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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
GMs for the Game: LunarSage and Ciosa
Cold Heritage asked:
There's a couple references to bioware (either to its existence, or how dermal plating states it doesn't stack with orthoskin) in the equipment section, but I can't seem to find a cost listing for bioware itself. Is it just an artifact of transcribing descriptions from a Shadowrun sourcebook, or am I lacking in the finding things skill?
LunarSage responded:
At this time we will not be using Bioware. We're keeping things simple. Any references to Bioware on the Wiki may or may not be used in the future depending on how well this game takes off. Who knows? Maybe some point down the line some NPC scientist will develop Bioware as a "new, experimental type of cyberware" and we'll go from there. Just not right away.
Shadowfox89 asked:
Hmm.. I've read a bit of the Shadowrun 4e rules and have most of the stuff, including Runner's Companion. Would that be of any use for this?
LunarSage responded:
We are not using the books. What I've done is taken things from the main 4th ed book and simplified it to work in a semi freeform setting. This was done so that we could attract people who prefer freeform games in addition to those who like system stuff. If it's not on the Wiki, it's not available for now.
I want to reiterate, though... there will be no dice rolled by any PCs. The only time dice will be rolled is by the GMs when background runs are established each in game month.
Ciosa asked:
I know they're not on the wiki, but... Edges and Hindrances? Pretty please? If we know the math and they balance out and we're not super worried about mechanical effects, can we throw you a proposal?
LunarSage replied:
I'm sorry, Ciosa... no edges or flaws in this game, at least not mechanically. I want to keep things simple. Granted, if you want your character to have a flaw of some sort, be my guest... but that won't allow you to take any "edges". What you're good at is reflected in your attributes, skills and gear.
Ciosa asked:
Is there a cap on number of characters per player?
LunarSage responded:
Three.
We encourage folks to only make as many characters as they seriously intend to play, though.
Cold Heritage asked:
Is the protection offered by dermal plating cumulative with other forms of armour?
LunarSage responded:
Yes, but the maximum amount of AR a humanoid can achieve is around 5. No combining Dermal Plating, an Armored Jacket, Toughness and Mystic Armor for an AR of 8+.
Also remember that even if your AR protects you from an attack, you still take 1 CR worth of stun damage. Armor is great, but realistically no one is walking away from being shot without feeling it at all.
ReijiTabibito asked:
A: Are you planning on using, even if only for flavor, Shaman Totems in this particular game? (Yes, I know in 4th that Shamans don't necessarily [i]need[/i] a Totem anymore, but c'mon, really?)
B: What is the group made up of so far? I've got three ideas for chars.
LunarSage responded:
See | Mentor Spirits | on the wiki. :-)
Play what you want to play. Please don't let what others are playing deter you from playing a concept that you like.
TheGlyphstone asked:
Can I assume that also holds true for the metahuman variants like I had asked about in the original thread, if I only want to be one for the aesthetic value without interest in any mechanical changes from the base template?
LunarSage responded:
Yes, though I'd like for the variants to be exceedingly rare. I'll allow one variant character per base race. As in one variant Troll, one variant ork, one variant dwarf and one variant elf... not per player, but for the whole game. Glyphstone, can you post what the variants are? I don't have my books handy.
TheGlyphstone responded:
According to This page:
DWARF
Gnomes: Central European Dwarf
Harumen: Dwarven variant from India with monkey-like appearance
Koborokuru: Japanese Dwarven variant
Menehune: Hawaiʻian Dwarf
Querx: Variant from Saxony in the Allied German States
ELVES
Dalakiton: elf variant from the Philippines
Dryads: All-female variant of the Elven species
Night Ones: European Elf noted for fine dark-coloured fur
Wakyambi: Dark-skinned Elves of Africa
Xapiri Thëpë: Elf variant with green spots (chlorophyl) on their skin, native to Amazonia
ORKS
Hobgoblins: Middle Eastern Ork variant
Ogres: European Ork sub-group
Oni: Japanese Ork
Satyr: Mediterranean Ork
TROLL
Cyclops: one-eyed Mediterranean troll
Fomori: Irish Celtic troll
Giants: Nordic troll
Minotaurs: rare Mediterranean troll
I'm looking to play a Giant:
They are usually somewhat stronger, and with an average body size of 350 cm, larger than standard trolls. Their hair and skin color are usually fairer than those of most metahumans. They usually have no horns or tusks and a long pointed nose. They're discriminated against even more than the average troll outside of the German states, so it's a decent reason for me to be in Seattle.
LunarSage responded:
That's fine. You'll have the exact same bonuses as standard Trolls, but you can be the giant variant. That means no more Troll variants for the game.
CurvyKitten asked:
Working on a few character ideas, the skills section are we limited to the skills you listed? Or can we add some as long as we spend the points correctly? Things like performance, crafts and the like?
LunarSage responded:
The skills we have listed on the Wiki are all skills that would be useful to Shadowrunners in particular. There will undoubtedly be skills that we just spaced on adding, so let us know what you have in mind and we can add them. Forgery is a skill that we can add to the wiki, but singing, dancing, or anything like that wouldn't necessarily fall under skills that we need to add.
That said, you can certainly take "Performance" as a skill if you would like. The main thing we wanted to avoid as far as players not using things that aren't on the Wiki is gear from other books. If it isn't gear, you can always ask... we may say no, but asking isn't a crime. Curvy, the only thing about your concept is that we haven't figured out a way to figure out how much nuyen characters can make with "day jobs" and how they may interfere with shadowrunning. Feel free to use that concept, but we would prefer that she was a local sensation rather than someone famous across the nations.
Callie Del Noire asked:
DO you allow Surge Victims? (figured I should ask now)
LunarSage responded:
No, sorry.
Dhi asked:
How exactly do the ranks of cybereyes/ears and the Essence cost of eyeware work? There's a mention of Capacity, but I couldn't find how that number is determined.
Michael Corvus responded:
As far as the Cybereyes/ears with regards to Essence and Capacity... if you buy Cybereyes Rating 1, it costs 0.2 essence. This means that you will get 0.2 essence worth of "free" cybereye enhancements. If you buy Rating 4, it costs 0.5 Essence, so you get 0.5 essence worth of "free" cybereye enhancements.
Same goes for ears. There is no actual capacity rating on cyber equipment for this game.
LunarSage added:
Don't forget that though the essence cost is "free" up to the original essence capacity of the cybereyes/ears, you still have to pay the nuyen for the enhancements.
Kuroneko asked:
Just a question… If my PC is such a staple in the city, and our characters have most likely run into him when they've been injured in the past, do we have to use contacts points in order to know him?
LunarSage responded:
Nope, he's a PC so knowing him is free. Knowing an NPC like Desperado would require contacts. Otherwise you have to make contacts in game (GMs may award contacts after sufficient RP has proved that the contact knows and trusts your character).
Cold Heritage asked:
If I get max strong on my character, can the character fire a machine gun from the hip?
Michael Corvus responded:
Yes
Cold Heritage asked:
Is it okay if my character is vaguely experienced in shadowrunning but is still explicitly scrub-tier?
Michael Corvus responded:
Yes, this is okay. My guy, Devil, for example... he's a self contracting bounty hunter who has also done work as a bouncer at a club or two. He's recently started dabbling in shadowrunning, but he's still a rookie and learning the ropes of it all. He has no street cred as a runner yet, so no one really knows who he is yet nor seeks him out to hire him for a run. He's a nobody in the shadows.... for now. >:)
LunarSage added:
That's fine. You can have any amount of experience outside the shadowrunning world that you want... but in the Running world of Seattle, your street cred starts at zero.
Dhi asked:
What is the discount for joint housing? Do we just split the cost?
Josietta responded:
Lunar told me last night that if you have low lifestyle and you split it with another PC.. you would get the 2 bedroom for 3000 nuyen total meaning each of you only pay 1500 instead of the normal 2k for low lifestyle. So it depends on the lifestyle level. I dunno about the mid or high. Thats all I asked about, was the low that is.
LunarSage added:
It works that way for all the lifestyles... The total lifestyle cost of 2 people rooming together is 1.5 times the base cost. Please don't make us figure out the costs for more than 2 roommates. -_-
TheGlyphstone asked:
For Cyberware with variable ratings, can an existing system be 'upgraded', or does it need to be a full replacement? Say...a Taste Booster, at 1500NY*Rating. If I buy a Rating 1 Taste Booster, and later want to upgrade to a Rating 2 Taste Booster, will I be able to use parts of the pre-installed hardware (spending another 1500), or does it need a full swap-out (costing 3,000)?
LunarSage responded:
Well technically upgrading like that would likely require the old cyberware to be ripped out to put the new stuff in. However, we can say that since old cyberware can likely be recycled and in the interest of giving you guys a break, you guys will only have to pay half the difference in the new level. Like say you have a rating two piece of cyberware (cost of 2,000 nuyen) and want to upgrade to the rating three version (cost of 3,000 nuyen)... You would pay 2,000 nuyen total for the upgrade.
Kuroneko asked:
And question, if our characters have substantial tattoos that they got well before gameplay started, do they still need to come out of the initial amount of Nuyen?
LunarSage responded:
Tattoos I wouldn't worry about too much to start. Now if you want spiffy nano tattoos that can move and the like, yeah, you'll need to pay for them.
Cold Heritage asked:
Is it just me, or are there no skillsofts?
Michael Corvus responded:
correct, there are no skillsofts.
TheGlyphstone asked:
Would a laser sight on a crossbow add +1 to the user's Archery rating?
LunarSage responded:
I suppose a laser sight could be calibrated to take into account slower moving projectiles like bolts. So yes.
undisclosedtoyou asked:
I found a reference to a seattle sourcebook, as well as a Berlin sourcebook, which will help me more with my characters backstory, than this game. Are you using the Seattle sourcebook, by any chance? I only ask, because I want to know if it's as awesome as it sounds.
Michael Corvus responded:
Well, we're not using any other sourcebooks for gear, equipment, cyber, magic, etc... but if you're just looking to draw some background information from it for your character who's from Berlin or surrounding areas, I don't see a problem with that.
TheGlyphstone asked:
Two questions about armor:
1) Does it stack - i.e., can I wear an Armor Vest underneath Armored Clothing, or a Lined Coat over Armored Clothing, and get total AV3? It'd be 200 nuyen more than the Armored Jacket, with the benefit of not being obviously armored (can wear it to a dinner party, for example).
2) Does Armored Clothing come in higher-quality styles? For example, can I get an Armored Business Suit for the sum total of Armored Clothing + Business Suit, and have it be one set of clothing instead of two?
LunarSage responded:
1. No, worn armor doesn't stack. That's just a general balance thing. You use the greater of the two Armor Ratings.
2. Yep, that's correct. Pay the armored clothing price and add the other clothing cost on top of that.
Dhi asked:
I noticed cameras are listed for ¥100. I'd like to spend much more than that on some cameras. In the real world I've paid $1200 for a camera even though you can get them for $100. I'd like to set aside like ¥5,000 for a few cameras and lenses and say that they are much better quality. Is that okay?
Also, Forbidden tier items. I'd like to have Aluminum Bone Lacing and two High Explosive Grenades. The bone lacing was done in Russia where the regulations are much looser, though the work was also inferior and a health problem for her. The explosives are a souvenir from a job where she was required to blow a reinforced door. Although she was able to open the door without explosives, she pocketed the grenades for a rainy day. Does that sound reasonable?
Michael Corvus responded:
I don't see this as a problem with this since they infer no bonus or penalty to your character.
Sounds good to me. Your characters can have (F) Items, but just bear in mind if they get caught with them... they become a guest of Lone Star's, at the very least.
TheGlyphstone asked:
Random question about Desperado....how does he have any emotions whatsoever, or even the capability to feel? His Essence is .01, literally the most cybered-out you can get without becoming a Cyberzombie.
LunarSage responded:
The way I look at it is that you don't have deadened emotions until you actually reach zero, and at that point you need -really- expensive (as in out of the reach of PCs) equipment to keep you alive. Memory inducers have to periodically kick in and remind you that you're still alive, coupled with powerful magic that keeps your soul from escaping your body. Those unfortunate folks are called Cyberzombies. Trust me. You don't want to be one.
At such a low essence though (low but still above zero), your soul is stretched thin, on the precipice. But it's still intact, albeit barely. As Josi said, he's probably closer to having some sociopathic tendencies at times, but like the main character in Gross Point Blank, he still has a personality. He's still animated. He still enjoys things.
What will affect you though is how well magical healing works on you. At lower essence you can still be healed magically, but it's really difficult for the mage trying to mend your wounds. At 6 essence, healing spells are as normal. They require Willful x1 to not get drained. At 3 to 5.99 essence, that goes up to Willful x2 and at .01 to 2.99, Willful x3 is needed. Without that level of Willful, healing those with lower levels of essence can cause headaches, fatigue, nosebleeds and the like. All in all, it can be fun to RP out the mage saying "Geez, chummer! Are you chromed up enough?! I think you might be able to squeeze a little bit more into your body there."...
Josietta asked:
Since its been a bit since I played ... if you get an internal Comm.. does that also require gloves and such? And does it matter what the gloves look like/made of?
LunarSage responded:
If you have your commlink as cyberware, no... no AR gloves are required. It's all mentally manipulated. Directly plugged into your brain.
No, it doesn't matter what the AR gloves look like.
LunarSage added:
AR gloves are not mandatory. They are suggested, but if you really want, you can manipulate your AR experience via a roller on your commlink itself. Not as easy to do, but some folks do it.
Cold Heritage asked:
Does everyone also start with casual proficiency with computernomics? That is, can the average person use a commlink to check e-mail, the Shadowrun equivalent to facebook, and whatever day to day crap a normal person does.
LunarSage responded:
Yes.
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