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CONVERSION GUIDELINES:
SHADOWRUN (1ST ED.) TO CYBERPUNK: 2020
by Jordan H. Orzoff 73617,3344
Would you like to speed up your Shadowrun game's mechanics?
Would you like it to be deadlier? Would you like the rules
to be easier to understand and use? Then pick up R.
Talsorian's Cyberpunk: 2020 game and read this file.
I converted my online Shadowrun game, WOT, to CP:2020 rules.
After a few years, I just got sick of keeping track of all
the six-sided dice, and pool refreshes, and multiple rolls
needed for single actions ... not to mention the zillions of
modifiers in decking.
CP:2020 gives me some big improvements:
1) Die rolls go from multi-d6 to single d10. That's a time-
and effort-saver right there.
2) The Matrix/Net rules for CP:2020 are neater, to my mind,
than the SR system. SR is more detailed, but the CP:2020
rules incorporate a grid-like net (no more dungeon-
crawling!), Virtual Reality rules, Artificial Intelligence
rules, rules for portable cellular cyberdecks, and rules for
using your 'deck to take over local systems like doors and
alarms. Deckers are able to deck while walking around and
can control local systems without doing a whole ice-
penetration shebang. It lets deckers join the group and be
mobile.
3) The combat system is, overall, faster and deadlier than
SR. SR is designed for "cinematic" combat....lots of bang-
bang-boom, but the heroes are tough enough to take it, for a
while. With CP:2020, generally, you shoot someone and they
fall down. No more of those silly street samurai who are
immune to submachinegun fire.
4) I rewrote the magic system for CP:2020 (a game that has
no magic system of its own), and I'm very pleased with the
results. Magic is now as deadly as it's supposed to be.
Generally, a mage with a manaball can kill numerous enemies
in a single combat round. Mages are much more fearsome,
though, of course, they're still vulnerable to bullets.
<heheh>
This is the outline of my conversion of Shadowrun's magic
system to the CP:2020 rules. This system is not for
everyone. If you want to know if you'd prefer using CP:2020
to run Shadowrun games, go down this checklist.
1) You like the Shadowrun world, but you find the mechanics
confusing, difficult to remember, and time-consuming.
2) You have a preference for rules systems that are easy to
learn and run very quickly.
3) You find that your shadowrunners are becoming too damn
cocky. The essence of a shadowrunner is survival, and the
essence of survival is keeping your head down and staying
- out* of trouble. You want your shadowrunners to re-learn
the value of those lessons, but the combat system pampers
them and keeps them alive.
4) You like the Shadowrun concept of magic being an
irresistible, frightening force, unless other magicians are
around to oppose it. But you find that Shadowrun's
mechanics generally make mages no more deadly than the
average street samurai and often overwhelmed by drain before
they can make themselves noticed. You want magic to *scare*
shadowrunners again.
If all that is you, then you'll like my system.
[Most of this won't make sense unless you're already
familiar with the CP:2020 mechanics.]
CP:2020 has attributes that range, generally, from 1 to 10.
Mages start out with a Magic attribute of 10. It's a
freebie, but it goes down in exactly the same manner as
Empathy.
The "special skill" for any Mage or Shaman is Sorcery, which
they have to buy from their package points. Note that mages
start with 50 points, not 40. (I'll get to that shortly.)
Other magical skills which can be purchased as part of the
package are Conjuring and Magical Theory.
Spells transfer over directly, with the Force of the spell
becoming its +number. (Ex: Manabolt at Force 4 becomes
Manabolt +4.) Spells are purchased from the package points,
with a ceiling of as many as 20 points that can be spent on
spells and as few as 10. (In other words, a "weak" mage can
spend 40 points on the package as normal and then 10 on
spells. One who wants to be a tough spellcaster can use an
extra 10 from his package points, but then won't have as
many points to spend on skills.)
The actual die-rolling is tricky. I attempted to stay
faithful to the basic concept of Shadowrun magic without
aping its every aspect. There really wasn't any way I could
see to mimic the complete system while staying within my
goal of simplifying it and bringing it in line with the
CP2020 mechanics.
For spellcasting, the mage rolls Sorcery+Force+d10 (plus any
modifiers that apply), where Force can be set by the mage at
any level up to his maximum known Force. For damage, I am
using something similar to the weaponry damage modified by
Force. (More on this later.) More powerful spells with have
a larger "base" damage, and every spell's damage will be
increased as its Force increases. The Target Number is
determined by the type of spell. Combat spells, for
example, get their Target Number from the range of the
opposition. I set the range for all spells at an arbitrary
200 meters. If you roll a 10, you get to roll again and add
to that 10. If you roll a 1, the spell fails. The TN of
non-combat spells is determined by the difficulty of the
task, just as you do for skill rolls. The TN of Healing
spells equals the difficulty rating minus the subject's
EMPathy. Thus, subjects with less cyberware will be easier
to heal.
The drain roll is Magic+Empathy+d10 vs. a Difficulty rating
+ Force. The Difficulty rating is based on the "base
damage" of the spell. If 2*Force is less than the mage's
Magic Rating and he fails the roll, he makes a Stun Save
(subtracting the Force of the spell) or he is stunned. If
it is greater, he takes physical damage equal to the Force.
All other appropriate rolls (death saves, etc.) apply.
Damage is calculated from a table I have generated. (Wait
for it... <g>) Area Spells affect everyone in the area the
same. When you reach the point where you are subtracting SP
points (armor or cover) from damage, DOUBLE the SP of high-
tech cover or armor. This reflects the disruptive effects
high-tech has on magic. If the target of the spell is a
mage, subtract the mage's Magic rating from the damage in
addition to the BTM. Mages can still aid their friends with
their own magic defenses -- if the mage chooses, each
companion of the mage can subtract up to 6 (+Initiate
rating) points from spell damage.
Moving on to the effects of other types of spells... The
results of non-combat spells depend on how many points the
mage rolled over the Target Number. (0-1 marginal success,
2-4 adequate success, 5-7 good results, 8+ excellent, the
best, superb, wow...) The actual translation of these
numbers depends on the spell, of course.
I generated some simple tables of all Shadowrun spells.
There are five columns: the spell's name, type (physical or
mana), difficulty rating, damage (if combat), and if it's an
area spell. Difficulty is roughly equivalent to drain
staging in the SR system. A Mana Dart spell has an easy
difficulty for reducing drain, while Fireball is very
difficult, and Manablast is nearly impossible! Damage is a
number of six-sided dice...get this...MULTIPLIED BY FORCE!
Mana Dart does 1d6 * Force. So, Mana Dart cast at Force 1
is peanuts. At Force 4, it does 4-24 points of damage --
pretty impressive. But, take a Manablast, which does 4d6 *
Force. Sure, the drain is almost impossible to resist --
but the damage of a Force 4 Manablast is 16-96 points of
damage! Almost certainly lethal to everyone within range.
Stun/Sleep spells cause the targets to make Stun Saves,
minus a fraction of the Force. So, a Stun Touch requires a
Stun Save at minus a quarter of the Force, while Stun Bolt
requires a Stun Save at minus the entire Force. Assorted
manipulation spells also do damage, though not multiplied by
Force. Examples: Flame does 3d6 damage (with fire damage
effects); Flame Volt does 4d6 damage (with fire damage
effects). Anti-Bullet Barrier adds Force + the die roll to
SP ratings. Anti-spell Barrier provides Force + the die roll
to BTM. I think that covers all the major points about my
spell charts.
Assorted miscellaneous rules:
1) If any spell is being sustained, you take a -3 to ALL
rolls. Just like performing double actions.
2) I have assorted modifiers for shaman types, pretty much
converted straight from SR. Just change "dice" to + or -
numbers. Ditto for effects of foci, magic weapons, etc.
3) Conjuring: Simply roll Conjuring skill + d10 vs. the
Force of the spirit + d10. If you roll higher than the
spirit, you summon it. You get one service for each number
by which you beat the spirit's roll. (Ex: I have Conjuring
+6 and I'm summoning a Force-4 spirit. I roll a 4, and the
spirit rolls a 2. I get four services out of it.) The
drain test is your EMPathy + d10 vs. the spirit's Force +
d10. If you fail, you make a Stun Save (minus the Force,
just as above).
4) Watchers: conjure them by rolling a d10 vs. the # of
hours of service desired. If you beat that number, the
Watcher's Force equals how much you beat it by. (Ex: I want
a Watcher for 2 hours. I roll a 6. The Watcher has Force
4.) Drain roll is d10 + Empathy vs. Hours of Service +
Force.
5) MetaMagic in brief: Add your Grade to your Magic stat
and to Totem advantages. Centering vs. Drain: Add your
Centering skill and your Grade to the drain roll. Centering
for Spellcasting: Add your Centering skill and your Grade
to the roll. Shielding: Like your spell defense points,
but instead you add your points to the To Hit # of an enemy
mage. Makes it harder for them to roll to hit you, instead
of making your BTM work to reduce damage.
As you can see, magic is going even more powerful. Combat
spells kill lots of people, very fast. Drain *may* not be
as powerful, but the mages are much more vulnerable under
the new combat system.