Saeviomagy
Adventurer
Here goes. This is trying for the 'feel' of SR, but not necessarily the same mechanics all over.
Start with d20 modern. It's a good base for what we want to do - the generic classes fit SR decently, and are certainly far better than anything else. I'd suggest relaxing the rules for class/cross class skills somehow, but I'm not sure how. Perhaps no limitation on max ranks?
Define wisdom as being force of will, charisma as being force of personality and intelligence as being brains and perceptiveness. All perception skills now use intelligence. Wisdom becomes the magic attribute.
Add some appropriate professions and remove the existing ones. Make the professions vague - "any two skills become permanent class skills, choose one feat and get a wealth bonus of +X" would be just fine. Characters who want lots of cyber, or extra spells, or the like can choose a feat that grants more money/xp to spend on them.
Change action dice - you get one per level, and they refill at the DM's discretion. They each add a single d6 to any roll, and can be used after the roll is made.
Change the damage system. Use the 'damage save' mechanic from unearthed arcana. Armour provides a bonus to the damage save. Weapons provide a flat bonus to the DC. Added damage feats would also provide bonus DC. This is really essential to preserve the 'you could die at any minute' factor inherent in shadowrun.
Use the dynamic defense optional rule. Defense is now defense mods + d20 roll instead of defense mods + 10.
Spells cause damage to the caster just like weapon attacks do, but a will save is needed instead of a fort save to resist said damage. All spells are available to any magician. Each spell selection needs to have some sort of 'cost' though. XP is probably good enough...
Each spell requires a skill roll to successfully cast.
Summoning spirits requires a skill roll, followed by some charsima-based damage resistance roll (maybe we need a new save based on charisma?).
Magically activeness is a first-level only feat.
Initiation is a feat.
For cyber, I think we need to have an essence trait - there's not really any other way of doing it. Additionally, this trait can be used to base spellcasting and adept abilities off of, the same way it works in shadowrun. I'd suggest running the trait off of standard d20 conventions, making it go from 3 to 18, then if we have a need for an 'essence test', we can use the rules for attribute tests.
So - cyber all costs triple it's current essence cost, adept abilities are all triple cost, and spells run from force 3 to force 18. Which incidentally synchs nicely with the fact that we're now using feet instead of meters...
I think we'll stick with the wealth system - it works especially well for SR. We probably need some better mechanics for handing out cash - simply adding a number to wealth for each run is a recipe for ruin.
Hmm - vehicles and the matrix.
Vehicles aren't too difficult to do. We need to create some stuff so you can be a rigger (but that's pretty much just handing out huge skill bonuses to people with a VCR implant).
Matrix again isn't too difficult. We assign some combat stats to the various decks, computer skill bonuses to various programs, and then write out combat stats for your average IC, and skill ratings for the hosts to roll against deckers. To build up a security tally - whenever the host makes a roll, and beats the decker's detection factor (deck and program based), it gets a point of tally, plus an additional one for each 5 points over.
(Actually that gives me a thought... the security tally would be a great mechanic for dungeon dynamics, but you'd need to pick some situations it applies for. You'd choose the noisy skills, and award tally for killing creatures...)
Oh, and as a general rule, I think that every 5 points above a target DC should probably give some advantage - reduced time, better quality, more damage, whatever.
Start with d20 modern. It's a good base for what we want to do - the generic classes fit SR decently, and are certainly far better than anything else. I'd suggest relaxing the rules for class/cross class skills somehow, but I'm not sure how. Perhaps no limitation on max ranks?
Define wisdom as being force of will, charisma as being force of personality and intelligence as being brains and perceptiveness. All perception skills now use intelligence. Wisdom becomes the magic attribute.
Add some appropriate professions and remove the existing ones. Make the professions vague - "any two skills become permanent class skills, choose one feat and get a wealth bonus of +X" would be just fine. Characters who want lots of cyber, or extra spells, or the like can choose a feat that grants more money/xp to spend on them.
Change action dice - you get one per level, and they refill at the DM's discretion. They each add a single d6 to any roll, and can be used after the roll is made.
Change the damage system. Use the 'damage save' mechanic from unearthed arcana. Armour provides a bonus to the damage save. Weapons provide a flat bonus to the DC. Added damage feats would also provide bonus DC. This is really essential to preserve the 'you could die at any minute' factor inherent in shadowrun.
Use the dynamic defense optional rule. Defense is now defense mods + d20 roll instead of defense mods + 10.
Spells cause damage to the caster just like weapon attacks do, but a will save is needed instead of a fort save to resist said damage. All spells are available to any magician. Each spell selection needs to have some sort of 'cost' though. XP is probably good enough...
Each spell requires a skill roll to successfully cast.
Summoning spirits requires a skill roll, followed by some charsima-based damage resistance roll (maybe we need a new save based on charisma?).
Magically activeness is a first-level only feat.
Initiation is a feat.
For cyber, I think we need to have an essence trait - there's not really any other way of doing it. Additionally, this trait can be used to base spellcasting and adept abilities off of, the same way it works in shadowrun. I'd suggest running the trait off of standard d20 conventions, making it go from 3 to 18, then if we have a need for an 'essence test', we can use the rules for attribute tests.
So - cyber all costs triple it's current essence cost, adept abilities are all triple cost, and spells run from force 3 to force 18. Which incidentally synchs nicely with the fact that we're now using feet instead of meters...
I think we'll stick with the wealth system - it works especially well for SR. We probably need some better mechanics for handing out cash - simply adding a number to wealth for each run is a recipe for ruin.
Hmm - vehicles and the matrix.
Vehicles aren't too difficult to do. We need to create some stuff so you can be a rigger (but that's pretty much just handing out huge skill bonuses to people with a VCR implant).
Matrix again isn't too difficult. We assign some combat stats to the various decks, computer skill bonuses to various programs, and then write out combat stats for your average IC, and skill ratings for the hosts to roll against deckers. To build up a security tally - whenever the host makes a roll, and beats the decker's detection factor (deck and program based), it gets a point of tally, plus an additional one for each 5 points over.
(Actually that gives me a thought... the security tally would be a great mechanic for dungeon dynamics, but you'd need to pick some situations it applies for. You'd choose the noisy skills, and award tally for killing creatures...)
Oh, and as a general rule, I think that every 5 points above a target DC should probably give some advantage - reduced time, better quality, more damage, whatever.
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