[Orpho]

So I'm starting a new campaign for my players - we just wrapped up an epic 2-year Exalted (WW) campaign, did a few one/two-shots (Numenera, D&D 3.5) and they've agreed to try out a Shadowrun campaign. Three players (1 very into crunch, 2 heavy RPers) have played SR before, while 2 are new to the setting and ruleset. I've GM'd SR2 and 3 before - skipped 4, although I read it. One other player might join us later, if he decides he can fit it into his workschedule - he's also completely new to SR.

I'm trying to balance the drastically different levels of experience by starting the hopefully long-running campaign on the smaller "street" level. Missions are going to have a focus on non-lethal measures, both to help out with the legality of the gear they're running around with and to match up with the sensibilities of the group when it comes to everything from headshots to chunky salsa - so we're talking a group where everybody probably has Assassin's Creed code of honor, or at least a game structured as if they did (actual characters can differ, but very heavy on sneaking/leave-no-trace, very light on I-have-a-mini-gun-let's-rock-this).

Right now I'm trying to troubleshoot any chargen issues that are likely to come up with these parameters in play, and I've run into a rough one for the decker character: They need resources at priority A just to get an Erika MCD 1 cyberdeck at 49,5k, and it eats up nearly all the cash.  Street level is tough, so perhaps that's just the way it has to be, but the decker in particular looks like a tough job at street level. Any ideas, thoughts, workarounds, or other feedback on the campaign would be most welcome. I've thought about possibly trying to let them build a cyberdeck worse than the Erika, but I'm not sure how that would play out...

[JackVII]

You can use the Street Scum rules on pg. 354 instead. Last paragraph. Basically, instead of choosing ABCDE priorities, they choose BCDEE or CCDDE. It tends to hurt Street Sams and Deckers less than the other option.

[Orpho]

You can use the Street Scum rules on pg. 354 instead. Last paragraph. Basically, instead of choosing ABCDE priorities, they choose BCDEE or CCDDE. It tends to hurt Street Sams and Deckers less than the other option.

Ooh, that's a good idea. I did notice that the Street-level option was heavily in favor of the magic/skills setup, and the Street Scum version seems much more balanced at tanking everyone's power level a bit.

[JackVII]

If you're playing with the Missions Hotfix errata, the Street-Level option also screws with Mystic Adpets a bit, IMO due to the lower karma maximums. That may not be a terrible thing depending on whether your folks would try to abuse them.

[Orpho]

New to forums... what is the "Missions Hotfix errata", please? I've been in the errata forums and I'm still getting through all the rules clarifications (51 pages, oy!), and I don't seem to have found this.

[JackVII]

Here is the link to the thread. There is another link that actually goes to the document in the first post of the thread.

http://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/index.php?topic=12106.0

These are errata that are currently applied to Shadowrun Missions (the Living Campaign for convention play). They are based on forthcoming errata for SR5 but had to be "hotpatched" because Missions play started before CGL was going to be able to get out an errata document.

[Volomon]

So I'm starting a new campaign for my players - we just wrapped up an epic 2-year Exalted (WW) campaign, did a few one/two-shots (Numenera, D&D 3.5) and they've agreed to try out a Shadowrun campaign. Three players (1 very into crunch, 2 heavy RPers) have played SR before, while 2 are new to the setting and ruleset. I've GM'd SR2 and 3 before - skipped 4, although I read it. One other player might join us later, if he decides he can fit it into his workschedule - he's also completely new to SR.

I'm trying to balance the drastically different levels of experience by starting the hopefully long-running campaign on the smaller "street" level. Missions are going to have a focus on non-lethal measures, both to help out with the legality of the gear they're running around with and to match up with the sensibilities of the group when it comes to everything from headshots to chunky salsa - so we're talking a group where everybody probably has Assassin's Creed code of honor, or at least a game structured as if they did (actual characters can differ, but very heavy on sneaking/leave-no-trace, very light on I-have-a-mini-gun-let's-rock-this).

Right now I'm trying to troubleshoot any chargen issues that are likely to come up with these parameters in play, and I've run into a rough one for the decker character: They need resources at priority A just to get an Erika MCD 1 cyberdeck at 49,5k, and it eats up nearly all the cash.  Street level is tough, so perhaps that's just the way it has to be, but the decker in particular looks like a tough job at street level. Any ideas, thoughts, workarounds, or other feedback on the campaign would be most welcome. I've thought about possibly trying to let them build a cyberdeck worse than the Erika, but I'm not sure how that would play out...

Use this https://www.dropbox.com/s/ocqw410aega8hw4/Eyvindur%20Ei%C3%B0urson.xlsx it automatically figures out everything for you.

[Tecumseh]

I've been running a ganger campaign for the last year, so we had to switch from 4th edition to 5th edition three months ago. Because I had to come up with new chargen rules quickly, I used the street-level play variation on p. 64. I didn't discover the street-scum rules for several weeks (which is how long it took me to read to p. 354) by which time it was too late. If I had to do it over again, I'd create several NPCs under both rulesets and see which ones fit the world better.

You're right that the street-level rules really limit the viability of a decker. My group doesn't have one, largely due to the nuyen restrictions, but perhaps that's realistic for a ganger game. One way to sidestep this would be for the decker to create the character without purchasing a deck, and then one of the team's first priorities is to steal a cyberdeck for him or her (with the understanding that it will be used, not fenced). That way you can 'give' the team the deck you think they should have, especially since the lower-end decks are constrained by Limits.

Other thoughts for your campaign: If you're trying to keep it street-level, consider putting caps on Magic, Availability, and skill levels. Even with the street-scum rules, spending two Priority Cs can create a Human Magician with Magic 6 and a couple points of Edge leftover, which will likely be unbalanced (especially when summoning spirits) compared to the rest of the team. Also note that Edge gets more powerful when dice pools are lower. One of the most effective characters in my game is a Lucky human who can drop 8 extra dice into any roll, which is significant when most dice pools are in the 10-12 range.

Here's the full list of chargen rules for my game. They won't all fit into yours, but feel free to borrow and refit as best suits you.

http://seattlegb.wikispaces.com/Character+Creation+5th+Edition

[Orpho]

Here's the full list of chargen rules for my game. They won't all fit into yours, but feel free to borrow and refit as best suits you.
http://seattlegb.wikispaces.com/Character+Creation+5th+Edition

Those are really great, and I'm definitely going to adapt them. I in particular like the cap of 4 on skills/abilities; pretty much fits into the start of my campaign as most streetfolk with 5s or 6s have already been hoisted out of there by a corp or a fixer/gang/someone else who probably gets them killed or makes them rich.

I'm also definitely going to allow more karma flexibility than +13/-13; I think non-cheesy (which mostly means non-allergy, RP-supported) qualities are a ton of fun with this group of players. I also think it's a great idea to give players that guide to dice pools - we just got done playing Exalted, and re-acclimating to not using 300 d10s for a single roll is probably necessary.

I also think the double Resources E priority rule is great; the rigger at least has an _option_ of a scratch-built junk command console, unlike the decker, but it'll help both of them squeeze by more easily. I mean, I _like_ the grit of the terrible scratch-built system, and I think the group's first priority _will_ be to steal some good gear for everyone. But I appreciate the urgency that level of equipment will lend to the mission. 

*Edited to add: What is the Noise mechanic you came up with for technomancers?