CHARACTER IMPROVMENT

Opportunity will be knocking soon. How can the karma be used? Here is the working answer with our tailored system. note : New ratings may only be one point higher than current rating, for development. If a runner has enough earned XP, then they may increase skills 2 points higher than current rating. example: firearms 2 may raise to firearms 4 at a cost of 7 earned karma points. Attributes may increase once per 20 earned karma points. Advantages and Hindrances may be dealt with, when earned karma is available. The idea behind skills being linked to attributes, is based on the typical combination used for actions. At the time of creation, the cost limits were waived. If you had the points, get them spent as players seen fit. As characters were established during their introductions, the points became essentially locked. Karma becomes the fundamental tool for further development. The initial trait levels are extraordinary to start with. aspect cost notes attribute new rating Equal up to racial limit. Only once per ranking (about 20 XP earned). attribute new rating x2 Exceeding racial limit. Only 1 attribute may exceed. new skill 2 Typically any skill. Initiated or inspired by a current situation. ability new rating Up to current level of linked attribute (otherwise limit to 6). ability new ratingx2 Exceeding linked attribute. No skill cap beyond link limit restrictions. advantage 5 per Many traits are balanced to cost. Some advantages may require certain other traits. hindrance 5 per Certain inherit traits, may not be bought off or removed. Many other traits could be. Racial Limits : During character creation, this part was waived in favor for a fluid design. As characters become established, and are then introduced through role play, their traits essentially become locked. They will then use the karma table for further development. Improvement depends on quality role play. Downtime can still be a factor, but is less essential than other Shadowrun editions. The considered aspects have been balanced to this system. attribute human elven dwarven ork troll agility 6 7 5 6 5 strength 6 6 8 8 10 smarts 6 6 6 5 4 charisma 6 7 6 5 4 vigor 6 6 7 8 9 spirit 6 6 6 6 6 Sidebar Improvement : Certain elements within the texted parts of the role play, may offer insight differently to all players. The GM may add alternative skills, edges, and hindrances as alternative earnings. This is mainly the product of the story hooks and scene conditions. However, earned karma is still the XP priority, and players have the freedom of choice to improve their characters as they see fit.

contacts : This tool - this collection of character notes, have always been a staple of the Shadowrun setting. Role Play, and NPC interaction mainly drives how the ratings are interpreted. Often what I do as GM, is make a utility role against the contact rating. Good reliable contacts have higher ratings. When the check is made, if the result is lower than the NPC's value, then they are more willing to help rather than hinder. Some of the contacts get recognized, for whatever personal reason to the player characters. Notes getting added to them prove useful. Names and motivations set a clear record toward the kind of influence they hold. It definitely allows me to use some sort of hook as GM. How they appear, won't need to be duplicated here. Each runner has one or two. Example: Gibs has 5 contacts. One in particular, Beatrice, found a place on the barge. ratings: The value represents history and loyalty. Low value is not reliable (can be rated in negative value). 2 is average. High connection value the better. Rating 5 is the maximum. Rating -5 is the lowest possible. Enemies have their uses, but their hatred can be dangerous. The added emphasis on contact cooperation would come from the utility roll. A natural 1 is very beneficial, and a natural 6 can be a violent reaction from the NPCs. note: Wildcard doesn't qualify as a useful contact, yet.

On similar topic to Contacts, is Character History . The bonds that tie. Maybe it was an interest, because of outside game influences. There is value toward seeing how it can work here in Shadowrun. The kind of game we have chosen to play is dependent on the players and their characters. Without them, they are only an idea. What are the impressions, other characters have to a player's character? Other players' characters, can be listed as if they were a contact, but use a different rating called history . This value will work in a very different way than the contact ratings. However, they will generally imply the same notion in history and loyalty. These particular traits have everything to do with character interaction (PC and NPC). Street Cred, and Notoriety haven't made there way into the equation yet, but will be available too. How it works: Each character will add the other characters to their contact list. More like this. Cougar ~ Retired Street Samurai contact rating runner history Wildcard (fixer) 3 (reliable) Rev Limiter (retired rigger?) 3 (exchanged gifts) Walker (retired gunslinger) 2 (average familiarity) Contacts are generally NPCs, and Runners are player characters. For a contact, the utility roll is a singe d6. When Cougar hits up Wildcard for whatever, on 3 or less, Wildcard is cooperative. Sometimes what a character might ask for, may need to depend on Street Cred to help with a situation. That subject will be detailed in time. Right now, all of the survivors are transplants. With an exception, but not important here. Managing history is pretty simple, but not really an easy affair. All of the characters essentially know each other. In this case, all of the survivors met on the barge. So their history will start at 1 each. There is no prior history to the barge, so no adjustments would be applied. While on the Barge, the fight ring pitted Qing and Gibs against each other. They alone would gain a +1 each for the other. From a different pespective, Striker would gain +1 for Castien. He was the first to come to terms and realization of Castien's princess outfit ordeal. Sure the others might remember what the fight ring leader done to him, but they had worked through it first before Castien changed out of the outfit. From here, the rest will be handled in role play. This tailored mechanic is both inspired by and meant to support the current style of role play. The focus should be on the player characters. They do know of each other. They can grow with each other, but they could also be enemies with each other. That is role play. The agency of the characters, and the investment into the characters. This kind of interaction may earn bonus karma, derived from significant things that happen between characters. Once a history achieves 5 points, with a character's relationship to another character, then it resets to 1. That character earns 1 XP. More questions are coming. Related to this very topic. A thread, similar to Karma Reciept, will be used to discuss the subject more openly between players. This would be a slower method to gaining experience, but it is essential. Because these are spotlight moments.

Speaking of new tools. Here is one from the advanced tool box. The concept behind it, is typically not seen in most Shadowrun venues. Since we have something more unique, and more character driven. Character Histories can be used in an alternative way. You character, earns points from other players. Once you reach 5 history points, your character earns 1 XP. Then the history pool resets to 1. This is a giving mechanic. Since players give the readers, their character in the reading - the fiction, it made sense to pair this up with the activity of the game. Character History is meant as a way to measure the connections between the player characters. Characters may have friction by opposing each other in a particular situation. The alternative is to use the pool of history points, and then give them away again. Actually, use them more as an incentive. Nothing will change what happens when a character tallies up 5 points. With these points, a player may decide to entice another player's character to cooperate with their character. Get a scene to go their way. As it is, the writing convention I see players using, keep a player's attention focused on their own character's actions. This should never change. No player should ever write for another player's character. It is more of the GM's ability to do that within the scope of their actions, and not so much with what they say. Players will always know best, what their character is thinking or should be reacting to. To gain another player's cooperation, a player can go into their own character's history list. If they have points showing for that other player's character, then the points can be used for possible XP. The trade back to that character is 1 point for 1 XP. Knowing or learning from the other character(s) is a good thing. The option for allowing or providing some hold over characters, is a viable thing. "If you help the scene to go my character's way, then I can give you one experience point." Example: Gibs and Striker have done similar things, but come from different backgrounds. An issue crops up between them, and the players read over the conditions. They write out there response to it, and somehow remain on opposite sides of the issue. In this early stage of the game and with their level of experience, they don't know each other well. They would be expected to operate independently from each other. Which is great, considering with what we are seeing right now. As they decide how best to manage or lead this group. Not wanting to be directly entangled with the current activity. The situation for this example is taking into account, these two characters have more history with each other. Reasonably at similar values of history too. Gibs player, McHuff, might see an opportunity to redirect the situation. No matter what the result is, it could be Good, Bad, or Ugly. McHuff could give Engin33r's character, Striker, 1 (or more) XP. The turned out result, can be played or written in any fashion. Such as enlightenment, sound judgement, test of will, or whatever the pair of players agree over, in how to handle the given situation. In any case, this is an option. Players may also choose, to not use this particular tool.