Hello all...

New to GMing Shadowrun and I think I've run into a problem. I've been playing D&D since the 70's, and DMing since the 80's, so not new to the whole genra, just this new game for me.

I think I'm handling the combat sequence wrong...some how...

Here are some samples just to see if I have it right...

Assume threashold of 2, and that 10 dice are being rolled just to keep things simple...

First round::

Player rolls and get 1 success. So they pepper the wall behind the guard ( afterall, the bullets are still flying, they gotta go somewhere right? ), missing. No damage taken.

Second round::

Player rolls and gets 4 success. So they make threashold ( with a threashold of 2, do you drop out the 2, leaving 2 for the defense rolls next? I've been using all 4 for the next part.) Now the guard rolls for dodge+agility, say 7 dice, and gets 4 success. Thus the guard dodges successfully. No damage taken.

Third round::

Player rolls and gets 5 success. Guard rolls dodge and gets 2 success ( is there a threashold for defense? ), leaving 3 dice. He then rolls for body+armor and gets 4 success. So again, no damage taken.

Fourth round::

Player rolls and gets 6 success. Guard rolls dodge and get 3 success, leaving 3. Rolls armor and gets 2 success, leaving 1 dice. NOW damage is finally taken by the guard. Correct?

Also, from what I understand a success is a success, and the number of dice doesn't matter. In other words in the fourth round the guard would take say 5p of damage. What if 2 dice were left over? would it be 10p of damage?

So...is that all correct? I planned a quick B&E snatch and run scenario to be over in one night. By the end of the night the 3 players didn't make beyound the first room because of all the 'no damage taken' rounds...lol...so either this is normal...which will make ANY run a long game...or I screwed up some where...lol...

Next...hacking...

How often does the hacker have to roll something. What I mean is say someone hacks into a system successfully. From that point on, do they have to 'hack the system' everytime they do something? I've been playing as if they do. Afterall there is an active defense system on the network, which the hacker has to get around, avoid, bypass, which is an ongoing fight. Just like a gun fight.

Well, thats all for now. I'm sure I'll be back with more later...

K.

There is no threshold for attacks. I'll give you an example combat to see if it makes sense.

Our runner, Malus, has an agility, reaction, and body of 4, a pistols skill of 3, is wearing an armored jacket(8 ballistic armor), and wielding an Ares Predator IV(5P damage, -1 AP).

The halloweener he is fighting has an agility, reaction, and body of 3, a pistols skill of 2, is wearing an armored vest(6 ballistic armor), and wielding a Colt America(4P damage, 0 AP).

The halloweener has a higher initiative at the start of the fighter and makes the first shot. He makes an agility+pistols check(5 dice), against Malus' reaction(4 dice). In order to succeed he needs at least 1 net hit(that is one more hit then malus). They both roll, the halloweener gets 2 hits, and Malus is lucky and gets 2 hits as well, meaning the attack missed and does no damage.

The halloweener uses his second simple action to take another shot, and likewise misses.

Malus acts next, shooting the halloweener with his predator, rolling 7 dice(agility+pistols), against the halloweeners reaction(3 dice). Malus gets 4 hits, and the ganger only gets 1 hit, meaning the attack got three net hits, and thus is hits.

Next we calculate damage, adding the net hits to the weapons damage for 8P damage. The halloweener then rolls to resist the damage, using his body+armor-the weapons AP, for a total pool of 8 dice. He gets 2 successes, which reduces the damage to 6P.

Malus then uses his second action to take another shot. This time he rolls 6 dice, using the same pool as before, but taking a -1 recoil penalty. However, the halloweener only rolls 1 dice on defense, taking a -2 penalty due to wounds. Malus gets three hits, and the gangbanger gets no hits, making the attack hit with three net hits.

One again the halloween is looking at 8P damage, but his roll to resist the damage is unchanged at 8 dice, as wound penalties don't apply to wound resistance rolls. He gets 2 successes, taking another 6P damage. The halloweener is now unconscious and bleeding out, and will likely die without medical attention.

Anyways, I strongly suggest you read through the book and read the combat section very thoroughly. The exact process for attacking is spelled out fairly well.