[Explanation of Systems]

[Kaj]

[Explanation of Terms]

[Hp]: Health Points. A character's life energy and endurance given a numeric value. When reduced to zero, a character is considered to be unconcious, and in certain circumstances, dead.
[Mp]: Magic Points. A character's internal energies or mana, used to cast spells or invoke mental powers. Used by Psykers and Mages.
[Essence]: How much of a person's body is available to modification. Used by nonmagic classes.
[Str]: Strength. A numeric measure affixed to a person's physical ability to affect through physical force.
[Dex]: Dexterity. A numeric measure affixed to a person's physical ability to move fluidly and accurately.
[Con]: Constitution. A numeric measure affixed to a person's physical ability to endure strain and damage, and to resist poison and disease.
[Int]: Intelligence. A numeric measure affixed to a person's mental ability to use high-end thought to solve problems and come up with ideas.
[Wis]: Wisdom. A numeric measure affixed to a person's mental ability to detect forces in the world around them and to go with gut instincts or common sense.
[Cha]: Charisma. A numeric value affixed to a person's mental ability to deal with other human beings effectively, by way of physical attractiveness and/or fluid vocabulary and likability.
[DM]: Dungeonmaster. A term used to refer to the person who controls the flow of the storyline and all things that happen within.
[PC]: Player Character. The term used to refer to a character controlled by a player, meaning they are uncontrolled within the storyline.
[NPC]: Non-player Character. A term meaning a character who is controlled by the DM for the purpose of being an enemy, propelling the story forward, or simply to fill up space.
[Flux]: Damage Fluctuation. A term used to refer to how amounts of damage change and are not always set, permutable numbers.
[MCS]: Mechanical Combat System. The technical term to refer to Mecha. Semi-humanoid combat systems designed to outclass normal infantry.

[Kaj]

[Explanation of Weapons Combat]

Combat is resolved in terms called "Rounds". Each round consists of a single post from each of the combatant players, ended by one from the DM. Attacks are treated to have resolved simultaneously, although in most conditions, a high-speed or ranged attack will be treated to have struck first.

Description is a very important resource in combat, since the exactness of your actions is dependant on you voicing them, and it makes the combat more enjoyable for everyone, and makes the DM feel as though everyone is pulling their weight and deserves the reward that they may end up recieving.

Damage dealt by melee weapons is equal to the weapon's natural damage, plus any extra damage granted by strength. Then reduce by their defensive modifier, before applying the flux. Subtract this from the opposing player or NPC's Hp.

( [Weapon Damage] + [Strength Mod] ) - [Defensive Mod] +/- [0/5/10% Flux]

Ranged weapons deal damage in mostly the same way, although they have very slight modifications. First off, they deal damage based on dexterity instead of strength, and flux is higher.

( [Weapon Damage] + [Dexterity Mod] ) * [Effectiveness] - [Defensive Mod] +/- [0/10/20% Flux]

[Kaj]

[Explanation of Player-vs-Player Combat]

At points in time, two players may come to odds and arms, deciding to fight each other. At this time, there are two kinds of combat available to them. Judged combat, and Skill combat.


[Judged Combat]

In Judged combat, both parties fight each other using common sense and weapon damage tables, although flux is removed in this instance only. A third party DM is often neccesary to make the fight go smoothly and fairly, although between fair and intelligible players, this may not be neccesary. An Official Judged combat by a DM may reward one or both of the players with bonus EXP for their actions.

[Skill Combat]

Skill combat works on a quite different system than Judged combat. It is often the choice of high-end roleplayers who want to avoid levels and skill calculation, instead doing their fight for dramatic reasons or for a more proper challenge. Both characters use high-description turns for their attacks, taking damage as they see fit, and succumbing at what can be called a pivotal moment. A Skill Combat doesn't have to completely disregard stats, but it may if both players wish it so. An Official Skill Combat judged by a DM may net one or both players bonus EXP for their actions.

[Kaj]

[Augmentations and Essence]


[Basics]

Augmentations are invasive machinery which are called cyberware, and they are inset into the body to increase natural abilities. Each character starts off with a specific amount of essence, and they cannot exceed that amount of essence in cyberware. Each piece has an essence cost, which is the amount deducted from the characters essence upon installation.

[Upgrading]

Generally, essence spent is essence spent. However, a character can generally get a more powerful version of the same cyberware installed previously without additional loss of essence, seeing that no additional tissues need to be removed or internal systems rerouted. However, it still takes the full amount of time as it would take to install in the first place, and invasive surgeries are treated to cause their full debilitating effects.

[Surgery]

Cyberware is installed into the body by doctors, requiring minor to major invasive surgery into the body to create cavities for the installations, moving matter out of the way, removing bones, and the like. A character that has cyberware installed with specific or greater essence costs is debilitated for a certain amount of time, as recorded in the following:

• 0.1 to 0.3 - Minor Invasive Surgery: Recovers in four days, action can still be taken in that time, although implanted cyberware cannot be used until fully healed.
• 0.4 to 0.7 - Moderate Invasive Surgery: Recovers in seven days, non-strenuous actions can be taken. These include such things as reading, walking, writing, or using a computer leisurely.
• 0.8 to 1.0 - Serious Invasive Surgery: Recovers in 14 days, no actions can be taken during this time. The patient can be moved by medics if neccesary.
• 1.1 or Greater - Deadly Invasive Surgery: Recovers in 21 days. The patient must be kept on life-support systems, and seriously moving them from the area can cause death.

Exceptions to the general rule include brain-invasive cyberware, which are always treated as serious or greater invasive surgery, although they recover in the normal amount of time as their essence indicates.

Psykers cannot install brain-invasive cyberware, or cyberware that is serious invasive or greater..

[Kaj]

[Stats, and how they affect you]

[STR/Strength]:

• Every 5 points of Strength increase melee combat damage by 1.
• Each point of Strength increases the amount of weight a character can push or pull.

[DEX/Dexterity]:

• Every 5 points of Dexterity increased ranged combat damage by 1.
• Every 10 points of Dexterity increases Cybercombat damage by 1.
• Every 20 points of Dexterity bestows a +1 dodge bonus to Impact/Ballistic armor.

[CON/Constitution]:

• Each point of Constitution increases maximum health by 1 point.
• Every 10 points of Constitution bestows a 10% bonus to poison resistance.

[INT/Intelligence]:

• Each point of Intelligence increases your MP by one, if applicable.
• Every 5 points increases magical damage by 1.

[WIS/Wisdom]:

• Every 10 points of Wisdom increases your magical defense by 1.
• Every 20 points of Wisdom increases your chance for initiative in combat by 5%.

[CHA/Charisma]:

• Every 10 points of Charisma increases your chance to bluff successfully by 5%.
• Every 10 points of Charisma increases your ability to negotiate by 10%.
• Every 10 points of Charisma increases your ability to resist unfavorable negotiations by 10%.

[Kaj]

[Psychic Forces and Powers: Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask]

Psychic Powers take a certain amount of time to activate, based on their force. While a power with a higher force may take several turns to build it to the point of being able to use, mundane actions can be taken whilst the power is charging.

Force 1	0 Rounds: Instant
Force 2	0 Rounds: Instant
Force 3	1 Round (6 Sec)
Force 4	1 Round (6 Sec)
Force 5	2 Rounds (12 Sec)
Force 6	2 Rounds (12 Sec)
Force 7	3 Rounds (18 Sec)
Force 8	3 Rounds (18 Sec)
Force 9	4 Rounds (24 Sec)

Thus, if someone were to use a Force 9 Power, then they would be able to act normally for 4 rounds, attacking and moving, although no other psychic powers may be used, nor started charging. On the 5th turn, the Psyker may unleash their skill as their attack-action for that round, and on the 6th, may again start over.

Psychic powers do not become obsolete over time but instead can be increased in strength by being invoked multiple times in a Psychic Overlay.

Essentially, you can mulitply the original force by any amount so long as it doesn't go past Force 9, and for every multiplication step, such as 3 to 6, or 1 to 2, or 4 to 6 to 8, you double the amount of PP it costs, the corresponding force, and the effect of the power.

Here's an example, using the first Type II Psychic Power, Jump. This is Jump in it's original Form:

[Jump]: Psyker creates a feedback of energy against gravitational forces, increasing their jump height by 20 feet.
Duration: 1 round, PP Cost: 6, Level 1, Force 1

Now, by using an overlay, you can turn it into this:

[Jump]: Psyker creates a feedback of energy against gravitational forces, increasing their jump height by 40 feet.
Duration: 1 round, PP Cost: 12, Level 1, Force 2

Or even this:

[Jump]: Psyker creates a feedback of energy against gravitational forces, increasing their jump height by 180 feet.
Duration: 1 round, PP Cost: 54, Level 1, Force 9

However, to overlay the power up to an increased force means that it's activation time corresponds with the force it is treated at.

[Kaj]

[Frequently-Asked Questions]

[What are my Starting Stats?]: All of a character's starting stats are 10, plus the increases that a level 1 of your class gets.

[How much HP/MP/PP do I have?]: Your HP is that of a level one of your class, plus your amount of Constitution. If you're a Mage or Witch, your MP is the same, except replacing Constitution for Intelligence. If you're a Psyker, then your PP starts at 100, and grows according to the chart in Base Classes.

[How much Nuyen do I get?]: Each character starts with 1200 nuyen. This is enough to purchase a basic weapon, some armor, and a few items.

[How does Experience work, and how do I gain it?]: Experience is based on a percentile system. every 100 experience is a level up, 50 is half a level, 25 a quarter, and so on. Experience is gained/awarded through Shadowrunning, Combat with NPCs, and Dueling with a fellow PC.

[Kaj]

Range Effect

Guns, of course, are weapons of long range, and you may be asking yourself why in their stat listings they’re actually relatively short. This, of course, is not the actual maximum range of the gun, but instead the maximum range you can fire at while still maintaining maximum output and damage.

A gun may fire at an actual maximum of twice it’s range before it’s bullets veer off, lose momentum, and become relatively uselessly spent. Damage and the chance to miss decrease and increase, respectively, as the range goes beyond it’s relative maximum.

Range Percentage	Damage Decrease	Miss Chance
+20%	-1	5%
+40%	-2	10%
+60%	-3	20%
+80%	-4	30%
+100%	-5	40%
>100%	-	100%

[Kaj]

[Cybercombat: Shadowlands, the Matrix, and ICE]

[Battle basics]

First off, what is cybercombat? It's not fighting done with machines, as the name might imply, but is instead fighting done within the confines of machines, across networks and inside vast computer systems. Damage dealt is based on Dexterity, like ranged combat, although there are a few simplifications.

First, there is only one kind of attack within the Matrix, being that of a program attack. Thus, damage is set based on these programs and dexterity alone, and the need for two types of armor is nullified.

Secondly, physical armor and dodge bonuses do not apply within the matrix, instead meaning that attacks do not miss. Battles are fought, generally, by attrition, and damage must instead be reduced in a battle by ways of Hardening, which works the same as armor for damage reduction.

Finally, there is no flux within cybercombat. Damage dealt is

( [Program Damage] + [Dexterity Mod] ) - [Hardness]


[ICE: Intruder Countermeasure Electronics]

ICE is a defensive program placed inside computer systems and networks that mimics an MPCP, and attempts to thwart would-be intruders. It varies in strength and ferocity, and can carry a number of deadly traps, such as the ability to erase existing programs from the Cyberdeck, burn out hardware chips, and in extreme cases, destroy the cyberdeck entirely and/or cause lethal biofeedback in the user, meaning death.

[Kaj]

[Ways you can die, and who gets what]


[Plaver versus Player duel, both place a "No Death" setting]: No penalty to loser, slight gain in exp for winner.

[Player versus Player duel, one places a "No Death" setting]: Losing player suffers slight penalty to EXP, winner gains Moderate EXP.

[Player versus Player duel, neither places a "No Death" setting]: Losing player's character dies permanently, winner's character gains massive boost in EXP.

[Unconsenting murder of a character significantly weaker than the killer (PKing)]: No penalty to victim, minor EXP awarded to murderer.

[Unconsenting murder of a character of a relatively close power level to the killer (Forced Dueling)]: Losing player suffers moderate EXP penalty, winning player is awarded Moderate EXP.


[Awarded EXP]


Of course, the amount gained is relative to the difficulty of the kill in relation to your own power. The amount of gained experience is their relative level times one-point-five, divided by your own, then multiplied by 20, and then finally modified by the circumstance bonus.

Awarded EXP is rounded down.

So gained experience is (Loser's level) x (1.5) / (Winner's Level) x (20) x (Circumstance modifier)

Circumstance modifiers for awards are as follows:
Minor: 0.5
Slight: 0.8
Moderate: 1.0
Massive: 3


[Penalized EXP]

There are three types of penalties, and they done through the same kind of algorithm as the Awarded EXP, with a few slight changes. The loser's level is not multiplied by 1.5, EXP amount changes to 5, and the circumstance modifiers are different.

Penalized EXP is rounded up.

Now it is: (Loser's Level) / (Winner's level) x (5) x (Circumstance Modifier)

Circumstance modifiers for penalties are as follows:
Slight: 2
Moderate: 5
Death: Your character is fucking dead, chummer. Make a new one.

[Ancient]

[Explanation of GM Style]

Essentially one could route to this that the GM is always right, similar in comparison to the rules of DnD, plain and simple. If a DM says your character does something and he/she can justify it to themselves, then it's pretty okay. They are essentially gods in the world, and are permitted to take their characters along if they want to though they will still take the normal share of EXP, regardless of how 'awesome' they choose to make their characters.

[GM Ranking]

[Alpha GM]

Alpha GM's are highest, undisputed in any way and can do as they wish. They are the judges of whether or not a player can become a Beta or Gamma GM and are permitted to display their RP's in any way they wish and show as much or little information as they like. These GM's have full authority to kill a persons character permanently if they so choose or place permanent alterations on said characters. They are the ones who organize global events (Sometimes with the help of Beta GM's) Alpha GM's essentially have the final say in everything that happens in game. Period.

Note; this position will not be handed out to those who ask so don't bother trying. If you are trusted enough to become one and there is an open slot for it then you will be asked. And if you have not carried Beta Rank for at least a month then you will not be asked.

[Beta GM]

Beta GM's are what you would consider to be an average GM with the normal level of authority. They display all information for their quests including player stats, damage dealt in each round etc. They are permitted to cause permanent death or alterations to a character, though if what they did seemed unfair then a player can appeal to an Alpha GM who will judge the mission and determine whether or not it was a fair decision. Beta GM's are permitted to hand out EXP to players as they see fit for their quests, though their decisions may be overruled by Alpha GM's who judge otherwise.

[Gamma GM]

Gamma GM's are essentially learner GM's, they are allowed to host missions and quests and are required to display every detail of everything going on statistically. They are not permitted to hand out experience but when they have completed a mission they may ask a Beta or Alpha GM to judge the mission and hand out exp as needed. They are not permitted to place characters into lethal situations though they may make minor alterations to a character situationally with permission from the player.