[Malex]

So I have this half-baked idea of trying to run some of the older Shadowrun material, but I wanna use the current rule set. I've been reading some of the older stuff and most of it has been revamped for 4th Edition, however there is one thing that I have no idea about how to convert; decking rules. I intend on having any decker/hacker being fit with a cyberdeck that has Attributes and Programs like a Commlink; it just would not be wireless.

Is there a quick and easy way to convert old-school decking, as presented in 1st-3rd Editions, to 4th Edition rules?

[FastJack]

The easiest thing to do is to simply use the current Hacking rules, but remove AR and make sure that Deckers have datajacks (or internal SatLinks) to access the networks. Once they're in, just run everything the same, except their meat body is knocked out while decking.

The difficult part is converting the old systems to the new notations. Use the System Design information in Unwired (p. 74-78) to get some ideas of how to re-configure the old systems to the new rules. (For instance, Zurich Orbital [p.78] has Firewall 9, Response 8, Signal 4, System 8; while Dante's Inferno [p. 77] has different ratings on their nodes, averaging around Firewall 4, Response 3, Signal 3, System 4)

[CanRay]

What FastJack said, only jumping for joy about not having to make a "Virtual Dungeon Crawl" for a Decker!

Oh, and see if you can find the old prices for Cyberdeck, they're not the mass produced cheap items that CommLinks are.

[FastJack]

Good point, CanRay. The Radio Shake PCD-100 (extreme low end deck) cost 6,200¥ in 2050, while the Fairlight Excalibur was 990,000¥.

I'd probably make a formula based on the F/Si/R/Sy... Maybe each component to the power of 5 x 100 and added together? (that would put a Fairlight Excalibur with all 5's price at 1,250,000¥. <shrug>

[CanRay]

Hey, Bull, how much did you pay to update that old Cyberdeck of yours to Matrix 2.0 Standards? 

[Malex]

Hmm. Luckily I do have alot of the older Equipment books, I was figuring I'd just use the old prices and give them Stats that equate with the new rules.

The stumbling blocks that I keep seeing is trying to decipher what the old program names would translate into in 4th E. I figure that Sleaze is Exploit or Spoof, Masking is Stealth, etc. However I'm not sure what things like 'Orange-3' or what 'Access 4' are. Any thoughts?

[FastJack]

Orange-3 is a Security rating of a node. The Orange indicates that it's most likely a private node and 3 was the target number you'd generally have to get to do anything on the node. A tough little nut to crack, but not impossible. In SR4 terms, I'd make the color the System rating and the number the Firewall rating:

Color	System
Blue	1-2
Green	3-4
Orange	5-6
Red	7-8
Ultraviolet	9+

Access 4 is a type of IC, with the 4 being the IC's target number. In SR4 terms, this would be an Agent/IC with Pilot 2 rating (since old ratings were 2-12 and new are 1-6).

The key thing to remember, though, is the differences in how things were created in the old system as previously noted. Most systems were rolled up on the fly in 1st Edition using 1d6 or 2d6 to get the ratings.

[Malex]

Orange-3 is a Security rating of a node. The Orange indicates that it's most likely a private node and 3 was the target number you'd generally have to get to do anything on the node. A tough little nut to crack, but not impossible. In SR4 terms, I'd make the color the System rating and the number the Firewall rating:

Color	System
Blue	1-2
Green	3-4
Orange	5-6
Red	7-8
Ultraviolet	9+

Access 4 is a type of IC, with the 4 being the IC's target number. In SR4 terms, this would be an Agent/IC with Pilot 2 rating (since old ratings were 2-12 and new are 1-6).

The key thing to remember, though, is the differences in how things were created in the old system as previously noted. Most systems were rolled up on the fly in 1st Edition using 1d6 or 2d6 to get the ratings.

Thanks again 'Jack, you always seem to know just the right answer to most of my bizzaro questions.