Shadowrun Discussion RSS Feed of the Shadowrun discussion forum http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php Sat, 18 Apr 2026 04:14:59 -0500 20 SR3 Defaulting to Attribute http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42548
In SR3, is it possible to default to an Attribute from a Skill that has a low Rating currently? Say, Skill at 1 but associated Attribute at 8 might be a reasonable default even with the +4 to target number.

If it is possible, is there a reference in the books?]]> Tue, 17 Mar 2026 21:16:39 -0500 http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42548 Sr4 humble bundle - best missions? http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42547

So, what were the best missions/adventures of sr4?
]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 22:52:52 -0500 http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42547 Bounty on Insect Shamans http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42544
Is there some official source I can search that does mention insect shamans?]]> Mon, 16 Feb 2026 19:26:19 -0600 http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42544 Animal/Critter Handler character. http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42543
The Critters sourcebook is the first place I looked but haven't found anything skill wise that would apply other than the failure check for cybered-up animals turning on their handler.
Does anyone know of other books with critter handling rules? Even from 4th edition I could look up and convert?]]> Mon, 02 Feb 2026 16:10:12 -0600 http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42543 SR4 question regarding spirit Powers http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42542
Can someone help me out? Doable or not?]]> Wed, 21 Jan 2026 21:42:45 -0600 http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42542 Those are the rules, right? Right... Oh... http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42541
In all of our games - my Smuggler game, our Pink Mohawk style drop in LC, and our Black Trenchcoat campaign, we've been playing with stun bolt and stun ball spells not overflowing into physical. It was a thing... from when I was introduced to SR3, that that was "how it worked", which I'd just taken as the way things were. It was one of the things that made stun ball the kind of spell it was... it was "safe", it was the spell that could knock someone out, but never cause them direct harm (of course you knock someone out at the top of a building, or on a narrow bridge or whatever, and the consequences are a different matter!) - so it gave tactical utility.

I've started playing in a game with some guys in the US, and in our last session, the mage cast a big ass stunball at the bad guys, which was starting at D, and then overflowed into physical... which made me go "huh?" And of course question things. A quick read of the rulebook... no, can't find how we play this. Are we house ruling this - or just playing it "wrong"?
So in our Smuggler session tonight, I mention this, to both of the other GMs (Aswon / Jez and Marius / Lee) that ran games when I got into the hobby, and they both agreed with me... and then we checked the FAQ. Magic in the Shadows. Errata. Strange notes written on the back of a fag packet. Sideways notes in the margins of that old character sheet.

But no. Nowhere we can find has the rules we've been playing by. It seems we've all been playing with some house rule - even when we went back and checked earlier editions.

In this case, for the smuggler game we've decided that whatever spell Tads has, it's clearly NOT stunball then, but some particular special Nenet spell for knocking people out. We may look at the spell design rules to see if the drain code is that much different for a range negative health spell and work it out. But it's certainly been used both tactically and narratively as a spell that is 'safe' in that it can't physically hurt people - and I'm not happy to just suddenly retcon the fact that RAW it can.

But it just goes to show how "house rules" can creep in, or being told that's how the game works, means you accept that and build it into your head-cannon. Like the people that if asked, say C3PO was all gold, and don't remember him having a silver leg...

Any of you folks have / played with a rule that turned out not to be RAW after investigation? And did you retcon your game to fit RAW, or keep it as a house rule?]]> Tue, 16 Dec 2025 15:57:10 -0600 http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42541 Search Fu re: Drain is failing me http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42539
I cannot find in the manuals where one is told what the minimum value for spellcasting/summoning Drain is.

Could someone point me to the relevant text? Thx.]]> Wed, 15 Oct 2025 19:12:39 -0500 http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42539 Aura matching via relatives http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42538
In SR, do auras of related people have similarities, enough to argue for similar relationships? So, could one say the following?

"This person's aura is really close to the one I seek. They must be related."

Is there anything in the books that is definitive on this subject?]]> Fri, 05 Sep 2025 14:42:10 -0500 http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42538 Centering munchkinry? http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42535
This seems like it's against the spirit of the game to me, even though meditation is explicitly mentioned as a possible technique in MitS. MitS also says, "The initiate must be able to perform the creative skill freely. They cannot use dance to center if tied up or unable to walk, for example, or use singing or spoken words if gagged." Under what circumstances would a shaman be unable to meditate?]]> Sat, 09 Aug 2025 12:55:08 -0500 http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42535 3E Channeling http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42532 What, if anything, happens when a magician channeling a spirit astrally projects? Thu, 24 Jul 2025 01:59:58 -0500 http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42532 SR4 karma for equipment purchases http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42530 But I don't want to unfairly penalise those PC's that are gear dependent like street samurai.

So I'm thinking of allowing karma to be spent for the buying of gear.

I'll probably use the karma to nuyen ratio from the karma character creation system in Runners Companion. And I'll likely also require some amount of downtime, exact amount determined by an extended test similar to how current rules for buying skills and so forth work.
In universe this would represent a successful, consequence free offscreen acquiring of gear through theft or some other process that doesn't change a PC's nuyen total.

PC's would of course be free to buy gear with actual nuyen, organise runs to acquire kit, and so forth. The new system would exist as an additional way to get big ticket items like cyberware while struggling to make rent.

Has anyone implemented something like this before?
Any suggestions to improve things or potential pitfalls that need considering?]]> Wed, 02 Jul 2025 08:59:19 -0500 http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42530 Shadowrun Anarchy 2.0 Coming to Kickstarter This Summer http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42529
Black Book Editions, the company behind the French version of Shadowrun for over 20 years, is launching the new edition of Shadowrun Anarchy this summer on Kickstarter in partnership with CGL. English and French-language versions will launch simultaneously. The book and GM screen will be entirely illustrated by Benjamin Giletti. smile.gif

KS page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/blackb...wrun-anarchy-20

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBQUn77H3tU...eature=youtu.be

More info: https://black-book-editions.fr/news-12271.html

See you there. wink.gif]]> Fri, 27 Jun 2025 10:31:04 -0500 http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42529 Official Shadowrun Website Gone? http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42526 https://www.shadowruntabletop.com/

Leads to this page: http://ww7.shadowruntabletop.com/?usid=102...d7dba7141b0097f

Which says that the domain may be for sale.

...did they go out of business while I wasn't looking? I guess I really haven't been paying attention recently.
]]> Thu, 12 Jun 2025 19:19:04 -0500 http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42526 SR adventures are better with a diagram http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42525
And I started to wonder why its such a problem for me. See, I've run multiple multi-year campaigns with 6-12 players in at least 3 different game systems with complex plots that are usually entirely homebrew. So I pulled out my notes and realized I make plot maps, that show how to get from Point A to Point B.

It doesn't take much time but it makes a huge difference in my comprehension of the adventure as well as my ability to pivot mid-session or keep track of any re-skinning I'm doing to mask classic adventures.

Fwiw, I'm using obsidian with the mermaid extension for planning. Here is a mermaid diagram I came up with from a 1e adventure
<{SPOILER}>
. You can see it's got a ton of redundant routes, *if* you can remember where they are.
]]> Thu, 05 Jun 2025 22:41:29 -0500 http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42525 Spell design - AoE Levitate http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42524 Tue, 27 May 2025 16:14:14 -0500 http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42524 Is there a penalty for using trodes vs a datajack? http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42520 Sun, 18 May 2025 10:44:44 -0500 http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42520 Addams Family meets Shadowrun http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42519 HAND]]> Thu, 15 May 2025 14:18:39 -0500 http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42519 Solo Shadowrun: What Edition, What Aids, and What Tips? http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42518
After having a bit of free time and finally deciding to play, I decided that due to IRL reasons (work, schedule, finding people, etc) - that I would love to start a game of Shadowrun....Solo.

Now, I fully realize that Shadowrun is a game where you can't do everything, but most runs require almost every aspect of the game.

So far, I've decided to "wing" some aspects of the game, like saying "Oh, my fixer gave this job for me, he'll take a bigger cut but I'll accept it" , while ignoring other aspects of the game - like if I'm a decker, sitting out on the magic-related jobs.

Sure, I'll not be able to enjoy "Every" aspect of the game, but that's something I'll fully embrace - I like getting my face slammed into the dirt, and if my nerdy character gets in a firefight? Well, he'll get banged up, but I won't feel bad about it.

The question I want to ask is "which edition to go for". I'm primarily thinking of 3rd Edition vs 5th Edition, for the following reasons.

3rd Ed. seems to have the most solo resources - more specifically, I'm looking to play either a decker or an Otaku, specializing in matrix runs and paydata using the matrix and paydata generation rules found in the 3rd Edition Matrix book. This is a huge boon for me, as all other editions of SR seem to either lack this random table feature, or are "suspended" by SR3.

However, SR3 doesn't quite have a smooth character generator (I've had to install a virtual windows XP inside my computer just to get NSRCG running), and it has little internet support compared to more modern editions.

5th Ed. has a great character generator program, and also has huge internet support, which means I can talk about the game and get answers, suggestions, and more far more easily. But it doesn't seem to have random tables that allow me to put a "solo run" on the fly, and for now, I'm unaware of any supplement or Holostreets stuff that does so.

In terms of "crunch", I'm fine with both systems - while the dice pool of 5th Edition come to me as more intuitive versus the various pools of 3rd, it's not a hill that I'll die on.

So...I'd be happy to hear anyone and everyone's opinions on what I should pick out for Solo-ing SR, and if there's any other resources I should go for. TIA, and happy day!]]> Mon, 05 May 2025 10:07:02 -0500 http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42518 Augment:Issue 1 http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42517 an official in-universe magazine. Being a fan of the various obscure SR 'zines but kinda suspicious of recent products, has anyone taken a look at it?]]> Mon, 21 Apr 2025 15:15:45 -0500 http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42517 If a character dies, do items bonded lose that bond http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42516 As in do they no longer have the aura of the deceased owner? Sat, 19 Apr 2025 21:32:31 -0500 http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=42516