Shadowrun
Shadowrun Play => Gamemasters' Lounge => Topic started by: Bluehammer on <02-28-15/1925:24>
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Hey all,
I'm getting ready to run Shadowrun 5th ed for my group and I'm kicking around some ideas for runs and campaigns. Unfortunately I only have the core rules, and while I know I can run whatever I like (my group don't know SR very well) I would like to keep things at least close to canon if possible. Therefore I'm hoping you good folk can help Shadowrunise some ideas.
My current campaign idea is for the party to be hired to find a run-away. Of course the run-away isn't quite what the Johnson said it was (hey, I never said the campaign would be original!). My problem revolves around what the run-away turns out to be. My current ideas are:
1) A.I. in a human shell - Unfortunately, after reading a bit of SR A.I.'s online it seems they still need vast main frames to generate the intelligence which kind of scuppers the run-away element. So I went to plan 2.
2) Golem - Somebody has bound a spirit into a humanoid form. Unfortunately I can't find much information on golems in SR, so I was hoping somebody may be able to shed some light on the subject.
2a) Possession - Somebody has bound a spirit into the body of a VR meat-puppet. Unfortunately the information on spirits is a little thin on the ground in the 5th ed core rules so I'm not sure if it is even possible to possess a living being let alone a BTL junkie.
3) Shapeshifter - I know shapeshifters exist in SR but again I can't find much information on what they are capable of (I'm not after stats, just a description of their capabilities would be helpful).
4) Crossbreed - As I understand it some of the SR critters are mutations of meta-types (wendigo from orc for example), and meta-types are essentially from the same gene-pool (human parents can give birth to elf children, etc). So does that mean it would be possible to gene-splice meta-based critters to create vat grown abominations?
Finally, is there anything like a 'brain-pod' in SR? By that I mean a living brain in a jar that gets slotted into a machine body; kind of like Cain from RoboCop 2 or Dragoon borgs from CP2020. If not, is there anything to stop that from happening in SR?
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I suggest getting your hands on the sixth world almanac, it can really help you keep up with worldwide events. As for 2 and 2a, some spirits and magic traditions have possession powers or rituals, see street grimoire for the relevant info.. And for 3 or 4, get your hands on run faster, that has the info you seek. As for brain pods, afaik not been seen yet, but the cyber/bio ware book is not yet out, so still theoretically possible.
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Cyborgs, aka Jar Heads, haven't been detailed in the SR5 rules yet. They are detailed in the SR4a rules in the book Augmentation (http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/57422/Shadowrun-Augmentation?term=Augmentation).
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Thanks for the replies folks.
My own SR characters are usually magically active in some way so I'm very tempted by Street Grimoire, but the reviews don't seem to paint it in a favourable light. From a GM point of view is the information in the Grimoire worth overlooking its faults, or would I be better off waiting for a reprint?
I presume SR4a is the anniversary edition? If so I think I may know somebody with a copy, so I'll see if I can find some info on jar-heads. Thanks for the tip.
One final question, what's the best book for expanding the list of available critters for 5th Edition?
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The only areas with additional books within the SR5 ruleset are:
Guns, Armor, & Gear in Run & Gun
Additional Character Options in Run Faster
Magic in Street Grimore
No other options exist until Catalyst releases more content unless you feel up to house ruling conversions for SR4a books/content.
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One final question, what's the best book for expanding the list of available critters for 5th Edition?
Technically Run Faster allows you to create new sapient critters using the same basic rules for creating characters. Aetherology fleshes out a few new spirits that are very weird and interesting. And Street Grimoire has a slew of other spirits, including insect and shadow spirits.