Sixth World is a “hack” of the game Dungeon World which attempts to capture the flavor of the world of the well-known RPG Shadowrun®.
The Sixth World is the dangerous and grim future of our own world, where magic has resurfaced, megacorporations rule the world, and humanity has perfected incredible new technological capabilities including advanced cybernetics and the worldwide virtual reality network called the Matrix.
This game assumes familiarity with Shadowrun, as well as with Dungeon World.
Dungeon World is the property of Sage LaTorra and Adam Koebel, and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. See www.dungeon- world.com for details.
The Topps Company, Inc. has sole ownership of the names, logo, artwork, marks, photographs, sounds, audio, video and/or any proprietary material used in connection with the game Shadowrun. This is a fan-created adaptation, and no challenge is intended toward Topp’s ownership of the Shadowrun intellectual property.
This is simplified edition of Sixth World by Chris Clouser and Tanner Yea. The original used to be possible to find on http://waryjack.com/sw/ but now it seems to have disappeared. PDF is still available on dropbox.
This edition is very similar however – I see myself more as an editor and final beta-tester than new autor, and I aim to make the game (already excellent before I got to it) “production quality”.
– Wrb, wrb@autistici.org
Fiction First: everything that happens in a session of Sixth World starts with the fiction, proceeds to rules (if necessary), and ends with the fiction.
Moves are Not Powers: most of the game’s rules are encapsulated in small packages called moves. A move provides the rules to resolve particular situations that arise in the fiction (for instance, how to shoot someone, or seduce someone). Try not to think of moves as powers you must activate or “use,” but as the rules that come into play when your character gets into a situation.
Never Say Your Move: because the game starts with and ends with the game fiction, you won’t say “I use Rock & Roll on that guy!” Instead, determine from what you are doing in the game world (running, shooting, jumping, dying, etc.) what move would apply. When the rolling is done, you conclude with some more fiction (or perhaps the GM does, depending on the outcome). This is the story, not whether you used Rock & Roll or Stay Frosty.
Fiction Forces: if you do something in the game world that would trigger a move, then you must make that move. You can’t say “I’m diving into the closet to avoid being spotted” and then not make the Stay Frosty move. Conversely, you can’t make a move unless the situation actually demands it. If you’re not fighting someone who’s fighting back, then you don’t get to make the Rock & Roll move. The game fiction dictates what happens.
Speak to the Characters: since the fiction anchors the game, remember that if you want to speak to or ask something of Valentin, the character being played by Keith, don’t say “Hey Keith, do you have a spare frag grenade?” Instead, speak to the character: “Hey, Valentin, do you have a spare frag?” (remember, though, you don’t have to act in first person! it’s okay to speak about your character, not as your character, if you prefer).
Most of the rules of Sixth World rely on the value of a player character’s Stats. You’ll hear more about these later on (especially when you get to the Dossiers), but every player character is described by 5 basic stats.
Each stat could fill in the blank in the following sentence: How __________ is my character?
Sharp: alert, quick, perceptive, and instinctive
Hard: ruthless, cold, and willing to do harm
Steady: focused, cool, and mentally and physically tough
Skilled: educated, trained, skillful, and intelligent
Smooth: stylish, appealing, and charismatic
And two pools of points that fluctuate in the course of play.
Essence: your life force and (meta)humanity, this also fuels the powers of magical archetypes (Adept, Mage, and Shaman)
Karma: a pool of points used to boost you when you need it, or bail you out in a tight spot. Your Karma starts out at zero, but gain in through Experience, if you live long enough. You gain one Karma every third Advance, instead of new move or stat boost.
In this game, the dice rolling revolves around the concept of the Move. When you are instructed to roll dice for a move, your responsibility is simple: roll 2d6, and add the value of a stat (or sometimes some other value) to the result. When a roll is needed, it is usually phrased as ”roll+Something,” where “something” is the value to add to the roll.
Example: if you are told to roll+Steady, you would roll 2d6, sum the total, and add the value of your Steady stat to the result.
The total of the roll indicates the outcome of the action taken by the character:
On a 10+, you achieve a strong success: you’ve achieved your aim without complication, and to the fullest extent possible.
On 7-9, you have achieved a weak success: your achieve your aim, but with a cost. You will usually be presented with a list of complications to choose from, although sometimes instead the GM will tell you what complication occurs.
On a total of 6 or less, you have failed: you don’t get what you want. In fact, things are probably going to get worse.
Note that if a move just says “roll,” then you don’t add anything— just roll 2d6. In addition to the common 2d6 roll, Sixth World uses the other common polyhedral dice: d4, d6, d8, d10, and d12. Twenty-sided dice are not used for mechanics, but can be used for some of the random generators at the end of this document.
While the basic move roll is 2d6+(something), there are a few modifiers and tricks that may apply to a roll. The rules will always indicate when to use one of these modifiers.
boosted: whenever you are boosted, your result is never lower than 7 (even if you roll 6 or less). So, when boosted, you cannot fail, though success may still come at a cost (not least of which is the fact that while boosted, you can’t mark XP while boosted).
glitched: glitched rolls are the opposite of boosted rolls. Whenever you are glitched, your result is never higher than 9, even if you rolled a 10+. You can succeed while glitched, but it will always come with a cost.
hold n: when you are told to Hold n, or that you gain n Hold, this means you have a small pool of points that can be spent at some future moment of your choosing. You will be told on what, specifically, you may spend the Hold. Note that if you can spend Hold on a dice roll, you can do so after you see the results of the roll!
take +n forward/-n forward: this means take a bonus (the +) or a penalty (the -) equal to n to your next Move.
take +n ongoing/-n ongoing: this means to take a bonus or penalty equal to n to all of your future rolls, until whatever circumstances caused the ongoing modifier have changed.
b: this means “take the best of” - you roll multiple dice, but keep only one of them to determine the final total. For instance, if you are instructed to roll 2d6b, you would roll 2d6, and keep the highest die. When written by itself (without a dice expression) it will be written as [b].
w: this means “take the worst of” - if you are instructed to roll 2d6w, then you would roll 2d6 and keep the lowest die. When written by itself (without a dice expression), it will be written as [w].
Every character in Sixth World has a stat called essence, representing their humanity, life force, and mystical connection with the world.
Characters start with 6 essence, although this may be reduced through the installation of cyberware. Essence can also be lost to some creatures and to certain injuries, depending on what optional rules you have in effect.
Essence is an important characteristic in three ways:
It fuels the Adept’s powers, the Mage’s spells, and the Shaman’s spirits.
It acts as a limit on the amount of cyberware any character can carry.
It may be the thing that saves your life when the chips are down. See the “Last Chance” move.
Each character has a pool of points called Karma. Karma is an in-game currency representing a number of real-world (or at least, game-world) concepts, from luck to experience to their ability to turn a bad situation into a survivable one.
The main way to spend Karma is to gain bonuses to rolls. When a player wishes it, they can spend Karma as follows:
To improve damage: for every point of Karma spent, they can add +1d6 damage to their most recent attack.
To boost a roll: a character can spend one point of Karma to be boosted on their next roll.
Karma refreshes at a rate of one point per day (assuming a good night’s rest).
When you start play, your Karma value is zero. You gain one Karma every third Advance, instead of normal advancement.
Characters earn XP (typically called “Marking XP”) as they navigate their shadowruns, get in fights, and survive their adventures in the Sixth World. Characters can mark XP in the following circumstances:
when they finish a run, or a significant portion of a major run
when they resolve one of the debts or favors they have with another character
when they are manipulated (see page 4) by another character
Once a character marks 5 XP, they may use the Advance move to “spend” that XP to improve their character. If you have 5 XP marked, don’t mark more XP until you advance. You can only learn so much at a time.
Nobody goes it alone in the shadows for long. Sooner or later, you need to get help from somebody. Sometimes, you can buy that help with money. Other times, legal tender won’t cover it and that’s when debts and favors come into play.
The total number of Debts & Favors you have with another character on your team equals your Bond with that character. For example, if you have 2 debts to another character, your Bond with them is 2. If, at the end of a session, you have resolved one of these bonds, you erase the debt or favor, and you and the other runner mark XP.
A debt is something you owe a fellow runner. Maybe they yanked your ass out of a bad situation down in Aztlan, or helped spring you from jail, or just lent you some of their own hard-won experience that saved your bacon.
A favor, conversely, is something owed to you by a fellow runner. Maybe you were the one doing the hot-LZ extraction in Aztlan, or you took the rap for them on a particular smash ‘n grab job.
Debts and favors are not necessarily reciprocal! A character might perceive a debt to another that is entirely self-imposed. Conversely, a character might feel like one of their teammates owes them something, while that teammate might be completely unaware of that feeling. So, when establishing debts and favors, don’t assume that a debt on one sheet has to correspond to a favor on another.
In Sixth World, the place where rules and fiction intersect are the character’s Moves. Moves are the mechanical structure used when the fictional actions of a character require some resolution, and where the outcome of such actions is sufficiently interesting - or in doubt - as to be worth taking a risk to achieve.
It is tempting to think of moves as a character’s “powers” or “abilities,” but remember: you should not be looking for a move to make. Instead, you should describe fictional actions that fit the circumstances, and when those actions trigger a move, th+.+n you engage the game mechanics to determine the outcome.
There are four general categories of moves in Sixth World: Core, Secondary, Archetype, and Metatype.
Core moves are the most commonly used moves, and provide mechanics for frequent activities like fighting, hiding, looking around, and interacting.
Secondary moves are less frequently used, and are usually situational.
Archetype moves are moves unique to one of the character archetypes, and reflect their particular abilities.
Metatype moves are moves that reflect the differing traits of the five human metatypes in the game. Core, secondary, and metatype moves are detailed on the following pages. Archetype moves can be found in the dossier for each archetype.
When you check out a charged situation, roll+Sharp. On a hit, you can ask the GM questions. Whenever you act on one of the GM’s answers, take +1.
On a 10+, ask 3. On a 7–9, ask 1:
Where’s my best escape route / way in / way past?
Which enemy is most vulnerable to me?
Which enemy is the biggest threat?
What should I be on the lookout for?
What’s my enemy’s true position?
Who’s really in control here?
Ask the GM a question of your own. If they will answer it, it stands; otherwise, retract it and ask another.
When you read a person in a charged interaction, roll+Sharp. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7–9, hold 1. While you’re interacting with them, spend your hold to ask their player questions, 1 for 1:
Is your character telling the truth?
What’s your character really feeling?
What does your character intend to do?
What does your character wish I’d do?
How could I get your character to _____?
Ask their player a question of your own. If their player will answer it, it stands; otherwise, retract it and ask another.
The player must answer truthfuly.
When you consult your knowledge of a specific topic or determine facts about your environment, roll+Skilled. On 10+, the GM will tell you give you a useful, specific detail about the situation. On 7-9, the GM will give you a general impression.
When you aid or interfere with someone you have Bond with, roll+your Bond with them. On 10+, they are boosted or glitched, your choice. On 7-9, they’re still boosted or glitched, but you are exposed to danger or retribution.
When you try to seduce or manipulate someone, tell them what you want and roll+Smooth.
For NPCs: on a hit, they ask you to promise something first, and do it if you promise. On a 10+, whether you keep your promise is up to you, later. On a 7–9, they need some concrete assurance right now.
For PCs: on a 10+, both. On a 7–9, choose 1:
if they do it, they mark XP
if they refuse, they have to Stay Frosty
What they do then is up to them.
When you impose your will on someone through violence or threat thereof, roll+Hard. On a 7+, they choose one:
do what you say
get the hell out
attack you
On a 10+, you also take +1 forward against them. On a miss, they do what they want (or, if it’s an NPC, the GM makes their move), and you take -1 forward against them.
When you attack an enemy, roll+Hard. Determine the outcome based on the range at which you attack:
Melee Combat: on 10+, you hit and deal your damage. On 7-9, you hit and deal damage, but your target attacks you as well.
Ranged Combat: on 10+, you hit and deal your damage. On 7-9, you deal damage, but (choose 1):
you must expose yourself to danger or attack
you burn up ammunition; mark off 1 ammo
you only graze the target (-2 damage)
When you try to stay frosty in the face of pain, danger, urgency, impatience, or emotion roll+Steady. On 10+, you succeed. On 7-9, you succeed, but the GM will present you with a worse outcome, hard bargain, or ugly choice.
When you have downtime and have marked 10 XP, you can spend time reflecting on your experiences and honing your skills. When you Advance, choose one of the following:
increase a stat (each stat may be advanced only once; check the small box in the stat area to indicate a stat that has already been advanced)
gain a new move from your dossier
gain a move from another Archetype’s dossier (up to three times)
gain the Awaken move
You may only choose one benefit each time you advance. However, you can choose a benefit multiple times, subject to the limits specified above. Once you have advanced, clear your XP track.
Your every third Advance, you get a point of Karma instead.
You become attuned to the deeper mysteries of the magical world. You can now spend Essence to power abilities and spells. This move, obviously, can only be taken once.
When you research something, roll+Skilled. On 10+, you spend 1 day searching, and locate a useful detail about the topic of the research. On 7-9, you locate a useful detail, but (choose 1):
you end up in a rabbit warren of information; spend 1 additional day digging through it
your search raises a flag in someone else’s systems (the GM determines whose)
the information is in hardcopy, and you need to go to it; spend 1 additional day on the search
When you try to keep a teammate from dying from their wounds, roll+Skilled. On 10+, you stabilize your teammate. On 7-9, you stabilize them, but (choose 1):
you can’t move them to cover
you expose yourself to danger (take 2 damage)
their wounds force you to Stay Frosty
On a failure, your teammate cannot be saved.
When you check off your 8th wound box, roll+Steady. On 10+, you stay on your feet, and if the damage you just received would take you beyond 8 boxes, ignore any excess. On 7-9, as above, but (choose 2):
you take -2 ongoing to all moves
you’ll pass out in a few moments (you’ll have time for 1 or 2 moves, tops)
you’re making it worse; First Aid moves to help you take -1
On a failure, you collapse unconscious. If you were taken down by a weapon dealing stun damage, you are merely unconscious. Otherwise, you require first aid to stabilize you.
When you spend time training, practicing, or studying your abilities, you gain Prep. You gain 1 Prep for every 2 days spent in training or practice. When that training and preparation pays off, you can spend 1 Prep to get +1 to any roll. You can only spend 1 Prep per roll.
When you teeter on the brink of death and have no options left, permanently sacrifice at least one point of Karma, and roll+the amount sacrificed. On 10+, you’ll pull through somehow—you just won’t let go of life that easy. On 7-9, you will survive, but the GM will privately discuss with you what terrible bargain you agreed to in order to live. On a 6 or less, nothing can save you.
If you survive, your maximum Karma is reduced by 1 point (this can reduce your Karma to 0). Karma may be regained by Advancing as normal.
When you’re providing cover for an ally and a threat appears, roll+Sharp. On 10+, your ally gets the drop on the threat. On 7-9, they’re alerted, and take +1 forward to their next move. On a miss, the threat gets the drop on your ally.
When you hit up a contact for info, items, or assistance, roll+Smooth. On 10+, the contact provides useful information (related to their own knowledge) or assistance. On 7-9, the contact provides information or assistance, but (choose 1):
has to get back to you; wait 1 day
isn’t happy about it; take -1 forward to the next time you Pull Strings with this contact
requires a favor in return
If you fail, your contact doesn’t want to see you for a while, and will not return calls or meet with you for 1d6+1 days. Repeated failures of this move can permanently sever your relationship.
When you indulge in a drug, roll+Steady. On a 10+, you experience the effects as normal. On 7-9, you experience the effects but you got a weak batch, so the effects last half as long.
If you roll snake eyes when you pop pills, you become addicted to the drug. If you go 3 sessions without a hit, roll 2d6w. If you roll a 4 or higher, you are no longer addicted; otherwise, you’re still hooked. If you are an addict and roll snake eyes while popping pills, you overdose and take 8 Stun.
When you suppress an area to pin the enemy down down, roll+Hard and mark off 2 Ammo. On 10+, the targets are suppressed and cannot move or return fire. On 7-9, the only most of the targets are suppressed or they are only mostly supressed.
When you stand in defense of another, roll+Steady. On 10+, the attack hits you intead. On 7-9, the attack partly hits you (you take half damage, or half the attack’s effect, if non-damaging).
There are five primary metahuman types (or “metatypes”) in the Sixth World: Human, Dwarf, Elf, Ork, and Troll, each with their own unique moves. When you choose your metatype, you get all it’s moves.
Humans get the following move:
Just Lucky: you start with an extra point of Karma.
All dwarves have natural low-light vision and get following move:
Never Sick: you are immune to disease and poisons.
All elves have natural low-light vision and get following move:
Ethereal: take +1 forward to seduce someone.
All orks have natural low-light vision and get following move:
Hard bastard: take +1 forward to gut checks.
All trolls have natural thermographic vision and thus get following moves:
Thermographic Vision: when you Check the Situation, you may ask one additional question from the list.
Dermal Bone Plating: you have +1 armor.
You can choose moves freely from other archetypes, subject to the following two restrictions:
You may choose no more than 3 moves from another archetype.
If your character is a non-magical archetype, they may not select moves that require Essence to be spent, unless they select the “Awaken” move during one of their advances. They may select moves in which Essence expenditure is optional, however (although those usually don’t have much benefit without it).
Creating a character is a multi-step process (don’t worry, though, it’s pretty easy). The overall process is described here; more detail is provided in each Archetype’s dossier. You’ll record the details you create on the dossier page or the supplemental “extra info” page.
CHOOSE YOUR ARCHETYPE
There are 10 Archetypes to choose from: Adept, Face, Ex-Cop, Hacker, Mage, Mercenary, Rigger, Shaman, Street Doc, and Street Samurai. You can learn more about them in the Dossiers that follow.
CHOOSE YOUR METATYPE AND LOOK
There are 5 metatypes: Human, Dwarf, Elf, Ork, and Troll. Each metatype offers a choice of Metatype Moves.
CHOOSE YOUR LOOK
Each character archetype will present options for look; you are free to make up your own as well.
CHOOSE YOUR NAME AND STREET NAME
Pick a real name and street name. You may use the lists provided in the GM Resources, or create your own.
ASSIGN YOUR STATS
All characters have the following stats:
Sharp: alertness, perception, and instinct
Hard: coldness, ruthlessness, and willingness to do harm
Steady: focus, cool, and mental and physical toughness
Smooth: style, appeal, charisma, and influence
Skilled: training, education, and learned abilities
All stats star with a value of +0.
SPEND YOUR BUILD POINTS
You have 4 build points to distribute among your stats. To increase a stat by 1 point costs 1 Build Point (e.g., it is a straight 1-for-1 cost). You may increase a stat to a maximum of +2 as a starting character. Additionally, if you wish, you may lower one stat to -1 in order to gain an additional Build Point to spend elsewhere.
DETERMINE YOUR ESSENCE AND KARMA
Your starting Essence is equal to 6 – the Essence cost of any cyberware you have installed or choose to install. Your starting Karma is zero.
RECORD EQUIPMENT
Each archetype will present various weapon, spell, cyberware, and equipment options. Choose one item from each list (unless the list indicates that you may choose more than one item). Some choices, particularly cyberware, are optional.
CHOOSE CONTACTS
Everybody knows somebody. You will be presented with a list of potential contacts your character might know as a result of their experiences both before and after they became shadowrunners.
ESTABLISH DEBTS AND FAVORS
In your life before and after becoming a shadowrunner, you’ve worked with a lot of people, and ended up owing, or being owed, by them.
These relationships include at least one of your fellow shadowrunners, and are called debts and favors. When you are instructed to create your debts and favors with fellow runners, you’ll see a list of sample statements to help you create them. You don’t have to use these; they’re simply suggestions.
To create a debt or favor, place the name of one of the other characters in the blank space in one of the statements presented. You can place the same name more than once (that is, in more than one sentence), but you must establish at least one debt or favor to start with. Collectively, debts and favors are known as Bond. Later, during play, you may end up resolving a bond with someone. If you do, both of you mark XP.
STARTING MOVES
Your character knows all the Core and Secondary Moves. You character also knows one or more of his or her Archetype moves. If you are given an option to choose additional moves, check off the box next to them on the character sheet.
ADVANCEMENT
Each time you fail a roll - that is, you roll a 6 or less - you mark XP. When you mark 10 XP, and you have downtime, you can make the Advance move
CHOOSE YOUR METATYPE, LOOK, AND STREET NAME
Metatype: dwarf, elf, human, ork, or troll.
Look: wise eyes, wary eyes, glowing eyes; no hair, cropped hair, long braid; clean skin, tattooed skin, hard skin; perfect body, heavy body, lithe body
Name: choose from the GM Resources section, or create your own.
ASSIGN YOUR STATS
Distribute 4 points among your stats. You may increase a stat to a maximum of +2 as a starting character. If you wish, you may lower 1 stat to -1 in order to have an additional point to spend.
RECORD YOUR EQUIPMENT
Basic Equipment: commlink
Armor (choose 1): leather armor, arcane armor
Weapons (choose 2): paired Ares Predators, katana, bo staff, paired combat knives, compound bow
DETERMINE ESSENCE AND KARMA
Essence: 6 – total cost of all cyberware implants
Karma: 0
CHOOSE 2 CONTACTS
Temple master, gunsmith, underground fight club organizer, tea shop owner, yakuza soldier, fetishmonger
ESTABLISH DEBTS AND FAVORS
Place one of your fellow runners’ names in at least one of the blanks below:
If _______________ hadn’t been there, I’d be dead right now.
One day, I’ll make it up to _______________ for letting that suspect walk.
I let _______________ skate on a serious charge once.
Letting _______________ see that evidence earned me a formal reprimand.
STARTING FUNDS
You start play with 3d6 x 250¥ immediately available.
STARTING MOVES
You know all the Core and Secondary Moves. You also know the Enhanced Ability move, and one other Adept move.
Enhanced Ability: when you spend uninterrupted time (an hour or so) in quiet contemplation of your abilities, you gain +1 ongoing to one Stat of your choice, as long as you’re concious or until you meditate again.
Gunfighter: when you Rock & Roll while wielding one or two handguns, you may spend 1 essence. In addition to the usual results of Rock & Roll, choose 1:
you maneuver quickly and precisely, giving yourself the best shots possible while minimizing your opponents’ advantage; take +1 forward to Rock & Roll
one of your targets is suppressed; take +1 forward to Stay Frosty
you grab an opponent and use them as a human shield; split any damage taken between you and the enemy
you physically strike an enemy within melee range with your weapon, dealing 1d6 stun
Killing Hands: when you deal damage while unarmed, you can chose to deal lethal damage instead of stun. In addition, you can spend 1 essence to roll damage twice and take the better value.
Danger Sense: when you open your mind to the world of subtle mundane and magical information in your environment, spend 1 essence and roll+Sharp. On 10+, you cannot be surprised. On 7-9, take +1 to Stay Frosty.
The Sight: when you take time to study an enemy, roll+Sharp. On 10+, take +1 forward or take +2 damage forward to your next attack. On 7-9, take +1 forward.
Astral Projection: when you project your spirit into astral space, spend 1 Essence and roll+Steady. On 10+, you project successfully. On 7-9, you project, but your connection is tenuous; take -1 ongoing while in astral space.
Mystic Armor: you gain +2 armor when naked or in normal clothes, or +1 armor when wearing mundane armor.
Traceless Walk: your footsteps are silent and leave no trace, and you can walk on soft or brittle surface like snow, sand or broken glass without sinking. Whenever you’re trying to be sneaky and sound is of importance, you’re boosted.
CHOOSE YOUR METATYPE, LOOK, AND STREET NAME
Metatype: dwarf, elf, human, ork, or troll.
Look: cold eyes, tired eyes, wary eyes; close cropped hair, shaggy hair, bald; cheap suit, street clothes, hawaiian shirt; heavy body, fit body, injured body
Name: choose from the GM Resources section, or create your own.
ASSIGN YOUR STATS
Distribute 4 points among your stats. You may increase a stat to a maximum of +2 as a starting character. If you wish, you may lower 1 stat to -1 in order to have an additional point to spend.
RECORD YOUR EQUIPMENT
Basic Equipment: commlink
In addition, choose from the lists below: Armor: armor vest, form-fitting armor
Service Pistol: Ruger Super Warhawk, Colt Manhunter
Additional Weapon: HK 227, Remington 990
Installed Cyberware (optional): datajack (1 essence), cybereye with 2 enhancements (1 essence), skillwires (2 essence)
DETERMINE ESSENCE AND KARMA
Essence: 6 – total cost of all cyberware implants
Karma: 0
CHOOSE 3 CONTACTS
Confidential informant (CI), precinct secretary, gang leader, prosecutor, journalist, former partner, defense attorney
ESTABLISH DEBTS AND FAVORS
Place one of your fellow runners’ names in at least one of the blanks below:
If _______________ hadn’t been there, I’d be dead right now.
One day, I’ll make it up to _______________ for letting that suspect walk.
I let _______________ skate on a serious charge once.
Letting _______________ see that evidence earned me a formal reprimand.
STARTING FUNDS
You start play with 3d6 x 250¥ immediately available.
STARTING MOVES
You know all the Core and Secondary Moves.
You know the Gumshoe move, and one other Cop move.
Gumshoe: when you examine the scene of an event, or interrogate someone about an event, roll+Sharp. On 10+, pick two of the following to learn (relevant to what you’re investigating). On 7-9, pick one:
Scene: when the events happened; whether magic was involved; how many individuals were involved; if this is the primary scene of the event
Person: if they’re connected to the event; whether they’re hiding something; what they stood to lose or gain; a useful personal detail (e.g, a tic, handedness, etc.)
Work the System: when you use your ex-LEO status to get help, roll+Smooth. On 10+, you have an old pal jam somebody up or cut them a break. On 7-9, you get the desired result, but (choose 1):
the person knows who helped or hindered them
your buddy got in trouble
your name got mentioned to the wrong ears
Takedown: when you take control of a person physically, roll+Hard. On 10+, they are under your complete control. On 7-9, you gain control of them, but either you or your target must take 2 damage.
Interrogation: when you attempt to make someone sweat, you may roll+Skilled instead of +Hard.
The Feds: you have a connection in federal law enforcement. Roll+Smooth. On 10+, pick 2. On 7-9, pick 1.
You get a tip-off on a big operation so you can steer clear
You gain interesting and useful information about your current run
You get access to federal data on an individual
You are listed as a “consultant” on a case
Doorkicker: when you lead the team in an assault on the enemy, roll+Steady. On 10+, designate up to 3 enemies who are surprised. On 7-9, designate up to 2 enemies.
CHOOSE YOUR METATYPE, LOOK, AND STREET NAME
Metatype: dwarf, elf, human, ork, or troll.
Look: wise eyes, jeweled eyes, laughing eyes; normal skin, perfect skin, synthetic skin; great smile, smoky stare, rugged good looks, regal bearing; fit body, compact body, androgynous body
Name: choose from the GM Resources section, or create your own.
ASSIGN YOUR STATS
Distribute 4 points among your stats. You may increase a stat to a maximum of +2 as a starting character. If you wish, you may lower 1 stat to -1 in order to have an additional point to spend.
CHOOSE YOUR EQUIPMENT
Basic Equipment: commlink, fashionable clothing
In addition, choose from the lists below:
Armor: armorweave clothing, form fitting armor, light armor jacket
Weapon: Colt L36, Beretta 101T, stun baton, taser
Cyberware: datajack (1 essence), cybereyes with 2 enhancements (1 essence), hold-out cybergun (2 essence), voice modulator (1 essence)
DETERMINE ESSENCE AND KARMA
Essence: 6 – total cost of all cyberware implants
Karma: 0
CHOOSE 4 CONTACTS
Club owner, Yakuza boss, car dealer, journalist, senator’s aide, money launderer, mafia capo, arms dealer, wealthy socialite
ESTABLISH DEBTS AND FAVORS
Place one of your fellow runners’ names in at least one of the blanks below:
_______________ always answers my calls.
_______________ knows I screwed over their friend, and has never said anything about it.
_______________ hung me out to dry.
I helped _______________ lay low after that nasty business with Renraku.
STARTING FUNDS
You start play with 3d6 x 350¥ immediately available.
STARTING MOVES
You know all the Core and Secondary Moves. You know the Razor Insight move, and one other Face move.
Razor Insight: when you have a casual conversation with someone, roll+Sharp. On 10+, you learn three of the following. On 7-9, you learn 2.
Something they love
Something they fear
Something they need
Something they lost
Something they took
If you use this information when fast talking, manipulating, or making them sweat, you are boosted.
Fast Talk: when you need to convince somebody of something fast, roll+Smooth. On 10+, your quick thinking gets you through. On 7-9, they’re convinced, but (choose 1)
they check up on your story later
they get in serious trouble for believing you
one of your contacts somehow ends up involved…in a bad way
Build a Legend: when you create a false identity, spend 1 day working on it and roll+Skilled. On 10+, your legend is solid and will hold up to any scrutiny. On 7-9, it holds up for now, but (choose 1):
you’ve only got 1d4+Skilled days before its blown
you run into someone who knows you…as someone else.
you have to do something unpleasant to maintain your cover.
I Know A Guy: when you need an illegal good or service, roll+Smooth. On 10+, you know someone who can get it for you immediately, and discreetly. On 7-9, they can get it, but (choose 1):
it takes 1 additional day
it costs twice as much as predicted
your fence has to drop your name to get it
Honeyed Words: when you make someone sweat, you may roll+Smooth instead of Hard.
Irresistible: even if you anger, insult, or otherwise tick off a contact, they just can’t stay mad at you. They only avoid you for half as long as normal.
CHOOSE YOUR METATYPE, LOOK, AND STREET NAME
Metatype: dwarf, elf, human, ork, or troll.
Look: strange eyes, glasses, unfocused eyes; no hair, unkempt hair, mohawk, ponytail; pale skin, bad skin, tattooed skin; thin body, heavy body, compact body, flabby body
Name: choose from the GM Resources section, or create your own.
ASSIGN YOUR STATS
Distribute 4 points among your stats. You may increase a stat to a maximum of +2 as a starting character. If you wish, you may lower 1 stat to -1 in order to have an additional point to spend.
RECORD YOUR EQUIPMENT
Basic Equipment: commlink, Fuchi Cyber-4 or Fuchi Cyber-7
Installed Cyberware: datajack (1 essence)
In addition, choose from the lists below:
Armor (choose 1): trenchcoat, light armor jacket
Weapon (choose 1): Fichetti Needler, Ares Lightfire 70, Combat Axe, Remington 990
Cyberware: cybereyes with 2 enhancements (1 essence), synaptic hardening (2 essence)
DETERMINE ESSENCE AND KARMA
Essence: 6 – total cost of all cyberware implants
Karma: 0
CHOOSE 2 CONTACTS
Electronics dealer, military hacker, gang member, former professor, matrix guru, white hat, script kiddie, poker dealer, money launderer
ESTABLISH DEBTS AND FAVORS
Place one of your fellow runners’ names in at least one of the blanks below:
I did a run with _______________ that went bad…because of me.
If _______________ hadn’t unplugged me, that IC would have fried my brain.
I scrubbed _______________’s arrest record; they’re pure as driven snow. For now.
I don’t work for free. But _______________ can be very convincing.
STARTING FUNDS
You start play with 3d6 x 150¥ immediately available.
STARTING MOVES
You know all the Core and Secondary Moves. You know the Born Digital and Sling Code moves.
Born Digital: while in the Matrix, when you:
Stay Frosty, add your deck’s Mask rating to the roll
Take damage, subtract your deck’s Hardening rating from the damage
Rock & Roll, roll+Skilled instead of +Hard
Sling Code: when you hack a Matrix node or device, roll+Sharp. On 10+, choose 3. On 7-9, choose 2:
The node or device remains unaware of the intrusion
You leave no trace of your presence
You don’t trigger IC
You learn a useful detail about another node connected to this one
Once in control of a node, you can issue commands appropriate to it.
Matrix Overwatch: when you defend a device or node against a matrix attack, roll+Steady. On 10+, the attack is ineffective. On 7-9, halve the damage or duration of the attack’s effect.
IC Killer: when you inflict damage to IC, inflict +1 damage.
Multitasker: you can hack multiple systems or devices simultaneously. Roll+Steady. On 10+, you suffer no penalties to hack two systems. On 7-9, take -1 ongoing to the second system.
Tracer: when you would deal damage to an enemy hacker in Matrix combat, you can instead forgo damage to plant a tracer tag on their avatar. This tracer is active for 1+Training days.
CHOOSE YOUR METATYPE, LOOK, AND STREET NAME
Metatype: dwarf, elf, human, ork, or troll.
Look: blank eyes, unnatural eyes, piercing eyes; Long hair, bald, wild hair; robes, street clothes, dress clothes; thin body, weak body, muscular body
Name: choose from the GM Resources section, or create your own.
ASSIGN YOUR STATS
Distribute 4 points among your stats. You may increase a stat to a maximum of +2 as a starting character. If you wish, you may lower 1 stat to -1 in order to have an additional point to spend.
RECORD YOUR EQUIPMENT AND SPELLS
Choose from the lists below:
Armor: trenchcoat, light armor jacket, armor charm
Weapon: Beretta 101T, Ruger Super Warhawk, Staff
In addition, Choose 3 of the following 5 spell categories:
Combat, Detection, Illusion, Health, Manipulation
You know 2 spells in one of your chosen categories, 1 in the second category, and 1 in the final category.
DETERMINE ESSENCE AND KARMA
Essence: 6 – total cost of all cyberware implants
Karma: 0
CHOOSE 2 CONTACTS
Wage Mage, Corporate Exec, Fetishmonger, Paranormal Animal Expert, Bartender, Street Cop, Professor of Magical Theory
ESTABLISH DEBTS AND FAVORS
Place one of your fellow runners’ names in at least one of the blanks below:
I’d still be a wage mage today if _______________ hadn’t made that call.
Those gangers would have waxed me if _______________ hadn’t happened along.
I helped get rid of a curse. You believe that? A curse.
I sucked up a manabolt for ________.
STARTING FUNDS
You start play with 3d6 x 250¥ immediately available.
STARTING MOVES
You know all the Core and Secondary Moves. You know the Cast a Spell, Center, and Counterspell moves.
Cast a Spell: When you cast a spell, spend the required essence and roll. The stat you add depends on the type of spell:
Combat: roll+Hard
Detection: roll+Sharp
Illusion: roll+Smooth
Health: roll+Skilled
Manipulation: roll+Steady
On 10+, the spell is cast. On 7-9, the spell is cast, but (choose 1):
it causes drain; take 1 stun
it causes astral feedback; take -1 to the next spell you cast
you must expose yourself to danger or an attack to cast the spell
Center: when you take a moment to concentrate and restore yourself, regain 1d6 essence.
Spell Defense: when you defend an ally from a magic spell, spend 1 Essence and roll+Sharp. On 10+, choose 2. On 7-9, choose 1:
halve the spell’s damage
halve the spell’s duration
locate the spell’s caster
deal 1d6 damage to the caster
Astral Trace: when you observe a magical effect for which you cannot determine the source, roll+Sharp. On a 10+, the GM answers three of the following. On 7-9, two:
In what direction does the source of this magic lie?
Approximately how far away is the source?
What is the general nature of the source?
How powerful is the source?
Hermetic Library: you have permission to access an extensive library of hermetic lore. When you or a teammate uses the Citation Needed move to research magical history or theory, the move is boosted.
Initiate: when you hit the books, you may also spend Prep on:
reducing a spell’s Essence cost by 1 (to a minimum of 0)
boosting a Cast a Spell move
regain 1 Essence
CHOOSE YOUR METATYPE, LOOK, AND STREET NAME
Metatype: dwarf, elf, human, ork, or troll.
Look: dead eyes, cold eyes, soft eyes; boonie hat, high ‘n tight, ponytail, fauxhawk; combat fatigues, street clothes, nice suit; scarred skin, tough skin, soft skin
Name: choose from the GM Resources section, or create your own.
ASSIGN YOUR STATS
Distribute 4 points among your stats. You may increase a stat to a maximum of +2 as a starting character. If you wish, you may lower 1 stat to -1 in order to have an additional point to spend.
CHOOSE YOUR EQUIPMENT
Basic Equipment: commlink
Installed Cyberware: bone lacing (2 essence)
In addition, choose from the lists below:
Armor: ballistic vest, armor jacket, combat armor
Weapon (choose 3): Ares Predator, Browning Max Power, AK-97K, Ingram Smartgun, Colt M22A2, AK-97, tomahawk, combat knife
DETERMINE ESSENCE AND KARMA
Essence: 6 – total cost of all cyberware implants Karma: 0
CHOOSE 2 CONTACTS
Former CO, Terrorist Cell Member, Arms Dealer, Veterans Clinic Doctor, Old War Buddy, Street Pharmacist, Therapist
ESTABLISH DEBTS AND FAVORS
Place one of your fellow runners’ names in at least one of the blanks below:
__________ dragged me out when shit went sideways.
__________ backed my play even when nobody else would.
It was not fun explaining to my CO what happened to those weapons _________ “borrowed.”
First time I saw ________, it was at the other end of my gun.
STARTING FUNDS
You start play with 3d6 x 150¥ immediately available.
STARTING MOVES
You know all the Core and Secondary Moves. You know the Go Tactical move and one other Mercenary move.
Go Tactical: when you Check the Situation during combat, roll+Hard instead of +Sharp. On a 10+, instead of asking the GM questions, you may instead choose to Hold 3. On a 7-9, you may choose to Hold 1.
You can then spend that Hold 1-for-1 to grant a bonus to any ally at any point during the combat.
Deadeye: when you attack a surprised or defenseless enemy in ranged combat, you can deal damage or, name your target and roll+Hard:
Head: on 10+, you deal your damage and they fall to the ground, stunned. 7-9: they fall to the ground, stunned.
Arms: on 10+, you deal your damage, and they drop whatever they’re holding. 7-9: they drop whatever they’re holding.
Legs: on 10+, you deal your damage, and they are slowed or immobilized. 7-9: they are slowed or immobilized.
Veteran: when you Stay Frosty, you take +1.
Contracts Available: you have contacts with a mercenary force or guild. Roll+Smooth. On 10+, they can pass you a contract worth 10,000¥. On 7-9, they can pass you a contract worth 5,000¥.
Field Trial: when you use your military connections to acquire military- only equipment, roll+Smooth. On 10+, you’re able to borrow the equipment for 5 days. On 7-9, you borrow it, but (choose 1):
There’s an unscheduled inventory inspection before you can return it
You need to pony up a sizeable “security deposit”
You got a hangar queen. The equipment requires 1 day of maintenance, or it will fail at a most inopportune moment.
Inspiring: when you roll a 10+ when you Stay Frosty, one ally who saw you can take +1 forward to their next move.
CHOOSE YOUR METATYPE, LOOK, AND STREET NAME
Metatype: dwarf, elf, human, ork, or troll.
Look: goggles, alert eyes, obvious cybereyes; kaiser helmet, cowboy hat, pirate bandana; biker clothes, flight suit, street clothes, punk clothes; heavy body, built body, lean body
Name: choose from the GM Resources section, or create your own.
ASSIGN YOUR STATS
Distribute 4 points among your stats. You may increase a stat to a maximum of +2 as a starting character. If you wish, you may lower 1 stat to -1 in order to have an additional point to spend.
CHOOSE EQUIPMENT
Basic equipment: commlink, 1 drone, 1 vehicle
Installed cyberware: control rig (2 essence)
Choose from the lists below:
Armor: ballistic vest, lined coat
Weapon (choose 2): Enfield AS-7, Browning Max Power, Ares Predator, AK-97K, combat axe
Cyberware: cyberarm with 1 enhancement (2 essence), cybereyes with 2 enhancements (1 essence)
DETERMINE ESSENCE AND KARMA
Essence: 6 – total cost of all cyberware implants
Karma: 0
CHOOSE 2 CONTACTS
Chop shop worker, go ganger, fence, trucker, arms dealer, mechanic, bartender, cargo pilot, car thief
ESTABLISH DEBTS AND FAVORS
Place one of your fellow runners’ names in at least one of the blanks below:
____________ tipped me off to some sweet (and lucrative) courier runs.
When I ended up in the slam for the Dynagene job, ______ bailed me out.
I wrecked my favorite ride working with ____________. Took months to fix it.
_________ jammed me up for a goddamned percentage.
STARTING FUNDS
You start play with 3d6 x 400¥ immediately available.
STARTING MOVES
You know all the Core and Secondary Moves. You know the Jumped In move and one other Rigger move.
Jumped In: while jacked into a vehicle or drone you own, when you:
Rock & Roll or Stay Frosty, roll+Skilled
Check the Situation, add the vehicle or drone’s Sensor rating to the roll
Fail a move involving the vehicle or drone, mark off 1 Fuel.
Take an action not related to controlling the vehicle or drone, take -2.
Autonomous Mode: when you put a drone in autonomous mode, indicate which mode setting you want, and roll+Skilled. On 10+, hold 2 to be spent on the drone’s moves. On 7-9, hold 1. Drone mode settings (and the rolls they use for moves) are:
Sentry: the drone can make the Rock & Roll move; roll+Tactical
Recon: the drone can make the Check the Situation move; roll+- Sensor
Evasion: the drone can make the Stay Frosty move; roll+Power
Split Personality: when you launch a drone, roll+Steady. On 10+, you don’t take the normal -2 penalty to non-drone moves while controlling it. On 7-9, the penalty is reduced to -1.
Jury Rig: when you have to make fast repairs to a vehicle or machine, roll+Sharp. On 10+, you get it running again and fast. On 7-9, you get it running, but (choose 1):
it will only run for 1d10 minutes
afterwards, it will be a total loss.
one of its qualities is reduced by 1, permanently
Percussive Maintenance: when you smack the hell out of a recalcitrant device, roll+Hard. On 10+, the device springs to life. On 7-9, the device works for only a moment, but you know what you need to do to fix it. Take +1 forward to Jury Rig.
Paint the Target: when you point out a drone or vehicle’s weakness to your teammates, they take +1 forward to attacks against it.
CHOOSE YOUR METATYPE, LOOK, AND STREET NAME
Metatype: dwarf, elf, human, ork, or troll.
Look: heterochromic eyes, wise eyes, sunglasses; long hair, dreadlocks, shaved head; street clothes, anachronistic clothes, biker gear; wiry body, thin body, round body
Name: choose from the GM Resources section, or create your own.
ASSIGN YOUR STATS
Distribute 4 points among your stats. You may increase a stat to a maximum of +2 as a starting character. If you wish, you may lower 1 stat to -1 in order to have an additional point to spend.
CHOOSE YOUR TOTEM
Choose a totem from the list, or make up one of your own.
CHOOSE YOUR EQUIPMENT
Choose from the lists below:
Armor: Leather jacket, defensive charm, riot shield
Weapon: Ruger Super Warhawk, Colt Manhunter, AK-97, combat axe, crossbow
Spirits: choose 3 spirits from the gear section
DETERMINE ESSENCE AND KARMA
Essence: 6 – total cost of all cyberware implants
Karma: 0
CHOOSE 2 CONTACTS
Wage mage, ork underground, gang thug, street cop, herbalist, university professor, diner owner, fetishmonger, art dealer, hedge wizard, houngan
ESTABLISH DEBTS AND FAVORS
Place one of your fellow runners’ names in at least one of the blanks below:
_________ had me in his sights, and let me live.
_________ put their life on the line helping me battle a wild spirit.
When ________ fell foul of that corp hit squad, I provided additional security.
Getting the artifact _________ wanted wasn’t easy.
STARTING FUNDS
You start play with 3d6 x 150¥ immediately available.
STARTING MOVES
You know all the Core and Secondary Moves. You know the Conjure and Banish moves.
Conjure: When you summon a spirit, spend at least 1 essence and roll. The stat you add to the roll depends on the spirit’s nature:
Destroyer: roll+Hard
Protector: roll+Steady
Watcher: roll+Sharp
Teacher: roll+Skilled
Seducer: roll+Smooth
On 10+, the spirit is conjured and will perform a number of moves equal to the essence spent. On 7-9, the spirit is conjured, but (choose 1):
It can perform one fewer moves (you cannot choose this option if you spent only 1 essence)
It is draining; take 1 stun
You must expose yourself to danger or an attack
When the spirit has used all of its moves, you regain the essence committed to the summoning. If the spirit is destroyed, you regain half the committed essence, round down.
On a failure, the spirit does not manifest, and the essence spent is lost. If you roll snake eyes, the spirit is summoned in an uncontrolled state, and the GM will control its actions until it is exhausted or banished.
Banish: when you attempt to banish a spirit, roll+Hard. On 10+, you reduce the spirit’s available moves by 1. On 7-9, you reduce the spirit’s moves by 1, but it deals half its damage to you. If you reduce the spirit’s available moves to 0, it vanishes immediately.
Commune: when you take a moment to mentally commune with your totem, you may gain its boons and flaws, or regain 1d6 essence.
Favored Spirit: choose 1 spirit type (Watcher, Teacher, Protector, Destroyer, Seducer). This spirit type performs one free move.
Aura Mask: you may conceal your magical nature. Roll+Skilled. On 10+, you appear to be a mundane individual to anyone or anything that examines you. On 7-9, you appear mundane, but must spend 1 Essence to do so.
Spirit Master: you may conjure multiple spirits simultaneously, dividing the commited Essence among them.
CHOOSE YOUR METATYPE, LOOK, AND STREET NAME
Metatype: dwarf, elf, human, ork, or troll.
Look: clear eyes, old eyes, quick eyes; close cut hair, stylish hairdo, bandana; fit body, heavy body, compact body; business attire, street clothes, EMT jumpsuit
Name: choose from the GM Resources section, or create your own.
ASSIGN YOUR STATS
Distribute 4 points among your stats. You may increase a stat to a maximum of +2 as a starting character. If you wish, you may lower 1 stat to -1 in order to have an additional point to spend.
CHOOSE YOUR EQUIPMENT
Basic equipment: commlink, MedKit with 6 supply
In addition, choose from the lists below:
Armor: ballistic vest, armor jacket
Weapon: Narcoject rifle, Browning Max Power, HK227, stun baton, combat knife
Cyberware: cyberarm with 2 enhancements (2 essence), skillwires (2 essence)
DETERMINE ESSENCE AND KARMA
Essence: 6 – total cost of all cyberware implants
Karma: 0
CHOOSE 2 CONTACTS
ER doctor, morgue staffer, medical examiner, DocWagon driver, organlegger, black market organ dealer, blood bank worker, pharmacist
ESTABLISH DEBTS AND FAVORS
Place one of your fellow runners’ names in at least one of the blanks below:
___________ helped me get clean.
___________ got their hands bloody helping me save a life.
I arranged for ______ to receive a “mis-shipped” case of pharmaceuticals.
I extracted information from a prisoner once for ___________.
STARTING FUNDS
You start play with 3d6 x 400¥ immediately available.
STARTING MOVES
You know all the Core and Secondary Moves. You know the Combat Medic and Stay With Me moves.
Combat Medic: when you provide medical aid to a person, roll+Skilled and mark off 1 Supply from your kit. On 10+, the patient heals 2d4b damage. On 7-9, the patient heals 1d4 damage.
Stay With Me: when you attempt to stabilize a teammate who is bleeding out, roll+Steady and mark off 2 supply from your kit. On 10+, choose 3. On 7-9, choose 2:
they can be moved without a stretcher
it takes fewer supplies than expected - mark off only 1 supply
you do not expose yourself to danger to help them.
they will not have a chronic injury
Your patient does not die if you fail this move, and you may take -1 and try again. A second failure, however, results in the death of the patient.
Grace Under Fire: when you are working on a patient during a fight but not actively fighting, you have +1 armor.
We All Bleed Red: when you take time to treat an injured enemy, mark off 1 supply and roll+Smooth. On 10+, they’re stable, and you can ask two questions which they will answer truthfully. On 7-9, you can ask only one question.
Pharmacy Is Open: when you use a contact to obtain medical supplies (amounting to +1 supply), and roll+Smooth. On 10+, choose 2. On 7-9, choose 1:
you get +2 supply instead of +1
it takes 1 day to get the supplies instead of 2
nobody notices the supplies are missing
you receive an interesting piece of information as well
You Got This: whenever you walk someone through a medical procedure (such as first aid), roll+Smooth. On 10+, they are boosted. On 7-9, they take +1.
CHOOSE YOUR METATYPE, LOOK, AND STREET NAME
Metatype: dwarf, elf, human, ork, or troll.
Look: glowing eyes, silvered eyes, hard eyes; cropped hair, wild hair, topknot; tattooed skin, scarred skin, camo skin; bulky body, lithe body, skinny body
Name: choose from the GM Resources section, or create your own.
ASSIGN YOUR STATS
Distribute 4 points among your stats. You may increase a stat to a maximum of +2 as a starting character. If you wish, you may lower 1 stat to -1 in order to have an additional point to spend.
CHOOSE YOUR EQUIPMENT
Basic Equipment: commlink, lined coat
In addition, choose from the lists below:
Armor: form-fitting armor, ballistic vest
Weapon: choose four weapons from the list of melee and small arms
Cyberware: choose up to 5 essence worth of cyberware
DETERMINE ESSENCE AND KARMA
Essence: 6 – total cost of all cyberware implants
Karma: 0
CHOOSE 2 CONTACTS
Arms dealer, cybersurgeon, bartender, street clinic nurse, private investigator, dockworker, pilot, cab driver, retired runner, survival nut
CREATE YOUR CODE
The word “samurai” means something on these streets. Create the code of honor that you follow.
ESTABLISH DEBTS AND FAVORS
Place one of your fellow runners’ names in at least one of the blanks below:
__________ came back for me.
Even with all this chrome, ________ still treats me like a real person.
I got this scar taking a bullet for __________.
__________’s “big score” ended with me in the lockup.
STARTING FUNDS
You start play with 3d6 x 250¥ immediately available.
STARTING MOVES
You know all the Core and Secondary Moves. You know The Only Thing Faster is Light move and one other Street Samurai move.
The Only Thing Faster is Light: whenever you Rock & Roll, on a 12+ you may deal your damage to a second target within range.
More Power: when you attempt to bend, break through, or otherwise destroy something, roll+Hard. On 10+, you easily achieve your goal. On 7-9, you break it, but (choose 1):
It takes longer than expected
It makes a lot of noise
You take 1 stun in the process
Pain Editor: when you make a Gut Check, you are boosted. Additionally, when you reach 9 or more wounds, you may choose to accept a chronic injury rather than bleeding out. If you already have all of the chronic injuries, you cannot use this move.
Honorable: when you uphold a tenet of your code, roll+Smooth. On a 10+, hold 2. On 7-9, hold 1. You may spend this hold to pull strings, manipulate, or make someone sweat.
CQC Expert: when you Rock & Roll using a melee weapon or while unarmed, deal +1d4 damage.
Perfect Instincts: when you act on GM’s answers after Checking a situation, take +2 instead of +1.
Dodge This: when you manage to get out of an enemy’s line of sight, roll+Steady. On 10+, you get the drop on that enemy when you reappear. On 7-9, you take +1 forward against that enemy when you reappear.
Shadowrunners tend to get themselves into lots of trouble, the kind that ends with some high-intensity interpersonal conflict resolution. In other words, combat. As you’ll find when you read through the rest of this document, most of combat (in fact, pretty much everything the player characters do, ever) is handled through the application of various moves as they intersect with the fiction. This section explains a few specific quirks of combat in Sixth World.
Because a shadowrunner leads a dangerous life, a big premium is put on not getting hit or at least not taking all the damage. The obvious way to do so is to wear armor.
In Sixth World, armor reduces incoming damage on a 1 for 1 basis. The tradeoff, of course, is that you can’t spend all day walking around in combat armor— it’s hot, itchy, intimidating, and cops tend to notice.
Some metatypes and archetypes offer moves that let you reduce damage, or otherwise avoid some of the less pleasant outcomes of damage. For example, the Hard Bastard move (and ork metatype move) lets the character take +1 to gut checks, and the troll move You’ll Just Make It Angry grants an additional wound box..
The Rock & Roll move and most other damage-dealing moves assume that your target can fight back. If that’s not a possibility (that is, if your target is surprised, helpless, etc.), the fiction can’t trigger the Rock & Roll move. You just put a round in their head and move on.
When you get the drop on someone in combat, you don’t need to use a move to deal damage to them—you can simply deal your damage (or kill them outright, depending on the situation). Likewise, if someone gets the drop on you in combat, expect to eat some lead.
Weapons in the game can fire in semi-automatic, burst, or full-auto modes, depending on their specific capabilities.
Semi-auto is the “default” assumption; in that mode you only use up ammunition when you roll 7-9 on the Rock & Roll move, and choose to burn extra ammo.
Firing in burst or auto modes when using Rock & Roll allows you to add +1 damage to your attack; however, it always uses 1 ammo (even if you roll 10+).
Finally, full-auto mode is very useful for suppression fire, and lets you take +1 when you use the Suppression Fire move.
Range is handled abstractly in most cases in Sixth World, since the flow of the game is largely a back and forth. You are free to use a map to keep a general sense of the scene and relative positions, but there’s no particular need to count squares, inches, or specific range increments.
Most of the weapons indicate some ammo capacity using the ammo tag - this indicates how much ammunition a weapon can carry in its magazine or clip before it must be reloaded. If a weapon has 3 ammo, for instance, you have ammunition in the gun until you have marked off all three ammo. Ammo is an abstraction - 1 ammo does not represent a single round, but simply “some ammunition.” The game assumes (for the most part) that a character fires multiple shots in a single move.
During combat, assume that combatants are reloading their weapons when appropriate, keeping them topped up. Mechanically, this is handled by the fact that Rock & Roll doesn’t cost ammo unless you roll a 7-9, and choose to burn up extra ammo (or if you use burst or full-auto weapons).
When you mark off all your ammo, you’ll need to reload. There is no specific move to reload a weapon. If taking the time to reload would not expose you to danger, then you can reload simply by saying so. On the other hand, if you’re reloading despite an imminent risk, that’s a job for the Stay Frosty move.
Inevitably, when you play with guns, magic, and sensitive secrets, somebody is going to get shot. Or burned, or hit with a brick, or drenched in elemental acid summoned from beyond the realm of mortal ken, or thrown out a window, or…well, you get the point.
When you make a move that has the potential to deal damage, the move will usually say, as a possible result, “deal your damage” or “you deal damage.” Damage in the game is usually variable, based on the damage dice for the weapon being used (see the Equipment section for information on weapons). This is the amount of damage that is applied to your target.
Example: Johnny Chopz hits a ghoul with his trusty katana. The katana deals 2d6b damage (meaning roll 2d6, and take the best result). Johnny’s player rolls 2d6, getting 3, 5. Thus, the attack deals 5 damage to the ghoul. Bad news, creep.
If a move indicates that you deal half damage, roll the damage as normal, and then divide the result in half (rounding up) to get your final damage amount.
The most common situation in which you’ll deal half damage is if you’re shooting at a vehicle with small arms. Vehicles take only half damage (before armor) from small arms, and no damage from melee weaponry.
Example: Johnny is being chased down by a go-ganger, and turns to shoot at the onrushing psycho with his Ares Predator. When he rocks & rolls with the ganger, he’s able to deal his damage (1d8+1) and wants to hit the vehicle, not the ganger. He rolls 5 damage. Halving that yields 3 damage (5 ÷ 2, rounded up) means that a bullet just gets through the armor, but it ain’t gonna help. If he’d pulled out his katana and stood his ground…well, what would happen is that he’d end up with a motorcycle wheel up his nose.
When a character takes damage in the game, it is recorded by marking wound boxes the character’s playbook.
Most weapons in the game deal physical damage; when taking damage from this kind of weapon, mark off a number of boxes on the Wound Track equal to the damage taken. Getting dealt 3 damage, for instance, would mean that (all else things being equal) the player would mark 3 wounds on their playbook.
If a weapon specifies that it deals stun damage, you still check off boxes on the Wound track. However, if a weapon dealing stun damage is the one that takes you out, you are knocked unconscious. All characters have a maximum of 8 wounds/they can take. Once they reach 8, the next wound will put them on the ground, thoroughly incapacitated (whether unconscious, or worse).
Some moves (such as the You’ll Just Make It Angry move) or equipment (like Bone Lacing) grant an additional wound box. In the archetype dossiers starting on page 8, these additional boxes are shown with dotted lines. If you do have an extra box, just darken the lines so you know where to start filling in wounds. No matter what equipment or moves you have, you can never have more than 10 wound boxes.
When a character takes damage in the game, it is assumed that, until the last couple boxes, while they may ultimately prove to be significant injuries, they’re minor enough to ignore for the moment. There are two exceptions: Wound #8: when you check off that last box of your Wound track, you must make the Gut Check move.
Major Trauma: if you take 6 or more damage (after applying armor) in a single hit, you have just taken Major Trauma. You will need to make the Gut Check move.
Once a character takes a 9th wound (that is, takes any damage after reaching their 8th wound box), they are Bleeding Out. This basically means they’re incapacitated, unable to perform any sort of action, and badly hurt (it doesn’t actually mean there’s blood everywhere; “bleeding out” just sounds cool).
A character who is Bleeding Out must be stabilized, either via the First Aid move or any relevant archetype moves.
If a character reaches the Bleeding Out stage, and survives their precarious situation, they will be left with a Chronic Injury. This is a long-term (and possibly permanent) reminder of their brush with death. Chronic Injuries reduce the affected Stat by 1 point. When your character receives a chronic injury, choose one of the following:
Dulled (-1 Sharp): your injury interferes with your perceptiveness or instinct; perhaps you suffered vision damage or hearing injury.
Weak (-1 Hard): you’ve lost a bit of the hard edge that makes you dangerous and effective; perhaps you can’t focus, or traumatic experiences are affecting you.
Rattled (-1 Steady): you suffered an injury that hampers your ability to remain focus, keep your cool, and act in the face of danger.
Disfigured (-1 Smooth): your injury left you with nasty scars that are immediately obvious and shocking to the people you interact with.
Confused (-1 Skilled): you can’t think straight, or you’ve lost your touch with skills you used to be expert at; it’s harder to apply your education, intelligence, and training to your tasks.
Faded (-1 Essence): whether it fed the unnatural thirst of some paranormal creature, fueled a dark ritual, or just got hacked away by someone meaner and faster than you, you lost a piece of yourself.
You can’t have the same chronic injury twice. If you are already Faded, and you take a second chronic injury, you’ll have to choose something else. However, if you heal a chronic injury and recover the lost stat point, you could elect to take it again in the future.
Generally, as long as a character has not received more than 8 wounds, and has not failed a gut check, they are not incapacitated by injury (though they may be feeling very much the worse for wear). Recovery from this level of injury is really a matter of time, and perhaps a small amount of attention from their, ah…let’s say, primary care provider.
Mechanically, injury of this nature will be healed during downtime, assuming that they get approximately two days of rest and basic medical care for each wound box they have (if the damage was mostly dealt by stun weapons, then it takes much less time to heal—if you track damage differently, all stun goes away after a solid rest).
Example: Navy got hurt on her last run, but she was on her feet and processing oxygen at the end of it, so she considered it a job well done. She finished the run with 4 wound boxes checked. This means that she will need to have roughly 8 days of rest and medical care to heal those injuries, at which point, she’s good as new.
Chronic Injuries are not necessarily permanent injuries, unless the player wishes them to be. However, they can only be healed or ameliorated by major or long-term treatment. A chronic physical injury may be fixed via cybernetic replacement, for instance, which is a major surgical intervention. Chronic psychological injury may require therapy over a long term as well.
It is up to the GM and players to negotiate the specific plan for removal of a Chronic Injury. It may be that recovery may evolve into a shadowrun of its own, but that is not required: spending funds to pay for therapy, new cyberware, surgery, or the like is sufficient if you want to keep the story of the recovery as background events.
With the rules covering stabilization, chronic injury, armor, and so forth it’s actually fairly hard to all-the-way die in Sixth World. However, it can happen in a few different ways.
Failed to Stabilize: if the person attempting to provide First Aid to Bleeding Out character fails their move, the wounded character cannot be stabilized, and dies at the end of the encounter.
Continued Damage: if a character takes 6 damage beyond that 8th wound box (armor still counts!) they’re too badly mangled to be saved. Players, understand that this can happen; GM’s, be really careful with this one.
Overwhelming Kaboom: if a character is hit with an attack of such overwhelming power that surviving it strains all credulity, they’re killed immediately. For example, if a character is, say, hit by an antiship missile, or falls into a crucible of molten iron…just forget it, they’re gone.
In the Sixth World, the magic has returned to the world, and dormant powers have reawakened. Magic is fueled by Essence, one of the variable point pools each character has.
Three archetypes in the game - the Adept, the Mage, and the Shaman - are magically gifted, which means that they are able to spend their Essence to use their magical abilities.
The Adept: adepts turn their magical ability inward to improve themselves, sometimes to superhuman levels. An adept spends essence to temporarily modify his or her capabilities (for example the Enhanced Ability or Killing Hands moves).
The Mage: when a mage spends essence to power a spell, the player marks off the spent essence. That essence is not available for future spells until it is recovered. The amount of essence spent is a general indicator of the power, or Force, of the spell.
The Shaman: when a shaman spends Essence to summon a spirit or elemental, they are in effect committing or wagering some amount of essence to do so.
The Essence spent indicates the number of services the spirit will perform (mechanically, the number of moves the spirit may make before dissipating). A Shaman allocates this essence at the time of summoning. If the summoning fails, the wagered essence is lost. If the summoning succeeds, then the essence is “tied up” until the spirit is dispelled/destroyed.
All magic users may recover essence by resting. A substantial rest (usually a night’s sleep) will recover all Essence spent. Some archetypes have additional means of recovering essence, as described below:
The Mage: mages may use the Center move to recover some Essence without resting, simply by taking a moment to concentrate and recenter him- or herself.
The Shaman: because the essence used to summon a spirit is in effect a wager, when the spirit has performed its actions (or is dispelled by the shaman who summoned it), the essence “tied up” in the spirit immediately returns to the shaman. If the spirit is dispelled by another person, or destroyed, only half the wagered essence (round up) is recovered.
Much like the Matrix, Astral Space is a sort of alternate universe adjacent to our own. It is where spells, spirits, magical creatures, wards and more reside.
When an individual perceives the Astral, they can see the entities existing in Astral Space. All three arcane archetypes can astrally perceive. In addition, they can perceive emotional auras of living beings, as well as background magical nature of the area. When an individual projects themselves into astral space, they transfer their consciousness from their physical body to the astral plane, and can fully interact with other Astral entities and traverse great distances. The Shaman and Mage can astrally project.
The following effects occur while perceiving or projecting: Perceiving: while astrally perceiving, take -2 ongoing to any moves in the physical world.
Projecting: you cannot take action in the physical world (your body is unconscious and helpless).
The Astral also serves as a huge deposit of magical information, though most of the deepest knowledge is hidden in the metaplanes. Metaplanes are the planes beyond the Astral, the real sources of all magic. Every metaplane has a citadel, a core of pure magical energy that can alter the magical world. Accessing it can let you destroy a spirit permanently, learn some information such as the true name of a spirit, or learn an individual’s true aura. Note, however, an astral quest may only have a single goal.
Astral Quests are also dangerous in that you are stuck in a metaplane until you either complete your Quest or fail. You can’t give up, and you can never go back, only forward.
To go on an Astral Quest, you must visit various metalocations known as domains, similar to Nodes in the Matrix (in fact, mapping these domains is a useful tool to keep play on track and engaging). The number and nature of these domains depends on the quest you are undertaking, but each one presents a challenge the character must complete in order to move on to the next domain. This could be fierce combat, a riddle, a puzzle or any variety of things.
Minor quests usually have 3 or 4 domains, while major quests can have up to 10 or more, all of which lead, ultimately, to the Citadel, where the quester will find the object or information they seek. Moving from domain to domain is as simple as willing yourself there once the task in the current domain is completed.
The first domain you encounter is always the Domain of the Dweller, a mystical being who blocks the entrance to the metaplanes. The Dweller knows everything about the quester, and will always question the nature your quest before granting passage. The Dweller is an enigmatic trickster, but if you go on quests often, you’ll get to know this being quite well.
The Matrix, a world-spanning high-fidelity virtual reality network, is the domain of the Hacker. A hacker’s job is unique, and the conflicts they face usually take place in the gleaming virtual world of the matrix. However, this conflict is no less important—or deadly—than the one their street sam buddy is going through. With security hackers, rogue software, and deadly black IC out there, a piece of Matrix code can be every bit as lethal as a 7.62mm bullet.
Including matrix and hacking challenges for the Hacker is one of the things the GM should keep in mind as gameplay evolves; a hacker with nothing to hack is a sad panda indeed. One way to do so is outlining a system. This is different from hacking devices individually or wireless hacking.
When handling wireless vs. wired hacking, simply treat individual devices as nodes that must be hacked. There is no need to draw a separate map for such nodes, as they exist in the physical world and the hacker need only identify the physical device’s matrix icon in order to begin a hack.
A matrix system is made up of a series of Nodes. Each node represents a particular secured (or, if the hacker is lucky, non-secured) region of the network that can be penetrated and controlled. GM’s are encouraged to draw simple maps of connected nodes, or create a list of different nodes and brief notes about them for to use when the Hacker starts slinging code.
Different nodes have different purposes, challenges, and payoffs:
Security Node: this node houses and dispatches intrusion countermeasures.
Datastore: this node contains data, and may have encryption or even a data bomb failsafe to render data useless if intrusions are detected
Credentials Node: contains user credentials or grants permissions which can help the hacker avoid detection or access secured areas
Process Node: runs a process on the network, slowing down the activity of other system software
Control Node: this is a node to which multiple device nodes are connected; it serves as a master controller for the attached devices.
Device Nodes: a single device connected to the network. Devices range from cameras to security drones to maglocks; almost everything is connected. Devices are frequent targets for intrusion attempts. Most simple devices have minimal privilege on the network, but that is often enough.
Many matrix nodes have only one layer of security: once you hack in, the node is yours. However, more secure systems have additional defenses. These nodes, called armored nodes, are both hardened against intrusion and contain intrusion countermeasures.
Mechanically, Armored Nodes have both Wounds (how many is up to the GM), and embedded Intrusion Countermeasures (see Threats, page 46) which fight back against intruding hackers.
It’s possible to have nodes that have only Wounds, but no defensive IC. In this case, the node is effectively defenseless, and the Hacker simply deals damage to the node.
A System has four Alert Levels, representing both how aware the system is that it has been compromised, and how actively it will attempt to locate, identify, and stop the intrusion.
Green: the system is unaware that it has been compromised.
Yellow: the system has detected a possible intrusion. Routine notifications are dispatched, but no direct countermeasures are taken.
Orange: the system is aware of an intrusion and is actively trying to locate, disable, and trace the hacker. Nonlethal countermeasures are approved.
Red: the system is aware of a serious intrusion. Lethal countermeasures are approved.
When a Hacker encounters a node or device, he or she must first hack into the node using the Sling Code move. Once inside, the Hacker can transit through the node, or take advantage of any actions or bonuses the node provides (unless it is an Armored Node or is protected by IC, in which case it will not be nearly so trivial to use the node’s functions).
In this section you’ll find example equipment (weapons, cyberdecks, vehicles, etc.) available in the Sixth World. This isn’t an exhaustive list of what’s available; rather, they’re just samples of some classic items to help you get playing quickly.
Equipment—like many items in Sixth World—is described in terms of tags, which are short keywords that indicate various capabilities or qualities. Certain tags apply to multiple kinds of equipment (such as obvious, supply, or armor). Tags that only apply to specific kinds of equipment are described in the listing of that kind of item. The following tags apply to multiple types of equipment.
2-hand: this item must be used with both hands
armor +n: grants a +n bonus to existing armor
armor n: grants n Armor (for vehicles or drones, indicates armor rating, and is abbreviated arm)
arcane: can only be used by magical archetypes
area: affects multiple targets
avail: the availability of the item on the shadow markets
+bonus: grants a bonus to a particular move; e.g. +1 to Stay Frosty
conceal: this weapon or item is easily hidden and will not be spotted by enemies
damage n: the amount of damage a weapon or other item deals. Abbreviated dmg
heal n: restores n wounds
ignores armor: bypasses the target’s armor
loud: noisy and audible to anyone with functionin hearing; for weapons, it means the weapon cannot be suppressed
messy: deals damage in a particularly gruesome way
obvious: cannot be concealed, or is immediately visible to any observer
range: the range(s) at which the weapon or other attack is effective. Ranges are touch (t), close (c), short (s), medium (m), and long (l).
shock: the weapon deals electrical shock
special (description): if the effect of the item requires explanation, use this tag.
stun: this weapon or attack deals Stun damage only
subtle: not easily noticed (as opposed to conceal, which means it is unnoticeable)
Supply n: the amount of supplies or uses you can get out of an item. Each use of the item consumes 1 supply (unless otherwise stated).
The tags below apply to weapons. Feel free to customize the example equipment with these tags (subject to GM approval) to create your own gear, or recreate classic gear from Shadowrun.
auto: this weapon can fire in full auto mode. Abbreviated fa.
burst: this weapon fires in burst mode. Mark off 1 additional Ammo to deal +1 damage. Abbreviated bf.
chem: this weapon delivers a chemical agent of some kind to the target; depending on the delivery mechanism, armor may be ignored.
forceful: when this weapon deals damage, it also deals 1 stun
fuzed: this weapon cannot be used at less than the shortest range increment listed
reload: after using this weapon, it takes more than a moment to reload it.
semiauto: this weapon fires one shot every time the trigger is pulled. Abbreviated sa.
stabilized: this weapon cannot be fired except from a bipod, tripod, or supported position.
suppressed: this weapon makes little to no noise when fired
thrown: this item can be throw. If thrown, the range is short.
vented: the weapon has recoil venting, granting +1 to Suppression Fire
Staff (range c, stun, dmg 1d6+2, 100¥)
Combat Axe (range c, messy, dmg 1d6+2, 1,250¥)
Combat Knife (range c, dmg 2d4b, 300¥)
Fists/Feet (range c, 1d6 dmg, stun)
Katana (range c, 2d6b damage, 1,000¥)
Spiked Glove (range c, 1d4 wound + 1 stun, 50¥)
Stun Baton (range c, 1d4 dmg, stun, shock, ignores armor, 750¥)
Tomahawk (range c, messy, thrown, 1d6 damage, 200¥)
Streetline Special (range s, sa, dmg 2d4b, ammo 3, conceal, 250¥)
Fichetti Needler (range s, dmg 2d4b, conceal, ammo 3, 400¥)
Walther PP (range s, sa/bf, dmg 1d4+1, ammo 1, conceal, 325¥)
Colt L36 (range s/m, sa, dmg 1d6, conceal, ammo 3, 500¥)
Beretta 101T (range s/m, sa/bf, dmg 1d6, subtle, ammo 2, 450¥)
Ares Lightfire 70 (range s, sa, dmg 1d6, conceal, ammo 3, 350¥)
Ares Predator (range s/m, dmg 1d8+1, sa, 3 ammo, 675¥)
Colt Manhunter (range s/m, dmg 1d8, sa/bf, 3 ammo, 560¥)
Ruger Super Warhawk (range s/m, dmg 1d10, sa, 2 ammo, loud, 560¥)
Browning Max Power (range s/m, dmg 2d8b, sa, 3 ammo, 675¥)
HK227 (range s/m, sa/bf, dmg 1d8, suppressed, ammo 4, 900¥)
AK-97K (range s/m, sa/fa, dmg 1d8, ammo 3, 1,000¥)
Ingram Smartgun (range s/m, bf/fa, dmg 1d6+1, ammo 3, 950¥)
AK-97 (range s/m/l, 2-hand, sa/fa, dmg 1d10, obvious, ammo 3, 800¥)
Ares Alpha (range s/m/l, 2-hand, sa/bf/fa, dmg 2d8b, obvious, ammo 4, 1,150¥)
Colt M22A2 (range s/m/l, 2-hand, sa/bf, dmg 1d10, obvious, ammo 3, 850¥)
FN-HAR (range s/m/l, sa/bf, dmg 2d8b, obvious, loud, 2-hand, 1,050¥)
Remington 990 (range s/m, sa, dmg 1d10+1, obvious, loud, forceful, ammo 2, 750¥)
Enfield AS7 (range s/m, 2-hand, sa/bf, dmg 1d10, obvious, loud, forceful, ammo 3, 900¥)
Ranger Arms (range l, sa, 2-hand, dmg 1d10+1, ammo 3, 1,150¥)
Walther WA2100 (range 1, sa, 2-hand, dmg 1d12, ammo 4, 1,100¥)
Ingram Valiant LMG (range m/l, 2-hand, loud, fa, stabilize, obvious, loud, messy, dmg 1d12, ammo 4, 2,000¥)
Stoner M202 HMG (range m/l, 2-hand, loud, bf/fa, stabilize, obvious, loud, messy, dmg 2d10b, ammo 3, 2,500¥)
Compound Bow (range s/m/l, 2-hand, dmg 1d6+1, ammo 1, 500¥)
Narcoject Rifle (range s/m, 1d8+1 stun, suppressed, chem, slow, 700¥)
Taser (range s, 1d8 stun, shock, slow, 500¥)
Crossbow (range c/s/m, 2-hand, dmg 1d6, suppressed, reload, 400¥)
EMP (thrown, area, shock, disables electronis, 95¥)
Flash (thrown, area, stun, dmg 2d4, +1 to Rock & Roll/Stay Frosty, 125¥)
Frag (thrown, area, forceful, dmg 2d6b, 100¥)
Incendiary (thrown, area, 2d6b dmg, burn, 75¥)
Smoke (thrown, area, +1 to Stay Frosty, 40¥)
Stun (thrown, area, dmg 2d6b, stun, 100¥)
Armor provides protection against incoming attack, reducing the damage dealt by the armor value. Armor of the same type (e.g inherent) does not stack. Armor of differing types can stack. Armor has the following unique tags:
inherent: this armor is either implanted, or occurs naturally. Cyberware armor is inherent armor.
worn: this armor is worn on the body
mystic: this armor is magical in nature
Lined Coat (armor 2, obvious, worn, 600¥)
Ballistic Vest (armor 2, obvious, worn, 750¥)
Armorweave Professional Wear (armor 1, subtle, worn, 1,500¥)
Leather Armor (armor 1, subtle, worn, 250¥)
Armor Charm (armor +1, mystic, conceal, 400¥)
Light Armor Jacket (armor 1, subtle, 850¥)
Combat Armor (3 armor, obvious, 2,500¥)
Form-fitting Armor (armor 1, conceal, 550¥)
Riot Shield (armor 2, occupies one hand, 700¥)
Cyberware works slightly differently from other equipment. Instead of simply being something that has some tags or stats, each piece of cyberware provides new moves or modifies existing moves, based on the augmentation’s function.
Adding cyberware costs essence, which does have a significant effect on magic users, so magic archetypes who choose cyberware do so at the cost of their magical potency.
When you have downtime, you may elect to have cyberware installed. Installation and recovery from cybersurgery takes a number of days equal to 3 x Essence cost of the implant.
The listed essence costs assume that the augmentation is directly implanted into the body. However, full-replacement cyberware (such as cybereyes, cyberears, and cyberarms) have the capacity to hold other implants without costing additional essence. Each of these items can hold additional augmentations equal to 1 + their Essence cost (for example, cybereyes cost 1 essence, and therefore can contain up to 2 essence worth of additional augmentations).
Cybereyes: Capacity for 2 essence worth of vision enhancement augmentations. Include low-light vision system. Cost: 1 essence, 4,000¥.
Cyberears: Capacity for 2 essence worth of hearing enhancement or auditory augmentations. Cost: 1 essence, 4,000¥.
Low-light Vision (1 essence): you can see in the dark, as long as there’s at least some light, not complete darkness. Included in Cybereyes for no extra money or essence. Cost: 1 essence, 1,000¥.
Thermographic Vision (1 essence): when you Check the Situation, you may ask one additional question from the list. Cost: 1 essence, 1,500¥.
Recorder: when you use this device, you gain 1 hold to spend on researching the individual, location, or event you recorded. Cost: 1 essence, 1,000¥.
Flare Compensator: you do not suffer the effects of bright light (such as flash-bang grenades). Cost: 1 essence, 1,000¥.
Smartlink: when you Rock & Roll, you never graze the target. Additionally, on 10+, ignore 1 armor. Cost: 1 essence, 2,000¥.
Hearing Enhancement: when you Check the Situation, you may ask one additional question. Cost: 1 essence, 4,000¥.
Sound Damper: you do not suffer the effects of loud noises. Cost: 1 essence, 2,000¥.
Ultrasound system: you can “see” in total darkness, or even while blind. Ultrasound is detectable if someone is listening for it, however. You can also determine the size of an enclosed space automatically. Cost: 1 essence, 10,000¥.
Balance Augmentation: when performing an acrobatic or tricky maneuver, you are boosted. Cost: 1 essence, 6,000¥.
Headware device: you have a device built in to your head. Cost: 1 essence, device cost + 2,000¥.
Control Rig: you can interface with vehicles and drones and control them directly. Control rigs include a datajack. Cost: 2 essence, 40,000¥.
Synaptic Hardening: you gain +1 armor against Matrix attacks. Cost: 2 essence, 10,000¥.
Voice Modulator: you can control your voice perfectly, imitating any sound you’ve heard or any voice you’ve heard. Cost: 1 essence, 6,500¥.
Bone Lacing: when you make an unarmed attack, you deal lethal damage. Additionally, you take +1 to Gut Checks. Cost: 2 essence, 15,000¥.
Cyberarm: Capacity for 3 essence of additional implants. Deal +1 damage in melee. This replacement has the obvious tag by default. Increase the cost by 5,000¥ to remove the obvious tag. Cost: 2 essence, 15,000¥.
Cybergun: you have a permanently implanted weapon. Choose a hold-out pistol or light pistol. This weapon gains the conceal and reload tags. Cost: 2 essence, 2,000¥ (hold out) or 3,900¥ (light pistol).
Datajack: you are able to interface with a multitude of electronic devices. Datajacks can also be installed in any full-replacement item. Cost: 1 essence, 1,000¥.
Dermal Plating: you gain +1 armor. This armor stacks with other armor, and has the obvious tag. Cost: 2 essence, 3,000¥.
Gyrostabilizer: take +1 forward to Suppression Fire. Must be installed in a cyberarm. Cost: 3,000¥.
Hand Razors: you have a permanently implanted weapon equivalent to a Combat Knife. This weapon can be extended or retracted at your discretion, and gains the conceal tag. Cost: 1 essence, 2,500¥.
Skillwires: when you have an appropriate skillsoft, take +1 ongoing to Drop Science. Additionally, you may roll+Skilled to Stay Frosty or Check the Situation. Cost: 2 essence, 10,000¥.
Wired Reflexes: while active, when you fail a roll and would take damage or be attacked, roll+Sharp. On 10+, the damage or effect is halved. On 7-9, you take the damage, but boost your next move. Cost: 3 essence, 50,000¥.
Cyberdecks are the essential tool of the hacker. They are the Hacker’s connection to the Matrix. Cyberdecks have the following special tags:
System: the power and system stability of the deck; this is the equivalent of the deck’s wounds. A deck whose System is reduced to zero is fried, and can’t be used until repaired.
Mask: the stealthiness of a cyberdeck
Hardening: the deck’s resistance to damage; this acts as armor protecting the hacker
Storage: the deck’s capacity for loaded programs
Allegiance Alpha (system 5, mask 1, hardening 1, storage 5, 25,000¥)
Fuchi Cyber-4 (system 6, mask 2, hardening 1, storage 6, 50,000¥)
Fuchi Cyber-7 (system 6, mask 1, hardening 2, storage 6, 75,000¥)
Fairlight Excalibur (system 8, mask 2, hardening 1, storage 8, 100,000¥)
Programs are the tools and weapons of the hacker. Programs can modify a deck’s attributes, allow a hacker to deal damage, or offer special moves to a hacker. Programs must be loaded into deck storage to be running; each program has a size rating indicating how much storage the program occupies.
Analyze: when you examine a node, roll+Skilled. On 10+, hold 2 toward hacking the node. On 7-9, hold 1. Size 3, 750¥.
Decrypt: take +1 forward to hacking Datastore nodes. Size 3, 750¥.
Interface: take +1 forward to hacking Control nodes. Size 3, 750¥.
Interference: slows hostile program alarm triggers. Size 2, 500¥.
Patch: when you attempt to restore system stability to your deck, roll+Skilled. On 10+, restore 2 System to your deck. On 7-9, restore 1. Size 2, 500¥.
Reflect: when you take damage in the matrix, roll+- Steady. On 10+, redirect the damage to a matrix program or node of your choice. On 7-9, redirect half the damage. Size 3, 750¥.
Stealth: your deck gains +1 Mask while this program is running. Size 2, 500¥.
Armor: your deck gains +1 Hardening while this program is running. Size 2, 500¥.
Stunner: deal 1d4 damage in matrix combat. Size 1, 250¥.
Hammer: deal 1d6 damage in matrix combat. Size 2, 500¥.
Black Hammer: deal 1d8 damage in matrix combat. Size 3, 750¥.
Static: when you Rock & Roll in the matrix, you may choose to forgo dealing damage, and instead hold 2 to grant to any ally’s roll. You can only spend 1 hold at a time. Size 3, 750¥.
Vehicles have the following special tags:
Power (pwr): the vehicle’s horsepower, speed, and acceleration.
Armor (arm): the vehicle or drone’s armor rating.
Frame (frm): the vehicle’s or drone’s resilience. This is the equivalent of a vehicle’s wounds. Remember that small arms deal half damage to vehicles.
Sensors (ssr): the quality of the vehicle’s sensors (used when Checking the Situation while driving or piloting the vehicle)
Seats n: the number of people who can normally occupy the vehicle, including the driver or pilot
Fuel: fuel or battery capacity
Dodge Scoot (seats 1, pwr 1, arm 0, frm 4, ssr 0, fuel 4, 1,800¥)
Yamaha Rapier (seats 1, pwr 2, arm 0, ssr 1, frm 4, fuel 4, 9,500¥)
Harley Scorpion (seats 2, pwr 2, arm 1, frm 7, ssr 1, fuel 2, 17,500¥)
C-N Jackrabbit (seats 3, pwr 1, frm 6, ssr 0, arm 0, fuel 3, 10,000¥)
Ford Americar (seats 4, pwr 1, frm 8, ssr 1, arm 0, fuel 3, 16,000¥)
Eurocar Westwind (seats 6, pwr 3, frm 9, arm 1, ssr 1, fuel 3, 200,000¥)
GMC Bulldog (seats 8, pwr 2, frm 9, arm 1, ssr 1, 3 fuel, seats 8, 45,000¥)
Ares Roadmaster (seats 6, 3 pwr, 11 frm, 2 armor, 2 fuel, 52,000¥)
Drones have most of the same qualities as vehicles, although they lack the seats tag, and replace it with the following:
Tactical: the quality of the drone’s tactical expert system, which comes into play when the drone is in autonomous mode. Abbreviated tac.
Armed drones also use the damage tag, indicating the damage of their built-in weapon systems.
Aztechnology Crawler (pwr 1, frm 5, ssr 2, arm 0, tac 0, fuel 3, 4,000¥)
GM-Nissan Doberman (pwr 1, frm 7, arm 1, ssr 1, dmg 1d6, tac 1, fuel 3, 5,000¥)
Steel Lynx (pwr 1, frm 9, arm 2, ssr 1, tac 2, dmg 2d6b, fuel 2, 9,500¥)
Lockheed Optic-X (pwr 1, ssr 2, arm 0, frm 2, tac 1, fuel 2, 12,500¥)
MCT Roto-Drone (pwr 2, frm 5, arm 0, ssr 1, dmg 2d4b, tac 1, fuel 2, 15,750¥)
CD Dalmatian (pwr 1, frm 8, arm 1, ssr 0, tac 2, dmg 1d8, fuel 3, 22,000¥)
Costs listed below are per dose (one dose equals 1 Supply)
Bliss (take +1 to Gut Check, lasts 2 hours, 15¥)
Cram (take +1 to Stay Frosty, lasts 3 hours, 10¥)
Deepweed: (user can perceive astrally, lasts 1 hour, 400¥)
Jazz (take +2 to Stay Frosty, lasts 30 minutes, 75¥) Kamikaze (take +1 to Rock & Roll and Gut Check, lasts 1 hour, 100¥)
Long Haul (you can go without sleep for four days with no consequence, 50¥)
Nitro (take +2 to Rock & Roll and +1 to Gut Check, lasts 30 minutes, 75¥)
Novacoke (take +1 to Make ‘em Sweat and Check the Situation, lasts 2 hours, 10¥)
Psyche (take +1 to Drop Science, lasts 3 hours, 200¥)
Zen (take +1 to Stay Frosty, lasts 30 minutes, 5¥)
BTLs (allow you to experience almost anything virtually, lasts 30 minutes to 3 hours, 20-100¥)
Skillsofts are data chips that allow an individual to “slot” particular skills into their Skillwire system, gaining the benefit of the prerecorded knowledge. Skillsofts cannot be used without Skillwires.
When you purchase a skillsoft, you must specify what skill area it covers, from the following list:
Skillsoft (choose skill: Biotech, Electronics, Etiquette, Survival, Investigation, Mechanics, Academic Discipline*, Pilot, Language, 1,000¥) > Note: You must specify a specific area for Etiquette, Pilot and Language, for example, Language (Russian).
Medic Patch (supply 1, heal 2, 500¥)
Stimulant Patch (supply 1, take +2 to next move, take 1 stun afterwards, 175¥)
Antidote Patch (halts poison damage, 200¥)
Trauma Patch (supply 1, +1 to First Aid move, 300¥)
Quik-Hax Kit (supply 4, bypasses low-grade security locks/electronic devices, 350¥)
Spy Kit (supply 4, +1 to Citation Needed or Check the Situation (assuming bugs haven’t been found), 4000¥)
Countersurveillance Kit (supply 4, +1 to Check the Situation to search for bugs, 3000¥)
Infiltrator’s Kit (supply 4, +1 to Stay Frosty to infiltrate or avoid detection, 1,000¥)
A focus is a mundane item that has been imbued with an astral construct. When used by someone to which it is attuned, a focus helps them channel astral power greatly enhances their abilities.
Before a focus can be used, the user must attune themselves to it. To do so, they must invest at least one point of essence into the focus. Essence committed in this fashion remains spent until the user de-attunes themselves from the focus, or the focus is destroyed, at which point the essence is recovered.
Spell Focus: a spell focus enhances the casting of a specific spell. When attuned, the mage using the spell focus has hold equal to the Essence spent attuing the focus. Spend this hold toward casting that specific spell.
Spirit Focus: a spirit focus enhances the summoning of a specific type of spirit. When attuned, the shaman has hold equal to the essence invested in the focus toward summoning that specific spirit type.
Weapon Focus: weapon foci are primarily used by adepts. When attuned to a weapon focus, the adept using it has hold equal to the invested Essence to spend on the Rock & Roll move or on dealing damage.
Although foci may be purchased from fetishmongers, street contacts, and other sources, sometimes a magic user wishes to create one of their own. To do so, the user must spend two days researching and preparing the object, at the end of which they make the Imbue Focus move:
Imbue Focus: When you imbue astral power into an object to create a focus, roll+Skilled. On 10+, the focus is created normally. On 7-9, the focus is weakly imbued, and requires one additional Essence point to attune (this essence does not count toward the Hold granted by the focus.)
Fetishes are essentially one-shot magical supplies— small mundane objects imbued with structure and energy of a spell or summon a spirit, needing only to be triggered by the mage or shaman.
To create a fetish, the mage or shaman decides what spell or spirit to place into the fetish, and then invests the fetish with power, spending the Essence required for the spell, or the essence they wish to provide to the spirit. Essence invested in a fetish in this manner remains spent until the fetish is used, at which point it immediately returns.
Normally, to cast a spell or summon a spirit, the mage or shaman must make the Cast a Spell or Conjure moves. With a fetish, this is no longer the case: instead, they can simply declare that they’re using it (making any other moves that the fiction would dictate of course, for instance, Stay Frosty). Once triggered, the stored spell or spirit is immediately cast or conjured. The fetish is good for a single use, after which it crumbles to dust.
Like other equipment, spells (although they’re not exactly “equipment”) are described in terms of tags. Spells has the following special tag:
Essence: the minimum Essence expenditure required to cast the spell.
element: the spell has effects related to a particular element (e.g. fire, electricity, etc.)
sustainable: this spell may stay in effect as long as essence is committed to it. A caster cannot use the Centering move while sustaining a spell.
exhausting: this spell is quite difficult to cast; take 1 stun when casting it
Mana Bolt: deals 1d8 damage (bypassing armor) to creatures or spirits at short/medium ranges. Tags: range s/m/l, dmg 1d8, ignores armor, essence 2
Fire bolt: deals 1d6 damage and fire effects to creatures at short/medium range. Tags: range s/m, dmg 1d6, fire, essence 1
Lightning bolt: deals 1d8+1 damage and shock effects to creatures at short range. Tags: range s, dmg 1d8+1, shock, essence 2
Acid Stream: deals 1d8 damage and acid effects to targets and objects at short and medium range. Tags: range s/m, acid, dmg 1d8, essence 2
Fireball: deals 1d8+1 damage and fire effects to all creatures and objects in an area within short range. Tags: range s, fire, area, dmg 1d8+1, essence 3
Manaball: deals 1d8+1 damage (bypassing armor) to creatures and spirits within the target area. Tags: range s, area, dmg 1d8+1, ignores armor, essence 3
Knockout: deals 1d8 stun (bypassing armor) to creatures in touch range. Tags: range t, dmg 1d8 stun, ignores armor, essence 2
Analyze Device: take +1 to your next move involving the device being analyzed, or learn what the device does. Costs 1 essence. Tags: range touch, essence 1
Clairvoyance: when you Check the Situation, you can ask questions about a location you cannot see within the range of the spell. Tags: range c/s/m/l, essence 3
Combat Sense: while you sustain this spell, you cannot be surprised, and take +1 to your first Rock & Roll or Stay Frosty move when combat starts. Tags: range t, subtle, essence 2
Mind Probe: when you touch the target, you get to know one thing as per Face’s Razor Insight move. Tags: range t, essence 2
Detect Life: when you look for living creatures in an area, take +2. Costs 2 essence. Tags: range c/s/m, essence 2
Antidote: when you touch the target, you halt poison or other toxin effects in the target. Tags: range t, essence 2
Heal: when you touch the target, heal a number of wounds equal to 1 + the amount of essence spent on the spell. Tags:range t, exhausting, essence X
Increase Attribute: when you touch the target, choose 1 stat. Moves using that stat take +1 while the spell is sustained. Tags: range t, exhausting, essence 2
Chaotic World: when you cast this spell, you can hold 1 to spend on your or your teammate’s moves. Tags: range c/s, 2 essence
Group Invisibility: while you sustain this spell, you conceal a number of creatures equal to the essence spent from being seen by creatures or metahumans. Costs 1 essence per target. Tags: range c, area, essence 1 per individual concealed
Silence: while you sustain this spell, all sound is silenced in the area you specify. Essence cost varies by the size of the area. Tags: range c, area, essence cost varies by size of area
Stink: while you sustain this spell, all creatures in the affected area have to either leave the area or use air filters or take 1 stun. Tags: range s/m, area, essence 2
Mana Barrier: while you sustain this spell, you create a barrier that blocks living creatures and spirits. Tags: range c, essence 2
Light: while you sustain this spell, an area you specify is illuminated by bright light. Tags: range s, area, essence 2
Shadow: while you sustain this spell, an area you specify is cloaked in arcane darkness. Tags: range s, essence 2
Fling: when you cast this spell on a target you are touching, you hurl the target out of melee range. Tags: range t/c, essence 1
Spirits are the companions and tools of the Shaman, who summons them from the astral plane to perform services for him. Spirits have the following special tags: aspect: the spirit takes on the appearance of their domain, and is invisible in their domain unless it chooses to be seen. Elementals automatically gain this tag, otherwise it requires 1 spirit point.
desert: a spirit of the forbidding landscape of the deserts
earth: a spirit who dwells in the earth, caves, or landscape; earth spirits are widespread
elemental: these spirits represent the basic four elements, air, earth, fire, and water, and can be summoned anywhere.
engulf: the spirit may enclose a target in the ubstance of its domain, typically (but not always) dealing damage.
enthrall: use this stat for the Enthrall move
forest: a spirit of the forests, woods, or similar areas
generous: the spirit will perform one extra move; adding this tag costs 1 spirit point.
guard: use this stat for the Guard move
harm: use this stat for the Harm move
insubstantial: damage dealt and taken is halved
mentor: use this stat for the Mentor move
mountain: a spirit that dwell in foothills, crags, ridges, and other mountainous terrain
natural: natural spirits are spirits associated with particular domains (such as “city spirits” or “mountain spirits”).
plains: a spirit of the open plains, grasslands, fields, and farms
robust: the spirit is particularly resistant to damage; all damage rolls against it are [w]. Adding this tag costs 1 spirit point.
search: use this stat for the Search move
sky: a spirit of the open sky
storm: a spirit of storms and harsh weather
swamps: a spirits of the depths of the swamp, bayou, or wetlands
urban: a spirit dwelling in urban or developed lands, especially cities
water: a spirit of lake, river, or ocean
weakness (specify): the spirit has a weakness to a particular material or element which ignores insubstantiality, armor, and robustness. Adding this tag allows the free addition of another tag.
wild: this spirit has an extra spirit point, but the shaman must take -1 when he or she conjures it
Spirits are independent entities, and have thier own moves. Their moves correspond to the harm, search, guard, enthrall, and mentor tags.
Harm: When a spirit attacks someone or something, roll+Harm. On 10+, the spirit deals its damage. On 7-9, the spirit deals damage, but also takes damage.
Search: When the spirit attempts to locate individuals or items within its domain, roll+Search. On 10+, the spirit locates the item and can tell the Shaman where it is. On 7-9, the spirit can tell the shaman whether the item or person is within its domain, but not it’s specific location. Note: the GM and player should determine the search range for elementals.
Guard: When a spirit stands in defense of its domain or inhabitants thereof, roll+Guard. On 10+, the spirit prevents damage or hostile effects from occurring. On 7-9, the spirit halves damage or the potency of a hostile effect.
Enthrall: When a spirit attempts to control someone’s actions or thoughts, roll+Enthrall. If the target is:
An NPC: On a 10+, the spirit issues two instructions that the NPC must follow, or take 3 damage. On 7-9, the spirit may issue one instruction.
A PC: On a 10+, both of the following apply. On 7-9, only 1 applies:
If the character complies, they mark XP
If the characer refuses, they must Stay Frosty
Mentor: When a spirit imparts knowledge or truth, roll+Mentor. On 10+, the GM provides, in secrete, a useful or interesting piece of information to the target. On 7-9, the GM provides an interesting piece of information.
There are 5 general spirit natures: Watchers simply observe and report. Teachers seek to instruct and guide others, but are reluctant to do harm. Protectors seek to defend their domain and its inhabitants, while Destroyers seek battle, blood, and vengeance. Finally, Seducer spirits desire control and devotion.
Fire Elemental (destroyer, aspect, harm 2, search -1, guard 1, enthrall 1, mentor 0, dmg 1d10, armor 2, wounds 9)
Water Elemental (seducer, aspect, harm -1, search 2, guard 0, enthrall 3, mentor 1, dmg 1d4, armor 1, wounds 8)
Air Elemental (teacher, aspect, harm -2, search 2, guard 0, enthrall 1, mentor 2, dmg 1d4, armor 2, wounds 7)
Earth Elemental (protector, aspect, harm 1, search 2, guard 2, enthrall -1, mentor 0, dmg 1d8, armor 1, wounds 10)
Forest Protector (natural, forest, harm 1, search 1, guard 2, enthrall -1, mentor 0, dmg 1d8, aspect, armor 1, wounds 8)
Forest Watcher (natural, forest, search 3, guard 0, enthrall 1, mentor 1, aspect, armor 1, wounds 6, special: may not Harm)
Sky Watcher (natural, aspect, search 3, guard 0, enthrall 0, mentor 2, armor 1, wounds 6, special:may not Harm)
Urban Destroyer (natural, harm 2, search 0, guard 1, enthrall 1, mentor -1, dmg 1d10, armor 2, wounds 9)
Urban Seducer (natural, seducer, harm 0, search 2, guard 0, enthrall 2, mentor 1, dmg 1d4, armor 1, wounds 7)
Mountain Teacher (natural, aspect, harm 0, search 0, guard 2, enthrall 0, mentor 2, dmg 1d4, armor 1, wounds 8)
Swamp Destroyer (natural, aspect, harm 2, search 2, guard 0, enthrall 0, mentor -1, dmg 1d10, armor 2, wounds 9)
The spirits above are just examples; the procedures that follow describe how to “build” a new spirit to suit your preferences.
Choose the spirit’s Type: elemental or natural.
Choose the spirit’s Domain, and record the base Armor and Wounds.
Choose the spirit’s Nature, and modify the basic spirit tags as needed.
Distribute 4 spirit points among spirit’s Moves, adjusting for the spirit’s purpose. No spirt move may have a modifier higher than +3.
Add additional tags if desired (see Other Spirit Tags).
Example: Pam is playing a Shaman named Chert, and is developing the initial three spirits Chert can summon. Pam decides the first one will be a natural forest spirit, a protector of the dwindling unspoiled lands.
With those decisions made, the spirit’s qualities so far are natural, forest, protector, armor 1, wounds 10, dmg 1d8, guard 1, enthrall -1.
Pam also wants the spirit to blend in with the forest, and to an excellent guardian of its inhabitants. She spends one spirit point (out of 4) to gain the aspect tag, and then spends the remaining three to boost the Guard move twice, and the Harm move once. The final spirit looks like this: natural, forest, protector, harm 2, guard 3, search 0, enthrall -1, mentor 0, armor 1, wounds 10.
Elemental: these spirits represent the basic four elements, air, earth, fire, and water, and can be summoned anywhere.
Natural: natural spirits are spirits associated with particular domains (such as “city spirits” or “mountain spirits”). Natural spirits may enter other domains freely, but they can only be summoned within their own, and if they cross domains, there’s always a chance they attract unwanted attention from other spirits who don’t like intruders.
Domain represents the spirit’s preferred environment or the area in which it may be summoned. A natural spirit summoned in its domain always has the generous tag. The domain of an elemental is considered to be the same as its element (though they gain no benefit from being within their domain).
Urban: spirits that dwell in urban or developed lands, especially cities
Plains: spirits that dwell in open plains, grasslands, open fields, and farms
Forest: spirits that dwell in forests, woods, and similar areas
Mountain: spirits that dwell in foothills, crags, ridges, and other mountainous terrain
Earth: spirits that dwell underground or in caves; the domains of earth spirits are widespread.
Deserts: spirits that dwell in the sere, forbidding landscape of the deserts
Sky: spirits dwelling in the open skies.
Storm: spirits of storm and disruption
Swamps: spirits who dwell where earth and water are one
Water: spirits of the water, be it lakes, rivers, or the open sea
There are two things to be aware of regarding domains. First, domains are relatively confined—a mountain spirit’s domain is not all mountains, nor even all of a specific mountain. Rather, it is usually a region with a radius of around 250 meters, within a mountainous region. Overlap among domains is possible, and the byzantine negotiations that take place between spirits defy understanding even by the most gifted shamans.
Also remember that multiple domains may exist within a larger area that seems uniform. In other words, city spirits (for example) are the only kind of spirit you’ll run across in a city—a park within a city may be the home of a forest spirit, and you may find a river spirit fighting to protect it’s home from polluted runoff in some industrial area.
Armor represents the spirit’s innate magical resistance to damage; spirit armor cannot be ignored, nor reduced by weapons. All spirits have 1 armor.
Wounds simply represent the spirit’s innate health; all spirits, by default, have 8 wounds.
Every spirit has a nature, which indicates its sense of purpose and the activities to which it is drawn. A spirit’s nature also affects its basic tags and moves (see Spirit Moves, below) in various ways.
Watcher spirits observe, find, and note. They are incapable of dealing harm to anyone or anything. Watcher spirits have the following modifiers: Search +2, Wounds -2, may not Harm.
Teacher spirits wish to inform and instruct, and find it difficult to inflict damage upon those they could otherwise teach. Teacher spirits have the following modifiers: Mentor +2, Harm -2, dmg 1d4.
Protector spirits preserve, defend, and support their domain. They are unconcerned with influencing intruders, preferring to throw them out instead. Protector spirits have the following modifiers: Guard +1, Enthrall -1, Wounds +2, dmg 1d8.
Destroyer spirits are warrior spirits who revel in combat and bloodletting. They are fearsome enemies, though somewhat limited in imagination. Destroyer spirits have the following modifiers: Harm +2, Mentor -1, Search -2, Wounds +1, Armor +1, dmg 1d10.
Seducer spirits wish to influence, to inspire love, andto acquire servants, though they do not typically enjoy directly harming others. Seducer spirits have the following modifiers: Enthrall +2, Harm -1, Wounds -1, dmg 1d4.
Robust: the spirit is particularly resistant to damage; all damage rolls against it are [w]. Adding this tag costs 1 spirit point.
Aspect: the spirit takes on the appearance of their domain, and is invisible in their domain unless it chooses to be seen. All spirits have this tag.
Generous: the spirit will perform one extra move; adding this tag costs 1 spirit point.
Insubstantial: damage dealt and taken is halved Weakness (specify): the spirit has a weakness to a particular material or element which ignores insubstantiality, armor, and robustness. Adding this tag allows the free addition of another tag.
Engulf: the spirit may enclose a target in the ubstance of its domain, typically (but not always) dealing damage.
Wild: this spirit has an extra spirit point, but the shaman must take -2 whenever he or she conjures it.
Shaman characters must select a totem, representing their connection to one of the great spirits.
Boons: reduce essence cost to conjure protector spirits by 1 (to a minimum of 1)
Flaw: when injured, roll 1d6. On 1 or 2, the shaman goes berserk).
Boons: gain low-light vision; you cannot be surprised
Flaw: you cannot deal lethal damage to your enemy
Boons: take +1 to conjure Teacher spirits
Flaws: destroyer spirits summoned lose 1 spirit point
Boons: and take +1 to conjure protector spirits or city spirits
Flaw: your moves are glitched if you have left an ally behind or in danger
Boons: take +1 to conjure water spirits.
Flaw: You are exceptionally greedy
Boons: take +1 to conjure watcher spirits or air elementals
Flaw: you have an allergy to something relatively common, and take -1 ongoing when exposed
Boons: take +1 to conjure protector or plains spirits
Flaw: Take -1 on Gut Checks
Boons: gain low-light vision, take +1 to conjure teacher spirits
Flaw: Spells cost 1 more essence to cast in the day
Boons: and take +1 to conjure watcher spirits
Flaw: must Stay Frosty to avoid letting his curiosity get to him
Boons: take +1 to conjure city spirits
Flaw: when combat starts, you must Stay Frosty, or flee
Boons: take +1 to conjure watcher spirits
Flaw: you must take advantage of others’ misfortune when you can
Boons: take +1 to conjure destroyer spirits
Flaw: when injured, roll 1d6: on 1, 2, or 3, the shaman goes berserk
Boons: and take +1 to conjure seducer spirits
Flaw: take -1 ongoing to Rock & Roll
Boons: take +1 to conjure protector spirits
Flaw: you must Stay Frosty to retreat from combat
You could look at shadowrunning as a series of discrete missions, episodes in an ongoing story of quasilegal adventuring. Ideally, however, the story you weave when you play and/or GM this game will take place in a world that feels like it’s alive and breathing, full of real people with realistic motivations, and happening in a place with its own character and appropriately cyberpunk feel.
Obviously, your adventures have to happen somewhere, and in the Awakened world of the 2050’s, most of the time “somewhere” is one of the vast urban regions that grew up around the cities of the early 2000: the Sprawl. Whether through urban growth, massive construction projects by the megacorporations, mergers, or political realignmen, many cities have grown so large that they a single coherent “city plan” is laughable. Because of this, the environments within a single city are wildly varied: you can go from glittering financial sector to funky entertainment districts to rumbling industrial zones to blasted near-wastelands of poverty and deprivation from the comfort of mass transit.
Some things don’t change, though. Every sprawl has it’s own character, it’s own particular vibe. There are always factions fighting for something, always people looking for an edge. People like to have influence, and they’ll use the tools at their disposal to get it. And frequently, you will be one of those tools.
In Sixth World, we use a system quite similar to creating a Front in Dungeon World to characterize a Sprawl. Of course, since Shadowrun takes place in a future version of our own world, you’re welcome to use this system to decide how a real-world city (for instance, oh, let’s say Seattle). However, nothing is stopping you from making one, if you want to place a new city in the world. You’re in control!
The big difference between Dungeon World Fronts and Sixth World Sprawls is that Sprawls have the added element of geography and locale. A Sprawl helps the GM keep track of both individual forces at work in the world (as with a Front), but also lets the GM and group define the broad conflicts that exist over a particular location. The basic process for creating a Sprawl is as follows (each step will be explained in more detail):
Allocate 5 points among the three main Influences: Man, Magic, and Machine.
For each point assigned to aninfluence, pick a peril (you can pick the same Peril twice).
Finally, for each peril, choose a crisis, and describe how it will manifest.
Influences are the broad forces acting on a city, which exist in a constantly shifting equilibrium. There are three influences:
Man is the influence of humanity and its organizations. In this sense, man represents the influence of people and the organizations they run on the city: corporations, criminals, politicians (but I repeat myself), syndicates, religions, celebrities, and so forth.
Magic is the influence of the Awakened and the Astral upon a city. Often this is tied to the astral beings that populate the land on which the city stands, but it also includes the desires and activities of the magically active beings who dwell there (or who might wish to): mages, dragons, spirits, even paranormal creatures may all exercise their influence on the city.
Machine is the influence of technology, the Matrix, and the reality of human augmentation. In this modern world, machines and technology are a powerful an influence on the way people think and feel.
The first step of the process is to allocate influence. The GM should allocate 5 points among the three influences, representing the balance or relative weight of that influence on the Sprawl in general. > Example: Tanner is creating a Sprawl for Buffalo, NY. He chooses to allocate 3 to Man and 1 each to Magic and Machine. Buffalo, right now, is the prize in a struggle between organized crime and megacorporations, while magic and machine have a subtler influence.
Each Influence on a city is characterized by one or more perils: the specific entities, organizations, and creatures that embody the influence in question. Perils vary widely, and are selected by the group as the city is being created. Creating a peril is as simple as one group member suggesting it. Several categories of perils are presented below, as inspiration.
Choose one peril for each point assigned to an influence (so a city with Magic 2 would need 2 perils associated with Magic). You can assign multiple points to the same Peril, representing competing interests from the same category of danger.
Example: Tanner’s Buffalo Sprawl is coming along. The next step is identifying Perils for each Influence area. For Man’s influence, he needs to assign 3 points to perils of Man. He assigns one to Megacorporation once and two to Syndicate (he’s thinking about a mob war brewing).
Megacorporations: Be it one of the Big 10 megacorps, or some poor little rank A, all corporations need as much help as they can get. What that help is may be sketchy, but you have no problem with that. Impulse: to boost the bottom line.
Leagues: leagues are groups of people with political agendas, be they either good or misplaced. Policlubs, local governments, merc squads, terrorist cells, religions, shadow groups, presidents and more are trying to spread their own version of reality. Sometimes quietly, other times with a bang. Impulse: to sway you to their side.
Syndicates: as long as there has been crime, someone has tried to organize it. From street gangs to the Triads, the Yakuza, and the Mafia, organized and not-so-orga85 nized crime eyes the sprawl with hungry and calculating eyes. Impulse: to rule the streets.
Energies: we pretend that magic is a science to be studied in the halls of academia, but the wild and unpredictable power of the Astral and Metaplanes, power sites, ley lines, mana surges and mana storms make a mockery of our learning. Impulse: to empower.
Orders: orders are those groups of people with a strong interest in magic. They can range from noble universities and research organizations to fanatical cults of dark magic. Be it Atlantean artifacts to Blood Magic, they want to push, discover and convert. Impulse: to achieve eldritch ends.
Awakened: not all people affected by the Awakening are metahumans. In fact, most aren’t. There’s a whole world out there of paracritters, free spirits, dragons and metasapients such as centaurs. Some are in power, some want to be in power, and some simply want to survive. Impulse: to survive and thrive.
Matrix: the Matrix is just a network of 0’s and 1’s… right? Not if you ask a Hacker. The Matrix is a living, breathing, evolving entity that we’ve come to take for granted. But in its unvisited or forgotten corners and gleaming graphical citadels, what feeds on the information we produce? Impulse: to absorb and accumulate.
Technology: from ubiquitous surveillance, tailored marketing, and better-than-life virtual reality to orbital space stations, underwater compounds, and teeming arcologies, it’s hard sometimes to tell whether we’re using technology, or it’s using us. Impulse: to connect and isolate.
Advancement: new cyberware, robotics, AI, cloning and more are all coming down the pipeline. Some people are afraid that metahumanity is starting to evolve past its tipping point. Some think it’s already happened. Whatever the case, it pays to be wary. Impulse: to relentlessly improve.
Crisis is what happens when a particular peril accomplishes its primary aims (which are, obviously, determined by the GM). Left unchecked, a peril will always progress toward its goal—the world lives and breathes, and things happen even when the player characters aren’t around to witness them.
The progress a peril makes toward its goals is tracked on the Doom Bar (more on that later), and when it reaches the end, whatever crisis was selected for the peril goes into effect. There are five main crises; when you come up with a peril, you must also decide on a crisis for it, and specify the exact form it will take.
Control: insidious influence, strings being pulled, and puppets dancing to the puppetmaster
Destruction: disaster and mass death befall the city
Havoc: the breakdown of order, law, and control
Conquer: unopposed power, and the freedom to enact any agenda
Corruption: a blight of some sort—crime, graft, or something dark and unnatural—spreads through the Sprawl
At the end of this document is a reference sheet to help you record notes about your Sprawl. You’ll note on the Sprawl Sheet that the section for each Peril has five boxes next to it. These bars are known as the Doom Bar.
The Doom Bar represents how close the peril is to fulfilling its desire. At 1 box, they are in the initial phases of construction and planning, while at 5 they are moments away from unleashing their plan.
At the start of a campaign, every Doom Bar starts at 1. A GM then has 3 points to divide between the perils to modify the initial state of their Doom Bars.
As the campaign progresses, the action (and inaction) of the player characters will influence changes in a peril’s Doom Bar. For example, blowing a run, helping an enemy accidently, or not stopping some plan in time are likely to increase a peril’s Doom Bar.
When the runners can’t stop a Peril, or when the DM deems it appropriate, you mark a Doom Box under the appropriate Peril. During the next adventure, the DM should state as a side-bar what the results of the increased Doom are.
For example: Two weeks ago, the team barely escaped a botched run on a corporate arcology that is performing strange and dangerous experiments on its citizens without their knowledge. The failed run caused the corporation to raise security and step up their project’s timeline, dooming the citizens now trapped inside. The GM could even choose to increase the Doom on multiple Perils if it makes sense.
If a Peril has 5 boxes, and the GM goes to mark another one, it’s too late: the Peril has accomplished what they were trying to do, and their Crisis goes into effect. This could have major impacts on both the Sprawl and the world.
Runners can, believe it or not, reduce the Doom Bar for a Peril. If they do something that hampers the peril, the GM should erase one Doom Box. If the runners do something really significant to strike a blow to the peril, such as blowing up a Renraku datacenter, the GM reduces the Doom Bar by two boxes.
A minor setback won’t reduce the Doom, but it will prevent it from increasing.
If runners ever reduce a peril’s Doom Bar to 0, the peril goes into remission. Remission means the peril may be gone, or perhaps it’s just licking its wounds. Either way, a peril in remission does not show up for 2 adventures.
Once that time is over, the GM can either bring back the Peril at 1 Doom, or bring in a totally new peril. If a peril is ever redudced to 0, it is a good idea to give the players a free advance to award them for their skill.
Example: the team pulled off a run that culminated in blowing up the Renraku datacenter mentioned earlier. Renraku had been slowly subsidizing Matrix usage, trying to cut the Sprawl off from the main Matrix grids (and thereby achieve Control). That Peril stood at 2 Doom before the run, but the GM decides to remove both Doom boxes—reducing the Doom to 0— due to the success of the run. Renraku decides to back off the Matrix control plan.
However, two sessions later, the team gets word of Renraku performing some sketchy genetic experiments on Awakened rats. Looks like Renraku’s back with a new plan.
Sprawls are a way to get an idea of the large influences at work in a particular area, giving you an idea of whch entities are the movers and shakers of a given city.
Districts, on the other hand, are areas within a Sprawl where a runner might find him- or herself. Districts are a shorthand way to record basic descriptive information about different neighborhoods, areas, and communities within a Sprawl.
The word “district” should be interpreted broadly—a small neighborhood, a glittering financial sector full of high-rise buildings, and a sprawling industrial zone can all be Districts.
A District is described by tags (like equipment and threats), which provide some descriptive information to help players and the GM get a handle on an important area.
Creating a district is very simple:
Name the District
Determine the core tags of the district (type, economy, population, and trust)
Determine any other special tags the district may have.
Example: the GM wants to create an industrial area for some of the action of this latest run to happen in. He pictures an oil refinery area, full of containers, pits, fences, low warehouse buildings, tall processing plants, and pipelines of all sizes crisscrossing the district. Economically, it’s active, though not exactly a “glittering rich” place. It’s isolated due to the industry, and polluted with leavings. It’s also owned by Ares. The tags for this district are industrial, average, stable, cooperative, corporate, polluted, isolated.
There are four basic or core tags that describe a district, which are, in order, Type, Economy, Population, and Trust.
Type identifies the general type of district, what kind of things happen there, and its role in the Sprawl.
Residential: this district is a place where people live, whether in housing projects, suburbs, apartments, rowhouse, etc.
Commercial: this district is primarily occupied by retail and service businesses of varying size
Financial: this district is primariily occupied by financial institutions such as brokerages, stock markets, banks, and investment firms
Industrial: this district is primarily occupied by heavy industry such as construction, manufacturing, and shipping firms.
Entertainment: this district is primarily occupied by entertainment businesses such as casinos, theaters, clubs, bars, and sports venues.
Economy indicates the general financial strength of the district.
Rich: this district is extremely wealthy, with a great deal of financial pull in the Sprawl. Examples include high-stakes financial districts and upper-crust residential areas.
Affluent: this district is well-off, with some financial sway. Examples include luxury residential areas and gated communities, or ritzy entertainment districts.
Middle-class: this district has only a modicum of financial pull, being primarily a middle-class / median income area; housing is small and efficient, businesses (if there are any) small as well.
Poor: this district is struggling, with little to no resources. Residences are tiny and shabby, employment is minimal, and businesses are struggling.
Slum: this district is a wasteland, with abandoned buildings, no jobs to speak of, failing (or failed) businesses, and no monetary influence whatsoever.
Population describes the size (and growth or decline) of the inhabitants of a district (or the people employed there, if it is a business district).
Booming: the population is large and getting larger fast; people are moving there, or businesses are expanding there at breakneck pace.
Growing: the population is large and growing, with a steady (but not explosive) increase in population.
Stable: the population is moderate and steady, with only minor increases and decreases that tend to even out over time.
Dwindling: people are leaving for some reason, whether because of abandonment by the city, or failing businesses, or redevelopment. The current population is small, with numerous abandoned buildings and businesses.
Abandoned: this district has been largely abandoned by businesses and/or residents. The legitimate population is tiny, and most buildings are empty and decaying. The largest population by far is likely to be criminals and the outcast.
Trust is the final core tag, indicating the districts view of authority, including politicians, law enforcement, and organizations. Remember that this is relative to the 2050’s, where trust is a little harder to come by anyway.
Cooperative: the community tends work closely with authority.
Neutral: the community is neutral toward authority.
Reserved: the community is not inclined to trust authority figures, though it will not actively hamper their work
Wary: the community instinctively suspects authority figures and will not cooperate unless compelled.
Hostile: the community is openly hostile to authority figures; law enforcement may avoid the area and it may be “written off” by politicians and organizations
Other tags can be used to add additional description as necessary or for special features of a particular district:
Big name: a person of significant renown (the GM determines to whom) lives or works in this zone
Corporate: this neighborhood is owned, managed, and serves one of the megacorporations or a subsidiary
Dense: tight streets, densely packed homes/businesses, and narrow passages.
Despair: the district is blighted and collapsing, and the despair of the people is palpable.
Highrise: this area is predominantly high-rise office and/or residential buildings with few open areas, but well-organized streets
Infestation: there is an infestation of some creature in this area (e.g. goblins, devil rats, etc.). It generally remains hidden inside buildings and underground. Note that this may be a natural infestation, or something worse
Isolated: although uncommon in the Sixth World, there are some districts that are still difficult to get to, or cut off from other areas by construction, road modification, and so forth. Police and emergency response is slowed.
Lawless: police presence in this district is absent, and crime is rampant and unchecked except by the criminals themselves
Open: this area is remarkably devoid of construction, and has open (perhaps even green) space and room to move easily (or to move large vehicles)
Outbreak: there is a disease outbreak of some sort in this District; medical services may be present, depending on the neighborhood’s economic value. If not, quarantine may be in place.
Policed: the neighborhood is regularly patrolled by law enforcement, and response time is short
Prejudice: this is a dislike, dismissal, bigotry, or hatred against a particular category of individuals (perhaps another District, or the police, or orks, or ethnicity)
Prize: there’s something in the neighborhood or the land it sits on that is desired by multiple factions
Protected: the neighborhood is protected by some group (for example, a gang, or a cult)
Rot: something poisons this neighborhood, perhaps physically or mentally or spiritually
Religious: a religion, cult, or other spiritual movement holds sway here
Turf (gang): this zone is the turf of the indicated gang
Most of the action in Sixth World games will take place somewhere in the byzantine environment of a Sprawl. However, there are plenty of adventure-ready wild spaces left in the world. In fact, with the upheaval of the early 2000’s, there’s quite a lot of new wilderness out there, and at some point or another, you’ll likely end up crossing through it.
If you want to create a Wild, the process is identical to the creation of a Sprawl: allocate points among the influence of Man, Magic and Machine, and then determine appropriate Perils and Crises to accompany those influences.
Just like Sprawls, a single Wild can contain multiple smaller areas with specific characteristics. These smaller areas are called Zones (since the word “district” doesn’t quite fit). Creating a zone, however, is done the same way as a District: think of a zone you want to create, give it a name, and select the appropriate tags to describe it.
Example: the GM creates a region near Lily Lake, deep in one of the former National Parks. The GM imagines this to be a thickly forested area, with steep slopes and deep gullies. Remnants of some park services buildings (mainly huts and SAR bivouacs) can be found. It’s mostly populated by small animals band birds, althoug a mated pair of Piasma call this area home. The tags selected for the Zone are forest, rugged, typical, ruins, predator. The tags for the zone are explained below.
Because many of the tags for Sprawl Districts wouldn’t necessarily apply, some new tag options are presented below. Wild zones have the following tag types: type, terrain, and wildlife.
(The categorizations that follow—which were greatly trimmed and simplified for game purposes—may cause painful grimacing in ecologists, forestry experts, geographers, and zoologists; I apologize sincerely).
Type describes the general type of biome and climate of the zone.
Plains: characterized by low rolling hills, open fields of grass or scrub, high visibility and winds. Climate varies per season.
Desert: characterized by aridity, heat, rolling or rocky terrain. Deserts may be arctic, but this tag primariliy deals with the “hot deserts” of the world.
Aquatic: a water-based zone, either riverine, limnic, or oceanic. Depending on specifics could be hostile (if subaquatic)
Forest: characterized by a high density of trees of various types (different categories of forest will have differing dominant tree types); terrain varies
Jungle: a land area covered with thick, dense vegetation, typically in a tropical area
Polar: cold northern or southern lands in the polar latitutdes, including arctic regions Terrain describes the zone’s physical features and topography, and how difficult or easy it may be to traverse.
Flat: little to no change in elevation, with only small hills and depressions
Rolling: smoothly transitioning hills, with at times sizable changes in elevation.
Wetland: an area saturated with water, such as a bayou, delta, swamp, fen, or bog
Rugged: terrain with sudden changes in elevation, rocky outcrops, or thick vegetation that is difficult to navigate directly or maneuver through
Mountainous: rough terrain in a mountainous region, with large changes in elevation; tiring, demanding terrain
Broken: the land is shattered and extremely rugged, very difficult to cross (almost impassable), and full of blind runs, rocky outcrops, sharp ridges and technically demanding terrain.
Exotic: the terrain is unusual in some way and not generally encountered; deep subaquatic regions, highly unusual rock formations, strange caves, and so forth would be examples of exotic terrain
Wildlife describes the flora and fauna of the area, as well as the relative biodiversity of the zone.
Limited: the zone’s biodiversity is low, marked by only a few kinds/categories of plants and animals
Typical: the zone’s biodiversity is typical for the Sixth World, having several types of animal and plant species represented
Diverse: the zone is populated by a fairly varied number of different species, both flora and fauna; edible species are reasonably easy to find
Rich: the zone is rich in different animal and plant species; it is a busy place
Hotspot: the zone is a biodiversity hotspot, teeming with highly varied species of plants and animals
Other tags may come into play to describe a particular wilderness zone. In addition to the tags below, the tags prize, protected, and infestation are also applicable.
Awakened: this zone is heavily imbued with magic, whether it be from ley-lines, artifacts, ritual, or other unknown reason, magic is almost tangibly present.
Blasted: some cataclysmic event happened here, and the scars remain visible.
Extreme: the zone is an extreme representative of its type—a fiercely hot desert, bitterly cold polar region (e.g. Antarctica), a dense jungle.
Megafauna: the zone contains a relatively high population of megafauna (animals exceeding 45kg/100lb) such as deer, large paranimals, and the like.
Polluted: this zone is heavily polluted; water is likely undrinkable without treatment and animals and plants dangerous to eat.
Predator: there is an apex predator (or mated pair) that considers this zone its hunting grounds. Be sure to identify the predator (because your players will ask about it, and you may have to answer!)
Remote: the zone is a long way from civilization. You’re on your own.
Ruins: this zone is composed of, or contains, the abandoned remnants of (meta)human construction.
Seismic: this zone is prone to seismic activity, which may pose a threat
Storms: this zone is prone to storms of some sort: electrical, rainstorms, windstorms, snowstorms. These may lead to related events (fire, flood, etc.)
Territory: this zone is the territory of a particular individual or pack; intruders may be met with extreme aggression. Make sure to identify the type of creature.
Wasteland: this zone is essentially dead—native fauna and flora has mostly died, water may be scarce or toxic, the ground poisonous. Inhabitants of this zone (if any) may be twisted mutants, odd Awakened creatures, strange infestations, or desperate squatters
As mentioned in the introduction to this game, I’m assuming some familiarity with Dungeon World on the part of the reader. Dungeon World provides a list of important rules for the GM to follow. Here they are (modified for proper cyberpunk-ness, of course):
What the rules demand: when a move is triggered, yours or the players, say what the rules tell you to say. Embellish and expand, but start from the rules.
What the adventure demands: you know things the players don’t, and you know them ahead of time. If the players haven’t done anything to change them, stick with ‘em.
What honesty demands: always be honest. If the rules tell you to give out information, do it. No lies, no half-truths. Be generous, even. And once it’s set in stone, no going back on it. Also, if the players achieve something, give it to them fully.
What the principles demand: use your principles and agenda as a filter or an inspiration. If you get caught short, review them to make sure youare abiding by them.
Make the world fantastic: barf forth cyberpunk! Scenes, smells, sounds - the glittering height of an arcology, the stench of a slum hellhole, the scream of turbofans as a GEV heads toward you, the rrrrrrrrip of a minigun tearing through your cover - it’s your job!
Fill the characters’ lives with adventure: make the world they live in exciting, dangerous, full, and epic.
Play to find out what happens: NO. PLOTS. Ideas, yes. Fronts, sure. But do not come to the table with a story already written in your head, because for sure, the players will not go where you expect.
Draw Maps, Leave Blanks: make use of maps, but don’t fill it all in. Leave holes for imagination. Address the characters, not the players: never talk to the players in the fiction. They don’t live in the Sixth World.
Embrace the exotic and fantastic: the world is a crazy mesh of man, magic, and machine. Make it breathe.
Make a move that follows: when you make a move, you are participating in the fiction. The move should follow from the fiction logically.
Never speak the name of your move: moves aren’t things in Sixth World. Moves are shorthand for you. Never say the name of your move.
Give every creature life: monsters and creatures exist and are real. Give them smells, sounds, personality.
Name every person: everyone has a name. Make sure you give it to them!
Ask questions, and use the answers: the easiest question is “What do you do?” Whenever you make a move, end with “What do you do?” And don’t forget to take opportunities to keep the focus moving from character to character.
Be a fan of the characters: you are not here to beat them; this is not a contest. You should cheer their successes, lament their failures, and mourn their passing.
Think with the Front Sight: nothing in the world you create for the characters is sacred. Every time you put something or someone onscreen, think about how destroying them might affect the story.
Begin and end with the fiction: to do it, do it. Everything stems from, and leads back to, the conversation you’re having. Transition from fiction to rules and back to fiction.
Think offscreen, too: make your move elsewhere, and show the effects to the characters later.
The GM has moves of his or her own to use. Although they’re given formal names, they’re really just the same things GMs have always done. For example, “revealing an unwelcome fact” isn’t an esoteric trick to learn—it could be as simple as saying “that datastore you just cracked? Yeah, it was really a honeypot, and security hackers are closing in.”
These moves, just like the players’ moves, stem from, and return to, the fiction of the game. Let them flow!
Use an NPC, creature, danger, or location move
Reveal an unwelcome fact
Show signs of danger
Deal damage
Use up their resources
Turn their move back on them
Separate them
Give an opportunity to showcase an archetype
Show a downside to their archetype, metatype, or equipment
Offer an opportunity - with or without cost
Put someone in a spot
Tell them the requirements and consequences, and ask
Change the environment
Point to a looming threat
Introduce a new faction
Use a threat from an existing faction
Make them backtrack
Present riches at a price
Present a challenge to one characte
Mustang, Stutter, Shade, Jersey, Bogie, Lord, Fade, XIII, Onetime, Hawk, Cycle, Gate, Dragon, Sunburn, Snowbank, Hoop, Indigo, Jack, Zero, Sandbox, Pac, Choppa, Backhoe, Lucky, Cowboy, Cypher, Shadow, Drake, Bonnie, Gunz, Sugar, Lightfoot, Porkchop, Candy, Finley, Hudson, Evergreen, Bones
Razor, Crank, Orchid, Azure, Sequoia, Slick, Lotus, Eagle, Nex, Tiller, Babs, Hound, Hitch, Geezer, Cavalier, Gimlet, Citadel, Dancer, Vixen, Fable, Iron, Machete, Dekk, Burn, Drez, Rabbit, Dog, Plusone, Bit, Crunch
Saturn, Deckhand, Unicorn, Bamboo, Volcano, Poetry, Seven, Tranquil, Boxer, Huck, Angel, Trukk, Rukkus, Argent, Derby, Foxcraft, Navy, Gutter, Cobweb, Digger, Lance, Cameo, Battery, Cutter, Geez, Lune, Scrap, Carbon, Crisp, Birdseye, Acrobat, Shark, Chip, Radiant, Bigtop, Molly, Chupa, Mouse, Doll, Neo, Glimmer, Tink, Uncle Slam, Donk
Magma, Nectar, Jacked, Skull Hop, Torque, Sphere, Ad Astra, Cafe Loup, Howler’s, Credslicks, Neon Dragon, Second Stump, Darkwire, Green Rhythm, Buried, Cement Cross, Sprawlz
Hunker’s Last Home, Krave, Milligrays, Fat Lo’s, Practical Pig, Doc Jock’s, Electron Soul, Bitbucket & Dongle’s, Uchida’s, Banjo Pancake, Krillwires, The Hoosegow, Hanging Sloth, Stunted Bunting
Toxic Spirits, Bughunters, Scraped Up, Lumen, The Hellhound, DipSwitch, Leverage, Club Sangre, Zone 9, Disco Mittens, Vertex, Soundwave, Chumley’s, Racer Echs, Rockstorm, The Huckle, Goose, Warstomp, House of Boom, Blue, Pulse, Club Loca, The Box, Marcoline’s, Noggin, Slot and Rum, The Swan & Hostage
Brendan’s, Good Fletcher’s, The Ceramic Deacon, Gribb’s, Optique, Parallax,
Aerochem Solutions, Dynocene Construction, Zhèng-Hirano Holdings Plc, DynoVDD, Motonex Hardware, Aerogen, Mototel Industries Inc., ERL Corporation, Braun-Ikeda Aerospace, Arcodyne Cybernetics SA, DZC Manufacturing, Richardson Logistics, Kaiser-Murata Aerospace, Hán Biosystems
Liáng-Meier Digital, Geoform Processing, Dynocera Biotech et cie, Guo Systems Plc, PSX Tek, Hirano Digital, Sauer-Bergmann Digital, GenoEPU, Russell Logistics, Aerosphere Cybernetics, Dynostruct Software, TerraTEQ, Zhào Software, PBI Biotech, DynoHPC, Smith Biosystems, Endocera Construction, Ecogene Processing SA, Winkler Biotech, Adams Digital Co., Simpson Partners Plc, IJV Ecostruct, Microcene Inc.
Digitech, Technocera, Wright Manufacturing, DigiBNC, Thermonex Plc, ArcoCEL, Zhang Holdings Co., Aerodyne, Agrigene Plc, JXK Electronics, Teratek Digital et cie, Miller Armaments, Thermotek Holdings, Hán-Fujita Biosystems, Autoform AG, Mototech, DBX Gen, Geotek Digital, Walter-Zhèng Solutions
Alana Huitt, Alejandra Crothers, Ali Scrimpsher, Allan Drucker, Allan Grise, Allan Straw, Alvaro Laky, Amado Gushard, Annita Camarero, Annita Honberger, Armand Burmester, Armand Carnett, Armand Hutchenson, Ashlee Mahony, Austin St. Claire, Awilda Konopacki, Bok Stitzel, Brain Tapija, Brain Whitebread, Brittanie Comegys, Bryon Krumwiede, Bryon Webley, Carlene Jehle, Carlene Kotek, Carlene Tuff, Carmella Kealoha, Ciara Cratin, Cierra Hladek, Cierra Stucke, Cierra Yater, Clare Forbush, Clare Nalbandian, Clayton Almada, Clayton Denver, Clayton Raffaele, Clemencia Scammon, Cliff Felkner, Clinton Nierman, Cody Kuzma, Cody Mccausland, Connie Golinski, Dane Draffen, Dane Shadwell, Darcy Bown, Dario Goich, Darius Eckl, Darius Foxworthy, Darius Getts, Darius Wisinski, Darren Macaulay, Darren Raatz, Darren Rosborough, Deadra Obas, Dedra Sourlis, Dee Blankschan, Dee Boumthavee, Delmer Ferouz, Despina Menezes, Dollie Ort
Earnestine Elliston, Earnestine Steinberger, Edwina Streit, Elnora Chivers, Elwood Accornero, Elwood Chappuis, Elwood Dorow, Elwood Fritchman, Emely Buote, Emilia Hoak, Erik Shur, Ethelyn Aherns, Eve Birk, Evon Buckholtz, Ewa Caito, Fernando Shabazz, Fidel Corneil, Fonda Duceman, Francene Worford, Gay Barcomb, Genesis Bonventre, Genna Finical, Guy Crothers, Guy Rotunno, Hal Chiarito, Hank Guerera, Hank Hallemeyer, Harriett Emig, Harriett Galdi, Harriett Maheu, Horacio Nao, Ileen Midden, Ingeborg Dagis
Jackson Boyarski, Jackson Tijernia, Jamie Dziedzic, Jamie Max, Jamie Zwiebel, Javier Castaldi, Javier Garbett, Jeanie Maclachlan, Jeffry Gombert, Jeffry Vanella, Jerri Seckman, Jerrold Dingillo, Jerrold Nonamaker, Julianne Baden, Kaltenhauser, Karri Mraw, Katelynn Needler, Keila Chastin, Kelly Tift, Kendrick Delmedico, Kendrick Wintermantel, Kenton Scollan, Kimi Biava, Kimi Unangst, Kit Wagenaar, Kurt Robuck, Lanette Fincel, Lavenia Chaudhuri, Lavenia Werblow, Leena Ritrovato, Lenny Booras, Lenny Zabka, Lilia Borelli, Liza Shuff, Lonnie Behan, Lonnie Hughs, Lonnie Mcgonagle, Lonnie Reitman, Lonnie Sison, Loralee Hardester, Ludivina Ciliberto Fode, Ludivina Corneil, Ludivina Meullion, Lupe Esquinaldo
Mac Grenway, Mac Hengen, Mac Skevofilakas, Marcel Kraszewski, Marcie Alix, Marcie Croke, Marlin Eichel, Marlin Gindhart, Marlin Gradilla, Marlin Presha, Marlin Shelite, Marvis Dischinger, Marylou Quintanar, Mathew Altschuler, Mathew Lococo, Max Nigh, Max Secor, Melisa Honore, Milagros Prange, Ming Hillsgrove, Ming Kuney, Mohamed Sperier, Mohamed Waisman, Moises Debem, Moises Keirnan, Nannie Caryl, Nannie Zucco, Natisha Seppi, Neil Moronta, Nelson Hazley, Nelson Osmun, Nenita Dady, Neva Mor, Newton Schiffner, Nita Alers, Nita Bier, Nolan Artalejo, Nolan Gillitzer, Nolan Solages, Noreen Wilcoxon, Odessa Hougland, Odessa Taillon, Pearlie Pickert, Pearlie Schlagel, Penelope Quaid, Quinton Deuell, Quinton Schuerman, Quinton Sinnett, Quinton Wrich
Raphael Decou, Raphael Holtrop, Raphael Landazuri, Reyes Pendill, Reyes Snith, Richie Watah, Rina Fortun, Rina Trumper, Robt Hjalmarson, Robt Scheiblich, Robt Tarner, Rod Mulinix, Rod Smitz, Rolland Propheter, Rosalva Scarfi, Roslyn Biffle, Rupert Senethavilouk, Sadye Obermann, Sarita Knori, Saundra Shippy, Sharron Croswell, Son Callais, Son Lesmerises, Son Reisher, Sung Mihalios
Tameka Pitcock, Ted Eckhoff, Ted Kram, Ted Mollica, Thaddeus Galford, Thanh Pascher, Tia Belland, Toi Cheatum, Trish Stagno, Valene Arron, Virgen Allegrini, Virgen Arrez, Virgen Witaker, Vita Rowold
Threats is the general term for the opposition - creatures, other runners, security guards, and so forth — that a team of runners might encounter in their adventures. Threats come in many shapes and sizes, and only a few examples are given here, but you can use these examples to expand on the list of threats, and invent your own (you can even use the Monster Creator at http://codex. dungeon-world.com/).
If you’re the GM, you should be aware that unlike many games, you never roll dice to make moves (though you will roll dice for Threat damage from time to time).
Threats have moves, both the GM moves listed earlier, and sometimes their own special moves, but you won’t see any “roll+Stat” instructions here. Threat Moves happen in response to, and flow from the fiction. If something is done by a player character that would lead to a Threat move, then it happens. If the player didn’t fail their move, then it’s likely that what you’ll do is a soft move: show them some danger coming, make something happen that will trigger a move on their part, and so forth.
On the other hand, if the player gives you a golden opportunity, usually by completely failing a move, then you can make a hard move. An easy example of this is in the case of doing damage. If a PC Rocks & Rolls with a threat, and fails (rolls a 6 or less), then in return, that Threat deals its damage to the player right away. That’s the default outcome for failing a Rock & Roll move.
Keep in mind, however, that you only have to make as hard a move as you like. It doesn’t always have to be the ultimate sanction — sometimes, you might make a soft move to increase the tension of a situation. You don’t have to deal that damage, if making a different move would be more fun!
Threats, in general, deal the damage indicated in their entry whenever they deal their damage. However, sometimes multiple threats mob a single player character and inflict damage on the PC. In such cases, they do not all deal their damage. Instead, deal damage for the most dangerous threat, and add +1 damage for each additional threat involved in the attack.
Example: Valentin is facing down a ghoul and four goblins, who all assaulted him more or less simultaneously. He attempted to dodge away, but failed. Instead of dealing 2d6b for the ghoul, and then rolling 2d4b four more times (once for each goblin), you would roll 2d6b for the ghoul, and add an additional 4 damage (+1 for each goblin).
If it suits the group, you can allow a threat to inflict chronic injuries if that threat’s damage pushes a character into the bleeding out stage. If so, choose an appropriate chronic injury from the list. For example, if a ghoul manages to take a character to the bleeding out stage with a bite, you can inform the character that unless they stabilize, they will take the Faded chronic injury, and reduce their Essence by 1.
Threats make no distinction between stun and wounds for threats. If you deal stun to a threat, unless it is listed as immune to stun, simply mark the damage on the wound track.
The traits that follow are primarily intended to help the GM describe creatures, figure out what a creature might do, set scenes, and enhance the story. For example, when using a threat with the Camouflage trait, the GM might leverage that trait to describe how the threat materializes out of nowhere, having been hidden against a wall or some other innocuous place until the PC’s were in just the right spot.
Amphibious: threat is at home in water and on land
Arcane: threat is Awakened
Aspect: threat shows traits of its domain or environment
Bloodthirsty: the threat will continue to attack incapacitated opponents
Camouflage: threat is difficult to detect and can blend in with its environment
Cyber: this threat is enhanced with cyberware, which increases its performance in some fashion
Deathwish: the threat lacks any sense of self-preservation; this can manifest in relentless attacks, or simple stupidity, depending on the threat
Dual Natured: threat is visible and active both in Astral Space and in the physical world. Abbreviated dn.
Fast: the threat is exceptionally quick
Fear: the threat inspires fear or causes a fear effect
Fearless: the threat will often continue fighting to the death
Group: usually seen in groups of 3-6 individuals
Hoarder: the threat collects…something. Sometimes good things, sometimes horrifying things.
Horde: threat is typically found in large groups
Huge: colossal, several times larger than a human
Immune (type): threat is immune to a particular type of damage, for example immune (stun)
Infected: threat carries a disease that can be contracted by the characters
Insubstantial: threat takes half damage
Intelligent: threat is smart enough to think and plan; most metahuman threats are intelligent
Large: much larger than a human
Machine: threat is mechanical in origin
Medium: roughly human size
Movement: threat has a special movement mode
Night Vision: threat can see in dark environments without trouble
Organized: threat has an organizational structure, and may have additional allies upon which to call
Paranormal: threat is of paranormal origins
Poison: threat poison its targets; victims take 1 damage each time they make a move, until they receive treatment of some sort)
Program: threat is a Matrix program (such as IC)
Range: these are the same as the ranges in the equipment section
Small: smaller than a human
Spirit: attacking this threat uses the Battle the Arcane move
Solitary: usually seen alone
Stealthy: threat is naturally difficult to detect
Summoned: this is a spirit being, and can be banished
Tiny: much smaller than a human
All paracritters are assumed to have the paranormal tag.
All Intrusion Countermeasures are assumed to have the fearless and program tags.
Creatures may or may not fight to the death. Many metahumans will not, since most of them still have some sense of self preservation. The fearless tag indicates a much greater likelihood of fighting to the death even without a reason.
All paracritters have the paranormal tag.
amphibious, camouflage, group, large
Bite (2d6b dmg, c), tail whip (1d6+1, reach)
10 Wounds / 2 Armor
The Afanc is an awakened crocodile, typically found in Wales and Eastern Europe. They exist in family groups of 3-6 individuals, and are highly territorial. They have an exceptional ability to detect nearby prey. Instinct: to eat
Detect nearby prey
Death roll
fast, medium, fear, group
Bite (1d6+2 dmg, c), howl (2d8b stun, area, c/s/m)
6 Wounds / 1 Armor
The barghest is an awakened canine found in North America, Europe, and Asia. A massive mastiff-like creature, the barghest is best known for its unearthly, paralyzing howl which it uses to freeze its prey in its tracks. Instinct: to hunt.
dual-natured, hoarder, small, solitary
Paralytic tail (2d6b+2 stun, c)
4 Wounds / 0 Armor
The cockatrice resembles an overgrown, semi-reptilian chicken. It is known best for the paralysis a touch of its long tail can induce in a metahuman. It’s also known for its tendency to collect small items – jewelry, etc. Instinct: protect its territory.
turn flesh to stone
collect the shinies
fast, fearless, medium, night vision Slam (1d6 dmg, forceful, c), bite (1d8 damage, c)
6 Wounds / 1 Armor
The Black Annis is an awakened baboon, highly territorial and vicious. Studies also indicate that the Black Annis is capable of creating an overwhelming sense of depression in metahumans, though this has not been confirmed. Instinct: to dominate.
tear intruders apart
show a threat display
camouflage, medium, poison, solitary
Bite (2d6b, poison, c), spit venom (1d8, s)
5 wounds / 0 armor
The deathrattle is a large awakened rattlesnake, found across North America. The deathrattle has a potent toxin which operates on both a physical and astral basis. It is very difficult to cure, requiring the attentions of both medical professionals and magical expertise. Instinct: to eat.
strike from hiding
instill fear with a sound
disease, horde, small
Gnaw (1d6 damage, messy, c)
4 wounds / 0 armor
The devil rat is a giant, hairless, loathsome creature found in sewers and sprawls around the world. Devil rats are somewhat dangerous alone, but when they swarm, they can cause catastrophic damage. Stories about mass disappearances in some of the worst slums are sometimes attributed to devil rat swarms. Instinct: to devour.
swarm of teeth
avoid the light
arcane, dual-nature, huge, hoarder, intelligent
Bite (2d10b dmg, c), fire breath (2d6 dmg, s/m)
30 wounds, 6 to 8 armor
Never cut a deal with a dragon. Extremely intelligent and powerful, these creatures have become heads of megacorps, and one was even the President of the UCAS before he was assassinated. They come in many varieties, including western, eastern, feathered and leviathian.
Their ultimate purpose is unknown, but whatever it is, they seem to be doing it well. Instinct: to be the ultimate.
Get rid of opposition
Scheme from the shadows
Unleash its wrath
bloodthirsty, fearless, large, solitary
Bite (1d8 dmg, messy, c), claw (1d6+1 dmg, messy, c)
10 wounds / 2 armor
The greater wolverine is a massive engine of destruction, with a mean streak a mile wide. Instinct: to kill.
Abuse the dead
Eat to excess
group, intelligent, medium
Sidearm (1d8 dmg, s/m), stun baton (1d6 stun, c)
8 Wounds / 0 Armor
This is the run of the mill corporate security guard. Dangerous in groups, and corporations generally have a near-infinite supply. Instinct: to guard their station.
Call for backup
Trigger the alarm
group, cyber, intelligent, medium
SMG (2d6b dmg s/m), Hand-to-Hand (1d6+1 dmg, c)
8 Wounds / 2 Armor
Although not every facility has an elite security contingent protecting it, when you start running the bigger corporations, you may run into these guys. With better training and better gear than your typical security guard, Elite Security is called in when the regular security grunts run into more than they can handle. Instinct: secure the facility.
Neutralize targets
Strike from ambush
medium, intelligent, solitary
Sidearm (1d8 dmg, s/m), baton (1d6 dmg c)
8 Wounds / 1 Armor
Even in the seemingly lawless 2050s, there are still people out there who serve in the thin blue line, walking a beat and enforcing the law. Whether a member of Knight Errant, Pinkerton, or Lone Star, the beat cop is the most commonly seen law enforcement officer on the streets. Instinct: to protect and serve.
make an arrest
call backup
cyber, medium, intelligent, group
Assault Rifle (2d8b dmg, s/m/l)
8 Wounds / 3 Armor
Hostage situations, major crimes, killing sprees, you name it — when a serious crime goes down, the High Threat Response teams are called in. Highly trained, well-equipped, and thoroughly professional, tangling with HTR is no joke. Instinct: terminate the threat.
Breach, bang and clear
Take the shot
arcane, medium, solitary
Blood bolt (1d8 dmg s/m), death touch (2d4b, ignores armor, c)
8 Wounds / 1 Armor
Blood magic — the use of blood (usually not your own) to fuel magical spells and rituals — is illegal almost everywhere in the Sixth World. However, that doesn’t stop people from using it. Instinct: to gather power.
dual-natured, medium, intelligent, cyber
Arm Cannon (2d6b dmg, s/m/l), arm blade (1d6 dmg, c)
15 wounds / 3 armor
The cyberzombie is an unfortunate soul, a cyborg who has pushed himself too far with cybernetics and died. A cybermancer has managed to reconnect his soul to the body, and now the creature lives a tortured life. Instinct: to pass on.
Destroy for the creator
Find a way to end the suffering
arcane, cautious, medium, solitary
Manabolt (1d6+1 dmg, s/m), flamethrower (1d6+1 dmg, burn, s/m), confusion (targets take -2, s)
8 Wounds / 2 Armor
The Awakened are statistically rare in the Sixth World, but shadowrunners tend to deal with them considerably more frequently than your average wageslave. One of the more feared foes on the battleground is the Combat Mage, a mage who has devoted his abilities to deadly combat magic. Instinct: to see who’s best.
Display their power
Burn everything
cyber, intelligent, medium, solitary
Black hammer (2d6b dmg, c), blackout (1d6+1 dmg, stun c), slow (-1 forward, c)
8 Wounds / 2 Armor (matrix only)
Any corporation worth its salt employs security hackers to protect its precious data. A corporate hacker is often equipped with excellent gear and has the benefit of being able to navigate a corporate grid easily, since they belong there. Instinct: to track ‘em and smack ‘em.
Initiate a trace
Deploy IC
group, intelligent, medium
Spiked bat (1d6+1 dmg, c), cheap but powerful pistol (2d8w dmg, s/m)
9 Wounds / 1 Armor
Gangs plague the sprawls, and turf is everything. During a shadowrun, it’s often a good idea to know whose turf you’re on, who the leaders are, and what kind of crime they’re into. If you run afoul of a gang, you might run into someone like the Street Thug. Instinct: to guard their turf.
Issue a beatdown
Gather the crew
blind, group, infected, intelligent, medium
Bite (2d6b dmg, disease, c), talons (1d6 dmg, c)
6 Wounds / 0 Armor
Ghouls are humans infected with HMHVV, which has modified their genetics such that they have an insatiable hunger for human flesh. Intelligent, and often found in packs in sewers, back alleys, and the squats and slums of the Sixth World. Despite their physical blindness, they can be a dangerous enemy indeed. Instinct: to feed the hunger.
horde, infected, small
Claw (1d4+1 dmg, c), knife (1d6 dmg, c)
4 Wounds / 1 Armor
Goblins are the result of a dwarf being infected with HMHVV, resulting in a small, twisted, nocturnal creature that tends to run in large packs. Stumbling across a goblin colony can really ruin your day. Instinct: to scavenge and collect.
Intrusion countermeasures all possess the fearless and program tags. Use these threats in conjunction with matrix nodes and armored nodes.
Burnout (reduces hardening by 1), chip burn (reduce CPU by 1)
4 Wounds / 0 Armor
Acid is a version of IC designed to damage cyberdecks, opening holes for other more dangerous IC to use to make the attack. Instinct: burn through defenses.
Jolt (1d6 dmg, stun)
4 Wounds / 1 Armor
Blaster IC is designed to inflict nonlethal damage on a hacker, hopefully knocking him or her out and forcing them to disconnect from the grid. Blaster is fairly common, since it is nonlethal, and can be found even in generally lower-security systems. Instinct: to knock ‘em out.
Intelligent, organized
Lethal biofeedback (2d8b dmg)
6 Wounds / 2 Armor
Black IC is the most feared of all intrusion countermeasures. Used by high-security installations, Black IC is designed for one purpose: to kill intruding hackers.
Capable of delivering a lethal burst of biofeedback, the victim of a black IC attack is usually found dead in their rig, bleeding from eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Black IC is not to be trifled with. Instinct: to kill.
camouflage
Overload (reduce CPU by 1)
4 Wounds / 0 Armor
Binder is another simple countermeasure, designed to place extra processing load on a cyberdeck’s CPU to decrease its efficiency. Instinct: to slow down the intruder.
Note: given the wide array of spirits and their specific manifestations, the GM is encouraged to tweak these entries as needed!
aspect, medium, spirit
confusion (targets take -2 forward, s), slam (2d6b dmg, forceful)
1 armor / 5 Wounds
Spirits of Man include spirits of street, hearth, and field, domains intimately linked to the activities of humankind. Known more for their desire to guard and protect an area rather than their innate hostility, they are nonetheless dangerous when their ire is provoked. Instinct: to guard what man has made.
prevent threats from entering
cause an accident
aspect, spirit, variable size
hurl rock (1d8 dmg, forceful), punch (2d6b dmg, forceful)
4 Armor / 7 Wounds
Spirits of Earth dwell in the very soil and mountain and rock on which life takes root. They usually manifest as beings of rock and dirt, their aspects making them tough to injure. Their powers vary, but as all natural spirits they are motivated to guard their domain. Instinct: to protect the land.
engulf an intruder
surge up from the ground
aspect, spirit, small, medium
fling (1d6+1 dmg, forceful, c), noxious cloud (1d6 dmg, area, poison)
3 Armor / 6 Wounds
Spirits of Air are capricious beings who dwell in the domain of air. They manifest as howling winds, cold gusts, and vaguely humanoid clouds. Their insubstantial nature makes injuring them difficult. Instinct: to trick.
move at blinding speed
toy with an enemy
aspect, spirit, small, medium
slam (2d8b dmg, c)
2 Armor / 7 Wounds
Spirits of Water are methodical and inexorable, and take pride that the world will eventually return to the water whence it came. They can be summoned anywhere there is a body of water or river, and they are powerful enemies indeed. Instinct: to flow
drown the threat
flow through and around
aspect, spirit, small/medium/large
bite (1d8 dmg, poison, c), strike (2d6b dmg, c)
3 Armor / 6 Wounds
Insect Spirits are summoned by Insect Shamans, who must “invest” a living host with the spirit (since it lacks the capability to materialize). This process is generally done to involuntary hosts, and the results are horrific. Insect Shamans and Insect Spirits are never something to willingly “get to know.” Instinct: to breed.
summon the swarm
scuttle just out of sight
aspect, spirit, small/medium/large
throw toxin (2d6b, poison, c), poison punch (1d6+1 dmg, poison, c)
2 Armor / 10 Wounds
Toxic spirits are summoned by toxic shamans from domains that have been corrupted by pollution and other manmade evils. These spirits are as twisted as the domains from which they come. Instinct: to pollute.
corrupt the environment
leave their mark
to Chris Clouser who crated the original Sixth World hack.
to Vincent Baker for creating Apocalypse World.
to Sage LaTorra and Adam Koebel, for creating Dungeon World
to the authors of all the other Dungeon World and Apocalypse World hacks for their cleverness and inventiveness.
to all the writers and designers who’ve worked on any edition of Shadowrun, ever, for creating my first and most favorite game world.
to Tanner Yea (smarttman) for advice, suggestions, the Sprawl Generator adaptation, and the section on Astral Space. And for being my first playtester (and now co-author).
There were following changes from the Digest Edition 1.2 by Chris:
Rep (basically level from DW) was removed.
Armor Piercing mechanic was removed.
Karma is more like Free Karma from old SR and less like Edge from new editions.
Spells were made slightly stronger.
Exp-Gain is more SR-like and tuned for long (20+ sessions) campaings.
Some moves were switched to AW-inspired versions.
Many moves and equipment were slightly modified.
