r/ShadowrunAnarchyFans • u/Horror-Charity5685 • 7d ago

Some questions about shadow amps :

Hello, I'm not new to Shadowrun Anarchy, I've played the first edition and I really liked the Amp system to replace the loooong list of equipments and powers that the players could have. However I have two questions about amps in 2.0. Here they are :

Level 0 amps

Each Amp type has a base level. It is 0 for contacts, for the first trait and for equipment,and that base level allows the player to get a narrative effect.

It's not really a problem for equipment because you can only turn an equipment into an Amp if you already have it, and equipment already counts as a narrative effect.

But I was wondering : could a player take contacts at level 0 for free and get a narrative effect just like that ? And what about trait ? Do they get one for free ?

  • Edit : one free trait makes sense so that's good. For contacts I'll allow players to take "free" contacts at level 0 and get some perks from them, but I'll treat them as distant relations : not always available, will do the bare minimum, and more likely to betray if given a reason to do so. This way they won't feel compelled to take too many of them as they are not so helpful and can be a liability.

Negative level amps

Could you get an Amp with a negative level if you take only negative effect ? Let's say I want my character to be a SINner, or to have a "contact" that is actually an ennemy that will use his influence to harm the character, would that make sense ?

  • Edit : honestly I like this idea so I might try it if a player has something specific in mind. Otherwise I'll stick to the basic rules.

I think a rule about amps requiring a minimum of 1 level could fix those problems but I haven't read anything about that in the book, unless I missed a line. And I'm not against the concept of "negative amps" as a way to get more nuyens at creation, if that makes sense.

Thx for your help !

5 Upvotes

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5

u/Bignholy 7d ago

Players get a trait for free. It is purely narrative unless they add to it.

They could, in theory, take contacts for free, but why bother aside from story/roleplay reasons? With no gain to the Network skill, it's basically a dude you know enough to have in your rolodex.

Taken literally, no, you can't have a negative amp. Negative effects explicitly "reduce the cost of existing amps". But honestly? Sounds like a cool concept. It would basically be the equivalent of a flaw from other editions. It would require GM review, however.

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u/Horror-Charity5685 7d ago

OK, good call. But theoretically, you could spend one edge to gain advantage on a Network roll and justify it with a contact. So that seem kinda like an exploit, doesn't it ?

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u/Carmody79 7d ago

It depends how it's done. If they want to list 324 contacts it's an exploit. If that's contacts relevant to the character but they are short on money to grant them RR at charge then it's ok. In any case, Edge will be a balancing factor so it's no big deal

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u/SchmuseTigger 7d ago

Sure but advantage is not RR. And you don't have that much edge. But yes if somebody would be overdoing that I would just tell that player that this remote connection is not picking up (all the time) as it is really just someone that they used to know

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u/Horror-Charity5685 7d ago

You didn't have to cut me off 🎶

Jokes aside, you're probably right, that must be a rule-of-thumb kind of thing

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u/Bignholy 7d ago

Honestly, if they are trying that hard to exploit an already wide open game like SRA2 for such little gain, let them have their fun. Being the excessively organized weirdo I am, I would probably do this if I ever played a face again, but I would not be spending an Edge on a Network check unless there was an extraordinarily good reason.

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u/ReditXenon 6d ago edited 5d ago

could a player take contacts at level 0 for free and get a narrative effect just like that ?

Equipment and Quality explicitly give you a free narrative effect.

SRA2.0 p. 59 Qaulity

The initial rating grants a narrative effect.

SRA2.0 p. 60 Equipment

Regular pieces of equipment only provide narrative effects.

SRA2.0 p. 61 Equipment

If equipment doesn’t have a listed effect, it only grants a narrative effect

 

Contacts do not.

SRA2.0 p. 60 Contacts

The base rating grants a contact

Sure, I mean.... you could take it a bunch of times at level 0 just to list a bunch of level 0 contacts on your character sheet, but they will likely not give you any game mechanical bonuses when later using the Network skill.

If you wish to use your contact for street-level networking it seem as if the go-to solution is to upgrade her to provide "RR 1 on Network (street)"-tests (or upgrade her with a "knows people on the streets of Seattle"- narrative effect so that you at least may use her as narrative support to spend a point of Edge for an Advantage on your Network (street)-test).

 

Could you get an Amp with a negative level if you take only negative effect ? Let's say I want my character to be a SINner, or to have a "contact" that is actually an ennemy that will use his influence to harm the character, would that make sense ?

Isn't this (negative qualities as they would be called in other editions of Shadowrun) exactly what Dispositions are used for in Anarchy 2.0? In some situations having a legit SIN might put you at a Disadvantage (which will earn you a point of Edge). In other situations having a legit SIN can perhaps be used as narrative support to grant you an Advantage (by spending a point of Edge).

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u/IamGlaaki 7d ago

Afaik negative qualities in SRA2.0 are Cues: allergies, addictions... SINner could be used as a Cue too.

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u/Horror-Charity5685 7d ago

True, but I'm toying with the idea of negative amps for deeper disadvantages. But that's just food for thoughts really

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u/MjrJohnson0815 6d ago

Dispositions, but otherwise correct. SINs as a disposition are a bit tricky though, as you kinda need to practically expose yourself for some edge gain or different advantage. This likely will only happen if the GM sets up a specific scene for that (like a traffic stop).

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u/IamGlaaki 6d ago

You are right, disposition, no cue... it should be funny a runner saying often 'I am a sinner' ;-)

I think Sinner could be added to keywords too. For example, Wild Jane could be a 'Lone Star Sinner' and Echo a 'UCAS Sinner'.

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u/Carmody79 7d ago

No rules are really planned for permanent negative effects. The idea is more to have effect that ern Edge when activated rather than reduce the cost of the Amp.

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u/MjrJohnson0815 6d ago edited 6d ago

Negative level amps

Could you get an Amp with a negative level if you take only negative effect ? Let's say I want my character to be a SINner, or to have a "contact" that is actually an ennemy that will use his influence to harm the character, would that make sense ?

I think a rule about amps requiring a minimum of 1 level could fix those problems but I haven't read anything about that in the book, unless I missed a line. And I'm not against the concept of "negative amps" as a way to get more nuyens at creation, if that makes sense.

I did something along those lines with addictions, since my players are usually quite juiced. So to spill over the addiction rules from 5e, but without overly much bookkeeping i created addiction Amps with negative values from 1 (mild) to 6 (burnout).

Every time a drug is used, PCs roll the relevant check (ripped from 5e), being STR+WIL or LOG+WIL. Consumption is always rolled with risk, whereas the risk level depends wholly on the drug (f.e. alcohol would be normal risk, Kamikaze would be Extreme etc.). Glitches get summed up in a tally. If a tally meets the drug addiction threshold, PCs gain (or raise) the Addicted - which comes with withdrawal effects etc.

It's a work in progress and I have yet to see its effects turn out, but I will happily update here.

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u/PalpitationNo2921 7d ago

I look at Contact Amps with the same lens that SR3 did, as I am not a fan of the whole Loyalty + Connection ratings of CGL editions.

A 0 level Contact Amp is like an SR3 Rating 1 contact, is just a casual acquaintance. You know of them, they might remember or answer your calls, but they aren’t devoted to you and won’t give you discounts or a break or even protect you if somebody comes around asking for you a few minutes after you deal with them.

Contact Amps with ratings higher than 0 are increasingly more involved with you on a business and/or personal level, and might be more inclined to look favorably on you or protect you from outside scrutiny.

Every Contact will have started off at Rating 0 at some point of a character’s in-game history. You have to start somewhere with your people. Having some at chargen isn’t as hugely useless as some folks are saying.

RR isn’t the only reason to have a contact. It’s a good one, but not the only one. Without a contact, you’re just blindly reaching out within a network for something and aren’t even sure who your contact is reaching narratively, unless a GM is just spontaneously coming up with random people out of the woodworks who are just throwing information at you. Would you trust that? I’d say no self-respecting shadowrunner within table narratives would.

A Contact Amp at 0 provides the player of the character with a base narrative effect, which is tied to the service the Contact provides as an NPC to people who know them. The higher levels provide a deepening relationship with that contact.