Preliminary Shadowrun House Rules List
This is not exhaustive, and all rules are considered to be up for discussion on Wednesday night. All house rules are in ADDITION to the listed restrictions on character creation (so you're still limited to Availability 12 or less on equipment, 35 points of Disadvantages, and so forth)
THE GAME YEAR IS 2054
Character Creation
1) All PCs must begin play with at least 2 months of Low Lifestyle
2) No PC may start with more than 1 item of Alpha-grade cyberware. Cyberware items with multiple components (such as an eye with Image Magnification, UV vision, and Flare Compensators) count as 1 item, but ALL components therein must be Alpha-grade.
3) No PC may start with more than 1 item of Cultured Bioware.
4) Fake Licenses are attached to specific Fake SINs, and are broken down according to "type" or restricted or illegal item. So a character might have:
-Rating 4 SIN w/Rating 3 Pistol, Rating 2 Foci, and Rating 4 Fetish licenses
-Rating 3 SIN w/Rating 4 Cyber, Bioware, Explosives, Pistol, Submachinegun, and Longarm Licenses.
5) Weapon Specializations are by weapon model, not by weapon class. Thus, you could specialize in the "Ruger Warhawk" or "Ares Predator" (which would apply to an Ares Predator I, II, III, or IV), but not "Automatic Pistols" or "Revolvers". Various upgrades and sundry will have no effect on Weapon Specialization - an AK-98a1 with Suppressor, Folding Stock, and Laser Sight will gain the same Weapon Specialization bonus as an AK-98a2 with an underbarrel pistol grip and a smartlink. Note that the fluff descriptions may indicate that two weapons are the same model. If there is a question, please ask.
6) All PCs receive one FREE Rank 1/1 contact of their choosing, subject to GM approval (no...Lofwyr is NOT your contact). It is HIGHLY recommended that PCs start with multiple, fleshed-out contacts (between 2-5 contacts is safe).
Dice Caps
1) No skill may roll greater than 15 dice (so 16+ is out) at game-on. You may have combinations of Attribute+Skill+Cyber+whatever that add up to more than this...but you'll be capped at 15 dice at game-on. This cap is applied before situational modifiers. This cap will increase as the campaign goes longer.
Social Skill Modifiers from Cyber/Bioware
1) All characters will take a -??? Dice penalty for each FULL POINT of "visible" cyberware they have. "Visible" is defined as "when it's obvious you're sporting some 'ware". So Active Wired Reflexes will count toward this (but if you've got the cyber that shuts them down and they're turned off, they won't count), as will solid-silver cybereyes or a 'chromed cyberlimb with a gun on it. Dermal Plating might only count if you're in swim trunks. A Cerebral Booster pretty much won't count at all. This dice penalty will vary depending on the social situation. Talking to a wage drone might net you a -1 per point penalty, or talking to a philanthropist at a fancy dress ball might net a -2 or greater penalty...while talking to another Street Sam in a 'runner bar might be penalized only -1 per 2 points of cyber (there will always be a penalty of some sort...cyberware is inherently dehumanizing and part of the modifier doesn't just reflect the target's reaction to you, but how well you're able to engage with them as well).
The Matrix
1) The Wireless Matrix is new to the world of Shadowrun in 2050... Swathes of non-urban area are not likely to be Wireless-accessible (zone with a lower Security Rating than C, generally speaking), and the snootier AA or better Security Zones are going to have well-secured Wireless access, occasionally with jammers to cut it out completely. Headjacks are NOT dead yet...
-No, there are no cyberdecks - you're still using your commlink. Just ensure your commlink can talk to your headware (skinlinks are a good start) and you'll be good. Let's not overthink this, yeah?
2) You cannot roll more dice on a Matrix-related test than (2+3(Logic)) for Hackers, or (2+3(Resonance)) for Technomancers. This ensures that Matrix characters cannot TOTALLY dump their attributes.
EDGE
1) Edge does not automatically refresh at the beginning of a session or at dawn each day, but will refresh upon completion of in-game tasks, roleplaying moments, and/or GM's discretion. Thusly, having an Edge score greater than 1 or 2 is recommended.
General Gameplay
1) I don't do "exploits" of the system (hacking your guns or cyber, snipers everywhere, etc) unless a) you're running against a serious target and it makes sense in-universe to run into that sort of thing...or b) you do them first. Engaging in an arms race with the GM is usually futile. If you want to take advantage of an exploit, be SURE that you're willing to have it done back to you 2 or 3 sessions down the road.
2) There is a general cap of 3 Initiative Passes from any source (so Street Sams can have Wired Reflexes 2, etc). In NO circumstances may magic-users of any type place an Initiative-boosting or Reaction-enhancement spell into a Sustaining Focus. If additional hits on a spell would result in greater than 3 IPs, additional IPs are lost (Drain, etc is not affected). I recommend people try for around 2 IPs for all but the most heavily-chromed, speed-themed characters, and I won't have to break out high-init NPCs in return.
If you have questions or need clarification, please don't hesitate to ask, here or on Wednesday. These are NOT YET set in Stone...
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Topic: Shadowrun, chummers! Do you speak it? (Read 32100 times)