Shadowrun

Shadowrun Play => Gamemasters' Lounge => Topic started by: Lagrange[5] on <03-29-13/0811:52>

Title: Homebrew diseases
Post by: Lagrange[5] on <03-29-13/0811:52>
Hey! I'm doing my first attempt at GM-ing with this game. It's a lot of fun, but since none of us have ever played this particular game I'm kinda drowning in all the new rules and settings. Add to that my inexperience as a GM and I'm sure many of you remember where I'm at.

Anyways my group is barely coherent and poorly optimized just as one would expect when put this game in the hands of curious but inexperienced (in terms of SR4, between them I think there is 70+ years of RPG experience) players.

Now I have this sneaky suspicion that something I said last session made them interested in going and doing a lot of exploring in sewers, funny how that happens right.

Thing is sewers are nasty places, the sewage alone can give you things like:
More details here
http://www.in.gov/isdh/22963.htm (http://www.in.gov/isdh/22963.htm)

Then there's rodents that can carry things like:
More details here
http://www.victorpest.com/advice/rodents-101/rodent-dangers/rodent-transmitted-diseases (http://www.victorpest.com/advice/rodents-101/rodent-dangers/rodent-transmitted-diseases)

And that's just scratching the surface.

So, do any of you have stats for disease like these tucked away some where that you're willing to share?
If not how would you go about stating them? Looking for insight into the thought process here.
What would you look for when determining whether a disease is likely to kill or just incapacitate a character?

I've read through the chapter in Augmentation once, and I'm going to go back and read it again later. But the things in there felt either to epic or wrong in theme.
Title: Re: Homebrew diseases
Post by: Mithlas on <03-29-13/1300:03>
Augmentation p131 is the best start for diseases, and while it doesn't have a lot of the ones you're mentioning, slight modifications of the ones it's already got are not a bad idea. One of the story arcs I had was a global pandemic of Influenza A (which, ironically, got put on hold as I got into John Barry's The Great Influenza, about the 1918 pandemic), and augmentation already mentions that its list is non-exhaustive and some tweaking could easily give you what you need. Modifying the power or adjusting the symptoms would be all that's necessary for most, as the expression of a lot of those diseases you mentioned are not drastically different as far as the game's concerned.
Title: Re: Homebrew diseases
Post by: Sacredsouless on <03-29-13/1423:31>
Quote from: Mithlas on <03-29-13/1300:03>
Augmentation p131 is the best start for diseases, and while it doesn't have a lot of the ones you're mentioning, slight modifications of the ones it's already got are not a bad idea. One of the story arcs I had was a global pandemic of Influenza A (which, ironically, got put on hold as I got into John Barry's The Great Influenza, about the 1918 pandemic), and augmentation already mentions that its list is non-exhaustive and some tweaking could easily give you what you need. Modifying the power or adjusting the symptoms would be all that's necessary for most, as the expression of a lot of those diseases you mentioned are not drastically different as far as the game's concerned.

Truth, a lot of diseases have similar symptoms. If you have a cough and runny nose, it could be anything from allergies (yes, technically not a disease, I know) to pneumonia. Just grab one that looks appropriate, maybe add or remove a couple bits, and tada! new home made disease specially tailored to bring players misery.