So It Isn't Shadowrun

So, what I came up with is not Shadowrun. I deleted some races and options, moved some things around, and reassessed. And, it's still not Shadowrun.

I like what I came up with, I really do - in fact, that's what I plan on playing - but it isn't Shadowrun. Shadowrun got buried somewhere along the way. So I found someone else's Shadowrun to Hero adpatation and am starting over. Not from scratch but from whatever this guy came up with.

After a cursory glance, he did a thorough job. And he entitled his efforts the same thing I was going to call this, were I to give it a name (the obvious choice, I think). I won't mention it because I don't know the legality of the product. It looks self-published and I only have the PDF.

Anyway, that's where I stand. I'll have more to say on both but now I have to be away long enough to read this thing. I'm not throwing out what I came up with for Shadowrun; I'm going to merge the two as I see fit, but I am going to lean on what has already been done. I'm sure it's more replete and accurate than what I was doing.

I'm not looking to get into any trouble; my decision to do this is purely for personal purposes. I plan to play Shadowrun under the Hero system, one way or another - whether that be online or solo - and give it a fair shot. The only thing I recall not enjoying about it was the system, which is why I decided to do this.

© The Weirding, 2025

Shadowrun Timeline

There's too much to it for me to say definitely one way or the other, but I'm likely dropping the Shadowrun timeline - not entirely, but overall. I certainly don't need that much detail or information on what reads like other peoples' campaign notes. I'm lifting the most important events from Shadowrun's (literal) daily timeline and adding those to the annual CyberSpace timeline.

I realize this timeline is key to the game according to many players, but it was a product of its time - and I was there, so I can say this definitively. The Soviet Union had just fallen, the Internet as we know it was barely underway (you were a "computer nerd" if you had an e-mail address in 1993), the Satanic Panic was nearing the end of its lifecycle but still in-swing, the Super Nintendo may not have even been released yet... either way, I remember the time and a lot of the events and situations surrounding it.

Shadowrun was based on these real-world events and emergent political ideologies, and that was one of its draws: The idea that this sort of thing (minus the most fantastic elements) might really happen any day now! Even the term, "Awakening," was a deeper, sociopolitical statement on current affairs, which Shadowrun did not really take, put in their game in a fashion, then extrapolate from; Shadowrun more or less just plopped them in the game and worked around them. That is to say that the day's current events and politics were central to the game which had a political statement to make, and that didn't work for me then and doesn't work for me now.

I love incorporating politics into my games, and they are often based (somewhat) on real-world events and ideologies, so I do not fear doing so, I just don't particularly care for how Shadowrun did it. And I'd be remiss if I didn't note that today's overheated political climate is unlikely to produce the same results as Shadowrun did in 1992 or '93; I want to play the game, not live it!

I know the timeline is important to the game as a whole, and that many fans find it sacrosanct (as does FASA), but CyberSpace's timeline extends into the period in which my campaign is set (the late 2090s) and Shadowrun's does not. As the name suggests, CyberSpace also extends beyond the planet and Shadowrun is far more concerned with terrestrial activity. I know that there is interplanetary activity in Shadowrun too, but I just plain like the way CyberSpace did it better.

Laser weapons are the standard of the day in our Shadowrun by Hero campaign, not noisy, antiquated hand-cannons, and is, on the surface, a far less fractured world than that of Shadowrun. I am keeping the campaign map, though, so all is not lost, superfans!

The over-reliance on governmental and real-world politics propelled my decision: Shadowrun overlays real-world politics into its timeline, where CyberSpace extrapolated from real-world politics and situations, changed the main players from governments and governmental operatives (soldiers and politicians) into megacorporations, super-mercs, and CEOs. And I prefer that approach, which is more in-line with the cyberpunk genre and more in-line with my preferred method of gaming.

© The Weirding, 2025

Shadowrun - Cybernetics, Magic, Allergies, and Side Effects

I don't think any of this post will make sense to even Shadowrun fans; if you do not know the Hero System, this post is probably just gibberish. But I needed to make it to organize my own thoughts, and hopefully get some input.

 

So far, literally everything has the Limitation: Side Effects - at least almost all Magic and Cybernetics, which is more than half of the game! This is consistent throughout Shadowrun, Cyberpunk, CyberHERO, and Fantasy Hero (and its Companions), but I don't like it:

 

1. This is one of the first things that designers and users would seek to hammer-out. So, by this point (many decades after they were introduced), there should be a lot fewer side effects than there were with earlier versions, whether it be of a spell or article of cybertech.

 

2. Some of this comes off as hystrionic attempts at game balance where it really wasn't needed.

 

3. In Hero, specifically, it seems like they included it to lower Real Cost more than anything. It fits sometimes, and it is exactly right other times, but it's mostly just included with everything even when it doesn't fit.

 

4. Side Effects leads to a lot more math between Phases, which adds to the complexity of keeping up with everything. I want something more elegant and easier to follow, even if this is as simple (though also time-consuming) as Increased END, which doesn't necessarily make sense for a lot of cybernetics but could work for netrunning.

5. Since even the lowest version involves 30 Active Points, I'd really rather avoid Side Effects whenever possible! I can't imagine why anyone would choose a version, make, or model with Side Effects if they could afford the difference and had the choice.

 

One of the issues I'm thinking through is that it is consistent throughout all of these somewhat disparate sources, but all are from the same era (1989-1992 or so). "Side Effects" were one of the first things that were smoothed-out of modern technology, and today's Internet is (despite its problems) faster and more stable, relying far less on the end-user's knowledge of computers or computing (or electrical or fiber-optic) capacity. So I feel justified in making such a sweeping change, I just don't know the best, and most direct, way of going about it yet.

 

Here's my "creative" solution to Side Effects, Cyberpsychosis, and Cybernetics (better known as a rough draft):

Berserk on Burnout - Common, 11, 14- (-15)
Psych. Lim. Cyberpsychosis - Common, Strong (-15)

Magic and Cybernetics are handled separately, but there are going to be a lot of similarities - especially in the Wireless Age. At this point, Side Effects is one of those and I wanted to eliminate it but I am going with this write-up for cybernetics.

© The Weirding, 2025

Heroes as Shadowrunners

The campaign is Wild Heroic, so it's almost anything-goes. There's an 18- Maximum for Skills, but I'm using a d20 for testing. I like the added randomness, as 3d6 provides a more median result. Also, 3d6 is clunky. I'm not going to be too strict with starting points, at least to the tune of 3-5 points or so. As long as they get the points from Disadvantages, I don't see the point in disallowing going over a little - "rounding-up," it were.

I know it seems overly-generous - I thought so myself on the front-end - but I went with 150 points, up to 75 in Disadvantages, for 225-points at start. I know that's really high, but I started at 100 base, went to 75 and 75, then went to 100 and 100, then ended here. This makes them just Heroic enough to be Shadowrunners, even though it makes them technically more powerful than most Shadowrunners at the start.

Poseurgangs are not the only ones that affect outrageous dress and run about the neighborhood, causing trouble for others. It may not be spandex, but there is a really fine line. That line may or may not be 25-points, but that is what I came up with.

Shadowrun is as much about getting rich as it is advancing your character or roleplaying. And this is so you can advance your gear more than anything else, including your cybertech. The Magic handling is overly convoluted and converting it to Hero made it much smoother, even though I'm still working on incorporating Spirits into the entire thing. Because of the direction in which I took Shamen, which I'm sure many Shadowrun fanatics would hate, it just isn't necessary - but I understand that it is a fundamental aspect of the Shamanic magic system, so I'm going to include it.

What I came up with is not exactly Shadowrun, but it certainly is not Champions (it isn't even Dark Champions or CyberHERO), and it is a game I want to play. It is a world I want to live in, and have an affect on, for years to come. And here's to hoping that is the case.

I'll have a lot more to say on Campaign Tone, Morality, and the rest in posts to come.

© The Weirding, 2025

Hero Shadowrun Design Notes 2

Devotees may balk, but a lot of minor changes are simply differences in how the systems handle things. Sourcebooks I don't own or am not employing may have alternative ways of handling these things, but... well, I don't have them or am not using those, so.

I made sure all the metahumans have a Susceptibility or Vulnerability, and stuck with those suggested in the Shadowrun corebook. There are three different species of Elfs, and Trolls are likely Goblinoids. Dwarfs and Gargoyles have Stoneskin, so there may be some relation there. And all of this is actually in-line with Shadowrun, just not necessarily codified (unless it's in a book or magazine I don't own or haven't seen). The handling is just different in some cases - as in Trolls, who turn to stone in direct sunlight (as do Gargoyles). 

Of course, Gargoyles aren't in Shadowrun but they made sense to include. I want that aesthetic, I'm pulling at least partially from some Ravenloft sources, and I like the ideas Gargoyles bring to the game. Shamen's Totems are going to be literal animal followers (Familiars) as well, so even though I couldn't get the Beastmaster package I wanted to fit entirely, Shamen may fit the bill. That, too, differs from Shadowrun RAW, but is keeping in-line with the spirit of the game, better represents Native American and animism traditions and beliefs (even if it's not 100% real-world accurate... it's a fantasy game), and seems like it would be more fun to play.

Both Shamen and Hermetic Magi receive their Bases (Medicine Lodge and Occult Library, respectfully). Deckers became Phrackers, but they receive a customized deck and/or they can choose from a selection of models, including retro makes, as well as a hacking PC. Riggers get a customized vehicle and a small fleet of drones. I'm working on a way to include Netrunners (Phrackers/Deckers) with the main group even while they're running the Net, and it may involve holograms but I'm still working on it.

I like what I decided for cybertech too, but it's complicated so I'm trying to make other aspects simpler to compensate for that and the magic system. That's another reason to find a way to include Netrunners with the main group and not have them handled separately. Personae are going to be like VPNs, so they are not mandatory; without them, you're just a gray or blue icon kind-of concept. Being SIN-less is an Advantage (+5, I think), and that's from CyberHERO.

Combining racial and professional packages is expensive; you're likely to have few points leftover for customization, and similar combinations will have a lot in common so this will have to be eyeballed, but that should also be expected. But Elven Decker was an archetype in Shadowrun, so again, it's just a difference in the systems' handling and character creation.

Still, I am capturing the spirit of Shadowrun under the Hero system, which is exactly what I set out to do, so I'm having a good time with it.

© The Weirding, 2025

Shadowrun by Way of Champions - Design Notes on Magic

I'll make this an ongoing series with (more or less) matching titles eventually, but I'm still just getting started on this.

Keep in mind that this is Shadowrun by way of Champions (hence the title of the post), not just Shadowrun using the Hero system. From what I can see, a literal, strict conversion is certainly possible, but I feel like you'd be losing a lot by doing so. Champions' handling of several core Shadowrun aspects brings an entirely new dimension to the game and some changes have to be made to maintain the Shadowrun flavor.

I am using Champions 4th-Ed. (BBB), Fantasy Hero (4th- and 5th- Ed.), Dark Champions, CyberHero, Ultimate Martial Artist, and Horror Hero as my system bases, along with Urban Fantasy Hero (5th-Ed.); both Fantasy Hero Companions; Justice, Not Law; An Eye for An Eye; Corporations; the 3rd-Ed. and 4th-Ed. Bestiaries; and The Spell Book for support material. I also have CyberSpace and several sourcebooks. And I'm converting from 1st-Ed. Shadowrun, Cybertechnology, Fields of Fire, Shadowtech, and the Seattle Sourcebook. I will also be referring to GURPS sourcebooks for additional support, especially Cyberpunk and Ultratech.

A strict conversion - literally converting Shadowrun into Hero system statistics - leaves out a lot of what I want in my "Shadowrun" game, such as an emphasis on kung-fu, ultramodern technology, Cybermancers (Hero's version of Technomancers), and more. All of this material was originally released in the early to mid-1990s and early 2000s, so it definitely had to be updated to include modern technology, etc. The Internet was basically just AOL and BBSes back then, and controlling technological equipment with nothing but the power of one's mind is now a thing IRL.

So, this is an interpretation of Shadowrun under Hero, blending a lot more fantasy, cyberpunk, and Near/Dark -Future ideas from a multitude of disparate gaming sources. And that's key: Blending these systems and concepts - not just jamming them together. Even discussing it looks like keyword stuffing (and formats terribly, so sorry), but those are the genres and sub-genres involved, and those are some of the sourcebooks I'm using for reference.

Anyway, this is a short example of what I have for a Shaman Totem Profile, so far. Keep in mind that this is a rough draft:

• Snake (-15)

  • 5 2d6 Aid EGO (Shaman Only -¹/₄; Detection, Illusion, Healing Spells Only -¹/₄)

  • 3 Survival (Urban or Wilderness)

  • No access to War-Magery College or Combat Spells.

  • -1 OCV (-3)

  • Nosy and Intrusive - VC, Strong (-20)

As for Shamans summoning Spirits, half of Almanac I is about Spirits and Horror Hero has almost 20 pages on it, and I haven't read any of it yet, so that's why there's no mention of it (yet). I also have to watch the costs of the professions so players can also afford racial packages - otherwise, all spellcasters will be human. Which is interesting, and most fantasy races have innate magical powers of their own, but not really in-line with Shadowrun. I haven't decided yet, and it will depend largely on the points costs involved.

One thing I did was make the Totem a literal Familiar, which isn't necessary and is far more Champions than Shadowrun, but I like that, this way, the character can actually take on the Aspects of his Totem without me having to tie the system in knots to make it work. PCs are Mind Linked to their Familiar and can sense through them (see through their eyes, etc.).  

I think it can work without doing it like this, and it does pull focus from the dark and gritty Shadowrun aspects, but I wanted to include more fantasy elements anyway, and this is certainly more High Fantasy than the rest of the game.

Here is an early adaptation of an Hermetic Mage's spell. I'm using Colleges with modified Limitations, and this example is from the College of Illusionists:

Illusionists: -1³/₄
Side Effects (-¹/₂), Requires Magic Skill Roll (-¹/₂), Gestures (-¹/₄), Incantations (-¹/₄), Must Have 10 points in College of Illusions (-¹/₄)

Detect Magic

• Side Effects (3d6 Flash) (-¹⁄₂)

Many spells have to be handled individually, so it's slow-going, but there are only a handful of Colleges in play, so it isn't a complete slog. Both Shamans and Hermetic Magi have Bases (Medicine Lodge and Occult Library). Even though it's Wild Heroic, I'm using Knockback and Bleed with Extended END. The campaign takes place outside of any major city, including Hudson City.

© The Weirding, 2025

HERO Shadowrun Design Notes 1

I start at the base - the underpinnings: The things you will definitely encounter, such as criminals, cops, gangsters, and so on. I follow through with things like codified Laser weapons and reflective armor, codified vibro-blades, and other sci-fi equipment that partially appears in the books. This is not only good to have for any Hero game, it provides a base from which to compare other weapons - especially since I'll be converting from GURPS Ultratech and the Shadowrun books, among others.

Once again, slightly different from what I was going for with Buffy, which exists in a nearer future and is closer to modern day than sci-fi. Laser weaponry is still the Department of the Intiative -type stuff in BtVS RPG.

Also slightly different is the reliance on cybernetics instead of magic, despite the fact that my Shadowrun HERO world is awash in low-level magickery and heavily populated by fantasy races, with hordes of ratlings and goblins popping-up in tent cities on the outskirts of large towns and cities around the world. Magic, in fact, is a known and accepted part of the world, where it definitely still turns heads in the Buffyverse - even Buffy's.

I finished writing-up my water-based military and will reuse the stats for other military branches (with a few skills changes). I designed a battleship, speedboats, and the troops and personnel attached to them! Next up is the economy, which is going to be based largely on CyberHERO and Dark Champions values, and is going to take a long time. Luckily, I use Market Day (software to track TTRPG economies), which will definitely help.

Actually, many of the equipment lists Hero provides has some price attached to most items, so hopefully it turns out to be more of a data entry job than a "start-at-the-beginning" problem. Either way, I have a start on it.

HERO is not as much a RPG in and of itself as it is a system for creating TTRPG, so it takes a massive amount of work to run a campaign. However, since I'm doing this solo (right now), I'm able to cut a lot of corners and don't have to worry about being as specific as I would in an actual, sit-down game. I'll be doing the lore last, even if that's not the best way to do it, only because that part is just typing on the computer; I'm doing all of this (except that part) in a 3-ring binder.

I decided on doing it this way so I can use index cards for battles, and so that I did not have to deal with tables. I can't bring you much here if I am using tables, and they make things messy in most vertical-scrolling documents (sadly, because I would use them all the time), so it wasn't nostalgia, it was ease-of-use. We'll just have to wait to see if it makes anything easier to use or find, but that was my thinking in "going retro."

Here's a vibro-blade:

10 Vibro-Blade—OAF, Ind. 10,000¥, BMM 0
2d6 HKA AP, +1 OCV

The vibrating blade hums gently in your fist. It is a comforting feeling. You understand it can really throw-off those who aren't used to it, so you're glad that you are. Even if your target is wearing Kevlar, when you see your opening, you take it.

© The Weirding, 2025

Champions Shadowrun Discussion

The world, so far, is too much like what I was going for in Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG, but this will not be the outcome; Buffy sticks more to vampires and demons vs. PCs, whereas this includes fantasy races, more fantastic magic, and different systems. It is far more fantasy-related than anything I was doing with Buffy (excepting the fantasy stuff in Pylea).

It also isn't really Shadowrun. This is cobbled together from (mainly) Dark Champions, CyberHERO, Urban Fantasy Hero, and Hero Horror. Due to circumstances and what is available in PDF these days, it also includes products from three editions (3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th). These products are still available on DTRPG, but I'll link to them throughout the upcoming posts, as Google claims I am working as a doorway to sites like DTRPG... which has everything to do with Google's attempt to stranglehold advertising and nothing to do with me. 

To be sure, this is a blog, not a doorway to anywhere nor anything else. However, part of covering these topics is including links to more information, and I'm sticking to that. Google AdSense changes its direction constantly and wreaks havoc on the Internet. I still want the money I'm owed, though - even if it was only $1.00.

But back to the topic at-hand: Because I can't include tables and charts, I won't be able to provide everything I'm coming up with for this Shadowrun under HERO project to you here, and I don't think I'll be able to secure whatever rights I need to be able to include it in a webzine like I'd planned, but I can definitely post some things like packages, important NPC statblocks, and the like.

And I'm not abandoning Buffy! I still have a ton of stuff I've yet to share, but a blog is not the appropriate place for sharing it due to publishing constraints. I may be able to rewrite and change some things around, but that takes more time than it's worth here; we don't get a lot of traffic, usually. However, I'll still be adding more to Buffy along the way, I'll just be focused on this particular project for the moment.

Anyway, that's what's happening. And posting this helped me clear my own thoughts while informing a largely non-existent audience of my intentions. Now go visit these other people and places for more RPG, comics, and pop-culture -related content in which you are likely to be interested.

© The Weirding, 2025

New Project: Shadowrun Under HERO System

Due to the copyright and trademark restrictions, I have no idea how much of this stuff I will be able to share here or publish elsewhere, but I've always liked the basic concept for Shadowrun, just not the system. I have always loved the HERO system, but it lacks lore and core concepts because it is a universal system. 

We were discussing this online when I decided to take the plunge and give it a go. There is already a serviceable Unisystem conversion online, and I have taken Buffy about as far as I can before getting it to a table or finding the right solo system for it, so it's time to move on to another project I have always wanted to try. The key here seems to be purchasing the right books, and there are more than a few.

I already have a substantial amount invested in Hero, and several books from the Shadowrun line, so I had a jumpstart on things. But adopting a new system or even project is not something I can afford to take lightly, and this is not going to be light on my wallet before it is done. Luckily, I can space-out my purchases over a few months and take the time to read what I buy.

My shadowrunning team consists of a cybertechnician, a cybermancer decker, a cybernetically-augmented dwarf with a magic axe, and a small team of occult-investigating mercs. Horror Hero has a superb scenario generator that lead me to create a villainous mad scientist intent on kidnapping one of the DNPCs (mercs), so I am all but off and running. I still have a lot of details to fill-in and will share what I come up with.

© The Weirding, 2025

R&D

One of the most important parts of any project is research. This is why I always include those "Please read this thoroughly before changing anything" messages at the front of all the RPG stuff: I spend hours - days, weeks, even months! - researching whatever project I put my efforts toward and I don't want some know-it-all dipshit coming along and changing things will-nilly because he thinks he can.

My take on those people remains the same as it was in highschool: if those guys know so damn much, why don't they know to take a shower at a con? Or wipe off the streaks of caked make-up after wearing it for three days straight? Or get their hair cut decently? Or dress nicer? Or get along with people in general? Yeah, that's my take on those people.

Anyway, I'm deep into researching new aspects of the Dark Conspiracy game and materials. In particular, I'm reading Shadowrun.

I never liked Shadowrun. The game was so obviously a gimme: FASA was cashing-in on D&D's timeless popularity and Cyberpunk's passing fad. However, the two times I played it, I had a really good time (even though the system, as I recall it, really sucks). You don't hear much about Shadowrun these days because it was so obviously cashing-in on that fad; I guess it went the way of the Dodo bird in short order, as fads are wont to do. Still, it covers certain aspects the Dark Conspiracy canon doesn't, but includes in the game, so I'm literally learning it to see what it brings to the other games I cover.

I'll have plenty to bring you tomorrow and the rest of the week. I'll just set aside several hours to do exactly that and schedule it all to run throughout the day. I'll also have a lot to discuss by way of Shadowrun and some other stuff as I read through it.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009