Share your knowledge, An attempt at a running list of tips and tricks for all Options

[Lok1 :)]

I'm not sure if this has been done yet but I'm sure all you shadowrun giants* out their have quite a storehouse of advice to help build a commen thread filled with tactic ideas, axems, and geniral advice.
So if your an old vet or a the new kid on the block feel free to bring your ideas to the table.
Just a few pointers before you start
1: This thread is for ANY kind of idea, a tactic that works great, a uniqe trick that creats a good effect, a peace of gear every runner should have or at least think about buying, ways to keep johson from screwing you in the end. Anything, this includes in character actions and ways to use the rules in creative ways, and just about anything that can make the run go smoother and keep your runners alive longer. Feel free to be creative or use examples from your own runs.
2: This thread is not a place for dragged out discussions about rules, or ideas. If you would like to say how you think something could be done diferntly than someone else or if you see a flaw in someones idea thats fine. But Dumpshockers have a tendancy to diverge into long debates about something offhand, I have nothing against this but that isn't the purpose of this thread.
That said Go Wild! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cyber.gif)


*Read geysers

[Lok1 :)]

Well to kick things off I'll put out a few off my own.

1. Need a distraction? One or two kilos of explosives are increadibly cheap, and ecspeialy effective if placed under a unattended vechicial. Great way to creat a red herring entrince or mask the sound of a sniper rifle.
2.Its a given that non-lethality is a good policy. Stun dammage is one way, but putting a gun (or blade) to someones head is always another. Nothing better than a hostaged guard who can open the gate or tell you where the cameras are before you take him out of the way and subdue him.
3. Its a known fact that whoever was smart enough to set up snipers ahead of time always wins. Always, check. Even if they don't know your comeing johson dose. I once did a run where we were hired to extract someone from a medical phisicialty, turns out johson was another runner team that had been hired to kill him. We got him out and then they sniped him and left us with the body and the blame.

[milk ducks]

I'm pretty new to SR, so threads like this are great for me. Looking forward to reading it.

-milk.

[Marwynn]

- Laes cigarettes (Arsenal p. 64) are a cheap and easy way to erase memories.
Empathy Software (3000 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) for Rating 6) adds that much dice to your Social Skills. Load a camera into a small drone, or disguise a sensor as part of your ensemble and you have a nice and easy source of social dice. (Arsenal p.60-61, the software there is useful.)
- Demolish RFID spell removes pesky tags, even for those Security and Stealth RFIDs. Great for stealing stuff or making sure something you ate isn't giving you away to corpsec. If it's going to be an issue you might as well be prepared.
- Form-Fitting Body Armour is your friend most of the time. But if you're wearing it underneath other armour or clothes don't put Thermal Dampening on it, okay? Unless you plan to strip that is.
- When carrying a gun that cannot be detected by MAD scanners (like the Morrissey Elan) do not load it with regular ammunition. Use Hi-C PLASTIC rounds (Arsenal. p34). Talk with your GM about hermetically sealing the clips too, and buying plastic or ceramic clips.
- Have only one Initiative Pass? Pick up Automatics and maybe the SMG specialization and lay down Suppressive Fire. If someone has that covered in your team then pick up Heavy Weapons (Grenade Launcher) instead, or pick up Automatics (Assault Rifle) with it and go to town with the Ares Alpha. You don't have to shoot as well as the shooters to make a difference.
- A timely grenade (Gas, Smoke, Thermal Smoke, Flash or Flash-packs) saves lives. Your life, your team's, and corpsec's. Less heat means shorter downtimes means more runs.

[overcannon]

1. If you are worried that a room might be an ambush point, toss in a grenade first.
2. It is always better to double cross than to be double crossed.
3. Explosive, caseless rounds cut down on identifying marks.
4. Capsule rounds with neurostun.
5. Portable doors. Look 'em up.
6. LEBDs are awesome drones.
7. A 55 gallon drum of pressurized flamethrower fuel can serve as eradication type demolitions in most situations.
8. Tasers are not even regulated.
9. You don't have to reload swords.
10. The Ares Alpha is the best assault rifle in the game bar none. Don't even try to be cute with something else.
11. Hacking programs are cheap at rating 3, common use programs are cheap all the way up to rating 6.
12. With pistols, it is technically quicker to draw a new gun with quick draw than it is to reload.
13. The best armor is not getting shot.
14. Have more than one plan to accomplish the objective.
15. Have more than one escape route.

And since no one else has said it yet:

[ Spoiler ]

"Never Deal with a Dragon.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, avoiding Dragons would be it.

The long term dangers of associating with Dragons have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience...I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your tres chic clothing; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your clothes until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at wanted posters of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.

You're not as fast as you imagine.

Don't worry about the Awakened World; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to summon a spirit by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that are 2 metres tall and want to blind you on a Tuesday at 4am.

Do one thing everyday that scares the neighbours.

Shoot straight.

Don't be reckless with other people's heavy machine guns, don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Conserve Ammo.

Keep up with SOTA; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind; the race is long, and in the end, it's what keeps you alive.

Remember the secret pay data you retreive, forget the loused up runs; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old cyberdecks, throw away your old credsticks.

Stay Low.

Don't feel safe if you don't know what you want to do with that hot merchandise, the most wanted people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their illegal wares, some of the most dangerous 40 year olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of soykaf.

Be kind to your knees, they're expensive to replace.

Maybe you'll goblinize, maybe you won't, maybe you'll have HMHVV, maybe you won't, maybe you'll retire after 40 runs, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th ;what ever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either. Your survival is half chance, so is everybody else's.

Enjoy your Ares Predator, use it every way you can; don't be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own..

Deck, even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

RTFM, even if you don't understand it.

Do NOT read Slashnull, it will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when you'll need some extra cash from them.

Be afraid of your criminal record; it's the best link to your past and the thing most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that Johnsons come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the money.

Live in Seattle once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Chicago once, but leave before you turn into a bug.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, the weirdness will increase, runners will sell out, you too will get old, and when you do you'll fantasize that when you were young the streets were normal, runners were noble and elves were trustworthy.

Never trust an elf.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a stolen bank account, maybe you have a wealthy Johnson; but you never know when either one might be eaten by insect spirits.Don't mess too much with your wired reflexes, or by the time they're 40, they will be out of warranty. Be careful whose BTL's you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it.

Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the Dragons.

[Lok1 :)]

16. Always assumm the johson knows what you know about him.
17. Never underestimate the human compultion to obay orders from above. Sending bogus orders to a securty guard can be better than an illusion spell and a bullet to the head combined.
18. Securty hackers have days off, and they have vices. Exploit them and your hackers can have there job praciticly done for them. (I'm not saying wait untill the spiders offline, they'll have another guy on the shift. I'm saying take advantage of the nerd while he's off duty.
18a. Combine this with laes cigarettes and a bogus credstick and you can "bribe" them easy.
19. Even though it takes quite alot of work and a geniun credstick to forge Nyune. All it takes is a decent amount of knowledge with hardwear and a blank credstick to make a credstick LOOK like it has a tun of Nyune on it. Even though any attempt at a transaction would show the scam. Just think what you can do if someone THINKS you have a million Nyune.*
20. DOS is your friend.
21. Docwagon is not your friend. (If the other guy has it that is)
22. Malware is expensive and hard to get. But it can defintly be worth it.
23. If you get a lowe level access to a highly secure system, sometimes you can download trojans and other malware to make your life easer. Ticker, Proxy, Inerta, pacifist, RAT, and a host of others are all good candits.
24. Exploit is good, but sometimes getting a passcode or tricking/forceing a ligit user to get in can give you more freedom and stabilty. (This depends on your GM to some extent.
25. Dead bodys with body armour are good for tamping explosives. So are vehicles.
26. Sometimes fake bombs are just as effective as real ones.
*Is this possible?

[Khyron]

27. The loud crazy team member no one likes makes a great distraction
28. If a team member dies, don't forget to loot all his stuff back at his house. He won't need it anymore. There's a good chance you will.
29. Longhaul is a wonderful drug, it'll keep you up for days, perfect for a long run.
30. The old grade 10 tranq patch handshake trick is hilarious and fun.
31. Just because it's not in the books doesn't mean it doesn't have a use. Superglue for instance.
31A. Superglue one of your many empty Ares Preds into the hands of some nobody and push them out the front door for the cops to meet. It'll buy the team a few minutes distraction time.
31B. Superglue in the spider's datajack. Nasty and cruel.
32. Salt Water still shorts out electronics as well as it does today.

[The Stray7]

More fun with superglue! (and, BTW, there's an item called a "gluesprayer" in the equipment section...)

31C. Superglue + Monofilament grappling line = instant tripwire! (won't last long, but it should buy those precious few seconds of warning, and, if your GM is genrous, perhaps one guard down)
31D. Then there's always the standby of gluing the door shut behind you...or putting some glue on the floor as the security teams close in.
31E. Superglue -- the new zip tie!

[Karoline]

So I'm going to take a step away from giving advice and instead ask some questions/clarifications for other advice.

- Form-Fitting Body Armour is your friend most of the time. But if you're wearing it underneath other armour or clothes don't put Thermal Dampening on it, okay? Unless you plan to strip that is.

What's wrong with thermal dampening on an under layer of clothing? Your body is what produces heat, so as long as the dampener is somewhere between you and the thermal vision you should be fine.

Careful with the superglue folks. Nothing tends to leave a better fingerprint or grabs more DNA samples, and you really don't want your glove stuck to something either, as that is just as good for the corp to track you down.

All water will short out electronics unless it is pure (No, I don't mean purena, bottle water is nothing close to pure), this includes rain, tap water, bottled water, and basically any water that doesn't come from a special tap in a science building.

[Traul]

- Demolish RFID spell removes pesky tags, even for those Security and Stealth RFIDs. Great for stealing stuff or making sure something you ate isn't giving you away to corpsec. If it's going to be an issue you might as well be prepared.

Don't forget your Detect RFID spell to go with that. If you can't see it, you can't cast a spell on it.

[Adhoc]

Strategy:

- You need something inside a building, but can't get in? Make someone inside take it out (fake rumors about potential theft and have sec remove it from the building).

- You need to kill somebody, - trick someone else into doing it (same if you need to plant something somewhere); they may think that they are planting something else.

- Think holistic: every day life is full of opportunities; - use them (even a cyberzombie will have a hard time surviving being pushed in front of a moving train; a car can kill most people; so can a falling elevator).

- Stealth is king. If they don't know that you were there, they won't look for clues.

- Think long and hard before you act. Always contingency plan.

- Gravity is your friend (a 40 stories drop will kill anybody that can't fly; and it'll get the flyers if they are unconcious).

- Violence is the last resort of the incompetent (and the first resort of the psychopath); be prepared for it, but don't use it in your planning and avoid it in action at all costs.

- Poison is easy, quiet and effective.

- Knowledge is power; there is no such thing as too much or irrelevant knowledge. Never let anyone comprise your chances of obtaining knowledge (if the johnson needs is done now and this means you won't be able to obtain knowledge (do stake-outs etc.), say no to the job (that is: if you want to live).

- Always payback. Effective & consistent payback will deminish the chances of people f*cking you over in the future.

- Dikote all bladed weapons.

A.

[Marwynn]

What's wrong with thermal dampening on an under layer of clothing? Your body is what produces heat, so as long as the dampener is somewhere between you and the thermal vision you should be fine.

Thermal Dampening works by keeping heat inside and making your surface temperature equal to the surrounding air. It's not a perfect system so the layer between your clothes and the FFBA with Thermal Dampening is still slightly warmer (say from your own movement, or even slight physical contact, bleed through of heat, etc), and of course your clothes as well can be warmed by other things.

It does the first part well keeping your heat in, but it doesn't blend you into the background as easily.

A Lined Coat with Thermal Dampening works well for instance, as you wear it as the outer layer.

Don't forget your Detect RFID spell to go with that. If you can't see it, you can't cast a spell on it.

Ahh yes the LOS. Catalog works too, sorry I assumed a magical thief would have that along. Just remember to set your commlink to record what you're saying out loud too. Gotta beat OR of RFIDs though.

The alternative to this is a boosted Pulse spell that can target Stealth and Security RFIDs too.

[Karoline]

Thermal Dampening works by keeping heat inside and making your surface temperature equal to the surrounding air. It's not a perfect system so the layer between your clothes and the FFBA with Thermal Dampening is still slightly warmer (say from your own movement, or even slight physical contact, bleed through of heat, etc), and of course your clothes as well can be warmed by other things.

It does the first part well keeping your heat in, but it doesn't blend you into the background as easily.

A Lined Coat with Thermal Dampening works well for instance, as you wear it as the outer layer.

Well, I'll just have to agree to disagree. If all your body heat is trapped by the first layer of clothing, none of it will escape to further layers, and friction between layers of clothing isn't going to be enough to show up on thermographics. Also, the lined coat lacks a hoodie, so your head will still stick out, so be careful of that. I won't comment again about this, don't want to derail the thread.

33? Don't do drugs
34. No wait... do drugs, they are super helpful, just be careful not to get addicted.
35. Drone + Packed explosives = expendable suicide bomber.
36. Slave your nodes, all of them, makes them basically impossible to hack
37. Don't forget to run in hidden mode.
38. Clustering your cyberware can give you a decent node to work with.

[ravensmuse]

I'll toss a few in the pot -

Players:

+ Shoot straight. Conserve ammo. Never trust a dragon (or an elf, for that matter).
+ The more things change, the more they stay the same.
+ The scariest words in the world are, "it'll be easy."
+ Nothin' to fear if you got the gear (and contacts, and a Doc Wagon Gold account)
+ If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it's probably a bug. Kill it with fire.
+ It's a trick. Get an axe.
+ Once you pull the pin, Mister Grenade is no longer your friend.
+ Geek the mage first.
+ Always let the sasquatch win.
+ When happy cat has run out of happy, it's time to leave.
+ Cardio!
+ Shoot 'em in the head! SHOOT 'EM IN THE HEAD! ("His axe is on fire! He killed your parents!")
+ Likewise: boom boom boom. Three in the head, you know they're dead.
+ Everything is better with NERPS!

GMs:

+ It is your game. But these people have come to have a good time. Remember this.
+ Play up your strengths.
+ Play to your player's strengths.
+ But make 'em sweat.
+ A good GM borrows. A great GM steals. A superior GM does it while they're looking.
+ Always keep your influences at hand for quick reference.
+ Prepare. Prepare. Prepare. Extra character sheets, player / gm cheat sheets, maps, npcs, locations, books, random notes you jotted down at 3am and you have no idea what they mean but hey, toss it in there anyways ("hampster nipples? WTF is so funny about hampster nipples?"), funny voices, quotes, extra food & soda.
+ "Three are three outcomes to any Shadowrun scenario: the two you came up with, and the third the players implement."
+ Don't be afraid to wing it. But never let 'em know you had to.
+ Follow the Rule of McNinja: Is it awesome? Throw it in there!
+ One I learned from SR Bootcamp last year: Minmaxing is a player's way of saying, "Hi! Fuck with me!" (paraphrased).
+ +1 / -1 is a good shortcut...wait, wrong game (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)
+ The Golden Rule: Have fun. Everything else is trivial.

[Marwynn]

I don't think we're really disagreeing. My view is ust that Therm. Damp. traps the heat inside but the outer layer also has to fade into the background, else you're just a cooler spot. I think of it as a two-step thing, keeping your heat in so you don't bloom in thermographic, and blending into the air's temp. Thermal camo. But yeah it's an interesting topic, let's discuss it in another thread maybe.

- Commlinks are cheap, Fake SINs are cheap. Use them like toilet paper.
- Make friends with hackers. Do favours for them. They'll make your life easier.
- Tasers aren't restricted. A lot of melee weapons aren't either. Carry them openly, just don't brag about your cool stun baton.
- A few microdrones flying around can do wonders for surveillance and trailing. But there are also spy drone hunters. Make use of both, just remember to let them play nice.
- Chemicals are your friends. But bring a respirator.

[Screaming Eagle]

- You are never too 'leet for "Food Fight"
- you are never too n00b for "Food Fight"
- Blood mages want to cut you for 2 good reasons - magical power from hurting you and targeting you with ritual sorsery later - DON'T LET THEM CUT YOU
- A good game is ready for twists turns and excitement - a great game is ready to break for food because everyone is too on edge from all of the twists turn and excitment, a perfect game has pizza.
- Tazers are amazing - period. Bring 2.
- Start the game early and play the game late, all of my best experiances in roleplaying happened in and around hour 4-8 of the game. I know this can be difficult to manage but every once in a while it is mint.

- GM's - Never hesitate to try to kill the group if you feel they have earned it, you would be suprised how much fun it is to watch them win dispite your best efforts and your prime runner kill teams.
- Background counts are gross, its like concentrated hate in magic land, use them often if you feel like weakning the mage (or because you hate them)
- They will always find the way you didn't plan for - so plan for the run less, prepare the location more - create a place with little thought of how they will break in/ win, make security you believe and name the staff members and give them quick write ups. You'd be amased how easy it makes things when the group desides to do something insane.

EDIT - nothing has ever made me laugh harder as a player the the Catalist Stick - it's cheap an anything, tiny and turns Steath Grapple lines to dust in seconds. This is hilariuos when throwing off pursuit, espesially the kind of reasonably high end pursuit that can afford stealth grapple line. Sure it only came up once, but once was enough.

[Tyraxus]

I'm another SR newbie (played our first run last week) so I'm glad to see this.

...+ Cardio!

Rule number 1!

[DWC]

Amen to the cardio rule. You can't be a shadowrunner if you can't run. It won't come up often, but eventually the ability to run 6 miles through a traffic jam, with all your gear, in Denver, will save your life.

[Penta]

This is useful for players and GMs alike. For GMs, more with recurring characters.

Keep a notebook, a computer folder, -something- on your character. Put biographical stuff in there, character developments...Keep notes on your character, in short. From what actually happens in-game to (clearly delineated) scribbles and thoughts and stuff. Initially it seems like a lot of work. It is.

After a while, though, having all that info goes a long way in keeping stories straight and bringing a character to life. I've found that even newbie roleplayers, if they do this consistently, can make characters really come together well.

Roleplaying is a lot like acting in that regard: There is a strange element of...craft, I guess, to it. Research into your roles pays dividends. Whether this means books from the library, devouring SR sourcebooks (the novels are less helpful in my opinion, but YMMV), movies...Whatever works.

Playing your role over time also matters - I'm about to retire a character after 4 years of playing him, and I'm finding that even as I get ready to retire him from active play, I'm still learning about him. He still surprises me - to an extent, living quite independently of his creator. (Makes me incredibly sad, to the point of RL tears, to think of retiring him, but the admin of the MOO I play him on is right - there comes a time for every character to exit active play. His time is approaching, as it inevitably must.)

That didn't happen straightaway, though with this character it happened quickly because I learned to do the research. It happened after dozens, hundreds of hours of play that he started to grow into a fully realized character.

[Warlordtheft]

If you have more guns on you than arms. You might be over dressed.

If a panther cannon is your weapon of choice-live in the barrens.

If you can go around town with no weapons and still kill someone-carry a weapon in to the barrens. Otherwise you will have to kill someone.

Multi layered matrix systems for the players are useful. Multilayered matrix systems for the GM-priceless.

Sometimes rolling or consulting the rules is pointless (eg: getting swarmed by 20 heavily armed and armored corp sec goons in an open field with drone, sniper, and mage support). Indentify those siuations and just ask the players if they feel lucky (IE they got edge).

[crizh]

If you're going to get a Nano-hive, get a Lower Cyber-arm and put it in that. Even Second-hand you will save a ton of Essence and you'll save a fortune on the hives.

[Karoline]

If you're going to get a Nano-hive, get a Lower Cyber-arm and put it in that. Even Second-hand you will save a ton of Essence and you'll save a fortune on the hives.

I get how you save essence, how do you save nuyen? Oh, you mean by getting the hive second hand. Good thinking (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Lok1 :)]

-If your GM will let you, have a gernade or small explosives placed in the handle of your gun with a radio detonator with an off switch. (Signal can't be sent untill you've turned it on manualy) This works great if you find yourself in a tough spot. Drop your gun, kick it across, hands on your head, you know the drill. Than when he picks it up blow him to kingdom come and have your secondary pistol with a hidden arm slide up and start running.
- Explosives like the banaglor torpedo are great for ruining pavement, makeing it harder to be driven over.
- Lightning bolts deal phyiscal as well as stun wich means big pentlys, but a stunball will take you at allot quicker.
- Don't min-max all this will bring you is a dead character
-I'm not suggesting tagging your johson, sneaking into his house at night, sedateing him and haveing a cranial bomb implanted than putting him back in his bed. I'm just saying its an option.

[ccelizic]

-Make friendly with the team face. Saves you money when it comes to hunting down gear if they can do it withotu going through contacts.
-Make friendly with contacts who do stuff the team can't do. When you hire'em tip heavily.
-Make friendly with contacts who stand to gain by crossing you. Tip heavily.
-Ok, make that a general suggestion, Tip heavily.
-Never underestimating the guards assuming nobody would be THAT crazy.
-Just don't be the guy to "capitalize off of that" convince someone else to.
-The matrix is cheap and easy to get involved with. Never hurts to have rudimentary computer skills and gear. Just.... don't hot dive unless you are built to take heat.
-A mage usually has high willpower and therefore makes a surprisingly good matrix "tank" if kitted out with a good commlink and gear.
-That hacker is usually using cracked warez which means he can copy it to multiple systems, get him to toss you a copy.
-If you are going to meet a johnson on the matrix kit all the non-hackers up with bots that way if things go south everyone has heat.
-Shape shifters regenerate, let them go first.
-Shape shifters are gullieable, make it seem like it's a great thing that they go first.

[Marwynn]

- A Force 5 Spirit can affect a Body 10 Vehicle with its Movement power at half the normal strength. Meaning it can only make it go 2.5 times as fast. That includes most common cars.
- Movement can also slow vehicles down, that same Force 5 Spirit can slow a vehicle down by 2.5 times.
- The Accident power can force a crash test. Combine it with Movement deliberately increasing your opponent's velocity and the Accident power and you have one ready made crash.
- Spirits of Air have it baseline, Water spirits can select Accident as an optional power.

Makes those car chases much more interesting. Of course, there's probably added notoriety for having that Lonestar squad car ram through a market instead of following you...