XP For SR3

Good Karma is the experience reward system used in Shadowrun 3E. In between activities, characters can expend karma to improve attributes, improve existing skills, or learn new skills. These rules are somewhat complicated, and may be subject to simplification at a later date.

Attributes

On the table below are two scores for each attribute by meta-human type. The first value is the racial modified value, and the number in parenthesis is the attribute maximum. To improve an attribute less than or equal to the racial modified value, a character must spend 2 times the new attribute score in good karma to improve the attribute. Values between the racial modified value and the attribute maximum cost 3 times the attribute score to increase.
For example, a human who wishes to improve Body from 4 to 5 would require (5 x 2=)10 karma.
The same human who wished to increase Body from 6 to 7 would require (7 x 3=) 21 karma.
Attributes must be increased one point at a time - a character cannot 'skip' from 5 to 7 without purchasing 6.

Attribute	Dwarf	Elf	Human	Ork	Troll
Body	7 (11)	6 (9)	6 (9)	9 (14)	11 (17)
Quickness	6 (9)	7 (11)	6 (9)	6 (9)	5 (8)
Strength	8 (12)	6 (9)	6 (9)	8 (12)	10 (15)
Charisma	6 (9)	8 (12)	6 (9)	5 (8)	4 (6)
Intelligence	6 (9)	6 (9)	6 (9)	5 (8)	4 (6)
Willpower	7 (11)	6 (9)	6 (9)	6 (9)	6 (9)

Skill Improvement

Skill improvement costs are different for active and knowledge skills. The table below shows the needlessly complicated cost calculations:

Base Skill	Active	Knowledge/Language
New Skill Rating is ....
Equal or less than the linked Attribute	1.5	1
Equal or less than 2 x Attribute	2	1.5
More than 2 x Attribute	2.5	2
Specializations
New Skill Rating is ....
Equal or less than linked Attribute	.5	.5
Equal or less than 2 x Attribute	1	1
More than 2 x Attribute	1.5	1.5

Learning New Skills

New skills can be purchased at a skill rating of 1, at a cost of 1 good karma. This is true of Active, Knowledge, or Language skills. Once a skill has been learned, it is improved according to the table above.

A new specialization can only be purchased for an existing base skill. To begin a new specialization, the character must buy the specialization at a rating 1 point higher than the base skill. With a new specialization, obtaining a new specialization does not reduce the base skill.

A character may have as many specializations as equal to their base skill rating for that skill.

Simplified hacking rules for SR3

This is a proposed hacking simplification for Shadowrun 3E. It retains the dice pools, the operational and special utilities for a deck, the deck ratings, and system ratings. The main changes are to the target number to determine a success, and the elimination of the 28 distinct but ultimately limiting actions into 5 broad categories of actions.

Systems are still identified in the format Security Rating-Access/Control/Index/Files/Slave.

Security Rating is a color code followed by a number. The color code (blue, green, orange, or red) is a shorthand indicator for how quickly the system responds to unauthorized operations. Higher difficulty systems respond faster to the security tally than lower difficulty systems. The number is the size of the dice pool the system will use when attempting to detect or oppose an unauthorized user.
The ACIFS code references the strengths of 5 separate subsystems on a particular host.
Access is used for tests involving access and authorization.
Control is used for tests involving altering or executing commands.
Index is used for tests involving locating files, information, or other resources.
File is used for tests involving uploading/downloading/creating/deleting files
Slave is used for tests to control devices under the direct control of this host, such as maglocks, security cameras, etc.

I also use the security rating as a helper when randomly generating the values for a host. The table below lists the various values that are typically assigned to a particular security rating:

Rating	TN	Dice Pool	Values	Tally Step
Blue	3	4-6	8-10	5-7
Green	3	5-7	9-11	4-6
Orange	4	7-9	11-16	3-5
Red	5	8-13	13-19	2-4

TN refers to the target number on a d6 for a success. Rather than use the variable target number in SR3, I am using a fixed TN based on the difficulty of the system.

In the simplified system, the hacker determines which of the subsystem or subsystems on the target host  he or she wants to interact with each round. The security value for the subsystem indicates the number of successes required to obtain full access to the subsystem, at which point the hacker no longer has to make tests when interacting with that particular subsystem.

Operational utilities that the hacker has loaded into his/her deck will modify this number of successes - the utility rating is subtracted from the subsystem rating, and the difference is the actual number of successes needed, with a minimum of 1 success required.

Note that full control of a subsystem isn't always required for an action; the results of an incremental success (cumulative total of less than the total required) should be communicated to the player as to what new information or actions are now available.

Finally decryption/encryption will be handled as an isolated system. The encryption strength of a remote host can be determined randomly with a value tied to the host's security rating, or assigned a number. A hacker who is encrypting data from his deck will use the deck's MPCP rating to determine the strength of his encryption.

News excerpts - June 14 2065

Excerpts from the morning news on the 'net:

• New York Post: "Eight people were injured, two of which are in serious but stable condition, after an emergency crash barrier suffered a malfunction yesterday. The barrier, located near the Midtown Pedestrian Zone entrance at 7th Avenue and 39th Street, released without warning, injuring several people. 'An equipment malfunction resulted in the injury of several people, and we are conducting a full investigation,' said NYPD, Inc. spokesperson Tariqua Enqar. 'We're conducting a full audit of the emergency traffic control systems surrounding the Pedestrian Zone to make sure there are no additional failures,' she said..."
• Bitcoin Buzz: "Share price for local courier service Hustle & Bustle suffered a major drop this morning as the rumor mill is buzzing about the loss of a very lucrative contract with Aztechnology. The contract was purported to account for more than 60% of H&B's annual revenues..."
• rumormill.nyc.mastodon: "Spitfire Lightning: a little birdie tells me that the azzies are pretty pissed at the nypd and nyc corps after some property of theirs was lost yesterday. no chirping on the nature of the lost property, but i hear aztech is angling for some concessions from the city's corp and using the shitshow in midtown as an excuse..."
• hiflyers.ny.mastodon: "FlyingHi: I'm hearing reports from some fairly reliable sources that there's some sort of illness spreading through the Straekker Orbital. Anyone have anything concrete on this?"
• My Body Is A Weapon: "Chepi School, Inc. has apparently suspended operations in the wake of an ongoing investigation that a performance enhancer demonstrated through MMA rising star Steel Hicks was responsible for the deaths of dozens of people."