads file later, has hookup details for her.

Anyone ever played a character with vast knowledge of magic and the arcane and the like, but who isn't awakened and who actualy is, albeit a bit mediocre, a technomancer in secret?

Like some kind of magic and mystery nerd, and perhaps a bit wannabe magician, and who happens to be a technomancer instead even though he carries some prejudicce against technomancers in general and isn't all too fond being one and keeps it secret. Even though the character still uses the powers from time to time out of their sheer conveinience even though they aren't anything special compared to other technomancers or hackers?

This thread deserves to be archived.

BUMP

>>12844458

What, like a Magic-orientated Weaboo? I like it.

bump

>>>http://www.shadowrun4.com/resources/faq
>>FAQ

>>Can I attack an active focus in Astral Combat? If so, how much damage can it take, and what happens when its damage track is filled up?
>This will be answered fully in an upcoming sourcebook.

>>If a character has a dual-natured weapon but is not astrally perceiving, can they still attack things on the astral? What about a mundane with a dual-natured weapon, like a sword possessed by a spirit?
>This question will be answered fully in an upcoming sourcebook.

>>Can you attack a target on the astral using a dual-natured metahuman or critter as an improvised melee weapon?
>This question will be answered fully in an upcoming sourcebook.

>>If you turn a weapon into a focus, but not a weapon focus, can I attack astral forms with it?
>This question will be answered fully in an upcoming sourcebook.

>>If you enchant a car as a focus, can you run someone's astral form over with it?
>This question will be answered fully in an upcoming sourcebook.


Just what is this upcoming sourcebook they are talking about? Is it just "nothing" so far, postponed into the unforseen future or something?

The only announced unreleased sourcebook so far is the coorporate guide, and it has nothing to do with magic. And this faq has also been like this for months and months now, that is becoming years.

>>12847357
It already is, and was from the beginning, automatically.
http://archive.easymodo.net/cgi-board.pl/tg/thread/12799478

>>12855006
>So leery of SR.

>1) People with wired reflexes are miles ahead of everyone else in combat.
The source books have actually made this much more balanced, or rather, made things like wired reflexes to not stand out as much. You can easily make a martial artist or something without additional IPs who is still on par in their own way.

>2) If someone is decking, scouting, rigging, they're getting their own private adventure while everyone else sits on their thumbs.
Now I really do say that the previous editions had their cup of tea as well, they both have their advantages and disadvantages, but this is far more a problem with previous editions and much less so with the 4th.

>3) Rules are simulationist crap. Who cares if an IRL grenade does slightly more damage in a hallway?
Tastes, preferences, opinions.
It is not a bad thing the very least and you can't honestly say that is "hard to learn". I don't quite get how people somehow paints a picture of it being increadibly harder to learn than D&D or something.

>4) Setting seems so haphazard. You could narrow it down "I want this campaign to be about Tir Tairngire's special forces" but there are always 1-2 guys/girls who want to play whatever's banned and/or don't give a shit what the campaign's about.
I don't even get what you mean here, and even less how it is unique to SR.
You have your mission(s) (and or interests), and the players play with it. You can play anywhere in the world in any way you seem fit. I don't see how it is any worse than the common fantasy games where you play wherever you want and go on adventures.

Player talks to johnson about a hit. During the investigation of the dude we break into his house. He's stoned in the living room. Player calls up johnson:
"That job still available?"
"Yes"
"We accept"
<BLAM>
"I trust the money transfer will complete by tomorrow"

>>12855463
Yeah, but it's really watered down. Everyone needs 3 passes or they're fucked. BUT, there's multiple ways to get 3 passes.

So essentially it's a question of "did you get the wiredReflexes/bio-version/magicHaste/HotSim/whatnot which makes your character viable or are you an NPC?"

It was a clever system in the 2nd edition, but ludicrously broken. It's "fixed" in the 3rd ed, as in neutered.

rolled 84 = 84

>>12858599
dude, awesome.

I don't suppose you had any fitting music playing?

what about player faces what did the dudes round' the table look like when you did this?

>>12858681
>BUT, there's multiple ways to get 3 passes.
Sure there is that, and to be frank that isn't horrible. It is good that there are ways for non-augmented or awakened people to be able to increase their initiative passes. But yeah, it doesn't remove the "problem" the slightest.

But it still isn't as much of a problem as many may believe.
The add on books really have helped a lot even on this area.

Thing is, initative passes are still either increadibly expensive, or simply temporary with risks.
The additional source books have however added more and more options, and these options have also evened out the play field some.

For an example, I once made an adept martial artist with nothing other than one IP. I used additional adept powers from street magic and implemented the martial artist rules from arsenal.
The character threw punches more powerful than rockets, and was skilled enough to easily fight against several people within the same IP as long as they weren't specialy trained in melee combat, and even if they were he stood a decent chance, more or less unrivaled in one on one combat (given they had the same IPs). And with the ability to dodge and block continiously, and the additional ability of punching shockwaves of AoE 6+ meters capable of knocking people down, and the ability to strike ground disrupting everything from 12+ meters, for field control.

Sure IPs are great, but they are also hefty expensive. The character mentioned above used all that was left from not increasing the IPs, to boost remaining skills through the roofs instead, and became unrivaled when not counting additional action phases.

>>12859058
But yeah, the action hases are stil great, but I can't say they automatically break the game by themselves, or at least not anymore.
With the previous mentioned character, a melee combat fight with someone with 4 IPs could look something like this.
Unrivaled attack vs Subpar defence
Subpar attack vs Unrivaled defence x4
Unrivaled attack vs Subpar defence
and so on and so on

That is if the defendant doesn't go down the first blow, which would be likely, be there additional action phases or not.
It is still somewhat balanced, really.
People more action phases can be more versetile and capable of dishing out more damage in a turn.
But people without them can be more specialized and capable of doing tests in which they are unrivaled in within the IPs they do have.

I have seen other crazy characters of others as well. The IP vs fewer IP thing really isn't as bad as people make it be.
There are also simple mechanical things as to how the one with the greater dice pool can split it better, as well as how the few strong attacks are subject to less damage resistance than the weaker many.
And how more action phases doesn't exactly make you better at specific one time tests (and not everything is combat mind you)
And how no matter the number of phases, they won't exactly make you better at taking hits.
etc etc

Gaining an additional IP is however a tremendous boost, but the same effort in other fields are not to be discouraged.

The most combat effective character was the second one I played (the first was the troll merc from the middle of the book). I knew very little about the game, so I kind of went like this.

E) Magic - I don't know what it does.
A) Attributes - All 5, not sure what they do, but it's above average.
D) Race - sure, I'll be an ork. Bonuses? Kay, I'll write those down.
C) Money - I want those Titanium bones, those seem cool. And a good pistol. Armour? Makes sense, what does everyone else have?
B) What? Sure, skills. Pistols, boxing, maybe some general crime sort of skills, like a petty thug who was good enough never to go to jail.

I didn't know how badass I had made this dude - concealable weapon, punches hard enough to break down doors, and general kick-assery. Even survived using myself as a human shield to save the elf's life when we got followed back to a meet with Mr J by the guy we stole a briefcase from.

rolled 34 = 34

>>12859304
accidental badass.

the most powerful form of badass known to man...

>>12859090
Agreed on the action passes are not everything bit. This is particularly true in a party of very competent runners, because if your team really knows what they're doing, odds are that you'll be dealing enough damage to gain control of any situation by the end of the first pass, and passes 2-5 will be spent in cleanup.

And for when the shit's really hitting it, toss drugs at your whole party for +2 IP's to everyone without boosters. For the cost of a couple hundred nuyen each, the group can watch their skills really shine.


My latest character uses this to great effect- normally he's an expert infiltrator/gunner, very stealthy so he doesn't need to worry about being targeted due to having only a single pass in combat as long as more obvious people are around. But his autoinjector kicks on at four boxes of damage, pumping him full of enough kamikaze, psyche, and jazz that he becomes a ridiculous combat/caster beast.

I am going to a shadowrun game right now I will tell you guys the plot thus far when I get back. If anyone is interested in hearing it.

rolled 20 = 20

>>12861418
one vote for the story...

>>12861494
>>12861418

One Vote is good enough for me tripfagging just to prevent confusion, just to let you guys know I suck ass at spelling and punctuation, as you will no doubt soon see.

Alright we are playing a low magic shadow run campaign (about one in one million people can use magic). It takes place in Washington D.C instead of Seattle, our characters at the start of the story are as follows.

Ruyudo Kuravada - My character is the face/sniper. He is addicted to whiskey, and is the brain behind the operation (pretty much I come up with a plan that doesn't involve hurr durr shoot everything)

Ozzy - He is a street samurai with probably the lulzist traits I have ever seen. He has 'perfect time' and 'common sense' (which is oddly alot more useful then one would think). He spends most of his time watching National Geographic, because its dragon week.

Hindi - He is our helicopter pilot , his mother was shoot on an helicopter and the current pilot said "What a beautiful baby" and proceeded to raise him (we later learned he is a compulsive liar and rolled a one so we really don't know his back story). Yeah my character threatens to shoot him at least once a session.

Virgil Lockheart - At first the guy playing this character was pretty much a clone of my character, so he switched and became our hacker, who is obsessed with technology and addicted to this drug called spike.

That's all I am posting tonight if their is still interest I will post some more tomorrow.