From: R G Erswell Shadowrun:A World of Darkness * Shadowrun:The Masquerade * "Come closer little one, do not fear my face, it is not a reflection of my intentions towards you. "You have been embraced, but you know little. Do not believe the lie the media gives you, there are more of us than you would believe, but we hide -the Masquerade is stronger now than ever. We fear for our lives for no longer are the hunters of us sneered at and ridiculed. People know we exist, so we make them believe only the 'common' vampyrs exist, the Caitiff. Those who have no knowledge of their history, their Clan, or their shame. "And we are not magicians, not in the way most people think of them. Paterson -I am sure he is of the Technocracy- merely observes our disciplines and equates them with spells, and our enhanced strength and speed result from our use of blood. "Be quiet child, you have read too much fiction. I am not one of those Nosferatu of Europe, they are my Elders, needing of Kindred blood mistakenly interpretted as a different strain of the HMHVV, a tool of the Technocracy. And the vampiric pawn? They are ghouls -no not those who feed of the rotting- they are creations of ours, but the pawns are special, they are blood bound and it's strength id increased ten-fold by the use of rituals known only to a few. No they are not immune to pain, they can merely use our blood to heal their wounds, much as we do. "But enough questions, the sun is rising and I must return to my haven." * Shadowrun:The Ascension * "The Ascension has come about, at least in part, and at least to those who share my point of view. "Mankind has rediscovered Magick. Some put it down to the rising levels of what they term 'Mana', but they do not tell the whole truth -and I believe some know the who truth; like those who reside in Tir Tairngire and Tir Na Nog. I recently spoke to a dissident son of Clan O'Connor of Meath. He spoke of Paths, the reincarnation of Elven spirits, Followers -walkers with magical apptitude on the journey to Ascension, and Seekers -those walkers who are not yet awakened. But I am sure Ehran and the like know even more -perhaps they are of the Oracles? "Gaia has her own beliefs, and her moods change, sometimes giving credance to one belief whilst quoshing another. But her moods change infrequently -the Mayans accurately estimated every 5200 years. Now Gaia's belief in Magick has re-awakened, and scientific curiosity is diminished. Thus has Magick in some part, returned to the world. "But Magick is always a possibility -it only depends on the individual's Avatar awakening- this could occur before 2011 AD. But for the Avatar to awaken belief in the mutability of reality needs to be strong -before 2011 few could hold such a belief. But now when Gaia's belief in Magick is strong, her creatures of Magick have re-awakened -and the Paradox is weakened- for how can it be against reality for a being to simply exist? And so human belief was changed -the assurance of science was severely diminished, much to the chagrin of the Technocracy. "Yes this Awakening has come about quickly -the last time took much longer, belief was changed slowly. But in 2011 AD there was not one person who did not hear of the sighting of the first dragon within a few hours; thanks to the miracle of telecommunications -the Technocracy aided its own fall from grace, but I believe they were 'aided' by a group known as the 'Kids of McLuhan' or some such name. "But do not think the Technocracy are still weak -no they are not. Even now they are trying to envelop Magick with a blanket of reasoning. The Human Metahuman Vampiric Virus made out that the curse of Caine was a mere disease with the hope it could be cured by science. But their greatest achievement was the MageGene theory, crushing a person's belief that they could wield the Magick because they were genetically not correct. "And even you, who have embraced the Magick, are constrained by beliefs instigated by the Technocracy -you believe you have to learn each effect of Magick, each 'spell', individually. This is not so, although you can gain great power as your knowledge sought is limited, you are also limited in that knowledge's use. Learn the Spheres and create effects spontaneously. You must look to the underlying currents; not the individual waves on the sea of Magick. "And still you cannot fully interact with the spiritworld -you can only send your consciousness there -I do not say merely for the untethering of the mind from the body is a power of the Masters of Mind, yet it has been forced upon you as the Technocracy have altered the Gauntlet, it is strengthened against the physical yet belief has weakened it against the spiritual, it has forced you to enter the Umbra only with the mind. Yes I call it the Umbra -what you do is not true Astral Projection, that is the untethering of the mind so it can wander the Physical plane, without the filter of the Gauntlet you cannot divorce your soul from your physical shell. Thus in the Umbra you cannot affect the physical unless their is a bridge or breach in the Gauntlet, and it is why you cannot read text in the Umbra only gain the emotional content. "When you become a true Magus, you will be able to physically enter the Umbra, and stay there indefinately. But I offer you further knowledge -that which you term the Metaplanes are Shard Realms, the Dweller on the Threshold is a manifestation of the Shade Realms you must pass through. The planes of Fire, Water, Earth and Air are respectively the Shard Realms which relate to the Spheres of Forces, Mind, Matter and Correspondance. So yes, there are five more Metaplanes you have not yet visited -including the Spirit Shard Realm, Arcadia, where the Faeries live, ruled over by Luna -I am sure Tir Na Nog is more a part of this realm than Gaia, that it is one giant Node! "But enough, I grow tired -and have told you enough. Go now and contemplate on all that I have said, Go." * Shadowrun:WoD * Well here are the crossover rules, they may not appeal to everyone comments are welcome, but make them constructive. I will try to give my reasoning behind my choice of mechanics, but basically where mechanics and probabilities conflict with playability I have prioritised the latter. Storyteller (ST) / Shadowrun (SR) rule crossover Difficulty 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Target No. 1 2 3 3 4 4 5 6 7 8 [This gives an overall sense of similarity, remembering that the Botch rules differ and the number of dice being rolled will differ too] ST Attribute 1 2 2* 3 4 5 6 7 8 8* 9 10 SR Attribute 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 [Use for normal attributes and also Humanity, Rage, Gnosis, Arete etc NOT WILLPOWER! Figures noted with a * take priority eg. Your ST vampyr has stamina of 2 this becomes a body of 3, not 2! Strength=Strength, Dexterity=Quickness, Stamina=Body, Charisma=Average of social attributes then convert as normal Intelligence=Av. of mental attributes then convert as normal Willpower is factored in a different manner,see below.] ST Willpower 1 2,3* 4 5*,6 7*,8 9 10*,11 12*,13 SR Willpower 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 [Note that these don't actually reflect mathematical conversions, but rather what feels right. I have found that in SR players always have high Willpowers to protect against magick, very few have 3 or less most have 5 or 6; in ST this is not so, very few players and NPC's have Willpowers in excess of 7 or 8, many being content with only 6. But feel free to change this as you see fit.] Health: 1 ST wound = 2 boxes of SR damage approximately 1 blood point heals both physical AND mental damage simultaneously as does the Garou's natural power, Mage magic however only heals physical damage, it does not clear the mind (this is thrown in to make Vampyrs and Garou a little tougher than Mages,as they rightly are in physical terms). V:tm Disciplines work in much the same way, however the Difficulty will become a Target Number and you may have to alter the number of successes needed for some things to retain the likelyhood of applying an effect. Celerity: Add rating to Quickness (Does not increase reaction; it doesn't increase wits in ST). With the use of blood however also use +Rating to Reaction +Rating Dice to initiative rolls (per point) Fortitude and Potence, add ratings to appropriate attribute. Rage:One rage point will give +1D6 to initiative, NO extra reaction. This gives a better reflection that this power is free for Garou. Abilities/Skills [There are two methods for this, both can give sinilar results but I use the former as it better reflects the importance of the abilities over attributes] 1. ST Skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 SR Skills 1,2* 3,4* 5,6*,7 8*,9 10,11*,12 13 14 15 [I can hear you screaming now but remember in ST a skill of 5 is to be on of the best in the world, at least in the theory part (attributes making up the rest) that is why I hate it when WW give Garou 5 in Brawl, unless they have trained in some martial art for years and continue training then the most I allow is a rating of 3, and an average street punk will have a skill of 1 or 2 max. But attributes do help....] Bonuses per appropriate ST rating (Add this onto SR rating) Attribute: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Talent -1 / / +1 +1 +1 +2 +2 +2 +3 Skill -1 / / / +1 +1 +1 +1 +2 +2 Knowledge -1 / / / / / +1 +1 +1 +1 [This reflects that Talents are more natural and thus even without the skill you can be good. Converting SR characters to ST first determine attibute, if it gives a bonus minus this from the SR skill then convert] 2. ST Att+Abi: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SR Skill: 1 2 2* 3 4 5 6,7 8,9 10 11,12 [If there are two possibilities use the former if the Attribute is greater than the skill, use the latter if the Ability is greatest. Yes both these systems can make starting characters in ST have skills of 12 in SR but then they cannot improve further, and even in Shadowrun with the use of Concentrations and even Specialisations and Physical Adept powers or cyberware skils of 10 or 11 can be gained. Eg. Physical Adept Unarmed Combat/Karate:5/7 +4 Improved Ability =11 Digital Mage Computer/Software/Decking:4/6/8 +2 rating with use of CPU(Math):4 cyberware =10 for decking. * Shadowrun:WoD Sphere Magick * This posting is mainly concerned with Sphere Magick, a bit of fudging has had to be done to convert the ST 5 rank spheres to SR's 6 rank, hope this causes no confusion, but I expect it will. Arete and Sphere ratings are converted using the following table: ST 1 2 2* 3 4 5 6 7 8 8* 9 10 SR 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 [A * indicates that rating takes priority eg. your Mage has Prime 2 this becomes a rating of 3 in SR. Spheres ratings of 2 and 3 are basically the same although the lesser rating can sometimes have limited effect, as indicated in the damage charts but also at GM discretion eg. maybe to get the Prime 2 (SR stats) Fuel Pattern going a point of Quintessance has to be spent which gives no other bonus, this limits the power of the Sphere as although it is limited by the number of dice to roll (unless static magick) the Target Number is also lower making the roll effectively easier by using a lower rank -perhaps Target Number should be the same for both levels ie.3] Limited aspects of Spheres can be learnt as Rotes, so even an inexperienced Mage can effectively be a Master of Forces for one effect Eg. A normal SR mage may effectively know Forces:5 and Prime:2, but only for the Rote of a Fire Ball spell; whereas a true magus may only know Forces:3 and Prime:2 but can use these in a variety of ways, for example as a Lightning Bolt spell, or a Troll Eyes spell (from Ka.Ge magazine) -the rotes of Pulse of th Electro-Stream and the Forces effect of Darksight respectively. To balance this True Magi can use Arete to counter all normal magic (without the k) and to counter Sphere Magick if they have the appropriate spheres; yet Normal magi can only use their Magic Pool to counter against normal Magic or any Sphere Magick rote WHICH THEY KNOW! This can be explained away as the Mage's defence is primarily directed to the 'side' watching the surface of the sea of Magick to brace against any wave (spell), Sphere Magick comes from below, taking the Mage by surprise as the current drags him down, if he knows the rote though he is vigilant enough to be able to avoid that current. True Magi can block all waves AND most currents of Magick.This may be a poor analogy but it helps me! Coincidental Magick Roll Arete, Target Number equals the highest sphere rating involved. If 1's exceed successes the effect IS valid but Paradox is gained equal to the number of FAILURES. In 2054 Magick is so strong that the effect can still work even if paradox is gained.If a true SR Botch is gained the effect fails and Paradox taken. Vulgar Magick As coincidental Magick yet paradox is accrued as follows: *With witnesses: Paradox equal to 2xNumber of dice rolled *Without witnesses: Paradox equals Number of dice rolled Even if 1's do not exceed successes 1 paradox point is taken. Counter Magick An Arete pool exists much like the Magic pool. Target Number equals the highest rated sphere involved or the Force of the spell Resisting If a direct effect a Willpower test TN=6, successes reduce Mage's. If indirect, soak damage witha Body test TN=4 each success reduces damage by 1 box (or 2 if the GM decides). This does change the SR damage system but until I come up with a simple way of using the Light, Moderate, Serious, Deadly damage system, stick with this. Paradox Backlash Roll dice equal to number of dice rolled in effect (if automatic) or Total Paradox rating TN=4. Each success converts one Paradox point into a paradox effect: *Damage:2 boxes of damage per success. Usually Stun. *Paradox Realm:Can treat like a Metaplane rating depends on successes. *Paradox Spirit:Rating equals number of successes. Modifiers to Casting Target Number Reason Modifier Spend Quintessance (Max equals Prime+1) -1 per 2 points spent Take extra action -1 (max -1) Near a node -1 to -3 Connection to target -1 Fast Cast +1 Distracted +1 to +2 Damage charts Rank Damage Entropy Forces Life 1 / / / / 2 / / x1 x3 3 / / x2 x4 4 x2 / x3 x4 5 x3 x6 x4 x4 6 x4 x7 x6 x4 Manipulate Gauntlet Chart Area Successes needed Node 1 Deep Wilderness 1 Rural Countryside 2 Most Urban Areas 2 Downtown 3 [This is because Magick has returned to the world and to balance the fact that normal mages can Mentally enter the Umbra with no test] All other tables are the same as in Mage:The Ascension Experience point cost is up to you but perhaps Arete should be a little cheaper. Magic Attribute -Gain and Loss For true Magi this equals their Arete score, this may seem that true Magi are less powerful but they do have one big advantage -they do not lose a point od Magic Attribute if they take on Deadly wounds or cyberware. HOWEVER it may reduce a Mage's enlightenment if he has to rely on a static science to keep him moving (ie cyberware) or if it goes against his Tradition -Verbena would suffer from having Cyberware. The actual effect would be up to the GM and could be simply a reduction in the Arete score or better limitations on Magick -like the Geas in the Grimoire. * Shadowrun:WoD Sphere updates * Modified damage system that works more in line with the normal SR rules. Damage Chart Rank Damage Entropy Forces Life 1 / / / / 2 / / Light Moderate 3 / / Light Serious 4 Light / Mod. Serious 5 Mod. Deadly Ser. Serious 6 Ser. Deadly Deadly Serious [ An indirect effect victims roll Body TN=5 (not 4 anymore), each success reduces the Mage's by one then stages down damage, if the Mage has more successes then he can stage damage up. The Mage can choose whether damage is Stun or Physical but it must be coherent ie.could be stun if using Pulse of Electro-Stream (Static effect being the Mage had a hidden taser gun which he pulled out), but Stun damage could not happen from a Ball of Abysmal Flame (Static effect of a bullet striking a nearby car's petrol tank).]