Category Archives: News

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Status Update

So, as I mentioned in September, more errata were needed before I’d post my houserules. Since then a lot happened: January had an updated PDF, but the errata-only PDF took a while to appear and then even longer for people to find it. I got involved in some writing and playtesting (details under NDA, unfortunately), COVID-19 turned the entire world upside-down, etc.

Still, no time like the present, so I am finally getting back into the houserule-game. First up, 2 posts on Edge. The first tonight, which goes into criticism. The second later, which will go into houserules to handle a lot of said criticism.

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Busy times, quiet times

It’s been quiet here for a while, as a result of me being rather busy. The job schedule is okay, but as a result of social activities, plus spending more evenings with my gf whenever we can, I barely spend any evenings at home nowadays. And on those I’m generally too tired to feel like shadowrun posts.

However I did put together a list of Easily Missed Rules during my commute and will put some up soon. Until then I’m enjoying playing my new character, Samuel Jones. He’s a wicked socialite without physical abilities but with a very sharp tongue and some dark secrets as to how he stays alive…

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One final houserule post coming next week

With Rigger 5.0 out, some of my temporary houserules can be scrapped. However, I likely still will need to post the judgement calls that I feel are needed to make Rigger playable. I’ll need more time to read through Rigger 5.0, then put those together. After that I’m pretty much at the end of the houserules I got, so starting 2016 I’ll be going into Easily Missed Rules posts instead. 🙂

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Addiction houserules teaser

Unfortunately the friday-deadline today was either obtainable for Black Hearts or for the houserule post, not both. However I will have time tomorrow, so I’ll type in the houserule intel on addiction then.

For those who don’t know, SR5 added an actual mechanic for when to roll addiction tests. Previously GMs had to just ballpark it. The system is designed to add a potential risk for PCs without instantly destroying them, and unfortunately has a few gaps and weird consequences as a result. The houserules will try to balance that out, with the big core pillar putting a max on how badly you can get hooked on fairly benign stuff. This would mean that Soykaf no longer can kill a civvie within 2.5 years…

The post also will come with some clarification. 🙂 The rules are a bit tough to read after all, plus the German rules even erased part of them and took out the bite as a result…

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Black Hearts #4 recap delayed

The Black Hearts #4 (To Protect And To Serve) recap unfortunately will be delayed. I hope to post it online on thursday. Unfortunately my current work-schedule does not leave much time for writing things up, combined with the trains not cooperating I’m lacking the time.

A quick teaser: To Protect And To Serve was a dual-run, both runs happened simultaneously and events in each had a consequence for the other run. Since the timelines didn’t fully match up this was tricky, but it turned out to be a decent learning experience in the end. And this time it ended without dead cops.

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Lifestyle updates & Grid Access

A small note regarding the Grid Access houserule earlier: There is now an official rule to get access to additional Grids, located in Hard Targets. Said houserule post has been updated to note the rule is no longer required.

For reference: The rule is located on Hard Targets p140, “Grid Subscsription (Updated)”. It lists both the normal Grids you can access, as well as what you pay for access to the Local or Global Grid and what Lifestyles only need to spend 1 point for it.

Hard Targets also has a rule for what happens if you run out of points but want to buy extra services and outings: If your Lifestyle normally qualifies for nuyen-free, they can be bought point-free instead (while retaining the nuyen pricetag). It also comes with a useful calculation order for Lifestyles, as well with a rule for sharing Lifestyles.

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Black Hearts & Updates page

First about Updates: WordPress allows for both posts and pages. Since a page is permanent, it can be hard to realize an update has been made. With a post you can simply reschedule it to appear as a recent publication. So an Updates page has been made and added to the menu, where changes to the permanent pages will be written down.

Today’s updates are quite simple: The houserules index had some links added, and the Black Hearts pages have been added.

Black Hearts is the spiritual successor of Wild Things. Its information page has been added to the menu in both english and dutch, which includes dates and chargen rules. Of course sample characters will also be available again.

Black Hearts is an open campaign where the team has a fixed employer, namely the UCAS government. The goverment will provide the team with some necessities, such as several fake IDs, and also will give them as much intel as possible. There will still be plenty of need for legwork on-site though…

Each session will again be stand-alone, though a common thread will be present and build up to the season finale, so to speak.

Black Hearts will, unlike Wild Things, actually take place in civilization making the Matrix actually relevant. This means a good commlink is now rather relevant even for normal characters.

However, the Sample Characters will not include any Hackers or Riggers, because writing an adventure for both with and without risks devaluating those characters. Instead, these characters are allowed in chargen for those intending to attend all sessions. Please contact me if you want to make one of those, so we don’t end up with half a dozen Riggers or Hackers…

– MC

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Houserules Index

A small newspost: I have added the Houserules Index to the sidebar. This one is built for the future, listing several houserules I already designed and also houserules I still want to work on. I have already scheduled a few posts for the future, posting some houserules every friday for a while.

If someone can’t wait because they feel they really want/need details on one in advance, just contact me for it alright? =)

Of course I wouldn’t be surprised if I change a few rules here and there, compared to the ones I posted on the forums in the past. As an example the Noise rules predate Data Trails so I imagine I’ll rewrite those a bit.