0) Reintroduce some concepts from SR3, in terms of wounds and wound levels.
1) Get rid of Limits.
2) Bring everything down to (primarily) ratings of 1-6.
3) Re-balance direct and indirect combat spells to be roughly equivalent in effect versus drain.
4) Fix the Magic Force/limit issues; make reagents useful.
5) Make Cybercombat somewhat more interesting.
6) Fix Wireless Bonuses by providing good reasons to actually put gear online, without wrecking basic functionality while offline.
7) Provide some options for PAN/Equipment hacking that don't cause a shut-out in either direction.
Some things I haven't done:
1) Address Astral Combat, Adept Powers, and non-combat spells/rituals/enchanting -- I expect Astral Combat to (generally) follow the Melee rules. Adept Powers (except for the Limit mods) should be about the same, though there should probably be an adept power to provide Armor Penetration for Unarmed. Rituals should probably follow suit behind the summoning rules. Enchanting needs some tweaking
2) Address Technomancers -- Technomancers actually get a lot of utility out of the basic Matrix changes. They can start with at least "starting deck" values and come into play with a much higher Device Rating (=Resonance) and thus extra dice to resist damage. CFs need to be revisited.
3) Address riggers, drones, or vehicles. For the most part, halving the Armor would work.
4) Address called shots -- this is actually a big part of the combat rules I've written here, I just haven't gotten to it.
This is big. I'll encapsulate in spoiler tags.
Combat and Damage
[ Spoiler ]
Combat and Damage
Armor
Armor values are replaced as follows:
0: Clothing, Feedback Clothing, Unarmored
1: Armor Clothing, (Synth)Leather
2: Actioneer Business Clothes, Urban Explorer Jumpsuit
3: Armor Vest, Lined Coat, Urban Explorer Jumpsuit (with helmet), Chameleon Suit
4: Armor Jacket
5: Full Body Armor
6: Full Body Armor (with helmet)
Ranged
All weapons have the following stats:
Power
Armor Penetration
Recoil Compensation
Modes
Ammo
Except for Power and Armor Penetration, these stats remain as written.
Melee
All weapons have the following stats:
Power
Armor Penetration
Reach
Damage
Damage tests are taken as follows:
DV = [Power - (Armor - AP, min 0)], min 0
Damage = DV + (attack net hits) - (Body hits)
note: if the DV is 0 or reduced to 0, the damage from the attack is always Stun..
Each 2 unresisted points of damage from a single attack stage up the Wound Level as follows:
No Injury (0 damage)
Light Wound (2 damage)
Moderate Wound (4 damage)
Serious Wound (6 damage)
Deadly Wound (8 damage)
An odd amount of damage additionally creates a “Flesh Wound.”
Example: Joe Security is shot. After his damage test there are 5 remaining damage points. He receives a Moderate Wound as well as a Flesh Wound.
Characters can only have one of each Wound Level. If the character receives a second wound at that level, they are combined into the next higher level. A character can therefore have a Light Wound and Serious Wound at the same time. If he then receives an additional Light Wound, his current Light Wound is erased and a Moderate Wound is added. If the character receives an additional Serious Wound instead, the current Serious Wound is erased and a Deadly Wound is added.
Characters are debilitated by injuries. Each Wound Level imposes an accumulative -1 dice pool penalty on physical actions and reactions (except for damage resistance tests), as follows:
No Injury (0)
Light Wound (-1)
Moderate Wound (-2)
Serious Wound (-3)
Deadly Wound (incapacitated)
A character with multiple wounds adds all of their associated penalties together.
A character can have a number of Flesh Wounds less than his Body attribute. If the number of Flesh Wounds equals Body, they are erased and a Light Wound is added.
Stun damage is handled similarly, with Light Stun (-1), Moderate Stun (-2), Serious Stun (-3), and Deadly Stun (unconscious). Instead of “Flesh Wound,” the minor level of Stun damage is called “Hard Knock” -- the rules are the same, except substitute Willpower for Body for the number of Hard Knocks a character can receive.
Additionally, Stun damage does not cause a dice pool modifier. Instead, it penalizes Initiative. A character with a Serious Stun and a Light Stun, for example, would receive a -4 Initiative penalty. This effect is immediate and may reduce a character’s location in the Initiative track or cause them to lose actions.
Healing
Tests for First Aid (etc, including Heal spell) are made as normal. Each hit reduces one wound by one level. Meaning someone with wounds of L S who gets healed for 3 hits may reduce the Serious wound to nothing and keep the light, or reduce the light wound to nothing and the serious to light. Someone with LMS who gets 4 hits of healing would end up keeping a Moderate wound. I'm pretty sure that no matter which way you slice it you end up with the same result.
Melee Weapons
Unarmed: Power = Str/2; AP = +2
Knucks: Power = Str/2 + 1; AP = +2
Monofilament Whip: Power = 6P; AP = -4; Reach = 2
Shock Gloves: Power = 5S(e); AP = -3
Blades
Reach 0 Weapons
Combat Knife: Power = Str/2 + 1; AP = -2
Forearm Snap-Blades: Power = Str/2 + 1; AP = -2
Knife: Power = Str/2 + 1; AP = 0
Survival Knife: Power = Str/2 + 1; AP = -1
Reach 1 Weapons
Katana: Power = Str/2 + 2; AP = -1
Sword: Power = Str/2 + 2; AP = -1
Reach 2 Weapons
Combat Axe: Power = Str/2 + 3; AP = -3
Reach 3 Weapons
Polearm: Power = Str/2 + 3 AP = -2
Clubs
Reach 0 Weapons
Sap: Power = Str/2; AP = +1
Reach 1 Weapons
Club: Power = Str/2 + 2; AP = +1
Extendable Baton: Power = Str/2 + 1; AP = 0
Stun Baton: Power = 6S(e); AP = -3
Reach 2 Weapons
Staff: Power = Str/2 + 3; AP = +1
Telescoping Staff: Power = Str/2 + 2; AP = 0
Firearms
Tasers
Defiance EX Shocker: Power = 5S(e); AP = -3
Yamaha Pulsar: Power = 4S(e); AP = -3
Holdout Pistols
Fichetti Tiffani Needler: Power = 4P(f); AP = +2
Streetline Special: Power = 2P; AP = +1
Walther Palm Pistol: Power = 3P; AP = +1
Light Pistols
Ares Light Fire, Beretta 201T: Power = 2P; AP = 0
Colt America L36, Fichetti Security: Power = 3P; AP = 0
Taurus Omni-6: Power = 2P; AP = 0/-1
Heavy Pistols
Ares Predator, Browning Ultra-Power: Power = 3P, AP = -1
Colt Govt 2066, Remington Roomsweeper: Power = 2P, AP = -1
Ares Viper Slivergun: Power = 6P(f), AP = +2
Ruger Super-Warhawk: Power = 4P, AP = -2
Machine Pistols
All: Power = 2P, AP = 0
Submachine Guns
Colt Cobra, HK-227, Uzi-IV: Power = 2P, AP = 0
FN P93, Ingram Smartgun, SCK: Power = 3P, AP = 0
Assault Rifles
AK-97, FN HAR: Power = 4P, AP = -2
Colt M23: Power = 3P, AP = -2
Ares Alpha, Yamaha Raiden: Power = 4P, AP = -2
Sniper Rifles
Ruger 100: Power = 4P, AP = -2
Remington 950, Cavalier Arms Crockett: Power = 4P, AP = -3
Ares Desert Strike: Power = 5P, AP = -3
Ranger Arms SM-5: Power = 6P, AP = -3
Shotguns
Defiance T-250, PJSS: Power = 4P, AP = -1
Enfield AS-7: Power = 5P, AP = -1
Machine Guns
Ingram Valiant LMG: Power = 4P, AP = -2
Stoner-Ares MMG: Power = 5P, AP = -2
RPK HMG: Power = 6P, AP = -3
Heavy Weapons
Krime Kannon: Power = 7P, AP = -4
Panther XXL: Power = 8P, AP = -4
Ammunition
APDS: AP -2
Explosive Rounds: Power +1
Flechette Rounds: Power +2, AP +2
Gel Rounds: (Power)S, AP = +1
Hollow Points: Power+1, AP +1
Stick-n-Shock: (Power -1)S(e), AP -2
Grenades and Explosives
Fragmentation: Power = 10P, AP = +2, Blast = -1/m
High Explosive: Power = 8P, AP = -2, Blast = -2/m
Flashbang: Power = 8S, AP = -4, Blast = -2/m
Decking
[ Spoiler ]
Decking
General Rules
With the removal of Limits, Decking is no longer reliant on fiddling with core Deck stats. Any Matrix action can be taken with a Cyberdeck at no penalty.
In Cybercombat, roll Cybercombat + Logic vs Intuition + Data Processing.
DV = Attack - (Firewall - Sleaze, min 0)
Damage = DV + attack net hits - (Device Rating) hits
Unresisted damage causes the following Matrix Damage Levels:
No Damage (0)
Light Damage (-1)
Moderate Damage (-2)
Serious Damage (-3)
Critical Damage (offline)
The “Flesh Wound” of the Matrix is called “Static Buildup.” When a device takes a number of Static Buildups equal to its Device Rating, it rolls them up into a Light Damage.
Cyberdecks
Cyberdecks have one base Attribute: Device Rating. They also have four Core Programs, used to determine the deck’s defenses and its functionality in Cybercombat. These are listed below with their “meatspace” equivalents.
Device Rating = Body
Core Programs
Attack Program = Power
Sleaze = Armor Penetration
Data Processing = Reaction
Firewall = Armor
A Cyberdeck’s Core Programs can be configured when the deck is rebooted, or on the fly as a Complex Action, or as the result of a Configurator supplemental program.
The total of a Cyberdeck’s Core Program ratings equals (Device Rating x 4). The minimum rating of a Core Program is 0.
Example: An Erika MCD-1 Cyberdeck has a Device Rating of 1. Some of its Attribute arrays are: 1 1 1 1, 1 2 0 1, 3 0 0 1, and so on.
Supplemental Programs
Supplemental Programs are programs that a Cyberdeck can run in addition to its Core Programs. A Cyberdeck can run a number of Supplemental Programs equal to its Device Rating.
Common Programs
These are “Legal” programs that assist in a Cyberdeck’s basic function and resilience. They are as follows:
Browse: Cuts the time increment of a Matrix Search in half.
Configurator: Stores a Core and Supplemental Program state; can be activated as a Free Action.
Edit: Grants a +2 dice pool modifier on Edit File actions.
Encryption: Grants +1 Firewall.
Signal Scrub: Grants +2 Noise Reduction.
Toolbox: Grants +1 Data Processing.
Virtual Machine: Two Supplemental Programs can be run in the Virtual Machine. Devices running a Virtual Machine take an additional Static Buildup damage level whenever they take Matrix damage.
Hacking Programs
These are “Illegal” programs that assist in a Cyberdeck’s attacks and hacking. They are as follows:
Armor: Grants +2 dice to tests to resist Matrix damage.
Baby Monitor: Allows the checking of Overwatch Score as a Free Action.
Biofeedback: Whenever a target (person in the Matrix) takes Matrix damage, his real body must resist an equivalent amount of Stun (cold-sim) or Physical (hot-sim) damage.
Biofeedback Filter: Grants +2 dice pool modifier (in meatspace) to resist damage from Biofeedback (and Blackout, etc) attacks.
Blackout: As Biofeedback, but only ever causes Stun damage.
Decryption: Grants +1 Attack.
Defuse: Grants +2 dice pool modifier to the Disarm Data Bomb action.
Demolition: Adds 1 to the rating of any Data Bombs set.
Exploit: Adds +2 dice pool modifier to the Hack on the Fly action.
Fork: Can perform single Matrix action that affects two targets.
Lockdown: Prevents target who takes Matrix damage from exiting the Matrix without a successful Jack Out action, or until you stop running this program.
Shell: Grants +1 dice pool modifier both to Matrix Damage resistance tests as well as Biofeedback resistance tests. Stacks.
Sneak: Grants +2 dice pool modifier to defend against Trace User actions. Convergence doesn’t identify your physical location.
Stealth: Grants +1 Sleaze.
Track: Grants +2 dice pool modifier to Trace User actions.
Wrapper: Disguises icon as a different type of icon with Change Icon action.
System Overrides
These are highly illegal programs that can be run in place of another Common or Hacking Program. They are self-contained programs that typically contain a number of different effects. Use the program Rating for Power, and the deck’s Sleaze for Penetration.
Acid: An attack program that deals no damage to a target with a Firewall. Instead, for each unresisted damage point, reduce the target’s Firewall by 1 (to a minimum of 0). Any damage beyond what is necessary to reduce Firewall to 0 must be resisted as normal.
Black Hammer: An attack program that combines the features of Biofeedback and Lockdown.
Jammer: An attack program that works like Acid, but targets Attack instead of Firewall. This program deals no damage after Attack reaches 0.
Killjoy: An attack program that works like Black Hammer, but combines the features of Blackout and Lockdown.
Marker: An attack program that works like Acid, but targets Sleaze instead of Firewall. This program deals no damage after Sleaze reaches 0.
Psycho Killer: An attack program that deals no damage to the target persona, instead attacking the meat attached to it. This damage is equal to Rating + net hits on the attack, and resisted by Willpower. Firewall provides no protection, but bonuses from any programs or hardware that protect against biofeedback damage are doubled. Useless against anyone not in VR, deals Stun damage to targets in cold-sim, Physical damage to targets in hot-sim.
Tar Pit: An attack program that works like Acid, but targets Data Processing instead of Firewall. This program deals no damage after Data Processing reaches 0.
Cost/Availability
Acid, Jammer, Marker, Tar Pit
Price: Ratings 1-3 (Rating x Rating) x 500 nuyen, Ratings 4-6 (Rating x Rating) x 1000 nuyen
Availability: (Rating x2)F
Black Hammer, Killjoy
Price: Ratings 1-3 (Rating x Rating) x 750 nuyen, Ratings 4-6 (Rating x Rating) x 1500 nuyen
Availability: (Rating x2)F
Psycho Killer
Price: Ratings 1-3 (Rating x Rating) x 1000 nuyen, Ratings 4-6 (Rating x Rating) x 2000 nuyen
Availability: (Rating x3)F
Magic
[ Spoiler ]
Magic
Direct Combat Spells
Direct combat spells all now have the following feature:
DV = Force/2 (round down)
Drain
--Touch = Force - 4
--LOS = Force - 2
--LOS(a) = Force
Damage = DV + (Spellcasting hits - Body/Willpower hits)
note: if Body/Willpower hits >= Spellcasting hits, the spell fails and the target takes 0 damage.
Indirect Combat Spells
Attack is rolled as normal.
DV = Force
AP = Force/2 (round down)
Drain
--LOS = Force - 3
--LOS(a) = Force - 1
Summoning, Banishing, and Binding
Summoning/Banishing remains a Summoning/Banishing + Magic test vs Spirit Force. Drain caused by this is equal to the Spirit Force.
Binding remains a Binding + Magic test vs (Spirit Force x2). Drain caused by this is equal to the Spirit Force + the hits the spirit got on its binding resistance test.
Reagents
A number of Reagents may be expended along with any Spellcasting test, equal to the Force of the spell. They must be declared along with the spell Force and target. These can be used as +1 dice pool bonuses on the Spellcasting or Drain Resistance test, in any combination (e.g., a caster may spend 5 Reagents on a Force 5 spell. This can add +5 to the Spellcasting test, or +5 to the Drain resistance test, or +3 to one and +2 to the other, and so on).
Likewise, Reagents can be spent on other similar tests (Summoning, Banishing, Binding, etc) similarly.
PAN Hacking
[ Spoiler ]
General Rules
Replace the standard equipment-hacking rules with the following.
Devices grant their full set of Wireless On and Wireless Off bonuses all the time.
Individual devices connected to a PAN cannot automatically be accessed directly by an external hacker -- the PAN acts as a sort of gatekeeper.
Devices never use the owner’s Attribute unless the owner is generating a persona with the device. Use Device Rating any time Willpower/Intuition/Etc is called for by a roll.
Compromising a PAN
Hackers can place marks on PANs, as normal, which indicate that the device has been Compromised. Once a hacker has a mark on a PAN, he can begin to read through the list of attached devices, files, et cetera. From there, marks can be placed on individual devices attached to the PAN, or those devices may be attacked directly.
A PAN provides critical protection, however, even when compromised. Any device connected to a still functioning PAN is considered to have defensive ratings equal to its own ratings plus those of the PAN.
That is, with a rating 4 commlink and alphaware Smartlink (rating 3), any attacks on the Smartlink face 11 defense dice (PAN rating + PAN Data Processing + Smartlink Rating), a firewall of 11 (PAN rating + PAN Firewall + Smartlink Rating), and 7 Damage Resistance dice (PAN rating + Smartlink Rating).
This also applies to “non-attack” actions like Hack on the Fly -- a device protected by a PAN would get PAN Rating + PAN Firewall + Device Rating to resist taking marks.
Bringing Down a PAN
A PAN (generally a commlink) has the following stats:
Device Rating, Data Processing, Firewall. For a commlink, these are the same rating.
The PAN defends on its own while it’s not generating a persona, otherwise the persona defends normally.
Defense (dodge dice pool) = Data Processing + Device Rating (ie, for a commlink, Device Rating x2)
Firewall = Firewall (ie, for a commlink, Device Rating)
Damage Resistance = Device Rating
For example, a Decker with Attack 3 and Sleaze 2 goes after someone running a Rating 4 commlink. He attempts an attack right away. He gets 3 hits on the attack roll, while the commlink gets 2 hits on its 8 dice for defense. The commlink’s Firewall is effectively a 2 because of the deck’s Sleaze, so the deck does DV 2 + 1 net hit damage, or 3. The commlink rolls 3 dice and gets a hit, taking Light Damage.
PANs have the following damage levels:
Light Damage (-1)
Moderate Damage (-2)
Serious Damage (-3)
Critical Damage (offline)
The penalties act as Dice Pool modifiers to defense rolls, or to any Matrix actions performed with the device (such as Matrix Search). These penalties may make an attached device easier to hit, but the bonus Firewall and Damage Resistance are never penalized.
Turtle Mode and You
The following modification can be purchased for any Commlink:
Turtle Mode
Cost: (Commlink Rating) x 500 nuyen
Availability: (Commlink Availability)R
With this modification, a PAN can be put into Turtle Mode. This means that all incoming and outgoing wireless connections are shut down. Devices must be physically plugged into each other.
The PAN automatically goes into Hidden Mode and gains a Sleaze Attribute equal to its Device Rating for purposes of avoiding detection/traces/etc.
While the PAN can be detected, traced, tracked, etc, it can never receive any marks (meaning no one can ever find out what’s attached), nor can it be otherwise affected by hackers.
Devices can also simply have their Wireless switched off, but don’t gain the Sleaze bonus. They are still detectable as if in Hidden Mode, because those Matrix antennae never really shut down all the way (more precisely, the Matrix can detect the antenna, it just isn’t accessible). The only way to prevent this is to completely burn out their Wireless capabilities.
Why Ever Be Online?
A device that is online (ie, not connected to a Turtle Mode PAN) give a bonus dice pool modifier equal to its own Device Rating on any actions using that device. This doesn’t apply to Matrix actions (so no getting +DR on Matrix Searches, etc)
Refresher:
Standard Cyberware: DR 2 (+2)
Alphaware: DR 3 (+3)
Betaware: DR 4 (+4)
Deltaware: DR 5 (+5)
In other words, a standard smartlink provides a +2 dice bonus with an additional +2 dice bonus for being online (non-turtled), for a total of +4. A deltaware smartlink working online would grant a +7 dice pool modifier.
Standard equipment is considered to have a Device Rating of 2, separate from any other Rating they might have -- in other words, a Spatial Recognizer earbud grants a +2 dice pool modifier to Perception to locate sound sources, and an extra +2 while online (for being Device Rating 2), for a +4 bonus. Meanwhile a Betaware implant for the same thing would grant a +6 bonus.
Likewise a Rating 6 medkit would provide its +6 bonus, and an extra +2 for being online.
Extremely high-tech versions of basic equipment might exist, and come with higher Device Ratings (and therefore higher bonuses while online), but these are rare and their existence is generally up to the Gamemaster.
Weird Wireless Functionality to Ignore, and Some Common Sense Stuff
Sequencer -- normally provides +1 Rating while online. Ignore this. It’s just its rating.
Thermite Burning Bar, Grenades, or anything that talks back to you over wireless, etc -- where the wireless bonus is “lets you activate it wirelessly” then yes, it needs wireless on to activate wirelessly (or needs to be hooked up to a really long and inconvenient cable, I guess). If the bonus is “reports back wirelessly” as with the Parashield Dart weapons, yes it needs wireless on to do so. Internal devices (internal air tank, etc) can talk without wireless.
Devices that Charge Over Wireless -- these can still charge with their wireless offline, or while in turtle mode. Not if their wireless is burned out, however.
Devices that Wireless Makes Work Faster -- these work faster all the time.
Silencer/Suppressor Alert Notification -- gone.
Devices that Avoid Targeting Subscribed PANs -- need wireless on for both parties for this trick to work.
Devices that Magically Get Way Better when Online -- e.g., White Noise Generator. Wireless does nothing here.
Skilljack/Skillwires -- always get the wireless bonus, get the normal +DR (based on grade) when online.
Reaction Enhancers/Wired Reflexes -- always get the wireless (stacking) bonus, get the normal +DR (based on grade) when online. You only get this bonus once, and it’s limited to the lowest grade of either RE or WR (so if you have Delta Enhancers and Standard Reflexes, you get a +2, not a +5). Note that these bonus dice only apply on actions (in this case involving the Reaction attribute), not on defense rolls or Initiative tests.
Bioware -- never online.
