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[SR4] House Rules

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Casazil

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« Reply #30 on: <09-07-10/2021:52> »
Well if it helps my friend Barry will be right there with you and I'll stop seeing him in WoW :'(
"If at first you don't succeed blame someone else"
Joel "Casazil" Rogers
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http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/CasazilsShadowrun/

Darkeus

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« Reply #31 on: <09-07-10/2026:02> »
Well if it helps my friend Barry will be right there with you and I'll stop seeing him in WoW :'(

Lol.   That is hilarious. 

Anyway, back on to house rules.   ::)

Yeah, sorry if I seem very "passionate" about SnS ammo and Emotitoys.  I just have a hatred....

Ugh, just personally don't like them.  YMMV as always!   ;D
I thought what I'd do is; I would pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes.

Captain Chaos

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« Reply #32 on: <09-07-10/2026:49> »

So, discuss this, add your own rulings, but play nice kiddies. Hate to sic Cap on ya.

Sic Who on whom?

Casazil

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« Reply #33 on: <09-07-10/2030:20> »

So, discuss this, add your own rulings, but play nice kiddies. Hate to sic Cap on ya.

Sic Who on whom?

AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  :o :o :o :o :o he's Multiplyed!!!!
"If at first you don't succeed blame someone else"
Joel "Casazil" Rogers
Catalyst Demo Team Shadowrun Special Agent #251
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/CasazilsShadowrun/

Erghitz

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« Reply #34 on: <09-07-10/2054:46> »
One House Rule in effect in my games right now is spirits are weaker.

Immunity to Normal Weapons is only at Force instead of double and a player may only use half it's edge at will to augment rolls. The other half can be used if the spirit feels the need.

Great Form Spirits have the normal double force for Immunity to Normal Weapons and normal amount of edge to burn.

I was toying with the idea of weakening (IE Make more interesting to me) sorcery combat. Physical Manifestation combat spells are the only spells to have the ability to hit multiple targets. LOS Instant damage spells can only be used on one target at a time or you have to multi-cast in order to hit more than one person.

-- Erghitz


Wayfinder

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« Reply #35 on: <09-07-10/2239:56> »
I have to say that emotitoys have their place in the Shadowrun universe. I'm not saying that because of the min/max potential rather in spite of it. The dystopian future is one built of consumerism, hence the Megacorps. If the latest trend is one that the smart runner can use to his/her advantage then I say it totally belongs. There are always fashion trends that go to the absurd, some would say that a multicolored mohawk is one of those. Yet that same rainbow do has become a staple of the genre. And really it has nothing to do with being technologically minded it has more to do with what the upper classes of the social order currently call cool. If the Lindsey Lohan or Paris Hilton of the 2070's suddenly decided that wearing a clown costume was the sexist thing ever, then you'd see club kids wearing them, then street punks, then up and coming runners. If said runner then used the extra space in the suit to conceal more armor or weapons then that's just being smart. Looks stupid but adds to the min/max of the character.

FastJack

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« Reply #36 on: <09-07-10/2259:26> »
Hell... look around today. If you told me twenty years ago that it would be fashionable to wear pajamas in public, I'd have slapped you.

Casazil

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« Reply #37 on: <09-07-10/2336:34> »
It was fasionable to were PJ's 20 years ago too............................Just ask Hef ;D :P
"If at first you don't succeed blame someone else"
Joel "Casazil" Rogers
Catalyst Demo Team Shadowrun Special Agent #251
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/CasazilsShadowrun/

FastJack

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« Reply #38 on: <09-07-10/2338:34> »
You have a point there...

raggedhalo

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« Reply #39 on: <09-08-10/0612:12> »
House rules I use when I run SR4:

 
House RuleReasoning
Change Availability of hacker programs to Rating*3, making maximum starting rating 4.Gives more room for growth in hackers
Everyone starts with (Charisma + Intuition)x2 BPs worth of ContactsIncreases the importance of contacts
While you're learning a new skill, you take no penalty for defaulting to it. That is, if you were learning Longarms, then while you're learning you would be able to roll Agility, rather than Agility-1, to hitMakes sense as you know a little bit
If you have a legitimate, non-criminal SIN, you can buy legal licenses for Restricted gear by paying 10% of the item's cost, or 100 nuyen (whichever is more). Not with fake SINs because the risk of detection is way too high.
Autosofts and simsense programs (e.g. skillsofts) aren't available as pirated programs but don't require SIN linkageHad a very hard time understanding why you'd need to update these programs but wanted to keep game balance
Reaction Enhancers stack with Wired ReflexesBecause otherwise they're really rather pointless.
Change Called Shots to target vital areas to increase damage so that the negative dice pool modifier is double the DV bonus (so +4DV causes -8 to the dice pool). Max DV bonus remains +4.Makes calling shots to target vital areas much less auto-win. Still better than the average return on rolling dice, though.
We round like maths says.Because maths wins.
Change DV of Stick'n'Shock ammo from 6S(e) to -S(e), meaning that it does the weapon's normal base damage, changed to Stun and electrical.Makes them less "all win, all the time" on smaller-calibre guns, and makes Gel Rounds viable too.
Change movement rates to 4m walking/12m running (human, elf, ork), 3m walking/10m running (dwarf) and 6m walking/18m running (troll).  Critter walking speeds would be reduced to 40% of their current level and running speeds to half their current level.  Vehicle Speed and Acceleration ratings are unaffected. In line with average human walking speed of 4-5km/h, then amended to allow for running rates and other metatypes. Also makes shorter-range weapons a bit more useful.
Add your weapon's recoil compensation value to the dice pool you roll when using Suppressive Fire.Otherwise it's assumed that the recoil comp and wide burst modifiers cancel out, effectively making recoil compensation meaningless in suppressive fire situations.
All new characters start with the following: Computer 2, Data Search 2, Dodge or Gymnastics 2, Etiquette 2, Infiltration 2, Perception 2 and one of the following skills at 2 - Blades, Clubs, Pistols, Thrown Weapons or Unarmed Combat.This is the minimum you need to be a competent professional shadowrunner and it ensures that everyone has the really simple bases covered.
You roll Cybertechnology skill, not Engineering skill, to reprogram hard nanites.Because Engineering skill doesn't exist, whereas Cybertechnology has a Nanotechnology specialisation
« Last Edit: <09-08-10/0613:51> by raggedhalo »
Joe Rooney
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The_Gun_Nut

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« Reply #40 on: <09-08-10/0625:05> »
@ raggedhalo

Interesting changes there.  I've seen folks give the free BP's for contacts before.  I'll have to evaluate that.

Skillsofts need the liscenses (and resulting SIN linkage) because, like every piece of software everywhere, updates to the technology become available every so often.  Think of how often your anti-virus updates it's program (mine did so recently, so it's in memory).  Not just the definitions, but the program itself.

Reaction Enhancers always stacked with wired reflexes, unless you read something I didn't.

The called shot damage mod gives me something to think about.  I'll need to evaluate that, too.  Thanks for the idea.

I'd always thought the Stick-n-Shock damage mod was a bit on the big side.  I also always thought it odd that the large rounds don't do more damage.  This may be a balance choice, however, ensuring that the lighter weapons see more use.

Movement rates in games have always been problematic.  I like your reasoning here, though.

Yes, no recoil on suppressive fire seemed counter-intuitive to me as well.

Yikes, don't know that I'd give new players THAT many free skills.  I just always assumed that unless they were incompetent or uneducated (via the qualities) that they can roll the dice just fine.
There is no overkill.

Only "Open fire" and "I need to reload."

raggedhalo

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« Reply #41 on: <09-08-10/0650:58> »
You're kinda half-right about Reaction Enhancers - under SR4A, they do stack, but pre-SR4A (i.e. straight SR4) they didn't.  I've not run anything under the SR4A rules (yet) so hadn't noticed the rules change.  Hurrah!

The thing with skillsofts is that while software gets updated, the knowledge of how to shoot a gun or drive a car doesn't.

As for the free skills, it's quite a lot of BPs, for sure, but they're all fairly basic areas and and I like to focus on the professional/black trenchcoat end of things, rather than the hilarious/pink mohawk style.
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Mooncrow

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« Reply #42 on: <09-08-10/0657:23> »
Wow, that makes SnS absurd. (well, more absurd)  Does anyone in your games use anything else? 

Doc Chaos

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« Reply #43 on: <09-08-10/0658:32> »
Change DV of Stick'n'Shock ammo from 6S(e) to -S(e), meaning that it does the weapon's normal base damage, changed to Stun and electrical.

Did you change the AP value?
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raggedhalo

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« Reply #44 on: <09-08-10/0704:24> »
Wow, that makes SnS absurd. (well, more absurd)  Does anyone in your games use anything else? 

Actually, it largely makes them less absurd - people were using them to bulk out pistols, SMGs, and the like, bumping their DV up to 6 when it started lower.  Given that most Assault Rifles, LMGs and MMGs do 6P, my change offers no incentive to use them in these weapons where you otherwise wouldn't - thereby not changing the level of absurdity.  It also offers a distinction from Gel Rounds (+2S) and makes the choice between the two less clear-cut.

Did you change the AP value?

Didn't, but probably should set it to 0.  Hmm.
Joe Rooney
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