Quick Start - Shadowrun.pdf - Quick Start - polonusx

Some shadowrunners say that the scariest words in the English language are “Trust me.”

I don’t buy it. Any runner worth the name doesn’t have enough trust left in him to meet his

grandmother for breakfast without legwork and backup. No—by my reckoning, the scariest

words around are “It’ll be easy.”

That’s what Frankie said just after his call interrupted me at a little club in Redmond, right

in the middle of the irst poker game in weeks where I actually had a chance to come out ahead.

“Can’t this wait, Frankie?” I asked, staring glumly through his translucent AR image at my ace-

high two pair and cutting hurried glances over the cards at the three suspicious slots across the

table. We hadn’t been working with Frankie long, but he’d set us up with some decent jobs so

it wasn’t smart to blow him off.

“You tell me,” the ork said cheerfully in his vaguely Noo Yawk accent. “You want the job or

not? You guys ain’t exactly been lush lately—”

“Yeah, yeah.” I sighed. He was right. Me, I wasn’t quite wondering if I was going to have to

start selling cyberware pieces to make rent, but—

“Don’t worry,” Frankie soothed. “It’ll be easy. In and out. But ya gotta make up yer mind

now—the job’s tonight and if you don’t wanna meet with Johnson I gotta ind somebody else.”

The two pair beckoned me, and the bozos were making noises across the table. I held up a

placating hand and sighed again. I noticed I’d been sighing a lot these days. “Okay, Frankie,

okay. Send me the details and give me half an hour to get everybody together.”

Frankie’s tusks rose in a grin as he signed off. I looked at the cards again. Surely I had time

to inish out the hand. “Okay, see and raise ifty,” I said, tossing chips in the middle.

“Call,” said one of the yahoos. With a smile that showed three kinds of teeth—bad, tobacco-

stained, and missing—he dropped a full house on the table.

It was going to be one of those nights.

the roleplaying game of man•magic•machine

the ShadowS

including the Food Fight 4.0 encounter (p. 15), once … it won’t

take long. hen jump right into playing Food Fight 4.0 , which

will have you practicing what you’ve just read, making the rules

all the easier to understand and use.

Additional helpful information can be found along the sides

of each page, pointing out useful tips and tricks for both players

and gamemasters, as well as providing numerous examples—

using the pre-generated characters found in these quick-start

rules (see Characters , below)—of how the rules actually work

in game play.

For ease of reference, the irst appearance of any important

term is bolded; such words will be used oten through out the

rules and game play.

have evolved!

he year is 2072. he world is not only Awakened—it’s wired.

Cyber- and bioware implants make your meat body better-than-

lesh, while the wireless Matrix enhances your perceptions with

hyper-real senses. Deals are made in steel and lead more oten than

gold or nuyen; success and failure live only a razor’s edge apart.

Creatures of myth and legend walk the streets, while the arcane

skills of spellslingers are in high demand. Above it all, monolithic

megacorps bleed the world dry, sabotaging each other in covert

cutthroat competition as they go to war over the bottom line.

You’re a shadowrunner, a street operative, scratching out

a living on the mean sprawl streets. You may be human, elf,

dwarf, ork or troll. From lethal street samurai to well-con-

nected info brokers, spell-slinging mages to code-cracking

hackers; no matter what, you’re a professional—corporate

pawn or “deniable asset”—you get the job done.

—

Shadowrun

dice

Shadowrun uses a number of six-sided dice to resolve

actions—normally through Tests (p. 4). A typical player, even

in these quick-start rules, may use up to a dozen dice at any one

time, so having plenty on hand is a good idea.

For ease of reference, once players have read the rules, we’ve

included a dice icon next to any rules that requires a dice roll.

Any movement, action,

or series of such made in

carrying out plans which

are illegal or quasilegal;

crime for hire.

what’S a

roleplaying game?

Roleplaying games require one or more players and a game-

master. he players control the main characters of the story. he

gamemaster (GM) directs the action of the story and controls

the opposition (known as non-player characters, or NPCs), the

props, the setting, and everything else the player characters may

encounter. Players and gamemasters must work together to build

an intense and interesting adventure. As a player, you control a

player character (PC)—a shadowrunner. All of the character’s

statistics and information are noted on your Character Record

Sheet. During the course of the game, the gamemaster will

describe events or situations to you. As you roleplay through

some situations, the gamemaster will probably ask you to roll

some dice, and the resulting numbers will determine the success

or failure of your character’s attempted action. he gamemaster

uses the rules of the game to interpret the dice rolls and the out-

come of your character’s action.

In Shadowrun , you roleplay within the dystopian near-future

world of 2072, where your every action can earn you the street

cred to turn you into a living legend…or leave you forgotten in

a back alley.

Quick-Start ruleS

We have speciically designed these quick-start rules (QSR)

to drop you straight into the hyper-dangerous, shadowy streets

of 2072 in minutes! Read through these quick-start rules,

characterS

A character in Shadowrun is much like a character in a novel

or ilm, except the player controls her actions. Composed of a

collection of attributes and skills, a character has the personality

the player injects into it.

character record Sheet

Character Record Sheets

note the game statistics (num-

bers and information) that allow

the personality that a player has

interjected into his character to

interact within the framework

of Shadowrun ’s game system.

In other words, as you move,

interact with people and ight,

all the information you need to

know for those actions is tracked

on the Character Record Sheet.

he Character Record Sheet also

tracks damage done to your char-

acter during combat.

For these quick-start rules,

pre-generated Character Record

Sheets (in the middle of this

booklet) have been provided,

with all their game statistics

already noted, so players can

—

Sample character exampleS

What to look for ...

haracter

record SheetS

These pages record

important information

about your character—

sample characters with

complete sheets are in

the middle of this booklet

for ease of removal and

cutting up for use!

Throughout the QSR, we have placed special exam-

ples that refer to one of the four sample characters

found in the middle of

this booklet.

These examples will

give you an idea as

to how to use certain

abilities a character

possesses during game

play. They also help to

explain exactly how var-

ious rules work during

actual game play.

immediately jump into the action. he front of the Character

Record Sheet includes an illustration and short description,

while the back contains all the game statistics.

As players read through the various rules, they may ind that

glancing at one of the pre-generated Character Record Sheets

ater reading a particular section will enable them to better

understand how a given rule—such as attributes, skills and so

on—works.

metatype

Characters may be of one of the ive subgroups of Homo

sapiens: human, elf, dwarf, ork, and troll. Non-humans are

known as metahumans, while the ive subgroups as a whole

(including humans) are known as metahumanity. In the 2072s,

humans are still the most numerous metatype.

attriButeS

Attributes represent a character’s inherent abilities. In these

quick-start rules, each character possesses nine or ten attributes:

four Physical, four Mental, and up to two Special. All characters

have four Physical and four Mental attributes. he number of

Special attributes will vary.

Only magically-active characters (such as the Combat Mage)

have Magic, the measure of the ability to use magic and of

the body’s attunement to mana (the magic energy) that lows

through our physical plane (see he Awakened World , p. 10).

— attriButeS

augmented

attriBute ratingS

he standard range of natural human attributes is on a scale

of 1 to 6, with 3 being average. Physical and Mental attributes

have a maximum natural rating of 6 plus or minus metatype

modiiers—some metatypes can have ratings higher than 6 in

some attributes. Augmented ratings (cyberware and magic) are

listed in parentheses ater the natural rating, such as: 4 (6).

—

In the Quick Start Rules , all

modiiers from implants or

magic are pre-calculated

into your characer’s record

sheet—just take the

Initiative score and run

with it!

metatypeS

humans: Standard model!

elves: Tall, slender,

with low-light vision.

dwarfs: Short & stout

with thermographic vision.

orks: Tall like an Elf but

much stockier,

also with low-light vision.

trolls: 2.5 meters tall and

300 kilograms,

with thermographic vision

— condition monitorS

condition monitorS

he Condition Monitor consists of two tracks. he Physical

Damage Track displays wound damage and indicates when the

character dies. he Stun Damage Track shows fatigue and stun

damage and indicates when a character falls unconscious. (See

Resolving Damage , p. 8, for more information.)

Condition monitors on the

character record sheets are

also pre-calculated for you!

— QualitieS

—

QualitieS

Most shadowrunners have certain special qualities—that’s

why they’re not the poor sod behind the counter at a Stufer

Shack. he pre-generated Character Record Sheets in these

quick-start rules list some qualities. While there are no associ-

ated game mechanics for them in these rules, they are included

because their very names will allow players to instantly get a feel

for the unique lavor of a given character.

SkillS

Whereas attributes represent an individual’s inherent capaci-

ties, skills are abilities an individual learns over time. Each skill

represents the training and methods a character has picked up

that enable her to use her natural attributes in a certain way.

To relect this connection, each skill is linked to an attribute.

Skills are grouped into three categories: Active, Knowledge

and Language. However, Knowledge and Language skills only

appear on the Character Record Sheets to provide additional

lavor. For these quick-start rules and Food Fight 4.0 , only Active

Skills are used.

Until you move to

Shadowrun, Twentieth

Anniversary Edition, take

Qualities as guidelines

as to how the character

should be portrayed. If you

don’t like them, ignore

them—when you get to

build your own character,

you’ll be able to choose

them yourself.

attriButeS

phySical attriButeS

Agility represents ine motor control—manual dexterity,

lexibility, balance, and coordination.

he Body attribute determines a character’s resistance to

outside forces: the character’s cardiovascular itness, immune

system, how well she heals, and her muscle and bone structure.

A character’s Reaction is her physical relexes.

Strength denotes what a character’s muscles can do, includ-

ing things such as raw liting power and running speed.

All of a chracter’s attributes

are listed on their Character

Record Sheet. Sometimes

you will see an attribute

that has two numbers, like

this: 4 (6)—use the number

in parenthesis (in this case,

the six) for any dice roll

using the Quick Start Rules.

The numbers in parenthesis

represents attributes

modiied due to cyberware,

magic, etc.

— contactS

mental attriButeS

More than just looks, Charisma represents a character’s personal

aura, self-image, ego, willingness to ind out what people want, and

ability to recognize what she can and can’t get out of people.

Intuition covers “mental alertness”—the ability to take in

and process information, to read a crowd, to assess a situation

for danger or opportunity.

Logic represents memorizing ability and raw brainpower.

Willpower keeps a character going when she wants to give

up, or enables her to control her habits and emotions.

The Character Record

Sheets list a few contacts

for each Player Character.

These are people that the

character can call on for

help—intel, equipment,

backup, or just a

shoulder to cry on.

active SkillS

Active skills are the skills characters use to take action.

hese skills are the ones that usually matter the most to shad-

owrunners—iring a gun, negotiating a new contract, driving a

hovercrat, and so on.

—

Special attriButeS

A derived attribute, Initiative is the sum of Reaction and

Intuition, plus any additional dice from implanted or magi-

cal relex enhancers. As it implies, Initiative is used to make

Initiative Tests (see Tests , p. 4), which determines the character’s

Initiative Score for a Combat Turn.

initiative

Reaction +

Intuition +

Implant & Magic modiiers +/-

= initiative

Skill ratingS

Skill ratings are the numerical values assigned to skills and are

written as the name of the skill, followed by the rating. For exam-

—

— target numBer (tn)

ple, Iniltration 3 means the character has the Iniltration Skill at

a rating of 3. he skill rating is added to the linked attribute to

determine the number of dice rolled when that skill is used. For

example, if the character with Iniltration 3 also had Intuition 4

she would roll 7 dice when making an Iniltration Test.

In these quick-start rules, the pre-generated Character

Record sheets already note the total dice pool of a skill (see Dice

Pools , below)

uSing SkillS

As an adventure unfolds, players are going to use their charac-

ters’ skills and attributes to get things done. Gamemasters must rely

on their own judgment to decide which skills are needed, deter-

mine the situation modiiers, and interpret what it all means.

defaulting

If the character lacks the appropriate skill for the test, she

can still attempt the action, but will ind it harder to succeed.

Improvising in this manner is called defaulting. Characters

who default use only the linked attribute in their dice pool.

Additionally, they sufer a –1 dice pool modiier.

target numBer and hitS

When you roll the dice in

Shadowrun , you do not add them

together. Instead, you compare

each individual die to the standard

target number of 5. This target

number never changes. Instead,

as noted above, all modifiers—

whether positive or negative—are

applied to the dice pool (the num-

ber of dice rolled).

Each die that is equal to or

greater than 5 (a 5 or 6) is con-

sidered a hit. The more hits, the

better the result. Players should

count the number of hits they

score on each test and tell the

gamemaster. Note that scoring

one or more hits does not neces-

sarily equal success—it is possible

to score hits but still fail a test,

if you don’t score enough (see

Thresholds , p. 5).

Skill exampleS

Here’s some examples

of Skill and Attribute

combinations:

• Firing a gun:

firearms + agility

• Smack someone upside the

head with a baseball bat:

clubs + agility

• Reading a hastily scrawled

note in Japanese:

Japanese + intuition

• Attempting to negotiate a

better deal for a job:

negotiation + charisma

• Casting a spell to heal an

ally’s wounds:

Your target number is

always 5. If you roll a

5 or a 6, that is a hit.

Sample character example

The Hacker: Success Test

The Hacker is try-

ing to bypass an old

maglock on a security

door. The Hacker has

a Hardware skill rating

of 4. The linked Logic

skill of 4 will provide

a dice pool of 8. Now

the gamemaster looks

on the Gamemaster’s

Screen and doesn’t see a modifier that applies in

this case. Thinking on the ly (a very useful skill for a

gamemaster), he determines that since the maglock

is old, he applies a +2 dice pool modiier. This pro-

vides a inal dice pool for the Hacker to make his

Success Test of 10 dice:

4 (Logic attribute rating)

+ 4 (Hardware skill rating)

+ 2 (modiier for old maglock)

= 10

However, if the Hacker didn’t have the Hardware

skill, he would have to default to the linked attri-

bute of Logic. This means that his dice pool for

making the test would only be 5:

4 (Logic attribute rating)

+ 2 (modiier for old maglock)

– 1 (defaulting modiier)

= 5

teStS

Shadowrun is illed with adventure, danger, and risk, and

characters usually end up in the middle of it all. You determine

what your character does in a situation and how well she does it

by making a test—rolling dice and determining the outcome by

how well or poorly you rolled.

here are many situations in which the gamemaster will ask

you to make a test to determine how well you perform, be it

bypassing an alarm system, shooting an assassin, or persuading

a security guard that your presence in the corporate facility is

legitimate. Normal, everyday actions should not require a test.

dice poolS

When a gamemaster calls for a test, he will provide the player

with a description of the task at hand and which skill is most

appropriate for the test.

When a player makes a test, she rolls a number of dice equal

to her dice pool. he dice pool is the sum of the relevant skill

plus its linked attribute. For these quick-start rules, on the pre-

generated Character Record Sheets, the number in brackets

following each skill is the total dice pool; i.e. the sum of the skill

rating and the linked attribute value

To this dice pool, based upon circumstances—the character is

injured, ighting at night without proper vision equipment, the

attempted task is extremely diicult, and so on—the gamemas-

ter will then assign additional plus or minus modiiers (bonus or

penalty dice) to determine the inal dice pool. he Gamemaster’s

Screen (p. 19) contains several tables that a gamemaster can use

during the adventure to determine which modiiers may apply

in a given situation. If the players ind themselves in a situa-

tion not covered by any of the modiiers on the table, and yet

the gamemaster feels that additional modiiers are needed, the

gamemaster can also use those tables as guidelines to quickly

create appropriate modiiers.

he player then rolls a number of dice equal to the dice pool.

Spellcasting + magic

—

dice pool

Skill +

Attribute +/–

modiiers =

dice pool

glitcheS

If half or more of the dice rolled

come up as 1s, then a glitch results.

A glitch is an error, fumble, or ran-

dom luke that causes the action to

go wrong. It’s possible to both suc-

ceed in a task and get a glitch at the

same time. For example, a character

who rolls a glitch when jumping

over something may knock the item

over, or land on a nail she didn’t see

on the far side.

If a character rolls a glitch and scores zero hits, then she has

made a critical glitch. Critical glitches are far worse than regu-

lar glitches—they may cause serious injury or even threaten the

character’s life.

—

— nature of glitcheS

gamemaSter’S

Screen

The Gamemaster’s Screen

on the inside back cover

will be handy for players,

too—you should print out

extra copies or photocopy

it, so you have a couple

extra at the table!

The exact nature of

the glitch is up to the

gamemaster, though we

recommend something

dramatic or entertaining,

but not disastrous,

especially if your group is

new to Shadowrun!

—

different typeS of teStS

here are two types of tests: Success Tests and Opposed Tests.

oppoSed teStS

An Opposed Test occurs when two characters are in direct

conlict with one another. In this case, the chance of success is

based more on the opponent than the situation. When making

an Opposed Test, both characters

roll their dice pools and compare the

number of hits. he character gen-

erating the greater number of hits

achieves her goal.

In the event of a tie, the action

is typically a stalemate, and the

characters have to choose between

continuing with another test or

withdrawing. If the gamemaster

needs a result on a tie, then rule in

favor of the defending character.

SucceSS teStS

in a nutShell

Roll your dice pool—every 5

and 6 you get is a hit. The

more hits, the better! Tell

your GM how many hits

you got, and your GM will

tell you the results of your

character’s actions.

SucceSS teStS

A Success Test is the standard test to see if a character can

accomplish a given task, and how well. Use Success Tests when the

character is exercising a skill or ability for immediate efect and is not

directly opposed by another person or force. To make a Success Test,

the character rolls her dice pool and counts the number of hits.

Sample character example

The Bounty Hunter: Opposed Test

—

The Bounty Hunter is holding a door shut while a

security guard tries to push it open. This test has

no appropriate skill, so the gamemaster calls for a

Strength + Body Opposed Test. The Bounty Hunter

rolls sixteen dice [8 (Strength attribute rating) + 8

(Body attribute rating) = 16] and gets a 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3,

3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6—six hits! The guard rolls nine

dice [5 (Strength attribute rating) + 4 (Body attribute

rating) = 9) and gets 1,

2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6—only

3 hits; a net success of

3 hits for the Bounty

Hunter. Being a troll

has its advantages as

the Bounty Hunter eas-

ily holds the door shut

while his team escapes.

telling playerS

aBout threSholdS

thresholds

Hits represent a measure of achievement on a test. In order to

succeed completely on a Success Test, you must meet or exceed a

gamemaster-determined threshold with your hits. he higher the

threshold, the more diicult the action. he average threshold is 2

(so 2 hits is necessary to succeed), though other tests may have a

threshold as high as 4. If the threshold is larger than the character’s

dice pool, then there is simply no way the character can succeed.

he Diiculty Table on the Gamemaster’s Screen (p. 19)

provides an easy-to-use formula to determine thresholds, based

upon the diiculty of the task.

The GM doesn’t need to tell

players what the Threshold

for any given test is, so

players may roll the dice

even if they have no chance

of succeeding.

Life is tough in the Sixth

World.

opposed test modiiers

Situational modiiers that afect

both sides of an Opposed Test in

an equal fashion are applied to both

dice pools. Situational modiiers that

give an advantage to one character in

an Opposed Test over another are

only applied to the one initiating the

action. hresholds are never applied

to Opposed Tests.

notation

It may prove useful for the player

involved in a test, as well as the

Gamemaster, to write out the require-

ments of a Success Test. People usually

remember something better when they

write it down. Taking the time to write

tests out at the beginning will have play-

ers determining the requirements of such

tests in no time.

Additionally, published adventures

may include pre-determined Success

Tests for a given situation, so know-

ing how to read the information is

important.

he standard notation for a Success

Test uses the skill called for by the test

plus the skill’s linked attribute, followed

by the number indicating the threshold

in parentheses. For example, the Success

Test for using the Hardware skill with

a threshold of 2 would be written as:

“Hardware + Logic (2) Test.” Note that

additional modifiers the gamemaster

may apply are not included in this stan-

dard notation as they can change from

situation to situation.

If no threshold is listed, then the

threshold for the test is 1.

Sample character example

The Hacker: Rolling the Dice

In the Hacker attempting to bypass the Maglock

example from the previous page, the Hacker has

a dice pool of 10. Even though the gamemaster

already applied a modiier to the dice pool for the

age of the Maglock, after looking at the Dificulty

Table (p. 19), he determines that it’s an Average

task and so only assigns a Threshold of 2.

The player rolls his 10 dice for a result of 1, 1, 1, 1,

2, 3, 4, 4, 5 and 6. He’s got 2 hits so he’s opened the

door! However, the player breaths a sigh of relief,

because if he’d rolled just one more 1, he’d still have

succeeded in opening the door, but he would’ve got-

ten a glitch in the process because half of his dice

would’ve been 1s (and

knowing the game-

master, it would’ve

been real good, like

the old maglock short-

circuiting as it was

bypassed, giving the

Hacker an electrical jolt

of Stun Damage).

opposed test vs. a group

Some situations may call for a character to act against an

entire group of opposing characters, such as a runner trying to

sneak past a group of guards. In this event, only roll once for

the entire opposing group, using the highest dice pool available

to the group, but add +1 die for each additional person in the

group (to a maximum +5 modiier).

opposed test notation

When an Opposed Test is called for, write it out (as with the

Success Test, it will make it easier to understand and train you

how to quickly determine such tests for future games) using the

skill + attribute for each side of the test: “Athletics + Strength

Opposed Test.” Many Opposed Tests, however, call for two

diferent skills to be used against each other. For example, if a

character is trying to sneak past a guard, the gamemaster would

call for an “Opposed Test between the character’s Iniltration +

Agility and the guard’s Perception + Intuition.”

If the Opposed Test is between attributes, use the attribute in

place of the skill: “Agility + Body Opposed Test.”

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