/srg/ - Shadowrun General

I already know the rules, I've played the game before. Thanks for the suggestion, but I think Food fight is not really what I'm looking for. I'm trying to find some good, generic runs, so the players can get a sense of what Shadowrun is all about. Something like a data-steal or sabotage mission, something like that.

I was actually introduced to Shadowrun with Food Fight, and while I really liked the system, it turned a lot of players from that group away, so that's why I'm reluctant to use it.

Missions?

Honestly, most of my corp Johnsons are like that. They're all a bit jaded after a while in the shadows, but they do honestly believe that their corp is best corp, and that what they're doing is dirty but ultimately beneficial for everyone.

If they lose that motivation, then they had best pretend to still have it, or they are going to be reassigned to a nice desk job while someone else who is committed to the corporate ethos goes to have the shine worn off.

>it turned a lot of players from that group away
why?

I'm not sure, but I got the impression that they were expecting something else. Rolling for what type of sauce spilled over their gear and just the general idea of having a firefight in the middle of a convenience store is pretty funny if you're already familiar with the setting, but as your first impression I don't think it was a good idea.

Anyone know a good source for information on London or the UK in general in SR5?

As far as first runs go, I really like security consultation. Penetration tests and tiger team operations happen all the time in real life and most who do them are either already freelance security consultants or work for companies that only audit security systems. The runners are hired to audit a new security system for a facility that just finished upgrading. Of course, it's a live-fire exercise and no one on the security team has been informed that it's just a test (not that the runners know that at first). Just doing the legwork and prep work for the pen-test is a good intro to how preparing for a run works.

As a twist, once they're in the facility goes into lockdown procedures because a corporate black team is attacking looking for something. If they figure out what that something is, they might take it for themselves and get the fuck out (they may decide to get the fuck out anyway), ransom it off to the black team or protect it to earn some extra cash and good rep from their Johnson. Of course, if they steal anything during the run, the stolen property may just end up being the "something" the corporate black team is looking for.

Another possible complication that I like is that the pen-test was a sham and they were hired by a competing company to penetrate the facility and the goal file they're supposed to steal is actually really important data another company is storing in that facility.

>reading through Court of Shadows

>It's actually reasonably well-written and edited (by CGL standards) with nice art

>All that effort for the most retarded Deliria-tier idea

My only hope is that this hints that they might be getting their shit together, and the Technobook will be good

>might be getting their shit together
>Technobook will be good
chummer, It's far more likely that pigs will fly, hell freezes over and EA treats their franchises and customers with respect than that

I can understand 's problem. When people hear about Shadowrun, they get this gritty cyberpunk adventure system in their heads.

And then you throw them into a fight at a Stuffer Shack or a convenience store so they're getting bombarded with soyburgers. Suddenly it goes from Gibson to cartoony, and some people can't take that.

Plots and Paydata, it's a book of milk runs (one of which is called such) in the 5e alphaware toolkit.

Never played it, but Food Fight sounds retarded.

This. I want black trenchcoat cyberpunk, not glowing neon pink mohawk retarded shit.

Personally, I've never met someone who was learning about Shadowrun (or explained Shadowrun to someone) and heard the word 'gritty' used.

Shadowrun is crunchy, but 'grit' is the last thing people think of when they hear, "It's like Blade Runner, but there's dragons running the companies and you can play a magic elf with a katana."

And if you do want it to be taken more seriously, Food Fight has that potential. Ditch the splattered sauce table and some of the fanciful description, and it's about someone having an affair then trying to murder his mistress and 6-month-old baby so his wife doesn't find out, hiring cheap gangers willing to do this heinous murder in public for a pittance.

I think London Falling is the latest thing in the UK, and that's just an adventure. Sixth World Almanac is the best bet for latest global updates.

>but 'grit' is the last thing people think of when they hear, "It's like Blade Runner..."

You'd be wrong there, omae.

>but there's dragons running the companies and you can play a magic elf with a katana
you have a strange definition of "grit"

You missed the rest of the sentence. The entire sentence is important.

Blade Runner creates one image in the mind, an image that is incompatible with magic elves and sasquatches roaming the Native-dominated Pacific Northwest.

I like that idea a lot, I'll go with it, I think.

When generating a run, do you guys draw detailed maps and stuff, or do you go with a more general idea of the location, and written room descriptions?

Will check it out, thanks.

That's pretty much it.

RIght now, I have a document with detail from the run (paydata, Matrix/magic defenses, enemies, planned chases etc) and a another with any maps I'll use.

>sasquatches roaming the Native-dominated Pacific Northwest

my bad, that should say,
>Sasquatch rock bands touring the Native-dominated Pacific Northwest

Because in a world where a literal Tolkien dwarf can fight like the hero of a wirefu movie just because she believes in it hard enough, the mere existence of Sasquatches doesn't mean much. But a pixie, a Sasquatch, a centaur and an awakened deer-man joining up to play alt-synth in the hopes of a record deal? That's something that exists, and it defies 'gritty'.

Not really. I can suspend my disbelief for magic elves and dragons.

I just can't suspend my disbelief for full retard, which is why I generally ignore the canon setting anyways.

>I want to play gritty Shadowrun
>but I ignore the setting because it's not up to my standards of gritty

Your prerogative, but then you're not playing Shadowrun as written.

Then why not play Cyberpunk 2020?

Because I want to play cyberpunk fantasy.

>but there's dragons running the companies

But the comparison between corporations and dragon hordes is honestly probably the smartest/most well-done thematic thing that Shadowrun has going for it, from a literary standpoint.

Most of the setting doesn't do much to validate its "Tolkein meets Gibson" setting beyond the rule of cool. In most cases the parts just don't form a full whole, but making Dragons CEOs and thus their holdings their hordes is honestly the best thing the setting has going for it in justifying why these two elements mesh.

>that one dragon that adores music, so he creates a record company that doesn't drive its acts to exhaustion
Pretty cute, for a scaly backstabber.

I agree there, but the concept most people have of dragons is not the classic ideal. They don't fear Smaug the Chiefest And Greatest of Calamities, nor the Dragon of Earnanæs that slew Beowulf. If you're lucky, they grew up with OD&D and they view dragons as dangerous enemies, though they still think of wyrms as beasts they can rob and slay. If you're unlucky, it's Pete's Dragon.

This. So much this. Most of the setting is so 'rule of cool' it just comes across as retarded.

I don't really have a dog in this fight (play however you want), but I think you misunderstood his argument.

I think he's saying SR as written is not gritty, as far as he is concerned.

Is a hotline miami styled spree killer pink mohawk or black trenchcoat?

So after last night's session, and the resulting aftereffects, I've got a few equipment questions:

1) What's the cheapest way to get functioning translation capabilities? We've recently been running into a bunch of Japanese, but nobody on the team speaks it.

2) Is there just a simple "Electrochromatic paint" option for cars, or do you have to go and get the expensive and illegal Chameleon Coating? We just want to be able to change the color of the car, not display adds or have it blend into an alleyway.

3) I've managed to get my hands on a PPSK-4 Collapsible Machine Pistol. Since you can't attach any mods to it, any boosting of the effectiveness is going to have to be through ammo selection. Is there any ammo aside from the standard SNS/APDS you'd recommend for it? I was thinking Explosive and Flechette would work well, since the base damage is so poor.

It's not just not gritty, it's so over the top full retard that I can't suspend my disbelief.

Pink mohawk if it lasts and escalates. Black trenchcoat if it ends by the fourth spree in a hail of automatic gunfire, or via a spirit gank.

It will depends on how the killings are done. The concept of a hitman runner getting messages "deal with this situation for us" isn't inherently either style.

1) Linguasofts
2) Don't know about 5e but 4e has it. If not in 5e maybe port it from 4e?
3) Capsule Rounds with DMSO+[Drug of your choice]?

What if those are tried, and the killer gets away to continue his work?

1. You can spend 1 Karma and a day to get Japanese 1.
2. Your Mechanic can just paint over your car to whatever paint job you want, otherwise you need the mod for quick changing your scheme.
3. You can't attach accessories to it, totally different from mods, Just grab a personalized grip and some EX-ex and/or Hand-Loaded APDS and your golden.

Then the GM is pulling punches and it's pink mohawk.

Dnd player here. I've never played shadowrun but i've read the "player's handbook". SO MUCH DETAIL! Does it take you 1 hour just for a simple combat encounter or you get used to things?

>What's the cheapest way to get functioning translation capabilities?

Linguasoft in a skilljack, or spend a day and 1 karma to learn some Jap.

2) Electrochromatic coating is a thing for cars.

3) Flechette is a choice. Depends on what you want it for. Ex-Ex is pretty expensive if all you want is a discreet murder weapon.

Yeah, the combat is a total drag, which is why it's best to make plans to circumvent it entirely.

Do your legwork.

Most people disregard about half the rules, the authors are unaware of how they interact and some of the rules are legacy that isn't tied to anything anymore, or worse contradict each other to the point of being a hindrance.

There's a reason a lot of people run SR in Fate.

Well then it has continued and if the fucker cannot be taken down by increasing use of force, you can say it's escalating. I mean, you could do lightning strikes on gang-held buildings with a focus on full massacres, but if you are genuinely doing it as straightforward as in the games, and you continue to get away with it, that implies a level of PC invincibility or gang incompetence that is more pink mohawk.

You get used to things really quick, and the inherent squishyness of people (Assault rifle does 10+successes damage, average person has 10 HP) makes combat go pretty quick. Note that this is why not getting hit in the first place is much better than just tanking damage on armor, so remember to use cover.

You get used to things, but it's definitely on the players to figure out their goddamned dicepools and details moreso than D&D.

So are the decking rules, a lot of the magic rules.

I'm pretty sure grenades still require a slide ruler, a graph calculator and a PhD in Maths to figure out wtf they're doing.

I enjoyed Corporation's core rules.

They were nice and simple.

>Linguasoft and learning
The linguasoft would cost us 21,000 nY, since none of us has a skilljack. Looking like it might be best to just have one of us learn it. Or convince our GM to use the german skilljack prices.

>coating
Where is it in 4e? Only one for 5e is the full chameleon, but if we can find the more limited sort in 4e our GM will probably allow it.

>You can't attach accessories to it, totally different from mods
I'll have to talk that over with the GM, not sure how he'd rule on it. Would be useful, even if there's no way to add a silencer.

>ammo
Mainly planning on using it as a SHTF holdhout and weapon I can sneak into buildings (as a social infil). I'll try and get my hands on some ExEx and DMSO capsules, then.

here
Just looked and it seems that 4e also only had the chameleon mode though it was only R.
Maybe make a custom version with you GM that is legal and cheaper but can only change to one color for the vehicle?

Hey guys, i'm fairly new at the system, and to make a long story short, my friend is playing a troll modeled after Andre the giant. Due to that, I thought I'd make Indigo Montoya. Could a normal human ever compete with a cybered up character? Was kind of hoping he could just be well trained enough that he could beat augmented characters with his father's sword, but i'm not sure how feasible that is in regards to mechanics. It's 5e if that helps. Guide my sword, Veeky Forums.

You could always play him as an Adept.

Make him an Adept, and he will be able to blademaster hard enough to compete with a cybered up troll.

A-Are you me, user? Does anyone else have an Andre the troll?

Aren't all trolls a little Andre?

A little 'ware is needed on the initiative front, unless you want to do a lot of drugs. Synaptic Boosters or Wired Reflexes, your call.

The best way for a mundane to compete with other characters in chargen is lots of edge, or more drugs.

The idea of the "skilled, regular metahuman" only works with NPCs, because of the skill limit at chargen. You could try working as a mundane drone rigger with lots of skills, because you don't need lots and lots of initiative to do that (it still helps though).

Inigo's sword would be a great focus.

Shadowrun's combat is, fundamentally, about bullet time. Your can get it from 'ware. You can get it from magic. You can get it from drugs. You can even get an extremely limited amount of it from Edge.

But ultimately, if your don't have a reliable supply of bullet time, you are bad at combat.

It doesn't matter if your have the best shooting/chopping dice pools on your team, if you don't have bullet time you're just not good at fighting.

So, if you want to be good at fighting without ware or magic? You're going to want to be an Edge 8 human. You're going to want Daredevil and Revels in Murder. And then you're going to desperately hope that you never end up in a situation where you're out of Edge but a fight is still happening.

Good luck.

I always wanted to try playing a game with out anyone having more then one IP

In 5e, that would require everyone to have a Reaction + Intuition score of 4 or less, because any more than that and on a 6 they're get another initiative pass.

Not the same user, but I'm generally more okay with 5e's way of doing passes, and it's one of the rare times where I prefer 5e's way to 4e's.

Maybe something like this:
>Electrochromatic paint (rating 1-6)
>1 Body Slot
>Threshold 6
>Kit Tools
>Availability Rating x 2
>Cost Rating x Body x 100nY
The vehicle is painted with special electrochromatic pigments that change color when voltage is applied. These pigments are conductive, allowing the paint and a control unit to easily be applied and installed at home with the proper tools. Consumers are able to choose a variety of color combinations, but each pigment is only capable of showing a limited number of colors. These colors are fixed in the pigment during the manufacturing process, and the control module is unable to produce intermediate colors or patterns more precise than "turn the hood color #3". The paint has a number of settings equal to its rating. Adding additional colors requires repainting the entire vehicle with higher rating paint.

While most electrochromatic paint uses industry standard voltages for a given color, some manufactures offer custom-made "pattern" paints. By making a different color show at a given voltage, a careful combination of these paints allows the vehicle to produce a fixed pattern (or none) at various voltages. The driver can then have his car be a simple white when commuting to work, change into a nice vibrant red when going to the corp club after work, and then display a camouflage pattern when out on his monthly day off. Each setting can have one pattern, which can consist of up to 4 colors. Increase the cost by 50% and add +2 to the threshold for each pattern the vehicle can display. Patterns can be shared across settings without any increase in cost.

>ex: A car has Rating 4 paint with 2 patterns. The first scheme is flat black. The second and third use the same dazzle camo pattern, though one is a combination of green and brown and the other is bright yellow and pink. The final scheme looks like a corporate ride, with company logos on top of white paint.

I think it was more of "without anybody buying extra initiative passes", which is honestly what I try to bring about as a GM anyway-- A couple people have good reasons to get init boosters, but in general I think it's a bad thing to "tax" onto people whose primary role isn't "go fast". And since initiative's power level is 100% relative to what the GM has on the enemies, it just works out to making sure everyone's not cramming the absolute maximum initiative onto their characters because they think they're somehow required to.

I've rarely seen people go for maximum initiative, but I guess it's just tradition in my area that aiming to get two passes is standard, even for non-combatant types. Between augments, magic, and occasional drugs, it's rare to find a character that's satisfied with +1d6.

...

How do I solve practical problems in Shadowrun 5e?

I don't understand. Do you mean 'solve problems practically', or 'solve some generic yet non-theoretical problem'?

Any news from Gen Con?

Dobermans with Weapon Mounts
Alternatively some medium drone with Weapon Mount and reduced mobility

You play 4e

I'm thinking of doing an intro run that starts mirrorshades to probably fall into mohawk midway, partly just as a way to make sure we get the important subsystems in play.

I'm just not sure whether I want to do decking that much compared to a Sneakers-like social focused hacking with most of the decking abstracted down to a few tests and programs, minus the matri dungeon crawl.

>Smart firing platform: This is a non-mobile robotic tripod equipped with a remote control pivot that allows for a 180-degree firing arc and a 60-degree inclination. You can mount one smartgun-equipped weapon to the platform, and it will be fired by the device’s onboard Pilot (Device Rating 3). The platform is equipped with a Targeting Autosoft (Rating 3) and can be upgraded with additional autosofts, usually a Clearsight program. You need to set the parameters of who exactly the platform should and shouldn’t shoot at, which are followed by the platform’s pilot (Pilot Programs, p. 269). The platform provides 5 points of Recoil Compensation. It has an Initiative attribute of Pilot x 2 and 4D6 Initiative Dice when acting autonomously (see Drone Initiative, p. 270).
>Wireless: You can fire the mounted weapon remotely (Control Device, p. 238), like a drone with no rigger interface. You can use an implanted smartlink with the smartgun if you’re in VR.
You have it shoot anyone in a blue shirt.

Buy a Roto-drone and strip out all maneuvering capabilities from it. Then, mount that burst fire rocket launcher and a Ruhrmetall on it using fixed heavy mounts, and give it a 500 round ammo capacity. Give both guns Extended Mag 2 for a total of 16 rockets and 700 rounds available to fire and plonk it down somewhere.

If you want to do it cheaper, however, drop the rocket launcher and just use a standard turret mount with six extra ammo drums in conjunction with a tricked out Area Alpha (Gyro Stabiliser, Gas Vent 3, External Smartgun, Shock Pad, Extended Mag 2 on it and the grenade launcher) to have a good 1580 rounds and 12 grenades ready to go. Boom, turret done.

The latter one can also be done with a Bumblebee at the cost of 750 rounds but at the gaining of like 8 armor, which can be further enhanced to be a total of about 15 armor, or 19 dice to resist boolet. Squishy, but better than most drones.

I come bearing filthy lucre!

...

Could swear I've seen this one before, on rpg.net. Or are you getting some pictures from your own copy/a friend's copy?

Reposting from plebbit.

...

Fair enough.

What the fuck is a Shadow Amp? The rest of the categories make sense, but Shadow Amp (besides being a damn stupid name) is a mismash of augments, some gear, some powers/spells, and whatever the fuck Ms. Myth has going on.

>Shadow Amp
Eh?

I wish the life paths had more options - it's a really interesting concept, and must help eliminate the munchkin tendency to min-max.

But definitely sum-to-10. All the benefits of priority to a relative newbie, without having to put everything together from scratch.

>must help eliminate the munchkin tendency to min-max
Wouldn't be so sure about that. I think anyone who isn't onboard with the sentiment will just find new ways to minmax.

Look at the pictures, dummy.

I did. Clearly I missed something. You don't need a degree to figure that one out.

They're the things that make you awesome, essentially. It's an odd naming choice, but it makes a certain level of sense. I think it comes across from cosmic patrol.

>Cybereyes: 1 Essence
Did lol at that.

I guess they're rounding out those scores. Looks strange to see two cyberarms and the cybereyes come out to the same score, though.

It's just an odd division. I would have assumed that many of the things they shuffled into other categories (like the Coyote totem, or Distinctive Style) would be things you'd want to spotlight as cool central aspects of your character. I guess it's 'cool things you can do', sort of?

I wouldn't think so. Then again, I do have a degree, and it also has occurred to me in the past, when I see people talking about a picture and mentioning things I don't understand, it might serve me well to look at the picture again and see if I can spot those things. So maybe a degree does help.

HELP, omae. HELP eliminate.

Obviously, anyone who's going for (let's say) and Agility Adept is just going to pick the paths with bonuses to AGI and his chosen weapon skill - but it means he's going to get a background whether he likes it or not.

Nice nail polish.

whats with the DV for the katana? why is the (9)?

6k means that literally the only challenge your team faced is a dice pool of 8 (even on perception after all modifiers) and wasn't even outnumbered. It doesn't even registers as Risk at that point. That shit is a cakewalk of the highest magnitude.