From what I've seen so far, the SR4 rules seem to have a lot going for them - the rules are much cleaned up, and according to the poll floating around here, most people plan to switch to them as soon as possible.

However, Shadowrun has a rich backstory and history - the timeline that started with SR1 now spans two decades, and there have been numerous tumultous changes in the world that had vast politicial repercussions. And it often was a lot of fun to do run through these times - Bug City, the presidental elections of 2057, the Arcology Shutdown, the Year of the Comet...

So how about trying to get the best of both worlds by using the SR4 rules for these earlier periods?

Of course, this is easier said than done - after all, the SR4 rules reflect the setting as it is in the year 2070, not 2050. There have been lots of technological and social developments in the two decades, and using the SR4 rules for 2050 should mean making some adjustments to them.

The main problems I can see are:

- The drastic change in the way the Matrix works after the 2064 Crash. The rules adjustments should convey the feel how the old Matrix worked - a seperate virtual reality realm, with deckers depending on cyberdecks and otakus requiring datajacks. On the other hand, recreating the entire old Matrix rules shouldn't be the goal either, since these were an unholy mess to begin with.

- Price and availability of various pieces of hardware, cyberware, and bioware, including their first release to their general public. Ideally, we would have a year-by-year table when the various items become available, and what they cost each year. This would convey a much better sense of technological development over time than the cumbersome SOTA rules...


Your thoughts?

Why not just use the rules, and then ignore the wireless access, and require a datajack.

IMO: That would make the rules work fine in a pre Crash 2.0 world

I like the idea. My general plan is to start about 5 years before System Shock.

I have no desire to move in to the 2070s when so much good stuff is left from the 50s and 60s.

Cyberon is right.

Certainly I want to include the much lower prices for cyberware from the get go.

I always thought they were way out of wack.

Some way to do Riggers would be nice. Perhaps cut the essense cost for a Vehicle Control Rig in half as a play balance issue and use the standard rules without the wireless stuff.

On the other hand having price lists for cyberware for certain periods would be nice.

I still think the general idea that cyberware should be fairly cheap is the right one and it should be retroactively applied. 100k for a cyberarm is just WRONG.

Ignoring the wireless access is a given.

As to cost: technology drops drastically in price as it becomes more standard, so no reason to fully reduce prices; yet we want to have some significant 'ware accessible at chargen.

Try this, as a generalised first approximation:

Whether or not bio/geneware is available at chargen depends on the starting point of the campaign. Ditto specific types of weaponry/vehicles/other equipment. Can't allow something that hasn't made it to the streets yet. (Needing that year-by-year table here: too many projects active for me to take that one on.)

Anything Availability 4 or less is at twice the SR4 price; SI included unless at chargen.

Availability 5+ is at (2 + [Availability - 4] x SR4 price, usual restrictions.

During the campaign proper, base (pre-Negotiation) prices drop by 10% each year.

At the point where the campaign reaches 2070, prices = SR4 prices, even if there is a sudden dip. (There's always enough reasons around to find one to blame it on / praise it for.)