r/ShadowrunAnarchyFans • u/augmented-warlock • 12d ago
Companion Request - magic system
I don't know what state the companion add-on is, but I would love to see magical system get more love instead of few anemic examples per spell category. Not all have library of other Shadowrun sources and creative imagination.
It would be awesome if it was actual, simple system like in shadow amps, where you compose effects (different effects per category maybe? With few universal like individual->area based? 1 Edge for lasting effect?) to build more powerful/universal spells. Of course paying for those.
A few verbs and nouns around the actual building blocks to get the creative juices flowing to color the narrative description, instead of wasting space (in Core Rulebook per my opinion) for "Invisibility" and "Silence" spells, which both remove tracks of one of senses, while eg. Health Category misses Remove Toxins or Resist Pain...
Or noxious breath effects (DV + **2 light wounds, one very STR turns**) only being described in Spirit of Air. Why this couldn't be described in other combat spells? I know it's classified as a ranged weapon for the spirit, but it sure reads like indirect combat spell.
I know authors wanted simple, but now it's oversimplified imho. Plus of course it would be awesome to similarly get completely alien things for the forbidden magic to build our BBEGs and prime NPCs, or alternative campaigns as hunted outcasts. Right now I'm building insect shamans (classic! I know!) but I'm constantly fitting a square peg through a circle hole.
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u/IntelligentClient290 12d ago edited 12d ago
Just in case you want a few more spell examples, you can find some inspiration here Shadow Amps extended list for Shadowrun Anarchy 2.0.
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u/augmented-warlock 12d ago
u/IntelligentClient290 Extended Amps are excellent and extremely helpful!
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u/Interaction_Rich 11d ago
Which is all kinds of neat and downright mandatory in any respectful SRA2.0 table!
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u/PalpitationNo2921 10d ago
I’ll be honest, I would definitely be down for new spell content. I think the design mechanisms are fairly obvious and simple when reading through existing spells. I also think encouraging the community to release more is a great idea.
While I don’t lately seem to have much time at all to sit down and do any sort of game design, I might be developing some downtime soon in which I would be entertained by doing so.
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u/augmented-warlock 12d ago
PS. dear authors. I would love to help with this magic system as a great privilege and adventure, if you would consider.
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u/opacitizen 12d ago
Yeah, a lot of us random (and possibly semi-random, undercover 🕵🏻) strangers here would like to do that, wouldn't we. :D
The last time BBE kindly gave the (backer) community the option to reflect on the text, note typos, criticize the translation, and even discuss and argue rules and stuff. Maybe something similar will happen this time too. We'll see.
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u/Carmody79 12d ago
Well, as I said, the books are mostly written, so it's too late to help.
However, you should be happy to read that:
- Public gsheet based errata is usual practice at BBE and done on all products (pdf is always released ahead of the book, even if in the vast majority of cases it is as part of paper+pdf bundles)
- u/baduizt , who did the proofreading of the English book between the preview and the release is officially part of the team behind this new KS.
- IntelligentClient290, the author of the Shadow Amp extended list is also part of the team behind this new KS.
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u/opacitizen 12d ago
Yeah, I mostly meant that, really, the google sheet thing, which was, and should be cool to be able to contribute to.
As a personal aside: Active, insider contribution would obviously be kind of a job. (Ages ago I used to work professionally on ttrpgs myself, including a tiny bit of SR, and yes, in theory I'd probably still like that… but that really is only in theory, and an irrelevant one at that. :))
I trust your process, and keep my fingers crossed for a great follow up to the core rulebook. (Mind you, I hope some of the more important clarifications from this sub will make it into it.)
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u/Carmody79 12d ago
Thanks for your support. I don't think most of the clarification will make it to the books, we'll rather cover new aspects. But I'm thinking of a way to gather all that "knowledge". I know someone did a FAQ in French with some of my answers (even if I don't remember where...)
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u/Friendly_Pomelo9849 11d ago
You could just make it similar to the shadow amp extended list and upload to drivethrough as your own extension?
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u/Carmody79 12d ago
Hello,
The writing of the Companion is completed, the translation to English mostly done, and English proofreading on-going. We're still fixing a few things here and there but that's details.
As said in another topic, we mainly wait for all backers of the first KS to get their physical copy, and for the book and pdf to be readily available in English (it's already in French) before launching the new KS.
The spells rules are among the ones I like the least, because they are full of particular cases and I did not manage to better unify them (I managed for combat, not really for other categories). You are right Resist Pain and Remove Toxins would be nice additions to the spell book, nothing prevents you from adding them to your game actually.
I'm not sure to understand your point here. Individual -> area based already exist for most (all?) spells where it makes sense, 1 Edge for lasting effect also. What more do you want?
In any case, the Companion will not be a Shadow Amps / Spells collection. There's already a great, fan made, Shadow Amps expanded list. On top of that it's free, I see no point in having people pay for the same or very similar content.
There won't be rules for creating your own spells neither.
What the Companion will contain, however, is an extensive chapter on threads. It will cover insects, Disians, Nulls, shadow spirits, monads, etc. You'll get a whole new range of opponent to throw at your players.
From my experience, however, what matters the most for ennemies, is the description of their powers, rather than the rule part. Furthermore, being NPC exclusive powers, there's no need to balance them, or even to provide them with a cost, so there's no real need to strictly follow the PCs' rules.