Shadowrun Conversions or Adaptations, Gaming with other Systems in Shadowrun Options

[Herald of Verjig...]

[Kagetenshi]

Can I have sex with my dikoted nWoD ruleset?

~J

[Velocity]

:D Damn near snarfed water out my nose...

[TheQuestionMan]

M - "Well, I have been told that one of my problems I have when playing the superheroes game in the HERO system, is that I tend to think with my 'Runner mind, with SR style encounters, as opposed to as a more comic-bookish character. Having to think "Superhero" in a modern setting after 12 years of "Professional Criminal" can be a bit difficult. Apparently a superhero saying "its not my problem" is kind of a misfit in the group..."

QM - It's good you can see that. I hope you can find your own path.

M - "(We had captured an eastern European sniper who was working with the villains (find weakness + a sniper rifle is wicked I'm told)"

QM - Yes, Find Weakness can be lethal (It reduces a targets Defenses in half and only a specific "Lack of Weakness" Power [Not Common BTW] allows any kind if Defense.

M - "...whom it was determined was a merc who was going to get screwed out of his money. Not having any contacts in Eastern Europe or in the villain's network, I let him go on professional courtesy, in exchange for his contact number should we ever need him, and some information on his crooked employer. The others didn't like the fact I let a villain go instead of taking him to jail....still the contact worked like a charm.)"

QM - Again that is just a genre convention of the superhero setting. Saying you bugged him to allow you to trace back to his employer or that the Merc/Assassin was actual a Covet Agent for a Law Enforcement Agency. Play it how you wish. The rivalry between Batman and the JLA is a good example.

M - "Insofar as the system, the combat seems frustrating to me because it never seems to have a resolution. This may be another product of the superhero genre, but it seems we spend 3 hours in a combat, only to have the bad guys pretty much walk off or get away, and nothing in the status quo changes. The bad guy's defense just absorbs everything we can throw at them, reducing our damage to neglgible stun. It seems we could just not engage in these battles, and still do things just as effectively. This one I can probably chalk up to genre or GM though."

QM - Who have you been fighting. You can STUN and man into a coma. You can do enough BODY to put them in the hospital for months or even kill them with a single blow. [A normal with 10 BODY gets killed pretty damned fast]. I do not know your GM or Gaming group, but pick up the Hero System SIDEKICK or the "Combat Crib Sheet" from the Hero Games - Free Stuff Link. It speeds up combat quickly... at least for my new campaign with 4 players new to the Hero System. IMOHO.

M - "Another thing is that ranged attack penalties are obscene. I can be 6 "inches" away from a guy (on the map) and have so big of a penalty, my ranged attacks are practically nullified with a big minus to my OCV. I can understand a penalty for range, but these stack up awfully quickly."

QM - True Range Penalties add up, but you can reduce them by taking Penalty Skill Levels vs. Ranged Attack Modifiers for real cheap. They can also be applied to Hit Locations, Auto Fire Penalties, etc... Knowing the system makes it easy for me, but your GM should have explained it better when helping you create your character.

M - "The speed chart for initiative is innovative, but I dont like how battles always have the same order. Combat is always a chaotic, random thing to me... What is nice about it, is it can lead to some pretty devastating combination attacks, since you always know when your buddies are going to go, because it never changes. If you're the guy with a lower speed / dex, you can play clean up when your friends set the bad guy up with debilitators, specifically so you can nail him."

QM - The "Wait" Maneuver is the ultimate tactical tool. Check it out. Big HINT! Surprise your GM.

M - "I'll admit the book itself is intimidating. I've been gaming for quite some time, and still, the HERO book makes me cringe, when I think of the sheer volume of rules the game has. As I play more and more though, I'm able to get through it a little quicker."

QM - Again you can buy the Hero System SIDEKICK 126 pages for $13 canadian or $10 american, & $7 american as a PDF File. This is Hero System Light. Check it out.

M - "What I meant by complex, yet vague, was that the game has an exceptionally large book with a myriad of rules for all kinds of games, be they superheroes, fantasy characters, or whatnot. It has rules for how all these things interact with each other, and with the general world. For the most part, there is a rule for nearly everything, and my group is intent on looking them up as we need them."

QM - Thay is a GM isssue you should bring up with him. I generally type up any special rules I will use for that night's sesssion and make copies for the players. I run a fairly disciplined? game. If they feel the need to look something up I let them. They are new to the system, but I will occassionally make an arbutary ruling and keep the game moving while they look it up and we address it at the end of the session.

M - "hat is vague about it, is that the system lacks the finer details that I've become accustomed to in ED and SR."

QM - I GMed Shadowrun off and on through 3 editions and I find it a more difficult system to run than Hero System. Where with Shadowrun there was a different rules set for Combat, Magic, Rigging, Decking, etc... etc... etc... Hero System has one Rules set for everything. I like that.

M - "Take the wealth perk for example. Taking no points in it whatsoever, you automatically have a $75,000.00 working allowance per year. 15 Points invested in it says you have unlimited resources. Taking it as a disadvantage, you can get more character points for being broke. On the surface, the works just like the priority rules for SR, however, these perks carry over into the campaign, and continue along with the rest of the game, not stopping at character creation. Now, I know this perk wouldn't work in a SR-HERO conversion though."

QM - I see that as a GM issue. Talk it out with him. Preferably without the other players around so there is no distractions.

M - "With the "Stick Rule," I suppose it makes sense on the level of a superhero game, where a character couldn't invent themselves a power doubling suit or something like Velocity said. What doesn't sit well with me, is if we were to capture an enemy device, and want to keep it to use against another enemy in the future, we would have to pay points for it, even though we obtained it in the course of the game, as opposed to creating it. There was nothing inherant about the item with the character, and it can most certainly be stolen or broken. Maybe it's the packrat in me, but I don't want to give up a weapon I get today, because it may help me tomorrow..."

QM - I see it as a matter of Game Balance IMOHO, but heh we you can not please everybody.

M - "Since I made my first post on this, another game night has passed. Things seem to be improving, as the system gets ingrained more and more. I think, that as I get more in tune with it, I'll be able to appreciate it much more, and will continue to try to be open to it. I think I might check out the HERO boards, and ask a few questions there."

QM - Awesome, glad your having fun.

M - "For now, I still long for my Browning Max-Power, my wired reflexes, and my shady low lifestyle safehouses."

QM - "I totally uderstand. BTW have you ever GMed Shadowrun?



Cheers

QM