Shadowrunrpg.com has just put up the official conversion guide, you can get it from http://www.shadowrunrpg.com/resources/sr4/.../sr3_to_sr4.pdf

So, what do people think?

It says every non-Hacker character starts out with a commlink with F/R/S/Sys ratings of 2.... is this true for new SR4 characters (and I just missed it)? or just a suggestion for converting the old ones?

They also gave a few hints on the new magic system, and on why shamans et hermetics have access to the same powers...

Fixed.

That was quick.

Can't wait for the NNSRCG to incorporate these functions as a button.

There's still no method for skill in SR4 like perception unless your character had the perceptive edge, which I guess could translate int the skill. But I guess that's why it is strongly encouraged to just start from scratch and rebuild. WHich is what my group already did. Just a thought.

EDIT: I guess this is addressed to the author, if he happens by. I didn't know his RL name.

Was it intentional that the Lucky Quality was left out of determining the top end of Edge? In my eye Lucky is quite close to Daredevil, so it is possibe to have it. Well Lucky is a bit more costly than Daredevil relatively speaking, 20BP Qual should be about 5BP Edge/Flaw. So it should probably eat up a minor Edge or two in the process, but in approximation it's pretty close. Lucky also doesn't have the "being brave" requirement, but chances are pretty good at least one of those 7 or 8 uses of Edge are going to involve bravery, or it's kissing cousin foolhardiness.

EDIT: I'd personally give the character Lucky tossed in if their Karma Pool was a STUPID amount over cap. Say they started with 30 Karma Pool. But given that the quick conversion is mostly for NPCs i doubt that is going to happen often. Besides that's going to be at least a 300 karma character, over 600 karma if they are meta or human with Bad Karma. That's probably the least of their problems going the quick conversion route.

it also advised giving karma from gameplay, but says nothing about nuyen. My group just multiplied the karma total by 2,000 and that's how much we have them when converting. It doesn't seam like a lot if your characters were pulling a couple hundred thousand per run. We figured with the value of the nuyen going a lot farther with the cost of cyber/bio going down (okay maybe only cyber) and cyber decks too the amount given for runs should go down as well. Add in the watered down characters and that a more street level campaign won't be earning the big bucks right off the bat anymore...

EDIT: They do mention gear. They suggest something roughly the same cost, but i'd consider something roughly the same way up the functional scale be better applicable. Though most non-ware/non-decker gear is in around the same cost, so the difference isn't much.

Roughly speaking i'd peg cash at around 1/2 value. So 1 new to 2 old . Not exact, but it's very easy to calculate and cuts a nice balance between stuff that dropped in price ('ware! & decker gear!) vs. stuff that has stayed about the same (cars for example). Just don't let the player sell off their r33t decks instead of coverting them directly to Commlinks. Well, -maybe- if they got 10 cents on the dollar for the hardware and nothing for the software (before the halfing converting the cash) and then had to buy all new software that might come out close. Better to just convert the software/hardware straight out. Besides they catch a serious break in the Skill departement where 1 old skill becomes 7 new ones.

P.S. The serious, serious drop in base cyber/bio costs is partially offset at the top end by the Delta cost multiplier.

That will be fixed shortly.

Some annoying holes, particularly surrounding specialization conversion for high specializations. I had a character in one of my campaigns with Edged Weapons 6 (Katana 11), who by the guide would come out to a standard Blades 4 (Katana +2).

Well, that and the description for Jack Itch, which is a crippling flaw. "Minor inconvenience"?

Other than that, not bad considering what is being worked with.

~J

"I use a Simple Action and attempt to Quickdraw my smartlinked fine-toothed comb."

Skilll-related:

1) I'm surprised to see page three's exemplar character use "Kicking" as a specialization of "Unarmed Combat." Listed specializations per SR4 p113 are: Cyber-Implants, Martial Arts, Subdual Combat, and Parrying.

2) Likewise "Katana" doesn't seem to be a valid specialization for "Blades."

Magic-related:

1) No conversion guide for previously-core totems that didn't make it into the main book? I presume these will appear in Street Magic, but I'm interested in seeing a section that converts one totem bonus/penalty into something more updated. Shall I lump this into the "wing it for now" category?

2) Druidic, voodoo, and elven traditions should be converted into either the hermetic or shamanic tradition, if I understand. Is the intention to have us convert back again once Street Magic comes out?

3) What to do with ally spirits and familiars? Hide them on a shelf and likewise wait for Street Magic? (I sense a theme of self-answering.)

Contact-related:

1) What if the SR3 character had a "gang" Contact? I don't mean a ganger, I mean the collection of like-minded thug-types that was initially available.

2) As existing characters progress, they tend to accumulate additional contacts that were not bought in character generation. How should those convert to SR4 (is there even an official mechanic for earning new contacts in SR4) since they're now purchased only with Build Points?

That's my first impression of my first read, hastily typed up while at work. Apologies for the lack of review quality.

Great Job, AH - very close to my own worked-out 'system', but with some valuable additions and suggestions.

This is what I'll use to convert my NPCs and such from now on (with a few mods, as always)

Thank You!

Jocular edit: (wonders...did this take so long because who-ever-was-in-charge scanned these forums for suggestions? j/k)

It takes some time to locate, extract and interrogate Dumpshockers.

Blakkie most dumpshock old timers are used to resisting totture by the training of going through some of the threads here

No one can hold out indefinitely.

Well, fear is the mind-killer and all. I guess the best defense is to already be braindead.

Anyway, to the thread topic: I've had a chance to do a hard read on the guide and (aside from what's mentioned) I think it does its job well as stands. I've converted some of my old characters over and have been satisfied enough.

Adam, is the plan for this guide (and current errata) to be included in the next print run?

I'd like to ask for clarification on two points in the otaku/technomancer section...

First, it says under the text about the Tasking skill group that the max for this skill group is 5. However, the example character has the skill group at 6.

Secondly, it says that max Resonance = 6 + Grade - Essence Loss. Cool. Then in the example conversion, it says that this otaku with Essence 2.8 and Submersion Grade 3 decides to sacrifice his three grades to get his Resonance from 2 to 5, hence losing his echoes. However, if he sacrifices all 3 grades, isn't his max Resonance then 2? Or does he still have the grades, but is simply trading the echoes for the Resonance points?

--K

The document seems to mention how to convert decks to commlinks, and even handle program degredation - any hope of getting a few sentences on how to convert drones?

Considering the core-book contains some revamps of existing drones, one has to assume that the old drones still exist somewhere (rusting in the dark corners of the world). My old character had a synth-cat and a few GM Mr. Fix-its. In conversion from SR3 to SR4 do they all explode, get refunded for cash that I can spend on less-cool (read: more useful) drones? Any hope of me keeping my drone with arms? I liked him.

personally I have a problem with the intitiation change over due to continuity. For balance it makes some sense, but in game, it makes no sense that all of a sudden the character forgets how to center. Everything else doesn't really count for forgetting, since it's not like they're losing ability, it's just redefined. but this is the first one where the character straight out loses an ability. Some cyber mods hurt in a similar way, like a lower max rating on muscle aug, or the big change on mneumonic enhancers. But this is abilities that the mage completely loses, and that makes no sense in game.

Of course, you could always choose Centering as one of the Metamagics that you keep when converting over.