[Dakka]

Increasing damage of spells due to hits is an optional rule, and Tagz house rule is actually slightly better since spells drain value is force/2 he only increases the drain 1 point for every 2 hits not every hit.

[Tagz]

Not quite, by RAW the addition occurs AFTER the division of Force.  So the Force 6 manabolt spell with 3 hits by RAW increases to 9P damage, Drain of 6S total.
((6Force/2) = 3) + 3net hits = 6DV.

My house rule adds the extra drain DV BEFORE the division, so Force 6 manabolt with 3 added hits makes 9P damage Drain of 4S total.
((6Force + 3net hits = 9)/2) = 4.5 rounded down = 4DV.

Two main reasons I do this:
1) The optional rule as listed seems too harsh, making good rolls feel meaningless
2) Makes casting and applying net hits equal in drain to overcasting at a higher force and not applying hits.  This reduces the incentive to overcast to get similar damage values.

*Edit, thanks Dakka, beat me to my own explanation.

[hemgath]

I really think this thread should be stickied.

That's a real good idea, and if "fast jack" can edit first post with the resume of Tagz that was cool too...

An other question about frequent house rule i read:
@ creation Martial art don't cost as an Advantage in the PQ limit... i read that in majority of SR4 forum and lot of GM use those "house Rules".

[FastJack]

Hmm... Sticky, you say? Well I just happen to have some glue-tack around here somewhere...

[Ten-Hex]

I modify the armor degradation rules in Arsenal to compare the modified DV against the rating of the first piece of armor struck, rather than against the full composite armor rating. So for example, the troll with ballistic armor 23 suffers armor degradation on his armor jacket with gel packs if the modified DV is 10+. His form-fitting armor, orthoskin and other assorted add-ons may protect him better, but they don't let his jacket collect full-auto rounds all day.

I also have helmets, PPP armor, cyberlimb armor, mystic armor, or any other piecemeal bonus to be exempt from degradation rules. It makes for simpler number-tracking and removes potential complications from the first armor degradation house rule.

[Man Who Walks At Night]

Houses rules.. lets see..

I give free contacts (from 5 - 10 contacts with varying ratings) to my players, I write up a lil something about them, names, locations, occupations and some fluff.

Players start with 600 BP's to make their chars instead of 400. This gives slightly more powerful characters but luckily my players seems to be able to handle it by spending part of that on more knowledge skills and other fluff stuff which only adds personality but not game advantages.

Grenades go off when thrown (don't tell me grenades in 2070+ cannot be set to explode 0,003 seconds after they are thrown) - not on the next IP pass, the damage doesn't get modified for hitting walls etc though (not realistic, I know, but its a game - not a reality show ), makes them less lethal but more useful, this is a new one and only run with it in one session so far, but I like it.

BE YOUR CHARACTER - this is not as much a rule as its a guideline, but it keeps my players from abusing the rules by giving it a tangent to realism, for instance my mages don't overcast all day long because its more efficient - because - it gives physical drain, and no one wants to endure pain unless they have no other choice, in other words, but things in perspective, its a role-playing game, characters are persons, not machines (well, arguably low essence characters.. etc, but you get the idea)

[inca1980]

One house rule we use in my table-top group is with grenades, rockets, missiles.  The way the rules are set up, it's as if your defense roll against grenades actually move the grenade to land in a different place.  I know the rolls are abstract and all, but this is problematic when players or npc's want to simply throw or shoot a grenade/rocket/missile at a specific location instead of at a person.  So all we do is just:

1.  Roll Scatter distance and direction.
2.  Roll attack roll.  This subtracts from scatter in the usual manner. 
3.  Defense roll (with the standard -2) adds to scatter by moving a character away from the blast point by the amount equal to how many meters each of the attackers hits subtracts from the scatter distance.  The character can chose the direction as long as it's un-impeded. 

So this ends up coming out the same in terms of damage done, but just leaves everything a lot more clear in terms of where everyone ends up at the time of detonation....there's also no difference between shooting at a person and trying to shoot right next to them, it's all handled the same.

Dodging bullets can be done by ducking or side stepping up to a meter, but we just assume that for gaming purposes the character stays where he or she is when they've done a defense (unless GM states otherwise).  For grenades/rockets/missiles, this is just none-sense and the only way to "defend" against a grenade is to get the hell away from it.  RAW just moves the grenade farther away, and we feel it makes more sense to have the attacker move the grenade, the defender move himself and the final distance determines damage. 

[Kontact]

Here's an Idea going back to when contacts cost money.
Contact tokens!

For every BP spent on contacts, you get 5 contact tokens.
Contact tokens are redeemed for contact ratings on an exponential scale.

So:
Loyalty/Connection 1 costs one token
Loyalty/Connection 2 costs two tokens in addition to the above cost
Loyalty/Connection 3 costs four tokens in addition to the above cost
Loyalty/Connection 4 costs eight tokens in addition to the above cost   (Still only 3 bp at this point.)
Loyalty/Connection 5 costs sixteen tokens in addition to the above cost (Now that high rating means something.  A whole 6.2bp worth of something)
Loyalty/Connection 6 costs thrity-two tokens in addition to the above.  (12.6bp means that "friends for life" or "has lofyr's number on speed dial" costs what it's worth)

Cash in extra tokens for 1k worth of gear (up to 4k max,) because sometimes you borrow your friend's stuff and it looks better on you anyway.

[LonePaladin]

What if someone wants their contacts to have varying numbers? Say, someone with Connections 1/Loyalty 4? The sort of guy who doesn't have a lot of influence, but will happily do what he can for you. Or the reverse, where you have a contact with lots of pull, but you practically have to bribe him to use it?

[Kontact]

"/" denotes or.  You buy each value separately, but the costs are the same whether it's for loyalty or connection rating.

So, connections 1 = 1, loyalty 4 = 1+2+4+8=15  C/L 1,4 = 1+15= 16 token points or 3.2bp

This way connections are cheaper in general (because they were too damn expensive to start with) except for the uber-contacts which are now more expensive to help emphasize their rarity.

Would have to treat the group aspect of group contacts as a separate thing maybe.  I've never been too clear on how connection and group scores interact.  Does the group part just usurp the connection part?

[LonePaladin]

Would have to treat the group aspect of group contacts as a separate thing maybe.  I've never been too clear on how connection and group scores interact.  Does the group part just usurp the connection part?

The modifiers for a group connection just increase the cost; these modifiers give you more people you can reach (thus, increasing the chance of actually making contact), or their magical/Matrix resources, or how much territory they can affect.

For instance, a local Yakuza cell would likely have a Connection rating of 3/8; while they're not especially focused on magic, they have some assets for that. They have a local Matrix node for their interests, and their territory is a district in the local sprawl. They'd probably have a few dozen people the character would know. Odds are he doesn't know them all personally, but he'll have some sort of identifying mark that would show he's in the know.

Here's the math:

• Base Connection Rating = 3
• 20-99 members: +2
• District-based influence: +1
• Limited magical assets: +1
• Active Matrix presence: +1

(These are the same assumptions they make for a character who takes the Made Man quality.)


When it comes to calling on these guys for legwork, or a favor, he'd have no problem establishing contact, even if you use the "roll 1D6 >= Connection Rating" rule to see if they're busy. With that many people, the roll would eventually hit the required 3+, it's just a matter of time. Their direct influence is somewhat limited, but because they're part of a larger organization, they could pass a request up the chain if needed. They'd have more than one or two members with magical ability, so they may be able to whip up some ritual sorcery, and their Matrix assets extend beyond what a single commlink can pull.

[Kontact]

My question is about the base connection rating.  Why 3? 
The other part, the +5, yeah, that's easy enough to figure.

As to how to pay for that +5 using an exponentially graduated buy system, that's problematic.  A r6 connection already costs 10+bp, sans loyalty.  R7 would cost 20bp r8 40bp.  You see the difficulty...

[LonePaladin]

Actually, I just guessed the figures. I picked 3 'cause the individual members meet the criteria of "meets people on a regular basis and has some personal pull". When one of my players wanted a specific Yak group after him, I just guessworked all the figures (starting with the 3); it wasn't until after I came up with 3/8 that I saw the rules for the Made Man quality said pretty much the same thing.

[Simon Le Bonbon]

interesting thread; i´ve GMed SR for only a month, but love the game already. some houserules: feel free to hate ´em

1. free contacts: d6 contacts for everyone, d6 loyalty & rating each
2. +20 bonus BPs for a life story, +5 BPs for detailed style
3. all damages +1 (love to hurt ´em)
4. no karma: I award BPs, makes things simpler

[The_Gun_Nut]

While the simplicity of awarding BP's is attractive, it can lead to very powerful PC's very quickly as abilities don't scale up in cost with BP's (flat rates).  If a fast track to the top is what you are seeking, then this is the way to do it.

However, magic types and technomancers will become dominant very, very quickly under this system, leaving the mundanes to wonder why they bothered with being mundane.