GURPS Shadowrun

[Jovus]

Yes, for the umpteenth time someone on these boards has gotten the itch to run a GURPS Shadowrun game. If you're here, I don't have to justify to you why I'd use GURPS instead of the native Shadowrun rules, either.

Or rather, this game will be Shadowrun-esque, in the sense that I'll be taking the lion's share of the work and the feel of the setting, but I'll feel very free to depart from the nitty gritty or historical particularity that has grown up about the property. So familiarity with Shadowrun lore will be helpful, but neither necessary nor decisive.

Anyway. This isn't a sales pitch. Moving on.

I've been gone from the GURPS fold for a while now (last login here in 2013) and, besides saying hi to some old nicks, I want to run some ideas and plans past you folks.

First, I've never really liked the Fast-Draw skills, so I'm going to replace them with Fast-Draw perks. The perks have the same specialties and the same powers as the skill, but you don't have to roll. GM's discretion as to whether the weapon you're using can be speed-loaded as well. (For example, you aren't speed-loading a Remington 870 or an M60.)

Which brings us to the topic of guns. In the far-flung magical future of 20xx, cased ammunition is a thing of the past. About as many people then have a Beretta M9 as have a Colt Anaconda now. Instead, firearms have moved to caseless ammunition like unto the modern G11. There are also some more exotic slugthrowers - gyrocs and the like - but they're rare, and either expensive or downright unavailable to shadowrunners. (Elite paramilitary units often use variable-charge liquid propellants, for example.)

Which gives you the feel, I think, that I'm going for. There's really cutting-edge tech out there, but as a SINless bottom-dweller you're relying mostly on second-rate, second-generation stuff. Smugglers abound, but most of the stuff they smuggle is small-time, because the corps or governments come down like a ton of bricks on anyone moving any truly prime material.

(More thoughts incoming.)

[Bruno]

Eeugh, second rate caseless ammunition has a fantastic potential for Malf. problems (easier to have it all wrong than cased, at least from my understanding).

I mean, on the one hand, my character would be going "Eeugh!", on the other hand as a player and GM I find that idea plenty amusing.

[Jovus]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Eeugh, second rate caseless ammunition has a fantastic potential for Malf. problems (easier to have it all wrong than cased, at least from my understanding).

This is why you buy from Honest Achmed's Auto (and Ammo) Emporium. Because he only supplies the Top Of The Line in safety and reliability.

Honest.

[Jovus]

Probably the most controversial thing I'll be doing is getting rid of the Matrix entirely, and merging the Decker and Rigger archetypes.

The Matrix is cool, and it's a time-honoured trope. These aren't to be discarded lightly. But it's also one of those things that stretch my credulity to the breaking point and past. Not the 'virtual reality net' part of it, which as a matter of lore and gameplay I'll keep, but the idea of a console cowboy going in wires hot and slicing through ice with reflexes and vim.

Right. Because hacking is about how fast your fingers move, not casing the target, checking for vulnerabilities, crafting attacks, social engineering, and writing code over a period of days, weeks, months, or even years.

But worse than that is what it does to play. With a decker in the group, you a) split the party, and the party action, which even when handled well is not a good outcome, and b) you have to include cyberspace approaches to problems even when those aren't necessarily sensible.

Yes, I know you can get around point two with careful handling or a re-imagining of the role that keeps it intact but removes or transforms the Matrix element. But skip it.

A combined decker/rigger would be an all-around electronic/tech go-to. If you need to get stuff from a public terminal or a lightly-secured computer (like, say, you've gotten access to the maintenance mainframe) he can do that just fine with a few rolls in Computer Hacking/Programming/Operation or Electronics Operation (pick as appropriate). Using a few pre-made scripts (with bonuses if they're tailored to the target) he can scrape off paydata or other valuable dirt, like e-mails or building plans. Or if he invests heavily on that side, the player can communicate with me via e-mail to give the group an edge on their next run.

He can also deal with drones and other electrical or electronic equipment, depending on his specialties. He probably does have a datajack, and it's probably wired (or rather, fiber-op) because that increases the bandwidth for only a small Essence cost, and maybe he'd like to run more than one drone at a time (or watch his trid-v while on the mission; how will you know?)

Of course this all depends on the exact character. But my main point is that if I get rid of the Matrix as a hacking game (while claiming that virtual reality is still part of the 'Net; it's just one of the front-end parts) I think I can profitably merge the two types without doing too much violence or consolidating too much power under one heading.

I'm willing to hear counterarguments, however.

[AlexanderHowl]

GURPS Shadowrun conversions always run into conversion problems when it comes to races, augmentations, and supernatural powers. For example, a 4e Shadowrun Troll should possess ST+10 [100], DX-1 [-20], IQ-1 [-20], HT+4 [40], Damage Resistance 5 (Tough Skin, -40%) [15], and Appearance (Ugly) [-8], meaning that the race should cost a minimum of 107 points. It gets even worse with stuff like 4e Adept Powers, since Improved Reflexes should give one level of Compartmentalized Mind [50] and Extra Attack (Multstrike, +20%) [30] per level, and a beginning character can possess three levels of Improved Reflexes. A beginning Shadowrun characters in GURPS should start at 400 CP, but they are not that extraordinary because the average citizen possesses enough augmentations to make them a 200 CP character.

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by Jovus

Probably the most controversial thing I'll be doing is getting rid of the Matrix entirely, and merging the Decker and Rigger archetypes.

I'M ALL IN!


I don't care if you do everything else 'wrong'... you just won my vote of confidence.

[(E)]

Electronic telepathy with whatever fluff (spirits of the matrix or advanced van eck phreaking/electrical inference) is a good way to have deckers without the matrix. If you have line of sight at an unshielded electronic device you can attempt to subvert it with a couple of quick contests.

[AlexanderHowl]

It is not really Shadowrun without the Matrix. In 4e, the commlinks effectively gave everyone electronic telepathy, though technomancers were better at it than anyone else.

[trechriron]

1) Recreating the setting you want vs. trying to recreate the setting as is - perfect idea! You should go "The Mook" route, which he often suggests "instead of converting, think of creating your own!". It's great advice, and WAY more fun IMHO.

2) Ditching the matrix - also, great idea! Anything that detracts from characters being able to be in the scene is out in my book.

3) I like the idea of fast draw perks. Especially as a Cinematic dial.

4) I love the Aliens caseless ammo - dual purpose - combat rifles! In my current TL10 setting, both personal and spaceship weapons are electromagnetic caseless ammo.

I hope you post more! Very interested to read about your GURPS Shadowrun!

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

It is not really Shadowrun without the Matrix. In 4e, the commlinks effectively gave everyone electronic telepathy, though technomancers were better at it than anyone else.

And yet the Matrix was the most tedious frustrating part in which everyone sat around and read while one guy did everything. The best application of the idea I ever saw was the one in Torg and that worked because there was a magic spell that took everyone in.