[incrdbil]

I'm looking forward to this, as I understand decking now better than..well any edition of Shadowrun.

Did a lot of games under 1st, second, and third, about 30 sessions under 4th.

Still nervous about the drone rigger.  I've just been lucky and always avoided having Rigger PC's; I've just sort of handwaved or faked vehicle combat well enough for everyone else.  But now I've got an actual true drone rigger to handle, and I need to treat him properly.  I guess I'll just keep re-reading the vehicle and drone section every day until it sticks.

Any slight subtle changes I need to be aware of that you've run into in your initial games?

I'm going easy, using "Lost Islands Found" from Firing Line, just extended and expanded a bit for the first game.  I'm adding some decking sections and a opposition combat decker just so the decker doesn't feel left out.

[JackVII]

Drone Riggers aren't too terrible to figure out as they mostly use the same combat rules as everyone else. Biggest issue is no Autosoft costs in the book, but the Missions Errata lists it as 500NY/Rating.

Vehicle riggers can be a little complicated. The vehicle combat rules are a bit weird. Having said that, the control rig really shines in vehicle combat. Also, it's a lot harder to damage vehicles than drones, which makes a big difference when jumped in.

[Xzylvador]

Good luck with your game. Have fun!

[incrdbil]

Thanks. I've been studying relentlessly.  I'm going to finish printing off tables and game aids, get them laminated and ready.  We've got the miniatures ready, character backgrounds are coming together.

Going to read through vehicle combat, explosives a bit more  Thankfully magic seems easy enough (I just noted how indirect spells are finally worthwhile). I'm interested on handling Rigger vs Hacker confrontations, wondering just what riggers can do to protect themselves.

[JackVII]

Not much other than shoot the decker. The RCC can give them a bit more defense through cyberprograms and, if you're worried about the hacker taking over a drone, you can jump into it to prevent them from controlling it. At the same time, that exposes you to matrix attacks and biofeedback damage.

Mainly, shoot the decker.

[TX_DM]

I agree with the 'Shoot the Decker' philosophy.

 I used one drek-hot decker to wad up a four man party and send them to Docwagon missing a few pieces. Deckers can get insanely out of control vs a drone rigger since the riggers' only option is full matrix defense, reboot and hopping into the drones to try and keep the decker off. If the Decker is using agents to try and manipulate those drones as well, it gets even more crazy. My players had to shoot down 4 of their riggers' drones in order to get away from this decker.

 Anyways, have fun is the most important rule!

[incrdbil]

I agree with the 'Shoot the Decker' philosophy.

 I used one drek-hot decker to wad up a four man party and send them to Docwagon missing a few pieces. Deckers can get insanely out of control vs a drone rigger since the riggers' only option is full matrix defense, reboot and hopping into the drones to try and keep the decker off. If the Decker is using agents to try and manipulate those drones as well, it gets even more crazy. My players had to shoot down 4 of their riggers' drones in order to get away from this decker.

 Anyways, have fun is the most important rule!

How effective is the utilization of a jammer to make it harder for the decker getting into the riggers vehicle?

[Michael Chandra]

You'd need a lot of noise to block a decker from making access, probably need some environmental noise on top of jammers stuck to the drones. Might be better to just switch the drones to non-wireless mode, let the dogbrains figure things out.

[incrdbil]

Adjustment changes: Its a bit of a shock to have gun combat cut in half, and mages able to cast spells twice in a round.

[Crunch]

Mages can only cast twice if one of the spells is not an "attack action." So you could cast Increased Reflexes and Stun Bolt, but not Stun Bolt and Stun Bolt.

The rule of thumb for SR5 if is that you can only do one damaging action per action phase. If you think you've found an exception go back to the rule of thumb and check again.

[BetaCAV]

Mages can only cast twice if one of the spells is not an "attack action." So you could cast Increased Reflexes and Stun Bolt, but not Stun Bolt and Stun Bolt.

The rule of thumb for SR5 if is that you can only do one damaging action per action phase. If you think you've found an exception go back to the rule of thumb and check again.

Even if they perform reckless casting?(I may be way off, just seeking clarification)

[incrdbil]

Mages can only cast twice if one of the spells is not an "attack action." So you could cast Increased Reflexes and Stun Bolt, but not Stun Bolt and Stun Bolt.

The rule of thumb for SR5 if is that you can only do one damaging action per action phase. If you think you've found an exception go back to the rule of thumb and check again.

Reckless casting rules don't mention that as a limitation, nor could I find any reference in the general combat section or action rules. Could you point the reference out so I could read up on it?

[Michael Chandra]

Simple Actions list mentions only 1 per Action Phase may be an Attack Action. This includes offensive spells.

Also, you can read the Missions FAQ, which has a section on what is an Attack Action. Short summary: "Everything that is, don't play cute but respect the rules and the GM's judgement." Casting a Physical Barrier to cause a car to crash would clearly be an Attack.

[Crunch]

Even if they perform reckless casting?(I may be way off, just seeking clarification)

It's not a specific limit for spells. Only one Attack action per pass regardless of whether it's a spell or a bullet or a headbutt. There are options for attacking multiple targets with the same action, but no more than one action can be an attack.

[incrdbil]

Simple Actions list mentions only 1 per Action Phase may be an Attack Action. This includes offensive spells.

Also, you can read the Missions FAQ, which has a section on what is an Attack Action. Short summary: "Everything that is, don't play cute but respect the rules and the GM's judgement." Casting a Physical Barrier to cause a car to crash would clearly be an Attack.

That makes no sense. You can cast two spells, but not two attack spells..because...?

And what is the definition of an attack action? Is a gunshot fired in the air as a signal an attack?

You can shoot a gun and recklessly cast a spell, as long as its not an attack spell, even thought he non attack spell can certainly be as complicated, or moreso than a simple manabolt.

Is commanding a spirit to attack someone an attack action? Legitimate question, as there is no definition of what 'attack action' means.
And you cant cast a Physical Barrier as a second spell if someone will run into it, but you can if no one will run into it? What if you want to cast it, and someone you don't see runs into it?


That's nonsensical.