/srg/ - Shadowrun General

Was thinking of checking other editions but some user said 2nd is so good.

2nd is probably the best of the old editions - worked out the kinks of 1st edition, didn't get crufted up like 3rd - but it is full of old school rpg design, including unremitting lethality.

What would be the benefit of having The Red as a mentor?

Toxic mentor spirit Disease

Read Forbidden Arcana

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bump

Is there also the Black, or are we stuck channeling Swamp Thing or Animal Man only?

That could have possible parallels in Necro Summoning and the Death mentor.

But I forget what those The Colors represented.

I have never rolled a crit glitch. AMA.

How was your first session?
Are you curious what your second session will be like?

My first session was pretty boring due to the newness of the GM. My second session was pretty badass. That whole campaign was pretty fun actually, though the GM said that it sucked cause he likes to put himself down.

How about your games, hm?

Is the German book dude still around? If so, stick the book in here:

mediafire.com/filedrop/filedrop_hosted.php?drop=f25c404c34cda4ac2e4cf91733bfd6a12d3bd5f2efd9abf787131a2f48df7f66

That link only allows people to upload, and it's to a new folder I made specifically, so noone has the link and noone will get the link - if it's done right, it'll go in the box. If not, I'll see what I can do before putting it in the box.

I played a 'character' once that was just a collection of people and drones running personafixes/personality software who uploaded logs and sensory feeds to a central server to allow the gestalt mind to keep growing. It was cool.

Its almost 1 in the morning here in Krautistan, doubt he is around.

Why are we so slow lately?

You know what I think would be a neat 'story' development for the stagnation that is Jackpoint? Give Clockwork a girlfriend/significant other. Write all about how eager Netcat and Slamm-O! are to exploit that, to use her to get to him. Show how those toasterfuckers are no different than he is.

Probably in /pol/ talking about that protest/counterprotest.

Things happen when people contribute content or ask questions. If you're doing neither I don't really see the point in complaining about the lack of activity.

Not much to talk about. The Total Nigger is out and it will likely be a while until the other books come out.

>Show how those toasterfuckers are no different than he is

But they are. They're assholes, but Clockwork is double asshole. Also

>Clockwork
>getting a gf

HOLY KEK

Not complaining, just curious.

>>Clockwork
>>getting a gf
You know user, love makes blind.
And with Clockwork you need to be blind, deaf and without a sense of smell

Aside from noise-canceling 'ware like a datajack, what are the must-have pieces of 'ware for a Decker in 5e?

Antennae in cyberears
Sat Link
If you are a trog: The skull antenna

>Antennae in cyberears
>Sat Link
Nothing obvious to the naked eye like that. Maybe stuff that boosts Logic? I'm trying to make a hacker that also does front door infiltration. Social stuff.

Also, does getting a Sleaze Dongle on a Commlink let you run hacking programs, or are those Deck-only regardless?

I'm thinking about making an unofficial Augmentation book*, with a load of new 'ware/qualities/rule clarifications missed so far in 5th edition.
What do YOU want in it?

(* May never be finished, to be worked on around my schedule).

He asked a question though.

>Also, does getting a Sleaze Dongle on a Commlink let you run hacking programs, or are those Deck-only regardless?
It only gives you a Sleaze rating. To run hacking programs on a commlink you need a IIRC Program carrier (can't remember the name)

I'd put Logic and Intuition Boosters of some kind at almost the level of the two big bits of Noise Canceling 'ware.

A Cyber-Arm specced to be a Hand of God's a good way to get a good Automatics (or whatever) pool with minimal investment.

You may also consider some initiative boosters, but those can be done with drugs. This is entirely for AR hacking purposes, but with an implant or the longer lasting drugs it can also be combat-related.

You mean writing up old pieces of 'ware from previous editions for 5e rules, or writing new stuff?

I've already grabbed a cyberarm (Agility 10, Strength 5, Armor 2, implanted commlink). I also grabbed a six-shot auto-injector loaded with Jazz - considering grabbing a second for Cereprax or Psyche. If I got that route, I'll probably pick up Narco and a Nephritic Screen, just to be safe. Otherwise, I'll be boosting Logic the bioware way.

I see the initiative more as an 'oh shit, I just accidentally got into combat' sort of thing, rather than something to assist in my decking. If I'm going to be hacking with Sleaze and Sleaze only, hacking initiative passes don't matter so much, right? Initiative passes are more of a concern for people planning on initiating cybercombat?

Ah, gotcha. So I'd need to hardwire in a Program Carrier if I wanted to get access to Hacker Software.

Any recommendations for a must-have hacking program to get that way? With the knowledge that I'll have a Sleaze 6, Data Processing 6, Firewall 6, Attack 0 device instead of a proper Deck, that is.

Is there any good art out there of ork deckers?

Both. 'Ware has gotten shafted in 5th ed, magic is simply superior. Now CGL has stated they aren't even going to bother releasing a new book to fix it. That leaves homebrew, but anything that can be salvaged from previous editions is preferable.

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Define good.

Is bull wearing a blue night-gown under his jacket?
>captcha: precaucion mexico
Fucking azzies

Bull's doing that thing that fat people do where they wear something three sizes too big - even though they're already enormous - because they think it hides their hideous rolls of jiggling beef.

You always want more passes. The main reason is this. IC is direct and dumb. If you can get a fake way into the system that is legal but wouldn't fool a kid, there's ways to get it to fool IC.

Because putting a mark is suspicious (so if perception sees your last action as Hack on the Fly, the IC will trigger) but having a mark isn't (so if you had an extra pass to make your last action Edit File or Make Call, you're fine).

Also, having multiple passes means that you can, for instance, spend one action on Matrix Stuff and one on Meat, or just do Matrix Stuff faster. And while VR does get you faster for free, never doubt the value of having the option to mix Meat and Matrix.

it's not for your benefit, it's because the feeling of cloth clinging to your rolls of fat is uniquely disturbing.
Better to just tent up.

Also, because I forgot the second part. If the GM lets you Program Carry a program that either adds Attack or adds Attack for Cracking Files and has it give Attack or Attack just when Cracking Files, do that.

Because with no Attack, you can't do the standard Crack File and are in GM fiat/mercy territory. So it could be worse. And you can't always have the file's Owner on hand to socialize into removing the protection.

>Crack File uses Attack
So what you're saying is that I shouldn't even bother with trying to hacker-up a Commlink and should probably just use a Deck instead?

>Bull
The best Orca decker you'll never meet

Okay, so, your Comm is going to have:
>Sleaze Dongle 6
>Firewall/Data Processing 6 native

Yeah?

Use the rules on page 66 to add an Attack attribute of 1 in exchange for 12 parts packs. Then, Hardwire in a Program Carrier housing Decryption, increasing your Attack score to 2.

It's not a great Attack score, but it should be enough to get you rolling. You won't be great at cracking files or erasing marks, and you'll be god-awful at cybercombat, but as long as you're willing to spend Edge to blow past it when it really matters, you should be able to function.

Don't ever do anything to tank your Sleaze, though, because you'll be absolutely dependent on running silent to not get riggity rekt.

Here I thought he was actually an Ogre metavariant, but it turns out he's a sapient critter.

You learn new things each day.

A Deck is pretty much always better if only because you're going to have multiple programs and flexibility.

Don't use a DR1 deck, because those are for paranoid heavies that want to have cheap Sleaze and Firewall boosts and don't want to have to replace the whole thing if it does get bricked. (Smoke-and-Mirrors, program carrier Wrapper, would be a good program setup.)

Most of the DR2 decks are good for a decker if you're willing to move stuff around a lot. Look into Quick Config and Perfect Timing for that, as well as Overclocker.

DR 3 are a bit overcosted if you want to be able to also do other things, but they do bring the power along with that price.

One odd mod per device, usually. So he could get the Attack and then raise it to 2 in exchange for Condition boxes. But not put in the Program Carrier too.

And the Program Carrier's a total write off if the device gets bricked.

>One odd mod per device, usually. So he could get the Attack and then raise it to 2 in exchange for Condition boxes. But not put in the Program Carrier too.
No, that's not the way it works. Giving it the Attack rating does not take up the slot for a Hardwired Module. He absolutely can get Attack with Parts, then hard-wire in a Program Carrier for Decryption.

Unless I misread, or there's some new commlink out there I'm unaware of, only decks seem to come with a module slot and nothing seems to have mentioned being able to take more than one mod.

And Add Attribute and Add a Module are both in the same list on p 55.

So I had an idea for a run.

>rich kids of ceo or someone important decide they want an authentic middle class experience
>so they hire shadowrunners to enroll them in a middle/lower class school for a week so they can go to prom and not get killed by gangers
>one of the kids steals an experimental idol singer personality from his parents to replace the dj
>he and some weebs manage to fiddle with it and shuts off all security measures and the damn thing goes crazy during the finale

Is this run too much? I feel like it could be 2 different runs but I'm always overly critical.

>So he could get the Attack and then raise it to 2 in exchange for Condition boxes.
No, he couldn't. Increase Matrix Attribute isn't an exception to the 'Unless otherwise noted, a device can only have one modifcation' rule.

If he wants to have an Attack rating higher than 1, he either needs to buy an Attack Dongle to swap back and forth with the Sleaze Dongle, or cut out the middle man and get a Deck.

Personally, I could go either way on the matter. You'll (technically) have access to slightly better stats with two Dongles and a DR6 Commlink than you would for a similarly-priced Deck (in the 200k nuyen price range). On the other hand, a Deck can run Programs which boost its attributes to or above parity with those scores.

The real problem with all of this is that there's no action assigned to removing or slotting a dongle. If there was, it would be a real indicator for which is superior.

That said, for the price, I'd probably go for the Cyberdeck, unless you're literally never going to use Attack... somehow.

What are some (both player and GM) newbie modules to run?

Food Fight is the go-to. There are some others in the Beginner/Alphaware boxes, and there's a 3e book called First Run that has another couple. I've never seen anything about the quality of the non-Food Fight ones, though. Nobody seems to have played them, for whatever reason.

Please stand for the anthem of /srg/.

FOOD FIGHT
FOOD FIGHT
FOOD FIGHT

Add Matrix Attribute explicitly says that you can later add an Increase Matrix Attribute to it as a very badly worded exception.

I think the intent of the strange wording was to mean that the Increase mod had to apply to the Matrix Attribute you added, but as written it seem to imply plans for meta-modifications.

Okay, I think I'm getting the point. Get a Deck even if I don't want to do Cybercombat, because Attack is still used for some non-Cybercombat applications, and the ability to hotswap attributes and run hacking software is worth it.

In that case, what's the best choice of deck? I'm looking at the Microtronica Azteca 300, with its 7/5/3/1 statline. Probably in conjunction with Perfect Time - that way I can swap into an 'active' configuration before I take my action on an Initiative Pass, then swap back into a 'passive' one at the end of it. You know, be 7 Attack and 3 Firewall during an attack, then back to 7 Firewall and 3 Attack when it's the opponent's turn.

Is that a good choice? I'm inexperienced enough with Decking that I actually literally don't know.

The 300 or a modded Chariot can do it. If you want to optimize things, ask if the alternate configuration for Configurator can include a Configurator set to the first setup.

If the GM allows it, you can then have reciprocial Configurations which let you make even more changes at the cost of being a bit weak to Crash Program attacks.

And it's technically a Free Action - Reconfigure, Complex Action - Whatever, Free Action - Reconfigure on your action. This doesn't matter much unless the GM's being a bit anal about timing. And if you can swing Quick Config in your quality allocation, then it's both an attribute and a program per reconfig so you can go for a real active setup to a real defensive one.

Also remember than when in a Host (i.e. where you're going to actually need to be a decker with a good deck), everything is considered Directly Connected. So noise and Masters don't apply.

So once you're in, run Smoke-and-Mirrors at max, because it won't hurt your die pools and give you Sleaze of Yes to stay hidden.

This is also what brings the Little Hornet+Emissary master combo to not nearly as broken as some people would think.

It only gives your Hornet a great defense while out and about.

But yeah. If you're diligent about swapping, it can work. If you don't think you will be, consider going for the cheaper Chariot and modding in stuff, or the more expensive Navigator and modding in stuff. In any case, you're going to want to mod in stuff and change programs as needed or wanted.

I read through the Sixth World Almanac to read up on some basic lore, but I'm still looking to learn some more. What are some interesting and (for the purpose of running a campaign) useful to know bits about the Shadowrun universe and lore?

>Also remember than when in a Host (i.e. where you're going to actually need to be a decker with a good deck), everything is considered Directly Connected. So noise and Masters don't apply.
>So once you're in, run Smoke-and-Mirrors at max, because it won't hurt your die pools and give you Sleaze of Yes to stay hidden.
Wait, what? Noise no longer applies when you're in a Host?

Also, there's no way I'm spending outside of the 200k range on this setup, no matter what. This is supposed to be a social engineer/infiltrator who uses hacking as a tool, not a decker who can occasionally talk.

the population of the world has been somewhat reduced due to VITAS

So, having just re-read Neuromancer for the first time since I was a young teen I have two questions.

Why is there no Rastafarian space station in Shadowrun?

And can I successfully make Molly Millions in SR5? I kinda wanted to do Hideo, but bows are really outside the ability of humans as far as I can tell.

It's bounced back and is higher than it is now though by q significant amount. Even countries that were hit real bad like India have largely returned to their pre-VITAS numbers unless they had something else go on.

The main thing VITAS did was kill off rural populations because only the urban populations bounced back. So lots of small towns ended up depopulated and never recovered.

So...Carrie?

>>Why is there no Rastafarian space station in Shadowrun?
Because Shadowrun doesn't know whether it wants to be serious or goofy, and so it's serious in the wrong ways and goofy in the wrong ways simultaneously.

>And can I successfully make Molly Millions in SR5?
Half of the standard combat augmentations are named after her, chummer. You're going to want:
>Wired Reflexes
>Hand Razors
>Cybereyes
>Cybereye Covers

Max out her Intuition, give her lots of Agility and Reaction, and get her Body and Strength as high as you can get them. Willpower should be at least average, with Charisma and Logic being your dump stats.

Take Unarmed at 6, a Cyber-implant Weapon specialty, and then invest in gun and stealth skills.

And now you have Molly Millions.

>Why is there no Rastafarian space station in Shadowrun?
The SR devs have never given a shit about space.

It's not that it doesn't apply, but in the vast majority of cases it won't. Because most hosts have WANs that will include whatever you were in there for. And while in a host with a WAN, you're considered directly connected to everything in that WAN.

So as long as you're doing a Matrix Action against something in that host, you're directly connected, and direct connection means ignoring Noise modifiers and grid penalties.

Like, the core actions I can see that would still be affected by Noise include Check Overwatch Score, Erase Matrix Signature, and ironically enough, Jam Signals.

And if you're going to be doing hacking sorta secondary, you can probably afford to go for the cheaper options and cover yourself with programs.

Alright, cool. In that case, I think I'll definitely go with the Azteca 300, with both Perfect Time and Quick Config. I didn't intend to invest this heavily into the decking side of the equation, but this this should give me a lot bigger bang for my buck while I'm at it anyway.

Now I just need to figure out all of the Noise Reduction items I can get that won't stand out like, well, like antennae sticking out of your ears.

>Why is there no Rastafarian space station in Shadowrun?
What makes you think there isn't? There's a lot of stations in space, despite their almost total lack of mention.

Remember that the Antennae come in retractable (but fragile form). Other things without a lot of investment include Signal Scrub (program), slaving to a commlink with a Reciever Dongle. As of Rigger 5.0 the RCC ability to roll E. Warfare+Logic [Data Processing] to reduce noise for a Combat turn has become a Matrix action that RCCs can give bonus dice to.

Even then, this is supposed to be a social infiltrator, and retractable antennae look fucking stupid.

I'll keep Signal Scrub and possible a dongled commlink in mind, though. Masters grant their slaved devices their Noise Reduction?

It's strange. Technically, all Noise Reduction should apply to everything and possibly even (for bonus loss) be spread somehow over the various kinds of noise to reduce that. But this is one of those things that's not written well in that section.

For further proof, if you're really anal about RAW, then the device that's forming your Persona can't be the master to any devices. (See 233-235 and remember that this requires a bit of an overly literal read on things. Like the kind of read that lets you have ADPS or Stick-n-Shock buck/birdshot rounds in shotguns.)

Now, the Receiver Dongle in its description only calls out that it gives it to the commlink and slaved devices. So that probably means that the dongle is the only thing that works like that, but considering that DT has the MMRI Echo. One of a very bad cases of in-text errata that's done way too badly and wordily based on a bad interpretation of the Control Rig.

>I kinda wanted to do Hideo, but bows are really outside the ability of humans as far as I can tell.

It's suboptimal, but you can do it with maxxed out cyberarms and trick arrowheads. But bows are all for style points anyways.

This was my favorite character portrait from the Shadowrun Returns series. All the other portraits looks so smug and self-satisfied, but this one conveys real brokenness and desperation.

There is not so that leaves you with 2 options:
1. Commission someone to draw some
2. Take your favorite orc at and call them a decker

Well, as it is, Hideo couldn't really have obvious ware if you wanted to copy the character exactly. That said, I've always wanted to play a bow guy but it always just seems like I'm shooting myself in the foot to a pretty extreme extent. The only character idea that I really liked was a Giant with a bow as a tall as a normal human.

Wasn't Hideo genemodded / biowared to shit too? Been a while since I read it but I recall TA having done some weird genetic work on him.

They describe him as being a vat grown clone so he was totally jacked to shit with geneware and bioware essentially with mental augmentation and conditioning. I mean that he didn't have any cyberlimbs or likely even internal cyberware besides brain stuff. The Sprawl world seems to run mostly on bio/gene stuff from what I know about it.

I'm willing to bet the upcoming Street Lethal book will have some new silver to play with.

Anyone got art of decks or guns?

I hope so. While I am a fag that would enjoy more adept powers and am happy that they've been getting better, I know chrome has gotten fucked over way too hard in 5e.

Fuck, it is Carrie isn't it?

There are similarities, at least as far as the prom scene goes.

5E decks are touch screen tablets, so an HP TouchPad or an iPad would work

Funny, I was going to have some awakened students summon low force spirits and do some special effects for the finale as well.

Is the run alright though or is it too busy?

Gonna be busy as hell with all the bystanders, especially if you expect your runners to throw down and you end up managing turn orders.

That's true. Maybe if I have it be a sort of "private" sort of dance or have the bystanders run away immediately. I could have shit go down when pretty much everyone has left too.

Problem is, if you're using an AI or persona, it'll probably lock down the venue. I suggest an outdoor event.

Most of my gun art includes people holding them.

...

Decent point. Looks like I'll have to think about this a bit more.

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