- SECTION 1: APPLICABILITY OF GUIDE AND LIST OF MISSIONS LEGALSOURCEBOOKS
- SECTION 2: ORGANIZED PLAY
- What is Shadowrun Missions?
- What is a living campaign?
- Where can I play Shadowrun Missions?
- What exactly are Missions?
- What is the difference between an SRM, CMP, and PM?
- What is an Open Play event?
- Someone said there’s a reward for wearing Shadowrun shirts to Missions games
- What are NERPS?
- Can I take my character from my home Missions game to a convention or Open Play event?
- What if I have no intention of playing at conventions or Open Play games?
- I’m gamemastering the adventure as a legal Missions adventure. How much leeway do I have to change things?
- Can I replay a Mission with a different character? With the same character? What if I GMed the adventure?
- Any special blanket rules players and gamemasters should be aware of?
- SECTION 3: GM PRIMER
- SECTION 4: SEATTLE 2081
- SECTION 5: CHARACTER CREATION
- SECTION 6: GENERAL SRM RULES
- SECTION 7: SHADOWRUN 6TH WORLD
- SECTION 8: MATRIX FAQ
- SECTION 9: ENHANCED FICTION/RULES LITE
- SECTION 10: FIRING SQUAD
- SECTION 11: STREET WYRD
- SECTION 12: SIXTH WORLD COMPANION
- SECTION 13: HACK AND SLASH
- SECTION 13: BODY SHOP
- APPENDIX A: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
- APPENDIX B: LEGAL SHADOWRUN MISSIONS
- APPENDIX C: CONTACTS
- APPENDIX D: SRM ERRATA
Shadowrun Missions Guide 1
Shadowrun Sixth World
Missions Guide V1.9
Credits
SRM Guide Committee: Aaron “Reverend0” Dykstra, Francis Jose, Matt “Raven2049” Lemmon, Mike
“CadreElite” Messmer, Hjal “SSDR” Nelson, Louis “Greywolf” Ray, Robert “Banshee” Volbrecht, Tom
“Hobbes” Bloom
Shadowrun Missions Logo – Brent Evans, Matt Heerdt, Jeff Laubenstein
Shadowrun Missions Coordinator – Aaron Dykstra
Shadowrun Line Developer – Jason Hardy
Special Thanks – To the previous caretakers of the Shadowrun Missions (SRM) line: Jackson “Jax” Brunsting,
Richard Osterhaut, John Dunn, Aaron Pavao, Stephen McQuillan, Steven “Bull” Ratkovich, and Ray “The
Teutonic Overlord” Rigel. Also to prior members of the Guide Committee: John “The Butcher” Appel, Nick
“DireRadiant” Van, Grace “Pegasa” Lyttle, and Tony “Tone-Loco” Gambino (Tony the Pony), Danny “Jayde
Moon” OliverShadowrun Missions Guide 2
SECTION 1: APPLICABILITY OF GUIDE AND LIST OF MISSIONS LEGAL
SOURCEBOOKS #
What is this Guide and what is it not?
This Guide is a supplement to the Shadowrun rules that facilitate organized play as it pertains to Shadowrun Missions. It contains clarifications and changes to the base ruleset to take into account the episodic nature of Shadowrun Missions, which is inherently different from home-brew campaigns. Rules and systems that work when a consistent group plays in a campaign with a consistent GM often do not function as intended in Shadowrun Missions.
Additionally, some rules and systems in Shadowrun are intentionally left vague or open, allowing the GM to determine what works best for their table and players at home. Shadowrun Missions requires many of these open- ended rules be codified into a consistent experience. The Guide team strives to maintain balance and account for the intentions of the writers and developers, many of whom the team can contact directly
What the Guide is NOT is official Shadowrun Errata.
While the Guide team’s insight and access can often create an excellent jumping off point for adjudicating contentious or unclear interpretations of the rules, they are not meant to be the end-all-be-all arbiter. There can also be times when the Guide team’s interpretation will differ from the official errata and may change once errata has been released. Conversely, errata may not fit with the needs of Shadowrun Missions and rules may be different.
Shadowrun Missions permits the use of the rules or equipment found in the following books with any exceptions to content as noted in this Guide:
- Shadowrun: Sixth World Core Rulebook (CAT28000)
- Shadowrun: Sixth World Core Rulebook Seattle Edition (CAT28000S)
- Shadowrun, Sixth World FAQ
- Adversary (CAT26062S)
- Krime Katalog (E-CAT27002S)
- No Future (CAT27453)
- Firing Squad (CAT28002)
- Street Wyrd (CAT28003)
- Double Clutch (CAT28004)
- Sixth World Companion (CAT28005)
- Hack and Slash (CAT28006)
- Body Shop (CAT28007)
- Emerald City (CAT28100)
- Astral Ways (CAT28101)
- Slip Streams (CAT28301)
- The Kechibi Code (CAT28302)
- Whisper Nets (CAT28404)
- Collapsing Now (CAT28450)
- Power Plays (CAT28451)
- Shadow Cast (CAT28510)
- Shoot Straight (CAT 28513)
- Lifestyles of the Shadowy & Famous (E-CAT28800S)
- Bestial Nature (E-CAT28801S)
- Age of Rust (E-CAT28840S)
- Lofwyr’s Legions (E-CAT28880S)
- Ingentis Athletes (E- CAT28881S)
The following are Shadowrun adventures not intended for Shadowrun Missions play:
- 30 Nights (CAT28400)Shadowrun Missions Guide 4
- Free Seattle (CAT28401)
- Assassins Night (CAT28402)
- The Third Parallel (CAT28403)
The following are Shadowrun books and products have no rules that apply to Missions, but are good for background information:
- Shadowrun Seattle Sprawl Box Set
- The Neo-Anarchist Streetpedia (CAT27454)
- Cutting Black (CAT28401)
- Shadow Cast (CAT28510)
Further resources can be found at the Shadowrun Sixth World website
Official Errata
SECTION 2: ORGANIZED PLAY #
What is Shadowrun Missions? #
Shadowrun Missions is the official living campaign for the Shadowrun Role Playing Game.
What is a living campaign? #
A living campaign is a way for you to create a character and participate in games run in many different locations with different Gamemasters (GMs). As long as the games fit the criteria for the living campaign, you can take the advancements earned by that character to any other game that fits the criteria
for the living campaign, regardless of location, event, or GM.
Where can I play Shadowrun Missions? #
Shadowrun Missions are run at many game conventions. Also, members of the Catalyst Demo Team (known as Agents) host open play events at many local game stores (FLGS) and game clubs. They may also be purchased in PDF format at the CGL online store (https://store.catalystgamelabs.com/) or at DriveThruRPG (https://www.drivethrurp.com/) and run at home. Some Shadowrun Missions adventures may also be available in print format from time to time.
Sometimes you don’t have an FLGS or convention nearby, so you find an online session works best for all parties. As long as the GM adheres to the rules found in this Guide and provides signed Debriefing Logs to the attendees, an online Mission counts the same as one run in person. Note: CDT Agents must meet certain requirements for an online session to count as an official Venue.
If you’re interested in finding out where Shadowrun Missions are being run, head over to the Shadowrun Missions Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/SRMissions/) or the Catalyst Demo Team Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/CatalystDemoTeam/) If you want to inquire about and encourage Demo Team Agents to run Shadowrun Missions at your convention or in your area, drop them a line and let them know!
What exactly are Missions? #
Shadowrun Missions are short adventures designed to be run in a single game session. Typically,
they can be run in less than four hours, so that they fit within the standard time block at gaming conventions.
However, Missions typically include additional information and material in the form of optional scenes and
material in the Pushing the Envelope sections that allow GMs to broaden and lengthen the game for those
times they are not under a tight schedule. For home game play where time is not a factor, most Missions can
be run as two- or three-session adventures.
What is the difference between an SRM, CMP, and PM? #
A Shadowrun Mission (SRM) is part of the living campaign, so each adventure ties into an overall
storyline with recurring NPCs and character success (or failure) can have an impact on the story.
A Convention Mission Pack (CMP) is a series of adventures loosely tied together which do not tie
directly (or even indirectly) into the primary storyline of the SRMs.
Information about Prime Missions (PM) can be found in Section 5 of this Guide.
What is an Open Play event? #
When a Catalyst Demo Team member runs an official event at your Friendly Local Gaming Store
(or other approved Venue), open to anyone who wants to drop in and play, we call it an Open Play event.
Someone said there’s a reward for wearing Shadowrun shirts to Missions games #
Yes! If you wear a Shadowrun or a Catalyst Game Labs shirt to any Catalyst Demo Team
convention or Open Play Shadowrun Missions event, you get a single point of NERPS!
What are NERPS? #
NERPS is an acronym for Non-Essential Role-Playing Supplement. We use the term in Shadowrun
to brand any items or services that you can expect to find, but do not warrant inclusion in the gear section
of the sourcebooks. Items such as toothpaste, transparent tape, carpentry tools or services such as a plumber,
food delivery service, or suburban landscapers. Basically, a fictional, all-purpose brand name for whateverShadowrun Missions Guide 6
random products you might require. They’re great for breakfast, can cure your cough, are good luck, can
remove stains, whiten teeth, improve your gas mileage, and are good for what ails you!
You can gain a point of NERPS for each Shadowrun themed object. The only caveat is for items
that belong as part of a set. Having the dice set doesn’t get you 6 NERPS and having a pair of socks doesn’t
get you 2 NERPS. You also get NERPS for having any physical Shadowrun rulebooks, supplements, or
game aids; and one for each type of promotional item you may have received at a Convention.
Promotional items can be made by Catalyst Game Labs, the Catalyst Demo Team, or even other
players so long as the item is very specifically Shadowrun themed (has the Shadowrun Logo, the Missions
Logo, or the fictional Logo or name of one of the Megacorporations, fictional Nations, or easily identified
groups in the Shadowrun World), and is a permanent and collectible (of very limited release) object. If the
identifying features can be easily removed or the item can be destroyed without tools and with minimal
effort, it does not count.
NERPS cannot be saved from one Missions game to the next. Use it or lose it! But it is possible to
earn new NERPS at subsequent Missions for the same thing. For example, if you play in three Missions
adventures at GenCon in a single day while wearing an awesome Shadowrun t-shirt, you’ll earn a NERPS
point at each of the Missions to which you wear that shirt.
What can I do with NERPS?
Besides just looking frosty, you can spend that NERPS to buy Edge to use in play. In Missions
games, each NERP (see So, exactly what counts as NERPS?) can be used to purchase Edge that doesn’t
count against your maximum gained for a turn. This Edge can be gained at any time and does not count
against the maximum Edge gained in a turn (though the max Edge you can have at any time is still capped).
Wearing or carrying multiple NERPS gains multiple points of Edge for a single Mission. You may only
spend one NERPS per dice roll. You may use as many NERPS as you have during a single Shadowrun
session. Once you use a point, that point will no longer be available until your next Shadowrun session. For
example, if you have a Shadowrun hat, t-shirt, and dice bag, that’s three NERPS points you may use for that
session.
Can I take my character from my home Missions game to a convention or Open Play event? #
Yes, but only if the character adheres to the Shadowrun Missions guidelines presented in this
Guide. The character can only have been played in legitimate Shadowrun Missions modules (SRMs, CMPs,
or PMs). You must be able to produce the Shadowrun Missions Character Journal upon request. The journal
should have a record of each module played and what rewards the character earned.
Gamemasters running Missions as a home game should adhere as closely as possible to the Mission
as written as they can (with certain allowances for players who go off-script, because they can and will!).
House rules are never to be used for these games, and gamemasters should be careful not to allow the
acquisition of crazy, game unbalancing gear.
Gamemasters at Conventions and Open Play have the right to perform a character audit at any point
and disallow any abilities that are not normally allowed in Missions (i.e. disallowed gear, spells, qualities,
etc.) or any gear that seems inappropriate for a Missions character to have obtained (e.g. military-scale gear
such as tanks and attack choppers or very expensive and/or high Availability equipment the player cannot
show just cause to possess).
These rules seem strict, but as Missions is largely on the honor system and does not maintain a
character database or require any sort of character registration, it’s the only way to maintain a semblance of
fair play for all Missions participants.
What if I have no intention of playing at conventions or Open Play games? #
In that case, go nuts. Treat Missions adventures as you would any other game session or Shadowrun
adventure. Have fun with it and the sky’s the limit. Just note that these characters are not eligible to play at
sanctioned Missions events, should you find yourself at one. In that case, though, you’re welcome to sit
down with a new character and have some fun slinging some dice and running in the shadows!
I’m gamemastering the adventure as a legal Missions adventure. How much leeway do I have to change things? #
You have a little wiggle room to add your own spin to the game, and of course to deal with whatever the runners come up with. More details are in the GM Primer.
What resources are available for Missions?
Missions are designed to be played with just the core rulebooks for Shadowrun: Sixth World.
Players should be familiar with any official SR6 errata and FAQs.
Shadowrun Missions Seasons 9-10 take place in Neo-Tokyo. They were originally written for
Shadowrun Fifth Edition but include conversion information to run as SR6 modules. The primary source of
information is Corporate Enclaves, however information from Shadows of Asia, Vice, and other
sourcebooks will provide greater depth on the happenings in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Shadowrun Missions 2081 takes place in the free city of Seattle. Additional information for Seattle
can be found in Emerald Shadows and Cutting Black.
Most resources are available as PDFs through the CGL online store
(https://store.catalystgamelabs.com) and on DriveThruRPG (https://www.drivethrustuff.com/). Shadowrun
Missions are debuted during the Summer convention season and are released for public purchase at a later
date.
Where can I go to get the latest news and updates about Shadowrun Missions?
Like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SRMissions) for up-to-date news, updates, and
sneak peeks of upcoming Missions releases. This is the primary place we post updates for the game.
Also join us on the official Shadowrun forums (http://forums.Shadowruntabletop.com) to discuss
Missions and rules with your fellow players as well as the writers and developers of the Shadowrun
roleplaying game. The Shadowrun Missions forum is also your go-to place for the latest news, rulings, and
Missions updates. NOTE: The SRM Guide is the only official source for rulings. Should the Shadowrun
Missions Developer make any “rulings” on the forums, they are considered temporary until reviewed and
incorporated into this document.
Can my Missions character die?
Yes. Yes, they can. Obviously, we want everyone to have a good time, but everything has a price—
when you run the shadows, sometimes that price is death. Gamemasters should not go out of their way to
kill characters, but if runners rush in unprepared or leap into a situation where they are obviously outgunned
and overpowered, then death is a very real possibility. It’s a tragedy when it happens, but you can’t become
a Street Legend if you don’t take a few risks.
Don’t forget, though a fireball, grenade, or automatic weapons fire may have taken you down, you
can still burn a point of Edge to keep your favorite character alive (though badly injured) (SR6 CRB, p. 48).
Can I replay a Mission with a different character? With the same character? What if I GMed the adventure? #
The answer to all of these is yes, yes you may. However, be advised that you and your character
should largely act in a passive support role. You already know the adventure and how it turns out, so try not
to act on your knowledge of how the adventure plays out. You don’t want to spoil the fun for other players,
do you? Ultimately this is on the honor system, so please re-play responsibly.
Also, while it’s possible to play the same Mission multiple times with the same character for
whatever reason, you only gain the Karma and nuyen from the adventure once, so only the first time you
play counts. Also, if you are replaying an adventure with the same character, any money you spend comes
out of your actual balance even though you do not earn any additional nuyen for the run. This prevents
replay players from using their “virtual share” to handle all contact bribes and buy gear for the other players,
knowing he doesn’t get to keep that money at the end of the run.
Do I have to play Missions in order?
To encourage drop-in play, Missions can be played in any order. Each Mission is a self-contained
module with a complete story and conclusion. However, we feel that Missions are best enjoyed when played
in sequence. There are milestones and events that occur in Missions that could lead to narrative paradoxes
if certain Missions played before or after certain other Missions. For example, playing SRM 2081-06 prior
to playing SRM 2081-01 would lead to a narrative paradox because of the presence of an NPC that is
unavailable during the latter of the missions. If that occurs, it’s best to sort of hand wave the paradoxesShadowrun Missions Guide 8
aside. More on that later.
Is there anything I’m required to bring to an official Shadowrun event?
If you plan on attending a Shadowrun event, there are some basic things you need to bring with
you. Your character sheet (either print out or digital (PDF) version). Pen/pencil/marker so you can take notes
or update your character sheet with damage, Karma, nuyen, etc. Paper/notebook on which to write your
notes. Bring your dice: Shadowrun uses six-sided dice (d6) exclusively. Any rules pertaining to your
character, especially those which are not common, e.g. printed or digital copies of anything (drugs, spells,
qualities, etc.) not in the SR6 sourcebook as some GMs may not be as familiar with them. You also need to
bring your character journal if you have already played some Missions with that character. Please note: if
you show up at a convention where the CDT is running events without any of the above, the CDT will
generally have pre-gens, pens/pencils, and dice available to use. Not every Agent carries around every single
paper book or has every single PDF…but they should have the SR6 rulebook!
Any special blanket rules players and gamemasters should be aware of? #
Yes, there are four:
Wheaton’s Law: Don’t Be A Dick. This means players and Gamemasters alike should remember
that everyone at the table is there to have fun. Characters might be utter bastards, but players should be
courteous and considerate of other players and not do anything that would ruin the fun of others at the table.
This means accepting that payments are divided evenly amongst the characters. This means not playing out
flaws, character quirks, or whatever else you think is “in character” if it will ruin the fun of other players or
make them uncomfortable. And it means no non-consensual PvP (player versus player) actions such as mind
controlling, attacking, or stealing from other players. One person’s fun is never more important than anyone
else’s.
Don’t Break the Game. Open-table play brings diverse groups to the game with varying levels of
experience with Shadowrun and knowledge of its mechanics. While it can be fun to manipulate the rules to
create optimized builds, this can sometimes create an imbalance in the scenario and negatively impact the
fun of your fellow players. We encourage you to create the character you want; bear in mind, however, that
GMs are empowered to adjust Missions to provide an appropriate challenge and tactics available to player
characters are potentially available to their opponents. There is a Shadowrun Missions 2081 GM Primer that
provides tips and advice for GMs in these situations.
In Player We Trust. From time to time Gamemasters may do a character audit and look over your
character sheet and journal, but at the end of the day they are rarely going to sit and do all the math and
inspect every item, every skill, and every contact. At the end of the day, we trust the player to be honest in
their record keeping and their math. Please be honest and don’t abuse our trust. We’re all here to have fun
and want to facilitate that for you.
In Gamemaster We Trust. Missions are written to be as broad as possible and to encompass as
much as possible while still telling a good, fun story. However, we never know what the players are going
to bring to the table, and anyone who’s sat behind the screen knows players rarely follow the roadmaps laid
out for them. Missions Gamemasters need to think on their feet, often have to improvise, and need to adjust
the power level and scale of the adventure to fit the characters and players. And that’s okay! We trust the
Gamemaster. Feel free to adapt as needed, so long as the core adventure and events remain intact. Add what
you need, remove what you need. Just try to keep the adventure rewards within the established guidelines
for the Mission, and don’t go giving out attack helicopters or let them have Lofwyr as a contact. Keep things
sane for the next gamemaster who deals with these players!
SECTION 3: GM PRIMER #
So, what is Shadowrun? #
Shadowrun is a role-playing game set in an alternative future where large
corporations rule, technology can make you much stronger, and magic has reawoken into the world. Players
take on the role of a deniable asset doing jobs the corporations don’t want to get caught doing. Shadowrun
Missions is a great way to introduce new players to the game and universe. It’s a great way for a table to form
of both veterans of the game as well as a fresh face. This guide is here to help out Gamemasters as well as
supplement the SRM Guide.
Shadowrun Missions (SRM), Convention Mission Packs (CMP), Prime Missions (PM), and
Shadowrun Missions Holiday (SMH) are part of the Shadowrun living universe. These missions are intended
for use with Shadowrun Sixth World and all character and rules information refers to the sixth edition of the
Shadowrun rules.
Build-a-runner
Runners who participate in the Build-A-Runner workshop at conventions or at friendly local game
stores will gain 1 Karma and 1,000 nuyen at the end of the session. They can only gain this reward once per
character.
First Taste
Runners can participate in a First Taste adventure. These are introductions to the world of Shadowrun
and should give the players a taste of what their character archetypes can do and let them roll some dice. These
are geared to run in two hours. One option is to run Food Fight or the adventure in the Beginners Box. Another
option is to create an adventure on the fly, but make sure that you are tailoring the adventure to what is at your
table. If you have a rigger, allowing them to use their drones will help them experience what they need to when
they get into the longer living campaign. These adventures grant the characters at most 3 Karma and 3,000
nuyen on adventure completion.
Preparing the Adventure
Adventure Structure
Each mission in the SRM or CMP series represents an adventure that consists of several scenes
intended to be completed in approximately four hours. If you are running short on time, you should streamline
each scene and be more generous with clues, target numbers, and other requirements to aid in guiding the players
through the adventure. Each scene in the adventure outlines the most likely sequence of events, as well as how
to handle unexpected twists and turns that inevitably crop up. Each one contains the following subsections,
providing gamemasters with the information necessary to run it.
Scan This provides a quick synopsis of the scene’s action, allowing you to get a feel for the encounter
at a glance.
Tell It to Them Straight is written to be read aloud to the players, describing what their characters
experience upon entering the scene. You should feel free to modify the narrative as much as desired to suit the
group and the situation, since the characters may arrive at the scene by different means or under different
circumstances than the text assumes.
Behind the Scenes covers the bulk of the scene, describing what’s happening, what the non-player
characters are doing, how they will react to the player characters’ actions and so forth. It also covers the setting
of the encounter, going over environmental conditions and other properties of the location as well as providing
any descriptions of important items.
Pushing the Envelope looks at ways to make the encounter more challenging for experienced or
powerful characters and other ways you can add some “extra spice” to the scene. This subsection will offer
ways to add challenge to the scene or to extend the scene with additional backstory. At most conventions and
Open Play events, you will likely omit this information due to time constraints. It adds to the scene but does not
contain important information.
Debugging offers solutions to potential problems that may crop up during the encounter. While it’s
impossible to foresee everything that a group of player characters might do, this section tries to anticipate
common problems and offer suggestions for dealing with them.
Read and Annotate the AdventureShadowrun Missions Guide 10
Carefully read the adventure from beginning to end. Get a feel for the overall plot and what happens
in each scene. That way, if something different happens, you won’t be caught off guard and you can adapt things
smoothly. While reading, take notes for yourself that you can refer to later on. Possible things to note include:
major plot points (so you can see them all at a glance), the names of various non-player characters, possible
problems you notice, situations where you think a particular character can shine, places where allergies or
qualities can come into play, and other things you’ll want to keep in mind while running the adventure.
Shadowrun Missions adventures use the rules presented in Shadowrun Sixth World (6WE). Standard
rules such as success tests, glitches, critical successes, and other common mechanics are described in 6WE and
are not repeated in this adventure. It is useful to take note of specific rules and keep notes to help when you run
the adventure.
Please keep in mind when preparing for the adventure, the PCs will not necessarily be a balanced party.
It’s entirely possible that the party will be made up entirely of technomancers or back-to-nature shamans. If the
characters run into a brick wall because of such complications, show flexibility and use your best judgment in
how you lead them back to the plot.
How much can I change for a legal Missions adventurer?
You have a little wiggle room to add your own spin to the game, and of course to deal with whatever
the runners come up with. You should absolutely change the mission to incorporate the characters’ negative
qualities. However, a few things you should never change:
Major NPCs: Never change the names or personalities of major NPCs. These characters can and do
come up in other adventures, so you don’t want to cause confusion for the players, since not every GM knows
you renamed Brynne Taggart to The Scot.
Major Plot Details: Again, these may come up in future Missions, so changing major storyline details
could drastically alter the plot and make things confusing for players in the future.
Nuyen Awards: A few gamemasters and players think Missions awards too much nuyen. Many think
it doesn’t award enough. Regardless, the run rewards are designed with both the campaign balance in general
and the suggested SR6 awards in mind, so please don’t give out more nuyen (or take nuyen away). It’s not fair
to players who are playing under other gamemasters. For more information on limits to looting, see Looting the
Dead and Dying.
Karma Awards: Same as nuyen awards. It’s not fair to other players if you give out more Karma, and
not fair to your players if you give out less than the Mission outlines. The missions will outline if the runners
do not complete all the objectives and how this impacts mission rewards.
Painting the World
Not every published adventure will have complete descriptions of the scenes or world. The players at
the table may ask for specifics concerning what they see when they look at that run down warehouse at the end
of Glow City in the Redmond Barrens. Having an idea of what the scene looks like in Astral and Augmented
Reality will allow you to paint out the options that they have to solve the mission and more clearly picture of
what Shadowrun is.
Meat Space. The Sixth World presents a wide range of life from the highest-profile, high-tech
corporate chic shopping centers to a rundown warehouse district that is closer to a war zone than part of a city.
When setting up the scene, what buildings are nearby? Are there skyrakers or half-collapsed tenement buildings?
What types of people are around? Are there gangers and homeless around a 55-gallon drum? Are there hundreds
of wageslaves trying to get to their job so they aren’t fired? Is the sky filled with drones? What types of drones?
For example, there are a variety of setups that you could see in terms of drone coverage. If you are in
a corporate chic area, you are likely to see security drones patrolling the area as well as news drones, personal
drones, and delivery drones. If you are out in the barrens, you will likely see some older model drones that have
some basic news coverage run by local bloggers. Maybe a gang will use them to patrol their turf, but overall,
you will see a lot less drones. The number of drones is going to be tied to the security zone rating. When looking
at where you are at, are they in something that is no security, low security, or high security. For information on
security zone ratings, see p. 238-240, 6WE.
If you are describing a building, what type of security would the building have? Most commercial
facilities want customers to come into the store or restaurant during operating hours, so their most common set
of security will be standard door locks and a basic sensor suite in the door frames. Overnight, they would likely
have pressure pads enabled near the entrances. Maglock setups for retail will likely be around Rating 2 for lowShadowrun Missions Guide 11
range and Rating 4 for higher lifestyle retail. A standard security suite would include MAD scanners, motion
sensors, olfactory scanners and security cameras. Corporate facilities would have multiple checkpoints based
on the security of different areas as well as higher rating locks. For additional information on the different
sensors, see p. 240-243, 6WE. The facility is also likely to have both metahuman guards as well as drone
security.
Astral. Astral space is often described as a muted reflection of the real world. Living entities and magic
items glow while not casting light. Dead things, such as walls, books, and technology, appear gray and lack
detail. You cannot see through the windows or see your reflection. You cannot read the words on a page. The
auras of sentient creatures will crackle and spark with different imagery that a magical person can learn to read
with the Astral (Astral Signature) skill. The area itself will be charged with energy which can range from dark
and menacing, to bright and hopeful. The feel of the local energy will be a reflection of the mood of the people
that live there and can be tainted by pollution and corruption.
Astral security is similar to the security zone rating. Higher security areas will warrant anything as
simple as watchers or could warrant spirits or astrally projecting mages. Watchers aren’t super bright but can
be created to last a longer duration. If the area is more sensitive, you are likely to see mages helping out in the
patrol. The patrols will often be a mage and two to three spirits. Some areas will warrant no patrols or astral
overwatch.
Another form of protection that some areas will use mana barriers and wards. Small areas will be
protected with mana barriers while larger areas or longer-term setups will use wards. These forms of protection
are useful in making the Search power for spirits less effective and mages may create nesting layers of wards to
protect important items and people. Most retail spaces or areas that see traffic from lots of different mages are
less likely to use wards and barriers for protection.
Matrix and Augmented Reality. The Matrix and Augmented Reality are bright and vibrant beacons
which make meat space appear drab and boring. Gigantic hosts loom in the neon sky. Icons and AROs litter the
world and only the quality of your ‘link keeps it from becoming overwhelming and just noise. The equipment
of daily life all sparkles with their icons from toaster, lights, and thermostats, to doors and security systems.
When looking at the scene, what will a Matrix Perception turn up? Is everything painted in well-designed ARO
or gang tag AROs? Do you see the icons of devices needed for luxury living or do you see a few sparse icons
of older model ovens and refrigerators? Is the sculpting of a host out-of-the-box generic, or have the owners
paid to make it look like an idealized renaissance village?
There are going to be various sized hosts located around the matrix. These hosts will rarely be set up
as lone hosts but will be part of a network of hosts and the decker will likely only see the public hosts. Companies
will have different hosts for the various departments. Franchises will have a local host that connects into the
main corporate hosts. The public hosts will most likely be anywhere from Rating 2 to Rating 6 with its primary
attribute as Data Processing to handle the load of traffic. Hidden behind this is going to be the more serious
hosts such as building security or research and development. These hosts will range from Rating 4 to Rating 10
depending on the value of things it is protecting. Running on the host network is going to be two to five security
spiders but not all hosts in the network will have a spider active. AA corporations and AAA corporations will
have +2 and +4 Rating respectively for their host network.
Sample Host Ratings
Examples Host Rating
Personal sites, pirate archives, public education 1–2
Low-end commercial, private business, public libraries, small policlubs 3–4
Social media, small colleges and universities, local police, international policlubs 5–6
Matrix games, local corporate hosts, large universities, low-level government 7–8
Affluent groups, regional corporate hosts, major government, secure sites 9–10
Megacorporate headquarters, military command, clandestine head office 11–12
Inspecting the Player Characters
Prior to the start of the adventure, examine the PCs’ Character Sheet and Character Journal. You should
be looking with a couple of viewpoints that will help the adventure run smoother. First, you want to inspect to
verify the character is SRM legal and complies with the most recent Guide. Second, you want to see what
qualities will come up during gameplay such as allergies or bad memories. Third, you want to determine the
mix of archetype roles at the table in order to adjust the adventure to provide an appropriate challenge to theShadowrun Missions Guide 12
players. Finally, go over the characters and keep their previous events listed on the Character Journal in mind
when determining previous NPC actions in various scenes if such a dynamic has been included.
Examining the Character Sheet
- Take a look at those qualities. Max six qualities total, not including those gained free from
race at character creation, however, more can be bought or earned later. If a player buys a
racial quality to a higher level, it counts against the limit of six. Do any of the qualities have
a chance of coming into play for the mission like Allergy, Phobia, or other similar traits. If
they do, take a look at the Guide or Qualities section of Primer for more information on how
to handle them. Another gotcha can be the dreaded SINner, depending on how the player role
plays this quality, it could require additional GM work to keep the mission moving. - Take a look over their attributes. If it is a new character, they can have only one metaracial
attribute at max. This does not include Edge, Essence, Magic, or Resonance. If they have
more than one, check to see if they have run enough missions that they could have bought up
the additional point. - Take a look at their skills. Just like attributes, only one of them can be at 6 (or 7 if the character
has the positive quality Aptitude) at the end of character creation. If they have more than one
at max just check to see if they have run enough missions to have reached that point. Get a
sense of what their dice pools are going to be to understand if you will need to make
adjustments to the mission. - Take a look at their gear. Is the availability rating of any of their gear out of whack? Do they
have medium milspec or a bonded high force focus out of the gate? Remember to keep and
eye on the availability rules for character creation as well as post-character creation. High
availability items are out of the reach of players at character creation, and still difficult to get
post-character creation. Also checking for explosives is useful for knowing if security
checkpoint chemsniffers in the mission will be applicable. - Do the runners have any quickened spells or other permanent enhancements? Note these as
they could impact any astral security or scans. This could come into play due to wards and
barriers or magical security may ask them to drop the spell or leave the premises. - Take a look at their contacts. For Missions, a contact’s Connection and Loyalty are capped
at 6 for character creation. After character creation, check the available SRM and CMP
contacts which could be one source of higher end contacts. Improving their Connection after
character creation will take a minimum of seven SRM missions. - Is there a team PAN or PAN(s)? It is helpful to get this discussion going to help them out and
to help you figure out how you are going to hack their devices.
Qualities
Many of the negative qualities are tough to deal with in a living campaign like Shadowrun Missions.
These qualities require stories that affect the whole table and can negatively impact time slots at a convention.
And while everyone loves free Karma at character creation, that isn’t the intent. When players have negative
qualities, they will need to overcome the ramifications during runs. This section offers up some ways to handle
these in regard to Shadowrun Missions.
Some players will be actively looking for ways that their negative quality can come into play. Other
players will go out of their way to avoid these elements. You will need to look for opportunities to insert those
negative qualities into the mission to impede the group such that the quality has a meaningful impact on the
mission and aren’t something that a person just puts a respirator on to resolve. If Mr. Johnson wants to meet the
runners at a seafood restaurant, and one of the runners has an allergy to seafood, Mr. Johnson will gain a point
of edge if the runner doesn’t take part in eating. If a runner is afraid of heights and they need to retrieve a case,
it might be over a deep pit with no handrails. If they let the allergy or other negative quality stop them from
helping the team or accomplishing parts of the mission, reduce their Reputation as a result.
Gamemasters are encouraged to change the challenges that runners need to overcome because of these
negative qualities. Players are encouraged to look for opportunities to bring those negative qualities into play.
Allergy, Bad Memories, Flashback, and Phobia. Some negative qualities don’t impact a runner on
every mission. Some of the qualities specify how common it is, such as an allergen is uncommon, or the item
of the phobia is rare. The simplest way to handle whether one of these limited time negative qualities is to useShadowrun Missions Guide 13
the roll of the dice, when it isn’t already part of the mission. Roll 2d6 and if the sum of the value is less than or
equal to the Karma gained by its commonality, then it will take place during this mission.
For example, if the player took a “common” allergy to Plutonium, and the GM rolls a 9 on their 2d6,
then you are going to encounter plutonium exposure during part of the mission. In this case a common allergy
at its base is going to gain the player 11 Karma, so any roll of 11 or lower would trigger the appearance in the
mission. More outlandish combinations of materials and allergy commonalities could cause more horrific timing
of the allergy’s appearance. All the Karma driven thresholds are based on a mild reaction (11 is common, 8 for
seasons, 5 for uncommon, and 2 for rare).
Taking the Bad Memories negative quality nets the player 3 Karma for their character build, so if the
trigger isn’t already part of the mission, roll 2d6 and if you get a 3 or less, then that memory will play a part in
the mission. A very rare Phobia will occur at the same rate as Bad Memories if the object of fear isn’t already
in the mission because the player was able to gain 3 Karma as part of character creation.
So, what if the Phobia, Bad Memory, or other element is outlandish? The first thing to do would be to
help the player try to find one that is more appropriate to the location and matches their commonality. This can
be really tricky because there may be core concepts that match their story and have likely spent that Karma
already. You can send them back to the drawing board if it is a clear “this is broken”. There are other named
triggers that are not as clear. Is wheat a common allergen? Or is it uncommon because everything is soy? In
these cases, default back to the player when in doubt.
AR Vertigo. Basically, AR is the default for everyone who’s not in VR. Opting to drop “down” from
AR doesn’t have much of a mechanical impact by the rules, but it is a roleplaying issue. If you have to physically
pull out your commlink and swipe on the display screen to do things like make commcalls, accept payment
from Mr J, and so on, it can have implications on social tests, as well as any kind of technical task where speed
is relevant. If a runner is dealing with a highly technical Mr. Johnson and they opt to use their commlink like
their grandparents did, Mr. Johnson gains a point of Edge. During combat, runners wouldn’t be able to take
advantage of what others have seen and marked in AR unless they take the penalties of the quality.
Astral Beacon. Mages can have it. Mundanes can have it. This definitely will have an impact on the
runs for any of the astral security. It makes it easier for them to track and follow the runner team. Fun time! For
the exact list of game effects, see p. 75, 6WE.
For the purpose of teams wanting to sneak or hide, the character will always need to roll Stealth twice.
For the physical space, they can roll trained if they are trained in it. But they will always roll Stealth untrained
for astral sneaking. For example, Hardwire the decker has Astral Beacon and is trying to sneak into the corp
facility. They have 4 ranks in Stealth and 4 in Agility. They will need to roll both trained (8 dice) and untrained
(3 dice) to keep hidden.
Compulsion. For the levels of Compulsion, follow the guidance of the SRM Guide, where the player
needs to indulge in their Compulsion at a frequency as denoted by level (SRM Guide, How often will the
Compulsion quality affect me if I take the Compulsion quality?) and is determined by the GM who rolls a 2d6
and if the result is less than or equal to the Karma gained, they must use the required time spent or deal with the
withdrawal penalties. Remember that compulsions are not habits or rituals, but uncontrolled.
Beware of Level 6 Compulsion. It means the runner must be doing that activity all the time which
would essentially be an unplayable character. Even at Level 5, they need to spend two-thirds of their day
indulging in their compulsive behavior. Indulging in the compulsion is intended to negatively impact the
character. They may need to re-sort items in a shop. They must spend the time doing that or else they take the
negatives. If the runner is a compulsive nose picker and is in a social situation, this could grant Edge to others.
Spirit/Sprite Bane. For Spirit or Sprite Bane, replace any spirits or sprites in the mission to match the
character’s bane. If this mission does not contain spirits or sprites, add them in at inconvenient times. If the team
is in a firefight, a random spirit of air (Force 4 or highest Magic on the team -2) joins the fray or grants their
opponents Concealment. If they are sneaking, it might Influence the guards to check where the team is or it
could cause an Accident. A random sprite could make an easy data steal into an absolute nightmare as the
datafile is Camouflaged or Hashed, or the decker could become the target of an Electron Storm. A runner
targeted by an angry sprite while they are in a firefight will find their equipment hacked or their opponent’s
equipment boosted.
New qualities will be added in future books, but using the Karma bonus of the quality as the threshold
of a 2d6 test will get balance play.
Specialties and ExpertisesShadowrun Missions Guide 14
Specialties and expertises are highly specialized skills that allow runners a deeper dice pool, but for
limited activities. Some of the listed specialties in the core rule book are subject to wide variations in
interpretation in Shadowrun Missions play between different gamemasters. For example, using Electronics
(Computers) would apply to which tests? Any test using a computer? Here are the interpretations as defined for
Shadowrun Missions in the interest of minimizing table variation.
Biotech (Biotechnology): This specialization applies to tests for analyzing, healing, and
installing bioware. This is not applicable on first aid tests and medicine tests for patients that
specifically have bioware but must be applied to action directly applied to that bioware.
Biotech (Cybertechnology): This specialization applies to tests for analyzing, installing, and
repairing cyberware. This is not applicable on first aid tests and medicine tests for patients
that specifically have cyberware but must be applied to action directly applied to that
cyberware.
Biotech (First Aid): This does not apply to the medkit test.
Biotech (Medicine): This applies to the medkit test.
Illegal Characters
Character creation can be tricky and often the player doesn’t have a secondary character to play with.
They have just come from a convention table to “build-a-runner” as well. The goal is that they have fun and
telling them to get a pre-gen sucks. First thing to try is to see if there are some simple ways to bring them to
legality. If it means moving one of the attribute points so that you don’t have two at max, that is an easy change.
If it is more fundamental, or something that is more difficult to fix, then a pre-gen is an ok backup plan. The
goal is to help the player have fun.
Running the Adventure
Gamemastering is more of an art than a science, and every gamemaster does things a bit differently.
Use your own style when it comes to preparing and running the adventure and do whatever you feel is best to
provide the best Shadowrun game you can for your players. Shadowrun Missions adventures are designed to
run in a standard four-hour convention time slot.
Please keep this in mind when running the adventure. You should leave at least 15–20 minutes at the
end of the time slot to complete any necessary paperwork and pass out the players’ Character Journals if they
don’t already have one. (Make sure that you have enough copies of the Character Journal to give one copy to
each player after running the adventure.) This section offers some guidelines you may find useful in preparing
to run any Shadowrun Missions adventure.
Don’t Panic!
Gamemastering involves juggling a lot of different things. Sometimes you drop the ball and forget
something, or you just make a mistake. It happens, don’t worry about it. Nobody is perfect all of the time and
everybody makes mistakes. Just pick up from there and move on. Your players will understand and forget about
it once you get back into the action.
Sometimes the players are having fun or you have a table of new players, and now you are running
short on time to finish the mission. If time is getting tight, you can move the combat to be more cinematic. One
way is to run a single pass of combat and then narrate based on the first turn what happens through the rest of
combat. Another way is to ask each player how they approach the combat and narrate the results. The key is at
a convention, that ending games on time is vitally important.
Adjusting the Difficulty
Gamemasters should challenge the players but should not generally overwhelm them. This is not to
say that games cannot be deadly. If the characters die through their own actions and repercussions of those
actions, then so be it. But the idea is to challenge the players and their characters, allowing them to overcome
these challenges and make the characters interesting. If the enemies and challenges are too light for the
characters present, then increase them. On the other hand, if the characters are badly outmatched by the enemies,
then tone them down. Also be aware that the table can select a Difficulty level which is outlined Upping the
Difficulty of Missions.
Before doing adjustments, there are three variables that you will need to use to help set the right level
of challenge. First, know how much time you have available. Second, you want to know the power level of theShadowrun Missions Guide 15
participants at the table. Finally, you want to understand the purpose of the scene as to whether it is meant to
provide a challenge or if it is meant to convey information. Once you know these things, you can start looking
at the right way to adjust the scene.
The amount of time you have at your disposal is going to be one of the primary drivers of adjustments.
Any increase in dice pool or increase in the number of NPC is going to also increase the amount of time it is
going to take to get through the scene and the mission. If you have the time to adjust the challenge, look at the
purpose of the scene which is often found in the “Scan This” section of the scene. If the scene is not meant to
challenge, then your mostly likely adjustment will be to make it easier. Otherwise, look to match the challenge
to the maximum dice pools at the table.
You can adjust the difficulty by either adjusting dice pools, or by changing the number and type of
NPC in the scene. Adjusting the dice pools and Professional Ratings of the enemy combatants or social
characters in the scene is quick and easy. Start with the average dice pool and add +2/+4/+6 or -2/-4/-6 to all
relevant tests to give enemies adjustment in power. Adding or removing a couple of the grunts can be an easy
adjustment but keeping in mind the different character archetypes is important. If the players have no magical
support, replace magical combatants with mundane ones. If the team has a decker or technomancer, adding in
a matrix NPC to challenge them can add to their fun. Missions should present a satisfying level of challenge but
should not be insurmountable. Another simple method for Adding to their Professional Rating will give them a
larger group Edge pool to draw from, and gamemasters are encouraged to use this Edge when logical.
The most difficult table to adjust for are ones with a wide variety of capabilities or Karma levels. A
highly specialized, high Karma character in a low Karma party runs the risk of either killing the party or leaving
the specialist bored. These specialized characters include the dancing troll bullet sponge, or the world’s best
face. Amping up the difficulty to challenge them will absolutely destroy the character that is brand new and
built to be a jack of all trades. While you can increase the power of all the NPC, often you may want to just
increase the capabilities of two or three of the enemy combatants where they are focusing on the largest threat.
Similarly, if a mission is primarily mages, don’t be afraid to swap out some of the gangers for more magical
threats so the players can showcase their capabilities. And as for the specialist face, just because you twentyseven hits on your attempt at seduction, the happily married woman isn’t necessarily going to hand over her
bank account and her spouse’s commlink.
Non-Player Characters
Non-player characters (NPCs) are essential to any adventure. They are the allies, antagonists, and
background characters in the adventure that interact with the player characters. NPCs in this adventure have
already been created and can be found throughout the adventure.
Minor NPCs are found in the individual scene that they appear in, and generally have a brief write up,
noting only their important skills and the gear they are carrying. NPC could be found in Wild Life (p. 203, 6WE)
or in the Bestiary NPC deck.
Major NPCs can be found in the Cast of Shadows at the end of the adventure, and have a more detailed
write ups, and include most of the skills and the gear they have access to.
The NPCs in this adventure should generally stand up to the average player character but may need
some adjustment to suit a particular group of characters, especially a more experienced and powerful group.
The scenes and NPC descriptions offer tips on adjusting the NPCs to suit the abilities of the characters in your
group. To adjust the power level of an NPC, refer to Wild Life (p. 203, 6WE). Take the player characters’
abilities into consideration when assessing the NPCs in this adventure and modify them accordingly.
Gamemasters should feel free to modify gear and stats in order to tune the NPCs to the team.
An average metahuman on the street whether they are a street punk, or a wage slave has Attributes at
rating 2. They will have some skills that are appropriate to their profession with a skill rating of 2 to 4. Using
this, make adjustments for metatype using the Metahuman Adjustment Chart (p. 211, 6WE). For low-ranking
scientists, guards, and gang lieutenants, most of their Attributes will be rating 2, with a couple at rating 3. Their
skills will range between a rating of 2 and 4 depending on the needs of the job. This sets up the pattern where
average folks will have about 4 dice, lieutenants will have 4 to 6 dice, trained individuals will have 6 to 8 dice,
and leaders and specialists will have dice pools ranging from 8 to 12 dice.
Handing out Edge
One of the major aspects of Shadowrun Sixth World Edition is a more complex Edge economy. Edge
actions are expensive but that is based on the expectation that the runners are able to gain more by settingShadowrun Missions Guide 16
themselves up for success. This means that you will need to look out for your players and make sure they have
opportunities to generate more Edge. Missions which include higher-powered NPC combatants, make it
unlikely for the runners to gain Edge from combat encounters and more likely to use Edge. One potential way
for them to gain more Edge would be if they do smart planning prior to combat or social encounters. If they
have organized the situation in their favor, grant them each a point of Edge. Another place where you can grant
Edge is if they have a knowledge skill that matches the current situation. So, if the crew is breaking into a
corporate facility and someone has the corporate security knowledge skill, grant them a point of Edge. The main
punchline is that runners will need your help in finding ways to gain Edge which helps the game feel more
dynamic.
Rolling Dice
Rolling dice is a very personal choice for a lot of gamemasters. The ability to fudge rolls when the dice
continue to work for or against the runners can lead to more dynamic of a story than one that they steamroll or
get crushed by. In Shadowrun Sixth World Edition, players have the ability to spend Edge on your rolls to gain
an advantage. Because of this, it’s recommended to roll your dice in the open. If you wish to hide your rolls,
you need to make the players aware of situations where their Edge actions could come into play.
What about buying hits during the run? The classic example is where the spell slinger or summoner
uses a spell or spirit where they make sure that they can just “buy hits” to handle the drain. This saves time, but
it also breaks the fickle nature of the dice gods. Manage this at the table with your comfort but some GMs have
handled this by only allowing bought hits if they can beat the threshold by two or encouraging for any dice pool
greater than 18 (roll the first 18 dice and buy hits on the rest).
Glitches and Critical Glitches
The fickleness of the dice can land the runners in hot water and the players will want to spend their
resources to not deal with the ramifications. In Sixth World Edition, two of the Edge Boosts refer to whether
you can use them for dealing with glitches. The 4-Edge Boost to reroll failed dice is specifically not allowed.
The other is the 2-Edge Boost to add 1 to a single die which can be used to avoid a Glitch. For the purposes of
SRM, reroll dice Edge Actions cannot be used to remove a Glitch. However, a player could use the 3-Edge
Boost to buy a hit to move a Critical Glitch to a Glitch. A player could also use the 4-Edge Boost to add their
Edge to the dice pool to potentially remove the Glitch or Critical Glitch.
The Glitch Suggestions (6WE, p. 233) includes suggestions for critical glitches of limbs, hands, and
eyes being lost or destroyed. For SRM, due to the limited ability to create storylines for a runner to deal with
the loss of body parts, instead inflict statuses (6WE, p. 51-53). For example, on a Ranged (Critical) Glitch, the
gun explodes which results in the runner losing the function of their main hand for the duration of the run or
until they spend time to deal with the issue. They will take damage that is appropriate to the type of gun or
ammo being used and for the remainder of combat will need to rely on their offhand to shoot. In addition, you
could inflict the Dazed or Nauseated status. The basics of the Critical Glitch is there is significant impact to the
runner that is not fixed with a single action. Damage? Loss of equipment? Status conditions? Yup! Now if the
player wants to roleplay that this resulted in the loss of limb, they can still do so and go on to buy the replacement
between missions.
Wrong Character for the Run
Sometimes the run is not something that a character would do. You brought your uber black trenchcoat
character that won’t hurt children, but the mission requires you to go kill the kid of a corp executive. The player
isn’t really going to find out until the meet with Mr. Johnson. The player may be able to easily handle this with
a “well my character happens to know a perfect replacement for me on this run.” The only caveat to this is if
that character participated in the negotiation with Mr. Johnson. This would result in those successful hits helping
Mr. Johnson in his negotiation as opposed to it helping the rest of the team. But the goal is for the players to
have fun, so swapping out the character makes sense.
Managing the Spotlight
Making sure that each player and their character get time to shine is a core job of game mastering. The
players have carefully crafted their character. This will sometimes come with a quality and other times it will
come with just role play. One of the tools to help manage how much time a given character gets is using the
archetypes. If someone is playing a rigger, make sure there is a chance for them to be able to shine there byShadowrun Missions Guide 17
either using drones to get into the building or showing off their wiz driving skills. If the mission is one where
combat is frowned upon, look for opportunities where the violence prone runner can work out that aggression.
Decking, astral, and meat space all at the same time? Each of these activities is a deliberate splitting of
the party and the attention of the table. If you are spending fifteen minutes with one or two of the players, it is
a good idea to pause on their actions and check in with the other parts of the group and keep their story moving.
Bouncing back and forth also lets the player think about what action is next without advancing the in-game
timer where they need to hide from IC or deal with astral security.
The other attention stealing comes from characters that dominate outside of their normal sphere. This
could be the Adept that has some sort of pacifist power. This could be the face character who uses commanding
voice or other forms of persuasion to avoid combat. Keep a pulse on the table and if this isn’t fun for the whole
table, look for ways to limit the impact. Perhaps the command only affects a small set of gangers. Perhaps the
face takes a suggestion and lets the violent characters shine.
Negotiation
In Shadowrun Sixth World Edition, negotiation is an Influence + Charisma versus the opponents Will
- Charisma Opposed test. Running this way would lead to an interesting “social combat” where each side
attempts to wear down the other side with different counter offers. This could be executed as two separate tests
or could be an extended test as the two parties attempt to negotiate the best possible deal using compelling
arguments setting up a fun social combat between the parties. In order to speed up play, this will be done via an
Influence + Charisma versus Influence + Charisma Opposed test.
Negotiation can also be done using Logic instead of using Charisma as the base attribute. For simplicity
in Missions, the test will use the standard pool for both parties in the negotiation. So, if Mr. Johnson uses
Charisma, and the runner uses Logic, then it is Influence + Logic vs. Influence + Charisma test in play.
Sneaking and Astral
Often shadowrunners are infiltrating a gang territory or corporate facility. These locations may have
mages, watchers, or other spirits who are patrolling and attempting to find people that shouldn’t be there. A
mage or spirit attempting to detect a sneaking opponent makes a Perception + Intuition test versus the
shadowrunner’s Stealth + Agility to perceive them from astral space or in meat space. If the environment in
either astral or meat space is not conducive to hiding because of a lack of other living creatures or a lack of
things to blend in with, the guard or spirit gains a point of Edge that must be used in the opposed test. For
information on how Astral Beacon affects stealth, see the section on negative qualities earlier in the primer.
Drone, Spirit, and Sprite Commands
These three types of NPC are controllable by players indirectly by issuing commands. Rule number
one is to not let the “pets” upstage the runners. No street sam worth his augs is going to like it when the rigger
with a drone swarm or a mage with a coterie of spirits is doing a better job at mowing folks down than they do.
Second, be careful on how much ambiguity the drone, sprite, or spirit can handle. The guidance in the core
rulebook specifies that the GM decides how it executes the commands. Here are some examples to help you
determine how to handle the unique table scenario that you encounter.
If a summoner commands their spirit to ‘protect me’, this will have different results based on the type
of spirit being commanded. If the summoned spirit for combat in their tradition, then the spirit would take this
to mean that it will attack anyone that attacks the summoner. If the spirit is a health spirit in their tradition, the
spirit will intercept and take the damage. Or if the spirit has no idea what is going on, it might just not do
anything and not use up a service. Similarly, if the summoner commands ‘attack’, who is the target?
If a rigger tells his swarm of roto-drones to attack the enemies, which ones from the drone’s point of
view are the enemies? Is it everything not on the PAN? What happens if they are running with wireless off?
What if there are nearby innocent bystanders? Now if one of the team has spent time to mark targets in AR,
then the attack command is easier for the rigger. Once it has attacked the designated target or targets, then it is
going to stop attacking.
The technomancer wants their sprite to loop the camera feeds while the team passes through a
monitored hallway. If the technomancer is not on the same host as the action they want accomplished, then this
counts as a remote task. For remote tasks, the sprite will leave once it completes a single task. The sprite will
have 1 major and 4 minor actions, which means that it would Hash to find the file and then Edit File action. But
if there are two cameras, the team is out of luck unless there are multiple registered sprites or the technomancerShadowrun Missions Guide 18
is in the host. But the same level of direction is needed for sprites as drones or spirits. They have to know what
you are looking for. For the list of sprite tasks, see p. 191, 6WE.
Gas Grenades and Smoke Grenades
Smoke and gas grenades have their damage resolved differently than blasts. If a gas or smoke
delivering weapon does not have a Range attribute defined, then assume grenade-sized weapons have Range 5
and rocket-sized systems have Range 10. See the Gas Ranges, Effect, and Duration chart in SR6, p. 116.
Concentration only increases when the gas is confined by surrounding barriers, such as being pumped
into an enclosed room. Tear gas grenades thrown in the street back and forth between Lone Star and rioters tend
to have enough open terrain for the concentration to never build. Multiple doses can still accrue when one point
is inside the area of multiple grenades’ range!
Note that stun gasses in the Sixth World are not only effective but surprisingly safe! Their damage
does not overflow into Physical damage, even when unconscious and suffering additional exposures. Lethal
toxins will still keep accruing damage, however. Killing is what they do!
Example: An unlucky shadowrunner infiltrating a corp facility is caught inside a 5m x 5m room serving
as a mantrap. Neuro-Stun IX gas begins flooding the room. Since the SRM GM running this scene is sadistic,
there are 4 doses being pumped simultaneously into the room! As a “grenade-like” delivery system, each of the
4 vents has Range 5.
On round 1, the unlucky shadowrunner suffers exposure to the toxin’s base Power of 12, modified
upwards by +3 to Power 15 due to the additional doses (see Concentration, SR6 p. 122). Even worse, the
confined space holds the toxin in a more concentrated space rather than letting it spread out, gaining +1 dose
for each range multiplier it cannot expand into. In this case, it cannot grow to Range x 2, Range x 3, or Range
x 4, so the power increases by another +3 to Power 18. Worse still, if the runner cannot find a way out of the
room before 10 rounds elapse, they suffer another exposure, now at Power 19.
Smoke systems work much the same way, but the DV/Power and concentration is irrelevant. A smoke
grenade immediately fills the entire Rangex4 area, with each band successively dissipating as per the Gas
Ranges, Effect, and Duration chart.
Lastly: a note on gas masks and chemical protection. In SRM play, they also grant immunity to the
CS/Tear Gas and Pepper Punch toxins, despite being contact vector. This is because these toxins must make
contact with the eyes/nose/mouth, all of which are protected by a gas mask. Chemical protection grants
immunity from contact-based toxins, but not inhalation-based.
Drawing the attention of authorities based on worn gear
Characters are going to be carrying a variety of gear, but it’s not clear what will instantly get them into
trouble with the local authorities. There is no be-all-end-all flat list of gear that will get you in trouble. The law
enforcement officer might just be having a bad day and you wore a color he hated. Or maybe just because you
are an ork. There are some guidelines that might help a gamemaster make this easier on you. First, if they are
wearing bulky armor in the summer, this would potentially give the runner Fatigued I, but also might draw the
attention of authorities. This includes when using a Fashion spell since this calls out that it doesn’t affect the
bulk of the gear. Second, carrying a rifle, bow, sword, or any larger weapon category will cause the local police
to engage you. While you may have a license, they are going to come over and talk to you. Third, if you are
wearing a tac-vest which has ammo clips and grenades, you are going to draw the attention of the police. Fourth,
your cyberdeck is going to draw attention as well unless you have this tucked in some backpack or implanted
in your skull.
Now all this depends on the Security Zone that the runner is in. Security D might not care about a
bandolier of throwing daggers, but Security B will. Once you catch their attention, then they will dig deeper.
Grenade and Rocket Monsters
So, some of the players may have noticed that grenades, missiles, and rockets do a metric drekload of
damage. While grenades, rockets, missiles, and explosives are amazing at causing damage, there is a very real
impact in how hard the local authorities are looking for you. For each explosive device used, the team’s Heat
Modifier increases by 1. Not only will the character be drawing heat, but the modern Sixth World places of
business are worried about terrorist activities and have installed appropriately rated chemsniffers (suggested
Rating 4, see pg 242, 6WE) at all the points of entry that you see fit.
Don’t forget that an Airburst Link (p. 259, 6WE) requires the explosives to be wireless-on. WirelessShadowrun Missions Guide 19
on grenades can be remotely hacked. The Spoof Command matrix action (p. 184, 6WE) is usable at Outsider
access, so a hostile hacker wouldn’t even need to hack access first to make bombs go off in the Grenade
Monster’s pockets. Just sayin’.
High Force Spirits
High force spirits are likely to overshadow the other runners on the team as being a catch all win. A
smart summoner will spend their Edge to have the spirit re-roll their successes on the resistance. But a high
force spirit probably has better things to do with its time than to be at the beck and call of a mage with its risk
of being disrupted. Any spirit where the force is higher than the summoner’s Magic – 2, is considered a high
force spirit. They will spend half their force as Edge to re-roll the summoner’s successes.
An alternative is when summoning high-force spirits, the spirit will draw additional spirits during
combat. During combat where the summoner brings the big spirit to bear, this draws an additional spirit (Force - 2). This second spirit is hostile to the summoning mage and is aiming to free the other spirit. However, this
option will increase the length of combat, so use this sparingly.
Commanding Voice and Mental Manipulation Spells
The use of mental manipulation spells and commanding voice is an act that removes the free will of
someone else, essentially making them a slave in their own body. Any runner using these spells will risk a hit
to their reputation for using a distasteful method of completing a mission unless the mission specifically calls
for them to do it. Even a hardened criminal, like a shadowrunner would cringe when their mage tells a security
guard to turn his gun on himself. Colleagues and Contacts will ask themselves, “When is the mage going to
make me do that to myself just to earn a few extra nuyen.”
What happens if a runner uses one of these spells or abilities to cause a character to harm themself?
Giving -1 Reputation to the mind slave mage is a good start. Additionally, at your discretion, no matter what
the mechanic is of the effect forcing the victim to act may be, the victim may always refuse to act at all and
instead freeze for the combat turn as they temporarily resist the compelled order. Alternatively, if the effect does
spell out an additional test to resist such orders, don’t forget that you are empowered to award a point or two of
Edge for that test. In egregious cases of puppeteering victims into harm, feel free to consider docking Loyalty
with one or more Contacts as they reconsider their associations with the perpetrator. Loss of freedom isn’t
popular in neo-anarchist circles, after all!
Combat Damage Monsters
Some characters are built to be absolutely destroyers of life. The game’s damage soak pools and
damage levels are typically based around the range of 2 to 7 DV. But some runners can exceed that. What we
don’t want is for a player at the table to not have fun because their combat character is falling short of someone
who has built a damage specialist. The damage specialist generally comes in three flavors: martial arts mundane,
physad melee, and drone/vehicle linked firing mode.
There are two ways to handle this and can be used in conjunction with each other. The first is that SRM
combat is meant to take between forty and sixty minutes, so simply adding a second wave of enemies could
allow other combat players targets to use their skills against and fit within the limited time windows of a
convention play. The second way to deal with the issue is to adjust the enemy combatants to be able to provide
additional challenge for the runner. This could be done by having the NPCs spread further out since melee
damage specialists can only move fifteen to twenty meters per turn. For drone linked firing, adding additional
NPCs works to some degree, but also you can use additional cover or an enemy drone swarm to similar effect
just keeping in mind the lethality of a linked firing drone swarm.
Hiring Contacts as Runners
Many of the missions call out when you are able to hire an NPC or Contact to help out with the mission.
These will call out specific costs. Outside of call outs in the mission, the SRM Guide specifies that hiring
Contacts to participate in Missions is expensive. The cost of hiring them is variable as a way to balance for
different sized tables. Hiring a contact costs (2,000 nuyen x Number of Players) + (Connection x 1,000 nuyen).
So, if a group of six players want to hire a Connection 5 decker, it will cost them 17,000 nuyen. If solo player
wants to hire a Connection 2 street samurai, it will cost them 4,000 nuyen.
So how do you play the contact? This is one of those risky areas because the player may have a really
fleshed out idea of what the NPC cares about and would do in specific scenarios. But as pointed out in theShadowrun Missions Guide 20
Guide, the NPC is not a giant bullet sponge and really shouldn’t be charging into a room of gangers headfirst.
They didn’t survive this long in life by being an idiot. So as long as the player is handling them appropriately,
letting them control the NPC, otherwise you will need to take over.
Buying Gear During a Run
Buying gear takes time and pausing in the middle of a mission to try and buy that fragging cool RPK
HMG may not be possible. Well, how long does it take? Is it easy to find in short order? In order to find out,
have an appropriate contact make a Connection + Connection (Availability) test to determine if they are able to
get it in the next hour. The team can pay extra to provide contact with some additional buying power. For each
25% increase, the contact gains 1 additional die up to their Connection rating. If the contact is successful, the
team is able to buy the item for the price + 10% for each point of Heat you have + the additional money spent
to help acquire the goods. You can use Favor Points to help reduce that cost by 5% per Favor Point spent. You
can only spend up to Loyalty/2 (rounded up) Favor Points in this way. Even if the contact is at Loyalty 0, you
can always spend a single Favor Point if you have one.
For example, if a team with 3 Heat has a Connection 4 gun smuggling contact that they are using to
buy the RPG HMG. The contact would make a 4 + 4 (5) test to acquire the item, which is pretty unlikely. So
they decide to spend 100% additional to give the contact an extra 4 dice. The contact would then roll 12 dice to
attempt to get 5 successes. The gun smuggler tries their luck, and success! But looking at the price right now,
the team will have to pay an additional 130% to buy the item. The weapons specialist has 2 Favor Points saved
up, but only 1 Loyalty with the gun smuggler, so they use 1 Favor Point to reduce the cost by 5% resulting in
them paying 18,000 nuyen for the gun.
If the item isn’t illegal and doesn’t require a license, the runners can use Walmart-Kong or Hor-amazon to purchase items. These can be bought via the Matrix Search (Availability) and delivered to their current
location if they are not in a remote location while on a run or in downtime.
Looting the Dead or Dying
Gamemasters should be careful what they allow players access to because they can and will try to steal
everything not nailed down (and even then, they often have pry bars and claw hammers to deal with those pesky
nails). Shadowrun Missions operate under the assumption that two players who have run the same missions will
have roughly the same amount of resources available to them (give or take some negotiation and a little bit of
minor loot fenced), so when players are able to steal and fence a lot of gear or are able to get their hands on
high-priced vehicles, cyberdecks, or foci, it can unbalance the game and make it unfair to players who didn’t
have the opportunity to get those items. Fencing gear gains the potential for loss of Reputation or gaining Heat.
See Fencing Gear.
Legwork
Runners have three ways to acquire information during legwork. Ask a contact, perform a matrix
search, or just remember something with a Knowledge Skill.
Using Contacts. These are the people the runner knows, for mission’s play they are primarily a source
of information during Legwork. Contacts have three characteristics that determine how successful a call for
information will be. They are Connection Rating, Loyalty Rating and Type. The first two are used as presented
in the SR6 core rule book p 50-51. Types are specific to Shadowrun Missions.
Connection Rating is the measure of how likely a contact is to know the answer to something within
their area of expertise. This could be based on professional knowledge, an extensive information gathering
network or maybe the ability to “extract” information from people.
Loyalty Rating is a measure of the likelihood that the contact will share what they know with the
runner. High loyalty contacts will share what they know freely while low loyalty ones may demand some type
of payment before they agree to dish out the information.
Type determines what types of information the contact has access to. You probably couldn’t find out
who the mistress of a local A-Corp CEO is from a barren’s gang leader, but you can bet that every corporate
secretary in the Metroplex has heard about it.
Contact Types. Contacts fall into one or more of the following seven groups; Academic, Corporate,
Government, Magic, Matrix, Media, and Street and each of these have a number of Sub-Groups that act as
specialties, increasing the connection rating by +1 for information within that specialty. These groups and subgroups will be referenced on the Legwork blocks to show who may have access to the information. ContactsShadowrun Missions Guide 21
may be in more than one group, and more than one sub-group, giving access to a wider range of information.
For example, a Knight Errant Detective may have Government (Police) and Street (Seattle, Shadows) as types
and a Wage Mage might have Academic (Magic) and Corporate (Ares). Fixers are going to have specialties as
well whether it is Street (Shadows) and Government (Police) or Corporate (Horizon).
Types are only a guideline and are open to player and GM interpretation. If the player makes a case as
to why a given Contact should have access to particular information the GM should be open to it. If the
connection is tenuous, too general, or overly broad, then just decrease the Connection Rating by a -1 regarding
that specific information. The GM will have to make the final decision on which contacts have access to what
information during Legwork.
Academic (Diseases, Medical, by Specific Field [Archeology, History, Zoology, etc). These contacts
are primarily going to be called for what they know about a subject.
Corporate (Specific Megacorporation, Specific Area, by Market [Banking, Manufacturing, Security,
etc]). Good for news about what goes on behind the scenes in the world of business.
Government (Specific Government, by Specific Service [Administrative, Military, Police, etc]).
Contacts involved in providing public services, even if that service is provided by a corporation.
Magic (Awakened Hangouts, Infected, Magical Law, Magical Security, Magical Theory, Magical
Threats, Magical Traditions, Parazoology, Spirits). This includes contacts from wiz gangers to corp
mages.Talisleggers and talismongers or even university professors will know about magic and some
about magical theories.
Matrix (Data Havens, Matrix, Matrix Games, Matrix Threats) The world of the matrix makes up its
own special breed of denizen. Whether it’s your average console jockey or an elite gamer, they know
the ins and outs of the matrix.
Media (News, Sports, Music, Hi-Society, by Specific Area [CAS, Japan, Seattle, etc]). Both those
who report the news and those that make it, all types of entertainment are here.
Street (Gangs, Shadows, SINless, by Area, Specific Crime Syndicate [Mafia, Yakuza, etc.]). The
shadowy underbelly of the sixth world, these contacts play by their own rules.
Using Contacts during Legwork
Step One: Check to see if the contact’s Type has access to the information. If the information is
specific to the contacts specialty, they will automatically get threshold 2 information, and each net hit gains
additional levels. If the information is outside of the contacts tagged Type but the GM believes that the contact
might have some reason to possibly know it, allow the roll but reduce the effective Connection Rating by -1 (or
more).
Step Two: The contact takes a Connection + Connection test, the number of successes is referenced
on the Legwork Block. This is the information that the contact actually knows.
Step Three: The runner takes an Influence + Charisma + Contact’s Loyalty test, the number of
successes is the number of levels of knowledge from the Legwork Block that the contact is willing to share for
free.
Step Four: If the contact knows more information than they are willing to freely share they will make
a request for payment in exchange for the additional information. If the contact knows more, they will require
a payment of 500¥-(Loyalty*100¥, minimum 100¥) per rank of information they still know. The contact can
only sell information that they know from the connection + connection test.
NOTE: A bad roll shouldn’t stop the mission. If the contact does not roll high enough for some
important line of information, and the runners have no other way to get it, have the contact offer to “make some
calls” and get back with the runners at a future point in the mission, maybe it’s for free, maybe there will be a
charge.
Using Knowledge Skills. This is a mechanic to see if the runner personally knows the legwork
information. Knowledge Skills use the same column as asking a contact, it’s like the runner is actually a contact
but with the memory test replacing the Connection Rating test. Since Knowledge skills can be literally anything,
it’s up to the GM to decide how closely the skill matches the information. Those that match up to the subject of
the Legwork block will have the listed thresholds for information, exact matches grant the runner a point of
Edge to be used in the test. Knowledge Skills that are overly broad, too general, or have a tenuous connection
prevent Edge from being used and add 1 to the threshold regarding that specific information. Using a Knowledge
Skill takes no in-game time; either the runner remembers the information or doesn’t know.Shadowrun Missions Guide 22
Using Knowledge Skills during Legwork
Step One: Check to see if the runner could possibly know the information they are after.
Step Two: The runner performs a Memory Test and compares the number of successes against the
modified threshold of the different lines of the Legwork Block, this is what the runner remembers. In general
Edge may be used for this test, as it is made by the runner, not a secondary party.
Using a Matrix Search. The advantage of a matrix search is that it costs nothing but time, however
sometimes that can be the biggest disadvantage. Matrix searches have their own column in the Legwork Block
and since this is an extended test the runners can keep at it until they find out everything there is to be found on
the Matrix. Remember however, not everything “can” be found on the matrix, some information can still only
be learned from contacts or known from personal experience.
Using a Matrix Search during Legwork
Step One: The runners make an Electronics + Intuition (Extended, 10 Minutes) test, if multiple runners
are doing the research and add the results together, they can continue the extended test until hitting the number
of successes they want. Compare the number of successes to the Legwork Block to find out what information
is gathered.
Wrapping up the Game
Fencing Gear
In order to fence the valuables, you come across, you need a contact who’s in the right field. Your
bartender contact isn’t going to help you unload that cyberdeck prototype you lifted from Mitsuhama. Your
contact needs to have the right connections where the Availability of the item is less than their Connection. Are
either you or the item is too hot? Will your contact move your gear for you? The runner makes an Influence
(Charisma-based or Logic-based) Opposed test capped by your Loyalty – Heat. If the runner is successful, the
fence will pay you 10% plus 1% for each hit. If you are not, they won’t sell the item for you.
For a home game, if the item is particularly hot or desired (according to the gamemaster’s discretion)
the whole selling process could be more adventurous and offer a bigger payday, but that’s up to the individual
running the show. However, for Shadowrun Missions, hot items represent a potential for the loss of Reputation
or the chance to gain Heat. Selling gear that the team picks up doesn’t come without risk. The gear can be traced
and moving a lot of gear will raise the suspicions of authorities and make it easier for them to track the runners.
For every 1,000 nuyen gained through fencing gear, the specific runner selling the gear gains 1 Heat modifier.
If the runners glitch the Influence test, the runners gain an additional point of Heat. If the runners critically
glitch the test, the runners are caught in a raid by the police, and they are caught and issued a Criminal SIN as
well as the item being lost. If the runners are selling any bioware, cyberware, or body parts, they suffer a
Reputation loss of 1.
Heat
Applying heat in a Shadowrun Mission, means taking the average heat level of all the runners on the
mission. If the response times are reduced, but the mission calls for a specific response time, bias in favor of the
mission. If the runners have achieved higher levels of heat, add in two additional Professional Rating 5
combatants for heat of between 11 and 16, and change the difficulty of one of the combat encounters to include
Professional Rating 7+ elite guards appropriate to the region. These can come from the NPC deck or from the
6WE p. 207-210. In addition to additional combatants, Heat impacts your ability to buy and sell gear. For more
information on that, refer to the sections on Buying Gear and Fencing Gear.
Gaining Heat is done at the end of the mission found on p. 236, 6WE. The Heat roll will be affected
by modifiers. The scenes in Shadowrun Missions and Convention Mission Packs will contain callouts for
specific actions that will adjust the Heat roll modifier. These modifiers are not all encompassing as
shadowrunners have a natural tendency to find creative solutions to situations. When in doubt, check the heat
modifier table (p. 236, 6WE). Applying the penalty to kill the lowest-rated SIN used during the mission is
applied at the end of the mission in which the team gained that level of heat. The penalty is applied to each of
the runners that have heat above the threshold. After burning the SIN, that runner’s heat drops by 2 points.
Lowering Heat. Heat makes life miserable for shadowrunners. Lowering your heat in Shadowrun
Missions has a few options. The first option is to work a contact and use their connections and some of theirShadowrun Missions Guide 23
reputation to help. If their connection is 3 or higher, they can lower the Heat of your crew by 2, however your
Loyalty is lowered by 1 or you have to spend 2 points of Favor. If you don’t want to involve your friends and
contacts, you can use the universal language of the Sixth World. Nuyen. For every 1,000 nuyen spent in bribes,
a single person can reduce their Heat by 1. Finally, shadowrunners can lower heat by laying low. If they spend
a major downtime activity on lying low, they can reduce their Heat by 1.
The option to find a fall guy is unavailable for Shadowrun Missions.
Reputation
For the purposes of SRM 2081, Reputation represents the runner’s reputation within the shadow
community. Each mission calls out any Reputation gain for post-mission “Picking up the Pieces.” Having a
Reputation that is 10 or higher, grants the runners a point of Edge when dealing with other NPC in the shadow
community. If their Reputation is -10 or lower, they grant Edge to NPC in the shadow community. Future
seasons may align Reputation with specific factions.
Contacts: Connection, Favor, and Loyalty
For Shadowrun Missions, players can take the contacts that are in Shadowrun Missions at character
creation. These contacts are listed in Appendix C of the SRM Guide. Missions contacts are limited to a
maximum Loyalty 4 at character creation. In addition, the SRM contacts’ Connection Rating cannot be
improved. Other contacts for character creation are limited to Connection 6 and Loyalty 6.
Once the runners start their life in the shadows, they begin to work on improving their contacts either
through the missions or through downtime activities. Players may want to improve their contact’s Connection
and Loyalty. Improving Connection is a major downtime activity that they can take where they will expend time
and nuyen to build up their contact’s network, and it also generates favor from the contact. Information for this
can be found in How do I strengthen Connection?
Improving a contact’s Loyalty is a downtime activity, which requires having Favor Points with that
contact. Favor Points represent that the contact owes you a favor for helping them out. This could be a large
favor which is 3 FP or something smaller. Favor Points are earned in two ways. The first is that by completing
mission objectives, these are part of the mission rewards. The second is that you can use a minor downtime
activity to build up favors with your contact. Once you have enough Favor Points (equal to the next Loyalty
rating), you can then spend a major downtime activity and the Favor Points to increase their Loyalty.
Favor Points have additional uses besides just improving Loyalty. They can be used to reduce the price
of gear that you are trying to purchase (see Can we purchase gear during a Mission? and Purchasing Gear
in the SRM Guide). They can also be used to reduce the cost of hiring a contact during a mission for uses like
legwork or helping out with specific activities (see Can I hire my contacts to come on a shadowrun with
me? in the SRM Guide) which allows the player to spend Favor Points to reduce the fee by 1,000¥ per FP up
to Loyalty/2 (rounded up) or can provide them with free Legwork. If you have Favor Points with a contact that
has Loyalty 0, you can still spend a single Favor Point. Finally, characters can use FP when fencing gear by
reducing the effect Heat has on the Loyalty cap.
Adding Your Own Contacts. During a run, the runners may interact with minor NPC or you may
need to create an NPC for the runners to deal with. Once the mission is over, if you feel like the runners had a
positive interaction with them, you should reward them with 1 Favor Point for that contact at the end of the run.
For similar examples, in SRM 2081-02, the runners may use Whiskey to help keep Kingston alive. If they do
and treat Whiskey well, then they can gain a Favor Point with her. From there it comes down to what their
Connection is. Street level contacts are going to be Connection 1. Shadowrunners are going to be Connection
- Low-level managers are going to be Connection 3. For contacts you create, their connection cannot exceed
3.
Paperwork
After running a Shadowrun Missions adventure, there are several important pieces of paperwork that
need to be filled out.
The first is to make certain to update the character’s Character Journal to each player. As the GM,
please make certain to fill this out and sign off on it for each character. In the interests of time, you may have
each player fill out the sections, with appropriate values that you give them. Consider the PCs actions in the
scenario when providing Reputation and Heat. The Character Journal is both your mission debrief log as well
as your character calendar.Shadowrun Missions Guide 24
The character journal contains a list of twelve SRM missions with space to put the results of the
mission. The main outputs of the mission are going to be found in the Picking up the Pieces after the last scene
of the mission. This will include the guidance for nuyen and Karma rewards as well as Reputation and Heat.
While this is guidance, there may be things that the team did that were outside what the original author thought
of and you may have results that are outside of the guidance. Next there is space for notes and favor points that
the character earned during the mission. Finally, there is the space for you to give the players your signature
like the rockstar you are.
Finally, once an adventure is completed gamemasters should submit a report for the mission outcomes
at the Catalyst Demo Agent secure site. Future adventures will be affected by these results. Without GM
feedback, the PCs’ exploits will be unable to affect the campaign.
Gamemaster Rewards
Gamemasters who are members of the Shadowrun Catalyst Demo Team earn rewards for every public
event they run at game conventions and their local Venues. The more you run, the better your rewards. Head
over to https://www.facebook.com/CatalystDemoTeam/ to sign up and find out more information.
Gamemasters who are players also get in-game credit for their Shadowrun Missions characters! The
Picking up the Pieces section of each Shadowrun Mission contains a Gamemaster Reward section the Karma,
nuyen, and any other awards the GM receives for running the adventure, just as if they’d played through it with
their character! You also gain any favor points, heat, and reputation the team did. Be fair, be honest, and don’t
lead your players to pad your own rewards, though! Tracking this is done on your own Character Journal. Just
mark it in the journal and list yourself as the GM.
A gamemaster can potentially earn the GM reward every time he/she runs a legal Mission. The GM
reward may be credited to a GMs character who has not already played in or received a GM reward for that
particular Mission. A character can only gain credit for a Mission once, whether it’s from the GM reward or
playing it. A character cannot get credit for running it multiple times, nor for playing in it and GMing it.
Miscellaneous Tidbits
Core Rulebook damage is “less than 5th Edition” but what is it?
Shadowrun, Sixth World Core Rulebook The Shadowrun, Sixth World Core Rulebook (CRB-28000
for short) is a subtle weapon. It is easy to sneak into locations due to its unassuming formfactor. It has a
concealability threshold of 4. Owners of the CRB-28000 can spend four hours of dedicated time to gain a point
of Edge.
Wireless bonus: You gain a temporary point of Edge for use on memory tests when related to a
knowledge skill.
Weapon DV Attack Rating Availability Cost
CRB-28000 2S 5/1/‒/‒/‒ 6 75¥ Executive Ed. 3S 5/5/‒/‒/‒ 8 200¥
Thrown range is 10 meters.Shadowrun Missions Guide 25
SECTION 4: SEATTLE 2081 #
Where do Shadowrun Missions 2081 take place?
SRM 2081 takes place in the Free City of Seattle, in the year 2081.
What are the plot hooks and themes for this Season?
At the end of 2080, after a series of blackouts across the country caused many to question the efficacy
of the UCAS government, the Emerald City, under the leadership of Governor Corinne Potter, seceded from the
UCAs and declared themselves the Free City of Seattle.
The action made waves throughout the world and the economic melting pot buzzes with potential.
From the boardrooms to the shadows, all eyes are on Seattle and whatever the next move will be. Will the city
find a prosperous place in the world’s financial order or will it fall flat on its face, to be picked over by the
scavengers?
The shadows have never been busier and new powers are rising to take advantage of the bountiful
nuyen flowing in the city’s dark corners. While the heavy hitters and penthouse schemers scramble to control
whatever they can, a new generation of deniable assets creep from the shadows, ready to take a slice of the pie
for themselves. New faces and new places contest for a place at a table steeped in tradition and history. Seattle
is long regarded as the shadowrunning capital of the world, after all.
Poised behind the scenes, an unseen force is sending ripples across the shadow community. Whatever
they’re up to, it’s generating a lot of cred for the right people. Some of that is bound to fall in your lap and that
can’t be a bad thing, but you’ll have to make up your own mind about whether it’s a good one.
Better build your network.
Watch your back. Shoot straight. Conserve ammo. And never, ever deal with a dragon.
Are there any special rules related to the Seattle Setting?
As we celebrate the release of Shadowrun’s Sixth Edition, we go back to the preeminent Shadowrun
setting: Seattle. Seattle has often stood as the baseline for Shadowrun campaigns and generally operates as a
default location for Shadowrun games. There are currently no specific rules related to the Seattle setting for
Shadowrun Missions that cannot be found in available sourcebooks.
For more information about Seattle, look for the Seattle Sprawl Box Set and Free Seattle. Additional
information can be found in sourcebooks from previous editions, such as Seattle 2072 and Runner Havens.Shadowrun Missions Guide 26
SECTION 5: CHARACTER CREATION #
Character Creation
Creating a character is done using the standard priority system presented in the Shadowrun: Sixth
World core rulebook. Be sure you have the latest rulebook printing or the latest errata
(https://www.shadowrunsixthworld.com/resources/). Please see the appropriate section to see if additional
character creation methods released in expansion material are allowed for Shadowrun Missions. Unless
otherwise noted in this Guide, no rule marked “Optional” or listed as being “At the Gamemaster’s discretion”
will be used for official Shadowrun Missions play. All other expansion material will be allowed once its release
grace period has elapsed (see below).
When creating a character for Shadowrun Missions, one thing to keep in mind is when playing at
conventions or in Open Play games, you never know who or what is going to show up at the table. Nor can you
be certain a given adventure will focus on one particular aspect of the game. Because of this, it’s usually not in
your best interest to hyper-specialize a character. Gamemasters do their best to keep all players engaged in the
adventure and story, but if your character only does one thing, it doesn’t matter how well they do that thing if
it’s not useful to the adventure or if there are four other characters who are all able to do that thing as well. Keep
flexibility and diversity in mind when designing a new character.
Lifestyle
All lifestyles are available for player characters, provided they can afford them. GMs can use their
discretion when charging for various mundane activities and items like hailing a cab, purchasing alcohol at an
establishment (well or top shelf), or entry into nightclubs. Additionally, there may be some costs associated
with training (see Training in Section 7). Characters must exit character generation with a lifestyle.
Lifestyle costs must be paid at the end of every second SRM. See How do we quantify the passage
of time in Shadowrun Missions?
Characters with Street lifestyles start at –2 Edge on scene resets. Characters with Squatter lifestyles
begin each scene with –1 Edge. These characters are presumed to have expended that Edge in their day-to-day
activities.
For all rule references to lifestyle level, if you are using the advanced lifestyle rules, just refer to the
table on p. 189 of the Sixth World Companion and round to the lower lifestyle based on the number of lifestyle
points you have spent.
Spending Karma
Per the Core Rulebook, you can only spend Karma in Step Four on attributes, qualities, resources,
bonding foci, initiation (Grade 1 max at character generation), submersion (Level 2 max at character
generation), transhumanism (Grade 1 max at character generation), animalism (Grade 2 max at character
creation), and skills. Spending Karma is the last step of character creation, and you cannot use Special Attribute
Points after spending Karma to initiate, submerge, etc. to raise your Magic or Resonance. You can raise Magic
or Resonance by spending the Karma. However, as additional sourcebooks are released, anything that states
you can spend Karma on it during character generation is also allowed. Exceptions will be noted in that book’s
section of the Guide. Further, you can only take up to 5 Karma with you into play. These 5 are added to your
TKE (Total Karma Earned) and any additional Karma are simply lost.
Magic and Resonance are capped at 6 during character creation and cannot be raised further even if
you initiated or submerged.
Rating and Availability
Any gear, including magic, cyberware, and bioware, may be purchased at character creation, except
gear with a rating 7 or higher Availability (SR6, p. 66). Players may purchase any grade of ‘ware as long as it
falls within the allowable availability limits. You cannot purchase used cultured bioware.
Note that cyberware grade only affects the implant costs for implanted cyberdecks and commlinks.
The link or deck cost remains the same regardless of whether it’s a used implant or a delta-grade implant.
Wireless
Keep in mind that most gear is assumed to have some wireless function built into it, and many piecesShadowrun Missions Guide 27
of gear benefit from being connected to your Personal Area Network in some way. Skinlink is not available at
this point, so you’ll either need to run wireless to take advantage of these bonuses or run wires to your gear if
you want to be protected (you’ll look like a fraggin’ antique with wires running all over the place, but don’t
worry. Wires are cool again!).
With this in mind, you’ll likely either need to make sure you have a good decker in the group to protect
you with his cyberdeck, and/or make certain you have a decent firewall on your commlink to protect your gear.
Getting bricked (SR6, p. 175) sucks.
Priority Table
The steps in character building need to be done in order, however, picking Qualities can be done at any
step, but the major point is that you need to pay for the Quality in Step Three. For instance, the player could opt
to buy Aptitude prior to Step Three and then use Skill Points to move that skill to 7.
Qualities
Most qualities are allowed in Missions play as written. However, since Missions are designed to be run
in a tight time frame and because you may be playing under different gamemasters at different venues, some
qualities may be modified to fit the structure of Missions, some may require GM approval, and some might even
be disallowed from Missions play. Any changes to qualities—as well as any disallowed qualities—will be
discussed in the respective sourcebook chapter of this Guide.
SINs
SINs are a daily part of existence in the Sixth World. While a majority of the population is SINless,
everyone needs a SIN to function. This paradox is solved (somewhat) by a very lucrative black-market dealing
in fake SINs. In the highest security rated zones, individuals are constantly scanned to see if they are
broadcasting their SIN. If not, the best they can hope for is forcible relocation. At worst… well, without a SIN
you don’t exist, which means you can’t be the victim of a crime.
You’ll likely want (and even need) multiple SINs. Your lifestyle has to be registered to one of your
SINs. If that SIN is burned, you’ve just lost access to that doss. Every license is tied to a SIN, so make sure
you’re broadcasting the right one if you’re packing (registered) heat.
Remember, each SIN is also associated with a country or corporation, effectively marking you as a
citizen of that entity. You can’t do much in the world of 2081 without a SIN, and if they get burned, so do you!
Contacts
You are encouraged to carefully consider the contacts you choose. In Missions, you have the
opportunity to earn a fair number of contacts through gameplay. You can actually start with some of these
contacts at character creation if you like (see Appendix C for their Connection ratings) but are limited to a
maximum Loyalty of 4 at Character Generation. Alternately, you can always make your own! Generally, a fixer
is always useful, and every shadowrunner should have one. Street and corp contacts are usually worthwhile.
Plus keep in mind that you need a way to get gear, so a decker should have a deckmeister or programmer, a
street sammy should have an armorer or gunsmith, an awakened character should know a talismonger, and a
rigger should know a good mechanic (or at least a used car salesman). Keep in mind the setting for your Missions
arc, contacts outside of those regions may be of limited use.
During character generation, contacts you create are capped at 6 for both Connection and Loyalty.
There are ways to increase these for all contacts over your character’s career (see Section 7). The Expanded
Rules for Contacts from the Sixth World Companion is legal for Missions (see Section 12).
Are the Lifestyle Options allowed for Missions play?
Lifestyle Options are allowed for Missions play and can be found in the Sixth World Companion or
Lifestyles of the Shadowy & Infamous. For more information, please see that section of the SRM Guide.
Can I transfer my character from a previous Season of Shadowrun Missions?
Characters created using 6th edition rules for SRM 2081 can play in any SRM or CMP built for Sixth
World starting with SRM 2081. When SRM moves to a new city or starts a new story arc, your character can
travel there, but be aware that your old contacts that can get you what you need probably don’t know a lot aboutShadowrun Missions Guide 28
the city you just moved to. This does not include Season 9 or Season 10 as they were created for 5th edition and
the Karma, nuyen, and difficulty aren’t balanced for 6th edition play.
Character Audit:
Gamemasters may do a character audit before a game session and they may disallow the character if
they do not follow the rules for creation and progression, whether those are from rulebooks or the Guide. Please
do not abuse the system, see the above rule In Players, We Trust.
Can I make changes to my character after the character has played in an official event (Mulligan Rule)?
Yes, provided you adhere to the following:
Conventions/game day events: Sometimes you make a brand-new character for a convention/game
day event and after playing it, discover it wasn’t really what you wanted or it needs some tweaks. Sometimes
you get in on a First Taste event which uses pre-gens and you can’t get into a Build-A-Runner Workshop and
use the pre-gen the entire convention. For conventions/game day events, we prefer you make any
changes/tweaks as soon as you have free time. However, we also realize this may not be possible. Officially,
you may make any changes/tweaks to that character after the convention/game day event is over, but before that
character participates in another Shadowrun Mission (SRM/CMP/SMH/PM). If you had a pre-gen or a character
which simply did not work for you, you may take any Karma and nuyen earned and apply it to a new character.
For example: CT comes up with this awesome idea in her head about a character concept and she creates that
character for an upcoming convention. Unfortunately, within the first couple of Missions, she realizes she does
not enjoy the concept and just can’t get into the character. Since she loves Shadowrun, she’s booked herself for
every time slot available and doesn’t even have a chance to eat, let alone make a new character. She saves her
character journal and creates a new character when she gets home, applying the results of her previous Missions
to the new character, even though it hasn’t played a single Mission yet..
FLGS: As above, sometimes you have an idea in your head and create a character, but sit down at your
first Mission and discover you don’t like the character. You may make tweaks/changes (or a new character)
after the first Shadowrun Mission (SRM/CMP/SMH/PM), but before that character participates in another
Shadowrun Mission.
New Players: Players that are identified as new to Shadowrun Missions can mulligan their character
until their fourth Mission, unless they would otherwise be covered under the rules for Convention/game day
events. There are no restrictions and the character can be mulliganed multiple times. Once they begin their
fourth Mission, that character is locked in and no further mulligans are allowed.
What is the Character Journal?
When you play your first Missions, your GM should provide you with a Character Journal. This
document has a place to record all of the Missions you’ve played and what your character earned from them.
You should keep it with your character sheet.
English Core Rulebook versus French versus German?
There are minor differences between various translated adaptation of Shadowrun Sixth World Edition,
but SRM is built on the English version of the rulebook. Your local region may use other language versions,
but that character is not instantly portable to other regions. Your character must conform to the English rules
when at a table using the English language rules. Similarly, characters must conform to the French rules when
playing at a table using the French language rules.
Does the Aspected Enchanter not get spells?
Aspected enchanters get the same number of spells as an aspected sorcerer.Shadowrun Missions Guide 29
SECTION 6: GENERAL SRM RULES #
When do expansion books and eBooks become legal to use in Missions?
When the updated Guide is released, but no sooner than thirty days after the full release of the product
(to allow plenty of time for gamemasters to obtain and read over the new game material). For eBook-only
products, this is thirty days after they go on sale. For products that have a print release, it’s thirty days from the
announced street date for the product.
We will make every effort to ensure that the Guide is updated before the 30 day post-release period.
A full list of legal books can be found in Section 1.
Will this Guide be updated as more books are released?
Yes, we will update as needed.
Can I use optional rule (fill in the blank)?
Unless this Guide states otherwise, optional rules are not used. To give every Missions player the same
game experience and maintain campaign balance, we generally avoid using any rule that is listed as optional.
Questions about Playing in Missions
Can I collect my own Reagents and/or craft my own Foci?
No. Crafting or building your own equipment falls outside the scope of Missions.
Can we purchase gear during a Mission?
Yes. Some missions provide an opportunity for you to purchase specific gear. If the opportunity is not
included, there’s the possibility that any specific gear you seek won’t arrive in time to be useful in the mission.
Keep in mind that this answers the question of purchasing gear during play, between the beginning of
Scene 1 and the end of the last scene of the Mission. Purchasing gear between Missions is covered on page 21
of this Guide.
Ordering via the Matrix never results in an item arriving on time to be of use in the mission.
Items with no illegality code can be purchased within an hour by physically going to the appropriate
store, as long as you are not in a remote location (gamemaster discretion).
Otherwise, you will require the services of an appropriate contact. As long as the contact could find
the item under normal circumstances (SR6, p. 244 and 6WC, p. 162), they can attempt to find the item under
the time constraints imposed by being on the clock. The contact will check to see if they can acquire the item
with a Connection + Connection (Availability) test. You can increase that dice pool by 1 for every 25% of the
base price you are willing to pay in addition to the base price, up to the contact’s Connection rating (so the max
dice pool can be the contact’s Connection Rating x3). This increase must be determined before the contact rolls.
If the contact succeeds on the test, they will purchase the item for the base price + any additional
percentage you agreed to pay for additional dice + 10% of the base price for each point of Heat your character
has. They will then deliver it to your character in an hour. You can use a Favor Point to reduce the cost by 5%
and can use up to Loyalty/2 (round up) Favor Points. If you have Favor Points with a contact but their Loyalty
is 0, you can still spend a single Favor Point to reduce the cost of goods.
You do not pay anything if the contact does not find the item, regardless of any additional dice you
‘purchased’ for their roll. You may not ask the same contact to try again on that item. You may ask a different
contact to try to find the same item, but the Availability of the item increases by one for every previous failed
attempt, regardless of whose contact it was that failed.
Can we trade money or gear between players?
Yes, but only within reason. Giving someone an extra gun or spotting them an extra 1,000¥ for some
gear because they’re short is no big deal. However, you should not be giving away large, expensive items or
large sums of nuyen. This is primarily to prevent abuse in games where someone is just sitting in to play a
session or two, so they just dump their gear and money on their teammates at the end of the game since they’re
not planning to play that character anymore.
To set a hard limit on this, gamemasters should not allow players to give away OR receive more than
5,000¥ worth of cred or gear (using base book value for the gear) per Mission played. In a trade or purchaseShadowrun Missions Guide 30
situation, this means that the value of the trade must be within 5,000¥ per transaction. You cannot charge
10,000¥ over or under the list price of an item by stretching the payment over two sessions.
The characters involved in the transaction must all be playing in that Mission.
Can my friends and I pool money to purchase something?
Beyond the rule regarding trading money or gear between players, you cannot pool resources at this
time.
What about ‘professional services’? Can I pay the decker to find gear for or pay a mage to quicken a spell
on my character?
Yes, however the service must be paid for in full before the benefit can be applied. A decker must be
reimbursed for the gear AND paid any commission before the gear can be turned over, a mage must be paid the
full agreed upon price before expending Karma to quicken a spell, etc. As stated previously, the difference in
value cannot be more than 5,000¥. (Additionally, see section 8 for notes on Quickening)
How is the value of a professional service determined?
By the literal cost to the character offering the service. The piece of gear itself has a set price. A mage
would have to pay 2,000¥ or 5,000¥ to recoup a point of Karma spent to quicken a spell. Services for which
there is no means to calculate a cost are valued at 0¥.
Can I hire my contacts to come on a shadowrun with me?
Non-Missions specific contacts (the Contacts you made up) may be hired, so long as the GM agrees
that contact is suitable for hiring. Contacts are presumed to have a professional rating equal to their Connection
Rating and dice pools for core skills (determined by the GM) at Connection Rating x2.
While contacts may be willing to come out and help, they aren’t mindless minions and they’re not
going to put themselves in excessive danger for you, no matter how much you’re paying. So while they will
come along as backup and help out, you cannot use them as “10 extra boxes of ablative damage”. They won’t
run in front and soak gunfire, and they won’t pull a suicidal distraction to help you get in the back door. They’ll
offer up their expertise where necessary and will do their job well and competently, but that’s it. The GM can
disallow a contact to perform certain actions or even opt to control the contact as an NPC.
GMs should only allow a contact to be available for hired if they are filling a role that the group is
weak on. Hired Contacts should not be considered an ace-in-the-hole, they should be a last resort for when
you’re screwed and need specialized help to complete a Mission.
The contacts charge variable rates for their services based on your specific needs. Direct services from
contacts tend to be quite expensive, so be prepared for sticker shock. You can spend Favor Points to reduce this
by 10% per Favor Point spent, up to Loyalty/2 (round up). They cannot be hired and brought to the meet with
Mr. Johnson as an extra team member. In other words, Mr. Johnson will NOT cover any of that fee. Hiring a
contact to fill in is not cheap and should only be utilized as a last resort.
I’m playing a Mission and there appears to be a narrative paradox; I have a Contact from a previous
Mission but the other players are telling me that he was killed in their last Mission. Do I still have the
Contact?
Sometimes, there will be instances when characters have experienced very different versions of the
same events or some will have participated in adventures that others haven’t. This can result in different
dispositions for particular contacts relative to one player or another. When this occurs, the player who possesses
the contact still has access to that contact and the player for whom that contact no longer exists should play it
off as if the contact being used is different from the one they know to be dead. A little bit of hand-waving to
move things along.
How much nuyen can I expect to make from the average Missions adventure?
Nuyen awards are based very loosely on the Run Compensation guidelines (SR6, p. 243). Missions
designed to be easier may pay a little less; harder Missions may pay more. The maximum amount you are likely
to ever see in a standard SRM or CMP adventure is 20,000 nuyen (on very rare occasions), and the minimum
amount you should ever see is 5,000 nuyen. This pay is sometimes subject to achieving multiple goals in a
Mission, so if you fail one or more objectives it is possible to get paid less.Shadowrun Missions Guide 31
Special Missions will usually pay similar to a standard SRM or CMP, but occasionally may pay a little
higher if the risks are greater. Prime Missions are designed to be higher stakes and higher rewards, so they start
at the 20,000¥ mark and move up from there.
Note that some Missions may offer up their pay piecemeal, if there are several small jobs involved.
This means the initial Mr. Johnson may only offer a couple thousand nuyen for a job. When this happens, rest
assured that there are one or more additional job offers coming in the adventure. Be patient and don’t start
threatening Mr. Johnson right away (or worse, threatening the gamemaster). That’s a quick way for your
character to lose reputation and lose contacts, and generally you can count on there being more ways to earn
nuyen designed into the adventure to compensate.
How much Karma can I expect to earn from the average Missions adventure?
As with nuyen, Karma awards are based loosely on the Run Compensation guidelines (SR6, p. 243).
The type of Mission and its difficulty will factor into the Karma awards, along with various measures of success.
The average adventure awards between 6 and 8 Karma.
What else can I expect to get out of Missions adventures?
In addition to nuyen and Karma, you can expect to gain or lose Reputation, based on your actions
throughout the Mission. You may also gain a level of Heat.
Finally, your actions may earn you Favor Points with various NPCs, which can be rolled over into
Loyalty or for other purposes.
Upping the Difficulty of Missions
At the start of a mission, the table has the choice to select a difficulty. With higher difficulties come
higher rewards. If anyone at the table doesn’t want to run at the higher difficulty, then the GM doesn’t run a
higher difficulty level. If you aren’t interested at playing at a higher difficulty, just pull the GM to the side and
let them know. Remember that some players won’t want a higher difficulty and we want the whole table to be
able to have fun.
The GM still has the normal prerogative to adjust difficulty and composition of the opposition.
Difficulty: Runner. This is the normal difficulty as written in the mission. GM can offer more
guidance and hints to help move. This difficulty is suggested for players with a max dice pool of 16 or TKE of
less than 100.
Difficulty: Veteran. Enemies gain a +6 to all dice pools except Matrix dice pools and all thresholds
increase by 2 over what is written. Matrix dice pools are increased by +3. The payout of the mission increases
by 1 Karma and 2,000 nuyen. This difficulty is suggested for players with a max dice pool of 20 dice or TKE
between 100 and 300.
Difficulty: Elite. Enemies gain a +12 to all dice pools except Matrix dice pools and all thresholds
increase by 3 over what is written. Matrix dice pools are increased by +6. The payout of the mission increases
by 2 Karma and 4,000 nuyen. This difficulty is suggested for players with a max dice pool over 20 dice or TKE
over 300.
Questions about Calendars, Downtime, and Advancement
How do we quantify the passage of time in Shadowrun Missions?
Missions are written in chronological order and by canon will take place between January and
December 2081. Since Missions can be played in any order, we approach time as an abstraction. Instead of
trying to determine exactly how much time is spent on a Mission or in between them, we make assumptions
that runners will spend an average amount of time on various activities. This guides our approach to measuring
time in Missions.
As the entire 2081 arc is expected to play over 24 SRMs, we make the assumption that our characters
are involved in two such Missions each month. That means any monthly payments, such as Lifestyles,
subscriptions, and the In Debt quality, will be made after your second Mission and every other Mission after
that, regardless of what order you play them in.
At the end of the arc, after a 12 month in game period, you will have made 12 rent payments, paid at
least the minimum amount into your debt 12 times (or paid it off), etc. The intent is served without any need to
extrapolate exactly how much time individual characters are spending doing what.Shadowrun Missions Guide 32
This means we are including additional abstractions in concepts such as training times and the extent
of downtime activities you can take between any two SRMs.
How do CMPs fit into this ‘abstraction’?
Quite frankly, they don’t. Instead of enforcing arbitrary restrictions for CMPs, we simply allow that in
addition to the 24 SRMs, your character picks up additional work that nets additional pay and Karma, but don’t
result in additional rent payments. Whether your character participated in 10 CMPs, 1 CMP, or no CMPs in
2081, they still only needed to pay rent 12 times.
CMPs can be played at any time and First Taste is considered a CMP. Players will gain nuyen and
Karma from Build-a-Runner, but it is not considered a Mission for the sake of downtime activities.
What is “downtime”?
Downtime is any time spent between missions. This is the period of time your character would be
living their life outside of shadowrunning. This includes mundane activities like going to the movies, hanging
out with friends, or debating choobs on ShadowSEA. It also includes activities such as training your attributes
and skills, recovering from cybersurgery, or purchasing new gear.
Can I roll my skill test for downtime activities?
No. Any tests done as part of a downtime activity, such as a Matrix Search to find gear or to Initiate,
can only be done using the “buying hits” method (SR6, pg 36). Additionally, anything that is permanent or has
no explicit “expiration date” (such as Quickened spells) or things that last longer than one mission must also
use the “buying hits” method. It is possible to roll dice to bind or register, but the set of services/tasks go away
at the end of the Mission.
Can I spend Edge when using the “buying hits” method?
To prevent abuses of Edge, you may not spend Edge when “buying hits”.
Can I take advantage of any temporary augmentation sources when using the “buying hits” method?
No. Using drugs, alchemical preparations, or any other temporary augmentation to improve attributes
or skills for downtime tests is beyond the scope of Missions.
Advancement Costs
In Missions, we use the Karma Cost column of the Advancement Costs table (SR6 CRB pg 68) but we
ignore the Training Time column. Instead, see the following entries for Training, Adding/Buying Off Qualities,
and Downtime Activities.
Training
The following can be increased or purchased anytime between Missions, provided you have the
available Karma
● Attributes
● Active Skills
● Active Skill Specialization
● Active Skill Expertise
● Knowledge Skills
● Languages
● Martial Arts (Firing Squad)
● Qualities
It makes sense that your character would be gradually working on all of these things as a matter of
course during their lives. Going to the gym, taking night courses, working with tutors, heading to the range, etc.
are all things we do in our lives that don’t require our sole attention for weeks at a time.
However, these things potentially cost nuyen. These costs are generally baked into a character’s
lifestyle, less so at lower lifestyles. Characters with a High lifestyle do not need to pay additional costs. For
each level of lifestyle beneath High, characters will pay 25 nuyen per point of Karma spent. The sameShadowrun Missions Guide 33
calculation is done for lifestyles from Lifestyles of the Shadowy & Infamous.
For the expanded Lifestyles in Sixth World Companion, the cost of training is based on the lowest of
Comfort, Entertainment, and Space. For each level of lifestyle beneath High for the lowest of those three
categories, characters will pay 25 nuyen per point of Karma spent.
Adding or Buying Off Qualities
Qualities can be purchased or bought off at any time with GM approval.
Purchasing Gear
Purchasing gear is covered under Availability rules (SR6 CRB, p. 244). For Missions, the following
applies:
● Legal gear with no (I) or (L) in their Availability rating can always be found.
● Licensed gear always requires using a Contact or performing a Matrix Search.
● Illegal gear always requires using a Contact or performing a Matrix Search.
● If you are using the Minor Downtime Activity to increase Contact purchasing capability or
your Matrix Search, you can stack this across multiple downtimes.
● You must buy hits for the Matrix Search.
o Shopsofts add one die to the Matrix Search pool for buying the type gear specified
by the type of soft.
o The Overclock program adds one die to the Matrix Search pool for buying gear.
● A contact will procure items for you with a 5% mark-up, +5% for each point of difference
between the Availability and the contact’s Loyalty rating.
o You can spend Favor Points (see Contacts) to reduce this by 5% per point.
o You can spend up to Loyalty/2 Favor Points per item. If you have a Favor Point with
a contact who has Loyalty 0, you can still spend a single Favor Point.
o This can reduce the price of the item below book value.
● You can NEVER purchase USED cultured bioware.
Downtime Activities
Besides Training and Purchasing Gear, you can also conduct Downtime Activities. Downtime
Activities are divided into Major and Minor. Between any two SRMs, you can perform one Major and one
Minor Downtime Activity OR three Minor Downtime Activities. After any CMP, you can perform an additional
two Minor Downtime Activities.
Major Downtime Activities
● Cybersurgery
● Lay Low (See Heat)
● Initiate
● Repair ALL drones and vehicles
● Strengthen Connection
● Strengthen Loyalty to 4 or higher
● Submerge
● Transhumanist training (6WC, p. 146)
● Work a Contact (SR6 CRB, pg 236)
● Work for the Streetdoc (See below)
● Buying Favor Points (6WC, p. 173)
● Conclave or coven Loyalty 5-8 task (See Section 10: Street Wyrd)
Minor Downtime Activities
● Bond a Focus
● Build a lodge or take down a lodge
● Learn a new spell
● Binding a spirit*
● Preparing a vesselShadowrun Missions Guide 34 ● Learn a new complex form ● Register up to 8 Levels of sprite(s)
● Repair or modify one drone or vehicle*
● Strengthen Loyalty up to 3
● Conclave or coven Loyalty 1-4 task (See Section 10: Street Wyrd)
● Shadow Healthcare Community task
● Add four dice to any single downtime Matrix Search
● Increase the effective Connection rating of a single Contact (not Group Contact) Add one
higher effective Connection rating to a gear for the purpose of buying gear
● Work for the Man
● Work for the People
*Note: Some downtime activities can be done during a mission if there is sufficient time. These
activities must be done using buying hits for things that extend past the duration of the current Mission.
How do I use Edge on downtime tests?
Downtime tests or tests where the result of the action spans multiple missions must be done by buying
hits. For instance, if you are binding a spirit and aiming to use the task to extend the duration, you must bind
the spirit by buying hits. If you are installing mods in gear which require an Engineering test, it must be done
by buying hits.
How do I strengthen Connection?
Spending your Major Downtime Activity and the next Connection rating x 1,000 nuyen represents a
significant investment of your own time and energy helping your connection reach new heights. You can
strengthen an NPC up to a maximum of Connection 9.
Each time you do this, you increase the Connection rating of your contact by 1/X, where X is the next
level of Connection. In effect, you need to strengthen a contact’s Connection as many times as the next
Connection rating before they reach that level.
To get from 1 to 2 requires strengthening Connection for a total of 4,000 nuyen using two Major
Downtime Actions. Getting from a 4 to 5 requires strengthening Connection five times at 5,000 nuyen each
time, for a total of 25,000 nuyen.
Anytime you raise a contact to the next full Connection rating, you get that many Favor Points with
the contact.
You can only strengthen Connection for a non-canon SRM contact/NPC.
How do I strengthen Loyalty?
Simply spend as many favor points as the next level of Loyalty. (NOTE: You can immediately raise
the Loyalty of a Contact that you gained favor points for during your most recent Mission without spending a
Downtime Activity, as long as you have the requisite Favor Points (to include the one you just earned). You can
buy up to maximum 9 Loyalty this way.
What is Work for the Man/Work for the People?
Once between each Missions adventure you may choose to Work for The Man or Work for The
People. This will allow you to either trade 1 Karma for 2,000 nuyen, or to trade 2,000 nuyen for 1 Karma. You
may trade away or gain a maximum of 1 Karma each time you do this, and you can only do this once between
any given SRM, CMP, or PM.
What is Work for the Streetdoc?
Seattle streetdocs have banded together to create a group care for runners. Just like a coven, you can
spend 6 Karma to join the Shadow Healthcare Community, abide by their strictures, and complete one Minor
Downtime Activity per month to aid the community. When you do, you can sell back your Augmentations or
Codemods for the full price even if you switch from one type of ‘ware to another type. In addition, by joining
the group, you gain the access to the Major Downtime Activity of “Working for the Streetdoc” which allows
you to convert an unlimited amount of Karma to nuyen at a rate of 1 Karma to 7,000 nuyen, but it must all be
spent on an Augmentation for yourself. They won’t install it in your friend, and they won’t take ‘ware off that
security guard you fragged. They will allow you to trade your own ‘ware in to be spent on other ‘ware. ThisShadowrun Missions Guide 35
does not include cyberware for use on drones or vehicles.
Shadow Healthcare Community
Goals: Keeping shadowrunners alive and effective since 2081.
Connection: 6
Connection Type: Medical
Strictures:
No Harvesting from Others: Augmentations are part of the body and must be treated with
respect.
Protect the Doctor: When a doctor in the SHC is at risk, protect them at all costs. Do not put
them in the way of risk.
Description: Formed in late 2080, the Shadow Healthcare Community is a group of streetdocs in the
Seattle area. One of the core members is Whiskey who was able to convince her fellow streetdocs to help runners
more. By keeping them alive, it provided an avenue for moving Augmentations through the area. Her basic
argument is that a live runner pays for more upgrades than a dead runner. The docs agreed and figured they
could get some protection out of the work as well.
Can I fence the gear I found during an adventure?
Yes. Gear must be fenced through one of your contacts per the rules on Fencing Gear (SR6 p. 246).
However, the percentage increase from an Influence + Charisma check is capped by Loyalty, which is
effectively reduced by one for every point of Heat.
You must announce your intent to fence any gear after the Mission ends, but prior to the GM awarding
Reputation or making the Heat roll (even if the gear you wish to fence was picked up in a previous Mission).
Fencing cyber or bioware may result in a loss of Reputation or an increased likelihood of gaining Heat.
Can I upgrade my bioware or cyberware?
Presuming the item in question has not been damaged, you may sell back installed non-cultured
bioware and cyberware for a flat 30 percent of its retail value (book price; taking into account alpha or beta
mark up, if any) when changing out cyberware. You must still make an Availability test to acquire the new
piece of cyberware. Cultured bioware may not be upgraded, only replaced (and no one will buy used cultured
bioware, chummer).
You may upgrade bioware and cyberware by paying the difference between the two pieces of
equipment (accounting for grades, if any). You may only upgrade a piece of bioware or cyberware of the same
type.
For example, Ramsey wants to get a better Control Rig. He currently has a Rating 2 but wants to
upgrade to 3. Whiskey happens to have one in stock and charges him 133,200¥ for the new Control Rig (Rating
3) and keeps the Rating 2 she just pulled out of Ramsey.
So, let’s do the math: Control Rig 3 costs 208,000¥ – 97,000¥ as credit on the old rig (Rating 2) =
111,000¥ for the upgrade.
Another example, Kingston goes to Whiskey and asks to have his dermal plating removed so he can
get titanium bone lacing instead. Whiskey gladly obliges, but since these are different types of ware, Kingston
only receives 30% of the value of the dermal plating and has to pay full price for the titanium bone lacing.
Remember, if you upgrade from 3 points of “normal ware” to the equivalent in alpha grade, the alpha
only takes 2.4 Essence points off, but you do not get the excess back—you simply have a 0.6 point “hole” that
can be filled with something else at no further Essence cost until the “hole” is exceeded.
Can I upgrade my cyberdeck, or RCC?
You may “upgrade” a cyberdeck, or RCC to the next better model (or higher if you can afford it). First,
you must make an Availability test to see if you can find one you desire (paying for any additional dice based
on the value of the cyberdeck or RCC you wish to purchase). Once you know you can get your hands on it, you
take your old deck, or RCC to trade in. The higher quality gear tends to keep its value, so you get (Device
Rating) x 15% of the original price back.
I really like the idea of a kama adept but kamas aren’t listed in any sourcebook, is there a way to get
them?Shadowrun Missions Guide 36
With GM approval, you can ‘reskin’ a simple melee weapon. Nothing with incorporated electronics or
sophisticated mechanics are valid for this purpose. For example, you can purchase a combat knife and describe
it as a kama while keeping all of the stats for the combat knife.
How long does it take to heal?
Damage that is sustained during gameplay is assumed to be fully healed between Missions. To heal
during a Mission, use the normal rules for healing (SR6, pgs. 118-121).
If my equipment takes Matrix damage or is bricked, how long does it take to repair?
Equipment that is bricked during gameplay is assumed to be fully repaired and between Missions. To
repair items during a Mission, use the repair rules (SR6, p. 175). A bricked device can function again when it
has even a single box restored to its Condition Monitor.
If my vehicles or drones have taken damage, how long does it take to repair?
Provided you have the proper skills and tools, you can repair drones and vehicles free of cost as a down
time activity. You can repair
● 1 Drone or vehicle for every two full ranks in the Engineering Skill.
● 1 Drone or Vehicle of the type of Engineering Specialization or Expertise you possess.
BUT you must also have an appropriate toolkit, shop, or facility:
● With a toolkit, you are limited to repairing one drone or vehicle.
● With a shop, you are limited to repairing up to three drones or vehicles.
● With a facility, there is no limit.Shadowrun Missions Guide 37
SECTION 7: SHADOWRUN 6TH WORLD #
Disallowed Qualities:
Positives:
Bilko Contacts II (p. 327)
Negatives:
None disallowed
How many people can help on a teamwork test?
GMs may limit participants in any given teamwork test based on conceivability of assistance. For
instance, a shadowrunner with Athletics could not assist another runner with an Athletics + Agility or Athletics
Strength test if they were not actually present. Only two, maybe three, individuals could work together to
open a mechanical lock without getting in each other’s way. These should pass a commonsense check.
Otherwise, the person who received help can only take help up to the ranks in the skill.
Who can use Edge on teamwork tests?
Only the leader of a teamwork test can use Edge with one exception. Runners who are assisting may
use the 2-Edge Boost to give an ally 1 Edge. During combat, helpers spend an Assist (A) Major Action and can
spend the Edge at that point.
How do I negotiation for better pay with Mr. Johnson?
To speed up play, negotiations for pay will be a single Influence (Negotiation) + Charisma versus
Influence (Negotiation) + Charisma opposed test.
How often do I gain Edge from First Impression?
You gain Edge from this quality for the first time you interact with an NPC and applies to all Social
Tests with that NPC for the entire first scene. This applies to in-person or virtual meets.
Given that a social encounter takes multiple combat turns in length, what are my limitations on Edge
gain?
The limit for gaining Edge in a social encounter is 2 Edge per action. So, while a runner could have
First Impressions, Sunguard jewelry, voice modulator, and a high Social Rating, they are still limited to 2 Edge
gain per action.
What counts as your ‘local neighborhood’ for Home Ground?
Choose a ward or district. In Neo-Tokyo, this could be Kabukicho, Chiba, or something similar. In
Seattle, districts would include Bellevue, Downtown, Redmond Barrens, and Renton.
What are my choices for allergies?
GMs have discretion in disapproving outlandish choices. Regardless of your choice, uncommon
allergens will pop up around one in six times while on a Mission and common allergens will pop up about half
the time.
What constitutes ‘using AR’ for AR Vertigo?
Anytime your character is running image link or using a DNI to see AR, they are subject to AR Vertigo.
Generally, if you cannot see AR, you cannot be subject to AR Vertigo. This means it is possible to operate a
commlink, drive a vehicle, or perform other Matrix associated tasks without the effects of AR Vertigo.
Can non-awakened characters take Astral Beacon or Spirit Bane?
Absolutely. With Astral Beacon, characters may need to roll a separate ‘untrained’ stealth test against
astral observers. For example, a character with 8 Agility and 6 Stealth only uses 7 dice. NOTE: Astral
observation uses Intuition + Perception to spot characters using stealth. Assensing does not ‘find’ auras, it readsShadowrun Missions Guide 38
them.
Can I create my own Honorbound code of honor?
You can use the codes of honor listed in the sidebar on page 77 and any that are allowed from further
sourcebooks in their respective sections of the Guide. Additionally, if your code of honor is an attributable cause
to a loss of Reputation for the team, you lose an additional point of Reputation (this represents a general sense
that your character may be more difficult to work with than others).
Can I take Impaired Attribute multiple times?
Yes, but you can only take it once per Attribute.
Can I take Incompetent (Hacking) when I am not a decker?
Yes, but it needs to be a skill that you can take. Just realize that this will put your character into
positions where you need to use that skill. If you are Incompetent (Firearms), during combat, the things you do
while hiding still hurts your team, and opponents gain Edge. In the case of Hacking, maybe you just can’t help
yourself when your commlink pops up that link for “HOT MILFS IN YOUR AREA” or Nigerian Prince scam
and the GM grants temporary Edge to the other side when they are hacking your PAN or your team’s PAN.
Essentially, if you are on the receiving end of a test where someone is using a skill you are incompetent in, they
will gain Edge.
When are payments due for the In Debt quality?
Minimum payments are due every other SRM (see Section 7, Passage of Time) and must be paid
directly out of nuyen Earned for that Mission (you don’t even see that nuyen on your journal). This realistically
means you can’t have more than 20 Karma worth of debt and be able to pay interest each month. You do not
have the option to NOT pay. Additional payments towards the debt can be made as desired. If in the case that
you have failed a mission and have not gained enough nuyen to pay your debt, you gain one point of Heat, are
reduced to zero nuyen, and start the mission with 3 Stun and 3 Physical damage. This damage is from the loan
shark’s muscle extracting a late payment penalty and is what remains after applying triage healing methods
(such as first aid or magical healing).
Can I take more than one mentor spirit?
No.
Can I Amp Up a spell a ludicrous amount, increase the AoE to encompass the world and just take out
everybody? I’ll take the Drain.
You are limited to Amping Up your spell damage up to the greater of your [Magic or Sorcery] rating
DV or increasing the AoE up to the greater of your [Magic or Sorcery] rating x2.
Can a spirit take an optional power multiple times?
Yes. For example, a Spirit of Man can take Innate Spell twice, each time with a different spell, and a
spirit of air could take Elemental Attack twice, giving it the opportunity to hurl electricity or ice (but not
electrified ice). Some powers have no additional effect if taken twice (such as the Fear power) and no powers
can stack (taking Movement twice does not grant the ability to multiply or divide the target’s movement rate by
Magic x 2). Powers that cause damage do not increase their DV or AP, however elemental effects on Energy
Aura will occur simultaneously and apply the most beneficial AP between the chosen elements.
How do the corrosive # and burning # statuses work?
Unless they specify otherwise: all statuses that inflict damage inflict physical damage and they do so
at the end of the combat round. When an attack that inflicts a burning # or corrosive # status does not state the
exact value, then assume it establishes or increases the status by 1. If two or more effects apply to the same
attack (for example, a spirit of fire with elemental aura and engulf) then the level is increased by 1 for each such
effect.
For example, the combination of abilities such as the use of Engulf coupled with Elemental Aura would
increase the condition status by 2. The reason this is increased by 2 is because neither power specifies the level
of Burning, so each increment the current state from 0 to 1 and then 1 to 2.Shadowrun Missions Guide 39
What tests does the confused # status affect?
The confused status affects all tests that use a Skill.
Are Preparations and Alchemy allowed?
Yes.
Can a stim patch be used to heal Drain?
Technically, stim patches do not heal anything. They simply temporarily remove the damage for a
short period of time. So yes, stim patches can be used to negate the stun damage done by drain.
However, when the stim patch wears off the user reapplies the removed stun damage, plus one extra
box of stun. To prevent abuse, this extra box of stun is also counted as Drain damage, and thus is unable to be
healed magically.
What critter powers are affected in the same way as spells when ‘cast’ through a mana barrier?
Any critter power with a range of LOS, with a duration of Instant or a Sustained, or that allows a
resistance test is affected if ‘cast’ through a mana barrier.
What magical effects/items are blocked or can be disrupted by passing through a mana barrier?
Foci, alchemical preparations, all spells, sustained critter powers, activated adept powers that have a
‘duration’ (such as Attribute Boost), spirits, and dual-natured creatures.
Can a mage quicken spells that were cast on another character?
Yes, a mage can quicken any sustained spell that they cast, whether it is on themselves, another person,
or even on an item. However, in Missions, the Quickening must be done concurrently with the initial casting,
and you must buy hits. Further, you cannot use Edge or reagents. Quickening a spell on another character or
their gear counts as a professional service and falls under the rules for trading goods and services in Section 7.
It is important to note that you cannot use Masking or Flexible Signature on other people or items,
quickening your spells on others gets you a point of Heat, to represent all the times that character spread your
astral signature all over a crime scene and didn’t clean it up.
Further, possessing quickened spells presents issues such as passing through mana barriers (disrupted
quickened spells end permanently and Karma spent does not provide a dice bonus to the test to avoid being
disrupted) or attracting unwanted attention. In high security areas, Corporate or Law Enforcement Mages may
dispel quickened spells out of hand, especially if they may pose a threat to the security of the area.
Does the creation of alchemical preparations take hours to create and then last only hours?
For the purposes of Missions, alchemical preparations take five minutes to create, and last Potency x
2 hours. The creation of preparations requires the use of a magical lodge.
Do physical augmentations carry over into non-physical spaces (e.g. astral or VR)?
Yes, regardless of sources, augmentations to Attributes and Skills (but not other traits, such as Initiative
Dice) carry over. Keep in mind that many attributes are replaced in those situations.
Can I use skillsofts with the Emulate (Program) complex form?
No.
Can I use tattletale on a spider in a host?
No, spiders have been given elevated privileges by GOD while on the host they are currently admin
of. When they get hit by Tattletale, no OS is accrued.
If an item, skill, power, spell, etc. is listed with different stats in two different published books, which
book takes precedence?
This should not happen, and when it does it’s simply an accident. Usually, it’s simply a typo or
something didn’t get renamed as it is supposed to be a new or separate version of the item or power.
Official errata should be released to correct this oversight. However, if errata are not released beforeShadowrun Missions Guide 40
the book becomes Missions legal, use the earlier instance of the item until either the Official errata is released
or the Missions Guide gets updated. As always, keep an eye on the official Shadowrun Missions forums for the
latest news and rulings before they are released.
Do cyberjaws automatically come with cyberskulls?
No. By default, a cyberskull comes with a non-combat rated jaw. You can purchase the combat rated
cyberjaw separately paying nuyen and essence cost.
What Augmentation bonuses stack?
The attribute bonuses can stack unless the gear specifically states that it will not stack. The adrenaline
pump is special in that Wired Reflexes and Synaptic Boosters state that it does not stack with other items that
boost Reaction, but for SRM we are allowing this as the adrenaline pump is releasing a drug in your system
which does stack. But here are a couple of basic rules for “does it stack:”
Drugs will stack with augmentations that won’t stack.
Initiative Dice never stacks unless it explicitly says it does, and instead it uses the highest.
The adrenaline pump is pumping a drug into your system. See #1.
Can you clarify what constitutes an Augmented Attribute?
Yes. Anything that increases an attribute above its natural, base score is considered an Augmentation.
This includes cyberware, bioware, magic, adept powers, drugs, and anything else that adds to your attribute. In
all cases, the limit of +4 remains in place unless a power or ability specifically says it breaks that cap.
Can you clarify what constitutes an Augmented Skill?
All dice pool modifications for a skill test, except for modifications already subject to the Augmented
Attribute Limit, and specializations/expertise, count against the Augmented Skill Limit. This includes bonuses
from foci.
What isn’t subject to Augmented maximums?
Specializations/expertises, and other bonuses that give themselves exceptions to augmented
maximums, such as teamwork (which limits at the leader’s skill ranks), minor actions that don’t add a skill (Hit
the Dirt, Take Aim), or dice that are added to a test by spending an action.
Augmented maximum examples:
A test consists of two components: an Attribute and a Skill, or an Attribute plus a second Attribute. If
you have foci or boost that doesn’t specify the Attribute or Skill it affects, the player is able to apply the bonus
to which ever part of the test they want, but that bonus can only be applied to a single part of the test. So, if you
have a Force 8 power focus, you can’t split the +8 into two +4.
There are times when you can have three parts to a test if you spend a Minor action to add a skill to the
defense test. In this case, the total maximum dice pool bonus is +12. Teamwork tests or Take Aim actions which
follow a different limit as documented in the book are not counted against any of the +4 limits.
Example 1: An adept with Agility 6 + Close Combat 6 + weapon focus 6. This gives them a dice pool
of 16, because the adept can only benefit from a +4 augmented bonus from the weapon focus (Force 6). Adept
is going to make a melee attack against a target, but also uses a called shot for more damage and a martial art
that reduces the dice pool of -4 to -2 for +2 DV. The -2 dice pool for the Call a Shot/Martial Art action is offset
by the +6 of the Weapon Focus and that the +4 Augmented Limit is met. Their total would still be 16 dice. If
they Take Aim twice, then the dice pool is 18 dice.
Example 2: A character has Reaction 3 (7) + Intuition 4 and has Athletics 2 (6). On incoming fire, the
player uses the Dodge Minor Action, to add their Athletics to their Defense test. In addition, the character has
the Adept power Combat Sense at rank 6 but has been wounded with 4 boxes of damage. The normal dice pool
would be 21, using 4 of the 6 ranks of Combat Sense. With the wound penalty, the dice pool is still 21, because
the 5th rank of Combat Sense offsets the penalty.
Do I get a +2 when I use my exotic weapon because it is a specialization?
No. You’re required to have the specialization to even use the weapon and don’t get the +2 from the
specialization.Shadowrun Missions Guide 41
Can I buy skill wires for exotic weapons?
Skill softs are for each specialization. If you want both grenade launchers and monofilament whip, you
will need to purchase two separate skillsofts.
When using a drone, do I use Firearms or Engineering to shoot a gun?
You use Engineering (Gunnery) for all mounted weapons. The exception being that you may use
Firearms/Close Combat/Exotic, as per the weapon, if you are both jumped in and the drone is wielding the
weapon in an arm/hand, rather than a weapon mount. For example, if you have a standard Steel Lynx with a
MMG in a Heavy weapon mount, you use Engineering (Gunnery); However, if that same Steel Lynx is holding
a katana in a Drone Arm mount, you use the Close Combat Skill
Do datajacks require a fiberoptic cable?
Datajacks can operate as receivers for wireless signals, effectively acting as an antenna in your brain
meat. However, some devices will require a direct fiber optic connection (throwbacks or devices that have had
their wireless turned off or disabled). But under normal circumstances, you can use a datajack wirelessly. The
datajack does include one meter of retractable micro-cable.
How does regular armor interact with vehicle armor?
What are you even doing!? OK, fine, I get it. An anthropomorphic drone wearing regular armor will
use the higher rating of its own armor or the worn armor.
How is Heat determined?
For individual interactions, use the individual’s Heat. For results that encompass the team, the average
Heat of all shadowrunners involved will be used.
When do I use Multiple Attack and when do I use Firing Modes? How do they interact?
As stated in the corrected third printing, firing modes that grant multiple attacks don’t require the
multiple attacks action. However, if you want to use SS, SA burst, or BF Narrow burst attacks on multiple
targets, that will still require the multiple attacks minor action. And the expenditure of that additional ammo!
What about dual wielding firearms? Do I get my full dice pool using Anticipation?
You may make sort-of-aimed shots with two guns at once, but only if they’re at the same target. No
BF wide bursts and no FA attacks while dual wielding! In SRM, resolve this attack as a Link-Fire action (Double
Clutch, p. 143). This is limited to ranged weapons but can be used with any number of arms. Note that this
attack is not using the Multiple Attack minor action, and therefore cannot benefit from Anticipation.
How does Clean Living work?
Missions play requires a minimum of Low lifestyle for this quality in addition to paying the additional
500 nuyen per month. As soon as you fail to pay the minimum amount, you immediately lose 2 Body points.
Upon paying the required nuyen, your 2 Body points are restored. For the purpose of improving your attribute,
your Body score is considered to be the higher value even when you aren’t able to pay and is subject to the +4
augmentation limit. This does not adjust the availability of gear at character generation. This includes both the
Emerald City and the Seattle Edition qualities.
Does an addiction have to be illegal?
No, but an addiction always comes with a cost. Your lifestyle cost increases by 5% x addiction level
to a minimum of 100 nuyen per month. Gotta feed that addiction and the only way to do that is through paying
your dealer.
Can I negate the Wild Die effect with Edge?
No. You can spend Edge to re-roll the die, but the effect doesn’t change. If you roll more than one
Wild Die, then each of the effects are still in place. So, you could roll a 5 and a 1, and you would have the 3
successes but other non-Wild Dice showing 5s don’t count as successes.Shadowrun Missions Guide 42
Can Edge Boosts and Edge Actions be reduced to cost 0 Edge?
No, unless the Edge cost reduction is specific to a single named action or boost, such as Ballestra (FS,
p. 103) and the Shank Edge Action (SR6, p. 48). Abilities that reduce cost in general, cannot reduce the cost to
0.
Can I negate a Glitch or Critical Glitch with Edge?
Only using specific types of Edge actions. The 2-Edge boost to add +1 to a single die can potentially
remove a Glitch or Critical Glitch. The 3-Edge boost to buy one automatic hit can move a Critical Glitch to a
Glitch but doesn’t remove a Glitch. The 4-Edge boost to add Edge to your dice pool effectively increases the
number of 1s required to Glitch or Critical Glitch and can remove a Critical Glitch or a Glitch.
Can all targets spend Edge on LOS(A) attacks like full auto, spells, or grenades?
For spells and full auto, each person can spend Edge on the test. This also means that if there are three
targets, they can each spend 1 Edge to have the caster or shooter to reroll successes.
Blast Attacks (SR6, p. 114) have no defense test and therefore Edge cannot be spent against the attack.
For Qualities that cost less than 8 Karma, do they give permanent Edge?
See Rebalanced Edge Qualities (6WC, p. 144), as this is used in Missions.
How does a drone or vehicle defend against spells?
We have a new rule, please see Double Clutch p. 134.
I don’t see a first aid kit?
You can use a medkit as a first aid kit or you can get a separate first aid kit that costs 50 nuyen and is
Availability 1.
What happens to net hits when using capsule rounds or injected toxins?
When you hit a target with a toxin using darts, there is no base damage from the weapon. Any net hits
do not add to the damage done as all damage is based on the amount of toxin that the target fails to resist.
Do I have to end my movement when I perform another action?
The use of a minor action to move allows you to move your full range during that combat round. This
means that during your turn, you can move three meters, shoot, move five meters, and take cover. This set of
actions costs a minor to move, a major to shoot, and another minor to take cover.
How do I apply injection toxins to a weapon (SR6, p. 121)?
Injection vector toxins may be administered by a bladed weapon (p. 121, SR6W) that deals physical
damage. To use, it is a Major Action (I) and requires a successful Biotech + Logic (2) test to apply a toxin to a
suitable weapon in such a way that it retains its potency for 5 minutes, with an additional minute per net hit.
The first attack that succeeds with at least two net hits (or one net hit if the target has no armor) will deliver the
toxin as well as the damage from the weapon. If that successful attack has less net hits, the toxin is wiped off
the blade without being delivered into the bloodstream and will not be added to the damage from the hit. On a
glitch or crit glitch for the Biotech test, you cut yourself on the blade and must resist the toxin. Sheathing the
blade does not wipe away the venom, however retracting an envenomed cyberspur or razors will require the
runner to take a toxin resistance test and the toxin is now internal to the street samurai.
Can I stack spells and complex forms?
Casting the same spell or complex form against the same target does not stack the results unless the
spell or complex form specifically says that it does. For instance, if you use the Diffusion (Firewall) complex
form and get 2 net hits, and then use Diffusion (Firewall) a second time and get 3 net hits while sustaining the
first complex form; the Firewall of the target is reduced by 3 and not 5. If you and a friend both cast Increased
Reflexes on you, where you get 3 net hits and your friend gets 2 net hits, your Reaction and Initiative Dice
increase by 3.
How much do gnat drones cost?Shadowrun Missions Guide 43
While the description lists that the drones come in ten packs, the cost of 800 nuyen is per drone.
Assist and teamwork tests in initiative don’t seem to work well together?
The Assist action is an Anytime action. When the runner declares they are assisting, they must have a
Major Action left. The assister only needs to declare they are assisting before the leader acts which does not
need to occur on the assisters turn. They then immediately spend the action and perform the teamwork test. The
leader of the test must use the bonus dice from the teamwork test on the next action they have, or the teamwork
bonus is lost. You cannot assist yourself.
Can I assist someone in combat?
Yes, but the gamemaster has final say if the action you are performing can assist someone else.
Some actions aren’t necessarily declared I or A in the books, what do we treat them as by default?
If the action is tied to another action, then treat it as the same such as Riposte in Firing Squad which is
considered part of the Block Anytime Action. For other actions that aren’t tied to another action, then if the
action requires a dice roll, it is considered an Initiative Action, and anything else is considered an Anytime
Action.
Can I buy quickened spells in downtime or character creation?
No on character creation. You can buy quickened spells from mages during downtime from one of
your contacts. This contact must be a mage with that spell and Connection 3+ and not a contact group. The
caster will be willing to quicken a spell with drain up to their Loyalty. The cost of the quickened spell is (2,000
x Drain Value) nuyen. Their dice pool is 14 and will buy hits against the standard resistance for the spell.
The mage contact will only be spending 1 Karma to quicken the spell, so the dispelling resistance pool
is the (Drain Value x 2) + 1.
If you are ever arrested, or your SIN is burned, then you have permanently lost that contact and the
spell is dispelled.
Why wouldn’t I pay to have spells quickened on me?
Quickening can be a cheap way to get a boost for abilities, skills, or even illusions. The main detriment
is that you can’t turn it off and running into a mana barrier suddenly becomes a big issue for you getting into
areas where your objective might be. Besides the spell getting stripped of by barriers, other casters are going to
really prioritize stripping the spell off you as well. The more flexible approach is sustained spell and sustaining
foci.
When re-registering a sprite, how much time does it take?
Re-registering a sprite is a full register action and takes the same amount of time. In addition, the
technomancer still needs to resist fading as per normal.
What type of action is Command Sprite?
Command Sprite is a Minor Action (A).
How does a technomancer use a smartgun system?
The same way anyone else can. They just use contacts, goggles, glasses, cybereyes, or the cyberware
implant.
Can a drone use a smartgun system?
Drones can only use the smartgun system if they have the targeting autosoft and the gun has the
smartgun system installed.
Can I combine drugs for use in capsule rounds, gas grenades, or other delivery mechanism?
No.Shadowrun Missions Guide 44
SECTION 8: MATRIX FAQ #
If you are confused by some elements of the Matrix, have a look at the 6WE Matrix FAQ. Not all the
rules apply to SRM, but there are useful explanations and examples to help you get a leg up on the Matrix.
How many devices can I have on my PAN?
For SRM, there isn’t a limit to the networked devices you can have on your PAN. Drones and vehicles
attached to your RCC however are considered slaved devices which are limited by the RCC. There is a single
device that is the primary which deals with protecting the other devices on the PAN and is the one that takes the
damage first. For simplicity, the order of damage goes Cyberdeck, RCC, Cyberjack, Commlink, then devices.
So, I want to hack a device directly, can I do that?
Devices that are on a PAN are always protected by the stats of the PAN. Things on the PAN all share
the same User and Admin access levels, so if you hit the cybereyes of the street samurai, you can move on and
mess with their biomonitor or their cyberarm next without additional hacking actions. Once you hack into the
network, you are in. This means that directly wiring to a camera still means that you are attacking the network.
Illegal access of User or Admin on a PAN accumulates Overwatch just like in a host.
Are all hosts in a nested host network part of the same network like a PAN?
They aren’t. Each individual host is a network of devices, files, and agents that share access levels, but
these aren’t shared with the sub-host that is attached to it. However, once you gain access to a host and the subhost you can take actions on both. Just as a fun reminder, your Overwatch is growing based on both those hosts’
access level. You can control the growth of OS by exiting subhosts, but you must retain access to the hierarchy.
Can I use an RCC and a Cyberdeck together for my hacking?
No. The cyberdeck must be used in conjunction with either a commlink or a cyberjack. An RCC and
a cyberdeck can be on the same PAN, but the ASDF used is from the commlink or cyberjack plus the cyberdeck.
What specialization and expertise apply to my Matrix Actions?
Cracking
o Cybercombat: Brute Force, Crash Program, Data Spike, Device Lock, Disarm Data
Bomb, Resonance Spike, Tar Pit
o Electronic Warfare: Calibration, Check OS, Hide, Jam Signals, Masquerade, Popup,
Snoop, Watchdog
o Hacking: Backdoor Entry, Crack File, Delayed Command, Garbage In / Garbage Out,
Known Exploit Backdoor Entry, Metahuman in the Middle, Probe, Puppeteer
Cyberware, Spoof Command
Electronics
o Computer: Edit File, Encrypt File, Erase Matrix Signature, Hash Check, Matrix
Perception, Matrix Search, Modify Icon, Threat Analysis
o Hardware: Denial of Service, Squelch, Subvert Infrastructure, Turning off Wireless,
removing headjammer, using keycard copier, using tag eraser, using bug scanner
o Software: Control Device, Format Device, Jack Out, Jump into Rigged Device, Reboot
Device, Set Data Bomb, Trace Icon
o Complex Forms: Any complex form that rolls Electronics
Can I use multiple Emergency Boost Matrix Edge Actions?
Yes, you can spend multiple times and stack the bonus up to the +4 maximum.
Is the Probe action’s hits subject to the +4 Augmented maximum?
No. Any accumulated hits can be applied on the Backdoor Entry. As part of the Probe action being an
Extended test, be aware that the defense dice pool doesn’t reduce by 1 on each subsequent round, but the
attacker’s dice pool does reduce by 1 on each round.Shadowrun Missions Guide 45
SECTION 9: ENHANCED FICTION/RULES LITE #
Disallowed Qualities:
Positives:
Bilko Contact II (Emerald City, p. 110)
Drake (Lofwyr’s Legions, p. 16)
Evo In (Power Plays, p. 71)
Ghost Town (Shadow Cast, p. 57)
GOD-Slayer (Shadow Cast, p. 85)
Healthy Community (Shadow Cast, p. 57)
Heart of Humanis (Emerald City, p. 180)
Hipster (Power Plays, p. 85)
Latent Drake (Lofwyr’s Legions, p. 16)
Made (Emerald City, p. 194)
Networked In (Power Plays, p. 113)
Negatives:
S-K Swagger (Power Plays, p. 130)
Tragic Regrets (Shadow Cast, p. 57)
Disallowed Quality Paths:
Back in the Game (Shadow Cast, p. 47)
Best of the Best (Shadow Cast, p. 167)
Drone Technologist (Shadow Cast, p. 95)
Enmity of a Dragon (Shadow Cast, p. 16)
Gestalt (Shadow Cast, p. 152)
Home Sweet Home (Shadow Cast, p. 33)
Hunter of Gunmen (Shadow Cast, p. 143)
Mac the Wrench (Shadow Cast, p. 94)
Not So Free Spirit (Shadow Cast, p. 34)
Operations Ace (Shadow Cast, p. 153)
Spiritual Assistance (Shadow Cast, p. 33)
Street Medicine (Shadow Cast, p. 160)
The Bad Beat (Shadow Cast, p. 128)
The Healing Journey (Shadow Cast, p. 68)
The Human Touch (Shadow Cast, p. 63)
The Racing Family (Shadow Cast, p. 135)
Training Montage (Shadow Cast, p. 69)
What is Most Sacred (Shadow Cast, p. 121)
Worse Things than Me (Shadow Cast, p. 26)
Wreck and Recovery (Shadow Cast, p. 135)
From Adversary, is the Adversary mentor spirit allowed?
Yes.
From No Future, can I run concerts and make some nuyen in my downtime?
Unfortunately, this is outside the scope of SRM and not legal.
From No Future, for Candle in the Darkness (p. 161), does this work for group contacts?
No. Candle in the Darkness does not work on group contacts.
From No Future, what skill is used to attack with a yo-yo?
Yo-yos require their own Exotic Weapon skill.Shadowrun Missions Guide 46
From No Future, what skill is used to attack with a rolling blade?
Rolling blades use the Close Combat skill but require a wild die in the attack test.
From No Future, do Molotovs apply the Burning Condition?
Yes, they apply the Burning Condition at a rating equal to the damage taken after resisting with body.
From No Future, how do I light a Molotov cocktail?
To light a Molotov, you use the Ready Weapon action. This is separate from the Ready Weapon action
you use to pull the thing out of the milk crate you have strapped to the back of your Dodge Scoot. So to throw
one, it costs 1 Minor Action to pull the cocktail, 1 Minor Action to light the weapon, and then 1 Major Action
to toss it.
From No Future, can I fit three dwarfs in a trenchcoat?
No, only two dwarfs can fit in a single trenchcoat.
From No Future, the Cybereyes Rating 5 and Cyberears Rating 5 have different ratings than in the Core
Rulebook. Which should we use?
For purposes of Shadowrun Missions in the Sixth World, consider the systems in No Future to be rating
6 and 7, respectively. Thus, the Rating 5 systems use the Core Rulebook, the Rating 5 systems in No Future are
now Rating 6 and the Rating 6 systems in No Future are rating 7.
From No Future, how does the Massive Network quality affect Missions specific contacts?
Whenever you choose to Strengthen Loyalty, you may choose any other contact with a Loyalty of 4 or
less and increase their loyalty as well, provided you have enough Favor Points.
From No Future, how does the Networker quality affect Missions specific contacts?
Whenever you choose to Strengthen Loyalty, you may choose any other contact with a Loyalty of 2 or
less and increase their loyalty as well, provided you have enough Favor Points.
From No Future, how does the Stolen Gear quality work with Missions?
Here is the Missions legal version of the negative quality.
Stolen Gear
Bonus: 0 Karma
You can convert between 1 and 20 Karma to gain one or more pieces of gear worth that amount of
nuyen at a rate of 10,000 nuyen to 1 Karma. Any nuyen left over does not go back into your pocket. That money
is lost. In addition to the Gear, you automatically start with 2 Heat if you take this quality at character creation
and gain 2 Heat if you gain it during play.
Missions play doesn’t directly handle bounty hunters during the middle of a run, but your downtime is
no longer safe. Based on the hunted frequency, when your character is affected, they start with 1 box of Physical
Damage per stolen gear level. This damage cannot be healed with medkit or magic and can only be healed
naturally. You also start with a box of Stun for every Karma point above the minimum Karma for that stolen
gear level. Damage reduction augmentations such as increased Body or platelet factories does not reduce the
damage.
If you wish to buy this quality off, you need to pay both the nuyen and two times the Karma
expenditure.
Stolen Gear Table
Karma Spent Stolen Gear Level Hunted Frequency
1-5 1 Once per 4 Mission Every Mission
6-10 2 Once per 3 Mission Every Mission
11-15 3 Once per 2 Mission Every Mission
16-20 4 Every Mission
Examples: At 1 Karma, you start every 4th mission you play with 1 Physical Damage filled in.
At 7 Karma, you start every 3rd mission you play with 2 Physical Damage and 1 Stun Damage.
At 14 Karma, you start every other mission you play with 3 Physical Damage and 3 Stun Damage.Shadowrun Missions Guide 47
At 20 Karma, you start EVERY every mission with 4 Physical Damage and 4 Stun Damage.
From No Future, are the Life Modules something we can use in Missions?
Life Modules are not used in Missions at this time. None of the Life Modules from No Future are legal
in Missions.
From No Future, both AutoVoice and Vocal Expansion refer to 5th Edition rules, how does it apply in 6th?
For AutoVoice, the rating provides a dice pool modification equal to the rating for any skill test using
Con (Singing). For Vocal Expansion, adds its rating to the Social Rating for social encounters using Influence
or Con.
From Krime Katalog, how do I resolve a Krime Karpet attack?
For the purposes of SRM, this grenade carpet bomb attack is treated as a Link-Fire attack (Double
Clutch, p. 143) and doesn’t cost the extra minor action.
From Krime Katalog, does a Krime Party grenade do both DVs at once?
No. The grenade must be configured in either frag or flash-bang mode. It takes a (I) minor action to
swap modes.
From Age of Rust, can I purchase a Buzzard Transit?
Certainly!
From Ingentis Athletes, are the Troll Variants allowed?
Yes, however note that the new qualities can only be applied to the respective variant. These qualities
do not count towards your quality count.
From Slip Streams, is the Returned Soldier Quality legal for Shadowrun Missions?
For 2081, it is, with the following caveats:
If Distant Vision is chosen and the character was not otherwise Awakened, they cannot raise
their Magic with Karma. Characters that were not otherwise magicians cannot spend Karma to
learn any additional spells.
If Foresight is chosen, then once per Mission, the player may announce that a previous glimpse
of the future provides insight into the present moment and thus gain a Point of Edge during a
test when they otherwise would not have. If it was an opposed test and the opponent would have
gained a Point of Edge, then the player gets it instead.
If Telekinesis is chosen, they cannot move something if it is contested. They cannot pull
something from a person’s grasp, override another magic spell or power that is moving an object,
or rip an item from something it is attached to.
For 2083, at the start of the year, the ripple impact of the shadow war with Dis has resulted in changes
in returned soldiers. The result is that any character who is a returned soldier is impacted. If your character is a
Returned Soldier, you have three options to maintain missions-legal status for any games that are 2083.
Something happened and your connection with Dis has snapped. The result though is you can now
sense the mana sphere. Replace the Returned Soldier quality and associated powers with the Latent
Awakening quality (15 Karma version, Sixth World Companion, p. 146).
If you have an already Awakened Returned Soldier, then you will end up losing that quality and
the associated power. You can then spend the associated refunded Karma on a new quality without
needing to pay the normal double the Karma cost for buying the quality after character creation.
It’s recommended to buy a SURGE quality to match some of the associated powers.
You get a free mulligan to keep all mission rewards and apply it to a new character concept.
From Collapsing Now, can I buy the GreenWar Gear?
Yes, but you must have a contact that is associated with this faction. In addition to the contact,
Asphyxia Spores have an availability of 6I and costs 60 nuyen per dose. Hyperallergenic has an availability of
5I and costs 90 nuyen per dose.Shadowrun Missions Guide 48
From Power Plays, does my lodge count as a Shinto lodge for Shinto Summoner (p. 146)?
Nope. You need a full-blown Shinto shrine.
From Power Plays, I am a Fashion Influencer, can I buy gear for all my friends (p. 158)?
Nope. The point of being a Fashion Influencer is that it is special because you are wearing it. These
outfits are tailor made for you and the brands want to see you in it. You can’t buy for others or share your
wardrobe with others.
From Power Plays, can I buy a lot of Cheap Knockoffs (p. 172)?
Yes, the product only lasts for the mission that it is purchased in. Once it has finished its couple of
days in the sun, it falls apart like the cheap drek it is.
From The Kechibi Code, can I get the Kechibi Code (p. 85)?
No.
From The Kechibi Code, can I buy Guizhen items (p. 86-87)?
These are not available for Missions play.
From Lofwyr’s Legions, can use the new martial art, Drachenklaue (p. 25)?
Yes, if you have a natural edged weapon or a cyber-implanted edged weapon.
From Emerald City, how does So Many Rich Friends work (p. 60)?
You must maintain High lifestyle or higher in order to take advantage of the lifestyle cost reduction
and be able to gain Edge. In addition, the Edge gained must be used on that test or lost.
From Emerald City, what are the benefits of Advanced Combat Training (p. 110)?
The game effect could be confusing. When you use a combat maneuver (FS, p. 86), you gain +1 Minor
Action and +2 dice pool on the combat maneuver test. In essence, this is a refund on spending the Minor Action
to be able to make the combat maneuver test.
From Emerald City, does Event Horizon Access affect character generation Availability (p. 206)?
No. This does impact all Availability post-character generation, but during character generation, the
availability of items is the same and doesn’t reduce by 2.
From Emerald City, what do the color security ratings mean?
Platinum AAA
Gold AA
Silver A
Bronze B
Copper C
Blue D
White E
Unlisted Z
From Lifestyles of the Shadowy and Infamous, is anything banned for SRM?
Clandestine
Day Job
Hotel California
Household Gremlins
Metaplaner Gateway
No Forwarding Address
Self-Improvement
From Shadow Cast, here are some revisions for Shadowrun Missions.
Talismonger’s Best Friend (p. 16-17)Shadowrun Missions Guide 49
Increase cost of Talismonger’s Assistance to 10 Karma at Character Generation or 20 Karma in
play.
Talismonger’s Assistant when rolling a 1, you lost a Major Downtime Action, or if you don’t
have one (in the case of CMP), you lose both Minor Downtime Actions.
Shamanic Hooder (p. 57)
You must be awakened.
My Neighborhood: This doesn’t decrease in cost for having Home Ground. Buying during
character creation is 10 Karma, or 20 Karma after character creation.
Mama Bear (p. 76)
Combine Mama Bear and Overprotective into a single Positive Quality which costs 5 Karma at
character creation or 10 Karma after character creation.
Panopticon (p. 77)
Combine Dirt Locker I and Big Bad Brother into a single Positive Quality which costs 5 Karma
at character creation or 10 Karma after character creation.
Dissonance Negative Qualities (p. 86)
You can only take these during character creation.
Combat Coordination: Force Recon (p. 93)
This is a Positive Quality and costs 7 Karma.
Purifier: Sense Corruption (p. 104)
Sense Corruption: You don’t need to have assensed the toxic magic or other scary crap in play
in order to take this.
Natural Alchemy: Spending time to collect pure natural ingredients costs a Minor Downtime
Action.
Eagles Ex Machina: (p. 105)
Breath of Binding: The spirit only buys hits if the Force is less than the Magic of the summoner.
Critters Love Me: Edge actions cost 1 less instead of costing 1/2.
Higher Expectations: Karma bonus is 5.
From Astral Ways, can I have a free spirit contact (p. 27)?
Yes.
From Astral Ways, can I summon elementals (p. 46) or take Dinosaur Summoning metamagic (p. 141)?
Yes.
From Astral Ways, can I use true elements or true element foci (p. 57-59)?
No.
From Astral Ways, can I use Faustean crystals (p. 74-75)?
No.
From Astral Ways, can I play as a Tandoran (p. 144)?
Yes.
From Astral Ways, can I have Miggon mutations (p. 152-154)?
No.
From Astral Ways, can I buy shade (p. 164)?
No, use the one from Body Shop instead.Shadowrun Missions Guide 50
From Astral Ways, can I buy a shadow cloak (p. 164)?
Yes.
From Astral Ways, can I buy the sextant of worlds, maps of the astral ways, or shadow amulets (p. 170)?
Yes, but in order to use them, you will need to bind them.
From Astral Ways, can I learn the Metaplanar Stasis spell (p. 173)?
Yes.
From Astral Ways, can I buy an encounter suit (p. 176)?
Yes, but wearing one on a mission increases your heat modifier for each scene you wear it in.
From Bestial Nature, can I play a shifter?
Yes. As a point of clarification, when selecting the Shifter quality, you add additional qualities that are
associated with that main quality. These qualities must thematically fit the base animal that you have selected.
Having an armored sparrow would not be legal. This still provides a lot of leeway in what you build, but
essentially you are creating existing mundane critters. The qualities that are associated with the base animal do
not counter towards the limit of 6 total qualities, only the Shifter quality counts.
From Bestial Nature, does Shifter Grace, Might, and Reflexes (p. 17) count against augmented maximums
or racial maximums?
These three qualities do not adjust the racial maximums and therefore count as augmentations.
From Bestial Nature, does supernatural healing override damage from Stolen Gear or other sources?
For Shadowrun Missions, damage from a source which contains the allergy for that shifter does not
heal at a rate of one test per minute. Instead, damage from these sources is healed at the same rate as other
natural healing. In the case of damage from bounty hunters or other quality-based damage, the hunters are using
weapons which use the allergen for the character.
From Whisper Nets, can I play a monad (p. 149)?
Yes. There are a few addendums to clarify the use of monads in Missions play. When selecting the
Nanite Volume during character generation, the following table sets the NV number at each priority. Nanite
Volume for monads is separately tracked from any nanites used from Body Shop. Any reference to a Nanite
Volume test requires you to roll the Nanite Volume of the character. Any time the character loses Nanite
Volume, this must be re-purchased using Karma and cannot come from other sources of nanites. Nanite Volume
can be allocated between Mental Boosts, Physical Boosts, and Action Use. The total sum of the allocation
cannot exceed the Nanite Volume of the character. Any monad powers are tracked separately from the allocation
of boosts but when the Nanite Volume is temporarily decreased for one minute after boosting, the player must
allocate which monad powers are temporarily offline.
Resculpt requires a Con + Intuition (16, 1 combat round) test to change appearances.
Tech Blast targets a single device per action.
Priority Nanite Volume
A 5
B 4
C 3
D 2
E 0
From Shoot Straight, does the purification straw (p. 115) reduce the chances that I get addicted to a drug?
Absolutely! The drawback is that the positive effects of the drug are also filtered out.
From Shoot Straight, what modification or addendums are there?
For the Police Response time, Security Rating B has a response time of 2D6 + 2 minutes.Shadowrun Missions Guide 51Shadowrun Missions Guide 52
SECTION 10: FIRING SQUAD #
Disallowed Qualities:
Positives:
None disallowed
Negatives:
None disallowed
When I purchase gear with modification, what is the Availability?
If the modification is a flat Availability and not a cumulative Availability, then use the higher of the
Availability values. If there are multiple modifications with a mixture of cumulative and flat Availability, add
the cumulative value after taking the maximum of flat Availability values.
How many modification slots do weapons without this defined have?
If it isn’t mentioned how many slots a weapon has, then it has 2 slots.
Can I wear a ballistic mask and a separate helmet?
If it makes sense (a full-face helmet leaves no room for a separate mask), you may, but the DR does
not stack, so it’s merely a fashion statement.
Can we use the Small Unit Tactic Rules?
Stack and breach! Small Unit Tactics are in.
Can we use the Codes of Honor listed on pages 117-119?
Yes, however we have to warn you that if you take the Code of Wuxia and accept a job with Mr.
Johnson, you’ll be in violation of your code. There’s no exception… we’re not telling you that you can’t take
that Code… but don’t take that code.
How often am I late if I take the Always Late quality?
Always.
How often will a Bad Memory be triggered if I take the Bad Memories quality?
There’s a chance every Mission, but on average about once out of every six SRMs or trigger it yourself.
How often will the Compulsion quality affect me if I take the Compulsion quality?
We encourage you to role play this whenever you can. However, every Mission there is a chance your
Compulsion will be triggered. If you do not indulge it, you start accruing the withdrawal penalty until you go
indulge in your compulsion or the Mission ends.
How often can I expect to suffer a Flashback episode if I take the Flashbacks quality?
There is a chance your Flashback will be triggered in every Mission, but on average a trigger will occur
every other Mission.
How often can I expect to encounter the subject of my phobia if I take the Phobia quality?
There is a chance you can encounter the subject of your Phobia in every Mission, but on average a
trigger will occur nearly every Mission (common), every other Mission (uncommon), one out of every three
Missions (rare) or one out of every six Missions (very rare).
Are Quality Paths used in Missions?
Quality Paths are beyond the scope of Missions.
Are there ways to increase Social Rating for Matrix meets?
Runners can pay for sculpted Matrix icons which increase Social Rating. Runners can buy these offShadowrun Missions Guide 53
the shelf at some Matrix shops or pay to have something completely custom. For each 100 nuyen spent, the
runner gets a +1 to Social Rating. Due to the fast-moving nature of the Matrix culture, a custom persona only
grant a Social Rating bonus for the duration of a single Mission. In addition, the persona should be one that
matches the type of meet and who you are meeting with. It doesn’t matter how much you spent on your digitamagotchi-poke-pet skin, if Mr. Johnson doesn’t like it, it’s not going to help you.
For the M-TOC (p. 89-90), what Edge gain is eligible and when can I move Edge?
The M-TOC system can store Edge above what you can normally have. This applies both to exceeding
2 in a single round and exceeding 7 overall. The minor action to transfer Edge is an (A)nytime action, but if
you wish to transfer Edge again in the same turn, you will need to expend another minor action.
How much capacity does the MEMS system have?
The MEMS harness has a capacity of 20. The breakdown for the system is 12/8 which is the number
for front capacity (12) and back (8). Integrating a MEMS harness into your armor consumes 10 capacity, but
you can just put the harness over the top of your armor. If you chose to put it over the top of your armor, you
don’t have access to any of the gear on your base armor, and during combat you grant Edge to your opponent
as the harness can slide while you’re moving around.
What rating are the reactive plates in the Ares “Bug Stomper” armor?
The armor does not come with the plates themselves; it has just been modified to have the slots, so the
plates do not count against the armor’s capacity. You can pay for and install the level of reactive plates you
want. This armor has plates for front, back, and sides, which represents the four slots.
How does GelWeave work?
GelWeave stiffens when the wearer is struck for 2+ damage from weapons, blasts, or indirect combat
spells. When this happens, that damage is reduced by the GelWeave’s rating. In addition, Agility, Reaction,
and meters of movement is reduced by (GelWeave rating – 1) for three combat turns. If another attack triggers
a subsequent stiffening before this time is up, the time is extended by another three combat turns. Only the
largest single penalty to Agility, Reaction, and movement applies.
Does Neijia bypass a spirit’s Immunity to Natural Weapons?
Yes, but the martial art generates an Astral Combat attack using Close Combat (Unarmed) + Agility
instead of Astral + Willpower. Weapons DVs, weapon skills, and the weapon’s AR do not factor into the attack.
This uses your Unarmed AR and can be modified with cyberware. With this martial art, you can strike astral
entities which include manifested mages and materialized spirits. The Damage Value is not modified by
augmentations, except for magic that increases the Willpower of the martial artist.
What is meant by weapon-related penalties for the Artillery Barrage app?
For SRM, Artillery Barrage Tac-App only applies to grenade launchers, rocket launchers, and mortars.
It does not apply to assault rifles, machine guns, or assault cannons.
If I am a rigger and I jump into a drone, can I use a Martial Art?
Yes, so long as it is an anthropomorphic drone which mimics that of a metahuman using Close Combat
skill or Engineering (Gunnery) dependent on the martial art. Sorry, but your dog drone doesn’t actually know
kung fu. The drones that you can use martial arts with are the Nissan Samurai, Nissan Oni, Shiawase Bi-Drone
Butler, and Shiawase Bi-Drone Man-at-Arms.
How much does it cost to perform a Protect the Principal Edge Action (p. 95)?
This action is a modified version of the Intercept Action where instead of using a Minor action to move
and a Major action to attack, you spend 2 Edge and a Minor action to move and absorb damage to the target.
Can I use Precision Strike with any type of attack, like Corrosive Spit?
No. Precision Strike must be used with a melee attack. While the attack specifies Exotic weapons, it is
for use with Exotic melee weapons only.Shadowrun Missions Guide 54
Does the DR I gain from Threatening Edge count towards damage reduction from the Sixth World
Companion optional rule?
No, although DR from Cover does count.Shadowrun Missions Guide 55
SECTION 11: STREET WYRD #
Disallowed Qualities:
Positives:
None disallowed
Negatives:
Possession Tradition, except for Broussard Vodou (see below)
Can I use Close-Minded Summoner?
Yes, but you are limited to taking this only once.
Why is Scholastic Mage limited to mages and why is the cost weird?
For SRM, Scholastic Mage can be taken by any runner, even mundane runners. The cost of buying the
quality is 2 Karma or 1,000 nuyen per level. If you have In Debt, the cost changes to 2,000 nuyen per level.
Each level gains a single knowledge skill or increases the proficiency level of a language skill. There is no limit
to the number of levels that a runner can take. The cost after character creation is double for either the nuyen or
the Karma option.
Can I summon and bind a free spirit?
No. Sorry, chummer.
Is the Inhabitation or Possession power for spirits Missions-legal?
No, except for the Broussard Vodou tradition (see below).
Does a channeled spirit have its own initiative?
No. The spirit doesn’t have specific actions while in the summoner’s body and is instead lending its
abilities and power to the summoner. The summoner uses their own skills and has full motor control of their
body. The magician has access to the spirit’s powers but at the cost of a service. Because two minds inhabit the
same body, powers and spells are resisted by the lowest Mental attribute. Finally, the spirit cannot leave the
summoner’s body until dismissed, there are no remaining services, or time expires per summoning rules.
A spirit can take over the summoner’s body at the summoner’s command, but this lasts for a single
combat turn. During this turn, the spirit has control of the body and uses its skills.
Can I bind spirits now (p. 62)?
Yes. You can bind your summoned spirits. There are two changes for SRM. The first is that bound
spirits cannot be given the Possession (except for Broussard Vodou) or Inhabitation tasks. The second change
is that for Extended Time, the number of Task Points grants that number of SRM missions that the bound spirit
is available.
Can I get an Ally Spirit (p. 59-61)?
Yes. Creation of the Ally formula requires the use of a Major Downtime Action and must be done by
buying hits. Summoning and Binding don’t require any additional Downtime Actions, but also must be
completed with buying hits. Ally spirits in SRM cannot have the Possession (except for Broussard Vodou) or
Inhabitation power.
The spirits in the CRB now have weaknesses, what about the ones in Street Wyrd?
Below is the list of spirits in Street Wyrd. As a note, using a spirit’s weakness or vulnerability does
bypass Immunity to Normal Weapons. The response of the spirit will be to escape, while trying to still fulfill
the summoner’s basic command.
Spirit of guardian: Allergy (Wood, Severe)
Spirit of guidance: Allergy (Gold, Severe)
Spirit of plant: Allergy (Fire, Vulnerability (SR6, p. 229))
Spirit of task: Allergy (Corrosives, Severe)Shadowrun Missions Guide 56
Can I load a single grenade with all the spirit allergies and weaknesses?
No. In order to get sufficient quantities to affect the spirit, a gas grenade requires a full twenty doses
of the allergen, or it dissipates too much. A spirit exposed to an allergen loses its Immunity to Natural Weapons.
And because these things don’t really have a price:
Grenade Availability Cost
Grenade of ferrous metal 4 250 ¥
Grenade of gold 5 700 ¥
Grenade of silver 5 500 ¥
Grenade of wood 4 250 ¥
How does the Wealth spirit power work with Missions (p. 66, 71)?
It doesn’t work with Missions. You are unable to use it in Missions play.
Can I take the Channeling metamagic (p. 121-122)?
Yes, but you cannot channel a bound spirit and the channeled spirit counts against your maximum
number of spirits.
Can I take Item Attunement (p. 84-85)?
Yes, but there are some restrictions for SRM. First, you can only attune one item per time that you
have Initiated and take the metamagic Item Attunement. If you lose the item, you can re-attune without the need
to initiate again. For instance, you can attune a knife on your first initiation where you take Item Attunement.
On your second initiation, if you take a power point, you can’t attune a second item. On your third initiation,
you take Item Attunement again, so you can attune a second item. At some point, your knife got lost, you can
pay just the attunement cost and attune a new item in its place. As soon as you have attuned a replacement, you
have lost your attunement with the original item.
Second, when you attune an item, you select the skill that you are getting the benefit for. The attuned
item is subject to the +4 maximum for skill boosts.
Third, you can’t attune foci or use the attuned item for Astral, Conjuring, Enchanting, or Sorcery. You
also cannot attune an item that costs essence.
Can I buy alchemical preparations from Imbuing Magic (p. 89-103)?
Absolutely! The Availability of all preparation is (Power + Potency – 4) and they all require a license.
Can Mystic Adepts get Adept Ways?
Yes.
Are all the Adept Powers legal to use?
Yes. Don’t forget that Commanding Voice doesn’t mean that the target will automatically do what you
tell them to do. Orders may never result in the target directly harming themselves, though they may freeze up
for one full round per level of Commanding Voice.
If I use Cosmetic Control at level 2, do I need to pay the troll or dwarf tax?
Yes.
Can I create new spells using the spell ingredients?
No. But if you have a really cool spell idea, post it in the Shadowrun Tabletop forums
(https://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/) and it might get added to the SRM Grimoire. There are some unique
crafted spells associated with the SRM specific covens and conclaves.
Do I get to track Astral Reputation?
AsRep is disallowed for use in SRM. This doesn’t mean that mistreating your current spirit will prevent
it from twisting orders.
Can I use Blood Magic? I promise to only use Life Blood Magic.Shadowrun Missions Guide 57
Yes, this is allowed, however Death Blood Magic is forbidden. First, to learn the Sacrifice Metamagic,
you must have the NPC Professor Vincent Grisome at Loyalty 4. Second, you can only generate Blood Magic
Points from self-sacrifice and not by using a willing NPC or team member. Third, magic boosted by Blood
Magic Points cannot be used where the intention is to kill the target in cold blood. The GM has the final say
whether the usage is covered under Life Magic or not. If the GM says you can’t do it, then it can’t be cast. You
don’t get access to blood spirits either.
Since you are feeling giving, how about Insect Traditions?
Hey! Don’t press your luck. No Insect Traditions.
Can I create my own Conclave or Coven?
No, but for Seattle, we offer you three magical groups that you can join. Joining is as easy as having
Loyalty 2 with the contact in the group, spending 6 Karma, and then abiding by the strictures of the conclave.
In addition, you need to spend either Contact Points or Karma equal to the Connection + Loyalty of the Group
you are joining. Members are also required to spend time helping the conclave. This requires them to spend one
Minor Downtime Activity or Major Downtime Activity (p. 32) every other SRM or once per month. The type
of Downtime Activity the character needs to spend is based on the Loyalty with the group. Members have access
to purchase unique spells that are offered by the magical group. You can join a conclave or coven at character
creation.
Can I improve the Conclave or Covens Loyalty?
Yes. This can be bought during character creation by spending the full price of the group contact (as
written in Sixth World Companion, p. 175). They can be improved during play using Downtime Actions, Karma,
and paying the additional cost. This is further elaborated in the chapter on Sixth World Companion (What is
the impact of group contact rules (6WC, p. 175-176) on existing groups?).
What Mentor Spirit do I gain for joining the Missions-legal magical group?
The Missions-legal magical groups are more open than most and do not have a specific mentor spirit
for the group and does not require you to change your mentor spirit to join. As such, you do not gain a mentor
spirit by joining any of these groups.
Conclave: Guild of Freelance Assets
Size and Location: Dozens of mages and shamans in cities with a Shadow Chapters presence
including Seattle.
Connection: 7
Connection Type: Magical
SRM Contact: Donovan Pyke, Whiskey
Goals: Support the Shadow Chapters resources and train magical talent that is focused on the goals of
the mission without unintended loss, casualties, or victims.
Strictures:
Solidarity: Stand with your fellow members through thick and thin. Must be a member of the
Shadow Chapters.
Community: Spend time and resources helping the local communities.
Specialties:
Usage of magic for shadowrunners.
Non-lethal and non-area effect spell casting.
Unique Spells:
Gibberish (Illusion, Range: LOS, Type: P, Duration: S, DV 4) – The target of the spell is unable
to speak in any coherent language. Pretty handy to prevent that guard from raising the alarm or
notifying a friend. Listeners must make a Judge Intentions test where the threshold is the number
of hits on Sorcery, or they only hear gibberish.
Incomprehensible (Illusion, Range: Touch, Type: P, Duration: S, DV 3) – Ever need to say
something secret? This spell blocks listening devices that try to listen to the target. Observers of
the recording or camera feed must make a Judge Intentions test where the threshold is the
number of hits on Sorcery, or they only hear gibberish.Shadowrun Missions Guide 58
Pinpoint Punch (Combat: Indirect, Range: LOS, Type: P, Duration: I, DV 5, Special) – This spell
is a variation of Stunbolt but with a focus on making sure that it hits. The spell has pinpoint
accurate (+4 AR).
Description: Donovan Pyke started putting together his union of shadowrunners that the chummers at
Jackpoint have dubbed the Shadow Chapters. When getting the organization off the ground, he found building
out a magical conclave was a good incentive for recruiting magical talent. Since then, each of the new cities
they look at expanding in has a new conclave set up. Being part of the Guild does not automatically make you
part of the Shadow Chapters but abiding by the tenets of the Guild make it likely that you get an invite someday.
Turgan Mangu
For more information, see Street Wyrd, p. 138.
Connection: 5
Connection Type: Magical
SRM Contact: Trubble
Unique Spells:
Subtle Trace (Manipulation, Range: LOS, Type: M, Duration: Limited, DV 3) – This spell
magically marks a target for following by someone that can view the astral plane. The mark lasts
for a number of hours equal to the net hits on the test. It is subtle enough to not be picked up on
a glancing assensing, but obvious enough to those who look for it (3 hits).
Mindnet (Detection, Range: LOS(A), Type: M, Duration: S, DV 4) – Developed so that teams
could be in communication even throughout a technology failure (that happens regularly in the
Underground), Mindnet allows a group of voluntary people to communicate freely, exchange
thoughts and images, and emote as long as they are still a part of the spell. This spell uses the
same limitations and resistance as Mindlink (SR6, p. 135).
Voltaic Fence (Manipulation, Range: LOS(A), Type: P, Duration: S, DV 8) – A modified version
of a physical Barrier spell, this spell creates a physical barrier and imbues it with an electrical
charge. Primarily developed for controlling the paracritters in the Feral Underground tunnels, it
has proved itself effective at containing/deterring critters (awakened and mundane), spirits, and
metahumans of all shapes and sizes from advancing through it. If a creature, spirit, or
metahuman contacts the barrier, they must resist Magic / 2 P damage (round up, but the Amp
Up effect can be applied), if all the damage isn’t resisted, they also gain the Zapped condition
(6WE, p109). The spell creates a two-meter by-two-meter by two centimeters thick barrier,
usually stylized as a chain link fence. The Increase Area effect can be added to add up to two
meters in length and width (but not depth) for each time the effect is chosen. The barrier can be
shaped as desired by the caster.
Order of the Redhawk
Size and Location: Dozens of members from Seattle University or through connections to the
university.
Connection: 7
Connection Type: Magical
SRM Contact: Professor Vincent Grisome
Goals: Increase magical knowledge through exploration and sharing.
Strictures:
Knowledge gained: Seek and gain knowledge of magic and the metaplanes. Bring that
knowledge back to the Order’s leadership.
Assistance granted: Give aid to magical researchers within the Order.
Specialties:
Study of magical traditions
Spirits and the metaplanes.
Unique Spells:
Pierce the Veil (Detection, Range: LOS(A), Type: P, Duration: I, DV 5) – Delving into magical
effects often means seeing what is unseen. This spell strips away silence, invisibility, and
improved invisibility. Each hit removes one level of invisibility or silent, including the improved
status.Shadowrun Missions Guide 59
Hex Device (Combat: Direct, Range: LOS, Type: P, Duration: I, DV 5) – Someone was probably
reading too much early fiction about magic when they created this spell to damage electronics.
The spell does matrix damage equal to hits and is resisted by Object Resistance – 6 (p. 129,
6WE).
Soften Stone (Manipulation, Range: Touch, Type: P, Duration: S, DV 4) – Originally created to
help in mining Orichalcum, the spell has been repurposed to weaken concrete and be able to
create new entrances to older buildings. Each net hit versus Object Resistance (p. 129, 6WE)
reduces the Structure Rating by 1, but also increases the drain by 1.
Description: Seattle University origin as a Jesuit Catholic university experienced an upheaval with the
return of magic. While it took time for Seattle U to move from its Catholic view into other magical traditions,
they brought those in as areas for study. The Order of the Redhawk formed in the early 2060’s to gain greater
understanding of magical abilities across the different traditions. The group really started making major gains
after 2074, when Professor Vincent Grisome joined the university and started bringing in other Seattle
community members.
Broussard Vodou Tradition
This is a Tradition of Faith and resists drain with Willpower + Charisma. For more information on
Traditions of Faith, see Street Wyrd, p. 104.
Vodou focuses on the unseen world which is populated by spirits and mysteries created by God. The
primary goal of practitioners of Vodou is to serve the spirits (or loa). However, the Vodou religion has picked
up a nasty reputation caused by out-of-control practitioners, and ritual hexes and curses. Outsiders focus on
these hexes instead of the charms and protection spells that are core to the tradition. True adherents of Vodou
are deferential to spirits, hoping to gain influence with the major loa. You will never hear them refer to services
owed and instead they will refer to gifts granted by the loa. As such, they would never deign to summon a spirit
into an inanimate vessel or anything technologically advanced. While practitioners of Vodou can summon
spirits to possess sentient creatures, it is taboo for adherents of Broussard Vodou.
Broussard Vodou was formed in the early 2070s from the teachings of Louis Broussard in Baton
Rouge. Louis formed the movement at the direction of one major loa. According to Broussard, the loa directed
him to not call upon them to possess the bodies of living, intelligent creatures. The cynical observers of the
movement believe that this has less to do with the loa and more to do with the cultural norms and biases of those
outside the religion.
For SRM, player characters cannot possess sapient creatures. You can possess a non-sapient creature
or the dead. For non-sapient, living creatures, the possession works as specified on Street Wyrd, p. 69. They
can control the creature and interact with the physical world. In addition to living, non-sapient creatures, the
spirits can possess the dead (Object Resistance 3), but this is distasteful to the spirit and the wider community
resulting in a loss of 1 Reputation per successful possession. When possessing the dead, the spirit does not gain
the benefits from any ‘ware implants. The possession lasts a sunrise and sunset.
Can prepared vessels be re-used?
You must prepare the vessel for each summoning of a spirit. You can prepare a vessel during your
downtime (minor). Once the vessel has been possessed, you must re-prepare the vessel prior to another
summoning. Preparing the vessel is done by buying hits and is not subject to Edge use.Shadowrun Missions Guide 60
SECTION 11: DOUBLE CLUTCH
Disallowed Qualities:
Positives:
None disallowed
Negatives:
None disallowed
Can I build my own custom vehicle?
Sorry, but no. Just like foci, cyberdecks, and other items, the custom-built options are not available in
Missions.
Are there any clarifications on Signature Move (p. 170)?
Any modification of the cost based on Edge boosts or actions are applied to only one of the two effects.
For instance, the Positive Quality Determination would reduce the cost of “Maniacal Slipstream” (the
combination of Drafting and Redline) to 5 Edge instead of reducing it to 4 Edge.
Will Bermuda Gremlins leave me stranded in Neo-Tokyo because of a wrong turn in Seattle (p. 171)?
No. Also it won’t land you in enemy territory because that would probably set the mission back
completely. Instead, if both dice are 1s, you will always double the time in the late table on p. 171.
Can I take the Remote Pilot negative quality even if I am not a rigger?
Yes, but this negative quality is only available to runners with Piloting at rank 3 or higher.
Won’t Fuzz Magnet make Missions go long (p. 172)?
This applies any time you are in the car, regardless of whether you are driving or not. If both dice are
hits on the test, the Heat modifier increases by 2.
If I steal a ride, how long before the doors are locked, and the police are called?
If you are able to steal the vehicle, it lasts until the end of the current scene. Stealing a vehicle increases
the Heat modifier by 1.
Is the Nanomaintenance Repair System an extended test?
No, it is a single test. When it assists a mechanic, it is an extended test. On a Glitch or a Critical Glitch,
it cannot help or complete the task.
Does standard equipment consume space for mod slots?
No, however removing the mod does not open additional mod slots.
Do drones have smartlinks?
Pilot systems can interface with a mounted smartgun without needing a smartlink.
Is the CF (Cargo Factor) in addition to the seating, or is it only available by removing seating?
A vehicle’s CF is in addition to the seating.
What’s the quick list of Drone adjustments or fixes?
Aerodesign Systems LDSD-64 Condor: Add sat-link and retrans unit to the Standard Equipment line
of the statblock.
Evo “Roller-Bombs”: The availability of the drone is based on the availability of the type of grenade
that it uses. Any toxin or drug for gas grenades needs to be bought separately.
Federated-Boeing Sky Commander: Add sat-link and retrans unit to the Standard Equipment line of
the statblock.
Hawker-Siddley Harrier: The standard equipment includes two standard weapon mounts.Shadowrun Missions Guide 61
Hawker-Siddley Rescue Harrier: The standard equipment includes medium drone rack.
Mitsuhama Automatronics Bust-a-Move and Friends: This doesn’t have a Seat.
Saeder-Krupp Aerospace Blitz MK II: Add Improved Economy/Capacity 2.
Shiawase Man-at-Arms: Yes, the cyberlimbs can be used to hold a gun.
Shiawase Bi-drone Silverback: The Body attribute is 10 (14) for purposes of modification slots.
Vulcan-Krupp Hollenfaust: The drone does not come with the Krupp Munitions KrE-25.
Vulcan Systems Utility-One: Availability 2L and costs 3,500 nuyen. It also has gecko tips.
Whispering Death: The autosoft required to use the monofilament lines is Targeting: Monofilament
Wires. If you are jumped in, then you use Close Combat skill or Exotic Weapons (Monofilament
Whip).
What’s the quick list of Vehicle adjustments or fixes?
All trailers have the Cargo Hauler feature.
Ares Army-Master: Add Mil-Spec Plate 2.
BAE Centurion II MBT: Add Mil-Spec Plate 3.
Ferrari Appaloosa A-04: Add Ceramic Plate.
General Dynamics Flyer-90: Replace the note on Stealth thresholds with the modification passive
stealth features.
GMC Chariot: Add Ceramic Plate.
Honda-GM Diamondback: Add Ceramic Plate.
Yamaha Nodachi: The speed interval is 30.
Are there other miscellaneous fixes?
The Grey mana integration modification cost should be 2,500 nuyen for non-enclose vehicles and
5,000 nuyen for enclosed vehicles.
The Gun Ports modification has no rating and takes 0.5 mod slots.
Improved Pilot has Rating 1-9.
xGuide Override doesn’t have a Rating.
If I buy Living Space, then I don’t need to pay for my lifestyle?
Unfortunately, no. You still need to buy food, pay for incidentals like your trid subscriptions, and also
docking or camping fees. Nothing is free in this life, chummer. Living in your vehicle rather than a structure
still incurs the same monthly lifestyle cost.
Can I install exotic weapons in a weapon mount?
Yes. See the list of exotic firearms below with the mount size and the ammo capacity. Installing
requires the same engineering test as other weapons.
Ares Antioch II (Large, Body)
Ares Charybdis (Large, 100)
Ares S-III Super Squirt (Medium, 250)
Ares Scylla (Large, *) See description for the impact of mounting to the vehicle.
Armtech MGL-6/MGL-12 (Large, Body)
Aztechnology Striker (Large, Body)
Krime Calliope (Large, Body)
Krime Escalation (Large, Body)
Krime Thumper (Large, Body)
Krime T-Shirt Cannon (Large, Body)
Onotari Interceptor (Large, Body)
Parashield DART Pistol (Small, 100)
Parashield DART Rifle (Medium, 250)
Narcoject Hornet (Small, 50) This weapon requires both the compressed air and the darts.
Shiawase Blazer (Large, 50)
For vehicles with cyberlimbs, what is the base Attribute for +4 maximums?
For Strength, use the Body of the drone or vehicle. For Agility, use the Sensor.Shadowrun Missions Guide 62
Double Clutch refers to Targeting Autosoft (Close Combat) and Close Combat Autosoft. Are they the
same thing?
Yes.
How do specializations work for the Engineering autosofts?
Since the autosoft can only be used within that specialization, the bonus +2 dice benefit provided by
the specialization does not apply. Additionally, the gunnery specialization is not available as an autosoft in SRM.
Can I hire a pit crew (p. 164) to assist in doing modifications?
Yes.
How do I value the cyberlimbs on a drone or vehicle?
While the anthroform cyberlimbs are said to be treated under the same rules as the cyberlimbs for
metahumans, this only extends on how to use them when determining strength, agility, and any specific capacity
uses. This does not extend to the price of the limbs. Drones with this specific modification cannot be sold
separately or modified. There currently aren’t rules to specify the capacity of the drone’s anthroform cyberlimbs
and the price of the limbs does not line up with the price of the drone.
If link-firing uses weapons with the wild die, is it only one wild die replaced, or all?
Replace one die with the wild die for each relevant weapon.
If I jump into a drone or vehicle and make an Athletics test to sprint, am I limited to the acceleration and
top speed?
No, as seen in the Shadowrun Sixth World FAQ, the amount of speed is increased or decreased by up
to one meter for each net hit.
If I am using Swarm and link-firing mode, what is the order of applying adjustments?
The order to apply the bonuses is first to apply the link-fire mode on a single drone to create a “virtual
weapon”. After that, you apply the swarm adjustment. For instance, if you have three MCT roto-drones with
two weapon mounts, each bearing an Ares Predator VI, the total DV would be 4P with a near AR of 15 and +3
dice pool modifier.Shadowrun Missions Guide 63
SECTION 12: SIXTH WORLD COMPANION #
Disallowed Qualities:
Positives:
Critter Trainer (p. 133) *note this is only banned because there are no critter ownership rules.
Focused Ambition (p. 133)
More Machine Than Metahuman (p. 134)
Negatives:
Borrowed Time (p. 136)
Can I build a character using the Sum-to-Ten method (6WC, p. 27-28)?
Yes.
Can I build a character using the Point Buy method (6WC, p. 28-30)?
Yes.
Can I build a character using the Life Path method (6WC, p. 30-48)?
Yes. Contact limitations for SRM are still in play and you are limited to max Connection 6 and Loyalty
6 at character generation. In addition, SRM-named NPC cannot have their Connection raised.
A clarification on Born This Way for the Life Path method concerns what attributes count as “racial
limit higher than 6”. Metatype, metavariant, metasapient, or SURGE qualities are the only ones used for this
purpose. Other qualities or abilities do not provide this benefit.
The number of spells, power points, and complex forms are set once you have selected all your life
modules and does not count any karma spent to raise Magic and Resonance further. Mystic adepts gain either
0.5 PP or 1 Spell for each point of Magic. You may purchase an additional 0.5 power point or 1 spell for 5
Karma each, with a maximum number of power points equal to Magic, and a maximum number of spells equal
to Magic x 2.
Life Modules from No Future are not legal at this time.
Can I buy adept Power Points using any character generation methods?
No. The character generation options where you can buy Power Points is the Point Buy (6WC, p. 28)
method or Life Path (6WC, p. 30-48) method. Limits to this are detailed in those specific Guide entries.
Can I get bonus karma for filling out the character development questions (6WC, p. 25)?
No. However, if you are at the table with a filled out Twenty Questions, you can use this at a point of
NERPS.
Can I use Character Packs (6WC, p. 49-71) for adding gear and augmentations?
Yes. As a note, if you see some of the bioware or cultured bioware described as “used”, this represents
a lower grade of bioware, but accounts to be the same Essence penalty.
Can I play as any of the metavariants (6WC, p. 75-87)?
Yes, just pay the Karma cost. However, there may be specific adjustments for SRM.
Does a nocturna (6WC, p. 78-79) have Keen Eared or does it have poor hearing?
The nocturna has the Keen Eared quality and does not suffer from poor hearing as stated in the text
description of the metavariant.
Does the nartaki (6WC, p. 78-79) have boosted Agility from Shiva Arms, while the metagenic quality
doesn’t include it?
Shiva Arms does not increase Agility. The Agility racial maximum for nartaki is 6.
Can I use some super sunscreen or wear head-to-toe clothing to avoid Allergy (Sunlight, Severe)?Shadowrun Missions Guide 64
Sunscreen and hoodies will help you from getting burned but does not prevent you from experiencing
the impact of the allergy.
What is Gender Transmorphism (6WC, p. 79)?
For the purposes of SRM, a character with this quality can spend a Minor Downtime Action to change
their gender.
How does Symbiosis (6WC, p. 128) interact with SRM play?
In SRM, Symbiosis does not automatically grant the Home Ground positive quality. Your
neighborhood is considered healthy while you maintain a Lifestyle of Middle or higher. If you are using the
expanded Lifestyle rules, then Neighborhood and Security need to be at Middle or higher.
Does Bioluminescence (6WC, p. 128) make it harder to hide?
Yes, but only in a dark room. If anyone is trying to perceive you in a dark room, they gain a point of
situational Edge on the test.
Can I fly with Functional Wings (6WC, p. 125)?
Both Type I and Type II wings require at least Magic 1 in order to fly. If the creature has no Magic
attribute, then they can still glide. An additional note is that Type I wings do not “transform” but are a permanent
replacement for the creature’s arms and hands.
If I can glide, what are the rules for gliding?
Gliding is similar to jumping distances in which the runner performs an Athletics + Strength or Agility
(Threshold, SR6, p. 36). The default ratio for gliding is that for every one meter you fall, you move forward by
three meters. Net hits from the test can be used to increase the forward distance.
Do valkyries have an increased cost because of their wings (6WC, p. 81)?
Yes. They need to pay the dwarf tax, which is a ten percent cost increase on fitted gear. Some protective
gear are just restrictive to wings and just needs to be modified to allow that freedom of movement.
What do Extravagant Eyes (6WC, p. 84) do to Hobgoblins?
A hobgoblin’s eyes are all black in appearance which makes them more memorable to non-hobgoblin
populations. This grants Edge on all Memory Tests and when a hobgoblin character would gain Heat, they gain
2 Heat instead.
What is Ogre Stomach (6WC, p. 84)?
This is also known as Tough Gut (6WC, pg 120).
Which Cyclopean Eye quality should I use? (6WC, p. 127 or IA, p. 16)
Use the quality as written in the Sixth World Companion.
Can I play any of the metasapients (6WC, p. 87-90)?
Yes. Playing a metasapient requires paying the troll tax (ten percent increased cost for all gear). In
addition, all augmentations cost twenty percent extra due to their unusual anatomy. If a character has multiple
cost increases due to metaracial qualities or metagenic qualities, only pay the highest. Metasapients do not get
a Magic attribute for free, and it must be purchased as for other metahumans and metavariants. This does mean
that they can be mundane, but they can’t be technomancers. The generations born since the Awakening have
shown a wider variety in genetics with these species and some have been born without a connection to magic.
However, those born without magic have lost all connection to powers that had been formerly assumed to be
core to their kind.
All centaurs, with or without Magic, lose Search and in its place, they have the Enhanced Perception
adept power (SR6, p. 157) as a critter power that costs no Power Points. If you do not buy a Magic attribute,
then the critter powers Concealment, Dual Natured, Guard, and Venom are lost. The pixies’ Vanishing power
is removed entirely for SRM play.Shadowrun Missions Guide 65
What is Manasense / Magic Sense (6WC, p. 90)?
You know when you get the tingles on the back of your neck when you are near a live wire? Well, this
is what it’s like for a centaur. If the centaur is mundane, they still retain this ability. Normally, they would not
be able to roll the necessary detection (Astral + Intuition) because Astral is non-defaultable, but centaurs can
roll 0 dice for a missing Astral skill without needing to default.
Are there any adjustments to play a naga (6WC, p. 88)?
Well, naga don’t have arms so you should plan accordingly. Or you could spend 5 Edge to establish
that the door you are stuck behind happens to have a doggy door.
Can I play a SURGE (6WC, p. 116-131) character?
Yes. You’re able to build a changeling from metagenic qualities as part of the Priority Build system
(SR6, p. 58-68). You don’t need to use the random selection method and instead, select the metagenic qualities
you want to use. Selecting metagenic qualities is done during Step Three where you select Qualities. Your total
number of Qualities, including metagenic qualities, is limited to 6 and the net bonus Karma cannot exceed 20.
Some metagenic qualities are different for play in Missions and are detailed in the SRM Guide. Any quality
costing less than 8 Karma that grants Edge must be used on that test or is lost.
Alternatively, you can use one of the SURGE collectives. This is selected when you choose your
metatype, and you must pay the karma cost similar to playing as a metavariant or metasapient. In the case of
these changelings, the listed metagenic qualities are treated as racial qualities and don’t count towards the 6
Qualities restriction unless you increase the level of a listed metagenic quality.
- Camouflage: When wearing clothing, the dice pool modifier is lost. This includes basic and dynamic
camouflage. - Quills: Grappling (SR6, p. 111) normally doesn’t do damage, but for those with quills, you do a base 2P
DV. If you take the Damage the Opponent follow-up action, the 2P DV does not apply to this damage. - Corrosive Spit: This quality is limited to 2 levels.
- Natural Venom: The exhaled has an attack rating of 5/–/–/–/–.
- Climate Adaptation: The Climate Adaptation Table does not apply.
- Dermal Alteration (Granite): Hardened armor is replaced with Armor (6). The fine manipulation tests
penalty of –1 includes firing weapons unless that weapon is wireless fired via smartgun. - Shiva Arms: Bear in mind that you are limited to 5 minor actions at the start of your turn.
- Aural Helix Dysmorphia (AHD): The cost to purchase any headgear is doubled.
- Mad Eyes: When in smoke, ash, or other airborne substances, take a –2 dice pool penalty on Perception
and Firearms tests. - Unusual Hair: Add 1 to the dice pool of Matrix Searches for the individual with this quality.
- Poor Healer: The change in healing thresholds based on Essence does not apply to First Aid for the
Augmented (6WC, p. 145). - Progeria: Characters that possess the Progeria metagenic quality suffer a –2 dice pool modifier for any
test that includes a physical attribute and also suffers from –2 to their initiative. - Feathers: Add 1 to the dice pool of Matrix Searches for the individual with this quality.
- Scales: On every other SRM, a character with this metagenic quality must either spend a Minor Downtime
Action or make an Edge (2) test to avoid shedding during the run. If the character fails the test, they take
–2 on all actions during the run. - Vestigial Tail: This quality is compatible with other types of tails. The main function of the tail is that it
betrays your emotions. So, go on and wag that paddle tail. - Berserker: The character must succeed at a Composure (2) test or fly into a rage.
Changes for metavariants, metasapients, and SURGE: - Hobgoblins remove Poor Self Control (Vindictive).
- Centaurs remove Search power and replace it with the Enhanced Perception adept power.
- Naga add Scales.
- Pixies add Functional Wings (Type II), and Flight. Also, they remove Vanishing.
- Merrow add Gills. You must select air, freshwater, or saltwater at character generation.
- Raptors SURGE replace Beak with Beak: Raptor quality.
- Humboldt and merfolk SURGE must select air, freshwater, or saltwater for Gill type at characterShadowrun Missions Guide 66
generation. - By playing a SURGE, collective, metavariant, or metasapient, increase the amount of Heat you gain by
- For example, if you would gain 1 Heat, then gain 2. If you would gain 2 Heat, then gain 3. This also
includes Shifter Tell quality.
Can I play as an Infected (6WC, p. 104)?
No, except in the case where you have played as part of the Legends of the Shadow and have the
challenge coin. See the appendix for additional information.
How does Discreet Smuggler (6WC, p. 133) work when there is no palming test in Sixth Edition?
Replace the Game Effect with the following: When you take a Major Action to conceal an item, you
increase the Concealability Threshold by 1. This is not cumulative. The size of the item can be no larger than a
heavy pistol. This works against both Perception tests and scans using sensors.
What type of action is used for Inspire Competence (6WC, p. 133)?
This uses the rules for Teamwork tests in Initiative. The action to Inspire Competence is an anytime
Major action. The character who uses this action must immediately roll Influence (Leadership) + Charisma to
assist another character. You cannot inspire competence in yourself.
How does Software Optimization (6WC, p. 135) work?
You must designate one program that Software Optimization gives its bonus edge for using. “Use” of
this program means a test that gets modified by the software. You must designate a single basic cyberprogram
or a hacking cyberprogram to benefit from Software Optimization. For example: the armor hacking
cyberprogram (SR6, p. 184) grants +2DR constantly, but Software Optimization only grants edge when your
Matrix defense rating is invoked for a test.
This does not work for commlink apps, codemods, skillsoft, autosofts, etc. as these are not
cyberprograms.
Does the Bounty (6WC, p. 136) quality work the same as Stolen Goods?
For SRM, the Bounty quality operates similar to Stolen Goods where the character starts a mission with
2 Physical Damage and 4 Stun Damage whenever their Heat exceeds 2, in addition to starting the run with 0
Edge. This damage was already healed, and so the only way to heal this is with natural rest.
Does the Hunted (6WC, p. 137) quality work the same as Stolen Goods?
For SRM, the Hunted quality operates similar to Stolen Goods where must resist the damage as stated
in the book at the start of the mission whenever their Heat exceeds 2. This damage can be healed.
What happens if I have Cyber Psychosis III (6WC, p. 136) but only have 2 Minor Actions?
If you are out of Edge, you will lose three actions. If you only have 2 Minor Actions and 1 Major
Action, you will lose all three.
How do I know if I will generate an increase in my Heat modifier if I have the Finesse (6WC, p. 137)
quality?
The gamemaster will tell you if you’re going to gain Heat or increase your Heat modifier due to an
action that you take.
On what actions does the opposition gain situational Edge if I take Hooder (6WC, p. 137) quality?
On every opposed test.
Are Quality Paths legal in Missions?
No.
What Optional Rules (6WC, p. 143-159) are legal in Missions?
Faster Edge Resets (p. 143): Edge resets back to the Edge rating at the end of a scene, not just resetting
down.Shadowrun Missions Guide 67
Rebalanced Edge Qualities (p. 144): Any quality that costs less than 8 Karma and grants Edge, that
Edge must be used on the test or lost.
New Optional Edge Actions (p. 144): Four new Edge actions related to attacks.
First Aid for the Augmented (p. 145): For augmented characters, they can use Biotech
(Cybertechnology or Biotechnology) + Logic (Essence, rounded down) to repair/heal damage.
Transhumanism (p. 146): Mundanes can become more attuned to their ‘ware (cyber, bio, gene, etc.)
similar to initiation or submersion. Can only be taken by characters with at least 1 Essence worth of
‘ware.
Burning Out (p. 146): If your rank in Magic or Resonance ever reaches 0, you become mundane.
Incompatible with Latent Awakening. This includes during character generation.
Latent Awakening (p. 146): Characters can’t purchase this optional quality at character generation, but
they can after character generation to Awaken or Emerge. Cannot be taken if the character has done
Transhumanism attunement. If the character loses Essence after taking the quality but before buying up
their magic or resonance, they immediately burn out.
These Aren’t the Drones You’re Looking For (p. 147): Magic can only compel action in non-combat
situations.
Faster Alchemical Preparation Time (p. 148): Step 3 of creating alchemical preparations only takes
five minutes.
Enhanced Aspected Magicians (p. 148): Enchanters can create batches of preparations. Sorcerers can
use reagents for spellcasting drain. Conjurers have reduced drain on conjuring tests.
Cover Shield Blasts (p. 148): Cover reduces the damage from blasts by two times the cover level. Prone
acts as Cover 1 for the case of blasts.
Alternate Avoid Incoming Action (p. 148): New anytime Minor Action where they make an Athletics
Reaction – Dodge Penalty roll (see Dodge Penalty table, SR6, p. 311) and move net hit meters.
Suprathyroid Bonuses Stack (p. 149): The bonuses from the Suprathyroid gland (SR6, p. 292) stacks
with other augmentations.
Armor Lessens Physical Damage (p. 149): For every 8 points of DR, convert one box of Physical
damage to Stun after resisting the damage. For blasts, for every 4 points of DR, convert one box of
Physical damage to Stun damage after resisting the damage.
Rolling Strength Instead of Agility in Close Combat (p. 150): For melee attacks, you can use Close
Combat + Strength instead of using Agility for attacks.
High Strength Reduces Recoil (p. 150): For firearms where the runner is using two hands, the AR for
all positive range intervals increase by 1 for Strength 7+ or increases by 2 for Strength 10+.
Overwatch Actions (p. 150-151): Runners can delay their action by declaring a trigger for the actions.
Dual Wielding (p. 151): Runners can use a Dual Wield (I) Minor Action which changes the damage to
+1 AR and +1 DV.
Less Punitive Speed Intervals (p. 153): Change speed interval penalties from being on all vehicle tests
to only on crash tests.
Expanded Specializations (p. 153): You can take as many specializations for skills as you want, and
you aren’t required to buy an expertise before getting a second specialization.
Drug Addictions (p. 154) and Other Addictions: Runners who use addictive drugs twice or more in a
two-week period need to make a Body + Willpower vs. Power + (number of times used in the last two
weeks) Opposed test. If the runner fails the test, they become addicted or increase the addiction level.
Included are rules to get clean which is required for removing the negative quality. This rule does not
apply to Blood Magic addiction.
Expanded SINs and Licenses (p. 154-155): There are SIN scanners which roll Rating x 2 (Fake SIN
rating) test to see through the fake. There are additional tests if the runner wants to slip DNA samples or
attempt to use social skills to aid in preventing a SIN from being burned.
Alternate SIN Qualities (p. 155): Runners can purchase a National SINner quality, Corporate SINner
quality, or Criminal SINner quality. Having any SINner quality increases that individuals Heat modifier
and buying off SINner costs 3 x Karma cost for National or Corporate SINner, and 4 x Karma cost for
Criminal SINner.
Wild Die Extra Actions (p. 159): There are three new options to use the Wild die for reckless actions,
adjusting spells, or using skills untrained.
Get Ahold of Contacts (p. 164): To see if a contact is available, roll 1d6 + Loyalty and if the result isShadowrun Missions Guide 68
higher than the contact’s Connection rating, the runner is able to get ahold of them.
Are the Expanded Rules for Contacts at Character Creation (6WC, p. 161) legal for SRM?
Yes, but the hard limit for Connection and Loyalty is 6 for SRM. Using this rule, a character with
Charisma 1 could get a Connection 5 contact at Loyalty 1 with their base Charisma x 6 pool of points. In
addition, characters can spend Karma to gain additional points.
Are gamemasters going to use Contact types (6WC, p. 160-162) when doing legwork or acquiring gear?
Yes. Just because a contact doesn’t have a specific type, doesn’t mean they don’t know anything about
a given topic or can’t help you out. They just aren’t as good at what you are asking them to do. Another way to
look at it is that the areas listed are where that contact specializes. One missing connection type is Shadow, but
this is implicit that all the contacts have at least one shadow connection which is you. The contact type for SRM
connections can be found in Appendix C.
When do I burn out if I have latent awakening?
Once you have purchased the Latent Awakening quality, the first essence drop you take will cause you
to burn out if you haven’t already purchased your magic up. For instance, if you buy Latent Awakening and
then immediately buy a datajack (deltaware), you will immediately burn out unless you have bought your Magic
up to 2.
When we want to increase an NPC’s Connection, do we use the rules in SRM or the rules from the Sixth
World Companion (p. 162)?
We will continue to use the rules contained in the SRM Guide so that players are not required to retro
fit any spent resources if they had previously increased an NPC’s Connection.
Are the rules for Favor Points (6WC, p. 172-175) from the Sixth World Companion in play?
Yes. Runners can gain additional Favor Points through play, but this is ultimately a gamemaster
decision if thresholds are met. This does mean that working against a contact can result in the loss of Favor
Points. If you would go below 0 Favor Points, you then owe that contact Favor Points.
What is the impact of group contact rules (6WC, p. 175-176) on existing groups?
The existing magical groups are assigned a connection in their respective sections. Increasing Loyalty
only occurs after spending the requisite amount of nuyen and time for three consecutive months. The drop in
Loyalty happens immediately if you miss a payment or time investment. If a runner’s Loyalty with a group
drops, this new Loyalty rating is now the maximum that they can have with that group. The Candle in the Dark
quality (No Future, p. 161) does not decrease the cost of Initiation.
Characters with existing Group Contacts purchased prior to the group contact rules established in Sixth
World Companion have a Karma debt of the Connection + Loyalty (3) and nuyen debt covering the months that
they are a member. For example, buying Turgan Magnu requires the player to spend 6 Karma to join the Coven
and 8 Karma to buy the Connection 5 group at Loyalty 3. Players building new characters can buy these Group
contacts at higher than Loyalty 3, however existing players are unable to retro purchase the contact higher than
3.
Loyalty Downtime Nuyen
1-2 Minor 0
3-4 Minor 50 x Connection rating
5-6 Major 150 x Connection rating
7-8 Major 300 x Connection rating
Can group contacts (6WC, p. 175-176) buy or fence gear and what is their maximum loyalty?
When fencing gear through a group contact, instead of rolling the normal opposed roll, instead they
will roll Connection + Connection to resist selling gear for the runners. The Loyalty is limited to 8 at character
generation and in play.
Are the Lifestyle rules (6WC, p. 178-189) legal in SRM?
Yes. There are six categories as part of designing your own lifestyle: Neighborhood, Necessities,Shadowrun Missions Guide 69
Comforts, Security, Entertainment, and Space. The distance between the highest and lowest value for any of
these is 2 LP. The cost of a Lifestyle cannot be shared between two or more characters. For rules that are based
on the level of Lifestyle, use the number of Lifestyle Points spent and the table on page 189 to determine your
lifestyle, always rounding down. This is used to determine if you start each scene with –1 or –2 Edge based on
Lifestyle.
What Factions (6WC, p. 190-193) are in play for Reputation and Heat?
For Seattle missions, there are no tracked factions. These two scores are general area Reputation and
Heat. Future SRM locations may include factions to track.
Does Heat and Reputation (6WC, p. 193-195) affect my ability to buy and sell gear?
Yes. For fencing gear, the rules in Sixth World Companion are applicable to SRM. The Heat of the
team will impact their ability to move gear. The more heat they’re carrying, the more likely they are getting a
lower price. For buying gear, the Reputation currently doesn’t play a role without factions, but Heat will increase
the price of goods where the contact’s Loyalty is exceeded.
Can I spend money for bribes (6WC, p. 195) to reduce the Heat Modifier while operating in an area?
Yes.
How much can a flying creature or drone carry?
Spirits and creatures, such as valkyrie and pixies, use (Strength / 2) for the maximum amount of weight
they can carry while flying. Drones can carry (Body / 2) instead of Strength for flying Lift/Carry (SR6, p. 67-
68).Shadowrun Missions Guide 70
SECTION 13: HACK AND SLASH #
Disallowed Qualities:
Positives:
Cyberadept Transcendent (p. 87)
Deck Builder (p. 81)
Jack Jockey (p. 82)
Loner (p. 82)
Profiler (p. 83)
Quick Config (p. 83)
Negatives:
None
Are the Remote Hacking (HnS, p. 27) threshold adjustments in use for Missions?
No.
What benefit does Social Engineering and Phishing (p. 27) provide?
Teams who have credentials gained through social methods, gain a temporary point of Edge for all
Cracking and Electronics tests on hosts and devices in which the credentials have access.
What can a hacker do with Masquerade (p. 30) and what can’t they do?
Masquerade works by mimicking an active persona. If the persona is active on a host using User
access, then you can use the Matrix Action to pretend to be that persona and gain that level of access until
someone detects you are faking it or until that user logs out of the host. Inbound calls, messages, and other
Matrix traffic to the persona goes to both you and your target, but you have the chance to perform the Snoop
Matrix Action intercept them before they receive it. The key is that you can read or send commands, but you
cannot change a person’s PAN, any ownership, or delete things. Masquerade can be used as a self-teamwork
test when performing legwork on an individual as you can work to find them and use the ability to have read
access to their social media and messages.
If the person I Squelch (p. 30) reboots, do I lose my call prevention?
Nope. The call block continues for the number of minutes or until the attacker reboots their device.
What is the correct dice pool for Subvert Infrastructure (p. 30)?
The correct dice pool to use is Electronics + Intuition vs Intuition + Firewall or 2 x Firewall.
What are the limitations to Threat Analysis (p. 31)?
The bonus dice for this can never stack with another Threat Analysis. If a single decker uses this action
multiple times in a single turn, it only uses the highest value. If multiple deckers use this action during a single
round, it only uses the highest value. The recipient must also have a DNI or both image link and soundlink. This
does not provide a bonus against magical attacks.
Are the optional Movie Matrix Magic (p. 31) actions legal?
No.
Can I build my own cyberdeck (p. 34-38)?
No.
Can I build my own host (p. 50-52)?
Yes. Just remember that the host can’t be used to hack things on the Matrix. You should be aware that
the bigger the host, the more space and power it needs if it is a framework host. When the owner lacks the
lifestyle to maintain the host, the host is offline until the lifestyle required is restored.
Rating LifestyleShadowrun Missions Guide 71
1-3 Low
4-6 Middle
7-9 High
10-12 Luxury
When building a host, how do the cost of bricks factor into the cost of building a host?
The host cost list already incorporates the cost of the required data bricks needed to build the host.
Can I write my own code and software (p. 55)?
Yes, but note that this software cannot be sold. For the purposes of Shadowrun Missions, programs
you’ve written cannot be given or sold to other runners.
Some commlink programs are missing prices, how much do they cost and what are their limits (p. 56-
57)?
The programs, Mannequin, eParkour, and SimShare, all cost 100 nuyen. The program, Personal
Assistant, is limited to the device rating of the commlink that it is running on.
Can I take the Cyberadept Echo (p. 67 and p. 86) given that quality paths from the Sixth World Companion
are not Missions legal?
The Cyberadept Echo and the quality path for it is Missions legal with the following modification: the
highest-level quality in the path, Cyberadept Transcendent, is not legal. In addition, for Cyberadept Disciple,
channeling resonance through augmentation is still limited to maximum rating of a type of device, so a control
rig cannot be boosted past rating 3. If you are using a cyberjack, then you are not using your living persona and
have lost access to the resonance pool, complex forms, and sprites.
Can I build Data Structures (p. 69-71)?
No, but you can purchase them.
Can an emergent intelligence use a data structure (p. 69-71)?
Yes, but because the data structure is a physical object, the data structure must be one that can house
an EI and the EI must be in that device. This limits the number of data structures than an EI can actively use to
one.
What are the limitations in the use of data structures (p. 69-71)?
The use of data structures requires the use of a Minor Action to activate the data structure followed up
by the action which will take the use of the data structure. Each data structure requires a separate Minor Action
to activate. The increase in fade is handled with the single fade test in which they were used. If the test they are
used on does not have its own fade test, then technomancer must still make a fade test with the sum of all data
structures used. The total levels of data structures cannot exceed your Resonance x 5.
Example 1: A technomancer uses grounding (Level 4), logic virus (Level 2), and data blade (Level 2).
The technomancer activates the three data structures using three Minor Actions, and then attacks the IC using a
resonance spike. The technomancer receives the bonus dice from the grounding data structure to resist fade of
4 (resonance spike) + 4 (sum of Levels of data structures / 2, rounded up).
Example 2: A technomancer uses grounding (Level 4) and bandersnatch (Level 4). They activate both
data structures using two Minor Actions and then run a Trace Icon Matrix Action. Once they have performed
the Trace Icon action, they need to resist fade of 4 (sum of Levels of data structures / 2, rounded up) due to the
use of the two data structures.
For Captive Audience (p. 73) and Digital Scream (p. 74), how do they work given the sprite doesn’t possess
a physical location?
Use 100 meters centered on the technomancer who compiled them’s physical location. Inside a host,
the distance is bounded by the event horizon of the host.
For the new sprite commands (p. 74-75), not all things can be treated as a teamwork test, how should
treat those?Shadowrun Missions Guide 72
Most of these commands work just fine with a teamwork test and the limits it imposes, but the Courier
Sprite Task and the Fault Sprite Task don’t necessarily work as well. For Signal Boost, it works as it says, but
only helps the technomancer and not everyone on the PAN. For Cybercombat Boost, the damage boost is half
the sprite’s Resonance (rounded up).
Is Sprite Rep (p. 75-76) legal in Missions?
No.
Is permanent and ally sprite creation (p. 77-79) legal?
Yes.
Can I use sprite symbiosis (p. 79?
Yes. Due to SRM not using sprite reputation, this part of the requirement is waived.
Can I take Qualities that don’t impact me?
No. An example of this is a mage who is not doing any hacking or electronics taking Binary Mentality.
To take these qualities, you need to also invest in the skills referenced.
Does Brilliant Heuristic bypass the maximum augmented limit?
Yes, because it requires the use of a Minor Action. An additional note on the quality is that it requires
a device and associated persona, so this does not work for a technomancer, AI, or EI.
Can I create my own Quality Path (p. 88-89)?
No.
What Emergent Groups (p. 89-97) are available in Missions play?
While you cannot create your own group, you can use The Everett 811 and The Walking People.
If I join the 811, do I gain the free lifestyle?
No.
Can I play as an AI or an EI (p. 116-129)?
Yes. However, there are limitations with how some qualities and powers could impact you. An AI or
EI doesn’t have a physical corporeal body, so Aura Link or Digital Scream don’t make sense.
How many times can I take Neuromorphism (p. 129) at Character Creation?
Similar to transhumanism, you can take neuromorphism one time during character creation, but the
character must already have 1 Spark worth of codemods prior to undergoing the expenditure. This means that
the highest amount of Spark that an AI with neuromorphism is 5.
Can I use “Working for the Streetdoc” to purchase CodeMods?
Yes.
Does the Sourceror (p. 131) Resonance Stream benefit reduce Fade to 0 or lower?
No, the minimum Fade is 1.
Can I buy IC for my host (p. 170)?
Yes.
Can an AI, EI, or Rigger in a drone use Neijia?
No, because these entities lack an astral signature and aura.
Can I magically augment an AI or EI?
No.Shadowrun Missions Guide 73
Can I do a Probe and Backdoor Entry as a Hacker Combo?
No. The clarification is that the Matrix Action selected must be a Major or Minor action and cannot be
something as part of an extended test.
Can Fractal Dream affect targets in AR?
No. The target must already be in VR in order to be affected.Shadowrun Missions Guide 74
SECTION 13: BODY SHOP #
Disallowed Qualities:
Positives:
Essence Regrowth (p. 16)
Negatives:
Permanent Damage (p. 16)
Meat Surrogacy (p. 169)
Are any of the Optional Rules in Body Shop legal in Missions?
Minor Prosthetics (p. 21)
Dying Cyberware (p. 22)
Modifications to Cyberware
Cyberware Ess Cap Avail Nuyen
Drone Rack (micro/mini) 0.6 [6] 4 (L) 16,000 nuyen
Drone Rack (small) 1.2 [12] 6 (L) 17,000 nuyen
Math SPU 0.25 [2] 4 25,000 nuyen
Modular connector – [2] 3 250 nuyen
Modular mount 0.4 [2] 3 1,000 nuyen
The price for electrochromatic hair (p. 33) mentions price is by length, but the table provides a stock price
no matter the length. Which do I use?
Use the cost in the table, and the base length can be any length you desire with a max of 100 cm.
Can I have three sets of Shiva Arms along with two more sets of cyberarms?
No, the maximum number of arm pairs is four pairs total. This includes the starting pair you were born
with. For example, if you are a nartaki with three pairs of arms, you can add only one additional pair of
cyberarms.
How does the modular mount system (p. 46) work?
When using modular cyberlimbs, the connector goes in the smaller body part and the mount goes in
the larger. For example, a modular cyberarm has a connector in the arm and the mount goes in the torso. A
modular forearm takes a connector, while the arm takes the mount. If a mount is placed into an “upper”
cyberlimb or cybertorso the mount consumes capacity instead of essence. If a full arm or leg cyberlimb is the
mount for a swappable partial limb, reduce the full limb’s capacity by the base capacity granted by the partial
limb.
You do still need to pay essence for the modular cyberlimb in order to integrate it into your aura. If
you have two limbs that you swap between, you only need to spend the essence cost once.
Does the joint replacement (p. 59) only fix when someone has the Hobbled status?
No. This provides ongoing prevention of the Hobbled status due to the strengthened connective tissue.
How fast does the spidersilk gland (p. 60) generate charges?
The gland generates one charge per twelve hours.
What is the Extreme Essence cost of Awareness on the Biosense table (p. 70)?
This is a typo. The only two types of Awareness are basic and tactical.
There are some minor changes and clarifications to the Bioweapon table (p. 72).
Fangs, 2P 3/-/-/-/-
Retractable Fangs, 2P 2/-/-/-/-
Callus provides a situational point of Edge, but no modification to the AR or DV.Shadowrun Missions Guide 75
Tusk (having a second tusk increases the AR by +2)
The cost of DNA masking is missing (p. 97).
Geneware Treatment Time Ess Avail Cost
GeneClear 2 months 0.1 6(I) 35,000¥
Masque 2 weeks 0.2 4(I) 28,000¥
Reprint 1 month 0.1 5(I) 23,000¥
Shuffle 2 weeks 0.2 4(I) 18,000¥
Are there modifications to Conspicuous Alteration (p. 104) for Missions?
Yes, instead of +2 on Memory tests to remember you, the chance to gain heat is increased. The Heat
Modifier for you and everyone seen with you increases by the level of the quality.
Can I take Misaligned Soul (p. 104) and not do a transfusion?
No. You must take a transfusion when you take Misaligned Soul.
Does something bad happen to me if I eat another person per Fine Young Cannibal (p. 105)?
Yes. If you take a bite out of someone, it just makes you that much more memorable. Increase the Heat
Modifier for the whole team by +1 when you take a bite out of someone.
Do I need to make an Addiction test (p. 109) each time I use my cyberware or bioware?
For Missions, you don’t need to make the Addiction test for foci, bioware, cyberware, nanoware, or
geneware.
Can I manufacture my own drugs, BTL, ripjacks, etc. (p. 129-132)?
No.
Can I buy and keep a biodrone (p. 135-165)?
No. Currently there are no rules to buying or owning critters. Once this is available, we will explore
whether we can make this legal.
Are there any changes to the Delusion or Hallucination Negative Qualities (p. 169)?
Yes. Similar to Phobias and Allergies, at the start of the mission, roll 2D6 and if the number is less
than the Karma gained, the subject of the delusion comes into play.
What is a sufficiently stressful situation for TLE-X (p. 171)?
This is subjective to both the player and gamemaster. Due to the Karma gain, every run will include
this. This could be the first time there is a social scene or for the first combat of the run.
Can I be a cyberzombie (p. 172-176)?
No.
Can I play a cyborg or cybernetic shell (p. 176-179)?
Yes.
Can an AI reside in a cybernetic shell (p. 176-179)?
No. The cybernetic shell doesn’t have the computational resources necessary to run without the brainin-a-jar.Shadowrun Missions Guide 76
APPENDIX A: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ) #
This section is for items which simply don’t fit anywhere else.
Can characters created under prior editions be used in Missions?
No, it’s not possible to carry from previous editions.
Since you use errata, do I have to go back and fix (fill in the blank) as new errata is released?
Yes, characters will need to be updated as errata is released. Use the following guidelines:
Gear (non-’ware): Use the updated stats. If the cost for the item changes, you’ll either get a refund
that is added to your total nuyen (if the cost goes down), or you’ll need to immediately pay the difference. If an
item is removed from the game completely, you get the full value refunded. If the Availability of an item you
already possess makes it otherwise unavailable, you do not lose the item. You just got lucky and your contact
was looking to unload it fast.
Cyber- and Bioware: Use the updated stats. If the Essence cost changes, you gain or lose the
difference in Essence. If you cannot afford to lose the Essence, you may immediately pay to upgrade the item
to alpha or betaware (if you have the nuyen), or you can remove the item from your gear list (and get a full
nuyen and Essence refund for the item).
Foci: Treat as normal gear. If the foci bonding cost changes, you either get a Karma refund or must
immediately pay the extra Karma.
Qualities: If the cost of a quality changes, you either gain additional Karma for negative qualities or
must immediately pay the additional Karma cost for positive qualities.
Minor Rules Changes: For most rules changes and errata, your character won’t be directly affected.
However, some changes may directly impact character generation or how a character plays. If the change is
something simple, like a cost change to Karma or nuyen amounts, simply calculate the difference and
immediately gain or pay that cost.
Major Rules Changes: If the errata or change is something more drastic that cannot be adjusted by
Karma or money, you may rebuild your character completely, sticking as close as possible to the original
concept and applying any rewards you’ve earned for Missions played to the new character. This can only be
done for major errata, and only if the character cannot be easily fixed.
For the errata, it says I must pay any costs immediately. What if I can’t pay?
If you need to pay Karma or nuyen and you do not have enough, you go into debt. This debt must be
paid out of your run rewards for the next Mission(s), and nothing else may be purchased until these debts are
paid off.
With newer expansion books adding in additional rules and options, can I Retcon (Retroactive
Continuity, a.k.a. pretending a new addition always existed) my character, as I’d have used one or more
of those options had it been available?
Yes, as with errata, you can make certain minor tweaks to your character. A Retcon to your character
should be done before you play the character for the first time after the book the new rule or option appears in
becomes Missions legal. Use the guidelines for making changes due to errata, except for the following:
Qualities: You may add new qualities at their base price only if you stay within the parameters for
purchasing Qualities per SR6 CRB pg 66, or you must discard Qualities to make the room. For Positive
Qualities, this may put you into karmic debt, which must be paid off immediately (or as soon as you gain
Karma). For Negative Qualities, you may immediately gain additional Karma, which may be spent during your
next downtime as normal. If the new quality would put you above your limit, you must purchase the Quality at
double the Karma cost as you would any other Quality after character creation.Shadowrun Missions Guide 77
Alternative Chargen: You cannot do a full rebuild of your character if a new character generation
system is approved for Missions play.
How much damage does the SR6 book do, anyway?
Less than the SR5 book.
What is the default sensor array for a vehicle or drone? If there is no factory stock sensor array, what
are the guidelines for standard sensor arrays?
For Shadowrun Missions, each vehicle’s sensor rating is the equivalent of a sensor housing of the same
rating. Customization is a big selling point for the corps, so you may choose whatever combination of sensors
and rating you wish when purchasing a vehicle/drone as long as it does not exceed the capacity of the sensor
housing. Some enterprising runners like to “acquire” vehicles from other sources and want to know what these
“stock” vehicles have for sensors. Stock vehicles (any vehicle without the sensors specifically described) come
with the following sensors at a rating equivalent to the vehicle or drone’s sensor rating:
Sensor Rating 0: None. We suggest not running your Dodge Scoot on Autopilot.
Sensor Rating 1: Camera w/ image link (DR2) (capacity 1)
Sensor Rating 2: above + low-light vision and omni-directional mic with sound link (capacity 2)
Sensor Rating 3: above + flare compensation, spatial recognizer, and atmosphere sensor (capacity 3)
Sensor Rating 4: above + laser range finder (capacity 4)
Sensor Rating 5: above + motion sensor (capacity 5)
Sensor Rating 6: above + ultrasound (capacity 6)
NOTE: The types of sensors on the vehicle will generally not impact sensor tests. This is meant to be
a guide for those who wonder what type of sensors come with a vehicle.
With magic and drugs both considered “Augmentations” for the purposes of Augmented Maximums for
Attributes, does this mean that they also count against the restrictions on cyberware or bioware?
Yes, they do count against restrictions on cyberware and bioware. Note: initiative dice are not
considered attributes, therefore, they can be increased with drugs up to a maximum of 5D6, except in cases
where the rules specifically state they may not be further enhanced.
Will I be able to play my SRM character in SR: Anarchy Contract Briefs and transfer earned Karma
and nuyen to the SRM Living Campaign?
Only if they are approved as Missions Legal. At this time, none of the Contract Briefs found in SR:
Anarchy or the prototype release are considered Missions Legal.Shadowrun Missions Guide 78
APPENDIX B: LEGAL SHADOWRUN MISSIONS #
The following list of SRMs, Convention Mission Packs (CMPs), and special events are considered
legal for Shadowrun Missions in Sixth Edition:
Seattle 2081 Arc
● Introductory Events
o Build-a-Runner Workshop
o The First Taste
● Neo-Tokyo Twilight
o CMP 2081-05 Late Night Radio
o CMP 2081-06 Forbidden Beta Test
o CMP 2081-07 Countdown to Zero Hour
o CMP 2081-08 Tears of Amaterasu
● Blood Diamonds
o CMP 2081-09 Bring Me Prince Charming
o CMP 2081-10 A Diamond in the Rough
o CMP 2081-11 Paved with Good Intentions
o CMP 2081-12 Uneasy Lies the Head
● Big Easy Blues
o CMP 2081-13 Bright Lights, Big City
o CMP 2081-14 Hellhound on my Trail
o CMP 2081-15 Stone Crazy
o CMP 2081-16 Seventh Son
● Kentucky Fried Shadows 2, Extra Crispy
o CMP 2081-17 You’ll Never Leave Berea Alive
o CMP 2081-18 Blue Kentucky Girl
o CMP 2081-19 Blue Moon of Kentucky
o CMP 2081-20 In the Cold Kentucky Rain
● Shadowrun Missions 2081
o SRM 2081-01 Death of a Fixer
o SRM 2081-02 Urgent Care
o SRM 2081-03 Johnson and Johnson
o SRM 2081-04 Trailblazers
o SRM 2081-05 This is Renton
o SRM 2081-06 Cutting Strings
o SRM 2081-07 Bootleg Bliss
o SRM 2081-08 Child’s Play
o SRM 2081-09 Eviction Notice
o SRM 2081-10 Keep Your Eye on the Lady
o SRM 2081-11 Power Over Life
o SRM 2081-12 The Red Pill
o SRM 2081-13 A Cookie from Uncle Lung
o SRM 2081-14 The Advantages of History
o SRM 2081-15 A Bunch of Corporate Drek
o SRM 2081-16 It Ends, It Begins
o SRM 2081-17 Framed in Blood
o SRM 2081-18 Friendships Never Grow Rust
o SRM 2081-19 False Flag, Pink Mohawk
o SRM 2081-20 Fairweather Light
o SRM 2081-21 Grudge Match Gladiators
o SRM 2081-22 Bloodrocution
o SRM 2081-23 Severed Roots
o SRM 2081-24 Punk Rock v Dad Rock
● Prime MissionsShadowrun Missions Guide 79
o PM-2081-01 Mayhem and Misdirection
o PM-2081-02 Nuclear Option
o PM-2081-03 Entwined Auras
● Holiday Missions
o SMH-2081-01 Drek the Halls
o SMH-2081-02 Blaise of GloryShadowrun Missions Guide 80
APPENDIX C: CONTACTS #
This section lists the contacts currently available for SRM 2081, their typical “job” (i.e. fixer,
talismonger, etc.), and the SRM/CMP/PM in which the contact appears. As a reminder, some Missions contacts
are above the character creation limits. Characters are still limited to the lower of Charisma or
Connection/Loyalty 6 at character creation, which makes some Missions contacts illegal to have at character
creation.
Brynne Taggart (Fixer), Connection 4 (SRM 2081-01, 03, 05, 06)
Uses: Getting jobs, fencing gear, gangs (Shadowrun Missions Seattle)
Types: Criminal, Street
Donovan Pyke (Shadow Chapters Leader), Connection 8 (SRM 2081-12, 16)
Uses: Getting jobs, politics, Shadow Chapters (Shadowrun Missions Seattle)
Types: Corporate, Magic
Eddie Wei (Triad Johnson), Connection 4 (SRM 2081-02, 08, 12)
Uses: Business and economics, getting jobs, triads (Shadowrun Missions Seattle)
Types: Criminal, Matrix
Julian Müntefering (Corporate Kid), Connection 1 (SRM 2081-08)
Uses: Corporate playground rumors, drones, rigging research (Shadowrun Missions Seattle)
Types: Corporate, Engineering
Kingston (Shadowrunner/Street Samurai), Connection 2 (SRM 2081-02, 06)
Uses: Shadowrunners, street rumors (Shadowrun Missions Seattle)
Types: Criminal, Street
MacCallister (Fixer), Connection 5 (SRM 2081-04)
Uses: Getting jobs, matrix, street scenes (Shadowrun Missions Seattle)
Types: Matrix, Street
Ms. Snow (Shadow Chapters Johnson), Connection 5 (SRM 2081-09, 12)
Uses: Corporate rumors, getting jobs, military (Shadowrun Missions Seattle)
Types: Corporate, Government
Ni Ni Xiaolu (Triad Johnson), Connection 3 (SRM 2081-01, 07, 11)
Uses: Getting jobs, drugs, street rumors, triads (Shadowrun Missions Seattle)
Types: Criminal
Piper (Street Kid), Connection 2 (SRM2081-04, 12, 16)
Uses: Seattle Underground guide, rumors, history (Shadowrun Missions Seattle)
Types: Street
Toil (Fixer), Connection 4 (SRM 2081-04, 05, 10)
Uses: Drugs, exotic dancer clubs, getting jobs (Shadowrun Missions Seattle)
Types: Criminal, Street
Trubble (Bodyguard), Connection 1 (SRM 2081-04, 05)
Uses: Bodyguards, insults, talismans (Shadowrun Missions Seattle)
Types: Magic
Vincent Grisome, Th.D., Ph.D. (Seattle University Professor), Connection 5
Uses: Life Blood magic, thaumaturgy, Seattle University conclave (Shadowrun Missions Seattle)
Types: Academic, Magic
Whiskey (Street Doc), Connection 2 (SRM 2081-02, 08)
Uses: Medicine, street docs (Shadowrun Missions Seattle)
Types: MedicalShadowrun Missions Guide 81
APPENDIX D: SRM ERRATA #
How will the SRM Guide Committee handle the errata issued from the Errata Team?
To maintain continuity across Missions events, the SRM Guide team will sometimes clarify rules prior
to the SR6 Errata Team issuing a ruling on them. Sometimes these are rules that the Errata Team has no intention
of changing or clarifying since any incongruencies are meant to be handled by GMs at their respective tables.
Any Missions ruling in the Guide is not meant to be seen as Official Errata, though GMs are welcome to make
use of them for their home tables.Shadowrun Missions Guide 82
APPENDIX E: LICENSES
How do fake licenses work in Shadowrun Missions?
A fake license must and may only be attached to a single SIN, whether fake or not. For example, if you
own an Ares Predator V and have two different fake SINs, you need two fake licenses; one for each SIN. You
may only acquire a license for an item with an L Availability designation. You cannot get a license for an I
Availability item, ever. Some items do not have an L (or I) designation, but you may wish to “legally” conceal
them, e.g. a combat knife or taser. In this situation, you would need to get a conceal carry permit.
If you have a valid, non-criminal, SIN, you may attach whatever license you want, free of charge (for
the purposes of Missions). Keep in mind, however, that an item used in a crime that is associated with your real
SIN opens you up to real trouble.
Licenses are technically valid only for the territory that ‘issued’ them, e.g. you have a fake Ares SIN
with fake licenses attached to that SIN. The validity of these licenses can vary when operating outside of the
jurisdiction of the issuing entity. Generally, nations will recognize megacorporate issued licenses (or those
which appear to be corporate issued) as long as that nation permits extraterritoriality within their borders. For
example, the UCAS permits megacorporate citizens with appropriate licenses to possesses/transport and even
conceal carry. A megacorp may not recognize a national license. In cases where an entity refuses to accept a
license, they will generally give the individual an opportunity to resolve the issue, perhaps escorting them from
the premises or ‘temporarily’ confiscating the item in question.
There is generally no need to itemize licenses to individual items. For example, a single firearms
license is enough to account for any and all licensable weapon that makes use of the Firearms skill. The below
list is not exhaustive but contains nearly every licensing situation we can think of.
Gear:
● Driver’s License
● Concealed Carry*
● Bow Hunting License (Bows, Crossbows)
● Firearms
● Smartgun/Smartlink system
● Exotic Weapon (per weapon)
● Skilled Trade**
● RCC (per RCC)
● Cyberjack
● Control Rig
● Cyberware (not including Cyberjacks and Control Rigs)
● Spellcasting* ● Conjuring ● Alchemy**
● Adept Abilities
● Power Foci
● Other Foci
● Metamagic (per Metamagic)
● Technomancy
Conceal carry is for any weapon that is not plainly visible when carried. Remember, you’ll need a
separate firearm license if the concealed weapon is a firearm.
** Nearly every L designated piece of gear not otherwise requiring a license will fall under Skilled
Trade in some form. B&E gear are legitimate tools of licensed locksmiths, for example.
*** A single license is required for all non-combat spells. Each combat spell requires its own license.
Combat spells with a range of LOS(A) are illegal. Mental manipulation spells such as Mind Probe, Control
Actions, and Control Thoughts are illegal. Agony and Chaos are illegal.
**** This license covers the practice of alchemy and the distribution of alchemical preparations. The
alchemical preparations themselves are regulated and may be confiscated.Shadowrun Missions Guide 83
What happens if I am caught possessing, transporting, carrying, using a spell, etc. if I don’t have a license
for it?
Unless otherwise noted in the Shadowrun Mission or CMP, it is up to the GM to decide. It may be
something as simple as a small fine of 400-500¥ and confiscation of the offending item, all the way up to arrest
and issuance of a criminal SIN (e.g. if used in connection with a crime). There are even nasty rumors of certain
prisons removing illegal cyberware or keeping magicians in magemasks permanently.Shadowrun Missions Guide 84
APPENDIX F: SHADOWRUN SPECIAL EVENTS
What is the Shadowrun Tournament?
The Shadowrun Tournament is a special event for GenCon which takes place over two separate days.
This event is a scored event with a winning team that is judged based on their ability to succeed as well as role
playing scoring. This event is not Missions-legal however, the winners of the tournament do earn Karma which
can be applied to their character.
What is the Legends of the Shadows?
The Legends of the Shadows is a premiere event for GenCon which spans multiple tables. Multiple
teams of runners are needed to execute as they complete their own separate objectives. This event is Missionslegal. Players who complete this event are given a Legends-special challenge coin. The coin grants that player
one of four options at character build that would normally be Missions-illegal and can only be applied to one
active character. When playing a character using one of these options, be sure to bring your challenge coin as
part of the character audit.
The first option is the ability to create one Ghoul PC from Sixth World Companion. For the purposes
of Missions, a Ghoul character cannot infect another character and the cost for their lifestyle is increased by
1,000 nuyen in bribes to pay to keep them fed. The karma cost is 29 at character generation.
The second option is that during character generation, the normal limit of 6 for the total number of
qualities is raised to 7.
The third option for players raises the number of initiations, submersions, or transhumanism
attunements by 1 during character generation.
The fourth option for players allows them to buy one piece of gear during character creation that
exceeds the normal availability limits.
Legends of the Shadows 2022: Colloton’s Revenge
In late 2080, the UCAS was hit with a myriad of failures ranging from Blackouts to III Corps to Ares
Bug City II. Over the last year, the intelligence agency and sets of deniable assets have been sent to investigate
what happened, who was involved, and any other sorts of information that they can gather. While that research
has turned up a few names and some critical information, much is still unknown. Relying on this information,
ex-President Colloton has initiated six specific runs intended to exact revenge and intel gathering. The goal
requires that this set of runs not be tied back to UCAS. Maximum paranoia. Each of the six missions has two
specific objectives, a primary and a secondary.Shadowrun Missions Guide 85
Shadowrun Missions: Online
What is SRMO?
Shadowrun Missions: Online is a venue for finding and playing Shadowrun Missions games from
current and past seasons and have them count as official games that apply to your characters. They use a
combination of Roll20 and Discord to play the various Missions and have a very active community dedicated
to the Shadowrun game system. Both 5th edition and 6th edition are represented, and games are offered
regularly.
Find them at https://srmissionsonline.com/
Join their discord server here: https://discord.gg/g9xYmsaShadowrun Missions Guide 86
Shadowrun Sixth World Missions 2081 Character Journal
Player: Character:
SRM 2081-01:
Death of a Fixer
Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-02:
Urgent Care
Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-03:
Johnson & Jo…
Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-04:
Trailblazers
Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-05:
This is Renton
Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-06:
Cutting Strings
Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-07:
Bootleg Bliss
Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-08:
Child’s Play
Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-09:
Eviction Notice
Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-10:
Keep Your Eye…
Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-11:
Power Over Life
Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-12:
The Red Pill
Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:Shadowrun Missions Guide 87
Shadowrun Sixth World Missions 2081 Character Journal
Player: Character:
SRM 2081-13: A
Cookie From U…
Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-14:
The Advantage…
Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-15: A
Bunch of Corp…
Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-16: It
Begins, It Ends
Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-17:
Framed in Blood
Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-18: Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-19: Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-20: Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-21: Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-22: Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-23: Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
SRM 2081-24: Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:Shadowrun Missions Guide 88
Shadowrun Sixth World Character Journal
Player: Character:
First Taste Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
Build-a-runner Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
CMP Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
CMP Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
CMP Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
CMP Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
CMP Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
CMP Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
CMP Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
CMP Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
CMP Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:
CMP Results: Karma Nuyen ¥ Reputation Heat Agent
FP/Notes:Shadowrun Missions Guide 89
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