/srg/ - Shadowrun General

I think it was a one time thing.

One time in that he's not doing it anymore? My understanding was that he was doing this over a period of years, to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The most recent stuff I can find is that CGL eventually put out a press release that they found out about that money had been 'accidentally' mixed with someone's personal accounts, and that they were trying to rectify that. But I don't know whether the money ever got paid back, or how Coleman was able to stay on and keep Topps happy.

From what I heard, he embezzled 200 thousand dollars for home renovation, potentially accidentally.

Here's some stuff from Phil DeLuca, who once co-owned CGL.
therpgsite.com/showthread.php?16753-CGL-doing-down-WTH/page14

The total is between $750,000 and $850,000, depending on who's counting.

Hey /srg/ reposting because 3 AM is not the ideal time to get people to help you out.

I'm a newbie DM who wants to run in LA. I don't want to spoil too much for my players who read this thread, but the premise is that Horizon is hiring multiple runner teams to hit the same target, giving them nonlethal ammo to use on each other, then recording the fireworks with mandatory cameras for later repackaging into a TV show.

Any pointers on not fucking it up? Any suggestions for things that'd be cool?

Have got a product placement theme going and will be bringing in guest stars from other Horizon shows, but besides that I'm not sure what to do for the little touches to make this really work.

Here's a site with more links, including stories from SR and Battletech writers that they hadn't been paid in 3 years, and that they asked freelancers to lie about financials.

geek-related.com/2010/04/17/catalyst-games-defiant-criminals/

Look at some of the old pre-packaged adventures and liberally adapt for plot lines.

Use a mix of gel and stick and shock ammo.

For a surprise (don't do this early on, do it later) have somebody with a pain editor on. They're not going down for a long time.

>want to wear an obvious bulletproof vest as armor
>only bulletproof vests available are the concealable, covert, under clothes type
Goddamnit, I know shadowrun loves its trenchcoats, but come on.

Was definitely going to do that.

I was intending to hold off on the stick and shock for awhile, it just does so much damage.

That one's definitely good, thanks user.

How pissed will a security company get about a runner team that killed a few guys with stick'n'shock but the rest lived, compared to the runner team that killed a few guys with bullets, but the rest lived?

I mean, does TRYING not to kill guys count for anything in the eyes of whether or not corpsec is vengeful/needs to defend their reputation?

The damage comes mostly from the high AP. If your players have some Nonconductivity mods for their armors, then they can (effectively) make that go away some.

Probably. Accidents happen, after all.

It's probably a bit more likely that they'll want some revenge because it's pretty hard to kill with S-n-S in 5e.

So, absent some proof otherwise, it's gonna look like those guards were executed instead of it being an accident.

(Proof could be knowing that the dead guy was on a ledge, for instance. In that case, they're probably gonna comparitively shrug it off, unless there's a chance relatively soon for revenge.)

I doubt it. Look at how mad people are about taser deaths; when there's still bodies on the floor, they don't really care about intent. Besides, no corp is going to go in front of the cameras and say, "Three guards died last night, but we're not going to try so hard to find their killers because they probably didn't mean to do it." They've got the same pressure to find the runners as they do in any gone-lethal situation.

Security companies have the extra weight of needing to tell everyone that YOU DO NOT FUCK WITH THEM, because security works by convincing people not to do something, not to do it but try to do it a bit less -discouragement means discouraging anyone from trying, because if you start to let that slide then people think Company X is a pushover, they don't care if Company X is guarding something, and soon your rates of attack are 3 times higher than your competitors because you can't put the fear in anyone. If your employees think for a second that they're lives are being risked because you're not working to catch the people who are killing them, they'll walk off the job and into the waiting arms of Lone Star, KE, MET2000, or any other group looking for strong backs and a PR win.

>Killed with stick'n'shock

Damn, that must have been a hell of a shot.

You know that Stun damage rolls over to physical at a 2:1 ratio, not 1:1, right? I could easily see somebody getting geeked if you were calculating damage wrong.

What countermeasures to magic are there in Shadowrun 4th edition?

Snipers.

FAB.

Magic.

Other magic, mostly.
You really want to have a mage with a Counterspell field up.
Barring that, you want to break line of sight. If they can't see you physically (Electronic sight doesn't cut it, mirrors do), they can't cast on you.

don't forget the various magic blocking plants

>countermeasures to magic

Nonmagical countermeasures, or countermeasures in general?

Because I hear counterspelling was actually useful in 4e.

Breaking line of sight with smokescreens or other diversions is also effective.

Remeber kids, geek the mage first!

Let me rephrase the question:
Is there a countermeasure to magic that doesn't involve using magic?

...

there's those grenades that makes everything magic-opaque.

I just know that I am very preferential to leaning on the trigger, and have to think of eventual consequences.

that, and I'm thinking of how that code of honor protected group thing would work out.
The rules in that make people SUPER EASY TO KILL even with non-lethal weapons, so long as they are the group you want to not kill.

Again, breaking line of sight is about all you can do. Smokescreens block normal sight, but they can switch to astral sight and still hit you as long as they don't fully go into the astral. Something to note for that situation is that glass and other transparent substances actually block line of sight in the astral the same way a concrete wall does.

Let me again elaborate on the question:
Is there a countermeasure to magic that doesn't involve using magic or reenacting Hardwired?

What year did those come around in?

Killing the mage dead is generally accepted as a good way to deal with magical threats. If you want a more specific answer give a more specific question.

Counterspelling's also pretty nice in 5e. Free action (great if you took Perfect Timing or can afford to cast recklessly) or -5 initative Interrupt action, gives your counterspelling in dice to up to Magic people to resist. Can be broken up among multiple spells or not if there's only a caster or two.

Especially if your first or second initiation is into Apotropaic Magic (Shielding). Then for the next one (that's two or three) take Absorption.

Take a spell and then return with one much stronger than you normally would cast.

problem with counerspelling in 5e is you only get those dice once a Turn whilst mage casts about 3 spells a Turn if he is at all combat inclined.

FAB, as mentioned in , is fairly old tech, at least mentioned in 4e as a tool used in Chicago.

It (or at least a prototype, Aegis) was in Shadowrun Returns, so whatever year that's set.

Also, it is magic, technically Awakened bacteria, but it's commonly used in grenades and scanners by non-mages.

>Black Lodge
How deep in shit you have to be to work for Black Lodge?

Huh. I thought it refreshed more often.

Well, at least Absorption has some uses, although I'm not sure if it's good enough for the cost.

>code of honor

Yeah, that mucks things up quite a bit. 1/6th of nonlethal attacks actually hurting is pretty rough.

Basically, you really don't want to be fighting people your Code protects. There's a reason it's worth 15 karma.

I mean it's not as useless as people like to paint it, because it's a free action to effectively reduce opponent's spellcasting by Rating/Passes, and you can Dispel for a complex Action resulting in higher dicepool than the other guy at the same basic numbers (6+6 dice 3 passes you are looking at 2 more dice on defenders side). So if you knew that you will constantly face mages it makes sense.

Problem is - it's utter garbage at all other times, and it's only mildly useful when used for primary purpose, not a silver bullet as it honestly should be to make it worth picking up over, say, summoning.

And if you are specced for Counterspelling Absorption can be nice.

Just probably not at the price of being two of your initiations, unless you're monstrously lucky. Or regularly fight somebody that likes to throw around mid to low force AoE spells.

Could probably work something out with a friendly alchemist, since Absorption does affect preparations.

Just ask your GM if you can flavor it to be obvious, hell, they may even give you a bonus to its armor rating.

Just fluff an armour Jacket as obvious armour vest. you don't even need to make stats up.

Some other options include Murder Armor (12R), Riot Control (10R), and Chain + a Securetech PPP Vitals kit. But in that last case, you might as well go and put on all the kits.

Or just wear it over your clothes.

Heyo /srg/ I'd like to ask your help with something. Sorry for the wall of text in advance.

See, I've just been invited to join a mate of mine's in-progress campaign of 5th edition which I'm pretty psyched about but there's two things:

First of all, I'm pretty new to this whole thing; last time I played shadowrun it was a good while back and Otaku were a thing. And second, the caveat to joining the group is that I play as either an adept or Mage (preferably Mage) since their last player who was one moved away last month.

I'll be starting at 'prime runner' chargen with some extra karma but I'm pretty overwhelmed even with chummer. Any advice on how I should be going about this?

If I remember the mage advice right, you need to max Pistols.

As a caveat to what said. It doesn't have to be Pistols and it doesn't have to be maxed, but you want some kind of gun that you wear openly.

No sense giving away ahead of time that you're the mage.

If you have SG available, consider Fetish limiting a spell. It gives -2 to the drain code, so you can cast harder.

Decide on what kind of mage you're going to be. That should cut down a little on spell choice.

Basically your only chance to get anything done is RTFM on basic rules, magic chapter and astral world. You don't need to bother reading anything outside of core for the first session, sans maybe spell descriptions if you take em, because let's face it there is enough bullshit to remember in CRB.

There are some videos around that try to explain 5ed, might want to watch those.

Adepts are essencially alternative to ware to play other roles. Mages are a dedicated archetype. Mysads are mages who feel like sacrificing ability to astrally project for some buffs to their utility.

>Everyone in my group has a trenchcoat
>Their mobile base of operations is an extremely shady van
Am I That GM if I put them on a megacorp's list of suspected pedos?

So one of my player picked the Latent Dracomorphosis quality and I think it's time they awaken as a drake.
Their character is planning to go on a date with an elf cutie and that opportunity is too good not to use.

The books mention that nearby dragons can feel a drake awakening, so I'm planning 2-3 teams of low level runners, or mooks to go after her.
Other than that, what would be great ideas on how to handle a PC turning into a discount dragon uncontrollably?
And what kinds of groups would be after her?

I'm not sure why I thought that was going to be a large amount of text. I am dumb.

Thanks, much appreciated. Any suggestions for spells? Or at least certain ones to take/avoid?

And one guy has live rounds. Maybe Horizon thought it'd increase ratings. Maybe he's just picky about his ammo.

Pulling runners aside for interviews into a camera drone could be fun as well, and other corps might sponsor runners. Maybe they have a set of ethical guidelines they have to follow if they want to get paid?

That's assuming the team knows it's even being filmed though

We have all the books available but I think that's part of the problem, it's a little too much to look at.

Yeah, there's a ton to look at its kind of mind boggling. I was reading the cybernetics splat for a solid hour before I remembered essence was a thing.

Then again, the corps also know that shadowrunning is a thing, means deaths occur. They have the power to shut down running, but they don't, because it's good for business.

Set the next run in a school zone, see where they park, then go from there.

In addition to other advice, spirits are your best friends. Learn the summoning rules, make sure you've maxed summoning, and call up your friends to do stuff for you. No shame in letting services go to waste if you don't want to bind them, and saying "Spirit, go protect the decker," shifts the tactical choices onto the GM.

Don't go for direct damage spells, they're not as good as a gun (or rather, they might have more kick, but you never melt your own brain using a gun). Stunball is a good one for emergencies- flash the room and let God sort it out. Easy to overcast, and it can take out a troll or a security team doing so.

Levitate, Improved Invisibility, Improved Reflexes, Levitate, Physical Barrier, and Heal. Try to use spells as force multipliers- Physical Barrier and Levitate to move stuff around and give cover to the team, Improved Invisibility to stay hidden and not get geeked, Heal whoever needs it. Mind Probe and Suggestion are good ones, depending on your moral attitude towards brain fuckery.

>Sorry for the wall of text in advance.
>wall of text
>4 lines
If that's your definition of a wall, you must be playing a pixie.

Some other advice: Get some Alchemy so that you can do a little hunting for reagents. Most places should have few enough awakened individuals that you can probably try and stake out some hunting ground without tooo much trouble.

If you have a low level sustaining focus or Focused Concentration, consider using those free reagents to sustain an outsized Increased Reflexes.

If you can sneak, Mass Agony can be a good group debuff on the enemy, however! Chaos and Confusion (and their mass variants) are better as straight debuffs.

Ice Storm is really expensive if you don't Fetish limit it or use reagents, but it's an AoE damage and debuff in one. If you can mitigate the drain, it makes a great spell to drop in the case of a chase.

What kind of confidence tricks would you see a shadowrunner pulling off in the Sixth World?

Bonus points for fake magic, fake ware, and nigerian ghoul princes.

...

Thanks for the advice on spirits, that makes sense I'll start looking at the summoning stuff more thoroughly. With the spell suggestions, since direct combat spells seem to be a poor move would I be viable in making a medic type and trying to stay the hell away from combat? Just like spirits and support stuff?

Kek, just dumb.

I'm jotting down all these spells to look up, thanks.

probably corps that are owned by dragons
one that strikes out in particular is saeder-krupp, but i don't think they're that violent

additionally, i think somebody suddenly turning into a bargain bin dragon would cause quite the fucking stir in a large area
i wouldn't be surprised if some prospective dragon hunter who thinks he's hot shit would start rushing the area

The 3 spells every runner should have is Levitate, Heal and Improved Reflexes. Thy simply are, the best. Everything beyond that is up to what you want to play. Direct combat spells are very good against combat minded opponents, where as Inderect ones shine if your target(s) are not themselves very good at fighting.

>some prospective dragon hunter who thinks he's hot shit would start rushing the area
I like that idea. Not sure if I should make him an actual badass, or some buffoon for comedic relief. Maybe a badass buffon?

Don't forget sterilize. Nothing says "fuck forensics" like magically obliterated blood stains and fingerprints.

maybe more like a rich kid who's got cool gear but doesn't realize that you can't solo a dragon

Pit those hired runners and the hunter against each other.

But that adds your astral signature to the area. Better to just use R6 C3 if you ask me. You can even rig a small explosive on it if you're feeling crafty.

Sterelize is a very good spell, but it results can be achieved with minor time investment and some C2. I consider it very valuable for runners who often hit corps, but generally speaking - it falls behind those 3, at least in my book, granted so does every other spell, sans outright broken bullshit like turn to goo.

Which 5E books are drakes in?

You can clean out an astral signature pretty quickly.
And using explosives might not remove all the evidence and adds a whole new layer of evidence and ruined subtlety. Everyone knows that you're doing something if you blow stuff up. Nobody will know if the evidence all quietly goes away and the astral signature is erased.

Your signature stays for an hour per Force of the spell, doesn't it?

when were the old days when you could just eliminate evidence with some gasoline, a lighter, and some really strong solvent?

If you are not a moron it stays for Force initiative passes after combat.

>turn to goo
How's ttg even useful?

I'll add in this list of combat spells that I'd want on any mage (ideally), why, and the order I'd cut them.

1. A Direct Mana spell. It's there if you get horrifically unlucky and face somebody that you can't do (enough) damage to. It's first to get cut because it's low damage potential, and you should hopefully not be in that kind of situation

2.An Indirect AoE spell. In this case, it's here just as that last ditch Fuck You for a group. 12 meter radius gets hit with -12 AP 12 damage. Just restrict that for situations where you'd need to burn edge to survive anyway or somehow won't die from the effort.

3. An Indirect Single Target Elemental spell. Depending on the element it can have uses even at low levels. Acid Stream, for instance, softens up a target for just about everyone. Also, useful as a last ditch Fuck You if you can't avoid hitting your team or just need somebody to be in a bad way soon.

I think so, but you can also purposefully erase it with a few minutes of work.
So it's not really faster than scrubbing the evidence with bleach, but it is a lot cleaner and harder for investigators to find.

It turns your opponent into a defensless statue with mediocre armor?

With a touch?

No?

Okay then, my bad?

Copy that, I appreciate all the advice.

While I'll probably get it I don't think I'll need it for too many runs with this group. As I hear it they are pretty pink Mohawk. According to the GM the group currently is comprised of a face/rigger with anthrodrone (?) bodyguards, a troll who attached a bayonet to his sniper rifle and jetstream sam. I only assume the troll is the infiltrator

It's a complex action per hour that you strip away from the aura. Just gotta be able to astrally perceive.

About how high a loyalty/connections would a contact have to be if I wanted to have a "Mr. Clean" as my contact?

He'd be tasked with removing evidence from hot areas, including corporate zones, so I imagine pretty high. How high?

Removing evidence from corporate hot zones is a shadowrun, not a contact job. I'd be very surprised if your GM let you have one of those

>troll infiltrator
Dude. DUDE.

Well, nobody would suspect a troll to be an infiltrator, so he has an upper hand.

So I'm in a 4e game. Playing a Type O bio aug, how bad of an idea is this?

They don't have rules for them, AFAIK. You could make a bargain bin out of SURGE pieces in Run Faster, though.

Now I'm imagining 350kg of muscle and dermal deposits trying to sneak quietly and hiding in a corner while security tries to look for signs of disturbance.

It's not a pretty sight.

>face/rigger with anthrodrone (?) bodyguards

If you're confused about the term, anthrodrone is slang for a humanoid drone. Buddy is probably rocking a six-pack of Ares Duelists, though if you're playing prime runners he may have sprung for something more high-end.

So TROLLED is obviously a porn site, is there a host out there with dragon-on-metahuman porn? Did Bad Dragon finally achieve their 70-year plan? How could you have something that even looks like a dragon, other than a very lucky SURGE case?

I wish there were cheaper vans.

Duelists are so cheap I just want to drive three vans up to a location, open the sides, and have three dozen duelists pour out.

It's like having an instant-gang-support card.

I love that they cranked up the prices for all the other anthrodrones in Rigger5, and everything else is so damn expensive to buy or modify that you're never going to get a custom fleet, but they left Duelists just as they were so you can occupy a city block with your roboswordsmen.

I do wish we had some decent artwork of them, though. Anthrodrones in general get shafted in that area, which is a shame.

That makes sense, I sort of figured since he said bodyguards. That's pretty cool.

There's nothing to stop a troll from wearing one of those fancy invisible to suits is there? He could be like an invisible 350kg of muscle hiding in the corner.