Living in the Shadows: Guidelines, Still here and better than ever Options

[WinterRat1]

Hello Everyone,

and welcome to our ongoing Living in the Shadows campaign. I, WinterRat1, head a team of GMs who are happy to host your PC through the perils of actually living life in the Seattle shadows. The other current members of our crew are banditf50, grendel, bclements, Scrapheap, and Sedna.

The general purpose of this thread is to introduce players to the concept of Living in the Shadows, as well as to provide a central place to post guidelines, announcements, rulings, and general policy decisions. To this end, we’ve divided this Guidelines part of the thread into four sections: an introduction, Player Information, Player Interaction, and GM Information.

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A GM ONLY THREAD FOR UPDATES ON LITS POLICY. ALL REPLIES SHOULD BE POSTED IN THE 'RECRUITMENT' THREAD:
Living in the Shadows: Recruitment 2


What is Living in the Shadows?

The basic premise behind Living in the Shadows (LitS for short) is simple: we are attempting to create a living world which goes beyond isolated runs. What this means to players is that finally you have a place to play your character through their everyday life in the shadows.

Just as our job defines our lives, so does a shadowrunner’s. As such, the GMs of LitS will be working with players to encompass their characters’ lives in their totality, from the jobs they take to the friends they have, the enemies they make, the places they frequent, all the things they do in their spare time. For the first time ever on Dumpshock, players will really have the chance to guide the destiny of their own characters. Therefore, LitS is heavily character-driven, background-based, and story-centred. We are less concerned with running your characters through a linear plotline than we are with working with each and every player to create a world that brings the people in it to life; with the enjoyment all of us derive as your and other characters come to life, grow, and develop the world around them. LitS is a story that is constantly unfolding and being written, not a script in which everyone plays a specific archetype.

Since life is ongoing, LitS is also an ongoing campaign. Although we will hold regular recruitment drives, LitS is never closed. You may join at any time. No more people feeling shut out of games. No more rush to get a half-thought-out character in to meet a deadline, or trying to be one of the first six to get into a game. We not only prefer, we require quality. We’ll gladly work with you to develop the character you really want to play. Having a character that you would absolutely love to play, whose story you want to see unfold, will provide a much more rewarding experience for all of us.

I’ve been saying “you” and “we” as though the only people we’re trying to bring into LitS were players. It’s certainly true that we want to have character-driven players, the more the better! but we’re always looking for character-driven GMs, as well to run players within LitS, as well as GMs looking to bring their runs under the LitS banner. If you are only interested in running the daily lives of one or two PCs, we’re fine with that. If you are only interested in doing runs, we’re fine with that too. If you have a specific area of specialty that you’d be willing to help guide PCs through on an as-need basis (the Matrix? hint hint), we’d absolutely be fine with that as well. Since we are focusing on character development, our long-term goal is to have one LitS GM for every 3-5 PCs (because that’s the most we’ve found we could handle well at this level of involvement), as well as several GMs interested primarily in doing runs. The advantage of this system to run-oriented GMs is that they can pick and choose PCs that fit the game they have in mind, while at the same time the fallout from the run will flow seamlessly into the character’s everyday life (or as seamlessly as these things ever get in the shadows). Especially from a run perspective, we hope that working within the LitS banner will cut down on games dying by keeping the players interested. And the best part is: even if you come on board as a GM, you still get to play! One of the other GMs on our team will be more than happy to GM your PC while you run others. If any of this sounds like something that you would be interested in helping to run, contact any one of us and we’ll be glad to bring you on board.

If you are the type of player who enjoys developing solid backgrounds for your characters and seeing their life stories unfold, if you are the kind of GM who enjoys fleshing out backstory and bringing it into the character’s everyday life; and if you would like to take part in a dynamic, interactive gaming environment: we believe that you will be a tremendous asset to this campaign of ours.


Sounds good. How do I join up?

If you are thinking of joining the LitS Seattle-verse, please read through the LitS and Shadowland threads first, to get a sense of how the whole system works in practice.

If you’re really hooked by now and thinking of joining as a player, please read the Character Creation guidelines below. Note that we don’t encourage McMackie’s, and that in addition to the standard 20 Questions (below) we will require a timeline for each character noting all the major events of the PC’s life to date.

If you are thinking of joining the GM staff, please read the rest of this thread, outlining the structure of the LitS Seattle-verse as it exists thus far. If you’re still interested, contact me (WinterRat1) via PM or e-mail, outlining what you are willing to take on. Remember, we are looking as much for GMs who want to do runs under the LitS umbrella as we are for GMs to run players within the LitS thread. It’s a commitment for sure, but we think the rewards are amazing.

If you’re thinking of joining as both: great! :D

[WinterRat1]

Player Information - SR 4 Version (credit also goes to paul_Harkonen for helping to gel much of this section)

How it works

Each player who wishes to play in LitS should first run their basic idea by us via a PM (personal message). (Referencing the Shadowland thread is a really good idea here to get a sense of what kinds of characters are currently most needed in the shadows.) If your idea is approved, submit a fully fleshed out PC to me (again that’s WinterRat1, coordinator extraordinaire). At the minimum, this submission should include a paragraph outlining the basic concept of the character, the stats, the equipment/spells/etc, at least a paragraph on each contact (you may use NPCs from the LitS thread), a completed copy of the Twenty Questions below, a list of character goals, and a character timeline outlining the major events of that character’s life. Word, Excel, and other user-friendly formats are encouraged. Similarly, we don’t allow materials from Raygun or any other non-canon websites.

We will work with you on any details that need to be discussed, always working together to build your ideal starting character. As soon as we give you the green light, you are free to post within the LitS and Shadowland threads. Over the next month you will be working with your GM to become familiar with the world structure and establish your character within the LitS Seattle-verse. After that, once both you and your GM are satisfied that you are comfortable within the structure, you may apply for any LitS active runs, or even hire other PCs/NPCs to go with you on your own mini-run.


Character Creation

Character Creation is as per standard canon SR4 chargen: 400 BP’s, Maximum availability of 12, no more than 35 BP’s gained by Qualities. (Remember, unlike with standard Dumpshock runs, point gaining Qualities will almost certainly come into play on a regular basis). As always, WinterRat1 and your Player GM have the final say on what inventive Qualities will be accepted. Most canon materials are accepted, but please note the exceptions below:

1. Hackers will be using commlinks to hack with a zero range. In other words, they must still jack in with a datajack. Note that commlinks are essentially serving the function of the SR 3 cyberdeck at this time and in this particular function, as you must still jack in. However, SR 4 rules for hacking will be used.
2. Riggers are still required to have vehicle control rigs (VCR) and will also be required to jack in.
3. Both hackers and riggers still need datajacks to jack in.
4. All items are at SR 4 essence and nuyen cost.
5. Nothing that requires wireless to function as written and intended is allowed.
6. LITS is currently in 2063 and will remain so. We will be working toward the Crash, but we are not ‘jumping’ the current time forward. All backgrounds and timelines should go no farther than 2063.

Further clarification and details are as follows:

As stated, The Wireless world isn’t quite here yet. This means that while the standard Commlinks are available to your characters, they aren’t really out in the public at large. Full Augmented Reality coverage isn’t a reality yet for the most part.

This will be changing as the game is played; don’t be surprised when your character wakes up one morning to see some NeoNET guys out installing an access point in your neighborhood. As this becomes available to your character, we (the GM staff) will let you know.

Most wireless stuff hasn’t hit the market yet either. Anything that requires/uses wireless technology as described in SR4 isn’t on the market yet: RFID tags and wireless Smartlinks are only two examples. If you have any questions as to the availability or functionality of a particular item, please ask.

All new characters will buy SR4 items at SR4 nuyen and essence costs. Example: consider that smartlink with those cybereyes a new, more essence friendly version. However, the rules limiting wireless-dependent technology means that smartlink contacts, for example, do not currently exist.

Hacking and rigging rules play out as per the appropriate SR4 material.

For the above reasons, Technomancers as PC’s are discouraged, since the event that triggers them has not happened yet. However, if you’re genuinely interested, submit a character concept. Please note that a technomancer at this time would qualify as a ‘special’ character, and would be one of the few (perhaps even the only one!) in the world. So if you want to play one, be prepared to impress us.

Edge Refreshes at sunrise of every day.

There are some contacts that we (the LitS GM staff) will match you up with. Mainly this concerns fixers and other specialist contacts, as we don’t want an out-of-control fixer population in Seattle. However, if we have an appropriate NPC that matches a similar contact type you have in your character sheet, we reserve the right to recommend that you take that NPC as your substitute contact. As always, the better you do designing your intended contacts, the more likely we are to accept and integrate them into the LITS world.

We’ve made these changes in order to allow our existing characters to be transferred over, as well as to allow additional sourcebooks to come out and further develop the LITS world. Make no mistake though: the State of the Art marches on, and we’re marching along with it. The general idea is that we’re playing in a SR3 world using SR4 rules; however we will be transitioning over to the full SR4 era, and your story will be a part of that, one way or another.

You are expected to provide at least one paragraph on each of your contacts, specifying at the very minimum an outline of the contact’s appearance and personality, what they do, how your character met the contact, why the contact continues to be a contact (i.e. what’s in it for the contact?), and what is the nature of the PC-contact interaction. You may also select any NPC mentioned in the LitS thread, but they may only be up to a Loyalty 3/Connection 1 contact.

You will also be required to flesh out your Enemies as well as your contacts, at least one paragraph as per contacts. If you need more concrete guidance or ideas, we recommend using the SR 3 Shadowrun Companion for assistance, designing enemies through rating points to the various Enemy attributes (Power, Knowledge, Motivation). We will help you with this if you need assistance.

Please note that it is not a question of do your characters have enemies; it is who are your character’s enemies. We suggest you take the time to fill this section out, as not doing so is a green light to allow your GM to make up your enemies for you. And that may or may not be a good idea.

You will also need to submit the 20 Questions (please use the list below), a starting list of short- and long-term in-character (IC) and out-of-character (OOC) goals for the new PC, and a timeline showing the major personal interactions and events of the character’s life. We do recognize that goals can change: this is just a starting list of goals you intend for your character to actively pursue. Please note that all major abilities, education, and ‘ware need to be explained in both the 20 Questions and in the timeline. The timeline is something unique to the LitS Seattle-verse, but we’ve found that exploring how your character develops and changes as he or she is growing up helps to establish the character’s personality, as well as filling in crucial elements of backstory which can become anchoring points for future character plotline.

To this end, we are interested not only in what happened, but in how your character reacted to it. Some examples of such events and interactions might include: past and current relationships with various family members, type of schooling the character had, how education and equipment was acquired and funded, past major friendships and relationships (they need not still exist), the character’s first experience with the shadows, the character’s first encounter with death, when and how the character first killed. These are just some suggestions to get you started, not a complete list: only you will be able to answer what would be on that list for your character.

Finally, make sure you show us not only what you did, but how you did it. Include your breakdown in the file you send us: what was allocated and where, as well as how much it costs. This helps us greatly and puts us in a good mood


Twenty Questions

Background
1. Where and in what kind of environment did your character grow up?
2. What are your character’s relations with their family? (Does your character keep in touch? Where are they now?)
3. Does your character have an ethnic background? (Is it relevant to them?)

Appearance
4. What does your character look like?
5. What does your character dress like?
6. What are your character’s physical quirks?

Skills, attributes, resources
7. What did your character always want to be? (How did they go about getting this job/position/ability/image? Did they succeed?)
8. Where and how did your character learn their Active and Knowledge Skills?
9. Where and how did your character get their major equipment and ‘ware?
10. Where and in what kind of place does your character currently live?
11. Who are your character’s contacts? (How did they become contacts? Why do they still talk to your character?)
12. Who are your character’s enemies? (How did they become your character’s enemies?)
13. For Awakened characters, how did your character learn their magic? For non-Awakened characters, how does your character feel about magic?

Personality
14. What are your character’s personality quirks?
15. What are your character’s likes and dislikes?
16. What is your character’s moral code?
17. Does your character have personal beliefs?
18. What are your character’s personal motivations?

Running the shadows
19. Why does your character run the shadows?
20. What would make your character ever leave the shadows?
I’ve been approved!

Now you are ready to post in the LitS and Shadowland threads. Because we’ve found that actually playing in LitS is a very different experience from wanting to play in LitS, all new players have a one month period during which you can only interact with your GM within the LitS and Shadowland threads. This will allow you to find your sea-legs within the LitS Seattle-verse. In addition, you may discover things about your character that only come out in the playing, most commonly Knowledges or equipment you realise your character should have but which were somehow overlooked. This month gives you the time to work out any such character tweaks with your GM. At the end of the month, if you and your GM will have evolved a comfortable level of interaction, your character will be cleared to apply for runs.

General posting guidelines

All posts in any IC thread are considered to be in-character. If you feel it necessary, you may use spoiler tags in your post; while any big secrets can be handled via PM.

Respecting the ins and outs of what your character does and doesn’t know of happenings around Seattle will ultimately contribute to a better gaming experience for you and your fellow players. The existence of any runs initiated in the LitS thread are considered “public” (meaning shadow) knowledge; however, the runs themselves are not. Details within a run thread should be known only to those characters who were actually on the run – and sometimes not even to all of them. For this reason, players are requested not to read either IC or OOC threads for runs of which they were not a part. Instead, use Shadowland to discuss active and completed runs, whether those in which your own character participated or those of others. It’s a small thing, but these are the kinds of touches that will make the game come alive for you.

At some point, most PCs will be taking on a run as well as living in the world, and thus be posting in both the LitS threads and specific run threads. The basic rule for this is, if it’s directly related to the run and it’s not Shadowland, post in the run threads. If it’s related to the run and involves Shadowland, post in Shadowland. If it’s not related to the run, post in LitS. There is a minimum one month character establishing period during which you will be posting only within LitS and Shadowland.

It’s sometimes difficult to describe what’s happening to your character in your post without also describing other NPCs. The line here can sometimes be difficult to draw. In general though, you may use your posts to flesh out NPCs as much as you like, but you may not have those NPCs make major decisions which impact upon your character. For example, it’s perfectly okay to write up an encounter where your character is seeking to acquire a Panther Cannon, or to describe the look of surprise on the NPC’s eyes at the request … but it’s your GM’s job to actually answer. (In other words: “I’m looking for a Panther Cannon.” “Oh, I just happen to have one here in my trunk” is not acceptable ) Similarly, it’s your GM’s job to deal with anything beyond your character’s immediate knowledge. This may also include your GM making certain rolls on your character’s behalf (see “Rolling Dice”, below).

You may also use your post to describe everyday events in your vicinity, but always be wary of the potential extent of those events. Remember that events happening within a run will affect the outside world, just as events in the outside world can and do affect a job. Similarly, all actions taken by characters within the LitS Seattle-verse will influence the world and each other. (Even if you’re on a run, it’s wise to keep track of what’s happening elsewhere.) The guideline here is that if you wish to instigate an event that could have repercussions, always check with your GM before posting.

The Shadowland thread is a bit of a special case. To begin, all PCs are assumed to have found their way to this level of Shadowland, and everything posted on it is assumed to be open knowledge … if not necessarily accurate knowledge. In general, you may ask questions or answer them in whatever way you see fit, drop in comments about an existing post, or add a general interest post. With your GM’s permission, you may run a regular feature (written by your PC or by an NPC), in the same manner as Sheepdog’s daily news summary or “Grail’s Corner”. One thing we have found to be very successful in the past is when players take their own initiative to adapt existing news stories to run events.

Finally, if you’re in a plotline which involves detailed interaction with another PC, it’s common courtesy never to take the action so far ahead that your fellow PC cannot respond.

Dice and Target Numbers

In general, we use an honour system, where you may use your own physical dice or a roller (such as Dashifen’s) to resolve the results of your character’s actions. Except for Perception rolls, your GM will usually give you the hit threshold you are aiming for. However, your GM will secretly roll the dice on your character’s behalf when:
· Your character ought not to know that the check was made at all (most commonly Perception checks);
· Your character is trying to acquire a special (not generally available) item (this includes but is not limited to everything over Availability 12, as well as all foci);
· Your character is trying to acquire a specific and not-generally-known piece of information;
As well as for:
· All Addiction/Tolerance rolls
· All Cash for Karma/Karma for Cash rolls
For now, you make all the dice rolls associated with your character’s long-term projects, such as programming, learning a spell, summoning an ally, etc. We may be re-assessing this decision if we find that players have been abusing it.

It is the nature of Shadowrun’s randomized system that all significant rolls have the potential to fail, or even to have catastrophic results; glitches happen, and should this be the result of a GM roll on your behalf, your GM will so inform you and you will have the standard option to spend a point of Edge to turn it into a normal failure.

Character Development

If you’re like most people, sooner or later you will want to improve your character: skills, abilities, equipment, ‘ware, spells. Because the LitS Seattle-verse is continual and interactive, so is the gaining and spending of nuyen and karma. If you have your heart set on a certain high Availability piece of equipment or a particular custom spell, you’ll have the opportunity to work for it within the LitS Seattle-verse. I can’t think of anything canon that we’d ever outright say “no” to … but always you will have to work toward it. Basic rule of thumb: the more powerful or valuable the Desired Item, the longer and more difficult the Quest.

Your story is the most important thing about your character, and so whatever you do to further develop your character’s story may provide your GM with a story hook they will use to make your game more enjoyable. (Karma at work right there, chummers :) ) And yes, developing your story will earn you karma in the game too. Providing you’ve been posting regularly to move your character story forward -- this means at least every other day – you will earn one karma point a week, which we give out on Sunday (or sometimes Monday, if your GM has been buried under work or has a hangover). If you post something your GM finds absolutely awesome, we do give out a karma bonus for quality as well. Running a regular Shadowland feature could earn an additional karma point a week to a total of three karma a week, although this is rare. For the truly exceptional, we will be generous. (It is potentially possible to earn even more than that: see the GM Information section below.)

We do ask that you keep your GM informed of all your karma expenditures; and also that you keep a karma log of all your purchases and changes in your character. Each time you intend to spend karma, tell your GM WHAT you are raising, its ORIGINAL level, its NEW level, and the karma COST. Your GM will either approve your request (usually quick for low to mid-level attributes and skills), or specify what is necessary for your character to do to complete the purchase. Such prerequisites to spending karma may be ones that can be met independently (ie. going out to a known shooting range), or may involve extended one-on-one GM-PC roleplaying (ie. initiating with an astral quest ordeal).

We are great believers in the idea of experience as being the best teacher. However, for experience to teach, you must have actively used the skill or attribute in question. (For all skills except magic and Charisma-based skills, a virtual instructor can meet this requirement.) Providing this requirement is met, for most types of skill or attribute improvement, we don’t require explicit instructors or instruction time. For anything level 4 or higher or very specialised skills and attributes; as well as other special abilities such as spells or physical adept powers, we might require a defined source from which the specific ability is being acquired: your GM will discuss this with you on a case by case basis.

We do allow Cash for Karma, provided that you roleplay the exchange. We cannot stress this enough. How did you spend the cash or karma? How did you gain it? Maybe you helped out a friend or family member. Maybe it was as simple a thing as a Random Good Deed appropriate to your character type. Maybe you frittered all that money away at a casino. Maybe a stock you hold took an unexpected upturn and you chose to sell it and cash in. Maybe you subscribed to journals and libraries in order to increase a specific Knowledge skill. Maybe you finally broke into that Dunkelzahn piggy bank you held forever against a rainy day.

After the roleplaying aspect, the single most important thing about how we handle Cash for Karma is that you cannot derive a single tangible benefit from spending the nuyen other than good will. I think it goes almost without saying that you cannot spend nuyen on a piece of equipment and get the karma for that nuyen as well, but other transactions might not be as clear. For example, if you choose to spend Cash for Karma money on your contact, it won’t count toward your standard contact upkeep. If you choose to pay off your instructor with these funds, you won’t also get the karma for it because you’ve derived the benefit of their instruction.

We have currently set the rate of Cash for Karma at 2d6 x 250 ¥ per point of Karma, and vice versa. (This rate may change in future.)

Character Death

It is a truism of Shadowrun that characters will die. A roleplaying game without this possibility is simply an exercise in getting stuff, with no real element of excitement or danger. However, to defray the pain of losing a well-established character, we have created the “reincarnation rule”, which gives you half of your character’s total karma, earned to date at the time of their death, for the creation of your next character. You may use this karma to improve your skills, or you may exchange it for cash in accordance with the Cash for Karma rules, which may be used to purchase any equipment within the normal Availability and Rating limits. That’s it though, none of the previous character’s stuff or contacts or anything like that. Can’t have everything, chummers ;)


Absences

We have all played in or heard about games that came apart on us because a few players decided not to post, or to not inform their fellow players and GMs about their decision to cease posting. In the LitS and Shadowland threads, the dynamic nature of the world makes this into less of a problem than it might be otherwise. Dropping out due to real life issues is not a problem, just failing to be responsible to your fellow players about it. All we ask is that you keep your fellow players and GM staff informed insofar as possible.

There are three categories of absences: temporary, extended, and permanent.

Temporary:
If you will be unable to post for a few days due to a short vacation or a mountain of work about to fall on your head, just drop a line to your fellow players in the appropriate OOC threads and let them know.

Extended:
If you will be out of action for a longer period of time, say a couple of weeks or a few months (maybe you're starting a tour of duty?), again, just post in the OOC thread and let everyone know; but this time also designate someone, either the GM or another player, to handle your character in the interim. If you are uncomfortable with that and your character is currently in a run, just have your character withdraw from the run. That’s perfectly fine, and allows your fellow players to know what’s up so they can hire someone else or proceed without having to wait around for you.

Permanent:
If you intend to be gone permanently from either a run or LitS, then tell your GM you will be unable to post, and take the initiative to state what you’d like your character to be doing. Taking those wishes into account, the character is thereafter treated as an NPC. If you are currently involved in a storyline with a GM, that GM will continue to have your character do whatever is necessary to keep the character in synch with the storyline and keep the game going. The GM may additionally opt to withdraw that character from any run s/he may have been on.

However, it may happen that for whatever reason, you haven’t been able to inform anyone, and you still do want to play in LitS. Maybe you had a sudden critical illness or accident in the family. Maybe your computer died on you. Maybe even in the last minute vacation rush you forgot to send that message of impending absence. These things happen. (After all, we’d like to think family and school and work come first.) So we ask two simple things. First and foremost, you should apologise to those who have been affected by your unforeseen absence. Next, read through the thread to find out how your GM has been handling your PC in your absence. In LitS, it’s most likely the GM simply left your plotline “on hold?until you spoke up, unless it happened to affect others, in which case the GM will have done whatever was necessary not to leave the other players stranded. (In effect, your PC has been temporarily turned into an NPC.) In the case of a run, the GM will have taken any action necessary on behalf of your PC to ensure the run is not delayed by your absence.

The intent behind all of this is for all of us to build and sustain a dynamic and interactive world. We are concerned about absences because they can affect other people, not because we’re out to hammer a player for every little thing. Basically, we want to build an environment in which we can all have as much fun as possible!


Problems, Issues, Grievances

Despite the best laid plans of mice and men, in such an intertwined system it is almost a truism, not that issues might occur, but that sooner or later they will. If you have a problem, issue, or grievance with another player or GM, please take it first to your player GM, cc’ing me alexwong945@yahoo.com. Hopefully the three of us can find some kind of solution.

[WinterRat1]

Player Interaction

Given the nature of the Living in the Shadows, it is not only inevitable but even desirable that players will interact directly with each other outside the context of a shadowrun team. However, unlike a one-shot adventure, such interaction can have serious consequences for the long-term viability of a campaign.

There are two major types of character interaction: friendly and unfriendly. By and large, friendly interaction will be by far the most common. Examples include working together on a team, chatting on Shadowland or in a bar, partying together, and doing biz and favours for each other. Unfriendly interaction is of three general types: direct, indirect, and personal.

Direct:
Characters are actively and directly opposing each other in the course of their professional activities. For example, one PC may be bodyguarding someone who is being targeted for assassination by another PC. In such cases, it is highly likely that the characters not only will interact with each other, but interact in such a way that will almost certainly lead to direct confrontation and violence in some way, shape or form. In such cases, even potentially lethal preemptive action is considered acceptable within the bounds of this campaign.

However, should one PC try to track down another for the purpose of harming them, the GM will meticulously apply all applicable information-gathering rules, including the Wrong Party rules, to determine if the character can even be found, let alone surprised and/or attacked. Appropriate defensive measures taken by the targeted PCs will be heavily considered.

Above all, in such cases, it's nothing personal, just business. If characters end up killing each other in the course of a job or fight, well, that's life in the shadows for you. Once one or both sides are off the job, however, any action taken against another PC is no longer considered direct (and thus acceptable within this campaign), but personal.

Indirect:
Characters may end up opposing each other unintentionally in the course of their professional activities. For example, one character may be working on a datasteal for someone who is being targeted for assassination by another character. Most commonly, such situations come about if one character is made aware of the potential conflict before or after the conflict would normally occur. The primary distinguishing factor between direct and indirect unfriendly interaction is that in direct unfriendly interaction, given the conflicting nature of the different characters' goals, direct confrontation on some level is a near certainty. In contrast, in indirect unfriendly interaction, there exist numerous reasonable and feasible alternatives to direct confrontation between the two groups.

Thus in such cases, negotiation and diplomatic solutions are heavily encouraged, and successful (non-lethal) outcomes may earn bonus karma for both PCs. Restraint is always the preferred option. While violence does still remain a campaign-acceptable possibility, it should only be used as an absolutely last resort (GM's discretion). The basic rule is a simple one: if in any doubt, don't attack the other PC.

Personal:
Any time when one character seeks conflict with another character for a non-job related reason (including as a result of something that happened on another job), it's considered personal. For example, one PC may attack/try to kill another PC who killed the character's Johnson.

Once again, the basic rule here is simple:

Any kind of personal confrontation/violence toward another player character WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.

We don't care what or why. Job reasons, story backgrounds, Vindictive flaw: nothing. (Incidentally, this is a major reason we try to discourage the Vindictive flaw.) You may not write a vendetta against another PC into your backstory. You may not take another PC as a starting Enemy; and they cannot become an Enemy in-game. We know that this rule is unrealistic; and we don't care.

Like the rule, the rationale here is simple. Our campaign world has a small and relatively tightly-knit shadow community, and it's more important to us to keep that world alive than to promote realism at any cost. We know that if Shadowrun were real, runners could (and probably would) kill each other for personal reasons ... but this is just a game, between Dumpshockers who are gradually becoming friends; and we find it far more important to provide an enjoyable experience for everyone. Thus, to protect the integrity of the game and stop it from degenerating into an endless grudge-fest, we are not allowing player characters to go after each other directly, or to go after anything or anyone valued by another player character.

All GMs will monitor and police this strictly. If any one of us thinks there is reason to suspect that your PC's unfriendly interaction has become personal, your GM will discuss it with you. Because the fact that you are even having this discussion with your GM means that one or more of us think you have already crossed the line, this discussion will be your only warning. The next time any one of us thinks you have stepped across the line, your character is dead, and you, as the player, are out of the game.

Despite the heavy-handed nature of these last few paragraphs, it is not our intention to be arbitrary or unfairly restricting. For the sake of keeping positive player relations, peace within the game and without, and to provide the best possible experience for the most people, these rules have been set in place to protect the world structure and the players who help bring it alive, while at the same time attempting to be fair and allow for those situations where conflict between characters is virtually unavoidable. Any questions, comments, or concerns are welcomed. It is our desire to create the best game possible for all its participants, and any assistance anyone can offer would certainly be appreciated. We hope you understand, and will assist us in creating an enjoyable campaign world for everyone!

[WinterRat1]

GM Information

Four categories of threads directly relate to all LitS participants:

• General LITS Information
  Living in the Shadows: Guidelines
  Living in the Shadows: Recruitment 1 (closed; see LITS: Recruitment 2)
  Living in the Shadows: Recruitment 2
  Living in the Shadows: Special Projects
  
• Main LITS Threads
  Living in the Shadows: SR 3 OOC
  Living in the Shadows: SR 4 OOC
  Living in the Shadows: IC Jan 1st - Jan 7th
  Living in the Shadows: IC Jan 8th - Jan 14th
  Living in the Shadows: Shadowland OOC
  Living in the Shadows: Shadowland IC
  
• Useful LITS-related Links
  Living in the Shadows: Story Index Page
  Useful Calendar Link for 2063
  Seattle Sprawl Map
  
• LITS Run Index
  Living in the Shadows: The Warehouse Job OOC 1 (closed)
  Living in the Shadows: The Warehouse Job IC 1 (closed)
  Living in the Shadows: Running Over the Edge OOC 2 (closed)
  Living in the Shadows: Running Over the Edge IC 2 (closed)
  Living in the Shadows: Salvation OOC 3
  Living in the Shadows: Salvation IC 3
  Living in the Shadows: A Short Victorious War OOC 4
  Living in the Shadows: A Short Victorious War IC 4

The LitS and Shadowland threads have already been discussed under Player Information. Guidelines is self-evident ;) and we will also be adding world rulings here as we make them. The Recruitment thread will be raised once a month, or as our GMing resources allow, to continually bring in new players into the LitS Seattle-verse. Finally, Active Projects will provide a separate thread where GMs can post special LitS projects for players to pursue and earn more karma for their PCs. Current active and open projects include coding an on-line NPC database, programming a Shadowrun stockmarket, and writing a regular sports column for Shadowland. Others will occur. Any player or GM will be eligible to take one or more of these projects on after they have been posting in LitS for one month.

In addition, there will be a separate IC and OOC for each run thread under the LitS banner, as is standard.

The GM staff keep in constant touch with each other via e-mail list to ensure a measure of consistency. We recognise that it is in the nature of GMing to have to make constant ad hoc rulings. Since each of these will set a precedent, it is in our own best interests to keep everyone on the GM team informed, and to bounce anything really “iffy” off the GM staff as a whole.

Until now I’ve been talking about run-oriented GMs and player-oriented GMs. More specifically, after WinterRat1 (Universe Coordinator, Boss, Scapegoat), whose job is to bring everything together somehow, within LitS we have three major types of GMing jobs: Universe GMs, World GMs, and Run GMs. It is possible for a GM to take on more than one of these roles, but from our own experience we have discovered that it can be exhausting.

Run GMs:
These are the people who create and GM runs within the LitS universe. They recruit their PCs from among LitS PCs. (We have found that going in the opposite direction, recruiting PCs first for the run and secondarily for LitS, tends to produce single-run oriented PCs, which is not what we are looking for within this concept.) In working their runs with the LitS Seattle-verse, they coordinate with the Universe Coordinator (WinterRat) to ensure overall plot consistency. (More on this later.) Uniquely among the GM team, the geographic area they cover can extend well beyond Seattle according to the dictates of the run, with the sole requirement that each run begin and end in Seattle within a day of the current LitS calendar time. They will be GMing exclusively within their respective run threads.

World GMs: These are of two types:Specialist GMs and Player GMs.

• Specialist GMs:
  These are specialists in a particular field (organised crime, Matrix, astral quests). Specialist GMs coordinate with all other GMs in developing structures specific to their area of expertise. In addition, Specialist GMs are consulted by all GMs for events impinging on their area of expertise, and may be called in by another GM to run a particular PC through those parts of personal or run plotline relating to the Specialist’s area of expertise. For example, a Specialist GM in the Matrix may be called in by a Player GM to run a decker PC through a specific host. Thus, a Specialist GM may GM within any LitS universe thread, but only in fixed structures within their area of expertise, and in tight coordination with the GM primarily responsible for that plotline.
  
  
• Player GMs:
  These are the GMs who run players through LitS and Shadowland. A Player GM will typically be running between 1 and 5 PCs, and is responsible for developing and moving forward plotlines for each PC being run. They coordinate any major planned event with the rest of the GM team to ensure overall plot consistency (more on this later). They also have the responsibility to maintain a PC’s personal plotline even during runs and to pick such plotlines up immediately should one of their PC’s runs go sour or collapse. They will be GMing exclusively within the LitS and Shadowland threads.

Universe GMs:
These are the people who are responsible for keeping everything coordinated. They oversee and moderate the LitS Seattle-verse, watching to see how all the individual PC plotlines fit into greater events, and generally ensure that everything is running smoothly. Unless they also happen to be acting as a World GM or Run GM (and most of us are!), you probably won’t often see them active in the threads. They are also responsible for approving all players applying to join. For now, we aren’t looking for new recruits in this section, but keep watching the Recruitment thread, because that may change :)


Our GM Team

Within this structure, we re-introduce our current GM team:

• WinterRat: Universe Coordinator, Player GM, Run GM (Salvation)
• banditf50: Universe GM, Specialist GM (organised crime), Player GM
• grendel: Universe GM, Specialist GM (game mechanics), Player GM, Run GM
• Sedna: Universe GM, Specialist GM (backstories/timelines; metaplot; creative consultant), Player GM

I want to GM!

As you can tell, we’re overworked, so new GMs are always welcome on the LitS team :) We do ask that you have some prior active familiarity with LitS. If you have not already done so, we strongly encourage you to submit your own LitS PC at the same time as applying to become an LitS GM, so as to gain familiarity with how the world functions from a player’s perspective. While we do recognise that there are some hardy souls out there who wish only to GM, we feel that continuing first-hand experience of the player’s perspective within LitS can only enhance your overall gaming experience.

In addition to the character information, please e-mail or PM me (WinterRat) with a brief outline including your previous experience with GMing, which of these GM roles you’d be most interested in, as well as directions you’d like to see the LitS Seattle-verse take. Finally, we also ask you to include which plotline themes or types of characters you’d prefer not to directly interact with. We do recognise that some GMs have an extremely difficult time dealing with magicians, or riggers, or the intense contact interaction of highly social characters; and that some thematic elements (eg. religion, sexuality) may have powerful triggers that some GMs may prefer to avoid. While we may be able to accommodate one or two such preferred exclusions: however, in general, flexibility is encouraged.

Once your character is approved for playing, you are cleared for posting as that character within the LitS and Shadowland threads as per Player Information. After two weeks of establishing your character within the LitS Seattle-verse, if you and your Player GM have developed a comfortable level of interaction, you will be added to the GM e-mail list, and Player GMs will be linked in with their first PC shortly thereafter.

For LitS to continue to grow and expand, it’s absolutely critical that our GM staff work well as a team. To this end, we do have a one-month probationary period from the time you are added to the GM e-mail list, during which the only practical limitation on your ability to contribute to LitS is that Player GMs will be limited to only one PC, and to a storyline which won’t affect other PCs.


Wait, I don’t want to stop playing my PC …

And in the LitS Seattle-verse, you won’t have to. As an established player, you already have a Player GM assigned to you. That won’t change. You’ll still be able to play your character, either in LitS and Shadowland with your Player GM, or in any run that you yourself are not GMing.

Yet in this fully-interactive gaming environment, it is not impossible that your PC ends up interacting with one of the PCs you are currently GMing, or that the necessity for keeping all GMs in the loop reveals to you metagame information unknown to your PC. This is the trade-off inherent in simultaneously playing a character and GMing other characters in the same universe. However, a couple of simple rules make it work.

First and foremost: your PC never takes the initiative in trying to interact directly with the PCs of any of your players. Even so, it’s possible that meetings and other direct interactions might occur. In these cases, you temporarily deal with your own PC as an NPC: always letting the other players take the initiative in all things unless the storyline absolutely requires your PC to act more directly.

Second: even if they are also playing one of the PCs you are GMing, everyone on the GM e-mail list is always informed whenever you wish to introduce and/or clear with others an element into your storyline that has the potential to affect other PCs – but only when such potential exists.


The Universe Coordinator, Player GMs and new PCs

For consistency, all new character proposals are vetted through the same person, the Universe Coordinator (WinterRat). As soon as the initial character proposal is received, the Universe Coordinator informs the GM team of the general character concept of the new character, and suggests a Player GM who he knows might work well with that PC and who has the available time. Other Player GMs may also ask to GM that character. If more than one Player GM is interested, the interested Player GMs talk it out among themselves first: if consensus cannot be reached among them, the general GM staff is consulted. It is very common that as part of this consensus process, the various Player GMs send ideas for potential personal plotlines for that PC. We’ve found that this give-and-take not only encourages active and vibrant interaction between Player GM and PC, but also plants creative seeds for other aspects of the LitS Seattle-verse.

There is one exception to this process: see Absences below.

Once a Player GM has been linked up with a potential PC, that GM is introduced to the prospective player and cc’ed on all the subsequent character discussion about that PC. (Where the character development ties into specific aspects of the LitS Seattle-verse, Specialist GMs may also be bc’ed.) While the Player GM and any other consulted GM have full power of creative feedback, for consistency we ask that at this stage all correspondence with the prospective player come solely from the Universe Coordinator. That is, the Player GM and any other consulted GMs voice their thoughts and concerns to WinterRat, who in turn passes them on to the prospective player. That way, any differences of opinion among the GM staff won’t in turn confuse the prospective player.

Once the PC is cleared for posting in LitS and Shadowland, the Universe Coordinator and any consultants step out of the immediate picture, with all future correspondence now going primarily through the Player GM. The Player GM now has a month to work out with the player any remaining character tweaks that may arise as a result of playing the character. At the end of that month, if a harmonious player-GM interaction has been attained, the Player GM clears the PC to apply for any LitS runs, and the player to apply for LitS special projects.

It is possible that it is the Player GM’s perception that such a level of interaction has not been reached, as a result of any of several factors. It is also possible that it may become apparent much earlier on that this particular Player GM-PC relationship is simply not going to work out. It is the Player GM’s responsibility to report such concerns to the GM team, which will then decide the appropriate course of action: whether to extend the probationary period, to shift that PC to a different Player GM, or to tell the player it is just not working out. In the last two cases, the Player GM is released of all further responsibility with respect to that player, and the decision will be communicated to the player by the Universe Coordinator.


Plot Consistency and Coordination

The LitS Seattle-verse is a multi-layered tapestry of interwoven stories and plotlines and personalities; and as such, different storylines being woven by different PCs and GMs will affect and interact with each other. It is the general responsibility of the Universe Coordinator to keep track of potential points of interaction. It is the Player and Run GMs’ responsibility to keep the GM team informed as to all potentially long-term, major, or potential ripple-effect plot elements. To this end, we have developed the following Hierarchy of Plot Coordination:

• Lofwyr nukes and similar are the prerogative of the Universe Coordinator exclusively.
  
• All GMs should consult the GM team before dropping in something major that could shift the tone of the LitS Seattle-verse and which is highly likely to affect every PC in that part of the city. An example of this might be the evolving mob war centring on Auburn.
  
• All GMs take their own initiative but should keep each other generally posted for the things they drop in which have the potential to affect PCs other than those they are directly running, but without explicitly targeting those PCs. Examples would include small riots, traffic tie-ups.
  
• All Player GMs should consult with the Universe Coordinator and clear it with the appropriate Player GM before dropping in something that will target PCs other than their own. Examples would include a random event that just happens to significantly disrupt a PC’s current actions.
  
• All GMs take their own initiative but should keep each other generally, and the affected Player GM specifically, posted for the things they drop in that may be a hook specific to PCs other than those they are running directly. Examples would include introducing an NPC from another PC’s background.
  
• No GM should ever interact with another Player GM’s PC directly without first clearing it with the Player GM responsible for that PC.
  
• Anything dropped in by a Player GM that is not likely to go beyond their specific PCs doesn’t require consultation.

Karma

Each Player GM assigns karma to their PCs every Sunday. Each player who has been posting actively to move their character story forward earns one karma point, even if they are currently posting within a run thread. GMs may give out another karma point as a quality bonus, and still another for running a regular Shadowland feature.

Each Run GM assigns karma to the PCs within their run at the conclusion of the run.

Any of the Universe GMs may assign additional karma to a particular PC as a reward for having completed a special project: such rewards usually range between 1 and 5 karma points, depending on the amount of work required.

The LitS Seattle-verse recognises the extra work GMs have put into developing the Seattle-verse :D Every GM constructively active behind the scenes or actively GMing on any of the LitS universe threads receives one bonus karma point per week for their character. Every GM who does both receives two bonus karma points per week. Sorry, no bonus karma beyond that: we’d prefer to do the best we can do over an extended period of time, rather than discover the limits of what we can do and burn out.


Absences

You’ve read the section under Player Information, right? :D All that applies double to the GM team, because for us GMs, it’s even more crucial that we don’t let down our players, ever. This means that once a run is begun, once a Player GM begins working with a PC, once a Specialist GM has committed to helping with a particular aspect of the world: you never, ever, “disappear” without warning. The single major rule of absences is always to inform your fellow GMs and your players first. If you know you are going to be absent for a short period of time (up to a week), tell your players and the GM e-mail list. If the absence is to be longer, up to a month, tell the GM e-mail list, make alternate arrangements with one or more other GMs who are willing and able to cover for your absence, and tell your players how long you’ll be away and who’s taking over for you in the meantime. Absences longer than a month will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

It may happen that extended absences occur without warning, that for whatever reason you’ve been pulled sharply away from the boards and haven’t been able even to let your fellow GMs or your players know what’s happening; but that after everything’s been resolved, you want to come back and pick up where you were. Well, we’ll try to work with you, but unfortunately things aren’t going to be quite as they were. Your players have moved on; your fellow GMs have moved on; the LitS Seattle-verse has moved on. This is the nature of a dynamic world.

Still, all may not be lost. The first step is to apologise to your players and your fellow GMs immediately, and let them know what happened. Whether or not the events behind the absence were within your control, you still had a responsibility to your players and your fellow GMs, and your apology lets everyone know that you also have respect for them. The next step is to re-acquaint yourself with LitS events and rulings. Whether or not you agree with them, you have to be prepared to work within those events and rulings before you continue to step 3: figuring out with your fellow GMs how to re-insert you into the game.

Because the world and the PCs have moved on in your absence, you won’t be getting back the same responsibilities you had. Your players have been picked up by other GMs. Your areas of expertise have been covered by others. Your run has been resolved … somehow. You can’t go back to where you were. Because of these changes, a Universe GM who is returning to LitS after an absence for which no warning was given has lost that position until such time as you have re-established yourself as another type of GM within the LitS Seattle-verse, there is a new opening available, and the entire GM team agrees that you are the best candidate among all those interested for that opening.

We do, however, have ways of working you back into the game as any other kind of GM … once. Complete these successfully, at the GM team’s discretion, and all is fine, the slate is erased, we won’t ever bring it up again.

If you were a Run GM, you will be required to successfully complete a completely new run. (Your old run is history.) If you were a Specialist GM, you will be called in regularly as a consultant within your area of expertise: after one month and with the GM team’s consensus, if the slot is still open, you may once again evolve plot elements within your area of expertise. If you were a Player GM, you will be assigned the next non-Awakened PC which does not fall within your preferred exclusions as you originally stated them. (This is the exception that was mentioned earlier.) Although you will be evaluated by the GM team after one month and may possibly (with the team’s agreement) be assigned other PCs afterwards, this first PC is a permanent assignment, and you will be expected to continually evolve personal plotline with that PC as normal.

If the GM team doesn’t agree that you have performed your requirement adequately, or if you slip up a second time, however: we’re sorry, but maybe GMing LitS is not the venue for you …?

The key element here is trust. Whatever the reason for your absence, whether or not the events were within your control, you have let your GM team and your players down. Players must be able to trust that their GM will be there for them … and it is absolutely critical for LitS’s continued survival and growth that our GM staff work well as a team. Everyone involved has to be able to trust you again.

[WinterRat1]

Karma Pool Guidelines

1. Karma pool is gained at a staggered rate per SR Comp, pg. 82
2. Karma pool refreshes at dawn.
3. Karma pool does not renew AT ALL during extended projects. Karma pool is available over the entirety of the project, but will not refresh until the time limit on the project is up, regardless of whether or not it was successful.
4. Metahumans gain 1 karma pool per 20 good karma, humans 1 karma pool per 10 good karma.
5. We’ll remind here that the points in the Karma Pool are transferred Good Karma: ie. that the point that appears in the Karma Pool has been lost from Good Karma.

More detail to be added as necessary.

[WinterRat1]

Spending Karma, Training Times, Programming, Spell Creation - SR 3 rules: THIS IS NOW SUPERCEDED BY SR 4 TRAINING RULES BELOW

Karma Costs:

Attributes: 2 x desired rating (to racial maximum)

Attribute Training Time:
4 hours per karma pt spent

Attribute Improvement Test:
Roll the appropriate attribute against a target number of 6, successes divide into training time.

Skills:
Base Skill: Active Knowledge
New Skill Rating is:
Less than or equal to attribute rating: 1.5 x 1 x
Less than or equal to (2 x attribute rating): 2 x 1.5 x
Greater than (2 x attribute rating): 2.5 x 2 x

Specializations:
New Skill Rating is:
Less than or equal to attribute rating: .5 x .5 x
Less than or equal to (2 x attribute rating): 1 x 1 x
Greater than (2 x attribute rating): 1.5 x 1.5 x

Skill Training Times:
Skill rating 1-3: 1 hour per karma pt spent
Skill rating 4-6: 2 hours per karma pt spent
Skill rating 6+: 4 hours per karma pt spent

Skill improvement test:
Roll the current skill rating against a target number equal to (desired rating +2), successes divide into training time. If training with an instructor, every 2 successes on the instruction test counts as one success on the skill improvement test.

Training day:
A base of 4 hours per day max, Willpower(10) test to increase training time, one hour per success. Time may be divided among IN/2 skills, with minimum intervals of one hour per skill.

Programming Time, Spell Design Time, Vehicle Maintenance Time, Weapon Customization Time all remain the same as listed in the appropriate SR3 reference. Characters intending to conduct those tasks in game are highly encouraged to pursue all avenues of reducing that time (target number reductions, working in teams, upgrading rather than starting from scratch, etc.).

[WinterRat1]

SR 4 Character Conversion
Guidelines for Current LITS Players

IMPORTANT: These guidelines are for existing LITS
characters ONLY, ie. those already in play.
New applicants should create new characters using SR4
rules (see "SR 4 Character Creation Guidelines").


Foreword

In considering how to convert to SR4 rules, we found
two separate areas to be addressed: a strict rules
conversion (ie. converting PC stats to SR4,
using SR4 rules), and what we are calling a
storyline conversion. The first is
self-explanatory, but the second may need a bit more
explanation.

A basic understanding of SR4 is that the world of 2070
is significantly different from the world of 2063, in
ways that are much more closely tied to timeline
events than in any other previous sytem change. The
storyline aspect of the LitS conversion will adapt
existing LitS storylines within the current storyline
year to eventually allow full adaptation of the new
rules, slightly bending strict canon so as to achieve
the spirit of the SR4 rules without disrupting or
discarding the current storylines we have worked so
hard to develop together.


BASIC PROCEDURE FOR RULES
CONVERSION

Step 1: Using 400 BP, re-create your character
entirely from scratch, using strict canon SR4
rules.

We recognize that spells, gear, skills, etc have all
changed. Thus, rather than attempting to translate
numbers directly, the idea is to try to get as close
as possible to the original conception of the
character. Although it will seem as though
there is a significant drop in the
power/abilities/resources/capabilities of your
character, we find it helps to keep in mind what the
new ratings of SR4 attributes and skills actually
represent: lower numbers may actually represent a
proportionately higher level of skill or attribute.
One special case: commlinks and technomancy are not
available to these starting PCs. PCs with existing
communications and rigging cyberware should use the
SR3 values for this gear only, but divide its cost by
4. (SR3 communications and rigging equipment has not
suddenly ceased to function, SR4 equipment is not yet
available; and the world event triggering the birth of
technomancers has not yet occurred. Welcome to the
SotA curve, chummers.)


Step 2: Submit the new version of your character to
your Player GM and WinterRat1 for review. Please
explain any significant changes in your re-created
character due to reworking within the SR4 system.

The potential examples are too numerous to list, but
basically we are seeking to bring your character as
close to essentially the same in relative ability and
intent as in the original conception. Among
ourselves, the most common major shifts we have
discovered are rank of key skills, starting spells,
cost/essence-translation of 'ware, and especially the
cost-translation of contacts. (See "Potential Problem
Areas" below.) We don't want your character to
suddenly become noticeably different or deprived,
simply because the system structure has changed. We
certainly don't want you to feel cheated or screwed
over by the conversion process: so if you feel like
your character would have been developed significantly
differently under SR4 rules, talk to us about it! If
it's something absolutely essential to your conception
of your character, we can work something out. All of
us have our own PCs in play, and we've worked through
most of the painful things ourselves.

Once the initial concept of the character has been
agreed upon, your Player GM (with WinterRat1 assisting
if/as necessary) can help you work out arrangements to
bring your character to as close an approximation as
possible of the SR3 version at the time of
conversion. Potential options here include
karma-to-cash, instant karma spending (no training
time required) and whatever else your GM deems to be a
fair way of resolving the issue.

Please note, however, that this system of character
conversion is NOT designed to allow you to instantly
improve your character for free. This step is to
ensure that your character is minimally affected by a
switch in systems, and thus resembles him or herself
at the time of conversion as faithfully and honestly
as possible.


The Secret Step

You don't get to know what the Secret Step is until
you get here. That's why it's a secret. Hint: you
don't lose the karma you've already earned.


Step 4: Continue playing in the LITS world as a SR4
character, and enjoy!


Potential Problem
Areas

Starting Contacts

In SR3, contacts of all shapes and sizes were paid for
with nuyen and Edges, with each character additionally
granted two level 1 contacts without cost. The result
was that level 1 and even level 2 contacts abounded,
some of them quite powerful. Not so in SR4, where a
level 2 contact's Loyalty alone can cost 4-5 BP, never
mind the contact's Connection level. In conversion,
some characters could well find themselves drained of
50 or more BP on contacts alone.

The solution we suggest is to create the most
important contacts in your character's life first, and
then work backwards. If you feel you are running out
of points, focus on those contacts with whom your
character has interacted most. Again, please note
that this cost applies only to contacts acquired at
chargen: contacts developed in-game do not count.

Karma Spending and Training Time

Karma already spent under SR3 rules and in-game
training time will continue count towards karma/time
spent for the purposes of raising the equivalent skill
or attribute in SR4. If a skill no longer exists in
SR4 (eg. Small Unit Tactics), consult with your
Player GM.

Since Karma Pool no longer exists, all karma in the
Karma Pool may be spent at the standard karma cost for
raising attributes for the purposes of raising Edge
(assuming it is not already maxed out), with no
training time necessary. This is a one-time player
option available only during conversion. Otherwise,
the Karma Pool points are converted back into Good
Karma, at the rate of 1 Karma Pool = 1 Good Karma.

Rigging and Decking Equipment

For now, VCRs and datajacks continue to function
exactly as they always have: but watch Shadowland
closely for developments. The SotA curve breathes
closely on the backs of your necks, chummers.

Wireless Equipment

See "Storyline Conversion" below.


STORYLINE
CONVERSION

In SR4 as in no previous edition of SR, the new
options and the storyline are intimately linked: yet
the 7-year gap between the third and fourth editions,
as well as the sheer volume of events during this time
interval, make it impractical to just "fast-forward"
the PCs of LitS to 2070 and assume there would be no
changes or consequences. Nor did we wish to discard
every developing storyline just because we happen to
be switching to a new rules mechanic.

After much GM argument ("discussion"), we concluded
that only one "storyline" event would be absolutely
necessary for the rules to function as intended: in
order to instigate the advent of wireless technology.
We have worked out a storyline system to implement
this SR world change.

It won't come about instantaneously, and we believe it
would reduce player enjoyment if you were to know too
much about it in advance. Suffice it for now to say
that while the SR4 version of commlinks is not yet
available on the open market and you cannot begin with
an SR4 commlink as a starting character, you may soon
be able to acquire one in-game. (Note, however, that
neither infrastructure nor compatible upgrades in
other electronics may yet be in place to fully support
the SR4 commlink ... and that we do remember VHS v.
Beta.)

We also drop a teaser that technomancy will be
available to non-Awakened PCs in future, and that the
SotA curve eternally looms over the shadowrunner. If
you want further details, keep a close eye on events
developing in Shadowland.

With our revisions, your characters will now have the
chance to play through the events that rocked and
changed the SR4 world. As a result, it is entirely
possible that our storyline may eventually deviate
from strict canon and not parallel future developments
exactly, perhaps even in large part because of the
actions your characters take. In the end, we felt
that sacrificing absolute canon-icity was a small
price to pay to achieve continuity in the lives and
stories of LitS, and the resulting opportunity to play
through and impact the events that changed the world.

[WinterRat1]

SR 4 TRAINING RULES

Attribute Improvement
Cost: New Rating x 3 karma
Training Time: Karma Cost x 5 hours
Improvement Test: Current Attribute Only (edge as applicable) - Hits divide into
training time

Active Skills
Cost: New Rating x 2 karma
Training time: Karma Cost x 5 hours
Improvement Test: Current Skill + Attribute (edge as applicable) - Hits divide into training time
Learning New Active Skills: Use above formulas with New Rating = 1

Active Skill Group
Cost: New Rating x 10 karma
Training Time: Karma cost x 3 hours
Improvement Test: Current Skill Group + Attribute [use lowest attribute if
multi-attribute skill group] (edge as applicable) - Hits divide into training time
Learning New Skill Groups: Use above formulas with New Rating = 1

Knowledge/Language Skills
Cost: New Rating x 1 karma
Training Time: Karma Cost x 10 hours
Improvement Test: Current Skill + Attribute (edge as applicable) - Hits
divide into training time
Learning New Knowledge/Language Skills: Use above formulas with New Rating = 1

Other Improvements

New Spell
Cost: 5 karma
Training Time: 20 hours – No improvement test possible to reduce training time

New Complex Form
Cost: 2 karma
Training Time: 20 hours – No improvement test possible to reduce training time

New Specializations
Cost: 2
Training Time: 20 hours – No improvement test possible to reduce training time

Note 1: Glitches, Critical Glitches, and Critical Successes do not occur on Improvement Tests. You cannot fail an Improvement Test. Zero hits means you will pay the base karma cost and training time, just as if you rolled one hit.

Note 2: Instructors may be real or virtual (AR or VR) and add their rating in dice to a character’s dice pool when making the improvement test.

Note 3: Additional training time may be purchased at the rate of 1 karma point = 4 training hours. There is a limit of 1 karma point per day, for a maximum of 8 possible training hours per day (4 normally allowed + 4 ‘purchased’ hours from 1 karma point expenditure = 8 training hours/day maximum).

This is not ‘free’ training time. The character must still spend the extra time training (and should probably post about it) but instead of being limited to only training 4 hours a day, with the expenditure of a karma point, may train up to (but not exceed) 8 hours in a day.

Note 4: Specialization dice are not rolled when making the improvement test.

Note 5: Yes, under the above rules it is cheaper to learn new Knowledge/Language Skills and Active Skills that the main rulebook states. Merry Christmas.

Magic and Initiation

Magic Attribute: Increase this with karma costs and training time as per a normal attribute improvement above. Since there is no augmented maximum for Magic, after a certain point GMs may wish to consider extra requirements for their players to increase their Magic Attribute beyond a certain threshold. This is at each individual GM’s discretion.

Initiation:
Initiation Base Cost: 10 + (Grade x 3)
Group Initiation: Base Cost – 20% (round up)*
Initiatory Ordeal: Base Cost – 20% (round up)*

*These may be combined for a net initiation cost of Base Cost – 40% (round up)

Training Time: At GM discretion.
Default Training Time = 6 hours

All Initiations will require role-playing, the exact nature and requirements to be determined at individual GM discretion. Ordeals generally follow the book, but time and specific details of each ordeal are subject to GM discretion.

Metamagic
Cost: None unless specified by a specific technique or GM discretion. Otherwise cost is assumed to have been paid as part of the Initiation process.
Training Time: At GM Discretion.
Default Training Time for Basic Metamagic Techniques: 10 hours
Default Training Time for Advanced Metamagic Techniques: 15 hours

Learning Metamagic Techniques can only be done one of four ways:
1. From an initiate who already knows the technique
2. Through an astral quest or deed
3. From a free spirit.
4. From research per Street Magic, pg. 52

Cross-Training
Karma costs and Training time are tracked separately for each item. In other words, karma and training time spent increasing the Magic Attribute cannot also be counted towards learning a Metamagical Technique or Initiation and vice versa.