Project: Cyberpunk 2020/Shadowrun Conversion

[Acid_crash]

I think to get across the Shadowrun feel of cyberware, you would have to do something that no one has tried before, and that is create a whole new Ability Score just for cyberware. Shadowrun has Essence, right? That attribute that measures your overall humanism, and when it reached 0, you were essentially no longer human...if I remember. Do that, don't mess with any of the other Ability scores, and have a new Save based on that new Ability score (call it Durability or something).

I have noticed that so many people try to make due with the six Ability scores that we have forgotten that we can add new Ability scores to the game, as we add new classes and feats to the game...so we might as well take advantage of it.

Doing this should solve the problem.

 

[Shadowdancer]

CP2020 does the same thing with an Empathy ability.

 

[slingbld]

Hrmm, good thought there.
For cyberware, I basically created a derivative attribute based off of the average of a person's Wis & Int.
The Bioware is based off Con since I would figure bioware would place a strain on endurance & the immune system.
I could see just going with the "self" system in OGL Cybernet for both of these. Maybe have the cyberware rules be identical to the ones found in that book.
The bioware could have a smaller self cost but also have a bio-index or a body-index. This index would be based off of the Con score but not be as closely linked with it.
Also unlike the "self" you would not be able to regain the body-index through therapy.

I'll re-think this a bit. I'm leaning more to keeping with OGL Cybernets system the more I look at it.

 

[Von Ether]

I haven't read it. It's free right? I assume that's why people put the word "OGL" and not "D20" in the title

Nope, it means that if Mongoose forgoes the d20 logo, then they can use all of the d20 rules (including the XP level chart and attribute generation that are a "no-no" for publishers that use the d20 logo), without fear of copyright infringement. On the other hand, anything they create from scratch anyone else (including WotC) can use their stuff for free if they credit it properly.

What Mongoose is really doing is trying to turn the "OGL" term into a brand unto itself and then in some cases make it look like it's their own personal brand. ... The same sort of game several publishers played in the old days with the "core rulebook" phrase they'd put on their own d20 games.

Makes me wonder how long they can play it out before someone tells them to stop, or beats them at their own game.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

How could I adjust this?
Would a reduction in Wisdom be better? I do not want to mess with Int or Wis in this way though. Maybe a larger Will save penalty?
Any thoughts are most welcome!

Slingbld~

Well, obviously you wouldn't want to remove stats
Unfortunately, reducing a Will save isn't a good penalty either.
In a game with no magic, psionics or FX, PCs don't have to make Will saves. They're immune to Intimidate and to most Charismatic abilities. NPCs aren't, but in D20 Modern PCs and NPCs are actually balanced with each other (as opposed to DnD, where PCs > NPCs).

Edit: Wow, I feel like an idiot. You must have meant the Will save made when you suffer massive damage. Well, if there was a flat % chance they would go psycho, it might be balanced. The problem with a Will save is that it will eventually become too easy to make, especially if the cybered character plays a Dedicated.

Essence might work, but you'll need to make it important to non-magic characters. In ShadowRun, non-magic characters didn't care what their Essence value was (as long as it didn't fall to 0), and the high nuyen cost of cybergear was dealt with by making a deal with whatever company gave you your cyberware. (Another reason why you can't use Wealth as a balancing tool.)

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

Shadowrun has Essence, right? That attribute that measures your overall humanism, and when it reached 0, you were essentially no longer human...if I remember.

But Essence also effected magic, remember, and a hardcore mage couldn't cyber himself up, because he'd become weakened. Use in a Shadowrun conversion is one of the first things I thought of when I heard about UA's Magic attribute. I don't know off-hand how that works, but we can maybe use that system.

Plus in SR, Essence is what vampires, as well as dzoo-noo-quas, wendigos, banshees, goblins, nosferatu, and bandersnatches feed on.

 

[Achan hiArusa]

Cthulhupunk d20

When I get this game running (I have Interface 2:2 and Gurps: Cthulhupunk as well as a large CoC [including d20] and Cyberpunk library) I am just going to make Humanity loss cost Sanity, muhahahaha.

 

[slingbld]

I've decided to just go with OGL Cybernet's rule system.
I am now just starting to convert Weapons from Morgan Blackhands Street Guide. It lists all the weapons from all the CP2020 books.

I will also convert cyberware from both CP2020 & Shadowrun.

I realy just want to have a bigger variety in my augmnetation & weapon selection

However, I LIKE the idea of using CoC D20's sanity rules w/ cyberware.....