Shadowrun Reference Information

Sci-fi solo game for Paro and Padawan_GM1
Post Reply
User avatar
Paro
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2020 3:58 am
Location: Tokyo, Japan

Shadowrun Reference Information

Post by Paro »

Variant Rules:

Some settings feature characters and cultures who typically speak many different languages.
If this Setting Rule is in play, all characters have the Linguist Edge for free (page 40), and ignore its usual Requirements.
A character who actually takes the Linguist Edge knows a number of languages equal to her Smarts (instead of half her Smarts).


Instead of using Power Points, characters with Arcane Backgrounds simply choose the power they want to activate and make an arcane skill roll. The penalty to the roll is the power’s total cost in Power Points (base cost plus all Modifiers), divided by 2. Round up.
Casting protection (1 point) with More Armor (+1) and the Hurry modifier (+1), for example, has a cost of 3 Power Points. Half rounded up is 2.
Success means the power activates as usual. A raise grants any additional bonuses stated in its description.
Failure means all current powers are canceled and the caster is Shaken. Critical Failure results in Backlash (page 151).
Maintaining Powers: Characters can maintain those powers that allow it as long as desired, but each one maintained inflicts a −1 to all further arcane skill rolls.
Power Preparation: A caster may prepare powers by concentrating for an entire round (no movement or other actions and must not be Shaken or Stunned). If successful, he ignores 2 points of penalties on all powers cast on his next turn. If he does not enact any powers on his next turn, the preparation is lost.
Channeling Edge (& Improved Channeling): Lowers PP Cost by 1 automatically. Improved Version of Edge available at Veteran Rank to Increase to -2PP.
Extra Effort Edge: Available for all Arcane Backgrounds (not just Gifted) and changes the cost to be divided by 4 instead of 2 calculating power's total cost in PP.
Power Points, Power Surge, Rapid Recharge, Soul Drain Edges are N/A


Wild Cards make natural healing rolls once per day instead of every five days (or once per hour if the race has Regeneration).
Bumps & Bruises: Wild Cards recover one level of Fatigue from Bumps & Bruises (page 125) every four hours instead of the usual 24.


Use this Setting Rule when you want combat to remain dangerous but reduce the chances of characters (and villains!) dying from a single lucky blow. It can still happen, but it is far more rare.
Characters can never suffer more than four Wounds in a single hit and therefore never have to Soak more than four wounds either.
Large Creatures: The Wound Cap applies even to creatures with more than three Wounds (due to their Scale or the Resilient/Very Resilient Special Ability, both explained in Chapter Six). A Huge creature that can take five Wounds, for example, can’t take more than four from a single attack, so it can’t normally be killed with a single attack. The GM can always overrule this in specific and obvious situations, of course, such as massive blasts, falling from towering cliffs or mountains, etc.


Reputation is key to surviving and thriving. Reputation is the key to getting the best work, to keeping enemies at bay, and getting favors when needed. Street cred increases as you do impressive things or prove yourself reliable. It drops if you use it, you’re unreliable, a failure, or the target of ‘social assassination’. It’s hard to get, harder to keep, and ironically nakama: Street Cred is worthless if you don’t use it.

STARTING STREET CRED
Street Cred is a new statistic, representing a character’s reputation, network connections, and general goodwill in the community. It begins at a d6, representing a tough character that is respected but has yet to do anything especially noteworthy or humiliating. High street cred marks a character as tough and trustworthy, someone to fear and respect. Low street cred indicates an unskilled or treacherous person.

USING STREET CRED
Street Cred can be used to pull in favors of various kinds. Passively, random criminal Extras will not attack characters two or more die types of Street Cred above them and return items they’ve unwittingly stolen from such fearsome personalities, and similar respectful treatment. Street Cred can also be used to actively pursue benefits. This isn’t a Trait, but it acts like one—with Acing, Bennies, a Wild Die, and benefiting from allies’ Support. The roll can be modified by the value requested, risk to the supplier, and current availability at the GM’s discretion. Critical Failure means the character has committed a faux pas, putting the favor out of reach for a week.
Failure puts the goal out of reach but can gain it by putting himself On The Outs regardless of Street Cred. Success grants the favor but lowers Street Cred one die type. A raise means you get the favor without reducing Street Cred.

ALLIES
Recruit the temporary help of a skilled specialist (hacker, medic, scholar, thief, etc.) for a particular task, up to one month long. Or recruit several allied fighters for up to a week. These fighters will vary based upon the source, but the GM will select the most appropriate NPC.

HELPING HAND
Sometimes you need a place to rest, transportation, or some sudden medical assistance. Sometimes you need that without the usual paperwork.

SUPPLIES
A gift of ammunition, medical supplies, rations, or low value gear. Alternatively, a loan of weapons, armor, a vehicle, or other high value resource that might be damaged or destroyed.

SUPPORT ROLLS
Characters can support each other in Street Cred rolls using their own Street Cred or appropriate skills (Intimidation, Persuasion, and Taunt are clear options). However, they are risking their own reputations when doing so. If the lead character loses a die type of Street Cred, so do the others.

ON THE OUTS
If your street cred drops to d4 you are treated as a nobody. Most combatants try to quickly remove weak foes, and someone On the Outs is always considered weak. You’re the first choice for attacks, Tests, and mockery. Old contacts won’t meet with you, clients stop calling, and your social media profile is quiet, excluding the passing troll.

GAINING STREET CRED
Street Cred is an abstraction of your reputation. It indicates the mix of fear, respect, and history of accomplishment you’ve built up. While it can be increased other ways, the following are the usual ways Street Cred improves. While the various methods can be used repeatedly, most cannot be used to raise Street Cred more than once per month. A social media blitz can raise your profile and popularity, but repetition becomes ‘white noise’ until it’s just a pathetic cry for attention.

ADVANCES
Every two Advances, your Street Cred goes up one die type. As you improve, it changes the way you carry yourself and the way others perceive you.

DEFEAT A FOE
When you bring down a significant opponent, and they don’t have to be dead just out of the action and at your mercy, your street cred goes up one step. Significant foes are usually Wild Cards. If you have a rivalry (as determined by the GM) with that foe then your street cred increases by 2 die types.

NOTEWORTHY SUCCESSFUL WORK
Nothing inspires fear and admiration like success. When you successfully complete a noteworthy job or mission and get paid instead of screwed over by the client, your Street Cred increases by one step. It is the GM’s prerogative to determine if a job was completed successfully and was difficult enough to count. No one’s cred goes up doing easy work.

LOSING STREET CRED
Street cred comes and goes, that’s just a truth of life. You might be the hottest ticket in town this week, but dog meat the next. Losing street cred is a dangerous thing; it might even put you back at the bottom of the barrel. Worse, people no longer fear or respect you. If the loss becomes too big you might be risking going On the Outs. When the following events risk Street Cred loss, you make a Street Cred roll. Failure costs you one
die type of Street Cred, or two with a Critical Failure. If your failure drops you to d4, future street Cred rolls are made at −1 until your Street Cred rises to d6. Success means your reputation was hurt but not permanently; your next Street Cred roll is −1. A raise means you escaped unscathed.

BAD ACTORS
People might fear you, but they don’t want to help you, and certainly don’t want to hire you, if you are faithless. You can be the slickest rat in the sewer, but if you bite your allies, ignore your friend’s troubles, or just anger the wrong people then your Street Cred will suffer. This applies every time you betray a trust. Every single time.

CHARACTER ASSASSINATION
Some asshole talks you down, murdering your cred. You’re the target of someone’s trash and may be pulled into a rivalry. You risk losing Street Cred. This is a challenge the GM can throw at you but no more than once per week.

DEFEAT
When you go down your street cred takes the ride with you. Every time your character is knocked unconscious in combat your street cred may drop. Yeah it sucks, but insult tends to pile on with injury. If laid out by a Beef then lose one additional die type.

FAILURE TO COMPLETE A JOB
If you get hired to do a job and fail to do it, you lose street cred. The bigger the failure, the bigger the loss. A staggering failure (determined by the GM) costs an additional step of Street Cred.

LYING LOW
You have to be seen to have any cred, but sometimes the heat is on and you need to hide out for a time. Go offline, stay away from your usual haunts, avoid your contacts, and basically let everyone think you’re dead. Each month spent lying low risks losing a step of Street Cred.


. The core mechanic for any hack is a three-step process: Hack the system, manipulate the system, and log out. With the possible exception of logging out, each step of a hack takes an action.
HACKING THE SYSTEM
To hack into a system and manipulate it in some fashion, make a Hacking skill roll modified by the Intrusion Defense System’s security rating. This may happen either through a single Hacking roll, or a Dramatic Task if you are using that Plugin. The security ratings are based on the tier of the computer system, and are listed below:
• Tier 1: No penalty
• Tier 2: −2 penalty
• Tier 3: −4 penalty
• Tier 4: −6 penalty
• Tier 5: −8 penalty

MANIPULATING THE SYSTEM
To manipulate the system in some fashion, you must use the appropriate skill for the task. As mentioned in the Passive Monitoring side bar, if the system is set to Passive Monitoring, there are no IDS penalties applied to these rolls as the character has already bypassed the system’s encryption. Characters can manipulate the system in the following ways:
• Create a backdoor: Characters can create a back door in a computer system by making a Hacking (Programming) roll modified by the tier of the system’s IDS. Success gives the character unfettered access to the system for 24 hours. The character must still make appropriate skill checks to perform other actions within the system, however.
• Datamine: Characters can make a Research roll to scan the system for specific files and other, similar types of data. This data may be downloaded/replaced or edited as an action. The time it takes to datamine is equal to one round plus a number of rounds equal to the tier of the computer system.
• Disable device: Characters can disable any device linked to the system with a successful Hacking skill check. At their discretion, game masters may require another skill be used instead of Hacking. For instance, safely shutting down a nuclear reactor might require the character to roll their Science skill. If your group is using the Cyber Hacking Plugin, shutting down a piece of Cybertech requires a Hacking(Programming) roll.
• Edit a file or device: Characters can edit a file or linked device by making a Hacking (Programming) skill check. The time it takes to datamine is equal to one round plus a number of rounds equal to the tier of the computer system.
• Operate a device: Characters may attempt to operate a device linked to the computer system, such as an elevator, an automated weapon system, a vehicle, etc. To do so, the character must have the appropriate skill. The following skills are a sample of what may be necessary.
• Boating: Characters must use Boating to operate watercraft of all types.
• Driving: Characters must use Driving to drive land-based vehicles of all types. This also includes land-based drones.
• Electronics: Characters must use Electronics when attempting to do things such as jamming or disabling communications signals, opening secure doors (airlocks, entryways to restricted areas), etc.
• Notice: Characters must use the Notice skill when operating devices such as security cameras or other, similar items.
• Piloting: Characters must know the Piloting skill if they wish to operate aircraft, including airborne drones.
• Shooting: To operate weapon systems such as sentry guns, the character must use the Shooting skill.

LOGGING OUT
It might seem odd to add this step, but it can be important, especially if you are trying to avoid attracting the attention of the people monitoring the system you’ve hacked. Characters can log out in one of two ways: standard logout, or secure logout.
• Standard logout: Logging out of a computer system in this fashion requires no Hacking skill roll and takes an action, but system administrators get a Notice roll to see if they detect it. This is often done under extreme circumstances when time is a factor. It’s generally not recommended.
• Secure logout: If the character has the extra time and wants to cover their tracks, they can choose to spend their entire turn logging out of the system they’ve hacked. Unlike other operations in the system, covering your tracks can be difficult. This requires a Hacking roll at a penalty equal to the IDS rating of the system. Success indicates the character has covered their tracks. Failure allows system admins to make a Notice roll to see if they detect the activity. If a critical failure occurs, system administrators are automatically alerted.



Shadowrun Wiki on Seattle
Post Reply

Return to “Dark Futures”