[cyclonus743]

I moved from SR3 to 4A skipping the original 4th ed book.  I'm wondering what glaring differances there might be between the two rule books, rules wise if any.

[Dead Monky]

Not many from what I can tell.  It seems to be mostly just little tweaks and clarifications.

[mortonstromgal]

Depends on what you consider significant. Its as big of a shift the end of 2e (ie VR2.0, and Rigger 2, etc rules included) was to 3e. In reality that move wasn't that big of shift more like moving from D&D 3.0 to 3.5. I believe there is a list of all the changes on the shadowrun website.

Linkage for SR4 to 4A changes
http://shadowrun4.com/resources/sr4a/sr4a_changes.pdf

[FastJack]

I moved from SR3 to 4A skipping the original 4th ed book.  I'm wondering what glaring differances there might be between the two rule books, rules wise if any.

Here ya go, straight from the developer's brains. (Do NOT want to hack those again...)

[Dead Monky]

(Do NOT want to hack those again... )

PAB units are fun!

[cyclonus743]

Oh no i'm not talking about 3rd to 4th i'm talking 4th to 4A.  Just wondering if there were any significant changes between the two books.  There were a few major changes between 3e and 3.5 see the ranger class.  I was wondering if there was anything that drastic.

I'm trying to get some pre-made NPCs for a green gm so he has something to work with other than the few in the core rulebook.  And i saw the the 4th ed GM screen came with a book that had npcs in it and was wondering if there was aything mechanically different there.  Trying to get him a pool of npcs to work with so he doesn't have to make them all.  The only game he's run is D&D and is used to having a Monster Manual available.

[FastJack]

Oh, this is what you want, then...

[mortonstromgal]

 There were a few major changes between 3e and 3.5 see the ranger class.  I was wondering if there was anything that drastic.

The cost change to Attributes is pretty drastic if your converting from 4e to 4eA, direct combat spells, the bow limitation (especially if you were a Troll), and I think there was one that I'm forgetting.

[Glyph]

 There were a few major changes between 3e and 3.5 see the ranger class.  I was wondering if there was anything that drastic.

The cost change to Attributes is pretty drastic if your converting from 4e to 4eA, direct combat spells, the bow limitation (especially if you were a Troll), and I think there was one that I'm forgetting.

The cap to dice pools, which, like the change to direct spell drain, is an optional  rule.  Honestly, it was very annoying for people who had to switch from SR4 to SR4A, because the changes to Attribute costs messed up character advancement, karmagen was in limbo for a long time, and a few other changes (such as being able to only upgrade things like commlinks by 2 points) necessitated changes in existing characters.

But from the perspective of someone starting out  with SR4A, the differences are probably not as noticeable.

[Kontact]

The changes document won't include all the rules that were clarified. 

Lots of stuff was changed, and documented as changing, (such as skillsofts doubling in price and data bombs going from impossible traps that did null damage to difficult traps that do impossible damage,) but there were a host of other things which were just broken or missing in SR4 that aren't in the changes document.  For example, activating the Atribute Boost adept power was a non-action before it was clarified by SR4a to be a simple action. 

[mortonstromgal]

But from the perspective of someone starting out  with SR4A, the differences are probably not as noticeable.

I think this is really important. Much like 3.5, the changes only matter if your trying to upgrade your character or played the prior edition. 4A was a huge improvement in readability and clarification and some good fixes to some logic issues (Trolls able to do more damage with a bow than a rocket launcher for an extreme example)

[cyclonus743]

Cool thanks for the paydata. 

[Glyph]

The changes document won't include all the rules that were clarified. 

Lots of stuff was changed, and documented as changing, (such as skillsofts doubling in price and data bombs going from impossible traps that did null damage to difficult traps that do impossible damage,) but there were a host of other things which were just broken or missing in SR4 that aren't in the changes document.  For example, activating the Atribute Boost adept power was a non-action before it was clarified by SR4a to be a simple action. 

Actually, it's a simple action in my book, and I have the basic SR4 book.  Keep in mind, though, that SR4 went through a good number of errata before  SR4A, so sometimes it can be hard to tell if a difference is one from SR4 vs. SR4A, or from having an older edition of the SR4 book.

[Medicineman]

The cost change to Attributes is pretty drastic if your converting from 4e to 4eA, direct combat spells, the bow limitation (especially if you were a Troll), and I think there was one that I'm forgetting.

Higher Attribute cost = Yin
more Karma for all = Yang

with a YinYangDance
Medicineman